at least one suggested the white house wouldn't even let haspel attend. >> not having gina haspel at this briefing is a cover up. >> like plomost in the room was

>> i just did. >> senators from both sides of the aisle outraged by gina haspel's absence at today's briefing on capitol hill that covered, among other topics, the killing of saudi journalist -- i'm sorry, of journalist and u.s. resident jamal khashoggi. a question secretary pompeo seemed to have trouble answering. >> secretary pompeo -- >> why wasn't the current cia director here briefing senators as well? >> i was asked to be here, and here i am. >> senators were frustrated. normally in your past role as cia director, you would be here briefing senators on an issue -- why isn't the cia director herself here? >> i was asked to be here, and i'm here. >> it's called a nonanswer. here's senator dick durbin on the absence of haspel, one of the only top intel officials to have heard the audiotape of khashoggi's murder. >> senator, when you were explicitly told the white house blocked gina haspel from -- >> we asked why gina haspel wasn't there and we were told that was a decision by the white house. >> the cia has a carefully worded statement that says the notion that anyone told directo

the cia director gina haspel. going to discuss why not. . >> tech vo: this teacher always puts her students first. >> student: i did mine on volcanoes. >> teacher: you did?! oh, i can't wait to read it. >> tech vo: so when she had auto glass damage... she chose safelite. with safelite, she could see exactly when we'd be there. >> teacher: you must be pascal. >> tech: yes ma'am. >> tech vo: saving her time... [honk, honk] >> kids: bye! >> tech vo: ...so she can save the science project. >> kids: whoa! >> kids vo: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace ♪ well, not because it was easy. i mean, the game is all i know. you think back to your draft. it felt like a fantasy. but the second you know you can't compete anymore, you owe it to yourself, to your team, to find a fresh start. so, yeah, that's why i did it. that's why i walked away... from my fantasy league. (announcer) redeem your season on fanduel. play free until you win. fanduel. more ways to win. >>> in a little more than an hour secretary of state mike pompeo a

gina haspel will notably not be there. and this official says one of the reasons is because it is a policy oriented hearing ahead of the vote by the senators on whether there should be military aid given to the saudis in the war in yemen. of course we've heard from senators on both sides of the aisle who have been calling for haspel to brief them on what has happened with the khashoggi killing and the assessment that the crown prince directed the murder of jamal khashoggi. but despite those calls, biare told has pep will not be there and in part this official saying because it is focused more on policy matters. now, john bolton was asked about this today and whether the white house blocked haspel from coming to brief senators. and he says that is simply not true. and as you pointed out, he was also asked whether he heard the tape of the killing of jamal khashoggi and he was pretty combative in his response to reporters dismissing the idea that he would learn anything from the tape and saying that he doesn't speak arabic. a

at least one suggested the white house wouldn't even let haspel attend. >> not having gina haspel ating is a cover up. >> like plomost in the room was disappointed that gina haspel was not there. >> the most persuasive thing was the empty chair. the chair that should have been occupied by the head of the cia. we were told it was the direction of the white house she not attend. >> gina haspel would have said with a high degree of confidence that the crown prince of saudi arabia was involved in the murder of jamal khashoggi. >> joining me nbc news national security reporter. lindsey graham said he won't vote on key legislation until he hears from the cia about jamal khashoggi. secretary of defense mattis was there and so was mike pompeo. what happened in that meeting? >> that's right. a lot of things we heard, that the senators heard from secretary of defense are the same kind of ideas we have been hearing from him recently about khashoggi, about the u.s. involvement in the war on yemen, about the u.s. support for the coalition. the saudi and emirate coalition that's fighting over the

the notion that anyone told gina haspel not to attend today's briefing is false.enators heard the latest on the saudi-led war in yemen. th there is a bipartisan bill backed by two men, bernie sanders and mike lee. they argue the humanitarian crisis in yemen, the worst in the world needs to be addressed now and that the u.s.'s involvement in the world is unconstitutional. kelly, great to see you again. you know, because of jamal khashoggi, the american involvement in the war in yemen has come in to much sharper relief and a lot of americans are realizing it's not simply at that at any time support for saudi arabia in what's a proxy war, the united states is more involved in what's turned into a humanitarian disaster. >> i think that's right. frankly the obama administration and trump administration sort of made a bet on saudi arabia in this war and i think that bet hasn't been paying off. under the trump administration in particular it's been a blank check. and i think now congress, as a result of the khashoggi murder, but also because of the circumstances in yemen

