"andrea mitchell reports" from new york city. >> good to be here. happy weekend. >> have a great weekend. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," case closed. the president refusing to allow former white house counsel don mcgahn to testify before congress as the administration continues to block any efforts to investigate the mueller report. >> i've had him testifying already for 30 hours. >> so is the answer -- >> i don't think i can let him and tell everybody else you can't. >> so is it done? >> i would say it's done. we've been through this. nobody has ever done what i've done. i've given total transparency. >> and now a new deadline from

the house democrats to the attorney general for the full un redacted mueller report by monday. second chances. an al qaeda terrorist who plotted to blow up the new york city subway is about to be set free after spending the last ten years in jail, working with the fbi against al qaeda. >> he got cold feet, eventually pleaded guilty, then met with the fbi more than a hundred times revealing everything he knew about al qaeda. and knock down the house. a new netflix documentary following the journey of four women who bucked the odds and took on the political establishment, trying to bring change to washington. >> my mom cleaned houses growing up. i never really saw myself going into politics. americans aren't asking for a l lot. they're just asking for politicians to help them get by. i can do this. >> i know you can.

and good day, everyone, i'm andrea mitchell in morning with a new deadline just declared by house judiciary chairman jerry nadler notifying the attorney general he has until monday morning at 9:00 a.m. to turn over the unredacted mueller report. this as president trump fights back against the congressional investigation, declaring "it's over," and tweeting "the moment for time consuming investigations has past." the president says he will not let former white house counsel don mcgahn testify to congress. the white house counsel has got on the attack against robert mueller in a letter to the attorney general, emmet flood criticizing the decision to not reach a conclusion on obstruction but creating what flood calls "a prosecutorial curiosity." joining me now, barbara mcquade

and nbc's kristen welker. >> president trump is digging in and his top advisers are digging in as well. i spoke to the deputy press secretary here at the white house earlier today who reiterated essentially what i heard from president trump on fox news overnight, which is that they do not feel as though don mcgahn should testify before congress. they feel as though he already gave 30-plus hours to robert mueller and that's enough, and really defiant when asked about the issue of oversight which democrats now argue is their role now. they want to hear from don mcgahn and they want to see the full un redaredacted report on monday, and they want to hear from hrobert mueller himself, those talks going on behind the scenes. sarah sanders spoke to reporters and told them that the president

did have an extensive conversation with russia's president vladimir putin in which the two discussed everything from nuclear disarmament to the crisis in venezuela, president trump stressing the need for a transition of power there and they did discuss this russia investigation, both agreeing that the investigation is now over and that there is no collusion. so this is front and center here at the white house today, andrea. >> it's remarkable, first of all, this conversation taking place right after kim jong-un was in moscow. so we don't know what was exchanged, what messages may have been exchanged on that. but for the president of the united states, who was subject of this investigation, to be sharing that information with vladimir putin, this smacks of helsinki when they stood next to each other and he said that he accepted putin's denials over his own intelligence officials, because volume 1 of the mueller report, kristen, you know as well as i, is absolutely clear on all of the contacts that were made and all of russia's

interference. so what the report established was that they could not prove that anyone from the trump campaign conspired with russia, but there's plenty of proof in this report that russia attacked the united states. >> and all of those dozens of interactions, andrea, in the report that you cite between the trump campaign and russia continues to be front and center for democrats who say they're not done investigating, they're not done with their oversight efforts. and you'll recall that in the wake of that helsinki summit after trump did say that he believed vladimir putin over his own intelligence community, he had to walk some of that language back when he returned here to u.s. soil. so undoubtedly the details of this conversation will come under very similar scrutiny as we try and pick through exactly what was discussed between president trump and president putin, andrea. >> well, you know, i think a lot of people are going to say that unless donald trump said to vladimir putin there's plenty of evidence that you did it and

