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and joining me is correspondent kasie hunt and correspondent kristen welker, and also, the editor from the washington post. and kasie hunt, what is the state of play up there, and then to kristen, judge kavanaugh is back at the white house today and more on that in a moment. kasie? >> andrea, and you have showed some of this in the opening of the show, and today, emotional protests from women who are going from office to office and many members of congress who are not here, and the senate is out of session, and they are going into the front of their offices, and they are telling their own stories, and we obviously get a lot of protesters up here on a lot of topics and always a lot of yelling and chanting, and little bit of that today, but this is kind of markedly emotional, and in of the women here are saying that this is the first time that they have told their stories in public, and that they have talked about it. i spoke to onele woman who said that she hoped that by christine blasey ford doing what she is doing, and anita abraham telling her story in public, younger women will real

kasie hunt had to run off to chase somebody. if she gets a scoop we'll bring her back to you. >>> we'll show you that moment. the man at the center of the kavanaugh compromise. jeff flake confronted by protesters before his bombshell call for an fbi investigation. will today's announcement help bring both sides together after yesterday's raw testimony? we'll be right back. . when i found out i had age-related macular degeneration, amd, i wanted to fight back. my doctor and i came up with a plan. it includes preservision. only preservision areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula recommended by the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd. that's why i fight. because it's my vision. preservision. also, in a great-tasting chewable. family and farxiga,re fighting type 2 diabetes with food, the pill that starts with "f". farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower aic in adults with type 2 diabetes, it's one pill a day. and although it's not a weight-loss drug, it may help you lo

kasie hunt is on capitol hill. kasie, what's the word there? >> reporter: lester, tonight nbc news has learned that republicans have hired afternoon outside counsel to question judge kavanaugh and dr. ford. her identity is a secret. they say they're keeping it that way for security reasons. but the concern is that all the republicans on the panel are men and they want to avoid an anita hill like spectacle at this hearing. mitch mcconnell says he wants to press forward, though, with a vote. and the committee has scheduled one for 9:30 on friday. but right now there are three republicans who are undecided, which means mitch mcconnell doesn't have the votes to get kavanaugh confirmed right now. lester? >> kasie hunt on capitol hill, thanks. >>> the president's comments about kavanaugh came after he delivered an address to the u.n. today, defending his america first agenda. but just as he was boasting about his accomplishments, laughter erupted from the audience. we get details from chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> reporter:

let's go to kasie hunt on capitol hill for more on this. kasie? >> reporter: that's right, lester, and it's a strategy that hasn't been used in decades. someone who is not a senator leading the questioning. republicans are now searching for an outside lawyer preferably a woman to lead the questioning of judge kavanaugh and dr. blasey ford this, of course, because all of the republicans on the committee are men and those protest today underscore how treacherous this terrain is for republicans, telling emotional me too stories and so clear dr. ford's allegations have really struck a chord with women across america. lester? >> all right. kasie hunt on the hill for us tonight. thanks. >>> now to that horrific shooting rampage at a rite ate distribution center. police say a woman opened fire on her co-workers. tonight, four people are dead including the shooter and nbc's catie beck has late details from aberdeen, maryland. >> reporter: a morning shift at a working warehouse shattered by gunfire. >> we have the active shooter at perryman road. >> report

>> kasie hunt, thank you. >>> at the white house ey were river vettted. >> reporter: president trump right now stands by his man making that very clear in a new tweet writing judge kavanaugh showed damerica why i nominaim saying his testimony was powerful, honest and riveng. the president slamming democrats telling m senators theyt vote. i'm told by sources familiar that the president was particularly pleaswi what he viewed as a strong opening statement by kavanaugh and that came at a critical momen because allies of the president had been aneeling grim after what viewed as compelling testimony from christine blasey ford. president trump wanted to see fire. that's what he got. if key republican senators don't back him, the president's support just doesn't matter. >>> much more ahead including where were you wahing? the nation captivated you wahing? the nation captivated your mornings were made for better things, than psoriatic arthritis. as you and your rheumatologist consider treatments, ask if xeljanz xr is right for you. xeljanz xr is a once daily pill for psoriatic arthritis. tak

