peter alexander is at the white house. bob bauer is here with me. peter, what do we know so far about this possible interview offer? it appears from this that as of now mueller is not really considering the possibility of pushing it all the way to a subpoena for an unwilling president, which could be months of litigation all the way to the supreme court. >> reporter: andrea, we're not hearing from the special counsel's side, obviously, most of the information coming from the president's legal team. rudy giuliani saying there was some slight movement, referring to a letter that the president's legal team received on tuesday. the reason that was notable is it was just the next morning, yesterday morning, that the president went off on the mueller investigation and called on jeff sessions in his most explicit, direct call to this point, effectively to shut down the mueller investigation. guiliani says, and you were talking about the idea there would be some written questions and some oral questions as part of this potential interview, according to our s

peter alexander, you know more about men's suits than i do. you can also tell me about donald trump's tweets, because this has been a storm of tweets today and it's been a rather creative one. he is also tweeting about al capone. he wrote, looking back on history, who is treated worse, alphonse capone, legendary mob boss, killer, and public enemy number one, or paul manafort, political operative and reagan/dole darling, now serving solitary confinement although convicted of nothing. where is the russian collusion? i'm not sure who his target is there. >> reporter: andrea, the president has a series of targets today, one that's clear is attorney general jeff sessions in some of those earlier tweets when the president went further than he has been, more explicit than he has been at any point, basically calling on sessions to stop the russia investigation. i've spoken to several sources close to the president today. i asked them to try to cast this for me. they said effectively that the president has privately been bashing sessions. he's been con

nbc's peter alexander has the story. >> reporter: president trump tonight tight-lipped in person. >> reporter: sir, are you ordering the mueller investigation to be shutdown? >> reporter: for the first time calling for the nation's top law enforcement official to end the russia investigation, tweeting attorney general jeff sessions should stop this rigged witch hunt right now before it continues to stain our country any further. the president's critics pouncing. >> these kinds of threats are no accident. they reflect a state of mind, an intent to obstruct justice. >> reporter: but president trump's team is offering its own back >> reporter: mr. trump's lawyer, rudy giuliani, saying it was an opinion, not an order. >> he used the word should, he didn't use the word must. >> reporter: still, it's the latest in an extraordinary series of rebukes by the president against his own attorney general. tonight a source says mr. trump is constantly bashing sessions in private for recusing himself from the russia inquiry, that he simply can't get sessions out of his mind. sessions in arkansas to

here is nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: at the arizona state capitol for the celebrated senator and statesman, a final salute. john mccain's wife cindy flanked by the couple's two sons. his flag-draped casket leading the somber procession. he third person to lie if state here in the past 40 years. >> imagining arizona without john mccain is like picturing an arizona without the grand canyon. it's just not natural. >> reporter: for mccain's grieving family, the void is deep. mrs. mccain saying goodbye. daughter meghan overcome. despite withering heat, thousands coming here to pay their respects. >> whether you're republican, democrat, it never mattered. he has always been my moral compass. >> reporter: service members and veterans arriving early to honor one of their own. >> john mccain to you was much more than a politician. >> he was a brother. >> reporter: on this day, when the former p.o.w. would have turned 82, a long-time aide saying only senator mccain could rig a big birthday celebration for himself like this. how should we remember john mccain? >> well, by being kinder to pe

denbc's national corresp peter alexander has more from the touching tribute in phoenix. >> reporter: the man so many arizonians celebrate as their hero saying good-bye for the .ast ti in a state with millions of voters here they felt they knew john mccain personally. at the family's church in phoenix whecc mn's younger children were baptized the military honor guard receiving his flag draped casket while his loved ones including his widow cindy looked on. ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: a moving celebration of life with a native-american expression of love and the patrotti parad of tributes. >> he served his country with honor. fought the good fight. he finished the race. he kept the faith. reporter: praise punctuated by mccain's friend and former senate colleague joe biden. >> i always thought of john as a brother, had a hell of a lot of family fights. >> reporter:he former vice president reflecting on his own personaloss now helping t mccain's through theirs. >> but you know you're going to make it when the image of your dad, your husband, your friend crosses your mind and a smile com

