richard spencer resigned on november 24th. he became the first trump appointee to endorse one of trump's opponents for the november election. we'll have more on that later on. there have been principled high level resignations from the trump administration. because we know the president doesn't like to fire anyone directly, he likes to have other people do it for him directly, there are other people in the chain of command who were called on today and tonight to start firing the witnesses who testified against president trump in the impeachment hearing. so far whoever those people are, they appear to be carrying out those orders and not resigning in importance. that's notable. not only because history is focused on our behavior as a country but also because in the military and lieutenant colonel vindman, we have had some very pious assertions who would be in an elliott role. but of course they would never lit anything like what happened tonight, it happens. in november, you might remember that the army moved in, prepared to mo

richard spencer who quit his job in protest in november.me the first trump political appointee to endorse one of the president's political opponents in the election. he announced support for former new york city mayor mike bloomberg. he explained his logic. >> when i took this job, i came in as a grown-up. every morning i put my resignation paper in my pocket so you could speak truth. and to be frank with you, what happened happened. i took my stand, the president took his. this decision here is for the good of the country. >> does this decision mean? >> to endorse mike bloomberg. >> not endorsing the incumbent is one thing, but he is the first trump appointee to explicitly endorse somebody from the other party whom he wants to beat trump. he resigned from the navy in protest. now this. richard spencer, writing his name in history. more ahead, stay with us. n hist. more ahead, stay with us (vo) parents have a way of imagining the worst... ...especially when your easily distracted teenager has the car. at subaru, we're taking on distracted d

navy secretary richard spencer's resignation statement was rip roaring. he said, quote, the rule of law is what sets us apart from our a adversaries. good order and discipline is what enabled us against foreign tyranny time and time again. and the constitution and uniform code of military sets us apart. i no longer share the same understanding with the commander in chief who appointed me in regards to the key principle of good order and discipline. i cannot obey an order that i believe violates the sacred oath i took in the presence of my family, my flag, and my faith to support and defend the constitution of the united states. today he became the first endorse one of president trump's. because we know the president does not like to fire anyone directly. he likes to have other people do that for him, we can surmise that there are probably other people in the chain of command who were called upon tie and tonight to start firing the witnesses who testified against president trump in the impeachment inquiry. so far whoever those people are, they appear to be

and his brother whose only crime it seems is being alexander vindman's brother and then richard spencer saying he's doing what he's doing for the good of the country. >> they had a lifelong republican and former trump navy secretary who as rachel just said is endorsing a democrat. richard spencer, ousted as navy secretary after publicly disagreeing with trump's decision to reduce penalty in a war crimes case involving a navy s.e.a.l. has had more than enough of the president. hear why a man who has never voted for a democrat is ready to do so now. we begin with the friday night massacre a campaign of retribution and vengeance is underway at this hour against those whom donald trump blames for his impeachment. two of the most prominent fact witnesses in the impeachment investigation against him have been fired. barely 48 hours after the senate acquitted the president. trump recalled sondland, his ambassador to the european union. he said i was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as united states ambassador to the european union. just hours before t

now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. >>> richard spencer, former navy secretary fired by presidentsagreeing with president trump in a war crimes case, is set to endorse michael bloomberg this morning. spencer is the first political appointee of president trump to endorse a democratic challenger in the 2020 race. the former navy secretary is slated to introduce bloomberg at an event for military families where the democratic presidential candidate is expected to announce his plan for veterans. >>> covering the event in norfolk, virginia, today, is nbc news national security and military correspondent courtney kube. good morning to you, great to see you out on the trail and covering this. >> hi. >> what can you tell us about why richard spencer, the ousted navy secretary under the current president, why he's endorsing michael bloomberg. >> you know, yasmin, he says it all in the statement he put out early this morning about why he's endorsing him. he mentions two things that are a specific reference to his time serving president trump. one is that he says that mike bloomberg will uph

richard spencer resigned as secretary of the navy on november 24th.rkably today he became the first trump appointee to endorse one of president trump's opponents for the november election. we'll have more on that a little bit later on. but there have been principled, high-level resignations from the trump administration. there have been a few. because we know the president does not like to fire anyone directly, he likes to have other people do that for him, we can surmise based on that past practice that there are probably other people in the chain of command who were called upon today and tonight to start firing the witnesses who testified against president trump in the impeachment inquiry. so far, whoever those people are, they appear to be carrying out those orders and not resigning in protest. we haven't seen any resignations, at least that we know of. that's notable not only because history is sort of focused intently on our behavior as a country right now, i truly believe, but also because at least within the military, when it comes to the speci

