joining me now, julia manchester, congressional reporter for the hill. great to have you all here. molly, i want to hear from you. how unexpected was jeff flake's moment? does this all stem from the elevator moment or had this been sort of percolateling before then? >> keep in mind there were four republicans on the fence essentially until yesterday after the hearing. jeff flake, bob corker, lisa more cow skirks and susan collins. i haven't seen them being so vocal until this issue. even with the daca debate, there were a lot of protesters but not quite in your face as the anti-kavanaugh folks. number two, jeff flake is ons he way out. he's retiring and not seeking re-election. he did have concerns about this nomination moving forward, and after thursday's hearing he was one of the first to call -- to hear from dr. ford when the allegations came public. after that hearing listening to both dr. ford and to brett kavanaugh, he said, i came away with as many questions as not. so what was more surprising was hearing friday morning when it was announced he was going to vote for the conf

there's no campaign violation whatsoever. >> let's bring back julia manchester. this, the reaction to what the president is saying? stoo t st >> the stakes are higher because of michael cohen's admission implicating him in court last week, so with that admission comes the stakes of impeachment being raised higher if democrats are able to take back the house. there's a political element as well but on the legal side i would say the president is really trying to watch his back at this point because of so many different answers that have been given by him and his lawyers over this payment over the past few months. so i think the president, the stakes are higher and he's definitely trying to be helpful. >> certainly avenatti is a master of this drip, drip, what do you make of this vogue reporting? >> very funny line from stormy daniels when she's asked about the exact encounter and she says what can i say about two minutes. >> oh, my. >> but the more this story is is talked about the weaker trump looks and it's not just a public perception. it's the legal problems co

joining me now is jonathan allen, national political reporter for nbc news.com and julia manchester, or the hill. julia, let me go to you first. it's been not such a great week for the president. his former campaign chair paul manafort pleading guilty and saying basically i will cooperate with the mueller investigators. we see michael cohen, according to "vanity fair" saying that he is talking to the mueller investigators. i have met with him twice since his break with president trump. he never told me that, but "vanity fair" is now saying he is making that move. what do you make of this in terms of the real threats to the president or it's just this a lot of smoke and we still don't see fire? >> we'll really have to see how this all plays out, but you're right. not a good week at all for the president with all these developments. we have to remember that although the president and the white house and the trump campaign say that these charges against manafort have absolutely nothing to do with the trump campaign or when he was working on the trump campaign, manafort was still really t

. >> bring in julia manchester, and jonathan allen, political reporter for nbc news digital. how do you see the aspect of things play out? i'll let you go first, julia. >> so it is interesting. this letter was dated july 30th, obviously republicans have pushed back saying feinstein revealed this right before the confirmation vote, saying it was politically motivated. they're circulating the letter signed by 65 women supporting kavanaugh. democrats have also pushed back on when feinstein released the letter saying she should have released it sooner. this comes into the me too era at this point. i think this could play publicly negative for kavanaugh and republicans. however, chuck grassly digging in his heals saying the confirmation vote will go as planned. we have to look at how republicans lisa murkowski, susan collins feel. they haven't spoken out yet. >> to julia's point, publicly negative, maybe a distaste in your mouth as you hear about this. does this change the confirmation hearing outcome in the process? >> i'm sorry, alex, can you repeat that? >> in general, do you th

. >> julia manchester, sean sullivan. stick around. we're going to talk about the confirmation hearings. >>> why a former attorney is demanding his money back from porn star stormy daniels. the latest in their legal battle is head. >>> don't miss omarosa manigault new man discuss the turmoil with my colleague alex witt. that's today at 1:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. ♪ heartburn and gas? ♪ now fight both fast new tums chewy bites with gas relief all in one relief of heartburn and gas ♪ ♪ tum tum tum tums new tums chewy bites with gas relief but let's be honest, nobody likes dealing with insurance. which is why esurance hired me, dennis quaid, as their spokesperson because apparently, i'm highly likable. see, they know it's confusing. i literally have no idea what i'm getting, dennis quaid. that's why they're making it simple, man in cafe. and more affordable. thank you, dennis quaid. you're welcome. that's a prop apple. i'd tell you more, but i only have 30 seconds. so here's a dramatic shot of their tagline so you'll remember i