guy richo who i believed he's the one -- he's the one that should be in jail because he's the one that set everybody up. >> today is the day that hopefully o.j. simpson can tell his story and say he's sorry. >> i do hope -- >> charlie, we have to leave it there. thank you for joining me. thank you for watching this hour of msnbc live. i'm stephanie ruhle. ali velshi on assignment. you should stay to watch this continuing coverage throughout the day. o.j. simpson and his parole hearing. right now, "andrea mitchell reports." right now, on "andrea mitchell reports," true grit. senator john mccain diagnosed with brain cancer. an american hero facing his toughest fight yet. >> my hope is, i don't -- he may outlive us all, i don't know what -- god only knows how this thing ends, i just ask god for one thing, he has a voice and he can use it as long as possible. >> senator mccain tweeting minutes ago, i greatly appreciate the outpouring of support. unfortunately for my sparring partners in congress i'll be back soon.

so stand by. hit job. donald trump blistering his own attorney general for making the legally required decision to recuse himself from the russia probe. >> sessions should have never recused himself. and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and i would have picked somebody else. >> despite the insult from the commander in chief, the attorney general says today he will not quit. >> we love this job. we love this department. and i plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate. >> and chasing freedom, coming up this hour, o.j. simpson goes before the nevada parole board. the man who tried to send him to jail for double murder says he expects the hall of famer will go free. >> i like the photographs of o.j. in handcuffs more than i like the photographs of o.j. with the golf club in his hand. i think he has a lot to account for. and, you know, we have yet to

extract from him, you know, the punishment he deserves. good day, everyone. i'm andrea mitchell in colorado at the aspen security conference, where current and former national security officials have been rocked by the shocking medical news about their friend, john mccain. the senate legend and war hero now facing a new fight, a brain cancer diagnosis discovered after a surgical procedure to remove a blood clot above the senator's eye. friends, family, colleagues, former presidents, and political rivals all united in support for arizona's six term senator, sending their love and support through social media and the halls of his home away from home, the u.s. senate. >> he's a tough guy. wants to be back here. we need him here. >> one person going through the process to another, i just -- my heart and my thought s are with him. >> he made that courageous decision to stay as a prisoner of war, not knowing if he would

ever get out and you think about that kind of courage and bravery, and that's why he's going to be -- fight this to the end. >> i can't think of anything i've done since 1999 politically, in many ways personally that was worth doing without john. so that's sort of hit me last night. i just -- i can't think of anything i've done, any fight i've been in i haven't been there with him or he's been there with me. >> joining me now is msnbc's garrett haak on capitol hill and msnbc medical correspondent dr. john torres. the haulls of congress have to e rocked by this news. as is everyone out here. toasts, prayers, conversation, all consumed with it. >> absolutely. andrea. especially last night when this news broke. you could see it sort of ripple across all of congress. and think about it, it takes a

lot to generate sort of a bipartisan unanimous consensus on anything on capitol hill right now. but that's what we saw around john mccain, so many people, democrats and republicans alike, coming out of the wood work to praise him and praise his service. and these aren't all people who agreed with him. these are people who butted heads with john mccain, time and time again, but who have so much respect for him, as an institution here. i talked to senator jeff flake a little while ago, earlier today, the junior senator from arizona who said when he first came to congress as an intern, in 1987, john mccain was already here. he is as much a part of this institution as the dome. so his absence here is being acutely felt by everyone, especially on the senate side. >> well, you know, garrett, he first came to the senate when he was released from prison when richard nixon was president. and he was assigned to be the naval attache to the senate. and he accompanied senators from those early days in the '70s and

'80s. he was already accompanying senators on their foreign trips and giving them advice, military advice. i wanted to read part of a statement, one of the most touching statements of all from meghan mccain, we knew her, of course, when her dad was running twice for president. and then in her own role as a writer and blogger and on television. she wrote, it won't surprise you that in all of this the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father. he's the toughest person i know, the cruelest enemy could not break him, the aggressions of political life could not break him. so he's meeting this challenge as he has every other, cancer may afflict him in many ways, but it will not make him surrender, nothing ever has. she referred to her mother and her father and her grandmother, roberta mccain, who is 105 years old. she and her twin sister for years would travel, go to europe, have a car there, drive around europe in the summer, well into their 100s. this is just an amazing family.

