kristen welker who is covering for "andrea mitchell reports." >> right now, the apprentice. donald trump slams his reality tv protege calling omarosa wacky, vicious and not smart after she released this partial recording of a phone call with the president after she was fired from the white house. >> general kelly -- general kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave. >> no, i -- nobody even told me about it. >> wow. >> and just moments ago, telling msnbc there could be more to come. >> do you have more recordings? >> oh, absolutely. >> are you planning on releasing them? >> i don't know. >> among the most startling allegations, questioning the president's state of mind with savannah guthrie on the "today" show. >> did you think he's mentally comp tent to do this job? >> no, i don't think he's fit.

as we heard on the recording you just played, he doesn't even know what's happening in his white house. john kelly is running this white house and donald trump has no clue what's going on. >> telling chuck todd on "meet the press" she's heard the reported "apprentice" tapes where donald trump allegedly uses the "n" word. >> once i heard it for myself it was confirmed what i feared the most that donald trump is a con. and has been masquerading as someone who is actually open to engaging with diverse communities. but when he talks that way, the way he did on this tape, it confirmed that he is truly a racist. and a very good monday to you. i'm kristen welker in for andrea mitchell. president trump firing back at former white house insider omarosa manigault newman in a tweet storm targeting her media blitz writing, wacky omarosa who

got fired three times on "the apprentice" now got fired for the last time. she never made it, never will. she begged me for a job, tears in her eyes. i said okay. people in the white house hated her. she was vicious but not smart. i would rarely see her but heard really bad things. nasty to people and would constantly miss meetings and work. when general kelly came on board, he told me she was a loser and nothing but problems. i told him to try to work it out if possible because she only said great things about me until she got fired. omarosa responding here on msnbc just the past hour. >> i think it's sad that with all the things going on in the country that he would take time out to insult me and to insult my intelligence. this is his pattern with african-americans. and he doesn't know how to control himself. he has no impulse control. >> president trump is responding to the latest bombshell audio of what omarosa says is a conversation with the president the day after she was fired.

nbc news has not been able to listen to the full recording to know what was said before or after. here is that recording and omarosa's exclusive conversation with savannah guthrie this morning on "today." >> omarosa, what's going on? i just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving. what happened? >> general kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave. >> no, i -- nobody even told me about it. nobody -- you know, they run a big operation but i didn't know it. i didn't know that. goddamn it. i don't love you leaving at all. >> when i spoke to him and he said he had no idea, that should be alarming to any american. you ask me, do you think he knows? the answer is -- >> you said not sure. >> here's the other part. who is running this country when donald trump says that they run a big operation. who is the they. is general kelly puppeting donald trump? is he truly running this country instead of the president?

>> joining me to discuss all of this, nbc news white house correspondent geoff bennett, robert costa, national political reporter at "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor, jonathan capehart, a "washington post" opinion writer. thanks to all of you for being here. and, geoff, i want to start with you and play a little more sound of what we heard from omarosa in this last hour. take a look. >> you didn't leave on your own accord? >> no, i was planning on leaving at the one-year mark. that's very well documented by so many people. and, you know in some ways general kelly did me a favor. >> geoff, she's basically describing a toxic environment at the white house. she says, hey, she was planning to leave anyway. how are the folks there inside the white house responding today? >> kristen, one of the other things she alleges in the book is she was shown the door when top white house officials, including the chief of staff

learned she was close to getting her hands on this purported tape of donald trump using the "n" word. it's hard to know precisely what the truth in all of this is. we've seen white house officials aggressively move to discredit her and counter all of the claims she makes in this book. but setting that aside, it's worth pointing out that until this point, the relationship between president trump and omarosa had been mutually beneficial, if not entirely transactional. she was able to rely on him to increase her public standing, to increase her public profile and he was able to lean on her for political cover when it came to some, you know, real thorny racial issues. and so one of the substantive questions surrounding all of this is that omarosa's apparent credibility issues were public knowledge when she was hired back in january 2017. so it raises the question, lots of people are asking about why she was hired by this white house in the first place. and then that tweet you read from the president, he seems to answer the question. he says, well, she had nice things to say about me, kristen.