don't ever dare do that again and cut it out right now, unless that was the conversation, there's going to be a lot, a lot of answers that have to be forthcoming from the white house. barbara, let's talk about this letter from emmet flood really going after bob mueller. what is your take as a former prosecutor and law school professor about the legal challenges that the white house counsel lays out about the special counsel? >> i think he is performing like a defense attorney, which is his role and what we would expect. he refers to it as a prosecutorial curiosity, that he's never seen anything like it. well, of course not, because robert mueller is precluded from reaching the kind of decision that we normally see in prosecution memos which is, charge or not charge. if you can't charge your only obligation is not charge. so the declination to make a decision says to me, there was plenty of evidence but i can't

charge here so instead i'll put the evidence out here for either future prosecutors to consider when donald trump is no longer president or because i do not want to preempt congress from their constitutional duty to inquire about impeachment. so i think he is advocating on behalf of president trump. but there is a good reason that robert mueller found the way he did, and that is because he wants to serve up this information to the entities that can hold president trump accountable. >> and i believe the speaker of the house has just spoken at tufts university in massachusetts. let's hear what she had to say about william barr. >> i don't like saying that the attorney general of the united states did what he did. it was a terrible thing that he did, and i was heartbroken to have to say it. >> reporter: what will happen as a result of this? >> i'm leaving up that to the committees of jurisdiction. >> so she says she's leaving that up to the committees, would be nadler and the others, but

the fact is she's still going after the attorney general, kristen. >> she's still going after the attorney general, and of course yesterday, andrea, she was very clear, she believes that william barr lied to congress. he was asked several weeks ago whether he was aware of the concerns that had been put forward by law enforcement officials about his summary. he said no, he wasn't. he went on to conjecture that what they might be talking about were certain aspects of his summary that didn't fully delve into the obstruction issue. but we now know he had already received a letter from special counsel mueller saying he had mischaracterized some of his conclusions from the report. nancy pelosi saying that was not truthfully and she is adding to calls of lawmakers that

william barr step down. the administration says look, he was being asked specifically about members of the law enforcement community, not robert mueller specifically. however, a fine line to try to be walking when we now know that barr did have that letter in his possession, andrea. >> indeed, kristen. thank you, as always, and barbara mcquade, thank you. during that contentious senate hearing, hawaii senator hirono talked about that letter kristen was just talking about. >> you told senator chris van hollen that you didn't know if bob mueller supported your conclusions. but you knew. you lied.

>> senator hirono joins us now, thank you for being with us. i want to share with you, if you didn't hear the breaking news, that the white house says the president discussed the conclusions of the mueller report that there was, quote, no collusion, with vladimir putin today. now, i'm wondering whether you in the senate, whether the intelligence committee members perhaps in some sort of executive session want to know what he told, because we know there are notes, there's always notes of these conversations, what did he tell vladimir putin? was it what he accepted in helsinki, did he share with vladimir putin that there was nothing going on with russia, which is his contention, or was he warning vladimir putin not to attack the american elections again? >> i doubt very much that he told putin not to attack the american elections again. that's not where the president goes. but frankly we don't know what he talks about with putin or practically any of the other

totalitarian type leaders that he seems to have an affinity for. so this is a president, once again, acting the way he does, which is not to have any witnesses, and right now, with the entire mueller situation, he considers it over and so does lindsey graham. it is not over. we would like to hear from mueller. and i stick by my -- what i said, that barr lied to congress. >> what should the repercussions be, if any, and how condition there be a can there be any since any referral would go to the justice department under william barr? >> we can expect the justice department will not prosecute any kind of contempt of congress decision. but then we have to resort to the courts which is what we have to do with just about every decision, every executive order that this president puts out, that there are more than 80

challenges to the actions of this administration. so we're constantly having to go to court, other people are constantly having to go to court to vindicate our rights and stand for the rule of law. so this is the president, once again, doing the two things that he cares about most, protecting himself, and money. and right now he's very busy protecting himself. and that's why i've characterized what goes on at the white house as a moral dead zone. and you enter that dead zone and you end up with an attorney general who can't even tell me that telling the white house counsel to lie is not okay. he can't answer that. >> james comey, in an op-ed, wrote yesterday that the proximity to an amoral leader reveals something depressing. he wrote, i think that's at least part of what we've been seeing with bill barr and rod rosenstein. it takes character like mr. mattis' to control the damage

