legislative victory of 2017, a sweeping tax reform plan after some last-minute changes, the final version of the republican tax plan was released last night. now, the proposed bill expected to cost $1.5 trillion. it would slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, would trim income rates for individuals, the highest would drop from 39% to 27%, eliminate personal exemptions but roughly double standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals, $24,000 for couples. the proposed bill would also eliminate the obamacare provision that requires most americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. president trump wants to sign this bill into law before the end of the year. >> we want to give you, the american people, a giant tax cut for christmas. when i say giant, i mean giant. >> for more on this joining me

nbc's white house correspondent jeff bennett. jeff, the plan on track to pass here, we think. >> it certainly looks that way. you laid out the substance of the bill in great detail. politically republicans think they are on firm political footing. here is why. they were able to flip two holdout lawmakers flipping them to yes votes. on the one side you have republican senator marco rubio, who wanted a boost in the child tax credit for working families in exchange for his vote. he got that. now he's on board. you also have a reversal from tennessee senator, excuse me, bob corker, who says he doesn't want to stand in the way of republican progress on this. he sees it as a once in a generation chance to enact tax cuts to boost job growth. president trump was earlier today happy to talk about taxes. he was headed to marine one on the way to camp david. my colleague asked what is the chief criticism of the tax plan,

that it benefits the wealthy at the expense of the middle class, here is how he responded. >> this really will mostly benefit the middle class and jobs. companies are coming in, they are pouring into the country. they have already started. this will be great for jobs. it will be fantastic for the middle income people and for jobs. >> democrats have taken to calling this republican tax plan a tax scam. they say it's a corporate giveaway. they also say it could come back to bite republicans politically. take a look at this tweet from chuck schumer, senate democratic leader. he writes, tax hikes for millions of middle class families plus huge tax breaks for wealthy and corporations equals even better odds the house and senate become democratic in 2018. meanwhile this republican tax overhaul, aaron, is on the move. the president said earlier if he does get a chance to sign this bill by the christmas break, the irs could implement it by early

february. aaron. >> see how this shakes out. jeff bennett at the white house. jeff, thank you. republicans have been touting the final version of their tax plan as a win, not just for their party but for all americans. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell claims this legislation will bring, quote, real relief to the middle class by taking money out of washington's pocket and putting it into theirs. president trump says the cuss will promote jobs. major companies, cisco, pfizer and coca-cola say they will turn over most gains with corporate tax cuts to shareholders, undercutting president trump's plan to create jobs and boost middle class. quinnipiac show 26% of americans approve of american approve of the tax plan while 55% disapprove. for more who wins an loses,less bring in our panel, jordan

fabian, politics reporter for "new york times," noah biermann and nbc national reporter jane tim. jordan, i'll start with you. we heard how the plan is supposed to help middle class americans, supposed to help corporations as well. who actually benefits -- who actually will this bill help? >> if you're a corporation or a business or wealthy, tax rates from 35 to 20%, that relief is permanent. a big change in estate tax as well. individual side coming down. pretty much all americans working are going to see tax relief. that tax relief is temporary. those tax cuts will go away after a certain period of time after special senate budget rules. really what we're seeing here is a major tax bill for businesses. this is obviously in line with gop dog ma.

the people he support are necessarily getting the biggest piece of the pie in the tax plan. >> back to the poll. quinnipiac showing 26% of americans approve of this plan, 55% disapprove. there's a recent maris poll, take a look at numbers that show 52% of americans think the bill will mostly hurt them while only 30% believe it will help them. "associated press" nrc poll indicates 52% of americans think the country is worse off since trump took office here. take you all that spoke consideration, what's the motivation here? why pass this bill? >> well, i think republicans just think they have to pass something. they did not pass an obamacare repeal. they did not achieve some of their other goals in president trump's year. they suffered a big loss in alabama. it's a bit of a role of the dice. it's not popular but the white house and a lot of congressional

