barbara mcquaid, chuck rosenberg and frank figliuzzi on the phone. barbara, we just learned mr. rosenstein planned to stay, according to nbc news reporting to, in effect, see the mueller investigation and statement through. do you think anything we've learned today and tonight does anything to jeopardize that trajectory? >> i don't think so unless president trump panics in some way. we've seen this very strong statement from sarah sanders, his spokesperson, calling comey a political hack and mccabe a chronic liar, so it seems likely that rod rosenstein would want to stay the course. he's been there for about two years and i'm sure it feels like 20 for him and in some ways, can't get out soon enough but i think he's a loyal steward of the institution of the justice department and wants to be there as long as it's within his choice and power to do so, i think he'll stay unless somehow president trump wants to fire him before then. >> chuck rosenberg, does any of this impact chris ray's ability to continue to do his job day after day as fbi director? >> it really shouldn't and for

chuck rosenberg here with me as well, matt miller. so, the context is if he is appearing, will he answer a question about the indictment today of roger stone? it's very clear that they are long-time, closely connected despite what the white house and the president today might say. and he has already tweeted this was part of the witch-hunt that these were all false charges. >> the type of advice i would give has long, long gone out the window, andrea. >> you're not of counsel to -- >> i have not been retained by the president. >> to the president. >> no, not yet. >> yet. >> not yet. >> i think we have a sketch also from the courtroom of what happened in that magistrate's courtroom which you had described earlier in florida. and as you pointed out, there he is in a sport shirt. usually the natalie, excessively natalie attired roger stone in the pin stripe suit. he was taken from his home before dawn this morning. >> that's pursuant to law. people shouldn't misunderstand what the fbi did today was completely lawful. they had an arrest wa

thank you for joining us, chuck rosenberg. after the break, new information from the special counsel's office about paul manafort, what ro robert mueller is still investigating when it comes to the former campaign chairman and his ties to russia. >>> also ahead, u.s. service members are among the dead in syria following an attack from isis. that strajdy taking place on the very same day vice president mike pence claims isis has been defeated. nancy pelosi calls on donald trump to delay this year's state of the union address until after the longest government shutdown in u.s. history is resolved. all of those stories coming up. hey, what is it? i realize i love you, but as long as you're with jessica, there can never be anything between us. listen cassie, there's no need to cry. besides, i've got really great news. you're leaving jessica? no. i just saved a load of money on car insurance by switching to geico. i saved. i thought that meant something to you. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. whoooo.

former fbi assistant director for counterintelligence, frank figliuzzi and chuck rosenberg, former senior fbi official. frank figliuzzi, let me start with you. i'd like to get you all on the record with these stories. let's talk paul manafort. we've talked so much, you and chuck have taken me to school on how a conspiracy is investigated and charged. we know robert mueller has charged the russian part of the conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 election. could paul manafort sharing polling data from the trump campaign with a russian operative be that link between the conspiracy and the trump orbit? >> got a significant revelation today and it's the result of an apparent error and inability of manafort's lawyers to cut and paste properly or use black magic marker because now we know precisely what manafort is accused of lying about. remember, it's one thing to be forgetful, if we read the story painted by manafort's attorneys, then he's an impressive multitasker who's trying to run a presidential campaign and we shouldn't be so harsh on him because he can't remember things, but forgetfulness i

attorney, chuck rosenberg. frank figliuzzi is a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the fbi. with us at the table, nbc news national political reporter, carol lee. and donny deutsch joins us for the hour. let me start with you, chuck rosenberg. as roger stone was in court today, you have to fight the temptation to feel any sort of numbness around the event of another person who's been in donald trump's political arsenal for decades appearing before court to face his, you know, whatever his legal fate will be. >> it's becoming remarkably reteer routine, isn't it? you'd think for any other president in any other time, it would be extraordinary. i think you're exactly right. i also think listening to john brennan during your introduction that there's more to come. there are other shoes to drop. not to be too cliched. i think there's lots of clues out there, nicolle, that mueller isn't quite done yet. >> well, you never say anything willy-nilly. what are those clues, chuck? >> i think there's a bun

