the president is saying while madeleine westerhout has a fully enforceable confidenti iaiality agreement, i don't think there

while madeleine westerhout has a fully enforcible confidentiality agreement.d person and i don't think there would be any reason to use it. she called me yesterday to apologize. had a bad night. i fully understood and forgave her. i love tiffany, doing great. what happened here there was an off-the-record gathering for reporters, apparently none from nbc news, from other outlets. she spoke about the president's family. the president is sort of complicating that by referencing his daughter tiffany in this public way. so he is making that more public by saying, i love tiffany. doing great. apparently over a period of days now, that came to the attention of the white house, was brought to our attention. probably any white house rules in corporate america anywhere is even if you're having an off-the-record conversation frequently done on policy, the inner workings of the white house, even disagreements of the course of action an administration should take, there is always a firewall around family. the marriage of the president, the family, the children, the grandc

the president was asked about it. >> did you fire madeleine westerhout?omatic. i think she had a bad night. it was unfortunate. she said she was drinking. the whole thing is unfortunate. the press is dishonest. it was supposed to be off the record. but still you don't say things which she said which were a little bit hurtful to some people. >> no, no. tiffany is great. i love tiffany. she's going to be calling me back as soon as i get to camp david. >> let's break this down with hanna, politics reporter and national political reporter. i want to get started with trade. just this week, more than 160 businesses released this letter asking the president to postpone tariff increases but saying the companies are blaming the tariffs for their, quote, bad management. how are they adding to the pressure hear the president is facing? we've seen so much back and forth on this issue. >> it is really a slow bleed for the president in that a lot of the business community was against the tariffs to begin with and willing to sit on its hands. willing to put out mild sta

the president saying "while m madeleine westerhout has a fully enforceable confidentiality agreement,e is a very good person and i don't think there would ever be reason to use it. she called me last night to apologize. i had a bad night. i fully understood. and there was an off-the-record report that trump didn't like having his picture taken with he is daughter tiffany because of her weight. good to see you both. so, alice, you first. is this public tweet about westhouse's confidentiality agreement, did that cross the line? she works for the government and there's a confidentiality agreement the president just revealed. is that a problem? >> the folks in the campaign in the transition did sign a confidentiality agreement. trying to get that to hold up when you're in public office will be a higher bar and more of a challenge. the president is, first of all, absolutely 100% correct to let her go without a doubt. she violated a trust and confidence in a position that should have the highest trust and confidence. so she should have been let go. but even further than that, she should hav

president trump's personal assistant, madeleine westerhout.as been viewed as the gatekeeper of the oval office. her departure came after the president learned she shared int ma intimate details about the first family with reporters. she reportedly bragged she had a better relationship with trump than his own daughters and the president did not like being in pictures with tiffany because he perceived her as being overweight. trump addressed the situation yesterday. >> i really think she had a bad night. i think it was unfortunate. she said she was drinking and the whole thing was unfortunate. >> the comments about you not wanting to be in pictures with tiffany s that true? >> no, tiffany is great. i love tiffany. i love tiffany. >> joining us now is daniel litman. congratulations on your scoop. >> thank you. >> help us understand the space that madeleine occupied in the west wing. who was she to donald trump? >> she was his executive assistant but was recently promoted to the director of oval office operations. so basically anyone who kneed any

in the white house that turned out to be madeleine westerhout.that she's gone especially in a white house that is known to be chaotic, there's lots of fighting over access to the oval office and the president, it really, you know, leads to another chapter in that whole -- that whole chaos. >> is there concern inside the administration, eric blakaaron that she was leaking? >> that's hat reports indicate. this is something obviously the president has sought to stamp out. when he would learn about something like that it would be no surprise that would be the end of things right there no matter how close she got to the president. if for no other reason than maybe the fact that he did view her with some suspicious initially and also perhaps to send a message to other aids that leaking is not going to be tolerated. >> congressman, let's take a look at the sheer number of people who have left this administration. we'll put it on the screen for folks who are watching and for folks or sirius satellite radio, i can't read all of the names. trust me, it's a

