nbc's kristen welker has those eptails. >> rorter: tonight president trump is directing his former white housune col don mcgahn to defy a congressional subpoena to testify tomorrow. the white house sites justice department opinions going back four decsees that say nior officials like him have absolute immunity from testifying the president speaking out late tonight. >> i think it's a very important precedent and the attorneys say they aren't doing that for me but the office of the president. n >> reporter: mcgah sat for 30 hours of interviews, dell cats say he's a key witness on obstruction and they are accusing the white house of stone walling. >> let me be clear, if don mcgahn doesn't testify, it's time to open an qupeachment iniry. >> reporter: michigan congressman justin a amash frequent critic of the president tweeting after reading the mueller report, president trump ab engaged an impeach conduct. democrats pouncing. >> good for him that he put country above party. >> reporter: the president calling him a loser and lightweight.n >> i've knowhim and he's been against trump from the

aimed at winning a new and better trade deal with that country but as white house correspond kristen welker reports the president also has other global challenges on his mind >> reporter: a red carpet arrival in tokyo for president trump amid escalating tensions in asia and around the world the four-day state visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two major allies with the president interviewed to become the firs world leader to meet the country's new emperor. but on his first stop taking aim at japan over the trade friction after being in on the ground for less than half an hour to removd ensure fairness. >> japan has a substantial edge for many, many years maybe that's why you like us so much >> reporter: other serious policy issues loom large with north korea front and center national security adviser john bolton for the first time acknowledging pyongyang' recent ballistic missile tests do violate u.n. security resolutions that's a break from president trump who down-played the tests earlier this month >> they were smaller missiles, short range missiles nobody's happy about it, bu

>> kristen welker at the white house for us tonight, thanks. evening of the death of a teenager in u.s. government custody at the border. a 16-year-old boy found dead this morning jacob has been covering the situation at the border extensively. jacob soborov has been covering this story. jacob, what happened here? >> reporter: good evening, lester. the boy was a 16-year-old from guatemala, carlos hernandez vasquez. he entered the country a week ago seeking to be reunified with his family and he was detained since then. customs and border protection say the boy was found unresponsive at the station today. he was transferred there after being diagnosed with and treated for the flu while he was at the central processing station in mcallen. that's the same facility we took you inside earlier this summer when it was the epicenter of the trump administration's separation policy. this young man is the fifth minor to die in the u.s. government's custody since december after what cbp said was ten years without a child dying in their custody. lester? >>

kate >> kristen welker with us from tokyo. kristen, thanks. >>> tonight there are new concerns about the impact altered videos could have on the next election after a manipulated video of house speaker nancy pelosi went viral and after the president retweeted another heavily manipulated video of the speaker of house tom costello has that story. >> reporter: one day after that speech, both pelosi and president trump were dialing it down but tonight this video made to look like nancy pelosi was slurring her words has gone viral, raising serious concerns this is the original >> most currently he was engaged in a cover-up. >> reporter: and this is a manipulated video released by a website that rudy giuliani retweeted. >> most currently that he was engaged in a cover-up. >> this is very truly surprising for me >> reporter: while some fake videos are used for humor, cyber warns that this could put you in danger >> these videos make candidates appear to say and do things that they never did, and there is no end to the negative ways i

addressed trade negotiations north korea and more during a joint press conference let's turn to nbc's kristen welker who is traveling with the president. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, marlie and frances. good morning to you. president trump wrapping up a news conference here in tokyo. a joint press conference with prime minister shinzo abe. the big headline, president trump once again breaking with his own national security advisor john bolton who essentially said that he saw north korea's recent missile test was a violation of u.n. security resolutions well, president trump saying here overnight that it doesn't matter he's not bothered by those missile tests. it was remarkable because the prime minister had a very different message. his message was that north korea has, in fact, violated those u.n. security resolutions and he called that regrettable. so that was really a notable moment another one when president trump doubled down in his criticism of former vice-president joe biden. he was pressed on why he's siding with the murder rust dictator over a former u.s. president. president tru

kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. >>> there is a lot more to tell you about just ahead. nearly 50 years after a college student's murder, how police say they finally cracked the case. >>> and the price you pay top tax websites accused of hiding tools tens of millions of americans could use to file for free. >>> and the scene stealer in "game of thrones" that has everyone talking. >>> tonight, police in indiana say they have solved an infamous cold case after nearly half a century. a college student found murdered and all these years later, police say her killer was identified with the help of his family. here is miguel almaguer. >> reporter: in sleepy terre haute, indiana, the shocking murder made headlines. 19-year-old pamela was found by her father stuffed in the trunk of her own car, tied up and strangled by a murder suspect who eluded police for 47 years. in 1972, milam's body was discovered in a parking lot at indiana state university. the killing haunting her family and police until a suspect was named today with the help of dna testing. >> they would have never be

nbc's kristen welker has details. >> reporter: just moments after blowing n into e garden, dramatically declaring he can no longer work with them. >> i told senator schumer, speaker pelosi, i want to do infrastructure but you know what? you can't do it under these circumstances. so get these phony investigations over with >> reporter: that surprise move sparked, the president says, by an earlier meeting of democrats this morning to discuss impeaching him. and this shot from house speaker nancy pelosi >> we believe that the president of the united states is engaged in a coverup >> i walk in to look pe just said that i was doing a coverup. i don't do coverups. there was no collusion between russia and the trump campaign that's it. but they want to make this a big deal. whether or not they carry the big "i" word out, i can't imagine that but they probably would. >> reporter: two democratic sources with knowledge of the white house meeting tell nbc news the president accused pelosi of saying horrible things before mr. trump walked out after just three minutes. >> he just took a pass and it

kristen welker has the play-by-play from tokyo. >> reporter: heavyweights on the world stage. president trump sitting ringsidn tokyo, becoming the first u.s. leader to present the brand-new 60-pound presidents cup to the champion from golf to selfies with the japanese prime minister and a hibachi dinner, the two world leaders publicly striking a note of unity >> the prime minister and i talked a lot today about trade and military and various other things i think we had a very productive day. >> reporter: but complicating the charm offensive, a series of tweets and taunts. mr. trump writing, north korea fired off some small weapons which disturbed some of my people and others, but not me. i have confidence that chairman kim will keep his promise to me. that's a break with prime minister abe who called north korea's recent ballistic missile test a violation of u.n. security resolutions and a rebuke of his own national security adviser john bolton who north korea's tests crossed a line on "meet the press," press secretary sarah sanders on defense. >> and the president still feels

kristen welker is following it all from tokyo. >> reporter: jt hours after th high honor, president trump becoming the first world leader to meet japan's new emperor, the president breaking with his host country d ans own national security advisor on north korea dismissing the country's latest ballistic missile tests. >> it doesn't matter. >> reporter: but for japan in range of north korea's rockets, it does matter. japanese pri minister abe declaring the missile test violate u.n. security counsel resolutions, national secity advisor john bolton ut mr. trump striking a softer note. >> my people think it could have been a violation, as you . kn i view it differently. i view it as a man perhaps he wants to get attention, and perhaps not.kn whs. >> reporter: the president insisting bl it's still pos kim jong-un could eventually denuclearize. >> he's a very smart man. he gets it well. so i think that he is going to try at some point, i'm in no rush at all. >> reporter: he also sided with the north korean dictator in criticizing his domestic rival, joe biden. >> kim jong-un made a statent joe

kristen welker is following it all from tokyo. >> reporter: just hours after this high honor, president trump becoming the first world leader to meet japan's new emperor, the president breaking with his host country and his own national security advisor on north korea dismissing the country's latest ballistic missile tests. >> it doesn't matter. >> reporter: but for japan in range of north korea's rockets, it does matter. japanese prime minister abe declaring the missile test violate u.n. security counsel resolutions, national security advisor john bolton agrees but mr. trump striking a softer note. >> my people think it could have been a violation, as you know. i view it differently. i view it as a man perhaps he wants to get attention, and perhaps not. who knows. >> reporter: the president insisting it's still possible kim jong-un could eventually denuclearize. >> he's a very smart man. he gets it well. so i think that he is going to try at some point, i'm in no rush at all. >> reporter: he also sided with the north korean dictator in criticizing his domestic rival, joe biden. >> kim

