flynn lied to mike pence. look at mike pence. how dare you lie to him? how could you lie to somebody like that? they were so outraged they had to fire michael flynn but they found out about michael flynn supposedly lying to mike pence almost three weeks before. and it apparently took three weeks to startbothering them so much. it didn't bother them until it hit the news and then everybody found out that mike pence had talked about sanctions with the russian ambassador and had been lying about it, that's when they finally fired mike flynn. it's never made sense in the white house account of what happened to michael flynn and how he was fired and why he was fired. it has never made sense that the reason he had to go was that he lied to mike pence and nobody lies to mike pence and gets away with it. the white house sat on the news of that lie for three weeks, did nothing about it before they finally got dragged into firing him because of public exposure. the only thing that makes sense is that his lies got finall

flynn lied to mike pence. look at mike pence. how dare you lie to him? how could you lie to somebody like that? they were so outraged they had to fire michael flynn but they found out about michael flynn supposedly lying to mike pence almost three weeks before. and it apparently took three weeks to startbothering them so much. it didn't bother them until it hit the news and then everybody found out that mike pence had talked about sanctions with the russian ambassador and had been lying about it, th's when they finally fired mike flynn. it's never made sense in the white house account of what happened to michael flynn and how he was fired and why he was fired. it has never made sense that the reason he had to go was that he lied to mike pence and nobody lies to mike pence and gets away with it. the white house sat on the news of that lie for three weeks, did nothing about it before they finally got dragged into firing him because of public exposure. the only thing that makes sense is that his lies got finally

flynn's lawyer released a statement. it reads in part. quote, general flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it should the circumstances permit. back in september, the issue of immunity came up when our own chuck todd was talking to michael flynn on "meet the press" about aides to hillary clinton. >> the very last thing john podesta said is no individual too big to jail. that should include people like hillary clinton. five people around hillary clinton have been given immunity to include her former chief of staff. when you are given immunity, that means you have probably committed a crime. >> point of information here, not true. immunity is also granted to innocent people. flynn's lawyer also said in his statement tonight, no reasonable person who has the benefit of advice from counsel would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution. the by line on this story in "the wall street journal" shows it is the work of three journalists. ca

because flynn had recruited him. and this same person was deeply involved in giving stuff to nunes and the collusion with nunes. tried to fire him, and the president personally intervened? i've never heard of anything like that anderson. and it happens -- you know, i hope for the country's sake, frankly, i hope for the president's sake, that this is more smoke than fire. because i think it would be calamitous for the country if it went the other way. but they're behaving in such a suspicious way that it has to make you doubt. you know, when sean spicer stands up there and says things that you know are not quite true, it makes you doubt. i just wish for the country's sake they would come forward, be honest, let's face it, let's deal with it, and let's move on. because it is not helpful to have a corruptful president. if that's what this comes to, it's extremely bad news for the country. >> and this is how these scandals unravel. and they tend to morph into other stories as events develop. so, now there's going to be a

and flynn who previously denied the accusations changed his tune and the washington both said flynn indicatedwhile he had no recollection of discussing sanctions he couldn't be certain the topic never came up. cnn and others reported the justice department warned the trump administration in january flynn misled administration officials and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the russi russians. >> according to two officials we spoke to who have been briefed on this, it was a main topic of the discussion, it wasn't some thing that kislyak maybe threw out at the end or anything like that. >> shortly after the report emerged, flynn submitted a letter of resignation, because of the fast pace of events, i inadvertently briefed the vice president elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the russian ambassador. >> jack kingston joins us. jen psaki from the white house director of communications for president obama. >> is this bad news for the trump administration? >> i don't think it's bad news. it's helpful if he wants to come forward and people will want to

flynn has released a slightly mellow dramatic statement explaining general flynn's offer in his lawyer's own words. it says statement by counsel to lieutenant general mike flynn. the first line is this. general flynn certainly has a story to tell. and he very much wants to tell it should the circumstances permit. out of respect for the committees we will not comment on details of discussion between counsels other than to confirm that those discussions have taken place. but it's important to acknowledge the circumstances in which those discussions are occurring. the statement then goes on to include a detailed summary of the general's impressive long military career and the various awards he received for his military and intelligence work. and then that statement ends with this sort of call to arms. quote, not withstanding his life of public service, the media are awash with unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason. he is now the target of unsubstaniated demands to be criminally investigated. no reasonable person would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized witch hu

