neither side had hoped for, a family saga with so much love and so much loss. an imperfect conclusion. ♪ welcome to "kasie dc." i'm kasie hunt. we're live every sunday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. eastern. the changing of the guard in american politics. remembering george h.w. bush, the center of the family that defined decades of american government. now coming into focus and standing in stark contrast with the ideology of today. and later, ready individual one. michael cohen pleads guilty, is cooperate with multiple prosecutors and more people in president trump's orbit expect to be indicted. quiet during the midterms, thanksgiving break is over for

robert mueller. but first, peter baker writes in "the new york times," quote, president bush's longtime friend and former secretary of state james baker arrived at his houston home on friday morning to check on him. mr. bush suddenly alert, his eyes wide open. where we are going? we're going to heaven, mr. baker answered. that's where i want to go, mr. bush said. here's the president, 30 years ago, almost to the week. >> and this is an unbelieving age and few know god's grace. and yet, why do the churches seem so full these days? why does the giving seem so generous? to know these things is to have respect for your age, for this vast, imperfect place and to know that all the dramas aren't written, nor all the parts assigned, and there are battles to fight. and meek, clad or hungry, we're

all soldier in arms walking sideways toward heaven and awkwardly toward grace. >> george herbert walker bush found his grace at the age of 94. his near century of service and his vision for his country span the globe. he was shot down over the pacific in world war ii. he was u.n. ambassador and envoy to china. served in congress and led the republican party amid the heat of watergate. he worked to restore the image of the cia as its director. served as vice president enduring just one term as president helped lower the iron curtain while famously raising taxes.

it is an open question in this sharply divided moment in american history. will we see a leader like him again? >> we are the united states of america. the leader of the west that has become the leader of the world. and as long as i am president, i will continue to lead in support of freedom everywhere. not out of arrogance, not out of altruism, but for the safety and security of our children. this is a fact.

strength in the pursuit of peace is no vice. isolationism in the pursuit of security is no virtue. >> with that, i'd like to welcome in my panel. with me, msnbc contributor jon meacham, the author of "destiny and power, the american odyssey of george herbert walker bush." also with me washington bureau chief for the "usa today," susan page. the author of "the matriarch, barbara bush and the making of an american dynasty." and the former senate majority leader during george h.w. bush's presidency, george mitchell. jon meacham, i'd like to start with you since you spent so much time with the former president. what was he like as a person, as a leader, and to that question that we raised at the end, are we going to see somebody like that again? >> there was an innate grace to george h.w. bush. he was nicknamed papi as a child. he and his father had the same name. more interestingly, he was called half half bush because when he had a candy bar he'd cut it in half and give it to the other kid. >> better than i was. >> better than most of us. he knew that to whom much is given, much is expected. and he came out of that ethos of the roosevelts. he very much believed that he had been given an enormous amount in life and, therefore, owed everything he could to the country. it started when he was 18 years old. on his 18th birthday, he turned 18, graduated from high school and joined the united states navy. on that saturday. >> and he enlisted in the navy instead of going to college right away?

>> exactly. and tried to go to canada for a different reason than later generations. the royal canadian air force would let you sign up if you were 17. he looked into joining the fight against hitler even before he was legally able to do so. >> wow. susan page, what did family mean to george h.w. bush? >> i think family meant everything to george h.w. bush. and that he was -- he was building a career, first, in the oil business and then in politics so he was gone allot but he adored his children and his children adored him. and one reason he was such a good partnership between george and barbara bush is she kept those home fires burning. she raised those kids at a time when he was spending a lot of time with his career but also a family man. he was bitter -- bitter after