they will not hear from gina haspel or any other intelligence officials about the murder of washington post journalist jamal khashoggi. according to the guardian, officials said the decision for haspel not to appear came from the white house. one senate staffer told the guardian the decision to not have a single infell jensen official at the briefing is, quote, totally unprecedented and should be interpreted as nothing less than the trump administration trying to silence the intelligence community. the report led to this question being asked of national security advisor john bolton today. >> tell me, the other question. >> gina haspel from sharing information with members of congress. >> but, of course, if the cia director does not attend a briefing that the senate wants her to attend, that can only be because the president is forbidding her from attending. there is no other reason. tomorrow's briefing comes as the senate is expected to vote as soon as this week on a resolution to cut off u.s. support for saudi arabia's war in yemen. in response to the khashoggi murder, the trump white

. >> and what about gina haspel not showing up today, because this is a briefing where there would bea top figure at the cia at this all-senate briefing. >> well, what they are looking for is the intelligence that they need to take into account as they try to formulate policies and legislation, and not having either gina haspel or dan coats the director of national intelligence participating in the briefing as senator durbin said that the empty chair speaks a lot, and whether or not that was a direction on donald trump, himself, or some other person like john bolten, gina's absence and dan coats' absence is noticeable, and demonstrates that this administration does not want the intelligence to come out, and that is why i think that the intelligence committees should demand that the cia assessment be declassified and publicly released for all to see. >> i want to just clear up terms of art here. because the cia makes an asse assessment based on the best analysis, and they say that with whatever confidence that assessment is delivered, but it is never a 100% conclusion, so when the pres

haspel was blocked from coming to this meeting?> we were told that was a decision by the white house. >> why wasn't the current cia director here briefing senators as well? >> i was asked to be here and i am. [ inaudible question ] >> i was asked to be here and i'm here. >> can you explain to me why gina haspel wasn't there? >> no. >> did you raise any issues? >> yes, several times. i don't want to speculate, but we were not -- nobody was happy that she wasn't there. >> not having the cia director at this briefing is a coverup. it's outrageous that the senate can be stonewalled from hearing from the cia director. >> like most in the room, was disappointed that gina haspel was not there. >> i'm not, quite frankly, i'm not going to be denied the ability to be briefed by the cia. i'm talking about any key vote, anything that you need me for to get out of town, i ain't doing it until we hear from the cia. >> have you told that to the president? >> i just did. >> in a statement the cia says the notion that anyone told director haspel no

. >> missing from the briefing was cia director gina haspel, the one official who's heard a recording of khashoggi's murder provided by turkey. >> like most, we were disappointed that gina haspel was not there. >> gina haspel, if all accounts are true, would have said with a high degree of confidence that in fact the crown prince of saudi arabia was involved in the murder of jamal khashoggi. ear n attend, but a cia spokesman noted that she previously briefed a senate committee. >> the head of the united nations calls the war in yemen the worst humanitarian crisis. much of the blame has been put on saudi arabia for air strikes and blocking critical resources from getting to those in need. anne-marie. >> thanks a lot. >>> now to the russia investigation. president trump says the possibility still exists that he will pardon his former campaign chairman paul manafort. it could be the only thing that prevents manafort from spending the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of financial crimes. it comes after special counsel robertll hi deal byying to investigators.thso new iorma

. >> reporter: missing from the briefing was cia director gina haspel, the one official who has heard a recording of khashoggi's murder provided by turkey. >> like most in the room, was disappointed that gina haspel was not there. >> gina haspel if all the accounts are true would have said with a high degree of confidence that in fact the crown prince of saudi arabia was involved in the muof jamal khashoggi. >> reporter: it's unclear why she didn't attend. a cia spokesman noted she previously briefed a senate committee. tom hanson, cbs news. >>> newly released surveillance video showing a beating at a napa bar. a woman was battered and bruised at stones sports bar and lounge on november 7th. the man shoves this woman out the bar door and onto the ground. two men go on and beat the victim knocking her unconscious. our juliette goodrich describes how some people tried to help. >> reporter: in the video, you also see two people holding these two sticks. the owner says those are actually friends of the victim. they grabbed these, ran outside to try to help her. >> and according to the bar

