reports" with my friend andrea mitchell. >> and right now on "andrea does your bed do that? mitchell reports," a new right now during the ultimate sleep number event, save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed generation. the young survivors of the with adjustable comfort on both sides. florida masksacre cry for actio. plus 24-month financing. ends monday. the president hints at minimal visit sleepnumber.com for a store near you. background checks. not likely to silence these young voices. >> they say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. we call bs! they say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. we call bs! fast and furious. president trump lashes out in an epic weekend tweet storm against the russia indictments, putting himself at odds with his own national security adviser. >> we're becoming more and more adept at tracing the origins of this espionage and subversion, and as you can see with the fbi indictment, the evidence is now really incontrovertible and available in the public domain.

and the americans. how the russians infiltrated the 2016 presidential campaign, an operation partly led by the man known as putin's chef. >> the u.s. indictment says putin's so-called chef also handles the kremlin's under-the-table operations, including a disinformation factory, the internet research agency that fed social media during the campaign. happy presidents' day, everyone. after fuming for two days over marjory stoneman douglas the indictments from special high school had a connection to counsel robert mueller, the gun control laws, even before president whipping up a baker's its students began leading the dozen of russia-related tweets, charge after last week's deadly criticizing the fbi and the top rampage. the school's named for marjory democrat on the intelligence stoneman douglas, an environmentalist, civil rights committee, defending his prior and women's suffrage advocate, statements on election meddling, who was awarded the presidential reprimanding his own national

security adviser for what h.r. medal of freedom by bill clinton in 1993 when she was 103 years mcmaster did not say at a global security conference in munich. old. >> beyond florida, marjory the one person notably getting a stoneman douglas is a mentor for free pass from mr. trump, all who desire to preserve what vladimir putin. joining me now, nbc news we southerners affectionately national correspondent peter call a sense of place. alexander and contributor michael schmidt, reporter at and mrs. douglas, the next time i hear someone mention the "the new york times." welcome, both. first of all, peter, the timeless wonders and powers of president's behavior this mother nature, i'll be thinking weekend, even for a trump weekend at mar-a-lago, was about you. >> well, on that same day, the unusually prolific, shall we president then invited her to say, on twitter. >> yeah, andrea, i think that's exactly right. witness the signing of the brady we know from aides they bill, the bill which established recommended he not play golf the last couple days in the wake of a federal background check for people buying handguns, a gun that shooting that took place law endorsed by former president not far from mar-a-lago, just 40 miles away in parkland, which ronald reagan, opponent of gun allowed him a lot of time behind who then endorsed it because it closed doors at his exclusive was named for his press secretary james brady critically estate to watch television, and wounded in the attempted reagan as it would turn out, to fume. assassination. we have heard repeatedly from this president over the course you're looking at live pictures of the last year, trying to of nikolas cruz going for a minimize or dispute any possible status hearing in florida. russian role in the last election. but after that indictment by which should be beginning within robert mueller's team late last the hour. week, the president sort of cast

he's arrived for this status it through his own lens, effectively spreading blame to everybody else except to russia hearing after pleading guilty. he is represented by, i believe, in this situation here. a broward county public some of the tweets were sort of defender. stunning. the president, among other things, saying of russia that they are laughing their asses chief washington reporter for the boston herald and an msnbc off in moscow. he wrote, get smart, america. contributor and attorney, and jeremy peters, "new york times" he said, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, political reporter and msnbc qualifying it to say as if the contributor. kimberly, it's really sort of goal of russia was to create discord. it's notable, and there have tonic to the soul to learn more been fact checkers keeping track of this, that i think 44 about marjory stoneman douglas, occasions in the first year the president has been in office, he she helped save the everglades, referred to this russian hoax or witnessed the signing of this witch hunt here. now the president's tried to sort of recraft the language, landmark gun law -- gun saying that's not what i was saying. i wasn't referring -- i never legislation. i was there that day and said that russia didn't meddle here. i'm saying we didn't collude, remember how emotional it was trying to change the language in for the signing which probably the way he frames this right would not have passed the now. note my, andrea, as you said, congress without the support of today he's back on the golf course, at least at his golf ronald reagan. >> right. and now we have the students property. we have yet to hear from him, at least in the course of the last from her namesake school keeping several hours. >> and it is noteworthy that the it in the headlines in the way