losing re-election in 1992. and the thing that wiped away any last vestige of bitterness was when his children started to succeed in politics. and especially when george w. bush was elected to the oval office. >> can i say one thing at the risk of dorking out already. i don't think embittered is the right way. i think he was crushed and disappointed. i don't think he actually ever had a bitter bone in his body. i think that's generational. >> not to take this over, but i -- embitter may be the wrong word. but he was mad at ross perot and also pretty mad at the press. he thought his press coverage wasn't fair and that that hurt him. >> certainly many politicians do, of course, have that. >> no, really? >> george mitchell, thank you for being here. i want to ask you about some of the major legislative accomplishments that, you know, quite frankly are still defining the world we live in every day. the clean air act. the americans with disabilities act. you and president george h.w. bush worked to pass those two landmark pieces of legislation, among other things. what was it like to work with him in that capacity, and do you think that our country is still capable of doing big things like those bills? >> i hope so. to the latter question, we had in common a close bond and a love for maine. i was born and raised there. president bush's family had, of course, for many years, still does, a home there. and they're prominent and beloved members of our community in maine in the summer. i'd like if i could to take a moment to talk about the clean air act because that's a major accomplishment of president bush. for ten years, i and a group of bipartisan senators tried to make progress on major clean air legislation to meet the needs of a growing country and increasing quantity and types of pollution. we made no progress. president reagan was adamantly opposed to it as were many major industries. and then in the election in which bush acted sh

office. made a major speech saying that he favored c and instantly and dram the question chang there ever act or c the new bill. and we difficult tough ye parallel w budget, also very d complex but in the end we enacted both. a major clean air act that 20 years later the national resources defense council said saved about 2 million american from premature death. i'd like if i could to take a moment to talk about the clean air act because that's a major accomplishment of president bush. for ten years, i and a group of bipartisan senators tried to make progress on major clean air legislation to meet the needs of a growing country and increasing quantity and types of pollution. we made no progress. president reagan was adamantly opposed to it as were many major

industries. and then in the election in which he was elected, president bush acted shortly after taking office. made a major speech saying that he favored clean air legislation and instantly and dramatically, the question changed from will there ever be another clean air act or change to what will be in the new bill. and we negotiated two long, very difficult tough years in parallel with negotiating on the budget, also very difficult and complex but in the end we enacted both. a major clean air act that 20 years later the national resources defense council said saved about 2 million american from premature death. >> do you think something like that could happen today?

>> well, obviously, the circumstances are much different in many respects. i think it's possible if people take the right approach that is we have a common objective. we disagree on how to get there, but let's work together to try to do it. and the clean air negotiations were very complex but both sides gave something. both sides gained something. in the end we had a very strong bill that has been a remarkable success in protecting the health of the american people. >> let's talk about the politics here. in 1973 when george bush was the chairman of the rnc, there was another crisis of confidence in the presidency as the watergate investigation expanded. >> i had a discussion with the president about it before i took this job, and i told him i was concerned about watergate and nothing he told me made me feel concerned that he wanted me to go easy on watergate. he feels the same way i do about it. i'm sure of it. his public statements have said

so. and i believe it. and i'm going to continue to believe it until somebody gives some evidence. >> what's wrong with watergate, mr. bush? >> i'll tell you what's wrong with it. it's against everything i believe in in our system. as head of this party, it's we republicans. it's me who got out of private life into public life to serve. and to believe in the system. and i don't like to say it's sullied by people breaking the law. i don't like to see it sullied by dirty tricks. and i hurt the worst about it, and so do the republican leaders across this country, and we want to see it cleaned up. it's bad for our system. >> what's your reaction to that clip? >> he's absolutely honest. law-breaking would be bad. that offended him and his sense of the system. he wrote a letter to his kids late in the drama in which he said this worried him more than anything else that it would erode trust in the government

which in tandem with vietnam had a significant impact on trust in our institutions. he was a loyal party guy for about 20 minutes in 1970, '71. things almost got a lot worse because george h.w. bush was going to work for bob haldman who went to prison before he got the u.n. ambassador job. president bush understood that. he was not perfect. he did at the very end on the 6th of august, 1974, in a cabinet meeting told president nixon he should resign. and that was something henry kissinger was trying to stop him from saying because he was afraid it would drive nixon into a corner. in the context at the time, bush is fine on watergate and i think did everything he could in the fullness of his political career to try to restore trust in the presidency itself. >> there was never an accusation against him of the watergate sort.

