have special coverage of james comey's testimony. i will be inside the hearing and live on capitol hill, and follow me on twitter @dwrgreat ta. check out my facebook. "hardball" with chris matthews starts right now. battle stations. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. 39 hours from now, james comey will testify on what donald trump said to him about the fbi/russian investigation. tonight we discuss the fear this has driven into trump world. like the triple-a fire from a defending city, the president expected to use all of his fire power to shoot down anything comey says. according to "the washington post's" robert costa, president trump does not plan to put down twitter, for example, on thursday. he may live tweet has he feels the need to respond. and you bet he will.

white house spokesman sean spicer refused to say whether the president will watch comey's testimony. i behe does and let's watch right now. >> is he going to watch former director comey's testimony up on capitol hill? >> the president has got a full day on thursday. there's an infrastructure meeting with mayors and governors to talk about what we just -- some of the projects that need to get out, that public/private partnership i just discussed. he's giving a speech midday to the faith and freedom coalition downtown. there's going to be a very busy day as all of his days are. >> is he going to watch? >> as i said, the president is going to have a very, very busy day as he does all the time, and i think his focus is going to be on pursuing the agenda. >> note that sean spicer there, if he watches your press briefings, he's going to watch james comey. one thing we probably won't see, any kind of organized response from the white house despite reports the white house was putting together a war room to respond to the russian investigation. nbc news reports that plan has fizzled for lack of talent. according to nbc's hallie

jackson, early talk of a war room has petered out significantly, and one source describes it flatly. there's no war room, zero. any response on thursday will likely come from the president's outside counsel, marc kasowitz. meanwhile, the president had a simple message for comey today. let's watch it. >> what message do you have to give comey ahead of his testimony? >> i wish him luck. >> i wish him luck. it was a pro-trump organization by the way doing the dirty work, they already have an ad on tv now hitting comey ahead of his testimony? it will air on cable news networks this week. let's watch the ad running against comey before he even speaks. >> as head of the fbi, james comey put politics over protecting america. after the fbi banned terms like radical islam for political correctness, comey allowed the dangerous practice to continue. when terror attacks were on the rise last year, comey was

consumed with election meddling. and after he testified before the u.s. senate, comey's own staff admitted some of his answers were flat-out wrong. james comey, just another dc insider only in it for himself. >> what a pathetic ad. it doesn't make sense. i'm joined hallie jackson and susan pates. whatever spicer says for misdirection, the president has got to be worried about a man with a firsthand knowledge of what he said to him in private. >> everybody in the white house is talking about this testimony and thinking about it and knows it's happening on thursday, chris. i mean there's no doubt about that, right? this is a huge political event. that said, you're seeing what you could call the comey counterprogramming move by the white house. the president, they're going to keep him in the words of sean spicer at the press briefing today, very busy. he's got a speech at the faith and freedom conference. he's going to be talking about infrastructure as well, essentially trying to keep up what they're going to call the focus on the agenda. the question is, of course, you

still are going to have james comey testifying on capitol hill. so what is the white house going to do behind the scenes? order to provide some kind of crisis management to conin any potential fallout from testimony that may or may not be damaging to the president? the answer to that is not this war room as you just described. instead it's sort of shunting everything off to this outside counsel, right? marc kasowitz, the president's long time lawyer. he's known as this kind of bulldog. he's down to fight, to mix it up with the immediamedia. th they're going to be, i believe, in washington for the comey hearing, posted up at the law firm there, working on some of the communication, the response strategies there. i am told that the president has obviously consult the with his outside counsel on this. that is not a surprise, chris. >> why would anybody get down that rabbit hole? it seems to me the president has to account for what he said to comey, not some lawyer. he's the head of our government. he's not some client somewhere. i don't see how this is going to work. you think that might be their

plan to -- i remember clinton had fabiani answer all the monica questions that. didn't work. >> far i don't know that we won not hear from the president on thursday. our friend at "the washington post" bob costa told me this morning on msnbc that he's hearing the president may end up tweeting. if he so feels compelled to do so. that totally might happen. as with all caveats that we talk about in this administration, you never know until you know with this president. he may feel compelled to say something. he may decide to instead ignore it and focus on what he wants to do, which is infrastructure, tax reform, health care. i do think there is a sense the white house wants to build a wall between the russia stuff, the comey stuff, and everything else that they're doing, and this outside counsel, they believe, helps with us. >> hallie, i would think on the most boring day of our lives when nothing absolutely happens all day long and it's drizzling outside and nothing is going on, and somebody said the president is about to speak on