republicans think it will grow more popular once people do see that bigger paycheck, those that do see a bigger paycheck, which will be quite a few people. they are hoping on that. but we'll see, because it's pretty hard for a tax cut to do poorly in polls. this one is doing really poorly. that's the big problem they face. >> jane, senator mitch mcconnell, the majority leader here, has been telling people this is a win for americans. is it really a win for americans, quite simply, or is this really a win for mcconnell? does he need a win here? is this the bill that will do that for him? >> mcconnell no doubt needs a bill. they have been legislating with the white house and senate and they don't have any big legislative win. more than mitch mcconnell, i think donald trump needs to win. he's been out here saying -- as a candidate he said, it's going to be so easy, the winning is so

good, you're going to be board with winning. they haven't won yet. outside of that he goes into election year where midterm elections where senate majority and house majority at risk. if they don't have something to say, look what we did last year, they are going to have an even tougher time. that's where mitch mcconnell needs that win. to keep senate majority he needs his members to say, look, we did something and we did something really, really big. >> jordan, i want to ask you -- let me play you a piece of sound from what president trump had to say a bit earlier today. >> the economy now has hit 3%. nobody thought it would be anywhere close. i think we can go to 4, 5, and 6% ultimately. each percent is $2.5 trillion. we're back. we're going to start to rock. we need this as our final push and you're going to see some numbers that are great. >> the president doing some sort of quick math there. "the washington post" contradicting what the president

is saying, quote, this bill is unlikely to generate sustained 3% growth let alone 4%. the overwhelming expectation of economists is there will be a modest pick up in growth but it won't last long given america's aging population. begs the point, even though quick math there, where is the president getting these numbers from? >> that's a great question for the president any time he's talking about any subject. the reality moseconomists talki about, stock market rallying, positive gdp numbers. some people are asking, this is not necessarily the time for a tax cut to inject further stimulus into the economy since it's already -- it's already going pretty well. in addition to who is winning and who is losing question, there's a question about timing as well that hasn't really been resolved outside of the political necessity of passing this for the republican party. >> marco rubio held out his vote

for a more generous child tax credit in this bill. both he and bob corker were critical votes for gop to win over in the process. rubio and corker on board with this. was that some sort of political theater for rubio and corker going into this weekend? >> i don't think most people expected rubio was going to vote against this. he has not shown in the past a desire to buck the party on big things. he did get a victory for him, though, because he did get a big change in the bill that he can take home. so he played that smartly, politically in that sense. a little surprise. yes, he's a traditional republican who has bucked the president but not necessarily on economic issues. the thing is he's talked quite a bit about not wanting to pass something that would take a huge hit on the deficit. this takes a huge hit on the deficit. in the end he decided, okay, i'm just going to do this. he doesn't have to face

re-election. so he could have stood on the principle he talked about earlier and bought this bill. i think in that sense it was a little bit of a surprise. he went ahead and did it and gave republican party quite a bit of insurance because they are not sure about the health of a couple members including senator mccain. >> we look at the house. the house was going to vote on this plan tuesday. does it look like it was going to make it through the house and senate next. >> i think it will move through the house, the senate may find sticky points. a lot of people say doug jones should be seated before they take the vote. the important thing to remember, it's more than 500 pages. it's very dense material. it's akin to reading half the bible now over a couple of days. house wants to vote tuesday, senate next week as well. they want politically a win by christmas but i think you could see a couple of things slow it down and make it a late

christmas eve kind of voting thing or you may see it get stuck. >> you think there's some members of the house saying i'm not done reading this, i need more time. >> the house will vote through it. any concerns found in the next week could slow down. that's where the vote margin is slimmer, the senate. >> thank you. pack with me a little later on in the program. appreciate it. president trump reaches out to russia with a phone call to vladimir putin from north korea to personal praise, what the two already talk bowed. the white house versus fbi. how continued criticism could compromise the bureau's credibility. >> it's a shame what's happened with the fbi. but we're going to rebuild the fbi. it will be bigger and better than ever. constipated?

