geoff bennett reports on the controversy over northam and virginia lieutenant governor. >> reporter: ralph northam in his first tv interview in a black face scandal says he won't step down. >> i am not going anywhere. >> reporter: northam's new plan pushing for androg agenda of eq. >> just 90 miles from here in 1619, the first servant from africa laying it on our shores and old point comfort of what we call now -- >> also known as slavery. >> i think i am in a position to take virginia to the next level. >> a new sign of support. >> reporter: a washington post finding the majority of african-americans want northam to be on the job. >> i think he has changed. >> i think they need to get off of him. let him do his job. >> reporter: the governor still reserving judgment on his number two. justin fairfax who's accused of sexually assault by two women, dr. vanessa tyson and meredith watson. fairfax leaving his home today denying both allegations. i call on all appropriate and impartial investigate to investiga investigate fully. i ask all three of us to be respected during this process. >

lieutenant nbc's geoff bennett is in richmond tonight. geoff, what do we know about this? >> reporter: lester, that second woman now accusing virginia lieutenant governor justin fairfax is meredith watson. in a statement from her lawyer, watson alleges that fairfax raped her when they were both students at duke university in 2000. she said the attack was premeditated and aggressive and described fairfax as a friend whom she had never dated. watson says she can corroborate her story. her account in a series of e-mails and facebook messages with friends. in a statement tonight, the lieutenant governor called the second allegation he says he will not resign. former democratic governor terry mcauliffe calling on fairfax to immediately resign. lester? >> geoff bennett in richmond, thank you. >>> tonight there's new details about president trump's properties and their employment of undocumented workers even as the president has railed against illegal immigration. with more here's our kristen welker. >> reporter: as president trump hardens his line -- >> tolerance for illegal imm

geoff bennett, nbc news. >>> in the state of washington tonight, a different kind of emergency. as seattle and the rest of the region deal with the rare major snowstorm. almost 50,000 people are without power tonight. nbc's morgan chesky is following the northwest whiteout. >> reporter: tonight a winter blast socking the west with a one-two punch. from california to washington, storms dumping feet of snow hiding icy roads, causing dozens of accidents. >> even with chains on we're doing 10 miles per hour. >> reporter: in seattle seven inches of snow in two days. not much to some but more snow than the city usual gets in an entire year. the iconic space needle spectacular in the snow but back on the ground, everything ground to a halt. at sea-tac, de-icing barely made a dent as storms delayed more than 300 flights, canceling 40 others. >> we sat on the tarmac for two hours. >> reporter: travel so treacherous former first lady obama rescheduling her book tour, tweeting, my biggest priority is making sure everyone stays safe. tense moments this week as the storm gripped the sierras

nbc's geoff bennett has the latest from d.c.d morning. >> reporter: frances, president trump is playing up the possibility that the u.s. and north korea can come to an agreement on denuclearization as he prepares for a second face-to-face meeting with kim jong-un. mr. trump in a series of tweets says he expects a continuation of the progress he and kim made after their first meeting in singapore. but the president seemed to play down any new break throughs in this exclusively obtained video message shared last night with his supporters at his private mar-a-lago club. >> we have a terrific relationship, and we'll see where it goes. who knows where it goes but we'll see. >> reporter: now u.s. intelligence officials say north korea has taken no concrete steps to curb itse. while the president is overseas this week, two of his political headaches women dominate headlines. first his former lawyer and fixer michael cohen is set for three straight days of congressional testimony, appearing publicly on wednesday before the house oversig

geoff bennett has the latest on this unfolding drama. embattlrte governor ralph northam tonight telling "the washington post" he plans to spe the rest of his term pursuing racial equity. saying of the scandal, we're ready to learn from our mtakes. the governor today seen in public for the first time since he denied appearing i the racist med school yearbook photo. virginians divided on his future. >> the governor needs to resign. >> he should be given a chance. >> reporter: but the pressure is mounting on lieutenant governor justin fairfax as he confronts another sexual assault allegation. meredith watson said fairfax raped her they were both students at duke university in 2000. in a statement, watson described the attack as premeditated and aggressi that charge comes after doctor vanessa tyson accused fairfax of sexually asulting her in 2004. fairfax fighting back saying, it is al demonstrably f. i have never forcedmy self on anyone, ever. fairfax defiant hours before waon's allegation became kn own. >> do you support investigation into