part of flynn's lawyer's statement. general flynn certainly has a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it. no reasonable person with benefit of advice from council would admit to testifying without assurances against unfair prosecution. they're basically painting a picture of this as kind of -- they are saying it's a witch-hunt environment. it's a politicized environment. kind of indicating that the entire investigation is unfair, and that's why he needs immunity, not that he did anything wrong. >> right. and that the lawyer is trying to tantalize the committee and the fbi by saying, wow, if you give him immunity, you're going get this bombshell. now the way sober prosecutors work in circumstances like this is they have what is called a proffer session. or sometimes known queen for a day where the witness goes in under effective immunity and said if you give me immunity, i will tell you the following. that is what should happen, i think. but it's got to be negotiated with both congress and the fbi. and it just s

mike flynn or the white house speaking on his behalf repeatedly misstated the facts when it came to flynn's contacts with the russian government. they had to repeatedly revise the number of calls and contacts they admitted that mike flynn had with the russian government and russian ambassador. flynn reportedly also down played the content of those communications and the white house backed him up on that. it was after the inauguration when sally yates and another official tells the white house that mike flynn wasn't being honest about the content of his communications with the russian government. he was in fact discussing u.s. sanctions on russia even though he said publically that he wasn't. the department of justice came to the white house. those officials came to the white house. we are told that what they told the white house is a pretty lurid story. they came to the white house and told the white house that national security adviser mike flynn was compromised by a foreign power. he was vulnerable to black male and that is obviously a serious, serious matter for somebody who had access t

the white house declining to comment about the flynn news as flynn's own words last year about hillary clinton loom large over his potential testimony. >> the very last thing that john podesta just said is no individual too big to jail tharks should include people like hillary clinton. five people around her have been given immunity, to include her former chief of staff. when you are given immunity, that means you have probably committed a crime. >> and if you're not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for, what? >> for weeks house and senate investigators have expressed an interest in speaking with flynn, in addition to at least three other trump associates. >> i think it is safe to say that we have had conversations with a lot of people and you would think less of us if general flynn wasn't on that list. >> he was forced to resign less than a month into trump's presidency after admitting he misled mike pence about the nature of his contacts with a russian ambassador. his firing coming weeking after the justice warned the administration that flynn may have opened himself up t

laura, flynn's attorney is saying, general flynn certainly has a story to tell. the letter then goes on to say, no reasonable person would submit to questioning in a highly politicized witch hunt. flynn's attorney isn't using legal jargon here. but when you read that, what do you think? >> i read that and i say you're asking for immunity. the issue is not why you'd request immunity. of course, if you're going to be presented with a criminal investigation and you already heard the fbi director say there's a criminal investigation into whether or not people in the trump campaign, to which he was a part of, were involved in collusion. you have that. you also have the logan act allegations that he may have represented the united states in a way that is not a very well-used law at all. but the question is, why would i give you immunity? as a prosecutor, he blasts all the time. the reason i would get immunity is if there is a bigger fish to fry that you can give me. or what you're going to tell me i can find nowhere else. so what he has to do first is tell the prosecut

it's about michael flynn, right? it's about paul manafort, about carter page, it's about roger stone. i mean, it's about his son-in-law, jared kushner, who now is going to have to go and testify. you know, this was an administration that came in and talked about of the high i.q.s of everyone in the cabinet. >> the highest i.q. in the administration. >> these are the smartest people ever. my goodness, they are tripping all over themselves. >> can i -- >> in this first 70 days. >> laura, can i ask you this? you can answer, put whatever you wanted to say in there. nia mentioned manafort, former campaign manager, ceo, former adviser roger stone. former policy adviser carter page. just want to get their titles. they're going to have to testify before the house and senate. they say they are. does this put more pressure on them? >> yes. of course, the person who gets the immunity first is usually the one who scares everybody else and gets the best deal. remember, none of the other people have asked for immunity, which begs