you have the tactical planning of mitch mcconnell. >> kasie hunt is jumping up and down. d we'd go to her. kasie? >> reporter: i hope you're not actually showing me jumping up and down on tv but i was with the control room because we do have some additional breaking news. joe manchin is supporting flake's call for an fbi investigation. why is this important? senator manchin is a democrat, obviously. he has not been the focus of a lot of our reporting in the last week but has emerged as a potential swing vote in the final days leading up to this as it has become something the nation can't look away from. it's increased pressure on him back home in west virginia. he has a really tough race coming up, a deeply trump state, something that a lot of people are paying attention to. he's back in west virginia today listening to his constituents. he says here that he applauds senator flake's decision, and these are manchin's words, rise above the partisan circus on display during this entire process t. took courage to stake a stand and call for a one-week investigation to get to th

let's get to nbc's kasie hunt on capitol hill. kasie, what are you learning? >> tonight nbc news learned the senate judiciary committee is probing an additional anonymous allegation of physical assault against brett kavanaugh. a charge he tells theom he denies. it came in a letter that the woman says involved her own daughter that witnessed judge kavanaugh shove a woman up against a wall in a sexual manner when he was drunk in 1998. in public, it's full speed ahead and behind closed doors some republicans are worrying that thing may be moving too quickly. my sources tell me if there is another allegation, republicans might start voicing doubts and that would be especially true if it were proven that he is not telling the truth. lester? >> kasie hunt, thank you. our chief white house correspondent hallie jackson pressed the presid directly about his support for kavanaugh at a news conference just a short time ago. take a look. >> do you think these women, all three of them are liars? yes or no? >> have they been what? >> are they liars? >> i can't tell you. i h

nbc's kasie hunt has more on the growing rift between republicans. ter: republicans are scrambling to make a plan for dr. christine blasey ford to testify. >> where i'm focused right nowi doing everything that we can make dr. ford comfortable with coming before our committee. >> reporter: judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley even offering to send staffers to california, wre dr. ford lives, to take her testimony. but like the president, he said there was no need to reopen the fbi investigation or delay the hearing, writing in a letter to ford's lawyers that heop she'll testify, quote, either privately or publicly on monday >> the allegations are made. you can't put the genie back in the bottle. >> reporter: dr. ford's reluctance -- to pushnd ahead argue that if she won't testify, the kavanaugh vote should proceed. ednator bob corker tweeting, republicans extend hand in good faith. if we don't hear from both sides on mondaylet's vote. and republican susan collins, a herical swing vote, telli local radio station -- >> i just don't understand why the hearing shouldn't go forward. >

nbc's kasie hunt on capitol hill. kasie, as a senate expert, walk us through what was caught on that hot mic, why this matters as the white house changes its position. >> well, ari, i actually want to start with a little bit of breaking news for you. >> sure. >> as you point out, everything has been moving very quickly. we just have a tweet in for leader mcconnell on twitter. he said today with the unanimous support of my conference, the senate will proceed to the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh to serve as an associate justice on the supreme court of the united states. so this is a procedural step. we shouldn't make too big of a deal about it. however, this was the step that had been previously turned into that critical make or break vote that we were going to see on the senate floor on saturday. so what this represents is everybody in the senate, republicans and democrats saying, okay, we've agreed we're going to talk about this guy, but both sides are pretty clear now that they are not actually going to hold a v

nbc's kasie hunt h more on how this allegation is stirring up the hill. casey, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. overnight, nbc news learning that the senatitjudiciary coe is looking into another anonymous allegation of physical assault against brett kavanaugh. now, he tells the committee that he denies it. the committee learned about it in a letter from woman who says her own daughter witnessed an incident where drdge kavanaugk at the time in 1998 slammed the woman into a wall at a bar in washington, d.c. and this is one piece of why the mood on capitol hill could be changing. there are some republicans privately who are saying that while the public pushes full speed ahead they're a little bit worried that things might be moving tookl qu and my sources are telling me that if there's another , allegati it seems more credible, that it is possible that more republicans might voice their doubts about judge kavanaugh, and that would be especially true if there's a perception after today's hearin thatn't telling the truth. >> all right. kasie hun

