that he will be the -- what did you say, you would give hem the co-signing. >> i'll collateralize your co-sign. >> my backup over here. >> it's getting heavy. >> my fallback. >> thank you both. that's fallback friday. that's the beat. make sure you watch rev this sunday. "hardball" starts now. >> going on offense. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. what's he afraid of? president trump again today attacked the fbi and the u.s. justice system, battering the integrity of roburt mueller's investigation into russian trump collusion. >> it's a shame what happened with the fbi, but we're going to rebuild the fbi. it will be bigger and better than ever, but it is very sad when you look at those documents

and how they have done that is really, really disgraceful. and you have a lot of very angry people that are seeing it. it's a very sad thing to watch. i will tell you that. and i'm going today on behalf of the fbi to their new building, and when everybody, not me, when everybody, the level of anger at what they have been witnessing with respect to the fbi is certainly very sad. when you look at what's gone on with the fbi and with the justice department, people are very, very angry. >> this is getting uglier, isn't it? this attack on the country's federal law enforcement came shortly before the president deliver delivered remarks at fbi headquarters praising law enforcement as people, who, quote, rarely get the recognition they deserve. trump has stepped up his attack. he tweeted earlier this month, after years of comey with the phony and dishonest clinton investigation running the fbi, its reputation is in tatters. and many people in our country

are asking what the justice department is going to do about the fact that totally crooked hillary after receiving a subpoena from the united states congress deleted and acid washed 33,000 e-mails. no justice. the president's newest attack on mueller's investigation references peter strzok, a former top counterintelligence official who mueller removed from his post last summer after mueller learned of messages exchanged with another fbi employee that were overtly critical. one message he sent said, god, hillary should win 100 million to nothing. republicans in the media have used this development to impugn the entire mueller investigation. >> i call on my republican colleagues to join me in calling for the firing of bob mueller, and look, it's time for mueller to put up or shut up. if there's evidence of collusion with russia, let's see it. >> we're now beginning to better understand the magnitude of this insider bias on mr. mueller's team.

>> if one person can be persecuted by an instrument of the government at one standard and another can't, what does it mean to all of us? should we fear our fbi? >> there is a cleansing needed in our fbi and department of justice. it needs to be cleansed of individuals who should not just be fired but who need to be taken out in handcuffs. >> mueller is corrupt. the senior fbi is corrupt. the system is corrupt. >> his conflicts of interest, his clear bias, the corruption are on full display. mueller is frankly a disgrace to the american justice system. >> for more, i'm joined by joy reid, host of a.m. joy. eli stokols, and former special agent frank montoya. listening to this alarm bell from all of these right wingers and commentators and right-wing commentators, you would think they're ready for a military koour. we have to disgrace, like the greek generals or somewhere in argentina. we have to disgrace the entire

u.s. justice system to justify overthrowing it. what's coming here? >> you know, that "washington post" story said that two of donald trump's favorite world leaders are erdogan of turkey and vladimir putin. it seems donald trump has the tools of authoritarianism down. he that the dance of authoritarianism down to a science. step one, claim the investigation of you is a fraud. being conducted by enemies of the state. step two, get your state-run media, your affinity media to echo that into your base and whip them up into a frenzy against those investigating you. step three, get the state party, in this case the republican party, to echo that from the seat of government and say, wait a minute. the people investigating the president are themselves criminals. create this feedback loop that creates a feeding frenzy that has now essentially got republicans claiming that bob mueller, probably the most respected member of law enforcement in the last 30, 40 years in the united states,

essentially being characterized as a criminal, and then of course, you have to add that last step. call for the prosecution of your political enemies in this case, dredging up hillary clinton to again call to lock her up. donald trump is an authoritarian of the first order, and he's behaving like one. >> this is scorched earth, basically, eli. i'm wondering what he would have done if mr. mueller, robert mueller, hadn't fired that guy, strzok, for having this sort of exchange with someone he's involved with romantically and they're exchanging their similar political views, apparently. he fires the guy last july, and now, the trump crowd are saying that's evidence that mueller's not just here. in fact, he's proving his just nature by firing the guy. what is it? >> they would latch on to this either way, because what donald trump, and even to a greater degree, his allies outside the white house are doing right now, you played that montage of all the clips on fox news. there are other trump surrogates, people in the bannon world, people who are not his