the cia director gina haspel who has seen all the evidence and whose agency concluded that the saudince personally directed the murder was not there. she did not brief senators. instead, the president sent defense secretary jim mattis and secretary of state mike pompeo, and pompeo, after writing an op-ed, here's a printout, which refers to, quote, capitol hill cater walling and media pile ons and continues to say that no matter what, quote, degrading u.s.-saudi ties would be a grave mistake. went today to parrot the president's refusal to believe american intelligence community's conclusion. >> i do believe i've read every piece of intelligence that's come in, in the last few hours, i think i've read it all. there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order of the murder of jamal khashoggi. that's all i can say in an unclassified setting. >> just keep in mind here, this man recently had gina haspel's job. he was running the cia. so these are all the people who worked for him, who run intelligence for the united states, who have concluded this and he just came out

director haspel from attending today's preceding. without her presence at the briefing, there will be no one from our intelligence community. director haspel has heard the turkish audio tape of the murder and her agency has reportedly made conclusions about the role of various saudi leaders. members of this body have a right to hear from director haspel. no offense to secretary mattis and secretary pompeo, but it was the c.i.a. that had jurisdiction to find out what exactly happened. and of course to press reports, they did. and now congress is not going to get the briefing. what is the white house trying to hide? well, we all know that president trump seems to favor the crown prince to an extent that he'll look the other way at the greatest of transgressions. but it's even a further step down the road of darkness, lack of sunlight, to prevent the c.i.a. from giving us their conclusions. members of this body have a right to hear from director haspel. and her absence today speaks volumes -- volumes -- about the white house's intention

. >> finally, is it true the white house is blocking gina haspel? >> let me take the question of the tape first. no, i haven't listened to it. i guess i should ask you why you think i should. what do you think i'll learn from it? >> curious of whether or not you might have access to that. >> how many in this room speak arabic? you want me to listen to it? if they were speaking korean, i wouldn't learn any more from it. i can read a transcript. >> you don't think it's important to hear that? >> i'm just trying to make the point that everybody who says, why don't you listen to the tape? unless you speak arabic, what are you gonna get from it? the president has spoken to our position on this issue. he's spoken very clearly. that is our position. some of the other questions -- >> gina haspel sharing information with members of congress. [ speaking at the same time ] >> mr. bolton, brazil probably is going to follow the american footsteps and put them on the terrorist list. the last sanctions by blocking formation of a new government -- help me put all t

cia director gina haspel will not be there.he president isagain, questioning the agency's high confidence assessment telling "the washington post" maybe he did and maybe he didn't, but he denies it adding the cia did not say afiffirmatively he did it. mbs arrived in argentina for the g 20 summit. president trump's headed to that summit tomorrow, and he tells "the washington post" he's open to maybe meeting mbs on the sidelines. his national security team says not likely. joining me now one of khashoggi's former colleagues and friends, global opinion editor for "the washington post." thank you for coming on the show and talking to us ahead of the critical senator's briefing today. do you believe president trump should meet, should talk with mbs while he's at the g20? >> i mean, i think -- i think i believe trump when he says that he wouldn't mind or would want to meet with mohammed bin salman, you know, absolutely i think my position our position at "the washington post" is that mohammed bin salman specifically should be treated

the notion anyone told director haspel not to attend today's briefing is false.now is democratic senator jeff merckly of oregon. what's your reaction to the statement saying no one told senator haspel not to attend this briefing? >> well, it's a deflection. she didn't appear. her attendance was requested. why didn't she appear? would she have done that on her own or consulted with the president's team? certainly always seems that's a choice of the president and his team. and so we feel trump does not want her to share the details about why the cia strongly believes that the crown prince was very involved in this plot to murder an american resident. >> let's listen to what former cia director mike pompeo, now secretary of state pompeo said about gena haspel not attending the meeting. >> why wasn't the current cia director here briefing centers senators as well? >> i was asked to be here, and here i am. >> you were briefing senators on on issue that's sensitive. >> i was asked to be here and i don't care. >> senator merkley, he can offer no legitimate answer why sh