let's start with nbc's kasie hunt, who is there. we are now, what, 23 hours, 58 minutes until the deadline set by chuck grassley. what are you hearing? >> hallie, as you point off -- point out, a simple question of what is dr. ford going to do? will she or won't she appear here on capitol hill? now i think it's important to underscore for people that dr. ford has not, in either her letters from her lawyers or statements that they've made -- >> right. >> ruled out testifying on monday. instead what you're seeing is them pointing out things that would make this a more favorable situation for her and arguing in favor of them. this idea that there should be more witnesses is what we're talking about today. yesterday, we were focused on the investigative piece, whether the fbi should be reopening that background check investigation. so, again, i think there is still a sense that this is a real possibility, that she will show up on monday. now, for republicans, this deadline of monday is basically artificial. they picked it originally bec

on msnbc kasie hunt is with us.ry unfolds this week it's important to keep tabs on a number of other big developments. we will speak with "the new york times" reporter who broke the news that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein talked about wearing a wire to record donald trump. michael schmidt has the details right ahead. plus leaders gather in new york city for the u.n. general assembly, with president trump taking part in several events throughout the day. we will bring you the first live right here on "morning joe." meanwhile, the president's personal lawyer, not secretary of state, rudy giuliani, says iran's government will be overthrown. nikki haley reminds everyone that is not u.s. policy. and with six weeks left, joe, it's a 12 point spread, democrats lead republicans by double digits with nearly 60% calling for a significant course correction away from donald trump. we will have all the latest numbers, but the polls are fascinating this morning, joe. >> they are. also we have -- we have "the new yorker"

i want to bring in kasie hunt before we go to other guests, but you are on the hill and we have been talking about susan collins and lisa murkowski and the heavy pressure from mitch mcconnell and the reporting is that he did not have the votes locked up, but he was pushing ahead, and of course, they are putting out that they have the vote votes. i think that there are other women as well as men and not just jeff flake, but other women senators, republican senators who have to be affect ed by thi. >> andrea, i have to -- if it is corroborated. >> yes, right, and it is still reverberating around the halls. i have talked to a couple of lawmakers who had not seen that it unfolded, and so we are very much still in the processing mode here right now, but still, as i had been reporting this out yesterday before this woman was publicly known to all of us, mitch mcconnell was projecting publicly that it was inevitable and that is the strategy for the entire nomination process, but he has doubled down on it through the allegation, and told everyone that they need to stay through the weekend to

kasie hunt is back, as promised. she picks it up from washington right now. >> ali, from washington where it is not raining like it is in wisconsin. thanks to von hilliard. good afternoon and happy labor day. i'm kasie hunt live in washington. supreme battle. president trump's supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh will face grilling from democrats when his confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. why they are demanding the release of more than 100,000 pages of documents from his time under george w. bush. >> plus, trump's trade war. he is poised to make major changes to nafta. why that could have serious economic and political implications. >> and biden's message. the former vice president delivers a labor day message of civility and what he says is at stake for our country as the midterms loom. let's start with what a confirmation win may mean for republicans and democrats. day one of brett kavanaugh's hearings for the supreme court begin tomorrow. republicans are confident in victory. president trump is ready for a wi

kasie hunt joins us right now. she was participating in that questioning. kasie? >> hi, nicolle. as you heard and it was probably a little chaotic there for all our viewers at the end, but i want to underscore this was a strong statement from senator collins. and it in many ways contradicts what we're hearing privately about how republicans want to handle this. i think it helps explain what you heard from the president earlier today where he had clearly received the message from the senate republicans that they need to follow a process that is not going to make the woman we just spoke to angry or feel as if her concerns have been disregarded. you could hear in her voice how she feels as though she's in a difficult position because she doesn't feel as though she has enough information to know if she trusts the account from dr. ford. on the other hand, she has an unequivocal denial from brett kavanaugh. but she doesn't have it under oath. and as you heard at the very end, if this turns into a he said/she said, she's going to be in the difficult position of having to decide who she