mass shootings we see usually mcmaster tweet, if you will, fade from headlines organizing just to shorthand it, he said, first of all, that general mcmaster forgot to say that the marches holding lawmakers to act results of the 2016 election in a way we haven't seen were not impacted or changed by afterwards. the russians and that the only it's quite a legacy to her name. collusion was between russia and >> the students may not have crooked h, the dnc, and the known much about her until dems. recently. remember the dirty dossier, i'm not sure the awareness of her legacy. uranium speeches, and the podesta company. shorthand for a lot. the fact they have seized the michael, you spent time at mar-a-lago and know better than moment and are potentially game changers in a way that anyone how friends of the president can reinforce friends tragically the parents in newtown could not. and club members, obviously, can reinforce his prei ddilections n they could not turn the government around with all the help of president obama, vice he's down there. >> yeah, i'm not sure for white president biden, chuck schumer house aides that this is the and other advocates. best place for the president to be. friends have direct access to him. they can come and go. and the two senators there. he likes to walk around either at the golf course or at >> it remains to be seen whether mar-a-lago, talking to folks, or not this will be the moment listening to them. this is someone who will listen the dam breaks. they're having a noticeable, measurable impact on the debate

to a busboy or a golf pro or right now. but history, if it's any guide, anyone about any type of thing. so when issues are really is no reason to be optimistic bearing down on him, there's congress is going to act. national things like gun after newtown they couldn't control. you can see where the president agree on background check would talk to folks who would legislation. after orlando they couldn't even say you need to do something on gun control, and something would agree on a way to prevent people come out like it did today from on the terrorism watch list and the white house. i think a lot of times when after las vegas they couldn't something happens, we see the agree on banning bump stocks. white house come out like this and say, okay, the president's going to do this, and it usually i don't know how they move doesn't turn into much. forward here. so it's not necessarily a place >> at the same time i feel it's where they have a lot of control not the passage of legislation, over him. it's the change of the culture. but it's somewhere where he we live in an age of a strong feels very comfortable. he does rely on these informal advisers as sort of his own gun culture and i think if these kitchen cabinet of folks he talks to. >> and peter, let's get a kids can get the attention of reality check on the whole issue particularly young people moving of gun laws because sara forward that could possibly be the impe tis of a corner being turned here the same way we saw sanders' statement said today a difference in thinking about smoking, the same way in thinking about seat belt legislation. that while discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the president is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system. what we're talking about there is the cornyn bill. >> gay rights. >> gay rights. it's a bipartisan bill, passed the house already, i believe. if they can think of their role

but the house added on some in society in a different way there could be a change. >> look at the me too movement language, which made it even as well. more widespread that under we have a roll call of sorts, i think we have it up on graphic federal law people could conceal with the recipients, the top and carry firearms, which had not been in the original recipients of nra money and this version. >> yeah, across state lines. you're exactly right. the reason this is important is something that certainly in here is this doesn't necessarily expand federal background the senate has been noteworthy. checks. it sort of tries to improve the current bill that exists right now, trying to improve federal the trump campaign to the tune compliance. we know, as nbc news first of some $30 million? reported this weekend, the president spoke to john cornyn >> the nra, that's one of the on friday about this. untold stories, the nra's but the bottom line, and i think this is significant, is that we involvement, their advertising and advocacy on behalf of donald have witnessed on multiple occasions now three of the top ten worst mass shootings to take place in this country have occurred in the last five trump. if you look at the way he talked months, all in effect under president trump's watch. even after las vegas with that about immigration, maybe i could conversation about bump stocks support something inconsistent with my talking points on this, became one that the white house my hard line, then he gets said it was, in fact, open to, yanked back to his right. nothing changed. so right now, even if they are

