i'm not under investigation. >> and kristen welker and peter alexander still with us.u cover the president every day. let's get your immediate take. he says he's not under investigation. he wanted to fire

let's go to peter alexander to reset the story of this past hour. the head of the fbi james comey has been fired. peter, what do we know? >> reporter: let's be very clear about what is going on here now, brian. over the course of the last hour we have learned president trump, his own campaign associates are under counter intelligence investigation by the fbi, has now fired the director of the fbi. that recommendation coming from the attorney general jeff sessions, also his deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, notably jeff sessions who recused himself from this russia investigation has recommended the firing of the man who is now overseeing that investigation at the fbi. this is a startling series of events. this is not politics as usual. this is very bizarre and unusual what we've witnessed over the course of this last 30 minutes or so. we have received a statement from the press secretary sean spicer just a short time ago where basically he says that

now to peter alexander at the white house. this was on the mind of the president this morning. he's had a busy morning on twitter. what can you tell us, spipeter? >> reporter: we have heard from the white house in the way they would frame this in advance of sally yates' testimony is that yates as they described it was politicizing this issue, that's effectively what we heard from the president on twitter. already this morning, we'll put the tweets up for you. he wrote that general flynn was given the highest security clearance by the obama administration, but the fake news as he describes it, seldom likes talking about that. notably, the president, president obama, fired michael flynn who was then rehired under donald trump going forward. separately, donald trump today tweets, ask sally yates under oath if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to the white house council. that's don mccann, and president trump is going after sally yates, attacking her integrity on this issue, even in advance of her testimony today, chris. >> in

nbc's peter alexander. peter, i can't imagine this is the white house's first choice because bob muller is close to comey. he's close to rosenstein at the department of justice. >> yeah. >> he's close to a lot of people on capitol hill. i can't imagine this is the trump white house first choice. publicly they'll say it is. >> reporter: greta, be clear. their first choice was that there would be no special prosecutor. it was just monday that sean spicer said in the daily briefing, and i quote, there's frankly no need for a special prosecutor. he said what existed presently was sufficient, three investigations from both the senate and house intelligence committees and the fbi's investigation as well. he said the addition of any other investigation would effectively be superfluous. he said there was no need to have those additional resources dedicated to this. we've yet to receive a statement from the white house, from the press secretary or frankly a tweet from the president himself. i can tell you that within

nbc's peter alexander is here in manhattan where the president is tonight. hello, peter. >> reporter: lester, good evening. president trump returning to his hometown of new york city for the first time since taking office. earlier today as you noted, at the white house flanked by faith leaders, the president signed an executive order allowing religious leaders more political speech and allowing federal agencies to drop obamacare's mandate that religious groups provide contraceptive coverage in the health insurance plans. president trump announcing the first foreign trip with stops in saudi arabia, israel and a trip to the vatican where he will meet with the pope. critical of his proposed border wall, back here at the museum on the island of manhattan, this is a decommissioned aircraft carrier and the president is being greeted by loud crowds of protesters here. the president scheduled to have the first face-to-face visit with the prime minister of australia, one of the best allies who mr. trump criticized during a testy phone call earlier this year. lester. >

jeff goldberg, peter alexander, kristen welker. and here in israel, as we've been saying the president is trying to isolate iran. that goes over very well with president netanyahu and the leaders just a few moments ago alongside prime minister netanyahu, the prime minister and the president were talking about iran. >> very grateful to the united states because iran negotiated a fantastic deal with the previous administration. instead of being thankful and saying thank you because they were in serious trouble, i think they would have failed. totally failed. within six months. we gave them a lifeline and we not only gave them a lifeline, we gave them wealth and prosperity. no matter what area we're in, we see yemen, iraq, no matter where we are, we see the signs, every sign whether it's it's soldiers, whether it's money and guns, it's -- and instead of saying thank you to the united states, they now feel emboldened. >> and michael is deputy prime minister in the office and former israeli ambassador to the united states. great to see

