thanks for watching, i'm stephanie ruhle. right now on msnbc, andrea mitchell reports. >> president trump denies reports that he ordered robert mueller to be fired last june. >> fake news, guys, fake news. >> salesman in chief, coming home with no new deals. >> i believe in america.

as president of the united states, i will always put america first. but america first does not mean america alone. and back flip after ignoring or even covering up larry nassar's abuse of young decades, the board of usa gymnastics is told you're fired. >> they put medals, reputation and money over the safety of athletes. good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president trump's outrage over robert mueller's investigation reaching a boiling point back in june. ordering don mcgann to have his justice department fire the special council. mcgann refused. joining me now, kristen welker,

nbc national security and intelligence reporter ken dilanian, ari mel better, and former obama white house council bob bower and axios national political reporter jonathan swan. kristen, set the table, you were reporting on this last night. >> a source familiar with the matter confirmed the report that this past june, president trump ordered the firing of robert mueller, and that his council don mcgann refused even going so far as threatening to quit himself, that's really what blocked the president, the president was making the argument that there were all sorts of conflicts of interest, don mcgann was making the argument, if he were to take such a step, it bo be catastrophic for his presidency. publicly, president trump has denied that he ever thought about firing mueller he was

asked about this a number of times. those close to him have publicly indicated otherwise including telling pbs the president was considering firing robert mueller. the president's legal team is having connotations right now about the size and scope of a potential interview with the president. the fact remains mueller remains on the job fp it underscores the extent to which this entire russia probe gets under the president's skin and infuriate him. >> what are the legal implications of this. he didn't do it, he didn't fire mueller. >> presidential orders are generally followed. the implication being that don mcgann viewed this as unlawful,

maybe he knew more about the state of mind or direct intention of the president. number two if this were to continue to happen or he still tries to do it -- go ahead, sorry. go ahead. >> you continue your thought -- please continue, ari. >> if he tries to do it in the future, there is a little limitation and i can read that to you. the special counsel can only be removed by the attorney general or acting rosen stein in this case for dereliction of duty or cause. an attempt to remove mueller could be overruled and he could be reenl stated. >> let's talk about what was going on during that time, jonathan swan. it was a critical period in june. comey had been fired there was outrage over that, this would have been what some thought would be a final blow. >> right. >> given the congressional reaction in both houses.

>> the president was utterly preoccupied by the russia investigation. he had people feeding his impulses that this was a deep state coup. the other part of this, which i think is interesting is that he hasn't fired bob mueller, the one thing we haven't talked about is the influence of ty cobb. he's known bob mueller for quite a while, and he's been a restraining influence on the president. >> ty cobb was not the president's lawyer back then. >> since coming in was my point. >> that's exactly my point that there was no restraining influence on him outside of the white house, we don't know this, but this could have been the

impetus of his personal lawyer at the time. his long time personal new york lawyer not familiar with these kinds of investigations, because the reasons that were given for why mueller had a conflict of interest are bizarre to say the least. >> they are. >> beginning with the suggestion that the conflict arose out of mueller's unhappiness with an increase of the fees charged by the golfing facility owned by trump which he belonged to. >> which mueller quit. >> the president thought there might be some enduring animous -- >> it seemed like a ginned up rationale. >> mueller was faced with the reasons trump was given that don't add up, every time you provide what appear to be sham excuses it tends to focus on your real reasoning. >> that real reason ken dilanian might be a possible obstruction of justice? >> sources tell me that robert

mueller, if he decides to goes for with a charge or presentment of obstruction of justice will make this a key aspect of the conspiracy along with donald trump asking comey to drop the mike flynn investigation. trump allegedly asking his intel chiefs there was no collusion. some key witnesses are going to include christopher ruddy. everyone's going back and looking at this clip, where ruddy told pbs news hour that this was under investigation. >> let's play that clip. >> there are some republicans out there saying that robert mueller shouldn't be doing this job. is president trump prepared to let the special council pursue his investigation? >> well, i think he's

considering perhaps terminating the special council. i think he's weighing that option. i think it's pretty clear by what one of his lawyers said on television recently. i think it would be a significant mistake even though i don't think there's a justification, and even though -- i mean, here you have a situation. >> you don't think there's a justification for -- >> for a special council in this case. but also -- i mean, robert mueller, there's some real conflict. >> chris ruddy, a good friend of the president, someone he sees at maralago. had been talking to the president, that was back in june at the time this was coming together. >> i think it's important to point out that white house officials denied that firing mueller was under consideration. and there's no other way to characterize that other than a lie. they may not have known they were lying, but donald trump