i'm afraid that's what you might to succeed here and able to see happen on gun control create these improvements, it wouldn't expand background because the nra is not going to checks. it would only sort of better instruct those law enforcement members and others in states and localities to help make the let it. system as it is a little bit >> leadership out of the better. >> and one other thing, the executive. this is a great opportunity for common sense steps that can be security clearances. taken. new guidelines came out friday just in the area of background checks. night from the chief of staff, there should be no ability to do a casual sale without finding kelly, perhaps closing the door on these interim clearances. out who they're selling the gun michael schmidt, initially it to and who is involved. the president should be for does seem this could impact that. of course the president can and jared kushner. should lead on this and, mrps, i >> yeah, this is the person with ask to you do this. >> however, jeremy, when john kasich was running in ohio, he the greatest impact. reversed his previous support for gun legislation. security clearances still not resolved today. the new guidelines from the white house counsel's office says if you were not resolved by june 1, if you still had an interim one by then and still >> there are fewer and fewer who need the clout of the nra these don't have one today, then you days.

could lose your clearance. that would happen by the end of this coming friday. i think kimberly is right unless so the real question is, what there's a change in our culture, a generational shift with these will this mean to kushner? the white house would not young kids coming up and not address the question directly on friday. buying guns in the same numbers they punted it to his lawyer, who put out a statement that said this would have no impact as their parents did, that's when it will change. on i had work for the president, but the lawyer did not directly >> we'll have to leave it there. address the question of what kushner's standing will be on the security clearance. some white house folks think this is an effort by kelly and mcgahn to sort of isolate kushner, who they see as someone that gets in their way. that's obviously part of the continuing white house intrigue that we spend a lot of time focusing our efforts trying to understand here. my guess is that by friday, the white house will have to publicly address what kushner's status is underneath the security clearance. so that's the idea. >> just one more follow-up on what do you think? i don't like it. oh. that to you, michael. nuh uh. yeah. first of all, one wonders how ahhhhh. mm-mm. oh. yeah. with an interim clearance he ah. agh. could be negotiating middle east d-d-d... no.

peace and meeting with the hmmm. chinese and these other foreign uh... huh. leaders without looking at the yeah. uh... huh. in business, there are a lot of ways to say no. top-secret intelligence. that said, can't the president thank you so much. thank you. so we're doing it. yes. just give him clearance on his start saying yes to your company's best ideas. own? because the president has that power. >> yeah, the president does have we help all types of businesses with money, tools and know-how that power, and the security to get business done. clearance process perhaps for american express open. good reason, perhaps for not, is not one we have a lot of to everyone else, to ieveryone else.ne. visibility into. it's not a very transparent but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. process. we're sort of learning as we go fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, along here, as the white house has these issues, how these but my pain is real. things are usually resolved. fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. it's our understanding that the president could simply go ahead and give kushner the clearance lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. that the president believes that i'm glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. he should have. now, the question is, why has for some, lyrica delivers effective relief the president not done that for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. until this point? what is it that's truly delaying and improves function. this process? is it simply that mr. kushner lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. has just very complex business dealings, or is there a larger tell your doctor right away issue there? if you have these, new or worse depression, we don't know that. >> so thanks to you, michael unusual changes in mood or behavior, schmidt and peter alexander at swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, the white house. thank you, both. joining us now, msnbc national muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects:

security analyst frank 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 figliuzzi. what we heard this weekend from the president, questioning the talk to your doctor today. see if lyrica can help. mueller indictments, obviously misinterpreting, to put it mildly, the impact or the -- what is contained in those indictments. >> yeah, so look, this is -- every american needs to read through these indictments and get to the facts that mueller is laying out. it reads like a spy novel. unfortunately, it's for real. we were all being targeted. it shows tremendous depth of evidence and specificity that the russians had an operation to impact our elections. the jury is out on whether there was actual influence on the elections, but here's the thing. trump is missing the point here. he views any evidence that