>> robert, i think geoff raises an important point here which is to some extent, people look at omarosa and say she's the female version of trump. the two are essentially plagued from the same playbook. how is this being absorbed inside trump world? >> it depends on which corner of trump world you're asking the question because inside of the official white house, people who are close with general kelly, they don't like this situation. they're trying to contain it. at times not with much success as she keeps releasing more tapes and doing more interviews with her book release. but for people who have known the president for years, they say this is standard operating procedure. the president has long surrounded himself with allies and friends and confidantes from his time on television and business. usually they've been outside of this white house. those who have come inside have had some difficulties. dan scovino remains one of the only people there, the social media director.

others who work with the president for the last decade haven't always fit entirely well within the confines of government. >> jonathan, we're watching this spectacle play out effectively. but there are some very serious questions to consider. one of them has to do with the issue of race. how this administration handles race. i want to play you a little of what omarosa had to say about hearing those "apprentice" tapes and get your reaction on the other side. >> how long is that tape? >> it's about three minutes. >> audio or video? >> he was talking about some african-americans in the production during the course of the apprentice. the people who have this tape intend to release this tape. >> it's basically a he said/she said until we hear the tapes but with major implications. >> huge implications. we've heard this tape may or may not exist. a lot of people say it does. omarosa says she's heard it. but let's just jump off something geoff said when he

answered the initial question. there are no honorable people here. omarosa, twhen was announced her book was coming out and she had recordings, obviously, everyone said oh, my, sure. sure she does. no, she doesn't. what does she do? boom. there's the audio of general kelly there played on "meet the press." and shockwaves around the country. but certainly within the white house. >> the fact she'd tape him. >> and then today, she ratchets it up even more by producing another tape, this time a conversation with the president of the united states. you started out by saying "the apprenti apprentice." donald trump, great at "the apprentice." omarosa was a three-time contestant. she brought that mind-set and ethos into the white house. i'm just going to start -- this is a reality show and i'm going to call it the surreal white house of the united states. >> he keeps bringing her back episode after episode. >> kellyanne conway was pressed

on some of these broader issues surrounding diversity and she was asked to name a senior official of color, african-american, inside the west wing. that's a very specific question. take a look at how she responded. >> who is the most prominent, high-level adviser to the president on the west wing staff right now? >> african-american? >> yes. >> i would say that -- well, first of all, you're totally not covering the fact that our secretary of housing and urban development and world renowned -- >> i'm asking you about the white house staff. i'm asking about the people -- >> that's important that he's -- well, the president works with secretary carson every day. he's trying to break the back of this -- >> who there is in the white house staff right now? >> we have jerron who has done a fabulous job and very involved with -- he's been very involved with jared kushner and president trump on prison reform. he's been there from the beginning. he worked with omarosa and others -- >> does he have an office in the west wing? >> in the executive office of

the president, yes. >> but not in the west wing? >> so just to point out an important aside here. jerron is jerron smith. he's someone who has been working with jared kushner on prison reform. white house officials tell me that henry childs has been in charge of outreach to african-american -- to the african-american community. had dozens of meetings with leaders there, but how problematic is that exchange for this white house? and, frankly, the broader issue, the fact that they can't rattle off a number of names. >> i was looking over at the clock. that clip was 30-something seconds long. if you are a senior official in the white house and you are asked a question that specific, you should be able to have an answer. the fact that she can't name an african-american -- senior african-american official in the west wing, which is already a very small crew of people, that means you have a problem. it's a shameful problem because, for someone who is supposed to be the president of the united

states, to not have broader representation of the country among the people who are supposed to be advising you is wrong. >> and geoff, let me go back to you quickly because katrina pearson who is someone who worked on the trump campaign is working back against this notion that omarosa's floating out there. let me read you her statement. i have never heard president trump ever use the derogatory language that omarosa claims. also, i never confirmed the existence of an alleged tape from "the apprentice" to her as she claimed. that's a complete fabrication by omarosa. so you do have pushback against this narrative. >> that's right. and nearly all of the people, the well-known names who have been implicated in a lot of the things omarosa has said, they're all pushing back. sean spicer told kelly o'donnell he didn't have a nondisclosure in place when he got his deal as omarosa alleges. you have omarosa calling the president a racist, con man.