because mr. trump eats your soul in small bites. your reaction to that? >> i agree with that. this is why i look at the white house as a moral dead zone. you enter that moral dead zone and anybody who disagrees with the president is out the door. and so the president makes it very clear that he demands loyalty, which basically only goes one way, and that is to him. if you're not adequately loyal to him, out you go. this is a moral dead zone, and all the people around him really cannot make decisions based on any kind of a moral compass, because there is none in this white house. it's all about protecting himself. >> do you expect you're going to be able to get testimony from mueller if not don mcgahn? >> i certainly hope that we can get testimony from mueller. but of course lindsey graham has no intention, apparently, of calling mueller. but thank goodness that the house is being led by democrats who have every intention of pursuing the truth. and so my hope is that they will

continue the investigations into the trump organization's, what i would call, nefarious doings, and get to the bottom of all these kinds of questionable activities. and i think the american people as well as congress needs to know what's going on. that is our responsibility, the oversight responsibility. >> senator mazie hirono, thank you very much. >> thank you, aloha. coming up, time served. a convicted al qaeda-trained terrorist will be released from prison after serving ten years for plotting to blow up the new york subways. we'll have more coming up on "andrea mitchell reports." rea m" [beep] you should be mad your neighbor always wants to hang out. and you should be mad your smart fridge is unnecessarily complicated. but you're not mad, because you have e*trade which isn't complicated. their tools make trading quicker and simpler. so you can take on the markets with confidence.

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the fbi says najibullah zazi was well on his way to carrying out a traerror attack. today in a brooklyn federal courtroom he pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, admitting he planned to blow up a homemade bomb on a new york city subway train last fall a few days after the 9/11 anniversary. he told a federal judge he wanted to carry out, quote, a martyrdom operation in manhattan, adding, "i would sacrifice myself." >> that was nbc justice correspondent pete williams reporting on the day that najibullah zazi pled guilty. but years of cooperation with federal authorities are about to make zazi a free man.

joining me now, nbc justice correspondent, pete williams, still there, and clint watts, former fbi national security agent, now an nbc security analyst. >> he hasn't been imprisoned yet. he was never sentenced. the sentencing was only yesterday, because of the extensive cooperation he's given. the fbi says that guilty plea that you just showed the story about was the beginning of a real change for him. he pleaded guilty for himself, and then he testified at trial against two other men who were his co-plotters. there were to be three bomb attacks on the subways by three people. so he testified against the other two and then over the next several years, he met with the fbi 100 times, giving them insight into how al qaeda worked based on his time at al qaeda training camps, the people he met there.

he exposed a plot to attack a u.s. military base in afghanistan, a shopping mall in manchester, england, and many other cases in which we don't know whether he testified or not. as a matter of fact, a letter to the judge from federal prosecutors has a number of sections simply blacked out, indicating other cases in which zazi gave important testimony. so the prosecutors say they're convinced he's no longer dangerous. he says he's a changed man. and the lead prosecutor in the case says he has no concerns about zazi's current mindset. so it's basically, they're saying he turned his life around. >> that's quite a big turn, though, clint watts, as a counterterror expert who has spent years and years of your career chasing down these terrorists, how do you feel about it? >> yeah, we're coming up on 20 years since 9/11. a lot of individuals who were

arrested before they actually committed crimes, we've seen this in europe, one of the key things in getting them to work with the u.s. government is to provide them an off-ramp, and this is the off-ramp we're seeing today. i'm actually okay with it. we have to show we're willing to take this step in order to build intelligence and also in order to deradicalize some who think they have no choice but to carry out an attack, that there is no way back. so i think this is an interesting experiment. it will be interesting to watch how the public reacts to it. can he move on with his life? he's not the only one who is actually out having worked with the government and pled to charges. so how will this play out over time? because there's only been a few examples so far. but there will be more and more over the years. >> where does he go, how does he rebuild his life, and will they keep eyes on him? >> i'm assuming there will be some sort of process to keep eyes on him.