russia was meddling as somehow a lessening of his stature. he'd be much better served if he came out and said, look, we have an adversary here. the evidence is here. we're going to do something about it. so why is he not doing that? he smells an indictment coming his way. he sees evidence of signals intelligence in this indictment. and let's look very closely at the russian reaction. have you watched the russian spokesperson change his tune from there's nothing there, this is silly, to, well, the indictment talks about russians but certainly not the russian government. no evidence of the russian government here. it's almost a parallel of what trump is doing, but the russian tune has changed to, well, you can't prove the russian state was involved in this. >> and matt miller, it's remarkable that a president of the united states seeing this indictment is not saying, we have to defend america. and this announcement at a

time the president's every president from reagan on relationship with the press has through democrats and been fraught with difficulties, republicans would have taken to the gridiron club announced the the air waves and said, this is president, president trump, will an attack on our sovereignty. attend its dinner in march. as we now learned from this it has been to always invite the indictment, it was not just through social media, as though president of the united states that would not be an attack. and he will attend. that does it for us. that said, there were people let me hand it off to my planted here, organizationiing colleague kristen welker. >> a great show. that will be an interesting rallies. there were grassroots efforts. event. it was profoundly invasive. >> yeah, it was a much more i know you'll be there to speak. widespread plot than we knew. i'm kristen welker in for craig it started earlier than we melvin. thought and was more well financed than we thought. right now we're keeping an eye the president's response, as on a court in broward county, always with him, was all about him, not about the country, not florida, where alleged shooter what we needed to do about national security, but all about nikolas cruz is set for a him and how it affected him. on friday, you saw the white hearing, facing 17 counts of premeditated murder. house come out and argue somehow that this indictment vindicated he's been held without bond in a him and vindicated everything they've been saying. broward county jail on suicide misleadingly quoting from the watch. one of the things that should be things rod rosenstein said at resolved today is whether the press conference. documents can remained sealed.

over the weekend, we saw the real story. i think the president feels nervous about it. you saw him lashing out at adam i am joined to help break this all down. what are you looking for, danny, schiff, at the investigation what's at stake here and talk itself, at the media, the fake about those documents. news, at oprah winfrey, even. >> anytime a young defendant i think he looked at the like this is involved, you have coverage of this and saw people realize that everything he's to prepare for the possibility been saying for a year about that there is a juvenile jacket, this being a hoax is not true. there's a juvenile record that this was a real attack on our is in almost every state sealed country, and he not only hasn't done a thing about it, but if automatically when the juvenile you talk to people inside the reaches majority administration, while there are low-level efforts going on at dhs, at the department of justice, at the fbi, there is no unified response because the president is hostile still to the idea that this attack helped elect him president. >> and frank, just look at one of these tweets that matt was just mentioning. he goes after the fbi. very sad that the fbi missed all of the many signals sent out by the florida school shooter. this is not acceptable. they are spending too much time trying to prove russian collusion with the trump campaign. there is no collusion. get back to the basics and make us all proud.

so he's trying to conflate the two when there is no connection. obviously the fbi clearly screwed up on florida and can do more than one thing at the same time. >> well, a couple things here. one is it's shameful for the president to be hiding behind the 17 victims of gun violence and somehow make it all about him. if our gun problems would just go away, if the fbi would just leave me alone and put more resources on gun violence. but let's not let the facts cloud this. here are the real facts, right. if the fbi had jumped on this, let's say they did, let's say they called their fbi miami office. they said, we've got a lead on a nikolas cruz. he's someone broward county sheriffs visited 31 times on 911 calls. social services had done an assessment on him. an agent would have picked up the phone, called broward county, said we have a tip on a

guy named nikolas cruz. what do you have? we've been through his house. we have written reports he's violent. we couldn't baker act him. we could not detain him because we didn't have sufficiency. so would the outcome have been any different? answer, no. solution, change the laws that allow police officers to detain someone for mental health issues. change the laws about someone who's in fbi files buying an assault weapon. that's what the president should be focused on, not on pointing fingers and looking for blame. >> and just very quickly, you mentioned the adam schiff e-mail exchange. we have to just get on the record here, trump on sunday, the president, tweeting, finally liddle adam schiff, is now blaming the obama administration for russian meddling in the 2016 election. he's finally right about something. obama was president, knew of the threat, and did nothing. thank you, adam. adam schiff responds he was on a

