hallie? >> kasie hunt watching it unfold over the next hour or so on capitol hill, thank you. >>> nbc's jeff bennett is at the white house. you got the drama on the hill, there's also some drama of how exactly this went down, given that the president seemed to get cold feet after weeks of negotiations between his senior advisers and folks on the hill. >> yeah, that's right, and of course the thing we're tracking over here are the new tariffs. president trump is expected to announce new tariffs on chinese imports at a 12:30 eastern event scheduled here at the white house, and look, it's going to be president trump's first trade action directly aimed at china, and as you know, president trump has in the past blamed china for hollowing out american manufacturing and unfair trade practices like currency manipulation which we should say helps china make its exports more affordable. there's also the complaint china steals u.s. intellectual property. that's not new. that's been a problem since the c

hallie? >> and so far, mariana, congress has spoken about gun reforms.'ve heard that from democrats as we take this shot here of the capitol steps. you can see the protesters, the students gathering there, getting ready for the event that mariana just laid out. so far, not much action from congress, not at all since the parkland school shooting. it is widely believed here in d.c. that the most likely bill element to pass would have to do with strengthening federal background checks, something that is narrowly focused, brought up by senator cornyn after the texas, southerland springs shooting. we want to go to savannah sellers, host of our snapchat program "stay tuned." tell me what you're seeing there, savannah. >> this is an issue about money -- >> it's pretty amazing out here. there are thousands of students from multiple schools in brooklyn right in the middle of downtown brooklyn, hearing them chan the chilling things like "are we the next ones on the floor, 17, 18, how many more"? kids here in bullet-proof vests to make a statement. it's pretty amaz

hallie, welcome to "washington week." hallie: thanksoraving me. robert:: this week seems different. the president's family under scrutiny. his closest confidants and advisors under scriny as well. what made it different? hallie: his inner circle dissipating. a couple of things made this week different. i think it comes from the intersection of the personal and the policy on the rhythms and how that affected policy moving forward. the president midweek, after hope hicks testified in that dramatic moment on capitolill to lawmakers about the russia investigation, the thing that annoys him the most, as we knoww simmering over there. simmering about the conduct of his attorney frustrated by the beating that his son-in-law was taking in the press and the continued headlines about jared kushner. i was told my one person he was feeling angry and depressed. not clinically but feeling low. which put him on a fight and the one that came to him was a fight on trade. over the advice of so calmed globalists. that all came to a head this week which -- whether onsd th morning, the president made th

we'll discuss iall with hallie jackson of nbc news. michael crowley ofit polo. nancy cordes of cbs news, and karen tumulty of the boast. >> w this is "washingtonk." funding i provided by -- >> their leadership is instinctive. they understand the challeng of today. and he search the technologies of tomorrow. some call them veterans. we call them part of our team. >> on an american cruiselines journey along the columbia and snakeivers, travelers trace the mark forged by lewis and clark. travel through american land scams historic land marksca where you n experience local customs and culture. american cluse cruise lines. proud sponsor of "washington week." >> additional funding is provided by -- news -- newman's own foundation, do noiting all profits to charity and four irishing the common good. the evident i said and cellence in journalism foundation. koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, comritted toing cultural differences in our communities, then corporator public broadcasting and by contributions toour pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

hallie jackson, let me start with you. and if you could take me through your first question and answer with sarah huckabee sanders where she really broke new ground when she asserted in response to a question from you that the president had prevailed in an arbitration with an individual he hadn't previously acknowledged knowing, to today when she said i've addressed this extensively and i don't have anything further to add? >> extensively i think is a word that folks in the room might have exception -- take exception to, nicolle. you're referring to her briefing earlier in the week where she was pressed repeatedly about this. this is the day after the lawsuit was filed. it had been filed in the evening so this was wednesday afternoon when again and again reporters pressed her on what the president did or did not know about this payment to stormy daniels. because remember, really here, it's all about following the money because that is critical to whether or not any campaign finance laws were broken, whether anything happen

