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tv   Andrea Mitchell Reports  MSNBC  July 2, 2018 9:00am-10:00am PDT

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mitchell for "andrea mitchell reports." right now -- supreme showdown. donald trump has two women on his supreme list as a key moderate republican warns him against anyone ready to overturn roe v. wade. >> candidate for this important position who would overturn roe v. wade would not be acceptable to me because that would indicate an activist agenda that i don't want to see a judge have. promises, promises. nbc news reports that u.s. intelligence experts discovered north korea is expanding its nuclear program right now, despite kim jong-un's promises to the president in singapore. and the national security adviser's optimistic claim this weekend that denuclearizing could be done in as little as a year. >> what our experts have devised is a program that, with north
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korean cooperation, with full disclosure of all of their biological and chemical weapons programs -- >> that has not happened yet? >> it has not. physically we'd be able to dismantle the overwhelming bulk of their programs within a year. and border lines. mexico elects a far left president who is promising to trim economic ties with the u.s. but here at home, the family separation fight rages on. one mother reacting after reuniting with her daughter. >> what is your message for so many mothers who are coming here with their children seeking a better life? "i would advise you to find another country to seek refuge in. this law here is too tough. people here don't have a heart." good day, everyone.
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i'm andrea mitchell in washington. a colossal political showdown is shaping up over the president's choice to replace retiring supreme court justice anthony kennedy with the announcement now scheduled for a week from today. major flash point, roe v. wade. the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion. a litmus test for at least two female republican senators whom the president needs in his corner. one of them republican senator susan collins of maine, already signaling she could break with her party. another republican lindsey graham telling chuck todd on "meet the press" that roe is settled law and should not be overturned. president trump making it clear during the campaign that any of the conservatives on his list that he would appoint would go after abortion rights. he told fox business news' maria bartiromo he expects democratic opposition. >> i think, yes, we will go very quickly. i believe that a lot of people think it's going to be a very -- it's probably going to be vicious because the other side,
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all they can do is obstruct and resist, the whole thing is resist. >> joining me now, nbc's peter alexander at the white house and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. peter, let's talk first about the politics and, pete, i want to drill down on some of the more likely choices. peter, though -- between peter and tweet -- where does the president stand right now? he had a well, narrowed it down to five. susan collins said yesterday she persuaded him during their conversation last week to add some people to the list. which is it? >> it's a good question. we heard from the president in his own words as he was going away to bedminster this weekend saying he has a short list of five individuals. he said he could interview as many as seven total. there may be two women on that list that he was thinking of. we're told by a white house official the president will continue with his private -- with his advisers with these private discussions about this topic. among those advising him right now, this is really a repeat of
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the way he handled the selection of neil gorsuch last year. don mcgahn, the white house counsel, is heading up this effort behind the scenes. leonard leo, working independently of but is a member of the federalist society which is a conservative leaning group of highly respected lawyers. is heavily involved as well. was involved in the past in crafting that list of 25 names the president used to his advantage during the campaign to try to demonstrate the way he was thinking about a court selection. but you know what is critical here. it is the pushback, the potential for some real challenges from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. certainly those republicans, namely moderates. the women, lisa murkowski of alaska and susan collins with collins indicating that this issue of abortion is going to be one she will be focusing on heavily. they were here with the president last week as well as some democrats from republican from red states. heidi heitkamp one of them from north dakota.
