family had been through. >> you have a nice sunny disposition. how do you do that? >> i get my strength from my mother. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc world headquarters. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. here's what's happening. ready to testify. the woman who accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh tentatively agrees to tell her story on capitol hill. >> it prevents the senate judiciary committee from voting on this nomination on monday as they have been threatening to do. it increases the probability that we actually hear from christine ford about what happened. >> plus, the white house says others who were at the party have given their statements. we'll tell you what they have to say. was he joking or not?

a now report on how they took rod rosenstein suggestion to secretly record the president. the democrats are sending familiar faces to the campaign trail. this morning, whether that strategy could backfire. the senate judiciary committee and attorneys for christine blasey ford reached a tentative agreement for her to testify on thursday and talks will continue today as they try to riern oiron out the conditio her appearance. they call it a delay tactic. they say we a preer no closer to a fair hearing but brett kavanaugh remains redding, willing and eager to testify as soon as possible. judge kavanaugh has been in and out of the white house all week. now we're getting new insight from the "washington post" on how he's getting ready for the line of questioning he'll face when he returns to capitol hill this week. let's bring in emily know, national reporter for news --

and reporter for the "washington post." great to have you here this morning. >> emily, first to you. how significant is this development? >> it's so significant. an agreement to testify publicly. it's tentative. the details will be hammered out between dr. ford's lawyers and representative of the senate republicans, whether she testifies and answers questions from senators, whether she answers from outside counsel chosen by the senate republicans. to put her in front of the television and have the country watching is significant. >> shawn, your colleagues are reporting on some of these practice runs going on in the white house. three people familiar with the deliberations told your colleagues that kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions on his drinking habits and other pro cliff tis. he said they were too personal. what are you learning about how

judge kavanaugh plans to defend himself? >> i think what his advisers are trying to do is prepare him for a different kind of hearing and different questioning than he faced the first time around. that mostly focused on his judicial record, his views on various issues of the day. this will be about him and his personal life. they're trying to get him into that mode. this is going to be a very, very different and pretty unprecedented type of setting that he'll face if this hearing does, indeed, happen later in the week. you know, when you look at the comments that he has made, he has vigorously denied this allegation over and over again. you know, unless there's a surprise of some sort, we can expect him to do the same if this hearing hans. you know, we've heard the accusations, the detail accusation from professor ford and each time that the white house has responded that judge

kavanaugh responded, they've responded and said he denies it. we'll see what he has to say if this hearing happens. i think we can expect him to push back pretty hard on these allegations. >> emily, outside of midterms being one of the main drivers of the nomination, what -- standing by him as opposed to pulling the no, ma'am nation? >> it's a check and balance for the republicans of the white house. they don't want to be overly dismissive of her claims of sexual assault against anyone working for them. but they also want to be defensive and stand behind their supreme court nominee. so they do want to hear her out. they want to do so on their terms and trying to discredit her by talking about the others in the room who can verify her story. but they don't want to -- in this me too era, they're not wanting to look like they're not

hearing her out. >> is there a sense of what the timeline will look like now? >> at this point, the timeline is certainly pushed back. senate republican leaders in the white house had a goal all along. that was to get judge kavanaugh confirmed in time for the court to start its new session at the beginning of october. but given where we are, given that we're in late september and there's talk of another hearing, haven't even had a vote in the judiciary committee, it's starting to look like that timeline is just not going to happen. even if he is ultimately confirmed right now. that's something that republicans worry about. they don't want this to drag on in addition to wanting him on the court in october when they start their new session, they looked at this as something that could galvanize their base as well. we're not far from the midterm elections and the republicans look at this as a victory to show to their base and say we're getting stuff done on capitol

hill. here's a reason why you need to vote in the november midterms. >> emily, what will you be looking for in the next few days, especially on thursday? >> i'm going to stay focused in the next couple of days how president trump responds to the developments in the kavanaugh hearing and whether dr. blasey ford will testify, under what circumstances. he showed uncharacteristic restraint for a couple of days and then went out and tweeted why she didn't come out when she was 15 at the time when the alleged assault happened, why her parents didn't come forward. i believe what he says and he's the leader of the gop and in how people fall in line from there will very much control the narrative sometimes. >> sean, you mentioned the narrative. what are you looking for on thursday? >> i will keep an eye on the reactions from a handful of key republican senators. jeff flake of arizona who is retiring at the end of the term

who has been outspoken about wanting professor ford to testify before the committee before they move ahead in the vote. also, susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska. they're moderate republicans who have showed that they are at times willing to go against the grain of their party. with the republicans having only a slight advantage in the senate, 51/49, there is a slim margin for error. keep an eye on how they react to the testimony if we see a hearing and how they decide to vote on this nomination moving forward. >> before i let you go, emily, the other big headline. fallout over "the new york times" report about deputy a.d. rosenstein suggesting that he secretly record president trump and also floating the idea of recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment. two sources tell the dailey beast that lisa page, who was present for rosenstein's comments did not believe he was