hallie jackson is at the white house. phil rucker is with "the washington post," and peter baker is the chief white house correspondent for "the new york times" and author of "obama: the call of history," also answer msnbc political analyst. hallie, i'm going to start with you. what's happening inside the white house today? >> reporter: well, you've seen part of what's happening at the white house, this is the benjamin netanyahu visit, but the more interesting part of what's happening behind the white house is what you cannot see. and that is what we continue to talk about and what we've talked about at various points in this administration, which is frankly chaos. which is, a president who is based on our reporting and based on sources that we've spoken with, angry and frustrated related to a lot of different topics, not least among them, the reaction to the new tariff institution they've put in place. the announcement he's going to put punishing tariffs in place on steel and aluminum imports. i'll tell you, there are fo

hallie jackson, let me start with you. and if you could take me through your first question and answer with sarah huckabee sanders where she really broke new ground when she asserted in response to a question from you that the president had prevailed in an arbitration with an individual he hadn't previously acknowledged knowing, to today when she said i've addressed this extensively and i don't have anything further to add? >> extensively i think is a word that folks in the room might have exception -- take exception to, nicolle. you're referring to her briefing earlier in the week where she was pressed repeatedly about this. this is the day after the lawsuit was filed. it had been filed in the evening so this was wednesday afternoon when again and again reporters pressed her on what the president did or did not know about this payment to stormy daniels. because remember, really here, it's all about following the money because that is critical to whether or not any campaign finance laws were broken, whether anything happen

thank you. >> hallie jackson, are you available right now? hallie? >> you heard there, chris. chris, you heard the announcement there that the president and north korean leaders will meet apparently by may. the south korean national security adviser walked back in. fib me, looking at the door here as everybody runs around did not answer any questions as he walked back inside. gave a brief statement indicating that he informed the president north koreans understand that joint military exercise is going to happen. i have to go. >> joe, it seems a bit dramatic statement they're talking about. kim jong-un is talking about total denuclearization of the korean peninsula. that means not just stopping testing, stopping development but stopping his program in its tracks. what do you make of that suggestion? >> reporter: this is a moment that we very few of us thought we would ever see, the north koreans agreeing to put denuclearization on the table, agreeing to talks with the south koreans, inviting the president of the united states to have the talks. agreeing to suspend their nuclear

hallie, what is your take away? that was a pretty gracious, potentially, departure moment from the president there for gary cohn. not everybody has gotten, necessarily, that kind of a moment. what'd you make of it? >> reporter: gary cohn, a globalist and nationalist, right? who knew? it backs up what our reporting has been over the last 48 hours or so, which is that the door is open for gary cohn to come back into the white house in some capacity, in a different role. it is critical. i think what you saw is the president basically confirming what we have been saying and confirming it publicly, that gary cohn is not leaving on bad terms, but that they do not agree on the tariffs, which ties into the other big story of the day, of course. the president acknowledging that cohn is, what'd he say, not quite as strong on tariffs as we'd like. it is probably an un understatement. cohn is opposed to what the president is unveiling today, the punishing new tariffs. there is a question as to what is going to happen in three a

next week, we're told never say never, but he's pretty committed to moving this forward, lester. >> hallie jackson at the white house. thank you. >>> now to our exclusive interview with russian president vladimir putin, who has denied any russian government involvement after u.s. charges of election meddling. but what about russian citizens who have been indicted in the special counsel investigation? nbc's megyn kelly asked him about that today. >> translator: we cannot respond to that if they do not violate russian laws. >> would this violate russian law? >> translator: i have to see first what they've done, give us materials, give us information. >> hacking into the democratic national committee, creating interference in our election by creating bots that spread false information on twitter, on facebook, spreading misinformation when it comes to black lives matter, when it comes to our presidential election, that's what i'm talking about. >> translator: with all due respect for you personally, with all due respect for congress, you must have people with legal degrees. 100% you do. and pe

chief white house correspondent hallie jackson now with late details. >> where is hope? where is hope? hope, get up here, hope. >> reporter: tonight, another dramatic departure in the west wing. this time to someone who might as well be family to donald trump. hope hicks, his communications director and longtime aide resigning. >> hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. >> reporter: nbc news has learned hicks told the president personally earlier today according to a white house source and said her good-byes to staff in an emotional meeting late this afternoon. the president saying, "hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. she is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person." adding he totally understood when she said she would leave. often seen, but rarely heard in interviews or on camera, hicks played a pivotal part behind the scenes, a fierce defender of her boss, by his side for nearly every critical campaign moment. >> merry christmas, everyone, and thank you, donald trump. >> reporter: and with no prior political ex

