now with kristen welker. let me publicly congratulate you, you will be one of four women on an all-woman panel who will be moderators of the next debate, my friend, i am so proud of you. >> chris, thanks so much, i am so honored to share the stage with our three other colleagues. great hour, chris jansing, great to see you. right now on "andrea mitchell reports," occuut of options. donald trump's republican allies on capitol hill try to fight the impeachment inquiry by complaining about the process but staying away from the substance. >> they've come up with a process where you do things behind closed doors. you give me 15 pages of testimony that's never been subject to cross-examine and you want me to comment on it? forget that. coming up, new york republican congressman peter king joins us live. and into the breach. as the russian military forces plant their flag in the so-called syrian safe zone,

kurdish leaders say they're under attack despite the peace deal announced by the president. >> it would be unthinkable to me that turkey would not suffer consequence form malevolent behavior. elijah cummings becomes the first african-american lawmaker to lie in state at the capitol, beloved by democrats and republicans. >> elijah was truly a master of the house. he respected its history. and in it, he helped shape america's future. >> he's defined bit character of his heart, the honesty of his dialogue, and the man that -- the man that we will miss. and a very good day to you,

i'm kristcountriekristen welkera in washington, where president trump and house republicans are floating every possible defense to take heat off of a white house mired in the impeachment inquiry. their latest attempts, crashing a private deposition dozens of republicans were allowed to participate in and claiming ukrainians didn't know military assistance was being withheld, but falling flat on capitol hill. president trump is using his twitter feed to label bill taylor a never-trumper. nbc political analyst eugene robinson, usa today washington bureau chief susan page, and presidential historian beschloss, "presidents of war" now available in paiperback, an

my colleague peter alexander at the white house. peter, this strategy that we're seeing on capitol hill, does the administration feel confident that this is an effective strategy to essentially deal with the intensifying impeachment inquiry? >> you're hearing, kristen, from the president and his press secretary, stephanie grisham on camera saying this morning that the white house is very suppo supportive of it, saying, quote, it was great. and the president tweeted the following earlier today which appears to be a pretty strong endorsement of what took place, he says, thank you to house republicans for being tough, smart, and understanding in detail the greatest witch hunt in american history. what was striking is that this happened roughly 48 hours after the president in a series of interviews and here at the white

house that republicans need to get tough and fight. the fact of the matter is some of those nearly two dozen house republicans who barged into that secure room, interrupting, disrupting testimony being conducted by impeachment investigators, some of those republicans were allowed to be in that room in the first place. recognize, it's republicans and democrats on the three key house committees who are allowed to be in there. that includes 47 republicans. but clearly, as we have heard, you and i in conversations privately with white house officials, they believe the best argument at this time is about the process. they want to focus on what they think is an unfair process. as one said to us privately, you know, that's something that polls well, people think of fairness and they think that serves our side well here. but they have not combatted in any way the substance of these claims, most notably those made by bill taylor earlier this week which directly contradict the

president's repeated assertion that there was no quid pro quo as it related to ukraine, kristen. >> and susan, pick up on peter's point, which is the strategy writ large. our first read team called it running on empty. house republicans are basically looking for a clear strategy out of the white house. what they heard this week from the president was, get tougher, you need to fight harder. but our sense is, they want to have a better way to kind of combat some of the headlines, some of the testimony, frankly, that we're learning about every day. >> you know, if they could argue that the president didn't dot controversial things he's accused of doing, that would be a stronger argument. or if they could argue he did these things but they're not important things, they're not something that rises to impeachment, that is a stronger argument than process, because you know what the democrats can do, they can fix the process questions. they can hold a vote on the house floor for formal impeachment inquiry. nancy pelosi has not said that wouldn't happen, she said that wouldn't happen yet. they can allieasily do that, th