joking or being sarcastic. emily, unless this president fires rosenstein, how much longer does the story stay in the news and how -- >> i think it will stay in the news cycle until the midterms if not well beyond, pending whether rosenstein quits or whether the president fires him. benefiting the president, i don't know. it's difficult to see him, i guess, depending too much on "the new york times" report when he called "the new york times" failing. the question of whether rosenstein was being sarcastic or sincere when he made the remarks, that's a key question, i believe. we've had a lot of justice department officials, especially, who know rosenstein say that he has a dry sense of humor. he might not have been serious when he was making the roorks. >> remarks. >> sean, what are your -- >> not to fire rod rosenstein,

not to do anything that would create chaos in the administration, that would create political fallout. a lot of republicans look at the situation, they realize it's volatile and they don't want to project an image of chaos and disorder as we get closer and closer to the midterms, as more and more voters tune in. they're trying to keep the focus on the supreme court and their legislative achievements on capitol hill. that's become increasingly difficult for them to do as we see these signs of discord, these signs of potential chaos in the administration right now. a lot of republicans, i think, are on edge over this development and this story. >> emily, what happens to rosenstein? do you think trump will eventually fire him? >> i think it's inevitable. >> sean, your thoughts. do you think the president will keep him on? >> we don't know. this president has shown time and again that he is a very unpredictable person. he goes against his advisers, made surprising decisions. any prediction at this point

really could go either way. >> sean sullivan, emily ngo, stick with us. we have more questions coming up. there's still some sticking points for her legal team that could derail the deal. that's up next. alright, i brought in new max protein ...to give you the protein you need

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a major breakthrough. the woman who accused supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh of sexual assault tentatively agreed to provide testimony on thursday. lawyers for christine ford argue parts of the gop deal are, quote, fundamentally inconsistent with the committee's promise of a fair and impartial investigation into her allegation. they are expected to continue negotiations later today. joining me now, ashley merchant, criminal attorney. great to have you this sunday. >> good morning.

>> ford's lawyers, they're requiring a number of conditions, including not having kavanaugh in court in the same room at the same time and a guarantee for safety. if you were representing ford, how would you balance these decisions with your client's strong desire to get her story out there? >> i think her requests are very reasonable. the fact that she doesn't want to be in the room with mr. kavanaugh is completely reasonable. i also think the fact that she wants her family safe is reasonable. at this point, she's gotten desperate. she's having to have her children protected. she's having to pay for protection for them. she's having to keep them in a hotel. she can't go home. you have to think about how awful this is for her family. as a mother, the first thing that she's thinking of is her children's safety. to secure that and make sure that these threats are going to be investigated is probably her primary concern. if i was her lawyer, that would be my primary concern. making sure that she's protected and making sure that the fbi is taking this seriously and going to investigate these threats.

>> ford, she named four people who attended the high school party where the alleged sexual assault occurred. all four denied about knowing about the incident or attending the party. how much of a roadblock is this for ford? >> i don't think that's a big roadblock. if you think about it, if you asked -- when you were 15, if you remembered attending a party and who was there, if there was nothing significant that happened to you at that party, you wouldn't remember that event. you only remember events where something significant happens. so if i was attacked when i was 15, i would definitely remember that event. that would be etched in my memory. if i was just attending a party and it was any other party, i wouldn't necessarily remember that event. those folks that were there that were not involved in this incident, the fact that they don't have an independent memory of it, that doesn't carry the day for me. what carries the day for me is what mr. judge says if he is called. i would want him to testify. if he was in that room with brett kavanaugh, that would be who i want to hear from.

>> let's talk about that. ford claims that mark judge witnessed the incident and would like him subpoenaed, but the gop declined that request. how vital would he be in ford's account of whand at happened an would her lawyers get him to take the stand. >> he would be one. key pieces of evidence. particularly given his memoirs when he talks about things like this happening all the time. he may not have an independent memory of this exact event, but he could say this is something that normally would happen. we would drink, go to parties, be with girls. this is not out of the realm of possibility. while he may not remember the specifics of what happened inside that room, he could testify he was too drunk to remember and the people were at that party or this is something that regularly happened. they regularly had drunken fests. they regularly had girls over. so he could sort of set the scene. i think he is a very vital piece of corroboration for miss ford's