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i was travel with the president when he was in north dakota last week talking about how control of the senate will be a critical issue going forward. the president said he would be conducting a pair of interviews over the weekend, but there's no indication from the white house this past weekend any such interviews took place. the bottom line we know is he has an aggressive timetable with the announcement scheduled for next monday which you would think means that he would have vetted that the white house will have formally come up with the names so it can be privately vetted by the fbi before that takes place. and while most of the names that we have on that short list, assumed on that short list have past experience as appeals court judges, that's a short timetable for a lot of work still to get done. >> indeed it is. and we should point out to both of you that when susan collins said that roe was a precedent, she still is buying in to that very quick timetable of mitch mcconnell's to get this done
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before the midterms. now pete williams, looking at this list, all these people have been vetted by the fbi. some of them were almost choices last time when gorsuch was chosen. and the fact is that having turned this over to leo and the federalist society, this is the best thing that happened in the transition as far as the white house is concerned. this is the cleanest nomination and confirmation that they have. everything else got boll oxed up by firing their transition chief. but this is the one by outsourcing this. it's the best outcome from the white house perspective, so where do you see it going? >> there are two ways to look at that. one is sort of, as you say, outsourcing and letting somebody else suggest people. but the other thing is, remember, this is -- that's the sort of poll thing. the other thing is the push thing. the federalist society and some conservative groups have been sort of grooming people, looking around for talented people they
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believe have a conservative philosophy and sort of a more scalia approach to judging. and encouraging them to become judges. and having this sort of farm team available on the courts of appeals for potential court nominees. you could argue that's where chief justice roberts came from, where neil gorsuch came from. it works both ways and this is a familiar role for these groups in past republican administrations. in terms of the five, if you put them back up for just a minute, yes, it's true, they are all appeals court judges. amultha par and amy barrett were just put on the appeals court by president trump last year. thomas hardeman was the finalist last year when the president finally decided to nominate neil gorsuch. but he met with hardiman extensively. brent cavanaugh. the backing of mitch mcconnell,
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the senate majority leader who introduced him at his hearing for position as an appeals court judge because he's been both a prosecutor and a judge in kentucky. >> i want to ask you about bret cavanaugh who was a clerk to justice kennedy. he has some very strongly held views against any kind of investigation of a president of the united states. that would be fair game during contirmation hearings, especially considering the mueller investigation. >> sure, absolutely. he's written about this. he's talked about this. his view is it's a distraction that the president -- this is exactly the position that bill clinton's lawyers took during the starr investigation and the monica lewinsky lawsuit. his position, which is held by some conservatives, too, is that the constitution provides the answer here and that is, if you don't like what the president is doing, impeach him, but don't subject him to the indignities of the civilian courts. >> and what do we know about amy
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coney barrett. obviously, he could perhaps deflect some of the women going against any nominee by choosing a woman. >> yes. noted former notre dame professor. she had a somewhat famous confirmation hearing because she has states that learn -- lean
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more socially conservative, i think the republicans might be excited. in a wider idea, the democrats will. not only in the money they raise but the key for them to win the house and the suburban districts is to energize younger voters who tilt democratic but almost never show up in the off year elections. we know from the specials this year they've been showing up. this will increase that. so i guess both sides have something to look for though net/net, i think the democrats have a slight edge because of the suburban districts key to holding the house for republicans. >> but what if, as mitch mcconnell has indicated, this choice will be confirmed before the midterm elections. that will still be an election issue, even though they will have potentially lost the court
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for a generation? >> again, both sides will be motivated. i'm a conservative. there are a lot of things about a conservative judge that appeals to me. but i think in the street level politics, it quick lie all becomes about roe v. wade. that puts abortion back into the front line of the debate and forces some to talk about it, including some who would rather not and some who really would. if it happens, the battle cry on the issue, rather than the court mechanics will continue all the way to election day. >> jeremy, a lot are criticizing democrats in 2016 for not making the supreme court as big an issue as evangelicals made it for republicans. >> it's never been as big of an issue for democrats. they just don't have it at the center of their political culture the way the american right does. the right has done a better job of galvanizing their voters on
