grab your neighbors. get to the poll because if not you will have another two or six years of this craziness. so make sure you vote. all right? >> one more. we know that you had meetings -- >> matt miller cynically called that a fund-raising plea for his legal defense funds. that a fund raising play. my thanks to my guests. i'm nicole wallace. [ so where's the body? let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. breaking news tonight in the case of "washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi. 17 days after his mysterious disappearance, saudi arabia has just conceded that khashoggi died while in that saudi consulate in istanbul earlier this month. the saudi press agency reports that the general prosecutor in that country has issued a carefully worded statement, the saudi prosecutor.

it says that, quote, the discussions which occurred between mr. khashoggi and the persons who met him while he was present at the kingdom's consulate in istanbul led to a quarrel and fighting by hand with the citizen jamal khashoggi which led to his death. this comes after mounting evidence emerged over the last several weeks to implicate saudi arabia in khashoggi's disappearance. now 18 saudis are reportedly being held as suspects in the death. joining me right now is nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel, josh lederman of nbc news and eli stokols, who covers the white house for "the los angeles times" and jackie speier, who sits on the house intelligence committee. richard engel, everybody who has ever followed a detective story, especially a murder story know there's is such a thing as the corpus delecti. where is the body? is this body is hacked up with

the help of that surgery tool, then there isn't going to be a body somewhere. so how are the saudis going to explain what they did with this guy that they say died in a fistfight of some sort? >> well, there are a lot of holes in this story. where is the body is one of them. why should there be a dismembered body? if you read that, as you described it, carefully worded statement, very brief statement from the prosecutor's office in saudi arabia which was read out on saudi state tv, they said that khashoggi was in the consulate. he got into a discussion, got into an argument, and then a fistfight. one would assume that if this person died, if khashoggi died as a result of a fistfight, that they would call the police. they would alert authorities. they wouldn't chop up his body, which is what turkish officials say they did. and turkish officials are now searching two areas in this country, looking through cctv

footage. they say they saw a saudi diplomatic vehicle near at least one of those areas, about 60 miles south of istanbul, the other a forested area, 20 square miles north of istanbul. it also doesn't explain why, according to turkey, the 15 assassins were waiting for him to begin with. if it's just to talk with him and then a fight breaks out and then he's mysteriously dead, there was no explanation of what happened to his body in this brief statement. >> richard, they also, if you listen to this oddly worded statement, discussions which occurred, discussions, that was the cause of the fight, which occurred between khashoggi and the person who's met him. they won't even acknowledge in this statement it's their agents, those 15 agents they sent in from saudi. >> well, there were also not supposed to be discussions.

khashoggi was going into that consulate to pick up paperwork. he had been to the consulate once before. turkish officials say when he went there, they were surprised to see him. he was greeted in a friendly manner, but he was told to come back. told to come back on the day he came back. he called that morning to make sure that the paperwork he was expecting to pick up was ready. they told him it was. he showed up around 1:00 to pick up the paperwork. there was not supposed to be discussions. this was a document retrieval that he was expecting that now if you read the statement ended up in an argument with persons and then if you listen to the turks, a brutal interrogation, his body being chopped up, and now a search for the pieces of his remains. >> hold on, richard. let me go to josh lederman. josh, it seems to me this is a classic case, and it happens in some of the worst cultures and some of the better ones,al roing disclosure.

they're only disclosing what we know as a fact, he's dead. nothing else can be relied upon in this statement. >> that's right. and up until now, chris, the saudis have not even acknowledged that he was dead. it was less than a week ago that the saudis were putting out vehement statements saying that they really are upset about these terrible disparagement of the saudi government, but what we can say, chris, nbc news has learned from an official, a source that's close, has information about what the saudis plan to do here, that this is not the end of what the saudi government will release. there will be more information that comes outside that details the chain of events, what exactly happened. >> rolling disclosure. so they're going to roll out more after they test this? first of all, is anybody going to take the fall, really, for murder? it seems like they're denying there was a murder. there was a fistfight. it was at worst a manslaughter, unintentional somebody died in a fistfight. they won't even acknowledge there was a capital crime here.