meghan referred to her father, great grandfather, the mccain name going down through the line of military leaders, i want to share with our viewers that john mccain has just released a statement, which is classic john mccain, it is about the reports that the administration has decided to end a covert program supporting -- ripples against the assad regime in syria. he wrote if the reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of vladimir putin, making any concession to russia absent a broader strategy for syria is irresponsible and shortsighted. the administration has yet articulate its decision. a key pillar of american strategy must be the removal of assad from power as part of an end to the brutal conflict in syria, which has fueled isil's

growth through its cruelty, malign and iranian influence and undermined broader regional stability. six months into the administration, still no new strategy for victory in afghanistan, either it is now mid-july when the administration promised to deliver that strategy to congress and we are still waiting. garrett, that says everything about john mccain. he's a burr in the side of this administration. and you can only understand why -- why mitch mcconnell and the president and all the rest of the leadership view him that way. >> well, absolutely, andrea. that's part of john mccain's character. he does not care who he picks a fight with. and he's willing to do it at any time. and everyone we have talked to over the last, you know, day, since this has broken has said, within five minutes of talking about the diagnosis, he's talking about work again. one of the few people on capitol hill i think who just really, really enjoys the job and enjoys the fight. and everyone i've spoken to from

lindsey graham to jeff flake to others say when they talk to him, he says, yeah, yeah, this cancer thing, sure, but let's talk about what's going on. let's talk about health care, the defense authorization act, i think the thing that is probably most frustrating to him of all of this is that he's not here to pick these fights in person. >> and, garrett, i want to bring in dr. john torres, this is a very aggressive tumor. maybe very small, though. there may be good news here. but this is the same kind of tumor that, of course, was diagnosed with teddy kennedy, victoria kennedy, his widow, vicki kennedy has also been writing. tell us what you know about the medical side of it. >> and with ted kennedy, he lasted 15 months before he passed away. shows you how aggressive these tumors are. a couple of things we know about what is going on now with senator mccain is initially they thought it was a blood collection, they went in there looking for the blood, pulled that out and found out it was this glioblastoma. they are very aggressive, very

malignant with a low survival rate. people survive 14 months when first diagnosed with glioblastoma. the five-year survival rate is down to 5%. low chances that people make much beyond there. these are people that are younger. he is 80. his age is going to play against him. like you said, luckily, it seemed to be a smaller tumor, so that will help out. there are some treatments out there they're look at that are experimental treatments, but seem to be giving us a little more hope in this area of what could possibly be done. but make no mistake about it, this say very aggressive tumor and he does have a fight ahead of him here. >> and they did -- he did share with jeff flake, jeff flake, his fellow arizonan said last night when they talked, he said he's going to start chemo. presumably, chemo, radiation, that itself has a deleterious impact on the grain. >> he >> one of the issues is that

radiation treatment will be in the frontal lobe, the front part of the brain. and that's the part that controls a lot of things including our decision-making capabilities, our memory, our language, and so if the radiation treatment affects that part of the brain as well that could cause some other issues. and so these are going to be long-term repercussions he's going to have for both the glioblastoma, the tumor itself and the treatment, he has to deal with over the next few years. it is going to be a little bit before he get backs on his feet and gets to the point where he can do anything else. was ted kennedy, he went part time back to the senate and he was able to do some things in that way up until the end there. >> thanks so much, dr. john torres and, of course, garrett on the hill in the senate hallways. and the other big story today, of course, president trump's explosive interview with the new york times. in which the president basically trashed his own attorney general, issuing a warning also to robert mueller and opening a new line of attack against james comey. along with criticizing acting fbi director andrew mccabe. also his first chance to give

his version of that previously undisclosed second conversation with vladimir putin at the g-20. nbc white house correspondent kristen welker joins me now. kristen, whatever happened to ty cobb and the new legal team running interference. he was accompanied in the oval office with hope him. >> ty doesn't start until the end of the month. this was an interview that the president did as you point out, he was only accompanied by hope hix. when ty cobb comes in, his real goal is to discipline the messaging and the president's messaging to some extent and what we saw in this interview was really a wide ranging interview that was off message on a number of different topics, as it relates to jeff sessions. president effectively saying that he wouldn't have barad hro him on if he knew he was going to recuse himself. when he was in the process of considering whether to appoint

