>> you're asking me, hallie? >> yes, zerlina. >> yes, i do think it's an achilles' heel because i think this sets up the potential for the democrats to explain the threat of climate change, right? we talk about climate change as a 2% to 4% warming of the planet. when that's actually in celsius, hallie. and so, i think that democrats have an opportunity to explain why we're seeing extreme weather, why water cannot be clean across the country, why it's dirty in places like flint, why we need different policies and regulations to protect our citizens. that's an opportunity. and donald trump has never, ever talked in specifics in terms of policy. and i hope, i implore us all in the media to hold him to the standard that we hold all the other candidates, which is to explain exactly what they're going to do. he can't say that he's going to take away your health care and then replace it with something great when he's not able to articulate what that is going to be, and i think that as citizens, we should demand a lot mo

right now, more news with hallie jackson. >> stephanie, thank you. i'm hallie jackson. we start with breaking news. documents just into our news room from the raid on michael cohen. what we're learning and how it fits into the larger russia investigation. that is not the only thing popping this morning. things are popping up. we're talking trump versus conway versus conway. why the president is pushing a personal matter on to his very public twitter page, going after the spouse of one of his most loyal advisers. and in 2020 news, five democrats, six states, a whole lot of headlines. the ambitious new policies two of those candidates are pitching. plus, why the one with the fewest specifics seems to be sucking up the most oxygen. is it a gender thing? we've got that deep dive coming up later in the show with our team here, covering all of it on what's turning out to be a busy tuesday. >>> so we start this hour with that news surrounding the investigation into michael cohen. those redacted search warrants, right, related to that fbi raid on his house, his officer, his saf

but hallie, this is to preserve the rule of law in our country but also an honor code.'s some things in our country that are just not enshrined in the law but in our honor code we say you show us your taxes. you don't attack the judiciary. you are straight with the american people, and you don't put your kids in positions of power where you can financially benefit. we're going to look at the rule of law and honor code that's been violated. >> i know you're out west and in washington the waiting game is in full swing for robert mueller's report. you're a member of congress. you're on the judiciary committee. any guidance on timing? when do you think we'll see it? >> no, and that says everything about who bob smimueller is ande team he's leading. no leaks. we have no idea. could be today or a year from now. it shows that donald trump is getting the due process that he wouldn't give to anyone else, but every defendant in america is entitled to. >> you say a year from now. you don't really think it's going to be a year from now. all signs seem to be he's wrapping it up. >>

>> absolutely, hallie.ty current students at stanford, filing this civil suit against a whole number of people, rick singer, whose name you've heard in the last few days, at the center of the criminal investigation. and his organization that was helping parents, allegedly, you know, get college entrance for their kids. they also filed it against usc, university of texas, austin, wake forest, yale and georgetown. two students, erica olson is one of them. she says in the filing when she applied to college, she graduated from a great high school, accredited high school, passed all the requirements. she had, quote, stellar standardized test scores, athletic talent, on the dance squad. she applied to yale university, one of the schools wrapped up in these allegations involving cheating. the other student, kalea woods, she applied to usc. the lawsuit also says that she had a lot of ability. she had athletic skills. both of these students were denied entry from those schools and are saying essentially the schools,

hallie, does this say anything about the president's hold on the republican party? >> reporter: yeah, lester, it does, right? it says it's not a rock-solid grip on some of these republicans who are really sending a warning now that they want a check on executive power. but keep this in mind, the president still has a lot of sway with republican lawmakers looking at, for example, their re-elections in 2020. remember, he's really popular with republican voters. the president has an approval rating with that group close to 90%, lester. >> all right, hallie, thank you. >>> there's a new contender hoping to take on president trump in 2020. beto o'rourke, who gained national attention with his unsuccessful texas senate bid last year. officially jumped into the crowded democratic field today. our kristen welker has details. >> reporter: a big bet tonight from beto o'rourke, the former texas congressman in iowa calling for unity. >> we're all americans and we're all human everything we do country, and for every generation that follows. this is democracy. >> reporter: after

