joining us now is harry litman, a former u.s. attorney, he was also a law clerk for justice anthony kennedy. and ron klain is back with us. harry litman, as ron can tell you, the staff of the senate judiciary committee working on questions right now and certainly there will be many about the special prosecutor's investigation. >> i think that's right. and you've identified some of them. now the dance is going to be, ron knows this better than anyone, the nominee is going to try to have sort of bromide to stiff arm the questions and say i can't rule on that because it could come before me. and the follow-ups will try to be broader on the executive order and power. justice kennedy has given the democrats a final small gift here. the travel ban expressed certain views about the limitations of executive power. any nominee is going to have to extol justice kennedy and say good things about his jury us prudence. it will provide democrats a chance to say look justice kennedy said this, and put it in the broad level of executive power ge

harry litman, former u.s. attorney, former assistant attorney general who was once a clerk for justice kennedy. with us at the table for the hour, presidential historian i don't know meacham, mimi rocca, former u.s. attorney for the southern drirkt much new york, nbc and msnbc analyst. former congresswoman donna edwards and jennifer rubin opinion writer for the washington post. tom, let me ask you to start united states off. if you could pickup the thread rachel ticked off from her magnificent mind of all those incredibly consequential decisions, touching just about every aspect of american life from social issues to national security issues to the death penalty to -- i mean, the legacy of justice kennedy for us, please. >> sure. justice kennedy's legacy has a lot of conservative votes. for example, in 14 five to four decisions this term, he voted with the conservatives and didn't have a single one with the left. but on the other hand, he was the 5th vote that preserved affirmative action, abortion rights in a

joining us now mimi rocah and harry litman. i'm grateful that you're both here to help make sense of this. mimi let's start with you. what does this all mean? >> it likely means manafort is going too to jail now. i would be surprised if the judge did not revoke his bail based on this. you know, when prosecutors find out that someone is trying to tamper with a witness, which is what happened here, often it's kind of you're dealing with subtle attempts and you have to sort of explain to a judge and really sort of cut through why this is witness tampering. >> it's not like in the movies where someone sends someone over and says i'm going to break your legs. >> right. but this is pretty crystal. the facts laid out, he was trying to get a witness -- more than one witness, to lie in the trial. you can't get clearer than that. and one important point i think, you know, is it does not appear -- although we obviously don't know all the details yet. it doesn't appear he used threats of the kind you're talking about or any kind but you do

matt a and harry litman, thank you for spending time with us. grateful to have you. when we come back gop senator bob corker calls out republicans are acting more like a cult than a politicarty. (indistinguishable muttering) that was awful. why are you so good at this? had a coach in high school. really helped me up my game. i had a coach. math. ooh. so, why don't traders have coaches? who says they don't? coach mcadoo! you know, at td ameritrade, we offer free access to coaches and a full education curriculum- just to help you improve boom! mad skills. education to take your trading to the next level. only with td ameritrade. but there's one... that blows them all out of the water. hydro boost water gel from neutrogena®. with hyaluronic acid it goes beneath the surface to plump skin cells from within and lock in hydration leaving skin so supple, it actually bounces back. the results will blow you away! hydro boost and our gentle exfoliating cleanser om neutrogena® >>> any lingering doubt that the republican party now belongs to donald trump vanished last night in so

harry litman is with us. he's a former u.s. attorney, former deputy assistant attorney general unr president clinton, a man who as a young lawyer clerked for supreme court justices thurgood marshall and anthony kennedy. harry, i'm going to have you on some night to talk only about what that was like. but for this evening and because of time constraints, we must talk about mr. mueller. this seems like it would antagonize and anger and frustrate a prosecutor. isn't part of what mueller has, a federal grand jury, is the element of surprise? you don't know what they're asking other witnesses normally. >> well, but it's just the rules of the game, brian. sure, i guess it can rankle, but everyone understands that it is roe, as betsy woodruff says. and, look, prosecutors understand that defendants should be able to confer and have good defenses with their attorneys. all that this is about is letting defendant a, b, and c be in the room with lawyers x, y, and z, and strategize, share information. yes, it makes it easier for them, but i

