no a.g. sessions:? a.g. sessions: iowa will he to respond to the special counsel in any way, but i don't recall that i have been contacted. i certainly have not spoken with anyone directly with the special counsel. senator blumenthal: but the fact is the special counsel has asked for an interview with you, correct? a.g. sessions: i am glad to let you know within hours. senator blumenthal: i am asking you now. i am not aware of being asked, and you seem to so i don't want to be trapped. maybe it was shared with somebody in my office, so i will go check and let you know. senator blumenthal: it would make sense for the special counsel to ask for interview, yes? that is up to him. senator blumenthal: you have knowledge about collusion and more, correct? a.g. sessions: it would be up to the special counsel, not me. senator blumenthal: the question to you was whether your office has been contacted, and you would certainly know the answer to that question. well, i have no knowledge of any meeting or interview to be

a.g. sessions: i do. chairman grassley: before you speak, we have a long session ahead of us, probably with you. there will be a lot of questions. since we did not get a copy of your opening remarks, i was wondering if it would be possible for you to submit your longer remarks and maybe summarize so we can get to questions sooner? i will defer to you, but that is my request, but whatever time you need, take it. a.g. sessions: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you. ranking member on and distinguished members of the committee, former colleagues and friends, this is the honor of a lifetime. for me to serve as attorney general of the united states of america. you can understand and know that with my 15 years in that department and my 20 years in this committee with oversight of that department, i understand all of the responsibilities i have and the duties that i have the time -- to have to undertake, and i will do my best every day to be worthy of the tru

a.g. sessions: i do. chairman grassley: before you speak, we have a long session ahead of us, probably with you. there will be a lot of questions . ofce we did not get a copy your opening remarks, i was wondering if it would be possible for you to submit your longer remarks and maybe summarize so we can get to questions sooner? i will defer to you, but that is my request, but whatever time you need, take it. thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you. anding member on distinguished members of the committee, former colleagues and , this is the honor of a lifetime. as attorneyrve general of the united states of america. you can understand and know that with my 15 years in that department and my 20 years in this committee with oversight of that department, i understand all of the responsibilities i have and the duties that i have the time -- to have to undertake , and i will do my best every day to be worthy of the trust you have placed in me. everything will

no a.g. sessions:? a.g. sessions: iowa will he to respond to the special counsel in any way, but i don't recall that i have been contacted. i certainly have not spoken with anyone directly with the special counsel. senator blumenthal: but the fact is the special counsel has asked for an interview with you, correct? a.g. sessions: i am glad to let you know within hours. senator blumenthal: i am asking you now. i am not aware of being asked, and you seem to so i don't want to be trapped. maybe it was shared with somebody in my office, so i will go check and let you know. senator blumenthal: it would make sense for the special counsel to ask for interview, yes? that is up to him. senator blumenthal: you have knowledge about collusion and more, correct? a.g. sessions: it would be up to the special counsel, not me. senator blumenthal: the question to you was whether your office has been contacted, and you would certainly know the answer to that question. well, i have no knowledge of any meeting or interview to be

a.g. sessions: senator leahy, i also believe it consumes a possible communication for the president of the united states, and the same privilege would apply. senator leahy: so you are not going to answer if you are aware of the russia one? a.g. sessions: i think that is the proper course for the attorney general at this time. senator leahy: you think that. i don't. my concern is you are part of the russian faÇade and went along with it. and i'm sorry. i have known you for years, and i am sorry you would do that. now let me ask you another area. , president trump says he believes the cuban government is responsible for sonic attacks against our diplomats. i have heard all the reports. we can't find anything that connects the cuban government to a sonic attack. i doubt they have the capability for such a thing. cubans, after this had gone on for a while, we told him about it. bring the fbi down. bring the fbi. they said please feel free. it took us weeks to get around to doing that. do you k

a.g. sessions: it is a matter i can share some information about because the president himself has talked about it and revealed that letter. i asked deputy rosenstein and make a recommendation in writing. we prepared those and submitted it to the president. , i don't thinkin it has been fully understood the significance of the error mr. comey made on the clinton matter . for the first time i'm aware of and all of my experience, i don't think i've heard of the situation in which a major case in which the department of justice prosecutors were in an investigation, the investigative agency announces the closure of the investigation. a few weeks before this happened he was testifying before the congress and he said he thought he did the right thing and would do it again. the deputy attorney general rosenstein, 27 years in the department of justice, harvard graduate must serve for eight years under president obama, and four years under president bush, he said that was a usurpation of the positi