flight from munich. sorry for delay, was on a plane back from munich, where general mcmaster confronted hrussia ove its meddling. i've always said obama should have acted sooner. but you won't recognize the truth, impose sanctions, or act at all. if mcmaster can stand up to putin, why can't you? botment bottom line is there have been no sanctions. even though congress approved them. >> there's a fair debate. they did respond after the election. they imposed new sanctions. sanctions that we know the russian government took seriously, imposed real pain on the russian government. the congress last year followed up with additional sanctions, and the president so far has refused to enact those sanctions. that's the truth about his response or lack of response in this case to what the russians

did to interfere in our election. >> thank you, all, so much. my apologies for misreading though tweets. coming up, the kids from parkland have a lesson for the adults on gun control. and you're looking at live pictures outside of the white house. 17 student protesters. we're not sure of where they're from. lying down in protest of those who were killed at parkland. protesting against the lack of action on any gun laws. stay with us. we'll be right back. whoooo.

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if the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and how it should never have happened and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, i'm going to happily ask him how much money he received from the national rifle association. >> marjory stoneman douglas high school student emma gonzalez at a rally on saturday calling out president trump after 17 of her classmates and teachers were gunned down last week. in a call to action, students are now planning a nationwide march, including a demonstration here in washington on march 24th. joining me now is alex wind, a junior at marjory stoneman douglas high, who helped launch the never again msd campaign. alex, thank you for being with us. as you're joining us today, some young people from washington, from the washington area, are

outside the white house in what they're calling a lie-in, a protest against the lack of action by our legislators, our president, our congress on gun laws. those are live pictures from washington, d.c. obviously what you have started on social media and among your fellow survivors from this is taking hold. what are you hoping to accomplish? >> you know, it's absolutely incredible seeing the response that's been given by everyone from this movement. the fact that 17 students in washington, d.c., have even started this protest is absolutely incredible. if you told me last week that this would be happening, i couldn't even have imagined it. we're just hoping for action. we're hoping for change. and i believe we're going to do it. >> tell me about what happened that day, if you can talk about it now. i don't know when, if ever, the shock really wears off, but what you experienced as the incident

was happening. >> you know, first of all, i want to say you asked me when the shock wears off, and it never does. what i experienced on wednesday was a fire alarm went off. i walked outside as part of the procedure, and i heard gunshots. i heard gunfire. i can never unhear those gunshots, and i can never unlive that moment. in a closet with 60 other students in my drama classroom, i waited for 90 minutes for the police to come and save us. i will never forget those 90 minutes i spent with those kids and i'll never forget that day. >> what are you and your parents discussing as to what happens? do you go back to school tomorrow? >> i don't believe schools will be opening tomorrow. i haven't heard anything about that. honestly, i would be terrified to go back to school tomorrow because change hasn't been made. i don't know when change is

going to be made, but how can i go back to school knowing that this can happen again? because nothing has changed. people are speaking up, but no action is being taken. that's what we're trying to do. on march 24th, we will go to washington, d.c., and we will march on our nation's capital and demand change from our lawmakers. >> the white house is putting out a statement that the president is beginning to think about the cornyn bill, the bipartisan bill in the senate. most people are suggesting those who are advocating for change that this is not nearly enough. >> yeah, i mean, what we're trying to do is we're trying to make things safer for us, for students, for kids. 14 students and three adults died on wednesday. children keep dying, okay. we are the future. we are the ones that are going to make the change. so why are you letting us die? that's my question.

