kristen welker joins me from the white house.pect from president trump's visit today to arlington cemetery? >> reporter: this is a traditional visit that the president makes on memorial day to arlington national cemetery. he lays the wreath and makes remarks and typically we hear the commander in chief pay tribute to all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. vi no doubt that today will be any different. i think that's the message we'll hear from president trump. obviously this is someone who has talked quite a bit about trying to improve veterans services and increasing defense spending, making improvements for the military. so i think you will hear the president echo some of those themes. and again pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. i don't think he's going to veer into any news of day topics. i would be surprised if we heard him do that. i don't think he's going to weigh in on what you and i have been talking about throughout the morning, which is this growing controversy over russia, the fact t

let's bring in kristen welker. sean spicer largely sticking to what a senior official told nbc news on background a little earlier today, that they believe that president obama, if he was so concerned, should have revoked his security clearance. >> reporter: that's right. and the reality is, it's our understanding, based on conversations with other former national security officials, that in fact he did need an upgraded security clearance in order to nerve as national security adviser. spicer effectively denying that saying look, because he had already been given security clearance under the obama administration, that's enough. but we reported several weeks ago that this white house did in fact do its own vetting and decided to go ahead and hire mike flynn, despite they were made aware of payments to be accepted from officials related to the russian government and some of his other contacts with foreign nationals. so this administration sort of trying to walk a very fine line amidst a number of muddled facts. but s

little more on what was xachd between pope francis and the president i want to bring back in kristen welker if we still have her who has some new information on those gifts. kristen? >> frances, we just got this information. we're learning what president trump gave to pope frances. he gave him a case of books. books from martin luther king. and he said this is a gift for you. these are books from martin luther king. i think you will enjoy them. reminding our audience what the pope gave to president trump. claudio outlined this just a few moments ago. a medal. a medallion by a roman artist which he said is an olive, a symbol of peace. and he then -- president trump responded we could use peace. the pope gave potus the message of peace, "i signed it personally for you," he said. president trump apparently responding "that's so beautiful." and then of course those encyclicals that you have been discussing with annend claudio which includes the encyclical about the environment. the president saying, "well, i'll be reading them." and of course that as he heads on to the g8 summit and is poised t

let's go back to kristen welker. i understand you just spoke with several senators. >> i did, chris. let me give you the bottom line. the calls for the a special counsel are growing louder on capitol hill. let's start with senator blumenthal of connecticut, saying he'll hold his vote for a new fbi director, make the vote contingent upon appointing a special counsel. we also asked that question of senator widen. he didn't say his vote was contingent upon that, but he did say that a special counsel is necessary under thes circumstances. what about the republicans? will they join their democratic colleagues? that could really be critical here. of course, it is ultimately up to the attorney general to appoint a special counsel. if the calls are loud enough on capitol hill, that could make a difference. if there are bipartisan calls. i put the question to republican senator ted cruz. he didn't respond. senator mike lee, no response. but senator kennedy of louisiana, while he didn't fully call for a special counsel, this i

kristen welker reporting the breaking news. thank you so much for that. >>> meantime, jury selection beginning today in the trial of a tulsa police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man, terrence crutcher, has he held up his hands next to his broken down suv. the immediate aftermath caught on camera. how it can all play out in court, next. what's that? p3 planters nuts, jerky and seeds. i like a variety in my protein. totally, that's why i have this uh trail mix. wow minty. p3 snacks. the more interesting way to get your protein. actually making your body feel better. i'm heather thomson, and that's exactly what tommie copper does for me and my whole family. they call it "wearable wellness." and tommie copper has infused it into everything they do. [ male announcer ] experience the difference wearable wellness can make in your life. go to tommiecopper.com, enter your e-mail to become part of the tommie copper community, and get 15% off your entire order, plus free shipping. life hurts. feel better. aleve with direct therap

kristen welker has the latest. kristen. >> lester, good evening, the acting fbi director was here on capitol hill, meeting with lawmakers when word of that special council broke. it come as the calls are growing louder to hear from his predecessor, by jason chaffetz who wants a hearing next week. demanding recordings and clarity about the president's discussions with james comey. the top republican in the house speaking out for the first time about the president's latest controversy. >> our job is to be responsible, sober and focused only on gathering the facts. >> reporter: do you want to see comey testify in an open hearing? >> i will leave it do the k349s doing the investigation. >> reporter: paul ryan also saying he's confident in the president when pressed by reporters as he walked out the door. >> do you still have full confidence in the president? >> i do. >> reporter: with some republicans now making comparisons to richard nixon? >> i think we've seen this movie before. i think it's reaching the point where

