and lindsey graham said, hey, this is what we have going. several different investigations that are going on. he said i just met with jamgs compa james company kocomey oig yeste there is no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. and then this morning those tweets that you were talking about with touchdown. we caught lindsey graham on his way out here of this event in his car. and he responded to that. here is a bite. >> three explanations. it's all a misunderstanding, the obama administration went way out of line, or some judge somewhere said there is something to the idea of the trump/russia ties. either way, either of those two is pretty incredible. >> reporter: he compared to the watergate scandal. if either of those situations were true, which donald trump this morning in that tweet suggested that the obama administration tapped into the campaign before last november, the other part of this was health care because lindsey graham came in and he is one of those senators who said he had still not seen a plan and he was

we're going to take a listen. >> reporters tried to ask lindsey graham for that hearing. they were unsesful getting answers but we'll monitor this and bring any developments to you live naveed, let's get back to what we were talking about. on wiretapping, the attorney general, jeff sessions, was asked about whether or not there was any evidence. he said he has not seen any. the house intel chairman says there's no evidence. that is also, by the way, a republican. does the fbi have a responsibility to come out, though, and clear the air and make sure -- >> yes. >> -- the american public knows what is going on right now? >> absolutely. because what the -- look, ether there's an investigation of trump or whether an investigation of his associates, that is a separate question. but the core question of did the fbi illegally for partisan or political reasons wiretap donald trump without a warrant is something that they have a duty to answer. the answer, absolutely, unequivocally will be no. i'm sure of that. that is separate from the investigation. i don't think we should be ne

now please welcome john mccain and lindsey graham. [ applause ] >> thank you, sir. and we're off. >> is this court-ordered community service? how did you get some of these people here? >> good to be on the most-hated channel on television. >> we just hope that you can keep that going. senators, thank you so much for doing this. i want to start with you, senator mccain, about the address -- >> we're doing it by age, right? >> age. he said we're doing it by age. >> i translate senator graham's remarks into english. >> senator mccain, in all seriousness, president trump went to congress. >> mm-hm. yep. >> and he laid out a really ambitious agenda that he'll need you and other republicans to pass. what did you make of what he said? >> well, i think he laid out a positive agenda. frankly, i think it was different from his inaugural address, and i think it was well-received by the american people. i think that obviously his comments about our fallen hero were very moving to all of us. i would have liked to have heard about afghanistan. we have 8400 american troops in afgh

i think lindsey graham stated clearly he wants to get to the bottom of this. on the judiciary committee, for example, if they're not getting the answers they want, they can hold up the nomination of the deputy attorney general. they can take to their own bully pulpit every day and demand answers and don't forget you have another big issue for the white house that is front and center right now and that is health care. and this is a white house that is trying to pass a bill that is hobbled, to get it out of the house and into the senate and they don't know if they can do that. this whole wiretap issue is taking over events here because congress wants answers after the president's tweets, and they do want to get to the bottom of it. you have a white house that should be going full steam ahead on a substantive issue to try to negotiate a deal and instead they're dealing with congress on this other issue and they have to figure out a way to kind of put it to rest at a certain point and the only way to do that, wolf, the only way to do that is to get the answers tha

lindsey graham just yapp wrappe. and before any questions even came, he addressed the tweets right off the top. wooel we have the sound. >> if the former president of the united states was able to obtainawfully to monitor trump's campaign for violating the law, that would be the biggest scandal since watergate. i'm very worried that our president is suggesting that the former president has done something illegally. i would be very worried if in fact the obama administration was able to obtain a warrant lawfully about trump campaign activity with foreign governments. >> reporter: as you saw, this crowd was overwhelmingly democrat or i should say anti-trump. lindsey graham said there is a lot of liberals here in the crowd for south carolina. but this was a done serconserva direct. it went 3:1 for donald trump. but what they did, people came in and any put their questions into a box and then they were randomly pulled out. five different questions asked about trump's tax returns. here is one off of those responses. >> we