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this issue always. they've always kind of had these icons in justices like scalia. only recently did someone like ruth bader ginsburg become a cult-like figure on the left. that never really existed on the left. at least in modern political times. so it all has to do -- there are a lot of reasons for it. abortion is a primary one. but it's the sense that the right feels it's been on the losing end of the culture wars for so long. and often that has been because of justice kennedy's vote. so the idea that the right, you know, won't draw energy from this even if the vote happens before the midterms, i just don't buy because i think that you are going to see a confirmation on senator mcconnell's timetable, regardless of what the democrats may do to try in stall it. and that's going to be a big
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motivator for republicans come november because they are going to want to go out and thank president trump. you can almost see the bumper stickers, the signs being written right now in these pro-life groups and religious conservative groups. make sure you go out and vote republican to thank president trump. and that's real. >> the gorsuch nomination went through with many democrats and critics saying he deserves this. this is a qualified nominee. and he's not replacing someone that will change the complexion of the court. this is different. so are they going to sit there at that hearing, jeremy, and take -- well, i can't answer that or i don't want to answer that or, yes, i believe in precedent, on face value, despite this is what the president said. listen to the president in that last debate. >> well if that would happen because i am pro-life and i will be appointing pro-life judges, i
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would think that that will go back to the individual states. >> but i'm asking you specifically, would you -- >> if they overturned it, it will go back to the states. >> what i'm asking you, sir, do you want to see the court overturn? you want to see the court protect the second amendment. do you want to see the court overturn roe v. wade? >> if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that's what will happen. and that will happen automatically, in my opinion because i am putting pro-life justices on the court. i will say this. it will go back to the states and the states will make a determination. >> so in a judiciary committee, jeremy, how much time will they have to drill down on this nominee? >> well, republicans control the committee. so, you know, that's probably up to chuck grassley. i can't imagine he's going to want to draw this out into a spectacle, although that would be what this becomes. just think about how politically toxic our climate is right now.
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and then throw into that about the most combustible fight washington is capable of having, and that's a supreme court nomination battle. it's going to be a long, hot, messy summer, andrea. >> thanks to you, jeremy peters. thanks, mike murphy as always. coming up -- what deal? president trump says north korea is no longer a nuclear threat. but u.s. intelligence officials disagree. our exclusive nbc news reporting next right here on andrea mitchell reports. your rate after the other car got a scratch so small you coulda fixed it with a pen. maybe you should take that pen and use it to sign up with a different insurance company. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates because of their first accident. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ welcome to holiday inn! thank you! ♪ ♪
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and now to north korea. after president trump returned from his singapore summit with kim jong-un, he bragged that there is no longer a nuclear threat from north korea. but the facts are very different. nbc is reporting that u.s. intelligence agencies believe north korea's leader may be trying to hide nuclear facilities. and has increased his production of fuel for nuclear weapons at several secret sites. "the washington post" is also reporting north korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile. joining me now, national security and military reporter courtney who helped break this nbc story. and michael allen, who was on the national security council under george w. bush, serving as special assistant to the president and senior director for counterproliferation strategy. courtney, your reporting, there's no doubt from intelligence sources that they are not only cheating, as they have before, but they are cheating within days or simultaneous with the singapore summit when all these promises
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were made and where the president was coming home declaring victory. >> that's right. so the things that we learned from u.s. intelligence officials last week is that north korea, rather than decreasing its production or its enrichment of uranium is increasing it in at least one facility and has been throughout the course of this diplomatic period. so that includes the time going back to when north korea and south korea first started speaking. we saw the big panmunjom meeting a few weeks ago and then the summit in singapore with donald trump. the other things we learned was that north korea is very actively trying to deceive the united states on the scope and scale of their nuclear and missile program. what's particularly significant about that right now is that secretary of state mike pompeo is waiting and there's some anticipation he may get this declaration as early as this week that would include all of the -- hopefully a list of all
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the things that north korea has. so their assets, their facilities where they enrich uranium. their missiles. their nuclear capabilities. well, if north korea is already actively trying to deceive the united states, how much confidence is there that they would provide a full accounting of what they actually have, what their program entails, andrea. >> and john bolton really raising the stakes. mike pompeo testified last week to foreign relations that it's going to take a long time. he was very cautious in his projections but here was the national security adviser on sunday with marg rets brennan. watch. >> we've developed a program. i'm sure secretary of state mike pompeo will be discussing this with the north koreans in the near future about really how to dismantle all of their wmd and ballistic missile programs in a year. what our experts have devised is a program that, with north korean cooperation, with full disclosure of all of their
