it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. hello everyone. i'm stephanie gosk at msnbc headquarters in new york. president trump receiving a warm welcome in saudi arabia as he kicks off his nine-day foreign trip, the first of his presidency. after a busy day in riyadh meeting with saudi leaders, the president is preparing to give a major speech on islam to the muslim world on sunday. back here at home, the russia investigation continues to playing the trump administration. what the appointment of a special counsel means for the investigation going forward. in montana, an early test for the republican party, a high-profile special election is days away to replace congressman ryan zen key.

can democrats use trump's problems against the gop and flip a congressional seat? we start with the president's first foreign trip, day one in saudi arabia is now over. the president now back at the ritz-carlton in riyadh for the evening. president trump attended a full slate of elaborate ceremonial events, meeting saudi king salman and receiving the highest honor. the big accomplishment, the signing of an arms deal worth $110 billion up front plus another $350 billion over the next take cade. >> that was a tremendous day. i want to thank everybody. tremendous investments in the united states and our military community is very happy. we want to thank you and saudi arabia. hundreds of billions of dollars into the united states and jobs,

jobs, jobs. nbc's kelly o'donnell joins us from riyadh. is the white house happy with how the first day went? >> reporter: the first day is a win asefined by the white house. that's something they've been sorely needing. the president's experience on the first day is positive, well received here in saudi arabia. the coverage from this part of the world has been favorable. all the lights behind me is because the president's hotel is behind me. there have been many motorcades and lots of security. the president is able to claim this is historic and there are big successes here. day one gives them an opportunity to define the visit on those terms. now, among the things they were able to accomplish, knowing it going in as well. they were able to formalize it today, a chance for the u.s. and saudi arabia to come together on some new efforts to slow or prevent terror financing, also to work on the information part of the internet where there is

recruitment online, trying to reach loan wolvne wolves around world. they're going to have a setup here in riyadh to message differently to those susceptible to being turned into that sort of ideology against the united states and western con trees. the they way framed it has been that by giving saudi arabia an opportunity to obtain very large scale weapons, it provides them more security, especially when you consider iran in this part of the world and at the same time would cost american taxpayers less to provide additional security to our ally, saudi arabia. they're seeing this as very positive. tomorrow is the biggest sort of challenge for the president which is that speech he's going to give to an assembled group of leaders from around the gulf states to talk about u.s. outreach to the muslim world, something the president has had his own role in making more

complicated, from candidate donald trump who spoke in harsh terms often and now trying to have a new relationship with this part of the world, a partnership is there describing it. here the foreign minister of saudi arabia told us they wanted to turn from the enmity to the muslim world to a relationship of cooperation and partnership. there are five drafts of the speech that is still not finalized. we've been asked if he'll use the term radical islamic terrorism which he used so often on the campaign trail. we have not been told which way he'll fall on that. tomorrow is high stakes for president. stephanie? >> the beginning of a long, complicated trip for the president. kelly o'donnell, thank you. joining me from tel aviv, michael bloomberg and in d.c. charlie savidge, msnbc contributor and washington

correspondent for "the new york times." charlie, let me start with you. what do you make of this arms deal and is this a much-needed success abroad after a very tough week at home? >> i think it's a little early to say it's a success until the trip is over. one of the things about president trump is he's very unpredictable. to pick up on one of the things that kelly o'donnell was saying, there's multiple drafts of this major speech floating around that trump is set to deliver tomorrow. some of the drafts that the associated press have gotten their hands on suggest a very different tone than what candidate trump said. they do not say radical islamic terrorism and the sense that this is a religious war, we need to ban muslims and that's the problem is nowhere to be found in these texts, it's talking about people of good will working together to drive the terrorists out of moss, and so forth. that would be a very different tone than what we've seen from