>> don't worry about john and lindsey graham and others looking into russia. russia is not our friend. president trump i want to help as much as i can. he has a mess on his hands. he seems to get iran back and isil right and this nut job in north korea. he understands the threat. when it comes to russia, he has a blind spot. the bottom line is putin is disrupting democracy everywhere. democracy is an enemy to every strong man in the world including putin. if there were contacts between the trump campaign and russian officials, they may be legitimate and they may be okay. i want to know what happened between the trump campaign and the clinton campaign and the russians. today is the russians and tomorrow could be the iranians. we should have no joy in our heart that the russian efforts hurt hillary clinton even though they didn't change the out come. i promise you we could be next with the iranians and the chinese. i'm on the judiciary committee. i promise you we are going to look at everything russia. if there were campaign contacts between the campaigns. >> yo

let me start with this town hall with senator lindsey graham in south carolina. were you able to listen in? it was rowdy at the beginning, let me get your take. >> i was, you know, it was surprising he -- senator graham went in immediately saying that we had to have some kind of bipartisan solution to healthcare. speaking about how president trump had indicated that was going to be his attitude going forward. and then senator graham pledged to also support that process. it's something that he would be someone who would be more emenabeme amenable to reaching across the aisle to reach a solution. definitely was indicating that the party isn't completely giving up. >> i have to say, this man, puts himself in front of these people. in the beginning they were booing and it was a bit rowdy. he still talks to them. there are a lot of people who believe these are the town halls that swayed what happened where ultimately they didn't vote. >> exactly. you know, upside down world we're living in. the fact that i'm sitting here nodding with great hope to what lindsey graham i

and lindsey graham might turn out to be the one republican senator who does the most damage to donald trump. >> reported details released by wikileaks of how 2 cia is able to turn and home devices into potent eavesdropping tools. >> is the cia listening to me through my microwave oven? >> no. >> if they were, would you say yes? >> yes. >> the president has accused the u.s. government under his predecessor of tapping his phones. well. >> trump said it was particularly upsetting becse he is a private man who likes to keep his thoughts to himself. >> it would be great if there was a -- if there was any evidence presented. >> you can't fact check crazy. >> is the president the target of a counterintelligence investigation? >> i think that's what we need to find out. >> the president said he was tapped. he is stating that as fact. >> i understand that. >> at real donald trump. >> russia attacked the united states of america. >> russia is a ruse. >> they interfered with our internal affairs. they tried to influence our election. >> i love wikileaks. >> we got a chance to look at some of the

cnn is hosting a town hall with john mccain and lindsey graham. range of issues. dana bash is monitoring the town hall. she joins me now. either of these senators is afraid to say what they think even if it angers members of their own party. what do you expect to hear tonight. >> you're exactly right. he was according to john mccain and the people around him he was the original maverick back in the day and that is certainly still the case. i would say es essentially with donald trump in the white house. the fact of the matter is as you've been talking about all night, the president laid out a very specific agenda last night but one that really does de verge from the conservative ideals that we've heard for so many years particularly to what john mccain and lindsey graham see. when you're talking about the world and the global perspective and policies, they could not be more different. so when president trump talks about nationalism, talks about turning inward, not spending so much time, money, and american blood overseas, that is not something nec

senator lindsey graham of south carolina is one of three republican senators along with the republicanatives has called for attorney general sessions to recuse himself from the russia investigation. senator graham is with us from washington. good afternoon, sir. >> thank you for having me. >> shepard: president trump said then senator sessions was truthful when he said he had not had conversations with the russians. do you think he was truthful? >> yeah, i have no doubt. one thing about jeff sessions, he's brutally honest. here's what i think happened. they were asking him about campaign contacts with the russians. he said he had known. i believe him. the contact with if russian ambassador was about being a senator. >> shepard: okay. let's play the sound. >> if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the trump campaign communicated with the russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do? >> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a serrogate a time or two in that campaign and i did not have communications with the rus

you hear these people in front of senator lindsey graham.e can't continue this way on either side where everybody is screaming, no one's listening, we're not getting anything done. >> so i want you to know, democrats have put bills forward to fix the affordable healthcare act. it was shut down because it was from the democratic side. i hope -- i went to congress understanding that this country was built on a two party system. our constitution is not republican or democrat, it was both parties coming together. i hope that happens. >> before i lose your this afternoon, i want to talk you about the president's relationship with the african-american america community. is it fair to say there's a rocky relationship there what were you impressions of that meeting? we weren't there, what happened? >> we went with the intent with saying mr. president, you asked the question what do we have to lose. we wanted to educate you. we went into that meeting saying for whatever reason, the president has the wrong perception of african-americans. we're broke,

there is hope tonight for lindsey graham's soul. because he is one of the very few republicans in washington who has not yet sold his soul in its entirety to donald trump. >> president trump claims president obama's administration targeted his campaign, trump to you, in the tweet. i have no knowledge of that but he challenged congress to help him. so let's help. >> he wants to use congressional power to get to the bottom of a tweet. he wants congress to investigate a donald trump tweet. because donald trump's staff challenged him to do that. donald trump's white house staff, which is is the worst staff in washington history, and i don't just 19 worst white house staff. the worst staff in washington history including all congressional staff in history, all department staff, all agency staff in the history of washington staffs. we've never seen a more breath takingly incompetent clubhouse than the trump staff. they actually asked for a congressional investigation of the president. there are many more things i could say to prove this i