kasie hunt. doubt that the media telling democrats day in and day out and day in and day out that there was no way donald trump would win allowed a lot of democrats to stay home on election day. and here we are two years later, and it is donald trump's howls now of fake news, fake news, fake news, fake polls, fake polls that actually may be his ultimate undoing. >> i mean that critique of the media goes even deeper than that, there were people who supported hillary clinton who will say that the media covered her as if she were already president of the united states which means they didn't cover her fairly in comparison to the way that we covered now president donald trump. i mean i talked to all kinds of senators. i talk to senators every day in the hallway, democrats, republican. on the democratic side they are seeing this, too. this know their voters are incredibly excited. they have been the entire time they hardly have to do any work in that regard beyond attempting to make sure they are orga

i am kasie hunt in for katie tur.velshi will pick things up now from myrtle beach. >> i'll come back to you in a few minutes for some more news. i'm here on myrtle beach flowing hurricane florence. authorities are saying if you haven't gotten out of the storm's way yet you're running out of time. >> these rain bands will be with us for several days. this is a very dangerous storm. inland flooding kills a lot of people unfortunately. >> there's nothing you can do here. when winds get above all you can do inside your house is die. you can't do anything else. >> i know more people who are staying than people who left. and, you know, i'm not the only one who has financial reasons, you know. i also have medical reasons i'm not leaving. >> all right. financial reasons. medical reasons. or maybe because it feels like a breezy summer day like it does in myrtle beach right now. you can barely make out if you look in the sky the outer bands of the hurricane which just started to appear in the last couple of hours. it's an overc

joining me nbc news capitol hill corresponde correspondent, kasie hunt and peter baker. why is there such a rush from senate republicans? >> i think senate republicans would say is dr. ford's attorney came out on monday of this week and said she wanted to testify. they were eager to have a hearing. they didn't want to deal with this at all. they scheduled hearing and now she doesn't want to testify at this particular stage. the real reasons of why you would want this to if forward is you want to get this done as early as possible. the midterms are six weeks ago. here we're in unknown territory where it's happening six weeks out. i think they want to get this done and move past it. both sides trying to present the the other side being unfair about this. >> blasey-ford is saying she's getting death threats. she feel like her life is in danger. is any of that being taken spin considerations of when they schedule this hearing and if they will give her room for a delay to decide whether she wants to sit up there in paa public hearing on marble television and put ourself out t

. >> and kristen welker at the white house, and kasie hunt at capitol hill, and -- let me say that he is not accused of having sexual intercourse can, but sexual misconduct and attempted rape. and kasie, where you are covering this, i understand that lisa murkowski has been in a scrum with reporters and asked about debra ramirez who had an account of a sexual activity that he exposed himself at college at age 18 and living as an adult, and if she should have an opportunity to testify. and will you fill us in on that? >> sure, andrea. she was asked about that, and she said that she thought like dr. ford it should be up to the ms. ramirez, and if she does want to come forward, she should be allowed to testify, and that is really the standard of the undecided senators have set for their own leadership. right now, mitch mcconnell does not have the votes. he has 48 republican senators who are more confused about this which is coming with ms. ramirez which many believe are thinner than those brought by dr. ford, and not strongly corroborated, but he still does not know where jeff flake, and

. >> joined by kornet kasie hunt, michelle goldberg of "the new york times." congressman of pennsylvania and former federal prosecutor. i want to start in that order. case as what a day. a lot of things happened. tell me how the sequence worked that led to this overtime in the game, if you will. >> chris, it was really remarkable. in the morning we got this statement from jeff flake that said i'm going to vote for judge kavanaugh and we all thought that was potentially going to put more pressure on these other republican senators who were still on the fence. we thought the hearing was going to go forward. the mood was going to remain contentious. but something changed that elevator encounter you showed with flake was on his way to the committee room. after his statement has broken, reporters told chris coons, a friend of flake's said a statement was put out. and he became emotional. he's not a guy that typically swears. it was a tone more sad than angry and that was what proceeded what played out in the hearing roommate. remember, they were in there for hours.

