the white house also side stepped questions about the explanation for donald trump jr. meeting at trump tower with a russian attorney offering dirt on hillary clinton. at the time president's lawyer and sanders said he did not dipgt dictate the response. >> that was written by donald trump jr. with consultation with his lawyer. >> he certainly didn't dictate. but like he said, he weighed in an offered suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: and now t lawyers tell the specinsel in a january letter that the president dictated a short but accurate response to "the new york times" article on behalf of his son. when asked to explain her own false statement, sanders dodged big-time. >> this is from a letter from the outside counsel and i direct you to them. it is also pertaining to a letter from the president's outside counsel and i can't answer. >> reporter: giuliani conceded the trump tower meeting demonstrates why the president may not talk to the special counsel. >> this is the reason you don't let the president testify. it is -- our recollection keeps changing.

take a listen. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and i'm sure with his lawyer. at wasn't written by the president. >> the president did not sign off on anything and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. sgrm >> he didn't dictate. he weighed in and offered suggestion like any father would do. >> are you bothered by the fact that the white house lied about the president's involvement here? >> dana, first of all, thank you for having me. look, the one thing i have found, this has gone on for more than a year. millions of dollars has been spent. the white house has been cooperating all the way through. this was all based upon was there collusion involved in the election. everyone looked at this and said there is no collusion going forward. >> those are the talking points. this is a specific question. are you concerned that the white house -- you heard the sound bytes and saw the statement from his own lawyers. they lied. does that concern you? >> they can go on with the investigation. what i am concerned most about was there any collusion? there

donald trump. he played it well. >> his son, donald trump, jr.eitbart radio this week and he talked about the double standard that he and many conservatives say about the president and his family. listen to what he said. >> it's such a flagrant double standard. i think real americans get it. it's no more buying into it's fair on both sides. >> i agree. the fact is, the culture war works to the benefit of republicans. it's been doing it for 50 years. >> d that make it right? >> no, i have to tell you, liberals walk into the trap, not just using the most vial, vulgar word to describe a woman but going after her in such a personal way. her relationship with her father. i have not a whole lot of use for ivanka trump. but you don't go after somebody in that really nasty vial way, frankly i think that word and the fact that it was scripted and you know essentially she may have read it from a teleprompter says world about liberals and their values. >> here's the problem. have you the president, himself, has used that word. it's been report thad he used

that the president's lawyers acknowledge the president dictated the misleading statement from donald trump jr., a statement the lawyers called accurate about the purpose of his meeting with russians at trump tower during the 2016 campaign. despite an explicit denial from the white house last summer. >> he certainly didn't dictate, but you know, like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: one month earlier, sekulow strongly refuting the claim the multiple times in july after it was revealed that donald trump jr. took the meeting with the promise of getting dirt on hillary clinton, not as he initially said to discuss adoptions. >> i wasn't involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the president. the president didn't sign off on anything. i want to be clear the president wasn't involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. >> reporter: giuliani arguing that the shifting explanations are just another reason the president shouldn't testify. >> i think jay was wrong. this is the reason you

. >>> coming up, donald trump admits he dictated the statement that donald trump jr.eased about the trump tower meeting that the younger trump convened to get, quote, dirt on hillary clinton. i'll ask congressman eric swalwell about that next. man 1: this is my body of proof. woman 1: proof of less joint pain... woman 2: ...and clearer skin. woman 3: this is my body of proof. man 2: proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis... woman 4: ...with humira. woman 5: humira targets and blocks a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further irreversible joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. avo: humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you'v

donald trump. however, donald trump jr. very well might get indicted. >> and he could be pardoned.e is press department for that. >> this is a full-out war. a ne-yo civil war going on in this country. but this will come to a head at some point. it will be a big argument of what is obstruction of justice. and i agree with jeffrey. you know, presidents do obstruct justice. nixon did, clinton did and very likely donald trump did in the firing of comey. >> very quickly, jeffrey, what's the most important thing to aoe pherplg in the last 48 hours of this memo? is it admission of a lie over the trump tower meeting? >> i think it's a broader issue than that. donald trump is asserting powers that no president has asserted power before. >>> the northeast is bracing for more rain and that is raising concerns about serious flooding. we're tracking all the storms for you next. whoooo. looking for a hotel that fits... ...your budget? tripadvisor now searches over... ...200 sites to find you the... ...hotel you want at the lowest price. grazi, gino! find a price that fits. tripadvisor. liberty m