nbc news chief white house correspondent hallie jackson now has the latest. >> reporter: tonight a new twist in the tale of the porn star, the president and the payout, with new information on where that $130,000 came from. stormy daniels' lawyer describes it as hush money to keep the adult film actress quiet about what he calls a sexual relationship with donald trump a decade ago. >> we believe that ultimately we're going to be able to trace this back in one form or another to a payment from the trump organization or from the surrogate for mr. trump. >> reporter: but tonight the president's longtime lawyer, michael cohen, now says the money came from his own home equity line of credit, telling abc news, it was my money. cohen has acknowledged facilitating that $130,000 to daniels but hasn't said why he paid her. while cohen has tried to distance this deal from the trump organization, this document, obtained by nbc news and other correspondents, show he conducted business related to it on his work e-mail, a trumporg address. cohen says he routinely used that e-mail for personal busines

>> hallie jackson at the white house. thank you. >>> president trump is preparing to move forward with his pledge to sign new tariffs on steel and aluminum. the move triggering the surprise resignation of the president's chief economic adviser gary cohn. just the latest in a revolving door at the white house. for more on the apparent turmoil, we turn to nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight, after u.s. and global markets had a rocky ride, jitters mounting over chief economic adviser gary cohn's resignation. >> well, i'm concerned that who the president will turn to for advice. >> one of the problems here is the white house is getting hollowed out. >> reporter: the white house trying to downplay the volatility. isn't the message from the markets, though, that they're concerned about gary cohn's departure? >> i think if you look at the overall message of the markets, it's that we're doing much better under president trump than we were doing before he took office. >> reporter: cohn is the latest

>> hallie jackson at the white house, thank you. >>> tonight it appears that one more key member of the trump administration may be leaving. he is h.r. mcmaster, the president's national security adviser. it is just the latest news coming out of the white house that increasingly finds itself on the defensive. nbc's kristen welker has the details. >> reporter: with the white house already in turmoil, tonight five people familiar with the discussions tell nbc news national security adviser h.r. mcmaster may be on his way out as early as this month. those sources say the ouster is being orchestrated by chief of staff john kelly and defense secretary james mattis. tonight, white house spokesman michael anton dismissing the story, writing, i was just with president trump and h.r. mcmaster in the oval office. president trump said that the nbc news story is fake news and told mcmaster that he is doing a great job. >> he's a man of tremendous talent. >> reporter: mcmaster an active duty three-star general was brought into the administration from the pentagon a year ago to replace michael flynn

back to you. >> hallie jackson. thank you. >>> more shake-ups at the white house. after weeks of speculation, general h.r. make master officially out as national security adviser to be replaced by former ambassador to the u.n., john bolton. in a new statement, bolton said in part -- >>> but bolton's appointment its met with mix read action. let's go to nbc's tracy pots in washington for the latest. tracy, good morning. >> hi, phillip, francis. bolton is former u.n. ambassador under president bush and known as hard-liner on foreign policy in line with some of the things we have heard from president trump. in the past he talked about bombing iran and attacking north korea. you can imagine the mixed reaction here. take a look at the president's tweet. announcing this change saying that bolton is coming on. he is thankful for the service for h.r. make master did an outstanding job and the hand-over will happen on april 9th. here on capitol hill, mixed reaction about the new national security adviser. >> i found it to be an extremely reasonable, thoughtful, and, and obv

>> all right, thank you, hallie. >>> hope hicks hacked. an nbc news exclusive report reveals that one week before her resignation the outgoing white house communications director reported one of her e-mail accounts was compromised. hicks told the house intelligence committee that she could no longer access two e-mail accounts and believed one had been hacked. it is unclear the account she was referring to was her personal account or one she used as part of president trump's campaign team. her claim raises questions about who may have compromised the account and what information may have been obtained. >>> as president trump prepares to impose new tariffs on imported steel and alum nooum, the international outcry continues. canadian prime minister justin trudeau spoke out against the plan after a phone call with mr. trump earlier this week. trudeau saying the tariffs appear to be linked with ongoing nafta negotiations and experience shows he must wait and see what the president will ultimately do. >> we're going to continue to both make the