we've seen in guantanamo bay, former detainees who were pushed back to the countries they came from, emerge in terror groups. in this case i'm sure they'll do some sort of monitoring. i'm hopeful in this case. he provided support for ongoing cases, as pete showed there. he is obviously -- if they feel like they can take this step after a decade, that was the most significant plot at the time, he was willing to provide information and testify. i think if they're willing to make this step, it's a pretty significant move. and i do hope the best outcome occurs from it. >> and on a different subject, pete williams, the white house is making a lot of the fact that george papadopoulos is now saying that the fbi sent an investigator, a woman, to question him back in 2016 based on intelligence from a foreign ally, and this is apparently in support of the attorney general saying that the trump campaign was spied upon, for which the

attorney general was criticized. >> and of course what the attorney general says he meant there is he didn't mean to use -- he said this a couple of times, that he didn't mean to use the word "spying" in a critical or pejorative way, he worked in the cia for a while and he knows there can be good spying. he just wants to be sure it's properly predicated. there are two lines going on right now. the justice department senator general has been since last year looking into the origin of the fbi's use of the former intelligence surveillance act to do intercepts against carter page. he just wants to make sure that the proper steps were followed, he says. it's not an investigation, it's a review that will be done by current people inside the justice department. he says he's working with chris wray, the new fbi director, on that. and that's a separate track too. and i would think, andrea, we're going to get the results of the ig report, the inspector general report, maybe this month, maybe

next. >> all so interesting, that report is a key thing. as we know, lindsey graham and senate judiciary are going after that hard. one final thing, pete, michael cohen goes into prison on monday. >> right. >> a major development there. pete williams, clint watts, thank you both so much. coming up, the kids are all right. high school students across the globe staging classroom walkouts today, protesting climate inaction, right here on andrea mitchell only on msnbc. ght herea mitchell only on msnbc oh! oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven?

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today, students around the world are joining a global protest, walking out of their classes to raise awareness about climate change. a key issue in the upcoming presidential election. according to a new cnn poll, 96% of democratic voters said that taking aggressive action against climate change is their top priority outweighing other issues like gun control. nbc news correspondent savannah sellers joins us from the united nations. savannah, this is such an important issue. for the first time it's rising to the top of the election, you

know, agenda for democratic primary voters. >> reporter: absolutely, hi, andrea. we were at the u.n. earlier. there was only two dozen or so kids with us. then a bunch of the students took the subway down to city hall, which is where we are now, in lower manhattan. for them, it has absolutely risen to the top of their agenda. ella has been skipping school every friday for the last 11 fridays. that's part of this "fridays for future" initiative, a bunch of them are skipping school to say in their logic, why should i go to school when i don't know what my future is going to look like? what is my indicatieducation fo? 12-year-old ella says it matters to her, to watch out for these candidates. they're planning to hold a

climate-change-focused debate leading up to 2020. i'll step out of the way so you can see a little bit more of what's going on. a couple of hundred of them have argued now. the organizers are expecting a couple of thousand, they say, and they'll be crossing over the brooklyn bridge in a little bit, we'll are going with them there. one person has been sitting in front of the u.n. with posters every day for four months. >> such great confidence in the next generation. thank you so much, savannah sellers, great to have you on. big new numbers on the jobs front today that could boost the president's reelection chances. joining me, former republican committee chairman michael steele, and nbc analyst jonathan lemire. jonathan, the white house has to be over the moon over these

numbers. >> that's right, this is a streak of really good economic news that the white house is reveling in. we've seen a number of white house officials on the white house lawn today touting them including larry kudlow and sarah sanders. the sustained economic growth which, let's note, began under barack obama, but has certainly not slowed down under this president and it's frustrating to his advisers that he can't stay focused on this, when this is his best argument. democrats recognize this too, inherently it's tough to beat any incumbent when the economy is this good. >> indeed. and michael steele, the last time we had jobs numbers, an unemployment rate this low, americans were landing on the moon for the first time. that's something that kevin hassett pointed out from the white house today. and he's absolutely right. now, they're going to say -- the president's already going to say that this is all him, and as jonathan just pointed out, he inherited a rising economy from