attorney for the southern district of new york, now with the new school here in new york.th and chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney, former senior fbi u. official. and chuck, i'd like to begin with you. did barr say enough? did he do enough to convince you that the mueller investigation would be sealed, protected, walled off under his good care? >> yes, he did, brian. let me explain why. though i don't share his view on several matters of law that camh up today, and while i imagine i don't share his politics, i've always believed bill barr to be a man of integrity, a principled man. he said the right things as far as i'm concerned in terms of bob mueller's character, the nature of the investigation specifically that wasn't a witch hunt which, of course, we know as well that he would do what he could to protect it, that mueller would not be removed except for good cause as the regulations require, and that he, bill barr, couldn't imagine mueller doing anything that would rise to the level of good cause. those types of statements give me great comfort, and i think bill barr undoubtedly will be

and chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney, former senior fbi official. and chuck, i'd like to begin with you. did barr do enough to convince you that mueller investigation would be sealed, protected, walled off under his good care? >> yes, he did, brian. let me explain why. although i dont share his view on several matters of law that came up today and while i imagine i don't share his politics, i've always believed bill barr to be a man of ining it rety, a principaled man. he said the right thupgs ings a as i'm concerned about bob mueller's character, specifically it wasn't a witch hunt, which we know and that he would do what he could to protect it. that mueller would not be removed except for good cause and that he, bill barr, couldn't imagine mueller doing anything that would rise to the level of good cause. those type of statements give me great comfort and i think bill barr undoubtedly will be confirmed to the job. sfwr >> we're all assuming there's going to be a nicely bountd 400-page report easy for every american to understand. what he will get i

where are we in investigating this conspiracy, chuck rosenberg says, for me it's chuck rosenberg cautioned against reviewing mr. stone's indictment as the final word on whether the trump campaign did or did not conspire with wikileaks. i wouldn't take the fact they didn't charge it or they can't or won't charge it let me show you what christie said about the amount of trouble he believes roger stone is in. >> the fact is that he's got a problem because they've got all of these e-mails and text messages that he created that tell pretty clear story. i think if he decides to go to trial, he's in very, very grave danger everyone is presumed in the, george and so is he but the indictment i think is a pretty damning indictment. >> christie, super sober about all things mueller and has always maintained that this crowd was too incorrespondent, collude so that caught my attention. >> it does catch your attention. presenting himself as an ally of the president, having mr. trump's best interest at heart, when he says mr. stone is in grave danger, he's contradicting his own president. i think these q

. >> joining me betsy woodruff and chuck rosenberg, they're both msnbc contributors. chuck, it is always good to have you. you told me a number of times before and kristin talked about all of these lines and text messages and etcetera being coincidences. you said there are no such thing as coincidences when you are a federal prosecutor. >> i still adhere to that view, katy. she's a friend of mr. stone, i appreciate that. she does not want anything bad to happen to him. i understand that. it is incumbent at the government to prove to the jury unanimously and prove beyond a reasonable doubt, they were intentional. that burden is on the government and it will remain on the government. i have read the indictment carefully several times. if the government con proan pro trial, this is an easy case. i have no question about that in my mind. >> chuck, what we have seen so far and heard from a number of people. betsy, i know you heard this as well who have been interviewed by the special counsel. they seem to be looking heavily as a back channel between wikileaks and between th

ambassador to russia michael mcfall, chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney and former senior fbi official, joyce vance, also a former u.s. attorney, and here with us at the table, charlie sykes, now editor in chief of the new news site the bull work. and philip bump, political reporter for the "washington post." chuck rosenberg, let me start with you and what i heard from a former u.s. intelligence official today that donald trump's now compilation of seemingly bizarre, seemingly random, seemingly, let me just be blunt, just stupid comments about russia, are probably at this point very likely under scrutiny by people investigating his relationship, his contacts, his coordination, if you will, with russia. >> my goodness, nicolle, they would have to be. you know, i think we wondered why michael flynn was debriefed 19 times. that struck us all as an extraordinary number. but maybe now we have a bit more insight into what the mueller team and the department of justice are looking at. this is extraordinarily serious, if not because it's a part of muelle