have the votes to pass it. they will have public hearings probably starting next month, in november, with the best witnesses they're hearing from in private. this is republicans trying to play a weak hand and placate the president while doing so. >> and eugene, we know there is some pressure on democrats. we know that, yes, republicans are in the room, but they're feeling the heat to get some of this testimony out into the public sphere. how much pressure do you think they are feeling, do you in fact think they're going to meet that mid-november deadline that we're hearing about? >> i think it's probably a bit more likely now that they will try to meet a mid-november deadline for starting some sort of public hearings, because this sort of process campaign that republicans are waging now, what it can do, at least on the margins, have some impact on public opinion, which may,

frankly, the temporary. this is a strategy essentially playing for time, because, as was pointed out, as susan pointed out, democrats can change, can eliminate the complaints. there probably i think will be a vote at some point. there certainly will be public testimony at some point. and so then the argument will have to be on the substance and on the question of what did the president do, what did the president not do. and that's a subject that republicans don't want to touch. and they certainly don't want to say anything because it can be contradicted by tweet. >> well, and michael, on that point, on the substance, we know that some republicans have started to weigh in and respond to it. here is what senator john thune had to say. >> the picture coming out of it

based on the reporting that we've seen is, yeah, i would say is not a good one. i think that whatever he said in private, it ought to be done in public. >> so that's john thune, talking about the testimony of bill taylor who essentially painted the picture of a quid pro quo. he is the number two republican on the senate. how concerned should the administration be, particularly when we look back in time, for example at the nixon impeachment process? should he be concerned that republican support is starting to erode? >> well, it's not something -- what he said is not something that would be senator thune scripted by the white house. so that certainly is the beginning of at least little sounds of dissonance from the senate that the president probably would not want to hear. in the case of nixon, we began to see senators begin to slip away from nixon, late 1973, early 1974.

but that was a very long process. the other thing is those asking for public hearings may live to regret it. in the case of watergate, it was those public hearings when you heard people like john dean and others say things that nixon had done that began to move public opinion in a big way against the president. >> i think that's an important point. and for the historic context also, let's just do the fact check on holding hearings in private. this is not the first time that we've seen this happen. in fact the early part of the benghazi hearings took place behind closed doors, not an impeachment inquiry, but still high stakes. >> right. and in the nixon case, various of the people who testified in public were interviewed in private before it happened. this is not an astounding new development. >> eugene, we noticed the president's outside attorney, rudy giuliani, tweeted yesterday for the first time in a long time. he of course is at the center of this, has been accused of running a shadow foreign policy. two of his associates right now facing potential criminal charges. here is what he tweeted. with all the fake news, let me

make it clear that everything i did was to discover evidence to defend my client against false charges. dems would be horrified by the attacks on me if my client was a terrorist. justice will prevail. eugene, if this is his best argument, could giuliani be in some trouble here? >> i think giuliani certainly could be in some real trouble here. it appears that the southern district of new york is certainly looking into giuliani's associates. and it's not a big leap to imagine they're looking into giuliani himself. and the question of who was he exactly representing, does he have, you know, a foreign agent registration problem, does he have any other problems. giuliani has apparently been looking for a new lawyer and i think he needs one. >> and susan page, to what

extent, the president has not distanced himself from giuliani yet although raising comments i which he's said things like you have to ask giuliani about that. what do you make currently of the status between the two of them? it's our sense that giuliani still represents the president. >> the president continues to speak in a positive way about rudy giuliani. rudy giuliani is out there aggressively defending him, we know the president likes that. but there's no guarantee of future presidential backing, as we know. how many times have we seen people who the president held close and then later on brushed away. today is the one-month mark for the first "washington post" story that talked about the ukraine call. this is moving with the kind of rapidity we never saw with the clinton case, with the nixon case. >> even andrew johnson.

