to help grow your business... ♪ ♪ another way we have your back. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. morning glory, america. i'm hugh hewitt. with a week in review show that could span a week itself rather than just 30 minutes, but to break it down i have four of the best in the beltway. courtney kube nbc news, alana shore of politico, eugene scott of the "washington post". before i go to the biggest stories of the week, john mccain is on the mind of so many, what is his legacy at the pentagon going to be? >> tough. very tough minded. well respected. he did not give leadership,

whether you're in a uniform or political leader in the pentagon, when you faced down against john mccain in the senate armed services hearing you knew you would have a tough time. he has been a fierce and staunch military supporter. he had nearly three decades in the navy. everyone knows his tremendous legacy where he was held in absolutely horrific conditions in vietnam for five years and was a war hero. then went on to serve three decades in the senate as a political leader. but people in the pentagon, you know, he was a force and has been a force to be reckoned with. and to this day, debite the fact he has not been in the senate office several months as he continues to battle this terrible cancer, people still talk about his influence and decision making that is made around how will john mccain respond to that. >> what a legacy. eugene scott, what is your first story of the week? >> the fact that the national day of prayer had this huge

cloud over it thanks to the president's personal attorney, rudy guiliani, talking about something that many white evangelicals supporting trump didn't want to have on the top of their minds, that the president was very well involved is and aware of the payment to the adult film star he was having an affair with shortly after the birth of his last child. >> they have to assess their belief in the context of this. there is a lot of complicated stuff about this. that put the national day of prayer in a setting that it has never been before. alana shore, what's the best story of the week? >> i chose the same story of the week. they were explosive remarks by rudy guiliani. i wonder how democrats treat this. i find it interested that they have avoided talking about stormy daniels. they want the pleasant to get in

his own way. it is a fascinating case of this resistance-prone era, can they stay silent? i think they should keep resisting the temptation. >> they don't want to run on impeachment, but they're going to have to. >> i'm going to say the biggest story of the entire trump presidency is the courts. the president confirmed 15 appellates who have the last word on the vast majority of law. half in their 40s, the other half in their 50s. they are lifetime appointed. six more are coming up. staunch conserve is actives in the federalist society that want to dramatically limit what kind of on federal powers the government can assert under the constitution. this will be a huge, huge impact on the law for generations to come. >> after you wrote that story, i had leader mcconnell on my radio show.

president obama appointed 49 justices over eight years. by the end of this year, it's going to be at least 25, and it might be as many as 40 appeals court judges, for president trump in one two-year term. he is moving at the speed of light. george w. bush had 60, bill clinton 61, president on obama 49. it is dazzling. courtney, back to you. i didn't give you a chance to give your story of the week. >> mine is afghanistan. earlier this week there was a terrible terrorist attack, in kabul, in the green zone. there was a secondary attack that targeted journalists there. nine journalists are killed. i would bet many people in megger know that even happened. a journalist from the bbc was shot dead outside of kabul as well. and an american soldier killed in bat. a 22-year-old army specialist

gabriel condi who was 5 years old on 9/11. >> isis also conducted a massacre outside baghdad in a little village originally thought to be under the protection of iraqi forces. so isis remains amenace. we have a great bifurcation here. the salaciousness of the stormy daniels story, elana, and the reality of the world. whether we talk about judges or afghanistan. how does the news media cope with a bifurcated approach to the world? >> well, it's tricky. i think lawmakers face the same tepblgz honestly, hugh. there is this russia probe that similarers in the background and distracts us in the media from the bigger stories like afghanistan, like north korea. the president is verging on pretty significant talks. it is a constant source of tension. >> eugene, when you attack the fix for the post, do you have a

narrow lane, or go wherever the news goes? in my radio show, i have three hours and i can cover it all. but sometimes you don't get that much time. >> you don't. and you have to go where the news is. i have a story at noon and then it changes by 4:00 or 5:00. that's the new norm for this administration. whether or not readers or viewers are adjusting to that, we don't know that yet. >> how frustrating is it when you write that great piece with your colleague about the judges. it is really the biggest story. they will serve 40 and 50 years and 3,000 opinions per year per circuit. and it gets swallowed up by the stormy and rudy guiliani. >> as a reporter trying to cover that issue, it's difficult. it is so consequential to the country, yet it's also equally unsexy and difficult to get people's attention in a world where revelations like what

you're talking about with stormy daniels, the restaurant investigation, are dominating the headlines. this is a long-term issue that is extremely consequential. it doesn't quite get the oxygen i think it deserves. >> i cover it every single day. so you at least have is an audience of one out there. when we come back, we will take a wider angle and ask yourselves who is the most important this week not named trump. stay tuned.