peter alexander is in the east room. peter, we're starting to see those first two rows of reserved seats fill up. >> reporter: yeah, brian, that's exactly right. jared kushner, reince priebus, h.r. mcmaster. their names are on those seats in the front rows. they'll be arriving here momentarily. what's striking about this moment, for a white house that's been lurching from one crisis to the other over the course of the last ten days in may as we've been reporting, this is the first opportunity for the president to be forced to answer questions about some of them, if not all of them. of course, he'd like the focus to be on some other things like the foreign trip that he departs on tomorrow, but still, so many outstanding questions about michael flynn, about the sharing of highly classified information in the oval office with top russian officials, about that memo from james comey, and most recently, about the appointment of a special counsel that the president, himself, told our colleague savannah guthrie and others who wer

national correspondent peter alexander has details. >> reporter: tonight, nbc news has learned that presidentbama delivered the personal warning to president-elect trump, just minutes before this giant oval office appearance and less than 48 hours after the election. >> we now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed. >> reporter: at the time flynn was already a key adviser to mr. trump. and the obama administration had fired him from his post as head of the defense intelligence agency in 2014. today, the white house suggesting that back story prompted president obama's advice, which mr. trump essentially dismissed. >> it's true that the president made it -- president obama made it known that he wasn't exactly a fan of general flynn's. which is frankly -- shouldn't come as a surprise. >> reporter: but president obama's unusual move was at least one of two warnings the white house received about flynn, the incoming national security adviser. the other from former acting attorney general sally yates. an obama administration holdover today revealing what she told the white h

let me quickly bring in peter alexand alexander. everyone waiting for this presidential departure, and whether or not there will be a decision in the next hour or so before he leaves town. >> it was a good question. it would have to happen soon. it is scheduled for just shy of 2:00. it is possible it could still happen where the focus is for this white house, this is an ambitious trip. five days, nine stops, a ton at stake. a region where there are all sorts of diplomatic hurdles they'll have to cross. the president is opening to deliver a message that they will come together in unity to defeat isis. an official told me their goal was stopping in saudi arabia and the vatican as they visit the central locations for three of the world's great religions to put aside as described to me, their petty differences for peace and prosperity. but this president is shadowed by his tough rhetoric of islam, calling for a muslim ban will proceed him. israel is an ally that is anxious. they had two top senior officials from russia. so much at steak

we want to get right to peter alexander with details and what all this means and reaction from kushner's attorney. peter, what can you tell us? >> reporter: good evening to you, now. to punctuate that point. multiple u.s. officials tell nbc news tonight, jared kushner, one of his closest advisers has come under scrutiny in the russia investigation. federal investigators believe that kushner has significant information related to their inquiry, but it does not mean that they suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him. the fbi scrutiny of kushner also means its counter intelligence and criminal investigation goes not just to the white house, but to the trump family circle. kushner is in a different category than paul manafort and michael flynn who are considered subjects of the investigation. records of manafort and flynn have been demanded by grand jury subpoe subpoenas. mr. curber in has already volunteered to show with congress what he knows and he will do the same if he's contacted in connection with any other inquiry. lester? >> peter alexander with that developing news. thank you

let's start with nbc's peter alexander. good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening. donald trump and his advisers tonight are forming a new crisis management team considering bringing back former campaign advisors to aggressively push back on the russian investigation. one that the president himself has called a hoax. all coming amid growing revelations that lead directly into the president's inner circle. the white house tonight struggling to fend off questions about son-in-law jared kushner's connections with russia during the transition after a wave of headlines that aides concede blind-sided west wing staff. >> i'm not going to get into -- but your question presupposes facts that have been not been confirmed. >> reporter: press secretary sean spicer did not deny a report that during kushner's meeting at trump tower with michael flynn and russian ambassador sergey kislyak, setting up secret back channel communications with moscow using russian diplomatic famts for the talks. >> i think that assumes a lot. i would just say that mr. kushner's attorney said mr. kushn