barack obama after all of the hard work that was done after the 2008 crash that obama inherited that mess. but that said, they certainly can argue that the corporate tax cut helped on the upside in terms of not that it trickled down, but certainly in terms of what the corporate climate was and the stock market. >> yeah, it actually has added a lot of stimulus to the economy. it's given it more screjuice. there's no doubt about dropping the corporate tax rate from 37 to 22% has done a phenomenal work on the economy. it is, you know, giving the confidence that employers need to put people to work, no doubt about that. other aspects of this, though, that the administration, while it is rightfully applauded on the one hand, they should also think about how now they can, you know, have the cross communication on wages. wages are not growing as fast as they possibly could under this

current situation, this current climate. so that's a little bit of a needle there. but it's not significant enough. people are still getting employed, they're getting their jobs. and wages are growing, although at a much slower clip. so all around, the president has a great talking point. but as you led in with this, andrea, the president's people are concerned that he won't stay on that point, that he will get distracted about things and by things that will take away from the positive messaging and that longer term is a problem. we saw this play out in 2018, where there was very little conversation about the growth and strength of the economy then. what were we talking about? caravans, immigration, all those very difficult, hot button issues that created a win opportunity for democrats in the last cycle. and they're concerned about that going into this presidential cycle. >> it certainly creates a challenge for democrats, though, to be running against an

incumbent president with all of his advantages, despite his low poll numbers, with this economy. shannon pettypiece, you have joe biden and bernie sanders and the others trying to make an economic argument to the rust belt, and here the president has a booming economy which presumably will be affecting those very workers. >> and the president will be able to argue that if those policies, these policies that bernie sanders in particular, let's take him for example, they want to put more regulation and bust up monopolies, his policies directly affect the economy. the argument the white house will make is that that will completely reverse and slow down all the great economic things people have been seeing over the past four years, is the case they will make. to tie it to your first segment on climate change, there's another counterargument that the

white house sees on the economy. because you see the democratic base moving to climate change as a focus, the white house is ready to argue, again, if you elect democrats and put those policies in place that they want to help the climate, that will hurt the climate. sure, many people will see long term benefits, but the white house will try and argue that it will have short term economic damage and use that, again, to appeal to those really swing niche voters, because as it looks and it stands right now, the voters that matter are michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, maybe ohio, maybe florida. so michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, that's the audience they're going towards. if you can say these regulations that democrats want on climate change are going to hurt the economy, slow the economy down, they think that's a message that resonates to those voters. >> michael steele, i want to ask you about something joe biden said about china. i've heard him give this speech for years about china. and what he said was, he challenged the fact in a des moines speech that china is

going to eat our lunch, come on, they can't even figure out how to deal with the fact that they have a great division between the south, he misspoke, and the mountains. he discussed all the problems built into their economy. that led mitt romney and the president and everyone else to jump all over him. the fact is he is economically correct, they have big problems in our economy. but they steal our secrets, they still our i.t., they mess us up -- i was going to say screw us, what the hell, screw us -- do all those bad things, so he is politically and economically correct. is that a bad place to be for a candidate? >> it's a tougher place. not a bad place yet. we're early in the primary season. but you don't want to start setting off a counternarrative to what people have already come to believe about you. you are the blue collar guy. you know -- you know, worker joe, you're the guy who catches the train to work every day, you're the guy who you can see

at a lunch counter or, you know, a local mall. i mean, you're not someone who is far removed from everyday workers. for all of those workers, particularly union workers, andrea, that concern over what he said about china could be a problem. we'll see how he plays it outgoing forward. >> michael steele, shannon pettypiece, jonathan lemire, thank you all. coming up, venezuela flash point. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. atching "andrl reports" on msnbc. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer, or develop new skin growths,

