phil rucker, john heilemann, always a pleasure. back with more, including some breaking news tonight, right after this. >>> welcome back. and with two minutes before we get off the air, turns out we have two breaking news stories right quick tonight. first of all, jeffrey epstein, the gentleman involved in the sex abuse story that has so far encompassed a lot of bold-faced names in this country, has been found tonight in his new york prison cell injured. we don't know if it's at the hands of other people, we don't know if it is at his own hands or if it was a, perhaps, failed suicide attempt. all we know is he has been found injured in jail. story numbe two, the governor of puerto rico, roberto rossello has announced tonight. he is stepping down. here is video of his announcement. we translated in real time from spanish, he, indeed, is going to stay on the job until august 2nd for reasons known but to him. the reasons behind his departure, these are live pictures right now, in old san juan, puerto rico, the reasons behind his depar

. >> so phil rucker, let's be sure we have this right. the president wanted a cabinet secretary to go to that cabinet department's briefing room, and i don't know if anyone has raised questions about the stagecraft here of a secretary with the imprimatur of the federal government standing behind the seal of that cabinet department wrapped in the american flag to send a message about his handling of a case about a sex offender. what does that reveal about 2019? >> look, brian, it reveals that so much of our federal government is a public relations exercise right now. the main reason secretary akochtda went to that podium was to do battle in pr. this was not a case before the labor department. it frankly has nothing to do with his job as the labor secretary. but it has everything to do with the quality of press coverage he was receiving, which as we have documented so many times on this broadcast is paramount for president trump. acosta was getting bad headlines. trump wanted acosta to fix that. i think it's noteworthy, and this was alluded

phil rucker, thank you for spending time with us.luck on that beat. >>> after the break, rapid response. democrats warn of the danger of the low ride but struggled to speak about his dangerous rhetoric. >>> tying trump to the illegal hush money scheme, the one that landed michael cohen in jail. what we're learning about documents just unsealed. >>> and donald trump's one-time party pal denied epstein bail. wow! that's ensure max protein, with high protein and 1 gram sugar. it's a sit-up, banana! bend at the waist! i'm tryin'! keep it up. you'll get there. whoa-hoa-hoa! 30 grams of protein, and one gram of sugar. ensure max protein. ...when a plan stops being a plan and gets set into motion. today's merrill can help you get there with the people, tools, and personalized advice to help turn your ambitions into action. what would you like the power to do? >>> we're not going to beat donald trump by using his tactics, by fighting on his turf and his terms. that's never how we beat demagogues. >> he's actually putting her in a threat situ

let me get phil rucker back in on donald trump. i think we can't have this conversation as though we're discussing a normal white house. donald trump has no idea that conditions are supposed to be met before you step into north korea. donald trump has no idea can -- donald trump doesn't even accept his own intelligence. what does this process look like, phil rutgers? >> you know what, it's a policy that's shaped almost entirely by his view of relationships, personal relationships with these leaders. the reason he wants to partnership with kim jong-un is he's in such of a deal, he's in search of history, he's in search of a nobel peace prize. >> he doesn't know what western liberalism means. >> i remember him talking to kim jong-un when they first had that summit is what inspired trump to go around calling prime minister abe and others saying he should be nominated for the nobel peace prize by taking that step. he sees history in its grasp and he doesn't quite know how to get the deal but he knows if he has a relationship with kim j

