Skip to main content

tv   Andrea Mitchell Reports  MSNBC  November 20, 2017 9:00am-10:00am PST

9:00 am
and if they approve it, the house and the senate will get together. i'll be there right in the middle of it and we will come up with a bill that will be spectacular for growth and spectacular for the people of this country. our tax plan will bring urgent relief to hard working families. we'll reduce rates, increase the amount of income taxed at a rate of zero, expand the child tax credit very important, and simplify taxes as most families will be able to file on a single sheet of paper. we'll restore america's competitive edge so we can bring back our jobs. we want to bring our jobs backing to our country. we were decimated over the last 40 years. we want to bring our jobs back to the united states. we'll go from being one of the highest taxed nations in the world to one of the lowest taxed nations in the world. corporate rates will be reduced from 35% all the way down to 20%
9:01 am
which will make us competitive again and companies won't be leaving our country. finally, our tax plan will return trillions of dollars in wealth to our shores so that companies can invest in america again. at the same time, we're working to reduce wasteful government spending. we will hear from budget director nick mulvaney who is working with my cabinet to find taxpayer savings in each and every department. the cabinet members that are with us today are working on getting reductions to their various departments that we think we're going to be able to save a lot of money even lower than the budgets and the budgetses that we're submitting. we'll be working on health care, infrastructure, and welfare reform. we're looking very strongly at welfare reform. and that all take place right after taxes. very soon, very shortly after taxes. so we'll be submitting plans on health care, plans on
9:02 am
infrastructure. and plans on welfare reform which is desperately needed in our country. soon after taxes. today we'll also discuss the opioid epidemic that is ravaging so many american families and communities. last week, i was proud to nominate alex azar to serve as the next secretary of health and human services. i urge the senate to the swiftly confirm his nomination and i want to thank acting secretary for being with such devotion and for doing such a great job in the meantime. thank you very much, eric. finally i want to wish the american people a truly happy and blesses thanksgiving, especially to our brave men and women serving in our military and our border patrol and i.c.e. agents along the very dangerous southern border. as you heard, we lost a border patrol officer just yesterday.
9:03 am
and another one was brutally beaten and badly, badly hurt. looks like he'll make it. but very, very badly hurt. and we talk about the wall. we're going to have the wall. it's part of what we're doing. we need it. that's rough territory. that's where the drugs are coming in. a lot of things are happening along the border, the southern border. we're going to straightton out. we've already reduced the numbers and you see the numbers, back to 78%, down from what they were. and those numbers will get better and better but we have to stop the massive drug flow from pouring in. and my respect to the families that were so badly hurt yesterday because they were devastated. those two families were devastated. i just want to wish everybody a very, very happy thanksgiving. we're going to be working very hard during the recess in florida. we're going to florida. and i want to thank you all for being here and let's start our
9:04 am
meeting and to the media, to the press thank you very much. we appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. thanks. >> and good day. i'm andrea mitch in washington. that's president trump just finishing speaking at his seventh cabinet meeting since he became president. speaking at the white house, of course, saying he will designate north korea a state sponsor of terror and that the treasury will announce more sanctions against them tomorrow. this without answering any questions about roy moore. joining me kristen welker at the white house, peter bake, "new york times" chief white house correspondent and political analyst. kristin, first to you. we had anticipated this when he returned from his asia trip. there was going to be a redesignation of north korea as
9:05 am
a state sponsoring terror. this had been lifted by the george w. bush administration. >> that's right. this wasn't a surprise. president trump signaled this during his 12-day trip in asia coming after recent provocations by north korea after the death of otto warmbier in north korea. you heard the president reference that. and obviously, the centerpiece of his trip was to try to rally the international community and regional partners against north korea to try to get it to stop its nuclear program. now, president trump taking this step. what does it mean. >> that there will be a new round of sanctions as you mentioned, the treasury department is going to announce those sanctions tomorrow. the president saying that it will be one of the largest sanctions packages to date. at this point, we don't have spec what's it will entail but of course, andrea, the question is, what will the impact be. north korea's already heavily sanctioned by the united states