they are both going to listen to flynn's lawyer. listen to a proffer from flynn. if you give me immunity, i will tell you the following. >> for the record, "the wall street journal" is reporting he is seeking immunity. david gregory, jeffery is talking about the legal reality. he touched on the political reality. you have the former national security adviser. the fired national security adviser now talking about and seeking publicly. his lawyer is publicly asking for a deal for him to testify potentially against people in the administration for which he served. >> if we are using the trump stan dafdard of how to talk abo this in the public domain, this must be the centerpiece of the huge criminal enterprise. that is how they spoke about hillary clinton with regard to the e-mail server and the investigation. there were leaks and interviews that the fbi conducted by the fbi. of course, the campaign was all too happy to run with that. leaks are tough things. in this case, i think it is worth under scoring what jeff said. this is a key figure. this is one of the two m

the big story is michael flynn. michael flynn today it was reported told the fbi and both congressional committees he will flynn was president trump's closest adviser on national security throughout the campaign and was named national security adviser by trump, but only lasted a month. he was fired in mid-february after lying about conversations he had with the russian ambassador. that coming weeks after acting attorney general sally yates had warned the white house that flynn was vulnerable to blackmail by the russian government because of the nature of those conversations and the falsehoods he used to describe them. tonight after news broke that he offered to testify in exchange for immunity, flynn's lawyer released a statement reading, in part, general flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it should the circumstances permit. he is now the target of unsubstantiated public demands by members of congress and other political critics that he be criminally investigated. no reasonable perso

flynn's lawyer saying general flynn has a story to tell. he very much wants to tell it should the circumstance permit. no reasonable person who has the benefit of advice from counsel would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized witch hunt environment against unfair prosecution. flynn's lawyer says discussion was the comm discussions have taken place. so far the offer has been not accepted. the trump administration is battling allegations of collusion among probes in the white house and senate with the russian meddling in the election. the white house declining to comment on the flynn news. >> the very last thing that john podesta just said is no individual too big to jail, that should include people like hillary clinton. five people around her have been given immunity to include her former chief of staff. when you are given immunity, you probably committed a crime. >> reporter: then candidate trump echoing flynn's words. >> if you are not guilty of a crime, why do you need immunity? >> reporter: for weeks, house and senate inves

flynn? >> i cannot comment on that. >> shone into the people be concerned i think that it is rey hard for us to fathom that he would e should have disclosed that he received $35,000 as a part of a speaking engagement to rt. at the russian, u.s. anti-propaganda outlet. >> i cannot comment on that, ms. sewell. >> my final comment is about mr. flynn working as an agent a foreign power, following on the line of questioning, am i correct that the foreign agents registration act requires that individuals who will lobby on behalf of a foreign government to must register with the united states government? >> i believe that that is correct. i am not an expert. the reason that i am saying that is i do not know exactly how they define things like lobbying in the statute, but if you are going to represent a foreign government, you should be registered. >> and is it not true that just last november, 2016, mr. flynn was working as a foreign agent doing work that principally benefited the government of tur

michael flynn has resigned. >> flynn's shock degree parture comes after just three weeks on the job.the shortest serving national security advisor now modern history. ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: yes! trump! trump! trump! donald trump finally draining the swamp of the people he brought to the swamp! ( laughter ) president trump is a genius, people! he hires a cabinet full of terrible people, fires them one by one. looks like he's a man of action. drain-the-swamp down to the previous levels! drain-the-swamp down to the previous levels! not as catchy. con dollenses to whoever bet sean spicer would be the first to go. i was the same. ( audience reacts ) i know you didn't win anything. but for you who had flynn, your prize is a gift certificate to chili's -- chili's, now hiring michael flynn. ( applause ) how big is this story, the national security advisor fired after just three weeks! who could have seen this coming? >> a red flag was raised by late last month by then acting attorney general sally yates, yates telling the trump white house she believed flynn was available to russ

flynn. >> in flynn acting as a bit of intermediary, maybe blocking or preventing mr. many conversations with the trump campaign. in that sense when he talks about inability to converse on this, that's why he stepped back on it as he explained it to me. seemed like mr. flynn also was employing him or bringing him along to this meeting. and as mr. woolsey explained to me, he was not told this was going to be the discussion of the meeting but mr. flynn's business partner insisted he be picked up by car and brought over to the meeting. if you're going to have discussion like this, what better than have a former cia director. >> one thing i would like to emphasize, mike flynn asked me previously if i serve on advisory group for his flynn operation and agreed to do that, i took no money for it, went to no meetings, had no telephone conference calls with the flynn group. basically had nothing to do with them. >> do you think he's trading on his relationship with the trump incoming administration for favors? what is going on here? >> it's hard to say. james might have a bette