infrastructure, no one would listen even then. the idea this would be a distraction is unbelievable. by the way, do you think they're afraid of comeyism of the word getting out that you can now speak out against the president? you're hearing repts from jonathan carl there's an outright war now between the president and his attorney general. he wants to get rid of him. it seems like people are really getting ready to say enough of this guy. >> let me just on the attorney general reporting, chris, tell you what nbc news is reporting based on our sources here at the white house. that is that according to officials inside the white house as well as outside, there is a very deep level of frustration between the president and the attorney general based on not just the recusal, but i'm also told, for example, the selection of rod rosenstein. there are other issues that have come up as well. one person described it to me as kind of monday morning quarterbacking from president trump. the discussions of who's up, who's down, who's in, who's out, we have heard this from january 20th. this is something we have seen

from the president in the past. he might get down on somebody and then move on and focus on something else. >> i'm amazed he has trouble with sessions who's been so loyal. anyway, susan, it seems to me you guys cover the front page of the world. usa today is the american popular culture. how big a story is this testimony thursday? >> this is a big story. this is something we've got an army of people deployed from the hearing room to the bar that's offering comey cocktails. and it's going to be compelling. you know, it's going to be compelling because it's not going to be -- it's going to be the content of what comey says that is important. and that's one reason why it's going to be so hard for the white house to respond. you can't just come back with a zinger against comey if he is laying out a coherent case saying the president tried to pressure me to ease up on investigating one of his former aides beuse he was nervous about the russia investigation. that is an extraordinary charge which we have not yet heard from comey's own words.

we've only heard it from sources about what happened in the meeting. we're going to hear from comey on thursday. >> i guess this comes down to the senators being able to just ask a really good tick tock question as we say. describe the conditions in which the president of the united states came to you and talked to you about general flynn. take all the time you need. that's what i'd like to hear. >> and that's the approach that's worked with comey in the past. you'll remember those hearings when he was testifying what happened with attorney general ashcroft in the hospital room. >> yes. >> and that's what they did. they said, tell us what happened. and he built a compelling -- he told the story. he told the story in an effective way, and that is exactly what i expect to hear him do on thursday. >> and the other one is -- and this does seem like a dictator talking. i'm not going to make the usual reference to the world war ii villain. but this idea of a personal loyalty demand where you ask the fbi director to give you a personal -- no one asked j. edgar hoover even to do that. >> no. >> that's a moment. >> you know, you could ask your press secretary to be loyal to

you. that's not a question you would ask of the fbi director. >> let me go to hallie. this is big stakes. you're one of the stars of today's media. they're no doubt about that. i have to tell you that i'm thinking back to the army mccarthy hearings. i'm thinking about john dean testifying that really broke open the watergate story because he had a photographic memory. i think comey may have that ability. he's a very -- i think he has a jimmy stewart quality, the good guy quality. he's going to stand there -- he's going to sit there and look up to the hearing senators, the big shot senators, and i think people are going to give him all the time he needs. this is scary for trump. >> i think a lot of it is, chris, when you sort of look at what our reporting is here, that it depends on the prism through which you look at politics. i think there will see people that will see james comey perhaps as you described it. i think others will see james comey as has been described by not just the president and his aides as a kind of showboat, somebody who is looking for that

spotlight, looking to share his story specifically publicly for one reason or another, perhaps for personal gain in the view of some of his critics. other supporters would laud him for doing what hes expected to do on thursday. i think you see so often here in washington, it kind of depends on the side of the aisle you're sitting on. >> yeah, but i think just in terms of the media from my end -- >> historically -- >> when i pick up the newspaper friday morning, the major newspapers of this country, top of the fold, i will see a big picture, and it will not be donald trump for the first time in a long time. it will be james comey testifying. it is going to be a powerful moment that trump won't like. he's going to be pushed out of the spotlight for this guy. unless he pulls one of these weird jokers things out of the batman comics and shows up on tv shows that night, which i think he might do and try to bump him from the news. i think trump may try that, say 7:00, come on, hardball, mr. president. we'd like to have you on. because i think he's going to try to find some way to displace this powerful witness and

