we are joined now by paula reid who is outside the courthouse where flynn entered his plea. paula, what essentially does the special counsel get in exchange for this plea? >>reporter: that's the question we've been asking all morning, anthony. newly-released court documents give us some insight into what specifically mike flynn is going to give the special counsel and it is significant. according flynn will testify that before he met with russian ambassador sergey kislyak he personally spoke with a senior official of the president transitional team who he will testify was also with members of the other transitional team down at mar-a- lago. he said they had a long conversation what if anything they should discuss with the russian ambassador and specifically the transition team said they did want him to talk about sanctions and how not to escalate this situation between the united states and russia following sanctions that had been put forth by the obama administration. now, this is very significant because this takes the onus off of mike flynn for having initiated this meetin

we want to thank paula reid outside of the federal courthouse and our washington bureau. there will be more on your local news on your cbs station and our 24 hour streaming network cbsn and the cbs evening news. i'm anthony mason, cbs news, new york. >> for news 24 hours a day go to cbsnews.com. >> abby: clinking is mandatory. it's bad luck if you don't. >> lily: you just quit your job. i don't know if we should be celebrating that. >> abby: hmm. come on, i refuse to let that get me down. help me put the "fun" back in "funemployment." >> lily: you know what? i was really looking forward to us being work buddies at newman. and as someone whose responsibilities have been cut way back, this is a pretty drastic move. >> abby: yes, but you didn't see the statement victoria wanted me to read. she basically wanted me to say that i was stupid and naive and everything that zack did was all my fault. >> lily: no, look, i'm -- i'm not downplaying that at all. when i think about what zack put you through, you know, the kidnapping, holding you up at gunpoint, locking you in a storage

justice reporter paula reid joins us now with more on this. a, so first of all, how did these text messages come to light? >> reporter: well, jeff, the justice department's inspector general found the text messages while investigating how the f.b.i. and department of justice handled matters related to the 2016 campaign. these texts between f.b.i. counterintelligence agent peter strzok and senior f.b.i. lawyer lisa page strongly criticized donald trump during the campaign. they called him an idiot and prospects of a trump victory terrifying. now, strzok was a top official on the f.b.i. investigation of hillary clinton's private e-mail use as secretary of state. after that, strzok and page joined the investigation into russian meddling. special counsel robert mueller removed strzok, but both he and page are back working at f.b.i. >> glor: how do these messages affect the investigation? >> reporter: republicans are trying the use these texts to undermine the credibility of the special counsel's probe, but deputy attorney general rod rosenstein, th

justice reporter paula reid is at the u.s. courthouse in washington. paula, as you heard major just say, the white house insists the mueller investigation is neither the end. >> reporter: no. former federal prosecutors tell me an investigation of this scope could take years. and tonight forget, the special counsel is still investigating whether or not the president or anyone else could have possibly obstructed justice in trying to tamp down this inquiry into mike flynn. now flynn and former campaign adviser george papadopoulos will be used possibly in a new round of charges against a new round of targets. additionally, you also have paul manafort and his associate richard gates. they're headed to trial, and that won't even start until midway through next year. so, anthony, this is not going to end any time soon. >> mason: paula, what did today's developments tell us about mueller's approach? >> reporter: robert mueller is a man of secrets and surprises. we knew it was possible that mike flynn could be inching towards a plea deal, but the explosive detai

justice reporter paula reid is in our washington, d.c. bureau. paula, what have we learned about this plot. >> reporter: well, reena, everitt aaron jameson, a 26-year-old tow truck driver from modesto, has been charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization. f.b.i. officials began investigating him in september after a source reported that jamieson was expressing projihadi views on social media. now, court documents reveal jamieson told an undercover source he wanted to travel to syria to join isis. but later in the investigation, he began talking about carrying out a suicide attack here in the u.s., using skills he learned during a stint in the marine corps. now, he praised the recent truck attack in new york and believed that pier 39 in san francisco would be an ideal target for him because it is especially crowded during the holidays. >> ninan: paula, do we know how the f.b.i. was able to actually stop this planned attack? >> reporter: well, after several months of gathering evidence, the f.b.i. actually almost tipped jamie