we get details on all of it from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight from president trump a stiff punishment, new sanctions for russia's poisoning of an ex spy and his daughter in britain last march. following fierce criticism of vladimir putin and his relentless attacks on what he has branded -- >> the russian witch hunt. >> reporter: the decision could fortify president's trump argument they cracked down on moscow. >> i have been far tougher on russia than any president in many, many years. maybe ever. >> reporter: the new sanctions likely to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in exports of sensitive national security equipment to russia. according to a senior state department official. a second more painful wave could ground the airline from entering the u.s. if the kremlin doesn't demonstrate it won't use chemical weapons again. and refuses on site inspections by the u.n. conditions unlikely to be met. russia denied any involvement in the u.k. poisonings. the president facing political pressure, some from top republicans to unleash the penalties after blowing past a congr

lester. >> peter alexander, new jersey. thank you. >>> there are breaking developments on a story we told you about last night. 11 children rescued in a makeshift compound in a desert. several people charged with child abuse and they have made a grim discovery. the remains of a young boy found on the property, still no confirmation if it's the missing 3-year-old boy whose disappearance triggered that raid. >>> now to the new plea tonight from the parents of missing iowa student, mollie tibbetts who vanished who vanished without a trace three weeks ago after going out for a run. her family begging anyone with information to come forward and if someone is holding her, to please let her go. we get more now from stephanie gosk. >> reporter: tonight, mollie tibbetts parents hope whoever may have taken her is watching. >> if you're with molly now you obviously don't mean to hurt her. this has gone far enough. you need to stop now and need to face the consequences. >> reporter: three weeks ago the 20-year-old university of iowa st

our peter alexander was at today's briefing. peter, we don't see briefings much like this one. >> reporter: that's tl exright. the best way to describe this, a show of force, a lineup we ven't seen since president trump took office. a white house advisor telling me the president instructed the officials to tell th american people what they are doing to defend u.s. elections but raising the question why he hasn't t aid all this himself. toniom america's top national security and intelligence officials, a united front vowing to protect u.s. elections against a round of a threats from rus and adversaries adversaries.or. >> we acknowledge the that. it is real and continuing and we're doing erything we can to have a legitimate election that the american people can have trust in. >> repter: three months ahead of the midterms, officials detailing a russian campaign to try to weaken and divide the u.s. >> make no mistake the scope of this foreign influence threat is both broad and deep. >> reporte our democracy itself is in the cross hai

we begin tonight with peter alexander. >> reporter: evethe skies were weeping as john mccain returned the last time to the place where he spent 35 years telling the world what he stoofor. with his family looking on, the military honor guard never breaking stride. mccain, a lion of the senate receiving honors reserved for past presidents and stesman. tehe 32nd person to lie in s his 106-year-old mforting megan. >> guards at the hanoi hilton needed group theory after john was finished with them. >> reporter: the speaker offering praise >> this is one of the bravest souls our nation has ever produced. >> reporter: pinch hitting for the president t invited after dismissing mccain's heroism, vice president mike pence. >> we will ever remember that john mccain served his country, and john mccain served his country honorably. >> reporter: a bipartisan touch scripted by mccain himself. democratic and republican leaders laying wreaths together. for the mccain famile ief remains raw. widow cindy showing remarkable strength. megan in tears saying i love you. and roberta bidding farewell to the s

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. >> joining me now, peter alexander in new jersey, near bedminster. msnbc political analyst peter baker, chief white house correspondent at "the new york times." and eli, perform district attorney in the southern district of new york. to peter alexander with the president at his summer retreat in new jersey. this evolving story, it does raise legal questions. >> yeah, that's exactly right. we're not going to be able to pose any of those specific questions to the president, not today. and perhaps not this week. today the white house has already called what's referred to as a travel photo lid. reporters will not see the president at any point over the course of this day, but it is clear that the president is watching the coverage right now. this morning, again, tweeting on this topic broadly trying to distract and deflect effectively saying why are you all looking into what our campaign did over the course of 2016. instead suggesting the only real collusion between american campaigns and the russians took place by the clinton campaign back then. effectiv

ken dilanian and peter alexander, thank you both really much. really appreciate it. >>> let's talk to our panel now, jacksonville winebank and aaron blake a senior political reporter for "the washington post." >> aaron, i want to start with you, trying to clarify of what the president is trying to do with this tweet. he does not have the same ring of what is the meaning of is or is not. they're trying to underscore that this is not a command from the president. >> they're focusing on one word, "should," they're saying the president was not issued a demand here. jay sekulow says this is not a demand from the president. rudy giuliani says the president's tweet s was carefuly worded so he's making it not a command. two of the president's lawyers saw this tweet and saw the opportunity to clarify it. they're making sure that the tweet does not read according to some people are reading it. they recognize how problematic it would be if it is interpreted as a command. we can add this to a long list of tweets that the president have said. >> matt miller,