let's get more on this from nbc's kristen welker >> reporter: tonight, the president's former white house counsel, don mcgahn, a no-show for a house hearing today. but there were srkll plenty of firewo >> the president took it upon himself to intimidate a witness who has a legal obligation to be here today >> and we're here again with the circus. >> reporter: mcgahgave 30 hours of testimony to robert mueller, prompting democrats to subpoena h, saying mcgahn is a probe.tness in their obstruction but the trump administration argues justice department opinions going back four decades give senior presidential aides like mcgahn absolute immunity from testifying to congress. digging in tonight, democrats subpoenaed hope hicks, the president's former communications director and annie donaldson, mcgahn's former chief of staff tweeting the dems were unhappy with the outcome of the muellern report so now they wt a do-over. but it's mcgahn's absence that's a breaking point for many democrats, who are now demanding impeachment. >> i believe we have comacto the time of impeent. >> reporter: house spea

kristen welker, thank you.our, stocks headed for their worst week of the year after president trump sent out a series of tweets suggesting the trade dispute with china may not end any time soon and that's in spite of the fact that stocks bounced back, actually, after treasury secretary steve mnuchin said trade talks between the two countries had been, quote, constructive. the president's tweet storm came after u.s. tariffs on $200 billion worth of chinese goods soared today from 10% to 25%. china says it will respond with necessary countermeasures, but the president may not even be done with escalating this trade war with china. hours after that increase went into effect, the president tweeted that plans are in the works to put a 25% tariff on the other $325 billion in goods the u.s. imports from china, so critics pounced, including senator elizabeth warren.

kristen welker there in tokyo.s now with a important guest, i'm bringing in christine pelosi, the dnc vice chair and california democratic party woman's caucus chair. thank you so much for being here. just a guttural reaction to that video that the president tweeted out of your mother and the house speaker. >> well, nancy pelosi is at the top of her game. i would never, ever underestimate her. she is winning in court. she is winning in legislation and i think that the best thing the white house can do is encourage the president to have that infrastructure meeting but also sign the legislation she just sent him this week repealing the kitty tax, that taxes survivors of military people who have been killed in combat, especially given that it is memorial day weekend. so i would -- i wouldn't advise against it. >> you saw the video. just for a -- from a daughter standpoint and from a grand kid standpoint, watching their grandmother and mother portrayed in that light, in that video, what was your guttural reaction to th

kristen welker, good morning to you. n't seem to be listening to bolton on north korea. what now? >> reporter: he doesn't seem to be. he's complicating his charm offensive here as well. first, kendis, to the tweet that's roiling this major ally as well as his national security adviser. the president writing, north korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people and others but not me. i have confidence that chairman kim will keep his promise to me and also smiled when he called swampman joe biden a low iq individual and worse. to the first part of that tweet, look, that's a break from the prime minister here, who accused north korea because of its recent missile tests of violating u.n. security resolutions. it's also a rebuke of his own national security adviser, who also said that north korea has crossed a line. and then on the latter part of that tweet, the fact that you have president trump seeming to side with kim jong-un against a former vice president. sarah sanders was on "meet the press" today

connect with us on velshi ruhle where my dear friend kristen welker is picking up coverage. i know indicakaty tur home watching every minute of it. >> i saw your interview with katy tur. it was fantastic to see her reaction to all of this. i am kristen welker in for katy tur. it is 2:00 p.m. here in washington where house judiciary chairman jerry nadler has moved to hold attorney general william barr in contempt of congress. nadler says, quote, the attorney general's failure to comply with our subpoena after extensive conversation efforts left us no choice but to attempt proceedings and admission of the unredacted mueller report. the white house has threatened to defy witness testimony. i asked the president if he would allow robert mueller to testify before congress. here's what he told me then. mr. president, would you like to see robert mueller testify? >> i don't know, that's up to our attorney general, who i think has done a fantastic job. >> it looks like mr. trump had a change of heart. in a posted tweet he says bob mueller should not testify