>> i think it's important not to overstate it, hallie. there's two -- sort of two things the government could look at. one is the actual -- whether there are federal charges against jussie smollett involving this threat letter which the chicago police say he phonied up. but i get the impression that's kind of a nonstarter. there's a principle that guides u.s. attorneys that say -- that says the feds don't step in after a case has been handled by local authorities unless there's a significant federal interest at stake and it doesn't seem like that's the case. but there is -- there is some talk about whether there's a role for the federal government looking at how the case was handled. there's some initial looking at that. the impression i get is the expectations are not very high that anything is going to happen here. nonetheless, they are talking about it, but i don't get the sense that there's going to be a lot of movement. >> okay. pete williams, appreciate that context check. we talk about the department of justice. this just in, on an

i am hallie jackson in washington. the russia investigation may be over, but the story line is not with lots of moving pieces today. and a full court press from the president and his team publicly and privately jubilant. you can practically hear the bottles popping in the west wick after -- wing after the two year all caps claim of no collusion is validated. >> it's hard to complain when you have this letter from the department of justice. >> it's a complete and total exoneration. >> there was no obstruction of justice. there was no collusion. >> reality check. there is still a gray area on the obstruction question. that's a fact. and that's what democrats are seizing on today. because while the white house may be trying to move bas the mueller report, democrats are not with more investigations on the way. we've got those, the reaction, the fallout, the plan for what's next, and in hour we're talking with gerry connolly, a member of the oversight committee. here onset we'll be joined by white house spokesperson hogan g

but hallie's point is right. the air is out of the balloon here.cy pelosi knows there are not 20 republicans in the senate who are likely or even conceivablecu at this parr moment to vote for a conviction. if you're not gonna have a conviction, whants the p of going down that road? it could backlash. ld president trump do with that? he would take, even if the house did vote to impeach him, he would take exoneration from the senate and say, i win, see? innocent. >> exactly. >> and i think pelosi can seeha where train is headed and she doesn't want to put her foot on the gas. he this brings up why mocrats this week, and the republicans, are turning to health care. let's turn to thaurselves, because president trump surprised his own party this week when he announced that the justice department would once again try toow strike president obama's health care law. the president insisted the move uld help peopleut many republicans were unhappy with the decision. >> a remember this,ecause it's very important. and i'm speaking now for the republican party. w

but hallie, what have we learned?for that tape, kasie, because the president is still going. we had a feeling he was in the mood to talk based on his many tweets this morning and it appears he is talking about everything from twitter to trade to george conway to that mueller report. and let me start there, the president telling reporters, let people see, essentially, people should be able to see that report when it comes out. but he notes, it is up to the attorney general. he talked about how robert mueller wasn't elected, essentially, the president touting, again, his electoral win in the 2016 election. he, again, talked about those 13 angry democrats, this is an attack line we've heard from the president before, which is what he was referencing. and insisted there is no collusion, and forgive me for reading off my phone here, my colleagues peter alexander, kristen welker, are talking to the president right now and reporting back. those attacks on kellyanne conway's husband, the president calling conway the husband f

now i hand you off to my dear friend hallie jackson with more. >> i'm hallie jackson in washington where the focus is on all the president's men, including his former campaign manager. in a matter of hours, paul manafort will learn whether he could spend the rest of his life in prison. more on his first round of sentencing today, including what we will and will not learn about the mueller investigation. and the chances of a pardon with plenty of questions about pardons and michael cohen. and whether he misled congress about what he wanted from his former boss, president trump. we break down those kind of confusing statements from team cohen n tell you what the president's current lawyer is telling us. >>> plus, with no solution on immigration, no deal with north korea and the largest trade deficit in u.s. history, what happened to all that winning the president promised? we ask a republican senator and a bombshell from the first female air force fighter pilot to fly in combat. senator martha mcsally revealing she was raped by one of her superiors. out with a new powerful interview this m