we are back with kristen welker, jeremy bash and jonathan swan. and matthew nussbaum all with me on a friday night. carter page. give me an explainer on this. how could someone have had so many interactions with so many russians, small, informal, and unpaid. >> he was one of the individuals who then-candidate trump specifically named when he was asked by reporters, who are your foreign policy advisors. >> it was the only name he could come up. it was an editorial board meeting and he said i've got a national security team. they said who have you got? he said i've got great people, i've got, i've got, i've got carter page. >> it undercuts his claim now that he had no role at all. i have been watching the senate intelligence committee investigation. i was heartened to see they did send these letter requests for documents, for e-mails, and importantly about financial documents and transactions from those individuals and russian officials. it tells me the investigation is in two phases, phase one is how did russia meddle? phase two is what were the co

joining us live from italy, nbc news white house correspondent, kristen welker. good to have you with us. beautiful backdrop behind you. a lot of diplomacy at stake from yesterday. what can we expect from the president at the g-7 summit today. >> reporter: a lot of tension in the backdrop, despite the fact it's so beautiful, ayman, you're so right. in terms of the agenda today and tomorrow, a lot the stake, on the table, everything from the fight against isis to trade. remember, a lot of these leaders see president trump's views on trade as being more isolationist. his views on russia and how to manage that relationship moving forward. and then climate is going to be a key issue here. president trump in the process of trying to determine whether or not to pull out of the paris climate agreement, he'll get a lot of resistance during his talks when the g-7 summit gets under way. you talked about some of those awkward moments, some tense moments at the nato summit yesterday, particularly that headline everyone woke up to which effectively said president trump accuse

nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: amid mounting outrage on capitol hill some lawmakers questioning the country's very foundation. >> do you see this as a constitutional crisis? >> absolutely. >> this is a stress test of our constitutional democracy, what we're living in right now. >> reporter: it's not just democrats. increasing number of republicans richard burr chairs the senate intelligence committee. >> the timing and the reasons for this decision made little sense to me. and i don't think i've heard anything since last night that would clarify that in any way. >> the white house's timing was less than impeccable. >> i think a lot of us are puzzled as to the timing. >> reporter: at least seven senate republicans expressed skepticism and out right anger, the top republican is standing by the president. >> today will no doubt hear calls for a new investigation which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done. >> house speaker paul ryan also defending mr. trump. >> it is entirely within the president's role and autho

our white house correspondent kristen welker has more. >> reporter: the senate showdown over health careeform is shifting into full gear. a group of 13 republicans starting from scratch. >> well, we'll have to satisfy 51 senators and i can't tell you how long that's going to take. >> reporter: the stakes couldn't be higher. >> congresswoman -- >> reporter: with ads already airing, targeting 24 house republicans who voted for the bill. tonight, new scrutiny on some of the most controversial measures, including pre-existing conditions. >> we think it will be more affordable. >> reporter: the reality those with pre-existing conditions that don't maintain continuous coverage could pay more. with states allowed to opt out of covering them. although the bill does provide an additional $8 billion over five years to lower some costs. then there's this claim. no one will be hurt by the decision to cut $800 billion from medicaid. >> the medicaid system isn't working. >> reporter: but the reality -- according to the congressional budget office, a cut of $880 billion would result in 14 million fewer

kristen welker has details. >> reporter: tonight, president trump taking a victory lap. >> this is a repeal and replace of obamacare, make no mistake about it. >> reporter: it's only a first step but mr. trump turned it into a made for tv celebration, flanked by republicans in the rose garden. >> how am i doing? am i doing okay? i'm president. hey, i'm president. can you believe it, right? i don't know. it's -- i thought you needed a little bit more time they always told me, more time, but we didn't. >> reporter: the event came after a dramatic vote in the house that went down to the wire. >> the is are 217 and nays are 213. >> reporter: republicans jubilant, they say the bill will lower premiums but democrats warning people could lose coverage. >> i guess their desire to give a tax break for the rich just trumped everything. >> reporter: on the house floor, some even singing and waving good-bye to house republicans saying they will be voted out of office for supporting the bill and outside, chants of shame. >> shame! shame! shame! >> reporter: what does the bill do? republicans say

