by everyone that knew him. especially his parents. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in new york at msnbc headquarters. here's what's happening. there's a new guy in charge. there's an extra word in mick mulvaney's title, the reason for it ahead. the special counsel's office slamming an idea for michael flynn about his conversations with the fbi. and the new report that puts ivanka trump in the middle of new questions about how, where, and why money from the inauguration was spent. this hour, multiple developing stories with major political and legal

implications. first president trump announcing mick mulvaney will become his acting chief of staff. two sources say he was asked to be named acting chief of staff because he wanted a safea in place. the special counsel slammed michael flynn after the former national security adviser suggested he slould been warned about the consequences of lying the fbi. on tuesday flynn will become the first member of the trump admin strags to be sentenced, and this comes after trump's former lawyer michael cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. cohen insisted trump asked him to make illegal payments to silence women who had affairs with president trump. >> so many investigations, and clearly the investigative walls are closing in on trump. getting the michael chone plea

here is a game-changer in so many ways. a lot of this is going to turn on whether cohen has tapes or somebody else does. i think it's also going to turn on how trump responds. >> meanwhile the incoming chair of the republican chair committee representing adam schiff is investigating whether there was any illegal funding in the president's inauguration. sara sanders is reacting to whether the inauguration committee misspent funds. >> that doesn't have anything to do with the president or first lady. the biggest thing the president did in his inauguration was to come here and raise his hand and take the oath of office. the president was focused on the transition during that time and not on any of the planning. today is the last day to sign up for the affordable health care.

the land mark decision remains in place after a federal judge struck it down yesterday as understand constitutional. it's expected to be appealed. here's nbc news white house correspondent kelly o'donnell with the details. >> good morning, dara. with a tweet the president ended speculation one of the big guessing games around town about who would be the neck chief of staff. one of the most important positions in all of washington. president trump has decided to pull from the office of management and budget the director there, mick mulvaney. officials tell me he will serve in an acting role. when i asked because that suggests it might be temporary, he said there's no time limit. he could fill this role indefinitely, but the president himself chose to put acting in the title. the handover of kelly will happen at the end of the year, kelly staying on for a period of

time. but there's been a lot of speculation on who wow step into the role at a time when everyone is critical of the white house. there will be planning lots of investigation, butting the west wing through its hoops, also at a time when the russian investigation and the actions of the special counsel are still moving along with the end date not entirely there and then gearing up for the president's own re-election. all of those forces coming together, and one of the key positions is chief of staff. mick mulvaney who had been a member of congress for south carolina understands some of the workings of capitol hill and how that would relate to the white house. officials here say because of his, quote, political savvy and that he's fiscally responsible, those are things that attracted the president to mulvaney. earlier chris christie, phammer governor of new jersey took his name out of the running, saying he was honored to be considered but it was not the right time for hum and his family, leaving a big question about who would

fill this role about a week after the president said john kelly would be leaving. dara? >> thank you. kelly o'donnell. great to have you both here this saturday morning. >> great to be here. lots to talk about. >> julia, i want to talk with you. >> yes. that's the question that everyone is asking. you know, going back throughout trump's presidency, he's had a couple of different types of chiefs of staff. he had reince priebus coming from a big political machine. then you had john kelly who came in and wanted to rule with an iron fist, bring order to the white house. now you have mick mulvaney, politically savvy, who who understands how capitol hill works, and it's going to be needed considering the democrats are going to take back the housz in january and there's going to

be tension between the admin strags and congress there. however, i think the biggest takeaway is the timing of all of this. it wasn't good news with the development of michael flynn and michael cohen, and this administration has a habit of releasing new stories on friday to sort of drive that narrative, if you will. we see that no one appears to want this job and it's obviously a very tough job and a prestigious position. it's starting to weigh on the president because everyone kept turning down the president. he said, i need to get someone in here and we're hearing reports there were frustrations in there. >> mulvaney is one of the most i'd lock cal conservatives in the president's cabinet. how could he shape the president's policies? >> it's going to be massive. mick mulvaney rode the tea party wave to congress back in 2010 if

you will, and then, he, of course, was a hard-line conservative in the ultra conservative freedom caucus. he clashed many times with the republican establishment including people like paul ryan and speaker john boehner. so to watch him now inherit what has become the new normal of republican circles and president trump's republican party has been quite remarkable. he's very closely aligned with vice president mike pence. he's also closely aligned with peter navarro. when it comes to that last pound that i just made, that's going to weigh in terms of how the president is negotiating not just with congress as julia correctly pointed out but also unter nationally on international trade deals with china, canada, kmoeks, europe. now awith all of that, it's muc more aligned, and that's going