although we were not there to see it, i should quickly mention. >> an important point about the timeline, peter. let me go back to you quickly on that point because the president continues to attack the whistle-blower and say, we should know the whistle-blower's identity. >> that's exactly right, the president is trying to broadly make the case here that this is all a part of the deep state argument he's had throughout the course of his time in office. it wasn't just the attacks on the whistle-blower, saying he wants that person's identity, but also the attacks on bill taylor more recently. the president in the last several days, i think just yesterday, frankly, because it's hard to keep track of time at this point, the president about bill taylor, a person who has served this country for 50 years, serving administrations both republican and democrat, he was an appointee to be the ukrainian ambassador by president bush. president trump described him is a never-trumper, said he didn't know him, said of never-trumper republicans, which there is no evidence that he is, mind you,

that they are, quote, human scum. and about that language that was used by the president, we're hearing from stephanie grisham, the press secretary, who says they deserve that type of strong language. it's clear that the president, as best he can from behind closed doors here inside the west wing, is effectively trying to silence any criticism that may exist. but as you detailed with john thune and with others right now, you're starting to hear those alarm bells sounding, certainly cracks within the republican party. >> such an important point, peter. we're going to lighten things up for one moment for a very good cause before we go. can we please give it up to our hometown team, the washington nationals, since all of you are here in our hometown, we're just two wins away from their first ever world series title. the nats beat the astros in houston last night 12-3. they bring the world series back here to d.c. tomorrow night for game three. i know everyone's trying to get tickets. perhaps the most of the

impressive part of last night came even before the game started when simone biles, most decorated gymnast of all time, daughter of texas, took to the field and did a back flip before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. she might be an astros fan, but no denying that was incredible. susan, michael, everyone, what a great way to start off the game. what a great moment for everyone in d.c. were you watching the games? >> oh, you bet. >> peter, you getting any sleep? >> i was going to say, we should get the video of you doing a flip before sitting down this afternoon. >> still practicing that move. thanks for a great conversation, susan, evening, michael, peter. speaking of back flips, what the republicans have been doing to try to protect president trump. congressman peter king joins us next. oins us next and there's nothing you can do about it?

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president trump wants republicans to more vigorously defend him against a snowballing impeachment inquiry. on wednesday he got what he wished for as a group of trump allies in the house stormed a closed-door deposition, delaying the testimony of an impeachment witness. "the washington post" wrote that the republicans' defense of president trump grew more frantic and disjointed.

before storming into the deposition, republican lawmakers spoke to the press. >> they're trying to impeach the president behind closed doors. this is a soviet style impeachment process. >> as the good book says, those things done in secret are from darkness. >> by golly, if they're going to do, it do it in public! don't hide it from the american people! show your face! >> you need to be scared. you need to be very scared. >> joining me now to discuss all of this, republican congressman peter king of new york who serves on the homeland security committee. congressman, thank you so much for joining me, i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> your reaction to that tactic, what has been described as nothing more than a delay tactic that we saw? >> to me it wasn't a delay tactic, it was a way to dramatize -- i wasn't there. i prefer to do it this way. >> so you disagree with what they did, congressman? do you disagree with what they did? >> no. no. there's different types of tactics used.

the president has been smeared for 2 1/2 years. the democrats are leaking out information from behind closed doors. and the democrats and -- and the republicans wanted to dramatize that. i believe that's an appropriate tactic. i prefer myself, my own style, to address the issue head on and i believe there's nothing that's been shown that's impeachable. we have seen for 2 1/2 years, we had the mueller investigation, the fbi investigation, everything being leaked out about russia, it turned out there was absolutely nothing there, a terrible abuse of power by the democratic party. >> congressman, to be clear, you would have done things differently although you're not ready to denounce your colleagues just yet, but it sounds like you're saying that wasn't the right way to go about it. >> no, i'm saying everyone has their own role to play. they wanted to dramatize the fact that this is an unfair process. i agree with that. i prefer to do it this way because i've been studying the facts as much as i can, considering that so much is being kept from us, and the more i look at it, the more people i talk to, i see no grounds for

impeachment whatsoever. everyone has their own lane. i'm not criticizing anyone who was there yesterday. >> congressman, as you know, this is not the first time that at least the first part of an inquiry is done behind closed doors. this is what trey gowdy had to say when he was leading the benghazi hearings back in 2015, take a listen. >> of the 50 some odd interviews we have done thus far, the vast maintaining majority of them have been private and you don't see the big bickering among members of congress. >> does the tv camera add to grandstanding on both sides of the aisle? >> what do you think, chuck? i can just tell you in the private interviews it is never anything of what you saw on thursday. it is one hour on the republican side, one hour on the democrat side, which is why you're going to see the next two dozen interviews done privately. the private ones always produce better results. >> congressman, your reaction to that? we know the democrats are