>> it's true, they did not use the word murder or killing in their description. we don't yet fully know exactly how much. >> in other words, no one has to be killed? >> well, somebody died in a fistfight. >> talking about there's no -- congresswoman, let me go to this because this is our ally. there has always been the question about saudi, let's face it. not the government necessarily all the time, but the people there. 15 people of the 19 on 9/11 were saudis. they were the thugs. some said they didn't even know what the mission was. they were just along to kill flight attendants and intimidate passengers so they could continue their route to the world trade center and the pentagon and perhaps the capitol. so what do we make of saudi arabia, that their official agencies are putting out this claptrap. they won't even admit any more than what we know. the guy's dead. that's all they're really honestly admitting. >> well, their story doesn't pass the smell test. and i think it's high time for congress to recalibrate our relationship with saudi arabia. i kind of bristle at calling

them an ally. in part because 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from saudi arabia. and i don't think the way they've conducted themselves has proven to show that they are an ally. they've lied through this whole 17-day period of time, and there's no reference made to bone saws or acid wash. and that's what they did to a journalist. >> yeah. >> and our government and our president has tried to read from their script and suggest that they were rogue actors who did this. i mean, it's really shameful. >> you know, back when we had -- what's his name? prince bandar, he was one of the social lights. one of the guys like this new crown prince, that hung out with liz taylor and pretended to be westernized in some sense, he -- i told him once we think you got a gig going over there in saudi

asia. you let your young people destroy the world but leave the saudi royal family alone. that's your deal. i think everybody's thought that. they have sort of a split personality. let all their people do the horrible stuff, but protect the royal family. it looks like they're doing the same exact thing here. they're going blame all the thugs and the bouncers and the so-called security people and the doctor and everybody who was in that consulate that they can separate somehow from the crown prince. >> well, this was a grotesque act, and it was premeditated. it was a murder, and we have got to show that we have some sense of moral values in this country at a time when it seems like all we do is embrace dictators and autocrats like kim and putin, and now the crown prince. i think that what the intelligence committee is going to have to do is find out what we knew, when we knew it, and whether or not we had an

obligation to inform khashoggi that he was in danger. >> let me go to eli, my friend. it seems to me if we threw this case that they've thrown at us before at an american jury, it wouldn't go too far. 15 guys got into a boxing match and a guy died? but we couldn't tell you for 17 days. >> right. and you're supposed to believe this investigation that's coming, that the crown prince is supposedly going to be leading. >> like nixon was leading the cover-up vex. -- investigation. >> yes, you're right. but these are not normal times. we live in such a tribal polarized country right now. you see the president. his actions, they're not like a president before him in terms of responding to this situation. but you see it at every turn of this. he is very reluctant. he didn't acknowledge khashoggi was dead until yesterday. today he is asked about this. he is saying yeah, he is dead. yes, we're getting more information. i'll listen to congress. but iran does bad things, too.

he's always turning the page. >> are a lot of allies and conservative media who have been sliming khashoggi, saying he has -- he's hung around with terrorists back years ago, things that are just outlandish. >> like he should have been killed. >> but that is where we are right now. everything breaks along this partisan divide. you're hearing republicans in congress, allies of the administration like lindsey graham talking very tough about this. they are not singing from the same sheet of music as the president on this, but are they going to force the president's hand, force him to respond and to do something? are they going to act on their own, or are they just sort of going to fall in line behind trump? >> let's get back to rich on the very point we're raising here. what do you make of the way they're singling people out to take the fall so far, richard? who's been lined up to take the worst punishment, if there is any punishment, for this murder? >> probably major general ahmed al assiri. he is the deputy head of saudi intelligence. he was the first person tonight that the saudis mentioned of having been relieved of his

duties. also, a presidential adviser or a royal adviser to mohammed bin salman also relieved of his duties. but i would say the deputy head of intelligence is the one who is probably going to be facing the most severe punishment. and it could be that the crown prince uses this as an opportunity to clear away some of his advisers, blaming some of the controversial people around him, saying that it was all their fault, that it was not a rogue operation just launched by the 15 people who were in the consulate there who got into this boxing match and then decided to chop up the body, but that it was some of his powerful underlings who acteded on their own authority and launched this mission which ultimately embarrassed saudi arabia. and you were asking earlier, could that result in their death? it absolutely could result in their death. >> well, that's right.

