." ♪ >>> welcome to "kasie dc." i'm kasie hunt.e're live every sunday from washington from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. eastern. tonight, the woman behind the accusations about brett kavanaugh comes forward. the reporter who broke the story joins me live on set. >>> and i have new reporting on whether it could derail his confirmation. >>> plus, after fighting tooth and nail, paul manafort strikes a deal. joined by senator angus king whose committee is still investigating russia's interference in our elections. >>> and florence's rain and winds may have moved on but it's left the carolina coast submerged. >>> and pat mccrory joins me to talk about why the recovery will be extremely difficult. >>> we had been telling you brett kavanaugh's confirmation was a sure thing but news tonight that could make a difference. doug jones says we should hold off and wait but most critically breaking tonight, republican jeff flake tells politico he's not comfortable voting yes until his committee hears more from christine ford. because it's a party line vote,

[music playing] ♪ ♪ >>> welcome to kasie d.c.have breaking news tonight surrounding supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. the "new yorker" has published a piece claiming new sexual misconduct allegations against him during his college days at yale. the woman at the center of the story, deborah ramirez, is 53, and went to school with kavanaugh, her claims date back to the 1983-84 academic year when kavanaugh was a freshman at yale. a at least four senate democrats have received information about the allegations and at least two have started to investigate in a statement kavanaugh wrote to the "new yorker," quote, this alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. the people who knew me then know that this do not happen and have said so, this is a smear, plain and simple. i look forward to testifying thursday about the truth and defending my good name. the white house issued a statement in response to the allegations in the "new yorker." they say quote this 35-year-old uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear ca

>> sure, kasie.his, as well, several days ago and that this woman went to college. she went to under grad with kavanaugh at yale university and it was an assault from what we know and what the new yorker is reporting but it's an improper sexual misconduct that he exposed himself. we reached out to the woman, debra ramirez this weekend and she pointed us to her attorney. her attorney has not responded yet, but she did immediately respond and point us to that. so could this put another cloud on brett kavanaugh? this is happening on the eve of his confirmation hearing or the reopening of his confconfirmati. this hearing is supposed to take place on thursday. this will be more fuel for critics and democrats that have problems for kavanaugh and his nomination. >> leeann, while i want to give our viewers a little bit more context on exactly what is being alleged here since i got the story sitting in front of me and i hope you're on your way to our burro. she talks about how she was at a party where they we

. ♪ ♪ >>> welcome to "kasie d.c." i'm kasie hunt.ight we're going to go deep on what's driving the november elections as democrats look hungrily to putting a halt to the president's agenda. in some cases look ahead to impeachment. the impending departure of white house counsel don mcgahn means for president trump, along with reporting about just how ill prepared the white house is for looming legal battles if the house flips. want to welcome my panel for tonight. "the new york times" political reporter ken vogel. msnbc political analyst and white house bureau chief for the washington post philip rucker. kwheef political correspondent for politico magazine tim alberta. and washington bureau chief for vice news, shawna thomas. i want to start with a piece that phil co-wrote this week in the washington post. quote, president trump's advisors and allies are increasingly worried that he has neither the staff nor the strategy to protect himself from a possible democratic take over of the house. which would empower the opposition party to s

kasie? >> sam stein to that point.hat are the political consequences for, in the face of these additional allegations? settle are definitely going to be republican who is say push forward, regardless. >> it's funny, not funny, nothing is very funny about this. about a week ago when the first allegation surfaced with dr. ford, who you know, the question i want to know is why not just scrap the nomination and start over with someone who didn't have the baggage, try to plow through before the election. if not, just do it in the mid-term, it seemed like such a simpler, easier lift. why go through this whole process and risk the embarrassment? in talking to people in the white house and on the hill, there's two reasons basically. one was that it was incredibly off-brand for donald trump to back down from a political fight, right? >> especially one of this nature. >> he couldn't stomach the possibility that he would back down from something like this. and the second one was the thing that holds the party together from the tr

get started for free at ancestry.com ♪ >>> welcome to "kasie d.c." i'm kasie hunt.e're live every sunday from washington from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. eastern. washington and the white house go nuts over an anonymous op-ed. we'll talk about whether the president's hunt is really all about the thrill of the chase. >>> plus, disorder over the court. democrats grandstand. republicans play games over papers. is brett kavanaugh qualified or not? the third branch of the government politicized like rarely before. >>> later, two presidents, two americas. we'll talk about how the return of president obama to the political stage perfectly captures this moment in history. >>> tonight, a piece of writing that is deeply consequential or completelyirrelevant. either an act of bravery or cowardice. more than two dozen trump administration officials have disavowed the anonymous op-ed. it's possible we haven't seen sun sinchronity. nickly hailey took an extra step signing her name to a piece in "the washington post" headlined, when i challenge the president, i do it directly. and here's th