certainly by the evidence we know today knew that was a lie, to say the firing of mueller was never under consideration. mueller's going to look at that as and ask the question, why were they trying to cover that up. >> you know the hierarchy here, don mcgahn says i won't do that, i will quit. he doesn't say it to the president, he says it to someone else, who is among the sources for this story. that's been reported by the washington post, new york times nbc and everyone else. he could have only been speaking to colleagues, co equals or bosses. it could have been reince priebus, the chief of staff at the time, perhaps a member of the family who was without their title being so close to the president. but he's not speaking down and saying i'll quit if this happens. >> he's communicating with someone he expects to rely the message. there would be no reason to think the president backed down.

he would have had to hear the threat. it seems unusual that the white house council would not have had a conversation directly with the president, and you raised an interesting possibility earlier, that at that time, mr. cassowitz was installing himself very much in the building there will were tensions between the white house council's office and the president's lawyer who was communicating with members of the staff. in that complex situation, it appears mcgahn may have been distant from the president on these issues, nonetheless, he managed to get his point across. >> casowitz trump's long time new york attorney. he could have been feeding the president these justifications for the firing? >> the president had, this was a really out there legal team he

had around him. casowitz who had defended him against women accusers and various mischief in new york, who was late at night verbally abusing people, then you had seculo out there on tv, full of bombast. i know from sources who spoke to don mcgahn he had a very low opinion of the legal team, there have been tensions throughout between the white house council and the legal team handling the russia investigation. >> what is the legal implication, you as an attorney and anchor of the beat, could this contribute to a pattern as robert mueller builds a case? >> exactly, that's why this is a big story. it's worse than the comey firing, there you would have some sort of defense of ignorance.

the president maybe didn't know what he was doing. and it's broader. they claimed it was about the hillary clinton case that they removed jim comey than donald trump admitted that russia was on his mind. here it's all about russia. one more point, he also had the big scoop, where donald trump's fbi director threatened to resign over the deputy fbi director because of the links in donald trump's mind really. i know a lot is always going on, here in the span of a week, two reports about senior people threatening to resign over meddling with law enforcement. >> what about the political fallout? >> we know that senator

blumenthal was on last night, saying this only reinforces their demand that there be some sort of protective legislation to protect mueller, republicans have not been willing to consider that. >> that's right, i think you're seeing democrats pounce on this information, and i think they will continue to do so. look, i think the strategy, though, behind the scenes from the president's legal council, andrea, you were talking about this earlier in the segment, is to try to be as cooperative as possible. to try to move this investigation along, when you talk about the politics of it, they have really encouraged the president to scale back his attacks against bob mueller, we have seen that largely, we have seen the tweeting scaled back significantly since he's put this legal team together. and that has helped this to not get ensnared so much in the politics. again, you're seeing democrats pounce on this new revelation,

undoubtedly, when everyone's back on capitol hill next week, this is what everyone will be talking about. >> what we see coming out in this reporting is the white house staff surrounding the president, trying to in fact mislead him, telling him he didn't have the right to fire mueller, which arguably he may have the right to do without any intermediary, he also considered firing rosen steen, the deputy a.j. at the time, who is overseeing the -- currently the deputy a.g. because of the recusal of jeff sessions. >> that's an interesting point. he considered firing rosen stein, and said that robert mueller is doing everything by the board, and trump doesn't appear to be happy with that. and absolutely, you're referring to another report that a junior member of the white house council's office was not honest with the president about his authority to fire.

and now one wanders whether don mcgann was in the loop in that decision. we have a statement from adam schiff. demonstrating the nixonian length this president is willing to go to protect himself. you have mark warner saying it would be a red line to fire mueller, and congress needs to take steps to make sure that that cannot happen, andrea. >> bob bauer, can you put yourself in the position of don mcgahn. the president of the united states, the commander in chief comes to you and says, i want to fire the special prosecutor, what would you have said, what would you have done? >> the first question is why, and the reasons given, if they prove not to be satisfactory, would lead you to say, that's very unwise, if the president insists, then you have to try to explain and the times reports

did explain what the political consequences would be. if the president insists more, that would be up to the white house council. according to the times, mr. mcgahn made it clear at least through intermediaries he's not prepared to do that. >> is that something you should be making clear directly to the president. >> i don't know enough about the circumstances to say. the times reporting is accurate, then his message was received. >> quickly, john? >> it's stressing how much of a credibility crisis the white house has. you have donald trump saying it's all fake news, what we don't have is a statement from don mcgann denying the new york times report, when my story came out, trump said it was all fake news, the fbi and the justice department had the full text of my report. they knew the reporting, and they did not dispute one fact. >> and ty kolb his personal attorney. his only comment was, that he would not comment because out of respect for the process of special council investigation. that's hardly a denial.