saying, look, we are going to open up these hearings but we want this first phase of it to be behind closed doors so it will be more effective. did gowdy have a point? was he right? >> yeah, -- yeah, trey had a point there. on the other hand if they're going to be held in private they shouldn't be leaking out segments of testimony. in the mueller investigation, when mueller finally did testify, there was nothing there. i don't blame the president for being angry. he was duly elected and from the minute he was elected the democrats and the people in the establishment wanted to find a way to remove him from office. first it was russia, then it was obstruction, now it's ukraine. >> but congressman, let me just challenge you quickly. congressman, if you are fighting on process and not the substance -- >> no, i'm fighting on facts. >> you are, but the white house and your colleagues weren't yesterday. >> i think they would be better advised to say there's nothing there that's at all impeachable, there's nothing there that's at

all criminal, nothing that comes close to a constitutional standard of being wrong. the president has his own style, his own way of doing it. the fact that he wants to work around the state department, the fact that he doesn't trust the intelligence community, i don't blame him for that. i was with bill clinton when he told me he blacked out the state department, they had no idea what he was doing because he didn't trust them. what they call it, the deep state, or whatever, they're ought to get the president. >> congressman, senator john thune said that the picture that was painted by bill taylor who essentially drew a line of a quid pro quo, was not a good one. do you agree with what senator thune said, the number two republican in the senate? >> there's two things. i say, everythiassuming everyth taylor said was true, there was nothing impeachable there. >> but was the picture potentially damage to go the president, congressman? one sid be damaging. once it became public in the mueller investigation, there was nothing there. i look forward to taylor to

testify. the fact is, we talked about a quid pro quo. every treaty, every agreement, one side gives something. i remember when president reagan wouldn't sell, uh, weapons in northern ireland until it stopped human rights violations. if the president didn't say, we're not going to give you the aid -- remember, president obama gave no military aid at all, he's the one who really should be guilty here. >> congressman, let me ask you about the president's announcement yesterday, the president saying he's going to lift sanctions on turkey. we already see the cease-fire is not holding. are you concerned there could be a resurgence of isis? >> i'm very concerned. i don't, uh, like the idea of ceding all the power in the middle east to russia, turkey, and syria. none of which can be trusted. and we are -- as somebody in new york who saw firsthand what happened on 9/11, i don't want to do anything that's going to allow isis to rise up again.

i don't support what the president is doing in syria, no. >> congressman, before i let you go, i have to extend our deepest condolences for the loss of your colleague, congressman cummings. i know you were there at the service that is ongoing right now. what are your remembrances of him? how do you want him to be remembered? >> as a giant, as a man who had a tremendous good humor about him but yet incredible seriousness of purpose. to me, it was the best composition it. nobody worked harder and was more dedicated to what he believes in than elijah cummings and nobody was more willing to extend a hand of friendship. we need more people like elijah cummings in public life. he's a giant and will be missed. >> thank you for those final thoughts, congressman peter king. we appreciate you joining us. >> thank you very much. coming up, victory lapped. just one day after president trump took credit for brokering a permanent cease-fire, new reports of fighting today in northern syria. this is "andrea mitchell

reports" only on msnbc. ia this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc hmm. exactly.

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russian forces also continue moving into the area and setting up outposts. wednesday, president trump had declared a big success in syria and lifted all sanctions against turkey. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is on the ground in syria and filed this report. >> what a great outcome. congratulations. >> reporter: that great outcome is what was a peaceful kurdish region protected by the united states, now being carved up by turkey and its radical militias, russia, and its ally, bashar al assad, widely accused in the past of using chemical weapons. so hundreds of thousands of kurds, tens of thousands of them children, are now fleeing their homes, just as the winter rains and cold set in. >> and we thank richard for his incredible reporting. joining me, kevin barron and anne gearan, washington correspondent for "the