jamieson was subsequently arrested and he now faces up to 20 years in prison. >> ninan: paula reid. thank you so much, paula. now to the scandal at the miss america organization. the top leadership resigned today. a dozen former winners demanded he step down after some scandalous emails written by c.e.o. sam haskell were leaked inspect them he wrote abusive things about previous pageant winners. in the philippines, officials say at least 120 people have died from the severe tropical storm lashing the island. another 58 were missing. flash floods roared through towns sweeping way housing and people and triggered mudslides. now that president trump has signed the massive tax overhaul bill, he has plans to keep the momentum going. next on his agenda: overhauling our nation's failing infrastructure. but democrats say they'll fight him on that, too. chip reid is is with the president in florida. >> reporter: it was an ebullient president trump who arrived in west palm beach friday and the reason was no mystery. his signing earlier in the day of the republican tax cut bill, his first major

>> paula reid in washington. loser to ruling out to take at least a year to complete. >>> former astronaut bruce mccanliss has died. he was the first person to fry freely and untethered in space. he was famously captured in this 1974 photograph flying with a hefty jet pack alone and above the earth. he wound up traveling more than 300 feet way from the space shuttle challenger during that spacewalk. bruce mccanliss was 80 years old. >>> here's something that londoners haven't heard in months. [ bell tolling ] the beautiful sound of big ben ringing out for the first time since august. the bell's been silent since the four-year renovation began on the palace of westminster's tower. it will sound off only during the holidays through new year's day. >> i can't imagine being there and not hearing it. >> i know. >>> it's about six minutes after the hour, and now here's a look at the weather for your weekend. >>> it's an inside look at the nfl's newest stadium that's changing more than just team pride. up next we'll talk

>> paula reid in washington. deral investigators are moving closer to ruling out distraction as a cause of that deadly train derailment south of saturday this week. the national transportation safety board said no member of the crew was using a cell phone or other electronic device when the train jumped the tracks traveling at nearly three times the speed limit. officials say that determination comes from an initial check of the train's security cameras. the full investigation is likely to take at least a year to complete. >>> former astronaut bruce mccanliss has died. he was the first person to fry freely and untethered in space. he was famously captured in this 1974 photograph flying with a hefty jet pack alone and above the earth. he wound up traveling more than 300 feet way from the space shuttle challenger during that spacewalk. bruce mccanliss was 80 years old. >>> here's something that londoners haven't heard in months. [ bell tolling ] the beautiful sound of big ben ringing out for the first time since aug

here's justice reporter paula reid. >> reporter: as the president left the white house this morning to head to new york, he made his first remarks on news that former national security adviser mike flynn had struck a deal with special counsel robert mueller. >> no, i'm not, and what has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. there's been absolutely-- that's been absolutely no collusion, so we're very happy. >> reporter: in court yesterday, flynn admitted to lying to f.b.i. agents about the details of two phone calls he had with then-russian ambassador to the u.s. sergei kislyak, during the presidential transition. flynn nowat of admits he discussed u.s. sanctions against russia with kislyak at the direction of top transition officials. in his tweet, the president acknowledge of acknowledged for the first time that he knew flynn had lied to federal investigators before he was fired. "i had to fire general flynn because he lie to the vice president and the f.b.i." lying to the f.b.i. say felony. flynn was a loyal trump surrogate during the campaign, but he was fired as the president's