>> reporter: hi, hallie. good morning.is hoping the discovery of those black boxes will give investigators the data they need to determine what went wrong, why this new boeing plunged from the sky, just a few minutes after take-off, killing off 1 i on board. both the captain and the first officer were experienced pilots. we are now learning more about the victims. there were people from 35 different countries on this plane, an incredibly diverse passenger list. you mention td eight americed t americans. there are 32 kenyans. one of them was a student at georgetown law. his name was cedric. he was a third year law student who had grown up in mombasa. he was returning to kenya for a visit. sadly, the campus is now mourning his death. we also know that the u.n. is saying at least 19 of their united nations staff were on this flight. many of them were headed to an environmental conference here in nairobi that began today. hallie, a lot of people are drawing comparisons with another flight, that lion air jet crash in indonesia

that was taken away from him by kim and his regime. >> hallie joins us here now live. what reaction are we getting from otto warmbier's parents? >> nothing today. the warmbier family did not respond to our request for comment. but i'll tell you, lester, today the north koreans held this surprise and rare news conference. and when i tried to ask about warmbier and the regime's human rights abuses, officials refused to engage on any of those questions, lester. >> hallie jackson, thank you. >>> meanwhile the president's former lawyer, michael cohen, was back on capitol hill, completing three days of testimony. this time behind closed doors. but what he said in public yesterday drawing a strong reaction from presidprosecutors in new york. we have two reports. let's start with kasie hunt. >> reporter: tonight president trump slamming democrats for that dramatic split-screen moment. michael cohen ying during his >> i think having a fake hearing like that and having it in the middle of this very important summit is really a terrible thing. >> reporter: in his 7 1/2 hour testi

none of this, hallie, has ever been done before. time that we're aware of that parliament has taken over this kind of process. this is usually in the hands of the government, and the government leads the way. so, we're sort of in unknown territory here, but you'll probably see an awful lot of backroom deals go on in the next few hours, and certainly over the weekend. >> jon, quick final thoughts. what's this mean for our viewer watching at home? whauz d what does this mean for the u.s.? >> if britain leaves the european union, it won't be the powerful influence in europe that it's been for half a century. it means britain will be going it alone. there will be a separate trade deal i'm sure between the u.s. and uk. there will be vestiges of the special relationship remaining. but i've got to say, listening to what we heard from westminst westminster, i envy your constitution. at least you have a rule book that keeps you on track. we are making it up as we go along in the dark. >> jon sopel, leaving it there. thank you. you have a bus

hallie jackson joining us now from the north lawn. hallie, what's he saying? >> reporter: the president is really going a step further than he has before, now saying he thinks all americans should be be able to take a look at robert mueller's report and he's again taking a bitter tone toward the special counsel and his process. >> let it come out. let people see it. that's up to the attorney general. we have a very good attorney general, he's a very highly respected man, and we'll see what happens. i got 63 million votes and now somebody just writes a report? i think it's ridiculous but i want to see the report. >> reporter: keep in mind attorney general bill barr is only required to release a notification and brief outline to congress. it's up to him how much more he'd release publicly. lester? >> all right, hallie, thank you. >>> tonight the fbi has joined a growing investigation into how the now-grounded boeing 737 max was certified to fly. this, as new details emerge from the terrifying final moments aboard that lion air flight, the one that crashed last f

. >> thank you, hallie. >> let me start there. have you heard -- has the committee heard back from this accounting firm? are they cooperating? >> not as of right now but we gave them until next tuesday or wednesday to respond. so hopefully they are putting some documents together. >> okay. april 3rd is your drop dead date

and hallie jackson, our white house correspondent. first to you as we await mueller's findings, what could this mean for the president and how he comports himself the next few days? >> look, we've gotten a preview of how the president's going to comport himself if you look at the last week. he has clearly been agitated about the coming mueller report all week long. and that frankly is probably the best explanation we can offer when it comes to the mccain rants that he went on all week, because he sort of blames mccain for triggering this investigation. the bottom line is i think you're just going to see a more aggressive president as we go on, because politically this has worked for him. legally he's got plenty of jeopardy. politically, doing what he's done has worked. >> hallie, give me your thoughts. >> to chuck's point it is the political piece of it the president will seize on. i would watch for him to claim victory and vindication over these next days and weeks as he heads out onto the campaign trail already thinking about 2020.

nbc's hallie jackson is at the white house. hallie, good evening. >> reporter: lester, good evening to you. late today president trump issued that veto on what he called a reckless resolution, a bill that would have blocked his national emergency on the border wall. it's an emergency declaration now being challenged in court and at the capitol. that's where a dozen republicans voted against the president on this measure, hoping to put a check on presidential power. still, president trump today dismissed any internal gop drama and seemed confident in his approach. >> i put no pressure on anybody. i actually said i could have gotten some of them to come along. i said i want you to vote your heart, do what i want to do, i'm not putting any pressure. the case is a very strong case, very powerful case. it was -- i think actually national emergency was designed for a specific purpose like this. >> reporter: democrats will try to override that veto later on this month but it's not expected that they'll have enough votes. lester? >> al