powerful testimony that we're all going to get less than 38 hours from now. hallie jackson, thank you so much for coming on. susan page, thank you as always. one key exchange comey will be asked about, the report that president trump asked comey to drop the flynn probe. according to an internal memo, the president said to comey, i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. nbc news reports that his testimony thursday, comey is not expected to accuse the president of obstruction of justice. i'm joined by senator sheldon. we don't need a verdict. we need a witness. i think you guys and women on the senate will be able to tell whether it's obstruction of justice or not. what do you make of that kernel question there of, did you try to end the prosecution, the investigation of your national security director? how imrtant is that question? >> i think on its face, it's a prima facie case of obstruction

of justice. so the question then is what are the circumstances around it that give it a little bit of context that might be exculpatory or that might be inculpatory. and that's something that comey alone can fill in because he was in the room with the president. so his reporting about the details around that and his perhaps personal sense of whether he felt the president's intent was to interfere with that investigation will be, i think, pretty compelling stuff. >> let's take this spectrum. he can do it on human grounds. he could say this guy's got a family. he's never made any money in life. he's been a good soldier for the country and give the guy a break. he's not a bad guy. like two guys getting together, two people getting together and saying, you know, i want to give the human side of this guy. he's a good guy. wouldn't that still be obstruction, though, because the chief executive is telling the head of the fbi to drop a case no matter whatever reason? how could it be exculpatory? >> i mean what you like to do

when you're putting together an obstruction of justice case is to have a motive to interfere with the proceedings for your own benefit, either because you've been paid to pay off a juror or because you're involved in the case or whatever. if you're really just saying, can't you be nice to him? he was a veteran. he was a good guy, that's not as good of a case. you'd really want to know what the motivations were if you looked at this as a prosecutor. so i think that's what's the compelling part of this testimony. is it going to be joseph welch, john dean, jim comey as the big three congressional witnesses? i don't know. but it could be >> well, joseph welch memorized every one of those lines ahead of time. it was very effective. have you no decency? he had it ready too. let me ask you about the attorney general. do you think there's a real problem between the president and his attorney general right now? >> i think there's a real problem between the president and regular order, proper procedure at the department of

justice. he doesn't understand how that department is supposed to work, so he doesn't understand why jeff sessions had to recuse himself. and he obviously doesn't understand that the legal decisions that the department has made have not been for his benefit but have been for the courts that they're in front of. so i think most of the time his frustration has to do with the fact that the department won't do just exactly what he wants it to do. it's trying to do what's right, whether it's recusing the attorney general or addressing some of these other issues. he's always angry at something in the department of justice when they're trying to do the right thing, and it's not what he wants. >> does he understand the basic western -- well, the western culture world, i should say, notion of limited government? does trump understand that? >> i don't think so. i think he's been a ceo of an empire that had been his father's beforehand, in which everybody did whatever he wanted, whether it was rash or

inexpedient, and he loves to be the center of aattention. so the notion that you should be constrained in some fashion is really alien to his very impetuous and rash character. and where he gets himself, i think, in big trouble is when he bumps up against those guard rails and then refuses to honor them. and so it will be really interesting to see what kind of stuff he tweets during or after comey's testimony if he does. if i were his lawyer, i would be on totally high alert right now, worrying that he was going to incriminate himself in some really dumb way, firing off tweets. >> in the last minute, you've given me about the best definition of trumpism i've heard so far. congratulations. you've figured out this guy. now handle him if you can. >> thanks a bunch. coming up, president trump's twitter habit. he's been on a tear lately and he might even live tweet comey's testimony on thursday. i think he's going to be like jack nicholson in batman.