jeff sessions for attorney general, this was way before there were questions about him recusing himself over the russia probe, still bottom line here, you're seeing a backlash in the halls of congress, republicans, chuck grassley saying that robert mueller, someone who is going to continue to do his job, you have jeff sessions himself coming out and saying that he's not going anywhere, despite the president's sharp comments, and so i think there is a big backlash and some concern within the president's own team that this interview was so off script, andrea. >> i want to play a little bit of what he had to say about robert mueller. >> mueller was looking at your finances, your family and finances unrelated to russia. is that a red line? >> would that be a breach of what his actual -- >> i would say, yeah, i would say yes. by the way, i would say, i don't -- i mean, it is possible that condo or something, i sell a lot of condo units, somebody from russia buys a condo, who

knows, i don't make money from russia. in fact, i put out a letter saying i don't make -- from one of the most highly respected law firms, accounting firms. i don't have buildings in russia. they said i own buildings in russia. i don't. they said i made money from russia. it is not my thing. i don't -- i don't do that. over the years i've looked at maybe doing a deal in russia. but i never did one. you know. other than the miss universe pageant there, eight, nine years. >> he said it would be out of line if he goes into their personal finances. >> and what you have today is reaction on capitol hill, andrea, from democrats like senator dianne feinstein, amy klobuchar and chuck grassley who say robert mueller is someone who is going to do his job, that he's not restricted by this president or by the bounds really of the narrow, this is a russia investigation and he can't therefore look into the president's finances.

those lawmakers saying robert mueller is going to look into any area that he feels necessary to get to the bottom of what happened here. and, again, andrea, i think this goes back to the messaging, remember how we started this week, this was a week that was supposed to focus on native america progress, products, there have been a number of different events focused on that exact thing, on health care, which has hit such a major speed bump, and yet this is the president taking aim at his attorney general and at the special council and a lot of concerns about what this warning to the special council might mean. i think that's why you're seeing this very sharp backlash on capitol hill, andrea. >> kristen welker at the white house, thanks so much. coming up, living history. president trump's new take on hillary clinton 2016 and russia. clinton's campaign chair john podesta joining me live next. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it?

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in that fiery interview with the new york times, president trump taking aim once again at hillary clinton, accusing her of failing to get anything done on health care when she was first lady. joining me now is john podesta, chairman of hillary clinton's presidential campaign. former chief of staff to president clinton and former counselor to president obama. thank you for being with us. the "new york times" interview , we're reliving history and hillary clinton didn't get

anything done on health care. i think that's been widely reported and acknowledged, when she was first lady? >> i don't think -- i wouldn't acknowledge it at all. look, she got blocked, tried to get universal health care for everyone when she was blocked. she got right back up. and worked to get a bipartisan agreement to expand health care for children in the united states, passed the children's health insurance program, which covers nearly 6 million kids to this day. i would hope that maybe that's a lesson that the republicans would learn from their failed attempt to repeal obamacare and throw 22 million people off of health care. they would come back together and try to get a bipartisan solution to stabilize the exchanges, to move forward. that's what the american people want. what they don't want is a massive tax cut for the wealthy. and to throw 22 million people off of health care. >> one of the other parts of the interview about hillary clinton from the president was that he didn't need any dirt from the

russians at that first meeting with don jr. he said there wasn't much i could say about hillary clinton that was worse than what i was already saying. so that he already had opposition research or whatever -- >> and in the interview, went on to say which was really, i think, an incredible interview, andrea, he went on to repeat some facts that have been disproved and fact checked and proved to be wrong. so, look, he'll say anything. but i think what the biggest takeaway from that interview was is he can't stay out of this investigation. he starts to throw shade on robert mueller, in the interview, tried to influence the course of his investigation as you reported democratic senators at least have said that they trust mueller to, you know, go where the evidence leads. but he just can't stay away from

trying to get involved in this investigation, influence the course of the investigation into what he did, what his campaign did, what his son did. and, you know, i think at some level that's going to get him in even more trouble than he is. because as you know they're one of the issues that mueller is looking at is whether people obstructed justice both in trying to influence comey's -- jim comey's look at mike flynn and the firing of jim comey. >> one of the other things that came up, of course, is what he said about sessions, trashing his own attorney general. it just raises questions about all the talk about loretta lynch and whether former president clinton was trying to influence an investigation. well, sessions is recused from this investigation, but the whole criticism of him for following legal procedures and

