special forces members killed in the line of duty in niger. because the president made no public acknowledgement of their deaths. nbc is reporting about the swarm of unanswered questions that the pentagon is still trying to get answered on the attack, basic questions like why were those solder s attacked. and the level of confusion both during and after the commission, was, quote, tremendous. joining me now is courtney kube. thank you for being here, we really appreciate your time. >> thanks, rachel. >> so have there been any additional updates since this afternoon. obviously general kelly gave those very emotional remarks about condolences for family members of service members who are killed. but when it came to what happened in niger, he was circumspect and that there's an investigation. >> general mcmaster, the national security advisor, i asked him about the event in niger, and he also was relatively circumspect. the incident is under investigation, but right now they're really hiding behind the fact that it's under investigation to give u

plus, an attack in niger killed four american soldiers. we're seeing the spot where it happened as we learn more about exactly how it unfolded. from when it began to the delay may have let militants plot their ambush. a day after senator mccain threatened to subpoena pentagon staffers for details on the attack, the defense secretary himself heading for a capitol sit-down with the senator. loretta lynch is also at the capitol to talk about russian meddling. our catherine herridge caught up with her to ask some questions. >> can you raise any of the issues with director comey's questioning with the senate intelligence committee? that's ahead in this hour of "shepard smith reporting." i'm trace gallagher in for shep. the white house defending its response to the four americans killed in niger earlier this month saying it too wants answers. >> the department of defense is initiated a review, which occurs any time there's an american killed in action. we're going through that process. the president, the department of defense and frankly the ent

it is no different in niger.just andrones extension of the basic idea of carrying out reconnaissance missions and sometimes actual attacks without putting u.s. troops at risk. so this is very much par for the course. importanthink it is to really understand what has happened in africa over the last 10 years. when07 1 promesa -- africom was created, the terrorists to the extent we see them now, there was nothing comparable. the prisons, if any, was minimal. what was going on in africa at the time was that you had organizations like the movement to emancipate the niger delta, which had engaged in very militant kinds of attacks on u.s. oil installations, breaking up pipelines, kidnapping u.s. oil company and western oil company personnel, and issuing a threat in 2006 that they could not guarantee the safety of either the facilities of oil companies in and about nigeria and in that region, or the people who were sent there to work on them. it was at that moment that the united states decided it was going to set up th

why were they in niger?hat this actually started out as was the worst combat fatalities of the trump era, the story of four u.s. special forces soldiers killed in the line of duty in the central african nation of niger. the reason because it became a white house story is because the president made no acknowledgement of those deaths. he still hasn't talked about it. he won't apparently. nbc news reporting about the swarm of unanswered questions that the pentagon is still trying to get answered on this attack, things as basic as where the attack happened or whether those soldiers had the right protective equipment. one official telling nbc news today that the level of confusion during and after the mission was, quote, tremendous. joining suus is courtney kuby. obviously general kelly gave those very emotional remarks about condolence processes for the families of service members who were killed. but when it came to explaining what happened in niger, he put most of this off to there being an ongoing investigati

troops deployed in niger? >> no, i did not. i'm not part of the group that would have been formally notified about u.s. troop presence, but i must tell you i do believe as the ranking democrat on senate foreign relations committee, the president of the united states should have come to congress to seek authorization for american troops that are put in a combat-type situation. >> let me switch gears while i have you for a moment. you're the top democrat on the foreign relations committee. the former president jimmy carter has now publicly offered to travel to north korea to negotiate directly with kim jong-un. should the white house take him up on that offer? >> well, we need a surge in diplomacy and we've talked about this before. i think we need to open up lines of communication. there is a path forward where we can achieve our objective of a non-nuclear korean peninsula and that the kim jong-un regime can get the type of assurances they want that the united states will respect the current 38th parallel in korea. there are way

briefed on the ambush by niger's defense minister. his explanation was this. "it turns out this village was a little contaminated by hostile forces. the american unit stayed a little longer than expected because apparently people were aware something was going on," meaning the american forces were purposely delayed in order to give the attackers time to set up the ambush. according to the newspaper source and other local sources, "while the soldiers were still in the village a fake terror attack was staged nearby. the soldiers rushed to the scene, whereupon 50 or more assailants with vehicles and moetd sooik lz opened fire with kalashnikovs and heavy weapons." so that account based on sources including the mayor of the town where the ambush happened leads to this reporting from voa. villagers suspected of luring green berets into niger ambush. so that breaks voice of america this afternoon. then this evening nbc news national security and military reporter courtney cuby along with karen lee and ken dlanian breaks the pentagon side of