mother, and richard spencer, i'm referring to at that time was an individual very proactive in certain ideologies, there are folks that placed the families, the sons, the 12 and 13-year-old children, on the internet and they put a star of david across the chest of the children and trolled these children and calling for an armed insur recollection against the you jews of whitefish. it was one of the most heinous acts i've seen. as a former law enforcement executive myself i know that -- and i've used the word jaded, if someone took one of my children's photos or their photos of one of my grandchildren, that would have a huge impact and would put terror and fear into my heart. here's the problem. no one was arrested. no one was prosecute. >> quite frankly, this isn't a krichl, but the local attorney general's office, prosecutor's office, the state attorney general's offices, the state investigative bureaus, they weren't quite sure how to handle such a thing. here we had a jewish community literally rethinking whether they stay put in a beautiful, pristine place such as whitefish, and now

and then there's richard spencer saying that he's doing what he's doing for the good of the country. this is several weeks in one. rachel, have a good weekend. >> thank you very much, ali. >> we'll see you monday. ahead the lifelong republican and former trump navy secretary who as rachel just said is endorsing a democrat. richard spencer, ousted as navy secretary after publicly disagreeing with trump's decision to reduce the penalty in a war crimes case involving a navy s.e.a.l., has had more than enough of the president. hear why a man who has never voted for a democrat is ready to do so now. but we begin with the friday night massacre. a campaign of retribution and vengeance is underway at this hour against those whom donald trump blames for his impeachment. two of the most prominent fact witnesses in the impeachment investigation against him have been fired. barely 48 hours after the senate acquitted the president. trump recalled gordon sondland, his ambassador to the european union, tonight. sondland released a statement saying, "i was advised today that the president intends to

new york city mayor also picking up an endorsement from trump's former secretary of the navy, richard spenceriowa democratic party is now saying they have extended the deadline for campaigns to say whether or not they want a recanvas of the caucus on monday, and now they have until saturday at 1:00 p.m. eastern time, but bernie sanders already told cnn's ryan nobles his campaign does not plan to ask for a recanvas, but they do have concerns they have to the iowa democratic party. >> let's go over this again. bernie sanders seeming to acknowledge that pete buttigieg might be his toughest competition, and he said what he said in new hampshire about buttigieg being backed by millionaires more than any other candidate, and he has a #petesbillionaires. will this be effective? >> i think so. i think why because with the rise of bernie sanders, and you have folks like elizabeth warren who still have momentum and outside establishment figures is leveling the playing field and having a vision for the future, and it's a reality in the united states right now, you have 3% of the people that have more we

. >>> richard spencer is now endorsing mike bloomberg's bid to keep the president from winning a second term. spencer, you may recall, was fired after he opposed trump's decision to pardon a navy s.e.a.l. who had been charged with war crimes. he's the first trump political appointee to come out in support of one of his former boss's opponents in the 2020 race and today spencer explained why he is backing mike bloomberg. >> we need leadership, proven leadership like mike. we need honesty. we need integrity. he respects opinions. he is not the sole i have the only answer, which is a very dangerous position to be in. >> we will get to our leadoff discussion in just a moment. but for the very latest we are joined by telephone with peter baker, chief white house correspondent for the "new york times." peter, let's take on mr. sondland first. he would be forgiven for saying, for my million dollars this is what i got now, the inability to have dinner in a restaurant unrecognized and an asterisk next to my time as u.s. ambassador to the e.u. >> well, that's right. of course, gordon sondland, on

in debate prep he is in virginia to announce a new plan and a surprising new endorsement from richard spencersecretary under president trump. he was ousted just 12 weeks ago over the discipline of a navy se seal. let's go to our reporter in norfolk virginia. is this why they got into the race in the first place, the situation we're seeing right now? >> reporter: it is. and if you want to get a sense of what his strategy is coming out of iowa, look no further than where we're standing here, right in front of a warship, the uss wisconsin. the other candidates are 700 miles away in virginia. bloomberg campaigning over the weekend in arkansas, oklahoma, he's got a lane to himself. the voters here are voters that aren't hearing from any of these other candidates. >> so who's behind this endorsement meantime from richard spencer? and does the bloomberg campaign think that this is really going to have some kind of impact? look, you are in a military community, and so there's that. having said that, there are very few endorsements that really sort of change the game in any way. >> reporter: that's tr