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about michael flynn, would you consider a pardon for michael flynn? >> i don't want to talk about a pardon for michael flynn yet. let's see what happens, let's see. >> president trump with reporters on friday not ruling out the possibility of a pardon for michael flynn, former national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. flynn's cooperation is bringing the russia investigation closer to the white house. trump's legal team will be sitting down with counsel next week. as russia probe continues to gain steam americans are weighing in on mueller's progress. according to the poll, more than half said the president tried to impede or obstruct the

investigation. president trump meanwhile saying there was absolutely no collusion here, calling the inquiry a, quote, democratic hoax, a claim backed by president vladimir putin who this week dismissed talk of election meddling as spy mania. i want to bring in our panel, ambassador mcfaul, former ambassador to federation and karen desoto, nbc legal analyst to talk about this. ambassador, i'd like to begin with you. president trump and his russian counterpart shared a fn call we know in which the president changed putin for glowing remarks regarding u.s. economy. i want to get your reaction to that call. >> i thought that particular piece of it was very strange. the president shouldn't be responding to praise from putin. that's exactly what president putin wants. there's no content involved in terms of american national interest for that. we should note in the readout the white house put out, they did say they talked .economy,

and then they added a line about north korea. that's good. the president should be talking to vladimir putin about north korea but not just calling them up to say, thank you for praising me on national television in russia. >> if there's in upside to that part of the conversation, what is the potential downside, potential threat to national security, if there's any. >> well, it just goes back to something i've said for years now, because candidate trump said this as well. i think, i fear the president confuses good personal relations with the leader of a country, in this case putin, with american national interest. they are two different things. sometimes you want to pursue engagement and talk to leaders to pursue a national interest. sometimes you want to sanction them. sometimes you want to push back. but you most certainly don't want to make it personalized. it sometimes seems like his goal of his russia policy is just to get nice words from vladimir putin. that doesn't help us in north

korea. that doesn't help us in iran. that doesn't help us with regard to our agenda vis-a-vis russia. >> karen, as we look at president trump saying that he would not consider -- i'm sorry, saying he did not rule out pardoning flynn, his lawyer, ty cobb has said he's not considering a pardon for flynn. what do you make of this? >> i think it's classic trump first of all, aaron. i don't think he's ever going to tell the press what he's going to do before he does it. also i think there is a lot of questioning, a lot of stuff out there legally, also politically, the questioning of the fbi, what's going on on the hill. hopefully maybe he's thinking let that flush out a little bit better. maybe politically, maybe in the public realm. the more bias or more questions about the fbi. maybe this was a tainted investigation. if that comes out a little more, maybe he could have more of a justification. part of not wanting to pardon

flynn is going to be him getting public backlash for pardoning him. if there is some kind of question as to the fbi, if the investigation was tainted, if there was bias, obviously it would be better for him to pardon somebody under those circumstances rather than circumstances as they stand now. >> ambassador, i want to get your reaction to a "washington post" article that a little that president trump has a willful blind spot when it comes to russia and that affects the way russia is dealt with by his administration. what are the repercussions of not dealing with the threat posed by that country as they actually are? >> well, that was an excellent piece of reporting. we talked to 50 officials and different sources. the bottom line, he just doesn't want to be bothered. he doesn't want to be somehow agitated by news about russia. that's not -- that's dangerous, okay. russia is a major country in the

world. in many places they are competitive, adversarial power vis-a-vis american interest. it is a dereliction of duty for our government not to make him aware of what russia is doing around the world. it's not just cia, the briefer's fault here. at the end of the day, they provide information to their clients, as they call them. i worked at the national security council for three years. as one of them, this is fault of entire national security team. he needs to be briefed about what russians are doing so he can make decisions in america's national interest, not just in the personal interest of the president. >> karen, we've also heard reports that the president's legal team is going to be meeting with mueller very soon. what do we expect to come from that? >> well, this isn't the first time they have met with him but i am positive as an attorney the first question i'm going to want to be reassured my client,

president trump, is still not a target and i'm going on a fishing expedition. i'm going to hope i'm going to get information that will at least give me a sign they are wrapping up the investigation. do i think actually that's going to happen? no, i think they may walk out with more notice to produce, more document requests and them wanting more information. but of course, two things. one, you want to make sure your client is not a target. two, you want some kind of assurance or timing that this is wrapping up. >> ambassador mcfaul, there are growing calls you've heard for mueller to be removed from this investigation. are republicans trying to shut down the investigation with this? >> well, by all appearances yes. of course that would be absurd. the investigation needs to continue to its end. it seems to me like he's doing a very thorough job. i used to work with the fbi director when i was in the government. there are lots of questions still unknown to me that i hope

he's drilling down on. including, by the way, the exchange between the president and the press today -- or yesterday, i guess, about general flynn. now, i don't know that. when he alludes to and he suggests maybe there will ab pardon, what does that do for general flynn's thinking about his cooperation with mueller and his investigative team? have they talked about that before? that's something we should know because that also suggests that maybe there was some improper intervention by the president with respect to this investigation. >> we'll have to leave it there for people to ponder this evening. ambassador michael mcfaul, karen desoto, thank you for your time today. >> thank you. still ahead, a confirmation hearing that has gone viral. why a judicial's nominee's inability to answer bake questions is raising questions about the future of the federal bench. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. (burke) at farmers, we've seen almost everything