that is something that peter alexander teased out of sanders before she walked out of the room. peter is representing the networks as the president is holding a meeting with the white house, what they have described as inner city pastors. >> harry litman, hallie was outlining the defense from the white house that this is opinion. this is not an order, that according to sarah huckabee sanders for as much as she knows the president did not call rosenstein or sessions and demand that this investigation end. tell me the difference for a prosecutor between opinion and an order. how do you define that and how would robert mueller prove that his opinion really is an order, or what would he be looking at? >> there is nothing special here. the basic argument is, come on. the president of the united states uses the word, yes, he says should, but in the same tweet he says rigged, witch hunt, right now, stain on our country. if you were in the oval office and you hear those words and ignore them you are going to get fired, and you should. the question is simply, the common sense question of

peter alexander in jersey. peter, thank you. >>> also this morning the death toll is rising from a devastating earthquake that rocked an indonesia resort island. crews are now racing hoping to find survivors in the rubble. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neely is following the story for us. hi, bill, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. it has been a terrifying vacation for thousands of tourists, many americans, some shaken by their second earthquake in a week. this one once again deadly. so far no americans among the victims. there are fears this very unstable region could soon be hit again. on this popular vacation beach, a naval officer records an extraordinary scene. hundreds of desperate tourists crowding to get off an island rocked by an earthquake. boats deployed to evacuate them were filled to capacity. thousands fleeing dozens of small islands, the injured rushed to shore. the quake struck just after sunset, powerful enough to be felt by millions. the violent shaking sending people rushing fro

. >> kelly o'donell, our colleague, peter alexander this morning on the "today" show noted that only john mccain would be able to probably orchestrate a service like this on his 82nd birthday. only john mccain able to pull something like this off. walk me through and walk us through what happens next, what are we looking here the next three hours and next few days as we remember john mccain. >>. >> reporter: your conversation is right on because john mccain would say this is far too much for him. there was a birthday celebration planned, sadly not to be, marking the one year of his diagnoses and some close to him seemed it was awkward and they wanted to celebrate he had beaten an important milestone of surviving one year of brain cancer and not many more weeks followed after that. today what we expect here in arizona as you see people who have known john mccain and worked with him and part of the extended team mccain who were invited to be apart of this private portion of the ceremony. people who have had connections and that's why you see such real emotions from people here. the doo

peter alexander report on the developments >> reporter: president trump ignoring questions after his clearestall yet to end the russia inquiry. >> sir, are you ordering the russia investigation shall be to be shut down. >> insisting jeff sessions should stop this rigell witch e nt right now. democrats arguing esident has crossed a legal line. >> there is now right now, a clearly credible case. obstruction of justice again om the united states. >> even republicans warning the president to pull back >> i think it's inappropriate for him to be commentin on an stigation. >> but the wuste house is ng off the backlash. insisting president trump was only express iing his personal. >> it's not an order, itt' the presidopinion. the president is not obstructing, he's fighting back. >> a source close to the president telli nbc news mr. trump is constantly bashing sessions in pte for recusing himself from the russia quiry, at he can't get him out of his mind, but legal experts say there's no chance, sessions a former trump campaiadvise e woue back the recuse cal. is attorney general told d no es

peter alexander reporting. >>> president trump will not be attending any of the memorial services. senator mccain had indicated he was not invited. he will be sending, instead, several of his senior aides. >>> well, coming up here, hot in school. should parents be allowed to bring medical marijuana to their kids on campus? big decision that could impact your child's school. >>> and saying a little prayer. fans line-up to pay their respects to the queen of soul. the remarkable way she's being remembered. to know about. the idea may seem unusual: students consuming medical >>> some of the top stories this mid-day. students consuming on campus but a bill heading to the governor's desk would allow just that. the state assembly passed that measure yesterday and rewrite rules currently banning children from assessing and it does require parents to distribute. >>> one defendant reportedly asked for illegal u-turn. according to "east bay times" his client feels cheated. it's because after a plea deal was reached, the judge rejected it during an emotional sentencing hearing and that decisio

i want to start at the white house with nbc's peter alexander. peter, let's talk robert mueller and rudy giuliani and this possible sit down here. what's in and out. what do we know? >> we have a lot to talk about this morning. rudy giuliani telling nbc news there is at least some progress in his team's conversations with robert mueller, the special counsel, sending a letter to the president's legal team on tuesday, giuliani says, offering to limit the range of topics from -- for both oral and written questions. giuliani, telling us quote, they did narrow it, the scope of subject areas he says somewhat but not enough to make a difference. there was slight movement he adds, not enough to answer the concerns but enough to continue discussing for a short while longer. giuliani also saying the focus remains on two main topic areas, collusion and obstruction as he framed it, prepresidency or post presidency. all of this as the new york times is reporting the president against his lawyer's advice wants to meet with mueller's investigators. you just note