>> a.g.ecerra: that decision has been put on hold. the obama administration first coming out the trump administration are in court against that decision and we have no states joined in that effort as well. to try and keep not only that decision on hold, but permanently on hold. and to move forward with the affordable care act because millions of people depend on it, some 7 million people will probably be affected if the trump administration's efforts to kill the cautionary subsidies that people depend on two a afford their deductibles and their copayments and insurance are taken away. >> dana: what is the time right for your lawsuit? do you know when you will expect to hear anything back from the courts? >> a.g. becerra: we went in asking for the court to give us an emergency ruling. what the trump administration did last week, a little bit more than a week ago, because it was supposed to -- under the current administration -- take effect immediately under their order and we can afford to hav

a.g.for 10 months, he has been making those statements. it is either a lie or he has been violating the law that he says does not permit him to do so. my take -- and i do not say this just as an attorney general, i say this as a member of congress who was in the room, drafting the affordable care act into thousand nine and 2010. he is violating the law now by not making those payments, because they are part of an integrated the stone that was meant to keep the cost of health for the purchase of health insurance. scarlet: what happens in the meantime? because the benefits enrollment starts november 1. people have to start making moves to sign up for insurance, and the insurance companies need to be able to come up with some number to offer them. a.g. becerra: this sabotage is real by donald trump. it is real that the cost of premiums and health care coverage for most families under the affordable care act will rise 15%, 20% in some cases, or states will occur -- encourage additional costs t

a.g. sessions: i do. chairman grassley: before you speak, we have a long session ahead of us, probably with you. there will be a lot of questions. since we did not get a copy of your opening remarks, i was wondering if it would be possible for you to submit your longer remarks and maybe summarize so we can get to questions sooner? i will defer to you, but that is my request, but whatever time you need, take it. a.g. sessions: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you. ranking member on and distinguished members of the committee, former colleagues and friends, this is the honor of a lifetime. for me to serve as attorney general of the united states of

>> i'm not here to make excuses for a.g. sessions.the white house, after the trump campaign moved in, i can tell you there is one agency that stink to high heaven more than all the others, and it, the department of justice it was filled with ideologues at all slestles, especially the civil rights department. a.g. sessions has a very, very difficult hand to play. lou: for the first time a sitting president has two presidents attacking him simultaneously. former president obama and president george w. bush. my god, coming out in new york and making -- didn't name president trump certainly, but he made it very clear show was talking about. a president who preside over the biggest economic collapse in this country's history since the great depression is talking about we need policies of economic growth. president bush didn't even realize there have been two consecutive quarters of 3% growth. and i don't remember president bush cite sizes even indirectly, president obama. >> i don't. you are the business maven and economic expert. maybe if

since leaving office as a.g. he has returned to private practice to the law firm covington and burling. tonight he's here for his first live tv interview since president trump was sworn into office. mr. attorney general, thank you for being here. >> it's good to be here. >> have you seen that clip before? >> i have seen that clip. i saved it. i saw it on youtube and it's in one of my watch later save -- i watch it every now and again. >> i wonder if now that you are no longer the lightning rod that you once were, do you miss that at all? do you get any sort of perverse satisfaction from the inco-ate hatred you attracted? >> no, not really. actually, it was snag kiomethin kind of baffled me. i never quite understood -- like that piece you showed, what was the nature of -- and the depth of the negative feelings that i generated in people on the other side. i never quite understood that. >> in your time as attorney general, all those years, it didn't become more clear? >> no. never really did. i said things in suppo