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phil rucker is back with me as well as jack jacobs, a medal after honor recipient and msnbc military phil, you said, quote, this year's gathering on the mall marks a departure because presidents typically have not participated in independence day celebrations. why independence day if you're doing a military parade? what are you hearing about all this, because it was all pretty fast. >> the president wanted to do a military parade and those plans were thwarted by the government over concerns about cost and just infrastructure problems with rolling tanks through the streets of a city. so the parade was not to be. the president seized on this july 4th moment as a chance to put his own mark on what has historically been a decidedly nonpartisan celebration in the nation's capitol. he's wanted to have bigger fireworks than normal, he's wanted to put himself at center stage, he's given out vip tickets to his political donors, and meanwhile it's being funded by the government, not by his campaign. and in fact my colleagues at the post have reported last night that 2$2.5 million on national pa

and nbc political analyst phil rucker. white house bureau chief at "the washington post." and nbc political reporter shaq brewster. msnbc legal analyst maya wiley. sorry if i got all the names messed up, but first of all, geoff bennett to you at the white house. the president reacted only after ivanka trump and other republicans expressed some discomfort with the way this was playing out. >> that's right. some republicans on the hill sending word through the vice president they were trying to convey this message that they didn't want this send her back chant in much the way that lock her up had become a rallying cry. so you saw that was one of the reasons why the president tried to disavow the chant, although as you rightly said in the damage control that he both mentioned and we heard from kevin mccarthy, the house republican leader yesterday, just doesn't hold up to the facts. but one of the reasons, andrea, in my conversations close to the president one of the reasons we're talking about this six days after the president fired off the racist tweets is because the presid

we asked phil rucker and lonnie chen to stay with us. phil, i'd like to go to you. we just learned this vote is called for 7:00 p.m. eastern time, obviously because they watch chris mathews. my question to you is with cynicism taken a deep as hold as it has in our society, will this look like theater or will this look real? >> i think, brian, a little bit of both. in a way it's a real vote because this is the house speaker pelosi and the democrats in the house trying to do something beyond issuing statements decrying the president. they're trying to take some sort of action to vote, to use their power in the majority of the house to, to chastise this president in a formal way. on the other hand, it is theater insofar as it's an effort, as amber phillips laid out in that piece you just read from, to get these house republicans on the record on this issue. it's a very difficult vote for the republicans to make. i believe the republican house leader kevin mccarthy this evening indicated that he did not think this vote would be productive. said you're going to see some

in phil rucker's reporting, this probably was a reaction to elijah cummings and baltimore and now the campaign is backfilling the strategy. but the implication is mathematical problem in a sense because steve pointed out how the african-american vote now has clout. it was in his reporting that talked about the african-american democratic vote is 61% of the vote in south carolina. so you have all these democrats who are going to appeal to that vote, very overtly, not only in south carolina but on the debate stages nationally. so trump is not going to win the african-american vote. can we all agree on that? >> i think that's fair. >> he's probably not going to win the african-american vote. in fact african-americans vote so strongly for their democratic candidate in presidential elections there really is no there there. in other words, he would have to have any movement of any significance he would have to win 70% of african-american vote. >> sure but the question being are you pushing the african-american vote up by saying all these offensive things. >> yes, you will. but it's a mathem

joining me now from the white house is nbc's hans nichols and phil rucker and an msnbc political analystand andrea mitchell and host of msnbc's "andrea mitchell reports." hans, you're take white house so i want to start with you. you know, on one hand it's not a new story here, the president even brags about liking the actings. i alone can fix it, well, he alone is in charge. >> that's how he likes it, chuck. and i think what was the most telling to me about that conversation that he seemed to be having with alex acosta there in front of the cameras was president trump basically telling alex acosta i would have let you stay but i didn't. i think that's the mystery in all this. because other people submitted resignation letters, the president can refuse them. it was clear that the white house didn't like the trajectory of this story. all the other cabinet secretaries that have led to that list, the credits that you were playing there, it's all taken place over a much longer time. so when you talk to officials inside the west wing, they're not really surprised that acosta left. they are su