congresswoman, it seems to me watching these stories, i think we can follow this up. these people are not going to talk. either their families will be threatened and they'll go down. they'll accept they'll be executed but their families will be spared. they're going to find a way of keeping these men from talking because this whole plan they're putting together, this whole rigmarole of nonsense, this cover-up, isn't going to work if they squeal. >> well, one of them has already died in a mysterious car crash based on information we received yesterday. what's really stunning about all of this, but for the fact that turkey started leaking this information, you would have had the saudis basically say that these were rogue operators, and you would have had the president of the united states supporting that. >> yeah. well, i don't trust him on this, as i don't on many things, but especially the saudi and him together, i don't think they're the team that's going to give us

the truth at all. i think they're working together to keep it from us. richard engel, as always brilliant. josh lederman, again for you, sir, eli stokols, who is good on everything, jackie speier. they need some pressure put on these people. i think they felt the friday night pressure. somebody told the saudis, come out with something by friday night, and they have. i don't think it's going to hold the weekend. coming up, more breaking news tonight on the russia front. another huge story tonight. the russian national with ties to vladimir putin. one of them was charged today with attempting to meddle in the 2018 elections, not the 2016. they were going after us. they're doing all the dirty stuff they did in '16 again in '1. that means they're still at it. plus, trump's closing message to voting in his own words, kavanaugh and the caravan. he is also peddling conspiracy theorys to his base. what are democrats offering in response? there is a bigger question. also, we're to have more on the breaking news in saudi arabia and the epic west wing

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welcome back to "hardball." a russian national has been charged in virginia today for interfering in this country's elections, including efforts to influence the 2018 midterm elections, the ones coming up in two weeks. that's the big news tonight. they're still at it. the criminal complaint reveals that elena khushyaynova was charged with conspiracy to defraud the united states for waging a social media campaign to amplify divisive social media and political content. in other words, to stir up trouble here. using fake online identities, the russian conspiracy spread lies about former president obama and gives cover to president trump. the caption by the way to this image reads "if only the media had been as bothered by obama's ties to the muslim brotherhood as they are by trump's fake ties to russia." of course, obama had no such ties. another inflammatory post

targeted muslims with an anti-immigration message saying "no cult pretending to be a religion should ever be given the freedom to exist within the same western countries that they are taught to hate." of course, that's anti-islamic. the complaint alleges that the russian propaganda campaign going on right now inflamed passions over divisive issues, listing them all. they're pretty smart, those russians. look what they're doing. they're going after on the red hot issue of immigration, the red hot issue of gun control, the confederate flag issue, the women's march, and even a debate over the nfl and taking a knee in the national anthem. all this stuff we've been fighting about in this country, they've been heating up more so. and while the conspirators targeted both sides of the political spectrum, it appears the majority of the russian efforts focused on helping trump. trump was asked about that news today. >> it has nothing to do with my campaign. all of the hackers and everybody that you see, nothing to do with my campaign. if the hackers, a lot of them

probably like hillary clinton better than me. now they do. now they do. but you know, they go after some hacker in russia and they say oh. it had nothing to do with my campaign. >> joining me now is tom winter, investigative reporter for nbc news. and malcolm nance, author of "the plot to destroy democracy." tom, help us out here about this. is this news that they're still doing it? >> yeah, i think so, chris. we've been hearing about this from our intelligence communities and from law enforcement over the past couple of months. but i think what's important today is that we get some specifics. and i think it's a little bit of the intelligence community and the law enforcement community, the united states throwing a punch back at the russian government and saying hey, we're still getting your messages. we're still on top of you from an intelligence standpoint, and we're still monitoring exactly what it is that you're doing. this has been going on for some time. we're going to tie it to an oligarch who is very close to vladimir putin. so i think the level of detail that we have here, the fact that they're changing up a little bit, before the russians went so

