they sent a let tore oliver north wanting to know about john bolten's contacts with the nra includingan spy. we have jerry connolly, congressmcongres congressman, great to be with you, sir. let me ask you about first, what is the state of our -- what is the state of the union. >> dicey right now. my meeting was a meeting with the german foreign minister and the speaker. we talked about it. >> let me go to oversight. when will you make a decision about whether or not to subpoena, is this an attempt to get michael cohen to come back voluntarily. michael cohen and his lawyer had the desire to come before our committee. he has experienced threats after the and the family is really reluctant to have the family appear in public and testify as planned as long as there is a cloud of threat over their heads. >> do you believe it is a legitimate fear? >> i believe the president knows full well and so does rudy jo e juligiuliani that in this volat political environment you can speak code, you can make references, and you can intimidate them and generate threats. it is just the kind of political

and then john bolten also said there would be no withdraw unless preconditions were met by turkey thathey wouldn't harm the kurds fighting alongside u.s. troops. where does that stand? well there is really no clarity about the long-term u.s. policy for syria. that has been the problem here. there are enormous consequences to pulling u.s. forces out of syria abruptly. for one the fight against isis is not over. isis still has a pocket of territory in syria, and two, what about these kurdish allies. they have been alongside loyal partners for four years now. they have proven to be the best partner that the u.s. found in the entire global war on televisi terrorism, and u.s. military commanders are concerned if they leave abruptly isis could come back and the kurds could be wiped out. we still don't have clear answers, it could probably happen with airstraks after u.s. troops leave, and no guarantees as to what will happen to the kurds that are making accommodations with the assad regime. >> that would be quite a turn around. richard angle, thank you very much. one more thing is next. angl

but remember when john bolten and john pompeo got their jobs in april american media speculated and called it a war cabinet. these are the most hard line politicians you can find in washington concerning iran. and i am positive that we will see major military action by the israelis in syria in the coming years. and perhaps the united states will join them. after this speech i wouldn't rule a larger military action against iran in the coming two years out. >> well, let's hope this time that you're wrong. as always, we appreciate your insights. thank you. the german chancellor angela merkel is in greece for talks with the prime minister and other officials there. it is the german chancellor's first visit since 2014 and comes just four months after greece emerged from its final bail out package. ahead of the formal talks merkel highlighted the improvement of greece's finances, relations between the two countries they have calmed since merkel's previous visits which were over shadowed by angry rallies. merkel was widely blamed in greece for the us an erty the country has lived through for much

breaking news from the white house, national security advisor john bolten made that announcement momentso >>. >> we're going to announce the state they can no longer looth the assets of the people u today's measure totals $7 million in assets blocked today and $11 billion in exports from the next year. we also today call on the military and security forces to september the peaceful democrat change of power, we have seen them heeding this call the defense here in washington, recognizing the president a few days ago, and just within the last few hours the first console has also declared for interim president. i call on all responsibility nations to roek nice the president immediately. maduro made clear he will not recognize guido or call for new elections. >> jeff bennet is at the white house for us that was all part of that long expected press briefing that is still under way. >> it it is and let me catch you up here. this briefing started about 20 minutes ago and john bolton and steve mnuchin announced these sanctions, so they're against a state owned oil company, and the view of the whi

it was just days ago that john bolten said our troops won't leave syria until isis is defeated.to our knowledge, neither of those things have been achieved in the last three days. you're watching msnbc. days you're watching msnbc. (engaging uptempo music) - with tripadvisor finding the right hotel at the lowest price is as easy as dates, deals, done. going on a work trip? dates, deals, done. destination wedding? dates, deals, done. because with tripadvisor all you have to do is enter the dates of your stay and we'll take care of the rest: searching over 200 booking sites to find you the best deal it's as easy dates, deals, you know the rest. (owl hoots) read reviews, check hotel prices, book things to do, tripadvisor. sometimes you need an expert. i got it. and sometimes those experts need experts. on it. [ crash ] and sometimes the expert the expert needed needs insurance expertise. it's all good. steve, you're covered for general liability. and, paul, we got your back with workers' comp. wow, it's like a party in here. where are the hors d'oeuvres, right? [ clanking ] tartlets

one is tempted to say that john bolten, if he was still alive, this never would have happened.it this national security advisor just stands by to watch this go on? i think rubio has a point here. >> do you think some of this is because if the president is taking bolton's advice on iron on not on korea he figures i'm getting half of what i want? >> i think that is it. he realizes that he doesn't want to step in the way of that freight train, and i think in iran he thinks he can ratchet up the pressure. in the middle east we have a certain amount of disrepair. it is unclear what the president wants to do in afghanistan. do we really just want to cut and run. >> are you with ryan crocker? he just obliterated the negotiations taking place between the u.s. and the taliban right now and said it is vietnam all over again. the united states is essentially surrendering and just using other language. it sounds like you're close to an agreement. >> people say we were in germany for 50 years, why can't we be in afghanistan for 50 years. i think there are real estate differences, but what d