president trump so far, both in the campaign and now. so the question is will he go off script tomorrow, or will he stick to that script that someone has written for him, whether this trip is a success or not may depend greatly on how much discipline he exercises. >> michael, let me ask you about the speech. you live in the middle east. what are you going to be listening to tomorrow, and do you think the president will be effective? >> i think the question will be what he says about islam, whether he avoids this type of inflammatory rhetoric he had on the campaign trail and he had early in his presidency. from what we're told, he's expected to avoid the phrasing radical islamic terrorism, rather to present it as a coalition of good versus evil, harkening back to the world view of george w. bush perhaps. from the israeli side, i think what they're going to be looking

for is some kind of indication that trump has been able to make headway with the gulf states towards normalizing relations with israel as long as there can be progress in the peace process with the palestinians. >> you brought it up so i'll ask you quickly right now, is there hope the president will be able to make progress on that issue as he seems to think he'll be able to? >> i think there is hope. it seems like he really is committed to try to work out some kind of a deal, if for nothing else, to show he is the great dealmaker that can solve a problem that no one else has been able to. there are several things people here will be looking for. some of them public in terms of what kind of statements he makes about resumption of negotiations or the status of jerusalem, and some private, in terms of assembling a regional coalition against iran. >> charlie, let's turn to the

stories back at home. "the washington post" reporting the russian investigation has reached a current senior white house official and "the new york times" reporting trump admitted to russia in the oval office that firing comey eased pressure off the investigation. do you think these stories are going to have an impact on his trip abroad or are already having an impact? >> there's a long tradition in the united states of presidents who are in trouble at home going abroad for some relief from that. this trip was planned before the chaos from president trump's firing of james two weeks ago. i'm sure it's a welcome respite for him and the people around him. on the other hand, as the plane was taking off yesterday, both my newspaper, "the new york times," and "the washington post" were publishing those stories you just mentioned, sort of like the story was chasing

him down the runway. with the appointment of former fbi director bob mueller as special counsel now, i think it's clear that the heat is not turned down on him, as he told the russians in the oval office, but, in fact, has grown more intense because of his step of firing jim comey. he'll have that to return to when he's done with that trip. >> very quickly on the timing of the headlines coming out, it seems a little coincidental. can you give us any insight, the planes taking off? >> people are conspiratorial of when things get published, why this was leaked today versus yesterday. in my experience, things get published as soon as they are able to get published z because a hard working reporter is able to confirm it at that moment. that's always what's driving it, no larger orchestration. that would be ridiculous. >> thank you very much, michael arnold and charlie savidge, thank you for your time.

>> thank you. senator bernie sanders made an appearance in montana moments ago. he's campaigning for rob quist. ryan zen i can left to join president trump's cabinet. questions are being raised about whether the recent white house controversies will put the traditional gop stronghold at risk. >> three months in the trump administration is completely disastrous, so many scandals. i think we need better leadership in office. tnk my montanans have seen trump pulled the wool over their eyes. >> nbc senior political editor beth fouy. >> democrats seem to be making a

lot of headway, probably not because of the scandals rocking washington. the people we talked to in montana -- we're outside the adams center where bernie sanders had that event with rob quist. we talked to many people who had a lot of things on their mind. we heard a lot of people talk about health care. they're very worried about the gosh plan to gut obamacare and replace it with this american health care act which everybody seemed worried about in terms of losing medicaid coverage, coverage for pre-existing conditions. this audience was very, very conscious of the changes that have been proposed. we heard both quist and bernie sanders talk about that. we heard other issues come in as well, immigration was mentioned, women's right to choose was mentioned. bernie sanders did bring up the russia probe when he took the stage only basically to say that's only one thing we're worried about with this president. we have many other things we're thinking about and many other

issues we're trying to address, stephanie. >> what about bernie taking part in this and showing up there. what really was his message? what was the point he was trying to make? >> his message was very consistent with his message as it always is, the economy is stacked against the 99% in favor of the very wealthy. this race in montana is a good platform for that message. rob quist, theal toing singer who is now the democratic candidate is squaring off against a republican greg gianforte, very, very wealthy. a lot of landowners in montana, many of whom have moved in from out of state. so quist has made an issue of that. brbs brought it back to the issue of who isng your campaign. he noted quist just like bernie sanders is being supported by