he's calling her a low life. and so you have this he said/she said between two people with compromised credibility. setting all of that aside, the public record is fairly complete with the president's own statements, his own policies, his own judicial appointees to the lower bench where americans can make up their own minds about where he stands on this larger issue of race. >> and it's a great point. all of the different contradictions playing out. and let's listen to what geoff just referenced. the fact that omarosa told chuck todd over the weekend that she refused a lucrative offer to essentially stay silent. an nda. >> they were not often a real job. they told me i could work from home. if i even wanted to work. they didn't care if i showed up. there are several former employees from the white house who actually signed this agreement who are all being paid $15,000 for their silence. the only reason unhinged -- >> you believe all these people on the campaign that left the

west wing in the campaign are being bought off? >> absolutely. the campaign, the rnc and america first which is why sean spicer was describing donald trump as a unicorn jumping over rainbows because he signed this same agreement. >> sean spicer saying he did not sign that agreement. but are you expecting that we'll hear about more ndas in the future? >> certainly. in fact, president trump when he was a candidate told me he wished if he was elected president, this was during the campaign, that he could get everybody in the entire administration to sign a nondisclosure agreement. i told him then that's not how it usually works. the government is full disclosure for the american people. but you have a president who comes out of the culture of entertainment and of the new york business world and he is always demanded employees in the past to sign nondisclosure agreements. got some of them to sign such documents during the transition period before he became a formal member of the u.s. government. and so this is something that is going to continue to pop up because this is the way the president operates. >> all right, fantastic conversation.

robert costa, geoff bennett and jonathan capehart with me on set. thanks to all of you. we have some breaking news to get to. peter strzok, the fbi agent a member of the mueller investigation and became a target of president trump has been fired from his job. just moments ago, president trump weighing in tweeting, agent peter strzok was just fired from the fbi. the list of bad players in the fbi and doj gets longer and longer based on the fact that strzok was in charge of the witch hunt. will it be dropped? it's a total hoax. no obstruction. just fired agent strzok formerly of the fbi was in charge of the crooked hillary clinton sham investigation. it was a total fraud on the american public and should be properly redone. nbc news justice correspondent pete williams joins us with all of the details. pete, what's the latest? a lot of people thought peter strzok had already been fired. technically, he wasn't really in active service.

>> he wasn't fired from the fbi. he was removed from the robert mueller investigation last year when the text messages became public. and this really was peter strzok's downfall after his 22-year career in the fbi as a counterintelligence agent. but it was disclosed that he had been texting with lisa page from the fbi's general counsel's office with some anti-trump comments. and that was further clarified when the justice department's inspector general in a report earlier this year disclosed some additional text messages. that made strzok the focal point for house republicans critical of the mueller investigation. the fbi director chris wray said the culture of the fbi needed to be changed. there would be a new training for people on how to avoid this sort of thing and the proper disciplinary action would be taken. now the fbi isn't commenting on this. law enforcement officials have confirmed that he was fired. and the first word came from his

lawyer golman who says the firing did not follow the fbi's procedures. that the career fbi official who is responsible for employee discipline said strzok should get a 60-day suspension and demotion from supervisory duties. but instead, he was fired. golman in a statement says that all of the work, the congressional work, the justice department inspector general investigation failed to produce what he calls a shred of evidence that special agent strzok's personal views ever affected his work and the lawyer says the decision to terminate was taken in response to political pressure and to punish special agent strzok for political speak protected by the first amendment. now the justice department inspector general said that they simply couldn't say for certain whether some of the decisions that agent strzok made during the investigation were affected by his views or not. they didn't say they were. they just said they couldn't say for certain they were not. in any event, he's been fired

and certainly the statement from his lawyer, at least raises the possibility that they could pursue some legal action against the fbi or the justice department for the firing. >> interesting. pete, i know you've been tracking this from the very beginning and will continue to do so if there is any further action taken. pete williams, thank you for that breaking report. appreciate it. coming up -- bad situation. how is omarosa manigault newman able to record her conversation with the chief of staff john kelly in one of the most sensitive rooms in the white house? this is "andrea mitchell reports" only to msnbc. this wi-fi is fast.