>> it's absurd. you have the fwrez saying it's fake news and no one else in the white house denying it. that's insane. >> and it tells you a lot. >> it would be highly unlikely the white house council would be heard on this subject publicly. >> thank you so much. great to see you. on sunday, joining ari melber, a special town hall event. this sunday 9:00 eastern, our thanks, of course, to ken dilanian and kristen welker. the president trying to sell his economic vision to some of his toughest global critics. why make something this intelligent... (engine starting up) ...when it can get by on looks alone?

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i believe in america. as president of the united states, i will always put america first. just like the leaders of other countries should put their country first also. but america first does not mean america alone. when the united states grows, so does the world. >> president trump at davos earlier today, promoting what he

calls his america first agenda, offering no new proposals today, joining me now, the former treasury secretary during the clinton administration, and economic adviser to president obama as well thank you very much for being with us. how hard was his challenge going before the global elite when he has opposed the paris climate accords, and dropped out of -- well, he's criticized nafta, dropped out of tpp and gone against europe and the rest of the world on almost every economic initiative? people in davos were going to be polite. and they were polite. they like getting their taxes cut, that's made them more

accepting of a range of policies the president has put in trade. america first, let's remember where that phrase first came from, it was the phrase of a movement that lindbergh led at the end of the 1930s and 1940s, showing sympathy for germany and resisting the idea of america standing up for freedom and international cooperation in the world. one shouldn't confuse some relatively harmonious words said in davos with a healthy set of policies, i think this administration is the most dangerous to global prosperity and peace, that we've seen since the second world war.

the president has some very good numbers, he won his tax cut, and businesses are happy that -- happy about deregulation. how does that play out here. >> job growth was slower in 2016 than it was in 2017. there are good things happening in the global economy. the revisions upwards were much bigger in other countries than they were in the united states. and donald trump isn't the president of those countries. yes, the stock market is up, but stock markets in europe and japan are up more than they are in the united states. here's what i would encourage your viewers to look at. if what was happening is what the president says is happening, there was this huge tidal wave of capital coming into the united states because the united states had become such a great place to do business, if that's

what was happening, we would think there would be a big demand for dollars and the dollar would be going up. in fact, the dollar's had its worst year since the president was elected. in more than a decade. and so that tells you that it's some other set of things that are going on, not the story that the president is trying to tell. >> let me drill down on a couple other things, the president's anti-immigration posture, his view on refugees, migration, all of that, how that plays around the world, and the fact that we have fewer foreign students coming, less foreign investment, and less tourism here, and tourism dollars are a big deal. >> andrea, we always thought of global risks as being things that happened in other places. we've now got a president who's

made the united states the leading geo political risk in the world and in many ways a leading risk to global pr prosperi prosperity. you know well you don't judge the health and economic policies by whether the stock market goes up over a few weeks or a few months. you can always have a party and make people feel very good. the real question is, what's happening to the fundamentals. and there there's not a lot to look at to be encouraging, particularly in terms of the relationship between the united states and the global economy. and as there are more and more threats of protection, more and more withdrawal of the united states from international agreements, more and more lack

of trust in the united states. i mean, take something that happened in davos this week. 11 other countries are going ahead with trans pacific partnership, that means that 10 other countries are getting privileged access to the japanese market that we could have had but that we lack. that's hardly a success of deal making. it's hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to china than for the united states to make a set of promises to 11 other major countries in asia and then break those promises. that's a big gift to the chinese in terms of their influence. it's hard to imagine a second great gift to china than for the united states to be pulling away from all the major international

institutions, making room for china to have much more influence in shaping the direction of those institutions, so i think we're making very serious mistakes here, i don't know what's going to happen to the markets over the next month or two, they have a lot of momentum right now. what i do know is that at a moment when the economy was booming, we just shot the fiscal cannon with a big tax cut. and if economics knows one thing, it's that sooner or later there will be a recession, and we fired off most of our ammunition already. and that's going to put us in a very problematic position when the next recession comes. and the administration's doing almost everything it can to make

that worse. to already have the fiscal policy, to be trying at least some days to drive the dollar down, to be trying to strip away some of the protections and financial regulations to make the system safe when there's a down turn. i think it's a very risky strategy. you can always drink a lot and feel good, but that doesn't mean that things are good and that they're going to stay good. >> larry summers, very tough prescription. thank you very much for your diagnosis. and coming up, fighting back. mayors from across the country boycotting a meeting with the president, after a surprise crackdown on sanctuary cities. the leader joining me next. there's a vacation at the end of every week with hilton.