our geoff bennett with the lastl of the confederacy, ual assault throwing the commonwealth's leadership into crisis. virginia attorney general mark herring now admits he too once wore blackface. herring, in a statement of apology, says in 1980 he and a group of college friends put on what he called wigs and brown makeup to attend a party dressed like rappers we listened to at the time. just days after governor ralph northam apologized for his own blackface scandal. this racist photo on his med school yearbook page. northam now denies being in the photo while recalling and regretting having darkened his skin to dress up like michael jackson for a dance contest in 1984. >> i'm shocked and incredibly disappointed. this has been an awful week for virginia. >> reporter: those scandals sending shock waves as the woman accusing lieutenant governor justin fairfax of sexual assault today broke her silence. with fairfax, which she says started as en tried to brand me as a liar to a national audience in service to his political ambitions. fairfax releasing a statement of his own, saying, i cannot

lester. >> geoff bennett gh to thank you. >>> from that state capital to the nation's capital and the fallout from president trump's state of the union address. act was a speech that keptcheckers busy, and tonight our kristen welker is zeroing in on the id prt's at times dubious claims on his signature issue, immigration. >> reporter: the president building the case for his border wall on a foundation of some flawed facts. >> the border city of el paso, texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime. now with a powerful barrier in placeel paso is one of the safest cities. >> reporter: in fact, violent crime in el d before li the border fence was built there and increased after its constrtion. president trump will hold a campaign rally monday in el paso. cal perry is there. >> reporter: with more an 12 million pedestrian crossings a year between el paso and juarez, it was no surprise when the sheriff of el paso fired back at the president, saying that el paso haalways been one of america's safest cities, never one of america's most dangerous cities. >> reporter: and what abo

frances. >> geoff bennett, thank you. >>> president trump praised the u.s. and its allies in their fight against isis. speaking to a room of more than 70 officials at the global coalition to defeat isis, mr. trump said officials would announce next week that 100% of the isis caliphate he been liberated. late last year the coalition announced that isis held 1% of the lands in syria and iraq even though earlier this month intelligence officials reported otherwise, claiming that isis was still a threat. >>> new mexico's governor is drawing a line in the border battle. michelle lujan grisham is ordering the withdrawal of national guard troops, challenging president trump's claim that there's a crisis at the u.s. and mexico border. in a fiery rebuke, the governor said, quote, new mexico will not take part in the president's charade of border fearmongering. meanwhile in an nbc news exclusive, hundreds of migrants with a new caravan have arrived at the u.s. border. but according to customs and border protection officials, u.s. agents in the small town of eagle pass

nbc's geoff bennett isn richmond this evening. >> what do we want? resignation! when do we want it? now! >> reporter: tonight more protests as democrat governor ralp northam digs in, despite mounting pressure for him to resign. state lawmakers looking for a way out, taking impeachment off the table. >> that's a very high standard. so i think that's why we have called for the resignation. >> reporter: the governor telling his staff day he needs more time to plan a path forward and doesn't want to be branded onas a racist, according te source. this comes amid further chaos at e capitol. with new troubles for northam's would-be successor, lieutenant governor justin fairfax. after an uncorroborated sexual assault accusation emeed dating back to the democratic national convention in 2004. >> does anybody think it's any coincidence that on the eve of nctentially my being elevated, that's when this uroborated smear comes out? it's uncorroborated because it's not true. >> reporter: tonight the state left with moreuestions after northam originally apologized and switched his sto saturday. >>

of course geoff bennett in richmond and jonathan capehart, thank you all. >>> coming up. mission accomplished? president trump claiming isis is nearly 100% defeated. really? that does not comport with what the u.s. intelligence agencies and their leaders testified to only a week ago. we'll drill down on the disconnect, coming up. stay with us right here on "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. smile dad. i take medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. but they might not be enough to protect my heart. adding bayer aspirin can further reduce the risk of another heart attack. because my second chance matters. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. guess what day it is? guess what day it is! huh...anybody? julie! hey...guess what day it is? ah come on, i know you can hear me. mike mike mike mike mike... what day is it mike? ha ha ha ha! leslie, guess what today is? it's hump day. whoot whoot! ronny, how happy are folks who save hundred of dollars switching to geico? i'd say happier than a camel on wedne

joining me now geoff bennett at the white house. here with me at the table, peter baker. amy stoddard and aaron blake. peter, let me start with you. so interview with the president. this came together interestingly. he called your paper's publisher and said have dinner off the record. your publisher went how about an on the record. >> a publisher who wanted journalism. and president trump invited us into the oval office. we spent about an hour and a half with him yesterday. >> there's been a question about this senior official who was directed on the campaign to talk with roger stone about wikileaks as we explained. i want to start there with you. the president said fairly definitively to you he never directed anybody to reach out on wikileaks. >> he said he didn't talk to roger stone or tell anybody else to talk to roger stone. this is the first time i think we've heard him directly address that. that's important. we don't know whether or not that will hold up. what we've seen in the past is sometimes these statements end up being conflicted later on. we'll have to hear