. >> with me know is chuck rosenberg and betsy woodrow. they are both msnbc contributors.cance of this looking back, what is it? >> rudy giuliani's comment is confusing because it runs counter to an on the record claim by a person who was involved in the trump tower moscow talks, phillip saider, a businessman who played a role between michael cohen and senior officials in the government business as they were working on potentially doing this trump tower moscow project. i recently spoke to mr. sader that the conversation regarding potentially developing at trump tower in moscow teed off after the republican national convention. when it became clear and unquestionable that trump is going to be the public nominee and the talk will basically die. i was struck to hear that mr. rudy giuliani made that claim. besides him claiming these talks happen as late as 2016, nobody had gone on the record saying that. either he knows something that nobody else knows and has released publicly about these talks. either way it is really head scratching behavior from the lawyer for the presiden

i want my fbi agents to be like chuck rosenberg when he's happy or mad, i'm not sure. or say government workers are excluded from the shutdown, what would the incentive be to open up the government? part of the reason they are in the position they are is stories piling up about government workers not getting paid. you take that away and we could wind up in something that -- >> wind up in a place? >> no incentive to open up the government. >> we are going to wind up in a place where we keep the government open. is that a bad thing? sorry. >> we view this for political conversation. there's been gamesman ship around it. isn't this something that should embarrass the heck out of every single member of congress regardless of party? you can't do your job. maybe you should be shut down. >> i'm going to agree with you and be all in with you. >> love it. >> i'm going to go a step further. the tip of the founder fathers was not to have a king. what we are seeing happen in the senate -- look, mitch mcconnell, at some point, you have to let the senators vote. you can't see -- >>

joining me now is former fbi official is chuck rosenberg and criminal attorney ashley mercha merchantchuck, you first here. we were not supposed to find out about this. look at the ma in thgnitude of investigation. look how explosive this is and how shocked you may be and are you surprised that the president with this tweet minutes ago saying wow, just learned in "the new york times." as if it is a surprise to him. >> let's take the last part first, alex. good morning, by the way. the president's tweets have never been a reliable source of information. i'll put that aside. that's not where i look for the truth. this is a big deal. this is unprecedented. you have to let this wash over you. the fbi, a meticulous investigation, opened an investigation on the president of the united states is extraordinary. i hope you know i'm not giving in to hyperbole. it is extraordinary. it is troubling to me we read about it in the paper. these types of investigations are deeply sensitive and secret. that's how they ought to remain. just because an investigation is open doesn't mean anyone did anythi

let me bring in chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney, nbc news analyst. chuck, what do you see here? what- is the should be the level of concern at the white house as this case begins to unfold? > sarah sanders' statement aside, they ought to be concerned. she said this is not about the president. his name is throughout this inctment. now, to chuck todd's point, there are sti pieces that are missing, but we're seeing more and more of the picture filled in. if you remember, lester, back in july when the mueller team indicted the russian intelligence officials, they left a bread crumb for us and told us that u.s. persons were volved. now we know who some of those u.s. persons were definitively. and with each hdictment, w each additional document dropped into the public domain, it gets closer and closer to senior campaign officials and perhaps,s and per is an important word here, perhaps to the president himself. >> i'ms,curi there has been this expectation that the mueller team was prepared to issue its report and maybe wrap things up as soon as the next mon

joining us chuck rosenberg former u.s.orney in the eastern district of virginia, former senior and fbi justice department official. it is great to have you with us tonight. thank you for making time. >> my pleasure, thank you for having me. >> let me just -- i want you to tell me what you think is important about this. your feelings about the reporting and the first instance but also the statement from the special counsel's office about it. >> there's an aspect of 5-year-old soccer to this. if you ever watched kids play, they all sort of mass together and every now and then the ball squirts loose and they run over to the ball together. we did that with respect to the buzzfeed story. i fear we're doing that now with respect to the mueller statement. i think what you said earlier about the prosecutor's laying a predicate when cohen pled guilty to lying to congress is exactly right. and here's why. go back to first principles. look at what mueller team said in their sentencing memorandum regarding michael cohen and that charg

and chuck rosenberg, a former u.s. attorney and former senior fbi official. robert costa, i have to start with you. you've covered donald trump for a long time. you've covered rudy giuliani for a long time. i have this little soft spot for rudy. and when i see the reaction shots from chris cuomo and when you hear sean hannity, "oh. i didn't know that." you couldn't make it up for "snl." what is rudy doing? >> to understand the president's relationship with his lawyer you have to see them as generational peers. the president's already isolated. doesn't have a lot of people he trusts around him. and he sees giuliani, former new york mayor, as someone who played at his level in the big apple for a long time. they knew each other socially. weren't particularly close. but now that he's part of the team it's really not so much a team. jay sekulow and others are part of it, but it's really the president communicating with his generational peer, an isolated president trying to manage his legal case with robert mueller, with the media. and giuliani's the only person w