>> i won't comment on haspel not being there. i don't think that forum with all the senators is a place where we really discuss the details. it's better in an intelligence committee and i believe congressional oversight. that's the place for her to talk about it. secondly, as opposed to legislation that would deny funding to the war in yemen, i think that's a huge mistake. it pulls us from the table where we can have influence. here's what we should be doing. even more than we're currently doing. help the saudis with targeting. let's get our hands around it. that will dramatically reduce civilian casualties. number two, make sure the saudis are not blocking any supplies and food getting into yemen where 14 million people are facing starvation and disease. we need to have that kind of seat at the table. we've got to recognize also that iran, through their proxies, toppled the government friendly to the united states and saudi arabia. they've been firing iranian made rockets into riyadh, the capital of saudi. this is a threat to ou

haspel has some of the answers that they need. the cia head. any particular reason that we have that she wasn't allowed to be at that meeting or wasn't at the meeting with senators? >> reporter: based on the framing, ali, the way to think about this, those aren't the questions the white house wants to answer today. the purpose of this meeting from the administration's perspective was to convince senators to vote against this resolution pulling u.s. forces out of that war in yemen. you had the secretary of state and the secretary of defense trying to present their case today that this is a war the u.s. needs to be involved in, both for regional purposes of maintaining stability in the region, sticking by our ally in saudi arabia, standing up to iran, and the secretary of state argued that by the u.s. pulling out they would make matters worse on the humanitarian basis. they did not want to talk about the khashoggi killing today anymore than they absolutely had to. and i think the presence of gina haspel here would have made that issue harder to a

so the absence of cia director gina haspel at the briefing angered some. >> it's outrageous that them hearing from the cia director. >> how can i make an informed decision if i don't have access to the intelligence i read about in the paper. >> reporter: senators unhappy with the president's lukewarm response to khashoggi's murder at the hands of the saudis. >> the way the administration's handled the saudi arabia event is just not acceptable. >> reporter: also on wednesday, more developments in special counsel robert mueller's investigation. former trump campaign manager paul manafort's deal now falling apart. manafort's lawyer telling abc news manafort was cooperating with trump's legal team all along. in an interview with "the new york post," the president saying a pardon for manafort is not off the table but the top democrat on the senate intelligence committee, senator mark warner, taking to twitter saying that would be an abuse of power, adding, the pardon power is not the president's personal tool for protecting himself and his friends". daria albinger, abc news, new york. >>>

and why senator gina haspel was not in the briefing. a leading senator said he's not voting on a spending bill until he hears straight from the cia. ♪ ♪ the new capital one savor card. earn 4% cash back on dining and 4% on entertainment. now when you go out, you cash in. what's in your wallet? now when you go out, you cash in. ♪ can you feel it there's endless fun with great toys and games for everyone at amazon, with low prices and free shipping on millions of items. for everything you need this holiday, visit amazon. ♪ ♪ bum bum bum bum bum t-mobile believes it's better to give than to receive. some may disagree. seriously...no...no...no... others won't believe it. (screaming in excitement) and some just won't have the words join t-mobile and get the samsung galaxy s9 free. we look forward to your reactions. (screaming in excitement) ♪ bum bum bum bum bum -we have the power -to make a difference, right now. we have the power to make sure everyone has clean water. to provide access to education for all. -to rid the world of aids, -once

he has been pushing for gina haspel to come as part of the briefing.e senate majority leader to make the request to have her come forward so she could explain what the cia found and the congress could decide how to respond legislatively based on the assessment. she is not coming to this briefing. it will be jim mattis, mike pompeo. this is designed by the administration to try to make the case to stop a resolution in the senate that would end the u.s. involvement in the saudi-led war in yemen. that's a resolution being pushed by senators mike lee of utah, republican, bernie sanders, independent from vermont and chris murphy of connecticut. it could come up for a vote as soon as today. the administration is trying to make the case that it should not pass. the question will be what the administration knows about the khashoggi murder and the question about how the congress should respond afterwards by moving on either sanctions or doing anything else to punish in particular the saudi crown prince. all of those questions may not be answered in full today b

cia director gina haspel. >> her absence is obvious. it's noted and it raises a serious question as to whether this administration is giving us the whole truth. >> reporter: sources say her department concluded this month that saudi crown prince ordered the killing. >> maybe he did, maybe he didn't. >> reporter: regardless, members of both parties believe action is needed against saudi arabia. >> i think almost no one believes we should completely and totaledly fracture our relationship with the saudis. but, yes, some kind of response is going to be appropriate and we're going to continue to talk about that. >> reporter: i'm john lawrence reporting. >> senate foreign relations chairman bob corker says haspel should be part of this briefing because he doesn't think all the questions will be answered. >>> president trump takes aim at the federal reserve and doubled down on his skepticism of climate change. in the interview, the president blames the general motors plant closures and stock market dips on the federal reserve. mr. trump says