recusing himself. >> look, i think that he did exactly what he needed to do, which was it was clear having been involved in the campaign, having given testimony, whether just from forgetfulness or purposefully that he had not met with any russian individuals when he met with the russian ambassador. he had only one course to follow. but i think what it really shows is that mr. trump really just doesn't understand the role of the attorney general when he said that if he told me weighs he was going to recuse himself, i wouldn't have picked him. the attorney general represents all the people of the country. he's not the personal attorney of the president of the united states. and the fact that he would even make such a statement i think shows a disregard for the office and misunderstanding of the role of the presidency and the role of the attorney general. >> i wanted to play for you an extraordinary interview that chris kobach who is leading this

task force had with my colleague katie tur yesterday, the secretary of state of ohio. and this was the back and forth about the election result s from 2016. >> do you believe hillary clinton won the popular vote by 3 million to 5 million votes? >> we may never know the answer to that. we probably will never know the answer to that question. even if you can prove a certain number of casts were cast by ineligible voters, for example -- >> is that why this commission exists, because the president believes he would have won the popular vote. >> i'm glad you asked that question. that's not the reason why the commission exists. >> you think that maybe hillary clinton did not win the popular vote? >> we may never know the answer to that question. >> i misspoke, from kansas, your reaction to it. >> it is a statement from someone and, let's start with the facts. hillary clinton won more than --

nearly 3 million more votes than donald trump nationally. he won the electoral college, we accepted the results. that doesn't change the fact that she won the popular vote, and by a very substantial margin. and, you know, the fact that he set up this -- >> thank you very much. we just lost transmission. i apologize from reno, nevada, to john podesta. we will have you back soon. meanwhile, senator john mccain's closest friend on capitol hill fighting through his emotions today to update reporters on his condition. lindsey graham. >> he wants to come back in the worst way. he love his family. he loves his friends. but his passion above all else is his voice for his country. >> what does -- how is his spirit? how is his mood when you talk to him? >> well, better than mine. >> rhode island senator jack reed joins me now. senator reed is the top democrat

on the armed services committee, so has worked closely, of course, with the chairman. senator john mccain, where they served together for 20 years. i know this is a tough day. what reactions do you have about john mccain? >> he's an extraordinary american hero. he is a great inspiration to all of us. we may not disagree all the time, but there is no question that he's dedicated his entire life to serving the nation with integrity and with intelligence and with passion. and i am hoping and i expect he will return because he has an indom itable spirit and he'll return and we need him, frankly. he provides so much, not only experience, but judgment and courage that he, again, inspires all of us. >> and you've been traveling with him, you've seen his travel schedule this year in first six months of this administration,

it has been fierce. he's taken it upon himself to reassure allies anytime there was an outburst from the white house that there is stability in the nato relationship, there is stability in the persian gulf. it is extraordinary what he's been accomplishing despite this illness. >> absolutely. a schedule that would challenge someone much, much younger than both of us, but he does it, he does it relentlessly. i've had the privilege of traveling with him. last year we went to hanoi together and ho chi minh city, we went to singapore. it was a relentless grueling schedule. it is all work. it is not about sight-seeing and it was critical at this time because he represents the voice of international cooperation, appreciation of allies, understanding that the challenges we faced are better faced as a unified democratic entity with other democratic

allies across the globe. and others who aspire to share our values. so he was performing again another public service. he didn't have to do it. he could have simply relaxed and rested, but that's not john mccain. >> even today he issued a very strong statement saying if reports that the u.s. is withdraw ing support, covert support from syrian rebels, anti-assad rebels are true, that it is disgraceful, sharply criticized the lack of a policy and overall policy on syria, and more broadly on the middle east. so he says it is playing right into the hands of vladimir putin. your reaction to that? >> i think exactly right. i was with american troops on the ground in syria, about a month ago. and they're doing a remarkable job of coordinating and helping direct syrian democratic forces to try to take raqqah first.