. >> hallie jackson is also with us. hall hallie, the white house said all along no collusion. the president greeted reporters on friday with no collusion, no collusion. the president's orbit has always said, no collusion. the president's children have always said, no collusion. today robert mueller found no conspiracy which essentially is no collusion. >> there is no gray area on that piece of it, katy. you look at the two buckets. the conspiracy piece you say, sort of collusion, and then the obstruction piece. on the conspiracy piece of it it is black and white. it is very clear that the special counsel did not find that it trump campaign conspired with russia. that is already what we're seeing and forgive me for looking at my phone. we've received reaction from the rnc. unsurprisingly now from the republican national committee falling in line with what chuck read you from those in the republican party, "for years many democrats and many in the media promised collusion between the trump campaign and russia. they were wrong." that is going to be the line from the gop i think f

you know, hallie, yesterday we were going through these documents.re's over 300 pages of charging documents. it's a lot to read through. one of the things we found overnight and early this morning is that there was a recorded telephone conversation involving that gentleman you're referring to that was organizing this whole scheme, and in one of his calls he said that he had done this for 761 families as of june of last year. so this is obviously a significant investigation, and i think the u.s. attorney was very careful yesterday. i think he importantly said this investigation is ongoing. they haven't ruled out charges for any of the kids wrapped up in this. i would expect or certainly it's likely that other parents are going to face the heat for being involved in this scheme as well. >> yeah. this is like a tip of the iceberg kind of thing it seems. we've heard about the 33 parents and the coaches. it sounds like there's a lot more that could come from this. >> exactly. the other thing is based in having a chance to really delve into some of the rec

hallie jackson now with late details. >>are 59 -- >> reporter: a republican rebellion tonight, an embarrassing blow to president g trump on histure issue. 12 senators in his own party joining with democrats to try to block the national emergency he declared to get more money for the border wl he wants. >> the joint resolution is passed. >> reporter: for republicans it's about reining in unfettered presidential power and swingingd the um back toward congress. >> it's a question about the balance of power that is core to our constitution. this is not about the presidentt or aorder security. >> no president's ever used what's called the national emergencies act in this way. >> i think tt we can be very supporve of border security and the president's priorities without ceding our authorities under thconstitution. >> reporter: still, for all the talk, there's no tth since the resolution's set to die on the president's desk with a, as he put it, veto. for the first time ever president trump will be forced to use that power to k

he's flagrantly lying to the american people. >> hallie, i have to tell you yesterday seems different than today. yesterday it seemed like you had a lot of white house officials doing the cable rounds talking on the "today show," for example. really taking aim at just about everyone. this morning it's been more quiet. it's mostly been the president talking with that one single tweet. we know the president is going to be mentioning this at the campaign rally thursday. it's clear they're going to use this to both galvanize their base and try to work the reps. the reps qvc media. they feel they've been treated underhandedly and they're going to try to make that point as often as they can. >> hans at the white house north lawn. see you over there in a little bit. thanks. let me bring in karen bass of california. a member of the judiciary committee. thank you very much for being on the show. >> thank you for having me on. >> let me start with this. right now what is the latest communication between your committee and the justice department. have they responded to the chairman's letter? >>

bill shine, the current one, he's a former fox news ed >> hallie jackson at the white house. thank you. >>> now to that sentence for paul manafort. just u feral guidelines suggest. it's a sentence that stunned many attorneys and advocates who say it shows a major disparity in the criminal justice system in america. kristen welker explains. >> reporter: tonight paul manafort's sentence still shocking many. less than four years for bank fraud and cheating on his taxes, when guidelines called for anywhere from 19 to 24 years. >> it's very unusual for a defendant in paul manafort's sentencing guideline range to get a sentence this low. but it's ndefense attorneys argue it highlights sentencing inequalities between those who are wealthy and those who are not. >> the american system of mass incarceration is deeply racist, it is deeply unjust. >> reporter: scott heckinger is a public defender in new york. he says many of his clients are low-income people of color. one of them now facing serious time for stealing $100 worth of quarters from a laundromat. >> he's facing if he goes to

