thank you for watching. if you can't watch live, set your dvr. check out my facebook page for behind the scenes videos and he with also have more pictures from my trip to liberia over the weekend. "hardball" starts right now. chris is standing by. trump on the run. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. a late-breaking story tonight in "the new york times" sheds new light on the russian campaign to influence the 2016 election through the trump campaign. according to the times, quote, american spies collected information last summer revealing that senior russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over donald trump through his advisers. the conversation focused on paul manafort, the trump campaign chairman at the time, and michael flynn, a retired general

who was advising mr. trump. tonight we look at how investigators continue to bore down on donald trump even as he poses with the pope and goes to impressive meetings in europe. look, we know this is a serious business. this russian deal of trump's, the fbi is on the case, the former cia director just said he doesn't like the looks of it. and we now have a special counsel gearing up and trump himself is starting to lawyer up. well, tonight i want to find out what we already know and how we can know what the country now needs to know about how trump and his campaign could have been in cahoots with the russians during last year's election. well, yesterday as i said, former cia director john brennan testified. he became aware of numerous trump associates who had made contact with russian actors that we now know includes michael flynn, paul manafort, carter page, roger stone, jeff sessions, and trump's own son-in-law, jared kushner. further, as trump -- appears to engage in a pattern of obstructive behavior, former national security adviser michael flynn is refusing to

cooperate with congressional investigators. the ranking member of the house intelligence committee, u.s. congressman adam schiff of california, told nbc this morning that his committee is now issuing subpoenas since flynn has declined to comply with their request voluntarily. >> we are in discussions about issuing the requisite subpoenas now. it will be necessary, i think, to subpoena not only his person but his businesses and, of course, explore what other remedies may be necessary if he refuses to comply. >> well, this comes after flynn refused to deliver subpoenaed documents to the senate intelligence committee by claiming his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. chairman richard burr challenged that claim yesterday, threatening to hold flynn in contempt of congress. >> we have sent a letter to general flynn's lawyer today questioning, one, whether you can take the fifth as it relates to document production. if, in fact, there's not a response, we'll seek additional

counsel advice on how to proceed forward. at the end of that option is a contempt charge. >> additionally, former trump campaign adviser carter page says he expected to testify before the house intelligence committee during the week of june 6th. that's coming on. we're going to discuss with senator feinstein in a minute, but first i'm joined by nick confessore. nick, this is fascinating. the russians now, according to your newspaper, were sitting around the political people, the intel people, the spies, trying to figure out how, well, our spies were trying to figure out what they were up to in terms of getting to trump through manafort, through flynn. what do we know? >> this important story shows how deep the relationships were between people in president trump's orbit at the time of the campaign last year, and it sheds some light on why the american intelligence agencies were actually getting so worried about the prospect of russian interference in the election. basically, russian politicians

and spies were bragging about their ability to get to president trump through their relationships with people like paul manafort, who had long done business in eastern europe and had some ties to russian industrialists. >> who set up these guys with trump? i understand the connection. general flynn was working for the russians. he got $34,000 from their propaganda arm, rt. he was over there sitting with putin. we've got that established. we know that manafort worked for -- what came first? the chicken or the egg? did those russians know they had those people working for them and how do they connect them with trump? how did they get them jobs with trump? >> i think we're not really sure yet if the russians had a role in of staing tffing the campaig. i think the facts in this story show that the russians realized that they already had these built-in relationships with people in trump's inner circle

and could use them possibly to try to steer the campaign. and recall back during the campaign, we saw president trump speaking favorably about russia, favorably about putin. we saw a change in the platform at the republican national convention favoring russia in the crimea. so obviously there was some movement in the campaign toward russia, and the question we haven't answered yet is if these russian spies or agents were able to connect with their allies or friends or contacts in mr. trump's orbit and get those things to happen or not. >> what about the meetings that we've watched and tracked all along involving jared kushner, involving flynn, involving, you know, every one of these people? there's so many people who work for trump who seem to be bumping into, holding meetings with russians. >> yeah, it's kind of amazing the overlap and the intricate kind of web of relationships and contacts. look, a lot of it was business. we know that president trump, after his bankruptcy, had some