9:06 am
as well as other countries including dhooin some extent. what will the impact be? how much will it hurt north korea's economy? will it in fact get it to abandon its nuclear program? at this point, nothing has worked in terms of stopping kim jong-un. and the war of words has only escalated between the president and kim jong-un. a lot of question marks what the real world implications will be of this announcement today. >> peter baker, this is going to be a state department designation. that's the way this works. then the treasury can impose those sanctions. sanctions that can include not only otto warmbier but the north korean assassination of kim jong-un's stepbrother. there are a number of incidents that they can use to cite it as a state sponsor of terror. >> well, that's exactly right. you're right. of course, they had been listed for many years as a state sponsor of terror but george w. bush at the end of 2006 beginning of 2007 took them off the list as an incentive during
9:07 am
talks they were having at the time. the moment they felt like they were making progress towards convincing north korea to give up its nuclear program, those talks ended up not succeeding. now here we are a decade later putting them back on that list. there isn't by itself as kristin is saying a big tangible impact. the sanctions he's announcing tomorrow may have more of an impact. they're not you know, nobody needs this designation in order to keep putting sanctions on north korea. but the real target of anxiouses that might make a difference most experts say at this point would be china because they're the one who have kept north korea afloat. that doesn't seem to be what trump is thinking at this point given his praise of x ji ping after his visit the last few weeks in china. so we don't know. as kirstin said what we can expect from impact from more sanctions on north korea itself. >> the president had a busy weekend on twitter. he is as you just saw at the cabinet meeting not answering
9:08 am
questions about roy moore. he had said when he returned from his trip, he would speak out on this. instead he's been radio silent on the subject of roy moore and what's going on in alabama. he certainly talk to twitter to talk about lavar ball, the outspoken father of one of the basketball players, one of the three ucla basketball players who the president helped get out of a chinese jail after they were caught shoplifting and they had in turn after he said why don't they thank me, they at a news conference when they returned to l.a. thanked him for what he did. then of course, lavar ball, the father sounding off and so the twitter response from the president's gotten a lot of raised eyebrows. he wrote "now that the three basketball players are out of china and safe from years in jail, lavar ball, the father of liangelo is unappreciative of what i did. i should have left them in joil." kristin how is this going over? >> well, look, i think that it
9:09 am
has sparked a backlash to some extent. you have democrat adam schiff firing back at the president saying how can someone in such a big office act so small? that was on twitter. within the white house though, they're defending the president and say look, lavar ball is someone who is no stranger to controversy. he likes spinning it up. he's, of course, engaged in other controversies. he was baiting the president. when you press officials here about why the president is engaging back with one of these fathers of course, they go to that talking point that he's a counter puncher. it's not a surprise. but bottom line, andrea, for republicans more broadly, it is a distraction from what they want to be talking about. what you started off talking about, tax reform. the fact that it passed in the house and now the focus is on getting it through the senate. and the challenges there and they see these types of twitter feuds as yet another distraction, yet another thing that makes it that much more complicate ford them to focus on the tack at hand, andrea.
9:10 am
>> to that point, peter baker, in terms of what we did on "meet the press" with all the other programs have been doing is talking about roy moore in addition to taxes because the president went after al franken which, of course brought it all back to his own past history with the "access hollywood" tape and then it brought up with kirstjen gillibrand then bringing up the clintons, as well. so we have this conversation now which seems to be talking more about 2016. look at hillary clinton in the little rock this weekend. they were to be celebrating the 1992 presidential victory of bill clinton. this was a reunion. >> i'm going to keep speaking out. apparently you know, my former opponent is obsessed with my speaking out. apparently there was another somebody told me tweet today. honestly, between tweeting and golfing how does he get anything done? i don't understand it. >> obviously, that's an
9:11 am