washington post." i want to get your reaction to breaking news, secretary of state mike pompeo was just interviewed in kansas. the reporter asks, what good really is the word of it u.s. in light of the president's treatment of the kurds? has that undercut u.s. credibility? secretary pompeo responds, the whole predicate of your question is insane. the word of the united states -- i'll give you a good example -- the word of the united states is much more respected today than it was just 2 1/2 years ago. he goes on to take aim at former president obama. anne gearan, respond to this, and is this about the united states' word? >> first, i would observe that secretary of state pompeo has been doing a lot of interviews in kansas lately. beyond that, he's making a point that president trump makes as well, which is that in their telling of events, they are

actually following through and getting things done on the ground that previous administrations were too timid to do. the problem with that in this instance is that the kurds themselves were loyal allies for decades. there are too many people in washington, many of them republicans, who have been on the other side of that for too many years, working alongside the kurds, working to get them money, working to get them weapons, benefiting from their fighting ability, benefiting from their shared intelligence, for this to sit well. the idea that the president is walking away from an ally has that short term effect of annoying and worrying people who know the kurds specifically. and then it has a secondary effect for every other country, every other ally that wonders how long the promise of u.s. partnership and u.s. support and

u.s. money, how long that promise is good for. >> and kevin, you write, quote, the entire premise of the president's speech yesterday was sharply rejected by republican and democratic lawmakers who called trump's actions a shameful capitulation to moscow and isis. to anne's point, so many people are watching to see with trepidation to see if we will see a resurgence of isis. >> they're also watching to see if america is going to do anything about it. they've already blown credibility with the kurds and now trying to save face by saying, this action by turkey was inevitable but we'll stick with you now, after two weeks of kurds being killed by the i thae would hold turkey to task if they violate the agreement, with new sanctions, with something. it's been less than 24 hours and we're already hearing from the syrians according to them that turkey is violating the cease-fire, syria is fighting

the cease-fire, russia, they're all violating the agreement, they're attacked from all sides. it's now up to the white house to decide if they're going to do anything about it. >> president trump would argue, look, i campaigned on this, an america first foreign policy, and that's what you're seeing play out. i promised to get troops out of these foreign conflicts. this is what the folks who voted for him wanted to see from him. now, at the same time it's important to point out he is going to be leaving a residual force there, he says to man the oil fields. the reality is their role will be a lot more complicated. is this an effective way to carry out the america first foreign policy or is it, as his critics would argue, haphazard? >> certainly the president is beth that first of all this is a sort of, you know, not particularly well-known corner of the world so there isn't going to be some giant blowback from the people who matter to him politically. the second thing he's counting on is that he can frame this within the context of a very

successful political argument he's made since, i mean, before he started officially running for president, which is the united states shouldn't be entangled in a whole bunch of mideast wars that are never going to be won no matter how long we stay and no matter what we do, it's not our job, it's not our responsibility, we should bring our troops home, and that's what he's trying to argue here. >> it's a complicated situation that we continue to watch very closely. kevin and anne, thank you so much for a great conversation, we really appreciate it. we have some breaking news from the 2020 campaign trail. congressman tim ryan, democrat from ohio, has dropped out of the presidential race. he just tweeted, i got into this race in april to really give voice to the forgotten people of our country. i look forward to continuing that fight. and we're just over 100 days 'til the iowa caucuses and less than a month to the next democratic debate. we'll have a lot more on that coming up. also coming up, final tribute. lawmakers and dignitaries come together to remember a lion of

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he looked at the downtown. he looked towards the west side. and it was so glorious. and he said, boy, i've come a long way. man, has he come a long way. >> emotional moment there, the wife of the late maryland congressman elijah cummings speaking last night. today congressman cummings is being remembered by members of congress and the public as his body lies in state at the capitol. cummings is the first african-american lawmaker to have that honor. a wake and funeral are planned for tomorrow in baltimore. former presidents obama and clinton will speak at the service. moments ago, house speaker nancy pelosi and republican congressman mark meadows eulogized cummings. >> elijah was truly a master of the house. he respected its history and helped shape america's future. i have called him our north star, our guide to a better future for our children.