problems getting financing from most american banks, and his kids have said that they got a lot of investment for their deals from russia. so obviously president trump in his business life had relationships with wealthy people in russia and, of course, as you know, people who are wealthy in russia often have relationships in turn with the russian government, with putin. so there is almost an excess. it's almost overdetermined how connected the trump orbit was to different players in russia. but to be fair, it's important to point out, chris, we haven't yet found that smoking gun or that evidence that shows manipulation or direct collusion as they say. >> okay. it seems like online dating or something. this weird connection between trump and the russians. somebody keeps bringing them together, these meetings after meetings, the money changing hands. thank you so much, nick confessore. late today i spoke with senator dianne feinstein of california, ranking democrat on the senate judiciary committee and a long time member and former chair of

the intelligence committee. senator feinstein, what tools do you have to get to the bottom of this case? >> well, that's a good question. it's really the subpoena, and i guess as chairman burr said, if that doesn't work, it's holding the individual in contempt. now, i agree with what our chairman said, and i think that's a proper action to take. also on the judiciary committee, as you know, the subcommittee has held hearings, and sally yates came before it. at that point, i think i really realized the impact of getting witnesses directly before the congress. and i think that's really important. so i think we ought to proceed with all deliberate speed. i listened to your network yesterday, last evening, and i heard jackie speier from the house of representatives say on

that committee, which is intelligence, we want to follow the money. people are interested and involved but we need those financial experts to give us the capability to do so correctly. and that raises a good point, and that is that all investigating committees need those staffers that have the abilities that the kind of investigation needs. and that would mean former prosecutors, perhaps former u.s. attorneys. you know, i take you back to the 9/11 committee, chris. they had a big staff, almost 100 people, and they had professionals. so we have people that are professional in the intelligence world on intelligence, but that's not, in my judgment, going to do it. i do think and i agree senator harris, i believe, believes the same thing, that we do need people who have investigative skills. >> are the republicans who rule

these committees because they have the senate this their control, are they cooperating and gearing up with the right staff people, the accountants, the other people that can do this kind of investigation? are they doing the job of staffing up? >> well, i don't think so, not to the extent that we should. i mean if i were in the house intelligence committee, i wouldn't be shy about saying, let's go and get our financial people that we need to help with this. so i support representative speier in what she said yesterday. on the senate intelligence committee, i look forward to individuals coming before our committee as a whole. i think you get a very different thing from somebody when they're asked questions by a member of the united states senate rather than staff of the senate. i'm sorry to say that, but i've seen it happen chapter and verse all the time. >> well, michael flynn seems to

know a lot, and he also seems very vulnerable to indictment for his own misdeeds, failing to fill out the forms properly, admitting that he got the money from the rt, the propaganda network of the soviet union, that $34 million saying it came from domestic sources. he seems to have a lot of exposure as they say in the law. obviously he wants immunity. obviously he's going to take every fifth right he can imagine. even over documentation. can he use the fifth amendment to protect company records? >> well, that's an interesting point, and i think -- i don't mean to parse it, and i'm not a lawyer. but i think it depends on what type of company record it is. i have no certainty in this area, but if it's a personal business, it would seem to me that he should. if it's a corporation, it's a different thing perhaps. but i don't know this for sure,

and i think that's one thing that legal counsel has to give strong advice about. >> well, the president seems worried enough to get a lawyer, which makes certainly good sense. mark cass oh wits has been his attorney for years. he knows this guy is someone he can trust to keep his matters secret. the average voter out there, and i don't think just progressives or people on the democratic left are interested. i think practically everybody would like to know if our elections were meddled in by the russians, which they believe the answer there is yes, they'd like to know more importantly, did any americans get involved in helping them, in helping them mess with our election, meddle with it, shift its results perhaps in the way they did. do you have confidence the united states congress and the fbi and the special counsel will, in a reasonable amount of time, tell us whether it happened or not? >> well, let me speak to that. i hope -- i'm trying to find bob mueller's phone number because i would like to talk to him. he was fbi director when i was

here. he was also a united states attorney when i was mayor of san francisco. i have great respect for him. i think he's one of the best things that's happened. >> yeah. >> and i think as special counsel, his role is extraordinarily important because it protects an honest total fbi investigation, and that investigation should proceed as quickly and firmly as it can so that a prosecution can be worked out where it is deserved. and i think as independent counsel, bob mueller is going to be very valuable. both senator grassley and i would like to be able to talk with him and see what he has in mind. we're really the oversight body on judiciary for the fbi, and the fbi is the investigative body here. so it's important that the congress stay away from the fbi investigation.