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the white house is strug lipping to get some of the president's judicial nominees confirmed the nominations will

not go forward according to senator grassley after they questioned their fitness to serve. now another nominee matthew peterson is coming under fire after this testimony went viral when he couldn't answer the most basic questions about the law. nbc justice correspondent pete williams has more. >> raise your right-hand -- >> it's rare a nominee for lifetime appointment as a federal judge had no courtroom experience. that was a prb for matthew peterson during his senate confirmation this week. the most attention getting questions came from a republican from louisiana. >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> itch not. >> civil? >> no. >> cripple? >> no. >> bench. >> no. >> have you ever argued a motion in federal court. >> no. >> peterson is a former congressional staffer and lawyer in private practice. he served on the federal election commission with don mcgann, the current white house counsel. he conceded he has no background

in trial work. >> i understand the challenge ahead of me if i were fortunate to become a district court judge. >> he did not answer basic legal questions like a commonly used method for blocking trial evidence. >> do you know what a motion in limine is. >> i probably would not be able to give you a good definition at the table. >> overall the white house is doing well with its court picks. the senate has confirmed 12 trump nominees to the federal appeals courts, a record for a president's first year in office and president obama obama's first year he had only three. two other trump nominees from the court were derailed this week, allegations of supportive comments about the kk helped sink him on nomination. >> i don't know you put them on plog blog or social media but things that showed he didn't. >> also called part of satan's plan, gay marriage would lead to

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weeks old. santa ana winds of more than 30 miles per hour are strengthening the thomas fire in santa barbara and ventura counties. more than 900 homes have already been destroyed. the trump administration is facing a setback in its health care policy. a federal judge in pennsylvania temporarily blocking a rule that allows employers to deny benefits if they have a religious it it. hale best known testifying at 1991 confirmation hearing for supreme court justice thomas. hill accused thomas of allegations and he denied them. nevada democrat reuben mckeown announced he will not run for re-election. on friday the house ethics committee said they would open

an investigation into kihuen. he said he's leaving congress in the best interest of his family and constituents. gop is looking at a win after getting a final tax plan out of the reconciliation process. it remains to be seen whether this effort will help them in the 2018 midterm elections. the bill will add almost $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit while polls show public approval is low. yet republicans are hoping legislation controls congress. for more let's bring in republican congress from florida. appreciate your time today. >> thanks for having me on, aaron. >> if you head out to any mall in florida and you run into a single mom there with some kids and she says i'm looking to provide for my child, how do you sell this bill as being a bigger win for her than for corporations who might see their taxes reduced 14%. >> well, i think the first thing you do is explain about the child care tax credit that was

in the news so much yesterday and how that will help her raise that child and support a policy uniting families. talk to her about how simple her taxes will be to fill out now. she won't have to spend hours and hours at the kitchen table with complex forms. fourth thing, her taxes will go down some, too. >> congressman, if she says i'm not worried about the paperwork, i need to go out and buy jeans for my kids growing at a rate write need new jeans every week or i need to send two of my kids to college in a couple years. how do you respond to her about those issues as opposed to paperwork and credits? >> i would also say when that child goes to college, the tuition support deductions and stuff were left in the bill. i would say that the tax cut for corporations that brings us down to the international or global average will bring companies into the united states and prevent united states companies from deploying their capital elsewhere. i think more capital put to work