micheal: harry litman, former united states attorney and deputy assistant attorney general. >> thanks mike: justice department spent more than $17 million according to report this week, is that reasonable for this kind of probe at this stage? >> yeah, it's more than reasonable. most sensible way to think about it is compare to other comparable probes so on the one hand it's much cheaper, water -- whitewater was $100 million, much, much longer and the results here have been strong. that's point one. but point two is, look, it's a really important thing for this country to get to the bottom of whether there was meddling by russians in the election, any crimes committed by associates of the president, we would spend that money in any event, but what we've spent is a lot less than incomparable probes to date. >> how much pressure does spending millions of taxpayer dollars put on the mueller team to find something? >> you know, i don't think -- i see, no, i don't think any, the mueller team there's no reason at all to think that the so-called price tag will give them a feeling they've got

harry litman is with us. he's a former u.s. former deputy assistant attorney general under president clinton, a man who as a young lawyer clerked for supreme court justices thurgood marshall and anthony kennedy. harry, i'm going to have you on some night to talk only about what that was like. but for this evening and because of time constraints, we must talk about mr. mueller. this seems like it would antagonind and frustrate a prosecutor. isn't part of what mueller has, a federal grand jury, is the element of surprise? you don't know what they're asking other witnesses normally. >> ll, but it's just the rules of the game, brian. sure, i guess it can rankle, but everyone understands that it is routine, as betsy woodruff says. and, look, prosecutors understand that defendants should be able to confer and have good defenses with their attorneys. all that this is about is letting defendant a, b, and c be in the room with lawyers x, y, and z, and strategize, share information. yes, it makes it easier for them, but i think it's just

harry litman. former just attorney and former deputy attorney general is here. paul butler, a former federal prosecutor. and john hilemon is back. national affairs analyst. let me start with you, phil rucker. quite a display. a spectacle is the word that comes to mind. >> yeah. >> the president holding court on everything. but really, i want to show you something he said about andrew weismann, one of the prosecutors who i believe has his name on all the charging documents as they pertain to paul manafort. president trump may have known this was coming. let's watch. >> the problem with the mueller investigation is everybody has massive conflicts. you have weismann who was at hillary clinton's funeral, meaning her party that turned into a funeral. and they were screaming and cry -- they were going crazy. how can you have people like this? i all the them the 13 angry democrats. you have a tremendous animosity. >> tremendous animosity. what he chalks everything up to, facts be damned? >> that's right. it fits a pattern from donald trump, president trump, over the la

my thanks to ken dilanian, harry litman and natasha bertrand. when we come back, president trump takes zero-tolerance to a new low. zero humanity, zero process, zero judges. also the last guardrail fails. secretary mattis's waning influence with the president. and donald trump and vladimir putin together again. aides prepare for a summit as politico sums up russia's advantage this way. wing it meets meticulous. stay with us. we came here for t. and we got to know the friends of our friends. and we found others just like us. and just like that we felt a little less alone. but then something happened. we had to deal with spam, fake news, and data misuse. that's going to change. from now on, facebook will do more to keep you safe and protect your privacy. because when this place does what it was built for, then we all get a little closer. if yor crohn's symptoms are holding you back, and your current treatment hasn't worked well enough, it may be time for a change. ask your doctor about entyvio, the only biologic developed and approved just for uc