. >> michael steele, senator barbara boxer, cheryl gates stillburg and kasie hunt who had to leave us, thank you very much. that wraps things up. ali velshi picks things up. >>> breaking news on two fronts. see you later this afternoon. a workplace shooting left multiple fatalities and victims according to officials. the shooting took place after 9:00 a.m., 30 miles northeast of baltimore. a woman entered a rite-aid distribution center and opened fire. the suspect is in custody and in critical condition. the motive remains unknown. we are waiting on a press conference with the sheriff due to start any minute. we're going to bring that to you as soon as it gets under way. now to another piece of breaking news. moments ago as katie was reporting, "new york times" reportedly obtained an e-mail from professor christine blasey ford's lawyer saying she has, quote, told the senate judiciary committee that she would be prepared to testify next week, so long as senators offer terms that are fair and which ensure her safety, according to an e-mail her lawyer sent to committee staff members. the

i'm kasie hunt in washington, d.c. we start with the supreme fight.n consequential hearings of the trump presidency. what can they do to fight the supreme court nomination of brett kavanaugh. >>> trade war politics. the president gearing up to rework one of our biggest trade deals, nafta. so far, not off to a great start. how it will affect people in key states like wisconsin to vote come november. and biden is back. what he said in a pittsburgh parade about his own political future and his message for the democrats ahead of the midterms. >> we're in a fight for the soul of america here. it's about time we restored dignity into work and start talking to each other like we're civilized and deal with one another with respect. >> we start with the politics guiding this week's supreme court nomination hearings. brett kavanaugh's missing paperwork as well as his opinions on abortion

. >> we begin with reports from kasie hunt, and halle jackson at the white house tonight. kasie, let's start with you. i know you managed to speak to senator jeff flake tonight, the key vote on the senate judiciary committee. what do we know? >> reporter: that is, lawrence. we know he's not saying right now which way he's going to make up his mind. when i spoke to him he was visibly in turmoil. he talked a little bit about how he couldn't decide he's right, she's wrong, she's wrong, he's right and he framed it as though really it was an impossible choice. and he as you pointed out at the top of the show is really the person who all eyes are going to be on tomorrow in this committee vote because he does sit on this committee. as you know he's not running for re-election. he's been a sharp critic for president trump, but there are some democrats who have criticized him for not taking enough action. all his colleagues on the one side versus what are his chances for the future on the other. and then the other two people that we are still closely watching, and they took very se

kasie hunt has been chasing senators down all day into the evening. what are you hearing right now? >> reporter: it's been whiplash because capitol hill is in a holding pattern while they wait for potential new information from the fbi. and behind closed doors, republican senators undecided, susan collins, lisa murkowski, and jeff flake, might be hearing what judge is telling them. the reality is politics is still going to play a big role in the decision for undecided republicans and to joe mansion, who is up for re-election in a deep red state. >>> to the white house, hallie jackson outside the west wing. i can imagine they are huddled to play this out where this leads. what are you hearing? >> reporter: there is a growing sense of dread among allies i've been talking to over what could happen in the next week, whether more time might shift public opinion away from brka. the west wing seemed caught off guard by all of the last-minute drama that has gone down over the last six hours although many people here have been suspicious of jeff flake anyway, him and the president had bad bl

i'm going to just go to kasie hunt. >> from start to finish. from start to finish he's wrong about how this works. you know, these were republican judges. republicans judges appointed by john roberts. you don't have hearings for these warrants. it's -- even donald trump's closest advisers, sam stein, even -- even they were quietly grumb grumb grumbling. this is absolute nonsense. the like attacking alex cora for not kicking a field goal at the end of the braves game. >> why didn't he kick a field goal? >> it's a good question. >> this weekend had me thinking a bit. i think about how american politics is usually played between the 40 yard lines. you know, you have broad consensuses between the parties about how the country should be run. occasionally things go really haywire. for instance, the iraq war. but by and large you stay within those 40 yard lines. what donald trump is, someone well without, outside of the 40 yard limit. doing things dramatically different from what is the ideological sense of the party and predominantly about his view o