kasie?er: i hope you're not actually showing me jumping up and down on tv but i was with the control room because we do have some additional breaking news. joe manchin is supporting flake's call for an fbi investigation. why is this important? senator manchin is a democrat, obviously. he has not been the focus of a lot of our reporting in the last week but has emerged as a potential swing vote in the final days leading up to this as it has become something the nation can't look away from. it's increased pressure on him back home in west virginia. he has a really tough race coming up, a deeply trump state, something that a lot of people are paying attention to. he's back in west virginia today listening to his constituents. he says here that he applauds senator flake's decision, and these are manchin's words, rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process t. took courage to stake a stand and call for a one-week investigation to get to the bottom of the allegations agains

kasie hunt has a question for you.as been critical of the tariffs and the way the president has gone about this approach. where do you differ from speaker ryan? >> well, speaker ryan, the only time you hear something from him is when his donors are affected. that's why you're hearing something about this now. i'm for keeping jobs here. that's what we need to do. what donald trump is doing is misusing these tariffs and alienating people that have traditionally been our allies. they're turning their backs on us. when you are looking at trying to renegotiate nafta-type deal without canada, that's absolutely ridiculous. and it makes no sense. we need input from people that are going to be affected, not ignore the people. >> kasie? >> vaughn hillyard, thank you so much. really appreciate it. stay dry. >>> i want to bring in kevin, chief washington correspondent for bloomberg television. kevin, let's just pick up where that conversation left off because, really, the politics of tariffs have just become so scrambled here in w

. >> welcome back to kasie d c. starting the hour to talk about all of this, chief washington reporter for the boston herald, kimberley atkins, jonathan swan, maria cumar, and joining us in new york emily jane fox, a senior reporter at "vanity fair." they're all msnbc contributors. let's just start. the future of brett kavanaugh as a supreme court justice, we thought it was going to be on a glide path. but it appears to be in jeopardy because the woman accusing him of sexual assault has now come forward. and in one case it has a republican senator saying that the confirmation should be put on pause, and that's a key republican senator jeff flake who sits on the committee. he could make that difference. christine ford tells "the washington post" that she wrote the confidential letter to senator diane feinstein alleging kavanaugh assaulted her more than three decades ago when they were in high school. "the post" reports that since wednesday she's watched, drawing a blanket denial from kavanaugh, a roiling nomination t

capitol hill correspondent and host of kasie d.c. joins us with the latest.t's such a mickup of people. murkowski and collins are not on the judiciary committee. jeff flake is. murkowski has said that she supports jeff flake's request for an fbi investigation and a one-week delay. >> reporter: correct. you've got it all right. but let me bring you breaking news from my colleagues inside the capitol seeking out that meeting with mitch mcconnell and senators murkowski and flake. senator cornyn telling us that there will be an fbi background check investigation lasting no more than one week so we're not sure what they know that we don't, if they have been in communication with the president who would have to authorize that, but that is a marked difference from leadership who had previously until this time been saying there was no need to do that, that they were going to push full steam ahead no matter what. this is the result of what we have seen unfold over the course of the past few -- i was going to say past few days. it's actually been hours maybe but over t

kasie? >> andrea, and you have showed some of this in the opening of the show, and today, emotional protests from women who are going from office to office and many members of congress who are not here, and the senate is out of session, and they are going into the front of their offices, and they are telling their own stories, and we obviously get a lot of protesters up here on a lot of topics and always a lot of yelling and chanting, and little bit of that today, but this is kind of markedly emotional, and in of the women here are saying that this is the first time that they have told their stories in public, and that they have talked about it. i spoke to onele woman who said that she hoped that by christine blasey ford doing what she is doing, and anita abraham telling her story in public, younger women will realize that they don't have to do it the way she has done it, and they don't have to be ashamed for 40 years. that is a dynamic piece of how people are unfolding here on the capitol h