do you agree with lindsay graham that gina haspel should have been there to get the full picture. >>d to see her there but she was not there, and we had two individuals there i highly respect and they said there was no smoking gun. it comes down to a judgment call involving real politics. i happen to think the united states and the united states military is a force for good in the world. my concern is if we with draw our support and influence the slaughter will be worse. secretary mattis said repeatedly, you can't prove a negative. it has been less of a slaughter and they are on the verge of negotiations, and if we with draw with saudi arabia it will embolden the houthis. again a mean, nasty and ugly world, and neither secretary mattis or pompeo were singing the praise of the saudis by no means. we have to deal with the world as it is and we need to be a force for good in the world. >> to the question about gina haspel, why wasn't she there? >> i don't know. you would have to ask the director that. >> i guess my question is, because she seems to have more information than the others,

the meeting was conducted without gina haspel. the murder investigation of jamal khashoggi. >> i changed my mind because i'm pissed. the way they handled the saudi arabia thing is unacceptable. the briefing did not help me at all. better understand the role that mbs played in the killing of khashoggi. >> secretary of state mike pompeo and secretary of defense james mattis toed the line on the importance of the saudi and u.s. relationship. they noted there is no direct evidence that mohammed bin salman ordered the brutal murder. >> we have no smoking gun that the crown prince was involved. not the intelligence community. no smoking gun. we have not changed that accountability for the murder is our expectation of everyone involved in the murder. accountability is our position. it has not changed at all. >> senate aides say white house nixed haspel's appearance because her answers may not line up with the response to the murder. secretary pompeo had no answer when asked why she was not there. >> i was asked to be here. here i am. >>

. >> most in the room was disappointed that gina haspel was not there. >> gina haspel might have saidree of confidence that in fact the crown prince of saudi arabia was involved in the murder of jamal khashoggi. >> it's unclear why haspel did not attend. >>> a woman who recently lived in the bay area is facing voter fraud charges but she insists that it was all an honest mistake. when the woman received two absentee ballots during the 2016 primary she claims she mailed both in not sure which one was valid. the 48-year-old says that she was living in her car at the time. going back and forth between nevada city and berkeley and then registered in both counties. well a few weeks ago she found out there was a warrant for her arrest accusing her of felony voter fraud. >> it never occurred to me that i was committing voter fraud and i would be charged with a felony because of it. >> the secretary of state could not comment on the specific case. but california's election code states that every person is guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment who votes more than once. attempts to vote

based on all the evidence you have gotten since, including tapes that cia director gina haspel has heard. do you now believe this was a premeditated hit by the saudi royal family against jamal khashoggi? >> the saudi's have acknowledged this was a premeditated attack. the fact we are finding are still unfolding. we are working diligently on that. we talked with folks from turkey, saudi arabia nearly every day to continue those efforts. we begun to hold some officials accountable. we've revoked pieces from 16 individuals - - visas. we will continue to do that. we will hold those responsible for the murder of jamal khashoggi accountable. we will do that at the same time while ensuring the strategic relationship between the united states and the kingdom of saudi arabia, one that has a great impact on the issue justspoke about. thecapacity to deny the world's largest date terror of state sponsor of terror. while holding those accountable for this atrocious death. >>chris: meanwhile un secretary james mattis called for negotiations in a cease-fire within 30 days between the u.s. back saudi fo

gina haspel will not be there.both sides of the aisle. a lot of conversation about that yesterday why the decision got made and why would it be the case and ambassador bolton yesterday during the press briefing saying he didn't listen to the khashoggi tape. what use would it be? he doesn't speak arabic. the rhetoric coming out around this, the president still not saying definitively i know that mbs lied. i trust my c.i.a. more than i trust a rogue prince of the saudi kingdom. it is all disconcerting. we need our allies for sure. >> bill: the quote from pompeo. he wrote this. is it any coincidence the people using the khashoggi murder against president trump's saudi arabia policy are the same people who supported barack obama's approach with iran, a regime that has killed thousands worldwide including hundreds of americans and brutalizes it's own people. >> you choose the side in the best interest of the united states putting america first and our allies. tough decisions with people who don't have our values. if we