it came from donald trump jr. that's what i can tell you. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyers. >> he certainly didn't dictate, but he -- like i said, he weighed in and offered a suggestion like any father would do. >> three times from jay sekulow. >> lying to the press is not a crime, right? it meanst we shouldn't believe these people anymore about anything, but it's not a crime to lie to the press. i think this is coming out right now because the walls are closing in on trump and he he has to treat truthfully with mueller and the fdny and the other investigator, right? but people like us, he can lie to as much as he wants to and he does. >> do you think that this is because the president feels like the walls are closing in? >> it's better to leak things out now that are true than to do it once you've got to show up in front of director mueller's team and you actually have to provide evidence. i think this has always been the strategy, right? he just changed the message and change the messenger and change where you're giving the me

. >>> coming up, donald trump admits he dictated the statement that donald trump jr.eased about the trump tower meeting that the younger trump convened to get, quote, dirt on hillary clinton. i'll ask congressman eric swalwell about that next. ♪ bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens ♪ ♪ brown paper packages tied up with strings ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ these are a few of my favorite things ♪ come hok., babe. nasty nighttime heartburn? try new alka-seltzer pm gummies. the only fast, powerful heartburn relief plus melatonin so you can fall asleep quickly. ♪ oh, what a relief it is! mother...nature! sure smells amazing... even in accounts receivable. gain botanicals laundry detergent. bring the smell of nature wherever you are. i'm your phone,istle text alert. stuck down here between your seat and your console, playing a little hide-n-seek. cold... warmer... warmer... ah boiling. jackpot. and if you've got cut-rate car insurance, you could be picking up these charges yourself. so get allstate, where agents help keep you protected from may

this meeting we don't know what particularly it was that has gotten adam schiff concerned about donald trump jrhe senate judiciary committee that other than this famous trump tower meeting with natalia veselnitskaya he did not accept other meetings with foreign officials offering help, we later found out that wasn't true. if he said that same thing to the house intelligence committee, that would appear to be a false statement. so i understand why maybe the committee wouldn't want to release them publically. although they pledged to do it. it's hard to see what the harm is turning it over to robert mueller who is after all conducting a perfectly lejat mat legally authorized investigation. if the republicans don't want to do it, it's a clear sign they don't want to do anything to let this investigation move forward. >> wouldn't robert mueller be interviewing donald trump jr., erik prince and roger stone, wouldn't he get to the interviews if he hasn't already done them, and wouldn't need the testimony done in congress? barbara? or matt go ahead. >> that gets you to a difference between the house c

this business about donald trump jr.'s meeting at trump tower, joe sekulow repeatedly said the president wasn't behind it, wasn't involved, didn't write it. let's remind people what he said. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyer. >> the president did not sign anything. >> he certainly didn't dictate. he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father should do. >> the president dictated the letter. so all of that was wrong. >> the thing that i love, what rudy guiliani was saying, this is why we can't have him testifying because people's recollections keep changing. actually, you know what, there is only one truth. if you tell the truth, you don't have to worry about making false statements. i just found that statement byg. >> does it tell you the fact that they now -- the fact that they knitted in the letter, in the memo that the president did dictate it, does that tell you the reason they had to admit it. there is no reason they have no now told the truth is that someone, lik

the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump jr. and i am sure in consultation with his lawyers. the president wasn't involved in that. the president did not draft the response. the response came from donald trump jr. and i am sure in consultation with his lawyer. let me say this, the president, i do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement, it came from donald trump jr. >> a couple of weeks later sarah sanders obscured the president's role. >> he certainly didn't dictate. but like i said, he weighed in and offered suggest like any father would do. >> to reiterate, we think we know because jay sekulow who you saw there, sent to robert mueller's team what would presumably be the real versions of events. quote, the president dictated the mgs leading statement. which goes straight to the question rob mueller is seeking to answer. did the president what would have attempted to a cover story obstruct justice? mr. mueller is not talking about it. neither was sarah san