that's exactly what our forces in niger were doing. the united states military has had forces in niger off and on for more than 20 years. today, approximately 800 service members in niger work as part of an international effort led by 4,000 french troops to defeat terrorists in west africa. since 2011, french and u.s. troops have trained a 5,000-person west african force and over 35,000 soldiers from the region to fight terrorists and affiliated with isis, al qaeda and boko haram. let me address the specific events in niger that took place earlier this month. on the 3rd of october, 12 members of the u.s. special operations task force accompanied 30 nigerian forces on a simple reconnaissance mission from the capital city to a village approximately 85 kilometers to the north was the location of that village. on the fourth of october, u.s. and nigerian forces began moving back south. en route to their operating base, the patrol came under attack from approximately 50 enemy, using small arms fire, rocked propelled grenades and tech vehicle

troops in niger. and tonight an author takes us inside the militarization of the continent under president obama and what is next for president trump. we are glad you joined us. nick turse on africa in just a moment. ♪ ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >>> the recent ambush of u.s. troops in niger put a spotlight on africa. and, nick turis, author of "tomorrow's battlefield u.s. proxy wars and secret ops in africa." and "next time they will come to count the dead war and survival in south sudan" he joins us in new york. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me on. >> excuse the raspiness of the voice. i think i can get through it. an important conversation, why i am here. >> sure. >> let me start reviewing what happened on capitol hill today very quickly. so, general mattis was on the hill today testifying. and was essentially pressed on whether or not these troops, these american troops in niger were operating under the military authorization

i didn't know there was 1,000 troops in niger. john mccain is right to tell the military, because this is an endless war without boundaries. no limitation on time or geography. you've got to tell us more. >> you're with senator graham. he didn't know we had 1,000 troops in niger. did you? >> no, i did not. >> now, the pentagon says that they regularly brief congress on its military operations. and president trump, in june, sent a letter to congressional leaders, saying that the u.s. had about 1,000 troops in niger and neighboring cameroon. now, again, though, members of congress want to know more, want to learn more, and they're raising the prospect of hearings, both on this particular event, ambush in niger and u.s. military posture in west africa overall. john and poppy? >> ryan brown at the pentagon. thank you for that reporting. let's talk about all of this. with us, cnn contributor, bee ana, lynn sweet of the "chicago sun-times," and colonel warren. lynn, let me begin with you. the president this morning chose to respond to t

niger, mali, chad. clear as they see isis losing territory, their capital in raqqah, the city of mosul, that they expect them to shift towards africa and as general dunford said, they want to be where isis is going to go. nicolle? >> and hans, he gave more information than we've heard before about the sequence of events, the very tragic sequence of events around the recovery of the body of sergeant la david t. johnson. can you talk about that a little bit? >> reporter: you know, he is giving as much as he can, and in terms of the remains being returned back to the states, he did give this idea that normally it is the family that makes the decision on whether or not to view the remains. now, when this body was recovered, that was the evening. the evening of october the 6th -- that's time in niger. that's more than -- almost by my math close to 54, 56 hours after initial contact. initially we had thought 48 hours, and it was, as you said, clearly, nigerian partner forces that found the body of la david jo

troops were in niger. >> four just died in niger. how many members of this body, how many of the 100 members of this body knew we had an operation in niger? i won't get into the details in deference to the family. >> shepard: as we reported, senator mccain says he may use subpoenas to get information about that ambush. jennifer griffin continues team fox coverage at the pentagon. jennifer? >> shepard, the frustrated tone from john kelly was replicated at the pentagon with defense secretary mattis. senior pentagon officials are extremely frustrated at the innuendo and congressmen that something is not right about this incident and the investigation of this niger incident. here's what we found out just now. a senior defense official says the u.s. troops were fired on once they were already in their vehicles after meeting with village elders in this remote border area along the mali border in niger. 12 u.s. troops, mostly green berets were accompanying 30 troops from niger. it was a routine mission. once the first shots were fired, the