. >>> the white house does not want gina haspel to testify at the classified briefing on the murder off state mike pompeo and defense secretary james mattis will be at the closed door briefing. >> senate aides say haspel may be able to shed light on the contents of an audio recording of jamal khashoggi's killing at the saudi consulate in istanbul. aides say the west wing is keeping haspel under wraps for fear she might share details that don't match up with the white house response to jamal khashoggi's murder. the white house denies claims it is preventing her from testifying. ahead of the hearing, the "wall street journal" published a remarkable op-ed by mosecretaryf state mike pompeo saying it would degrade ties and do nothing to push riyadh in a better direction at home. >>> to the latest on the southern border. we're learning the main shelter housing certainly american migrants in tijuana is now at least three times above capacity. housing almost 6,000 people. cnn crews visiting the makeshift shelter finding squalid conditions. cnn's leyla santiago in tijuana with the latest. >> re

intelligence agency not joining them, specifically gina haspel, who many expect to hear from? >> i'm not going to answer that directly, i would direct you to them. >> reporter: the president when asked about the economic forecast essentially said he didn't believe it. the takeaway from many people is that the president doesn't feel necessarily a responsibility to lead either in this country or in the world on climate change and preventing the calamity that your administration forecasts. do you agree with that view? and if not, why not? >> reporter: the president is certainly leading on what matters most in this process and that's on having clean air and clean water. the united states continues to be a leader on that front. even obama's undersecretary for science didn't believe the radical conclusions of the report that was released and you have to look at the fact that this report is based on the most extreme model scenario, which contradicts long-established trends. modelling the climate is an extremely complicated science that is never exact. the biggest thing we can do is f

one democratic senator described the non—appearance of gina haspel, who's heard audio of the murder ofoggi, as a cover—up. the duke and duchess of cambridge have paid tribute to the five people killed in a helicopter crash at leicester city's ground. william and kate laid flowers and met leicester city players, as well as the family of the club's thai owner, vichai srivaddhanaprabha. he died with four others when the helicopter came down in october. now to the annual event which helps to ring in the christmas holiday season in the us. it's that time when the national christmas tree is officially lit in washington. isn't it beautiful and so colourful? president trump and his wife melania were present for the festivities, along with hundreds of others who came to the white house for the event which has been running for 96 years. let's get more on our top story, the warnings from the bank of england that there could be a deep recession in britain if it leaves the european union without a withdrawal agreement or transition period. the british prime minister theresa may will be hoping the a

reporter: gina haspel with -- [many talking at once] >> back in the back. the man in the back. >> -- captured two suspects last week. brazil probably will follow the american footsteps and blacklist hezbollah on terrorist list. also hezbollah is -- last sanctions by blocking formation of the new government. it is quotation from hariri. how do you put all this together? will this be talked in the g20 summit, hezbollah influence in the region? >> i expect in the bilateral meetings, depending on the country there will be substantial conversations about counterterrorism efforts where we participate together. that is certainly something may welcome up in brazil with president-elect bolsonaro. i think it is one of president trump's biggest priorities to extend cooperation against terrorism whether hezbollah or hamas or others. entirely likely it could be a subject. yes, ma'am? reporter: ambassador, going back to the khashoggi issue, being informed about an issue is part of i guess what is in scope of national security. >> we try to be. reporter: okay. but in the

gina haspel has heard the audio of the murder the jamal khashoggi, and one democratic senator described non—appearance as a cover—up. from washington, here's laura trevelyan this is the controversial saudi crown prince who reportedly, in the assessment of the cia, ordered the killing ofjournalist jamal khashoggi. mohammed bin salman arrived in argentina today ahead of the 620 summit, as on capitol hill, a chorus of senators demanded saudi arabia face consequences for violating human rights. the us secretary of state had to defend a crucial us ally. there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order of the murder of jamal khashoggi. the president himself says in a washington post interview once again maybe mohammed bin salman did know about the killing, maybe he didn't. the trump administration argues saudi arabia is a crucial partner against iran and islamic state, which buys billions of dollars of us weapons. but us senators say america can't ignore murder. when we do not send a message to a country like saudi arabia, we tell an ally you can kill with impunity simply