. >> and kristen welker and peter alexander still with us. you cover the president every day. let's get your immediate take. he says he's not under investigation. he wanted to fire comey. and that comey told him he's not under investigation. peter? first to you. >> i think the first thing that was most striking not just that he described those three occasions where comey told him he was not under investigation, so there's no proof of that, but he says there were three occasions, but what did strike me was the fact that he said, i said to him, that he called him, and that he asked the fbi director, james comey, i said if it's possible would you let me know, i am under investigation and comey responded you're not under investigation. now i'm not an attorney, i don't know the specific of this but i think a lot of people will put scrutiny on that thought of the president reaching out to his fbi director and soliciting an answer to this question. separately, of course, as you noted, what was striking from that clip that we're playing from the conversation that took place just withi

kristen welker, ask sally yates under oath if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to white house counsel. kristen, what is the president suggesting there? >> well, we have long heard the president make this accusation of classified information was being leaked at the highest levels. there is nothing to support that, and in fact, it has been disputed by intelligence officials. and i anticipate if sally yates does get that question today, she will likely knock it down. of course, what's going to be so extraordinary about this hearing is that this will be the first time we hear from sally yates. her own account of what happened. and the fact that she did warn this white house. the white house counsel's office, against mike flynn, effectively saying he's had conversations with the russian ambassador. now, the question that everyone wants answered, andrea, is just how loud was that alarm? sean spicer has tried to downplay it. but she's going to have the chance to actually answer that question and answer questions about possible leaks as well.

our white house correspondent kristen welker has details. >> reporter: president trump all smiles at this mother's day celebration with the first lady but this morning lashing out in a tweet storm seeming to unleash a warning to his recently fired fbi director. james comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press. those striking comments come after mr. trump described a january 27th dinner with comey during an interview with lester. >> we had a very nice dinner and at that time he told me you're not under investigation. >> reporter: that is in dispute and so is the president taping discussions? today mr. trump didn't deny it. >> i won't talk about that. all i want is for comey to be honest. >> reporter: a similar dodge from press secretary. >> are there recording devices in the residence? >> as i said for the third time, there is nothing further to add on that. >> there is no example of any modern white house recording any conversations that take place inside it unless you go back to the dark sinister time of nixon. >> reporter: the wh

kristen welker, nbc news, washington. >> i'll be sitting down with president trump on thursday at the white house, obviously a lot to talk about. we hope you will tune into that thursday evening on "nbc nightly news." >>> the chilling sound of alarms blaring at the most contaminated nuclear site in this hemisphere sent workers covering in washington state today. the alarm at the nuclear reservation was triggered when a tunnel housing toxic materials partially gave way. it was a jarring reminder of the existence of lethal sites like it across america. gadi schwartz has details. >> reporter: the sound of sirens at the nation's most contaminated nuclear waste site. >> take cover. >> reporter: then the warning that went across the hamford nuclear reservation. >> take cover immediately. >> reporter: the alarm from a partial tunnel collapse in a tunnel where toxic waste has been covered for decades and workers took cover in the vast complex half the size of rhode island and once prepared plutonium for america's nuclear arsenal. >> we've been all cooped up inside these buildings until they g

kristen welker, nbc news. >>> there is an outcry among many west coast politicians and scientists tonightr the proposed elimination of federal funding and president trump's budget for an earthquake early warning system. that system is under development in california, oregon and washington state. critics say the system can be a life-saving tool for millions who live in areas prone to earthquakes. >>> when we come back on this memorial day weekend, inspiring america. one man's unique mission to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. next at 6: a witness describes the crash landing in a bay area intersection. =terry vo= plus, a construction mishap leaves workers covered in wet concrete. we uncover the past safety violations of both companies involved. =next close= next. sot first >>> finally tonight, let's not forget the meaning of memorial day as we head into this holiday weekend. we honor those who have given their lives in time of war. for one man in florida, expressing that gratitude takes an unusual form bringing him close to those who have fought and died. kerry sanders tonight o