. >> geoff bennett. the other part that complicates what's going on with virginia is justin fairfax. he's been accused of two women of sexual abuse. explain what's going on with him. >> reporter: the vladimir putli governor is not resigning. he said he had nothing do retire for. he says those same encounters were 100% consensual. >> lieutenant governor is back on the job today, i caught up with minimal briefly. here is a bit of the interaction. >> is there anything you want to say for the people of virginia, sir? >> we have called for an investigation and i am still very confident in the truth. thank you all soor much. >> he's calling for an independent investigation, he put out a press release that he wanted the fbi to look into this. the fbi is not going to look for these allegations because it does not have the jurisdiction to do so. it would be a public hearing, the two accusers would say they would participate and come forward and share their stories publicly. here you have democrats who say that ki

joining me, tiffany cross and geoff bennett and doug thornell and our rick tyler. he's also an msnbc political analyst. geoff, you are down there. we heard from a lot of big name democrats saying that northam should resign. what are people who voted for him saying? >> reporter: well, there is a political dimension to this and personal. when you talk to people who know ralph northam and voted for him a couple of times in the past. they are torn. how do you judge a man? you judge him based on the man and the governor he is now. they say he's a good governor who embraces the same kind of policies they embrace. they acknowledged wholeheartedly that photo in his yearbook were heinous racist. they were really having a hard time making up their minds about whether or not he should resign. to get a flavor of that. here is some sound of what i encountered yesterday. >> he's an honest, hardworking man who has worked hard for this state many years. i think that's the way they should look at his past. >> this sort of, now you know, reaching back in one's past, a man has built f

geoff bennett is in washington following the latest evelopments for us this morning. geoff, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. azon ceoff bezos is turning the tables on the tabtabloid. he is offering e-mails from ami that threaten the release of em barra embarrassing photos. for ami, a bezos investigation could t lstf s pro this rng, n twist in the battle between the tech titan and the tabloid. now, federal prosecutors are looking into whether ami, publisher of the ational enquirer," broke their cooperation agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter. the deal overus alleged money payments during donald trump's presidential campaign required that ami commit no further crimes. now, jeff bezos, the billionaire boss of amazon, is accusing the tabloid of extortion a blackmail. bezos posted e-mails sent from v represent for ami to his attorney in an attempt to stop his investigati into how the "enquirer" obtained intimate text messages between him and the woman he is reportedly dating, laurensanchez. bezos claims the tabloid demanded a public statement,

>> geoff bennett at the white house. geoff, thank you. >>> a programming note. h lestt will report live from vietnam to cover that summit. our coverage begs tuesday. >>> an amazon prime air cargo plane crashed outside hughkious ing all three crew members on board. tom costello is there now and has an update tonight. tom, good evening. >> reporter:kate, good evening to you. in the marshland behind me, investigators are trying to find the black boxes from the 767 that went into the water about 12:39 or so yesterday afternoon. tnesses say they thought there was some sort of issue with the engines. there is video of this crash taken by a nearby jail. ntsb says it shows the plane going into the wat at a very steep rate ofdecline. it lost controls about 6,000 feet. no rcaio commuons at all. the concern now is whether ioather might have played a role in some fa we can also tell you that they say there was no distress call. ashey look for those black boxes, they're also looking at the pilots, ater any o contributing factors that may have been part of this accident. as y

nbc white house correspondent geoff bennett joins us with morh on. ing. >> reporter: hey, hoda. this morndng s is spreading across the state capitol. governor northamtill refusing calls to step down over the racist yearbk photo as mark herring admits to wearing black face. he's apologizing what happened when hwas an undergrad when he and a couple of friends put on wigs and black makeup. the lieutenant governor accused of sexual assault, the accuser breaking her silence, publicly detailing her claim, an allegation that fairfax categorically and vehemently denies. we have president trump weighing in in atweet. the presidents say democrats at he top are killing the great state ofvirginia. if the three failing politicians were republicans, far stronger action would be taken. so three scandals sending shockwaves across thestate. nobody seems to know what comes next. hoda? >> geoff bennett, thank you. >>> one d after the president warned congress about investigating him, house democratsaunch a probe into his business and personal finances. the new chairman

geoff bennett has the latest. >> reporter: virginia governor ralph northam says it wasn't him from the med school yearbook. >> i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. >> you're saying that you had no idea this racist photo existed before it surfaced less than 24 hours ago? >> that's correct. i was in the united states army while i was in medical school. i was doing rotations out of the state. i had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook, nor did i buy one. >> reporter: it's a reversal for the virginia democrat who less than 24 hours ago apologized for appearing in the picture. >> that photo and the racist and offensive attitudes it represents does not reflect that person i am today. i am deeply sorry. >> reporter: today northam alluded to other actions in his past saying in 1984 he won a dance contest where he wore dark shoe polish on his face as part of a michael jackson costume. >> i didn't personally find it as unacceptable at that time. i have learned since, again, in talking to my friend seth, the picture, though, that is in the evms ye