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chemical and biological nuclear programs, ballistic missile programs -- >> that hasn't happened yet? >> it has not. >> michael allen, how reali isi sick that? he seems to be putting a lot of pressure on mike pompeo to deliver something that can't be delivered. >> it is way too aggressive. what he's trying to see is if the north koreans suddenly made a dramatic shift and said they want to cooperate with us completely, that maybe we can do it within a year, but i agree. he's really putting pressure on the state department and the secretary of state to deliver on something that's impossible. >> and he knows the same intelligence that courtney has been briefed on. so he knows it's not possible. he knows they are cheating already at multiple sites, on missile launchers, nuclear fuel enrichment. they still haven't let inspectors back in to yangon. a number of proposals made from experts as to how to get them to declare. but all of them involve a decade to get them to declare
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everything and then eventually, if this is done phase by phase, and they get the economic benefits they expect and if they really are determined to do this, eventually they would denuclearize. >> it will take a very long time. in the george bush administration, we got a declaration out of them in 2007, 2008, and it was completely false, and it was incomplete and in many cases inaccurate. i'm not sure of any reason why we would expect them to be more forthcoming today about their particular program. so i think we have a very, very long way to go. i know pompeo is going out there. if there's anybody that can get this on a schedule or on a track that's great, but we have a long way to go. >> and you were in office when, in fact, they blew up one of their main -- >> w >> yes, fuel tower. >> they secretly had other
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programs under way. >> they did. a highly enriched uranium program under way at the time. the fuel tower explosion was just good television so that did not indicate a larger strategic shift on behalf of the north koreans to say, hey, you know what? we'll take some security assurances from you and some economic assurances from you. in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons and our nuclear programs. i don't see it in the cards now. i think we have to try. it's better than the alternative but i think we need to be realistic about what this is going to yield. >> courtney, you've been doing so much exclusive reporting lately. i want to circle back to one of your previous recent reports. in all of this, there have been surprises for people like secretary mattis and the south korean president who did not know in singapore that the president was going to offer to not have the joint military exercises next month that normally would be scheduled. what are the other concerns coming up as he's prepared to sit down with vladimir putin
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about what might be offered as well? >> one of the big concerns i'm hear from defense officials is if he was willing to make this decision on exercises. the u.s. military has a number of critical exercises with nato alli allies. is it possible that could come up in a meet with vladimir putin? there's some hope that they may be able to make -- they might make some inroads on syria. particularly on the expansion and -- of the iranian military and the iranians on the ground in syria. they are really running the ground game there right now that maybe donald trump will be able to talk to vladimir putin about that and make some gains that will help the u.s. military and the syrian democratic forces. but without a real agend awe don't know what they'll talk about there. >> and briefly, if i could throw another one your way, how serious is the white house about proposing pulling some of our troops, if not all of our troops, out of germany? was that just a threat? >> we hear of things like this all the time. it seems right now it's just --
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it might just be an assessment they're working on. but at this point, i don't see -- legally, i don't see they'll do that any time soon at this point. >> courtney kube, congratulations to you. carol lee, ken dilanian, all the members of the investigative team for such great work. michael allen, a pleasure to see you as well. coming up, a new neighbor. mexico's election of a left wing nationalist president. what does that mean for nafta negotiations, for the border wall? what wall? that's next here on "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. nl your mornings were made for better things than psoriatic arthritis. as you and your rheumatologist consider treatments, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for psoriatic arthritis. taken with methotrexate or similar medicines,
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in an historic election, mexicans have rejected the status quo electing andres manuel lopez obra dor. he won in a landslide. president trump tweeting his congratulations writing, i look very much forward to working with him. there is much to be done that will benefit both the united states and mexico. joining me now, the former top economic adviser to president obama and roberta jacobson who just retired as u.s. ambassador to mexico after 30 years at the state department. also former stu eer assistant s