savannah. >> kristen welker outside the west wing tonight. >>> we're getting a much clearer picture of what led to tiger woods' arrest over the weekend for driving under the influence. the police report released today gave a dramatic account of when police came across the famous golfer behind the wheel but allegedly in no condition to drive. >> reporter: according to the affidavit florida police say when they approached woods' mercedes 2:00 a.m. monday nine miles from his home, woods was asleep at the wheel and the vehicle was running. a fully cooperative tiger woods first told officers he was coming back from golfing in california. but according to police, he changed his story and stated he did not know where he was. although his speech was slow, sluggish and very slurred, the golfer registered .000 on two breath tests. and police say woods identified four medications he used, including vicodin. that could support his claim in a statement last night that alcohol was not involved. what happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. drunk driving, a growing problem acros

we get more from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: amid mounting outrage on capitol hill tonight, some lawmakers are questioning the country's very foundation. do you see this as a constitutional crisis? >> absolutely. >> this is a stress test of the constitutional democracy. what we're living in right now. >> reporter: and it's not just democrats, an increasing number of republicans are joining the voices. richard burr chairs the senate intelligence committee. >> the timing and reasons for this decision made little sense to me and i haven't heard anything since last night to clarify it in any way. >> the white house's timing here was less than impeccable. >> i think a lot of us are still puzzled as to the timing. >> reporter: at least seven senate republicans expressed skepticism or outright anger but the senate's top republican is standing by the president. >> today will no doubt hear for calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the russians may have done. >> reporter: house speaker paul ryan also defending

we get more from white house correspondent kristen welker. >> reporter: tonight two republican lawmakers may have revived the effort to overhaul health care reform. representatives fred upton and billy long met with president trump at the white house today to discuss what they hope will be a new break through plan. >> we have been working day and night. >> reporter: the new amendment would provide $8 billion over five years to reduce payments for those living with pre-existing conditions. the move aimed at resolving concerns the initial bill wouldn't sufficiently cover pre-existing conditions. >> can you say definitively that no one with a pre-existing condition will pay more? >> i think we have done everything we can. >> can you guarantee it? >> with all due respect to answer a respect, to answer a question to say i can gaurn see something -- but i can say that every single thing the president has done does everything to bend the cost curve down. >> reporter: fierce opposition from two powerful groups, the american medical association and aarp saying the fix could actually increase pric

we want to go to kristen welker, traveling with the president. what are we learning about what's to come? >> reporter: we just got excerpts from the president's speech. he wants to try to reset relations with the muslim world. he's hope thag this speech helps him do it. let me read you a portion we got from the white house. he's going to say, this is not a battle about different faiths, sets or civilizations. this is between bar baric criminals that obliterate human life and decent people of all religions. this is a battle between good and evil. thomas, that's really the critical argument and thesis of this speech. this battle between good and evil. he is starting his trip here in saudi arabia to reach out to the muslim world, this speech, a critical part of the outreach. it comes after the inflammatory comments he made as a candidate. he said muslims hate the united states. the tone, today, expected to be very different. the esti a lot of people have, is he going to reiterate the term radical islamic terrorism he used as a candidate. it's a term

we start tonight with kristen welker at the white house. >> reporter: president trump is marking his first memorial day with tradition, laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. payingri fallen heroes. >> here at this shrine, we honor the noblest among us, the men and women that paid the ultimate price for victory and for freedom. >> reporter: behind the scenes, the administration is struggling to manage the political damage with the russia probe deepening. "the washington post" reporting his son-in-law and senior advisor jared kushner tried to set up a possible back channel to communicate with the russians in december. nbc news has learned some staffers are now encouraging kushner to lay low. kushner isn't said to be the focus. the president standing by his son-in-law telling "the new york times" jared is do g a great job for the country. i have total confidence for him and top officials playing defense. >> i don't see any big issue here, relative to jared. any time you can open lines of communication with anyone whether good friends or not so good friends is a smart thing

lester. >> kristen welker at the white house for us tonight. >>> in the meantime, friends of james comey are pushing back from the dinner the two had first described in our interview but still no comment from comey himself. pete williams has that end of the story. >> reporter: one week after the inauguration, president trump had dinner at the white house with fbi director james comey. the president told lester holt the meeting was comey's idea. >> i had a dinner with him. he wanted to have dinner because he wanted to stay on. >> he asked for the dinner? >> the dinner was the dinner, and he wanted to stay on as the fbi head, and i said i'll consider. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: but today the former director of national intelligence told nbc's andrea mitchell on the morning of the dinner, comey said it wasn't his idea. >> he mentioned he was invited to the white house to have dinner with the president and he was uneasy with that because of even compromising even the optics, the appearance of independents, not only him but the fbi. >> reporter: several that knew comey say they hear