appreciative pro-clinton audience, peter, but all of this is distracting from the tax cuts because i don't prefer to call it tax reform which it is not. it's basically big tax cuts and it is moving closer to picking up support now that the white house is signaling that it is open to removing the obamacare repeal of the individual mandate from it and moving it closer to what the house passed. >> well, that's right exactly. that's a very delicate dance they've got to try to get this through. 52 republican votes in the senate. therefore, they can only lose three assuming they get no democrats. ron johnson has said he's upset about the pass through business rate. we've heard as you mentioned other senators are concerned about the affordable care act mandate being in there. the president himself attacked jeff flake who has been broken for the president from arizona, call him jeff flaky saying he's a no vote on taxes. if that's the case that, leaves
9:12 am
them 50-50 unless they can talk ron junz to coming back on board and they might lose other senators, as well who expressed concerns about the deficit and the elimination of state and local tax deductions and so on. it's a very, very delicate puzzle piece to put together to get, if you lose support here, you might gain it there. they're not there yet. the question is whether they can get there in order to get to a conference with the house and really hash out the details. >> peter baker, kristen welker, thank you both so very much. and coming up, going public. roy moore's first accuser speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with savannah guthrie on the "today" show recounting an alleged sexual encounter with roy moore when he was 32 years old and assistant da, she was just 14. we'll bring that to you in full coming up. he trash? (sigh) ( ♪ )
9:13 am
dad: molly! trash! ( ♪ ) whoo! ( ♪ ) mom: hey, molly? it's time to go! (bell ringing) class, let's turn to page 136, recessive traits skip generations. who would like to read? ( ♪ ) molly: i reprogrammed the robots to do the inspection. it's running much faster now. see? it's amazing, molly. thank you. ( ♪ )
9:14 am
9:15 am
9:16 am
mr. president? do you believe his accusers? do you believe roy moore's accusers, mr. president? >> thank you very much. >> at his cabinet meeting today, at that photo opportunity, president trump still radio silent on all things roy moore. the alabama republican senate nominee unwaivering in the face of nine separate misconduct allegations ranging from inappropriate sexual advances to molestation of a 14-year-old and sexual assault. claiming he's a victim of a conspiracy from the washington political establishment in both parties. >> i believe with all my heart that mitch mcconnell and the establishment are in cahoots with the democrats to stop this campaign. they have taken a calculated risk for two years with the democrats and tried to elect another republican in two years and they want me out. and so that's what's going on.
9:17 am
>> nbc's gabe gutierrez is in alabama. that is not the posture of the local newspapers down there in alabama which had front page editorial above the fold with an editorial to actually support the democratic candidate. >> reporter: yeah, that's right. the three three of the largest newspapers in alabama owned by the same company ran editorial over the weekend urging voters to reject roy moore. certainly the interview this morning with savannah guthrie on the show, lee corfman detailing her allegations for the first time on television saying some powerful things to savannah and roy moore, as you mentioned as denied the allegations but he has ducked specific questions about the latest round of allegations, andrea, you mentioned at least nine women so far have come forward publicly accusing him of varying degrees of allegations from inappropriate flirtinging to sexual assault. still 22 days before the special election and on friday, i asked
9:18 am
the governor of alabama, kay ivy whether she still planned to vote for moore and she said she did. she did seem pained when she said it as if she was trying to wrestle with a very difficult decision. she did say it was more important at this point to have a republican seat in the senate but she had no reason top disbelieve moore's accusers and despite that reservation, she said she still planned to vote for roy moore. we're still gathering reaction to lee corfman's interview this morning. i spoke with one of leigh's friends who said she was very proud of her friend, has known her for decades and knew of the story for decades. in that sense she corroborates her story. the campaign copies to insys these allegations are false. they have no planned events today. as far as we know, the democratic challenger doug jones, his wife has an event today but he is not expected to be seen publicly either.
9:19 am
andrea? >> gabe gutierrez in alabama and now to that today show exclusive interview. a remarkable discussion between savannah guthrie and leigh corfman the first to come forward with allegations that a 32-year-old moore sexually abused her when she was only 14. >> how are you doing? >> i'm doing really well. i feel like a weight's been lifted. i've had huge support which i can't say how important that has been. and i've had a lot of people that have come out and have said that because of my courage ta they're able to do the same. >> i know the details are difficult. but for those who aren't familiar, can you tell us your interactions with roy moore? you said you were 14 years old, sitting in the courthouse with your mom. he walked up, introduced himself. >> right. >> and then ultimately called you and asked you out for a date. >> right. well, i wouldn't exactly call it a date.