committee on their russian investigation and there's a senate subcommittee hearing chaired by lindsey graham on russia. let's break it down start with nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. i want to play you a little of what senator graham had to say on the "today" show about russia and the president's wiretapping claim. let's listen. >> we'd like to know if there's an active criminal investigation because congress should not interfere with it. we'll have a hearing on russia. i don't want to bump into a criminal investigation if there is one. i think the entire country needs to know if there's something there, there. in terms of the letter we wrote, i want an answer. we asked the fbi and department of justice last week for any evidence of a warrant that would allow wiretapping. hadn't heard a thing. >> pete, unpack this for us. what senator graham is looking for. what do you think we'll hear from the fbi director today? >> i think senator graham pretty well laid out what he's looki for. he and a house intelligence committee have both written t the fbi and the justice department sayin

but senator lindsey graham is now kellogg our colleague kate bolduan that now, he hasn't received anyssurances comey about this. here is what senator graham says. >> i've seen no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. i've seen no evi

>> yes. >> okay, with friends like lindsey graham, john, does he want to prove the president's claim as being accurate or is he wanting to get james comey in front of the fbi to refute. >> we do public records request, and you can write them narrowly or broadly. lindsey graham has power if he says narrowly, did barack obama ask for records from the fbi, if he did it differently, i don't know if senator graham wants to tell that story. >> and how much political coverage has the president used up here as you look at the lack of evidence that has been provided so far and the republicans kind of backing off. >> it is a function of who are his friends right now on capitol hill. i'm not so sure lindsey graham to your point is acting as a friend to donald trump or more of the republican party. he hedged his bet, and can be called as a friend to the party. but at the same time i'm not so sure if he is looking to have the president vindicated on this. >> okay, the white house is really struggling to explain just exactly what is going on. look at sean spicer in the white house briefing when he

. >>> senator lindsey graham responding today to president trump's tweets.ccusing president obama of wiretapping his phones. we'll go live to south carolina where graham held a lively town hall today on the other seide o this break. the future of business in new york state is already in motion. companies across the state are growing the economy, with the help of the lowest taxes in decades, a talented workforce, and world-class innovations. like in plattsburgh, where the most advanced transportation is already en route. and in corning, where the future is materializing. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov whether it's connecting one of or bringing wifi to 65,000 fans. campuses. businesses count on communication, and communication counts on centurylink. ♪ (music pla♪ throughout) ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get on your feet for the nastiest, most terrifying bull in the state of texas. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (crowd cheers) ♪ whfight back fastts, with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. and neutralizes stomach acid at the

lindsey graham has been one of the come face-to-face with constituents.y caught lindsey graham on his way out driving out of the white house, and he said, listen, this was the chance to listen to people's kearns. people are frustrated and fearful, particularly on the affordable care act, and what a potential replacement plan, and he was even the one that said he has not seen a replacement plan. he understands people's concerns, and he said this was the chance to listen p to what they were saying. >> we're watching some of the video here, different colors. >> sure. sure. you've got the green sign, and you have the red sign. they were handing these out at the door before. there was multiple groups that are involved in this, and they kind of come together beforehand talking with people, and they say if approximate you agree with something that the senator has said, raise up your green sign and cheer. if you don't agree with what was said, raise up your red sign, and you can guess the amount of boos and jeers that come with that. >> more greens or reds? >>. >

i'll talk about all the news with senator lindsey graham. our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. first, let's go to manu raju, he's covering a stunning new cur curveball and the very angry reactions from the top democrats. manu, walk us through the breaking story. >> tonight, devin nunes, the chairman of the committee, creating an uproar by going public with what he learned from a secret source that some of trump's communications with officials were picked up incidentally in communications that were surveilled by the united states intelligence community. tonight democrats are concerned that mr. nunes went public without briefing them first and briefed the white house just as the house intelligence committee is conducting its own investigation, into russia, russia meddling and any improper contacts that may exist between the trump campaign and the russian officials. the question is who exactly was picked up by the incidental collections by the intelligence committee. when i asked to ask mr. nunes committee was the president of

now, i mentioned earlier also i spoke to lindsey graham and sheldon whitehouse who are two members of the senate judiciary committee who want to see if there's any evidence. senator graham told me they would be willing to subpoena the justice department for records, to determine whether or not there was actually an effort ongoing during the obama administration ordered by the president of the united states at the time to spy on donald trump. take a listen to what lindsey graham just told me. you made news with the white house, why are you requesting this information? >> the president has asked congress to look into whether or not his campaign was wire tapped by the obama administration. i will take up that challenge. and we sent a letter to the department of justice and the fbi. asking them for any information that they may have used to obtain a warrant. the whole purpose of this is to find out if a warrant was issued directed at the trump campaign. >> reporter: and if they don't provide the information? >> then i'll have done my job. either they're lying to me or there is no informat