♪ >>> welcome to "kasie dc." i'm kasie hunt.e're live every sunday from washington from 7:00 to 9:00 eastern. tonight -- the u.s. senate, am i right? just when you think you can't take it anymore, they reel you back in. amid some of the most toxic comments in recent memory, a last-action bipartisan moment to remember. undecideds get another week of breathing room on one of their most difficult votes. >>> plus, the president instructs the fbi to reopen their investigation of brett kavanaugh. but will it go far enough? >>> and we'll hear from attorney michael avenatti who wants his client, julie swetnick, to be included in the probe. weeks ago, there was hope from republicans that brett kavanaugh would be sitting on the supreme court as its newest justice when the new term begins tomorrow. but today they face a very different reality as the fbi opens a background investigation amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him. the fbi started right away on friday. but as of now, attorneys for dr. christine blasey ford say

let's go to kasie hunt on capitol hill for more on this. kasie? >> reporter: that's right, lester, and it's a strategy that hasn't been used in decades. someone who is not a senator leading the questioning. republicans are now searching for an outside lawyer preferably a woman to lead the questioning of judge kavanaugh and dr. blasey ford this, of course, because all of the republicans on the committee are men and those protest today underscore how treacherous this terrain is for republicans, telling emotional me too stories and so clear dr. ford's allegations have really struck a chord with women across america. lester? >> all right. kasie hunt on the hill for us tonight. thanks. >>> now to that horrific shooting rampage at a rite ate distribution center. police say a woman opened fire on her co-workers. tonight, four people are dead including the shooter and nbc's catie beck has late details from aberdeen, maryland. >> reporter: a morning shift at a working warehouse shattered by gunfire. >> we have the active shooter at perryman road. >> report

kasie hunt is on capitol hill. kasie, what's the word there? >> reporter: lester, tonight nbc news has learned that republicans have hired afternoon outside counsel to question judge kavanaugh and dr. ford. her identity is a secret. they say they're keeping it that way for security reasons. but the concern is that all the republicans on the panel are men and they want to avoid an anita hill like spectacle at this hearing. mitch mcconnell says he wants to press forward, though, with a vote. and the committee has scheduled one for 9:30 on friday. but right now there are three republicans who are undecided, which means mitch mcconnell doesn't have the votes to get kavanaugh confirmed right now. lester? >> kasie hunt on capitol hill, thanks. >>> the president's comments about kavanaugh came after he delivered an address to the u.n. today, defending his america first agenda. but just as he was boasting about his accomplishments, laughter erupted from the audience. we get details from chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter:

let's get to nbc' kasie hunt on capitol hill. kasie, whatre you learning? >> tonight nbc news learned the senate judiciary committee is obing an additional anonymous allegation of physical assault against brett kavanaugh. a charge he tells the commit at the denies. it came in a letter that the woman says involved her own daughter that witnessedud kavanaugh shove a woman up against a wall in a sexual manner whilerunk in 1998. in icpuit's full speed ahead and behind closed doors republicans worry things might beoving too quickly and my sources tell me if e is another allegation, republicans might start voicing doubts and that would be especially true if it were proven that he is not telling lester >> kasie hunt, thank you. >>> hallie jackson pressed the president isdirectly about support for kavanaugh at a news conference just a short time ago.ta a look. >> do you think these women, all three of them are liars? yes orno? >> have they been what? s?>> are they li >> i can't tell you. i have to watch tomorrow. i just heard about one a little while ago. i can tel

nbc's kasie hunt on capitol hill. kasie, as a senate expert, walk us through what was caught on that hot mic, why this matters as the white house changes its position. >> well, ari, i actually want to start with a little bit of breaking news for you. >> sure. >> as you point out, everything has been moving very quickly. we just have a tweet in for leader mcconnell on twitter. he said today with the unanimous support of my conference, the senate will proceed to the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh to serve as an associate justice on the supreme court of the united states. so this is a procedural step. we shouldn't make too big of a deal about it. however, this was the step that had been previously turned into that critical make or break vote that we were going to see on the senate floor on saturday. so what this represents is everybody in the senate, republicans and democrats saying, okay, we've agreed we're going to talk about this guy, but both sides are pretty clear now that they are not actually going to hold a

kasie hunt had to run off to chase somebody. if she gets a scoop we'll bring her back to you. >>> we'll show you that moment. the man at the center of the kavanaugh compromise. jeff flake confronted by protesters before his bombshell call for an fbi investigation. will today's announcement help bring both sides together after yesterday's raw testimony? we'll be right back. . when i found out i had age-related macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. my doctor and i came up with a plan. it includes preservision. only preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. that's why i fight. because it's my vision. preservision. also, in a great-tasting chewable. family and farxiga,re fighting type 2 diabetes with food, the pill that starts with "f". farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower aic in adults with type 2 diabetes, it's one pill a day. and although it's not a weight-loss drug, it may help you lo