their instructions beyond taking out isis are incomplete when it comes to policy towards the assad regime. and this is going to lead shortly after success in raqqah to a confrontation in the middle of the euphrates valley and we have to have a policy. senator mccain once again is sounding the alarm, demanding there be a policy, and he's right, i think, in saying that it has to be one where assad eventually leaves. he's going to malign force in his own country. again, the impression i had coming out that there was not yet a clear policy towards the assad regime, and we're certainly trying to -- but we have to have that policy in place. >> jack reed, thank you for joining us on a busy day from capitol hill. i appreciate it. and we'll have much more from the aspen security conference coming up. stay with us. and stay tuned, of course, for

the parole hearings for o.j. him s simpson. we're looking at the prison where the former football hall of fame player has spent nearly nine years. and the room where the parole board will be hearing his case. complete coverage coming up. keep it right here on msnbc.

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in his new york times interview, we're hearing for the first time president trump's description of his extended conversation with vladimir putin at g-20 dinner table, a talk the white house had not disclosed until it was reported in the media. >> we talked about adoption. >> you did? >> russian adoption. yeah. i always found that interesting because, you know, he ended that years ago. >> mm-hmm. >> and i actually talked about russian adoption with him, which is interesting, because that was a part of the conversation that don had. >> joining me now is avril haines, the former deputy director at the cia. great to see you. thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> the very fact they had this meeting or pull aside or

conversation, it is reported to have been as long as an hour, the president says, well, it was maybe around 15 minutes, which is longer than what the white house said it was, it was not just your casual pull aside chitchat at the dinner table which happens at weddings and other kinds of occasions. this was a sit-down in the full view of all of the other leaders including the host angela merkel, gets up from sitting next to prime minister abe of japan, a key ally with north korea pending, and he goes and sits next to vladimir putin without the u.s. translator. >> yeah. it is -- >> if you were at the cia, would you have been worried? >> well, i certainly would have advised taking a translator with you, to protect the president, frankly, in that circumstance. and i -- it does seem as if there are conflicting reports as to what was discussed and how extensive the discussion was. >> when he says they talked about adoption, that means they talked about sanctions, one of vladimir putin's chief goals is to get the sanctions lifted, the

magnitsky sanctions against many of his colleagues, their ability to move their money around the world. >> right. that was what prompted them cut ing off the adoptions, presumably that had to be part of the conversation. hard to believe that putin wouldn't have brought that up in the context of that conversation, agree. >> sally yates tweeted today about his attack "the new york times" about his own attorney general over his recusing from russia. and sally yates tweeted that potus attack on russia recusal reveals he had again his violation of the essential independence of doj, a bedrock principle of our democracy. you're an attorney. you were an attorney advising the nse. this is a case where the president is first fired sally yates and now basically pushing the attorney general out the door, he didn't quit today. other cabinet officials, current cabinet officials tell me they have would have quit under similar circumstances.

>> it is really unfortunate. i think from my own perspective as an attorney and also somebody who really believes in our institutions and the importance of them to sort of the function of our democracy, i think it has been particularly problematic the degree to which he invinces a disrespect for individuals who are working within the institutions, the institutions themselves, and particularly as the person that is responsible for taking care to execute the laws and being a part of the framework at a time when frankly public mistrust and views of our public institutions are at an all time low. it is concerning. and i think it makes it much harder to function and the idea that you would say that if the attorney general had not recused -- basically if he had known that if he was not going to -- he was going to recuse himself, i'm sorry, then he wouldn't have hired them to begin with is pretty remarkable. his recusing himself was the right thing to do under the

circumstances. >> and it was legally mandated. how is morale and the intelligence community, you led the cia, deputy director of the cia, key post. after he criticizes intelligence, the intelligence community, overseas in that news conference in poland. >> i think the intelligence community is remarkably resilient. and they really believe in the mission that they're trying to pursue. and i think in that sense their morale continues to be unabated and they want to do what is best for the united states. i do think that it is extremely unfortunate when the president doesn't respect what it is that the people who work for him do, and i think appears not to accept in many cases the judgments that they provide to him or views other judgments from other countries as being in fact more credible and that's something that certainly has an affect on your ability to do your job and also the degree of respect you have for the people you're working for.