hard against hillary clinton in the spring of 2016 right through the election, this was the type of stuff that they were starting to do, pick on hot topic issues, things that are going to be divisive in the united states, and just start to mess with the way that we talk about things to try to inject different points of view, extreme points of view into the debate. at some point they made the turn. all the intelligence agencies came around to the fact that the efforts were to help donald trump with the election. but right now we're seeing them make that shift back to some of the things that they were starting to do before, which is to pick on these issues and to put information out on social media that gets people talking about it, gets people sharing it, and in the past we had talked about how low cost this was, chris. today we're seeing according to this criminal complaint that in 2016, just this company, and remember, they were kind of one part of what the russians were doing, that they were expensing $12 million in i.t. and in online advertising they were doing through the social media websites.

i think this is a really significant criminal complaint that's been unsealed today that we're looking at on screen. and i think it's something that really deserves our attention to know that they're still doing this, and they're still trying get in our heads in this country. >> malcolm, as tom just mentioned, the criminal complaint states that the russian influence operation which was indicted today was financed by a wealthy russian oligarch, a restaurant tycoon named prigozhin who was indicted alongside other russians last february. he is better known as putin's chef. however, when nbc's megyn kelly asked putin about him this past march, putin insisted he is not a friend of his. >> one of your good friends is actually accused of helping conduct this. his name is yevgeny prigozhin. you know him? >> i know that person. but i wouldn't consider him one of my friends. this is just twisting the facts around. he is a businessman. he is involved in the restaurant business and some other

business, but he is not a government official. we don't have anything to do with him. >> after you heard that he had been indicted, did you pick up the phone and call him? >> translator: like i have nothing better to do. i've got so many things to do and so many problems. >> he's your friend. he had just been indicted. >> translator: didn't you hear what i said? he is not a friend of mine. >> malcolm, let me ask you about something that impressed as a political person. i'm amazed at the sophistication of the bad guys here, the russians. they know everything that irritates this country. everything that's a flash point, whether it's immigration or it's guns. everything. they seem to know everything that hurts us, and they want it to hurt more. >> well, you're absolutely right. and what you are looking at is a strategic plan that is being executed by the russians against the united states. i am not exaggerating when i say the russian information warfare operation against america is james bond evil villain level plotting here.

they are watching in realtime what affects this nation. you know, they have monitoring stations. they have people watching the news, the print media. they're watching trump and his statements. they're watching his followers, and they are crafting and adapting their social warfare tools to make sure their propaganda products are hitting us precisely where they hurt the most. this, again -- you know, the basis of this is old school kgb activity, but it's now moving at the speed of the electron, and we just don't have the capacity to stop it because they have weaponized freedom of speech. and so we take it very seriously, and we're not going to because the president of the united states does not believe one word that this is happening. which now makes the russian operations operate at light speed because they can go with impunity, and the only thing stopping them is news media broadcasts like this when we

catch them and indict them and turn them into a criminal enterprise, that's the only time anybody believes that it's happening. it's really a shame. >> malcolm and tom, i can think of three reasons why trump hates this news story breaking tonight. number one, it shows what you just said, malcolm, a criminal enterprise is ongoing. it's real. it was real in '16. it's real in '18, and trump looks like he was a part of it. we'll find out when mueller comes through with his report. second, it's clearly out to hurt our cultural unity such as it still exists this country. they seem to know our pressure points. they want to divide us apart. thank you, tom winter. thank you, malcolm nance. up next president trump's closing message to his voters. kavanaugh and the caravan. isn't that clever? what are democrats offering as a countermessage? this is "hardball," where the action is. ico and saved hundreds. excuse me... winner! that's a win.