you heard the a.g., he practically said we are going to give it to you all. he's been told what to do. lou: i did get the sense from the attorney general, obviously more engaged in terms of any other interview within the justice department, but at the same time, i sense a lot of of distance between him and the day-to-day work there, whether it be following the president's orders or pursuing the need to investigate the clintons from the department of justice perspective, not only congress. >> when i want to get my blood pressure pumping and rising, i read the comments on conservative websites about the department of justice. there are a lot of unhappy people out there who voted for president trump who want the see action. if you look at federal government, there are three institutions that are corrupted beyond all measure understood the obama years it was the irs, the fbi, and the doj. and as a result, right now it's clear there is one man who is not happy, and it's his boss. lou: a lot of other people are unhappy that have been on the sidelines for a while. t

lou: the senate judiciary committee grilled the a.g.rdered the committee to investigate the uranium one deal that transferred the control of assets to russia and $150 million in donations or perhaps bribes to the clinton foundation while hillary was serving of secretary of state in the obama administration. involved in the administration's investigation of bribery were then fbi director robert mueller, now special counsel. then u.s. attorney rod rosenstein, now the deputy attorney general who appointed mueller as special counsel. and the fbi deputy director andrew mccabe who himself is under investigation as well. sessions defended rosenstein when asked whether he should recuse himself from any investigation in the so-called russian bribery scandal. >> it would be his decision. he's a man of integrity and ability. if he feels he has the inability to proceed with any investigation, it would be his responsibility to make that determination. lou: all this as pressure mounts for the exoneration of hillary clinton. the department of justice

division will be for services according to the master plan all three divisions will be under the banner of a.g. the new structures will only make the company more flexible and to also make it more attractive to partner with the companies in silicon valley it will mean joint ventures can be arranged faster with less red tape the board of directors still has to get the ok for the final plans during the company's annual general meeting it's no surprise that tourism is a major industry for catalonia eighteen million visitors went there last year but hotel against say bookings are dropping still the tourists who are there already are more concerned about soaking up the sunshine. there's little sign of spain's political storm on the beaches of barcelona most tourists here would rather soak up the sun than worry about the question of cost and independence. or not due to the recent comment from. prime minister so we feel it's ok you feel everything is working here he said the families who will be here. but there are fears over the impact the turmoil could have in the future tourism accounts for over a

michael, back to that second bit of sound from a.g. sessions, that excuse for firing comey has long been superseded when the boss told lester holt it was because of russia. >> yeah. over taken by events. obe, i guess, as people say. and even the original excuse, brian, didn't make a lot of sense. i think there were people who were, you know, willing to believe, okay, if trump came in and on day one said comey, i hated the way you handled that thing. a lot of people said, even some democrats said the way you handled the hillary investigation was inappropriate, you're out of here. that would be one thing. but he does it after the russia investigation is well under way, and trump realizes how much jeopardy he's in. and that, of course, was just an incredibly strange and now for trump really foolish thing to have done. but you finger your right on it which is compounding all of this is the fact that sessions seems not to have the most updated version of events in his testimony, and it's a little hard to explain that except to say that the

can you talk about the assistant a.g.'s role in ensuring that the intelligence community will continue to provide unvarnished assessments to congress, to the attorney general? and to the president? regardless of politics? mr. demers: well, for sure, senator. politics has no place in the work of the intelligence community. partisanship has no place in the work of the intelligence community. nor in the work of the national security division. as part of those efforts. and it's critical for all of us to speak truth to those within the executive branch and also here on the hill. so i pledge to do so and pledge to support the efforts of others to do so. mr. warner: the chairman's already raised 702. we had a spirited debate last week on this important tool. i believe that we strengthened 702 in terms of putting additional responsibilities in place in terms of protections of americans' prive sis. so my colleagues didn't fully agree with it far enough. but i do think it's important and i'd like to hear your comments about the over

former assistant a.g., john hugh, who said that technology, and high tech weapons may be the best way to pressure the regime. we are glad you are joining us, we will be backs in just a moment. >> welcome james burnett, he is the managing director of "the chase." a nonpartisan reporting on gun issues. >> how is it that one can be nonpartisan these days on guns? >> certainly, it is an issue with strong opinions on both sides. we are journalists that is just a fundamental thing. we do think there is an objective truth there. since las vegas, looking at the numbers from the gun violence archives, they have a team of researchers, create something of a real time count of gun violence in american. 800 people shot since las vegas. >> 800 more shootings since vegas, like a week ago? >> like a week ago. not all fatal. 250 fatal. that is not going to count suicides, those don't show up in media accounts and other places. that is a big number. >> that is a lot of shootings. that is a big number. as horrified as something like las vegas is to the country, it is one piece. it is like looking the fr