republican senator lindsey graham of school.nouncement today? >> yes. i hope. well, there is a little bit of confusion here. senator whitehouse and myself wet met with comey two weeks ago and said we are going to have a hearing on russia and i need to know if there is a criminal investigation regarding the trump campaign or anything about russia because i don't want to interfere with it so i don't want to go blindly down the congressional path if there is a criminal investigation, you need to inform congress we are going to look into all things russia. i gave him until today to let me know and i haven't heard yet. >> so -- >> senator whitehouse's statement, i think, was a bit misconstrued. he did not promise us. we said we want to know. >> i'm curious. if you have questions about this, because the fbi director seems quite demanding about senator clinton and statement after statement came out. don't we deserve some claims about the president? >> the congress needs to know what it's doing, number one. if you have multiple congress

two top senators, senator lindsey graham of south carolina, senator sheldon whitehouse, a democrat of rhode island who head a key subcommittee, are asking for information from the justice department and the fbi for any warrants or any applications to suggest that the obama administration was at that time trying to spy on president, now president trump as the president is suggesting. i talked to lindsey graham about that and here's what he said. >> the president has asked congress to look into whether or not his campaign was wiretapped by the obama administration. i will take up that challenge and we sent a letter to the department of justice and the fbi asking them for any information that they may have used to obtain a warrant. the whole purpose of this is to find out if a warrant was issued, directed at the trump campaign. >> reporter: and if they don't provide this information? >> then i'll have done my job. either they are lying to me or there is no information, and i don't believe they would lie to me about this. i expect them to come forward as to whether or not a warrant was ob

lindsey graham is fielding questions on the russians and health care. hat rowdy clemson south carolina town hall, senator rand paul in criticizing republicans leaders for as graham says, acting like democrats did in 2009, writing their health care proposal privately among a small group of lawmakers. >> can i give you a little secret. i don't know what the g.o.p. plan is. let me tell you, did you all see rand paul on tv. you know, rand and i don't agree on much, but he's right about this. what was our big knock on obamacare? they did it without any of us. >> graham says the affordable care act or obamacare is driving up the rights to replace it. and the house ways and means committee will unveil their initial proposal and democrats and republicans will have an opportunity to amend or change it. vice-president mike pence joined house speaker paul ryan yesterday and expects in a matter of days a very brisk pace of legislative activity. republicans are generally proposing to give americans tax credits to buy private insurance plans that are less regulated th

john mccain and lindsey graham graham, constantly attacking the republican president colluding with theeft propaganda media. do not forget senator graham made a promise. he broke that rnc pledge. he did not support donald trump in the general election like he said he would. listen to john mccain, he is on every other night criticizing the president. >> president trump has to provide the american people not just the intelligence committee but the american people with evidence that his predecessor, was guilty of breaking the law because our director of national intelligence general james clapper testified that there was absolutely no truth to that allegation. so i think the president has one of two choices. either retract or provide the information that the american people deserve. >> sean: here with reaction, monica crowley, geraldo rivera. geraldo, let's start with you. everyone has free speech. we make are living with free speech. here is the first time republicans have a chance to do really, really big things. it's like a never ending attack by these two guys. they seem better for wha

this morning to come and greet lindsey graham, and lindsay graham was the one that said, all right, herewho actually voted for donald trump? there was about five, six, seven eight people that maybe raised their hands among the crowd of 1,000 that came out. he was questioned about five times. he was asked about environmental regulations. what he was repeatedly asked about was russia, and to note lindsey graham has remained over the course of the campaign and since his inauguration -- since donald trump's inauguration, one of the fiercest critics to donald trump. here's some of the soubd of how he responded to donald trump's criticism. >> you may not like the outcome of this election, but i am going to help the man who won this election, help him govern a nation that is under siege internationally, has problems back here at home. i'm going to honor the results of this election i feel duty-bound to help him where i can. when it comes to russia, it goes wherever it goes. >> reporter: at the same time he said that could congress and the department of justice be to fully investigate all russia

here's what lindsey graham had to say at a south carolina town hall just today, watch. >> i don't thinkty is going to be able to fix this by themselves. so here's what i think should happen next. i think the president should reach out to democrats. i should reach out the democrats and we should say, let's take a