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sanctuary cities. angry democratic mayors boycotted the meeting in d.c. >> my administration is committed to protecting innocent americans. and the mayors who have chosen to boycott this elite have chosen to put the needs of criminal immigrants over law abiding citizens. let me tell you, the vast majority showed up. the vast majority believe in safety for your city. >> mayor mitch landry joins me now from the conference of mayors, thank you for being with us. are you putting illegal immigrants above the safety of your city? >> andrea thank you so much for having me, it is a pleasure to be with you, a couple comments, mayors across america are tough people who are in the field every day, our number one priority is to keep the people of america safe, we have 800,000

law enforcement officers at work for us collectively, we oversee homeland security in our cities. we keep america safe. this is an unfortunate incident. this white house for some strange reason has had a difficult time having open, constructive and transparent communications. we had, in the middle of our annual conference, asked the mayors to come over. we made sure we negotiated for three days on opiod, mental health and substance abuse, all kinds of things like that, not to mention the infrastructure bill that's coming forward, just a couple minutes before we entered the white house, the department of justice basically dropped the bomb on the head of 23,000 mayors. that made it impossible fors to go there and have a constructive discussion about the issues we were supposed to talk about. much less the volatile issue of sanctuary cities we're working through. i have a lot of time to talk

about that, but as a matter of trying to bring people together to come to bipartisan solutions, that's not the best way to have a constructive discussion. i thought it was important to stand up for all those mayors and not be attacked unnecessarily. we are more than happy to meet with the president and talk about those kinds of things. this is kind of like inviting someone over to your house for lunch and then punching them in the face when they walk in the door. >> speaking of immigration, what is your reaction to the outlines, explaining it to dick durbin and others and proposing it on monday. >> the mayors of america would send a message, fairly directly to the president and congress, if you would do what you're

supposed to do, which is to come up with a really smart thoughtful plan on immigration reform, the mayors would not be in the middle of any of these fights about sanctuary cities, daca or immigration reform. congress has been kicking this around for a long time, i think the mayors of america would say, get comprehensive immigration reform done as quickly as possible. we are a nation of immigrants, it's important that we're open and welcoming, but we have secure borders and get that done, and stop nitpicking about these specific issues, the daca plan is in a position where the president has decided to hold 750,000 souls hostage to whether or not the congress is going to give him money for a border bill. say a couple things about that, only in washington, d.c., can you take 750,000 souls and turn them into an acronym. that's not the way mayors work, these are living breathing human beings that live and work in our sit it. they were born here, the good

book says let the children come to me, not how can we kick them out and hold them hostage, that seems a weird place to put that debate. on top of that, in exchange for $30 billion, there is a way to security the border, if we're talking about keeping the streets of america safe, this is something the mayors know a lot about, that is what we work on every day, we're the ones that show up at the funerals where people are shot. we're the ones that have to deem with anybody in our cities that are victims of crime, this is easy to understand, if crimes go un reported, criminals go free. and if you separate the police officers who are on the street from the human beings that are in that area, and they don't report crimes, crime is going to go up, it's not going to go down. on top of that, if you wan the to make america safe again, the best way to do that is to invest in police departments, invest in homeland securities. if they took a third of that $30 billion the president wants to

spend on border city, and gave it to the cities of america, we could cut crime in half in america in a fairly short order. if the president wants to engage us and listen to us, rather than vilify us. and have his minions put mayors in jail who are just trying to follow the constitution, we may get a solution much faster than the one they're heading toward n now. >> does this inspire you to want to seek national office? >> i gave that speech before charlottesville. race is this country's. >> i stand corrected, thank you. i'm sorry about that. >> that's okay about it's not a problem. but the more important point is, race is this country's original sin. and it is an achilles heal, we