9:20 am
i'd say it was a meet. at 14, i was not dating. at 14, i was not able to make those kind of choices. i met him around the corner from my house. my mother did not know. and he took me to his home. after arriving at his home, on the second occasion that i went with him, he basically laid out some blankets on the floor of his living room. and proceeded to seduce me. i guess you would say. and during the course of that, he removed my clothing. he left the room and came back in wearing his white underwear. and he touched me over my clothing, what was left of it. and he tried to get me to touch him, as well. and at that point, i pulled back and said that i was not
9:21 am
comfortable and i got dressed and he took me home. but i was a 14-year-old child trying to play in an adult's world. and he was 32 years old. >> what did you think in that moment? did you think, i was just molested or assaulted or did you not really think about it in those terms? >> i don't know that i really thought about it in those terms because it wasn't part of my vocabulary. i've been reading harlequin romances for years at that point and i was expecting candlelight and roses and what i got was very different. >> did you tell anyone at the time? >> right after it, i told two of my good friends. and then i told one other, and they told me how bad of an idea this was. and. >> to be with an odor man like that? >> right and that we weren't
9:22 am
prepared for that. when he called again, i didn't go. i made an excuse. you know, and i didn't go. >> how do you think that interaction affected your life? >> well, it took away a lot of the specialness of you know interactions with men. it took some trust away. it allowed me delve into some things that i wouldn't have otherwise. it took years for me to regain a sense of confidence in myself and i felt guilty. you know, i felt like i was the one that was to blame and it was decades before i was able to let that go. >> you speak of decades and, of course, it has been decades that you've held this secret there will be people watching
9:23 am
who say, why now? why not bring this up over the last few years. >> particularly when roy moore was a rising star in alabama politics. ran for election. was a chief justice of the supreme court. >> right. >> and they say it doesn't add up. why wait? how do you respond to that? >> well, it's very simple really. i did tell people. my family knew. family friends knew. my friends knew. i spent a lot of time every time he came up railing against, you know, him, and what he had done to me when i was 14 years old. my children were small. i was a single parent. and when you're in that situation, you do everything you can to protect your own.
9:24 am
and i sat in the courtroom, in the courthouse parking lot and thought you know, i'm going in, i'm going to confront him. >> years later you thought about it. >> 2000, 2001. and i wanted to walk into this office and say hey, remember me? you know, you need to knock this stuff off. you know, i need to go public. my children were small. so i didn't do it. the second time, i actually sat down with my children who were then junior high and elementary school. and i told them you know high overview. and gave them the ability to make the decision. they were afraid that with all of their social connections that they would be casty guyed in their groups. >> you had to tell your kids. >> i had to tell my kids. >> about what had happened. >> right. and we decided together that we wouldn't do it at that time.
9:25 am
so when "the washington post" sought me out, i didn't go looking for this. this fell in lie lap. it literally fell in my lap and i had to make a decision. and i told them that at that time, the reporters who were all just wonderful to me, that if they found additional people that i would tell my story. and they found those people. >> a couple things. roy moore denies these allegations. and further says he does not even know you. >> i wonder how many mes he doesn't know. >> kayla moore, roy moore's wife has suggested that some of the accusers although she didn't name you specifically, that some of the accusers were paid. so i have to ask you, were you paid or compensated in any way by nel entity for your story? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. if anything, this has cost me.
9:26 am
i've had to take leave from my job. i have no tickets to thahiti an bank account has not flourished. if anything had has gone down because currently i'm not working. > when you think about in the sense what you started. >> yeah. >> you decided to come forward and since then eight other women have come forward. >> right. >> what did you think when you starred hearing other stories? can you describe that feeling? i mean, is it relief? is it fury. >> is it joy? >> i think it's a combination of all of those things. my sorrow that others have had to go through this. but here's the beauty of what has happened. the support has been amazing. women and men have come forward to tell their stories that have never had the ability to do so because of my courageous
9:27 am
actions. >> i want to put a picture up of you at 14 years old. a lot of people have seen this photo now. >> right. >> when you see that young lady, what do you think? what goes through your mind? >> she sure did have a lot of promise ahead of her. and she didn't deserve to have a 32-year-old man prey upon her. >> one final question for those who might be watching thinking, what are your politics. >> my politics? well, i've voted as a republican for years and years and years. but this isn't political for me. this is personal. >> leigh corfman. telling savannah guthrie what she feels is the lasting effects of what happened to her when she was only 14 with roy moore. we'll be right back.