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nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has more. >> where is hope? where is hope? hope, get up here, hope. >> reporter: another dramatic departure in the west wing. this time someone who might as well be family to donald trump. hope hicks, his communications director and long-time aid, resigning. >> hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. >> reporter: nbc news has learned hicks told the president personally according to a white house source and said her good-byes to staff in an emotional meeting. the president saying hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. she is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person, adding he totally understood when she said she would leave. on seen but rarely heard in interviews or on camera, hicks played a pivotal part behind the scenes. a fierce defender of her boss, by his side for nearly every critical campaign moment. >> merry christmas, everyone, and thank you, donald trump. >> reporter: and with no prior political experience rocketing to a top job in the white house. word of her dep

building is owned by my neighbor for a while at the cave one is owned by sardar this one by cooley it hallie. this is a solar panel pointed towards the side where we need to charge our phone but. this is the living room the entire facades gone. there's no curtains not even windows he shouldn't be the. that idea. hey you know this is my tool set i needed all the times every other day i have to repair something. pliers and i also i'm assigned to have one asylum shiver be on the side really because. you can only get dry bread these days it's made with barley flour which is naturally dry. yeah this. is the tina she. first is all of oil time olives eggs and. that is it will be. you know this is my home these days. it will be. i. tell them i'm not i'm filling up on water. and aid organization donated this water pump god bless them. is a man standing. between the day something like this would cost half a million lives that's about a thousand euros i mean it's difficult when a lot of digging the well the manual pump and the shaving all together a half a million lira. thank god we have it means we do

>> reporter: exactly, hallie.to account, i mean, not only does steel run through the blood of families here but through the communities. this facility in its heyday at hundreds of employees. there's just eight employees now. when you're talking to a lot of the voters on the ground, there's still very much the old remnants of the steel industry. in pa 18, which is the race you'll be looking at, this tuesday special election, there's still 18,000 steel union member households in that district alone. i was talking with the political director for the united steel workers yesterday. he was telling me that, usually, it is 20% to 25% of the electorate in the district are the steel union households. he said they're hoping to get it up to 30%. the interesting part of the race is not only does ciccone back the president, but so does the democrat. they're holding an event at 4:00 p.m. for connor lamb. despite, yes, automation and a changing economy here, there's still a desire to bring back the old steel jobs here in the are

>> hallie jackson on a snowy white house lawn. thank you. >>> now to our nbc news exclusive interview with fbi director christopher wray, who is defending his agency's reputation in the face of frequent attacks from the president and his allies. and also revealing a surprisingly high number of active terror investigations in the u.s. wray spoke to our justice correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: nearly eight months into the job as director of the fbi, christopher wray pushed back against criticism from president trump and some in congress who say the fbi favored hillary clinton during the election at the expense of donald trump. >> i have not seen a politicized organization. what i have seen is people fiercely focused on trying to do the right thing in the right way. >> reporter: but what does it do to morale when some of the toughest criticism comes from the president, himself? >> would we prefer not to get criticized? of course. but in many ways, we're our own toughest critics. >> reporter: the fbi admits it failed to follo

white house correspondent hallie jackson has the details. >> reporter: today's presidential proposal means you could pay more for products made with steel and aluminum after donald trump announced punishing new tariffs. >> it will be 25% for steel. it will be 10% for aluminum. it will be for a long period of time. >> reporter: the move, meant to target china -- >> dow with a decline of 430 points s on the bell. >> reporter: -- moved markets fast with the dow dropping on fearing of an international trade war. but the president, in protectionist mode, argues this will help key industries and jobs at home. like harris steel in illinois. >> they want to protect manufacturing in the unite, which is great, but there's other ramifications. >> reporter: but for consumers? >> the winners here are steel companies in the united states who sell steel. the losers are any companies that buy steel. they'll pass that loss on to their customers. >> reporter: how much more would you pay for a car or washing machine? unclear. the president's position is new surprise. >> we'll bring back our jobs. >> re