niger sits right in the middle of two key operational areas.had basin, in which boko haram and isis, west africa, is actively, is actively fighting in nigeria, chad, cameroon, and niger. and then niger, with isis al qaeda and other affiliates in mali, baa kbu kina faso, all connected to algeria. this is a hugely ambiguous and complex area, but what special forces are doing is appropriate special operation force missions. >> what does that mean, general? what does that mean? what kinds of missions? how many are there? what kind of manpower is on the ground? >> well, as general dunford indicated, there's about 800 and the reason there's 800 is you're confronted the security issues that isis and boko haram and al qaeda cause for nigeria. so there's a larger concentration there than you would find in other countries in africa. they're doing civil military operations, they're helping our partners understand how to operate in and among the populist. they are accompanying them when appropriate, and i think general dunford laid those criteria out very

we have forces in niger. so you know, i'm a little more skeptical that these senators and congressman that claim they didn't know, shame on them. that information is available. one of the most important things that our congress can pay attention to, the once that fund the missions there and if it's not something that they think that the united states should be involved in, we should have that discussion. i absolutely believe that general dunford is right. isis, al-quaida, al shabaab, they transfer. they don't stay in one place. the mission there is important. the american people have to know about it. a authorization of use for military force would be good for the country. the president has the ability to have forces there and we should have the conversation. this is what we're spending our money on and what we're putting at risk, the american servicemen that is important. >> neil: colonel, i'd be remiss in the plight of ladavid johnson that was recovered a couple days later and his wife and his -- the dust u

soldiers being killed in niger. they really seem to need them because schumer and graham, senators who are big shots on both sides of the aisle, admit they didn't know american troops were in the west africa an numbers in the they are there. >> i can say this to the families, they were there to defend america. i didn't know there was 1,000 troops in niger. john mccain is right to say you have to tell us more. >> you heard senator graham. he didn't know we had 1,000 troops in niger. did you? >> no, i did not. >> what do you think matters to american families? that they are there to do the right thing or that the two senators didn't know they were there. are you surprised they didn't know we were there? >> i'm not surprised at all. they can assume there is a presence in the contested areas where we want to deny sanctuary to our enemies. essentially, different forms of terror. but the number is surprising. >> you're not supposed to know right no. it is okay for you to not know the specifics. but for senators schumer an

and that's what our forces in niger were doing. the united states military has had forces in niger for more than 20 years. today, 800 service members work as part of an international effort led by 4,000 french troops to defeat terrorists. since 2011, french and u.s. troops have trained 5 thoirks -- trained a 5000 person west african force and to fight terrorists and affiliated with isis, al qaeda and boko haram. let me address the specific events in niger that took place earlier this month. on the 3rd of october, 12 members of the u.s. special operations tax force accompanied 30 nigerian forces from the capital city to an area near the village. approximately 85 kilometers to the north was that village. on the 4th of october they moved south. to their base, the patrol came under attack to 50 enemies using small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades and technical vehicles. what i want to do now i want to walk for you the time line that we have and what i would categorize is what we know about the incident. early in the morning, u.s. f

troops also had help from france and niger. that doesn't change the fact that there are these questions coming from people like senato john mccain, who's chairman of the senator arms services committee, wondering why there has been so little information even two weeks after that happened. so a few things that we know now including this elements of the investigation is that this question over why a french planes came about 30 minutes after the fire fight started, why didn't they drop bombs on. the initially, it was reported at least by some, that they didn't have authorization to do that by niger. now we know, according to u.s. officials they were concerned about causing further harm, that they couldn't really tell on the ground who were u.s. soldiers and who were enemy combat ants. so, details like that, we think we're going to see more, probably in the near term, but the investigation could take a long time. so what the pentagon has been wanting to emphasize too is that the u.s. does not leave soldiers behind. they wanted to s

more than that, you can't depend on the army of niger. it's undermanned, not particularly disciplined. clearly they slipped across the border. 50 guys is lot to come across that border but in that part of the world, it's very easy to do. general mark will agree it would be nice if they had backup there, a couple helicopters with galgtsing guns. >> completely. >> there are answers needed and the deadliest combat loss in the trump presidency thus far. >>> the white house trying to control the story over the congresswoman's description of trump's call to the fallen soldier's widow. >> i think it's appalling when the congresswoman has done in the way she's politicized this issue. >> general john kelly, what he told the president about his son, and whether he ever thought the president of the united states would share that personal confidence with the world and use it to slam president obama. we have new reporting tonight. >>> more breaking news, russians using americans to meddle in u.s. politics. ♪ if you have moderate to severe plaque psori