in the united states combined with expensing of property planned equipment is going to create jobs, grow companies and make more opportunity for those young people when they leave college. >> what if she says i don't have time to wait for all those things to happen, for corporations to benefit this way and that way, for things to trickle down to my level. what if she says i need to be table to spend money now. i need the extra money in my pocket now? >> she'll be getting money in her pocket by april with lower tax rates, maybe even sooner with that with the refundable portion of that child tax credit. >> a limit on mortgage interest deductions, elimination of personal exemptions end up hurting middle class americans some have argued and financially vulnerable in your state. is that the case or no? >> i don't think that's the case at all, aaron. the mortgage interest deduction applies to houses up to $750,000. i'm not going to weep for someone with a house worth more

than $750,000. as far as the other things, i think there's going to be opportunity created by the rest of the things in the bill. that will benefit everybody. if you're in florida with low taxes, no income tax, you're going to benefit by the relative advantage florida has over those high-tax states. >> congressman, "the washington post" writes, quote, i'll show this to you, republicans will have a body of work next year. the tax bill which will include ending individual mandate, affordable care act of 2019 will allow them to tell their core supporters they are delivering what they said they would. tax cuts have been part of the republican mantra for a generation and at times served the party well politically. this bill will test the potency of tax cuts in today's economic and political environment. do you believe passing this tax

bill will help your party maintain control of congress in 2018? >> i really don't know about the politics of it. i'm such a neophyte for this political world. i know it's a good thing for stimulating investment. the things we talked about i think are good for middle class americans. it will tribute to states getting financial house in order like we do here in florida. >> are you worried about this bill increasing the deficit by $1.4 trillion and how voters will receive that deficit increase? >> yeah i am worried about that. i wish there would have been a way to accomplish tax reform without a trillion and a half dollars debt. two-thirds of our budget is locked in entitlements we can't do anything about without fundamental reform without entitlements to social security. very little willingness for anybody on either side of the aisle to tackle that. >> congressman, if you had

another six months to work on this legislation would you still be satisfied with the bill's current form to pass it as is. >> i would. if you look at the process how this started, very simple clear bill. then all the lobbyists and special interests of all persuasions started descending on capitol hill. i think the senate and house tax writing groups managed to repel most of them. it would have happened any time when you get in the red zone, so to speak of tax reform purchase florida congressman francis rooney, we appreciate your time today. thank you. >> thanks, aaron. have a nice day. >> let's bring in our panel. jason johnson former strategist for ted cruz's presidential campaign and senior adviser for new york state democratic party. thanks for being here. basel, president trump calls the tax plan a christmas gift for voters. >> this is going to be one of the great christmas gifts to middle income people.

the democrats have the standard sound bite before they even know what the bill is all about. they talk about for the wealthy. this is one of the great gifts to the middle income people of this country that they have ever gotten for christmas. >> is the president right here? the bill is going to benefit the middle class and democrats just aren't on board with that? >> no. i think that's absolutely incorrect. it is going to be very difficult for republicans to disabuse the american people that this bill does not help corporations and actually hurt low and middle income families. those corporate tax breaks are permanent. tax breaks for low and middle income families end up expiring. by 2027 you'll see a number of households end up with less after tax income. 62% of those families will actually see an increase in their taxes. i think if democrats have the opportunity and will to be able to go and talk to independents and some that voted for donald trump that may be having a

little buyer's remorse right now, i think that's a message that hits home. >> talk to you more about that message in a second. jason, to you, a recent quinn yack poll finds 26% of respondents there approve of this tax plan. when asked if voters were more likely or less likely to support their lawmaker for re-election if they support this bill only 18% said they were more likely. why push through through now? voters just don't seem to be behind this. >> first of all, as we know, public opinion polls are only as good as the information that informs the opinion they measure. the truth of the matter is, many good things happened in the conference committee. the most unpopular portions of this bill were addressed. for example, a family's ability to expense medical expenses or deduct medical expenses. pardon me. also college students and graduate students, their ability to deduct their expenses on

their student loans. there were portions out of the senate, originally the senate's bill for small business owners and the way they were treated as well. those and many were. right if you we're going forward on information that's been provided. when we get into 2018, we will know the real impact, and it will be real simple. for the average american when they receive their paycheck, is it higher or is it lower than it was in the calendar year 2017? the truth of the matter is, if you look at every tax bracket from 10% all the way to the top, either specifically with the bracket -- the rate itself or a combination of the rate and deductions, every single american will be taxed at a lower level. that's not only good for american families, i believe it will be a net positive