justice reporter paula reid joins us now with more on this. paula, first of all, how do the text messages come to light? >> the justice department inspector general found the text messages investigating how they handled matters prior to the campaign. texts between, agent, peter striok, and lisa page strongly criticize donald trump during the campaign. they called him an idiot and prospects of a trump victory terrifying. a top official on the fbi investigation of hillary clinton's use of private e-mail server while secretary of state. after joined the investigation. in text messages criticizing donald trump were discovered. special counsel robert mueller removed struck, both he and page are back working at the fbi. >> how do the messages affect the investigation? >> republicans are trying to use the text in an attempt to undermine the credibility of the special counsel's probe. but, deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein the only man who can fire mueller told congress he has seen no reason to remove him. he also noted, that when mueller found o

paula reid is outside the federal courthouse where he will appear, paula, good morning. >> good morning. this is the second and arguably most significant cooperating witness robert mueller has secured so far in this investigation. in the next hour, michael flynn will come here to federal court where he will plead guilty to making false statements. now, that is a relatively minor charge when you consider all the information about him and his business dealings that has been presented to the grand jury. sources have confirmed to me that at least half a dozen witnesses have gone before the federal grand jury to testify and provide evidence about mr. -- about mike flynn's business dealings. that opened him up to many charges, relating to failing to register and failing to disclose a lot of those, potentially very serious charges. the fact he's coming here to federal court to only plead to making false statements, this suggests that he is po pen chully providing the special council with incredibly valuable information. >> he was certainly a member of the inner circle. how worried should the w

paula reid has more. good morning. >> good morning.re thrown out, many people will be getting out of prison, and it will be the second time in two years that thousands of drug convictions are being thrown out for official misconduct in the state. at least 8,000 cases are now in the hands of the massachusetts supreme judicial court. for eight years sonja farak worked at the laboratory as a chemist, analyzing chemicals in drug cases. she was arrested after a search of her car revealed even more stolen drugs. during her trial, farak admitted to using drugs in the lab and even manufacturing in the lab of crack cocaine for her own personal use. she was given an 18-month jail sentence. >> this is really a historic case here in massachusetts. >> reporter: carol rose is the director of the aclu. the group is seeking dismissal of all of the cases that farak handled. >> their loved ones had served time in jail and in prison. >> reporter: this isn't the first drug lab scandal in massachusetts. in 2013 chemist annie 'do ookhan who worked at a stat

paula reid is outside the district courthouse with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this ajelkt was a top fbi investigator working alongside special counsel robert mueller. peter mursak was reassigned after politically sending text messages to another fbi lawyer lisa page. he was a key player in the investigation of hillary clinton's research. this was such a significant development the special counsel's office issued a statement saying immediately upon learning of the allegations, it removed peter strzok from the investigation. they're questioning the credibility of the e-mail probe and the ongoing mueller investigation. president trump tweeted over the weekend, now it all starts to make sense. attorney general jeff sessions who has recused himself from the russian investigation has always weighed in. he says he wants to ensure all federal investigations are conducted without bias or favoritism and that he has addressed this with the fbi director. >> all right paula. thank you so much. >>> house and senate republicans are racing to combine their separate tax reform

paula reid, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a lawyer for mr. trump's transition team says some of the e-mails that mueller has obtained with illegally. he quashed capitol hill rumors that he was poised to fire special counsel robert mueller. >> no, i'm not. no. what else? what? are you surprised? >> reporter: democrats and others agree on mueller's integrity. >> i have confidence in director mueller. >> i do not at all believe mr. mueller has been compromised or his investigation. i think he's beyond reproach. >> reporter: but the president said he was troubled by allegations made by his transition team that mueller got unauthorized access to thousands of e-mails. >> it's not looking good. it's not looking good. it's quite sad to see that. my people are very upset about it. >> reporter: mueller is pushing back and said the e-mails were obtained legally. in a rare statement his spokesman said, when we have obtained e-mail, we have secured, consent, or appropriate >> i can't imagine it, frankly. as we said there's no collusion, no collusion whats