>> kasie, great job. >> we are not sure if you can hear. >> we can, kasie, as you want to summarize this, senator flake said it would be disqualify iin if your final question, that if it occurred as she described it. >> that is right, andrea, and i found that to be a little bit of news there, because it is a question that we have received a range of answers to, and there have been some most democrats saying, and some of them are saying it is disqualifying on the face already, but senator doug jones gave us the same answer as jeff flake just did, and he is of course, a swing vote potentially from alabama and a moderate democrat, and he said, look, if these allegations are credible, then it is disqualifying for a nominee for the supreme court, and jeff flake saying the same thing, and leaving the door open to believing this woman, and you know, it does not take, and it only takes two republican senators to have that kind of the change of oheart, or view of the situation to put this confirmation really on ice. andrea? >> kasie hunt with all of the breaking news there at the capital with sen

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kasie hunt is back, as promised. she picks it up from washington right now. >> ali, from washington where it is not raining like it is in wisconsin. thanks to von hilliard. good afternoon and happy labor day. i'm kasie hunt live in washington. supreme battle. president trump's supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh will face grilling from democrats when his confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. why they are demanding the release of more than 100,000 pages of documents from his time under george w. bush. >> plus, trump's trade war. he is poised to make major changes to nafta. why that could have serious economic and political implications. >> and biden's message. the former vice president delivers a labor day message of civility and what he says is at stake for our country as the midterms loom. let's start with what a confirmation win may mean for republicans and democrats. day one of brett kavanaugh's hearings for the supreme court begin tomorrow. republicans are confident in victory. president trump is ready for a wi

. >> kasie, everybody in the white house -- we've said this for a long time, knows this, of course, people in the white house act shocked, shocked, shocked that we would have suggested such a thing for a year and a half. let's take it a step further. everybody on capitol hill knows this. that's the maddening thing. you talk to republicans, only 50 republican senators, by the way, right now. one or two could make a huge difference. you talk to republican senators off the record, they all say the same thing off the record that we're reading in bob woodward's book. so the question is why don't one or two of them say this guy is just not fit?

ram a jama, give 'em hell alabama. >> host of "kasie d.c." on msnbc, kasie hunt.f at "the washington post" and political analyst for msnbc and nbc news, philip rucker and joshua johnson, the host of public radio series 1a distributed nationally by npr. good to have you on. >> mike, you've known bob woodward for a little while. what's your take away on the book? >> take it to the bank. if you edit woodard's stuff, some would say bob is plotting. that's a compliment because he is fully versed in everything he brings to the table, fully sourced out. i mean, take it to the bank. take it to the bank. >> elise, what about you? i know you're from the south. maybe the president will listen to you any way. >> i'm kind of slow, but thank you for still respecting my opinion. according to donald trump. but i was impressed by the call, the transcript of the call that bob woodward had with donald trump, how much information just in that one call where donald trump thought that he could woo bob woodward into shelving a book and started out by praising him and slid huddenly he kn

on msnbc kasie hunt is with us.ry unfolds this week it's important to keep tabs on a number of other big developments. we will speak with "the new york times" reporter who broke the news that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein talked about wearing a wire to record donald trump. michael schmidt has the details right ahead. plus leaders gather in new york city for the u.n. general assembly, with president trump taking part in several events throughout the day. we will bring you the first live right here on "morning joe." meanwhile, the president's personal lawyer, not secretary of state, rudy giuliani, says iran's government will be overthrown. nikki haley reminds everyone that is not u.s. policy. and with six weeks left, joe, it's a 12 point spread, democrats lead republicans by double digits with nearly 60% calling for a significant course correction away from donald trump. we will have all the latest numbers, but the polls are fascinating this morning, joe. >> they are. also we have -- we have "the new yorker"