. >> my colleague geoff bennett is at the white house for us. jul julia ainsley is outside the justice department. geoff, i want to start with you own the tone president trump is taking ahead of his departure. in about two hours we'll be trying to get questions to him. he's trying to stake an optimistic note ahead of his meeting with kim jong-un. at the same time, lowering expectations. tell us what you're hearing. >> it's a gnnuanced approach. he thinks that he's going to have a good shot of creating an atmosphere for the talks to continue, for the talks to move forward in a positive way. yet, he's playing down the notion that there will be any sort of significant breakthroughs. of course, we know there are intelligence officials who say that north korea has taken no concrete steps to rid itself of its nuclear arsenal since the first summit in singapore. the president, i'm sure, is all too aware of that. as we saw him declare victory before the first summit last june, he's not doing that as he stands days away from the second face to face with k

and geoff bennett and evan mcmullen and columnist amy stoddard. h you on this. and who is kelly knight craft and what stands out to her in terms of the role she might take on based on her background? >> reporter: well aside from what you mentioned, kelly knight craft is the wife of billionaire joe craft who donated a million dollars to the donald trump inauguration. so as far as we know, this is the first time a political donor has been elevated to this position. or nominated for this position to be u.s. ambassador to the united nations but also true this role carries less significance than in past administrations. for one thing we know in a donald trump has made clear this disdain for multi-national organizations like the u.n. we also know that john bolton and the secretary of state have taken a more active role in articulating policy from the white house, less so from the u.n. and i think when the president initially nominated heather now ert, this is a signal in terms of the significance that he's assigning to this position because heather had l

geoff bennett is in richmond, virginia. geoff, you have had a busy morning as we know that the governor has been scrambling to meet with staff and then his cabinet. read us the tea leaves. what do we expect in the next hour? >> reporter: that cabinet meeting is breaking up about now. also this hour you have the virginia house of delegates gaveling into session. and ralph northam is saying what i'm told he said privately last night in the urgent meeting. he's saying he's going to stay on the job for as long as he feels that he can be effective in the job. as long as he feels he can effectively govern. as you mentioned, you have democrats and republicans saying we are far past that point. that ralph northam has lost the political and moral mandate to lead. and hallie, i know you know this. we both covered state politics. governors are not chief executives. their effectiveness so linked to the kinds of relationships they have with state legislators. here you have the state democratic party and the state republican party calling

let's go to white house correspondent geoff bennett. could we see him resign? see you are not at the white house. at the bureau. >> reporter: alex, good morning. ralph northam now says the photo in question is clearlies racist and offensive and calls for his resignation have been swift. they are coming from all corners. including 2020 presidential hopef hopefuls. northam is resisting the pressure to step down. overnight, virginia's democratic governor apologized for this yearbook photo taken over three decades ago. saying this on twitter. >> that photo and the racist and offensive attitudes it represents does not reflect that person i am today or the way that i have conducted myself as a soldier, a doctor and a public servant. i am deeply sorry. >> reporter: the photo in question appearing on governor ralph northam's medical school yearbook page. a man in blackface and another in a kkk robe and hood. northam did not specify which person he is, but did say he intends to finish his term as governor. the racist image surfaced friday afternoon on a far right web si

let's go to geoff bennett. he is at the white house for us. what is going on?> reporter: alex, sources indicate that special counsel robert mueller's investigation is finally reaching the finish line. yesterday, a senior justice department official told us his report is not expected to be delivered to the attorney general as early as next week as has been widely reported. house democrats say when the report does drop on the ag's desk, he must make it public. judgment day delayed. a senior justice department official tells nbc news, special counsel robert mueller is not expected to deliver his report on the investigation into russia's election interference next week. the doj cognizant of the summit with leader kim jong-un. mr. trump on friday said he hasn't spoken with the new attorney general about the report release. >> i guess i'll be talking about it. you know the nice part? there was no collusion. there was no obstruction. there was no anything. that's the nice part. there was no phone calls. no nothing. we have a -- i won the race because i was a better ca