it came from donald trump jr. donald trump jr. said the same thing, it was from him and his lawyer was in consultation. >> he certainly didn't dictate, but like i said, he weighed in and offered a suggestion like any father would do. >> azi, how did we go from the denials last summer to their admission in the 20-page let her? >> when your client isn't being honest with you, most lawyers would fire that client. clearly, lying to the president or the press is not illegal. whether or not you consider yourself under oath or anything, those comments are actually considered very legalistically bound. so therefore you cannot deviate. now they are getting more information out of the president, they are getting a better understanding of what he did. saying that he dictated, which is a very clear word, that statement. it puts the president, essentially, in that room. and now investigators have the opportunity to follow the trail right back to the white house. but having a press secretary sort of give misstatements to reporters, having a law

donald trump jr.hat's what i can tell you because that's what we know. donald trump jr. said the same thing, it was from him and his lawyer in consultation. >> he certainly didn't dictate, like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> pema, why did this story change? >> this is one of the most mind blowing parts of the memo that's come out because it really sort of underscores a pattern we see here, when you team up with donald trump and follow his narrative, you might end up getting thrown under the bus. one of the most shocking things is that donald trump jr., the president's son has essentially testified before congress to something different than what the president's lawyers are now saying, which is that his father wasn't really involved in drafting that statement. so i think, i wonder on some level if it is a mistake, but absolutely. they've come out and sort of admitted that they lied. and i think to the credit of the media now, we're all focusing on this, saying wa

mark steyn, great to see you. >> thank you, tucker. >> tucker: donald trump jr. cuss the ig report and the new lawsuit by the attorney general of the state of new york against the trump foundation announced today. we'll be right back. ♪ rcycle insurance with geico! goin' up the country. love mom and dad' i'm takin' a nap. dude, you just woke up! ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. red lobster's lobster & shrimp hesummerfest is back!h. get all the lobster and shrimp you crave, together in so many new ways. there's new cedar plank seafood bake. tender maine lobster and shrimp, cedar roasted to perfection. or new caribbean lobster and shrimp. sweet pineapple salsa on grilled rock lobster, paired with jumbo coconut shrimp. and wait. there's lobster & shrimp overboard! it's a seafood party on a plate. so hurry in. 'cause lobster & shrimp summerfest won't last. >> tucker: the left wasn't going to let ig's report go >> tucker: the left wasn't going t

the statement was released by donald trump jr. in consultation with his lawyers. i do want to be clear, the president wasn't involved in the drafts of the statement. it came from donald trump jr. that's what we know. trump jr. had said the same thing. it was from him and he believes his lawyer was in consultation. >> sherd: jay sekulow, the president's lawyer. another lawyer for the president said sekulow was uninformed when he made those stateme that actually the president did indeed dictate the memo back in the day, just as they said in the memo to the special counsel in january. let's get to john roberts. not sure what to do with this, john. the lawyers say one thing. the white house press secretary says anoter. somebody is lying. we're not sure who it is. >> the statement that you just played from jay sekulow was july 12, 2017. this letter was sent on january 29th, 2018 to robert mueller. as written by jay sekulow and his assistant. he said in july that the president didn't dictate it. then he and his assistant is were the 20-page memo that was delivered to rob

up next, gq takes a deep dive into donald trump jr.'uggle to get out of president trump's shadow. you're watching "hardball." foud 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. try areds 2 + multivitamin. the world is full of different hair. that's why pantene has the perfect conditioners for everyone. from air-light foam, to nourishing 3 minute miracle, to the moisture-infusing gold series. we give more women great hair days - every day. pantene. ♪ now that i'm on my way ♪ do you still think i'm crazy standing here today ♪ ♪ i couldn't make you love me applebee's 2 for $20, now with steak. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. epa administrator scott pruitt has been plagued by controversies. the seemingly endless list involved chi