>> peter alexander in the white house tonight, thank you. >>> details of a series of attacks by a student wielding a knife at the university of texas. at least one student was stabbed to death and three others injured. the suspect a junior at the university was taken down by police and officials say there is no ongoing threat on that sprawling campus but there is obviously deep concern and anxiety as police try to determine a motive. nbc's kerry sanders with the latest tonight. >> reporter: at the university of texas today, a suspect in custody. >> three total patients, two are being transported, one dos. >> reporter: one student killed, another stabbed. police say two others also assaulted by the suspect. >> i saw him stab the guy, and realized this was a real attack happening, and i just turned around and ran. >> reporter: one by stander posted this after police arrested with the suspect. tonight they have kendricks jay white in custody. he's a 21-year-old student who also attends u.t. what investigators cannot say is why he allegedly attacked. >> the individual calmly walked around the

>> peter alexander, thank you. >>> and now to the other major headline we mentioned. late word that the investigation into russia's election meddling has now reached inside the west wing to look at a current white house official as a person of interest, though the name is not made public. we get more from nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: government sources familiar say the activities of a current white house official whose name was not revealed are now under investigation as the effort to examine russia's meddling in the presidential campaign reaches a new stage, news first reported by "the washington post". >> that's important because there is talk of former trump associates or advisers, but now we're told the investigation actually reaches into the white house. >> reporter: officials disclosed that subpoenas that have been issued for former national security adviser michael flynn, and one time trump campaign chairman paul manafort, looking into their financial activities and possible ties to russia. this is the first time as far as publicly

nbc's peter alexander has details. >> reporter: despite his short tenure as national security adviser, michael flynn still casting a long shadow over the trump white house. "the new york times" reporting flynn informed the chief lawyer don mcgahn weeks before he was under federal investigation for secretly working for a paid lobbyist for turkey during the campaign. the white house says the story is flat wrong. despite the warning, mr. trump named flynn to name the national security team granting him access to the deepest secrets before firing him three weeks later. sharing the transition team, vice president elect mike pence who to this day maintains he was unaware of flynn's ties to turkey. >> let me say, hearing that story today was the first i heard of it. >> reporter: tonight an administration said saying if he knew and didn't tell pence, it's malpractice or intentional and either is unacceptable. and within trump's inner circle, an official says the trump family had a blind spot when it came to flynn, who was rewarded for his loyalty to the president. four law enforcement officia

nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has more. >> reporter: with multiple investigations rampingp, former cia director john brennan testifying before a congressional committee. >> i felt as though the fbi investigation was certainly well-founded. >> reporter: for the first time publicly acknowledging his concerns that trump campaign associates wittingly or unwittingly were cooperating with russian operatives. >> i encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between russian officials and u.s. persons involved in the trump campaign. >> reporter: still, brennan, who left the cia in january, says he never saw proof of collusion. the white house pouncing in a statement arguing, despite a year of investigation there's still no evidence of any collusion. brennan tonight also detailing how he personally warned the head of russia's intelligence agency last year about how its, quote, brazen interference would backfire. >> i said american voters would be outraged by any russian attempt to interfere in the election. >> reporter: separately

for more details, we'll go to peter alexander. good evening. >> lester, good evening. that estimating the plan republicans passed to replace obamacare would leave 14 million more americans uninsured next year, over the next ten years that number as you noted, grows to 23 million. premiums would jump about 20% next year before dropping a couple years from now when states can approve less comprehensive coverage. for people with preexisting conditions, that could raise cost significantly and what you pay out-of-pocket would go up for things like maternity care and mental health benefits if your insurance no longer covers them. republicans are touting $119 billion over the next decade but obamacare remains the law of the land, the future of health care reform is in the hands of the senate. they are working on their own replacement plan. lester? >> peter alexander from the white house, thank you. >>> now to the president and the pope. president trump continuing his overseas tour with a stop at the vatican for a meeting with pope francis. a closely watched encounter, as you

nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: the white house struggling to fend off questions about son-in-law jared kushner's contacts with russia during the transition after a wave of headlines that blind-sided west wing staff. >> i'm not going to get into it but your question presupposes facts not confirmed. >> reporter: sean spicer did not deny "washington post" report that during kushner's meeting in december with michael flynn and russian ambassador kislyak, the 36-year-old proposed back channel communications with russia using facilities for the talks. >> i think that it assumes a lot. i would say mr. kushner's attorney said that mr. kushner volunteered to share what he knows. >> it's not inappropriate for transition officials to begin to speak with foreign counterparts. what is unusual is for there to be the preparation for a back channel outside the bounds of u.s. intelligence or diplomatic channels. >> reporter: also under scrutiny whether kushner was looking for a direct line to vladimir putin as reported by "the new york times." the search that connected him with sergei gorokhov, a