low-dollar contributors. he was very happy to make that point. let's take a listen. >> here in montana and all over the country people are responding, his average contribution is 25 bucks. over 95% of his campaign contributions are less than $200. this is a people's campaign. >> reporter: you know what? of all those $25 contributions, quist has raised $5 million, quite an extraordinary amount for a very large state in terms of land, but a small state in terms of population. that's pretty eye-popping number. that's why a lot of democrats have hope that he could pull off this win. this seat has been in republican hands for 20 years. still an uphill battle for

quist. >> democrats eager to see that bellwether example as a harbinger of what's to come in 2017. thanks very much, beth. as president trump embarks on his first foreign trip, the russia investigation still looms like a dark cloud over the white house. now that former fbi director robert mueller is leading the investigation, just how much danger is there to the trump presidency. looks delicious, huh? -yeah. -richard, try to control yourself. -i can't help it. -and how about that aroma? -love that aroma! umph! -craveability, approved! -oh, can i have some now?! -sure! help yourself. -wait, what? -irresistibly planters. ♪ everything your family touches sticks with them.

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pippa middleton and fiancee investment banker james matthews married today. the ceremony took place in a small village church. royal watchers stood for hours

just for a glance. >> just because it's kate's sister and kate's sister comes along with kate, william, george, comes with the lot. >> howdi you travel? >> four hours this morning. >> big sister kate was closeby, had a special role in the wedding, tending to her toddlers. they nearly stole the show as members of the wedding party. guests are celebrating at the middleton's country home. prince harry is expected to attend with meghan markle. for more on this, i'm joined by nbc's lucy cavanaugh. did george and charlotte really steal the show? >> they did. everyone was looking forward to seeing the tiniest royals, the little princess and the prince. obviously folks hoping to get a glimpse of meghan markle. this is very much being described as the high society wedding of the year, a big day

for the big sister of the future queen. tieing the knot at saint mark's church with her prince charming, hedge fund millionaire james matthews. they met in 2007, dated briefly in 2012 and got together again, this time for keeps. we saw at the ceremony the arrival of the duchess of cambridge with princess charlotte as bridesmaid and prince george as page boy. the reception, as you say, is going on as we speak. that is at the middleton family home. the parents actually installed this huge glass marquis, a crystal party palace so guests could dance the night away rain or show. they even got these posh port-o-potties. the question now, who might be next? could prince harry pop the question? he's been spending a lotf time with meghan.

the rection will be the first time she's been seen out with the royals. >> explain how that works, that harry invites the girlfriend to the reception afterwards but doesn't get to come to the ceremony? >> well, it's the no ring, no bring policy. we haven't confirmed that yet. that's been the reported rule. that basically means if you're not engaged or married, you can't bring the other guest. to be fair, it is a fairly small church. again, with all the media attention, the focus, the gossip, the speculation over harry and megan, i think they wanted to let the bride have her big day. >> we can certainly understand that. nbc's lucy cavanaugh, thank you very much. coming up, voters in iran reject the hard line ap roach to leadership. what it means for iran's future relations with global powers including the u.s.

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iranian president hassan rouhani has been elected to a second term in a landslide, receiving 59% of the vote against his hard line challenger. he said, quote, iran prouder than ever is ready to promote its relations with the world based on mutual respect and national interest. in saudi arabia secretary of state rex tillerson says he hopes rouhani uses his second term to end the ballistic missile program in what he calls a network of terrorism. >> ali arouzi is joining us. does this affect relations between the u.s. and the trump administration? >> reporter: a very tough question, stephanie. it was a much better relationship with the previous administration, the obama administration. this is going to be a tough course for the iranians and trump. mr. trump definitely has iran in