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former assistant to the president, omarosa manigault newman making bombshell claims in her book, including how she was fired from her job. yesterday on "meet the press," manigault newman releasing an audio recording of the conversation with chief of staff john kelly from the situation room. take another listen. >> there are pretty significant legal issues that we hope don't develop into something that -- that'll make it ugly for you. but i think it's important to understand that if we make this a friendly departure, we can all be, you know, you can look at your time here in the white house as a year of service to the nation. and you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation.

>> can i ask you a couple questions? does the president -- is the president aware of what's going on? >> let's not go down that road. this is a nonnegotiable -- >> i've never had a chance to talk to you. if this is my departure i'd like to have an opportunity to understand -- >> no, we can talk another time. >> joining me now is elie, former district attorney for the southern district and john mcloughlin, former acting director and global affairs analyst. elie, the big question on everyone's mind, is it legal? was it legal for omarosa to tape john kelly in the situation room? >> so i -- first of all, it was reckless of omarosa to make that tape, and i think it was incredibly sloppy and worrisome that john kelly and the white house staff allowed that to happen. it raises questions about the security procedures there. but was it a crime for omarosa to make that tape? probably not. whenever you're looking at a

taping situation, the first thing you want to ask is, is this a one-party state or two-party state. if it's a one-party consent state that means as long as somebody who is in the conversation knows about and agrees to the taping and here that would be the taper, it usually is, then you do not have a crime. the vast majority state ofs are consent states. washington, d.c., where this happened is a one party state. so is new york if you're thinking about the cohen tapes with trump. and if it was a two-party consent state. i don't see a problem there. some people positted some other federal crimes that could apply. there is a federal crime for disclosing confidential national security information. but if you listen to the tape, that's not the content of what they're talking about. >> all right. so as far as you can tell, no immediate legal fallout. let me get you to weigh in. you spent several hours in the situation room. what do you make of the fact she recorded her situation with john

kelly? >> i think over about seven years, i was probably briefing in the situation room on terrorism, north korea, and two or three times a week. i always thought of that as the most secure room in america. it's the inner sanctum, a secure place when it comes to security. there are not checks when you go in. it's just assumed everyone knows that you do not take electronic devices. not just recording devices. even a fitbit. nothing goes in there that is electronic. >> a lot of people are trying to figure out in their minds how she was able to actually get it in there. you aren't necessarily padded down before you go into the situation room. it's an honor system. >> it's an honor system, and, you know, apart from the security implications which are manifold, these devices even when they're not functioning often, a recording device can transmit to a foreign intelligence service. so just having them -- this is why you have to leave them in a

box when you go into most security agencies. beyond any of that, it tells you something about how the honor system doesn't work in this white house and something about the atmosphere. when she said -- one thing that caught my attention was you have to cover your own back. to me that spoke volumes about the atmosphere because having worked through about four or five administrations where i had to go in there, you just never thought of it. >> i want to get to a little more sound but very quickly, was it appropriate for him to bring her into the situation room? you've been very specific. you went in there to discuss policy issues. foreign policy issues. have you ever heard of anyone getting fired in the situation room? >> no, i haven't. i don't know why john kelly brought her in there. sometimes you think about it, well, you think of it as the most secure place. he may have thought this is a sensitive conversation. we'll do it in there. the only time anyone took me in there privately was to talk about something like north korea

or strategy toward terrorism, russia, china, something like that. when it was a sensitive issue and they wanted complete privacy and security. that may have been what motivated him, but it's unusual. >> omarosa says donald trump, the president, takes recordings of people. listen to what she told my colleagues just last hour. >> do you think the president is taping people? >> oh, absolutely. in fact, the president talked often as you'll see about how important it was to tape your enemies. >> elie, what's your reaction to that? >> it's interesting. it will depend on the facts and circumstances. if the president was taping and knew and consented he was taping and the conversations were happening in a one-party state like washington, d.c., i don't see it being a potential criminal issue, but if the president was, say, leaving a recording device behind in rooms he wasn't in and picking up conversations he wasn't a part of, you can have a problem with the federal wiretapping crime

which -- so if there's nobody who is consenting to the conversation if you illegally bug a room, leave behind a wiretapping device or recording device, you could have a federal criminal issue on your hands. >> all right. elie, john mcloughlin, thank you for an incredibly informative discussion. well, tonight, omarosa manigault-newman is going to join chris matthews to share her account of what went on inside the trump administration, as well as her public accusations against the president. that's "hardball with chris matthews" tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. that is must-see tv. coming up, chip off the old block. how donald trump jr. is winning over republican voters and his father despite increased scrutiny in the russia probe. the inside scoop is next on "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. for the past five years, i've spoken with hundreds of families

