cynthia mcfadden joins me now with more.ean spicer says it was all about intelligence gathering what are you learning. >> reporter: we are going to tell you this afternoon what we know. preparations for the raid began during the obama administration, were passed onto the trump administration, making the first clandestine military strike of his presidency. this morning multiple military and intelligence officials tell nbc news that a top secret target was the real reason for the u.s. military operation last week in yemen. his name, a rimmi, the head of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, considered the third most wanted terrorists in the world. the mission, capture or kill him. >> i think it is a successful operation by all standards. >> reporter: but today we know the high stakes gamble to callture al rihmi was not a success. he is alive in yemen according to multiple military officials who also confirmed he released an audio recording taunting president trump on sunday. the fool of the white house got slapped at the beginnin

here's senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden. >> tonight, nbc news has learned that the russian government is considering offering fugitive edward snowden as a gift to president trump. this, according to a senior official, who has analyzed a series of highly sensitive intelligence reports detailing russian conversations and deliberations. a second source in the intelligence community confirms the intelligence and notes it has been received since the inauguration. the sources say russia has been formulating various ploys to curry favor with the new president. during the campaign, mr. trump made it clear what he wanted to see happen. >> i think he's a total traitor. and i would deal with him harshly. and if i were president, putin would give him over. >> snowden has been charged under the espionage act and faces at least 30 years in prison. the intel sources tell nbc news the snowden gift would be part of an ongoing russian campaign to disrupt the american system as they did during the election. >> one of the things that putin or the russians may see is that they could app

details now from senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden. >> reporter: tonight, the father of the highly decorated navy s.e.a.l. killed in the secret raid in yemen is revealing why he declined to meet the president at dover air force base as his son's body arrived there. bill owens telling "the miami herald" he has questions for the president about his youngest son ryan's death. why at this time did there have to be this stupid mission when it wasn't even barely a week into his administration? for two years prior, everything was missiles and drones. now all of a sudden we had to make this grand display? plans for the raid had begun during the obama administration. but just five days in, the trump white house decided to launch. >> a new administration, i think naturally is going to be springloaded to the move-out and demonstrate something. we've seen that in the political realm. it's not surprising we saw it in the military realm here. >> reporter: the white house has repeatedly called the yemen mission a success in gathering important intelligence. >> we gathered an unbelie

i think at the end of the day, moscow holds the cards here. >> that's nbc's cynthia mcfadden.nowden himself reacted to our report tweeting finally. irrefutable evidence that i never cooperated with russian intel. no country trades away spies as the rest would fear they're next. the kremlin calls the report nonsense and the white house had no comment. >>> and today a lawyer for snowden said all this talk is just ordinary speculation. someone is indulging in wishful thinking. >>> when we come back, we'll be joined by former labor secretary tom perez, who served in president obama's cabinet and now says the former president could have done more to help his party in last year's election. we'll ask him about those comments and why he thinks he should be the next dnc chair, after this break. >>> and jacob sober roffe with you next hour joined by another candidate for dnc chair. this is the silverado special edition. this is one gorgeous truck. oh, did i say there's only one special edition? because, actually there's 5. aaaahh!! ooohh!! uh! holy mackerel. wow. nice. strength and styl

cynthia mcfadden joins us. walk us through this. >> good morning, hallie. our reporting suggests that so far sources within the government say there has been and despite what the president has had to say a vast array of officials throughout government saying that that is simply not true, the mission was not a success, the raid had not produced valuable intelligence, at least not yet. the father of the highly decorated navy seal killed in the secret raid in yemen is revealing why he declined the meet the president at dover air force base as he arrived there. "why a this the time did there have to be this stupid mission when it wasn't even barely a week into his administration? for two years prior everything was missile and drones. now all of a sudden we had to make this grand display? just five days in the trump strags administration decided to launch." >> the trump administration is going to be moving out to demonstrate something. it's not surprising we saw it in the military realm here. >> reporter: the white house has repeedly called the yemen mission a s

. >> we thank cynthia mcfadden for that report. >>> a manhunt is searching for suspected killers along the coast. they're accused of going on a murder spree that has left three women dead. a young woman was in critical condition after be being shot in her home and police say security footage shows boyett and rice stopping at a gas station with the victim's car. authorities note that rice's hair color is now orange and they had a gun. >>> pet owners beware. one brand of pet food is issuing a recall. evanger's is announcing a recall after pen toe bash tall was found in a batch of food. the recall affects 12-ounce cans sold in 16 states manufactured between june 6 and june 13 of 2016. customers can also call directly with any questions. >>> heavy rains in oregon turned into massive landslides that blocked several roads in port lapd. mud, dirt and trees poured onto the road below. ten dump truck loads were hauled off before they could reopen that road. >>> heavy snowfall blanketed seattle and surrounding areas with the heaviest snowfall to hit the area in several years. at one point almost