have to find a way to see each other, find each other, touch each other, and understand each other, it's true whether you're talking about african-americans, w50i9 working class people in rural areas, the speech was designed to call the nation into purpose about, you know, being together and thinking about the things that matter, symbols natter, the way we talk to each other matters, the way we work with each other matters, it's more than important to understand that diversity is a strength not a weakness, mayors speak to that all the time. that speech was actually directed to a very local audience about a specific thing in new orleans. the fact that it resonated around the country, though, let's you know that we haven't really 23iged out how to deal with the issues of race, class, and the immigration debate is part of that, i think mayors of america would say, let's continue to have the discussion, let's talk, let's be constructive. let's try to do it in a constructive way and not threaten each other with going to jail, because you disagree with us, which is what the ice

folks have done, mayors of america are not going to stand for that, they're tough, smart, we're on the grounds all the time, and we think we have a lot to offer on that. and the mayors of america can be a constructive force for change, if the white house will engage us appropriately. >> mr. mayor, thank you very much, we can talk about politics in 2020 another time. >> it's good being with you. >> thank you, you too. breaking news about what hillary clinton did or did not do during her 2008 campaign when she learned disturbing information about her spiritual adviser. how do you win at business?

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fever, chills, and rash. help protect yourself against pneumococcal pneumonia. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13®. we have breaking news, nbc news has confirmed a new york times report that hillary clinton refused to fire her 2008 campaign faith adviser. after accusations of sexual misconduct on the job. joining me now, political analyst and time magazine columnist. this involves burn strider, a former faith adviser in 2008. he was working for a super pac for the 2016 campaign. i don't know if you ever knew him or you have any information at all about this issue.

mrs. clinton, candidate clinton in 2008 refused to fire him after complaints about his behavior. >> i was not on the 2008 campaign, so i do not know this individual i'm not familiar with the circumstance of the case other than what i read in the newspaper that just broke. i think we should have a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment, sexual assault of any kind of that's whether it is the first incident or the fifth incident, there should be consequences, and accountability every single time. what that looks like, though. may be different in one case under one certain set of facts than it may be under another set of facts. >> we do have a statement from the law firm advising her campaign in 2008, which is to ensure a safe working environment, the campaign had a process to address complaints of

misconduct or harassment opinion when matters arose, they were reviewed in accordance with these policies. this complaint was no exception. that doesn't tell us whether any action was taken or any punishment involved. this person worked for a super pac and then was let go. i don't know if you have any knowledge of that at the time. what does this say about the pressure on all political figures, especially women, not just women, certainly hillary clinton, who was at one point criticized in this current explosion of criticism with the #metoo movement, that she took a while before criticizing her very strong supporter and close political ally harvey weinstein. >> there's zero tolerance in

politics now for having individuals continue to work for you who have committed these acts. and there's zero tolerance for sexual harassment. while a politician may want to shy away from punishing a close aid, that's not the climate, there should be repercussions for this kind of inappropriate behavior, and i think that this is an example of why voters did not trust hillary clinton, when it came to issues of sexual harassment and assault, just because of her husband's association in the '90s and what happened to his victims. and so that -- whether rightfully or wrongfully, she was lumped in with bill clinton's treatment, and the perception of him as a predator. >> a lot of women and men felt it was un fair to blame her for what her husband had done in the '90s, in fact in this past

campaign there was the access hollywood tape and the fact that she was running against a man who's record was checkered to say the least. >> yeah, i think that, you know, we are quick to not allow women to be able to run on their own record, and to introduce other elements, including potentially things that may have involved their spouses. i think that at the end of the day, you know, hillary got out there and ran on an agenda that she thought was going to be good for america, and on the issues that she thought would make a real difference in people's lives, unfortunately, we are where we are with a president in the white house who is every day now undermining and delegitimizing our independent institutions of government and leading us down a path that i hope for our country and for the sake of our country will not be

irreprese irreparrable. >> let about this very tough action taken. very belated action taken against usa gymnastics. the entire board told to get out by next week or have them terminated in terms of representing usa gymnastics. this from the u.s. olympics committee. >> i think it's fantastic. they all need to be gone and there needs to be a full investigation as to how this was allowed to go unchecked for so may be years and so many women were victimized and assaulted by a predator. this is an organization that the women who represent the organization with such honor and character and we owe it to them to make sure young women are not preyed upon who are representing our country in such a wonderful

way. >> and maya, very briefly, do you think that congress will take action on this? >> i hope that congress will take action. i hope that the other institutions that were closely involved in this. we obviously need to look at things like laws and policies but fundamentally, we need to deal with our culture and culture that actually allows for young women, for girls, to be not believed. to be ignored. to be disregarded and not listened to. so there are a range of actions that need to be taken. we need to start with listening to women and girls. >> thank you so much. maya harris, elise jordan, thanks to both. meanwhile, russia's meddling in the 2016 elections is only one aspect of what they are calling a new cold war. philip gordon is a senior fellow at the counsel and co-kourth of the report containing russia. also a former state depend and national security council official during the obama years. good to see you again.