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life. to the fullest. president trump's oldest son and namesake don junior is emerge as a star on the campaign trail despite the looming cloud of the russia investigation. don junior is, quote, the

president's political alter ego. and an in demand campaign celebrity ahead of november's midterm elections. and while the two have had a complicated relationship over the years, according to the post, president trump praised a recent appearance his son made on fox news telling aides don's gotten really good. my people love him. let's get the inside scoop from msnbc's katy tur and aisha roscoe. thanks for being here. >> good to see you. >> katy, great to see you. no one knows the campaign, the trump family better than you do. so what do you make of don junior's political ascendancy? >> it's been a baste long time coming for don junior. you can say three years, go back even farther. don has liked to say that he's the only -- was the only republican in the family until this campaign. and everyone came back to his side. i remember there was a point in the 2016 campaign after the rnc when don gave a speech and everybody was talking about how

he had political instincts of his own and real political potential of his own and there were whispers suddenly not so soft whispers about him running for mayor of new york against bill de blasio. and these weren't things don was quashing. he was keeping his options open. a few days later during that infamous press conference when the president said russia, if you're listening. he was also asked about his son don junior and the speech he gave with the rnc and about whether he'd consider running for mayor. don wasn't quashing this at the moment but donald trump immediately quashed it. just put him off to the side. it seemed in that moment and struck me as odd in the moment that he didn't want don to share the spotlight at all. but as time has gone on, as the campaign went on and now as the presidency has evolved, don has proven to be an asset for him politically speaking in terms of supporters. he can speak to the gun crowd,

the hunter crowd. the way donald trump can't. even though he talks a big game on guns and the second amendment, he doesn't get it on a fundamental level the way his son does. he's been a successful campaigner in that respect. but, and this is a very big but, kristen, he's not a political animal and he's in trouble with this trump tower meeting and part of that getting all the spotlight and trying to get your dad's attention and trying to help in the campaign in any way he could, has now landed him in hot water. and the president is finding himself tripping over himself trying to find a way to defend what his son did during the campaign, and that could pose more of a problem than a benefit. >> and katy brings up the president's defense and also that complicated relationship which she mapped out so well. let me read you the president's latest statement. he says don has received notoriety for a brief meeting that many politicians would have taken but most importantly and to the best of my knowledge,

nothing after the meeting concluded. to what extent, i mean, you heard katy say he's really coming into his own and yet this meeting in 2016 at trump tower looms large. >> and it will continue to loom large until we hear from the special counsel and what they have to say about it. there will continue to be questions about it. what stood out is president trump says to the best of my knowledge, nothing happened. so he's kind of leaving open the door that maybe something could have happened but he doesn't know about it. and really, even though their statements have changed over time, the one thing that president trump has stuck with is that he departmeidn't know a about it so he's protecting himself and i'm not saying he's not trying to protect his son but he's definitely said i didn't know anything and left himself out. >> what an important point even though sources say he might be willing to tell robert mueller

just the opposite. the president did have some prior knowledge. let's talk about the mueller probe. giuliani was out over the weekend shaking the ining thingg if there's no interview by september 1st we're not going to do an interview because at that point it's too close to the november elections. also out saying the president never actually talked to james comey about michael flynn, something that contradicts a whole host of other statements. what are we seeing from giuliani? >> we're definitely seeing him trying to manage public expectations. i don't know that he's setting standards for mueller. but he's trying to say, look, i'm setting this deadline for september 1st. and if we go past it, they can complain, look, we were trying to work with them and they're just dragging this out. so i think they are definitely doing that. as far as him changing his story, i don't know how that really helps to continue to kind of throw out these different things. and maybe that's part of the concern about -- because they'll have to be on the same page if

president trump talks to mueller. >> you and i are reading the tea leaves every day as it relates to this strategy from the president's legal team. what do you make of what we saw over the weekend? >> i know rudy giuliani is the president's lawyer but i have a hard time taking anything he says seriously because he's contradicted himself so many times and he's -- it seems like he's making up these deadlines. i know he's saying robert mueller said this will be wrapped up by september 1st. i'd be surprised if that's actually what will happen. he's said that he's going to give robert mueller an answer for a meeting, and the meeting will be on and off and on and off. so rudy giuliani is not a reliable operator when it comes to what's happening in the mueller investigation. he's, obviously, trying to prop up the president who himself contradicts himself all the time. then has problems staying on one message. you can see that with the don junior statement, for instance.