troops in niger? >> no. >> so there is probably a good reason why general mattis wants 1,000 troops in niger. in my talking to members of congress who follow this closely, they are aware the battle field extended to parts of africa for a long time. we have troops scattered all over the place specifically for these reasons to catch these plots before they can metastasize. they need to keep congress informed. one of these days it will blow back on everybody and cause a major problem. >> the truth of why the senators don't know if they ignored their responsibility for use of use. that's why we are acting on one from 2001. does anybody really care. do you think that congress will be held to account for what happens with military? >> no. chris, think of how many members in the house particularly have been elected since this last happened in 2002. most have never voted for something they can call war. also think about how much the terms of battle have changed what senator graham is talking about is this met

did you know what was happening in niger? did you feel you knew what the mission was and you had enough information? >> i didn't know what happened beforehand, but i shouldn't have. i'm not an operational or a tactical planner. and tii think this focus, individual members of congress shouldn't know about individual, you know, activities. there's probably thousands of individual movements that the military is involved in every single day. and if congress thinks that we should be part of the operational planning, i disagree with that. now, our role is in oversight function is to make sure everybody had the right training, tools, that were they getting the right intelligence before the activity. and i think general dunford, yesterday, outlined a number of the questions that the military still has and is looking into this case. and i think this is a perfect example of how thousands of our citizens, our men and women, are putting themselves in harm's way every single day to keep us safe. and the world is a dangerous place. >> and

niger is not a mature battlefield. we sent small special forces teams to conduct unconventional war fare. the infrastructure in africa isn't built up the way we have it built up in the middle east. there aren't enough resources to go around. as tragic as this event is troops in combat will demand more resources. the distance is a real thing. africa is a huge continent. how we can have air coverage in africa is difficult to imagine. there aren't enough assets to go around. riding around in armored vehicles would raise the profile of the team and make everyone aware that the americans are in town and driving heavy armored vehicles through sandy desert is extremely difficult. i don't think that was really something that could have been done at that environment. >> and i want to go to you on the heels of what senator lindsey graham said this weekend that america's war on terror is moving to africa. why is that area niger and beyond so important to that effort? >> simply because of the expansion of terrorist organizations i

personnel dispatched to the capital of niger.he base was designed for ,roviding what they call isr intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, over the niger and greater west africa region. since then, the united states struck a deal with niger to build a much larger base. u.s. africa command says -- they call it something like a temporary contingency location, which sounds like in a strip with a couple of tents around it. but declassified secret document i obtained show this is a $100 million drone base they are building. they chose niger, these documents a, because the government there was open to them bringing in reaper drones, which are the larger newer variant of the drone will stop a much more lethal drone package. originally, these were to be carrying out isr missions, but now in the wake of his attack, there's a major push on them to arm these drones and have them fly over the region. this is something else i find the documents. niger was the only country in the region open to having armed drones based there. amy: and

, question about the niger troops. where all the troops involved in the control, have they all completed their requisite qualifications and training? were they fully qualified to be out on the mission they were on? dana white: go ahead. general mckenzie: i will have to get back to you on the specific details. i have no reason to believe that is not the case. but i just on have that level of detail right now as i talk to you. >> senator mccain has said he expected to see more transparency out of the pentagon following all of this. senator graham -- senator mccain he needs to do whatever he needs to do to get more information on the pentagon. do you have any response? dana white: the pentagon did notify the staff regarding the niger event. we have kept them up to date. we will work with senator mccain and his staff to make sure they get everything they need. it is very important to the secretary and he is personally dedicated to that. >> do you feel there is the adequate level of trent are they? -- adequate level of tran

of the four fallen green berets in niger. the white house is handling of criticism of congresswoman, listening to a conversation, and now live pictures right now of the procession of the hearse carrying sergeant la david johnson there in cooper city, florida. his body returning to the family this past week. now the hearse and this motorcade now taking the body of this young man after the funeral, taking place at the christ rock church there in cooper city. and so now selena, the white house is also, you know, still dealing with just a series of events surrounding this sergeant and now the ongoing investigation which might be intensifying about niger. what do you see the pathway now for the white house in terms of dealing with so many controversies surrounding the deaths of these young men, and at the same time, trying to offer some control of what appears to have been a sequence of rather chaotic events. >> well, i think it's really important and i hope it's the direction that the president and the administration takes in tha