. >> peter alexander is following this for us. >> reporter: good morning.ial media giantg say that yet again there appears to be a coordinated campaign being waged on its platform to stir up divisions among americans. all thishead of the all-important midterm elections this november. facebook says its removed 32 pa fs and accountsm facebook and from instagram so far. those bogus pagesan looking to the flames on topics like race and immigrion. already racking up nearly 300,000 followers since las march. so who is behind this? facebook says it's not up to them to say.w they don't kno for sure, but it is working with the fbi to find out.me while, lawmakers say there's little doubt, thepo are again ting the finger squarely at russia. some calling for new stiffsa tions, all this coming as facebook tries to rebound from a series of damaging headlines lately. just last week losing $120 billion. the largest single day loss in stock market history. angie and eun, we'll have the latest this morning on "today." >> peter alexander live at the white house. thank you. we

national correspondent peter alexander has more on this new threat. >> reporter: facebook says it's happening, the social media giant announcing 32 accounts on facebook and instagram. an apparent influence company ahead of november's mid-term. the bogus pages stirring up a device of issues, one called resistors, against annium coming white nationalist rally. even activists facebook says unwittingly caused interest. >> that pushing them to abolish i.c.e.. a part of a growing political firestorm. >> the democrats want to abandon i.c.e.. they want to end i.c.e. >> reporter: the pages created between march of last year and this may picking up 200,000 followers? who is responsible? facebook says it doesn't know. but on capitol hill they are reporting to russia him one republican vowing more sanctions. >> that has everything but the kitchen siveng in it. it will be the sanctions bill from hell. >> reporter: congress recently grilled mark zucker burg over facebook's handing of russia interference in 2016. >> unfortunately the process isn't per fevenlg i am committed to doing that. >> i think faceboo

nbc's peter alexander breaks it down for us. >> reporter: this morning, president trump on tape overnight former white house aide omarosa newman with this exclusive excerpt of a recording of a phone call she says she received from the president. she says the call came the day after she was fired by the white house chief of staff john kelly. the president seemingly unaware she was dismissed. >> omarosa, what's going on? i just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving. what happened? >> general kelly -- general kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave. >> no. i -- nobody even told me about it. nobody even -- >> wow. >> they run a big operation. but i didn't know it. i didn't know that. >> yeah. >> damn it. i don't love you leaving at all. >> reporter: nbc news doesn't know what was said before or after that exchange. on sunday, newman revealing she secretly taped kelly firing her in the situation room. >> can i ask you a couple questions? does the president -- is the president aware of this? >> don't do -- let's not go down the red. >> this is a white house where

tla >> that was peter alexander reporting. >>> coming up, how the president's daughter ivanka distancing fleherself from her father's politics. >>> watch "nbc nightly news" with lester holt covering all the day the headlines. >>> we now know who won that $543 million lottery jackpot pap group of whos. 11 co-workers from the south bay came forward to claim their prize. they bought it at ernie's liquors figuring if they went to a mom and pop shop it could bring better chances. the group didn't have to worry about telling the boss. he was also a part of the fold. we don't know if they're all quitting their jobs. the winners have to decide whether to take it over 30 years or a final lump some of $320.5 million. i don't know how to read that. >> yeah. $230.5 million. >> and a 1/2. >> $320.and a half. >> yeah. >> run with the money. >> looking for something to do this weekend look no further than fremont. >> you don't have to win the lottery. this is free. tense of thousands will celebrate the festival of the arts in downtown fremont. the festival's 35th year. city leaders call this the larges

it is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. >> that was peter alexander reporting. facebook says it will clear up whoever sent -- or rather, it's clear whoever sent those -- set up those accounts went to much greater lengths to obscure the true identities than the russian-based internet research agencies i.r.a. did in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. facebook also says they're constantly changing their security tactics. >>> the trial of paul manafort is in its second day today. the former manager of president trump's campaign is accused of committing financial crimes before he joined trump's team. yesterday prosecutors said manafort made millions working for russian-backed ukrainian government and hid the money overseas to avoid taxes. manafort blames it all on his former business partner, rick gates. in the meantime, legal experts say this trial could impact the special counsellor's investigation. >> a win here will both signify that he is here for serious, legitimate reasons, not a witch hunt, and also give him an edge going in to the rest of this yea