and he's walking along for minutes and many days, this is inside baseball but a woman named madeleine westerhout -- >> bret: a very important job. >> to get to the president you needed to be on her good side. she apparently had talked about the president's family some in and off the record session in new jersey when the president was staying up there. basically said she called me, said she had been drinking, she was very sorry. she's a good person, but you can't say that kind of stuff. >> bret: let's talk about joe biden and the story that continues to gather moss going downhill, take a listen. >> four-star general asked me what i go up into the fog, the vice president going in the middle of this. we can lose a vice president, we can't lose many more of these kids. not a joke and god's truth, my word as a biden. do not pin it on me, sir. please, sir, do not do that! he died! i was making a point to how courageous these people are, how incredible they are. this generation of warriors, these fallen angels we've lost. i do not know what the problem is. what is it that i said wrong? >> bret: there w

. >>> president trump says he's forgiven his former assistant, madeli madeleine westerhout after she ousted after giving details about the family in an off the record dinner. the president writes while madeline wester hout has a fully enforced confidentiality agreement. i fully understood and forgave her. i love tiffany, doing great. he added this on ndas, yes, i'm currently suing various people for violating their confidentiality agreements, disgusting and foul mouthed omarosa is one. i gave her every break despite the fact that she was despised by everyone and went for cheap money from a book, numerous others also. we should note that according to legal experts, the ndas are unenforceable since they're government employees. joining us now, white house correspondent for the atlantic, elaina plott and op-ed columnist for the "new york times," charles blow. let me start with you, for so many, this is inside baseball. why does westerhout's exit matter or does it not? >> quite literally in terms of proximity, she was the gate keeper for this president. john kelly came to rely on her whe

that is very close to him, someone who has incredibly close access to the oaf oval office, madeleine westerhout, who left the administration after she revealed she was talking about the president's family during what was supposed to be an off the record conversation with reporters. the president said he had just spoken with westerhout and this is what she had to say. >> well, i guess she said -- i think she said some things and she called me. she was very upset. she was very down. and she said she was drinking a little bit and she was with reporters and everything she said was off the record. that still doesn't really cover for it. mentioned a couple of things about my children. but she's a very, you know, good person and i thought i always felt she did a good job. >> now, the president declined to say whether or not westerhout had been fired. he instead said he didn't want to say either way. but he made clear when he learned she had made remarks about his own children the decision for him was, quote, an automatic one. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. >> kaitlan, thank you. and thank you

her name is madeleine westerhout and she sits right outside the oval office. but she was forced out after the president learned she was sharing potentially embarrassing details about the trump family during an off the record dinner with reporters. moments ago, the president told me he just off the phone with her, and that the president said she was having a bad night drinking, and you just don't say those things that she said. tom? >> kyra, thank you. >>> and now to the new details in the sudden death of tyler skaggs. the report saying he died of an accidental overdose. here's adrian bankert. >> reporter: tonight, a texas medical examiner revealing the cause of death for major league baseball's tyler skaggs. a toxicology report showing the young los angeles angels pitcher suffocated after ingesting a mix of alcohol and the opioids oxycodone and fentanyl. the death was ruled an accident. skaggs' sudden death in july stunned the league and baseball fans. the 27-year-old newlywed was found dead in his dallas hotel room the same day the team was set to play the te

madeleine westerhout has worked for the president from the start of his administration. according to reports, she resigned after the president learned she shared information about his family and oval office operations during an off-the-record dinner with reporters. >>> now to the scathing report about former fbi director james comey. the inspector general says violated fbi policy by sharing memos about his interactions with president trump, but he won't face prosecution. abc's pierre thomas has more. >> reporter: in a blistering report, the justice department's inspector general says former fbi director james comey violated fbi policy by disclosing details of a controversial memo to the media laying out concerns about president trump. >> he asked specifically of loyalty. >> reporter: those misgivings led comey to write a series of secret memos including one alleging that president trump wanted him to go easy on former national security adviser michael flynn for lying about contacts with russia. >> i was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting

madeleine westerhout came in from the rnc when reince priebus was chief of staff, and others came ininal team. this is certainly one of those instances where a story develops that is another headache for the trump white house. at times they've had lots of internal conflict, palace intrigue type stories that get in the way of what they want to try to accomplish. this is another one of those instances where it has a component of being embarrassing, troublesome. this is someone the president interacted with extensively every day. she enjoyed her work, thought she did a good job, and is disappointed it ended up this way. >> by all accounts was a great gatekeeper for the president right there outside the oval office. >> mick mulvaney strongly encourage encouraged the president to fire her. >> she had deep ties to previous iterations of the republican national committee. she also is someone who had deep ties to former -- to a previous chief of staff, reince priebus, in that regard, she had allies within the west wing and within republican circles and within previous iterations of the white

assistant, madeleine westerhout.alled to apologize following accusations she made several hurtful remarks about trump's family at an off the record dinner with journalists. >> i think it was automatic. i don't say fire or not fire. i really think she had a bad night. i think it was unfortunate. she said she was drinking. and the whole thing was very unfortunate, and i think the press is very dishonest. it was supposed to be off the record. but still, you don't say things like she said which were just a little bit hurtful to some people. >> meanwhile, questions over a photo that the president tweeted of a failed iranian satellite launch. did this high resolution image that you see here reveal secrets about u.s. intelligence gathering capabilities? that's the question. let's go to white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, national political reporter daniel straus, and washington examiner reporter emily larson. kelly, start with the executive assistant. the president saying this is an off the record meeting that he is

madeleine westerhout, whose office was right in front of the oval office, is leaving after sharing personal information about the trump family and oval office operations. the story first reported by "the new york times." joining me now to discuss, angela rye, alice stewart, david swerdlick. good evening to both of you. look at my dream team there. hello, hello, hello. >> hi, don. >> hi. david, i'm going to start with understood. westerhout shared these details during a recent off-the-record dinner with reporters staying at hotels near the president's bedminster, new jersey, property. at least that's what the "times" is reporting. is it unusual for the president's personal assistant to be involved in that? >> so i have not interacted directly with this personal assistant. i would say yes, don. some white house staffers or some staffers of any elected official are there to talk policy, to talk politics, sometimes with reporters, sometimes in off-the-record settings. a personal assistant or a staff secretary, a scheduler, a body man is there as almost an extension of the principal, in this cas

madeleine westerhout had been with the president since day one, sitting just across from the oval office president learned she had shared personal information with reporters at a recent off-the-record meeting, she had to go. "the new york times" was the first to report the news overnight that she was considered, quote, separated employee thursday and wasn't allowed to return to the white house today. we're back with our panel. there's so many ways to go here. just talk in general for people who are -- because we were talking about this in the break, for people who are not familiar with the rules of the road, historically how they should be, what it means to have an off-the-record. >> in theory a lot of officials at the white house and beyond, it's normal practice to have an off-the-record conversation with a reporter which just means they're informing them, sometimes just to help guide their reporting but you basically take it to the grave. it is not to be published in any way. madeleine was not that accessible so to hear there was an off-the-record briefing with her is significant becau

the president is saying while madeleine westerhout has a fully enforceable confidenti iaiality agreementi don't think there is any reason to use it. she called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. i fully understood and forgive her. i love tiffany, doing great. joining me is a correspondent for "the guardian u.s." good to see you both. happy labor day weekend. so, sabrina, you first. westerhout was not only kind of the gatekeeper, she was his assistant. she'd been there really from the beginning. so this seems like this is an issue of crossing the line with the president. you're not going to talk about my family and certainly not publicly. is that really the crux of the problem here? >> it does appear to be what transpired. the president is very protective of his children, and so i think that this was an example of crossing the line. but what's striking about his focus on these nondisclosure agreements is that federal employees are not bound to any confidenti confidentiality agreement they may have reached with the white house. this is a concept the president has brought with him

here's what he had to say about the ousting of his personal assistant, madeleine westerhout. >> she said she was drinking a little bit and she was with reporters and everything she said was off the record. that still doesn't really cover for it. mentioned a couple of things about my children. but she's a very, you know, good person. >> yes. she apparently violated the first rule of the president's trust. what do you make of the president's response and how he handled this? >> i think it's interesting because you can hear in his voice that the tone was different. it wasn't an immediate punch back. he didn't feel like he got punched in his kind of -- and counterpunching. you can feel a sense of sort of remorse but also he felt like he was wronged. when it comes to the white house in general i think it's just a matter of when people leave or when they get on his bad side and not if that happens. it just seems like a scale. but this is someone who had been in the white house since the beginning. and you know, it appears that she said the wrong thing at the wrong time and then things can turn