troops in niger. reportersford told the service members who were ambushed waited more than one hour to call for help. we will show you the pennant con grieving, it runs 45 minutes -- next, we will show you the pentagon briefing. it runs 45 minutes. today is the anniversary of the 1983 beirut bombing. after speaking to secretary mattis this morning, i decided to address you because there's been a lot of speculation about the operation in niger. there's a perception that the department of defense has not been forthcoming. i thought it would be helpful for me to personally clarify to and whatwe know today, we hope to find out in the ongoing investigation. --retary mattis will be here would be here, but as many of you know, he is in asia. up locals are building forces to defeat extremism in west africa. times,ave seen many groups like isis and al qaeda pose a threat to the united states, the american people, and our allies. they are a global threat able by the flow of foreign fighters, resources, and thei

troops are deployed to niger. most are helping build a drone base in agadez while others are supporting embassy operations in the capital. the military says that only, quote, a fraction are special operations forces. advising and assisting niger's military. >> with the american people need to know is with a relatively small footprint, we're enabling local forces to deal with these challenges before they become a threat to the american people and to help them to deal with the challenges so they don't further destabilize their local area or region. >> reporter: the footprint in africa probably larger than many americans realize. general dunford confirming today that some 6,000 u.s. troops are in 53 countries in africa, spread out, perhaps, thinly in some places. many of them facing, as general dunford certainly described in today, very dangerous territory. when the white house first knew something went wrong with this mission, general dunford said today the moment it was clear a soldier was missing, they let the whi

in niger. the closest connection yet between the trump campaign and wikileaks prompting many new questions this morning. daily beast first to report that the head of a data analytics company which worked for the trump campaign e-mailed wikileaks founder julian assange. >> sources tell them that the ceo was seeking tens of thousands of e-mails of hillary clinton deleted from her private server. let's turn to pamela brown. >>reporter: good morning. sources tell cnn the head of cambridge analytica, a data firm working for the trump campaign reached out to julian assange during the campaign asking about hillary clinton's missing e-mails. julian assange acknowledged on twitter that did happen and says he roo rejected the request. the head of the firm sent an e-mail to several people including rebecca mercer saying he had e-mailed assange but sources say no one from the trump campaign was on the e-mail chain. wikileaks was responsible for releasing hacked e-mails from the dnc last year. not hillary c

soldiers in niger. senate armed services committee will hold its first hearing this week about this. this comes as leading senators admit they are stunned to learn how many u.s. troops are in the west african nation. >> the senate also plans to take on the long-awaited debate of the president's war authorization powers. this has been going on for years. congress has been punting on its constitutional duty. so, for the first time, there's going to be some new context this morning. the widow of sergeant la david johnson, one of the soldiers killed in that niger attack, is speaking out. myesha johnson is her name. and in a new interview on abc just this morning, she talks about what president trump said that did make her cry. let's hear mrs. johnson in her own words. >> the questions that i have, that i need answered is, i want to know why it took them 48 hours to find my husband, why couldn't i see my husband. every time i asked to see my husband, they wouldn't let me. >> what did they tell you? >> they'r

that's why there's the focus now on niger. had this not happened i suspect neither you nor i would know there are 800 troops in niger right now. we know because something went wrong. we find out about the extent of the u.s. government and most of its special forces. special operators, when things go south. ali? >> understood. thank you, hans, for that. >>> kasie hunt, a couple things having to do with congress. first of all, this has been over the last few days as peter articulated, because he was there in the rose garden when this thing started, this has been a crisis of the white house's own making. the president decided to go down this road of how presidents deal with fallen soldiers, but it's ricocheted off congress as well and in particular with this congresswoman fredricka wilson, who was with the family of one of the soldiers when that call came through. how is this playing out across the, down the road in congress? >> reporter: and, ali, she, of course, the congresswoman, fredricka wilson, is the one who ultimately put