hallie, thank you. and we will be right back. but i'm not standing still... with godaddy, i've made my ideas real. ♪ i made my own way, now it's time to make yours. ♪ everything is working, just like it should ♪ ♪ i'm walkin wow! ♪nshine ♪ i'm walking on sunshine ♪ wow! ♪ applebee's handcrafted burgers. any burger just $7.99. now that's eatin good in the neighborhood. you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fix that. let's give this guy gig- really? and these kids, and these guys, him, ah. oh hello. that lady, these houses! yes, yes and yes. and don't forget about them. uh huh, sure. still yes! xfinity delivers gig speed to more homes than anyone. now you can get it, too. welcome to the party. >>> that's going to wrap up this hour of "msnbc live." katy tur is standing by, or should i say, she is sitting by. >> i'm so happy to see you. i did see you earlier today when i was on talking about the news, but i'm glad to have you back. it's been lonely here without you. the studio has been warm, the air-conditioni

>> hallie jackson, on the hill. thanks. >>> a lot more to get to, including the investigation into that deadly school shooting in florida. frantic 911 and dispatch calls as the tragedy unfolded have been released publicly. gabe gutierrez is in parkland with more. gabe, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. for the first time, we're hearing the radio transmissions from the school resource officer who was fired after the sheriff said he failed to confront the gunman. they may indicate he did hear shots from inside the school, but he never went in. it was sheer terror. panicked parents, helpless. >> i love you. i love you. >> is that the police? >> no, it's not the police. it's okay. it's okay. >> reporter: one mother, with this emotional plea, talking to her daughter on one phone and 911 on the other. >> i love you. i love you. it's going to be fine. you hide somewhere? can you play dead? >> yes. >> if you can, can you play dead. you should play dead. >> reporter: as the rampage unfolded, confusion. this

hallie, i want to start with you. we're going to get to the other news in that briefing in a moment, but what did she have to say on stormy daniels? >> reporter: sarah sanders didn't say much about stormy daniels. it didn't come up. as you noted, i think, at the top of your remarks, katy, much of the briefing focused, in fact, on russia and about sanders' comments or lack thereof about whether or not that was a free and fair election. it obviously was not. she is loathe to say so. and apparently the president was loathe to say so to vladimir putin on the phone earlier today, as well. you asked about stormy daniels. again, we obviously have a lot of breaking news on that regarding the polygraph test that apparently daniels took, that i know you and ari will discuss a little bit further. you have those two new lawsuits that have come out in the last half hour or so while reporters in this room were waiting for sanders to approach the podium. we have reached out to folks in and around the president's circle for comment o

hallie, i have to start with you. this unexpected announcement yesterday on trade and tariffs coming on the heels of all of this chaos we witnessed this week, and the announcement that hope hicks is leaving. >> now you look ahead to what is coming today. you have the president who has just landed in north carolina for billy graham's funeral amidst this storm, this literal storm happening in washington, a storm happening in the west wing, the markets are dropping, the president is being pushed by republicans, by business leaders, not in the steel industry, to do something different to change his mind and here he comes out this morning saying basically, heck, no to everybody who wants him to reconsider this. he's doubling down, i hate to use that word because it's the ultimate political cliche, but he is. he's saying we will have this. he says trade wars are good and easy to win. find me an economist who says that's true. there's real concern about the policy impact of this moving forward but at the same time, this shou

let's go to hallie jackson, our chief white house correspondent at the white house right now. we see these threats all the time and i guess it's rare that somebody follows through on that threat. obviously it means these tariffs are a go if gary cohn is gone. >> reporter: i think you're right, chuck. listen, there's a couple of things to note with gary cohn's resignation. it is happening, first of all, after the markets have closed, by the way, at least here in the u.s. because there was concern about how wall street is going to react to this. so we'll watch for that tomorrow. but let me read you some statements that we have, including from the president himself, who is tonight calling cohn a rare talent, thanking him for his dedicated service to the american people. he said he did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the american economy once again. general john kelly is out with a statement also praising cohn. cohn himself says it's been an honor to serve his country and enact pro growth economic policies, in par