this is a fast-moving story. >> geoff bennett in richard monday. more from geoff on the "today" show. thanks. >>> we're once again on shutdown watch for federal workers who fear another furlough. comments from trump's acting chief of staff may not sit well. mickou mulvaney not rule out a possibility of a shutdown by week's end. when asked if the president would declare a national emergency, he would only reiterate theen press position on border security. >> the president does believe there's a national security crisis and humanitarian crisis at the border. and he will do something about it. whether or note gets$1.6 billion from congress. whether he gets 2.5$2.5 bil or $5.7 billion, he will do what he can to secure that border. >> mulvaney added that if congress gives the preside half of the money he's requesting for the border wall, ay approve the measure and lo for the rest of the money elsewhere. >>> long-sving congressman lter b. jones has died. he served 13 terms for a dist carolina.tern north while jones worked on committees, it was the about-

geoff bennett has more on that. good morning. d reporter: sheinelle, g morning.he washington waiting game goes on a little while longer for the special counsel report. a senior justice departmenls official t nbc news that robert mueller is not expected to deliver his report on the investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 election next week, as was widely reported. prident trump says he hasn't spoken with his new attorney general,ill barr, about the report's release, but lawmakers are pressuring the ag to make the mueller report public once it ultimately lands on his desk. six top house democrats sent a letter to barr yesterday, saying that withholding evidence uncovered by the special counsel could be means for a coverup. attention is also turning to mr. trump's former long-te lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, scheduled to tes publicly o n capitol hillt week. cohen almost implicated t president in a hushoney claim to silence women claiming to have affairs with mr. trump. now, the "w york times" is reporting cohen told prosecutors about possible irregul

>> geoff bennett at the white house. let's talk about what is in this tentative agreement in principal. we mentioned we haven't seen the bill in written form. sources provided important details. as we mentioned, it provides $1.375 billion for border barrier enhancement that involves steel slats, existing technologies and it would limit funding to 55 miles of new barrier with restrictions on where the fencing could be built. based on the supporting, there is no money, zero to fund a concrete wall. it provides 1.7 billion in new funding for border security to the department of homeland security. that money would be dedicated to border security and that includes technology at ports of entry, additional customs officers and humanitarian aid. democrats dropped the limit on detention spaces under immigration and customs enforcement or ice. 40,520 new spaces which are referred to as detention beds, but there were 49,057 in detention as of february 6th. president trump wanted 50,000. an ice spokesman said the average daily popul

geoff bennett has been covering this story from the start. joins us live from richmond, virginia. geoff, the lieutenant governor has give an new interview just in the last couple minutes, i think, talking about the accusations against him? >> reporter: yeah. that's right. he's talked now to the root and "the washington post," and he's been telling the same story all along. he says the two encounters in question were consensual. he's denying these two accusations of sexual assault. so he is getting a bit of a break because as you mentioned, patrick hope, the democratic virginia state legislator who on friday threatened articles of impeachment is backing off. here's what happened. i'm told this legislator sent a draft via e-mail to a budge of his democratic colleagues and he got an ear full. part of the issue is that this legislature is a part time legislature. they're on track to end the session at the end of the month. they don't want to muck up the engine of legislating with an impeachment proceeding. that's the bit about fairfax. let's start

joining me now is geoff bennett.en a lot of back and forth about all of this, the resignation of northam. what's the latest this morning? >> rally, great to see you. we're in a holding pattern. the governor is still telling members of his cabinet and aides that he wants more time to deliberate. he wants more time to clear his name. the governor i'm told feels that if he were to step aside now, that would be an admission of wrong doing and that he would be branded a racist. and so the other thing complicating his decision making is as you mentioned the fact that his would be successor, the lieutenant governor, is facing these troubles of his own. in the form of this now uncorroborated allegation of sexual assault dating back to the 2004 democratic national convention. fairfax vehemently denies this allegation. here's what he said in his own defense yesterday. >> this is 14 years ago. in fact, when we first were -- this was not only from left field. it didn't happen in the way that is described. they even admitted it w

joining me now is geoff bennett as well as our former assistant, secretary of state, p.j. crowley. he's the author of "red line," of a time of fracturing politics. geoff to you, you are the one out of the cold right now. let you start talking before your jaw freezes up. what led us to the impact right now? >> reporter: great to see you. this is another flash point of u.s. russia relations. secretary of state pompeo said that earlier in december, the u.s. gave russia 60 days to get into compliance. pompeo says it is more than that and russia had not been complying with this treaty. the inf treaty stands for nuclear forces treaty. the name explains what it does. the agreement requires a destruction of any land based crew missile that can strike roughly to 300 miles. it was signed by reagan and gorbachev in the '80s to keep nuclear weapons out of europe. the obvious question now is what happens next? i asked the white house's counsel, kellyanne conway today, here is what she told me. >> i think you saw yet again whether you want to see it or not. the american people see it. a president

geoff bennett with the latest. >> reporter: virginia governor ralph northam says it wasn't him from the med school yearbook. >> i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in that photo. >> you're saying that you had no idea this racist photo existed before it surfaced less than 24 hours ago? >> that's correct. i was in the united states army while i was in medical school. i was doing rotations out of the state. i had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook, nor did i buy one. >> reporter: it's a reversal for the virginia democrat who less than 24 hours ago apologized for appearing in the picture. >> that photo and the racist and offensive attitudes it represents does not reflect that person i am today. i am deeply sorry. >> reporter: today northam alluded to other actions in his past saying in 1984 he won a dance contest where he wore dark shoe polish on his face as part of a michael jackson costume. >> i didn't personally find it as unacceptable at that time. i have learned since, again, in talking to my friend seth, the picture, though, that is in the evms ye