in addition to that, as chris just spoke a short time ago with lindsey graham, lindsey graham says weector comey whether there's any investigation -- >> if not, what did he say he's going to do? >> use subpoena power. >> subpoena information. >> which is a very big term for our viewers out there, very big term specifically when you're talking about the legislative branch going to the executive branch -- >> sub company, punishment. it's saying you have to come in. >> company the political play on these taxes. seems like you gave it to trump two ways. one is this is a good reckoning for him. he didn't pay as much in taxes as some might like. who pays more taxes than they have to. and this buffoonry saying he put them out. now you're giving an opening for him to say fake news. no evidence he put them out. >> we've seen in the past that, in fact, if i was one of his advisers, i wish i would have come up with diversion nair tactic. >> there's no proof it came to him. it says client copy. >> there never will be any specific proof, i don't think we'll ever find that out. it has steered the c

and where as lindsey graham is saying maybe we get subpoena for this. >> lindsey graham has been new long time ally or friend. he likes to make mischief. he likes to get to the bottom of things. >> it's a great match up now. >> he is saying i want to take it on. he has serious subpoena power. >> what is the relevance of obama former chief of staff, what does that mean? what can it yield? >> first of all it had to be an uncomfortable conversation between these two men. i think the bridge is burned and i have no desire now. >> called him bad or sick. >> i would have no -- by the way, let's just go back to he was never born in the united states. >> so they made amends during the transfer of power and, in fact, donald trump saidly call upon him and president obama said i hope he will call upon me and they have not spoken as they understand. >> so remember obama saying all is forgiven. >> no but they made nice. >> we probably make too much of this whole thing. i don't think donald trump snuck in and planted a wiretap. >> good because you don't want to suggest it. >> barrack obama does see

i lost respect for lindsey graham for not keeping his word. >> i think you really laid it out. the problem is, there is not enough of a personal relationship between thesee gentlemen and the president of the united states. you talk about our t friendship, our deep on undividing p friendship. i would never go behind your back on a issue. this is not the relationship that the president of the united states has. the more he isolates himself behind his closed circle, the less he is going to be able to work with them. >> sean: he has invited everybody in. let's bring monica into this. he is inviting everybody in.er now that they have laid out a health care bill, they did not have consensus, now he has to clean up their mess. >> exactly right. to geraldo's point, i wish it were that easy read the president could invite senators mccain and graham and all would be well but we know what their track record is -- that's likely not to be the case. i have enormous respect for these senators but they have made careers of being contrarians. they are notorious for breaking ranks with conservat

talking about lindsey graham.ining up for a town hall meeting this morning in clemson, south carolina. we'll take you there coming up next. >>> nationwide, members of congress have been hit with questions from their constituents at town hall meetings. those that have been brave enough to take them. on issues related to the new president including repeal of obamacare. senator lindsey graham, a critic of the new administration, is going to be holding his own town hall today in clemson, south carolina. so what should he expect? nbc's von hilliard is in clemson with more for us. i see people have started to line up. what has senator graham promised as the focus of the meeting? >> reporter: thomas, lindsey graham is just the fifth republican senator since inauguration date to hold a town hall. we are here in clemson, south carolina. mary ann, if you could step in here for a moment. how far did you drive morning? where are you from? have you been involved in politics before? >>> i drove 2 1/2 hours to get here. i'm from

tried their best to talk about support for donald trump and how they want him to succeed but lindsey grahamnd simile that russia seems to be president trump's blind spot and they want to try and help him with that. what we heard from senator mccain and graham, i think this thought tightly held by certainly democrats and probably not of republicans on capitol hill that russia is america aesz enemy at this point and vladimir putin is a thug and killer and united states has to be careful how to deal with them and seems to have become a blind spot for president trump. only seen him in last couple of weeks come out with rough words or tough talk for russia and vladimir putin, but by and large really kind of ignored it and ignored calls from the likes of mccain and graham to take a tougher stance again vladimir putin in russia. >> last month several news organizations reporting about the meeting with michael flynn and russian ambassador, white house, vice president denied it, many others, turned out to be true. he had to resign. people are now calling on -- maybe a little bit early -- for jeff se

he had deadline of yesterday from a judiciary subcommittee to respond to lindsey graham and sheldon whitehouse. >> apparently, the fbi has contacted my staff that they will be at some date in the future providing us an answer to this in a classified manner. we gave the director until today to answer that question and all i can say is i still don't have the answers to those questions. we are going to get an answer to whether or not the trump campaign was surveilled. was warrant requested or one issued? i hope to be able to answer the question is there an active investigation on the criminal side of the trump campaign regarding ties to russia. >> we need an answer to that question. as chairman gray mentioned today, they have offered us a classified answer to that question in a week or so and i guess we should hear them out. but for the life of me, i can't