. >>> one of donald trump's -- president trump's fiercest supporters is his eldest son and namesake, donald trump jr. but the father/son relationship has a story. it's a fascinating story. donald trump jr., my father. told us of jun 2016, met with russians who had ties to this article. there's so much i want to start with is with the insight you've started. you spoke to a sauce. tell us what happened? >> well, according to the sou e source, and this was confirmed by the senate judiciary committee, was that donald trump jr. was saying he was promised. came in there, came into a meeting at trump towers and he said let's talk business. i believe you have something for me. the russians started talking about something entirely. the second one, he realized he wasn't getting the dirt on hillary he thought he was going to get? a light just well p clearly. that doesn't matter. you write that meeting that don had hoped would be pretty useful has become as useful as a hole in the head. the potential ties between russia and the trump campaign. >> like so many things in his life, in business, in politics. he's k

mark steyn, great to see you. >> thank you, tucker. >> tucker: donald trump jr. ss the ig report and the new lawsuit of the attorney general of the state of new york against the trump foundation announced today. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ before you and your rheumatologist move to another treatment, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, h

there was something else in this memo and it had to do with response to donald trump jr., you have received all of the note, communications and testimony indicating that the president dictated a short, but accurate response to "the new york times" article on behalf of donald trump jr. and this is in regard to the first trump tower meeting in july 2016 and this is what jay sekulow said to me on "meet the press" about that incident. here it is. >> you want to declare the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and to not issue that statement and it came from donald trump jr., and that's what i can tell you because that's what we know. >> in july he said it came from donald trump jr. and he said the president dictated a small response. i know it's not a crime to lie to those of us in the media. let me ask you this. was he misinformed at the time or what happened? >> i think -- i obviously asked jay about this. i think he was uninformed at the time just like i was when i came in the case. he was on the case. this was a point that maybe wasn't clarified in terms of recollecti

the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump jr. and i am sure in consultation with his lawyers. the president wasn't involved in that. the president did not draft the response. the response came from donald trump jr. and i am sure in consultation with his lawyer. let me say th, the president, i do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement, it came from donald trump jr. >> a couple of weeks later sarah sanders obscured the president's role. >> he weighed in like any father would do. >> sent to robert mueller's team which would be the events. straight to the question rob bu bert mueller is seeking to answer. mr. mueller is not talking about it. neither was sarah sanders in her on role in misleading the public >> entirely defereifferent how e to know what to believe. >> once again i can't comment on a letter from the president's outside counsel and i direct you to them to answer them. >> you said he did not dictate. and then you said he did, what is it? >> i can't

donald trump's son, donald trump jr., was actually on a sirius xm radio show this morning arguing thatess is better than the status quo. listen to this. >> the reality of the situation is my father does negotiate, he understands how that works. the status quo has been going on in the u.s. for 60 years. that's our worst case scenario. he maintains that. so he can walk away. they can actually do something great for their country. so he has a lot of leverage. he knows that. and he's not afraid to use that. >> reporter: now, there are some within the president's own party even who have addressed skepticism when it comes to the north koreans, including senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. yesterday he was talking about the potential for the administration to get snookered into a bad deal with the north koreans if the trump administration is too eager to come up with a deal. he's warning the united states that being too eager may make the north koreans more powerful and ultimately not avert a nuclear conflict. >> boris, let me ask you about this new report that the u.s. officials planning

donald trump, jr., and went to everybody and asked for statements and we got a comment from donald trump, jr. through his lawyer that said, you know, this was basically a nothing meeting. it was mostly about russian adoption policy. basically pay it no mi and then of course we found out a couple days later and reported that the president had personally signed off on this. everybody at the white house and the legal team kind of went ballistic at that. and then the washington po >> mark corallo quit over this. mark corallo was the president's kind of p.r. guy on the legal team. he quit over this. he felt perhapstion of justice was happening in front of his eyes. this is one of the central flash points in robert mer's obstruction of justice investigation, right? >> yeah, and of course not after over the top.t comes he didn't just sign off othis,h. once again everybody gets spun up and says no, that's not true, it's fake news. everybody is lying. and, you know, the truth will come out. well, the truth did

largely because ivanka trump and jared kushner did not like him, get along with him, neither did donald trump jr. the other piece here is that, i don't understand why donald trump believes he should be brought in to ongoing fbi investigations. he's aren't charges that are ten years old, they deal with serious financial allegations of wrongdoing with ukraine that was tied to rick gates and paul manafort. if anything, donald trump should have done his own vetting -- >> you just took the word out of my mouth. >> he hired him. paul manafort has been dealing with the ukraine prior to donald trump, he's right about that. why did donald trump not say, wait a minute, let's do even a tiny bit of google searching and find that out. >> actually, bec no one -- they were in a position where no one wanted to work with him so they took who could -- here's the result of what you have because of that. this is one hot mess of an administration. tonight, you have rudy giuliani standing like john belushi in a blues' brothers say, my god it wasn'ty i warst tried to defend what they said tonight about the letter that