9:28 am
thanks for the ride-along, captain! i've never been in one of these before, even though geico has been- ohhh. ooh ohh here we go, here we go. you got cut off there, what were you saying? oooo. oh no no. maybe that geico has been proudly serving the military for over 75 years? is that what you wanted to say? mhmmm. i have to say, you seemed a lot chattier on tv. geico. proudly serving the military for over 75 years. you ok back there, buddy?
9:29 am
9:30 am
9:31 am
and welcome back. one of the most notorious criminal figures of the 20th century has died of natural causes. charles manson convicted killer, cult leader, driving force behind a series of hollywood murders in the late '60s culminating with the heinous deaths of seven people including actress sharon tate died in a california hospital. his impact was felt years after his incarceration for those crimes, in 1975, manson family member lynette "squeaky" fromme tried to an sass gerald ford. manson was sentenced to death but escaped the electric chair when california outlawed the
9:32 am
death penalty. he spent the rest of his life behind bars occasionally giving interviews. chris matthews is the author of "bobby kennedy, a raging spirit," number two on the "new york times" list. >> thank you very much. >> a huge achievement. bobby kennedy in the '68 race. we're talking about that same period we didn't even know there was this invasion of cambodia. nixon was president. we had this is cult and these murders in california. >> it was a time where people were looking for charisma of all kinds. they wanted leadership. i don't know what it was but something about the late '60s, the music, the culture, the sexual revolution. >> the drugs. >> i should say the drugs. here's this guy with a life out of, imagine being his defense attorney. his mother was a prsty tute. at the grew up in reform school. his whole life was in prison. everybody about him was wrong. talk about nurture and nature. all the nurturing of this guy was horrible. then he ends up married a couple
9:33 am
times, once to a prostitute and then he gets into some sort of cult thing he cooks up, some mixture of scientology or whatever it was he home cooked. it's a lot -- remember patty hearts and the symbionese liberation army and jonestown. people were looking for i guess a new religion, a new cult. he was the arch satan of them all. >> jonestown was a bit of an outlier, a decade later. i was there covering the aftermath. but it was the same, it was san francisco, they were church goers. almost 900 people mass suicide following this cult leader, one of the victims, of course, shot on the tarmac there was jackie speier, then the aide to congressman leo ryan who was murdered and we lost our camera crew and correspondent at the time. >> a lot of people moved west and looked for a second start in life, had enthey kept looking for some new deliverance and the guys like this showed up and offered it. >> and one of the abchoremen and
9:34 am
correspondents at the time in california tom brokaw was on "today" this morning. >> wow. >> he was a truly evil dark person and i always believed he knew exactly what he was doing. he was playing with us in that way. >> brokaw remembering all this and squeaky fromme of course, almost if the gun had fired correctly would have assassinate the president ford. >> violent culture. one of two people to shoot at ford. somebody tried to kill wrag gan, almost did. they shot kennedy. >> sarah j. moore who was only in san francisco actually only 17 days later. >> think about the political violence that occurred. we lost malcolm x, george rockwell, almost lost george wallace. it was going on then. >> and, of course, bobby kennedy which you examine and the impact of that on our psyche on our history. >> i know when he died and carried in the train down from new york to washington, the sense had i is just a loss.