. >> isn't the city's a.g. worried that, you know, appealing this decision to the supreme court would open pandora's box? >> they were really worried about two things. one, that if they gave the supreme court a bite at the apple, to use that again, at d.c.'s gun laws, they could look at other restrictions they found unconstitutional. it could whittle away more at the d.c. gun laws. but me were more concerned about the impact to other states. maryland, new jersey, new york and california all have this same restriction. the a.g. from maryland called the d.c. attorney general, urged him not to go to the supreme court. >> interesting. mark sa segraves, thank you. >> thanks, mark. >> the photos lit up social media. heavy flames and thick smoke filled the skies of the nation's capital. how it's affecting some local families and we just learned about the cause. >> a young mom with a lot on her plate facing some pretty county tonight. i'm david culver. just ahead beer going to explain to you why she may have left her t

a.g.essions: it's a matter hat i can share some information about, because the president himself has talked revealed that letter. rosenstein and i ake our recommendations in writing. we prepared those recommendations and submitted it the president. senator feinstein, i don't think it's been fully understood the significance of the error that comey made on the clinton matter. the first time i'm aware of in all of my experience and i of a think i've heard situation in which a major case in which the department of were e prosecutors involved in an investigation agency investigative announces the closure of the investigation. a few weeks before this happened, he was testifying mr. comey congress, was, and he said he thought he do the right thing and would it again. host: carrie johnson, give us exchange.o that guest: jeff sessions and rod osenstein recommended the f.b.i. director james comey be fired this year, citing many perceive to t they be failure necessary handling e-mail ary clinton inv

that's what the florida a.g. use like to see happen. but there are a number of different conditions they have to comply with, which is why for many without resources and unable to work, they quickly find themselves right back in court and possibly prison. >> danny, cevallos, thank you so much. >>> we turn now to politics and a live picture of the white house. president trump returns from a working weekend in new jersey today am mid an ongoing feud with the mayor of san juan. the president took to twirts last night to ramp up the attacks he started yesterday morning. in one tweet saying results of recovery efforts will speak much louder than complaints by san juan mayor. doing everything we can to help the great people of pr. president trump also telling the people of puerto rico don't believer the fake news. here is mayor cruz in an interview last night about that barrage of early morning trump tweets when trump accused her of politicizing maria's devastation. >> i have no time for small politics or comments that really don't add to the

they're being joined by at least 15 calls the president's sudden cash withdrawal illegal and maryland's a.g. says it puts health coverage at risk for more than 6 million americans. >>> let's take you down to stafford county, virginia, the oldest african american church there ready to celebrate a milestone, 200 years of worship, but even after all this time mystery still surrounds the church and exactly how it was founded. here's marcella robertson. >> reporter: tucked away on the backroads in stafford county is a place rich in history. >> the baptist church was founded on may 16th, 1818. >> reporter: it's still thriving after all these years. >> i've been to the white building in the parking lot here which was just -- it looked just like a house, but that was the original church that we all seen. >> reporter: but exactly how this church came to be still isn't all this clear. >> a lot of members couldn't read or write, you know. so a lot of that history that be lost. >> with all the african american churches in this country it always start with a small group that had a mission to establish a

guy who used to run the cia, and for that matter, drama with sessions, you know, earlier this year as a.gfferent do you think the agency might be, the way we see the cia might be, the way the world might be different, if there were a woman running our spy agency, a woman running the cia? >> well, i think it speaks to leadership styles and how gender may or may not come into play with leadership styles. i mean, we know, for example, in for-profit businesses that when women serve at higher levels in the executive, and certainly on boards, those businesses are more profitable. we know that women tend to have a leadership style that is very empowering and have the sort of classic tend and befriend approach. and i would -- you know, nothing leads me to believe that at an organization -- because it is fundamentally an organization, like the cia -- that that would be any different. >> but they do ugly, nasty, vicious stuff. >> oh, absolutely, yeah. and it's -- you know, life is ironic, of course, at all times, and it was my learning so much about the american involvement in cia's very dirty acti