>> senator dianne feinstein, the leading democrat on the judiciary committee, today said that if don jr. and paul manafort do not accept the invitation to testify, next wednesday, before an open hearing, before judiciary, that they will force them to show up by subpoena. this was that conversation when she was asked about the fact they have not yet responded. >> yeah. >> am i concerned? no. i'm not concerned because if they don't, they'll be subpoenaed. >> so they'll be subpoenaed and then there is a whole series of legal steps that would flow, correct, if they don't respond to a subpoena. >> yes, exactly. >> so what are the implications of don jr. and paul manafort testifying and also of jared kushner, he is going to be appearing as an interview as i understand it before senate intelligence, that's not sworn testimony, is that --

>> that's correct. these sorts of interviews are done under a variety of different circumstances. i don't know what the particular case will be here. chance there will be some kind of transcription of the interview and they'll be able to use that, meaning congress and the committee. >> why would jared as a white house official be treated differently by senate intelligence than the open hearing for don jr. and paul manafort? is that at the discretion of the committee? >> yeah. there are long held beliefs institutionally about the degree to which anybody from the white house should be called up to testify in normal circumstances. advisers to the president and a lot of their information is privileged and as a consequence protected. and so traditionally the white house officials have not gone out to testify. there have been some limited exceptions to that and a lot of ground rules that are worked out in general beforehand. >> do you think we'll ever know what really happened, that robert mueller will get to the bottom of this.

you know mueller well, you worked with him. >> i have the utmost respect for bob mueller. i can't think of a better person to be looking into this. i think people have to be patient. myself included, in waiting to hear what he has to say on the issues. i think there is -- he's got a lot of room in the context of the order that was provided appointing him and i think he'll exercise it appropriately and i think we'll find out the best that we can basically as a consequence. >> the president told "the new york times" it would cross a line if mueller looked into the trump organization or trump family finances, that it goes beyond russia. >> yeah. >> doesn't he have to look into their finances in order to best understand what did or did not happen? >> i think the way it is framed for him, the delegation that he has essentially, special counsel, is one that allows him to look into a variety of issues, really anything he thinks is relevant to the underlying issue that he's concerned with. and crimes related to

essentially russian interference in our election. so if the financial, you know, activities are ones he deems to be relevant, he'll look at those. i have no doubt bob mueller will do what he thinks is right under the circumstances and i wish the president did not speak about these matters in the way he does, but i guess that's how we have to accept it. >> thank you very much. that does it for us here in aspen today. we'll have much more from the security conference tomorrow with top guests from the administration and capitol hill. for now, craig melvin takes over msnbc's special live coverage of the o.j. simpson hearing coming up next right here on msnbc. ray's always been different. last year, he said he was going to dig a hole to china. at&t is working with farmers to improve irrigation techniques. remote moisture sensors use a reliable network to tell them when and where to water.

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sweet. if you compare last quarter... it's no wonder everything seems a little better with the creamy taste of philly, made with no artificial preservatives, flavours or dyes. and breaking news at this hour, we're moments away from a hearing that could determine if o.j. simpson has earned an early release from prison. a live look there inside the hearing room in nevada. simpson in a nevada prison, serving a 9 to 33 year sentence for robbing two sports memorabilia dealers. the state board of parole commissioners will soon hear from simpson and witnesses as well. if the panel does indeed grant simpson parole, he could be free as early as october 1st. simpson, as you know, was also charged with a 1994 murder of his ex-wife nicole brown and her friend ron goldman.

that televised trial gripped much of this nation with its courtroom drama. >> i want you to remember these words. like the defining moment in this trial, the day mr. darden asked mr. simpson to try on the gloves and the gloves didn't fit, remember these words, if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. >> and acquitted he was on october 3rd, 1995, after the double murder trial lasted more than eight months. simpson was subsequently, though, found liable for the deaths in a civil case and was ordered to pay a $33 million judgment. today's parole hearing expected to last less than an hour. we have full coverage from a team of reporters and analysts that are getting in position right now. we start with nbc's katie beck, outside the nevada prison where,