his sites, he's been critical of the nuclear deal. obviously, all the things you just mentioned, the ballistic program, support of terrorism, et cetera. there's certain fundamentals here in iran part of the islamic revolution. they're not going to fear away from that, their support for syria, ballistic missile program is all going toirmly stay in place. they made that very clear. iran says they have a complete right to their ballistic missile program because it's a defensive program. they're i think we'll see a bit of a clash as we go ahead further. saudi arabia is no friend of iran's. so i think the odds are heavily stacked against iran making any end roads with the trump administration. they're going to try to keep this deal alive as long as they can, the nuclear deal. iran doesn't want to back out of it. but i think that's going to be a game of chicken because both

sides are in a tough position here and the iranians don't want to be the first ones to back out of it. if america puts so many banking restrictions and new sanctions on iran, at what point are the iranians going to say this just isn't working and we have to figure out a new track. it's going to be a very tough four years i think between the current new administration and the united states and mr. rouhani's second term. i don't see any major refresh man between the two of them. >> from your perspective on the ground there and the leadership, how are they viewing trump's visit to saudi arabia? this is the firn foreign country he's visited in his presidency. that's a pretty powerful symbol, isn't it, to iran? >>eporter: i think it sends a very clear msage to iran. it's trump's first foreign visit to saudi arabia and israel, two arch enemies of iran.

he shows he has sided with iran's enemies and is going to make things difficult. trump's visit to saudi arabias hag gone down like a lead balloon here. there's a sense of foreboding he's made a $110 billion arms deal with the saudi arabians. iranians see that as an aggressive move towards iran. they don't see any other reason for them to be selling so many arms to saudi arabia when saudi arabia is obviously very aggressive towards iran. the leadership here has tried to be a little more soft and saying we don't have any problem with saudi arabia. it's a problem they have with us. there's a massive clash of ideals between iran and saudi arabia, a sectarian divide between the two of them. these are the two big power brokers in the middle east. the world's most powerful country is now backing saudi arabia and that doesn't settle

very well with the iranians here. it certainly makes them nervous. for that reason they're not going to back out of their ballistic missile program and their support of shia militias in the region, especially in syria because that could be very harmful for iran. stephanie. >> nbc's ali arouzi in tehran, thank you very much. next, more of president trump's visit to skrab and how u.s.-saudi rations are likely to change. michael door of is a frustrated musician who started city winery to put together all his loves, a restaurant, a winery and a music venue. he's taken the leap expanding now to five cities. for more, watch "your business" weekends at 7:30 on msnbc. dentures are very different

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they really rolled out the red carpet for donald trump today in saudi arabia, but there's a long list of political headaches awaiting trump once he returns to the white house from his nine-day foreign tour, not the least of which is the appointment of former fbi director robert mueller as special counsel to investigate ties between trump's presidential campaign and russia. joining me now, msnbc national

security analyst net price, former spokesman for the national security council and former analyst for the central intelligence agency. ned, thank you so much for joining me today. >> good to be here. >> ned, as a former high ranking fbi agent, what is your reaction today to reports in "the washington post" that the russia-trump investigation is focusing on a person of interest inside the white house? >> that's exactly, stephanie, why bob mueller was brought into this position, t tak this investigation wherever it could lead. you asked a few minutes ago what reat bob mueller presents to the trump administration. the fact of the matter is that bob mueller himself doesn't present a threat to the administration. the administration's own actions, both in the lead-up to the election and during the transition period are ultimately what bob mueller is going to be taking a close look at, together with others from the department of justice and the fbi, to determine if they broke laws, if they colluded, if there are any

counterintelligence concerns, all of which he'll sift through as we try to figure out exactly what the role was of trump administration officials in russia's meddling. >> president trump has called this the biggest witch hunt in history. is that the kind of rhetoric that would affect bob mueller in any way? >> it would certainly affect some criminal and law enforcement probes. bob mueller is not someone who will be swayed by rhetoric like that. president trump said -- told the russians, in fact, he fired jim comey to relieve some of the pressure, and in firing jim comey, president trump actually got himself jim comey's mentor, someone who worked closely with jim comey over the years who is comey's comey in some way, who will be pursuing this probe. i'm confident that bob mueller will not let any efforts at interference, whether explicit or perhaps more subtle like what president trump has said, sway his probe. >> are there crosspurposes