matt miller who served as spokesman for the justice department in the obama administration and harry litman at maine justice. harry, i'll start with you on the rudy giuliani floating of the pardon today. this might all need to be cleaned up. that strikes meese a pardon of manafort strikes me as much of a red line as firing mueller or rose be stein. do you agree? >> what a choice of words, huh? might have to be cleaned up. yeah, i totally agree. there's some dispute about the reach of the pardon power. but this i think is one that would be front and center a kind of obstruction. when you use it to -- you use this word, chris, it's the right one, dang in that way. not even to do the pardon but just with a kind of public wink and nod stay quiet it will be good at the end of the day. corrupt intent there just you know wafts from the words. so yeah, i mean some have even suggested giuliani is putting himself in hot water. i don't know about that but yes, i think it absolutely it stinks as a matter of you know just politics but it stinks as a matter of law, as well. he would be playing with fire

this is harry litman, former u.s. attorney, talking about manafort's next appearance in t. >> prosecutors hate this. judges hate this, and he's going to have to bring his toothbrush to court on friday because the statute says if they find that this happened, there's a presumption that no circumstances exist that will get him safely there for trial. so there's the real prospect that he now goes to jail. >> that really gets your attention. >> it does. bring your toothbrush. >> yeah. he's out on bail to use a phrase from all the cop shows. but if that's true, on his hearing date, he's got to brin some essentials because he'll then go into custody and remain there until trial. >> bring a toothbrush and a big bag of beef jerky, i guess, because you're going to be there for a while. look, he's a 70-year-old man who is also facing on the previous charges, more than 20 years in prison. now he's looking at well into e -- past where he lets go of this mortal coil. i agree, i said it on the show and i'll say it again. i agree wi

attorney harry litman. and cnn commentator amanda carpenter, author of "gaslighting america -- why we love it when trump lies to us." let me start with you, joe and frank. you're the former communications ficer for the nfl. the mayor did not hold back. what do you think? they booed santa claus one year. it's hard to hold punches there. let me try to be positive. the eagle the represent the best of the nfl. malcolm jenkins has been the leader of this group that will now have $150 millio0 million at their disposal to help do criminal justice reform and social justice. chris long donated every paycheck, 16 game checks to charity as a way of making a statement. carson wentz, $500,000 for haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake. to them, to donald trump, they're sons of bitches. and they're that because they don't kneel to him. this is an imperial presidency. putting the democracy at risk. there isn't just today's example. we have four of them today. it's just this evening's example. >> what do you think? >> i

. >> harry litman, thanks so much. ey parker and kristen welker. >>> up next, that bill clinton intervie craig in joining uso talk abt t moment with bill clinton. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. t? nah. honey look, your old portable cd player. my high school rethainer. oh don't... it's early 90s sitcom star dave coulier... cut...it...out! [laughing] what year is it? as long as stuff gets lost in the couch, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more fifon car insurance.d save you you likso do i.urs? hey blue. i brought you sothin okay. we're getting out of here. you're welcome. run! holy! this is gonna be awesome. rated pg-13. >>> and we have more stunning comments today fro a different commander in chief. former president bill clinton ping his new novel with co-author james patterpatterson. when asked about his affair with monica lewinsky, in light of the me too movement. >> one of the things that this a lot of women to speak out.rced one of tho

. >> let's talk about this with harry litman, former u.s.ney and former deputy attorney general. >> thanks for having me. >> this offer from peter strzok, his lawyer saying he is willing to testify without immunity, how significant is that offer? >> i think it is a pretty significant tactical move. i think he feels he has been completely bloodied by the o.g. report and doesn't have much to lose in a way. it is gutsy. he is walking right into the lion's den and will be ring peo been calling for his head. i think he thinks that his stock really can't fall vh more and he really relishes the opportunity to set things straight both about what he has been accused of doing and also the broader context of the investigations. >> does he put himself in any lel jeopardy by appearing before congress? with sworn testimony he would have to tell the truth under tough questioning. does it present some legal risk for him? >> i think the short answer is no. i know giuliani has called for him to be in jail. look, the criticism here is that he sent what he woul