flynn? >> i can't comment on that. >> shouldn't the american people be concerned -- i think that it's really hard for us to fathom that he would have received $35,000 as part of a speaking engagement to rt, russian propaganda outlet? >> i can't comment. >> my final question is working as an agent of a foreign power. am i correct that the foreign agents registration act requires that individuals that lobby on behalf of a foreign government must register with the united states government? >> i believe that's correct. the reason i'm saying that is i don't know exactly how to they define things like lobbying in the statue. if you're going to represent a foreign government here in the united states touching our government, you should be registered. >> isn't it true that last november, 2016, mr. flynn was working as a foreign agent doing work that principleabbenefited of turkey and didn't report on that until last week? >> i can't comment on that. >> mr. flynn was paid over half a million dollars

and it's about flynn. i mean, if you step back from it for a second, the national security adviser getting fired 24 days into the new administration because he misrepresented his contacts with foreign governments, that alone, if that was the only worrying or negative thing that happened in the entire trump presidency thus far that would be one of the biggest washington scandals in decades. as it stands, it's one of many but it has been one month since michael flynn was fired and almost everything about his fire and tenure as national security adviser has question marks lingering around it. why the administration hired him in the first place is a big part of the mystery. when michael flynn got brought on board as a topped a visor to the trump campaign, even before they won the election and he became national security adviser, just being brought on board the campaign in a formal role that itself raised a ton of eyebrows in part because michael flynn's behavior toward russia was already really odd for a recen

been in contact with michael flynn or, you know, representatives of michael flynn? >> i think it's safe to say that we have had conversations with a lot of people, and you would think less of us if general flynn wasn't in that list. >> we should note here, of course, that requesting immunity does not mean you've necessarily done anything wrong. however, flynn himself had this to say on that very topic last year on "meet the press." >> the very last thing that john podesta just said is no individual too big to jail. that should include people like hillary clinton. i mean five people around her have been given immunity, to include her former chief of staff. when you are given immunity, that means you've probably committed a crime. >> when you're given immunity, you probably committed a crime. for the latest on the investigation, i'm joined by nbc news national security reporter ken dill lanian. ken, this seems like a big development. >> huge development, chris. there's a lot of possibilities here. you know, we know that mike flynn did not tell the truth about his conv

flynn? >> i can't comment on that. >> shouldn't the american people be concerned what -- i think that it's really hard for us to fathom that he wouldn't know he should have disclosed that he received $35,000 as a part of that arrangement to rt, the russian/u.s. anti-propaganda outlet? >> i can't comment on that, ms. sewell. >> my final line of questioning is in regard to mr. flynn working as an agent of a foreign power. director comey, following on mr. hines' line of questioning am i correct that the foreign agents registration act requires that individuals who lobby on behalf of a foreign government must register with the united states government? >> i believe that's correct. i know i keep saying i'm not an expert. the reason i'm saying that is, i don't know exactly how they define things like lobbying in the statute but as a general matter if you're going to represent a foreign government here in the united states, touching our government, you should be registered. >> and isn't it true tha

they let flynn go forward. the issues only now being raised as he retroactively registered as lobbyist. >> here's the story. most people hear this. working for a foreign government. never told anybody. told us now and it doesn't matter. what if the he had been picked at head of national security. came out he was still national curt director and been on the payroll of a foreign government. all through the campaign. all the time he's supposedly advising the presidential candidate and getting paid and working for someone else he was hiding. >> it would have been fatal. >> to whom. >> flynn's ability or appointment to have assumed the national security adviser post. flynn would say, listen, i severed mid relationship with this client on november 18 before i was appointed. >> why didn't he tell everyone he was working for a foreign government. isn't the whole thing with draining the swamp and we don't have people getting paid by other interests. that's third world crap. you don't have people being paid by other gove