back to you. >> hallie jackson on capitol hill. thank you. >>> we have more to get to this morning, including new information that is now coming to light about the parkland school shooting and the confessed gunman's past as the florida senate is passed to controversial gun bill. gabe gutierrez is in parkland, florida this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. before lawmaker consider the gun bill, we're learning more information about the shooter. his younger brother telling investigators he wishes he had been nicer to the confess the killer. this morning surprising revelations from the broward county sheriff's department the confessed parkland school shooter had been bullied by his younger brother. deputies interviewed his brother two days after the shooting and according to a newly released report, zachary told them he and his friends bullied nicklaus. zachary said he feels responsible and guilty about the incident. after their mother died in november, they moved in with a family in this mobile home near west palm bea

hallie jackson joins us live from the white house. how did this come about? >> reporter: quickly and as a surprise to a lot of folks even inside the west wing. let me take you into the evening. the policy implications are real. as you mentioned we have now learned that the white house, the president has accepted the invitation to meet kim jong-un. we expect to know more in the next couple of minutes. we could talk more perhaps later in the hour with new details from the white house. we will be bringing that to you when it happens. let me start sort of where the picture picked up. president trump in the briefing room about half a shoulder and half a head to say there is going to be a big announcement. i have never seen the president come out of the briefing room door like that. he wanted to talk and share information with the reporters. that set off roughly a 90 minute scramble to figure out who would be president this briefing by the south korean security adviser. presumably they knew what would be said. nbc news confirmed there was a letter that kim jong-un

hallie? >> i want to ask you about the va but do want to follow up on something you said twice now this week. when asked about the payment to the president you said not that i'm aware of. have you asked the president this question? >> i'm sorry. can you be more specific? >> sure. jeff, as well as monday to the wall street journal reporter you were asked whether the president knew about this payment his long-time lawyer made to stormy daniels. you said then and again today not that you're aware of. have you asked the president this question? >> i've had conversations with the president about this. as i outlined earlier, that this case had been won already in arbitration and there was no knowledge of any payments from the presses and he has denied all these allegations. >> is there a reason you're not answering the substance of the question on the payment itself? >> i believe i've addressed this question specifically. >> the va, a new ig report coming out, an issue that the president has been p

hallie, you have more information? >> in these situations, you're watching social media because that is how often these school districts will get information to parents. parents are being told to go to a nearby high school, leonard town, to eventually reunite basically with their kids, with their students. you can imagine, of course, any parent who has a kid at this school is clearly wanting to know more information, wanting to figure out how they can reunite with their child, so, again, they are getting some direction now from st. mary's county public schools. remember, the district headquarters is right there in leonard town. again, i want to reiterate here, this is not like just outside city limits in d.c. this is sort of down south of washington. it's kind of towards the bay, if you're familiar with the mid-atlantic area. it's sort of a rural district. not an urban one here in and around the d.c. suburbs. so parents are being told to head to the auditorium of leonard town high school to try to see their children ev

i'd follow that cadet anywhere. >> see you, hallie. later. >>> i'm ali velshi. >> i'm stephanie ruhle. it is the first day of march. let's get started. >> hope hicks, president trump's long-time aide, announced jerez nati -- her resignation.

. >>> joining me now is chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. a lot of other questions going on in that white house. >> yeah. >> quite something. >> reporter: you have away with words,/. i would agree with that assessment. it was something and let's start with what you are talking about which is the conversation surrounding the new tariff announcement from sanders. here is what struck me, the use of the word intention and his intent is to sign this policy next week, the question is is there wiggle room z. that mean the president could potentially change his mienld ov-- mind, si seven or days related to the numbers or the nations to which this targets and sarah sanders was skimpy on the details saying she didn't want to get ahead of the president but i think as has been noted and i will note it here this was to say the least a chaotic rollout. despite sanders saying the press doesn't know what the president does, which is true at times. not even officials in the west wing seemed to know what the president was about to do. so i think it is fair to