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of state. let's talk about mexico first, roberta. tell me how obrador is going to be different from pinieto? >> well, i think this first president who is from neither of the parties that have ruled mexico for 100 years successfully painted himself as an outsider. and he will be different in that he has said he will focus on social programs. he has certainly in his campaign exploited the public's disgust with corruption. but what he's going to do about it is very unclear. his treasury secretary was quick to reassure investors this morning and the markets that he would continue to be fiscally and monetarily responsible. so it's unclear exactly where the biggest differences will lie. >> he's promised so much in terms of social programs. yet at the same time, as you say, reassuring the markets. and then what does he do regarding trade? will he negotiate, renegotiate nafta with the u.s.? >> it's a great question. there was an interview by
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someone who supposedly will be his nafta negotiator about a week or so ago in which he said they would definitely continue the negotiations. they'd like to continue being part of or they'd like to join the negotiating team during the transition. but that he thinks the mexican government currently has actually taken a pretty good position on nafta. so they may go into those talks, if they continue, with a similar perspective. but be pretty tough on things like it has to be trilateral and not accepting some of the tougher demands that the u.s. has made. >> and on the agricultural sector in particular. when we talk about these trade deals and tariffs, we have gm warning that the auto industry could really slump because of the president's tariffs. we have canada imposing new tariffs on canada day on saturday. and the president still doubling
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down on his threats against the eu. the chamber of mecommerce, the republican leaning business groups all arguing the president has this wrong. >> yeah, i certainly agree with those groups in this particular case. the problem is we're declaring trade war on everyone over everything rather than keeping our focus. there are definitely ways that nafta could be modernized and renegotiated. and that was something our administration had done as part of the trans-pacific partnership. but, you know, waging war on canada, mexico, europe when the real issues are with china is not a strategy that i think anyone is very supportive of. >> and how does this position the president going into meetings with -- at nato so he's going to see the europeans there? he's then going to see vladimir putin. he's been trying to break up the
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western alliance. the president has been critical of merkel, of macron, trudeau, famously with language used against a close ally that we've never heard before. >> yeah, no, it's frankly incomprehensible, andrea. it's not like with canada the president's tweeted multiple times about their milk tariffs. they don't really even collect those. and we would have gotten rid of them as part of tpp. so it often seems like he starts with the grudge he has with another country and then tries to figure out some factoid to help support that grudge. the latest one being auto tariffs which i have have on our autos. we have on their suvs. maybe we should all get rid of all of those. but certainly we're not the aggrieved party there. >> one of the problems with the trade, the two-way trade with mexico, problems or benefits, is
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that a typical automobile, as you guys know better than i, moves back and forth across the mexican border seven or eight times before it is completely fabricated. so, roberta, in going against mexico with these tariffs, aren't we hurting ourselves? >> there's very little that we can do to mexico, certainly in the auto industry, which is one of the most integrated sectors that won't hurt ourselves. we end up shooting ourselves in the foot. but there are so many sectors integrated like that. aerospace, the wisconsin governor comes to mexico every year because of cheese. >> you were on the receiving end. >> scott walker and his lieutenant governor were there because cheese is critical in that equation. the mexicans will put tariffs and have announced they will on things very strategically. bourbon, pork, cheese and they are even considering corn and soy. >> was that part of lopez obrador's --
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>> he did not talk specifically about those tariffs. those were put on by the current government. but it's an example, i think, of what we see as more than just autos are very integrated. a billion six crosses the border every day in goods and services and even more with canada. and so there's no way to hurt those neighbors in these integrated sectors without seriously hurting ourselves already. >> just finally, is he likely to go along with mexico paying for the wall? i think i know the answer. >> that's one of the few things, andrea, that everybody in mexico agrees on, and the answer is a large no. >> okay. jason, always great to see you. roberta jacobson, ambassador, thank you. speaking of major moves, lebron james heading west. the king has agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with the lakers. on instagram sunday, the
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four-time mvp thanked the cavaliers saying northeast ohio would always be his home. he's from akron. unlike last time when james left cleveland for miami, the cavaliers were gracious thanking him for bringing home a championship. lebron will reportedly keep his number and wear 23 for l.a. coming up -- speaking out. michael cohen speaking out for the first time saying his first loyalty is to his family and not president trump. in that interview with abc's george stephanopoulos, is he signaling a break with his former boss or is he aiming for a pardon? we'll have some answers coming up. when donald trump tore thousands of immigrant children away from their parents. we the people challenged him in court and in the streets. then trump was forced to admit that his policy was wrong. and he caved. the court just ruled that trump must reunite every family he broke apart. (clock ticking rapidly) time is ticking.