potentially because what mueller is doing and what's happening on capitol hill? you have comey set to testify publicly in front of the senate after memorial day. does that get in the way of what mueller is doing? >> they're not cross purposes, in fact, they're complementary. let's remember one of the key criticisms of jim comey is his inquiry into then secretary clinton didn't return any indictment and he spoke publicly and in some detail about what his investigation uncovered. that is what bob mueller will seek to avoid in conducting his law enforcement investigation. he will seek any evidence that could lead to a criminal indictment. if he doesn't get there, i don't expect we'll hear much from bob mueller. that's why we need the congressional side of the house. we need congressional committees, and crucially, i think, we need an independent commission to take a look at everything that transpired during the election, during the transition, and then most importantly, laying that out publicly.

if we don't learn the lessons of what the russians did and what some on this side of the atlantic may have done themselves, i think we're doomed to have this repeat itself. history doesn't repeat but it does rhyme. we have seen the russians meddle in our elections, in the french elections a couple weeks ago. we've seen early indications in the upcoming vote in germany later this year. our presidential elections with 3 1/2 years away. we need to use this time to learn the lessons of what transpired so we don't find ourselves in this position once again. >> not surprising, very mixed reception on the idea of an independent commission. ned price, thank you for your time. >> thank you. people in the country need to know that we're busy at work trying to solve their problems. so i realize that there's a lot in the media these days. that doesn't seize up congress. that doesn't stop us from doing our jobs to work on people's problems. >> house speaker paul ryan is

trying to keep the republican agenda on track in congress even with crisis after crisis hitting just down the street. in an interview yesterday morning ryan admitted that president trump in his words, quote, clearly did have a bad two weeks. those comments came just hours before a triple whammy of news rocked the wte house a the president was wheels up for saudi abia we want to look how the gop is responding to the political chaos. with me texas republican congressman blake farenthold. thank you for joining me. >> happy to be with you. >> i want to ask you first, congressman, a wild ride of news over the course of the last week. did you see any shift on capitol hill in support for trump as a result of it? >> i don't think so. people are concerned about trump's agenda and you have a media that is just blasting him at every turn. we're moving on with the agenda. what's not happening is trump's

successes aren't getting out there. >> certainly he has pointed to the media as well as giving him an extraordinarily hard time, the hardest in history i think he said. you also have this issue of the russia investigation. regardless of where you fall on it, it is getting in the way, isn't it, of the work you're trying to do there on the hill? >> it is. i think that's the reason this independent council is going to be a great thing. what's going to happen is we in congress will be able to say, look, is being investigated, we will get to the bottom of it, let's move along with the people's business. we've got obamacare to fix. we've got tax reform to deal with. we've got a huge agenda to continue. but president trump is making great progress already. he's got gorsuch through, unemployment numbers are way down, we have the stock market that way up. we just had a he deal with saudi aria forearms exports. the president is delivering on

his promise to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the united states. this all gets lost when people are all tied up in what the latest alleged scandal based on anonymous sources and rumors and innuendo are. >> congressman, do you believe this is the biggest witch hunt in history? >> i certainly do. donald trump is hitting -- i think 98% was the harvard study of negative press. that's an incredible number. i've been telling people, if donald trump said i love puppies, the headline would be donald trump hates kittens. >> certainly the president has had some critical media attention. i want to ask you, the thought that this investigation now reaches potentially to a senior member in the white house, does that not disturb you on some level? are you not concerned about that? >> i am concerned, and i'm concerned we've got a problem throughout the government of

holdovers from the obama administration as well as career bureaucrats who have bought into this never-trump agenda and you've got leaks all over the place. it's really disappointing to see that some of these may be coming from within the white house. >> you have two separate issues, congressman. you're talking about the leaks and also talking about the investigation. you can have problems with the leaks for sure, certainly when it comes to national security issues, but can't you also at the same time have some serious questions about russia's alleged interference in this election and the question of whether there was collusion in the trump campaign with the russians? >> i think t investigation is going to bring this up. remember, countries interfering with other countries elections -- i'm not sure interfering is the word, but being involved, has gone on forever. president obama came out and picked his choice in the french