flynn. i'm sure you can understand my concern that mr. flynn not only failed to disclose the contacts with the russian ambassador, but he said he did not remember whether he discussed sanctions against russia with that ambassador. i find that really hard to believe. wouldn't you think that at the height of our concern about russian hacking that mr. flynn would have remembered pleating with the russian ambassador and would have been -- would have told him to stop meddling in our affairs, but that didn't happen. did it? >> he also appeared to have lied to vice president-elect mike pence all about it. now, mr. comey, do you think mr. flynn's failure to disclose the communication contact he had with the russian ambassador and their topic of conversation along with a blatant lie to vice president pence meet the standard for an investigation by the fbi? >> i have to give you the same answer. i'm not going to comment. now, i know director comey that you probably can't comment on this as well, but i

so it's not a witch hunt against flynn.hat the russians tried to do with our election and then of course you have to ask the question why did flynn decide that he needs immunity. >> yeah. david gregory. >> it au just 's so hard to und what the president is thinking and what he's doing. he seems to think this is a all and joke and he's fired two people because of this very investigation, because of the manipulation of -- and the hacking of our election. so he's listening. he's paying attention. the fbi is investigating. and yet they have no control over there at the white house. the chief of staff doesn't. the white house counsel doesn't. the national security adviser doesn't. when you have people who are handing over collected intelligence to the head of the intelligence community in a highly inappropriate way, it just shows you that they're not taking any of this investigation seriously. and yet now they've got somebody in a very high position who has a story to tell and who would like immunity. may not get it. what is the

general flynn resigned shortly after president trump took office when it was revealed that general flynn hadn't disclosed his communications about his communications with russian ambassador sergey kislyak. will general flynn testify? will he be granted immunity? no details on what might be coming. it's interesting to note that general flynn spoke last year in reference to hillary clinton's campaign staffers, secretary of state as well saying when you are given immunity, that means you probably committed a crime, so could those words come back to haunt him? at this point the white house not commenting on this. dave and christine. >>> thank you, jessica. another stunning report rocking the trump administration. according to "the new york times" it was two white house officials who gave house intel chairman devin nunes those intelligence reports that allegedly backed president trump a a 's claims about being wiretapped. senator marco rubio made the surprising revelation that he himself has been personally targeted by coordinated cyberattacks. >> within the last 24 hours 10:45 a.m. yesterday

general flynn certainly has a story to tell. he very much wants to tell us should the circumstances permit. and the president weighing in just a short time ago, tweeting mike flynn should ask for immunity in what is a witch hunt excuse for big election loss by media and democrats of historic proportion. also this morning the kremlin is striking a pretty dire tone. listen to this. >> new cold war? well, maybe even worse. maybe even worse, taking into account actions of the present presidential administration. >> worse? >> let's begin this hour with sara murray who joins us at the white house. a lot going on. >> there is a lot going on, beginning with democrats hitting back at the president's tweets. adam schiff tweeted back to the president's comments about michael flynn today, saying the question for you, mr. president, is why you waited so long to ask after you learned flynn through your vp had misled the country. of course as you pointed out, michael flynn was ousted from his job as national security advisor because he misled

flynn should get immunity. >> reporter: any comment on michael flynn, mr. president?reporter: president trump facing new questions tonight on michael flynn, his former national security advisers whose shadow still looms large at the white house. flynn is offering to testify in exchange for immunity in the growing probe of russia meddling in the 2016 election. flynn, a retired army general fired after only 26 days in office for misleading congress for contacts with the russian ambassador. the president took the unusual step of inserting himself in an ongoing investigation saying on twitter mike flynn should ask for immunity in that this is a witch-hunt, excuse for a big election loss, by media and dems of historic proportion. white house press secretary sean spicer amplified that position today. >>y will believes mike flynn should go up there and testify and do what he has to do to get the story out. >> reporter: immunity offer for flynn was rebuffed by the senate intelligence committee and drew skepticism from congressmen like jason chaffetz who took issue with the ch

flynn's lawyer says there is a story to tell. a top democrat says no immunity until there is a special prosecutor. >>> also this morning, an nbc news exclusive. our cameras catching up with two of three white house staffers who tipped off nunes to the classified information. i'll talk to the "washington post" reporter who broke the story on the purported third source. >> i'm not talking about anything. nothing to say. >> nunes duked by the white house? a bold claim by nancy pelosi. >> was he used by the white house? >> he was duped. some can say, this is not fair to the american people. >>> any moment, the president set to speak in the roosevelt room as he sits down with the national association of manufacturers. we'll have that for you when we get it. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm chris jansing, live from washington. we begin with new reaction to the latest bomb shell in the russia investigation on capitol hill. michael flynn's lawyer announcing his client has a story to tell, and a congressional source confirming the ousted n