nbc's kristen welker is there following the president for us.ome to you, my friend. how much of this trip is diplomacy optics versus actual policy discussion? >> reporter: hi, alex. good to talk to you. this trip is really focused on the personal diplomacy. all of those events and those great optics that you just talked about, the fact that the president and prime minister played a round of golf, attended a sumo wrestling match, their two families had dinner. overnight the president touting the progress that had been made on talks. but at the same time, giving everyone a reality check that it's very unlikely that the two countries are going to strike a broader bilateral trade deal. that's ultimately what they're working toward, alex. this was the president's tweet overnight. he said, great progress being made on trade negotiations with japan. alture and beef heavily in play. much will wait until after their july 1 elections, where i anticipate big numbers. the july elections, alex, are the parliamentary elections. that's a message president trum

krist kristen welker with more. >> reporter: this morning a bombshell report in the new york 'smes ising doubt on president trump self-proclaimed wealth. the times reporting it has obtained years of previously unrevealed income tax returns, from decaes before he was a candidate indicating that the real estate mogul spent at least ten years in the red, reporting business losses totaling over $1 billion t from 1985 1994. according to the "times," year after year mr. trump appears to have lost mo money than nearly any other individual american taxpayer. overall the "times" reports mr. trump lost so much money he was able to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the ten years. and nbc has not independently reviewed the tax information.h mr. trump as touted his skills as aanusiness tit for decades. promoting the "art of the dea 1987. "today" in the >> i go by instinct and my gut feel and it has worked out well for me. >> reporter: later casting himself as areality tv sta on the apprentice. and boasting during his 2016 presidential run. >> i'm use my own money. i'm not using the lobbyists,

the president says he'll appeal. >>> thank you to kristen welker for that report.ll call. neil, what do you make of trump's stonewalling tactics for his current and former employees not to cooperate? will this come back to bite him? >> it's really no surprise that they would be taking this attempt to run out the clock approach with all of the document requests and the former staff in regards to these congressional investigations. i don't know that it comes back to bite them unless the courts start moving ahead really quickly in terms of how long that the legal proceedings drag out and someone gets forced to testify or actually held in contempt in d.c. it's too soon to know whether or not but if they can run out the clock successfully it works to their advantage so it might be too soon to know. >> let's talk about these new transcripts released yesterday that show michael cohen saying that jay sekulow told him to lie to congress. what potentially would that mean for jay sekulow if michael cohen is telling the truth? >> well, in theory, obviously, it is not a good id

good afternoon, i'm kristen welker. it's 11:00 out west and 2:00 p.m. in washington.er they began trade talks between the u.s. and china ended with no resolution. the negotiations between the

kristen welker is standing by for us. e president indicating there that there would be no deal on infrastructure until congressional democrats cease the investigations. it would seem as if based on what we heard from the president there and his tone in general, there won't be any deals on anything until democrats stop their investigations. >> i think that's a safe read of what we just heard moments ago from president trump here in the rose garden. a moment that was nothing short of remarkable, craig. and i think you have hit the nail on the head and so has kelly o'donnell, essentially, this was a reset of the terms. president trump saying, i'm not going to negotiate with you until you lift these investigations that are hovering over me. we saw him on twitter throughout the day, essentially saying, this is a continuation of the witch hunt and he essentially reiterated that message here in the rose garden. took on nancy pelosi head on and said, i don't engage in cover-ups, rebutting her remarks that she made earlier today. s

nbc's kristen welker reports from tokyo. >> it was a day of diplomacy here in tokyo. president trump playing golf with shinzo abe. they also attended sumo wrestling with president trump. donald trump tweeted, north korea is firing off some small weapons. that may bothersome people, but not me. he said north korea's missile tests were a violation of security resolutions, also a breach of his national security adviser who, upon landing here in 2010, said the u.s. looked for any operations that would chair today his dade p. back to you. stomp a vacation turns tragic for a california man. what wntsz say they saw during a deadly shark attack in maui. >>> planning for the future in sonoma county. how leaders are trying to deal with future fire dangers in an and automatically adju sts to keep you both comfortable. save $1,000 on the new queen sleep number 360 special edition smart bed. yafr. plus, 0% interest for 36 mon ths. ends monday. the waters off maui in a shark attack. it )s still unknown where in california, the man is from... this is video of him being pulled to sho