senator lindsey graham faced tough questions as he was grilled by voters in south carolina today as he addressed that investigation along with health care. >> we begin this hour with a defiant white house 24 hours after a stunning -- the president and vice president today renewed their pledge to get rid of obama care. president trump tweeting this morning he is going to watch obama care "explode." vice president pence a short time ago in west virginia defended the president's efforts to repeal it. >> every day obama care survives is another day that america suffers. that's why the president worked tirelessly over the last several weeks to get congress to repeal and replace obama care. you saw his resolve to work with whoever he needed to work with, to call whoever he needed to call to get our plan across the finish line. yesterday wasn't a victory for the american people. it was a victory for the status quo in washington d.c. it was a victory for the disaster of obama care. i promise thank you that victory won't last very long. >> and according to the "wall street journal", the white h

fascinating senator lindsey graham. he doesn't take prisoners. and before then, follow me on twitter @greta. be sure to check out my facebook page. "hardball" with chris matthews. starts right now. see you tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. >>> the president's man. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris math use. in washington, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, devin nunes says he's not going anywhere. in spite of growing calls for him to step aside, he'll remain at the helm of the investigation into russia's interference in our election. >> are you going to stay as chairman and run this investigation? >> why would i not? you guys need to go ask them why these things are being said. >> can this investigation continue with you as chairman? >> why would it not? aren't i briefing you guys continuously and keeping you up to speed? >> they're saying it cannot run -- >> you got to talk to them. that sounds like their problem. >> well, nunes has to answer for that secret visit to the white house. later h

another hearing on russia today, senator lindsey graham says he is still waiting for answers from the fbi on the president's claims. >> apparently, the fbi has contacted by staff that they will be at some date in the future providing us an answer to this in a classified manner. we gave the director until today to answer that question, and all i can say is i still don't have the answers to those questions. we're going to get an answer to whether or not the trump campaign was surveilled, was and i hope to be able to answer the question, is there an active investigation on the criminal side of the trump campaign regarding ties to russia? >> with me, senator lindsey graham, republican from the great state of south carolina, and chairman of the senate judiciary subcommittee on crime and terrorism which held a hearing today on russia. nice to see you, sir. >> thank you very much, greta. >> i want to start with the question that's dogged us all for the last ten days, president trump, his tweet where he said he was wiretapped by president obama. do you believe that happened? >> i have no evid

i love senator lindsey graham about that next.oking ahead on "sunday morning futures" next. .. >> after careful deliberation i concluded i cannot support neil gorsuch's nomination to the supreme court. his confirmation will have a cloture vote. he will have to earn 60 votes. maria: senator chuck schumer is vowing a no vote on neil gorsuch. joining me to talk about that is senator lindsey graham. it's a head scratcher. neil gorsuch has done so well in those confirmation hearings. and we know he had 1. >> 0% a -- he had 100% approval when he was trying to get a lower seat and the democrats loved him. what's behind his? >> politics. the left is going insane after trump won the election. this has nothing to do with neil, it has everything to do with the democratic base and the hard left taking over the democratic party. chuck schumer has been a destructive force in my opinion when it comes to the senate. 97% of neil gorsuch's have been in the majority. a 900-page report on who he was as a judge and a person. 500 lawyers from the left,

lindsey graham / -r- south carolina: "does it sound familiar that people were being threatened to votees, some people being bribed to vote yes? sounds a lot like obamacare to me, so that's what i didn't like about it." i'm andrew spencer, reporting ( marty ) still ahead.. san francisco's pro men's soccer team makes their debut on the field. we'll show you how the san francisco deltas did. coming up. live look outside... san mateo bridge. ♪ when i got into my accident i broke almost every bone in both my legs. when i came home from the hospital i needed to be able to recover. tempur-pedic allowed me to do just that. because i don't have the average body type anymore i feel like my tempur-pedic really conforms to my body shape. power is not giving up, it's choosing to thrive. tempur-pedic. this sleep is power. live look outside...sutro tower. dave spahr is here with your weather forecast. (dave spahr) a weak weather system will spread light rain across the north bay this afternoon and across most of the remainder of the forecast area this evening and overnight. showers will mostly end by

republican lindsey graham announced that if he doesn't get information from the fbi about mr. s wiretapping claims and a soon, he will subpoena to get it. senator graham joins us in moments. first, the chief intelligence correspondent, catherine herridge, takes us through the latest on these efforts to get to the bottom of this whole thing. >> like today, fox news confirmed at least two senior cemeteries, dianne feinstein and republican chuck grassley, whose committee has direct oversight for the fbi met with director comey in a closed meeting. afterward, offered nothing to reporters. >> this was all on sensitive matters. highly classified. it is really not anything that we can answer any questions about. >> this comes as the house intelligence committee leadership says they have seen nothing that backs up the president's allegations. >> to date, i have seen no evidence that supports the claim that president trump made that his predecessor had wiretapped he and his associates at trump tower. that evidence still remains the same, we don't have any evidence that that took place.