it's important to know what they're doing that we have to stay away from, but i think it's also important that we continue our investigations and that the people have an opportunity to hear witness testimony when appropriate. >> dianne feinstein, senator from california, thank you so much for coming on the program. i'm joined by u.s. congressman jim hine serks. you just heard the senator talk about the need for specialization. you need people that can check paperwork, can checkbook keeping, and find out whether there's any kind of hokey -- something that was not really right going on here. ha han ki pan ki if you will regarding the business dealings of the trump people with regard to russia. do you have adequate staff to perform that function? >> i think on the house side we do right now. but as we review dumocuments, a we interview people, you get a whole new trove of information, possibly the implication of other people.

we'll reserve the right to ask for more resources. >> do you think your committee is willing to put people in jail for not testify something are we really going to see contempt carried all the way to the point where somebody is either going to talk or they're going to jail until they talk? >> there's a couple of mechanisms that the congress can use to get the documents michael flynn has said he will not provide. the house and the senate -- certainly the senate since that's what we're talking about right now, they can ask their counsel to go and in civil court, demand the enforcement of those subpoenas. and of course an individual can be held in contempt of congress. we hone pe it doesn't come to t, but getting to the bottom of this investigation and understanding whether there was wrongdoing, whether there was any sort of collusion or link with russians, what people did about it afterwards, remember, sometimes it's the cover-up that tills you, not what underlies the cover-up. >> you say you hope it doesn't come to that. what's wrong with coming to that? let's get to it. why don't you issue the

subpoenas now, get this ring ro -- thing rolling. >> michael flynn has said he's not going to comply with the subpoena. >> make him. >> yeah, we've got that option. sadly, when people don't comply with subpoenas or when they plead the fifth, which as you know is their legal right, that adds time to the investigation. >> what do you think is the chance of getting to the bottom of this case, the house, the senate, the fbi, the special counsel? will we find out within a reasonable amount of time, say within six months, know what role the trump people played if they did in helping the russians screw our election system? will we get an answer? >> i can't guarantee you six months, but we absolutely will. look, this is of national importance. there's just not an american who isn't affected by the russians messing around in our election and we need to know what all the contacts were. this investigation is under way. i want to add today there is no conclusion there was collusion. there's justify questions that need to be answers. so, yes, we will get to the

bottom of this. remember, there's three investigations. >> do you smell anything? do you smell trouble here? do you smell something about trump's behavior? certainly the fbi director, certainly brennan yesterday, the former cia director thinks there's something there. and the fact that trump's out there lawyering up makes me think he's worried, not just about obstruction problems but about the heart of this matter. was he or were his people through perhaps michael flynn involved with encouraging the russians to do what they did to help them in the election? >> well, chris -- >> what do you smell? >> one of the things that i american people are owed by people like me who are doing the investigation is that they are owed a fair shot. in other words, i guy like me cannot be coming out right now and saying, here's what i think. here's what it looks like. that would be -- >> is there a reason to investigate is what i'm asking? you don't investigate everybody for getting -- playing footsie with the russians. you obviously believe there's a reason to investigate these guys for playing footsie with the russians. >> of course there's a reason.

look, you've got three investigations under way. you wouldn't have three investigations under way if there weren't very severe problems. look, i agree with what brennan said yesterday. i think he got it right, which is there's enough there to cause concern, in his case to go to the fbi with certain documents. in ourcati case to actually undertake an investigation. the other thing i don't get, you've got the white house, and if they wanted what we all want, which is to get to the truth and put this behind us, they wouldn't be obfuscating. they wouldn't be saying something like there is no evidence out hethere. i really wish they could get on board and because constructive parts of getting this investigation across the finish line. >> thank you, congressman jim himes. we're going to have more on the breaking news story tonight, that the russians were looking to use trump's aides to influence him months before the election. also coming up, republicans looking to kill obamacare have another bad headline tonight to deal with. the congressional budget office said their plan, trumpcare, means 23 million more people

would be without coverage, health coverage, by 2026. virtually the same number as the original republican plan. that's ahead. plus trump's euro trip continues with with an awkward meeting with his holiness pope francis today. and tonight's edition of trump watch, as the cloud over the trump white house continues to darken. finally we'll be joined by that great actor laura lynny, taeamig up for red nose day. this is "hardball," where the action is. th the customer service. we have switched back over and we feel like we're back home now. the process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like you're a part of the family. i love that i can pass the membership to my children, and that they can be protected. we're the williams family, and we're usaa members for life.

call usaa today to talk about your insurance needs. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ . take a look at this. earlier today, hud secretary ben carson, dr. ben carson, made this comment in a radio interview. >> i think poverty, to a large extent, is also a state of mind.