s interest in niger in particular? remember that there are about 1,000 u.s. troops in niger. most are working on a drone facility to provide surveillance for the continent with a small number of special forces units directly advising nigerian troops. with isis, al qaeda, and others establishing affiliates in africa, twhere are valuable resources the u.s. would like to keep out of the hands of terror groups. niger was producing 13,000 barrels of oil per day. this isn't all that much. it makes it the 86th largest producer in the world. but it's important because, "a," if you need money, 13,000 barrels of oil is still something. but here's the more important part. the china national petroleum corporation, cnpc, just awarded two operating permits in niger. one in 2010 and then in 2013. they say they believe their network of oil wells could tap into a billion barrels under the surface increasing the output to between 60,000 and 80,000 barrels a day which would push the country toward the top 50 oil producers in the world. and it's not just oil they're looking at in niger. it's gol

lawmakers continue to question what happened in niger.reporter: good morning, dave. yes, the latest is that you have the situation that these details are slowly coming out, sometimes kopcontradictory of what happen in the ambush. a few hours from where i'm standing now in october. what we are learning is special forces, led by the green berets, were in fact, split up in that deadly ambush. they were a much superior force in terms of numbers of militants who took them. those groups weren't able to contact the remainder of that conv convoy. that might have led to possibly some of the soldiers being more in harm's way. three of the dead were in that group that did split up. as you said, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state in the open hearings on capitol hill later today, that has taken a much more intense focus because of this ambush in niger and the question surrounding america's presence in africa. they have 6,000 groups scattered across the continent. some senators questioning whether they knew about that deployment. it has t

troops in niger. here is a look. >> what can you tell us about the meeting question mark -- the meeting? cain: acting deputy secretary and i just had another in a series of meetings in defending the nation, and we discussed various issues. -- italways a displeasure is always a pleasure to spend time with him and discuss these things. >> you have been saying the administration was holding out about the details of the incident. in: i felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information, we are clearing a lot of that up. >> [inaudible] did you agree with that? just generally speaking? secretary, do you agree with that? mattis: we can always improve on communication, and that is exactly what we would do. : the relationship between the secretary and i goes back 20 years. it is one of respect and appreciation, and one of honoring his service. we continued to try to improve our lines of communication, and our regular meetings will be very helpful in that area. >> [indiscernible] sen. mccain: we are di

plus, new and chilling video of alleged isis terrorists in niger.efore the firefight that killed four u.s. soldiers. new insights into the heroic actions of sergeant la david johnson, whose grieving widow is swept up in an ugly public debate. what did he in the critical moments as insurgents were on the attack. he's a husband, father, veteran... but most of all, he's a fighter. chris brown has never been afraid to take on the big fights. that's why he stood up to republicans and democrats alike to fight the north jersey casinos and the takeover of atlantic city. chris brown is fighting to protect jobs in our region... a true champion for the working men and women of atlantic county. on november 7th, let's keep him fighting for us. chris brown for state senate, he's on our side. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight a manson family survivor breaking almost five decades of silence about the brainwashing and abuse she endured under the control of charles manson and his followers. diane lake was a member of the manson cult for two years. s

is constructing a $100 million air base in niger.he plan is to position the armed drones there, and the death of the four u.s. soldiers has accelerated pressure on the niger government to allow it, according to u.s. officials. nbc news is also learning more details of what happened on the day that the green berets were killed. multiple military and intelligence sources tell nbc news there was a second more secretive u.s. special operations team working less than 100 miles away from where the ambush took place. it would be intelligence like this that would provide targets for any new drone campaign. all of this, lester, underscoring the complicated nature of the niger mission and may explain the difficulty that the pentagon has had an answering basic questions about what went wrong even three weeks after the incident. >> a lot of layers here. >> indeed. >> cynthia mcfadden, thank you. >>> there's developing news involving the u.s. ambassador to the united nations. nikki haley reports she was evacuated from a camp for displaced people

plus, new and chilling video of alleged isis terrorists in niger.efore the firefight that killed four u.s. soldiers. new insights into the heroic actions of sergeant la david johnson, whose grieving widow is swept up in an ugly public debate. what did he in the critical moments as insurgents were on the attack. >>> good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight a manson family survivor breaking almost five decades of silence about the brainwashing and abuse she endured under the control of charles manson and his followers. diane lake was a member of the manson cult for two years. she said at 14 she was so young and lost, she had no idea that something sinister was in the works until it was too late. here's abc's amy robach. >> did you love him? >> yes. i did. >> did he love you? >> i always thought did he. now i'm not so sure. >> as a form he member of the manson cult, she said she knew a different side of the murderous leader. >> he made you feel like you were his one and only love. there were other girls but we all shared him. i felt like i belon