and under jobs you don't want to have, chairing the rnc during watergate and after the church hearings. those were two jobs no politician who wanted a future would have ever taken. and it's remarkable that he was able to become president after taking each of them. >> it does speak to his character in that regard. john, or susan as well, did george h.w. bush have any regrets? he faces criticism for not doing enough on the aids crisis, for example. >> i ask him that a lot and what he came back to was, i shouldn't have said read my lips. and he believed that that is what cost him the presidency in 1992. he didn't regret the deal he made with senator mitchell, which was a good deal, and modern american history, when he had an early breakfast with

george h.w. bush in the dining room. bob dole walked in and it was so early he said, my dog wasn't up yet. it was about 7:00 in the morning, and bush -- he had been talked into doing -- not even a marginal rate increase. some federal excise taxes to try to get the democrats to go along with some spending controls and it was after newt gingrich revolted that taxes went up in general. gingrich is also one of the people, like ross perot, like

don rumsfeld who was not particularly enveloped with grace. >> george mitchell, please weigh in. do you think the deal you cut is what led ultimately to him breaking that no-taxes pledge that many credit with him losing the 1992 election? >> well, the statement you made at the republican convention, read my lips, no new taxes, was great politics with bad policy. he later regretted and changed his mind and agreed to a program, reluckantly. but it was a good budget agreement. it went through some changes from the time we began negotiations at that breakfast that john just referred to, but

it's -- it set the country on a path toward a balanced budget that was later realized after adoption of president clinton's economic program. and in these days of trillion-dollar budgets, it's shocking to think that we were really worried because the budget deficit was going to reach $150 billion, and we all resolved -- democrats and republicans -- we can't let that happen. we've got to do something about it. and that led to the budget agreement which was painful for everyone was it included something each party disagreed with. i admire president bush for having changed his position after making the dramatic policy statement at the republican convention about no new taxes. there were taxes. they were not that major. there were some spending cuts. there were some significant ones but they set us on the right path and we ended up with having, a few years later, under president clinton, several federal balanced budgets. something we're not anywhere near to at this time. >> senator mitchell, i appreciate you being here. we have a lot more to come. we're warning you now. it's probably going to be a crazy week in mueller news. joyce vance joins us. and later my conversation with bernie sanders and mike lee trying to get the united states back on the right side of standing up to saudi arabia. "kasie dc" back after this. neutrogena® today is the day you're going to get motivated...

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welcome back. deadlines in the cases of both paul manafort and michael cohen are rapidly approaching. prosecutors are refusing to rule out new charges against manafort after he allegedly broke his plea deal with the special counsel's office. a federal judge has also ordered mueller's team to explain next week what they believe manafort lied about that caused a breach of that deal. meanwhile, we now know a lawyer for manafort briefed the trump legal team on manafort's discussions with the special counsel's office. an arrangement confirmed by the president's lawyer, rudy giuliani. and that all comes as the president's longtime personal attorney, michael cohen, has pleaded guilty to lying to congress about trump's efforts to build a trump tower in moscow. here's the president reacting to that news on thursday. >> michael cohen is lying. he's a weak person. and not a very smart person. and by being weak, unlike other people that you watch, he is a weak person and what he's trying

to do is get a reduced sentence. >> we should point out that cohen has said he was in, quote, close and regular contact with president trump's white house staff and legal team when he prepared his statements for congress. joining us now, we have joyce vance, as well as staff writer for the atlantic and msnbc contributor natasha bertrand. joyce say former u.s. attorney, professor at the university of alabama law school and an msnbc contributor. joyce, i would like to start with you just to kind of get your -- as we head into what could be a monumental week in this investigation. what you are looking for and also what happened with cohen that tells you about how this is going to unfold. clearly we do not know a fraction of what bob mueller knows right now about michael cohen. >> i think that's maybe the most important thing for us to keep

in mind. it's obvious at this point that mueller has a lot of evidence that he's just sitting on. he's connected a lot of dots in ways that we can't because he has a grand jury and subpoena power. and we don't in the public. so we'll just have to wait for that. but the week did start with paul manafort who appeared to have gone south on special counsel. i'm not really certain that anyone was particularly surprised by that or that that damaged the special counsel investigation in any significant way. and even if it did, it was more than balanced out by this revelation that michael cohen was really cooperating in ways that i think no one had fully appreciated that he could. not just with the southern district of new york. not just with the special

counsel, but also with the new york state attorney general who has a number of investigations into the trump organization and apparently at least one we don't otherwise know about in progress. so cohen is what i'm really looking for in the future. it will be interesting to see the many ways he can cooperate and whether this will lead to additional indictments. i think it's unlikely that the level of detail that we saw in the cohen submissions this week, particularly about the president's family, would have been there if mueller didn't mean business. >> natasha, what's your take on what was said about paul manafort. do you think about him breaking the deal, does that diminish mueller's credibility and does it cast any doubt on what we've heard about cohen or is it irrelevant? >> speaking to legal experts about this, they pretty much were all on the same page thinking mueller seems to be playing 3d chess. he's the smarter of the smartest of the bunch of these people he's been dealing with. so it says a lot that he chose to release this information about paul manafort after the president already submitted his written answers responding to all these questions about a potential conspiracy with russia during the election that mueller