take a listen. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyer. the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. >> he certainly didn't dictate but like i said he weighed in and offered suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: the argument's trump lawyers laid out in this letter are ones we have been hearing them make privately for months. cnn reported on this letter last month but now we are getting a detailed look at how the president's lawyers are pushing back against mueller. christi? >> sarah westwood, thank you. >>> breaking news this hour. kim jong-un is getting ready to meet, apparently, yet another world leader. according to the north korean news agency, syrian president bashar al assad will visit pa yang y pyongyang soon. >> he held a surprise summit with xi jinping weeks ago and sawing with south korea's president jae-in moon. a lot of people are trying to get influence and bashar al assad is next. >> good

because if you just went a couple days before to instagram and you searched donald trump jr., it gave you a warning this site to be harmful and could actually cause death. so that puts a real concern of what's going on. and what happened at amazon kicking out the alliance for freedom. you couldn't give the charity money through there even more, even though they defend religious freedom before the supreme court and amazon smile, those customers can't pick that charity anymore to give money to. >> old friends of mine, i have spoken at their groups. they have been kicked off amazon. that's wrong. leader mccarthy, we have talked about this before on this show. what do you do about this? i think you said this has got to be a source of alarm. there has to be accountability. if you're speaker of the house, what will you do about it? >> i think individuals need to come in. there needs to be transparencies. because we have to have a clear understanding. we have a first amendment and others. people are controlling -- if they're controlling the feed of what people are seeing, that is fundamental

number two, what precipitated that meeting was an e-mail to donald trump jr. of his friends who is a russian who said, we have dirt on hillary clinton. and donald trump jr. was like, great. they went into meeting anticipating getting dirt from hillary clinton and russians. just because they may have been a bait and switch or maybe it was a russian agent intelligence op, we don't know. the fact that the adoptions was a small part of it, that is bs. that is intent of that meeting, that's been well established now, donald trump jr. released the e mail. what's happening is, they're deflecting, because they lied about this, because for whatever reason it seems as though they have something to hide. if you are innocent act like it. these are not the actions, the behaviors, the words, of people who are innocent with nothing to hide. you don't need to have different recollections of what's going on. >> precisely this kind of spin, you have no idea what they did note. >> i know what his e-mail said. >> it's precisely because of this that this turned into a game of gotc

that donald trump jr. had been promised from a russian government attorney information that, quote, would incriminate hillary and very useful to your father. part of russia and its government support tor mr. trump. donald trump jr.'s response at the time, if it is what you say, i love it. so let us be clear about what we are talking about here. president trump, according to his lawyers, wasmarily sponsible for a statement so misleading into the territory of a lie about that meeting involving his son and campaign chair and son-in-law and meeting with someone presented as a russian government lawyer with dirt on hillary clinton and compounding that extremely deceptive statement, we were told for months the president did not dictate that statement. >> he certainly didn't dictate. but he -- like i said, he w5 w5ed -- he weighed in and offer suggestions like any father would do. >> i wasn't involved in the statement drafting and nor was the president. >> the president didn't sign off on anything. but i do want t

keep him, i have two other kids to raise donald trump said screw it, and sent him back up. >> wow, wow. okay, well, it's called "the real story of donald trump, jr and in gq and fascinating. >>> when we come back, donald trump asked players to come up with a list they felt in the justice system they felt needed pardoning. take this left. if you listen real hard you can hear the whales. oop. you hear that? (vo) our subaru outback lets us see the world. sometimes in ways we never imagined. still nervous [about buying a house? a little. thought i could de-stress with some zen gardening. at least we don't have to worry about homeowners insurance. just call geico. geico helps with homeowners insurance? good to know. been doing it for years. that's really good to know. i should clean this up. i'll get the dustpan. behind the golf clubs. get to know geico. and see how easy homeowners and renters insurance can be. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. then, use the ultimate power handshake, the upper hander with a double palm grab. who has the upper hand now? start winning today. book now at lq.com. this is what they'll remember. we know