nbc's peter alexander starts us off from phoenix. peter, good everyone. >> reporter: savannah, good evening from the arizona state capital where john mccain is being remembered as a man of courage and integrity. it comes as president trump is igniting a new controversy for his inaction and his actions in the wake of mccain's death. tonight, inside the senate chamber where he served six terms, john mccain's desk draped in black, the maverick never at a loss for words delivering his farewell statement through a trusted aid. >> i've often observed that i'm the luckiest person on earth. i feel that way even though as i prepare for the end of my life. i've loved my life, all of it. >> reporter: mccain getting in a last word on president trump without ever mentioning him by name. >> we weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with trival rivalries. we weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down. >> reporter: at the white house, mr. trump ignoring questions. >> mr. president, any thoughts on john mccain? >> rep

david. >> my thanks to peter alexander for that report.ning us from washington is daniel lippman. i want to ask you first of all here, how are the latest sanctions imposed on russia going to affect president trump's budding relationship with his russian counter part? >> it is not going to help, but trump seems to have his own personal foreign policy with russia and then his administration has a totally different one that's much tougher. so trump is right in the sense that they have pursued sanctions and other aggressive actions to hold russia accountable, but he has not done that in -- with his -- you know, his voice and trying to hold putin to account for his actions, you know, in his press conferences. so it seems like trump continues to buddy up to putin even though his state department says, you know, that they push back on these sanctions. >> daniel lippman, i want to go to the other story involving robert mueller, the back and forth that the white house and president trump's lawyers have had with bob mueller and his team over the pro

peter alexander picks things up right now. n of cable tv, katy tur, we thank you. >> that's andrea mitchell, my friend. >> we'll call you the princess, then. kae t good afternoon, i'm peter alexander in for ali velshi. we begin with breaking news on the russia investigation. nbc news has learned that the special counsel robert mueller, his team has met with kristen davis. she's otherwise known as the manhattan madam. they are interested in her ties with roger stone, that man. this comes as president trump and his legal team are reportedly considering their next steps and whether to agree to an interview with mueller. >>> plus, china started it and that's what the white house is saying as beijing warns that it will slap retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion in american goods. >> are we in a trade war? are we in one? >> china started it. we're working on ensuring of reducing abuses. >> china started it, you heard there. beijing had some choice words for washington saying any unilateral threat or blackmail will only lead to intensifi

nbc news national correspondent peter alexander has the details. >> reporter: the first in-laws, melaniahe oath in new york city. their experience reuniting questions whether they obtained citizenship through chain migration, a family reunification process president trump has repeatedly denounced. >> we have to end chain migration, and we have to build the wall and we're going to do it it. >> reporter: viktor aknavs and his wife became citizens. asked if they used chain migration, the attorney said, i suppose it is a dirty, dirtier word. the first lady's parent familiar sights at the white house. it all comes days after nbc news was first to report the trump administration is considering a crackdown on legal immigration. a proposal that would make it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they or anyone in their household has ever used popular public assistance programs like obamacare or food stamps, a move that could impact 20 million legal immigrants in the u.s. a federal judge has ordered the trump administration to stop deporting some immigrants seeking

peter alexander. peter, thank you. >>> the president calling for voters to show photo id when they go to polls. the remark came at a rally in tampa, florida. he was talking about the idea of noncitizens voting in elections when he raised some eyebrows with this statement. >> the time has come for voter id. if you go out and you want to buy groceries you need a picture on a card. you need id. >> photo ids are required for some purchases at the grocery store like alcohol and cigarettes but not everything else. the president in tampa to promote campaign of two florida republicans ahead of that state's primary. >>> the president's former campaign chairman paul manafort is returning to court this morning for the first full day of his criminal trial. the only case brought by the special counsel robert mueller to go before a jury so far. correspondent pete williams is at a courthouse in alexandria. pete, good morning to you. what can we expect in court today? >> today the jury will hear from people who know a

nbc national correspondent peter alexander has more. >> reporter: inside the senate chamber where he terence, john mccain's desk draped in black. the maverick never at a loss for words, delivering his farewell statement through a trusted aide. >> i often observed i am the luckiest person on earth. i feel that way even now as i prepare for the end of my life. i have loved my life, all of it. >> reporter: mccain getting in a last word on president trump without ever mentioning him by name. >> we weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries. we weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down. >> reporter: at the white house, mr. trump ignoring questions. >> reporter: mr. president, any thoughts on john mccain, sir? >> reporter: but his actions speaking volumes. the white house returning the flag to its full height, even as those around the nation's capitol remained at half staff. but by afternoon amid intensifying pressure, a reversal. mr. trump writing, despite our differences on policy and politics i respect senator mccain's service to our c