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roasted to perfection. or new caribbean lobster and shrimp. but hurry in. this event ends july 8th. president trump's longtime personal attorney michael cohen has finally broken his silence, speaking out for the first time since the fbi raided his office and homes back in april. in an interview with george stephanopoulos off camera, cohen signaled a willingness to cooperate with robert mueller, even if that means putting president trump in jeopardy saying, quote, i'll not be a punching bag as part of anyone's defense strategy. i am not a villain in any story and won't allow others to try and depict me that way. adding, quote, my wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will. i put family and country first. well, what is he signaling? joining me now legal analyst mimi rogua, former assistant u.s. attorney in the southern district of new york.
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i know you don't have a crystal ball and you aren't a trained psychologist or psychiatrist. let's try to sort this out as a legal expert. what could he be signalling? a willingness to talk to mueller or just trying to say pardon me, pardon me? >> so i think that this is a man who wants to talk to anyone who will listen. i think the takeaway from what i heard in conjunction with some other simultaneous news that seems to be reported, although i want to, you know, caution that i don't know that it's 100% accurate that he has withdrawn from his joint defense agreement, which is an agreement amongst sort of common defendants or targets in one investigation to share information. that, together with some of the things that cohen said in his interview, to me, does signal,
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actually, someone who i think is heading towards cooperation. and i've been pretty careful not to say that before because i think there's just so many variables. anything could happen. and there are still many variables. but he sounds like a man who is, first of all, listening to his lawyer. he said a couple of times in the interview, you know, that he was declining to answer certain questions on the advice of his lawyer guy patrillo. i that that was interesting because the questions he was declining to answer were fact-based questions. he was very willing to talk about his feelings and thoughts but wouldn't answer fact-based questions. those are the questions that can get a future defendant, future cooperator a target of an investigation in trouble when they are later under oath or being questioned by the fbi in a more formal setting. so it's important that he -- and he also mentioned that after he sees what the charges are, he's going to follow the advice of
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his lawyer. so he seemed to be -- he seems to be listening to guy patrillo. and guy is someone who was head of the u.s. attorney's office, this very office that's doing the prosecution for several years. and he's a very, you know, upstanding, honest, by the book lawyer. a good defense lawyer, but also one who, i think, is going to steer cohen in the direction of cooperation if that's in cohen's best interest. when you put it all together, analyzing different pieces, i guess like a case here, when they put it all together, it tells me that he's listening to a lawyer who i think, you know, given what i know about the case, would probably encourage him to cooperate because it's going to be the thing that is most likely going to keep cohen out of jail. if anything is going to keep him out of jail. >> we should quickly add that we don't know of any charges.