we have kristen welker. kristen, let's start with you. they clearly feel good about this. they had that ceremony yesterday in the rose garden. donald trump had a hand to get this passed in the house. what are they doing to make sure something happens in the senate? >> reporter: first, let's just pick up on what we heard here today with deputy press seetary sara huckabee sanders. she said they expect them to take this up in short order, and she got a lot of questions on this because a lot of republican leaders in the senate have stressed they are not working on any particular deadline, they want to get this right. so she was asked if the president has his own deadline. she underscored the point, look, the president wants to get this right as well. it sounds as if he's going to give the senate some space, at least initially. it is the more deliberative body. she was asked if the budget office wants to score this as they sort of indicated they would do. in terms of strategy behind the scenes, i can tell you, katy, that the administration plans to be very hands on. i think the

kristen welker has the latest. >> reporter: lester, good evening the acting fbi director was here onapitol hill meeting with lawmakers when word of that special counsel br a louder to hear from his predecessor, james comey, including by the chairman of the house oversight committee jason chaffetz, who wants a hearing next week. tonight, three different congressional committees now demanding memos, recordings and clarity about the president's conversations with former fbi director james comey. the top republican in the house speaking out for the first time about the president's latest controversy. >> our job is to be responsible, sober and focus only on gathering the facts. >>. >> reporter: did you want to see comey testify in an open hearing? >> i will leave it to the committees doing these investigations. >> reporter: house speaker ryan also saying he is still confident in the president when pressed by reporters as he walked out the door. >> do you still have full confidence in the president? >> i do. >> reporter: and with some republicans now making comparisons to richard nixon. >>

tonight kristen welker for some memorable moments. >> reporter: first lady melania trump stepping out onto the world stage. the former model under a microscope from the moment she touched down from her fashion covering up in saudi arabia and the vatican and today, turning heads wearing a $50,000 dolche and gabana coat. but more important than what she wore is where she went. today tweeting out this photo with u.s. soldiers, later mingling with other first spouses. this after visiting a local school in saudi arabia and hospitals in israel, rome and brussels. and she showed her charm. joking with the pope about feeding the president a slovenia dessert. acknowledging for the first time this week she's a catholic. the one time she raised eyebrows, she swatted the president's hand after they landed in israel. critics pounced on a sign of discord but those close to her say she may have thought it was inappropriate given the setting. still, mrs. trump may have an advantage when international travel. she's the first modern day first lady not born in the u.s. >> she has the advantage of speaki

nbc white house correspondent kristen welker with the enormous impact it could have. >> reporter: tonight, mounting anticipation as president trump inches closer to a final decision on the paris climate agreement. two administration officials tell nbc news mr. trump is leaning toward pulling out of the accord. >> very soon. you'll find out very soon. >> reporter: mr. trump called climate change a hoax vowed to pull out of the deal calling it a jobs killer. >> we will scrap the $5 trillion action plan and the clean power plan. >> reporter: the non-binding agreement asks the nearly 200 participating countries to reduce toxic pollutions and west wing with daughter ivanka trump and son-in-law jared kushner urging him to stay in but steve bannon pressing him to pull out 267. 22 republicans asked him to withdraw saying the deal places too many regulations on the energy sector. >> he promised constituents he wouldn't be part of the economy killing environmental regulations. that's a promise he made. he'll keep it. >> reporter: supporters of the paris deal say it's critical to protect the environ

savannah. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. >>> now to the backlash over the shocking viral photo that everyone that saw it found offensive including the president and first lady. it shows comedian kathy griffin holding up a mocked up bloody image of president trump and while she apologized, it's cost her a high-profile job and a warnin t we get more from nbc's stephanie gosk. >> i went too far. i made a mistake, and i was wrong. >> reporter: the apology came hours after the images went viral. kathy griffin holding a bloodied likeness of president donald trump's head. >> the image is too disturbing. i understand how it offends people. >> reporter: it was not enough for the president tweeting this morning, kathy griffin should be ashamed of herself. my children, especially my 11-year-old son baron are having a hard time with this. sick. the first lady followed. as a mother, a wife and a human being, that photo is very disturbing and makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it. >> this is fake blood. just so you know. >> reporter: the 56-year-old jo