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ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. the standoff in venezuela has sparked new questions about the united states' role in the crisis and conflicting accounts about foreign involvement with dictator nicolas maduro still in power following a failed attempt by opposition leader juan guaido to oust him this week, president trump threatened to enforce a full embargo on cuba for keeping maduro in power. cuba fought back by calling national security adviser john bolton as a pathological liar. joining me now is cube's general director of u.s. affairs, thank you for being with us. the administration is claiming

that cuba has troops that are keeping maduro in power, troops on the ground. what is your reaction to that? >> we have said publicly that there are no cuban troops in venezuela nor does cuba participate in military or security operations whatsoever. it's a false statement. they've spoken of 20,000, 50,000. the president spoke about militia. it's totally not true. >> so who are the cubans? i know there's a long alliance going back to chavez and if i had and fidel. there's a long alliance between cuba and caracas. >> we have a very close relationship. there are roughly 20,000 cuban professionals in venezuela, 94 to 96% are medical doctors. and i change the figure because they exchange every week. they live among the communities,

that's what they do. 64% of them are women, normally. they are not military personnel and they do not participate in military or security operations. >> are there cubans providing personal security for nicolas maduro? >> there are not military. personal security -- >> bodyguards, what we would define as security. >> that i don't know. but i can tell you that the question, what's been alleged, is that the government of nicolas maduro is in power because there's a military force from cuba in venezuela. that is totally untrue. it is not real. and it's impossible for the cuban medical doctors to be there, to be a determining force in what politically happens in the country. >> secretary pompeo alleged the other day in an interview with our lester holt that maduro had a plane on the runway ready to leave to go to havana and the russians told him not to leave. was there -- is there a game

plan, was there a game plan on april 30th for maduro to go to havana into exile? >> i've only heard this from secretary of state pompeo and repeated by the national security adviser john bolton. what i do know was that there was a failed coup, that the population did not support the alleged coup, they came out and supported the government, and that the military and the government remain fully loyal to the government of nicolas maduro. >> of course the u.s. and 50 other nations say it was not a coup, it is an uprising that guaido is the legitimate leader because maduro's election was not legitimate, and that he has been endorsed by 54 countries including most in the region, everyone other than china, turkey, russia, and others outside of -- >> of the almost 200 countries of the u.n., around 50, 54 of the almost 200 have recognized guaido. i don't think all of them said that it was not a coup.

i heard the u.s. government say that and a few other governments in the region, not beyond that. >> in terms of the threat from the president, he's threatening total embargo on cuba. first of all, what would be the effect of that? >> there is already practically a total embargo of cuba, we've had it for 60 years. it's been condemned and rejected by the u.n. almost unanimously. the aim is to cause as much economic damage and harm the living standards of the population in cuba. that is the aim of the u.s. government, at least the way they are declaring it. it could damage our economy, it will have an impact. but it will not extract concessions from the government of cuba. >> the government of maduro has created a humanitarian crisis

for years and has denied people the food, the humanitarian aid that others from outside are trying to bring in. >> what's clear is that the policy of economic sanctions, the stealing the money of venezuela, and of trying to choke the economy of venezuela, will be leading to a very disastrous economic crisis. and it seems that that is the aim of the government of the united states. >> ambassador, it's good to have your perspective. we look forward to more conversation. >> thank you. >> thank you. and coming up, a behind the scenes look at the campaigns of four democratic women who ran to change the political landscape in washington. stay with us. ashington. stay with us wake up! there's a lot that needs to get done today. small things. big things. too hard to do alone things. day after day, you need to get it all done. and here to listen and help you through it all is bank of america. with the expertise and know-how you need to reach that blissful state of done-ness.