>> kasie hunt, thank you. >>> at the white house ey were river vettted. >> reporter: president trump right now stands by his man making that very clear in a new tweet writing judge kavanaugh showed damerica why i nominaim saying his testimony was powerful, honest and riveng. the president slamming democrats telling m senators theyt vote. i'm told by sources familiar that the president was particularly pleaswi what he viewed as a strong opening statement by kavanaugh and that came at a critical momen because allies of the president had been aneeling grim after what viewed as compelling testimony from christine blasey ford. president trump wanted to see fire. that's what he got. if key republican senators don't back him, the president's support just doesn't matter. >>> much more ahead including where were you wahing? the nation captivated you wahing? the nation captivated your mornings were made for better things, than psoriatic arthritis. as you and your rheumatologist consider treatments, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once daily pill for psoriatic arthritis. tak

hang in there, kasie. susan, it seems like there's an inconvenient truth here, this professional, this psychologist with a ph.d. has a story to tell and it's her memory that she's counting on and it's clear, it's tragic and it's crystal clear in her mind. how do republicans deal with, how do you believe that it just was made up? who's going to believe it was made up? >> if you want to know how nervous republicans are about this, just consider that you've got 11 republican senators who are voluntarily giving up tv cameras. >> you're right. >> when was the last time that happened? it's happening -- >> that's a great point. >> -- the peril -- >> they're giving their life's blood away. >> the perils are so great. even if they push brett kavanaugh through, the perils have not ended. what if there are more allegations. what if we have a more serious investigation after they succeed in pushing him through? this has both short-term and long-term dangers for the gop. >> i think the phrase, dr. ford, peter, is going

. >> and joining me now also from capitol hill, kasie hunt, our correspondent, and kristen welker, and also ashley parker, reporter from the washington post. and kristen, you were the last to the speak to the president, and you saw the demeanor today and they seem to feel that they have turned a corner somehow, and how do you assess this? >> that is the right way to look at this, andrea. couple of things struck me for the first time and you heard president trump weigh in on whether he believes the accuser of judge kavanaugh and dr. ford and he said that it is very hard for me to imagine anything happen, and that is a striking statement, and he again reaffirmed that he stands behind judge kavanaugh, and when asked if he has any concern about dr. ford and the accuser in this situation, the president said, well, i want to hear from her before i can weigh in on her account. so the president really digging in on this situation despite the fact that you do have dr. ford saying that i want an fbi investigation before i come to capit capitol hill to testify, and the president is giving no indi

let me bring in kasie hunt, senator. asked senator susan collins if she believed susan ford's allegation. here's what senator had to say to you, kasie. >> having the opportunity to observe her, being questioned, read a transcript or a deposition and make that kind of assessment is so important. obviously if judge kavanagh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying. >> well certainly senator orrin hatch of utah was asked a similar question by nbc. here's what hatch said. >> do you think that any of these claims are legitimate? >> no, i don't. i think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up and -- but i can't speak for her. all i can say is, no, i don't. i know the, i know the judge very, very well. i know how honest he is. i know how straightforward he is. i know how he stands up for what he believes and what's right. and frankly if you were going to believe anybody, you'd believe him. >> kasie, you weren't around during that period when anita hill was up. i tell you, hatch is stalking t -- talking the same

kasie hunting here with more on that. >> reporter: ali, good to see you. our colleague, rachel maddow reporting last night, it's a document courtesy of senator jeff merkley. i think we can show you that document on the screen. you can see the transactions highlighted there. what this shows is that about $10 million was transferred from fema's budget to the i.c.e. detention programs as you point out. this is part of a larger effort on the whole for the trump administration to try to pay for these detention facilities that of course have gotten more in demand in the wake of the administration's zero tolerance policy. now, fema today is pushing back primarily by saying that this doesn't at least impact funding for this particular hurricane recovery. here's brock long on msnbc earlier today. >> right now that money has nothing to do with what you see behind us. it does not pay for this response. it is not coming out of the disaster relief fund. it has no impact on our efforts to be prepared for hurricane florence. it's just unfortunately we have a congressman

nbc's kasie hunt has more on the growing rift between republicans. ter: republicans are scrambling to make a plan for dr. christine blasey ford to testify. >> where i'm focused right nowi doing everything that we can make dr. ford comfortable with coming before our committee. >> reporter: judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley even offering to send staffers to california, wre dr. ford lives, to take her testimony. but like the president, he said there was no need to reopen the fbi investigation or delay the hearing, writing in a letter to ford's lawyers that heop she'll testify, quote, either privately or publicly on monday >> the allegations are made. you can't put the genie back in the bottle. >> reporter: dr. ford's reluctance -- to pushnd ahead argue that if she won't testify, the kavanaugh vote should proceed. ednator bob corker tweeting, republicans extend hand in good faith. if we don't hear from both sides on mondaylet's vote. and republican susan collins, a herical swing vote, telli local radio station -- >> i just don't understand why the hearing shouldn't go forward. >