chuck rosenberg, always a pleasure. thank you, as well. >>> breaking at this hour, by the way, police responding to a possible hostage situation. this is the scene at a ups facility in logan township, new jersey. a law enforcement official telling wnbc's investigative reporter jonathan dietz a guy walked sboots eed into the fac shots, and took his ex-girlfriend and another person hostage. right now, we can tell you, it does not appear as if anyone has been hurt. again, this is an ongoing situation in logan township, new jersey. police on the scene there. we will, of course, continue to keep a very close eye on that situation. >>> also, blame game. president trump and lawmakers busy blaming each other for the shutdown. now, the longest in american history. a key republican says it may be time to make a deal. what's it going to take? >>> 2020 continues. president trump mocking senator elizabeth warren in a series of tweets. are we getting a preview of the 2020 presidential matchup? >>> and teachers strike. educators in th

. >>> joining me is nbc news reporter ben collins, chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney and former chief of staff at the fbi, aisha rasco and shannon pettypiece. chuck, let me start with you. for folks who may be saying something like the president, going, yeah, really, that seemed a little much from the fbi when you look at that video. what's your response? >> nonsense. >> why? >> let me break it down and talk as a former federal prosecutor. first you have somebody who is charged with witness tampering, obstruction of justice. so i'm not at all sure why you'd trust that person with a summons to show up on his own and to handle all the evidence that is in his house appropriately, legally, properly. second, if you read the indictment, page 20, he threatens to kill witness. he writes to one of the witnesses in the indictment, prepare to die, expletive. the way they think about people who threaten to kill witnesses is we're not going to trust them to turn themselves in. third, the fbi doesn't get an arrest warrant by itself. with federal prosecutors they go to a fed

chuck rosenberg, let me satart with you and what i heard today that donald trump's now compilation of seemingly bizarre, seemingly random, seemingly, let me be blunt, just stupid comments about russia, are probably, at this point, very likely under scrutiny by people investigating his relationship, his contacts, his coordination, if you will, with russia. >> my goodness, nicolle, they would have to be. we've wonder idea michael flynn was debriefed 19 times. that struck us all as an extraordinary number. but maybe now we have a bit more insight into what the mueller team and department of justice are looking at. this is extraordinarily serious. if not because it's a part of mueller's initial remit. it's at least part of the counterintelligence investigation. why is the president speaking about russian interests with respect to montenegro and poland and belarus and sort of a revisionist -- and that's to use the term loosely. a revisionist history of why the soviets invaded afghanistan. it's extraordinary. >> chuck, you just blew my mind as you often do. let me just press a little farthe

. >> chuck rosenberg, you are none of those things. i'm curious to get your take on what you've witnessed in this last session since the first break. >> yeah, i think he continues to answer questions, brian, as expected. there haven't been any big moments, in my view. as i mentioned earlier today, i don't share his politics or his view of the law, which is a very robust reading of article 2 of the constitution with respect to the president's authorities and powers. but this is fairly mainstream conservative republican stuff. nothing surprising here. the republicans have the votes. the democrats simply do not. and he hasn't tripped in any way to cause concern among his republican support. i'll also say this. he strikes me -- well, he doesn't strike me. i know him to be a man of tremendous integrity and principle. that's not to say i agree with everything he says. but he's the type of person we should expect -- we should hope for, i would think, in this administration to be an attorney general. he he is far superior to what we have now,

let me bring in clint watts, chuck rosenberg, glen kershner, betty woodruff, and jason mason. thank you for being on. we have a gang busters team. chuck, i have to start with you. there's a lot here, and it seems like one phrase that is doing the heavy lifting is a phrase that we read to you at the top of the show. the idea that a trump campaign official was directed to reach out to stone about what he knew about this wikileaks release. >> all right. paragraph 12. fascinating. don't know exactly what it means yet. here's what i'm thinking. the senior -- may i read it? >> please. we have the graphic too. >> after the release of stolen dnc e-mails by organization one which we know to be wikileaks, a senior trump campaign official was directed to contact stone. who directs a senior campaign official? somebody more senior. >> right. >> now i guess that could be a couple people. but it's a fascinating question. i would love to know who that is. >> and we also when you look at that phrasing, that is not accidental from robert mueller. >> there's something about bob mueller that's acc