legal team who are mounting a defense. it's not a legal defense. it's a public relations defense. it's trying to get the public to discount whatever findings are coming from the mueller probe to protect the president politically. you know, it's all about reality being sort of in the eye of the beholder, perception being reality. and there are a lot of people who are pushing this idea that the probe is a witch hunt just as the president has said. the president is not doing it quite as brazenly as some of the people on fox news, even though he is still out there every day saying that the fbi is in tatters. he might step back and say oh, i just meant comey. i'm just talking about these texts, but the whole thing on the whole is about discrediting the mueller probe and protecting him politically. >> anyway, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein defended mueller in a hearing this week. let's watch him. >> have you seen good cause to fire special counsel mueller? >> no, i believe based on his reputation, his service, his

patriotism, and his experience with the department and with the fbi, i believe he was an ideal choice for this task. >> well, look, frank montoya, it looks like what trump is doing and his allies, is they're basically trying to impeach the u.s. judicial system in advance of something they see coming like a waterfall they're about to go over. do you get a sense that this investigation by mueller is reaching a point where they better destroy the prosecutor or they'll get destroyed themselves? is that the thinking on the trump side of things? >> there's definitely a great deal of fear that something is coming their way. and i think when you look at what happened with mike flynn, that was, you know, a clarion bell as far as that warning is concerned. another part of this, too, that is really frustrating to me is that there's 56 field offices out there, a bunch of people that are out in the field trying to do this job to the best of their abilities every single day. and so these attacks that we're hearing, whether they're from the president himself or from

his surrogates, it's not just about the investigation against him that's being conducted by the special counsel that's problematic. it's about everything else that we're trying to do in the field. i bheen, in terms of the amount of public trust that's being undermined right now, it really makes it difficult to do this job. but yeah, you know, what you're seeing is, and i have seen it hundreds of times in all kinds of investigations, is an individual who is fearful that the door is about to shut on him. >> do you think that works? someone once said to me years ago, they talk about defending the bureaucracy against the regular attacks by right wingers. they said people don't do their best work when they're being dumped on. something like that. my question, does that enhance the anger and the ferocity of the fbi investigation or demoralize it when somebody is dumping on it, frank? >> there's going to be some intensity there, absolutely, because it is a personal affront. but the other part of this is everybody recognizes, if you can't prove the case, then you

don't have a case. i mean, you know, let's harken back to the e-mail investigation. it was the same thing. there were folks that were really concerned about the behavior in terms of using the server. but if you can't -- if the evidence isn't there to make the case, then you ain't going to make the case. and folks, they learn to live with that because that's the system that we live under, that's the rule of law. and what you do is you just work harder to make that case if it's there. if it's not, then you move on to the next thing. >> when do you think mueller will decide if he has the case or not, whether to drop it against the president or go full bore for something that would set up an impeachment process. when do you think he'll decide? >> he's going full bore right now. that's a great question in terms of what they have, in particular, what is mike flynn providing that can lead them to other subjects, in terms of making the case. but another part of this consideration, we're in uncharted waters as far as the president is concerned. are you going to bring charges

in a court of law, write a report and hope that congress acts on it? there are, you know, really smart brains working on this. the question is what venue do they take you into next? that's going to be interesting to see. >> the attacks on the fbi and justice department follow a similar playbook as president trump's attacks remember those on the cia and the intel community. after reports that the intel community concluded that russia intervened in the presidential election to help trump win his transition team mocked them as the same people who said saddam hussein had weapon of mass destruction, and he blamed them for the russian dossier being leaked to the president, something he cared to nazi germany. let's watch. >> i think it was disgraceful, disgraceful, that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. i think it's a disgrace. and i say that, and i say that. and that's something that nazi germany would have done and did

do. >> well, after his inauguration, president trump traveled to cia headquarters where he stood in front of the wall honoring cia agents killed on duty and then delivered a political speech attacking the media and defending the crowd size at his inaugural address. let's watch that. >> we had a massive field of people. you saw that. packed. i get up this morning, i turn on one of the networks. and they show an empty field. i said, wait a minute. i made a speech. i looked out. the field was -- it looked like a million, a million and a half people. >> you know, eli, i don't think he has -- i'll say this again. i said it a long time ago, he doesn't seem to have a sense of the common wlths, the nation as a government, as a republic, of him being responsible for the government, of being part of it and having to reflect our history. when he goes out, you don't just trash all those men and women, mostly men who died for this country and secretly in overseas countries and horrible deaths.