. >> not having gina haspel, the cia director, at this briefing is a cover-up. >> the most persuasivein this briefing was the empty chair. >> i changed my mind because i'm pissed. i think the whole construct is just -- i don't agree with what they're doing. >> remaining with us are bill kristol and rick wilson. and what a night to have these two gentlemen with us. so much to react to there, bill. pompeo saying i was asked to be here and so i'm here. that's what nfl players say on media day at the super bowl so they don't get fined. lindsey graham saying he's pissed. what will that mean? let's talk about your political party and this new normal. how would republicans normally react to this murder overseas? >> i think they'd be outraged. i think they would want to know the truth. i mean, sight yay director was not there. it's pretty obvious why. because the cia did apparently conclude with high confidence that mohammed bin salman had been involved in ordering the -- or was aware of at least or indirectly ordered the murder of khashoggi and she would have had to say that. so now we can h

many senators were upset that cia director gina haspel was not there.raham, who blow dubke like a probably through support behind the resolution cover seeking to pull military support for saudi arabia. >> i change my mind, because i'm pissed. the way they handled saudi arabia then is not acceptable. the briefing today did not help me at all better understand the role that mbs played in killing jamal khashoggi. institutionally, we have a right to be briefed. how can i make an informed decision as united states senator about whether or not the crown prince is complicit in a murder if i don't have that intelligence that i read about in the paper? that's not acceptable for me. >> melissa: kennedy, i would ask you -- we don't actually know what the u.s. response is, though. talking about how we should be tougher and stronger. we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. we don't know what conversations are going on with the actual king of saudi arabia right now. these -- the crown prince's future. >> kennedy: it's funny, because the oftentimes project th

>> finally, is it true the white house is blocking gina haspell appeared >> let me take the question of the tape first. no, i haven't listened to it. i guess i should ask you why i think i should. what do you think all learn from it? [inaudible] >> how many in this room speak arabic? [inaudible] >> you want me to listen to it? if they were speaking korean i wouldn't learn anything more for me. the maxima should be able to tell you. >> do not read a transcript. >> you just don't think it's important national security. >> i'm making a point that everyone has to listen to the point, sees the care of the i'm aware you going to get from it? the president has spoken to our position on this issue. he spoken very clearly amounts our position here [inaudible] >> taxpayer in the back. [inaudible] brazil probably is going to follow -- [inaudible] the last sanctions by blocking information of the new government. so how do we put all this together? is it going to be in the g simon >> i expected in the bilateral meetings, depending on the country that there will be substantial conversation about c

. >> do you think that gina haspel and everyone that works at the cia tells the president everythingi don't know whether or not they have the opportunity to do that because it's my understanding that there is not as much interaction with donald trump as there was with previous presidents. so i don't know what gina haspel is able to say. >> i mean, i ask because around the time the khashoggi killing, a couple people pointed out to me that it would be interesting to see the delta between what the cia knew and what the president said and whether he was actually being briefed of things that came out of his mouth or he was just parroting saudi talking points and propaganda. >> well, seemed like it was the ladder. but i think -- >> you think the house will investigate that? you think adam schiff's committee will look the at that? >> absolutely. even the senate intelligence committee i think will look at that and gina haspel has an obligation to make sure she tells the truth and makes it clear to mr. trump exactly what it is that we know and what the system is involving -- saudi involvement

this is gina haspel and the cia was not going to tow the party line. >> and this is unusual, and it'sgress saying enough, including republicans that usually stand up with the president. >> i am glad we had both secretaries but it was inadequate was the cia was not there. any key vote, anything you need me for to get out of town, i ain't doing it until we hear from the cia. >> you have been in contact with the president? >> i just did. >> i just did. david gregory? >> whlindsay graham gets that w, we know there's trouble. the conclusion has been public and it has been said the rest of the administration has been marginalizing that view. and it's lindsay graham speaking for republicans and democrats said, no, he will push to get the cia more involved and to scrutinize administration policy towards saudi arabia. i think this is significant. this is the president's own party pushing back hard. when the president issued his own conclusions about this in that strange statement that he issued last week, he said he will listen to congress, but whatever they propose has to be in line with his