leading off our discussion now, matt miller, harry litman, and also with us jennifer rubin. matt miller, you have studied more inspector general reports in the justice department than any of us. your reaction to the 568 pages. >> i think you nailed the most important part of it. what i think it shows is that the president has been telling a lie to the american people for months now, for over a year about what happened in this investigation. we found out today to the extent the fbi did anything wrong, it helped donald trump, not hurt him. i think the hardest thing for me to be honest in reading this report, a lot of these people i know, i worked with a number of them, it's painful to see what happened at the justice department, the fbi director takes a lot of the blame but loretta lynch takes a lot of blame from not preventing him from holding that press conference in july or sending that letter in october. it's a painful moment for the fbi. one of the sad things we know, the president has behaved irresponsibly in the attacks he's launched on the justice department. almost al

attorney, harry litman and constitutional attorney robert barnes. welcome to you both. >> good to be here. >> shannon: already this is what we are being told, as managing expectations. ed morris writes, "don't expect to find sweeping condemnations of corruption unless he come of the inspector general, find specific and can do my convincing evidence. the report is more likely to cite specific actions and allow the readers to reach their own broader conclusions." ki for what are tomorrow? >> i think the ig is really a fact finder, a very thorough one, and not a policymaker, but i think there is going to be similarly stern taking to task of a former fbi director comey, especially for his public announcements about the clinton probe. we already know that andrew mccabe will come in for some criticism. loretta lynch, i think, will not emerge unscathed either. there will be a series ocriticif the clinton probe. what i don't see, or don't look too, this is in response to the comments by the judiciary chair, is anything that reflects really way on the bona f

analyst paul butler who worked in the plig integrity section and former deputy assistant general harry litman. paul, it is not unprecedented for the department of justice or fbi to investigate a cabinet member. mike espy was investigated and ultimately prosecuted under clinton. however, these days it's very hard to make public corruption cases. what do you assess of the facts we've gotten here? >> i'm usually talking about the russian investigation which is about whether there was this grandscopy of the president and his men top conspire to steal the election. in my experience as a public corruption prosecutor, this petty little stuff that pruitt is involved in, that's far more common. usually the thing is how low the price is low, hook me up with a mattress. can you bless my wife with some business. that's how it usually works. >> i would say to someone as a former reporter in chicago which is where i came up as a reporter, this is like classic chicago alderman stuff. maybe we could hook up my wife with a franchise. it's like, that's common stuff out there in the world of public corruption.

. >> i'll say harry litman raised this when the witness tampering came up, people speculate whether trumpued a pardon, privately. if you're paul manafort and if you believe really confidently you believe that you're going to get a pardon from trump, why would you tamper with witnesses? it makes no sense. i think everyone who knows donald trump well, and paul manafort does, just like michael cohen does, none of them consider him reliable on this question. he can dangle pardons but no one considers him reliable in his life for reasons of character you've outline in the history of this show. they know you can't count on donald trump even if you had an ironclad contract, promise. and he hasn't given out any ironclad contracts or promises on this matter. >> that's the right point. you talked about the void of empathy in donald trump which he has made clear over and over. if you're michael cohen and the guy who said i'll take a bullet for donald trump, do anything for donald trump, it is obvious right now he feels donald trump has no intention of doing the same thing for him. does paul manafort

harry litman is with us. he's a former u.s. al under president clinton, a man who as a young lawyer clerked for supreme court justices thurgood marshall and anthony kennedy. harry, i'm going to have you on some night to talk only about what that was like. but for this evening and because of time constraints, we must talk about mr. mueller. this seems like it would antagonize and anger and frustrate a prosecutor. isn't part of what mueller has, a federal grand jury, is the element of surprise? you don't know what they're asking other witnesses normally. >> well, but it's just the rules of the game, brian. sure, i guess it can rankle, but everyone understands that it is routine, as betsy woodruff says. and, look, prosecutors understand that defendants should be able to confer and have good defenses with their attorneys. all that this is about is letting defendant a, b, and c be in the room with lawyers x, y, and z, and strategize, share information. yes, it makes it easier for them, but i think it's just taken as a given. it happe