morgford is here now. >> hallie, he's speaking out. kraft says he h been silent respecting the judicial process. now as the owners flocked for eir annual meeting starting today, krais is making case for a second chance. owner robt kraft i breaking his silence speaking out for the firstei time since charged of two cookouts of soliciting sex. he apologized on saturday writing i am truly sorry, i know i have hurt and disappointed my family and co-workers orph, fan many others. the 77 years old billionaire eaded not guilty to solicitation charges stemming from a prostitution at a number of spas in south florida. >> we are stunned as everybody else. >> iluding the orchid day spa where police was caught on veo paying for a sex act. house hours befor he won the afc championship game.th e videos had not been made public. i can assure you that our office treats everyone the whme. her you have a lot of money. >> lat today, nfl owners will gather in arizona with t'kr legal trouble looming large. in a statement, the owner defended his reputationg

>> hallie jackson, thank you. >>> breaking news from the united nations where experts say kim jong-un is evading u.s. sanction it is cut off money he uses for his nuclear and missile programs in new ways that shocked even u.n. investigators. andrea mitchell has an exclusive interview tonight with the u.n.'s top expert. >> reporter: tonight, kim jong-un has found new ways to get around un sanctions, raking in millions by shipping coal and smuggling in oil. >> the techniques being used, some of which i've never seen before, and i've been investigating maritime trafficking and smuggling for more anth5 1years. >> reporter: the u.n. says blacklisted north korean ships are masquerading as legitimate by stealing electronic tracking signals from other ships thousands of miles away. >> this ship has assumed then new >> reporter: the new u.n. report also says kim's nuclear and missile programs afteinnew images show kim rebuilding a missile site he had promised last year to e administration has sanctionresse kim to disarm saying he is desperate for money. but according to the u.n. global oil tra

. >> reporter: i'm hallie jackson at the white house, where, basking in one of his biggest political wins, the president's elated, but irritated. >> what they did, it was a false narrative. it was a terrible thing. we can never let this happen to another president again. >> reporter: joined in the oval office today by his outside attorneys, rudy giuliani and jay sekulow, the president expressed vindication and vindictiveness against those who investigated him. >> there are a lot of people out there that have done some very, very evil things, very bad things. i would say treasonous things against our country. i'm saying why haven't they been looked at? >> reporter: on robert mueller himself, a shift. after two years of this -- >> sadly, mr. mueller's conflicted. >> reporter: a different tone today. asked if he thinks mueller acted honorably, the president said yes. >> yes, he did. yes, he did. >> reporter: fallout from the mueller report is far from over. nbc news has learned top democrats are now demanding the attorney general release the special counsel's full report to congress no

hallie jackson standing by with late details. >> reporter: tonight wearing a green prison jump suit, paul manafort learned his sentence. 47 months behind bars. far less than the sentencing guidelines prosecutors had pointed to of 19 to 24 years. guidelines the judge in virginia called excessive. the sentence seen as a slap in the face to robert mueller and his team. judge t.s. ellis said other than the crimes manafort has been convicted of, tax and bank fraud, he has lived an otherwise blameless life. manafort did not react when the judge made his announcement. manafort was the brought on byeran in the spring of 2016, hired to help prevent a rebellion at the republican convention and eventually promoted to lead the convention. even then his ties to russia haunted him. he stepped down that summer because of growing questions about his business dealings overseas. since then, the president has tried to distance himself -- >> now paul manafort is a nice guy. but he worked for me for a very short period of time. literally, like, what, a couple of months? >> reporter: more recently he's pr

that was taken away from him by kim and his regime. >> and that was hallie jackson reporting. >>> the florida highway patrol is searching for a driver involved in a serious hit-and-run crash. video shows a silver kia sedona turn left at an intersection to enter a parking lot and then hits the back corner of an audi, sending it flipping through the air. the driver of the kia then pulls back outan then crashing into a concrete wall. the 19-year-old driver of that car, jackson maxwell kelly, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. authorities are asking the iormation a kia sedona which l has front end damage. >>> in florida new england patriots owner robert kraft has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution. they are linked to two alleged visits by kraft to a massage parlor last month including one just before the super bowl. kraft's lawyer requested a non-jury trial. >>> concerns are pouring in for actor luke perry. the "90210" and "riverdale" star hospitalize after suffering a reported possible stroke at the age of just 52. we get details from