michael, i want to shift gears real quickly here to mad d madeleine westerhout.s the president's assistant. stunning people within white house walls. this is a woman seen as a loyal aide. she's held a lot of significant power in president trump's circle. let's listen to what he said to say about her departure. >> well, i guess she said some things. she called me. she was very upset. she was very down. and she said she was drinking a little bit, and she was with reporters. and everything she said was off the record. that still doesn't really cover for it. mentioned a couple things about my children. but she's a very, you know, good person. and i thought i always felt she did a good job. >> so, what do you make of the consequences for her now? it seems like off-the-record conversations are not rare by any means, but because it involved his family member, that seemed to be his breaking point? >> yeah, that's right. to be clear. the off-the-record nature of this, i can't go into details what was said or whethe -- >> yeah, we don't need to. >> but the president certai

he was also asked about the sudden resignation of madeleine westerhout. he was very close to her.said he had just spoken to her over the phone before coming out. she felt really bad about what happened. she said some disparaging things about his family members we're told during an off the record dinner at the embassy suites in new jersey recently and it got back to the president what she had said about his family members, including his daughter tiffany. and he discussed that saying that he loves tiffany very much, that she's great. he didn't specify exactly what westerhout had said, but that she had a couple drinks and even though it was off the record that what she said -- that didn't absolve what she said. something else the president talked about was this photo he had tweeted out earlier today. apparently it appeared to be a classified photo potentially of an iranian launch site. here is the photo right here he had tweeted out. he talked about this failed launch and iran saying -- appearing to mock iran saying the u.s. had nothing to do with it. he talked about that saying he h

about this shake-up that's going on over there, because the president's personal assistant, madeleine westerhout, is out, according to sources. >> reporter: yeah, she's not a household name. most viewers probably won't recognize her. but it's kinds of hard to overstate what a big role she played in this white house. she sat right outside the president's office. she had access to pretty sensitive schedules of the president's and essentially was seen by allies of this administration as a gateway to trump. they knew they could call her and get a meeting with the president, get the president on the phone. but she has been pushed out as of yesterday after, based on what our sources are telling us, the white house says she shared intimate information during an off-the-record dinner with reporters that then later got back to president trump. after two years in this role where she was seen as someone who was loyal to the president, she has now been pushed out of that role. her white house phone has been disconnected. people still back here at the white house were shocked by her abrupt sdpaurt you are ye

reporter: did you fire madeleine westerhout? >> i think it was automatic. i think she had a bad night. i think it was unfortunate. she said she was drinking. the whole thing was very unfortunate. i think the press is very dishonest because it was supposed to be off the record but still, you don't say things like she said which were just a little bit hurtful to some people. reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> oh, no. no. tiffany is great. i love tiffany. i love tiffany. reporter: can you specifically state [ inaudible ]? >> well, we have fema, we have first responders, we have tremendous law enforcement. we're working together with governor desantis and the state. we're also, by the way, i have to tell you, georgia is very much in this path also. georgia could be very much affected. we're working with our great governor of georgia. we have top people there and it's really, really been amazing. i have to say, we have done a great job in puerto rico. we were totally ready in puerto rico. puerto rico, we got lucky. it missed puerto rico. but we were really ready in pue

about who she is, this is our friend tim alberta who writes about her in his book. 25-year-old madeleine westerhout broke down crying inconsolably over president trump's victory. to the amusement of her rnc peers, she was later chosen as the president's executive assistant, and now sits just outside the oval office. i don't know anything about her, but she was weeping on election night when trump won. and i read tim alberta's book, it's ex-quit izly reported, i trust this account, to the amusement of the rnc peers, may think it's funny the 25-year-old crying on the night he won is now sitting outside as the gatekeeper. >> it adds a little intrigue did she reveal something innocuous that the president got upset with? or has she been serving as a master f masterful source? >> i doubt that. >> i doubt it too but there's been so much secrecy and privacy and staff upheaval in this white house, it's hard to not let your imagination get going that she might know. >> that's what stood out, she's tearful on election night. i want to ask you one other category of questions. this to me has all of the things t