we'd like to see his documents. >> that was nbc's peter alexander. in new jersey new york liberty airport is up and running again after an airplane fire forced a temporary shutdown. passengers were evacuated from san francisco-bound united flight when flames were seen coming from one of the engines. the crew deployed emergency slides and everyone got out. five people suffered minor injuries. the fire shut down the entire airport for about two hours. passengers were told to expect delays for the remainder of the night. the faa is investigating the incident. >>> a severe weather watch continues as storms slam parts of texas. you can see here fast moving winds and hail to austin. now more severe weather is expected in the southeast. nbc meteorologist bill karins is tracking it all. >> good morning to you. today one of those we have to watch for the potential of isolated tornados. yesterday we had 11 tornado reports most in the southeast. that first batch is gone. here comes round two now moving through areas of mississippi. this is going to head through

here is national correspondent peter alexander with what happens next. >> reporter: tonight, it's the republican health care plan going under the knife. >> you'll have better health care at a lower cost. and now i'm calling on the senate to take action. >> reporter: but the house helped bill faces an even tougher slog in the senate where republicans can only afford to lose two votes. >> the senate will write its own bill. my goals will be to rescue the people who are likely not to be able to buy insurance next year. >> reporter: among the flash points, whether to end the expansion of medicaid that could cost consumers their coverage and funding for planned parenthood. heading home for a week-long break, house members are likely to face backlash for their votes. >> shame! >> reporter: punctuated by the rose garden celebration. >> it's kind of like george bush going up on top of the aircraft carrier and saying mission accomplished. >> the idea of high-fiving and spiking the ball into the end zone i think is dangerous. >> reporter: republicans now facing the same line of attack they once

. >> let me go to peter alexander at the white house.white house is in communications crises mode, i guess you could say that if the day ends in "y" this only adds to it. we have the statement they gave to the "new york times." any other additional color they can offer here? do they have any way of backing up the president's story beyond this statement? >> reporter: chuck, the bottom line is at this point literally you can set your watch by a new crises in effect coming at this white house. now we have this latest one. i should tell you a source close to comey, we are being told a former federal law enforcement official is confirming the existence of this memo including a quote that's a little different than we heard from the "new york times." it says, i hope you can see your way to letting this go, to letting flynn go. it's been confirmed by nbc news, and i was upstairs speaking to individuals there as they were huddling near sean spicer's office, tells us that the acting fbi director said that there was no effort to impede the russia i

nbc's peter alexander has late details. >> reporter: tonight, ou ousted national security advisor michael flynn facing fire according to this letter. flynn appears to have lied to security clearance investigators and telling them he was paid by u.s. companies when he attended this 2015 gala with vladimir putin. in fact, the moscow trip was financed by russian state media. flynn now planning to plead the fifth invoking his right against self-incrimination after a senate subpoena for person l documents. a source close to flynn telling nbc news, it would be highly highly inprudent to compile. >> i don't believe someone this high up in the food chain will be granted immunity at this point in time. >> reporter: president trump during the campaign mosted those who refused to testify. >> you see, if you're innocent why are you taking the fifth amendment. >> reporter: on capitol hill tonight, vice president mike pence lasered in on the plan. calling for sweeping cuts to entitlement programs, medicaid $800 billion slashed over the neck decade and $190 billion from the food program called snap that

peter alexander, thanks. >>> in maryland tonight, the fbi is called in to assist in the investigation with a black student stabbed to death, a white student charged with his murder. a seemingly random act of violence. investigators are trying to determine if it was a hate crime and whether it was the most violent episode of race related incidents on college campuses. here is nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: at the university of maryland, anguish and outrage at the stabbing death of 23-year-old richard collins, set to graduate tomorrow from nearby buoy state university and commissioned just last thursday as an army second lieutenant. his father spoke exclusively to nbc news. >> a parents' worst nightmare just reached my doorstep. >> reporter: police say collins was waiting for an uber ride with two friends when a stranger, 22-year-old student sean urbanski screamed at colins to move then allegedly stabbed him in the chest. urbanski's attorney says alcohol and drug abuse may have played a role. a visibly upset university president paying tribute to collins during graduation. >> who lost