kasie?m not sure if you would have spoken to her yet about this, but it seems pretty clear that at least on the republican side the pressure is going to increase for dr. ford to testify on capitol hill, to appear in public to tell the committee her story. is she willing to do that? >> i don't know the answer to that question. i didn't ask it to her when we were going through her story and i still don't know the answer to that question. i mean, i think she's already made a very difficult choice to come forward with her name, but i think it's another sort of hurdle to come forward and be questioned publicly, so i don't know. i don't know what her intention is at this point. >> sure. was there a conversation with her about the fact that this would be likely? i know she clearly did a lot of work with her attorney, taking the polygraph test, is this something she has grappled with at all, this possibility of the public testimony, really the likelihood? >> i'm sure her legal team has talked to her

nbc news capitol hill and host of "kasie dc" on msnbc, yeah, kasie hunt. >> oh, yeah, rocking into thening associate of "washington post", nbc political analyst eugene robinson. david ignatius. and letter and chief of "law fare" benjamin wittis along with billy, joe and me. joe, wow, as we get ready to launch into the year it is an incredible moment in history marking the passing of john mccain. i think all of us really stopped this past weekend because the magnitude of mccain's funeral i think was so powerful in a way i kind of walked away from it going -- well, first of all, it was so john mccain, the message of it. it was a salute to america and a very different gesture to the forces behind people like donald trump, who you wouldn't even want to mention in the room but you could just feel it. >> yeah. >> for me, i kind of move on knowing this presidency in many ways is over and we're just getting through it and goodness will prevail. >> that is a -- a really strong statement. i think most of the trump administration and his supporters in the press would strongly disagree with you. o

kasie hunt joins us right now. she was participating in that questioning. kasie? >> hi, nicolle. as you heard and it was probably a little chaotic there for all our viewers at the end, but i want to underscore this was a strong statement from senator collins. and it in many ways contradicts what we're hearing privately about how republicans want to handle this. i think it helps explain what you heard from the president earlier today where he had clearly received the message from the senate republicans that they need to follow a process that is not going to make the woman we just spoke to angry or feel as if her concerns have been disregarded. you could hear in her voice how she feels as though she's in a difficult position because she doesn't feel as though she has enough information to know if she trusts the account from dr. ford. on the other hand, she has an unequivocal denial from brett kavanaugh. but she doesn't have it under oath. and as you heard at the very end, if this turns into a he said/she said, she's going to be in the difficult position of having to decide who she

kasie,ri i know you are h a lot from different renators. is tl we of support for brett kavanaugh tat this point? >> savannah, in public it's full speed ahe o kavanaughs but thareally a strategy from the republican leadership to try to hold things togethau be m sources are telling me that behind the scenes there is actually a w prettye group of republica senators for whom a this heas toer immensely and who could change their minds if it doesn't go the way, you know, some would le toor to brett kavanaugh. we have be focused on three fnators, sacollin lisa murkowski,ke. they remain the lynch pins, the most critical group. but the fact that they are concerned at the could be more i think is very telling,i ando think that the one place wher brett kavanaugh could rea go wrong is if he is essentially a caught in lie. if fls a perception he is not telling t truth, i think this could swing against him quickly. >> nicollha if this boils down to a he said/she said? what if you either believe him or her, what happens then? >> spoiler alert. that's whe

also with us, kasie d.c., kasie hunt. we'll get to them in a moment.y've got questions and reactions for bob. but first, bob woodward. i want to read for you from david ignatius's article in "the washington post" and it's entitled "what a baby" in which he writes in part about takeaways from your new book. only a man who is deep by worried about his own strength would talk as much as donald trump does about the danger of appearing weak. woodward's recounting of trump's conversations is a study in character of lack of it. the president's vanity, pettiness and meanness of spirit were evident already in his tweets and public statements, but here is the annotated statements as told by woodward with enough "f" bombs to stock an arsenal of profanity. when trump is on the verge of doing something constellatory, apologizing for a racist or sexist comment, for example, he stops himself for fear that it will show weakness. trump often expresses a peculiar concern about looking like a baby. he blasts campaign chairman paul manafort afternoon a critical "new york