nbc news chief white house correspondent hallie jackson has the story. >> reporter: from the first lady, a policy push, protecting kids from cruelty online. >> i believe together we can make a real difference in encouraging positive behaviors on social media. >> reporter: leaders from facebook, twitter and snapchat at the table, along with an elephant in the room, the first lady's husband. no stranger to prolific personal attacks on line. the "new york times" logging a list of the 425 people, places and things donald trump as trashed on twitter, from allies and enemies to celebrities and corporations. insults like fake and failing and frankenstein. >> i'm well aware people are skeptical of me discussing this topic. but it will not stop me from doing what i know is right. >> reporter: steven balkan runs the family online safety institute. is it mixed messaging to you melania trump pushing this when her husband is pushing a different agenda on line? >> you know what was impressive? she addressed it right up front. >> reporter: were you surprised at her acknowledgement of this? >> we'll se

joining me, nbc chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. this involves new e-mails, e-mails newly revealed we have obtained showing connections between michael cohen, the president's personal attorney and the trump organization, connections he had previously denied on payments to stormy daniels. >> reporter: exactly right. to stormy daniels, a big headline which has been out this week after her lawsuit against president trump. here is what we know based on our reporting from our investigative team, sara fitzpatrick, that michael cohen, the president's long-time lawyer, used his trump organization e-mail while arranging to transfer this $130,000 payment to daniels. now, a source familiar with these discussions also tells us that cohen also regularly used this same e-mail account during these negotiations with daniels back in 2016. what you're looking at is one of these e-mails we have obtained. you can see that is a trump org e-mail there, in addition to michael cohen's personal g-mail account. we are also told clifford's attorney at the tim

april ryan's and hallie jacks specific questions got general fleeting answers. it is an unusual thing to watch. >> well particularly on the issue of stormy daniels. and she was pressed repeatedly about why she wouldn't get specific on that point. so the headline as it relates to stormy daniels and then i'll go back to gary cohn, she was pressed on the new revelation that daniels is using the president saying that the nondisclosure agreement is not valid because the president didn't sign it. sarah huckabee-sanders pushed back and saying the president denies all of the allegations and then said this is a matter already worked out in arbitration in the president's favor and then stopped and pressed on the details and she wouldn't give any and then you heard my colleague hallie jackson ask for details about what the president has told her specifically. she wouldn't go into the details about that except to say that the president was not aware of a payment by his personal attorney michael cohen to affectively make sure that stormy daniels didn't tell her story. so you

i think hallie jackson has a statement that just came out from the undersecretary of state. >> this is significant because it speaks to the idea of this being a stunner, including to secretary of state rex tillerson himself as far as the timing of this. because on the record, a white house -- excuse me, a state department spokesperson is saying that secretary tillerson had every intention of staying because, they say, of the critical progress made in national security, adding here, stephanie, that the secretary did not speak to the president and is unaware of the reason, but adding he is grateful for the opportunity to serve and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling. this is wild that the secretary of state according to the state department did not get a head's up he was going to get fired, via twitter. the president just said on the south lawn he wishes tillerson well but he also talked about some of the other shake-ups, including the one with cohn, saying that larry kud low is being considered. this is one of those days where you're thankful for a lot of coff

hallie, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, good morning. that school safety discussion will continue today, a white house official telling me the president is set to meet again with family members of those affected by gun violence. it comes as he is tweeting now about that discussion in the west wing you mentioned, the president saying that many ideas, some good and some not so good emerged from those talks. that talk, by the way, stunned lawmakers in both parties, had the nra calling it good tv but bad policy and left many doubtful that any sweeping changes could actually get done in congress. and now, as yet another business weighs in on all this, it's becoming clear that most of the action in the gun debate at this moment is less about the political world and more about the private sector. this morning the biggest moves to stop gun violence aren't coming from capitol hill but corporate america, and companies like walmart, the world's biggest business, now says it will not sell any gun to anyone under the age of 21. the surprise announcem

i'm hallie jackson in for willie geist with a lot of news to cover this morning. that massive march in washington on saturday. look at that, hundreds of thousands of students and the adults who love them. taking to the streets in a rallying cry, enough is enough when it comes to the school violence.