critics say his behavior is becoming self-destructive. noub republicans are getting uneasy about trump's lashing out. plus the russia investigation itself. how could we have missed the signs of russia meddling in our election as they came to us, and why has it become a partisan issue? i'm going to ask richard clark, who forewarned of an al qaeda attack in this country before 9/11. and all the president's men. what can we expect to hear from fired fbi director james comey this thursday about the web of trump advisers caught up in this russia probe? lots of character. questi finally let me finish tonight of trump watch. a leader we need now and we don't have. not now. this is "hardball," where the action is. 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. trust #1 doctor recommended dulcolax. use dulcolax tablets for gentle dependable relief. suppositories for relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. within the last hour, former president barack obama gave the key note address at the montreal board of trade. he made this glancing reference

to his successor. >> in an age of instant information where tv and twitter can feed us a steady stream of bad news and sometimes fake news, it can seem like the international order that we've created is being constantly tested and that the center may not hold. and in some cases, that leads people to search for certainty and control, and they can call for isolationism or nationalism, where they can suggest rolling back the rights of others. >> wow, it seems a while ago, doesn't it? obama went on to say the paris climate agreement will still be effective even without what he called the temporary absence of american leadership. that's good news. i've been thinking about that. 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,

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welcome back to "hardball." social med has always been an

integral part of donald trump's public persona. let's list into how he credits it for his success. >> let me tell you about twitter. i think that maybe i wouldn't be here if it wasn't for twitter because i get such a fake press, such a dishonest press. twitter is a wonderful thing for me because i get the word out. >> this week the president's under criticism for his impulsive attacks on the mayor of london this weekend as well as his own department of justice. lately it seems like his twitter use is doing more to undermine his agenda than to advance it. this morning, for example, the president tweeted, the fake mainstream media is working so hard trying to get me not to use social media. they hate that i can get the honest and unfiltered message out. but republicans in congress are growing increasingly frustrated with the president's twitter use. here they go. >> probably it's best to refrain from communicating with 140 characters on topics that are so important. >> unfortunately the president has, i think, created problems for himself by his twitter habit. >> i'm not a fan of the

president's tweets, and that still remains my view. >> well, "the washington post" is reporting the republicans on capitol hill are worried that his tweets could further hobble an already beleaguered republican agenda. do they have an agenda? and this morning "the wall street journal" wrote an editorial which took trump to task for his self-destructive tweeting behavior writing, quote, about this pattern continues, mr. trump may find himself running an administration with no one but his family. isn't that already the case? and the breitbart staff, people of talent and integrity won't work for a boss who undermines them in public without thinking about the consequences. and whatever happened to the buck stops here? for more i'm joined by former vermont vernor howard dean and matt schlapp. matt, i wt to start with you because i don't know how you defend trump because it's like you could bring in a fantastic jim baker chief of staff. cow bring in everything, but they're not going to be there at 6:30 in the morning. melania is not there to stop him. nobody can stop this guy from

doing what donald trump loves to do, 6:30 in the morning. >> 3:30 in the morning. >> does your wife ever chastise you for things you say on television? i'm glad that melania trump is days away from moving into the white house. i think it's going to have a good -- >> it's always good to have a check. >> it's all id with this guy. whatever he feels like doing, he does. is that leadership? is leadership thinking, the minute of think of something, let's do it. >> obviously not. i think the other thing that's true is he does feel a certain amount of frustration that he can't punch out and get on offense. i think this is the -- >> they're sitting a few doors from here in the white house, west wing. they're called the press. he can walk into the associated press or reuters, straight down the middle reporting and say, here, i think this is important. report it. put it out. he doesn't want to do it. >> he doesn't know the issues and that's the problem because the press does, for the most part, does know the issues, and

they're going to ask him questions he doesn't know the answer too. that's why he likes twitter. he doesn't get any back tack. >> what is he going to do in the morning? let's talk about the only thing that matters this week, this testimony, this testimony out of the movies. i'm telling you, it's like a movie character coming out. billy tchell, a jiy stewart type coming out and saying, i don't like the way he talked, but i'll -- north kne how to do it with his uniform on, looking up at the members of congress. it was great theatrics. >> comey knows the theatrics well. >> comey is tall. he's lean. he's give a very patriotic speech and trump has to take it. what's he going to do? tweet over him? >> i don't know what he's going to do, but i can guarantee this. jim comey -- >> jim comey? you're close to him like that? >> the former fbi director will come in and he will use words that get the most attention or the most sensationalized. he wants this moment. he loves these -- i'm not a fan