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this will be an election of kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, and common sense. that's what it's going to be. it's going to be an election of those things. the choice could not be more clear. democrats produce mobs. republicans produce jobs. >> there he is. he's made up the slogan, and that's "hardball." anyway, that's president trump rolling out his new closing

argument his slogans to voters at a rally in montana last night. trump painted democrats as an angry mob full of conspiracy theories and fear mongering. his latest scare, the democrats are behind a caravan of central american migrants traveling towards the u.s. border through mexico. >> it's going to be an election of the caravan. you know what i'm talking about. you know what i'm talking about. a lot of money has been passing through, people to try and come up to get to the border by election day, because they think that's a negative for us. if they wanted that caravan, and there are those who say that caravan didn't just happen. it didn't just happen. they refuse to acknowledge or to change the laws. they like it. they also figure everybody coming in is going to vote democrat. >> well, trump didn't stop there. he riffed on a host of other conspiracies about paid

protesters it, rigged elections and true to form, his 2016 opponent, hillary clinton. >> but did you see the signs? they're brand-new. they're beautiful, the black and white signs. everybody has the same signs. a lot of rigged things going on to that. just ask bernie sanders. you think things are rigged, bernie? we fight like nobody ever fought before. you know, we fight and we fight and we win. if you fight back today, it's called obstruction. no, no, no, we fight back. call it whatever the hell you want. we fight back. obstruction. crooked hillary is a great unifier. it is incredible the deep state where they don't even look at her. isn't it incredible? >> we're joined right now by omarosa manigault newman, a former white house staffer of course of note and susan del percio. republican strategist. i don't know which one of you to start with.

anybody who believes, look, i believe democrats can be a little slow politically once in a while, but the idea that start this caravan of 4,000 or 5,000 people trooping up from guatemala on to texas or arizona is not something you do with any kind of political astuteness two weeks before an election, but he is saying that's what the democrats are up to. >> no, it makes no sense, not that any of his conspiracy theories have to make sense. they'd have to be register. >> but they're going to vote when they get here. >> but let's not let logic get in the way of facts. donald trump wants to create this boogieman, this tension, if we don't get out, then they're going get us. who is they? today it's honduras. tomorrow it's hillary clinton. the next day it will be those who oppose kavanaugh. he is really good at creating this invisible monster that's coming to get his base. >> susan, erstwhile republican, occasional republican, not this week republican, susan del percio. he uses slogan earring.

he gives people nicknames. he is calling it the caravan. he is connecting it alliteratively with kavanaugh. the two names are working together. they'll be married from now till election day, those two names. jobs versus mobs. he can tell some congressman to punch out a reporter. that's not bad behavior. but somebody complains about somebody in a restaurant, that's a bad behavior. he distinguishes mob behavior from punching people out and he seems to get his people on his side all the time. >> he's only happy if he is after someone and fighting them. he's got to divide because he has no message that can bring our country together. he's hoping he can play on hate and to bring out enough of the base. but what is interesting and not imaginary is the caravan. and i think he likes that besides for what it represents is he will have a visual that will go along with that. >> yes. >> and donald trump is about the visual. he's about television. and that is going to go along

with his message, unfortunately. >> i think he doesn't even have to narrate it. i think that visual is going to hurt people like bob casey in pennsylvania and sherrod brown in ohio and debbie stabenow at michigan. people do not want people pouring into the country like that without any regulation or any role by the government or the american people just coming in. it scares people and it bothers them. anyway, trump used last night's rally to praise montana republican congressman greg gianforte. during his campaign last may gianforte body slammed a journalist at an event. the congressman was later marched and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and last night, president trump described the incident as a positive. >> greg is smart. and by the way, never wrestle him. you understand that? never. any guy that can do a body slam, he is my kind.

he's my guy. but i had heard that he body slammed a reporter. oh, this is terrible. he's going to lose the election. then i said well, wait a minute, i know montana pretty well. i think it might help him. and it did. >> could it be that trump knows saudi arabia really well? >> no. >> the way they treat reporters? this juxtaposition of a reporter who writes for "the washington post" and lives in virginia being cut up into pieces as part of this incredible act of murder. he says the same week that happens he is talking about a guy getting beaten up. what about the guy in staten island, going to break you like a boy, that character? >> because he is making the mistake of thinking the midterms are about his base and his base are about these strong men who fight and are aggressive. but the problem is he is claiming to be the law and order president, that he wants this order, and he is trying to depict the democrats as a mob. >> consistent with law and order?