politically for the republican party. >> jason, i want to go back to the premise of the question, though. if people as you say -- if polls are only as good as the information people have, this bill has just come out. people are still trying to absorb all the information in this 1,000 page document. why push this through so it's on the president's desk and signed but before the end of the year rather than work this out, give people time to look at it, talk about it. the public gets a chance to talk about it. why push this through? >> well, first of all, it's been debated for quite sometime now. with regard to the end of the year, i think it's pretty simple. tax years fall on calendar years. it would be really nice both for families and for businesses to be able to go into the new year 2018 with certainty about what their tax rates will be. but look, let me also say very clearly, i do not believe that the republican party or republican leaders have nestle done the greatest job of selling this tax bill. it will be incumbent upon

republicans in the new year, particularly when they start campaigning for re-election not only to point out the obvious benefits but talk about the justification and why tax cuts were good to grow the economy and hopefully continue to reduce unemployment. i'll add this very importantly. we don't know yet. i think the thing that will be most important to determine whether or not this is good politically, do we actually see wage growth, which to date we have not seen. >> jason, thank you for that. let me ask you, how are democrats going to message around this -- what you're doing this year? is it going to be focused on the economy? see more identity politics as part of what democrats are saying in the coming year. >> i'm not scared of identity politi politics. it's been working for us in virginia and alabama. i don't think they are going to shy away from that. i do think of going back to the point i was making earlier. it's really about think about

donald trump came into many saying what are you going to lose, champion middle class workers and low income families. this bill in particular does actually the opposite. corporations are sitting on $2.3 billion in cash reserves and it's growing. we're at full employment. i understand there's an issue in terms of wage stagnation. the truth of the matter, what does this do for families? they may be taking the tax cut now. it will increase to pay for corporate taxes being slashed so dramatically. so the problem with tax bills like this is that it's so complex. it's so dense it's hard to go to communities and have long conversations about this. the truth is because voters are much more keen to look at the administration and have concerns about its governance and what it's going to bring back in 2018, i think more people are focused on this more than ever. >> gentlemen, leave the debate there. thank you both. president trump blasts the fbi again. we will delve into the motives

behind conservative attacks on the bureau. plus the text messages fueling an effort to discredit special counsel robert mueller's investigation. ♪ (news anchor) downtown traffic is still bad. expect massive delays. (radio channel changing) (news anchor 2) all lanes on highway 50 remain closed at this hour. (news anchor 3) the stats are in and this city leads with some of the worst traffic, with the average driver sitting in gridlock

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president trump and republicans ramped up attacks on fbi after the justice department released text messages between employees appearing to show strong personal president. outside the white house on friday, the president called those texts disgraceful. >> well, it's a shame what's happened with the fbi, but we're going to rebuild the fbi, it will be bigger and better than ever. but it's very sad when you look at those documents and how they've done that is really, really disgraceful. >> now, republicans in congress doubled down during a hearing on wednesday, with deputy attorney rod rosenstein. >> we are now beginning to better understand the magnitude of this insider bias on mr. mueller's team. >> back with me now, jordan fabian, white house correspondent at "the hill," noah biermann from the los angeles times and jane kim, political reporter at nbc news as well. jordan, the president criticized

the fbi just a few hours before giving a speech to a group of graduates at quantico. why go there? >> that's his base. he loves the police. he ran as a law and order candidate. it was interesting to hear the difference in his tone in that speech versus right when he left, when he was really undermining the fbi, questioning their integrity, in an effort to discredit this investigation that's ongoing with special counsel robert mueller. >> and noah, the president and his supporters have been trying to make this case against the fbi, against fbi bias. they say these text messages and some edits made to jim comey's 2016 announcement on the hillary clinton e-mail server issue, saying -- they changed the criticism from grossly negligent to extremely careless, they say that this proves that the fbi is biased at the highest levels.