we're joined now by kristin welker at the white house. kristen, what do we know >> reporter: this is a surprising development it's the first congressional subpoena that we know of for one of president trump's children. it pits a republican committee chair against the president's eldest son donald trump jr. who testified before congress for 25 hours previously as part of the russia investigation >> they have questions tonight about his original testimony. >> reporter: it appears the committee wants to know whethe trump junior was candid about his knowledge of the trump tower moscow project the president's former attorney michael cohen testified that he briefed trump junior about the moscow project ten times another likely focus, that trump tower meeting in new york with a russian attorney during the campaign we reached out to donald trump jr.'s attorney and so far no response >> kristen welker at the white house. thanks >> before news of that subpoena broke, the fight exploded today between the white house and house democrats. the head of the hous

i want to go to nbc kristen welker in the room. we heard you being tenacious and i want to remind folks right at the top of the mueller report, here is what it says. the russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion and you asked him several times if i could read your voice properly whether or not he had talked to him about that and whether or not he told him to stay out of it, not to meddle. go ahead, kristen. >> reporter: that the right, i asked him a number of times. the first couple times he said i was being rude but ultimately he did answer upon myself pressed him and other reporters in the room, did you tell putin not to meddle in the next election? the president indicating that that did not come up in the conversation but he said he did talk to president putin about the broader issue of the russia investigation. he said that putin told him it started out as a mountain and turned out being more like a mouse. so that seemed to be the tenure of their conversation there as it

let's go straight to kristen welker who is live with the president there in tokyo. and this comes down here from what we're hearing, but please fill us in, about deutsche bank and access to financial records with donald trump and his bank. >> reporter: that's right. we have confirmed that attorneys for president trump have come to an agreement with house democrats to essentially stay the subpoena request for documents as it relates to deutsche bank and capital one. let me read you the statement that i got from jay sekulow moments ago who told me by phone, i can confirm an agreement has been reached with the house regarding a stay of subpoenas pending appeal. it has now been filed with the court. sekulow also says that the lawyers have agreed to an expedited appeal process, however adds the court will set the final schedule. that is the critical point here, that this is ultimately going to be up to the court to set the final schedule. this is the latest in this bitter back and forth between the president and his attorneys and the white house and democrats on capitol

i'm kristen welker in for katy tur. last hour we heard directly from the president on the senate intelligence committee's subpoena of his son donald trump jr. in short he was very surprised. >> he's now testified for 20 hours or something, a massive amount of time. the mueller report came out. that's the bible. the mueller report came out and they said he did nothing wrong. the only thing is it's opo research. my son was totally exonerated by mueller who, frankly, does not like donald trump, me, this donald trump and, frankly, for my son after being exonerated to now get a subpoena to go again and speak again after close to 20 hours of telling everybody that would listen about a nothing meeting, yeah, i'm pretty surprised. >> should he fight that subpoena? >> we'll see what happens. >> sounds surprised and upset. the intelligence committee has demanded that donald trump jr. answer further questions about his involvement in the moscow trump tower project and other matters. back in september of 2017, trump jr. testified b

kristen welker, if you hear from the white house on this, we'll look for you. anna and jake, stick around. the president is not just angry with china, but flipping the script on someone else don mcgahn. the person cited the most in the mueller report which says mcgahn is the person that order to have mueller fired. now actually mcgahn who had a better chance of getting canned. hans is in the white house briefing room. nothing from the white house on trade and nothing from them other than the president's tweets on don mcgahn. >> the tweet is pretty clear. he is claiming now that he is not a fan of don mcgahn. what is interesting about his posture and approach to don mcgahn. the white house still need don mcgahn because they're trying to assert executive privilege but he has the ability to hurt the president. press conference from secretary mattis to secretary tillerson. they haven't quite been in the power position that don mcgahn is in. here's the basic dispute and this is played out over 12 months. it was reported initially that mcgahn thought he was asked to