former assistant a.g., john hugh, who said that technology, and high tech weapons may be the best way to pressure the regime. we are glad you are joining us, we will be backs in just a

a.g. sessions yesterday, along with the deputy attorney general, said they were looking at this very seriously. i think there is a lot of people at the justice department, perhaps of the white house legal counsel taking a look at the law and what it says. if you or i were to read this law, it is a lot of gobbledygook, but if you are a drug lawyer or somebody in that world, you know exactly what those words mean and exactly what those words will do. i think that is one of the reasons it slipped through congress, because people said well, it is the ensuring patient access and drug enforcement act. why would you be opposed to something like that? it does nothing to ensure patient access, it improve enforcement of the nation's drug laws, it actually does the opposite. withinink that is from next step, what happens to that law. there have been calls to repeal it, and we will have to see what happens. mr. bernstein: we just heard from some of the senators that they will be hearing a -- holding a

a.g. sessions: that calls for a had with the i've resident and i believe remains confidential. senator: but you don't deny there was a communication? do not confirm or deny existence of any ommunication between the president that i consider to be confidential. did you first speak with the president about what director comey, date? a.g. sessions: i think that is lso covered by my opening statement, i believe the president had the right and i a duty to meet with him on proper occasions and provide advice, legal or otherwise as i'm called upon to do. have done that and i believe he has a right to protect that until ntiality appropriate circumstances exist to wavemight not choose that privilege. of what as part attorney general jeff sessions had to say as he testified today at the justice department. watch the entire hearing at 8 c-span.tern on prime-time programming includes on c-span 2, president trump of the with members senate finance committee to talk about tax reform, and on c-span 3, se

the former a.g. loretta lynch about to face questions from the house intelligence committee the same week we are learning about the infamous tarmac meeting with bill clinton. >> sandra: major announcement out of an isis stronghold overseas. >> bill: two former presidents offering a similar message about the state of politics in america on the very same day. huh. when did the nation become so divided? our panel takes that up and more coming up shortly here. >> being an american involves the embrace of high ideals and civic responsibility. >> folks don't feel good right now about what they see. they don't feel as if our public life reflects our best. you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember. >> sandra: u.s. backed forces in syria are declaring victory over isis saying they have libera

all captured by red light cameras and the a.g.ot required to report camera tickets to the dmv which means no legal punishment for driver, still, the organization representing new york school bus companies insists school buses are the safest mode of transportation for students and now the a.g. hopes new legislation will fill this gap in the law, michael. >> thank you. just cringe -- makes me cringe to see that. >> that is a big difference. i told you i was a school bus driver and, man, they were on us and if we had any type of violation, we heard about it. >> i'll bet. >> we paid the price for it and rightfully so. precious cargo on board. >>> a high school in arizona that put a twist on "the wizard of oz." ♪ ♪ >> oh, no, they didn't. the walnut grove high school dance team, my goodness put on the production at center court. dorothy, oh. and her pals, the scarecrow, the tin man, the cowardly lion made the crowd roar. and the internet has gone absolutely wild for this. the video already racking up almost 1.5 million views and counti

play golf and be with his friend and family and his friends and family are in florida and florida's a.g. pam bondy wrote a letter to the florida department of corrections and she wrote this. is there anything the state can do to keep him out? >> very little that is. you can't keep people out because you don't like them, because you think they will commit violations or you think they are too high profile and you think they are guilty of that double murder that they got away with, those are not the standards. the standards are this is, as i read the law, and the rules, a mandatory transfer. what that means from transferring to one state to another sloas long as he has a planned for supervision and family support and we understand his two children live there and they are they are welcoming to him and willing to provide support and he could provide support for himself, it's a mandatory transfer and the receiving state, florida would have to accept him. when that happens is the issue. you have 120 days, four months, after you are released to have that paper work filed and so we will see. but