of him at all. >> tell me the bad smart. smack him around. what's wrong with comey? >> i think comey is the ultimate political maneuverer. he think he does whatever he needs to do for himself. i think he actually did act in a political way during the campaign. i think democrats agree with me off camera, and now they're all for him because it's going to hurt president trump. but the fact is that he did a lot to damage the fbi with his actions. >> would you say he's independent, though, would you? >> i would say he's democrat when he needs to be democrat. he's republican when he needs to be republican. >> that's called independent. go ahead. >> that's called being two-faced. >> this guy has got the kool-aid up to his gills here. >> james comey -- excuse me, mr. james comey. your lordship. >> look, i think comey is a grandstander, but i also think that -- >> i like it. >> but i also think that comey has distinguished himself by being a straight shooter. the stuff he did to stop

ashcroft from un -- i think he made a mistake 11 days before the thing, but i think he thought he was doing the right thing. i think i didn't do the right thing, and i think he shouldn't have done it. here's the issue. the issue is whether comey is going to be a credible witness or not, and he is. he's a republican former deputy attorney general who was appointed to run the fbi by a democratic president because the democratic president thought he had credibility and integrity. it's going to be hard to beat this. >> jim comey was not someone who was a republican and that's why he was picked to serve in the bush administration. his political background -- and it's hard to find any republican -- >> okay. let's talk about the tweeting and the president, which is going to outlast the comey conversation. the president of the united states, this president, our president, was able to win, i think, because first of all in all politicias, it's like rolle derby. he did it through that instantaneous control of the moment. jeb bush is not a fast guy. he's maybe smart but not fast.

when he called him low energy jeb, and jeb had this sort of canine way of talking. he took him an hour to react. >> some call it thoughtful. >> now you're going to play that card. he was very good at knocking his opponents like in a school yard fight, like a peeing match. instead of saying something of sympathy for london, he took them down. why did he want to take them down? >> he actually did both. >> he took down the mayor. >> he did. >> why did he do that? >> because he felt like the mayor said that he was reiterating this idea, which we heard from the head -- you know, many world leaders that the number one danger facing the earth is cmate change, and a lot of folks -- >> those are two different issues. no, that is nonsense. >> let me just finish. the london mayor said -- >> matt, i can believe in

climate change and also believe that we have to stop terrorism. they're not in competition. >> fair enough. >> it doesn't matter whether you -- [ overlapping voices ] >> it's not a question, number one, number two, number three. would you fight with this guy instead of i have to do it. >> give me a word. i can't get a word in edgewise. >> i think climate change is an issue, and it's real. it's the planet, the only one we've got. >> you don't, at a time when seven people have been killed in horrible attacks and 48 people sent to the hospital, you do not use that to set off whatever feud you may have with the mayor. you are gracious. you are statesman like, and you give your condolences, and trump is incapable of that. he is incapable of graciousness, and that is why these tweets are a disaster. >> is he capable of graciousness? >> yes, i think so. >> give me an example. >> i think the tweet he sent to theresa may and the uk after the attack was right on target. i think the reason why he got at

odds with the mayor is -- >> you can't be big enough as a president of the united states to overlook something that the mayor of a city that's just been attacked and having a horrible terrorist incident? come on. >> he's big enough to fight the terrorists, which is exactly what we need. >> he's not big enough to be president of the united states. >> well, he is, and he won. >> he did win legally. that is a fact. >> now we're back to high school. we have a defender here, matt schlapp. he's suited up and defend trump. i ink it's very hard to defend this president sometimes, but you can do it. you're in the barrel. howard dean, thank you, sir. thank you, matt schlapp. barrel man. up next, how did we miss the signs pointing to russia's interference in the election, and how are we going to do it again in the midterms? by the way, we did have signs about 9/11 coming and this guy had the sign. important guy to listen to. i'm going to ask richard clark. this is "hardball" where the action is. richard clark coming up in a minute.