9:35 am
and i think a lot of people my age and a bit young are still think about him as someone who was tough, a liberal who had a real democratic sense. a lower case d. he connected with working class white people and working class black people. he wasn't an elitist liberalism. it was very much a down on the ground honest liberalism. it was tough. i think we're always looking for leaders. somebody like him today would be pretty magical but we've lost him. >> when we think about our politics today, here we are. the president has a cabinet meeting his last before the holiday. he's just backing from asia. the seventh cabinet meeting and the questions asked are really about roy moore because he hadn't said anything about it. >> is he going to talk. >> he's not. they are studiously silent on it. if he hadn't been tweeting about al franken last week, perhaps there would have been more questions about taxes and the subject they would like to talk about. >> i think all these issues, all
9:36 am
these issues that come us the trying to discern, everybody will try to disserb what's this different from that different, what behavior was it. i think voters will decide quickly in alabama. i think a lot of people watching may disagree with me. i think the voters in alabama will rebecause of these stories. >> for the republican women of alabama to rise up and peggy noonan wrote that these women victims alleged victims of roy moore were "the deplorables." they were not the daughters of the richest man in town, richest family. these were the young women working in the walmart, working in sears, maybe walmart which didn't exist then, working in red lobster. >> below the line people, the ones that need protecting. > who need protecting and were the most vulnerable. >> i think as a woman you know this better than i will ever know it, mothers will talk to
9:37 am
daughters and get into -- they'll examine their conscience and say can i say yes to this. it's going to be very hard to say yes to roy moore, i think. >> some my be silent and some may write in rather than voting for doug jones. >> jones will race at bortion issue. he's totally pro-choice which may be too far for down there. i'm sure at the end the issue which floor will use will be the cultural values issue, ironically he'll use that to save himself. >> that's a question for pastors who rallied around him. >> all eyes on alabama. who would have thought. >> congratulations on the book. >> i really believe in it. i've written a lot of books but never with such heart. >> make sure, watch chris tonight and every weeknight at 7:00 right here on msnbc. 7:00 eastern. coming up, a long winter. the chilling effect of the mueller probe and the white house staff. that's in our inside scoop.
9:38 am
you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." ♪ give ancestrydna, the only dna test that can trace your origins to over 150 ethnic regions... ♪ ...and open up a world of possibilities. ♪ save 20% for the holidays at ancestrydna.com. there's nothing more important than your health. so if you're on medicare or will be soon, you may want more than parts a and b here's why. medicare only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses.
9:39 am
the rest is up to you. you might want to consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like any medicare supplement insurance plan, these help pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and, these plans let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. you could stay with the doctor or specialist you trust... or go with someone new. you're not stuck in a network... because there aren't any. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide and find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. there's a range to choose from, depending on your needs and your budget. rates are competitive. and they're the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp.
9:40 am
like any of these types of plans, they let you apply whenever you want. there's no enrollment window... no waiting to apply. so call now. remember, medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. you'll be able to choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. whether you're on medicare now or turning 65 soon, it's a good time to get your ducks in a row. duck: quack! call to request your free decision guide now. because the time to think about tomorrow is today. but he hasoke up wwork to do.in. so he took aleve. if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve. all day strong.
9:41 am
it's going to be a long winter. that's the comment of one trump white house associate about the mueller probe's impact on the president's staff. describing mueller's team as working through the staff like pac man that from the "washington post" reporting. let's get the scoop from the writer that have "washington post" article ashley parker. nbc news intelligence and national security reporter ken dilanian.
9:42 am
ashley, tell us the stories that you're hearing from inside the white house about how the staff is reacting, some of the anecdotes to what they are participating or fearing from mueller. >> sure. so there's actually a pretty big debate going on inside and outside the white house about just how wide the scope of mueller's probe will be. i can tell from you you can talking to a lot of people inside the white house, people who work in the west wing every day is that they are -- they're actually concerned what's swirling around outside of hem, they're pretty calm. and the reason is they believe the assurances of ty cobb who is the white house lawyer inside the white house handling the russia probe that this all be over. ty cobb originally said he expected the focus on the president and white house to wrap up by thanksgiving. in an interview at the post last week he revised that timeline to say by the end of the year. they sort of tell us ty tells us it will be fine and we frustrate
9:43 am