i'm s glad we have two attorneys and phil rucker.resident trump was watching what did he take away and why did epstein end up resigning? excuse me, why didcosta resign? >> the performance was not the kind of performance we're used to from people when they're trying to please the president. on lacked pas he lacked indignation. you'll remember when brett kavanaugh in his confirmation hearings for the supreme court defended himseo, he did s with a lot of vigor and passion and indignation and anger and trump really liked that. i think trump wasn't sure what to make of acosta's performance. started asking around and fast forward to friday and acosta's out. rort: he also did not apologize to the victims, jerry? >> i think the way the victims were treated may have been the biggest part of it, at least the publ relations problem even the legal problem not telling the victim what is you were doingtruck a lot of people kind of the worst of the sins that were committed down in florida. but i tnk the backdrop of this that's important to remember

phil rucker, get me start with you on the breaking news, coats stepping down, perhaps earlier than expected, but we know him and the relationship had a rocky relationship for quite some time. what is the backstory here? why has the president not been supportive of his dni lately? >> coats has actually been a misfit inside the administration from the beginning. he's a russia hawk from his years in the senate representing indiana. he's been out of touch with the president both in relations to vladimir putin and also the broader intelligence operations of the government. he's somebody who has daily access to the president -- not quite daily because he doesn't do the intelligence briefing every day but coats is in the room with the oval office when he gets those briefings but they never really developed a warm rapport. coats has always been this sort of bulwark, protecting the integrity of the intelligence community, much the same way jim mattis protected the military as defense secretary and he's one of the last guardrails now. >> this is an intelligence community this president has repeated a

phil rucker remeeted the same false claim. >> this debate is not about socialism.m. it's what the president started on sunday, which is a racist attack on these four women of color.nt >> tammy: oh, boy. adrienne that, when did we enter the twilight zone? you might have the answer. i don't. >> first of all, andrea mitchell is wrong. there's many socialists in the democrat party. that's where the party has steered to the left. we've seen it the last 1, 1 1/2 years. and alexandria ocasio-cortez is a self-avowed socialist. same with bernie sanders. she totally missed the mark. we look at the other presidential contenders, so many of them are so far to the left and embracing socialist policies like the new green deal. the democrats are no longer moderate. they're very close to socialism. >> tammy: yeah, alexandra wouldn't you say that this might indicate that they know this is troubling and not a good position to take and a way they're helping them along to erase the negativity that the americans see socialism at? >> journalists are smart. they know that aoc and her socia

division and joyce vance, a former attorney and an assistant attorney general and msnbc analyst phil rucker, white house bureau chief at the new york post. welcome all. the day after mueller, a victory lap at the white house, premature or not, so, rucker, let's take us through where nancy pelosi is right now, where the caucus is the morning after. >> andrea, well, the caucus is divided right now. have you an impatient impeachment caucus within that democratic caucus. they want to begin now with these impeachment proceedings. pelosi is trying to hold off to buy some time. she said yesterday she did not want to go down the impeachment road until she has the best hand possible. >> that requires getting through a couple of court decisions. for example, they want to bring don mcgahn, the former white house counsel to testify publicly before congress about those examples of possible obstruction of justice that were in the mueller report. that's one of many steps that pelosi wants to take before making a final decision about whether to proceed with impeachment. >> and kristen welker, the house is

phil rucker, thank you., always good to have you. >> thank you. >>> right now on capitol hill, lawmakers are grilling department of homeland security officials over what's being called a massive unwarranted intrusion. the use of our driver's license photos without consent for facial recognition scams. we're going to explain how the fbi and i.c.e. may be using your photos. photos l. the patented blend of protein, fat, and carbs is part of a balanced formula that's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels. in fact, it provides 60% more protein than the leading diabetes nutrition shake and contains only 1 carb choice. enjoy the balanced nutrition of boost glucose control as part of a healthy diet. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >>> happening right now on the left side of your screen there, congresswoman jackson lee part of the homela

with less than 24 hours to go until mueller's testimony, let's break it down with phil rucker, white house bureau chief for the "washington post." betsy woodruff, tom due bree, former deputy assistant attorney, and sara, and clint watts right here with me, and nbc news correspondent ken dilanian who covers national security for us here. ken, let's start with you. let's talk about the expectations. because i want to go to something that you reported earlier. you said that some senior democrats acknowledge that wednesday's hearings are unlikely to significantly change public opinion about trump let alone push more house members down the path towards supporting impeachment. what are the realistic expectations we should have for tomorrow? >> democrats would love for this to be a transformative moment that really moves the needle on public opinion about donald trump. but realistically they don't expect that to happen because people are baked in in their views of the mueller report on one side. and then there's a whole swath of americans who haven't heard anything about the mueller report.