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we just know that he's been the source of a lot of speculation. obviously, those raids were pretty dramatic. but at the same time, he's not been charged with anything as of now. all very interesting. mimi rocah. the other question i would have is there was quite a bit of speculation before rick gates and others involved actually decided to cooperate, right? it was up and down and this is a long process at times. >> absolutely. it's not something that's going to happen overnight. i will say the fact that he did this interview and the things he said. there's been some speculation that he was already cooperating. this kind of tells me we're not there yet but it seems to be heading in that direction, if i were going to try and do a crystal ball. >> mimi, always great to see you. thanks for coming in today. coming up -- i.c.e. out. demands dividing democrats,
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thousands of people across the country this weekend
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demanding families separated under the administration zero tolerance policy being reunited immediately. the department of homeland security acknowledges more than 2,000 children are separated from their parents. dhs says 500 children are taken place. msnbc did get a firsthand look with one family in guatemala. >> let's get to mariana in attencio. tell us the story. >> reporter: i actually spent the day with them. holding her hand and grabbing her ten-month old baby. the story is the mother lost the
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ten-month old in the beginning of may. the husband was detained by border patrol. he was prosecuted and jailed in atlanta most likely to be deported. this little girl was shipped all the way to michigan. i got on the phone with mom and she told me she was released after she was detained. she was free with an ankle monitor for about six weeks knowing where her child was but not being able to get reunited with her. that moment that we witness at the airport was two months in the making. we went back home with them, watch this family pray and the mother told me this separation might lead long-term scars for her and her daughter. >> reporter: what was the most painful thing for you?
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every time that i was in contact with her. she cried. saying she missed me. she didn't want to be there. she just wanted to see her little brother, her dad and me. >> reporter: andrea, that mother is at her i.c.e. appointment as we speak. the husband may go back to guatemala as i told you. she says the level of violence that they're fleeing from makes it very hard for her to consider bringing those two little children back to central america, andrea. >> maria, your reporting has been ex centtraordinary to say lease. i want to ask of the policy
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here, we have been able to witness what goes on in the facility. tl children are being sent across the wide sweep of this country. this family, they're able to talk by phones and many of these parents are not able to get in touch by phones and pediatricians have said in some of our anchors and reporters that some of these unification do not work well. the children are traumatized and angry at their natural parents for letting this happen to them. >> some of them are so young that they don't remember by the time they are reunited. this administration did not provide any details by way how they plan to reunite their parents with these children. we can't confirm how many parents who are separated with our children having been reunited. they're going to stop separating the border despite the parents
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signing the executive border. they still left it to discretion up to immigration enforcement officials, nesessentially sayinf the threat of the child's safety, they can still separate them. that's something that the administration interpreted very differently from its predecessor. and of course the question of indefinite detention of the family together. >> i want to ask you about controversy over i.c.e. more progressive democrats are calling for the elimination of i.c.e. the immigration and customs enforcement bureau that's at the center of this controversy. the president is seizing on that now with some democrats' fears. how do democrats get together and figure out what is viable and what is politically viable? >> the answer looks different
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depending on which state you represent, the challenge for democrats are not familiar with i.c.e. i don't think many realize it was established by the bush's administration after 9/11. it was not a long standing agency under the u.s. government. it has dramatically increased in its size and scope. the president is trying to criminalize immigrants and seize on that and we'll see how it plays out in terms of november. >> savannah, thank you so much and thank you to our marian mariana attencio. we'll be right back. it is time now for your business of the week. robin is founder of the company living in digital time, she's been at this before the internet was not invented and she's still an active player. how did she stand top in the industry dominated by you. find out her game plan, watch "your business" sunday morning at 7:30 on msnbc.
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and that does it for today. follow us @mitchellreports. >> chris jansing is up next. >> the president's long time personal lawyer is under pressure from the fbi. he just sent his clearest message yet. michael cohen says he once take a bullet for president trump but now he says his loyalty lies with his country. on thin i.c.e., the new push on the left of