it was in defense of the children at the border that he will elijah said, we can do better. >> elijah has left his tent to go to a mansion, a better place. perhaps this place and this country would be better served with a few more unexpected friendships. i know i've been blessed by one. >> bipartisan outpouring there. joining me now, two men who knew elijah cummings very well. marc morial, president and ceo of the urban league and former baltimore mayor, and joe of yo being here and condolences of being here. i had the honor to know congressman cummings, he was so proud of where he came from and so determined to give back, not

only to baltimore but beyond. talk about his legacy as a civil rights leader but someone who really made it his goal to give back. >> you think about how he stood up for his hometown, when the president criticized it, called it rat-infested, elijah cummings didn't sit back and accept that. we remember him when there was civil unrest and elijah came and broad a calming effect, a real leader. someone who didn't speak often, frankly, on the house floor or even the democratic caucus. but when he spoke, that old adage, everyone listened. i remember when he was going to the white house, when president trump invited him to come and we all looked at him, elijah, what are you thinking? but he never missed an opportunity, never missed an opportunity to bring the values that he and the constituents he cared about and the values he held and wanted to try to convince even this president

what the priorities of his constituents are, what the priorities of people in need are in this country. and, you know, we all compared to him for that in the end. >> by partisan admiration. we talk about the power of his words. we have some of his speech from when he was first sworn into congress in 1996. marc morial, high play that and get your reaction. >> there's poem from many, many years ago, that i say sometimes, 20 times a day, it's a very simple poem but it's one that i live by. it says, i only have a minute, 60 seconds in it, forced upon me. i did not choose it. but i know that i must use it, give account if i abuse it, suffer if i lose it. only a tiny little minute. but eternity is in it. so i join you as we move forward to uplift not only the nation

but the world. >> i have only a minute. >> those words were original to benjamin mays, the late, great president of morehouse college in atlanta. and he references in there the author. when elijah cummings became a member of the congress representing baltimore, he followed two giants, device kw mfume held that seat. it's more than acquitted the legacy of those members. he's defined what it means to be the congressman from the city of baltimore. this man was an institutionalist. he respected the house and his role as a member of congress. he was also a man of fire, passion, and reason. and that unique combination,

elijah was forceful. he could be fiery. he said what was on his mind. then he had this ability to make friends in a lot of interesting places. >> you lead me to my next point which is that he took his role as someone who is charged with oversight very seriously. we saw that play out even in the final days, he was signing subpoenas while in hospice care, congressman. >> i think he cared very much for -- not for the process but for the country, and for the institution that the founders established. he took that all very, very -- we all take it seriously but he took it incredibly seriously. i think he had the presence of mind, knowing what history would look back on, and did we perform the way we ought to perform. did we act appropriately. were we better than this. and i think elijah cummings was better than this.

>> what is the moment that you have in your mind today as we remember him? >> elijah cummings walking through the streets of baltimore after the death of freddie gray, when the city had blown up and many were to some extent hiding, elijah cummings was out front walking with the people in a fashion that had a calming effect but also a purposeful effect, which was to understand that people's uprising in baltimore was a legitimate response to an awful tragedy in baltimore. i'll always remember that. i also remember, elijah, we honored him in 2016 in baltimore. he told a story about his father. he said when he went to howard university, one of his friends came back because he had gotten a classmate pregnant. another one came back because he didn't do well enough in school and started partying and he said, his daddy said, i don't

want you, you better not come back. he said, see them? don't be like them. >> and he spent his lifetime giving back. >> absolutely. >> thanks to both of you for helping us to remember -- >> and condolences to his wife, dr. in baltimore. >> absolutely. condolences to all of them. and we are all in mourning for him. thank you both for helping us to remember him. coming up, presidential immunity. the controversial argument that president trump's attorney made for why he couldn't be prosecuted while in office even if he shot someone on the street. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc coughing oh no,... ...a cougher. welcome to flu season, karen. is a regular flu shot strong enough... ...to help prevent flu in someone your age? there are standard-dose flu shots. and then there's the superior flu protection... ...of fluzone high-dose. it's the only 65 plus flu shot... ...with 4 times the standard dose. and it's free with medicare part b.