blistering health care bill and revelation about the wiretap claims, also republican senator lindsey graham said to push the fbi to reveal president trump's possible ties to russia. first, let's go to christina alexi on the federal reserve, what do you have? >> as expected the federal reserve did raise interest rates a quarter of one percentage point pretty much in line with what all analysts have been expecting an there's good reason for this, brooke. if you look at economic data across the board what the fed is looking at, its looking at relatively unemployment. good job growth numbers and rising consumer prices so you take that all together the fed is raising rates because it doesn't want to see the economy overheat. what does that mean for the average person? they're going to earn more in their savings, account, pay more in mortgage rates, credit cards and home loans and a lot are wondering what kind of impact will this have on the stock market, on their 401 ks and the reality is let's put this into context. this is the third rate hike in ten years, brooke, so the fed is going slow and

republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina is hosting the event and will take questions from home state. cnn's polo sandoval is there. polo, a few weeks ago when graham held one of these town halls, it was quite the raucous meeting. what's the expectation today? >> reporter: fred, you and i remember what took place in the first few minutes of lindsey graham's last town hall in his home state. things got very tense, very quickly. that could potentially happen today, especially after the senator's comments moments after yesterday's news broke where lindsey graham essentially said that they should allow the aca to not only collapse but then of course replace that. so many people who we've spoken to in south carolina don't feel like that is the option, that they should necessarily abandon the needs of so many people here in south carolina. the event here not expected to start for another hour and a half. we hit the streets of downtown columbia to see what people are talking about this morning. >> i didn't like the bill that was proposed. so i was glad. on the other hand, you know

you know, the person to watch is lindsey graham.is playing chess while the president is playing checkers. he has subpoenaed the information and he is asking the justice department to put up or shut up. we'll see what happens. >> jonathan, or democrats, they want this to stay in the news, i presume. this is -- the more we talk about russia, the less we are talking about other things. >> right, well, there are two things going on here. surely politically democrats would love to have this stay in the news because it puts the president on the defensive and raises questions about how he became president. on the oth hand -- and you have to listen carefully to what democrats are saying. i would say it's a 51/49 proposition, the 49% being politics. 51% of it, including republicans like senator lindsey graham, they are really concerned about russia's impact on the last presidential election and what that says about our democracy and what it means to have a president of the united states to level such an incredibly incendiary accusation again

just yesterday, 1% lindsey graham had lunch with the president and it was so good, lindsey graham gavel phone number. how about that? we'll see, though, how heidi and ted handle tonight. that's all for tonight. "for the record," though, with greta starts right now. >>> demanding answers. now it's both parties calling for proof from the fbi about president trump's explosive claim that president obama wiretapped him. will the fbi talk? well, they might have to and sooner than you think. >>> also, he rolled his eyes. not reporting on president obama's reaction to trump's twitter accusations. we'll tell you what the former president is reportedly really worried about. >>> also the right hits back. kpr conservatives defy gop lde

the last things he needs is senators like lindsey graham questioning him on russia. he should of all people want to get to the bottom of this. if i were him i would be encouraging the fbi director and other members of his administration to cooperate with inquiries on capitol hill. if there's nothing there, let all the facts come out. but more facts are coming out everyday. roger stone, close associate of president trump, admitted to having conversations on social media with the individual that the fbi says was behind the hack of john podesta's easily and the dnc. that raises troubling questions. >> roger stone admitted to having a back channel with wikileaks, for long time, publicly. he does say, his claim is there's been no collusion with him or guccifer or wikileaks. ana navarro, your friend, member of congress ileana ros-lehtinen, says she's a no vote, she says there will be less funds to represent poor and elderly with their health care. you know if the republican leadership is losing her, they're in trouble. >> it's a very bad signal. ileana ros-lehtinen, my con