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welce back to "hardball." it was one year ago this month that news of russia's hacking first emerged in national news reports. yet to this day, the kremlin's culpability, which has been confirmed by the u.s. intelligence community, remains a partisan issue, often down played by the president's own defenders. from the very beginning, then candidate trump planted doubts that russia was truly responsible, helping to give the kremlin cover as they carried out an unprecedented influence campaign here in this country. >> i mean it could be russia, but it could also be china.

it could also be lots of other people. it also could be sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay? >> you ever notice anything that goes wrong, they blame russia? russia did it. they have no idea. we're being hacked because we have people that don't know what they're doing. >> they don't even know it's russia. who knows? it might be russia. it could be china. it could be, if you remember sony, it could be north korea. it could be a lot of places. >> she doesn't know if it's the russians doing the hacking. maybe there is no hacking. >> it's against this backdrop and the former counterterrorism adviser richard clarke of who forewarned of an imminent al qaeda talk before 9/11 is without with a new book called warnings. it's about those who can say disasters looming on the horizon, but whose warnings fall on deaf ears because our leaders are unable or unwilling to listen. i'm joined now by richard clarke. you know, ronald reagan once said in one of those saturday radio addresses -- he said,

don't be afraid to see what you see. >> and don't be afraid to say it. >> yeah. >> yeah. >> if you see it, say it, they say at the train statio >> well, facts are fas, and when you get a lot of experts agreeing on the facts, sometimes they're wrong. but when you get 17 intelligence agencies agreeing on something -- i used to be on the intelligence board. i always voted no, so it wouldn't always be 17-0. when you get all of them agreeing on something, that's rare. that's unusual. trump would have been so much better off saying, yeah, that's what happened. i had nothing to do with it. let's find out how it happened. >> then he would be believable on other stuff. >> right. >> let me ask you about trump and this -- i know it sounds a little too casual, but russia, russia, russia, russia, russia. i mean this guy, we've had people spend their whole lives never think about wanting to go to russia, don't know any russians. i've had administration i've covered for all these years. i've never seen all this contact with russians.

>> for 20 years. >> is that a sign of a guy that knows where the easy money is -- trump? >> it's a guy who is desperate for money because no one in new york would lend him money. the only place he could get money to do his business was russia. and the problem is when he shifted from that environment to the environment of running for president and now being president, he's kept the same motley crew. >> comfortable with these people, manafort and those guys. >> with really sleazy people. he got used to that in new york, working with the russians and the other people he worked with, and he's just sort of taken that group with him. he hasn't really made the break, the separation. that was then. now i'm running for president. >> well, it doesn't fit with nationalism. i don't like america first because it had all the other aspects to it back in the '30s. but there is something to be said to look out for ourselves, make sure we're focused on american interests. i like that. but he made russian interests

pa paramou paramount. he seems to be enamored of putin. >> look, chris, it's one thing to say they're our enemy, they're our adversary. >> he won't say that. >> if the president had said, i'd like to improve relations with russia, let's see what we can do the way obama did and hillary did -- >> didn't work. >> didn't work but they tried. that's not what he said. he's never justified this relationship with russia that he has. >> let's go with another thing i go with. maybe it's from watching too many perry mason movies in the old days. what's he hiding? they are throwing up everything. you know he doesn't want comey talking. you know he doesn't want anybody talking. he talks about immunity, that kellyanne is throwing the word immunity out the other night, exclusive privilege, immunity with michael flynn, fifth amendment. >> in the background, there's a pardon too. you and i remember -- >> he knows he can do that. >> you and i remember iran-contra. the national security adviser who was indicted, convicted.

the secretary of defense was convicted. they were pardoned. you think flynn's not thinking that? >> he could get a premature pardon. you can get one before. >> of course flynn is thinking in the back of his mind, i'm never going to have to go to jail. if they ever prove anything, i'll get a pardon. >> you notice the president pats those guys on the head every once in a while. he wants to keep them for that pardon. >> and he still talks to them even after supposedly breaking off relations with these people. he's stilln the phone with them. >> do you believe in anybody's ability to sort of imagine the future, that break you get where you think something is going to happen and it does happen? or you're thinking of a guy's name and all of a sudden he's on the phone with you. >> what this book is about is people who are a little bet like that. we call it sentinel intelligence, where they're getting input all the time, and they're processing it in background. and they say, wait a minute. something's about to happen. they're the guy who smells smoke

first in the restaurant, not only smells smoke first, they get up and pull the fire alarm. that's what this book is about. experts -- >> i love that. >> experts who see things before other people do. >> i agree with that because one time i was in africa. it was right after independence. i went out on the street one night, and i went, there's something wrong with this street. i went back to my wife and said, i'm not going to meet. >> that's not a premonition. >> you want to know what i sensed? there was nobody on the streets. that is what scares you. there's nobody around. >> and you see it before somebody else does. what the book is about, is let's find these guys who tell us about these things before the disaster. >> well, let's read this book. "warnings." you know, i don't waste time with -- this guy is smart. richard clarke, thank you. new book is warnings, finding cassandras to stop catastrophes. by the wa-- coming up, we're gog to go inside the web of donald trump's advisers, to the heart