it came from donald trump jr. that's what i can tell you. >> he certainly didn't dictate, but like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> during today's white house press briefing, sarah huckabee sanders was repeatedly asked about the drafting of this statement. >> what's the reason for that discrepancy? >> like you said, this is from a letter from the outside counsel, and i'd direct you to them to answer that question. >> i wonder if you could tell us the basis of your comment when you made that in august and is that still an operative statement or do you retract that? that? >> once again this is a reference back to a letter from the outside counsel. i understand, but it's also pertaining to a letter from the president's outside counsel, and therefore i can't answer. >> how can we believe what you tell us from the podium if his lawyers are saying it's totally inaccurate. >> once again, i can't comment on a letter from the president's outside counsel and i'd direct you to them to an

it came from donald trump jr., that's what i can tell you, that's what we know. donald trump jr. said the same thing it was in fact from him and i believe it was his lawyer was in consultation. >> he certainly didn't dictate like i said he weighed in and offered suggestion like any father would do. >> some comments there from -- how big a deal is this as you see it, what the two attorneys are saying versus what we've heard over the last few nths? >> it's an important revelation, we had reported maggie haiberman that the president had been directly involved in the drafting of that state and jay was denying our story in the "washington post" and followed up saying not only was he involved but dictated it. now have confirmation of that. that's why reporters have such a hard time covering this white house. you can't take anything that's said there, whether it be by the president or people that work for him at face value, you have to assume what you're being told is not necessarily the slow and accurate truth. for them to say the statement was brief but accurate, belies the fact it wa

dictated a short but accurate response to "the new york times" article on behalf of his son, donald trump jr. but last summer trump lawyer jay sekulow and sarah huckabee sanders said president trump did not dictate or draft that statement. >> the president was not -- did not draft the response. the response was -- came from donald trump jr., and i'm sure in conation wa his lawyer. i do want to be clear the esident was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. that's what i can tell you. he certainly didn't dictate, but like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> duringte house press briefing, sarah huckabee sanders was repeatedly asked about the drafting of this statement. >> what's the reason for that discrepancy? >> like you said, this is from a letter from the outside counsel, and i'd direct you to them to answer that question. >> i wonder if you could tell us the basis of your comment when you made that in august and is that still an operative statement or do you retract that? >> once again

admitting the president, quote, dictated, that's a key word, that first m misleading statement from donald trump jr. about the purpose of his meeting with the russian government lawyer at trump tower during the 2016 campaign. here is a quote for you, you have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the president dictated a short, dictated a short but accurate response to the new york times article on behalf of his son donald trump jr. his son then followed up by making a full public disclosure regarding the meeting including his public ttimony that there was nothing to the meeting and certainly no evidence of collusion. nothing to meeting, we can debate for days that we have discussed that quite a bit when we said he would love to get dirt on hillary clinton. regardless, the president's involvement in that misleading statement was something sekulow and the white house denied and denied and denied and denied when the news of the meeting first came out. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and i'm sure with consultation with his lawyer. that wasn't written by the pr

it came from donald trump jr. so that's what i can tell >> you he certainly didn't dictate but, you know, he -- like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion, like any father would do. >> that's now very different than what we've learned from the letter. the legal team basically argues that lying to the press and the american people is a private matter and not of interest to the special counsel. jill, help us understand this. are they correct in argument that they are making that lying to the press is insignificant for the president and is also a private matter. >> well, first of all, l me say that not every father would do that. my father was a man of great integrity and would have never advised me to lie and would have never participated in a lie, so they are wrong on that. they are wrong on the law. they are wrong on every aspect of this. the president, it's very interesting, is now admitting that he did dictate. it's in very clear language in the letter, that he was responsible for it, and it is as false stat

the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump jr. ltation by his lawyers. the president was fnot involved in that. the president did not draft the response. the response came from donald trump jr. and inconsultation of his lawyer. >>e didn't dictate, but you know, like i said, he weighed in and offeredion like any father would do. >> that is narrative number one and it was false. we know in sarah sanders or jay sekulow knew it was false at the time. we do know thater member of the president's legal team has his own narrative which he rolled out to chris cuomo. >> do you think somebody could have made a mistake? >> that is aot of mistakes. >> why is it that somebody, you think jay seckulo lied? maybe he just got it wrong. this is a complex investigation. you can make a mistake, you can make a mistake and then if you don't, if you want to, you can say it is a lie. but it was a mistake. mistake.to god, it was a the guy made a mistake and then he corrected it. >> it almost sound lik a slip of the tongue, if it was a mistake, how come no o