. >> nbc's geoff bennett outside the statehouse there in richmond once again for us this morning. with the lieutenant governor here, geoff. justin fairfax, there was a virginia delegate who was expected to file articles of impeachment today. now, we're hearing that's been put on hold. what happened? >> reporter: here's the story, on friday after the second justin fairfax accuser came forward, this legislator, patrick hope, went before the cameras and threw down the gauntlet, craig. he said if justin fairfax doesn't resign by monday, i'll introduce articles of impeachment. monday morning rolls around, and patrick hope backtracks. here's a statement in which he explains his thinking. he said late in the day on friday, i allowanced if lieutenant governor fairfax did not resign by today, i would bring articles of impeachment to the house on monday. on sunday, once language was finalized, i circulated a draft of the resignation to members of the caucus for feedback. i received an enormous amount of thoughtful feedback, which led me to the conclusion that additional conversations need to

geoff bennett, thank you for that. joining me now, mark thompson, radio post. derrick johnson is president and ceo of the naacp. let me play a little devil's advocate based on what we just heard out of virginia. a man should be judged by who he is today, derrick. you heard that young african-american man saying, you know, i'm not sure we should be throwing people away over a photo that was taken 35 years ago. if you were in that room right now as governor northam is, listening to people for their advice, what would you say to him? >> well, you know, unfortunately, he may be surrounded with the reality of the culture of the old south. it is ae duality of the sympathizers ar sympathizers, along with those who want to grow out of the reality. 1984, 20 years after the passage of the civil rights act, 19 years after the passage of the voting rights act, much was in transition. by the mid '70s, many of the public schools became even more segregated with the establishment of private segregated academies. you had many individuals across the south still longing for the

as nbc's geoff bennett tells us, the governor says he needs more time to consider his next step. >> reportermore protests as democratic governor ralph northam digs in despite mounting pressureor him to resign. state lawmakers looking for a way out, takin o impeachment the table. >> that's a very high standard, so i think that's why we have called for the resignation. reporter: the governor telling his staff he needs more time to plan a path orward and doesn't want to be branded as a racist according to one source. this comesamid further chaos at the capitol, with new troubles for northam's would-be kuk sesor, lieutenant governor justin fairfax after an uncorroborated sexual assault allegation against him emerged dating back to the democratic national convention in 2004. >> does anybodys think it' knee co-indense thathe on t eve of my potentially being elevated that this uncorroborated smear comes out. >> reporter: the state left with even moreuestions after northam originally apologized and switched his story saturday. >> but i believe then and now that i am not either of the people in thatp

nbc's geoff bennett has the latest on this unfolding drama. >> reporter: virginia democratic governor i his first tv interview since becoming engulfed in a blackface scandal says he won't step down. >> i'm not going anywhere. i've learned from this, i have a lot more to learn. >> reporter: new plan, pushing an agenda of racial equity. >> if you look at virginia's history, we're now at the 400-year anniversary. just 90 miles from here, in 1619, the first indentured servants from africa landed on our nowest. monroe. >> also known as slavery. >> yes. i think i'm in a position where i can take virginia to the next level. >> reporter: as politicians pile on -- >> he should resign. >> reporter: a new sign of support. a "washington post" poll finding a majority of african-american virginians want northam to stay on the job. >> it happened years ago. ralph northam has been with the black community since then. i think he's changed. >> i think they need to get off him, let him do his job. >> reporter: the governor still reserving judgment on his number two. lieutenant governor justin fairfax. w