frances, >> all right, hallie jackson for us. thank you. >> the charges may be dropped, but the jussie smollett saga is not over. chicago's mayor wants the "empire" actor to pay some of the bill f overtime hours that were used in his tvestigation. and now presidemp is calling for the fbi to look into the case. here's nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: after prosecutors dropped charges against jussie smollett, the is reviewing the case and the president is weighing in. >> i think that case is an absolute embarrassment to our country. >> reporter: kim foxx, cook county's top proshcutor, said recused herself after communicating with smollett's family who expressed concerns about the investigation while he was still considered a victim. >> this appears to have been a case of special treatme for celebrities. and any special treatment in the justic system fundamentally is not just. >> reporter: foxx says the deal to drop the 16 felonies for two ouys community service and $10,000 in c fees was fair. but chicago's mayor is sending smoll

hallie jackson, nbc news, the white house. >>> let's update that urgent fix being unveiled this evening by boeing, trying to reassure the world's rl passengers about its grounded 737 max fleet and get those planes back in the air. our tom costello has details on the fix. >> reporter: today, as more 737 maxes rolled off the assembly line, boeing was giving hundreds of airline pilots and execs a look at the urgent upgrade to fix the software suspected in two fatal crashes. >> we're working with customers and regulators around the >> reporter: here's th see, a simple indicators warning the outside sensors disagree on the plane's angle of attack. if the mcas system pushes the nose down, like the indonesian plane, it will stop if the pilots override it. boeing says max pilots can learn the new system engine 30 minutes. meanwhile, the acting faa chief today defended the certification process, which allows bowing to certify much of its own work. >> our certification processes are extensive, well established, and have consistently produced safe aircraft designs for decades. >> reporter: the faa

hallie? >> thank you, kelly. chuck todd is nbc political director and moderator of "meet the press." good morning, my friend. >> good morning. >> today we could all find out what might be in robert mueller's report. what is your expectation? what do you think is coming down the pike? >> look. i think the -- i think it's going to be a very narrow release today because i think that the most difficult aspect of this, my guess is, if there is an elaborate explanation about how the white house or how president trump interacted with the investigation, how does he summarize that without dealing with executive privilege? and if he leaves that out, but only has the other principle conclusions, he will like he is cherry picking. so i just think he is going to probably go as narrow as he can so that he can ethically say he is not cherry picking. that is my guess today. >> you have democrats have asked federal agencies to preserve any documents related to mueller, his investigation, the property. both sides of the aisle have

our hallie jackson has late details. >> reporter: that controversial proposal called off tonight. >> why cut money for the special olympics? why would you cut funding for that? >> the special olympics will be funded. i've been to the special olympics. i think it's incredible. and i just authorized a funding. i heard about it this morning. i have overridden my people. >> reporter: the president announcing an about-face after secretary betsy devos came under fire yet again today for proposed across-the-board cuts to the education department, including more than $17 million from the special olympics. >> whoever came up with that idea ought to get a special olympic gold medal for insensitivity. >> let's not use disabled children in a twisted way for your political narrative. that is just disgusting and it's shameful. >> reporter: devos, after days of publicly defending the proposed cuts, now says she's pleased and grateful adding, this is funding i have fought for behind the scenes over the last several years. keep in mind the private organization never really seemed at risk of losing it

hallie jackson standing by with late details >> reporter: paul manafort in a wheelchair wearing a green jumpsuit appeared before a virginia judge, a dramatic conclusion to his year and a half long court battle. he's been convicted of financial crimes including tax and bank fraud, crimes for whiche did not apologize today, though he asked for compassion. manafort told the judge, the last two years have been the , st difficult years for him and his family, addi his first public comments since november 2017, to say i have be humiliated and shamed would be a gross understatement. manafort was the political veteran brought on by the upstart ump campaign in the spring of 2016, hired to help prevent a rebellion at the republican convention and eventually promoted to lead the campaign. but even then his ties to russia haunted him. he stepped down that summer of becausrowing questions about his business dealings overseas. since then the president has tried to distance mself -- >> now paul manafort's a nice guy, but you know, he worked for me for a very short period of time, literally for what, a