phil rucker pointed out earlier that where kevin mccarthy tried to make this a race about idology.nd that's rational and acceptable as he framed it, socialism versus freedom. if you have a problem with these four women, tell me what they said and your problem with it. that's not what he's doing. this is overt racism. right now the president is engaged in a very risky strategy because he is actually turning it into a binary which i don't think, obviously, most americans are comfortable with. and that is, you are either with a vile racist, and i don't say that lightly. the president has demonstrated over and over again, starting with the central park five through birtherism through all of -- through the s-hole countries and on and on and on and now we're supposed to believe that he didn't mean to say, go back to africa? he didn't say that literally, but if you look at the three women, three of them who have heritage that goes back to africa, none of them -- only one of them is from africa. the others are not. these are american citizens who are duly elected. i don't agree with their

. >>> joining us now, white house bureau chief of the post, phil rucker, the fantastic kimberly atkins and joyce vance and with me at the table reverend al sharpton, host of "politicsnation" and president of the action network. amazing to see you as always. rutger, i want to start with you. the whole nadler thing today after all of this, will will be impeachment? will there not be paefltle? impeachment? i was on television with you and what we were hearing was impeachment probably dead. and then you have nadler saying i'm kind of doing impeachment already. what do you think about that? >> he made it clear that's under consideration. p it adoesn't mean there will b an impeachment trial on monday. we heard speaker pelosi be a lot more cautious and judicious in her approach to this, and this is her word, the democrats needed to be sophisticated how they approached this. they want to have the best hand possible if and when they move forward with paecimpeachment proceedings. she means gathering more evidence, having more hearings as don mcgahn, the former white house counsel, who nadler's c

phil rucker, we have to remember that back in may we learned an aluminum company partially owned by a russian oligarch announced plans to invest almost $200 million bucks to build a new plant in kentucky. let's again remember he is a close ally of vladimir putin. it was back in december just before christmas break. steve mnuchin lifted sanctions that directly benefited three of the oligarch's companies. >> those are important points, steph. it is not just congress that isn't acting. president trump has not used the bully pulpit of his office to deliver any sort of threat to other countries and it's not only russia now. there are a host of other nations including iran that are trying to interfere in our elections and wage these social media campaigns to change the direction of our campaigns. that's a dangerous thing for this country and it is something the intelligence community has been very alarmed about for sometime and, yet, trump has not come to grips with those facts. we all remember when he was in helsinki face to face with vladimir putin and declined to confront putin over this

rucker, washington bureau chief and nbc political analyst. and former federal prosecutor. and tom dupre, deputy assistant attorney general in the george w. bush administration. phil, set the stage in terms of what's at stake ahead of mueller's five hours of testimony on capitol hill. is this a do or die moment for democrats when it comes to the topic of impeachment? >> i think it is. it's been a few months since the mueller report came out. democrats in the house have struggled to gain momentum towards opening impeachment proceedings. they subpoenaed a number of current and former white house officials, people who could over information and analysis about president trump. they have not been able to secure testimony because the white house has blocked in. so mueller coming forward and submit to go five hours of questioning on the hill is the biggest and perhaps the last big moment for democrats to be able to draw blood, so to speak, from president trump. >> i want to play the sound bite from mueller back in may. before i do, adam schiff said mueller is not bound by the law to stick to the script, so to speak. we know mueller will be tight-lipped about this. he is