>>, no it's not. he doesn't see the irony in that. >> never mind. if you swing back at a congressman, you would be in jail for ten years. >> that's true. >> let me go to susan on this. susan, is this going to be the campaign? is this what we're going to hear, the kavanaugh which that he thinks he won on with his peeps and the caravan that will probably hurt the democrats generally, it just will, and then going after mobs? look, some of these things are mistakes. anybody who goes after somebody in a restaurant and bothers his family is going to look bad. you never go after the family. we don't like that in america. it's never going to look good. those people went up and after -- and i don't like cruz that much politically. but going after his family in a restaurant. cruz was smart enough to walk out. he went up ten points after that. people who think they're activists should vote and get people out to vote and leave the fisticuffs and the rough stuff to the trump people. your thoughts, susan? >> that's what donald trump pounces on.

he goes after one or two examples, things that helps an entire group of people or party. and i'd just like to say, while he was -- donald trump was at the rally and talking about beating up reporters, nikki haley was at the al smith dinner and discussing that our political opponents are not our enemies. they are not evil. and that just stands in such stark contrast to where the president was last night. >> susan, you're so smart. we're going to show those clips in a few minutes. not only did he separate himself on the question of opponents not being eechbl and stop stop talking like that, that she said it basically to the president but she told some really funny stuff, too. >> she was great. >> that's what i like to hear. i think she has political smarts. and your party should be smarter, even though she is a neo con like some you have guys are, i like her as a political person. thank you. omarosa manigault newman. your book? "unhinged". >> thank you so much.

good luck in reclaiming your party. today's big story out of saudi arabia we have new reaction from the white house. how are we going to handle this cover-up? can the president buy this nonsense that it was a fistfight with the 15 guys against one and then they decided to chop him up into pieces because he laustd a fistfight? what? you're watching "hardball." okay. [ buttons clicking ] [ camera shutter clicks ] so, now that you have a house, you can use homequote explorer. quiet. i'm blasting my quads. janice, look. i'm in a meeting. -janice, look. -[ chuckles ] -look, look. -i'm looking. it's easy. you just answer some simple questions online, and you get coverage options to choose from. you're ruining my workout. cycling is my passion. we are the tv doctors of america, and we may not know much about medicine, but we know a lot about drama. we also know that you can avoid drama by getting an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. it could save your life. cigna. together, all the way.

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welcome back to "hardball," and back to our top story tonight. it couldn't be a bigger one. saudi arabia's state news agency acknowledging "washington post" journalist jamal khashoggi was killed in that saudi consulate. the white house said in a statement tonight "we are saddened to hear confirmation of mr. khashoggi's death. we will continue to closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident and advocate that justice is timely, transparent and in accordance with all due process." i don't believe a word of that. senator lindsey graham tweeted i am skeptical of the new saudi

narrative about mr. khashoggi is an understatement. good for him. evan mcmullin, a former cia operative and eugene scott, a political reporter for "the washington post." you know, it seems to me i said earlier, it's rolling disclosure. they're telling us what we already know. he is dead. that's all they told us we can believe. all this stuff about a fistfight 15 to one, they have to explain where his body is, and if they did chop it is like the word is they did, they have to explain that. why would they chop up a body because a guy lost a fistfight? >> exactly. >> why was there a fistfight when the only reason he went in there was to get some marriage materials? >> why bring a bone saw, right? >> a doctor. why bring a forensics expert. >> it seems like the plan all along was to go in if not at least kill him, but to interrogatory him. if the interrogation went awry the plan was to cover it up. i think khashoggi knew going in that something was going to happen. because apparently, according to reporting we've seen, he had his apple watch on and recording. so he knew he was walking into this danger.