but this is -- come on, kristen. i'm getting a little tired of it. just subpoena the president or -- i don't know. submit for an interview. let's just get it on the record. >> i think that is right. katy tour aur and aisha, thank . watch katy at 2:00 p.m. eastern this afternoon on msnbc. and at 5:00 p.m. as well. she's going to fill in for chuck todd on "mtp daily." coming up -- hitting harder. why stormy daniels' attorney says it's time for democrats to stop taking the high road and start fighting back against republicans. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. stay with us. it really- it rocked our world. i had no idea the amount of damage that water could do. we called usaa. and they greeted me as they always do. sergeant baker, how are you? they were on it. it was unbelievable. having insurance is something everyone needs,

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and try new align gummies with prebiotics and probiotics to help support digestive health. a new crop of political stars emerged over the weekend at the state fair in iowa for what is usually a preview of potential presidential hopefuls. a surprising name on that list? michael avenatti. the lawyer for adult film star stormy daniels who got top billing at a major annual democratic fund-raiser. avenatti says he's seriously considering a presidential run and says democrats need a fighter to take on president trump in 2020. >> whoever it is, they better know how to fight. they better be prepared for a brutal campaign. they better be prepared for a cage match. if they don't have the stomach for it, they should stay home. >> a cage match? those are fighting words. joining me now is nbc's vaughn

hilliard who spoke with michael avenatti and former florida republican congressman david jolly. thanks to both of you for being here. you spoke to michael avenatti but you also spoke to voters. so what are they saying? do they want a fresh face? >> i think let's put into context where we are in the political system here. 85 days out from the midterms. the iowa state fair. it's veterans day here at the iowa state fair. no talk of omarosa going on or the president's tweets. when you talk to the voters, they're talking about education, health care, the trade war the president has engaged farmers into. where does avenatti come in? he was here multiple days and went out to a form. the keynote over the likes of other congressmen. when you were talking to people on the ground here, democrats, about michael avenatti, it was compelling. michael avenatti was making the case to iowans that he's more than a porn star's lawyer as he put it. for 18 years he's been fighting

for people that haven't had a voice. he is more than just a base of the resistance. he is michael avenatti, democrat, has to make the case to trump voters that they are able to actually be the ones fighting for them. he said trump voters, they aren't evildoers. they were conned. in talking to people on the ground, this state voted for barack obama in 2008 and in 2012. but swung by 15 points. it's a malleable population here, and, the case of michael avenatti was making is he would be the one that would be able to go toe-to-toe for donald trump and convince the very voters here that they've been conned. >> i think vaughn raises a really important point which is that, obviously, the president's a double-edged sword, depending on where -- what state you're talking about. i've been talking to officials close to the president who say he's planning to be out on the campaign trail in 2018 for at least 40 days. is that a good thing? should he be out and on the

campaign trail five to six days every week? >> look, during primary season it was a very good thing. it's almost trump has the midas touch. if you look at elections despite the fact they've won eight of nine congressional special elections, the reality is republicans have underperformed in every congressional special election since trump got elected. and we're seeing very bad numbers for trump and republicans in those states that put him over the top for the white house in pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan and so forth. and so, look, if you are a democrat, i think you invite donald trump into this race because he brings none of the down ballot positives for republican candidates right now. he only brings the negatives in general elections. >> one of those headwinds is congressman chris collins. he's suspended his re-election campaign amid the investigation into possible insider trading. to what extent do you think he's going to be a drag on the party? democrats are going to try to say, hey, this is a party that

promised to drain the swamp, and they did just the opposite. just look at chris collins. >> yeah, look, it continues to feed a narrative. this is an administration who you could argue is somewhere between corrupt and just dismissive of typical ethical roles and the norms of presidential behavior. does chris collins' alleged insider trading tie exactly to the president? no. but the president knows chris collins as the first member of congress to give a full-throated endorsement to donald trump. and when nobody else would go on tv to defend him, chris collins would. so as a reporter who covers capitol hill or as a member of congress, you know chris collins for his role there. but if you are a viewer across the country watching trump's republican party, chris collins is part and parcel to the trump identity. and so, yes, it's a fair question to say, is this an administration that continues to face allegations of corruption? >> all right. yes, i think that is going to be one of the big questions looming over all of this. thank you both for a great conversation. appreciate it.