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ask your doctor if cologuard is right for you. covered by medicare and most major insurers. a new netflix documentary follows the journey of four political newcomers including alexandria ocasio-cortez who ran for office to try to shake up the political establishment. knock down the house captures the campaign of every day women who's personal stories propelled them to take action. >> anybody can run. >> that's why i'm running. it shouldn't be about one person, it's not about that. we don't get help that way. it's got to be about us. it's got to be us, thinking about us, caring about us. >> this is not a game to me. this is not an opportunistic

move for me. i turn my back on an executive level job. i sold my house. i've gone into debt. in the beginning, it wasn't a tough decision. but i would do it again in a heartbeat now. >> joining me now the director of "knock down the house," and two of the women who were profiled in the film. what inspired you to want to do this? >> i was really looking for a documentary topic that would be national in scope and would involve people from different parts of the country, from different walks of life coming together to make common cause, maybe an unexpected ways to push the country forward. and this was in the wake of 2016 election. i really wanted to contribute something to that national conversation. >> and, amy, i know that sadly,

real personal tragedy inspired you. tell me what happened to your daughter. >> my daughter, she was a wonderful, wonderful child. she was in school to become an rn, working two jobs. my husband's in the military. and she had moved out to be with us in las vegas to complete her schooling. and she went to the er with a blood clot, and they told her, when she could not provide proof of insurance, to get get insurance and see a specialist, that they were not a doctor's office. my daughter died a very painful and needless death because she could not provide proof of insurance. that was a life changing experience for me, to say the least. >> how long ago did that happen? >> it will be four years ago next month on the 28th. >> you live with that terrible loss every day and you decided to turn your grief into

political action? >> yes. it took me about a year, to be specific, before i wanted to be involved with anything anymore. but there came a point when i heard other people that were motivationing to me, other women actually, talking about health care and the status of this country and other issues this country is facing, i decided that i was not going to be complicit, i had seen -- >> ferguson, yes. >> yes, yes. i was inspired by regular, every day people that didn't know anyone before day one. we were able to affect the world, even with the negativity

being said about us. people loved their uncommunity so much where they would put their lives on the line, to see them step up and stand up, and not see the people that are paid to represent us do the same, i felt like if you love the community, you should be the one seated in those seats. >> you ran against a dynasty in congress. you didn't win. and there's so much focus on the women who won, but i'm particularly fascinated by the focus on those of you who did not win. >> yes. >> and you're going to try it again. >> absolutely. i'm already out there, we'll be launching really soon in june. this is about a people, the mission was not won. the people deserve change. this district represents ferguson. so i feel like the people of ferguson deserve somebody who's going to fight with what's going on in washington, with what's going on in this country.

we should be fighting about your stance. plus representation is important. we need to see women standing up, speaking for our country, and who better to talk about our issues and the things that we've gone through than women, it's been 172 years, and there's never been a black woman in this seat. >> other people you've met long the way, where do you next take your action? >> so i'm definitely weighing running again. i will. at one point i will be running again. at this point i will probably be spending any energy helping out in the presidential election and also writing a book to help other women find the courage to hopefully step up and have a seat at the table. if they won't give you a seat, bring your lawn chair. i want other women and people from disadvantaged communities to feel like they have a voice in our political process. and become involved. this is all about civic engagement, making sure that you

understand the issues, that we're not just simply taking what's handed to us and fighting for those. i'd also say, we did suffer a lot of losses, there were a lot of losses, this first round, but this is a movement. we might have lost the races and elections, but i really feel like this whole movement and all these women, we won the conversation. we see that in the electoral run for presidency right now. they're answering the questions on the platform that is we ran on. it's all part of that process of educating the public and getting them involved and having them feel like they have a voice. >> well, you have a voice, and we're so grateful for it. am a amy, thank you so much. coming up, much more on today's job's numbers and the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. reports" on msnbc. all.

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and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." remember follow us at mitchell reports and here is stephanie ruhle for "velshi & ruhle." >> thank you so much, andrea. he hello, everyone. ali velshi is off today. we've got breaking news from the white house, press secretary sarah sanders telling reporters president trump spoke with russian president vladimir putin on the phone this morning for over an hour. let's bring in nbc news white house corporate kelly o'donnell. quite the phone call. sarah sanders, she listed a lot of important topics they discussed. what are we to believe out of this? >> this is one of those situations where the white house came out to tell us about this call and said for more than an hour, they talked about a range of issues, including, venezuela and wanting from the president's perspective a peaceful transition there, we know russia has been involved in suppo