again, simpson is serving his time. nbc news senior legal and investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden is standing by, she covered the simpson murder trial. what can we expect when this parole board convenes here, roughly 15 minutes from now? >> well, good afternoon, craig. we actually just saw several members of the o.j. simpson camp walking into this facility here. his sister, his daughter are here, his attorney and good friend of his all entered this facility. they will be sitting beside o.j. inside this facility when they're video conferenced to the parole board hearing taking place two hours from here in carson city, nevada. that's where that will be happening. this hearing is supposed to be relatively short. it is only supposed to last maybe 15 to 20 minutes. this board will have the chance to ask questions of o.j. simpson about the reasons why he thinks he deserves to be a free man. they will be using sort of a checklist going down a risk

assessment to see how much of a threat it is to give him parole in this case. and they will be using that rubric to determine whether he's a high risk or low risk. and depending on that, whether to grant or deny his parole in this case. now, they will -- after they hear from o.j. simpson and a witness of his, they will go behind closed doors, they will make that decision and within an hour we should have the answer to that question. the answer, if it is that his parole has been accepted, soonest he could be released from this facility would be october 1st. so still several months behind bars, even if the parole is granted today. now, if that parole is granted, simpson is also going to have to present a plan as to what he's going to do once he is released, where is he going to live, how is he going to earn money, those kinds of questions and those board members will, again, have to approve that plan before any other action is taken. craig? >> all right, katie beck for us there outside the prison. do stand by. we want to come back to you in just a bit.

cynthia, what are the issues here? how will these -- how will these folks decide whether simpson should in fact get parole? >> looking into my crystal ball, i would say that the chances are very good that o.j. simpson is going to be granted parole. there are mitigating circumstances, his age, the fact he's been a model prisoner, and the fact that this sentence was really very extreme for the crime that he was in fact convicted of. so i would say, however, as far as my predictions around o.j. simpson go, i also thought he would be convicted of the criminal trial. so take it for what it is worth. >> referring to the first criminal trial. >> that's correct. so, you know, i think the chances are very good this parole board will weigh the evidence as they did, by the way, they have already granted parole in five of the -- i think 12 matters that were before the parole board that he was convicted of. they already granted him parole in five of those counts.

he wasn't eligible for these counts until today. and so i think chances are very good that he will be a free man october 1st. >> again, as we're having this conversation, a live look there inside the room where those parole board members will be hearing from again o.j. simpson 10, 15 minutes from now, he will appear via video conference. si cynthia, based on what we saw and hear from simpson back in 2013, at that parole hearing, what do you surmise we minor league hear from him today? >> he's going say he's sorry. he said it in 2013. he'll say it again today. that's something that the parole board will want to hear, that he wished he had never engaged in this, that he regrets he did it, that he's asked for forgiveness from the victims, that they in fact gave him forgiveness, which from all accounts they did. one man has said so publicly, the other is now deceased but reports are that both of thiz victims have forgiven him.

he's also going to probably say what he said in 2013, which was he didn't go in there seeking to take other people's things. he went in there because he believed the items were his. he was going in to recapture items he believed were his. they alluded no the last hearing to him having had some alcohol before that ip accident. i suspect some of the parole board members may ask him whether or not he's taken any courses while in prison dealing with either alcohol or drug abuse. he said at the last parole board hearing he would do that. we'll probably hear about whether he's done that in the last few years. so i suspect you're going to see a contrite o.j. simpson, at least as contrite as he can be. the goalman family last time in 2013 felt that he was cocky, felt that he had a swagger at

the parole board hearing. viewers will be the judge of that. i suspect he'll say he's sorry. >> cynthia mcfadden, thank you. stand by. christopher dardin is joining us. darden, of course, led the team prosecuting o.j. simpson for murder good to have you with us. he has by all accounts been a model prisoner. no disciplinary actions. he has attended aa meetings, been taking classes. commissioner of the prison softball league as well. one of those expected to speak shortly, one of the victims from the crime. should he be paroled today, chris? >> obviously it's up to the parole board in nevada. i'd like to know what simpson's

psychiatric reports look like. whether or not he's been in therapy, received psychiatric help, whether or not he has any issue with impulse control. it's lovely to look at all the little points and check all the boxes we've hear about in terms of the hear bug the board need to get to the essence of this individual and makes sure he does not pose a danger to the public. >> do you think that is something we're going to get today? >> i assume they have a psych report and would discuss it and perhaps have some questions of him about it. >> a lot of people think the

robbery and sentence but delayed penance. five others with him got no time or significantly less time. was he sentenced so harshly because so many believe he got away with two murders? >> i have no idea. my understanding of the sentencing judge and from i heard about her, she was a tough sentencer, that she was a fair judge. if nothing else, he's the mastermind of this whole thing. even though others have gotten less time he's certainly a major player, a prince pal in this kidnapping case. nine years of a 33 year sentence, it wouldn't happen in california. in california if he got 33 year he'd do 30 or at least 28. >> florida as well. a number of state where is that's the case. >> yeah.