retiring republican senator of bob corker of tennessee told kasie hunt, they should give her a chance to be heard. i think it's best for all involved, including the nominee. lisa murkowski says they should delay the vote. i think that's something they should have to consider, at least having that discussion. fellow swing vote lisa collins released a quote saying professor ford and judge kavanaugh should testify under oath before the judiciary committee. this is what she said on tv last night. >> it's an issue that i brought up with him last friday, and he denied. as he did in his written statement. >> what do you think -- should the committee vote coming up here this week? >> i'm going to be talking with my colleagues but i really don't have anything to add at this point. >> joining me now is nbc news capitol hill reporter kasie hunt. where do we stand with this input? the senate as a whole is important. the judiciary committee is uniquely whole. where are we? >> frankly, there's still an intense behind the scenes scramble over what do. brett kavanaugh trying to have an impact on the

>> kasie hunt with all of the breaking news there at the capital with senator flake. thank you, jen palmeiri, and kristen welker of course, and joyce vance. >>> meanwhile, career intelligence and law enforcement officials are expressing shock and concern over an unpr unprecedented move of president trump to ordering the release of oclassified documents over whether the trump campaign conspired with the russian government. teams of the national intelligence and justice department have been ordered by the white house the work through a declassification process of classified documents relating to the russian probe and the fisa warrant, and the special surveillance of carter page. to get reaction to this from the senior national security analyst and former cia director john brennan and how unusual is this? >> well, it is very unusual and concerning from two perspectives. one is that it is highly inappropriate and unethical for mr. trump to the take any action that pertaining to the criminal investigation of russian collusion, and russian and in cooperation with russia in

. >> and joining me now also from capitol hill, kasie hunt, our correspondent, and kristen welker, and also ashley parker, reporter from the washington post. and kristen, you were the last to the speak to the president, and you saw the demeanor today and they seem to feel that they have turned a corner somehow, and how do you assess this? >> that is the right way to look at this, andrea. couple of things struck me for the first time and you heard president trump weigh in on whether he believes the accuser of judge kavanaugh and dr. ford and he said that it is very hard for me to imagine anything happen, and that is a striking statement, and he again reaffirmed that he stands behind judge kavanaugh, and when asked if he has any concern about dr. ford and the accuser in this situation, the president said, well, i want to hear from her before i can weigh in on her account. so the president really digging in on this situation despite the fact that you do have dr. ford saying that i want an fbi investigation before i come to capit capitol hill to testify, and the president is giving no indi

kasie hunt, thank you. yes? >> brian, just from a strategy perspective, i saw him, too. i completely understand what he said, what he heard and the sentiment. the reason i pause is, brett kavanaugh is no fool. right? he's had rehearsal after rehearsal for this. let's say he wanted to snub fred guttenberg. i don't know that he would have done in it that public forum and caused the issues. but it is a very tense room and protesters taken out of the room. this one we could take a beat on. brett kavanaugh would not have made a mistake like this on purpose. >> pete williams is standing by for us. long-time justice correspondent and, pete, i hate questions like this but i'm going to ask it any way. what are the opportunities to lay a glove on this nominee today? >> oh. well, i think a couple of one that is the democrats will really focus on. first of all, in the 'ra in which we live and based on the first 15 minutes of this hour they're going to ask brett kavanaugh for his views on executive power and whether the president is above the normal kinds of law that is the rest of u

kasie hunt for us back in d.c. i want to go back up that way, 130 miles to emerald isle, north carolina. i want to speak to the mayor there. emerald isle is already starting to get the brunt of this hurricane and the hurricane is not even really fully there. mayor, what's the situation for you on emerald aisle. it looks precarious. >> it is. the winds picked up. we had a gust earlier of 63 miles per hour. in the last 30 minutes the weather has gone downhill. the rain has picked up dramatically and so has the within. we're just hoping for the best. >> what's your series of preparations look like on emerald isle. are there still people on the island? >> no not many at all. we did a mandatory evacuation. we had a curfew that started this morning at 7:00. you're not allowed back on tiled. we're enforcing the curfew to keep people off the streets. the majority of our citizens, we have a year round population of 3700. and the majority of our citizens have left the beach because of the mandatory evacuation. we're concerne