. >>> senate aides telling cnn the white house does not want gina haspel testifying on the murder of "washington post" journalively jamal khashoggi. -- journalist jamal khashoggi. secretary of state mike pompeo and jim mattis will be at the closed door briefing. >> haskell may be able to shed light on the contents of that audio recording of jamal khashoggi's killing at the saudi consulate in istanbul, but is the west wing keeping haspel under wraps for fear that she might share details that don't align the murder? the "wall street journal" published a remarkable op-ed by the secretary of state. in it, pompeo makes the case for a hard-eyed, practical approach to saudi arabia. he says degrading ties between the kingdom and u.s. would harm national security and, quote, do nothing to punish riyadh in a better direction at home. >>> president trump tells the "washington post" he's waiting for a full report on russia's most recent confrontation with ukrai ukraine. he says depending on what it says, he may skip his meeting with vladimir putin at the g20 summit this week. just a few hours ag

finally, is it true the white house is blocking gina haspel from speaking to senators about that? john: no i haven't listened to it. i guess i should ask you why you think i should, what do you think i will learn from it? do any in this room speak arabic? unless you speak arabic what are you going to get from it? reporter: an interpreter could tell you. john: then i could read a transcript. reporter: so you do not think it is important as a national security adviser? john: i am just trying to make the point, everybody is asking why haven't you listened to the tape? if i don't speak arabic, what will i get from it? tell me the other questions? the man in the back. reporter: the argentinian authorities captured 2 suspects last week and brazil is permitted going to follow in the american footsteps and put them on the terrorist list. also, the sanctions blocking the formation of the new government, help me put all this together, is it going to be in the g-20? john: i expect in the bilateral meetings, depending on the country, there'll be substantial conversations about the counterterr

>> i don't think so, and i don't know why they would block gina haspel, and i don't know why they woulduld she come? >> that's up to the white house and who they send on that, but there's a lot of information from the cia that will be provided and has been provided already, and for those that curve on the committee we have had active information from the cia. >> it's our understanding she is the one person that travelled to turkey and has heard the audiotape of jamal khashoggi's murder. what did you think when national security adviser, john bolton, yesterday was asked why he has not listened to it and he said it's in arabic? >> again, it's difficult to understand the conversation, you can hear yelling and pushing, and the conversation you cannot understand what is being said but you can get a transcript of what and how things were sai said, -- >> no, i haven't listened to it. i guess i should ask you, why do you think i should? what do you think i will learn from it? >> reporter: you might have access to that kind of intelligence. >> how many people in the room speak arabic? >> don't y

not on the hill, though, cia director gina haspel. her to the briefing with those senators where she would have no doubt faced tough questions over the cia's assessment of the khashoggi case. joining me now is democratic senator chris murphy. thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. why do you think the administration declined to send cia director gina haspel to the hill today? >> i think the answer has been pretty simple as has been reported openly, the u.s. intelligence services have come to the conclusion that it's likely that mohammed bin salman, the crown prince of saudi arabia, ordered the killing of jamal khashoggi. and if that's the case, then why has the administration not taken any action against him? why has the administration not taken any action against the regime? i think they knew that ultimately they wouldn't have answers to those questions if she showed up today. so instead they sent the secretary of defense and the secretary of state, who, you know, tried as best they could to play dumb about the intelligence. ultima

he's calling for gina haspel to brief leaders along with mattis, mike pompeo.s wants haspel to detail what the cia has learned about the jamal khashoggi murder. in addition, expect for more push and talk about sanctions against the crown prince mohammed bin salman. this as the president himself has stepped away from talk about going after the kingdom. and it's clear congress wants to push on this matter even if the trump administration does not. >> you're absolutely right. all right, thank you very much. >>> coming up, so what's ahead in the russia investigation? we have more on jerome corsi, he won't make a plea deal with robert mueller's prosecutors. >>> and with president trump's angry public condemnation, will they per spade general motors to back ---er with spade general motors -- persuade general motors to back down on its plans. your insurance rates skyrocket after a scratch so small you could fix it with a pen. how about using that pen to sign up for new insurance instead? for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise their rates bec

the notion anyone told director haspel not to attend the brief something false.nators are pushing u.s. to to with support of the coalition fighting in yemen. mattis said pulling back our military support, weapons sales to partners and protect of the population would be misguided on eve of promising initial negotiations. negotiators are trying to establish discussions with warring parties in yemen set for sweden next month. connell: thank you. melissa: former deputy assistant defense secretary. are is a lot of buzz behind the scenes, punishment for saudi arabia, whatever the exchange is in order for the u.s. to to back off of it is greater than we know. it may be that the crown prince will not ascend. do you hear the talk and buy it? >> i doubt there are any competitors to the crown prince at this point. relations is political crisis between the united states and saudi arabia and other countries as well. european countries have been reacting as well. this is a very difficult situation. i think discussion, melissa on capitol hill were polly-based. about the secreta