if someone has the right mind set, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and i guarantee you in a little while, they'll be right back up there. and you take somebody with the wrong mind set, you can give them everything in the world. they'll work their way back down to the bottom. >> i think there's a difference between poverty and being broke. anyway, poverty is a state of mind? we'll be right back after this. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. liberty mutual insurance.

due to your first accident. bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. for years, centurylink has been promising fast internet to small businesses. but for many businesses, it's out of reach. why promise something you can't deliver? comcast business is different. ♪ ♪ we deliver super-fast internet with speeds of 250 megabits per second across our entire network, to more companies, in more locations, than centurylink. we do business where you do business. ♪ ♪

we're very proud of this end product. we're protecting everyone with pre-existing conditions. no if, ands or buts about. >> we've made sure that nobody can be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. >> i would say the line of today was out of brave heart, freedom! >> based on the bill we have today, i don't see any losers. >> welcome back to "hardball." those were the upbeat, i think house republicans after their vote to pass the gop obamacare repeal bill earlier this month. but the republicans voted on their plan without knowing the non-partisan budget office

analysis of the beill. that report tells us how the legislation actually affects how many people go without health insurance. now today the republicans have the report card from the cbo, and it doesn't look like an "a." under the gop health care plan, 23 million more people would lose their health coverage over the next decade if the house gop plan becomes law. 23 million. it also says that the macarthur amendment, which allows states to waive out of protected people with pre-existing conditions and provide essential health benefits would destabilize the health care markets for those in non-group plans in one sixth of the country. senator tammy baldwin is a democrat from wisconsin and u.s. congressman tim ryan is a democrat from ohio. both represent states that voted for donald trump over hillary clinton. senator, what do you make of the fact of this vote, this new cbo report just how today that 23 million people will basically be dropped from health care coverage if the senate does what the house did and passes the republican bill? >> well, certainly it's

devastating, devastating to the heartland, devastating to the country, and frankly we didn't need the congressional budget office score in order to know that what the house passed would result in people having to pay more for less care while they still do this big tax giveaway to the very wealthy. and it's really reprehensible. what i hope in the senate is that we toss the house-passed bill aside and start anew, and i want to see us do that in a bipartisan fashion. it doesn't look like we've gotten off to a good start on that point, but i think we must if we're really going to strengthen our health care system for everyone and stop this partisan nonsense. >> let me go to congressman ryan. how does a republican go to any district in the country -- i don't care if it's utah, alaska, the most competitive states, and say to the people, what i'm going to do is cut people out of health care, but i'm going to get rid of the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax, and i'm going to make sure the really rich who can give their

kids more than 5 million bucks, i'm going to let them keep building the prosperity of their families and the long generational by generational way and also meanwhile in the short term cut people's health care. i don't know how you sell that at home. >> well, it doesn't work, and that's why donald trump didn't campaign on that. he campaigned on the complete opposite, expanding coverage, more affordable, more people would be covered because clearly the republican argument, as you stated it, doesn't work. but from what i heard from the clip and the introduction is that there's a very high level of delusion in the republican caucus, both house and senate, if they think that this bill is somehow what the american people want. you're telling somebody's grandmother that they're not going to be able to get their nursing home paid for. you're telling someone's dad that they're not going to be able to get screening and all the rest. this hits home in a way that medicare or medicaid or the cuts in general -- when the american people see what happens if this bill passes, it's dreadful, and they will be -- they will be surprised because donald trump

said the complete opposite during his entire campaign in wisconsin and ohio. >> congresswoman, one thi man, happens on the ground level. medicaid is for middle class people who don't have the money to pay for long-term care. long-term care is a chronic cost. you're shaking your head, senator, i want you to talk about this. medicaid is for people who have to go to a folks home because they can't take care of themselves or even their kids can't take care of them. >> exactly. >> that money comes from people basically making themselves impoverished to make they eligible for it. that's what goes on. >> it's absolutely vital, and i want to talk about those medicaid cuts because one thing that the cbo score doesn't contemplate is trump's budget that we received yesterday, where there are even deeper cuts to medicaid than are already contained in the house-passed bill, which was bad enough by capping and cutting medicaid. but it's exactly what poor families and middle class families rely on if a loved one needs to be in nursing care. it's also the lifeblood of rural