our senior investigative correspondent cynthia mcfadden has details. >> tonight, multiple military and intelligence officials tell nbc news the real reason for the operation last week in yemen. the top secret target, the man american intelligence officials designate the third most dangerous terrorist in the world, the head of al qaeda in yemen. his name, kasi kasim elremi. the mission is to kill or capture him. >> i think it is a successful operation by all standards. >> today we learn the gamble to capture him was not a success. he is alive in yemen according to multiple military officials who confirm that last night he took an audio recording taunting president trump. as he spoke to the yemeni people, saying, the fool of the white house got slapped at the beginning of his road in your land. the white house declined to comment. they have been behind a variety of terrorist plots including the failed underwear bomber and is considered the most dangerous in the world. >> it would be unfair to say this was a slap dash kind of administration. the trump administration is new to the security

. >> we thank cynthia mcfadden for that report. >>> a manhunt is intensifying for a pair of killers along the gulf coast. they're accused of going on a murder spree that has left three women dead. the latest crime was an attempted murder in pensacola. a young woman was in critical condition after be being shot in her home and police say security footage shows boyett and rice stopping at a gas station with the victim's car. authorities note that rice's hair color is now orange and the surveillance video showed they had a gun. >>> pet owners beware. one brand of pet food is issuing a multistate recall after a contamination with a potentially lethal drug. evanger's is announcing a recall after the drug was found in a batch. five got six and another died from the tainted food. the recall affects 12-ounce cans sold in 16 states manufactured between june 6 and june 13 of 2016. customers can also call directly with any questions. >>> heavy rains in oregon turned into massive landslides that blocked several roads in portland. look here, a cliff collapsed right on to a local highway pouring mud, d

i think at the end of the day, moscow holds the cards here. >> reporter: for "today" cynthia mcfadden, nbc news. >> snowden took to twitter. finally evidence that i never cooperated with russian intel. no country trades away spies as the rest would fear they're next. the justice department tells nbc news they welcome his return, but the talk is nonsense and the white house so far has given no comment. >>> the president's trackdown on illegal fear among communities after a series of raids led by immigration and custom overnight. we have gadi schwartz with many who call this country home fearing. >> reporter: across the country this morning, immigration and raids sending panic through families of millions of undocumented immigrants. >> a heightened level of fear. >> reporter: i.c.e. say raids were routine targeting criminals. activists saying some swept up don't pose a threat. >> we are destroying families. >> reporter: i.c.e. raids are not new. president obama's presidency deploying more in history. >> we have no alternative but to enforce the law. if the laws on the books relative to

i think at the end of the day, moscow holds the cards here. >> reporter: for "today," cynthia mcfadden, nbc news. >> edward snowden took to twitter overnight writing, quote, finally, irrefutable evidence that i never cooperated with russian intel. no country trades away spies as the rest would fear they're next. meanwhile, the justice department tells nbc news, they would welcome his return, but the kremlin says the talk is nonsense and the white house so far has given no comment. >>> meantime, the president's crackdown on illegal immigrants is spreading fear among many communities nationwide this morning, after a series of raids led by immigration customs enforcement officials overnight. nbc's gatti schwartz on the growing feel these immigrants are feeling who call this country home. >> reporter: this morning, across the country, word of immigration and customs raids sending panic through families of millions of undocuments immigrants. >> there's a heightened level of fear, because of everything that's happening. >> reporter: i.c.e. saying raids in l.a., atlanta, and texas were routin

. >> that was nbc cynthia mcfadden reporting. finally, no country trades away spice as the rest would fear they are next. joining me next, thanks for being here. let's talk about snowden thing. does the white house want to take this on? >> they need to be careful about looking for russian trojan horse, we saw that interview if we was president they would give him to me, i don't think he realize there may be bigger complications here. what happens in trial what president going to kind of intelligence that snowden exposed. there's a lot of moving parts here. we know that someone like trump is eager to have things that president obama couldn't get. it's about that winning brand for trump. i think you're going to see him eager to get this. what it means, time with tell. >> it's interesting how you say that's a trojan horse. trump vexed by challenges, scale of government. the first line reads being president it's harder than donald trump thought. what are the frustration. >> when you run a family business your rule is the rule of law.