and he uses that platform to brag about crowd size. it's not about the republic for which he stands. it's about him. and only him. >> and that's consistent with who donald trump has been his entire life, before he was president, i know there were some people who voted and said, well, maybe he'll change, be more serious as president. we have seen in the first year of this presidency, the same narcissism that defined donald trump for decades in the public sphere. and you know, even when it comes to national security, when it comes to an independent judiciary, when it comes to the media, he doesn't care about these institutions. he believes they are mainly there to serve him and what's been striking about this is not really so much his behavior but the way republicans have adapted to sort of adopt his behavior. seeing republicans carrying his water and attacking bob mueller when just months ago, the conventional wisdom in washington was bob newmueller, t was saying he had impeccable credentials and now newt is saying he has to go. and newt is not the only one. that change is really

remarkable. >> joy, do you think he would sacrifice an independent judiciary, an independent press, a free press, the institutions of the federal government, especially the fbi, the cia, all to save his skin? would he be glad to destroy all that? >> in a hot second. i think eli is 100% right. this is i am the state. all that matters is me. this is the fever dream of roger stone, if nixon could have run watergate this way and had the republican party defend him, trash the media, trash the cia, the fbi, everything that is not there to shore up donald trump is an enemy of the state because the state is donald trump. it's really frightening when you think about it. as an american, this is not the republic that was set up. donald trump is not the state, but in his mind, he might as well be a roman ov, the state is him, and anyone can be an enemy, even the cia and the fbi. it's really frightening. >> the roam nauvs rule as a family only for themselves.

thank you, joy reid, eli stokols and frank montoya. >> donald trump says he doesn't want to talk about a pardon for michael flynn yet. that's his word, yet. and now that flynn is cooperating, clearly, with special counsel robert mueller, wouldn't a pardon constitute obstruction of justice? and by the way, wouldn't it be after the horse had left the barn? don't you think flynn's already been talking a lot? and that's ahead. plus, the republicans release their tax plan. and now that marco rubio is a res, big surprise, this thing is on track to pass. rich people and corporations will get their trump tower tax cut as an early christmas present. isn't that nice. and talk about the best and brightest. take a look at this exchange between republican senator john kennedy of louisiana and a trump nominee to be a federal judge. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. >> bench? >> no. >> state or federal court? >> i have not. >> well, the guy's got no

experience in a courtroom. what happened to trump's promise to get the best people in the world? let me finish with john mccain. i have words for him, and this is "hardball," where the action is. i have been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. when i met my team at ctca, they put together a comprehensive plan, that gave me an opportunity to accomplish my goals, and my dreams. learn more at cancercenter.com

well, despite having champions republican senate candidate roy moore, president trump today called on him to concede defeat in the alabama senate race this tuesday. let's watch. >> should roy moore concede? >> i think he should. he tried. i want to support, always, i want to support the person running. we need to seat. we would like to have the seat, but as far as roy moore, yeah. i would certainly say he should. >> we'll be right back. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..."

through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424.

welcome back to "hardball." it's been seven months since deputy attorney general rod rosenstein named robert mueller as special counsel for the russia investigation. in that time, the investigation has netted two indictments and

two guilty pleas from people within the trump campaign. and all the while, the investigation is inching closer and closer to the oval office itself. today, president trump defended himself against allegations of collusion. >> there is absolutely no collusion. that has been proven. when you look at the committees, whether it's the senate or the house, everybody, my worst enemies, they walk out, they say there is no collusion. but we'll continue to look. they're spending millions and millions of dollars. there is absolutely no collusion. i didn't make a phone call to russia. i have nothing to do with russia. everybody knows it. that was a democrat hoax. it was an excuse for losing the election, and it should have never been this way where they spent all these millions of dollars. so now, even the democrats admit there's no collusion. there is no collusion. that's it. >> well, the special counsel has not made that determination, nor has the house or senate committees investigating russian

meddling in the 2016 election. here is what has been proven. in march of 2016, george papadopoulos began communicating with russian operatives who hinted at the possibility the russians had thousands of clinton e-mails. then that june, last june, the president's son met with a russian lawyer who offered official documents and information that would incriminate hillary clinton and would be called very useful to your father as part of the russian government's support for mr. trump. we also know that the campaign openly solicit dirt on hillary as russia was involved in a covert hacking operation. >> i will tell you this, russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. i think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. >> when a column today in "the washington post," david ignatius reminds readers that president trump's recent denunciations of the russia investigation recall