thank you for being on the show. >> thank you, hallie. >> let me pick up. you heard him say folks have started giving the committee documents they've had a positive response. who is he talking about? do you know? >> i don't know the specifics, but these document requests should not be burdensome. we're asking for documents that many of the people have already give ton other entities. away tonight to know if there are dots to be connected and we're going to try to connect the dots and leave no stone unturned. this is just the first wave of document requests. we'll have additional document requests and trying to interview as many witnesses as possible and show the american people who we found. >> you talk about additional document requests. we showed the list of 81 organizations that congress reached out to. ivanka trump is notably not on the list. is she next? will she be in the next round? >> it's possible. in terms of these document requests, they may open up new leads which will result in additional requests based on what we get. special counsel mueller's

. >> yes, hallie, and to tack on to that, the u.s. attorney there not ruling out charges for the students who are presumably still in it school. he said it's up to the schools whether or not those students will remain at those colleges. a couple of things from the press conference, things i -- and also going through the court documents here, things i found of interest. you know, basically they're talking here, they're talking, this is fraud, this isn't -- as the u.s. attorney said, this isn't something where somebody wanted to donate a building or make a preemptive donation to the school. this was outright fraud. the new head of the fbi boston field office saying it's the shame that strikes at the core of college admissions. hallie, i can give you some new details based upon the charging complaint. you're looking at some of the schools that were involved in this, as far as where the students went to. the colleges themselves are not directly implicated. but we know this investigation started back in september this year. one of the peop

i'm hallie jackson.ssignment today. this morning, 2020 playbook. president trump renews his fight for his border wall again, asking congress for more than $8 billion to pay for it. more on what seems to be the first look at the president's road map to reelection. >>> plane crash. some countries around the world ground certain boeing planes after an ethiopian airline jet crashes, killing everyone on board, including eight americans. it's the second accident that type of plane in less than six months. so does it have a safety flaw? >>> and early attack. republicans already going after texas congressman beto o'rourke before he announced he's running. what could have them so worried? >>> lots to get to. we start with president trump and that border wall budget battle yet again. with the white house briefing reporters about all of this as we speak. look on the right side of your screen, the documents themselves delivered to capitol hill earlier this morning. as anybody will tell you, the annual requests are w

right now hallie jackson. >>> developments after the horrific terror attack overseas. it is 3:00 a.m. in new zealand. an anti-muslim gunman killed nearly 50 people in two mosques. the deadliest attack in the country's history. we have the latest on the victims, the survivors and the hunt for more suspects with the president this morning sending his condolences from the white house. some 2020 candidates are too, as we watch two campaign events back home live this hour. kiersten jill brandt in new hampshire. beto o'roarke in iowa on his first full day as a candidate. >> why shouldn't voters be concerned about voting for you with your lack of experience? >> that answer along with what he's saying about whether the president should be impeached. plus here in washington, a declaration of semi independence. a dozen gop senators breaking with president trump. what the national emergency vote tells us about the president's standing with his friends on the hill and our latest reporting on the timing of the veto. our timing is covering this across the country and around the worl

coming up, more news with hallie jackson. >> chris, thank you.president previews his next 20 months and how he plans to use the mueller report to his advantage. going after the man he fired as fbi director. we're sharing a new piece of our exclusive interview with james comey and where he thinks this goes next. >> is this a case of question asked, question answered on the issue of collusion? is this over? >> our lester holt joins us live with more of that sit-down. plus, another investigation on capitol hill. not involving putin but paychecks and the elusive tax returns the president has never shared. the oversight chairman now wants a decade of financial records with one member of that committee here in just a minute. >>> plus, that news breaking on jussie smollett. the feds reviewing the dropped case. but our pete williams has a context check on how big a deal this is or is not in a story that has captivated the country. we've got our team here covering all of it this morning. and on top of all of that, there's a ton happening on the

i'm hallie jackson in for willie geist who is enjoying the morning off.