that "the president dictated a response to 'the new york times' article on behalf of his son donald trump jrt have been more donald trump if it had been written in bronzer on the back -- of of a csk bucket, because-- and here's the thing you can't forget-- everything you think happened with donald trump is always what happened. anyone who's surprised to find out he was lying probably still watches "titanic" going, "i hope the boat's going to be okay." so this letter admits some guilt but it stresses that the president is not required to answer to the office of the special counsel, or anyone else, for his private affairs with his children. yes, this is a sacred father-son bonding moment. we all remember when dad would take you down to the old fishin' hole and say, "son, that's where i'm going to hide your body if you admit we colluded with the russians. don't tell your mother. which one was she again?" ( laughter ) ( applause ) and-- and-- ( cheers ) and trump wasn't the only one lying to the american people. so were the liars who work for this liar. take trump lawyer and stock photo of busin

he -- he didn't do anything wrong. >> donald trump jr.ent to the meeting hoping to get dirt on hillary clinton, raising questions about why the president tried to hide the true reason for the meeting. >>> ahead on "cbs this morning," we'll talk to former speaker of the house newt gingrich, a critic of the mueller investigation. >>> president trump canceled today's white house visit by the super bowl champion philadelphia eagles. mr. trump blamed the nfl players' protest during the national anthem. the president has been a vocal critic of players who kneel during the anthem. in a late tweet, the president said the philadelphia eagles football team was invited to the white house. unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. laura podesta is in new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. several players say the president is perpetuating a false narrative because last season all eagles players stood for the national anthem. the last-minute snap decision also means 1,000 fans who were going t

take a listen. >> that was written by donald trump jr. d i'm sure in c consultation with his lawyer. the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. >> he certainly didn't dictate but like i said he weighed in and offered suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: the argument's trump lawyers laid out in this letter are ones we have been hearing them make privately for months. cnn reported on this letter last month but now we are getting a detailed look at how the president's lawyers are pushing back against mueller. >> sarah westwood, thank you. >>> here is the part from that letter from trump's lawyers. the president's actions here by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction because that would amount to obstructing hims. a himself. joining us now to discuss is joey jackson a criminal defense attorney and cnn legal analyst. the validity of that argument, your take. >> my

aln this memo we are learning that president trump did in fact dictate that memo abt his son donald trump jr. meeting with a russian lawyer. here's what his attorney said back then about that. >> the president did not draft the response. the response came from donald trump jr. and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyer. i do want to be clear the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement. >> reporter: well, that's not what the memo says. and here's what the president's current lawyer rudy giuliani said when confronted with that. >> this is the reason you don't let the president testify. our recollection keeps changing or wre n assumption. >> reporter: they're concerned about the possibility of a subpoena, the president being forced to testify in the russia investigation. and as giuliani just alluded to, frances, inconsistencies in what he said publicly or what his legal team has said publicly before and what the president might say sitting down face to face with robert mueller and his team. >> all right, tracie, thank you. >>> now to hawaii's volcanic disaster. it's hit th

the first when donald trump, jr. g about kids and his lack of sensitivity and his tone-deafness, donald trump, jr. is the perfect example of someone who was born on third base and thinks they hit a triple. and when you go to these polls it's indicative of what the american people are feeling. what we did not do when it comes to the issues of immigration, when it comes to these bread and butter issue, when it comes to the supreme court, we did not message to voters appropriately. we did not make these issues, i guess, sexy enough. we did not hit the nail on the head enough to make sure voters got out of their beds and came to vote in 2016. we cannot allow that to happen again in 2018. so these races matter. if you look at these polls one thing that you see is in arizona, in ohio, in florida, in virginia, democrats are winning. so not only do we have to win there, but we also have to make sure we win in heidi hide camp, mansion, senator donnelly wins. everyone show up and show out. maybe we'll have a chance in tennessee