let me bring in kasie hunt, senator. asked senator susan collins if she believed susan ford's allegation. here's what senator had to say to you, kasie. >> having the opportunity to observe her, being questioned, read a transcript or a deposition and make that kind of assessment is so important. obviously if judge kavanagh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying. >> well certainly senator orrin hatch of utah was asked a similar question by nbc. here's what hatch said. >> do you think that any of these claims are legitimate? >> no, i don't. i think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up and -- but i can't speak for her. all i can say is, no, i don't. i know the, i know the judge very, very well. i know how honest he is. i know how straightforward he is. i know how he stands up for what he believes and what's right. and frankly if you were going to believe anybody, you'd believe him. >> kasie, you weren't around during that period when anita hill was up. i tell you, hatch is stalking t -- talking the same

. >> reporter: this is kasie hunt on capitol hill where republicans are scrambling to make a plan for dr. christine blasey ford to testify. >> where i'm focused now is doing everything that we can to make dr. ford comfortable with coming before a committee. >> reporter: judiciary committee chairman chuck grassley even offering to send staffers to california, where dr. ford lives, to take her testimony, but like the president, he said there was no need to re-open the fbi investigation or delay the hearing. writing in a letter to ford's lawyers that he hopes she'll testify quote either privately or publicly on monday. >> when allegations are made, you can't put the genie back in the bottle. >> reporter: dr. ford's reluctance to move quickly has driven some republicans who had been encouraging caution to push ahead and argue that if she won't testify, the kavanaugh vote should proceed. senator bob corker tweeting republicans extended a hand in good faith. if we don't hear from both sides on monday, let's vote and republican susan collins a critical swing vote telling her local radio stat

kasie hunt for us in d.c. >>> all right, when the fbi does its investigation, it's going to look intor. ford's claims. we're no clearer in knowing with certainty what happened some 36 years ago between christine blasey ford and judge brett kavanaugh. one thing is clear, ford believes for certain, at least that's what she testified under fear of perjury that she was assaulted and there's no doubt in her mind who did it. >> dr. ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> what is the strongest memory you have -- the strongest memory of the incident, something you cannot forget? take whatever time you need. >> indelible is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense. >> and, dr. ford, i'll just conclude with this, you do remember what happened, do you not? >> very much so. >> how are you so sure that it was he? >> the same way that i'm sure i'm talking to you right now, basic memory functions and also just the level of the neurotransmitter of the brain so the trauma-related experience is kind of

correspondent kasie hunt joins us by phone. i have right in front of me a lot of the statements.he ones i'm mostly focused on is chuck grassley. this is an uncorroborated allegation from 35 years ago made from high school that was would surface on the eve of a committee vote after democrats sat on them since july. what's your read on what happens next here as we see for more statements coming out from detecti democratic senators than republican ones? >> that's right and what you've seen from the democratic senators is a call for a delay. to say we need the fbi to investigate these allegations before we move forward. that was the statement put out by senator dianne feinstein, the ranking member on the judiciary committee. she's under significant scrutiny and pressure because of the way that this was handled. she and those close to her argue that she was essentially trying to follow the wishes of christine ford who had written this letter and then after speaking with a lawyer and speaking how difficult the process would be decided that she didn't want to go public. of course her id

. -- kasie hunt takes the temperature of where things stand. >> reporter: a combative day on capitol hill before either witness took the stand. >> debacle -- >> reporter: after it began, judge kavanaugh's republican allies acknowledging dr. ford was compelling. >> i found no reason to find her not credible. >> reporter: ford told her story under questioning from sex crimes prosecutor rachel mitchell. >> brett kavanaugh's name is not in those notes, is that correct? >> correct. >> reporter: she even began questioning kavanaugh -- until senator lindsey graham took his turn. she remained in the room in silence. graham was visibly angry in the halls. >> what happened to her i don't know. why don't you believe him? what is it about him you don't want to believe? >> reporter: dismissing a wanyh ago, i don't remember any -- do you for dr. ford. >> i don't know how any republican watching this testimony could possibly vote for brett kavanaugh after what she said. >> reporter: but as the day-long hearing continued into the evening, at least four undecided senators who matter most weren't tipp