paula reid is at the justice department where the text raised issues of political bias. paula, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. these texts were uncovered by the office of attorney general which is reviewing the clinton e-mail investigation from august 2016 to december 2017. they used their phones to criticize trump. god, trump is a loathe? human page reported in 2017. peter strzok responded. after that primary debate, page said, this man cannot be president. >> i'll tell you at the time. i'll keep you in suspense. >> reporter: as he watched the final debate, peter strzok to page, he's an idiot. page said, good god. page lefted when her assignment was ended. strzok was removed. before that, he led the investigation into hillary clinton's use of a private e-mail service. some on capitol hill are now questioning whether the investigation in to clinton was impartial. >> it can't just be some text messages. >> last week fbi director wray offering this. deputy attorney general rod rosenstein will testify before the house judiciary committee this morning. he's now, of c

paula reid is outside the district courthouse in washington, paula, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that agent was a top fbi investigator working with special counsel robert mueller. peter struck was reassigned after sending politically charged text messages to another member of mueller's team, lisa page, an fbi lawyer. strzok was also a key player into the investigation of hillary clinton's use of her private e-mail server but he's now been reassigned to the fbi's hr department. this was such a significant development, the special counsel actually issued a statement, saying immediately upon learning of the allegations, it removed peter strzok from the investigation. republicans are now using this reassignment to question the credibility of both the clinton e-mail probe and the ongoing mueller investigation. president trump tweeted over the weekend, now it all starts to make sense. attorney general jeff sessions, who has also recused himself from the russia investigation, he weighed in. he says that he believes that federal investigations should be conducted without bias or favorit

paula reid is here with the latest problems tied to the massachusetts drug lab. >> reporter: good morningown out, many people will be getting out of prison and it will be the second time in two years that thousands of drug convictions are being thrown out for official misconduct in the state. at least 8,000 cases are now in the hands of the massachusetts supreme judicial court. for eight years, sonya farik worked at the department of public health as a chemist, responsible for analyzing samples in criminal drug cases. in january of 2013, authorities discovered unlabeled drugs at fa farik's workstation. during a trial, farik admitted to using drugs in the lab and even manufacturing in the lab of crack cocaine for her own use. she was given an 18-month jail sentence. >> this is really an historic case here in massachusetts. >> reporter: carol rhodes is the executive direct effort of the massachusetts aclu. the group is seeking the dismissal of all the convictions based in part on evidence farik handled. >> tens of thousands of families who have been impacted because their loved ones had to

paula reid is at the justice department where the texts raise issues of political bias. paula, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. these text messages were uncovered by the office of inspector general, which is currently reviewing how the hillary clinton e-mail case was handled. late last night we reviewed nearly 100 pages of text messages sent. fbi counterintelligence agent peter strzok and lisa page used their phones to criticize donald trump throughout the campaign. god trump is a loathsome human, page texted in 2016. strzok responded, yet he may win. >> he referred to my hands. if they're small, something else must be small. i guarantee you there's no problem. >> reporter: after that debate, page said this man cannot be president. >> what i'm saying is -- >> i will tell you at the time. i'll keep you in suspension. >> reporter: as he watched the final debate between donald trump and hillary clinton, strzok said to page, trump is an idiot. unable to provide a coherent answer. after the election, the texts continued. when strzok noted how then senator jeff sessions

paula reid is at the justice department. paula, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a lawyer for president trump's transition team claims that some of the e-mails that mueller has obtained contains privileged information and that the transition team was not allowed to review them before they were handed over to special counsel. the president last night quashed capitol hill rumors that he was poised to fire special counsel robert mueller. >> no, i'm not, no. what else? what, are you surprised? >> reporter: democrats and republicans agree on mueller's integrity. >> i have confidence in director mul ir. >> i do not at all believe that mr. mueller has been compromise order his investigation. i think he's beyond reproach. >> reporter: but the president said he was troubled by allegations made by his transition team that mueller got unauthorized access to thousands of transition e-mails. >> looking good. it's not looking good. it's quite sad to see that so my people were very upset about it. >> reporter: mueller is pushing back and says the e-mails were obtained legally. i