election. that could be considered interfering in a foreign election. it's a normal process that goes on as we tend to support governments that are favorable to us in countries around the world. we certainly would expect russia to do the same thing. >> congressman, but let me ask you, russia leaking hacked e-mails and potentially disturbing the process while at the same time allegedly spreading fake news, all of ha is okay and we should treat that as run-of-the-mill, any kind of a campaign? >> it certainly indicates that we need to be more concerned about cyber security. our campaign committees need to be more concerned about it. we need to make sure laws weren't being broken by folks here in the united states. we've got a huge issue with cyber security. we've got to be more defensive on that. that's one of the reasons that we were so concerned in the house of representatives with mrs. clinton putting e-mails on an unsecure e-mail server. that's an invitation for them to

be hacked. >> let me ask you this, at the end of this investigation when we have the results of it, if there is evidence that there was collusion, are you prepared to change your position and take steps in that direction? >> listen, i don't answer hypothetical questions. i'm going to see what the results are and do the right thing for this country and abide by the laws and enforce the laws when we determine what the facts are. but this continual specution and, as trump says, witch hunt, making everything look as bad as possible and not reporting any of the good isn't doing this country any good either. >> let me ask you quickly, congressman, if you go back to your district, what is the one issue that's going to frustrate your constituents the most if it doesn't get resolved in congress? >> i think health care is the big issue. i've got to tell you, back here in corpus christi, texas and the rest of the 27th district of texas, everyone is saying you stand behind donald trump,

congressman, because he is going to succeed in making america great again. >> all right. congressman blake farenthold of texas, thank you for your time. i appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up, can president trump reset u.s. relations with the arab world. >> this sunday "am joy" is on at a special time. join us from noon to 2:00 p.m. eastern after premier league soccer right here on msnbc. we have a great show planned for you. make sure you tune in, and don't forget to join the conversation online at #amjoy. ♪

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but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line. what's in your wallet? as donald trump prepares for his big speech sunday build as a message to the muslim world, many are eager to see if how relations between the u.s. and the middle east might change. some in the gulf states might be hesitant to embrace the president, especially after his travel ban barring people from predominantly muslim countries from entering the u.s., others

are willing to overlook what he said about the muslim faith in the past in hopes of doing business with the u.s. joining me, executive director of the arabia foundation, ali shahabi. saudi arabia is the first foreign visit for the president. they strike this big arms deal. is this in effect an announcement to the middle east not to ex-p ekt the se polici as the obama administration. >> very much so. i think the biggest difference is in the way iran is being approached. the obama administration in the eagerness to conclude the nuclear contract ignored iran's behavior in the rest of the middle east, the revolutionary guard causing mayhem across the middle east and most recently in yemen. the trump administration made a clear break with that. secretary tillerson in his press conference today was unequivocal really about the fact that iran has to get out of yemen and

pressure has to continue until that's achieved. i think that's a very big step. but also the symbolism. all talk in the campaign and rhetoric, of course, that everybody heard about. but i think the fact that president trump has made this effort to come to saudi arabia on his first visit and to give a speech tomorrow in a way to the muslim world and muslim leaders, shows that once he assumed power and was surrounded by the experienced advisers he has, secretary of defense, treasury, state, who understand the region very well, he came to realize that saudi arabia and his muslim allies are really the first line of defense for america against radical terror. and that is really a confirmation of an existing relationship, particularly a security relationship between saudi arabia and the u.s. that developed very strongly after 9/11. i've been told by senior u.s. officials that the saudi-u.s.