yasmin. >> thanks to peter alexander for that report. nbc news that the so-called manhattan madam is set to testify to the special counsel's grand jury this week. the source says mueller's team questioned kristin davis about russian collusion last week. davis has ties to former trump campaign adviser roger stone. in a statement to nbc news last week, stone called davis a long-time friend and associate and a brilliant business woman. he also claimed, quote, she knows nothing about alleged russian collusion or any impropriety related to the 2016 election. after being contacted by mueller's team in july, davis said, quote, for them to come to me for information on russian collusion, i don't have anything on that. she called it, quote, out of the blue and very upsetting. in 2014 davis began a two-year prison term for selling prescription drugs to an fbi informant. he she earned the nickname manhattan madam for running an escort service with a wealthy client list that she said included new york's governor at the time, elliott spitzer. she ser

peter alexander, is matt miller right? is this what changed? is this why we saw those natural security and intelligence heads today? >> i was moderating that panel with kirstjen nielsen where we had that conversation. it took a lot of follow-up questions before she finally said, yes, i agree with the intelligence assessment. what struck me here today and this was an announced briefing, but an unannounced series of guests, obviously. they brought out this sort of american national security and intelligence wall. this sort of line of defense preventing another round of interference in a u.s. election, but notably absent from this conversation again, just to highlight what matt said, is the president himself. the president within the last 24 hours said something that only undercuts the findings of these very agencies describing these investigations as a hoax just a matter of days ago, over the weekend describing the mueller investigation right now, the russia investigation, trying to get to the bottom of the interference that took place in 2016 as

i want to bring in nbc's peter alexander who's live in berkeley heights, new jersey. peter, if the president really wants to do it, he could just say yes. i mean, his legal take is working for him. so what's going on here? >> yes, chris, you make a very good point. there would be one easy way for rudy giuliani and, frankly, president trump, to wrap this thing up sooner. giuliani saying he wants it to end within the next three weeks, by september 1st. he doesn't want it to interfere with the november elections. they would sit down with robert mueller. the president certainly could do that if he so chose. but instead what we've sort of witnessed is what appears to be a very sort of public stalling game, a public mudslinging effort by rudy giuliani. and the president's legal team. broadly, they are able to monopolize the air waves right now because robert mueller, the special counselor, his team, they are not speaking publicly. instead we've heard from giuliani as a variety of occasions as you noted over the last several months doing what's sort of a delicate dance. publi

whereas mind. >> thank you to peter alexander for that report. >>> all right.er his promise to let obamacare implode after congressional republicans failed to repeal the law last year. for more on that i want to bring in nbc news national politeal reporter heidi przybyla with more on her reporting this morning. what to you have? >> reporter: that's right. a lawsuit is being filed in maryland federal court by columbus, cincinnati and baltimore today arguing that trump's efforts to make good on his promise to let obamacare implode violate the constitution. trump has, quote, waged a relentless effort to use executive action alone to undermine and ultimately eliminate the law. the complaint charges according to a draft obtained by nbc news. the suit alleges that trump's directives ordering agencies to roll back as much of the affordable care act as possible violates article 2 of the constitution that requires the president to, quote, take care that the law is faithfully executed. it is also going to rely on a list of trump's own tweets, indicating his intent to unr

let's go right to the white house and my colleague, nbc's peter alexander, who's been tracking this all overnight, including the breaking developments. so, peter what are you learning today? >> the president clearly feels emboldened. we now how much he likes appearing strong and decisive. those close to president trump says he views his ability to pull clearances in the same category as the presidential pardon power, something he can do unchecked. remember sarah sanders just this week detailed a handful of other names on that list. remember, the president largely steered clear of clearance issues, especially as they related to his son-in-law jared kushner's situation. we know the brennan announcement, original dated last month, suggesting the president made this decision weeks ago. just waiting for the right time to drop us. the counselor of the president defended the move. i spoke to her. she again blasted john brennan. take a listen. >> he's paid for his opinion now. his opinion is virantly against the interests of the administration, which is serving the interests of our national sec