nbc's kasie hunt h more on how this allegation is stirring up the hill. casey, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. overnight, nbc news learning that the senatitjudiciary coe is looking into another anonymous allegation of physical assault against brett kavanaugh. now, he tells the committee that he denies it. the committee learned about it in a letter from woman who says her own daughter witnessed an incident where drdge kavanaugk at the time in 1998 slammed the woman into a wall at a bar in washington, d.c. and this is one piece of why the mood on capitol hill could be changing. there are some republicans privately who are saying that while the public pushes full speed ahead they're a little bit worried that things might be moving tookl qu and my sources are telling me that if there's another , allegati it seems more credible, that it is possible that more republicans might voice their doubts about judge kavanaugh, and that would be especially true if there's a perception after today's hearin thatn't telling the truth. >> all right. kasie hun

. >> and kristen welker at the white house, and kasie hunt at capitol hill, and -- let me say that he is not accused of having sexual intercourse can, but sexual misconduct and attempted rape. and kasie, where you are covering this, i understand that lisa murkowski has been in a scrum with reporters and asked about debra ramirez who had an account of a sexual activity that he exposed himself at college at age 18 and living as an adult, and if she should have an opportunity to testify. and will you fill us in on that? >> sure, andrea. she was asked about that, and she said that she thought like dr. ford it should be up to the ms. ramirez, and if she does want to come forward, she should be allowed to testify, and that is really the standard of the undecided senators have set for their own leadership. right now, mitch mcconnell does not have the votes. he has 48 republican senators who are more confused about this which is coming with ms. ramirez which many believe are thinner than those brought by dr. ford, and not strongly corroborated, but he still does not know where jeff flake, and

casie hundred kasie hunt, what are you reporting? >> reporter: we've heard that the senate judiciary committee is probing this additional allegation. this is an allegation of misconduct. we should underscore, it is an anonymous allegation. this is unlike the other three allegations that we have been discussing throughout the course of today. this is -- it came in the form of a letter to senators who ultimately turned it over to the judiciary committee and in it, a woman talks about an incident that she says involved her own daughter, where they witnessed a drunk brett kavanaugh in 1998, outside a washington, d.c., bar, slam a woman into a wall in a sexual manner. and this is something that, again, we are just learning about as the committee has, you know, tried to work behind the scenes, to convince republican senators that their investigative process has been a thorough one. so, i have to tell you, ari, from my reporting all day, that while in public, all of this is really full speed ahead from republicans, they are pushing forward

let's start with nbc's kasie hunt, who is there. we are now, what, 23 hours, 58 minutes until the deadline set by chuck grassley. what are you hearing? >> hallie, as you point off -- point out, a simple question of what is dr. ford going to do? will she or won't she appear here on capitol hill? now i think it's important to underscore for people that dr. ford has not, in either her letters from her lawyers or statements that they've made -- >> right. >> ruled out testifying on monday. instead what you're seeing is them pointing out things that would make this a more favorable situation for her and arguing in favor of them. this idea that there should be more witnesses is what we're talking about today. yesterday, we were focused on the investigative piece, whether the fbi should be reopening that background check investigation. so, again, i think there is still a sense that this is a real possibility, that she will show up on monday. now, for republicans, this deadline of monday is basically artificial. they picked it originally bec

super poligrip. ♪ >>> welcome to "kasie dc." i'm kasie hunt.m washington from 7:00 to 9:00 eastern. tonight -- the u.s. senate, am i right? just when you think you can't take it anymore, they reel you back in. amid some of the most toxic comments in recent memory, a last-action bipartisan moment to remember. undecideds get another week of breathing room on one of their most difficult votes. >>> plus, the president instructs the fbi to reopen their inveig

kasie, let's start with you. i know you managed to speak to senator jeff flake tonight, the key vote on the senate judiciary committee. what do we know? >> reporter: that is, lawrence. we know he's not saying right now which way he's going to make up his mind. when i spoke to him he was visibly in turmoil. he talked a little bit about how he couldn't decide he's right, she's wrong, she's wrong, he's right and he framed it as though really it was an impossible choice. and he as you pointed out at the top of the show is really the person who all eyes are going to be on tomorrow in this committee vote because he does sit on this committee. as you know he's not running for re-election. he's been a sharp critic for president trump, but there are some democrats who have criticized him for not taking enough action. all his colleagues on the one side versus what are his chances for the future on the other. and then the other two people that we are still closely watching, and they took very secureitous routes out of this