it has prompted john bolten to warn against any violence or intimidation against american diplomaticnnel. joipi joining me right now is tony blinken. thank you for coming in. what do you think is happening here? do you think the military are going to be able to push maduro out? >> the situation is incredibly fraught. i think we should applaud the administration's leadership on this backed up by senator rubio. they focussed on the fact that maduro is ilegitimate and they rallied other countries. the question is whether there is a strategy to advance a peaceful transition and a plan b if maduro digs in and lashes out. that is what we haven't seen yet. i hope it is there. >> fraught is really the way it looks from the u.s. perspective. senator lindsey graham said a couple of weeks ago trump mused to him about u.s. military intervention there and to be clear there is no reporting that that is actually on the table but asking lindsey graham what he thought about the idea of military intervention there. what do you think -- do you think it could come to that? >> i hope not. it would be a b

. >> that's right, one of the conditions that john bolten told us was necessary to happen before thee not to go in after the u.s. was no longer there and attack the kurds that are a close ally in the fight against isis. that puts the draw in flux because the president er grerdo has shown no interest. and they would draw those in the northeast, so that, again, is a change from the president's policy because he initially said that all u.s. troops would be leaving syria and if troops are left in the how's that is not necessarily a complete krau. so the times of this and the way the policy has been rolled out left the withdrawn in flux and we have seen the administration shifting, whether or not it is the time table or the conditions for ultimately removing troops from syria, that changed all over again. and he is here trying to articulate what policy will mean and what the path forward is. >> thank you, we will be right back. >> thank you, we will be right back for your brain. with an ingredient originally discovered in jellyfish, prevagen has been shown in clinical trials to improve sh

. >> i guess the president -- i think john bolten it except all about north korea giving up their weapons. >> surely it is possible, but trump has to play a role on the word stage that he wants to be the lip lowmatic partner. so he has to be more optimistic. >> i guess the question that i get at here is what do you do about this and who will police this? the real concern is that he is giving these briefings all of the time. what are they telling him? are they not telling him? is this are they just telling him what they he wants to hear. >> i think the president made a good suggestion. he said you should call the intelligence chiefs about how they were quoted. instead of using add jekt tis to describe his behavior, let's use facts to rebu tt the suggestion. we need to simultaneously, and you urgented this before, not under react so we take this as normal behavior, so we can't just let it go, but we can't overreact and spin everything up every single time so that people just stop paying attention to that. the solution to that in my opinion is to just tell people the facts. >> phil rutger, w

. >> reporter: a lot of speculation because john bolten was seen with a yellow pad with the phrase 5,000ody in washington dampening speculation. columbian officials clear they are not expecting massive new influx of american military here. we do have the head of u.s. commands right now on what we are told is a routine meeting. i think many in washington and trump administration trying to continue to ferment the idea that military options are being looked at in the hope maybe that will erode maduro's support. all eyes on the people. they have been called out to protest on wednesday and sunday. is that going to change the nature of maduro's support? >> we were just saying, it is remarkable reporting that you and your team are doing on the ground. so important and we are very thank fful for you bringing us that. >>> switching gears in a major way. the count down is on for super bowl liii. patriots quarterback tom brady says he has a few haters, just a few, but he knows how to handle them. one hougot it.p order? ran out of ink and i have a big meeting today. and 2 boxes of twizzlers... yeah,

troops, his national security adviser john bolten was doing some damage control today saying certain conditions must be met before the u.s. brings troops home. here he is. we' >> we're going to be discussing the president's discussion to withdraw. to do so in a way that makes sure isis is defeated and not able to revive itself and become a threat again. and to make sure that the defense of israel and our other friends in the region is absolutely assured. >> david, you pointed out on twitter for those keeping score at home, the announcement by donald trump said forces would be withdrawn in 30 days. that means january 18th. after uproar, potus said he never said u.s. would rush out. then state said no fixed date and bolton says won't leave until assurances from turkey. the way bolton is talking it sounds like that means troops could be there for months. i mean, maybe even years. >> that's exactly right. i think the fascinating thing here is that we've seen once again in this white house a pronouncement by the president. then suddenly the allies, many others step in and say have you tho

during an announcement yesterday the words 5,000 troops to colombia were spotted sprawled on john bolten'shen asked for comment, the white house responded as the president has said, all options are on the table. >>> the orlando sentinel reports on the mysterious death of a 30-year-old whale at sea world's park. the orca died yesterday after becoming ill over the weekend. she was the second oldest captive orca ever. 30 is the prime of life for an orca. sea world says it is monitoring five other whales. >>> a 53-year-old house keeper was rescued. a member of the homeowner's family and delivery worker called 911 when they saw the elevator wasn't working. firefighters were surprised to find the woman inside. police say she was dehydrated and taken to the hospital where she is in stable condition. scary. >>> fresh fruit sold at major grocers including wal-mart, costco and aldi are being recalled. peaches and nectarines sold in bulk have a sticker showing they are from chile. no illnesses have been reported. shoppers should return the items for a complete refund. >>> britain's independence says