kristen welker at the white house. jeff bennett in the newsroom. kristen, what exactly did this republican congressman say and help us understand how the president's responding. >> justin said he believes the president did, in fact, commit impeachable offenses. he said he read the entire 448-page mueller report and he's basing that on what he calls several examples of the president obstructing justice. so president trump firing back fiercely over the weekend tweeting contrary to -- well this is amauj, contrary to barr's portrayal, president trump engaged in specific actions that have impeachable offenses. never a fan of amash, opposes me for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy. if he read the biased mueller report composed by 18 angry dems he would see that nevertheless strong on no collusion and no obstruction. a little bit of a fact check there, steph, amash did say he read the entire report. what the report says, says there was no conspiracy with no russia, but it didn't make a determination about the issue of obstruction.

4100 each day crossing the border, it might start sending migrants across the country here's kristen welker with that. >> reporter: with a near breaking point of migrants crossing the southern border, tonight the department of homeland security is laying the groundwork to possibly transport migrants to other cities the plan also calls for releasing them after processing them due to lack of detention space. among those areas, florida's broward and palm beach counties where tonight there is a backlash >> i don't think this should happen in florida. we have a lot of fish to fry in our own state with our own citizens we've got 22 million people >> reporter: neither area is considered a sanctuary city where local law enforcement does not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. but they are democratic strongholds. and just last month, the president warmed >> we'll bring them to sanctuary city areas care of itat they say they have open arms, let's see if they have open arms >> reporter: nbc news says sanctuary cities will not be targeted >>> there was also big news on trade. what was

i'm kristen welker in for katy tur.hour we heard directly from the president on the senate intelligence committee's subpoena of his son donald trump jr. in short he was very surprised. >> he's now testified for 20 hours or something, a massive amount of time. the mueller report came out. that's the bible. the mueller report came out and they said he did nothing wrong. the only thing is

joining me, kristen welker and kasie hunt. and msnbc political analyst peter baker and msnbc legal analyst a former assistant u.s. attorney. welcome to all. kristen, first to you. the strategy from the white house to say no, just say no to everything. it's beginning to increase the tempers among the house democrats, and maybe that's exactly what the president wants? >> reporter: white house officials, andrea, if you talk to them, are not shying away from the "i" word effectively indicating that the president sees this as something that could be politically advantageous. we saw it on the campaign trail in 2018. he talked about impeachment repeatedly on the campaign trail. he saw that as a way to energize his base, and i think he'd use it similarly heading into the 2020 campaign in terms. latest back and forth between the president and democrats on capitol hill directing don mcgahn, the white house, directing him not to show up today for that subpoena and testimony because citing a justice department rule that goes back about fou

kristen welker, thank you. now let's go overseas where richard engel is covering secretary of state pompeo who rearranged his trip to skip moscow, hit brussels and then meet with putin. >> tit's a sign of respect to europe. there are deep concerns in europe that the united states along with israel, several arab countries, are starting to beat the drum for war with iran. and those concerns you can feel them here in europe and it seems like secretary of state pompeo is coming to brufssels. he wants to brief eu officials about why the u.s. says it's so concerned right now about iran. if you look at what's been happening, we've been talking about this the last several days. the u.s. has tightened sanctions on iran, even though iran says and most other observers say it's still abiding by it terms of the yuk lnuclear deal. the united states sent another aircraft carrier into the middle east. people are concerned. people are wondering what is going on. the u.s. says it has specific intention saying that iran has been

kristen welker was one who asked trump about this very issue. what is going on? >> well, steph, this marks a major reversal on the part of president trump. as you point out, i asked him about it in the oval office on friday. we'll get to that in a second. first, take a look at his tweets this from this weekend issuing this late judgment saying bob mueller should not testify. no redos for the dems. he goes onto point out the special counsel spent more than $35 million over a two-year period interviewing 500 people. using 18 what he describes as trump-hating angry democrats and 48 -- 49 fbi agents. no collusion. so president trump trying to make the case. look. this is finished. this is case closed. it's time to move on. as you know, democrats see this differently. they feel as though they have the responsibility of oversight. they point to the fact that mueller did not make a determination when it came to the critical issue of obstruction. now, the attorney general was asked about whether he thinks mueller should testify recently. take a listen to that and then to