the famous legal advice, if the facts are against you, argue the law. if the law is against you, argue the facts. if the law and facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell. he goes on to say that the president isn't arguing the facts or the law about collusion with russia. he's simply pounding the table. for more, i'm joined by david ignatius who wrote the column, natasha bertrand, political correspondent with business insider, and phil rucker, who has been making noise, a great reporter, white house bureau chief of "the washington post" and an msnbc political analyst. first, i want to make a political point. anybody can jump in, purely politics. i know a lot of democrats, a lot of progressives, who are very excited that hillary clinton lost. they blame hillary clinton. they don't blame the russians. they think it's a sperate question. the question of the russian involvement in the campaign is a concern about republic, not any political party. it's a concern about people who care about this party. i don't know anybody who is saying if it hadn't been for the russians, hillary would have rolled to victory. this is untrue. i'll call it that, by trump.

your thoughts on that? >> i think you're right. this investigation is a counterespionage investigation. russia conducted a political covert action against the united states. that was the conclusion of our intelligence agencies in january, and robert mueller is investigating the details of that. he's moving along. he's gathering information. you summarized some of the information that he has got. whether that rises to the level of criminal violations is a question for mueller. but i think in the clip that you played, we saw a classic example, chris, of what i was writing about this morning. president trump was pounding the table. he kept repeating, as if it was an established fact, there's no collusion, no evidence of collusion between his campaign and russia. that's precisely the issue under investigation, and however many times he repeats it doesn't change the fact that mueller is going to continue to look at it, and until that's resolved, the president's claims are entirely

secondary to the investigation. >> natasha, why is he more credible, he thinks, to deny everything that simply deny his role? why does he deny the russians intervened? why is he covering for them? he should be covering for himself alone. >> there a2 theories, the first is that donald trump feels like saying the russians did interfere in the election undermines his own victory and it's an afront on his ego. the second theory is a little more nefarious, and it is that trump feels like this investigation is getting very, very close to him and his inner circle, so he feels like he needs to lash out and undermine the investigation as a whole. which at its core, it is a counterintelligence investigation. robert mueller's mandate says he was appointed so he could investigate russia's election interference. so by casting the whole entire thing as some kind of witch-hunt, as something that was put out by the democrats as an excuse for them losing, he's also trying to undermine, you know, the idea that he was

involved in this broadly. >> well, phil, doesn't he have to deny the role of papadopoulos as any part of his operation? he has to deny the role of his son, donald jr., in terms of the meeting he went to. for him to say he didn't engage with the russians, wouldn't he have to sort of cut off his arms? everybody involved with his campaign that had anything to do with the russians he has to deny, including flynn. is that remotely credible that none of these people were working for him when they were all working for him? >> it's plainly untrue that nobody on the trump campaign had any contact with russians. we have reported and it's been come out as fact that a number of these officials on the trump campaign, including his son and his namesake son, did have contact with russians. but that doesn't mean that there was collusion, coordination, strategic sort of working together to help him get elected. that's what mueller is trying to get to the bottom of. what i think is going on in president trump's head is he's purposely conflating these very separate threads. you have russian interference.

that is a matter of fact, according to our u.s. intelligence agencies that they did interfere in the election. that is separate from colluding with trump and his campaign, and that's what mueller's investigating. >> let me challenge you on that. it seems to me if you have a lot of evidence of the russians offering dirt orhillary and putting it out to wikileaks, all over the place, podesta, the dnc, anything to embarrass the democrats and help trump and hurt hillary, but we also have efz from the other end from trump's people talking to the russian ambassador about reducing sanctions, relieving sanctions. >> that's right. >> so how is that not collusion if there's the quid and the qou? >> well, it's not for me to decide. there's evidence of this communication going on. there's evidence of clearly of russian officials talking to representatives of trump's campaign and of his administration. of his government about policy, about things that they want to happen when donald trump becomes president. such as lifting those sanctions, but i don't know, you know, i'm

not a lawyer and a judge. i don't know if that's the definition of collusion and whether charges can be brought because of that. >> how about seeing a business deal when you see one? one side is giving one deal and the other side is giving the other end of the deal. it looks like a deal to me. somebody is giving, somebody is taki taking, they all are happy. nobody is denying they have been working together. they just don't like the word collusion, because they're both working. one for one side and one for the other side. >> multiple legal experts have been -- they wanted to emphasize the point that collusion is the wrong word to describe this relationship. trump has been very reluctant to criticize putin if at all. there was clearly something else that was going on throughout this entire election. and of course, you know, you have the intelligence, some in the intelligence community saying there was an effort to cultivate trump over the course of years before he actually ran for president. so whether or not this relationship began even before the 2016 election is going to be a question of interest for