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stunt or should the hearings be more transparent joining me now is democratic senator who serves on the judiciary and armed services thank you, senator, for joining me. let's start the right there as you know, the republicans are making the case these proceedingshe need to be more tran tranceparent and out in the open. if you look back at the benghazi

marryitte hearing, they were also behind closed doors. but theed stakes could not be higher, do the republicans have a point about, should the depositions be made public? >> theth republicans got nothin. that is why they are engaging in these kinds of distractions. you referred to the gaggle of goofballs yesterday. they can't defend the president, they areey trying to shake down the president ofry another couny for his own political purposes. they can't defend that, so they are doing all of this. so unlike the president who does decision making in a totally chaotic nonconsultant noncollaborative way, you have in the house an ordinarily impeachment inquiry. that is what is going on. they can't handle that. >> but is there an urgency to make this public? we know that for example house investigators are eyeing mid notch. do you want to see these proceedings be made public by then at least? >> i think that is the kind of

time fwram we're t looking at. and i think as you characterize it as important as this, i think that the impeachment inquiry should proceed in i the fashion that it has been and then to be made public in november if that is the kind of time frame. and i think that that is appropriate. >> part of the president's tactic not surprisingly is playing out on twitter. let me read you one of his tweets. trying to undercut some of the witnesses who have been testifying. the never trumper republicans, though on respirators with not many left, are in certain ways worse and more dangerous for our country than the do nothing democrats. watch out for them, they are human scum. your reaction to that tweet, to that language, to that tactic. >> this is what the president does. he engages in character assassination. and you know, not only that, i think you mentioned earlier that his lawyers argued in the second circuit yesterday that even if

he were to go on fifth avenue and shoot somebody, the law can't touch him. this is what the president is about. >> isenator, we actually have that. let me let folks see what you are referencing. we have that sound of the president saying that back in 2016 and we also have the audio from his attorney. let's take a listen and i'll let you respond. >> high peopmy people where so d the polls, they say i have the most loyal people. where i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and ih wouldn't lose y voters. it isld incredible. >> what is your view on the fifth avenue example, local investigate, ldn't they couldn't come anything about , it? >> i think that once a president is removed from office, any local authority -- this is not a permanent immunity. >> i'm talking about while in office. >> no. >> that is the hypo. nothing could be done, that is your position? >> that is correct.

>> senator, i understand politically you will disagree with the president andti his lel team on p that, but legally do they have a point? >> legally i don't think so. >> is there any legal argument there? >> they are going to try to defend the indefensible and i think that the people -- the american people would think boy, that is really crazy that the president can go out there and shoot somebody on fifth avenue and nothing should happen to him. i think thatg pe they say somet is wrong with that. >> nor senator hirono, thank yu so much. and coming up in the next hour, bar exassociation? whatur was the attorney general rule in the ukraine controversy? st stephanie rule and hle and ali will dig into that. and ali velsi will dig into that kraft. for the win win.

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and we have very exciting news to share about one of our nbc news colleagues and a dear personal friend. tonight the radio and television corespondents association will honor the great kelly o'donnell with the 2019 career achievement award. congratulations, kelly o. no one deserves it more. and that does it for this edition of andrea mitch lell reports. andrea will be back tomorrow. and before we go, i'm so honored to announce that i will be co-hosting the democratic debate in georgia alongside andrea

mitchel, rachel maddow and ashley parker. i could not be more excited or really mondre honored. >> that is a power group of women. congratulations. >> i'm going to start prepping right now. >> hugh about kelly oow about k? >> so well deserved. i'll be there cheering her on. >> time-out. it is not just a powerful group of women, it is an extraordinary group of top notch journalists who are going to be leading the debate. kristen welker, i won't even say i'm happy for you, i'm happy for us, we're fortunate that we will be watching that debate, it is going to be fantastic. look at that, ashley