north korea's recent short-range missile test by saying they don't personally botherim nbc's kristen welker is in tokyo. >> those tests do bother the japanese, but while here, president trump broke with his host and his national ricurityjo bolton who see the tests as violations of u.n. resolutions. >> rorepr:ter: ltue tuesday back heret athe white house, president trump on twitter defended his insult of bidencl, ming he was sticking up for s e former vice-espresident by words. phillip? >> that's what he says all right, peter, thank you. >> a major drug company is now on trial facing accusations of targeting children and the elderly in the opioid crisis which has ravaged so many communitie oklahoma's attorney general said johnson and johnson acted as a drug king pen property iting at every stage of the epidemic. the landmark trying could set a ecedent for those holding companies accountable for their role here's stephanie gosk. >> reporter: in oklahoma civil court, an opioid making accused of fueling an epidemic >> this cris iis is a company-me crisisis one of the causes sitting right here t

our kristen welker has the details. blowing up a meeting with afte democratic leaders on infrastructure, president trump marching into the rosearden, dramatically declaring he can no longer work with them. >> i told senator schumer, speaker pelosi i want to do frurgt infrastruc but you know what? you can't do it under these circumstances. so get these phony investigations over with. >> reporter: that surprise move sparked the presidt says by an earlier meeting of democrats to discuss impeaching him, and this shot from house speaker nancy pelosi. >> we believe that the president of the united states is engaged in a cover-up. >> i walk in to look at people thatju hav said that i was doing a cover-up i don't do cover-ups there was no collusion between russia and the trump campaign. that's it. but they want to make this a big deal whether or not they carry the big "i" word out, i can't imagine that, but they probably would. >> reporter: two democratic sources with knowledge of the white house meeting tell nbc news the presi

is just one of the many battle lines already being drawn going into the 2020 election, nbc's kristen welker with a look how this contested issue could have a big impact on the race for president. >> reporter: tonight, could the culture wars now make a comeback as a top issue in 2020? alabama's new law making virtually every abortion a crime even in cases of rape and insist sparked an intense debate there. >> why are you putting yourself in god's shoess? decision to extinguish that life. >> reporter: for 2020 democrats a rallying cry alarmed by a growing number of state laws restricting abortion. >> it's noting short of an attack on women's civil rights. >> women's uealth care iser attack and we will in the stand for it. >> reporter: alabama lawmakers acre acknowledged their goal is to get the opreme court rturn row versus wave, it's something candidate trump prediclld. >> that wi happen automatically in my opinion because i'm putting eso-life justicn the court. >> reporter: the president's anti abortion agenda energized supporters but there are critics, of the alabama l of the alabama law o

here's kristen welker with that >> reporter: ie midst of what the border patrol calls a near breaking point of migrants crossing the southern t border, tonighe department of homeland security is laying the groundwork to possibly transport migrants by plane to various u.s. cities. the plan also calls for releasing them after processing due to a lack of detention space,or accng to two dhs officials familiar with the plan among those area forest, broward and palm beach counties where there is a backlash. >> this should happen in florida. we have enough fish to fry in our own state. we have 22 milli people. >> reporter: neither area is considered a sanctuary city t fully cooperate with federalds immigration authorities. but they are democratic strongholds. and just last month, the president warmed >> we'll bring tm to sanctuary city areas and let that they're saying they have open arms let's see if they have open arms >> reporter: telling nbc news sanctuary cities will not be targeted >> there was also a big announcement on trade. at was that? >> reporter: that's right, president trump an