hospitals. i have a rural state, and there are hospitals that would be at risk of closure if medicaid weren't there. and, you know, if we're talking about adequate access not just to insurance but to care, we can't afford to see those rural sites close, never mention the unemployment that that would cause because rural hospitals are often the biggest employer in a county. and then children's health care cut in trump's budget on top of the medicaid impact, for children, who would cut health care to children? >> i know somebody. let me get back to congressman ryan. we're looking at pictures. you can't see them. i'm looking at them. beautiful pictures of the trump family. they're always very attractive. wearing the best new styles from milan or whatever. they all look great, over there with the right -- what do you call it -- approach to the pontiff. in the meantime, back home we're we're finding out they're

cutting the poor people and the old people. i don't know. does it square with the voters? >> 12 year easy s of catholic s for me and i never learned that in the new testament. a lot of christian conservatives that are supporting this and touting it, look, we have a responsibility as a society to take care of the least among us, and there are poor people who need to have access to health care. i don't care if you have a poverty mind set or a winner's mentality, you need health care. this has an economic impact because if you don't have health care and you get sick and can't get better and you're missing work, your butt may get fired. that's the economic reality for people at home. you talk about public schools and kids that don't have health care that go into our public school system. yeah, your kid may have health care but the kid sneezing on him at the desk next to him may not. we're all in this together. we all should have health care.

we're a wealthy country. we can make this system work. i hope senator baldwin and others can sit down in the senate and figure out some compromise that would fix two or three of the main issues in obamacare, and let's move forward as a country. but to cut people loose, 23 million, you're on your own while tax cuts go to the weal y wealthiest in the country, that doesn't sit well with people in ohio, people that voted for donald trump. >> thank you for bringing us up to date on what the catholic doctrine is about helping poor people. thank you so much. the new pope, francis, completely subscribes to that. senator, it's great having you on. up next, trump's euro trip. today he met pope francis, with whom he exchanged barbs of course during the campaign. it didn't make either of them look good. next, it's summit time with nato, the organization he once called obsolete. this is "hardball," where the action is. women are amazing.

our bodies grow babies... we run marathons... ...companies. ...solve problems. how? we eat. we eat almonds, strawberries, quinoa and yeah...we eat chocolate. we eat in sweatpants... in skirts. we eat alone... and together. women eat. we don't doubt it. we own it. special k.

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. iit's where we end up.t, expedia. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. 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?

i'm milissa rehberger. here's what's happening. police have arrest the six men and one woman in connection to the manchester concert bombing that killed 22 people. the attacker isified as salman abedi. british police arrested his older brother yesterday and today libyan officials nabbed his younger brother in tripoli for allegedly planning an isis attack there. his father was also detained. investigators are trying to figure out if abedi acted alone or if he was part of a larger

terror cell. they're also looking into his father's ties to a libyan militant group linked to al qaeda. back to "hardball." welcome back to "hardball." president trump ended a relatively successful trip to the middle east and has now pivoted toward the more daunting task of wooing those in europe he's been critical of in the past. he's overseas right now while the investigations swirl here at home into his campaign's connections with russia. tonight "the new york times" reporting that months before the election last november, u.s. spies learned top russians had discussed ways to use donald trump's advisers to influence him. let's bring in the "hardball" roundtable. sabrina siddiqui, simon marks, and molly ball, a writer with the atlantic. thank you all. this is another one of those late afternoon stories that just cracks across the headlines. apparently the russians were trying to influence the trump people. we now have that on the record. >> yes. this adds more specificity to

what john brennan testified to on capitol hill yesterday. the new york times is saying paul manafort, michael flynn, people who already had ties to russia and see how they do influence them and then in turn, influence trump. >> what came first, the chicken or the sneg why is trump surrounded by so many russian-connected people? why does he happen to know carter page? why does he know paul manafort so well, roger stone? why is flynn so involved with the russians? did they bring him, or did he bring them in? >> absolutely. i think this also indicates that the number of get-out clauses for donald trump and the people around him are also reducing. i mean yesterday brennan in his testimony was talking about wittingly or unwittingly people may have been talking to the russians. well, there's a simple choice there, right? so we're heading to a point where for the trump team, they are going to have to say it was all unwitting.