>> geoff bennett, thank you very mpch. >>> president touched on some of the key issues in his agenda. in aninterview, t president also talked about the game of football and the risks involved. white house correspondent kelly donnell has more tonight. >> reporter: donald trump's playbook. follow his >> you disagree with that? >> i have intel people. that doesn't mean i have to agree. >> reporter: after undercutting his own intelligence this as naive, the president's approach sounds more like trust but defy. >> i am going to trust the intelligence that i am putting there, but i will say this. my intelligence people, if they said, in fa, that iran is a wonderful kindergarten, i disagreeith them 100%. >> reporter: the president also disputes advisers who argue or north is not likely to give up its nuclear weapons. heading into a second summi with kim jong-un. >> the meeting is set. he's looking fitward to i'm looking forward to it. we've made tmendous progress. >> reporter: no opinion on whether the mueller report shouldim uely be made public. >> that's up to the attorney general. i don't

geoff bennett at the white house for us. >>> the other big story is the jobs rate. it's actually a pretty good jobs report. this is the first jobs report since the government shutdown and it did beat expectations. economists had worried that the shutdown would slow hiring down. now, january's numbers mean that we have had 100 consecutive months of job gains. that's a record run. let's look at this. the unemployment rate went up to 4%. it went up by 1/10 of 1%. we're going to discuss that in a minute. i always say this is -- there are a lot of reasons why this should not be the number you pay the most attention to. this is the number you should pay the most attention to or at least some attention to. 304,000 net new jobs. if you take all the jobs created minus all the jobs lost, youed e you end up with 304,000. in november the jobs report was revised up by 20,000 jobs to 196,000 added, which is a respectable number. december was revised down by 90,000. that's a bigger revision than we typically get. still, the remaining number was 222,000 which is a pretty good numbe

nbc's white house correspondent geoff bennett is in washington following the latest developments for us this morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning. amazon ceo jeff bezos is turning the tables on the tabloid. he is offering e-mails said to be from "national enquirer's" parent company ami that threaten the release of embarrassing photos of the tech billionaire. bezos trying to deweaponize the photos as he hunts down the source. for ami, a bezos investigation could be the least of its problems. this morning a new twist. federal prosecutors are looking into whether ami broke their cooperation agreement. according to a source familiar with the matter. the deal over alleged hush money payments during donald trump's presidential campaign required that ami commit no further crimes. but now jeff bezos, the billionaire boss of amazon, is accusing the tabloid of extortion and blackmail. bezos posted e-mails sent from representatives for ami to his attorney in an attempt to stop the investigation in to how the "enquirer" obtained the intimate text messages. bezos claims the tabloid demanded a

joining me now is geoff bennett and garret haake. everybody and maria hinosa. what's going on in the scene? there was a lot of drama yesterday that he had to be p l pulled back. he was always going to sign it. he just wanted to create some drama. >> i know you know this from having to cover donald trump on the campaign trail in two years. donald trump says and does thing to push through the next news cycle. you have the white house and the president trying to manage the political fall-out of the president being on the losing side of the negotiation with congress. the fact that he declared a national emergency is a tactic admission that he was unable to -- even as this declaration may quiet the criticism from commentators from the short term. in the long-term, this presents some problems for the president. this declaration is unpopular. the notion of the border wall is with the american public. he risked his party in the senate over the question of whether or not his declaration is a matter of presidential over reach and then thirdly the president is relitigatin

geoff bennett is in washington this morning with me. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. virginia governor ralph northam now says the photo in question is clearly racist and offensive. calls for his resignation have been swift and are coming from all corners,ncluding from some presidential kand candidates. northam, sofar, is resisting the pressure to step down. overnight, virginia's democratic governor apologized for this yearbook photo taken over three decades ago. saying this on twitter. >> that photo and the racist and offensive attitudes it represents does n reflect that person i am today or the way that i haveed conduyself as a soldier, a doctor, and a publicservant. i am deeply sorry. >> reporter: the photo in question appearing on governor ralph northam's 1984 medical school yearbook page. it shows a m in blackface and another in a kkk robe and hood. northam did not specify which person he is but did say that he intends to finish his term as governor. the racist image originally surfaced friday afternoon on a far-right website that often promot promote promotes con

nbc white house correspondent geoff bennett joins us from richmond with more on that.rginia. governor ralph northam still refusing calls to step down over that racist yearbook photo, as now the attorney general, mark herring, admits he, too, once wore blackface. herring is apologizing for what he said happened when he was an undergrad. he and a group of friends put on wigs and brown makeup to dress as rappers they used to listen to at the time. the woman accusing the lieutenant governor, justin fairfax, of sexual assault, she's breaking her silence, publicly detailing her claim. it is an allegation that fairfax categorically and vehemently denies. and we have president trump weighing in on a twitter. the president says, democrats at the top are killing the great state of virginia. if the three failing politicians were republicans, far stronger action would be taken. three scandals sending shock waves across the state. nobody seems to know what comes next. hoda? >> geoff bennett in richmond, thank you. >>> just one day after the president warned congress about investiga