chuck rosenberg, a former u.s. attorney and former senior fbi official.oyce vance, also a former u.s. attorney. with us at the table, charlie sykes, now editor and chief of the new website bulwark. and political reporter for "the washington post". let me start with you and what i heard from a former u.s. intelligence official today that donald trump's compilation of seemingly bizarre, seemingly random, seemingly -- let me just be blunt, stupid comments about russia are probably at this point likely under scrutiny by people investigating his relationship, his contacts, his coordination, if you will, with russia. >> my goodness, nicole, i think they would have to be. we were wondering why michael flynn was debriefed 19 times. it struck us all as an extraordinary number. maybe now we have a bit more insight into what the mueller team and the department of justice are looking at. this is extraordinarily serious, if not because it is the part of mueller's initial remit, it is at least part of the counterintelligence investigation. why is the president speaking

. >> all right, let me bring in chuck rosenberg, nbc news analyst, former u.s. attorney. white house as this case begins to unfold? >> sarah sanders' statement aside they thought to be concerned. she said this isn't about the president. his name is throughout this indictment. to chuck todd's point, which i think is an important one, there are still pieces missing, but we're seeing more and more of the picture filled in. if you remember lester back in july when the mueller team indicted the russian intelligence officials they left a bread crumb for us, they told us u.s. persons were involved now we know who those u.s. persons were. and with each indictment, each document dropped into the public domain, it gets closer and closer to senior campaign officials and perhaps -- perhaps is an important word here -- perhaps to the president himself. >> i'm curious. there's this expectation that the mueller team was prepared to issue its report and wrap things up as soon as the next month or so. does this change that thinking in your view? >> in my view, there's several separate stra

. >> i also want to go to chuck rosenberg, chuck, it struck me today, and i was thinking about you, lindsey graham, as chairman of this committee, started his presentation with dual attacks on the department of justice and the fbi, and further, i'll quote gregg jarrett on fox news last night about the fbi, quote, this is an all-powerful, out of control agency, rogue agency, and frankly it's time that it be halted in its tracks, reorganized, and replaced with a new organization. it is time that the fbi be halted. let me presume, chuck, you disagree with that premise. >> i do, brian, that is deeply and maliciously false. and other words come to mind that probably would not -- you would prefer me not using on television. let me tell you this about the fbi, because i had the privilege of working there. they are deeply tethered to the rule of law and to the constitution. in particular with respect to counterintelligence investigations. they are among the most highly regulated investigations in our federal government. the means of overseeing them are multiple and manifest. for instance, just for

to talk about all of it, national political reporter for the washington post, jill coleman and chuck rosenberg. robert, let's start with you. you covered donald trump for a long time. you have covered rudy giuliani for a long time. i have this little soft spot for rudy. when i see the reaction shots from chris cuomo and when you see the chris hannity, you couldn't make it up for snl. what is rudy doing? >> so understand the president's relationship with his lawyer, you have to see them as generational peers. the president is already isolated, doesn't have a lot of people he trusts around him, and he sees giuliani, former new york mayor as someone who played at his level in the big apple for quite some time. now that he's part of the team, it is really not so much of a team. it is the president communicating with his generational peer, trying to manage his legal case are robert mueller, with the media. and giuliani is the only person speaking with the president about those sensitive issues in that way. >> chuck, that seems to put the blame right in the guy in the office with no corners because

chuck rosenberg.oming up this bomb shell report we got tonight as democrats on capitol talking impeachment. why not? it's obstruction of justice if proven. one member of the judiciary committee says hearings need to start now. and he joins us in a minute. and he joins us in a minute. with expedia, i saved when i added a hotel to our flight. so even when she grows up, she'll never outgrow the memory of our adventure. unlock savings when you add select hotels to your existing trip. only with expedia. select hotels to your existing trip. hi, i'm just looking at my account, and i've got all this extra cash back. yep. that's your cashback match. only discover will automatically match all the cash back new cardmembers earn at the end of their first year. you matched everything i earned this year? yeah. whoo! more money! more money! it's all very exciting. i'm going to spread the news! spread it wide! it's cashback match people! people! you know that. you all work here. new cardmembers get a dollar-for-dolla