>> thank you, kristen. >> coming up, can i get a witness with paul manafort's legal team. will they call anyone to the stand? we're live from the court as the proceedings get under way. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. feel the clarity of non-drowsy claritin and relief from symptoms caused by over 200 allergens. like those from buddy. because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. feel the clarity. and live claritin clear.

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moments from now court resumes of paul manafort who faces tax and bank frauds. the prosecutions is expected t rest their case today. joining me now is julia ainsley outside the courthouse. julia, i want to start with you, what do you expect to happen today? >> reporter: well, we do expect for the government to finish making its pace in calling all witnesses. we only have one or two more witnesses it will

witnesses. it will be a short day. they'll turn to the defense to see if mr. manafort's teams have any witnesses or evidence to present. they don't have to present anything. it is up to the government to make the legal case, of course, he should be guilty as innocent as it is presumed. the judge wants to be sure that the burden is on the government here and if the jury does not see any evidence from manafort's team to persuade them otherwise, it does not mean he's necessarily guilty. today we expect a shorter wrap up to the prosecution's case. >> dan, pick up on that point, if you can take out your crystal ball. do you expect that manafort's team is going to be calling many witnesses? i have been talking to a lot of folks who say they are betting against it. >> i think it will be shocking if manafort himself testify. and when he does not testify, the case is then really putting

rick gates on trial. it is a much stronger defense to say that you can't believe rick gates and you can't believe the government's case. we don't need to put any witnesses on then it would be to put on one or two character witnesses to say paul manafort is a good guy. that to me is a not a strong case, a strong play by defense, it would probably be the only thing that they would do. the other possibility is there is a technical angle that they would like to pursue and so they may have a more technical witness. i would not expect a long case in p if any case at all. >> dan, you understand the nuance of all of this but since there is a jury. from the jury's perspective is there an optic problem of not calling my witnesses? >> well, it depends. in some federal trial you will see a full defense case and in

that circumstances tan-- here t not have a theory of how the documents all fit together to demonstrate independent conduct. what their theory of the case is rick gates did it all and he's a liar. they got their case on cross-examination of rick gates. once the defense startstarts. >> go ahead christie. >> you go ahead. >> even the burden is on the government, the jury starts to feel like they want something more from the defense rather than just saying the government has not met its burden. >> that's an important clarification there. julia, bring us up to speed on what we learned on friday. a couple of key headlines the court heard from executives from the federal savings bank and also other key witnesses, what were the take aways there? >> reporter: that's right, the most important witness on friday was dennis rico.

he wo steven cox has been -- he thought he may be giving mr. manafort this money in exchange for the position like secretary of the army or treasury. at this point we really wanted to focus on him because he said something that's really interesting. he never seen a loan at his bank get approved so quickly. as soon as he realized that it was mr. manafort's political connection, he flags it to his boss because he knew his boss interested in politics. they all met together, met with manafort and met with rick gates and steven caulk at numerous dinners. there was a relationship built here that was just not about numbers. that's underscoring the

financial piece and the piece of paul manafort character that the prosecution wants to bring. >> dan, final thought to you. when do you think we'll hear closing arguments? >> i think we'll hear closing arguments tomorrow. i think this is going to wrap up today on the government's end and i don't think the defense will have much of a long case and we should get to the closing arguments tomorrow. >> thank you to both of you. julia ainsley and daniel goldman for watching it all closely and helping us understand, appreciate it. >> we'll have much more ahead. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened.

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and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea will be back tomorrow. my friend, chris jang ssing is e on msnbc. >> good afternoon, overcome omarosa, her claims of racism and calculated lies and mental impairment and how the white house is fighting back. we are following another big story, fired, peter strzok long criticized why conservatives sending antitrump views over text message, just fired after 21 years on the job. the punishment goes far beyond