had posed and that he'd been putting off for months and months. manafort was trying to keep a foot in the door. he was holding out for a pardon, at the same time trying to lessen his sentence by cooperate with the special counsel but ultimately it's really, really difficult to believe that mueller did not catch wind of that. he actually -- there's been reporting to suggest the mueller team did know that manafort's lawyers were still in communication with the trump legal team and that perhaps they thought that it was just, you know, an arrangement they had that wasn't necessarily damaging to the investigation. but i imagine that with that knowledge in mind there was some maneuvering that was done by mueller's team to accommodate for that.

and the delay, the ten-day delay in releasing this report and the fact that trump's answers came in that period to me speaks volumes. >> keir simmons spoke with the russian president's spokesman dmitri peskov and spokesman is a bit of a misnomer. this is putin's absolutely right-hand people. take a look at what he had to say about the correspondence between the office and michael cohen over potentially building a trump tower in moscow. >> e-mails, e-mails, the phone call asking what they wanted and whether they were in contact. also they were invited to the economic forum because we were told the presidential administration is not dealing with construction works so we can arrange a context with potential russian counterparts, but there's a perfect opportunity at the economic forum. and then they day peered. >> we should note that he did not show the e-mails he was referencing there, but pretty remarkable the russians essentially corroborating robert mueller. >> unbelievable. the person who was clearly going

to be the republican nominee for president of the united states was in direct consultation with the leader of russia to help on a private business deal that he was trying to do in moscow. it's not illegal, the president says, which may be true, but it's astounding. we shouldn't lose sight of that. >> for sure. joyce vance, where does donald trump jr. fit into this. that's something the president seems to be concerned about that's driving a lot of his concerns, anxieties around this. and that if michael cohen lied to congress in this way, that opens the door to don junior having done so. >> that seems to be one of the first lines of interest people have right now and, of course, trump jr.'s lawyers have pushed back. if we're talking only about his testimony on capitol hill, they are saying that he was truthful. that he indicated that although he knew about the first efforts and was involved in the 2013 effort to build a trump facility in moscow, he wasn't a part of -- was only peripherally aware of this later development that michael cohen played a larger role in. this is really interesting because we find ourselves heading straight back into the collusion question. and if, in fact, there was some sort of financial quid pro quo or a bribe involved in back and forth over election assistance and building in russia, then trump could find himself right in the middle of that particularly if michael cohen could place him there. but it's also possible that he could, as his lawyers say, have no culpability. on this one, we're just going to have to wait and see what the details look like when the evidence comes in. >> yeah, i think that the vulnerability of don junior with regard to the trump tower moscow deal might be a bit overstated because combing through his

senate judiciary transcript he said he's peripherally aware of this and according to my sources, that his testimony with senate judiciary was largely consistent. so i don't think this is the area where he faces exposure. one area where he could be in trouble potentially is surrounding the trump tower meeting. he said his father was never aware of that meeting and it seems like a straightforward thing. yes, he was aware of it or he wasn't. and the president has also answered mueller's questioning say he didn't know about that meet with the russians in 2016 and that is where donald trump jr. could face a lot of exposure because they put a lot of effort into making it seem like the president had -- then candidate -- had no knowledge of but it's also possible that he could, as his lawyers say, have no culpability. on this one, we're just going to have to wait and see what the details look like when the evidence comes in. >> yeah, i think that the vulnerability of don junior with regard to the trump tower moscow deal might be a bit overstated

because combing through his senate judiciary transcript he said he's peripherally aware of this and according to my sources, that his testimony with senate judiciary was largely consistent. so i don't think this is the area where he faces exposure. one area where he could be in trouble potentially is surrounding the trump tower meeting. he said his father was never aware of that meeting and it seems like a straightforward thing. yes, he was aware of it or he wasn't. and the president has also answered mueller's questioning say he didn't know about that meet with the russians in 2016 and that is where donald trump jr. could face a lot of exposure because they put a lot of effort into making it seem like the president had -- then candidate -- had no knowledge of this. >> it's all going to be very dramatic and comey back up on the hill coming up on friday. joyce vance, thank you. when we come back, we'll talk more about president bush and the controversial campaign ad that still casts a controversial shadow 30 years later. today is the day you're going to get motivated...