security relationship is among the closest in the world. i think that's a confirmation of it really, even a president who may have said things differently on the campai, once he assumes office comes to realize how important this relationship is, and it's very gratifying. >> do you think, ali, president trump got the assurances he was looking for that saudi arabia would do what it needs to do to stop islamic extremism? >> yes, i mean saudi arabia has been working very hard to stop islamic extremism, working to reform its religious establishment. that's something that takes time, reforming culture and attitudes among clerical establishment, you have religious right in america which is difficult sometimes, has very strongly held opinions. the saudi government has been working diligently at that for the last 10, 15 years but i think people have not fully appreciated that. i think shedding the light on it

now and particularly establishes a center specifically for that just really highlights the fact that saudi arabia has put that really on the top of its priority list. >> it does sound like tomorrow that the tone, president trump's tone at least when it comes to muslim countries could change in this speech that he's giving. how do you think that speech will be received? which president trump is the muslim world going to believe? >> well, i think the muslim world will understand there's a difference between campaign rhetoric and the responsibility of the presidency. once you become president and you are aware of everything -- he may not have been aware of the depth of cooperation between saudi arabia and america over the last 15 years, particularly after 9/11. and the other countries like the uae and the gulf that have worked very closely with america. i think it's a question of him having assumed responsibilities of office and come to realize that and recognize that, which i think is very brave for him to

have come outnd made this gesture. i think it's preciated. >> all right. we'll see. ali shihabi, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back.

i think the shock to the body is now considered a criminal investigation. and congress' ability to conduct veinvestigations of all things russia has been severely limited. probably in an appropriate fashion. >> that was senator lindsey graham on the russia investigation, which is now in hands of a special counsel. robert muller. joining me now, a former federal prosecutor and attorney in california. thank you so much for your time today on a saturday. >> you're welcome. how's it going? >> not bad. tell me about the powers of special counsel. how do things change you? >> well, this is not the same independent counsel statute you

may remember ken starr's white water investigation, so, muller will be still under the authority of the department of justice and ultimately, will answer to the deputy attorney general. however, the statute that roh vids for the appointment of special counsel is specifically to be used when there's a conflict with the doj, so the practice is this outside special counsel will be given a a tremendous amount of independence and latitude. he'll have his own budget and staff. he will be able to impanel a grand jury and take the investigation where it leads him. the important thing is the scope of his investigation, which covers the potential russian interference with the election and then any other matters that lead out of it. that's probably the most important point. because if we think back to the last time we h a high profile

investigation under the statute, that would have been patrick fitzgerald and the scooter libby and valerie plame investigation, which led to the conviction of libby, who was vice president cheney's chief of staff for perjury, for lying to the grand jury. the it's always the cover up often rather than the initial crime or offense that gets you and muller will certainly be subpoenaing many witnesses before appearing to a grand jury. >> let me ask you about this "new york times" report on friday, that donald trump referred the former fbi director james comey as a nut job during his meeting at the white house with the ruggen foreign minister. what's your reaction to that comment? >> as a prosecutor, the offense that i think has struck many people as the most likely one lurking behind these facts is op

instruction of justice and that is the attempt to wrongly or corruptly in the language of the statute, interfere with an investigation. certainly, the inference would be that if a superior of the chain of command such as the president, sought to terminate an investigation of criminal wrong doing by his associates or by himself and sought to pressure the investigator to terminate the investigation, and then did fire the veinvestigato and then as it sounds like, braggbrag ed about it to the alleged coperpetrators of the underlying defense, which was meddling in the election. that is certainly piecof evidence you would want to explore further. so,ah, it does not look good from the point of view of potential -- of the president or his associates. >> quickly, one word answer. do you think there is enough evidence we have seen already to prove that there has been some

kind of influencing of this investigation? >> not yet. but there may be. in the future. >> all right. thank you very much for your time. i appreciate it. >> have a good afternoon. >> that wraps it up for this hour. i'm stephanie gosk. much more on president trump's visit in saudi arabia. next hour, my colleague picks up our coverage after break. when you have type 2 diates, there's moment of truth.

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hello, everyone. president trump receiving a royal welcome in saudi arabia as he kicks off his nine-day foreign trip. after a busy day meeting with saudi leaders, all eyes will be on the president as he prepare to address muslim world on sunday. here at home, the trump administration marred in controversy as the russia investigation continues to be a focal point of the problems inside of the white