i have the best team with me here today to break it down, starting with nbc's kristen welker live at the white house. kristen, what exactly do we know about the president's decision? we've heard he's listening to everyone. he's going to take a week, a month, now he's out of paris? >> well, that is the latest reporting. axios first to report it, we have yet to confirm it. we've reached out to a number of different white house officials here waiting for that final confirmation. but this was a huge flash point. the white house divided over this. we know that jared and ivanka were opposed to him pulling out, but then you have other folks like steve bannon who wanted him to pull out, who were pushing him to pull out. this goes against what the g-7 leaders wanted. of course he was just at the g-7 summit. six out of the seven leaders saying that they were committed to enforcing the paris climate glae agreement. let's take a look at the agreement. it requires countries to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees celsius. countries agree to report on progress in lowering emissions. nearly 2

i want to bring in kristen welker who is also there in vatican city. kristen talk to me a little bit about the thinking behind this visit. knowing that we are mid-way through his nine-day visit abroad. he has visited three religious capitals today, being that of the vatican, and meeting with the pope. at one point in my reading was there ever an indication even early on in the planning of this trip that the president had no intention of visiting the vatican or maybie in making an have a meeting with the pope and that was turned around? >> well, i think because of the fraught relationship there was also a question of it. but really the theme of this trip was trying to unite and bring the major religions of the world together. that is why you had him stopping in saudi arabia first. that was an incredibly symbolic move on the part of president trump really trying to turn a page on a lot of that really controversial rhetoric that we heard from him on the campaign trail to reach out to the muslim and arab world. and then of course he was in israel over the w

kristen welker traveling with the president and joining us from italy. n, president trump returns to a white house with major new developments on the russia investigation and issues with his son-in-law, one of his top advisors? >> the russia controversy is only mounting, thomas. you're absolutely right. the latest headline from "the washington post," not independently confirmed by nbc news, the "post" reporting his son-in-law jared kushner wanted to set up a secret back channel with the russians through sergey kislyak the russian ambassador and essentially wanted to give a direct channel between the russians and mike flynn who was going to be the national security adviser. this conversation taking place in early december. before president trump even took office. now "the new york times" adding a little nugget to that effectively saying, that the reason for the back channel was to discuss syria policy. now, the white house hasn't responded, of course. we've put out a number of calls and e-mails and requests for comment. so far they're not weighing in. we d

as well as kristen welker. she spent many months on the trail with the clinton campaign. thanks to both of you for being with us. amy, hillary clinton says she's got a book coming out this fall about the election. you've got one out there right now. the hillary clinton you saw today, it was interesting, she said she takes full personal responsibility for the loss. at the same time, she did spend a lot of time here talking about comey and wikileaks. >> right. it's interesting to see that she actually -- she's been talking a little bit about this in the weeks leading up to now but she basically said this is the reason. i thought i was going to win. this is what derailed my campaign. of course, she also admits that there are a lot of other reasons and we've seen that. we detailed in our book that her message was askew. something didn't feel quite right. she was a mismatch candidate for the time. but we also see that she is like a -- if you read the pages in her book, we kind of bring out the humanity of hillary clinton, the tough moments. it's hard to be her and i think you'

kristen welker, the time og this is also being questioned. howev however. list listen, an agenda of my plan is lying to the white house. he's not being honest with what he spoke about with the russians. this is an issue. was the white house able to clarify, to explain, to help reporters and the public understand the timing of those two events and why they might be suspiciousment? >> we didn't sort through the timing so much as we did the details today. the fact that the president said james clapper -- i'm sorry, that james comey asked for the dinner when, in fact, based on our reporting, it was the white house who invited james comey here to have dinner. that notion that he asked for a loyalty pledge, sean was asked about that. he denied that that was the case. then you have a whole host of current and former fbi officials effectively saying they just can't see james comey telling him whether or not the president was under investigation. so all of those details being questioned and spicer not doing a whole lot to clarify. given the timing, it is incredibly

nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker is here. "washington post's" ashley parker joins us. the great glenn thrush of "snl" fame, "new york times" correspondent. you have new reporting on the white house in turmoil. glenn, since you're right here, i have to get you on the white house's seemingly digs in over the tapes. does he have recordings or doesn't he? >> i made it clear i don't want to talk about it -- >> you had all you had to say to me? the "snl" is going to your head. you're much more handsome than the guy who plays you. we've gotten sideways with the white house and "snl" in the last four minute. >> you're right about the tapes. spicer clearly doesn't want to talk about this anymore. >> they haven't backed down. they backed off by -- >> they never backed down. sean spicer still incidentally has not apologized as ned knows for essentially accusing british intelligence of colluding with barack obama to wiretap trump tower, which by the way, might warrant an apology, but i think their whole thing is they're not go going to d