to be a fascinating dynamic to watch. the last think i'd note, he also clashes with others. most noticeably was elizabeth warren. he showed up with doughnuts. he really gutted it for lack of a better word. that drew him a lot of praise from republican circles and a lot of criticism from people like senator elizabeth warren. >> let's listen to what then congressman mick mulvaney said ahead of the 2016 election. >> yes, i'm supporting donald trump. i'm doing so enthusiastically even despite the fact that he's a terrible human being. >> politics aside, how do we know how mick mulvaney gets along with the president. >> we're seeing mick mulvaney

has a pretty good working relationship with the president so far. the president values loyalty. so far, that clip played aside, mulvaney has been loyal to the president and pushing for the conservative agenda the fromth has really promoted. in terms of the inner circle, he does come from the more conservative wing of the republican party. the freedom caucus, we saw mark meadows was up for consideration earlier this week. this is a pear the president really wants to attach himself to. this comes be ever the whole narrative in the house is going to flip. so we've seen a lot of -- we're going see those investigations into, you know, bias of the justice department, to the clintons. those are going to end in the house because the freedom caucus and conservatives who are pushing for those are now not going to be in the majority. so it will be interesting to see how mick mulvaney continues to

push for chief of staff. >> president trump is denying he directed michael cohen to make illegal payments and cohen is insisting he acting on the direction of then candidate trump. let's listen. >> nothing at the trump organization was ever done unless it was run through mr. trump. he directed me, as i said in my al cushi allocution. >> he was trying to hide what you were doing. >> correct. >> and he knew it was wrong. >> of course. >> and he was doing that to help his election? >> yes. he was very concerned about how this would affect the election. >> to help his campaign. >> to help him and the campaign. >> kevin, take a deep breath here. what is your assessment of what it could mean for the president

especially among senate republicans? >> in terms of senate republicans look no further than senator orrin hatch, senator from utah, who said earlier this week to cnn that he believes dell carats would do anything to harm politically this president. then he released a statement yesterday clarifying his comments, and in this statement he says no one is above the law and while he believes the president has been a great president, you know, that this bob mueller investigation, district of new york, all of that is on a separate track. the bottom line is when i talked to sources close to the white house, supporters of the white house, they said, why would anyone believe michael cohen, particularly someone who lied to congress. on the flip side of that when i interviewed lanny davis earlier this week he made it quite clear ma michael cohen will be relicirelic

relicirelic relicirelic relicing -- relying on information. at the end of the day, however, the political implications of this have not yet impacted the president's poll numbers. but the talk of impeachment with democrats to take over the house in a couple of weeks, that's definitely starting to bubble over. >> and it feels more like days and weeks here. any implications that may erode the support that he has from that base? >> i don't think so at this point because as to how kevin said he's very popular with the republican party, his approval ratings in his own base are probably in the high 80s, low 90s. i think all the president has do is go on twitter and say why should you believe michael cohen. he's pushed the scenario this is a personal mat e. i didn't direct him. many of you say why would i hire

him in the first place. al he has to do is push up this matter. i didn't know musical cohen was going to do that. so his base will most likely believe him. his base does not care about this russia investigation. they're very skeptical of it. >> quickly i would note at the end of the day if there was evidence to suggest he was somehow in the room for some of these meetings as nbc news reports, bob mueller doesn't care about political implications. >> we will see. julia manchester, kevin cirilli, stay with us. we'll talk about the inaugural funds next. meanwhile, michael flynn is suggesting he was duped into lying to the fbi. i just got my cashback match,

is this for real? yep. we match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year, automatically. whoo! i got my money! hard to contain yourself, isn't it? uh huh! let it go! whoo! get a dollar-for-dollar match at the end of your first year. only from discover. (honking) when your craving strikes,

you need your wing nut. ( ♪ ) no one can totally satisfy a craving, quite like your wing nut.

new developments this moaning as federal prosecutors dispute notions that michael flynn was talked into lying the fbi about his russian contacts. jo joining me now is msnbc's legal an all cyst dannier y cevallos. >> it's unusual. once he filed a memorandum saying this defendant is a very good defendant, cooperative, and should get the lowest sentence, right off the bat, that's very unusual. what's more unusual is the daytona responding not for nothing, federal prosecutors, but you tricked me. thanks for the recommendation, but you essentially tricked me into committing this crime. so it's no surprise federal prosecutors responded to that with not a little bit of

annoyance because after all in their mind that wasn't very appreciative of the kind memorandum for sentencing that they submitted. >> so can the prosecutors change their sentencing recommendation. >> they're likely not to just based on that. it's rare for the actual words in the sentencing memorandum. look. when it comes to sentencing memoranda, we lawyers have to try as hard as we can to get the lowest sentence. prosecutors understand there's a bit of hyperbole in a snesing memorandum, so i don't think it's likely they're going to retaliate against flynn for his argument in the memorandum. >> and, danny, rudy giuliani said hush money payments were not a big deal because nobody got killed. would these arguments hold up in court and is that the common belief with crimes of the law? >> of course not. you have assault, crimes against