flynn kept his job nearly three more weeks. >> that was peter alexander. eight penn state fraternity brothers place arraignment over had a blood alcohol level of .4 when he fell down a staircase. the fraternity brothers witnessed it happen. >> gathered around timothy where he -- some of them described that he looked dead. some of them bugled things what to do with a head injury. >> no one called 911 until the next morning, 12 hours later. >> is there alcohol or anything involved? >> yes there. >> on the night of the event recruits were required to drink alcohol at stations as part of a contest known as the gauntlet according to the prosecutor. he died several days later in the hospital. 18 students face criminal charges, the other ten were arraigned friday. some accused of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. that's a first degree felony which carries a maximum prison term of 10 to 20 years. reportedly meeting with u.s. experts in the capital of oslo amid speculation that washington is seeking dialogue with pyongyang. janice joins us from seoul

>> peter alexander, thank you. >>> with russia roaring back into the headlines the white house round rather talk about the victory in the house in health care, but there's talk about pre-existing conditions and cuts to medicaid. kristen welker has more. >> reporter: the senate showdown is shifting into full gear. a group of 13 republicans starting from scratch. >> well, we have to satisfy 51 senators and i can't tell you how long that will take. >> reporter: the stakes couldn't be higher. with ads already airing targeting 24 house republicans who voted for the bill. tonight new scrutiny on some of the most controversial measures including pre-existing conditions. >> we think it will be more affordable as a matter of fact. >> reporter: the reality -- those with pre-existing conditions who don't maintain continuous coverage could pay more with states allowed to opt out of covering them. although the bill does provide an additional $8 billion over five years to lower some costs. then, there's this claim. no one will be hurt by the decision to cut $800 billion from medicaid. >> the medic

we want to get to peter alexander with details and what this means and reaction from kushner's aattorney. peter, what can you tell us? >> reporter: multiple officials tell nbc news tonight, jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, one of his closest advisors has come under scrutiny. federal investigators believe he has significant information but does not mean they suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him. the fbi means it goes not to the white house but to the trump family circle. officials say he's in a different category than trump aids, m manafort and flynn. records of both men have been demanded by grand jury subpoenas as we reported and tonight kushner's lawyer says mr. kushner volunteered to share what he knows in connection with any other inquiry, lester? >> peter alexander with that developing news from the white house tonight. thank you. >>> now to the violent turn last night at a very closely watched race for an open congressional seat in month mon montana. the hard-fought contest turned to blows when the republican candidate allegedly body slammed a reporter trying to

those are the decisions he has to make. >> peter alexander, you had exclusive reporting out of the white house on michael flynn and what we call the blind spot. tell me how he could have been hired by this white house after notifying them he was already under fbi investigation. >> so the bottom line is you refer to that language. a course familiar with the conversation that took place two days after president trump run where he went into a room, the source tells me that flynn said he wanted to be the national security advisor. he said he wanted the national security advisor role, and that he would accept a defense job or secretary of state, and as this individual tells me, basically it was communicated to him that would be fine because he would be rewarded for the loyalty of president elect trump. th trump familyad a "blind ot" when it came to mike flynn. this is important because it raises new questions, as you know, about the vetting of flynn. the "new york times" reporting that flynn, himself, communicated in the transition time to the transition team, specifically to the head transit

we want to get to peter alexander with details and what this means and reaction from kushner's attorney. peter, what can you tell us? >> reporter: lester good evening. to punctuate that point, multiple officials tell nbc news tonight, jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, one of his closest advisors has come under scrutiny. federal investigators believe he has significant the inquiry but does not mean they suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him. the fbi means it goes not to the white house but to the trump family circle. officials say he's in a different category than trump aids, manafort and flynn. records of both men have been demanded by grand jury subpoenas as we reported and tonight kushner's lawyer tells nbc news mr. kushner volunteered to share what he knows in and will do the same if contacted with any inquiry in connection with any other inquiry, lester? inquiry in connection with any other inquiry, lester? inquiry in connection with any other inquiry, lester? inquiry in connection with any other inquiry, lester?inquiry n connection with any other inquiry, lester?