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plus two audible originals exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. if you don't like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them. with the free audible app, you can listen anytime, and anywhere. plus for the first time ever, you'll get access to exclusive fitness programs a $95 value free with membership. start a 30-day trial today and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime and your books are yours to keep forever. audible. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. text "listen5" to 500500 to start your free trial today. we've come far, but i think we need a new harmony among the races in our country, and we're on a journey into a new century. and we've got to leave that tired old baggage of bigotry behind.

>> welcome back. in 1988, a political action committee with ties to george bush's campaign released an infamous ad that has become almost synonymous with dogwhistle politics. willie horton, convicted of violent crimes in the '70s and '80s was featured in an ad to stoke white fear and deliver one message, democrats are soft on crime. it was one of the many topics covered in a documentary about bush's then campaign manager lee atwater. >> willie horton, convicted murderer. >> willie horton. >> weekend vacations. >> the weekend passes. >> cold-blooded, convicted

murderer. >> convicted murderer. >> raped people. >> raped his wife. >> mauled people. >> willie horton will become a household name. >> i went into the headquarters to see atwater at his request. he locked the office door and popped the famous willie horton spot on to television. he said i got a couple boys going to put a couple million up for this independent. i said that's a huge mistake. you and george bush will wear that to your grave. it's a racist ad. you're already winning this issue. it's working for you. you're stepping over a line. you're going to regret it. and he said [ bleep ]. >> okay. jon meacham,ing this ad, up until this campaign, really, remembered as one of the dirtiest in politics. is that something that the former president regrets doing, or how does he think about that in hindsight? >> the campaign is fascinating for many reasons. in april of that year, the

president was -- then vice president was sitting on his porch in maine talking into his tape recorded diary. this is before ales, before atwater laid out this campaign. >> this is roger ales and atwater who are running the show at this point. this is way before roger ales and fox news. >> about eight years before. so bush is talking, and he said, this guy is outside the mainstream. he's too far left. he knew even before the handlers did that dukakis was vulnerable on refusing to allow the pledge of allegiance -- or teachers to lead it in massachusetts schools and the furloughs. horton raped and killed on a first-degree murderer furlough. and that -- the ad you've shown was put out by an independent

committee. it was an early example of what we think of as independent expenditures. the campaign ad the bush campaign did was called the revolving door and had criminals coming in and out. president bush's view was that, a, we didn't put out the ad with the mug shot and, b, the furlough program was wrong. and i was right on that issue. and he held that view certainly the last time i talked to him about it was probably six, seven years ago. >> we see echoes of this, though, in what the trump campaign has been doing on immigration. >> yes. the effort to tap racial fears. if you are getting ethical

advice from roger stone and he's telling you you're going too far, you're probably going too far. this does stand as a stain on george bush's many admirable things about george bush. but the willingness to first do the ad that showed both black and white prisoners going through the revolving door and then to have this group that was independent but not fully independent. had ties to roger ales, stands as something that i can't imagine he was proud of, although it did contribute to his victory in 1988. >> i talked to governor dukakis about this, and dukakis said george bush wasn't a racist. this was in the public record. any republican would have used it. and -- which i thought was incredibly gracious and

magnanimous of governor dukakis. >> it set a new standard for what you could do in a campaign and win. and an ad that was pretty apparently racist being aired on your behalf. >> the ad was a very small buy in the maryland suburbs because the press would see it on their -- it was an early case of earned media for free media for an ad that was made. it was covered far more than it ever ran in the country. >> it seems like a depressing statement, natasha, that this ad, that we just saw, seems to be almost run of the mill for what we see today. >> and it resonates. my takeaway from that is it reminds you of the ad the trump campaign released, just fear mongering over the border showing migrants basically portraying them as people trying to storm the border as invaders. it does resonate a lot and it just shows how history repeats itself. >> jon meacham, thank you so much. are you going to break out the cigar? >> i've got it right here. >> are we allowed to show it? >> i'm trying to get them to sponsor the program. >> i don't know about that, but thank you for being here in the studio. it's really great to have you. when we come back, my conversation with senator bernie sanders and mike lee about a remarkable step the senate took this week to stand up to saudi arabia. and as we go to break, i

