a second report by mcclatchey says that investigation is not probing the issue of first impression was interference in the election and potential collusion and attempts to cover up that possibility and if that's the case, then things like statements by the president like firing james comey took the pressure off could put him in trouble as well as others. >> these were notes by senior administration officials who were present at the meeting? >> yes, every time you have a president meeting with foreign leaders, there are people whose job it is to document what happened at the meeting. those notes get passed around the u.s. government so people know what happened in the meeting. those notes, which the white house does not dispute, they're not disputing the accuracy of the notes. the president in the oval office called the head of the fbi, called him a nut job and said the pressure is now off regarding russia in the wake of that firing. >> i mean, it's staggering that he would say that knowing these notes are taken by all these people and circulated amongst the government. it seems like a

meanwhile, mcclatchey citing a member of congress briefed today by deputy attorney general rob rosenstein is reporting that investigators into russian interference in the election are now also probing whether white house officials have engaged in a cover-up. one note of caution, one house democrat who is in today's briefing told nbc news he or she did not come to the same conclusion. but here's democratic senator chris van hollen on what rosenstein said when he briefed the senate yesterday. >> he was very clear in his comments that a criminal investigation was part of this and part of the purview of the special counsel. >> did he use the words looking into a cover-up? >> i'm not sure if he used the word cover-up, but the word obstruction of justice was used and that amounts to the same thing. >> democrat elijah cummings in today's briefing on the house side had a message for reporters afterward. >> if there is any moment that the press in our country's history has a major role, it is this moment. this is your moment. you have got to put it out there so people can understand what is going

but listen, we just had these two stories break from "the new york times," and mcclatchey who knows what is going to happen. and you flash back maybe two weeks ago when they got that vote out of the house on the health care bill. that probably was the best week of trump's presidency, and now this is probably the worst week of his presidency with the naming of this special counsel that is going to essentially have a dragnet and can poke into all sorts of things in terms of this administration and this president. and that is worrisome for a white house staff that has already been so beleaguered these past months. >> and that is part of the president's speech, complaining how badly he has been treated by the media, and here you go, the people who are going to put their lives on the front lines as well. now i want to bring in john dua dean, author of conservatives without conscience, archy cox. are you surprised to see a special counsel, and what does it mean for this investigation? >> i'm not surprised. i was recommending that a special counsel or prosecutor was necessary in order to demons

out of nowhere given the comey thing suddenly you are talking about impeachment, according to the mcclatchey impeachment. >> they are. actually i read about this. it's not principle, it's politics. they are actually focus grouping would impeaching president trump be good or bad for us as a party? they're not saying good or bad for america. ainsley: don't you have to have reason to impeach. >> you would actually think so. i warn democrats remember bill clinton they impeached him they didn't remove him from office. it was bad bad for republicans. brian: fires comey, has differing explanation lings, what happens afterwards gave the momentum for this deputy attorney general to come forward and say, look, i just want to get an special counsel to work this on the side. so the question is, is donald trump, these contradicting these people at some times. in other words, people contradicting him. is it full-time for him to step forward and start being his own counselor. have less press conferences wither sean spicer and sarah huckabee sanders and more with him? >> i think that's a really interesting

mcclatchey is raising the question.ident, flynn reportedly told susan rice to hold off on a plan for u.s. forces to retake isis' capital of raqqa. working nand hand with syrian forces, which turkey opposed. said the plan likely would be executed once trump was in offi. the presidt did eventually approve the raqqa plan but not until weeks after flynn was gone. one of the things reportedly raised alarm bells in the justice department early on, in support of turkey on election day and called for the extradition of a cleric living in pennsylvania. on november 8th, election day he wrote, in part, it is fair to say most americans don't know exactly what to make of our ally, turkey, these days, as it endure ace prolonged political crisis that challenges its long-term stability. we must begin with understanding that turkey is vital to u.s. interests. turkey is really our strongest ally against isis as well as a source of stability in the region. the justice department notified him they were looking into his lobbying work. joe,