sign out, a weak pause for an fbi investigation to the allegations made actually, let me bring in kasie hunt here right now. casey, he seems to be implying he won't vote for this with a full senate unless this investigation occurs. do i get that right? >> that's a significant development, lester, yes. what senator flake is saying he would vote yes in committee, which you just saw him do, on the condition they delay the final vote on the floor, long enough for the fbi to do a one-week investigation into the allegations around judge kavanaugh. now, you heard them arguing a little bit right there about how this might all play out. it was called a gentlemen's agreement. and essentially, john cornyn, a member of republican leadership acknowledged this. he said to jeff flake, you have the leverage. and he's right. because the other key thing that senator flake said right there was that he has spoken to other members of his conference about whether they would support a move like this. and so what we here on the hill are going to be looking for now is, are senators susan collins and lisa murkowski a

blasey ford. >> kasie hunt on capitol hill. thank you. we'll be checking in with you a lot over the course of the next 24 hours. susan page, washington bureau chief for usa today, so is mimi rocah, msnbc legal analyst. and deputy chief of staff for harry reid. adam, let me start with you. this is what senator lisa murkowski said to "the new york times," quote, we are now in a place where it's not about judge kavanaugh, whether he's qualified. mrs. murkowski said in an extended interview monday night in the capitol, it is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed. how precarious is this vote in the lead up to the hearing, adam? >> i think it's very precarious. kasie said something i found interesting, mitch mcconnell is headed for a standoff with his own conference, his own republican senators. i find the dynamic there very interesting. i think mitch mcconnell is essentially running game on his own conference of republican senators right now trying it put them on the hot seat, trying to

. >> reporter: this is kasie hunt on capitol hill tonight, as the senate is barreling towards another he said, she said credibility battle. a hearing that will be fraught for the republic men expected to question judge brett kavanaugh and christine blasey ford. >> 11 men on the committee, there's nothing that c be ne about that. >> reporter: it recalls the troubling memory of what anita hill went through in 1991, when she was questioned by some of the same men who would question dr. ford. >> i thinkwhole affair is sick. >> i think it's sick, too. >> reporter: senator orrin hatch still sits on the committee and is already raising dbts out dr. ford's credibility. >> i think this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up. >> reporter: jge vanaugh's fate depends on who they believe. >> if these allegatis are proven to be true or people believe at they are, then that changes the equation. >> reporter: for dr. wrestled with what it would mean to come forward, there is one critical difference from hill's experience. >> i'm going to charge and expect that every member, f regardless oeir gender, will

also with us, kasie d.c., kasie hunt. we'll get to them in a moment.y've got questions and reactions for bob. but first, bob woodward. i want to read for you from david ignatius's article in "the washington post" and it's entitled "what a baby" in which he writes in part about takeaways from your new book. only a man who is deep by worried about his own strength would talk as much as donald trump does about the danger of appearing weak. woodward's recounting of trump's conversations is a study in character of lack of it. the president's vanity, pettiness and meanness of spirit were evident already in his tweets and public statements, but here is the annotated statements as told by woodward with enough "f" bombs to stock an arsenal of profanity. when trump is on the verge of doing something constellatory, apologizing for a racist or sexist comment, for example, he stops himself for fear that it will show weakness. trump often expresses a peculiar concern about looking like a baby. he blasts campaign chairman paul manafort afternoon a critical "new york

on msnbc, kasie hunt.f at "the washington post" and political analyst for msnbc and nbc news, philip rucker and joshua johnson, the host of public radio series 1a distributed nationally by npr. good to have you on. >> mike, you've known bob woodward for a little while. what's your take away on the book? >> take it to the bank. if you edit woodard's stuff, some would say bob is plotting. that's a compliment because he is fully versed in everything he brings to the table, fully sourced out. i mean, take it to the bank. take it to the bank. >> elise, what about you? i know you're from the south. maybe the president will listen to you any way. >> i'm kind of slow, but thank you for still respecting my opinion. according to donald trump. but i was impressed by the call, the transcript of the call that bob woodward had with donald trump, how much information just in that one call where donald trump thought that he could woo bob woodward into shelving a book and started out by praising him and slid huddenly he kn