. >> joining me now, nbc national correspondent peter alexander at the white house, harry litman, former u.s. attorney, deputy u.s. attorney general, and correspondent jeff mason. welcome, all. peter, you were on the south lawn with the president. he seems to be reveling in going after john brennan, he said explicitly he likes having someone to go after. >> reporter: that's right, andrea. we've had a lot of opportunities, we've seen the president take these windows to speak to reporters, to speak to the american public. but for the last several weeks he's sort of shied away from that opportunity. today he did not, as you noted, he reveled in it, going after john brennan, the navy admiral william mcccraven who spoke out against the president, saying "i don't really know who he is." as i understand, based on conversations here and the president frankly said it for himself, he is looking to move forward with more announcements, specifically referring to bruce ohr, saying he expects the revocation of his security clearance to happen, quote, quickly. will that happen today, as he goes off to

peter alexander is learning this morning that that may happen today. rudy giuliani, the president's outside attorney, telling peter and me actual that i this is most likely possible that the legal team will respond to the special counsel by the close of business, dan. i want to ask you about this because rudy giuliani first told our team that it would happen by monday or tuesday. today is wednesday. now it is most likely, according to information that i just got from giuliani as well as peter alexander. is this a stalling tactic or is this legit? >> it will, i don't think it's a stalling tactic to wait from monday to wednesday. i think that realistically this interview is never going to happen. so to some extent is it a stalling tactic to play a longer game and to keep these negotiations alive so that rudy giuliani and -- can build up a narrative that basically says we tried to negotiate, mueller is unreasonable, so therefore we cannot allow the president to go and be interviewed. because the one thing lost in all this is it's pretty remarkable that the

we have coverage with nbc national correspondent peter alexander. hey, peter, good morning. >> hey, hoda, good morning to you. rick gates, that is donald trump's former deputy campaign manager is due back on the stand today after a dramatic day of testimony pointing the finger at paul manafort saying they are both guilty. this morning rick gates becoming the first campaign official to confess his crimes on the witness stand. gates, long time deputy and right-hand man asked, were you involved in any criminal activity with mr. manafort. his reply, yes. did you commit any crimes with manafort? again, yes. special counsel robert mueller's star witness in the case admitted he and manafort hiding millions of dollars from the irs in 15 offshore bank accounts all done at manafort's direction insisting both men knew they were committing a crime. manafort, trump's former campaign chairman has pleaded not guilty to tax charges. another stunning confession, gates also admitting he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from manafort while working for him. inside

i'm peter alexander.otional good-bye at a florida airport this morning as the wife of a u.s. marine veteran was deported to mexico. alejandra juarez was forced to leave a country she lived in for 20 years. we spoke with her in june when she first found out she was being deported. >> they're breaking my family apart. they don't care that he serve his country three times. so before you enlist in the military, think twice. before you marry an immigrant, think twice. if it's really worth for you to serve this country because look how they treat me. >> juarez's husband who wrote to president trump wrote him a letter asking for mercy but to no avail. when she got on a plane this morning for mexico without a home and a plan, she had these words for the president, may god forgive you. it has been a week since the court order deadline to reunite the children and parents the trump administration forcibly separated at the border. according to a new court filing, there are still more than 570 children who are not wit

. >> peter alexander at the white house, thanks. >>> dramatic back and forth today in a virginia courtroom as the trial is officially under way for paul manafort, the first case brought by special counsel robert mueller to go before a jury and could send president trump's former campaign chairman to prison. our justice correspondent, pete williams was in the courtroom. >> reporter: though paul manafort was the trump campaign chairman for three months, this trial is not about that. for nearly a decade, robert mueller's prosecutors told the jury today manafort made millions representing russia's neighbor, ukraine and victor yanokovic, an ally and stashed 15 million in overseas banks to avoid taxes and lied to banks to get $25 million in loans on his houses. manafort's lawyer told the jury that the man who hid the money from the irs was manafort's former business partner rick gates who has pleaded guilty and will testify. manafort said the lobby was promoting democracy. >> we were trying to help ukraine get into europe and we succeeded. >> reporter: president trump's name wasn't even mentione

but as our peter alexander explains, that's not the story he was telling before now. >> reporter: president trump today on vacation but hardly in vacation mode no public appearances but plenty of public complaints watching cable news coverage still fuming about robert mueller's inquiry, even after he himself igniting about the meeting between his son and the russian nald unior trying to clean up after his father admitted out right it was about getting dirt on hillary clinton. he blamed the media instead. >> they have gotten plenty of mileage out of this thing and they will keep milking it for as long as they . >> reporter: the president's reversal coming by tweet. a far cry from the misleading explanation he indicated from air force one on his son's behalf last summer. the president and his aides insisting that was central to the investigation was about russian adoptions. >> i guess they talked about as i see it, they talked about adoption and some things. >> he certainly didn't dictate but he, like i said, he weighed in and offered suggestion like any father would do. >> reporter: the pres