him. that said these people outside the white house and in the president's orbit who think it is a deeply naive view and there's no way this is wrapping up anytime soon. they understand you may have to convince you're going to be fine to go to work every day but they say it's wishful thinking on the part of some of these aides. >> a little bit of gallows humor about who is wearing a wire? >> yes, so people are responding to this in different ways. a lot of it is sort of putting their head down, believing reassurances and going to work. other people avoid the mere mention of russia or the investigation and, of course, an is we wrote some gallows humor and joking who here is wired and talking to mueller, what does in this mean. >> and ken dilanian, you've been following the whole track of the jared kushner e-mails and first of all, after real dissent between the democratic leader dianne feinstein and chuck grassley, the republican chair of judiciary. they sent out a joint letter
9:44 am
chiding jared kushner for not turning everything over and then that led to abbie lowell his defense lawyer lashing back at the committee. but in the midst of all of this, mueller is going to get the testimony of this robert goldstone. tell us about the go between for that big meeting in trump tower in june of 2016. >> sure, rob goldstone is a music promoter and he's friends with the aglayer rof family that, family of oligarchs that had been involved with the trumps in the miss universe pageant. goldstone conveyed a message from the aglayer roves to donald trump jr. they had russian lawyer had incriminating information about hillary clinton. this is part of a russian government effort to help your father. he's given an interview to british media where he says i was exaggerate anguish i hadn't put it that way. which frankly, is plausible. he may well have been exaggerate
9:45 am
package what we know tell doesn't seem incriminating. what he hasn't spoken to is where did he get the idea there was a russian government effort to help the trump campaign because there was. i think investigators want to know who told him that and what did he understand about this effort. >> and there's an interview that he did with the london times and said if i'm guilty of anything and i hate the word guilty, it's hyping the message and going the extra mile for my clients using hot button language to puff up information i'd been given. i didn't make up the can he tails. i just made them sound more interesting. that could credibly be what a publicist does. >> yeah, it's possible. but again, the russian government effort to help your father was the language that he used in the e-mail. that was actually true. there was that effort. what did the aglayer roves know about it and what did goldstone know about it. that's the question going forward. >> ashley, is this thanksgiving break a welcome break for the
9:46 am
white house team? presumably the grand jury is not sitting during the holiday. >> in some ways certainly. the president is going to pleurolago. he likes going to these plays he owns and places he's comfortable. bedminster, trump tower in new york. in that way it is a mental breather for the president. that said, you know, the russia investigation continues to move forward even if the grand jury is not sitting during thanksgiving day. and when goes to mar-a-lago, he sort of loses some of the structures and the rigors of the physical building of the white house which can sometimes mean more tweets, some more rash behavior. that's not guaranteed to happen although we had seen that in some instances. >> his interactions with other club members which sometimes have gotten them into a little bit of political hot water, as well. ashley parker, if i don't see you, have a great holiday. ken dilanian, the same to you. and coming up into you, too.
9:47 am
>> no more words. president trump's silence about roy moore is deafening. bill kristol joins me next. stay with us. you manage your a1c, but you also have a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. non-insulin victoza® lowers a1c, and now reduces cardiovascular risk. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill. (avo) and for people with type 2 diabetes treating cardiovascular disease, victoza® is now approved to lower the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. and while it isn't for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (avo) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. stop taking victoza® and get medical help right away if you get symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing.
9:48 am
serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. so, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. gallbladder problems have happened in some people. tell your doctor right away if you get symptoms. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and constipation. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. ask your doctor about victoza®.
9:49 am
9:50 am
white house defenders defending the president's silence on senate can day roy moore while blasting senator al franken. here's what mick mulvaney told me sunday on "meet the press." >> well, i think one of the
9:51 am
significant differences there, andrea, franken admits it and roy moore denies it so i think that puts them in different categories. >> do you believe the women who came out against roy moore are credible? >> i said they're credible. i don't know who to believe. >> you don't believe -- >> i do think they're credible i don't know who to believe. >> if they're credible, why wouldn't you believe them? >> i run the office of budget in washington, d.c. >> and i guess nothing bad ever happens in the office of management and budget. he's a former member of congress, a to-term member of congress, joining me now, bill kristol, editor-at-large of "the weekly standard". >> thank you. >> where do we go from here. leigh corfman was 14 at the time of the incident she described to savannah guthrie. i don't know if you were able to watch it. >> i was. >> it's an extraordinary interview. >> i watched it on this show. it is extraordinary. >> the question, why now? she talked to her friends at the time.