mueller as he examines whether or not there was a quid pro quo that had something to do perhaps with his business dealings and his financial interests. that's, of course, why mueller has reportedly issued these subpoenas to deutsche bank, which was donald trump's bank of choice for the last couple decades. >> deutsche bank, which was getting money from the russians. president trump in an exchange with reporters refused to rule out a pardon for michael flynn, yet, who pled guilty to the fbi. >> about michael flynn, would you consider a pardon for michael flynn? >> i don't want to talk about pardons for michael flynn yet. we'll see what happens. >> well, white house lawyer ty cobb was forced to clarify the president's comments saying there is no consideration in the white house of pardoning michael flynn. the lawyer said no yet, but he said yet. what is he saying that for? trump knows what he's talking about. >> i take trump's version, not ty cobb's version. the fascinating mystery at the center of this to me is what it is that trump was so worried

about in the beginning with michael flynn. what was it that michael flynn knew about concerning the conversations that flynn had with -- >> he was told by jared to go talk to kislyak, the russian ambassador. >> so we're going to find out finally the answer to that. why was it that the day after flynn resigned under pressure, trump went to comey and said i would like to see you take it easy on this. we're going to get answers to those questions at the end of the day. but it's really an interesting measure of trump's concern about this that he keeps stepping up the rhetoric. his comments today were as sharp as any he's made. he's going after the fbi, saying the fbi is a mess. the danger is he's going to take law enforcement and fbi people down with him in his attempt to criticize the investigation. >> he seems quite ready to do that. >> chris, let's remember president trump has used his power of clemency before.

he pardoned sheriff joe arpaio of maricopa county, arizona, a controversial sheriff convicted of discrimination in his office, and the president did a political move there to pardon him. i wouldn't put it past him to pardon anybody who is implicated in the russia probe. >> he knows the paperwork, anyway. thank you david, natasha, and phil. phil, you have been doing great. >> up next, republicans today relysed a final version of their tax bill. it looks like they're on track to get the trump tower tax cut passed. all those republicans are falling in line. their bodonors are in love with this, just in time for the christmas present. this is "hardball," where the action is. for five days total.ace o.

we had a power outage for five days total. we lost a lot of food. we actually filed a claim with usaa to replace that spoiled food. and we really appreciated that we're the webber family and we are usaa members for life. jimmy's gotten used to his whole yup, he's gone noseblind. odors. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics... ...there's febreze fabric refresher. febreze doesn't just mask, it eliminates odors you've... ...gone noseblind to. and try febreze unstopables for fabric. with up to twice the fresh scent power, you'll want to try it... ...again and again and maybe just one more time. indulge in irresistible freshness. febreze unstopables. breathe happy.

but on the inside, i feel like chronic, widespread pain. fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica.

for some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. and improves function. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects: dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can do more with my family. talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help.

i'm melissa ray burger. here's what's happening. calming winds are helping firefighters get a chance to get a wildfire in los angeles under control, but the winds are expected to pick up again over the weekend. >> prince harry and meghan markle have chosen may 19th, 2018 as the date for their royal wedding. another first for spacex, it launched and recovered a recycled rocket after it pushed a recycled capsule packed with supplies toward a rendezvous with the international space station. back to "hardball." there's nothing worse than when someone makes a promise to you, you rely on that promise,

and then they go back on their word. and you feel in your gut, i have just been betrayed. people in youngstown feel betrayed because president trump was saying, i'm going to cut your taxes during the campaign. i'm going to expand health care for you. i'm going to make life better for you. and everything he's done in the last year has either thrown something off health care or taken care of the weltiest people in the country. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was ohio democratic congressman tim ryan warning republicans that their voters will feel betrayed if they pass this tax bill. the text of the final bill agreed upon by a conference committee of the house and senate was just released earlier this evening, and according to nbc news, the bill contained temporary tax breaks for individuals with the biggest gains concentrated at the top. along with more modest benefits for lower income people. it also eliminates obamacare's individual mandate, a big death throw at the health care bill, i think. anyway, republicans say with this bill, the typical family in this country of four earning the