. >> thanks to peter alexander for that report. >>> and now, d.c.d its th ll farewell to senator. after a private arrival ceremony this morning, his body will lie in state at the u.s. capitol rotunda. he's only the 30th american to receive the honor. tomorrow a memorial service, and on sunday he'll be laid to rest at a private burial at the u.s. naval academy. >>> president trump is back in d.c. this morning after hitting the campaign trail ahead of the midterms. he fired up a crowd at a rally in indiana, while also stumping for senate candidate mike braun. the president touted his trade deal with mexico, as we as the economy, and launched a new waves of attacks on his own justice department, even threatening to intervene himself. >> our justice department and our fbi have to start doing their job and doing it right and doing it now. because people are angry. i want them to do their job. i will get involved, and i'll get in there if i have to. >> the president also promising to crack down on tech titans that he claims are unfairly censoring conserva

peter alexander is in new jersey where the president is on a working vacation. good morning. >> hey, hoda. good morning to you. president trump on vacation, buy han vacation mode. lashing out again at the media and at robert mueller. describing vemueller's igation as lies and corruption, and also completely contradicting his initial version of events about why son donald jr. held that meeting with russians right in the heat of the 2016campaign. >> for president trump, ari stng acknowledgment after a year of denials andhifting stories. addressing that 2016 trump tower meeting between his son, donald trump jr., and a russian lawyer tied to the kremlin. mr. trump tweeting sunday, this was a meeting toti get infor on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics. and it went nowhere. that defense, a very different story than the statement issued by the president's team l summer insisting the meeting was primarily about the adoption of russian chinch. a misleading statement the presidenn dictated o behalf of his son. the story has evolved over the last

our peter alexander is there. >> reporter: thean many arizonians celebrate as their hero saying good-byeor the last time. in a state with llions of voters, here they thought they knew john mccain personally. at the family's church in phoenix where mccain's younger children were baptized, today a military honoruard receiving his flag-draped casket and his loved ones including window cinok on. ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: a moving celebration of life with a native american expression of love. and a patriotic parade of tributes. >> he served his country with hon. he fought the good fight. he finished the race. he kept the faith. >> reporter: praise pungs punctuated by joe biden. ctuated by joe biden. >> i always thought of john as a brother. we had a lot of mily ghts. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the former vice president reflecting on his own personal loss hew ing the mccains through theirs. >> to know you're going to make it with the energy of your da your husband, your friend crosses your mind and a smile comes to your lip before a tear to your eye. >> reporter: biden explaining why losing

we get details from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: tonight, the first in-laws, melania trump's parents, sworn in as american citizens. the slovenian immigrants taking the oath in new york city. their experience reyou nighting questions whether they obtained citizenship through family migration, a family unification process president trump repeatedly denounced. >> we have to end chain migration, and we have to build the wall, we're going to build it. >> reporter: victor and amelija knas, until today legal permanent residents declined to comment but their lawyer saying they got no special treatment. >> the application, process, the interews no differ anybody else's. >> reporter: asked if they used chain migration, their lawyer told "the new york times" i suppose it's a dirty, dirtier word. the first lady's parents are familiar faces at the white house. mrs. trump missing today's private epordly sponsored her parents' visa applications, after she was a citizen in 2006. the trump administration is considering a crackdown on legal immigration. a proposal that would make it harder for legal

nbc's peter alexander has the reaction on capitol hill. >> reporter: president trump tight lipped in person. >> sir, are you ordering thenv muellertigation to be shutdown? >> reporter: but explosive on twitter. for the first time calling on the nation's top law nforcement official to end the russia investigation, tweeting, attorney general jeff sessions should stop this rigged witch hunt right now before it continues to stain our country any rtr. the president's critics pouncing. >> these kinds of threats are no accident. they reflect a state of mind and intent t obstruct justice. >> reporter: but president trump's team is offering itsrewn intetion from the white house. >> look, the president is not obstructing. he's fighting back. >> reporter: mr. trump's lawanr rudy giu saying it was an opinion, not an order. >> he used the word should, he didn't use the word he didn't direct him to do it. and he's not going to direct him to do it. >> reporter: still, it's the latest in an extraordinary series of rebukes for the president againstis own attorney general. a source close to the p tell