9:52 am
why now? "the washington post" came to her. she says she has voted for republicans continuously. and that she had discussed coming forward earlier and thinks sometimes about the others that may have been affected but that her children did not want her to. >> i watched it on this show about half an hour ago. i was looking around on twitter and i saw cal grichen, a producer here at msnbc tweeted a quote from a boston globe article this morning. alabama pastor earl weiss is supported in the globe saying how they came up with this, i don't know. they must have had stweet dweemz count line and some 14-year-olds the way they look could pass for 20. so, this is a pastor. i and i'm going to say, it really hit me having watched that interview which is moving, well conducted in a dignified way by savannah. >> absolutely. >> and to read this kind of quote from a pastor in alabama defending roy moore. i mean, is someone in alabama going to stand up and say,
9:53 am
enough is enough. this is outrageous. >> peggy noonan said, the women should be stoonding up and the vulnerable. >> kellyanne conway, i've known a long time in the white house, she said on television, when asked are you telling people to vote for roy moore. i'm telling you we want the votes in the senate to get the tax bill through. >> we have a piece of that interview. >> and doug jones in alabama, don't be fooled. he'll be a vote against tax cuts. he's weak on crime, weak on borders. he's strong on raising your taxes. he's terrible property owners. >> so vote roy moore. >> he's a liberal which is why he's not saying anything and the media is trying to boost him. >> so, vote roy moore? >> i'm telling you, we want the votes in the senate to get this tax -- this tax bill through. >> i guess it's -- >> it's sort of a definition almost, i'd say, of the
9:54 am
corruption, not in the literal sense of corruption but in the deeper sense of moral and political corruption. you know, we have -- we believe in this particular piece of legislation. is it really that big of a deal anyway? leaving that aside so we're going to put everything aside, character, his -- it's not just that he did these things 30 or 40 years ago, he's lying about them. i'm going to say that. i believe that's pretty obviously the case, that this happened and he knew this woman. he says he didn't know her, he didn't think the restaurant existed and so forth. he's lying about it. we're putting that aside because you want one more vote for a tax bill? >> now, there's another issue here, one that i think you would agree with the president on, because the president has reversed his administration, the fish and wildlife service on the subject of permitting trophy hunting exports to the u.s. from zimbabwe and zambia. zimbabwe in the middle of a military coup or other type of coup, a country completely incapable of doing what kenya and other countries do, which is
9:55 am
have nonhunting and have, you know, enormous benefits from the trade, from tourism, to watch these magnificent animals. share your tweet. >> it's a wonderful elephant there. i just got worried -- i was glad the president reversed his own administration or stalled it, i guess he's going to reverse it and save some -- the lives of these great elephants. but judging by his behavior, his annoyance when the basketball players in china and then the father of one of them wasn't sufficiently grateful, i just said, i hope the elephants were personally grateful to president trump otherwise he could reverse himself again. it's amazing tra trump has no concept he should do certain things because they're right and he's president of the united state states. it doesn't matter if the individual is nice to him in the press conference afterwards or show it matters. he has no distinction between the office and himself. anyway, i'm glad he's doing the
9:56 am
right thing for the elephants. >> if any elephants, i hope you're appropriately grateful. >> tweet something nice about president trump if you're an elephant. >> thank you very much, bill kristol. every day, on every street, in every town, across america. small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town. that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference.
9:57 am
so, this saturday get up, get out, and shop small. if yor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough, it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc and crohn's. entyvio works at the site of inflammation in the gi tract
9:58 am
and is clinically proven to help many patients achieve both symptom relief and remission. infusion and serious allergic reactions can happen during or after treatment. entyvio may increase risk of infection, which can be serious. pml, a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection caused by a virus may be possible. this condition has not been reported with entyvio. tell your doctor if you have an infection, experience frequent infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. liver problems can occur with entyvio. if your uc or crohn's treatment isn't working for you, ask your gastroenterologist about entyvio. entyvio. relief and remission within reach.
9:59 am
and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow us online and facebook and twitte twitter @andreamitchellreports. kasie hunt is with us. >> happy monday to all of you.
10:00 am
i am kasie hunt in for craig melvin live from washington, d.c. lots of stories we're following at this hour, including breaking news on north korea. now a state sponsor of terror. also, a new allegation. a new accuser reportedly steps forward to accuse senator al franken of inappropriately touching her after he was elected to office. well, this new accusation fuel calls for the minnesota senator to step aside? speaking out. nbc news talks exclusively with the woman who alleges that alabama senate candidate roy moore sexually abused her when she was just 14 years old. her emotional interview and why she says she didn't speak out sooner. plus, trump versus clinton. president trump and his former opponent revive their epic battle, trading barbs and taunts. we'll talk to a clinton campaign staffer and barack obama's former campaign manager about the larger impact of the clash of these former 2016 competitors.