only a few in the senate and lindsey graham is one.y made a deal whereby they would cede half a dozen of russia's judges and not go nuclear at the time. harry reid eventually did removing the filibuster a decade later for lower court nominees. and lindsey graham is absolutely right that if neil gorsuch can't get an up and down vote or support from democrats, then nobody can. what chuck schumer is essentially saying is the republican nominee to the supreme court if any democratic support. eric: what you think that'll mean? >> first of all the filibuster will be removed. the next vacancy which would change the direction of the court because we are talking about replacing justice ginsburg or justice kennedy. it would move perceptibly to the right, whereas this is maintaining the status quo in the democrats will not be able to attack that at all. in the long run, this is a good thing. as i said, until 15 years ago, nobody had ever tried to filibuster judicial nominees. nothing to do with the legislative filibuster. for nominees it is rice

on that letter alone that's cory gardner and three others, plus lindsey graham saying, whoa, whoa, whoa those objections hold, the republican plan to kill obamacare is dead already. the republicans can't repeal obamacare because it's not conservative enough, so conservative members of congress are rising up against it. yes, that is happening, but they can afford to shed some right-wing house republican votes. what they haven't shed in large numbers are senators. democrat senators are pretty unified on this front and republicans are pretty split. the pressure back home on them is sustained and loud and unyielding and it is not mostly from the right. pressure works, and so far that pressure is why 20 million americans still have health insurance tonight. americans who might otherwise have lost it by now already. bursting with argan oil of morocco and notes of jasmine sure to put more life in your hair and your head. new herbal essences let life in >>> i'm going hand-off here to lawrence o'donnell. i want to mention one thing as we go, something that happened on this show tonight that we m

republican senator lindsey graham is in clemson, south carolina. acare, though opposes how republicans are doing it. graham is joining rand paul and democrats in criticizing congressional leaders for, as graham says, doing what democrats did to republicans in 2009, writing a health care bill privately among a smaller group of lawmakers. >> can i give you a little secret? i don't even know what the gop plan is. [laughter] [applause] let me tell you, did y'all see rand paul on tv? you know, rand and i don't agree on much, but he's right about this. what was our big knock on obamacare? they did it without any of us. >> reporter: joining house speaker paul ryan in wisconsin yesterday, vice president mike pence says he expects in a matter of days a very brisk pace of legislative activity. congressional leaders say they've directed relevant committees to write the obamacare replacement will. they say those lawmakers will soon release an initial draft publicly that democrats and republicans will have an opportunity to amend or change. republicans are gener

this is a live like where lindsey graham of south carolina will take questions from his residents in s state. a few weeks ago when graham held a town hall it turned into the caucus meeting. polo, what's expected today? >> fred, quite a grab bag of issues here and some of the folks are hoping to hear from senator graham. they certainly want to hear about yesterday's attempt to repeal obamacare, what will happen next with respect to the current -- the current investigation into the russian meddling of the november election is something that many of the attendees here want to hear. when it comes to the future, tax reform. columbia, south carolina, home to a lot of small businesses. a lot of small business owners in the venue here. they want to hear what comes next in washington. we've seen close to 400 folks filled inside the columbia metropolitan center as they wait to hear from the senator. the process is simple here. they hope things will remain civil. they were handed out a green card and a red card. many people that we spoke with and this shelving of attempting to repeal obamacare e

. >> lindsey graham, my colleague recently reported that lindsey graham is contemplating a new plan that would have three phases to it. the first, you would offer legal status to children who entered the country as unauthorized immigrants as minors and you would have enforcement measures attached to it. the second phase is that you would legalize unauthorized immigrants working in the agricultural and tourism sector, and you would make e-verify mandatory. the third phase would be we would legalize the remaining unauthorized immigrant population while also shifting to a more skills-based immigration system. tell me, heather, do you think that that sounds like a more palatable compromise than the gang of eight, or does it sound very similar to the gang of eight legislation to you? >> well, the fact is that every amnesty that we have granted or that europe has granted has ended up being a magnet of encouraging more people to come in. so the argument for another amnesty is well, this time we do mean it, unlike with the reagan amnesty, and we will make sure that we enforce things. you know, i

just yesterday, 1% lindsey graham had lunch with the president and it was so good, lindsey graham gave him his new cell phone number. how about that? we'll see, though, how heidi and ted handle tonight. that's all for tonight. "for the record," though, with greta starts right now. >>> demanding answers. now it's both parties calling for proof from the fbi about president trump's explosive claim that president obama wiretapped him. will the fbi talk? well, they might have to and sooner than you think. >>> also, he rolled his eyes. not reporting on president obama's reaction to trump's twitter accusations. we'll tell you what the former president is reportedly really worried about. >>> also the right hits back. kpr conservatives defy gop leaders with their own version of a bill to gut obamacare. what's the next move from president trump and from the democrats? >>> plus, women's marches coast to coast calling for equality and many taking a stand against the new white house. we'll have live coverage. >>> yes, demanding proof and it's just not one party, now both republicans and democrats a