more on both stories now starting with national correspondent peter alexander. >> reporter: during that oval office meeting with senior russian officials last week, president trump ripping into the fbi director he just fired calling james comey crazy, a real nut job read a document summarizing the meeting explaining the firing mr. trump said, i faced great pressure because of russia. that's taken off. adding i'm not under investigation. the report less than an hour after the president boarded air force one creating new domestic turbulence. the conversation reinforcing suspicions mr. trump's decision to fire comey was based on the fbi's collusion between the trump campaign and russia, a point the president hinted at with lester last week. >> when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story. >> reporter: the white house tonight not disputing "the times" account. press secretary sean spicer arguing by grand standing and politicizing it comey created pressure on our ability to engage and negotiate with russia. mr. t

peter alexander has more. >> reporter: president trump venting arguing the government needs a good shutdown to fix washington's mess. the president upset at the perception democrats got the better end of a budget compromise that avoids a government shutdown. >> after years of partisan bickering, and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the american people. >> reporter: mr. trump trying to recover a political victory from the spending agreement. >> we didn't do touting like the democrats did. >> reporter: taking heat suggesting the solution is a shutdown. >> how does the president define a good shutdown? >> if you want to imagine what a good shutdown was, one that fixes this town. >> in the last 800,000 federal employees were furloughed, 1.3 million required to work without knowing when they would get paid so. is that a good shutdown that fixes washington? >> back to your point every one of those folks got paid. >> reporter: house republicans appear on the verge of another failure for the health care plan, with more republicans defecting. missouri congressman billy long backs trump but not

peter alexander has more. >> reporter: president trump today venting his frustration on twitter arguing the government needs a good shutdown in september to fix washington's mess, the president clearly upset at the perception democrats got the better end of a budget compromise that avoids the shutdown. >> after years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the american people. >> reporter: mr. trump tried to recover a political victory from that spending agreement. >> and we didn't do any touting like the democrats did, by the way. >> reporter: taking heat for suggesting the solution is a shutdown. >> how does the president define a good shutdown? >> if you wanted to imagine what a good shutdown was, it would be one that fixes this town. >> in the last shutdown, 800,000 employees were indefinitely furloughed and over 100 million not paid. is that your idea -- >> to go back to your point, every one of those folks got paid. >> reporter: with conservative critics also attacking the deal, the white house deploying two top cabinet officials to boast about presidentia

everybody does. >> thabz's peter alexander reporting. >> a nonprofit group with ties to house speaker paul ryan has launched a $2 million ad campaign to thank lawmakers who voted for the health care bill. let's bring in jonathan allen, coauthor of the new book shattered inside hillary clinton's doomed campaign. also joining me, kevin robilard, reporter for politico who covers races. thanks for joining me this morning. >> good morning. >> you have a list of about seven lawmakers whose jobs might be in jeopardy as a result of voting in favor of the health care bill. is it too early to tell yet? >> it is a little too early to say specific members of congress are going down, but the number of lawmakers this puts in danger are far greater than 20. there are 23 lawmakers sitting in districts where hillary clinton won. pretty much all those lawmakers were already in danger and most of them voted for this bill, which is probably going to the add to the danger they're facing. >> so, kevin, who sticks out as the most vulnerable here? >> so you look at someone like carlos carbello in florida.. h

but now, joining me for a conversation about all of this is nbc national correspondent peter alexander at the white house. and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams in our washington bureau. peter, i want to start with you at the white house. obviously, we were tracking the developments, the interviews over the weekends for the next fbi director. where do things stand? >> the bottom line is we know there have been eight individuals interviewed. those taking place on saturday. no word of any follow-up interviews since. the president was not involved in that initial process being headed up by the attorney general jeff sessions who is actually there at today's event alongside the president and deputy attorney general rod rosen stein. what's notable. >> i'm going to interrupt you. we'll go to president trump at the memorial. >> what a beautiful introduction. thank you, chuck. that was so nice. that was above and beyond. that's the way i'm going to be with you, too. and it's a great honor. thank you very much. it's a great honor to address america's heroes on this most solemn occasio