median family income of $73,000 a year will receive a tax cut a little over $2,000 per family. as of now, the bill looks like it's going to pass with senator bob corker of tennessee and marco rubio of florida changing their no votes to yes. corker who had previously voted no on the original senate bill released a statement today saying this bill is far from perfect, but after great thought and consideration, i believe this once in a generation opportunity to make businesses domestically more productive, and internationally more competitive, is one we should not miss. the house plans to vote on tuesday with the senate voting after the house. though democrats were part of the conference to decide this, they said they didn't have much of a voice. senator ron wyden of oregon called the process a sham. let's watch him. >> this whole process has been a sham. the fact is, this is a historically unpopular giveaway to the multinational corporations at the expense of the middle class. and the republicans know that if

there's any real sunlight on this, this bill is going to dry up. and that's why they're moving with the speed of light, and i'm telling you, this debate is far from over. >> i'm joined by catherine, a opinion columnist for "the washington post." i guess what stuns me about this, it's such a big fleecing of the treasury and of the average person, and it's such a tremendous windfall in terms of corporate tax reduction, big cuts in the top individual rate for people, getting rid of the alternative minimum tax, really. all these advantages, the estate tax, doubling the exemption, up to $22 million per family. all these goodies for the top, and some money for people at the bottom to keep people happy, but politically, it should be an explosion, like a multi-mega ton explosion politically killing the republican party, and it doesn't seem to be that loud. it's just terrible. what's going on? >> it depends on what you're listening to.

if you're listening to the polls, the explosion looks pretty ear deafening at this point. this legislation or at least previous versions of it, and it's been moving quite quickly, is historically unpopular. it's the most unpopular piece of major legislation in decades. it is more unpopular even than tax increases under president clinton and president george h.w. bush. so the public does not like it, even republicans, if you look at the polling data, don't believe this bill will help them. if you look at the public, at the populists, people on the right and left, it does not appear this legislation is necessarily to their liking. >> let's talk about why it's passing. you know this. who are in the trough here? who is gobbling this up? who wants this to happen, who's going to the president saying if you do this for us, we will get you re-elected? tell me about that community of people. who are they? >> it's donors.

it's the corporate community. it's passthrough groups that want to get the same kinds of goodies that their brethren at c-corporations are getting. it's lots of people in the business community, although not everyone in the business community, i should be clear. not only because there are people with a conscience who care about what will happen to the national dent, who care about what the distributional consequences are and screwing the poor and middle class, but also people who are worried that this legislation is being jammed through so quickly that there are lots of unintentional glitches and loopholes that could actually hurt particular industries. so it's not like there's unanimous adoration for this legislation for the business community, but there are some powerful donors, i think beyond that, the republican party is concerned that if they don't get this signature piece of legislation through, and ron wyden is correct, every day that passes, more people learn how much more they dislike it, and potentially the chances of this thing passing go down, if they don't get it through, then they just look completely

ineffectual. that's the deal that they're making. on the one hand, the public hates it. on the other hand, they gotta please to donors and say they achieved something. >> well, let me tell you what i think is the big casino part. despite the sleaze of it and the inequality of it, and the undemocratic nature and the awfulness of it, there's one big gamble here. if we don't get a really rock 'em sock 'em growth rate coming out of this two or three years from now going into the next election, trump ought to pay for this. he ought to almost be beaten up for it in a sense politically because the whole idea of this is like nitroglycerin. it will explode the economy with all these deregulation, all this at the top level, should be creating a huge growth rate of, what, 4%? what does he have to get to say i did the right thing? >> well, he is claiming not only that there will be growth in the near term, additional growth in the near term, but the long term as well. and actually, economists do generally believe this will be

stimulative, it will improve growth rates in the near term because you're pumping a lot of additional money into the economy, effectively. the bigger question, the bigger test for trump is what are the consequences in the longer term? and basically, no reputable economist anywhere, from the fed, from the tax policy center, believes this will generate nearly the amount of rocket fuel that the trump administration and republicans on the hill claim that it will in the long term. >> and all this could have been done to rebuild america. instead, it's going to the rich. thank you for that great analysis. up next, president trump promised he would appoint the best and brightest to work in his administration. one of his judicial nominees can't answer basic legal questions. meanwhile, his staff is in chaos. omarose ozhas been shown the door, and it sounds like secretary tillerson is the next one to get the boot. you're watching "hardball." the person who opens it.