flynn. >> in flynn acting as a bit of >>>. >> well, mr. was really acting as an intermediary from blocking mr. woolsy from having any administration in the trump campaign. and in that sense, that's why he stepped back from it as he explained it to me. and it seems like mr. flynn also was employing him or bringing him along to this meeting. and as mr. woolsy explained to me he was not told this was going to be the discussion of the meeting, yet mr. flynn's business partner insisted that he be there, insisted that he be picked up by a car and brought over to the meeting. and, you know, if you're going to have a discussion like this, what better than to have a former cia director. >>> one thing i want to emphasize is that although mike flynn had asked me previously if i could serve on an advisory group, and i agreed to do that. i went to no meetings. i had no telephone calls with the flynn group. i basically had nothing to do with -- >> do you think he's trading in for favors? what's going on here? >> it's hard to say. james might have a bett

flynn's tenure at the white house was a short one. he resigned after he withheld information about discussions he had with russia's ambassador to the u.s., even then president trump continued to defend him. >> and general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he's been treated very, very unfairly by the media. as i call it the fake media in many cases. and i think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. >> reporter: i reached out to general flynn's attorneys. no comment from them tonight. but his company did secure that $530,000 contract to lobby for the turkish government in september. operations now, though, for flynn's firm have shut down. they shut down in november. wolf? >> thank you very much, jessica snyder reporting. meanwhile president trump is trying to broke her a seemingly impossible deal on health care even as he's caught up in another big problem of his own making. let's go to our white house correspondent athena jones. athena, the wiretap charge seems to be coming back to bite him. >> reporter: hi, wolf. it ce

. >> have you guys been in contact with michael flynn or representative michael flynn? >> i think it's safe to say that we have had conversations with a lot of people. and you would think less of us if general flynn wasn't in that list. >> now, of course asking for immunity doesn't necessarily mean you have done anything wrong. at least that's what most people who are familiar with the law will tell you. people other than michael flynn, that, who said the following last september when talking about immunity deals given to members of hillary clinton's inner circle over her use of a private e-mail server. >> when you are given immunity, that means you have probably committed a crime. >> well, folks, we're only at day 70 of the trump administration, and a fired administration official is already offering to testify for immunity amid about ongoing probe of the president and his campaign aides over alleged collusion with a foreign power to tip the election in their favor. and that's only the beginning of today's problem for the trump administration. a new report from "the ne

come back to haunt michael flynn? probably but how about donald trump's own words in september at a rally in florida. listen to what the then candidate trump said then. >> took the fifth amendment and ring leaders were given immunity. >> and if you're not guilty of a crime, what do you need immunity for, right? >>> and he gave us the question, why ask for immunity if you have not committed a crime? >> i can fill the room with sound bites like that. >> you could argue this is a simple legal maneuver to protect your client but when you have said that it's difficult to maneuver. technically the word is not, but ask any attorney and they'll say that's what they were talking about. >>> another bombshell report rocking the trump administration. according to "the new york times" who white house officials gave devin nunes the reports that president trump might backup his claims about being wiretapped. meanwhile the senate intelligence committee opens it's investigation while the house intelligence committee remains crippled.

let's get into mike flynn. david, do you believe that the white house's line that he was a private citizen, this is what he did in his personal life, is a line that is good enough? >> i think the question of him having not registered at the time and now we're having a retro active registration tells us that there was something missing. the idea that a person who was on the way to being national securi adviser on election day would have published an op-ed pis in "the hill" newspaper advocating turkish interests, the turkish line, and not having disclosed that at all to the white house is hard to imagine. >> this is the national security adviser. >> right. and somebody who is also, let's not forget, considered for vice president as well. this is somebody who's been the principle national security adviser to donald trump really almost since the beginning of the campaign. somebody who is getting national security briefings. per a letter congressman elijah cummings wrote to vice president-elect pence is somebody who