i want to go to peter alexander live at the white house. peter, last night, it seemed that president trump welcomed the investigation. he said it would prove there was no collusion. it was sort of a well-crafted released statement that you wondered, did president trump write that because today, he's back to his favorite medium, the twitter. >> you're exactly right. whether or not he was welcoming the announcement of a special counsel, he certainly was measured in his response. he found out about it, this appointment of a special counsel robert mueller at 5:30 yesterday, 30 minutes head's up is all the white house got, where he and some aides at the white house gathered and put out the statement saying they hope this would quickly be concluded with the resolution they were confident of, no collusion between the trump campaign and russian operative. 14 hours after he learned that news, a pair of tweets, one that reads, with all the illegal acts that took place in the clinton campaign and obama administration there was never a special counsel a

here is peter alexander with more. >> fired national security security adviser michael flynn expected to related to the russia information. that is according to a source close to flynn. the inquiry is expanding. >> as president trump's son-in-law remains silent white house officials are not denying reports to set up back channel communications with top russian officials in the weeks before president trump took office. >> you're asking if he approved of an action that is not a confirmed action. that being said in general terms back channels are an appropriate part of diplomacy. >> repeatedly saying the president is frustrated but not offering any explain nation for why backchannel communications would have been necessary. >> he involved tiered to share what he knows about the meeting. >> he said share with a close associate of putin. also under scrutiny, where he was looking for a direct line to putin. mr. trump reaffirming tweeting russian officials must be laughing at the u.s. and how a lame excuse has taken over the fake news. a student in a new interview calling the allegations fic

joining me from the white house, nbc's peter alexander. from italy, nbc's kelly o'donnell traveling with the president. from "the new york times" d.c. newsroom, white house correspondent and msnbc political analyst, glenn thrush. we may still be wrangling him. and white house -- and the "wall street journal's" white house reporter eli stokols. e eli, i want to start with a tweet you sent out last night that caught my attention at dinner and bath time for the 5-year-old. i had to stop and read in after i read you tweet this. "just got this text from a gop nat security official, quote, had to apologize to a european defense attache just now. i'm sorry, he's an idiot." please explain. >> there was a lot of -- it's hard to really explain the level of consternation that spread yesterday after the president's speech before the 9/11 memorial and alternate toe l the nato al omitted any comment about whether or not the united states and this new administration stands behind article 5, the central pillar of the nato alliance that an attack on one is

. >> peter alexander at the white house, fill us in on what's going on around jared kushner and what it means for the investigation. because it's very important to delineate the difference between jared himself being investigated or they're just having more questions. because it's to be expected jared would know a lot. he's been standing next to the president for the last 18 month as he's the guy that was close to michael flynn. jared met with the head of the russian ambassador with flynn in tow at trump tower during the transition. >> reporter: what we do know is multiple u.s. officials are telling nbc news that investigators believe that jared kushner has significant information relative to their inquiry. he's under fbi scrutiny right now. it does not mea tha think suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him. why it's significant is this investigation is now reaching right next to the president. kushner is the only kurnt white house official that we know to be under scrutiny. the officials say his situation is different from the situation that former trump aides paul manafort an

nbc's peter alexander is at the white house. peter, i know you are standing by waiting for that briefing to begin. what do we expect sean spicer to address? >> well, we think among topics addressed today is the issue of michael flynn following the former acting attorney general sally yates after testimony before the subcommittee yesterday. what's notable is 18 days passed between the warning from sally yates to the whi hse council and president actually firing his national security advisor. yesterdabefore the testimony began, sean spicer, press secretary here said simply he was not going to relitigate that issue, one he addressed many weeks ago. now with new information from the former department of justice official we'll certainly be peppering him with more questions about that. also, more importantly, this white house considering the addition of as many as $3,000 american troops heading to the middle east. the question is what is the threat to national security's threat at stake there in afghanistan. general mattis says isis ha