cynthia mcfadden is here with your reporting. this could have been the biggie. if they had nailed this man they were looking for, this could have been a blow to terrorism. >> reporter: it was the first clandestine strike of president trump's presidency. this morning multiple military and intelligence officials tell nbc news a top secret target was the real reason for the u.s. military operation last week in yemen. his name, qassim al-rimi, considered the third most dangerous terrorist in the world. the mission -- capture or kill him. >> it is a successful operation by all standards. >> reporter: today we know the high-stakes plan was not a success. he is alive according to multiple officials, who also confirmed, al-rimi released a recording taunting president trump on sunday. "the fool of the white house got slapped on the road to his land." >> i think it would be unfair to criticize the new administration in part because this is counterterrorism activity, it's well oiled, well worn and certainly well planned. >> reporter: all of the leaders in the military chai

joining me with the latest is cynthia mcfadden. there's a lot to talk about here. what can you tell us? >> good morning, hallie. preparations for the top secret raid began during the obama administration and were passed on to the trump administration, making it the first clandestine military strike of his presidency. this morning multiple military officials tell msnbc news a top target of the raid. the mission, capture or kill him. >> i think it is a successful operation by all standards. >> but today we know the high stakes gamble to capture him was not a success. he is say live in yemen according to multiple officials, who also say al-rimi taunted the white house. both the white house and the pentagon declined to comment. >> i think it would be unfair to criticize the new administration in part pause this is counterterrorism activity that is well oiled, well worn and certainly well planned. >> reporter: all of the leaders in the military chain of command agreed that the prospect of taking him out was worth the mission's risk. officials tell nbc news, secretary of

now, nbc's cynthia mcfadden reports. >> tonight, multiple military and intelligence officials tell nbcn for the operation last week in yemen. the top secret target, the man american intelligence officials designate the third most dangerous terrorist in the world, the head of al qaeda in yemen. his name is qassim al rimi. the mission is to kill or capture him. >> i think it is a successful operation by all standards. >> today we learn the gamble to capture him was not a success. he is alive in yemen according to multiple military officials who confirm that last night he released an audio recording, taunting president trump as he spoke to the yemeni people, saying "the fool of the white house got slapped at the beginning of his road in your land." the white house declined to comment. al qaeda in yemen has been behind a variety of terrorist plots, including the failed underwear bomber, and is considered the most dangerous hub in the world. >> it would be unfair to say this was a slap dash kind of administration. the trump administration is new to the security world and may be getting its

investigative journalist cynthia mcfadden reporting russia considering returning snowden to the united states to "curry favor with trump." intelligence checking information that russia is considering turning snowden over as a gift, calling the nsa leader a spy and traitor, trump has, saying he deserves to be executed. that's according to a senior u.s. official who has reports detailing the russian deliberation and says the snowden handover is one of the various ploys to curry favor with trump. your thoughts. >> yes. i mean, ari, if true, it would be a win-win for russia. presumably, they've extracted as much information from snowden as they can get. they will look like they are doing a favor for the new president. the president would look strong in terms of prosecuting someone who's violated the most secure sacket yums. so, it would be a smart ploy for putin, who's showed his ability to manipulate the new president from beginning to end. >> would americans view it as a foreign policy victory for donald trump? >> the popularity of snowden, there's lots of disagreement about that, but i

nbc news investigative journalist cynthia mcfadden reporting tonight that the raid was actually targetingsim al rimi, head of al qaeda in yemen, but the effort to capture or kill him was not successful. al rimi is alive in yemen according to multiple military officials and released an audio recording taunting president trump saying "the fool of the white house got slapped at the beginnings of his road in your lands." while there is much we just don't know about this raid, mcfadden is reporting on sources describing how top officials briefed president trump while he made up his mind. >> reporter: officials tell nbc news president trump was told by the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff that the possibility of capturing al rimi would be a game changer. and in making their case to proceed, they told the president they doubted the obama administration would have been bold enough to try it. the operation was larger than any counterterrorism strike since the killing of osama bin laden in 2011. >> the white house and the pentagon declined to comment. joining us no

. >> and now we've reported, cynthia mcfadden, my colleague, has reported exclusively that the real target was not cell phones and computers but a particular -- you know, one of the most wanted terrorist. was he the original target of the expanded program in yemen? >> well, as i said, we didn't look at a specific concept of operation. he was not mentioned as part of it. it was, rather -- >> part of reporting was also that general dunford and the defense secretary mattis told the president that this was something that the obama white house would never have done because the white house was not aggressive enough in going after terrorists. >> it's hard -- since, obviously, i didn't hear what they had to say to the president under the context and, in fact, i don't know what it is exactly that president trump approved, so i can't speak with real authority. >> apparently, it was aprooufld without consultation with either the secretary of state or other members of the national security council. it was done with the -- the pentagon was very much in favor of it. >> i've heard that, too. during the o

nbc's senior investigator and legal correspondent cynthia mcfadden has the latest on that. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. preparations for the raid began during the obama administration were passed on to the trump administration, making it the first clandestine military strike of his presidency. this morning, multiple military and intelligence officials tell nbc news that a top-secret target was the real reason for the u.s. military operation last week in yemen. his name, qassim al-rimi, the head of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, considered the third-most dangerous terrorist in the world. the mission, capture or kill him. >> i think it is a successful operation by all standards. >> reporter: but today, we know the high-stakes gamble to capture al-rimi was not a success. he is alive in yemen, according to multiple military officials who confirm that al-rimi released an audio recording, taunting president trump on sunday. the fool at the white house got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands, he said. both the white house and the pentago