is that concern justified? >> well, i think there are some real issues with the text messages, but i think the bigger picture is the president and his team. they see it as a political issue, the same way that the clinton white house, when they were under fire, even though these were criminal -- or investigations, they see it as a political issue, and the president would very much like to end it soon. he's putting a lot of pressure on congress to end their investigation soon, and hoping that will put additional pressure on mueller to end his investigation soon. they just want this over with. and the more that they can muddy the waters there, the more that they can make the argument that, hey, this is just politics. >> jane, "the washington post" in the latest twist in this conversation, is citing some anonymous sources saying that pro-clinton sentiments in the fbi text messages were a cover for an extra marital affair that the two officials were having. is this going to hold water with

the president, with the gop critics? >> "the post" reports that the clinton investigation is what these two people told their spouses is why they were in constant contact. the pro-clinton sentiment, i'm not sure that's what this is. but it will create conspiracy theories, every time there's an affair, where it looks like bias, it will give fodder to those who want to stain the investigation. but these two people, one had been reassigned already, one who was reassigned because of these messages, they're more concerned with them having an affair. but it might be fodder for the conspiracy theorists as much as it is for the diverorce attorne. >> the president and his team will meet with mueller next week. what can we expect from that? >> i think that's where the president's personal attorneys are going to get a sense of

where this investigation is going, what direction is it going in, is the president under scrutiny for potential obstruction of justice, are there more charges coming down the pike. that's the questions that could be answered in that meeting. there's a lot of talk that the president could be making a move against robert mueller. it doesn't really make much sense if you believe his assertion that there was no collusion, why would he make that kind of move? but there could be some more clarity to that strategy coming out of that meeting. >> and noah, very quickly, what's your read on this? >> well, i think this is also very important to the president's lawyers, because they have been assuring him this is going to end soon. and most outsiders don't think it's going to end soon. and there's a lot of speculation in trump's circle, we wrote about this today, that, you know, he might act to fire them if things don't end soon. and if he fires them, they've been the ones who have been really trying to keep this very cooperative with mueller's team, saying on the record, publicly, that the president will not fire mueller.

so that's a big deal if they don't come back with something that pleases the president. that's going to be very important for sort of how things layer after that. >> all right, jordan, noah, and jane, thanks so much. still ahead, president trump defends the gop tax plan before heading to camp david. who he claims will benefit the most. and the truth is out there. reports about a $22 million pentagon program aimed at investigating ufos. when it's finally sunday and you've got no plans but with your comfy pants... (alert chime on phone) keep it simple with marie callender's roasted turkey & stuffing. tender turkey with stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, and made from scratch gravy. spoiler alert, things are about to get good. (click, laughter on tv) because me time calls for marie callender's.

was supposed to be a wake reup call for our government?sh people all across the country lost their savings, their pensions and their jobs. i'm tom steyer and it turned out that the system that had benefited people like me who are well off, was, in fact, stacked against everyone else. it's why i left my investment firm and resolved to use my savings for the public good. but here we are nine years later and this president and the republican congress are making a bad situation even worse. they won't tell you that their so called "tax reform" plan is really for the wealthy and big corporations, while hurting the middle class. it blows up the deficit and that means fewer investments in education, health care and job creation. it's up to all of us to stand up to this president. not just for impeachable offenses, but also to demand a country where everyone has a real chance to succeed. join us. your voice matters. when trying to save for the big things in life...

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>> hello, everyone, i'm aaron gilchrist at msnbc headquarters in new york. >> this will be great for jobs. it will be fantastic for the middle income people and for jobs. >> president trump defends the gop tax plan, which now appears close to final passage, but who will really benefit from the bill trump is calling a christmas gift to the american people? plus, from the hollywood hills to capitol hill, more sexual harassment allegations emerge, in what's become a year of reckoning. now a house member says he will not seek re-election after allegations surface against him. and is there anybody out there? reports of a secret government-funded program focused on ufos. we begin with the republican tax plan, now looking like it is headed for passage, after republican holdouts, senator rubio and corker, agreed to support the bill. this gop tax overhaul is expected to cost almost $1.5

trillion, and will slash corporate taxes from 35% to 21%. tax rates for individuals will also go down. the highest rate dropping from 39% to tlen37%. it doubles the standard deduction. the proposed bill would eliminate the obamacare provision that requires most americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. now, earlier today the president pushed back against criticism that the kufcuts mean a bigger break for the rich. >> this will be great for jobs, it will be fantastic for the middle income people and for jobs. it will also benefit lots of other things. i mean, if you look at the whole thing, everybody's going to benefit. >> joining me now, jeff bennett. what did it take to get the holdouts on