we start with chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. >> reporter: tonight, trade war worries igniting after the president signed this order to slap tough tariffs on china. punishment for unfairly stealing technology secrets from u.s. companies, he says. >> we're going to get it taken care of. and frankly, it's going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation. it's probably one of the reasons i was elected. >> reporter: for donald trump, it's promise made -- >> we're going to stand up to china on trade. >> reporter: -- promise kept. not surprisingly, china's not happy. already threatening retaliation. that's where the real risk comes in. if beijing imposes its own tariffs, a trade tit for tat that could hit the u.s. where it hurts, in the farm belt. rob schafer farms a thousand a in illinois on land that's been in his family since the 1800s. china is the biggest customer for crops like his, buying up one of every three rows of soybeans grown in this country. >> china could buy them just as easy from brazil and argentina as they can from the united states. >> reporter: scha

hallie jackson has more. >> reporter: president trump leaving a washington wind storm can't shake the turbulence to the tough new tariffs he announced on aluminum and steel. >> the dow is going to close down about 50 points. >> reporter: what the commerce secretary calls a tremendous overreaction, arguing any price hike passed to consumers is chump change. >> i just bought this can today. at a 7-eleven down here and the price was $1.99. who in the world is going to be too bothered by 0.06. > >> reporter: but the risk that higher costs could passed to you, but other countries could retaliate. making it tougher for american products to sell overseas from wheat like farms like this one. >> we depend a lot on exports and the fact that something threatens those exports really makes it tough for us. >> reporter: the president aiming to protect u.s. metal worke workers, trade wars are tough and easy to win. >> trade battles can be possibly easy to win, trade wars are damaging to everybody. >> reporter: the president became unglued this week in the words of one source by a series of events in

hallie jackson has that story. good morning to you. >> hey, craig, good morning. karen mcdougle is now the second woman to file a lawsuit to share her story. this morning, we're learning new details about what she says happened. from the center fold to center stage, a former "playboy" playmate for the first time, talking in depth on camera, about her alleged affair with donald trump. >> were you attracted to him? >> i was attracted to him. yeah. >> reporter: the sex was consensual? >> yeah. >> reporter: that's karen mcdougle describing what she says was a ten-month relationship with donald trump. she says it started in 2006 in the months after her son baron's birth. >> what everyone sees on tv, i didn't see in that man. >> he can be charming. >> he is very charming. >> reporter: mcdougal saying she traveled to bed minister and trump tower to see donald trump, sharing journal entries, some marked with the initials d.t. and photos of her with the president and his family. >> if melania trump is watching this, what would you want her to know? >> that's a tough one. >

hallie jackson is on this story. good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda. good morning to you. stormy daniels' attorney says he wants a response from the president's lawyer today on this offer. another twist in a controversy that's not going away. this morning, a new proposition from the porn star to the president. stormy daniels' attorney saying she will refund an alleged hush moan -- money payment for the president, in return, she would be freed up to share her story, something she's only alluded to on shows like jimmy kimmel's. >> do you have a nondisclosure agreement? >> do i? >> reporter: her attorney says she was ordered to keep quiet about a relationship a decade ago. >> wouldn't she have to return the money pursuant to this agreement? >> i think she may have to and she's prepared to do that. >> reporter: now, her lawyers sending this to michael cohen, who has acknowledged facilitating the payment, offering to return the money. in return they want daniels to be released from the so-called hush agreement and be allowed to talk on "60 minutes," an interview she's already t

let's get the latest from hallie jackson on the hill for us this morning. >> reporter: good morning tofor donald trump back in 2016. but now, it's a democrat who will be representing that area here at the capitol. we're talking about a special election upset that republicans are downplaying and democrats hope will mean momentum come midterms. >> it took a little longer than we thought. but we did it. >> reporter: this morning, democrat conor lamb is celebrating a razor-thin win over rick saccone. nbc news declaring him the apparent winner overnight in the pennsylvania district, and that district backed trump by 20 points in 2016. president trump trumping for saccone at the end of the race. >> this is a very important race. >> reporter: saccone, promising overnight, not to give up until every vote is counted. >> we're going to fight all the way to the end. >> reporter: the loss, a blow to president trump, comes just hours after a state department shakeup. rex tillerson out. mike pompeo in. but not yet. not until after what could be a senate showdown. before the current cia director take