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welcome back. i'm hugh hewitt. monday through friday you can hear me on the salem radio network 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. saturday morning, i'm here on msnbc. each week i ask my panelists the most important person not named trump from the week before. courtney kube, elana schor. for me it has to be mike pompeo. he is promising a new swagger at the helm of which he officially took after traveling abroad. not only does he bring the president's confidence, but they have been depleted senior appointees. the department of state that was rex tillerson will quickly become mike pompeo.

number one graduate in his class at west point is number one at foggy bottom. the impact will be profound and quick. who is your person of the week? >> hugh, i'm going to have to go with rudy guiliani, the president's new lawyer who seemed to throw a wrench in his strategy that have raised a lot of questions firstly by contradicting the president in terms of his knowledge of repayment or reimbursed he made for michael cohen for the payment to stormy daniels, the adult film actress who the president allegedly had an affair with. he talked about michael cohen, the lawyer who is under criminal investigation in new york, as a fixer of sorts. basically saying hi job was of to make this go away. he made it go away. this being the allegation of the affair she had with trump before the election. this will be relevant to prosecutors to eye the information they obtained in the raid from court. the fact that they have the president's lawyer saying he operated more than just as a

fixer is going to be relevant claiming they can pierce what the president is claiming as attorney/client privilege. >> i'll be back around to rudy in a moment after we go around the horn. eugene scott, who is your person not named trump? >> kanye west. >> that's surprising. >> kanye expressed his support for donald trump, conservative ideology, and quite frankly his lack of knowledge about slavery in america and inaccuracies about what actually happened, it raised a national conversation about history and what so many americans know and what they don't know and how racism engaging conservative to the point where one of trump's main advisers, darrell scott, is proposing a white house summit featuring entertainers and hip-hop artists. and the reason this is sos fascinating is because we all know conservatives have a habit of telling athletes and entertainers to shut up and sing. >> i'm a huge fan of lebron james.

i want him to get press conference after press conference. not all conservatives do that. you hate gestures because you have to interpret gentlemen khers. when lebron gets out there and talks, i don't agree very much but he makes his case effectively. >> that's what could happen with a summit. they are american citizens is as well with views and thoughts on issues. >> i have to choose sarah huckabee sander. we started on the heels of the correspondents dinner. she earned a lot of goodwill but sitting up there during this caustic routine and being very calm. of course rudy put her on the spot by saying what he said. and now you see sarah really struggle to go main the credibility she's earned with what she did at the dinner. she's been put in a tough position by the president's lawyer. it will be interesting to see how she acts with a president who serves as his own

communications director. >> it is is absolutely not winnable. i had the most wonderful dinner companion. i was sit next to courtney kobe. we saw the complete focused fake look that she was not going to be moved. >> all three of these are traeuf terrific. i chose benjamin netanyahu. people think it's because he gave this big presentation -- it reminded me of an apple phone. >> one more thing. >> yes. and then there's this. they had cds and books and whatnot. not so much for that presentation, actually but more for what he did not do this week. i've been watching the past couple weeks how israel and iran, the tensions have continued to build and build. israel has taken several strikes against iran in syria. they have taken out some anti

air defenses, some service-to air-missiles. killed two dozen iranian military, including officers, in a strike this week. there has been a lot of concern that this will erupt into a full-on iran, including iran striking back into israel. that has not happened. there have been high-level meetings, including mike pompeo. he went to israeli and met this week in his first overseas trip as secretary of state. secretary mat met with his counter peurptss. >> michael oren is always a very good best. he was very blunt. they will counter any move by iran no matter what it means in syria, which means we're on the precipice of a war unlike any other since '73, actually. 2006 was of big. but this would be huge.