testimony. >> how would they prove this alleged assault happened and how much does the burden of proof come into play and it's a congressional hearing and not a criminal trial? >> that's a great question. there's no burden of proof. what this is, whether or not the congressional committee wants to recommend and advise that brett kavanaugh actually gets the supreme court nomination. it's whether or not they believe it. it's a he said,/she said, whether or not her story has been consistent. and her motivation in testify. a lot of people brought into question what her motivation is at this point. if you look at it, it's normal for a victim of sexual assault to not come forward for many years. that's not going to undermine her credibility. what it's going to come down to is who they believe. whether or not they believe what she says in front of them. they have to look at her as she testifies and decide whether or not they believe this to be

true. oftentimes in sexual assault cases you've got two witnesses. the person who says they were assaulted and the assaultee. it's a he said/she said most of the time. it comes down to issues of credibility, issues of who congress believes. in a case where there's a criminal trial, who the jury believes. we've got a jury charge that says the testimony of one witness, if believed, is enough to sustain a conviction. so if they believe ms. ford, that's enough to carry the day. that's enough for them to believe that she was assaulted. >> ashley, you talk about convictions. do you see a criminal -- >> you see every day charges with this same amount of evidence, one person saying that somebody assaulted them. that's enough for a criminal case. that's enough for a jury trial. that's enough to sustain a conviction. if that much time hadn't passed, i think we would see a criminal investigation. the issue is so much time has

passed. the statutes told a lot of times, when they're a minor, the packet that she was 15, the statutes would be tolled. but because she told people in 2012, that would mean that now it's been too much time. i don't think that we'll see any criminal charges unless there's charges that come about with some lying perhaps or some perjury in front of congress. i don't think we'll see any charges with the sexual assault though. >> ashley merchant great to have you on this morning. we'll see how the week pans out. 44 days until midterms, the democrats are breaking out big guns in hopes for a blue -- could the strategy backfire? that's up next.

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countdown to the midterms. but voting actually has begun. early voting has just started in

five states. minnesota, south dakota, vermont and wyoming. they got under way on friday. new jersey, yesterday. when it comes to the midterms, president trump and former first lady michelle obama have one thing in common, they want you to vote. >> promise me, you got to get out for the mid -- don't be complacent. you got to get out for the midterms. >> the truth is, when we stay home, things stay the same or they get worse. >> mrs. obama appears in the new psa as when we all vote initiative. she'll appear at a voter registration rally in las vegas and miami later this week. with 44 days before nationwide voti voting, there's distrust in the election system. 46% of americans believe not all of the votes will be counted. 34% believe it's likely election officials will tamper with votes to change results of the election. democrats are trying to

capitalize on historic victories like the ones in red states, most recently in florida. abc news reports vice president joe biden will travel to georgia. >> emily, what does this tell you about the midterm strategy in the red states for the democrats? >> the democratic party is not shying away from their establishment. it's an interesting approach considering the tensions during the primary season between establishment and progressive members of the party. former vice president joe biden is very popular in polling when it comes to the names being floated for 2020. it's interesting that he's campaigning for stacy abrams. whee she was one of the few with the support of many. it shows the democrats aren't afraid to to bring out the big guns and not shying away from the establishment players in a

time when there's anti-establishment sentiment out there. >> sean, the hill reports that the democrats are struggling to find someone to run against nancy pelosi. what happened and how might this change if they win the house? will it be hard to justify replacing her. >> there's been talk about she be the next speaker if the democrats win back the house, will she with have a second stint as speaker? the reality in the party is number one, it's a fractured democratic party, so you have a lot of different wings of the party competing for power. that makes it harder to get behind one or two people to challenge pelosi for speaker. two, there really is no obvious person out there, either as a successor or as somebody who has positioned themselves so far at least to challenge her for the vote that they would need to lead the house democrats. until that happens, she still is the leader of the house

democrats. now, we'll see what happens after the election. because, of course, we have a lot of democrats running as anti-establishment candidates, fresh faces, newer people to the political mix. how will those people mesh with nancy pelosi and her leadership team? will they clash? we'll see what happens six, nine months down the road. there is no obvious challenger to pelosi even though there is disquiet and anger in the party about her leadership. >> right. emily, real quick. i want to get this to you. is there a sense of how significant the kavanaugh allegations will factor into the democrats' midterms? >> being a swing vote this midterm election season. i mean, they're going to be paying close attention to how the allegations are handled and how it plays out on live television. we know the anita hill hearings ushered in the senate and house female politicians in the next

year. so the year the women might be repeating itself. >> emily and sean, thank you. great to have you here. that does it for me. i'm dara brown a the top of the hour, politics nation with al sharpton and adam schiff -- first, your business is up next. ♪

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good morning. coming up on your business, we focus on women entrepreneurs. she went from providing handyman service toss selling storage units. the secret applying to a product oriented one. the dynamic entrepreneur took a screening company clear out of bankruptcy. that plus how the #me her movement against bias in women in media and advertising. when this comes to running a business, we have your back. that's up next on this special edition of your business.