>> and that's the message to the president, to congress? what about to governor scott, to the legislators in tallahassee? >> it's the same thing. we are residents of your state, okay. if you expect us to just, you know, brush off everything, you're wrong. we are here. we are the never again movement. on march 24th, we're going to march on washington, d.c., and demand change. governor scott, senator rubio, president trump, we're coming for you. and we're coming for any other politician that accepts money from the national rifle association because change needs to happen, and children are dying, and it needs to end now. never again. >> alex, i can only imagine your parents, what are your parents saying about what you've started, what you've undertaken? >> the support is absolutely unreal. i've lived in parkland my entire life, all 17 years. i never thought this could happen. my parents never thought this

could happen. i have two older brothers, and they never thought this could happen. they're happy that i'm speaking up, and they're happy i'm going to be the one making this change in the country because if i don't, who will? >> it's obviously very empowering, something to come out of this tragedy, not that it in any way can lessen the pain of what you're going through. thank you very much. we hope you'll come visit us when you come to washington. we'll obviously be covering all of this between now and march 24th when this march is going to take place. thanks, alex. >> thank you. thank you for having me. and up next, meet vladimir putin's chef. but chef hardly describes his role. he's one of the 13 russians indicted by robert mueller for his under-the-table operations. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc.

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more for his close proximity to vladimir putin than his skills in the kitchen. richard engel has more. >> reporter: he's one of russia's richest and most powerful oligarchs. and now the u.s. special prosecutor says yevge yevgeny prigozhin was deeply connected to the russian campaign to sway the 2016 election for president trump. >> he's a big character, very controversial. >> reporter: why the nickname the chef? prigozhin, who reportedly served jail time for robbery, started off selling hot dogs, according to his own account. he went on to run a catering company, servicing schools, the military, the kremlin. and dinners for visiting u.s. presidents. the u.s. indictment says putin's so-called chef also handles the kremlin's under-the-table operations, including a disinformation factory, the internet research agency that fed social media during the campaign.

>> how does someone go from catering to special jobs for the kremlin? >> outsourcing became kremlin's tactics many years ago for conducting sensitive operations because it provides you plausible deniability. >> reporter: twitter, google, and facebook all say the disinformation campaign, the indictment linked to prigozhin, was a source of divisive postings about race, gun rights, and religion, often through stolen identities. a so-called chef who critics say doesn't mind getting his hands dirty so the kremlin can keep its hands clean. >> and richard engel joins me now from moscow. richard, fascinating profile of prigozhin. this is clearly an operation so close to vladimir putin, it's hard to believe any denials from the kremlin that the government was not involved. >> reporter: well, if you looked at that denial, which was put out today, it came out and said the government wasn't involved,

and that is the key here, as that package was just describing. it gives a layer of plausible deniability. it's not directly a government agency but a private individual who may or may not be sponsored bi by the government or put up to it by the government. nobody in this country really believes that a lot of oligarchs are acting independently, aren't getting their marching orders from the kremlin, from vladimir putin. there is very much an oligarch system in this country where certain oligarchs are tasked with certain things. some to hold money for key individuals, others to carry out sensitive operations like this, others to build infrastructure projects. a division of labor, so to speak, with prigozhin allegedly having these special sensitive and as was described, the dirty jobs. >> and richard, one of the

president's tweets this weekend was if it was the goal of russia to create discord, disruption, and chaos in the u.s., then with all the committee hearings, investigations, and party hatred, they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. they have laughing their asses off in moscow. get smart, america. it just defies credulity for the president of the united states to not be saying once you read this indictment with all of this detail, we have to protect the homeland. >> reporter: well, i think there's some truth to that, that there is a perception here that if, in fact -- and russia still denies it carried out this covert operation but then will say with a bit of a wink and a nod that if russia did carry out this disinformation that it has succeeded to a great extent, perhaps far greater than it had ever hoped.

so there are probably some who are laughing at this. the question is, are they laughing with president trump, are they laughing at president trump, are they laughing at the american people who are so easily misled by this campaign, and was the goal always to sow discord and to be caught in order to create more and more discord? so this apparently was a very successful information operation, and i think what we're seeing now, many experts i've spoken to, the secondary effects were also part of it. the first effect would be to create -- to try and sway the election. the second would be this enormous distraction that we have been consumed by for the last year or so and which doesn't seem to be letting up. >> richard engel, thanks so much for your reporting. and closing in. is a trump campaign aide the next to cop a plea in the

muell mueller probe? stay with us. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. now with only the good stuff. do you know how to use those? nope. get those kids some new capri sun! like you do sometimes, grandpa? and puffed... well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said... symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. symbicort is for copd,