o.j. has 9, 10, 11, extra lives. fortunate he committed this in the state of nevada. >> if he does, as many suspect he will, if he gets paroled, how do you want to see o.j. simpson spend the rest of his years? >> well, you know, i'm not going to waste a brain cell on that, thinking about how o.j. lives after this. i believe he's still wealthy. i'm sure there are people in the media who will be offering money whether directly or secretly to interview him. i think he's as big a celebrity today as he was in 1995. i'm sure he'll have a ball of it. how he lives after he is paroled is not my concern. >> chris darden. do stick around if you can. i'd love to come back to you after we hear from simpson and after we hear from these parole board members as well. ''ve been give an five-minute

heads up. this hearing set to start on time here, 1:00 in the east. orenthal james simpson set to be appearing before this panel at the top of the hour. we are told from our reporter on the ground he was flanked by his attorney, his cyster, and one of his daughters is as well. o.j. simpson inmate number 1027820, could be walking out of this prison as early as october 1 if four of the parole board members decide that he should go free. this is a picture of one of simps simpson's friends, we're told, the aforementioned sister and daughter as well. we're told the hearing room is quite tiny. back in 2013 at his parole board hearing, simpson discouraged family members from attending because he was afraid of the

media circus that would be there. that apparently did not discourage these folks from coming this time around. we've assem nled a panel at the table here as well. chief legal correspondent ari melber is here with us, so is katy fang. we usually have hervey ya remote but she is here. and so is the lead attorney for the estate of nicole broup simpson. katy, what will they look at? >> his current age, 70 years old. gang affiliations, which he has none. it will be a point system. if he scores low enough on that scale, in and of itself he should qualify and be granted parole. i want to remind everyone it's always going to be discretionary. it's going to be up to these commissioners to decide whether

or not they want to give o.j. simpson parole. but the number system will inure to his pen fit at this time. he's been as you said a model prisoner. >> melber, if you are a betting man, and i know you're not, what would you surmise thee parole boor members are going to do? >> you never know what's going to happen in a judicial proceeding like this, but we do know the last time his parole was considered in this state under some of these charges he was granted parole. that wasn't enough under the rules to get him out. but that tells us that this point system worked in o.j. simpson's favor last time. we would expect him to have a good chance of getting parole today unless there are incidents or other mitigating or external factors we don't know about. and it is a fact that he has basically served his term thus far without any great incident being publicly reported. >> right now left side of your screen the members walking in.

that is carson city, nevada. on the right side of your screen, if we can bring that up, that is where we're told simpson is going to appear via video conference. that's lovelock, nevada, a remote part of that state. this is where simpson has been serving a sentence roughly nine years. some of his attorneys have gathered at the table. he is again set to make some remarks. he is also going to be taking some questions as well. john q. kelly, i apologize in advance having to cut you off to join this thing in progress. you're wearing two hats today. your first hat representing the family of nicole brown simpson. i would imagine you would like to see him remain in prison today. >> i think that's right. they can't consider public safety. the man has decades-long history of criminal conduct.

and, you know, going back to '94, he was found not guilty of a double homicide. he wasn't found innocent. unanimous jury of 12 found by clear and convincing evidence he showed depraved indifference in committing these murders, basically. >> you think that is something this parole board should consider. >> sure, and the crime of 2007. this was a very violent, menacing situation, two loaded guns, a bunch of large men in a small room and it could have been catastrophic. lives could have been lost again. these are three incidents, back to '89 with his no contest plea against spousal battery with nicole, three violent situations he's been involved in, no question. >> how much weight can the parole board give? >> with regard to the criminal proceedings, everyone knows o.j. was found not guilty with regard to the double homicide so i think answer there is almost none, but it is certainly true