the fact that the saudi story has changed so many times, they never provided evidence that he walked out of that consulate. that was the first red flag -- is just more evidence. the fact that the president has not come out and strongly condemned this, has been playing the wait and see game saying the saudis have to finish their own investigation into a murder they were involved in is completely outrageous. >> here is how they said they're going to finish their investigation. in the next 48 hours, some people are going to be dead. because how else do they silence people? unless they threaten their families, unless you take the dive, purported life imprisonment or 50 lashes, whatever they come up with. because they're denying it's premeditated murder. >> look, in saudi arabia they have all kinds of ways to squirrel these guys away and to control the situation and keep them away from the press. some of them they may imprison. some they may kill. some may just melt away and we won't know for sure. >> how do they keep them quiet? because they all know what happened. >> you put them under house arrest. you put them it under arrest in some way.

it's not difficult in saudi asia or almost any other country in the middle east to do this sort of thing. >> can this guy, after this happened, can that -- the well turned out, you know, cologned westernized prince over there, the crown prince who has been such a dandy, can he now, again, sit down with the president of the united states in a meeting? can he sit with theresa may in london? can he actually act like a civilized figure now and get away with it? >> i think it's very hard for civilized leaders of the west, as you put it, to have relations with mbs looking forward. but the problem is our president, he doesn't follow those rules. he's not committed to our values, and neither is mbs. so that i don't think is going to be a problem. but i just have to say, i don't think enough is being made of the fact that the saudis sent 15 men to do this job. as a former operations guy, i just have to tell you, you don't send 15 men to simply meet a guy or question a guy or even to kill a guy. you send 15 men if you want to

abduct a guy or if you want to kill a guy and then do away with his body. but that 15 men is just an incredible -- an incredible signal of premeditation. >> okay, you're the spook. you know how this is done. they got surveillance cameras on the place. it was probably bugged by the turks. this guy, khashoggi's girlfriend, fiancee standing outside, they didn't hide the fact that he was killed. they didn't hide it. he disappeared inside that building. >> but with these kinds of regimes comes some hubris where they think they can get away with things. they think they're more clever than they actually are. they may not have been counting on his fiancee to be outside. they think they can get away with things that they can't. when they're subjected to outside world scrutiny, their lies unravel very quickly, and it's not uncommon. >> you know what strikes me is how much we see him as one of us. >> people who are familiar with international affairs and paying attention to mbs understand that he's been problematic for a while.

>> i meant khashoggi is one of us. >> he is. >> as your colleague. >> absolutely, and one of us. and the one of the reasons that i think the government thought they could get away with it is because they realize we're living in a country under a president who has so little respect for journalists. >> like he said, he applauded the other guy last night for punching out a reporter. >> absolutely. and so, i mean, they've heard our president talk about fake news and applaud physical assault on a journalist. they had no reason to believe that the president would get upset with them. >> will no one rid me of this meddlesome journalist? anyway, this is an upbeat story. outgoing about to be former u.n. ambassador nikki haley poked some fun last night at both the administration and the democrats at the annual great al splitting charity dinner. here she goes. >> the president called me this morning and gave me some really good advice. he said if i get stuck for laughs, just brag about his accomplishments. it really killed at the u.n. i got to tell you. jeff sessions wanted to be here

but he recused himself. actually, i saw jeff sessions earlier today, not in new york. i saw him on linkedin looking for a job. i get it. you wanted an indian woman, but elizabeth warren failed her dna test? actually, when the president found out that i was indian american, he asked me if i was from the same tribe as elizabeth warren. >> she's good. anyway, haley also called for greater civility from both sides in the political fight. let's watch. here is her word choice could be a direct response by the way. the comments are soon to be about former boss. let's watch the comparison. >> all of the democrats know and all they really know how to do is obstruct, resist, demolish, destroy, and delay. they destroy people. they want to destroy people. these are really evil people. >> in our toxic political environment, i've heard some people in both parties describe

their opponents as enemies or evil. in america, our political opponents are not evil. >> redirect. evan? >> look, i think what she is doing here, i'm glad she said that. these are important things in this moment of incredible divisiveness, but i think what she's doing is she is trying to distance herself from the president in anticipation of a time when trumpism may not be so popular as it is within the republican party right now. and that's a long bet, and it's a hopeful bet. it's one that is hard to see right now. >> i'm a little more generous. i remember distancing herself from the confederate flag, eugene, and that took some guts in south carolina, and she did it fast. >> right. we know she spoke out very -- with great emotion after the charleston massacre where the white supremacists went into the church and killed, you know, black christians who were praying. but many people in the democratic base are not going forget the fact that nikki haley