want to draw your attention to this note from the press pool after they left the opera house friday night in argentina during a g20. the bus lost the presidential motorcade and almost got into putin's motorcade by mistake. once back on the right track, the bus then wandered the largely empty streets of buenos aires alone amid shouts of go, go, go as the driver was urged to race through red lights in a futile effort to catch up. jesus take the wheel we heard at one point. there was some balking at going down a wrong way on a one-way street. sounds like a harrowing adventure for the pool. we're back with more "kasie dc" after this. a whole new way to care for newborns is born new johnson's cottontouch™ wash and lotion made with real cotton and enhances your gentle touch a new soft a new touch a new gentle new johnson's cottontouch™ (baby cooing) choose gentle

there are no words to describe the atrocities that have taken place in yemen. the country's civil war has brought nonstop violence since it began nearly four years ago leaving tens of thousands dead and millions on the brink of famine. much of the devastation has been at the hands of saudi arabia, which has used american-made bombs to carry on its bloody campaign against the iranian-backed houthi rebels. >> abdullah is one of the only surviving members of a family who lived in this house. >> can you think of any reason why your family and this house might have been struck? >> how many of your family were killed?

>> what's your life like now, day-to-day? >> just before the historic bipartisan vote to suspend u.s. involvement in yemen's war, i sat down with an unlikely pair of senators, bernie sanders and mike lee who have come together to force american withdrawal from the conflict. i'm surprised to see the two of you sitting next to each other. why is it that you have mounted a joint push to try and pass the resolution that will take the u.s. out of the saudi-led war in yemen. senator sanders? >> i think for a couple of reasons, number one, it's a horrific humanitarian disaster. the worst taking place in the world today. we're talking about 85,000 children who have already died and millions more who may

succumb to starvation if we do not end this horrific war. second of all, the american people are catching on to the nature of the regime in saudi arabia which is leading this effort. and we should not be part of their military adventurism in my view. and the third point, one that senator lee has been talking about for a long time is the simple constitutionality of the issue. and that is that congress is clear. the constitution is very clear. it is the congress that has war-making powers, not the president of the united states. this war is unauthorized and, in my view, unconstitutional. >> senator lee? >> i'm feeling the bern. i completely agree with what he's saying. it's important to remember one of the distinguishing characteristics about our chief executive in our system is that, unlike the king of england, our president doesn't have the power unilaterally to go to war. it's one of the points james madison made in the federalist '69. it was one of the reasons that

in order to put american blood on the line by committing us to an act of war you have to have the branch of government most accountable to people, congress, act. that hasn't happened here. it's wrong to continue a war until that's happened. >> is that the most prominent piecing of your thinking? >> it's significant. it's huge. in any war, there are going to be significant moral issues associated with it. so i view the moral issue and the constitutional issue as inextricably intertwined. war is, by definition, amorally problematic question because you're talking about killing people. and you're talking about putting our own people's lives on the line. that's what makes it morally problematic and also why, with good reason in our system of government, you don't entrust it to one person. you entrust it to the branch of government most accountable. >> since the murder of jamal

khashoggi in the saudi embassy in turkey, people in this country and in the congress are beginning to catch on to the nature of this regime. and i think you're seeing senators and members of the house saying, do we really want to be party in working with a regime that can, in cold blood, in their own embassy, kill a disdent? what else are they doing? so i think that has resulted in a lot of folks rethinking their previous position. >> senator lee, is this vote a direct rebuke to president trump over his handling of jamal khashoggi's killing? >> no, it's much bigger than that. this wasn't president trump that got us involved in this. it's one of our best selling points in this. this is a war that has been carried out by presidents of two parties. it was not president trump who got us involved in this initially. it was president obama. we've now had two presidents of two different political parties who have had us involved as a cobellig rant. and they've done so without lawful authorization. it was wrong under president obama and wrong to continue now. >> the senator took a significant step toward this last week. they'll hold a final vote. it had been scheduled for this