>> but we nknew russians were getting involved in the campaign. it wasn't unwitting. >> there's still the possibility. i think what the former cia director was saying in his testimony yesterday and what is not disputed by this report is that trump himself could have been a sort of unwitting patsy. >> of whom? >> of these much more sophisticated oop perative who' had an agenda, who were in contact with the russians and -- >> why doesn't he say so, then? >> i don't know. >> instead of lawyering up. >> i don't speak for donald trump. >> see, nixon directed the wide-ranging activities. [ overlapping voices ] >> nixon had a very difficult situation. he knew about the break-in of the psychiatrist's office. he couldn't step back and say, oh, i didn't know this. but it seems to me trump, if you're right, should be able to do that. >> he may be laying the ground work for that. twice now he's drawn a distinction publicly between himself and the meshmbers of hi team. there's a very clear path for

him ultimately to say plausible deniability. i can't speak for my team. i can only speak for myself. >> when somebody gives you $34,000 to give a speech or sit at a table with putin, you know what's going on. you're getting asked to do something for them. that's why they're paying. >> you know, michael flynn did take tens of thousands of dollars in payments from the russians, and that is something that certainly the trump team as we now know was aware of. you also have a situation where paul manafort had ties to -- >> yank low vich. >> people sometimes overlook the action. when manafort was campaign manager, that is when the gop removed from its platform providing legislatele assistance to ukrainen rebels. you can certainly see the influence of these -- >> try it this way, molly. they paid him. they paid flynn. they got what they wanted with regard to the platform in

ukraine. they got something for their money. the words out now according to "the new york times," they went out there to try to influence trump through his people. so buying somebody to get to trump and then of course the guy denies ever getting money from the russianrussians. if it starts with the russians, it goes to trump's people, and trump gets influenced, i don't know how you exonerate anybody in that daisy chain. >> i'm not a lawyer and i'm not a trump spokesperson. but i do think that there is -- if there is a smoking gun that shows that donald trump personally was directing this activity or was apprised of this activity, even if by your standard you would have picked up on it, you think he should have known, if that smoking gun exists, it either has not leaked in all these other things that have leaked, or it hasn't been found yet. and that's what you keep hearing trump saying when he says no collusion at least on my part. i don't know -- >> a lot of this is totally legal.

trump saying nice things about the russians, fluffing them to use a crude expression, all the time saying nice things about putin. at the same time he knows, certainly he's been informed they're trying to influence the election. at the same time they're helping him, he's helping them. i mean i don't think he had a nickel out of it, but why is he being so supportive of the notion we got to get together with these russians at the same time the russians are definitely trying to influence him? >> that's why you've got to keep an eye on jared kushner. if this thing starts touching jared kushner -- >> you mean that person in the white house who is close to trump that they don't mention who his name is. >> if this thing goes to the trump family, the waters are then going to start washing in a way that king ca newt couldn't turn them back. >> as we know, flynn is refusing to turn documents over to investigators. they've subpoenaed documents related to the russia inquiry, and trump protected flynn for 18 days after the white house learned that he may have been compromised by the russians, even at the expense of his own vice president, mike pence. >> let me just read you the

headli headlines. american spies collected information last summer revealing that senior russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over donald trump j. trump through his advisers. your thoughts? what does it tell us tonight? >> well, i think that again you have to look to the actual actions out of the trump administration and the platform with respect to ukraine changing while he was the nominee. you know, flynn discussed the removing u.s. sanctions on the day that obama extended more sanctions against russia. it's only as this inquiry gained more attention that the white house backed off of, you know, that promise to maybe alleviate some of those sanctions. so there's clearly an attempt to certainly shift the prospectiveture, the u.s. position toward russia, and again you can see the influence -- >> so they wanted specific things out of our new government. they knew there would be a new government. they were betting properly hillary would win squeakily, but they got it a little wrong and trump won. >> they were doing something no other government was doing. the day after the presidential

election, governments around the world who had failed to make contacts with the trump team, suddenly start falling over themselves to pick up the phone to get to washington to talk to someone who knows trump. these guys were already on the inside. very smart move. skillful or -- >> i've just been told last word. do you have a quick thought? >> well, i would just point out that there's so much we don't know here and that this is not -- as sabrina said, this adds a little detail but we already knew the russians were trying to screw with our election as you said. this is all about what the russians were doing. this is not about -- >> we know they're penetrating through trump aides to get to trump. i was impressed by this story in "the new york times." the roundtable is staying with us. trump and his closest confidants met the pope today, by sean spicer was left out of the loop. you're watching "hardball," where the action is. there's a jacket that's reflective for visibility... ...a sleeping bag jacket, jackets that turn into tents. i usually do my fashion sketches on the computer.