let's talk about how you view the russia threat and this current administration's response to it. >> the threat is big and the current administration's response to it is inadequate. it's essentially the message in the report. you mention andrea the interference in the 2016 election which, obviously, was and is a big deal, but i think it's important to stress when we're thinking about this, it's not just a single event, as important as that was and is. but an ongoing campaign. as we speak, russia is continuing into interfere not just in our electoral system but in our society. and working and using a range of tools to spread disinformation, essentially with the goal of pitting one american against another. and fanning the flames of the divisions that really threaten our society and stability. so it goes well beyond the traditional threats of the cold war and security threats, although those still exist. it goes well beyond an intervention in a single

election, although that's still a real concern. but is an ongoing challenge to what, in many ways, you could argue, threatens us more than these geopolitical challenges which is the social fabric and institutions of our country. >> i want to also ask you as a former middle east adviser for the obama state department and for the nsc, about what the president said in davos today because he was talking with -- or yesterday, i suppose. he was talk with netanyahu about the refugee aid that is now being withheld from the palestinians after having already made the decision december 6th to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. and let's listen to the president speaking about that recommendation on the refugee a aid. >> if we can make peace between israel and the palestinians if we do that, i would consider that one of our truly great achievements. but the money is on the table. the money was never on the

table. i tell you up front. we give them tremendous amounts, hundreds of millions of dollars a year. that money is on the table. because why should we do that as a country if they're doing nothing for us? >> try to break that down. why should we do that for them? if they're doing nothing for us? is that a misunderstanding about what this u.n. refugee aid is? >> it's pretty easy to break down. it's basically, indeed, a threat to pull the plug. it's not just the refugee money. he's talking about assistance to the palestinians in general. and it does feel like we're in a pivot point in the president's middle east policy for a year, he was really teeing up this ultimate deal he wanted to pursue and trying even to find some balance between the israelis and palestinians as a prerequisick wiquisite for brok deal. now he seems to have thrown in the towel on that and said, forget it. i'm choosing sides. i'm backing israel 100% totally

and giving them what they want. he also said at davos, he took the jerusalem issue off the table, which is a funny way of putting it. taking one side's view of that issue. and now he's saying very directly, unless the palestinians come to the negotiating table anyway, he's going to pull the plug and cut assistance to them. to the refugees that you referred to and it's hard to see how cutting assistance to hospitals and schools for palestinian refugees will inspire them to negotiate peace, but even directly to the palestinians, the palestinian authority, including security assistance. so it is a pivot in what used to be, it seemed, an approach to negotiating peace. and i would even argue a dangerous one, actually. >> they are arguing very strongly, very briefly if you could say, that this will make it easier. this will enhance the peace process. >> it's just hard to see the logic in that. the parties were -- are very far

apart. the palestinian president is really not in a position to negotiate. he's been in power far too long. doesn't have the support of his people. he's unlikely to be able to sell a deal even if willing to buy one. on the israeli side, a majority of the cabinet that doesn't believe in a two-state solution anymore. let's be honest. it was always a long shot but now to go in and basically have the united states say we're taking the most sensitive issue of all, jerusalem, and we're just going to decide unilaterally that we're going to adopt one side's view of it, but we'll ask the other side to come to the table, and if they don't, we cut them off. it doesn't seem like a serious attempt to bring about peace, but rather the opposite. basically saying, all right. forget it. it's too hard. we'll throw our lot in with one side. the repercussions, i think, could be very serious. >> we're going to have to leave it there for today. thank you, philip gordon. more ahead. we'll be right back.

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thank you for being with us. chris jansing takes it over in new york. chris? >> thanks so much, andrea. that's a very busy day. good afternoon. i am chris jansing in for craig melvin. we'll continue to talk about these e ploxplosive allegations against hillary clinton. she was told in 2008 that a campaign aide had been accused of sexual harassment but