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welcome back to "hardball." on thursday, the senate intelligence committee will question former fbi director james comey about the investigation into possible trump campaign ties to russia. last night one key figure in the investigation, carter page, provided few details about his participation in meetings with russian officials as an adviser to the trump campaign. let's watch him. >> why don't you just say what you were doing? why are you hiding tse meetings? >> i was doing nothing. >> you have a meeting you won't tell me out. you met with the russian ambassador at the republican convention when they're shifting language about the ukraine and all kinds of stuff in the platform and you won't tell me what the meeting was about. >> the meeting was about nothing. >> why was it secret? why is it off the record as you

put it? >> because the russians have been lied to. >> who are the organizers? >> i -- i forget their -- >> no. you were meeting with a bunch of russians, including kislyak at the republican convention, and you don't remember -- >> he's the only -- >> who invited you to the meeting? >> i -- i -- i can't even recall. >> wow, that was unsatisfying. let's bring in the "hardball" roundtable tonight. phil rucker is white house bureau chief for "the washington post," julia ainsley henderson is a justice and politics correspondent for reuters, and es ted herndon. the names will come up tomorrow, philip. what is manafort's role in this? what is flynn's role in this? and who is this guy, this kato kaelin character that floats in and out of the story? he doesn't remember anything. >> and what is jared kushner's role, and how closely is he

being looked at in this investigation? it's a lot of questions that i think the democratic senators at least are going to have for comey. we'll see if the republicans are -- >> what will the republicans do, julia, to shift attention? >> we've already seen reports out today from the white house that the white house is very much trying to distract from this. we think trump might be tweeting during the entire thing and we know that some pro-trump group are already planning ad mpaigning against comey. they want to undermine m. they want to undermine the mueller investigation as well, and they want to distract from anything that might come out of this hearing tomorrow, but that could backfire and have the effect of -- >> i have a little more confidence in -- i know what you're saying was all true, but have a little confidence in republicans in the senate. it's a six-year term. you want to keep your dignity f. you're from a state that could flip either way, you don't want to look like a fool. i get the feeling that burr might just well be stronger than we think. i'd like to think. >> the senate intel side has

definitely inspired more confidence than the house and part of that is because of the behavior of some of those republican senators there. i think there's going to be so much intensity around tomorrow's hearing that you will be hard pressed to believe that they would totally throw it out the window, but we'll see. >> they won't go off talking about unmasking again for a half hour, will they? >> i think that's the question we all have. the intensity level of eyes that are going to be on this, it would certainly stick out if they -- >> anyway, in refusing to provide details about those meetings with the russians, carter page raises questions about the web of trump associates with ties to russia, including trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, jared kushner. here's what the president had to say about kushner today. >> jared's actually become much more famous than me. [ laughter ] i'm a little bit upset about that. >> that looked like a peanut gallery. sound familiar? here's what he said about the then fbi director james comey in january. >> oh, and there's james.

he's become more famous than me. [ laughter ] >> director comey. [ applause ] >> what is that weird kind of hug and -- what is that? it's kind of like i got a little secret for you. >> some fascinating body language there. one thing we know about trump is he doesn't like it when his advisers or aides get too much of the spotlight. he chafed at the steve bannon cover of "time" magazine that basically called him the shadow president. i think jared kushner is obviously safe. he's family. he's blood. i don't think he's going anywhere. trump doesn't want his aides getting out in front of him. >> interesting. that may be a problem. >> true. i mean what the body language looked like with comey was certainly the kiss of death, and there are a lot of parallels to be drawn here. but trump is also someone who wants to put people on alert. he's done this same thing with bannon, and he's done the same thing with others. this is part of his strategy, to put them on watch like sean