i love drawing on the screen. there's no lag time at all. it feels just like my markers. with fashion, you can dress people and help people. it's really cool to see your work come to life. wheyou wantve somto protect it.e, at legalzoom, our network of attorneys can help you every step of the way. with an estate plan including wills or a living trust that grows along with you and your family. legalzoom. legal help is here. i wanti did my ancestrydna and where i came from. and i couldn't wait to get my pie chart. the most shocking result was that i'm 26% native american. i had no idea. just to know this is what i'm made of, this is where my ancestors came from. and i absolutely want to know more about my native american heritage. it's opened up a whole new world for me. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com.

i've been blind since birth. i go through periods where it's hard to sleep at night, and stay awake during the day. learn about non-24 by calling 844-844-2424. or visit my24info.com. dearthere's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪

we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. president trump actually had a private and at times awkward meeting today with the pope. the president was joined by his

family and closest allies. the one person who wasn't there, sean spicer, who is the devout catholic, did not make the cut. what do you make of this? what's trump's story? this guy has hung fire for him for months now and he doesn't allow him the courtesy of being able to meet the head of his religion on earth. >> this shows you how small-minded and how petty this administration can be, when you look at other loyalists were present for this meeting. certainly lower ranking -- >> are they prettier? is that what it's about? what is this about? >> someone who criticized the vatican when -- >> it's totally primal. this is like taking mitt romney to dinner no new york in new yo pretending he's thinking about him for secretary of state. >> you think he's doing this to hurt spicer? >> absolutely. he's the press secretary. he should be in that room. he's supposed to be tell is us what happened in that looroom?

>> molly ball? >> if it's true this is intentional, it's not just petty, but a cruel thing to do. >> you can come on the trip, seany, but you can't go inside with me. thank you. when we come back, trump watch for this wednesday night. and later, actor laura linney and director richard curtis of "love actually" fame team up for a good cause. this is "hardball," where the action is. ♪ you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, try doctor recommended gaviscon. it quickly neutralizes stomach acid and helps keep acid down for hours.

relieve heartburn with fast- acting, long-lasting gaviscon. and helps ♪eep acid down for hours. ♪ i'm dr. kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. ♪ energy lives here. while subpoenas are issued

in the russian investigation, keep you up with all the developments online. follow "hardball" on facebook, instagram, and snapchat. you'll get access to interviews as we cover the russia investigation like only we can. and we'll be right back. liberty mutual stood with me when this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night, so he got home safe. yeah, my dad says our insurance doesn't have that. what?! you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. every to be heard...

♪ to move... with you... through you... ♪ beyond you. ♪ hey, need fast try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours. try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heartburn faster. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..."

through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ trump watch, wednesday, may 24th, 2017. trump and company are doing what they can to defend themselves from the investigations under way in the congress, the fbi, and now the special counsel's office. all three are determined to discover whether the trump people were in cahoots with moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. and all the people in the trump team are thwarting this effort to find the truth, to get to the bottom of this russian effort to swing our election. they take the fifth amendment against self-incrimination not just regarding their testimony but also documents in their possession. they're talk of executive privilege being invoked to keep the former fbi director from testifying. there's continuous talk from the white house of efforts to gag staff members.

everything is being done to shut down the flow of information either in testimony or in documentary evidence or in leaks to the press that might get the truth out. it's against this that the good guys are doing their work of bringing out the truth about what trump and his people might have done to encourage last year's russian meddling. if anyone isn't taking sides in this investigation, i suggest you recall the words of the 20th century's great political figure. it was winston churchill who said i refuse to be impartial between the fire brigade and the fire. when we return, one of my favorite movies is getting a reboot for red thonose day. laur laur laurie -- lauer linney and richard curtis will be here. you're watching "hardball." the new guy? what new guy? i hired some help. he really knows his wine. this is the new guy? hello, my name is watson.

you know wine, huh? i know that you should check vineyard block 12. block 12? my analysis of satellite imagery shows it would benefit from decreased irrigation. i was wondering about that. easy boy. nice doggy. what do you think? not bad. what do you think? at bp's cooper river plant, employees take safety personally - down to each piece of equipment, so they can protect their teammates and the surrounding wetlands, too. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. will you be ready when the moment turns romantic? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis

and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. and get medical help right away. usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. the process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like you're a part of the family. i love that i can pass the membership to my children. we're the williams family, and we're usaa members for life. at lincoln, we're all about making things simpler for you. like, imagine having your vehicle serviced... from the comfort of your own home. introducing complimentary lincoln pickup and delivery servicing. because the most important luxury of all... is time. pickup and delivery servicing on the entire family of lincoln luxury vehicles including a complimentary lincoln loaner.