♪ 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. we are the tv doctors of america, and we may not know much about medicine, but we know a lot about drama. we also know that you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. cigna. together, all the way. it could save your life. touch is how we communicate with those we love, but when your psoriasis is bad,

does it ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to help people with moderate to severe psoriasis achieve completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. don't use if you're allergic to taltz. before starting, you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms, or if you've received a vaccine or plan to. inflammatory bowel disease can happen with taltz, including worsening of symptoms. serious allergic reactions can occur. ready for a chance at 100% clear skin? ask your doctor about taltz today. and go to taltz.com to learn how to pay as little as $5 a month.

and i am a senior public safety my namspecialist for pg&e. my job is to help educate our first responders on how to deal with natural gas and electric emergencies. everyday when we go to work we want everyone to work safely and come home safely. i live right here in auburn, i absolutely love this community. once i moved here i didn't want to live anywhere else. i love that people in this community are willing to come together to make a difference for other people's lives. together, we're building a better california.

donald trump joined the campaign promise he would hire only the best people for the country, on wednesday, one of his judicial nominees, a lawyer up for a lifetime position in a u.s. district court position, struggled to answer basic questions about the law in his confirmation hearing. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. >> bench? >> no. >> state or federal court? >> i have not. >> do you know what a motion in liminy is? >> yes. again, my background is not in litigation. >> do you know what the younger doctrine is? >> i have heard of it, but again -- >> how about the pullman abstention doctrine? you all will see that a lot in federal court. >> well, that was so low key and so brilliant. amid that showing for that

potential trump administration hire, a new "washington post" report says secretary of state rex tillerson may not be staying in his job for long. according to "the washington post," a white house official said tillerson, quote, had not learned his lesson from the last time when trump publicly rebuked his top diplomat on twitter. another official says, i think our allies know at this point he's not really speaking for the administration. let's bring in the "hardball" roundtable. tough night tonight. libby is a reporter for "the washington post." clarence is a columnist with the chicago tribune. we have heavyweights here, as we often do. and i want to ask you about why would a republican senator put a guy through a grilling like that that can only humiliate him or her forever? even if they get confirmed. they will always be known as the nominee for a federal bench position that doesn't know nothing. >> it was stunning to see a republican do that. >> they want to humiliate the

president. >> there is a question with how qualified some of these nominees are. and it was a low-key interaction, but it revealed a lot. this actually, this nominee was qualified, according to the american bar association, but many of donald trump's nominees have not -- a surprising number have not hit that bar. the reason is because they're not turning over the names and checking with the aba before they release the names to the public. instead, they're releasing the names and the aba is saying, here's where their ratings are. more of his judges, his nominees are coming back with not qualified ratings. this is one who was qualified. >> i remember a guy for the ambassadorship under reagan, he was not prepared at all. didn't know about the language, the culture, and they still put him in. but it does make them look stupid. >> it does, and i think in this case, it just looks like there was a quiet rebellion here on the part of committee members who are kind of fed up with the idea of sending these amateurs up here. they really have respect for the law. a lifetime appointment, a

serious business, and they're not getting serious nominees in some cases. >> by that standard, i could be a federal judge. >> i would say the same thing. >> i have all those i don't knows. >> i thought, gee, i thought law school was tougher than this. >> i want to go to omarosa here because we can't forget, omarosa manigault newman gave more details about her surprise departure saying she resigned after a one-on-one with john kelly. >> was it a tense conversation? >> absolutely. because i raised issues that i had concerns. i had grave concerns. >> what kind of concerns? >> i talked to him about some concerns i had about issues, about one very urgent issue, and pressing issue, that would affect the president. in a big way. >> i'm sorry. it's acting class. the whole thing. i'm sorry, i don't know her. i have no problem with her, but i have a problem with the fact she had these positions and doesn't have any serious nature about them and that actor

performance, very impressive. she's great television. but what else? >> your guess is as good as mine about what the urgent issue could have been. >> it's a chapter one in a book she's trying to sell. >> who knows, i guess, but we periodically would see omarosa at the white house, most notably during black history month of this year where she would be often be seated next to the president, sometimes ben carson would be on the other side, and they were very much put on display as the african-americans of the administration, trying to portray some level of diversity that we know is not there. so this is something that omrosa in her two days of being out of the white house, is already raising concerns about. >> why was she bounced? >> pardon? >> why was she bounced? >> that's still the big question. she says it wasn't a contentious thing. she went in and gave her recognition, but a lot of reporting indicates she was pushed out the door. she's not confirming that. >> let's talk about tillerson. tillerson is apparently, he won't take the hint. is that it, that trump won't

fire him. he wants to hint him out of the office? >> i think trump would like to fire him, but he has done that before. and also, we in the media expect him to do it. >> he's allowed to fire that guy. >> he's certainly allowed to, but he doesn't want to go thru the trouble of having to replace him, and he also feels a certain respect for tillerson, although not that much since tillerson made his little comment that he now wants to deny. >> he called him a moron. that would bother most of us. the roundstable is sticking with us. you're watching "hardball."