spicer, but not necessarily fire them right away. so that doesn't necessarily mean that the -- >> it's like a rotating crowd. bannon's down. then bannon's back. you know, what's his name? corey lewandowski is down, and then he's back. he's got this sort of -- he sends them down like in baseball. you're going down to the minors for a couple months, and you might be able to work your way back up to the majors. >> i mean it's incredible. we're talking about the president of the united states. there's a security in his level of fame. there's not even who is going to be -- >> why is he worried about his son-in-law -- he's president of the united states. he will go down in the history books as one of our presidents, and he's worried about whether his son-in-law, who doesn't even speak, who has no words that we've ever heard, is going to outshine him? >> i mean that's a -- we know that this president cares a lot about perception, and his internal perception of who he thinks is up and who he thinks is do. and i think it is partly to put people on notice. it is partly about who is in the

inner circle, and in saying these type of things, he lets them know, i'm not feeling you right now. >> i'll say it again. friday morning's newspapers all across the country will have one big face on the top of the fold of the front page. it's going to be comey, not trump, and he hates it. anyway, the roundtable is staying with us. up next, these three people will tell me something i don't know. this is "hardball," where the action is. relief in minutes. and dulcoease for comfortable relief of hard stools. dulcolax. designed for dependable relief. i decided to see if there was a way for design to play a... ...positive role in what was going on in the world. 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.

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gubernatorial candidates. with only a few months left to serve. governor chris christie was asked if he had any regrets when it came to the time he had in office. let's watch. >> everybody else gets to make that determination as to how i'll be remembered. but as i've said a number of other occasions, you know, i have no major regrets about anything over the last eight years. you know, there's always things you would have hoped would go a little bit differently on both small things and big things. but for the most part, the state is in a much better place today than it was eight years ago. >> no major regrets. i guess he doesn't regret the traffic problem out there at fort lee. anyway, we'll be right back. 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

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some breaking news now from "the new york times." the times reporting that the day after president trump asked james comey to end the investigation into michael flynn, comey told attorney general jeff sessions he didn't want to be left alone with the president again. that's according to "the new york times." we're back with the "hardball" roundtable right now. >> so my colleagues, bob costa,

ashley parker and i have a big story coming out tonight on trump. his aides preparations for comey. he's angry. he's frustrated. he's defiant and he's spoiling for a fight. >> he'll get one. >> sources are telling me they're hearing crickets over who trump might pick as an fbi director. we know he pressed the restart button on this last week and it seems like he's not any closer to making a decision. >> i was on capitol hill today when senator corker found out about trump's tweets on qatar. he didn't really know what to say. he sat there silent for ten seconds. he kept asking us, the president? the president? he did this? it was mind blowing. >> corker is always trying to avoid -- he's very interesting to watch. you get the message the guy is not a big trump fan. anyway, thank you very much. when we return, let me finish tonight with trump watch. you're watching "hardball."

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trump watch, tuesday, june 6th, 2017. there's a division in american politics today between on one side minorities who for obvious reasons including the president's insults of them during last year's campaign detest him, and on the other side, working class white people who love donald trump because he stands against what many of them see as the politically correct establishment. well, this is where things stand right now. we all know that.

go into a big city neighborhood and you'll find people who despise trump. go to a small town far from the city and you'll probably find a lot of people who root for trump all the harder thee the media go after him. today is a year shy of a half century since we've seen an american leader who worked desperately and with real compassion to earn the respect of both groups, minorities and working class whites. others have tried it of course, but robert kennedy tried it the hardest. he refused to look down on one group so he could allow the other to rise. people looked at him as a patriot, one who has kept faith with the country's greatest values. i've spent the last couple of years studying the life of robert kennedy. the result? bobby kennedy, a raging spirit, will be out this november. i think it's the story we need today more than ever because it's about bringing the country's working families together, not at war with each other. it's a story of the kind of leader we need but don't have, not now. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us.

"all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> what message do you have to james comey ahead of his testimony? >> i wish him luck. >> countdown to comey day. >> the president's got a full day on thursday. >> tonight, the war room is out, and live tweeting is in. new reporting on the president's go-it-alone strategy as we learn more about what the fired fbi director will say. then, what we're learning about just how broad and brazen the russian effort to hack the election was. plus, my exclusive interview with the attorney for alleged nsa leaker reality winner. are senate republicans planning a trumpcare sneak attack of their own? and the troubling new report that alleges donald trump shifted kids' cancer charity money into his business when "all in" starts right now.