i'm kristen welker in washington.shi picks things up. >> i think it's necessary after following the abortion decisions we've seen in the last few days to bring it altogether and let our viewers understand. >> it's important to keep that in mind. >> thank you. and have yourself a great afternoon, kristen. we begin with a break through on trade. president trump making this announcement just moments ago. >> we just reached an agreement. selling our product into those countries without the imposition of tariffs or major tariffs. >> the deal between the united states and canada calls for the 25% tariff on steel imports and 10% tariff on aluminum imports to be removed within 24 hours. in return, canada will drop retaliatory tariffs on all products. news came hours after president trump issued a procloimation delaying a decision on whether to impose tariffs on car and auto imports for up to six months. let's see how this is all playing on wall s

nbc's kristen welker is in tokyo. >> reporter: those tests do bother the japanese, but while here president trump broke with his hosts and his national security adviser john bolton who see the tests as violations of u.n. resolutions >> and late tonight back here at the white house, president trump on twitter is defending his insult of biden, claiming he was sticking up for the former vice president by paraphrasing kim jong-un's words. savannah >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you >>> tonight we're hearing from the hiker rescued after spending 17 days lost in the jungle in hawaii and she is sharing a miraculous survival story nbc's molly hunter is there. >> reporter: tonight amanda eller flanked by her family, talking about the 17 grueling days lost in the maui jungle after becoming disoriented. >> i tried all these different paths. and then i was like oh, shoot. these are not bike paths these are not walking paths. these are boar paths. >> reporter: badly injured, she did whatever she could to survive. facing treacherous terrain, even a flash flood. >> i was sitting in a foot of

nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: the president's former white house counsel don mcgahn a no-show for house hearing. but there were still plenty of fireworks. >> the president took it upon himself to intimidate a witness who has a legal obligation to be here today >> and we're here again with the circus >> reporter: mcgahn gave 30 hours of testimony tbeo rort mueller, prompting democrats to subpoena him, saying mcgahn is a key witness in theirbstruction probe. but the trump administration argues justice department opinions going back four decades give seniopresidential aides like mcgahn absolute immunity from testifying to congress. digging in, democrats subpoenaed hope hicks, the president's former communications director, and nidonaldson, mcgahn's former chief of staff. the president tweeting "the dems were unhappy with the outcome of the $40 million mueller report, so now they want a do-over." all of it a contentious backdrop as president trump hit battleground pennsylvania, turning his fire on former vice president joe biden, a scranton native who moved to delaware as a child.

nbc's kristen welker is in tokyo. >> those tests do bother the japanese, but while here, president trump broke with his host and his national security advisor john bolton who see the tests as violations of u.n. resolutions. >> reporter: late tuesday back here at the white house, president trump on twitter defended his insult of biden, claiming he was ste fonger vice only paraphrasing kim jong-un's words. phillip? >> okay, peter, thank you. >>> a major drug company is on trial now facing accusations of targeting children and the elderly in the opioid crisis which has ravaged so many communities. oklahoma's attorney general said johnson & johnson acted as a drug kingpin, profiting at every stage of the epidemic. the landmark trial could set a precedent for those holding companies accountable for their alleged role. here's stephanie gosk. >> you will now make opening statements. >> reporter: a first in an oklahoma civil court, an opioid maker on trial, accused of fueling an epidemic. >> this crisis is a drug company-made crisis. one of the causes sitting right here to my right. >> reporter:

kristen welker was in the oval office today. >> reporter: tonight president trump sais phone call with vladimir putin lasted more than an hour. the pair focusing on amenezuela, nuclear disarmt and the mueller report. >> he sort of smiled when he said something to the effect of it started off as a mountain andit ended up being a mouse. >> reporter: special counsel robert mueller found no criminal conspiracy between the trump campaign and russia he did find a vast russian effort to meddle in the 2016 election. but today the president said he did not with putin. >> did you tell him not to meddle in the next election? that.dn't discuss we discussed five or six things. >> reporter: but telling fox news overnht. >> i don't want russia or anybody else playing around with our election. >> reporter: democrats are intensifheir calls for mueller to testify. will the president stand in the way? >> would you like to see him testify? w. >> i don't kno that's up to our l ttorney geneo i think has done a fantastic job. >> reporter: attorney general william barr said he's open to mueller testifying and

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