troops killed in the ambush in niger more than two weeks ago. his body wasn't recovered until 48 hours after the ambush. there's been a question dogging the pentagon. >> he was abandoned for two days, for 48 hours. why? why didn't they pick him up and put him on their shoulders like they did the other fallen comrades? and put him on a helicopter and take him to safety. he could have still been alive. >> democratic congresswoman frederica wilson is demanding answers. she also wants an apology from president trump for what she says was an insensitive phone call to sergeant johnson's widow. meanwhile, defense secretary mattis is strongly defending the troops and the military code. >> the u.s. military does not leave its troops behind. and i would just ask that you not question the actions of the troops that were caught in the fire fight. sergeant johnson was found later by local nationals and it says something that they would then endeavor to get the body back to us. >> secretary mattis is headed back to capitol hill to talk with senator john mccai

doing in niger? >> almost three weeks s after te deadly attack, topic in military officer, general joseph dunford jr. said he is limited information about the attacks in niger this month, but said operations have resumed. jr.: i do not information right now to tell you what is happening today, but our intent is to continue to advise, train, and assist our partners. >> the first troops arrived in the west african country in 2012 as part of a counterterrorism mission and to curb terrorism groups. president barack obama ramped up the operations. in 2013, some 100 u.s. troops were based in niger. now there are roughly 800. some u.s. politicians have demanded more information regarding the mysterious deaths. senator john mccain: americans should know what went on in niger, what caused the death of four brave americans, and one of the fights i'm having with the administration is the armed services committee is not getting enough information. sparked aths have political controversy following president donal

berets that were killed on the wednesday in niger. so far there's been no response to this by the president, no tweet from the president, no statement from the president. >> press corp. is already asking the white house. almost two weeks ago in white house briefing room. it was strange even two weeks ago that president had made no public response or statement about these american soldiers being killed in niger. it's 12 days on and still no public response from the president. when he was asked about it on monday in rose garden, he responded with diversion about president obama not calling families of service members he heard, or maybe not, i don't know. even today the white house still will not explain why the president has made no public remarks on the deaths of these soldiers. not on his own behavior, about president obama, but what happened in niger. late today politico.com thoroughly called the question on this matter with remarkable leaked document out of the pentagon or white house. not sure. killed october 4th. october 5th, nati

he actually didn't even mention niger, what happened in niger, for some 12 days. and the decision to not have the president make that initial statement? >> well, at this point, there's another issue that we would like to pursue in terms of why there was a such a lack of response in terms of notifying the american public. then also reaching out to the families. it seems unusual had this been a successful operation, i think there would have been b a tweet within minutes, so i think we have to ask that question, also. >> there are lot of questions that need to be answers as far as niger is concerned. once again, if the u.s. doesn't learn the lessons, it will happen again. there are a lot of u.s. troops not only in niger, but elsewhere in africa. i suspect most of the american public has no idea what those troops are up to, what the mission is, what they're doing now and how dangerous some of those situations are and ai sum your committee is going to be looking into all of that. not just niger, but what's going on in neighboring countries as well. let's get to north k

soldiers in niger and that ambush is now under investigation. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is working that part of the story for us. the pentagon is facing serious criticism so far for a lack of answers. >> it's been 15 days now since this deadly raid where these four soldiers were killed and even some of the most basic questions haven't been answered. the exact time of the raid when the white house was notified of this raid and the deaths of those soldiers but also bigger questions, the circumstances of how and why that four-soldier sergeant la david johnson was left behind, whatever language you'd use, even though john kelly suggested that he knows that he has classified information that he hasn't shared yet. this, as we are reporting, that general mattis himself, not satisfied with the questions he's getting from inside the pentagon. tonight the head of the u.s. military is demanding answers. >> the loss of our troops is under investigation. we and the department of defense would like to know what we are talking about

soldier killed in niger devolving into a political brawl. trump taking to twitter again overnight to blast the congresswoman who accused him of being insensitive in a condolence call when he told myesha johnson, the widow of sergeant la david johnson, that her husband knew what he got into when he signed up to serve. the fake news is going crazy with wacky congresswoman wilson, who was secretly on a very personal call and gave a total lie on content, trump tweeted. what began as a question over an ambush in niger that left four american soldiers dead now morphing into a political battle over how the commander in chief carries out his most solemn duty, comforting the families of soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. just a day earlier, white house chief of staff and retired marine general john kelly made a rare appearance in the briefing room. a gold star father himself, he lamented that a call between the commander in chief and the widow of a fallen soldier was being politicized. >> it stuns me that a member of congress would have l