flynn so after flynn floated this out there yesterday that perhaps his client would talk for immunity, now it is up to the lawyer for how they proceed at this point. >> just ahead, immunity and questions of hypocrisy. what president trump and michael flynn are saying now and what they said about hillary clinton during the campaign. >> next president of the united states right here -- when you're close to the people you love, does psoriasis ever get in the way of a touching moment? if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, you can embrace the chance of completely clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to give you a chance at completely clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of patients had a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques. in fact, 4 out of 10 even achieved completely clear skin. do not use if you are allergic to taltz. before starting you should be checked for tuberculosis. taltz may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you are being treated for an infection or have symptoms. or if you have received a vaccine or plan

in a statement yesterday, michael flynn's attorney wrote "general flynn has a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it should the circumstances permit." his lawyer wrote "he's the target of unsubstantiated demands from critics that he be criminally investigated. no reasonable person who has the benefit of advice from council -- counsel without assurances of unfair prosecution." president trump echoed his statement. he tweeted -- in other words, the president and flynn's attorneys say the request for immunity is not an admission of guilt. that contradicts statements from president flynn during the fbi investigation. here's what michael flynn told "meet the press" in september before the election. >> the very last thing that john podesta said no individual is too big to jail. that includes hillary clinton. five people have been given immunity to include her former chief of staff. when you're given immunity, that means you probably committed a crime. >> you may remember, michael flynn in july led chants of "lock her up" during the republican convention and called for hillary clinton

he regrets having fired flynn. the president generally doesn't like to do anything that acknowledges any wrongdoing at all. so this may just be a reaction to that. it's also conceivable that this is a coordinated plan between the white house and flynn's attorney. i doubt that. but to have the president come out and say take immunity is very unusual. it increases the pressure on congress and the justice department perhaps to grant immunity. so everybody's playing some very risky games here and we don't know how in the end it will come out. but this is not the usual situation. the usual situation is the lawyer quietly says, you know, my client might be willing to testify. you have to tell us what you're willing to do. queen for a day, transaction on immunity, derivative use immunity, here's the proffer. here's what we can say. that's usually what happens. i have never seen a case before where a person seeking immunity goes out into the public and says i want the public to know that i am seeking immunity. i have a sto

flynn's lawyer says there is a story to tell.unity until there is a special prosecutor. >>> also this morning, an nbc news exclusive. our cameras catching up with two of three white house staffers who tipped off nunes to the classified information. i'll talk to the "washington post" reporter who broke the story on the purported third source. >> i'm not talking about anything. nothing to say. >> nunes duked by the white house? a bold claim by nancy pelosi. >> was he used by the white house? >> he was duped. some can say, this is not fair to the american people. >>> any moment, the president set to speak in the roosevelt room as he sits down with the national association o

mark geragos, you have a statement from general flynn's attorney. "general flynn certainly has a story to tell and he very much wants to tell it." if you're his attorney, what is the strategy of being so public about this? >> look, if i'm his attorney -- and let me speculate because i haven't talked to his daughter -- that telegraphs to me that my client, in this case, flynn is a target because i'm trying to get immunity because if we give me immunity in congress, that's going to screw up famously any department of justice investigation and the fact that congress is now responding and the senate is responding and saying, no, we're not going to i have go you immunity, my guess is and my speculative analysis is that he is a target of a department of justice probe and they're not going to screw it up. they're not going to let him get out of that by virtue of getting immunity in front of congress. >> he's the central figure in the investigation, we know, because of the contacts he had with the russian ambassador and the senate has said, quote, too early

the white house bombarded with questions about michael flynn. and his work as a registered foreign agent representing turkish's agent even as he was advising then-candidate trump last year. sean spicer confirming that the president was in the dark about this and dismissing allegations that flynn's foreign lobbying work should have raised red flags. also following the investigation of president trump's claim that his phones were wiretapped by the obama administration. top lawmakers say they have not seen any evidence to support mr. trump's claim even offer the closed door meeting with comey. adam schiff telling cnn that comey is ready to answer questions about the president's allegation and might welcome the opportunity who he testifies before congress this month. >>> on the jobs front, the president says the unemployment numbers he dismissed during the campaign may have been phony then, but real now. the white house passing along mr. trump's take on the new numbers showing the economy add 235,000 jobs in february, his first full month in office.