week. we'll see if the funeral arrangements change that but that's the plan. susan, this is clearly, in my view, even though senator lee didn't quite want to go there, but this is really a rebuke to the president in the wake of jamal khashoggi because they had this vote in march and it failed. -- >> a willingness by 14 republicans to take a step that they didn't want to take. it is -- the senate, including republicans, taking a stand up against an ally who has put down two terrible offenses. one in yemen and one by killing a "washington post" columnist. >> and we should note this is not -- it may be ultimately a symbolic move, but the senate in republican control has not actually made very many symbolic moves against this president. >> they've not challenged the president meaningfully pretty much ever, except when it came to imposing the new sanctions package on russia after trump

came into office. this is a response to the khashoggi killing. i'm sure you know that many senators were very angry that gina haspel was not on the hill testifying. that to them seemed like, what are they trying to hide? they thought it was bizarre the white house blocked the cia director from briefing all the senators on the hill. that added to their determination to pass this. at least out of committee. we'll see what happens if it actually passes or when it comes out to a vote on the floor but this is very clearly, they see it as completely unacceptable the way the president has responded to the murder of jamal carbgy. khashoggi. >> the president was on the sidelines talking to mohammad bin salman of saudi arabia. >> and the white house just seems to double down on the idea the case isn't that strong. there's no direct evidence, i think, was the word that secretary of state mike pompeo used. that is as odds with what we're hearing from the intelligence community and new information

about text exchanges that involved the crown prince and the head of the detail who was there in the embassy during this horrific murder. >> one thing, of course, that's stunning about this g20 is that it was another example and there have been several of the president going overseas and being completely overshadowed by domestic events at home that are negative for him. while he was away, the cohen news. i'm forgetting about another story negative for him while he is trying to meet with foreign leaders. >> and the last time he went away we had the mueller indictments drop against the russian intelligence officers. so that also kind of overshadowed it. but i think that also leaves him in a position where he's a bit vulnerable. he's isolated so that makes him a bit more vulnerable to people like vladimir putin who want to put on the charm offensive and say we can cooperate. we can work together. i can give you things that perhap yourself traditional allies can't. that's why we should be paying more attention to that meeting they had at dinner. it wasn't a formal meeting but they did chat and the last time they chatted at dinner was in hamburg in 2017 and it happened to be about adoptions which is code word for u.s. sanctions on

russia, the magnitsky act. so they canceled the formal meeting but this may have been an opportunity for them to discuss issues that are important to vladimir putin at least. but his isolation at these gatherings and -- at dinner. it wasn't a formal meeting but they did chat and the last time they cheated was in hamburg in 2017 about adoptions, which is code word for sanctions. this may have been an opportunity to discuss issues important to vladimir putin but his isolation of the gatherings at global leaders and areas where he's clearly not comfortable presents a real possibility for dictators and authoritarians that attend these things to exploit that. >> big for russia and china when the united states president is isolated with other leaders from around the world and such a contrast to have george h.w. bush operated. >> indeed. it's a great point. susan page, natasha, thanks for being with us, i appreciate it.

concerns of potential voter fraud in north carolina and

gl gloo. so far, democrats have if i can -- picked up 40 seats in the house. the bipartisan state election board decided not to certify the

race between republican mark harris and democrat dan mcready. the two are currently separated by just 905 votes and mcready had conceded. the associated press revoked its projection that harris had won. harris said he supports any effort to investigate. it all centered on unusual numbers from mail-in ballots. the charlotte observer found 64% of absentee ballots went unreturned in one county. the paper also found that unreturned ballots in some counties were disproportionately associated with -- >> sharing stories of voter who is said a person inappropriately stopped by their homes and

collected their absentee ballots. one woman swearing the lady said she would finish her uncompleted absentee ballot on her behalf. >> republicans are crying foul over what they say is a lack of transparency from the elections board. that does it for us tonight here on "kasie dc." for now, good night from washington. jimmy's gotten used to his whole room smelling like sweaty odors. yup, he's gone noseblind. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this...

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remembering president george h.w. bush. memorials to honor the late president will take place later this week from texas to washington and back. it marks a rare bit of unity as leaders from both parties pay tribute to a president known for reaching across the aisle. a temporary trade truce with china. president trump says he's struck a deal to halt any new trade tariffs from beijing, at least until next year. and president trump's former fixer michael cohen is hoping to avoid prison time at his upcoming sentencing. that's just one of several updates to the mueller investigation.