if i can go back to rude where for just a moment. it seems to me this whole setup, sahil, i will throw it to you first. mr. special is counsel, if and when you accepted the subpoena from the grand jury, we're not going to comply. the constitution won't make him. he doesn't have to. do you think the president will still be willing to sit down with special counsel? >> hugh, what i've heard from people in the president' orbit, they don't know what the strategy is. it's not clear they were particularly dialed in. the one thing -- i agree with you in the sense that rudy does seem to remember this more confront aeurbl approach that the president has been moving forward. let's work with them. let's give them what they need. let's not play games with them and we can make this investigation is and you'll be fine. i think the president is going in a different direction that reflects the higher rudy

guiliani and the way he has been speaking lately. it's hard to know precisely what the end game is. he told reporters on his way to dallas that -- suggested at least if not outright asserted that giuliani got some of his facts wrong. he is new to this so he will get his fact straight. >> i do want to remind everyone watching that no president has ever been successfully subpoenaed to appear in person before a grand jury. ken starr subpoenaed bill clinton. the lawyers got that postponed. then they reached an agreement without the court actually coming to a conclusion. so the big prediction game, and we will talk about the constitutional side of this and whether or not a president can be subpoenaed. you have to impeach first. they can't be indicted. i want a prediction from each of my colleagues? do you think he will sit down with special counsel? >> i think he wants to. we have to figure out is he going to win or his lawyers win?

right now it is not clear to me. >> elana? >> i completely agree with euge eugene. i'm watching rosenstein, how he affect this entire dynamic, which is a whole other debate. >> courtney, do you have any thoughts? any buzz over there at the pentagon? >> the pentagon is stayings as far away from everything to do with politics as possible. president trump said he will only is sit down if he is going to be treated fairly. what does that mean? what is the definition of that? >> has anyone at the white house less than general mattis? he just does not get pictured coming in and out. >> he and general dunford go out of their way to stay out of anything political in a way i have never seen. i started covering the pentagon under donald rumsfeld. >> and early buzz on bolton and mattis?

>> mattis is making an effort to get along. they have breakfast once a week. he's also doing the same with pompeo already. he's hoping they have formed sort of an alliance there. the two men, they have a very similar view on iran. >> the three of them do, right? >> yeah, all three of them. general mattis was -- iran was one of his main focuses. i know mattis is making a real effort. >> the vice president, the quiet man in the foursome that accompanies president trump on federal affairs will be used in the same way. so we can imagine donald trump will not be staying in the iran deal. i'll be back with what the beltway should be reading. stay with us. it took guts to start my business.

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listen to as read by neville jackson. i general think chivalry is in order in the beltway. this is the course code for chivalry. >> i'm reading something not inside the beltway. "80 days by matthew goodman" two journalists in 1889 who tried to recreate going around the world in 80 days. it became a competition. they wouldn't be more different. one was sort of more of a joseph pulitzer kind of on tabloid-y sort of reporter. the other wrote for co mow politan and was gentile and more into poetry. it is an amazing,s fascinating look at what was of the world was like in 1889 and to women. >> i have been hearing about nellie bly since 1992. so is i'm going to -- >> she's very spunky in this book. it is a fascinating look at a time i don't know much about.

>> elana? >> i chose "inferior." i held fellowship with angela. she said there are certainly fundamental studies that have been formed the way we see the difference between men and women. but they have major flaws. as a former science reporter myself who think they both politicize science, i found that fascinating. >> do they spend a lot of time talking to each other as a fellow. >> yes. >> i'm reading the happiness curve. why life gets better after 50 from jonathan bauch from the brookings institute. we spend 20s, 30s, 40s building up families and careers. you get to this point of accomplishment. things go downhill because you have peaked in your professional and personal lives. but it is talking about jobs, what the government, society can do to improve life after 50.

>> they think they have gone past their last off-ramp." the science of happiness" is deep and interesting. sahil, how about you? >> "survive like a spy". written by a former cia operative. a fascinating look at the life of a spy, maintaining multiple different identities in countries far away, having to manipulate people, the mind-set you need to take, the things you need to remember if you get kidnapped. you have to watch your back. it is a really, really interesting look of the lives of so many people around the world. >> is sahil, are you yourself a thriller addict? what would lead you to pick up a book like that. >> i was getting on a plane to l.a. is and i wanted something to take me away from politics. >> how do we know you're really

sahil? >> you don't. >> thank you for watching. keep the conversation going on msnbc.com/hugh-hewitt. see you next saturday morning here on msnbc. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job

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