all right, nbc's hallie, jacks thanks so much. and look for lester's exclusive sit down with james comey. that's ahead on nightly news and starts at 7:00. >>> the self-proclaimed neo nazi pleads guilty t dozens of federal hate crimes. he changed his plea in court a short time ago.e he could faced the deathy penalt on the federal charges. fields plowe his car you'll recall into a crowd of counterprotesters killing heather heyer in 2017. he faces a recommended life seitans sentence on that ticonv. >>> several people are facing prostitution related charges tonit after a two-day operation involvinglirlington and the fbi. this had been part of a human trafficking investigation to identify any underage people exposed and being usedn the x trade. police say they did not find any minors this time around, but they say this remains an important issue. >> we are still intelligence related to this investigffion. human tking is a part of our community and if you see something and you know this has occurred report to your local law enforcement

hallie jackson and chuck todd are with us this morning. a lot to talk about today. good morning to both of you. we could be headed to another government shutdown with the budget fight. this week, president's former campaign chairman was sentenced to 47 months in prison and president trump fighting with cohen after he testified again. we don't know when the mueller report will come out. how is the white house feeling about this when you put it all in total? >> how they say they are feeling or how are they twaeactually feeling? >> both. >> they will about how they believe the economy is strong and the president this morning is up in mar-a-lago and tweeting about the economy and railing against what he believes is a hostile news media. posture of the president in the west wing. a tough week for donald trump. you look at the people he brought into his inner circle and dancing himself from manafort and cohen now. you look the possibility of a presidential pardon and why he got into a fight with michael cohen on twitter. he said he never asked for a pardon and the preside

back to you. >>> hallie jackson with that report from the white house. >>> as the senate prepares to resolution that would block president trump's emergency declaration for a border wall the white house is privately ramping up pressure on undecided republicans. two senate republicans tell "the washington post" the white house has increased its efforts to count votes and persuade fence sitting gop senators even though the administration hasn't made clear which military projects could be tapped to pay for the wall. one republican lawmaker told the paper that undecided senators have received calls from the white house and the message has been clear. trump is taking names and noticing who opposes him particularly if you're running for re-election next year. four republican senators have publicly said they will vote for the resolution overturning the president's emergency declaration. that vote is expected to take place next week. >>> the department of homeland security and congress launched investigations in a u.s. border agent allegedly targeting select reporters, lawyers and activists

hallie jackson is live at the white house with more on this now renewed fight over healthcare. >> hi, guys. good morning to you. healthcare is back in the headlines this mornin democrats seem all too happy to chan the conversation away from robert mueller's report a do this pivot to pocy, if you will. they are pushing on this issue after the trump administration made a court filing to essentially invalidate the entireda afforble care act. significan up until now the argument had been taking aim at parts ofno what's kwn as obamacare. now republicans have always wanted to repeal a replace. that's been the line we heard again and again for years. in this instance there are even some republicans acknowledging affordable l the care act, there's a real question mark of how you move forward with the replacement. in particular a replacement plan that does protect people with pre-existing that's a provision of the affordable care act that's extremelyopular withfolks. this is a big battle we're watching on capitol hill. annexpected battle. not a lot of folks thought we would be talking about he

that brash district attorney hallie dixon decides not to seek re-election, and a new d.a. cameron harrison has been granted youthful offender status. >> youthful on fender status. >> reporter: cameron harrison takes a plea deal under youthful offender status. the terms and conditions of the deal, all settled in secrecy. >> it allows the proceeding to be treated sort of like a juvenile proceeding, meaning, everything gets sealed, the public doesn't find out what happens, it eventually gets erased from the record. >> now, nothing about the case is public. >> reporter: all we know tonight is that cameron is not in jail. an outcome agreed to by both sides. >> the key when thinking about why was a deal cut is to look to the alleged victim. was that because she was pressured by the d.a.? who knows. was it because she didn't want to testify? it's a smart move for the defendant. if he can not serve time, get treated as a youthful offender. >> reporter: cameron and his family were scheduled to do an interview with us. however, part of that plea agreement prevented both sides from t

right now i hand the anchor desk off to hallie jackson in washington d.c. >> thanks much.kson in washington where president trump is spoiling for a fight with congressional democrats. making a big ask in his new budget for more border wall money. if you're feeling deja vu, you're not the only ones. with fears now of another shutdown later. >>> plus deadline day for roger stone. time to prove he is obeying a judge's orders to keep quiet about his case. look beyond the book release and instagram post and other instagram post. the court filing we're watching for. plus what else is on robert mueller's radar this morning. and on our 2020 radar, the potential for