went along with donald trump on so many things that they found indefensible. >> well, nobody is counting on the democratic base if you're nikki haley. you're counting on the republican party that survives. >> yeah. >> anyway, i think she is a great pol. i think i like politicians. anyway, the round table is sticking with us. next, these three are going to tell me something i didn't know. you're watching "hardball." alright, let's get going! and you want to make sure to aim it. i'm aiming it. ohhhhhhh! i ordered it for everyone. [laughing] (dad vo) we got the biggest subaru to help bring our family together. i'm just resting my eyes. (dad vo) even though we're generations apart. what a day. i just love those kids. (avo) presenting the all-new three-row subaru ascent. wave to grandma, everybody. (avo) love is now bigger than ever. discover.o. i like your card, but i'm absolutely not paying an annual fee. discover has no annual fees. really? yeah. we just don't believe in them. oh nice. you would not believe how long i've been

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reportedly caught in a heated profanity "f" word laced shouting match outside the oval office yesterday. administration officials tell nbc news the disagreement between chief of staff john kelly and john bolton was over the rising number of undocumented immigrants coming into the country. the dispute was so heated according to some people that kelly ended up storming out of the white house altogether. he walked out of the white house because he was so angry. the white house released a statement late last night saying in part while we are passionate about solving the issue of illegal immigration, we are not angry at one another. that was a cover story. we'll be right back.

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his hotel. >> i know. >> so this is evidence -- >> we're going to be stuck with that stalin-esque soviet style building forever. >> it would cost a lot more to rebuild the headquarters. >> go ahead. >> according to an ssrs poll released today, 96% of republicans think the party reflects its values accurately. that's four times as many thought that in 2010. at the same time 91% of democrats think the same about the democratic party. so what we're seeing is a coalescing of the polarization, the political polarization in the country. very dangerous thing. what both the russians and donald trump is trying to facilitate in our country. very dangerous. >> i hate it. go ahead. >> since last friday, five potential 2020 democratic candidates have all visited south carolina, showing they're focused on the base. the women, the millennials, the women of call. >> base being african-american. >> black voters, black women also, black millennials. >> who has the best chance in

south carolina, camilla? >> camilla or booker, biden's going down there, bloomberg, sanders is going to be down there. >> biden's best chance is to get a lot of third places and stay in the race. he will not do well in the beginning, it's too tough with the left. if he keeps getting third place, third place, third place, he might outlast them. thank you to my panel. when we return, let me finish tonight with a leader who cared about the underdog. you're watching "hardball." ♪

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let me finish tonight with a leader who cared about the underdog. tomorrow i'll be at barrington books up in cranston, rhode island to speak about my book "robert kennedy, a raging spirit." big crowds have been greeting me on this tour. an even larger crowd this past weekend in morristown at a book festival. a huge crowd in new jersey. everywhere i go people are concerned about today's politics. that starts with their concern about trump but it doesn't end there. i think they're looking for more passionate opposition to trump, one based on principle, one protecting what people want in this country and want leaders devoted to keeping that. my book which came out in paperback this week, reminds people these type of leaders are possible, people who unite the country, not divide it. tomorrow i'll be in barrington books in cranston, rhode island at 3:00 p.m. i expect to see a lot of people

in, we had 1,000 last time. this is hardball for now. thanks for being with us. "all in" with chris hayes starts right now. tonight on "all in." >> the king firmly denied any knowledge of it. >> the saudi government produces its story about the death of a saudi journalist as the president of the united states celebrates criminal violence against an american journalist. >> any guy that can do a body slam, he's my kind of -- he's my guy. >> tonight, steve schmidt on what the saudis are saying and what donald trump is getting away with. plus, what we know about the russian national charged with interfering in the 2018 elections. >> he had nothing to do with my campaign. >> how the rage over obamacare repeal is playing out in elections across america. >> you have been the single greatest threat to my family in