i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. when you're clocking out. i'm the one clocking in... sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. i can even help with a silent night. does your bed do that? i don't actually talk, but i can tell you how you slept. i'm the new sleep number 360 smart bed. let's meet at a sleep number store. we're on a mission to show drip coffee drinkers, it's time to wake up to keurig. wakey! wakey! rise and shine! oh my gosh! how are you? well watch this. i pop that in there. press brew. that's it. so rich. i love it. that's why you should be a keurig man! full-bodied.

are you sure you're describing the coffee and not me? president trump has portrayed his first year in office as a resounding success. but most americans don't see it that way. according to a new associated press poll, a whopping 69% of americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction under trump. a majority, 52%, say the country is worse off since trump took office. we'll be right back. this is a power plant. this is tim barckholtz. that's me! this is something he is researching at exxonmobil: using fuel cells to capture carbon emissions at power plants. this is the potential. reducing co2 emissions by up to 90%... while also producing more power. this could be big. energy lives here. only fleet enemas feature the lubricated gentle glide tip

for comfortable relief in minutes. not hours. and an ez-squeeze bottle for gentle, simple, fast relief. fleet enemas. the start of fast relief. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave.

and at our factory in boston, 1,200 workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get. we're back with the "hardball" roundtable. tell me something i don't know. >> chaotic and challenging are words used by americans to discuss the trump administration. >> how about mishegas? >> or flashunuga, another one.

the overseas conversations in regard to a building jared kushner owns in new york city, the building on fifth avenue. >> 666. >> how can we forget that number? he hasn't answered the questions. they're getting upset about it. >> time for a pardon. >> chris, president trump has president for 330 days. but wait, there's more. in that time he has tweeted the words fake news 164 times. he's tweeted russia 96 times. m.a.g.a., 94 times. and clinton 72 times. >> somebody had to keep count. great update. when we return, let me finish tonight with john mccain.

( ♪ ) ♪ one is the only number ♪ that you'll ever need ♪ staying ahead isn't about waiting for a chance. ♪ because one is... it's about the one bold choice you make that moves you forward. ♪ ...that you ever need the one and only cadillac escalade. come in for our season's best offers and drive out with the perfect 2017 cadillac escalade for you. get this low mileage lease from around $899 per month. ( ♪ ) from around $899 per month. 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 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.

let me finish tonight with john mccain. there are few people in american politics who match up to my childhood notions. by that i mean members of the u.s. senate whose daily statute tour fits with the portrait of webster, taft and lafayette, whose personality stands alongside those imagined in advise and consent. john mccain, he makes the grade. i've praised him, taken shots at him, sometimes fairly, sometimes not. none of that is important to history, to the gentleman from arizona or certainly to the country. i know full well he could care less what his critics say. that is the measure of this man. i've discovered along the way that those heroes who have faced the horror of war, have truly been in it, come back with a sense of proportion, having endured their rite of passage,

they have little fear for the blows of peacetime political life. i'm a dove, questioning every war our country has begun since vietnam. grenada, panama, and this intifada that trump has trumped up in the middle east. senator mccain has equal or fairly equal reliance on military endeavors, often pushing for greater u.s. commitment. i think i know the difference. i opposed the vietnam war, john mccain fought in that war, made a daring effort to win that war. i get it. i get mccain's moral superiority in this enduring difference of opinion. it took a lot more to fly a jet over hanoi than it did to march in an anti-war parade. who is right in this never-ending argument is vital. but so is the roll call of those who were admirable, who believed in what was our country's right cause. john mccain was faithful to

america, and will be as long as he lives. what i say means nothing. what needs to be said is enduring and ennobling. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts now. tonight on "all in." >> reporter: will you consider a pardon for michael flynn? >> i don't want to talk about pardons for michael flynn yet. we'll see what happens. >> the president dangles a pardon and takes aim at the fbi. >> it's a shame what's happened at the fbi. >> tonight. president trump and the plot to stop mueller. then. >> he said very nice things about what i've done for the country in terms of the economy. >> malcolm nance on the shared talking points between trump and putin. plus quality control. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. >> another trump judicial