california's attorney general was among the 16 state a.g. who joined the transgender lawsuit.said that california will not be silent as the president demeans and marjleized citizens. >> a ugly weekend at great america in santa clara clair process. ppt amusement park is snndsing security after a weekend of fights, thefts and arrests. here is cell phone video of one of the attacks at the santa clara park. people reported multiple koits and kids using stun guns during the annual halloween haunt on saturday night. santa clara police say several cell phones were stolen. great america officials wouldn't comment feskly op on the security policy. but any say all guests have to go through metal detecters to get inside. police told us a taster should set off the metal detecter. they are investigating how the person got through security. police tell us they took 20 reports and arrest two people. they expect to make more arrests in the future. >> stanfords university is offering better access to birth control to students through a vending machine. morning after pill can be purchased from

what we do know is that the deputy a.g., rod rosen stein, he did have authority to reject this grand jury indictment if he didn't think it was within the scope of the investigation. the fact that he didn't do that, what does it tell you about the possible charges here? substantiated. that's a great point you make. under the special counsel regulations, mueller has to bring every major step that he wants to take in the investigation. he's been doing that so far. he also has to present to the deputy attorney general the charges that he -- the charges that he wants to pursue for prosecution. and rosenstein does have the power, as you said, to decline that. he did that, he would have to turn around and report to the judiciary committees in congress why he did it. he would need to have a basis for doing that. the fact that he approved the step by mueller, rosenstein is a prosecutor, too, means that he believes the evidence that has been gathered substantiates the charge and is sufficient to potentially bring a conviction if if moves forward toward a full prosecution. so there's a there th

. >> this being the second meeting the a.g. has had on the hill. the senator saying don't do this again. you are stonewalling by sealing off all communication. and he's a form member of the committee. this is stretching that standard, i think. >> do we know if members of this committee went to the executive, went to the white house and said, are you going to exert privilege on this? we want to know before our conversations in. >> we know they wrote a letter to sessions. >> but meanwhile, karoun, he did say something chilling and that was his concern on of russian meddling. not that there is nothing to here. that he is concerned. listen to this moment. >> do you think we're doing enough to prepare for future interference by russia and other foreign adversaries in the space? >> probably not. we're not. and the matter is so complex that for most of us we're not able to fully grasp the technical dangers that are out there. >> what was it about that moment, karoun? >> there isn't much political debate on that point. republicans, administration officials

he only has to tell the a.g., so what we learn is a big question mark on that. one thing for sure, these facts will provide fuel for the fire. adam, thank you very much. appreciate you bringing the reporting to us. >>> let's bring back our panel to help us sift through the conflicting claim and new threads of these investigations. we have david gregory and chris. you just heard the reporter for "the washington post." how significant do you think it is to this opposition research that ended up in the infamous russian dossier, that was first funded by anti-trump republicans and then the tab was picked up by the dnc and the clinton campaign? >> i think there's a couple levels about this. there's the political reaction and the substantive reaction. the latter is going to take a longer time. there are elements of that dossier that cnn did not report on because of the salacious details, which were unconfirmed and there was restraint, no matter what trump allies say, there was restraint on the part of cnn in the initial reporting of that dossier as reporters dug into i

the a.g. is asking the public to help save the law by sharing their own gouging stories on a state blog. hannah says she is going to encourage friends and neighbors to log in and speak up. >> we always kind of get stuck when that happens. snoorp the attorney general wants to hear your personal stories of price gouging. go to nbcwashington.com and search health care for all. in prince george's county, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. >> we will continue to have more coverage of that terror attack in new york city when we come back. the driver plowing into a crowd on a protected bike path. >> but there are new questions about the driver and his motivation. we're working our sources to bring you the last after the te independent press says they're false. fear mongering. absurd. ralph northam went to vmi and was an army doctor for eight years. in richmond, dr. northam helped pass longer sentences for gang members and mandatory life sentences for violent sexual predators. ralph northam: i'm ralph northam