what role did the president play in drafting the initial statement from donald trump jr. in response that 2016 meeting with the russian attorney. a four days after the statement, outside counsel jay sekulow said the president was not involved. >> that was written by donald trump jr. and ims were thin consultation with his lawyer. >> the press secretary later said he was involved but only marginally. >> he didn't dictate. he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> the january letter written by jay sekulow contradicts both of those statements. it informs mueller you have received all of the notes, communications, and testimony indicating that the president dictat a short but accurate response to "the new york times" article on behalf of his son, donald trump jr. giuliani believes psyche sekulw misspoke. >> i think he was wrong. >> the president's attorneys argued that the statement was a private matter between the president and "the new york times." a private matter that robert mueller has no business sticking his nose into. giuliani added yesterday that

the response was -- came from donald trump, jr., and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyer. do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement. >> the president didn't sign off on anything. he was coming back from the g20. the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump, jr., i'm sure in consultation with his lawyers. the president wasn't involved in that. >> he certainly didn't dictate, but, you know, like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> just to be cl all of those statements -- not true. this morning one of the president's closest allies in congress house majority leader kevin mccarthy was asked about those repeated denials from the white house. >> mr. leader, are you bothered by the fact the white house lied about the president's involvement here? >> look, one thing i have found, this has gone on for more than a year. millions of dollars have been spent. the white house has been cooperating all the way through. this was all based upon was there collusion involved in the electi

. >> it was written by donald trump jr. it wasn't written by the president. the president didn't sign off on anything. the president was not involved in the drafting and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. >> he certainly didn't dictate. he weighed in and offered a suggestion like any father would do. >> the letter claims trump was taken out of context when he gave an interview and explained his decision to fire james comey. sheer what the president actually said. >> regardless of recommendation i was going to fire comey knowing there was no good time to do it. when i decided to do it i said to myself, i said this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story. it's an excuse by the ddemocrat having lost an election. >> how sound are the legal arguments in this letter? she is a democrat and member of the house judiciary committee. she spoke about whether the president's lawyers have a legal leg to stand on. >> i don't agree with it. i think it has a legal argument that can be rebutted. the president has constitutional powers. he h

dictated a short but accurate response to "the new york times" article on behalf of his son, donald trump jr." now, of course, this is relating to the trump tower meeting with the russian lawyer, where they were supposed to talk about adoptions. there was misleading information about whether or not this was going to be about promised dirt on hillary clinton that robert mueller and his team is also investigating. and finally, this letter goes on to say that that meeting that donald trump jr. meeting and the statement that the president winded up crafting is a personal matter, and that the special counsel has really no right to investigate that. but i think what's really important here, also, is that since january, at least, the president's lawyers have been making these arguments to the special counsel as to why the president should not be subjected to an interview, and it seems at least as far as from everything we know that that's not working because basically we're still in june and they're still arguing with the special counsel about the fact that he should not be subjected to an intervie

it came from donald trump jr.at's what i can tell you. >> he certainly didn't dictate, you know, like i said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do. >> joining me, jeff bennett, nbc white house correspondent. betsy woodruff, msnbc contributor. and frank vaglusi with ets risk managementief officer the and msnbc contributor as with el. betsy, let me start with you. i mentioned the trump tower meeting. what we learned from the memo, versus what we heard from representatives of the president over the last many minuonths. how important is that when you look at the memo, all that's in there, that particular piece of information? >> it's important because it speaks to the credibility of jay sekulow, the longest serving member of the president's personal legal team, he's outlasted ty cobb, outlasted tom dowd. the fact that he was willing to go on tv and say one thing, to claim publicly that the president had nothing to do with the drafting of that misleading statement that went to "the new york times,

dictated a short, but accurate response to "the new york times"'s article on behalf of his son donald trump jr. a sentence that directly contradicts sekulow's own denials that trump had no part in the statement. >> i do want to be clear, the president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. that's what i can tell you. with regard to how the information came out, as i said, that was information that was controlled not by my client, the president, the president was not involved in that decision. >> this is just one detail in a 20 page confidential letter that was written and hand delivered to mueller by the trump legal team in january. details of the letter published by "the new york times" on saturday reveal behind the scenes efforts by trump's legal team to argue that donald trump is incapable of obstructing justice because he has complete authority over all federal investigations and that he cannot be subpoenaed. we'll talk about this. joining me now our zerlina maxwell and danny cevallos, clint watts and jameel smith. t