. >> chuck rosenberg who also joins us, chuck, we did learn the grand jury was extended for six months that may mean something, may mean not, but it certainly means their work is not deemed to be done. and now because we're grasping at everything we get, this new figure of two months in the gates case. >> that's right. it's not that unusual, brian, for a grand jury to be extended. and to neal's point, these are complicated investigations involving documents and witnesses from overseas, involving the executive branch, involving assertions of privilege, involving interlocutory appeals, which is a fancy way of saying appeals that go up to the supreme court and back down during the investigation. the gates postponement means at least in part he's not done. there's a technical reason why prosecutors would wait for a sentencing until a witness is done cooperating, and that's because if the government wants to tell the court about all of an individual's cooperation, everything he's done to help investigators, they want to have that at the end of the cooperation, not midstream. that's the way

i asked chuck rosenberg if the dossier didn't do a disservice, if we didn't chase the sordid aspects of it and lose sight of the what could be the more strangling compromise, do you have any theories on the answer to karine's question? >> look, as i said here on this program many times, i think this is a story about leverage. it's about political leverage and financial leverage the russian fedation had over donald trump in his inner circle. that leverage is causing him to do very strange things. they're mostly manifested in crazy foreign policy decisions like hasty withdrawal from syria which handed syria over to russia's client, undermining nato, resisting sanctions, failing to criticize russia for attempting to assassinate a former intelligence officer on the streets of the uk that the united states helped win the free dom for, taking the word of a kgb spy master in helsinki over our own intelligence agencies. all of this is part of president trump holding up his end of the bargain. the bargain was financially we'll help you with trump tower moscow, we will part cash with you over

lesser-known national security veterans drive under tv's almost too numerous to list including chuck rosenbergthe former acting dea administrator, chief of staff james comey, counselor to former fbi director robert mueller, former chihief f fbi counterintelligence, the deputy national security advisor under bush at nbc fran townsend, homeland security under bush. it goes on and on and on. these are now the pundits. so we have a situation like president trump announcing he will immediately withdraw u.s. troops from syria and have the troops that are in afghanistan, yet this massive attack on him that is actually led by the permanent national security state under the guise of pundits on television. just what you said stands for itself, amy, but i would add to it that i think the real crisis is that when we have a panel discussion on television , and the mamainstream press, ad even the mainstream newspapers,, wewe don't populate that panel with people who are in opposition. we have a single war party in the united states and it is the .nly one that is given voice really, the crisis is not so much

. >> let's listen to what chuck rosenberg said about this. >> the president of the united states is echoing line of the kremlin on a whole bunch of things, and so whether or not it results in an indictment, whether or not it's something we ultimately can see, touch, feel, and hear, this is something that u.s. intelligence officials have to understand. why is the president saying what he's saying? >> and david, u.s. intelligence officials have different methods than the special prosecutor about how to find this out. >> well, rachel maddow made a fabulous point in her presentation on this where she reminded everyone that in the very beginning of the trump administration that the trump administration was accepting crazy soviet propaganda, russian propagan propaganda, i should say, accusing poland, our nato ally, of meddling inside belarus. that was completely false. but, again, that somehow got into the president's head, and there are other examples, too, where he says things that no one except an rt viewer and the president of russia would believe. >> david, thank you for joining us tonight.

know vladimir putin's direction it was done to help donald trump, and people like yourself and chuck rosenberg have been explaining to people like me that what the open questions are is whether we can connect a dot to that crime, that conspiracy, to anyone in trump's orbit. it would seem that today we have documentation that the federal government believes there at a minimum coordination, contact and communication, but it seems to come short of charging a conspiracy, is that an accurate read? >> i think that's exactly right. this is another one of the building blocks that mueller has been carry laying all along, that gru hacking indictment that charges 13 russian operatives of hacking, had a little bit of room to run in it. it identified clearly that there were americans that they were coordinating with but didn't tell us who those people were. now we know that one of those people was roger stone, who was talking with wikileaks. we'll have to wait for the next indictment, the next part of the narrative to see if it goes any further. again, mueller is dropping a number of strong hints saying th