. >> my colleague geoff bennett is at the white house. geoff, we know the president is paying attention to this because we pay attention to his twitter feed. and he's been on a bit of a rant about andrew mccabe this morning. >> you're right about that. president trump this morning predictably ripping into andrew mccabe calling the former fbi director disgraced and calling his story deranged. here are the tweets. the president says he was fired for lying and now his story gets even more deranged. he and hod rosenstein look like they were planning a very illegal act. this was illegal and treason. an insurance policy in full action. missing in the criticism is the point that mccabe points that the president's own behavior, his own statements so startled fbi officials that they took the unprecedented step of launching the investigation and at least brooch broached the notion of using the 25th amendment. the doj is reacting with some new comments out this morning. doj official tells us this. it says this special counsel was appointed to ensure

we have geoff bennett with more. >> reporter: amazon ceo jeff bezos is turning the tables on the tabtabloids offering e-mails from ami that threaten the release of embarrassing photos of him. he is trying to hunt down the source. for ami, alex, this could be the least of its problems. this morning, a new twist in the battle between the tech titan and tabloid. federal prosecutors are looking into ami, publisher of the "national enquirer" broke the cooperation agreement. according to a source familiar with the marrtter. the hush money payments that ami commit no further crimes. now jeff bezos, the boss of amazon, is accusing the tabloid of extortion and blackmail. bezos posted e-mails sent from representatives for ami to his attorney in an attempt to stop his investigation into how the publication obtained text messages between him and the woman he is dating. bezos claims the tabloid demand a public statement saying they have no knowledge or basis to suggest the coverage was politically motivated. if he refused, the "national enquirer" threatened to publish more photos. legal action that coul

geoff bennett, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning.ortham insists he's not one of the two men in that picture. the picture was put on his page by mistake. he didn't know it existed before the picture surfaced on friday. that explanation, willie, is doing little to calm the call for democrats who are pushing for northam to step aside. >> reporter: this morning, fallout over northam, despite a national out cry over that racist photo from his yearbook. a long list of people now saying to step aside. democrats including 2020 presidential hopefuls, former vice president joe biden and nancy pelosi and douglas wilder and senator mark warner and tim kaine along with bob by scott al adding to the call for northam to leave office, even president trump weighed in with a tweet. >> i believe that i am not either of the people in that photo. >> you are saying that you had no idea this racist photo existed before it surfaced? >> that's correct. >> it is a reversal for the virginia democrat apologized for appearing in the picture. >> that photo and th

joining me now, geoff bennett and ned price and also greg bower. mentioned, this is a big breaking news story. we're still trying to parse through this document. there are some hundreds and hundreds of pages right now through all of this. and we'll get to you guys in a moment, but i want to bring in my colleague who has been paying attention to all of it. geoff bennett, what are you learning. >> reporter: was that question for me? >> yeah, my apologies. >> reporter: here's what we know. this is the reporting in tom winter who is part of nbc news' investigate difference unit. he says federal prosecutors have filed an 800 page court filing for paul manafort. it was expected overnight. there was a midnight friday deadline. but it was not publicly he released. as you mentioned it is 800 pages with attachments. so our team is combing through it right now. the reason why this sentencing memo matters is because it could provide some indication of where the special counsel team is headed next. we know that the federal prosecutors say that paul manafort's r

nbc's geoff bennett at the white house and nbc's kacie hunt on the hill. do we know anymore about where the white house stands? way to fly in the face of what congressional republicans are doing, working through a deal and the president goes, i'm going to build that anyway. >> the latest is the president has not made a decision. at the same time, we're getting what you call encouraging signs from some colleagues on the hill. he says he hopes this compromise will be something that president trump can get behind. the president an has been and i still the wild card in all this. two options being seen equally entenable. a couple other options. one, the easiest way out is play the semantics game. say the border barrier funded builds his wall. the other option is accepting the comb pra piece. compromise. redirect money to build the remainder. he can do that without declaring a national emergency. it would likely be controversial and it would likely spark court challenges. we'll hear from him in the 11:00 hour. he's holding a cabinet meeting. >> all right, we've

i'm joined by geoff bennett. this story is disturbing and worse every day.onight this friday night? >> reporter: chris, i tell you what, up until an hour ago when the second accuser came forward, this political crisis, the spiral political crisis had really hit a holding pattern. there was a sense that there was safety in numbers because all three top democratic officials in this state because all three of them were politically compromised in different ways. there was less external pressure on any one of them to resign. but that has all changed now with meredith watson coming forward alleging that lieutenant governor jason fairfax raped her when they were both undergrads at duke in 1y62000. that has done little to calm the calls for him to step down. even terry mccullough, the former democratic governor of the commonwealth saying that justin fairfax has to step aside right now, chris. >> the conundrum for him, i don't know if he's guilty or not but it looks bad. if he quits, he's admitting guilt of a rape charge. wouldn't he be putting himself in that situat