white: a general question about the niger prints. all of the troops involved in the patrol, had they all completed the requisite qualifications and training? with a fully qualified to be on the mission they were on? all haveal mckenzie: to get back to you on the specific details. i have no reason to believe that is not the case. i just don't have that level of detail right now as i talk to you. reporter: one more. senator mccain has said he expects to see more transparency out of the pentagon following all of this, so has senator graham. senator mccain said he would be willing to hold nominees to do whatever he needs to do to get more information out of the pentagon. any response? ms. white: the pentagon did andfy the staff of the fasc hasp, and we have kept them up-to-date. we will work with senator mccain and his staff to make sure they get everything they need. it is very important to the secretary and he is personally dedicated that -- to that. reporter: do you think there has been enough transparency? ms. white: we have done all

the 25 year old was killed during an ambush attack in niger. the incident has prompted a deluge of questions over the past week. a formal investigation is under way after reports johnson's body was found nearly a mile from the three other troops killed. many civilians are now asking why where these troops in niger in the first place. u.s. senator lindsey graham issuing this stark prediction. >> the war is headed to africa. it's beginning to morph as we suppress the enemy in the mideast, they are going to move. they are not going to quit. >> but perhaps the most regrettable headline that followed johnson's tragic death, the politicization of his widow's grief, which continue today when president trump continued his attacks on the florida congresswoman who mentored johnson. tweeting just hours before the typhoon call, the president tweeting this, "i hope the fake news media keeps talking about wacky congresswoman wilson in that she as a representative is killing the democrat party." then following it up with a tweet about jfk, writing "subject to

you know, as you know, they suspect this was an isis affiliate in niger. they've already done limited strikes in libya with the country just to the north and to prevent this expansion the u.s. has continued to expand its operations, its partnerships. usually this is on the backs of us special forces. >> all right. tara, thanks for your great reporting. learned a lot from it. tara copp with the pentagon bureau. pentagon bureau chief for the "military times." >> thank you. >>> pennsylvania avenue to capitol hill. senate republicans calling on colleagues in the house to help secure a first major legislative victory of the trump era. tax reform. the effort took a big step forward last night when the senate narrowly passed a budget plan a precursor to being able to get tax reform done for technical reasons. the house takes up that plan as early as next week. the white house says its tax reform plan would lower most americans taxes. here's another promise that the administration is making -- >> reducing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% would increase avera

>> there were niger forces involved in the operation. there were french forces involved in the operation and u.s. forces involved in the page in its entirety. there were u.s. forces involved in recovery. as i mentioned to you, without going into detail, as soon as general walthauser contacted me that night. i spoke to the secretary of defense. it was 20 second phone call what we were asking for. i immediately called general walthauser and told him his request for additional support was approved and we started putting wheels in motion to deliver that capability. once we found out sergeant johnson was missing we brought the full weight of the u.s. government to bear trying to recover his body. >> there is a 800 troops of niger. is that high point what we have in region? more in mali are nigeria? >> no, that is largest number in africa. we have more in east africa but in any one country that is most. reporter: mission creep -- >> what i will do. i will have the team come back, look at all the countries. it is also a high in this particular

plus, an attack in niger killed four american soldiers.re seeing the spot where it happened as we learn more about exactly how it unfolded. from when it began t the delay may have let militants plot thr

deaths of the four soldiers in niger? >> of course not. >> then -- a then like that should have never been written. >> why the president is blaming the finn for the steel dossier. plus -- >> i'd say it was a 10. i give ourselves a 10. >> the scene in the oval office when puerto rico's governor wouldn't echo the president's perfect self-assessment. >> did we do a great job? >> what it looked like when president obama returned to the campaign trail today. >> when "all in" starts right now. good evening from new york. i'm chris hayes. two weeks after four american soldiers died while serving in the west african nation of niger, a lot of questions remain about the circumstances of their deaths. in fact, it was a question to the president about why he had not yet talked to the public about those deaths that prompted him earlier this week to mischaracterize how his predecessors handled similar situations. >> we haven't heard anything from you so far about the soldiers who were killed in niger -- >> -- at some point during the b