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and senior fbi official, and benjamin -- senior fellow at the brookin brookings institution and msnbc legal analyst. everybody has so many titles these day. chuck, very clearly there's some negotiation going on. gates has changed lawyers. he's now got this eminent defense attorney, tom green, who knows very well how to do these proffers and fwoesnegotiate a d. >> that's right. and by the way, most defendants are convicted and most of those are convicted by pleading guilty. so we shouldn't when be at all surprised it seems to be heading precisely in that direction. >> what would be the virtue, the advantage for mueller in getting gates to sign on? >> well -- >> and to be a cooperating witness? >> there's several advantages. one is he's obtaining a guilty plea from somebody he charged with a crime. at least in terms of that instant case, you're clearing the decks. second, he is obligated to cooperate.

not just against manafort but against anybody against whom he has information. logical question, against whom does he have information? well, remember, he was on the campaign. he knows these people. he talks to them. he's been in contact with -- >> he actually lasted longer than manafort. >> i think that's right. but either way, the mere fact that he was there makes him important. if nothing else, he confirms things that mueller knows or dissuades him from things he believes are accurate. he's an important witness. >> ben, the tweet storm this weekend where the president is claiming to be vindicated, no one else, not chuck grassley, republican stalwart and head of the judiciary committee, not mcmaster famously in munich, or any intelligence leaders believes that this vindicates the president and that putin was not -- or putin's government or putin's oligarchs were not involved in a much wider conspiracy than any of us had frar

frankly imagined. >> well so, you know, there are a lot of things that are not mentioned in this indictment. we wouldn't say it vindicates somebody. i think the president would be well advised to take it easy on the claims of vindication at this point. that said, you know, he doesn't do that sort of thing. he's emotive, and he takes anything that could be read to suggest that there isn't collusion to mean that there isn't collusion. i would just say, you know, not having been indicted for something yet does not generally mean it doesn't happen. >> the fact is there's nothing in this indictment about the hacking operation, about wikileaks, about any of these connections, the dnc hack, which led to the podesta hack. >> right. this is a piece of the case involving russian interference on our social media platforms.

that's it. and to ben's point, you're not vindicated because it doesn't have a vindication section. there's nothing in the indictment that says, andrea, by the way, we've looked at everything you've done in your entire life and concluded you're a wonderful person, go forth and prosper. that's not how indictments work. it's a classic non sequitur. >> what does it tell us, to both of you, about the way mueller op operates? avied from t aside from the secrecy. >> let's start with the secrecy. this is a town where it is hard to keep things secret. this is an operation that has worked with astonishing operational security now over many months in the face of literally hundreds of news reporters chasing every aspect of this story. when they indicted or charged and developed a cooperative relationship with george papadopoulos, nobody knew about it for months. >> and mike flynn.

>> as they developed this investigation, there was nobody who was not taken by surprise by it. so i think, you know, aside from -- let's focus on that as an initial matter. secondly, very quickly, it shows that there is a wide-ranging and multipronged investigation that is coming to fruition across a number of different levels. >> the level of detail check is extraordinary. >> the level of detail is extraordinary. >> and there's a cooperating witness or somebody inside. >> there's probably lots of things like that. first, to ben's point, it's not hard to keep things secret, even in washington, if you don't talk about them. i worked for bob mueller. i know the type of person he is and the people around him. they're just not talking about it. that's what we would expect. we should expect from his team. to your point, andrea, there's an extraordinary level of detail

in this indictment. there was, too, in the manafort and gates indictment. that's the fruit of lots and lots of hard work. >> chuck, ben, could not have two better people to talk about this. thank you both so very much. >> thank you. and her story. before the massacre at the school named for her, marjory stoneman douglas had her own connection to gun control. that's next. stay with us. ♪

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