. >> chuck rosenberg, your response. >> yeah, that's a deeply and profoundly troubling statement, brian. here's why. and it's not just because i work there and i know the e those of the place and the men and women who care deeply about the rule of law. remember, too, that the fbi and its work is overseen by the congress, by the inspector general, the department of justice, by the executive branch through, you know, the foreign intelligence advisory board and the privacy and civil liberties oversight board and lots of people, oh, and by the way, federal judges, too, who oversee the work of the fbi. so, it's a deeply and profoundly troubling statement. it completely misapprehends what the fbi is and who the men and women are who work there. it is really, really a bad thing to feed to the american people. it begins to erode the trust in our institutions of government, including at the fbi, including at times like this. >> to our guests, most of our guests are going to stay with us and continue to cover this lead story. michael schmidt, we thought it was in the interest of good journalism s

the one and only chuck rosenberg, a former u.s. attorney and senior fbi official, as well as lucky us and nbc contributor, matt miller, former spokesperson for the justice department and msnbc justice and security analyst and a super star on the twitter machine. shannon, to you first, take us inside the white house. i've asked this question a zillion times. today what is the level of concern inside the white house about what roger stone might know or what he might say about bob mueller? because if you listen to roger stone, he seems to have pledged his undying love and support for the president. >> right. well, we've obviously heard people say that before, michael cohen. and then, you know, once reality sets in, they can change their mind, change their tune to some extent. at this point, there's no consensus that roger is going to rat someone out. after this indictment there was some sense about people in the white house about what sense mueller might have. the staffers know at this point now mueller doesn't show his whole hand in

chuck rosenberg, former u.s. attorney and former senior fbi official, now an nbc news analyst. chuck, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's break it down and take a moment for this to sink in. the fbi opened up an investigation into the president of the united states to see whether or not he was working on behalf of russia. let me read the key graph. agents sought to determine whether mr. trump was knowingly working for russia or had unwittingly fallen under moscow's influence. i want to get as a former fbi official your reaction and better understanding. can the fbi willy-nilly open a counter intelligence investigation like this? >> my reaction first, peter, it is a remarkable sentence you read on national television, remarkable to think that the president of the united states would be the subject of a counter intelligence investigation. you have to take a moment to digest that. the second question, can the fbi willy-nilly open such an investigation. absolutely not. the counter intelligence division of the fbi and men and women that work for it work under a very, very strict

chuck rosenberg,. former u attorney and senior fbi investiga investigator, now an nbc news analyst. >> good morning, peter. >> let's breck this down and take a moment for this to sink in. the fbi opene up an investigation into the president of the united states to see whether or nki he wasng on behalf of russia. let me read the key graph from o this, soe can get it. it says, agents sought tode rmine whether mr. trump was knowingly working for russia or hadunwittingly fallen under moscow's influence. >>. i want to get your opinion on this, being a former fbi agent. >> first of all, this is a remarkle sentence you just read on national television. remarkable to think that a president of the united states would be the subject of a counterintelligence investigation.ak you have to a moment to digest that. your second question, can t fbi willy-nilly open an investigation? absolutely not. the unterintelligence division of the fbi, the men and women who work for it, wk under a very, very strict set of rules. t

attorney and senior fbi official chuck rosenberg told my colleague nicole wallace on friday. >> the president of the united states is echoing directly the line of the kremlin on a bunch of things. so whether or not it results in an indictment, whether or not it's something we ultimately can see, touch, feel, and hear this is something u.s. intelligence officials have to understand. why is the president saying what he's saying? is he just wrong? does he actually believe it? or is something being fed to him with the intent of shaping his conduct, shaping his words and shaping his actions? >> joining me now is timothy o'brien, author of "trump nation," clint watts, former fbi special agent, and jill winebanks, former assistant watergate prosecutor. clint, even the "wall street journal" which is usually trump-friendly, their editorial board slammed this weird defense of the soviet invasion of afghanistan called it cracked afghanistan history and saying, right to be there? we can't recall a more absurd misstatement of history by an american president. the soviet union invaded afghanistan in 1979 t