kristen welker, white house correspondent. matt bai, from yahoo news. and iliana johnson. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, celebrating its 70th year. this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good morning. chuck todd is off today. it's not often you see a white house signing ceremony celebrating the passage of a bill that has merely made it through the house. but after their health care win, president trump and house speaker paul ryan were more than happy to spike the football. even if there is still a lot of green grass between them and the end zone. that said, the house did just hand a skeptical senate a bill not scored by the congressional budget office, not read by most of those who voted for it. and that counts among its winners those with high incomes, wealthier people without pre-existing conditions. the young and large employers. and among its losers, the poor, older americans, people with pre-existing conditions and those who counted on obamacare's essential health benefits

kristen welker is down the driveway at the white house. kasie hunt is on capitol hill. the former director of the fbi's office in counter intelligence, frank montoya is also with us. on the set. white house bureau chief for the "washington post," phillip rucker and white house reporter for the associated press, jill colvin. we know the communications director mike dubke is leaving. is this the start of the so-called summer shakeup? >> it could be. we know that mike dubke gave his resignation on the 18th. of course, as the president's foreign trip was getting under way. he was only here for three months. so it's certainly striking. what are the circumstances that surrounded his decision to issue his letter of resignation? those are some of the facts we are drilling down on, sean spicer will brief today at 2:00 so we'll and sean about that. we know based on my conversations over the weekend, hallie, that the president is eyeing potentially expanding some parts of his team, scaling back other parts. he is eyeing some of his former campaign officials, for example, corey lew

kristen welker, thank you very much. anna and sarah, what does itten into we've been having this conversation right now five days before the president heads off on this crucial foreign trip and after the firing of jim comey here? >> well, obvious, we heard since the beginning of the administration that there was some imminent shake-up. and a lot of that was wish projection for people that railroad angry. we heard that steve bannon was on the bubble for weeks now. we've heard different names. now we're hearing the criticism come from the president himself. we hear him criticizing the communications team in several different interviews. and the leaks are getting louder and more specific about who is on the bubble and why. so there is reason to believe that potentially a shake-up could be coming. it wouldn't be abnormal. presidents in the past have in the first year made major changes when it's clear that the team they brought in from the campaign wasn't working. and it would signal an acknowledge ment in the white house th

if i can, can i go quickly to kristen welker?ust give us a little idea of context again because the president is going on this major foreign trip. tell us about it. >> there's a big focus on foreign policy this week, chris. the president spoke with kingofn jordan earlier today. he's meeting with the president of turkey. at the end of this week, he goes on his first foreign policy trip. travels to saudi arabia, to israel and to italy, where he is expected to meet with the pope at the vatican. the focus, particularly in those early stops, the fight against isis, trying to get back on a path of peace in the middle east and, of course, the questions will be for the united states allies in the region. does this revelation, this bombshell, threaten the president's relations with u.s. allies abroad? he will undoubtedly get tough questions with the meetings he is going to have with foreign leaders. ty icaltypically, chris, as you know, because you traveled with former president obama, presidents typically hold press availabilities when t

kristen welker has the full story. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker at the white house where it's notsia that's roiling the trump administration but some of the united states' closest allies after the president, during his first foreign trip last week, publicly scolded nato members for not paying their fair share. >> this is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the united states. >> reporter: lashing out at germany for what he described as unfair trade practices. now the backlash. a senior u.s. intelligence official tells nbc news that german intelligence says it does not need support from the u.s. in monitoring and safeguarding germany's upcoming elections this fall. the u.s. officials saying the germans simply don't want any hint of u.s. involvement in any way. that sentiment echoed by german chancellor angela merkel who recently said -- we europeans must really take our destiny into our own hands. today press secretary sean spicer downplayed talk of a rift. >> i think the relationship that the president has had with merkel he would describe as fairly unbelievable. they get along

i'm not under investigation. >> and kristen welker and peter alexander still with us.u cover the president every day. let's get your immediate take. he says he's not under investigation. he wanted to fire