whenever i get gloomy with the state of the world, i think

about the arrivals gate at heathrow airport. general opinion started to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but i don't see that. it seems to me that love is everywhere. >> welcome brach ack to "hardba" that was love actually. now the cast has given us the gift of a sequel, a short film titled red nose today that will premiere tomorrow, a night that raises mioney for children in need. here's a preview. >> i've had a lot on my mind. >> well, it's more of a love thing actually. >> oh, here we go again. >> what's the best sex you ever had? >> it's definitely one of the kardashians. >> but which one, mike? which one? ♪ >> who is it?

>> a very attractive today. >> thank you. right back in fashion. >> whoa! >> how many times have i told you not to dance down the stairs? >> once or twice. >> i sat down with two of the creative minds behind the project. take a look. i'm joined by the actor laura linney, who plays sarah in the movie, love actually. she's nominated for a tony for her broadway role as regina in the little foxes and can be seen in the dinner. also the great richard curtis who has produced the bbc's red nose day and makes one great movie after another. i loved notting hill. i loved, love actually. thank you. >> chris, that's literally the best introduction i've ever had, and i'm 60. so thank you. >> tell us about this because everybody watching the show knows we're bonkers here about

"love actually." i've been made fun of by oliver, whatever his name is, for doing this over and over again. here we are coming back with a short version of what you did back in 2003. why are you doing it? why are you bringing it back? >> i'm doing it because i could. i actually watched the movie last christmas, and i thought, it would be interesting to think what happens to those people, but particularly because i'm passionate about red nose day, and we thought it would make a great piece of entertainment on may the 25th and perhaps people would watch it, and then they can watch little appeals that we have, and we can make some money and save and change some lives because "love actually" was always about the fact that i think people are fundamentally good. and there are still a lot of good people who want to, you know, help out others whenever the opportunity arises. >> even now in the age of trump, when we need love actually more than ever. laura linney, the frustration of your character in "love actually" the first time, when you find the man of your dreams, the latin lover who works right across the office from you every day. you pine for him, and you

finally get your chance. and love conquers all, but it's your brother that attracts your loyalty to him, not to this new guy. >> yeah, that type of love is strong as well. but what i tell everybody is i had the best kiss in the movie, so they shouldn't feel too bad for me. >> i think it's a great message in looking out for somebody who has challenges. >> absolutely. oh, absolutely. i think she really believed that if she had not answered that phone, that something terrible, terrible, terrible would have happened to him, you know, that she was really his lifeline. for people who are in relationships who have family members who are struggling with mental illness, it's -- you know, it is -- turns into the primary relationship of their lives. so i don't think it's an unusual storyline, and i know from, you know, the past however many years it's been now, how many people have come up to me over the years andai how strongly they related to it. >> by the way, you just wante to pay tribute to you because i watched you forever, way back since you played that sexy secretary to the bad president,

who got his comeuppance, kevin kli kline, and i loved you in the savages. >> thank you. >> what performances. i want to go back to richard. just make your one pitch. should i put a red nose on that day? >> yeah. i mean everybody, buy a red nose at walgreens. organize an event. watch the show and donate money. i've just been to maine to look at some of the projects there, feeding america, taking care of kids who are actually hungry, and boys and girls club, kids with dreadful stories at last being given a place they can go to be safe. if you can do anything on red nose day, $5 will change someone's life. and i hope you enjoy the show. it might turn out okay for laura at last. >> okay. i love any chance to see bill nye, and i must say laura is always great. richard, your theory was anybody with an english accent can get somewhere in america. you're proving it again. thank you for coming on air.

the great laura linney and richard curtis. thank you. >> tune in tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. for the red nose celebration on nbc. you can donate at rednoseday.org. that's hart ha"hardball." "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. >> tonight on "all in." >> everybody has got to be covered. this is an unrepublican thing for me to say. >> the trumpcare scare. >> what we have is something very, very incredibly well crafted. >> tens of millions to lose coverage. higher premiums next year. and massive tax cuts for the rich at the expense of health care for the poor. >> seniors could see their premiums go up by as much as 800%. >> tonight, full analysis of what trumpcare would mean for america and why it could cause a political earthquake. then "the new york times" reports american spies recorded top russian officials discussing how to influence trump