other humans, but crimes against society. tax evasion doesn't kill anybody, cause physical harm, but it's a crime against society because itchallenges the way our society works. rudy giuliani knows that because he's put a lot of people in prison for crimes that were not over assault or where someone was murdered or got physically hurt. >> footage in 2012 shows the president discussing charges against john edwards. doesn't this prove that the president had knowledge especially because the sources tell nbc that the president was present for these payment discussions? >> the argument of my lawyer did it not me will not go far for many reasons. number one, in the trump business, everything was routed through the org inauguration of

donald trump. part two is if you're directing your attorney or you know your attorney is doing something criminal, you are not relying in good faith on that attorney's advice. donald trump's strategy will probably be a pivot from this and it will eventually be pure ignorance. i did not know this was a crime. of course, the counter to that is just as you said, evidence, circumstantial evidence that, indied, he was aware of john edwards being charged with a similar crime. he was aware because he tried to conceal this transaction, and that shows awareness, consciousness of guilt. >> danny cevallos, i'm sure we'll be coming this conversation again. thanks for joining us on this saturday. what makes this headline? the inauguration paid trump with ivanka in the middle. first laugh lines with trump

and cohen giving the cohen. >> i hired him to break the law but in a way that was legal. >> three years is a lot, but, remember, trump's closest associate got life. just a tip, michael, on the first day in prison, walk up to the biggest guy on the yard and say, remember me? i was your lawyer. ...i just got my ancestrydna results: 74% italian. ...and i found out that i'm from the big toe

of that sexy italian boot! so this holiday season it's ancestrydna per tutti! order your kit now at ancestry.com our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition... for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure. now up to 30 grams of protein for strength and energy! ...that's why i've got the power of 1-2-3 medicines with trelegy. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3 ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy with trelegy and the power of 1-2-3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to... ...open airways,... ...keep them open... ...and reduce inflammation... ...for 24 hours of better breathing. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it.

do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling,.. ...problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. think your copd medicine is doing enough? maybe you should think again. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy and the power of 1-2-3. ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 save at trelegy.com.

a new report says the trump organization may have overcharged trump's inaugural committee for all kinds of spaces including trump's building. the expense could be a violation of the law. the person in the middle of the negotiations, ivanka trump. we're back with our panel julia manchester and dkevin cirelli.

>> it looks at questions pertaining to the relationship between the administration as well as the trump business dealings and i think this has been an administration that has not consistently revealed some of those dynamics and now there are questions about it. the bottom line is this is another type of investigation, another type of questions that are surrounding this in addition to all of the other investigations and it's at a time that, you know, i think add this to the list of oversight that the democrats are going to do in the -- come the new house of representatives. >> and according to new emails, one example shows trump wanted to charge $125,000 for a day when it should have been $85,000. this could be a red flag when audited. how problematic is this, julia?

>> i would say it's very problematic. it adds to a list of investigations really plaguing the trump administration when they need to be focused on working with a democratic controlled house, republican controlled senate in order to at least try to push their agenda through. democrats are going to add this to the list they want to produce oversight on and investigate. it comes after the developments with michael cohen and michael flynn this week, so a huge headache for the trump administration. but also it's going raise a lot of questions because critics and democrats have suggested that there's nepotism with her role in the administration, and this doesn't exactly help her case and defending herself as an adviser to the president. >> so much to look forward to. kevin cirelli, julia manchester, great to have you here on this saturday. thank you so much. >> thank you.

>> i'm dara brown. thank you for watching. up at the top of the hour is "up" with david gura, but stay with us. up next is "your business" with j.j. ramberg. great news, liberty mutual customizes- uh uh - i deliver the news around here. ♪ sources say liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. over to you, logo. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ you're in the business of helping people.

we're in the business of helping you. business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. opportunity is everywhere. like here. where you can explore the world knowing you can always find your way home. ♪ tremfya® is for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. with tremfya®, you can get clearer. and stay clearer. in fact, most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® works better than humira® at providing clearer skin, and more patients were symptom free with tremfya®. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough.

before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. ask your doctor about tremfya®. tremfya®. because you deserve to stay clearer. janssen wants to help you explore cost support options.

good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," a former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. turns his business into a booming business and has to face copycats stepping in. and then how a woman turned a baby skincare line into an order and how a wreath company in vermont deals with the challenges of running a seasonal business. for over 12 years we've been giving you the information and advice you need to run your company. that's all coming up next on "your business."