meanwhile, trump's former navy secretary richard spencer is now endorsing mike bloomberg's bid to keep the president from winning a second term. spencer, you may recall, was fired after he opposed trump's decision to pardon a navy s.e.a.l. who had been charged with war crimes. he's the first trump political appointee to come out in support of one of his former boss' opponents in the 2020 race, and today spencer explained why he is backing mike bloomberg. >> we need leadership, proven leadership like mike. we need honesty. we need integrity. he respects opinions. he is not the sole i have the only answer, which is a very dangerous position to be in. >> we will get to our leadoff discussion in just a moment. but for the very latest, we are joined by telephone with peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times." peter, let's take on mr. sondland first. he would be forgiven for saying for my million dollars, this is what i got now, the inability to have dinner in a restaurant unrecognized and an asterisk next to my time as u.s. ambassador to the eu. >> well, that's r

but he is touting a big endorsement from president trump's former navy secretary, richard spencer.s dasha burns reporting from manchester, new hampshire. thank you. >> and bloomberg, i should mention, is spending this weekend in alabama where he is campaigning ahead of super-tuesday, of course. in the meantime, there are some new clues this morning in the investigation into the helicopter crash that killed kobe bryant. >> while the ntsb is still not sure what caused it, investigators do know what didn't. we'll have that for you in just a moment. we'll have that for you in just a moment hi guys. this is the chevy silverado with the world's first invisible trailer. invisible trailer? and it's not the trailer right next to us? this guy? you don't believe me? hop in. good lookin' pickup, i will say that. oh wow. silverado offers an optional technology package with up to 15 different views - including one enhanced view that makes your trailer appear invisible. wow. - that's pretty sweet. - that's cool. oooohh! that's awesome. where'd the trailer go? i love it. it's magic. >>> new develo

york city mar also picking up an endorsement from presiden trump's former secretary of the na richard spencer. that was abby philips reporting for us onight, e new hampshire primary is tuesday. >>well kron 4 is helping you get toknow your bay area mayors and this week we sat down with cash runway. she is e mayor of wh experts talk about what r city is doing to try to help ease north bay tffic. >>the thing that everyone in the bay area is concerned lorain county is concerned n about traffic as we all are. but the chlenges are also that a lot of these older cities antowns and france's simme county they don't have room to expand to 4, 6, lanes of freeway or road systems because they're constrained by mountains on one si and they on the other. so it isn'tit. we have to work within those constints that you can't tear down. existing infrastructure and widen like you can in houston or something whave we're kind of confined to a narrow constrnts within that but it's coming along really well we're just got a big update on wednesd and we're right on budget with just just within the parameters and withi

a former member of the president's own cabinet, former navy secretary richard spencer is nouniannouncing endorsemf bloomberg for president. josh, good to have you with us what do we know about richard spen spencer's decision to endorse bloomberg? >> reporter: well, you described this as trolling the president and that's exactly what this is. the setting for today's event here in a military town, norfolk, is a knew semuseums al a massive battleship in a trumpian display of campaign trail theatrics. who is the star of the show today, the president's own former navy secretary and acting defense secretary, the first political appointee from the trump administration to go ahead and endorse someone else other than the president for reelection. he talked in very dire terms about the concerns that he has about the president not standing up for democracy. he didn't actually name trump by name but it was very clear who he was talking about as he spoke for the need for america to have the strongest candidate for president. and i'll tell you a little bit, he said restoring america's standing in worl

city mayor also picking up an endorsement from president trump's former secretary of the navy richard spencerll as abby philips reporting. bloomberg picked up spencer's endorsement at a military event in norfolk, virginia. that's going to take you outside for a live look at conditions at sfo things conditions at sfo things looking good there ♪ menutaur conditions at sfo things looking good there check out my triple bonus jack! check it out with an extra patty! yeah! ok! let's ride! oh hey man, uhh... [car beeps] my $4.99 triple bonus jack combo! stack it up for an extra buck. let's make it more delicious! ♪ menutaur put an extra patty on that! bam! woah! uh-uhhh! my $4.99 triple bonus jack combo! stack it up for an extra buck. movies. this morning, a new superhero film is expected to take down bad boys for life at box office and margot robbie returns to the role of harley quinn in birds of prey. david daniel takes a look. >>lot of people not me at all. the top of that list. it's this >>the full title of this suicide squad spinoff is birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley

bloomberg getting a big endorsement today at a campaign event in virginia, long-time republican richard spencerr, spencer forced out of his job after criticizing president trump's intervention in the navy s.e.a.l.s. >> i don't care if you're a republican, a democrat or independent. if we are to sustain this experiment we call democracy, america needs the best leader available. mike has a track record, a track record of productivity, a track record as an honest and principled man. >> as we go to break, remember, a big democratic debate in new hampshire tonight. will we have a flashback like this for the republicans in 2016? >> the 20-second speech where you talk about how great america is at the end of it doesn't solve one problem for one person. >> this notion that barack obama doesn't know what he's doing just isn't true. that's the reason why this campaign is so important. (vo) parents have a way of imagining the worst... ...especially when your easily distracted teenager has the car. at subaru, we're taking on distracted driving [ping] with sensors that alert you when your eyes are off the r

former navy secretary richard spencer, lifelong republican, expected to formally back michael bloomberg in an hour. the ousted trump appointee says bloomberg will uphold the uniform cold of military justice. you may recall spencer was publicly fired in november after he challenged the president's decision to let a navy s.e.a.l. acquitted of murder keep his s.e.a.l. status. courtney kube is in virginia where spencer is expected to take the stage alongside mayor bloomberg as i said in about an hour. courtney, he was a cabinet member chosen by president trump but fired very publicly. is this about the way trump handled the gallagher case or is there more to the endorsement? >> reporter: as you mentioned, steph, he was a cabinet member for a short time, served as acting secretary of defense. most people in the united states don't know who the service secretaries are, so it is uncommon that he is such a household name, but it was because of the way he was fired, the very public way he was fired last november. he spoke out against president trump getting involved in the uniform code of milita

at one of the stops he picked up an endorsement from former navy secretary richard spencer, the firstmp political appointee to break with the president and back one of his democratic rivals. >> i'm a lifelong republican. i quantify myself as a reagan republican, but i'm here before you today because i'm tremendously concerned. democracies around the world are under threat. >> at this event, bloomberg accused president trump of leading the g.o.p. like a cult. he accused him of leaving international allies as lackeys that must bend his will, and he told the room don't worry, my ego does not need stroking. but the president wasn't bloomberg's only target. he also criticized his democratic rivals who bloomberg believes lack executive leadership experience. >> they don't talk about what makes for a successful leader and an effective decision maker, even though those are the most important qualifications for the job. most candidates for president don't talk about these skills and qualifications because they don't have them. they don't have any experience leading large organizations are maki

and richard spencer the former navy secretary who was pushed out of the administration. and i know endorsements don't mean everything, but it really does seem that bloomberg is trying to exploit this vacuum right now. >> sure. and i think the evidence so far that he's exploiting it pretty successfully. in addition to the two books he mentioned, he was endorsed by the governor of rhode island. we've seen very, very few sitting democratic governors endorse anybody in this presidential primary. and it's very much an open question about how valuable they really are. these are serious people getting on board with him and certainly people who would not be endorsing someone they saw as a side show candidate or a mirage or just a guy who is spending a lot of money on television ads. i think it's sort of in some ways a lagging indicator of how seriously. my reporting suggests that a likely to happen as joe biden str strugs as he continues to struggle and those will be more willing to break ranks and go. there is the value of being able to roll out someone on the day the endorse y

richard spencer said he's supporting the former new york mayor because he will quote preserve, protect and defend the constitution. remember, secretary spencer was fired after what he did in the case of eddie gallagher the former navy s.e.a.l. charged and acquitted of numerous war crimes including the murder of a prisoner. he was found guilty of one count of wrongfully posing with the human corpse and then the president said to restore the s.e.a.l. insignia. courtney kube, give us some insight into the secretary spencer's thinking here? why did he decide to make this endorsement that is bound to get under president trump's skin? >> oh, you know it will. we will hear from him in a matter of moments but we got a written statement earlier this morning laying out the feelings behind the decision to endorse michael bloomberg for president. there were two specific things that really stuck out to me in his statement. he talks specifically about how mike bloomberg, spencer believes that bloomberg will listen to his military leaders and heed their advice. that was a direct strike at president t

city mayor also picking up an endorsement from president trump's former secretary of the navy richard spencer. there was abby philips reporting for us tonight, the new hampshire primary is on tuesday. >>it's been a rough week for bipartisan relations in washington rougher than normal. the atmosphere described as the post impeachment deep freeze by some and we've all seen. this video of speaker pelosi ripping up her copy of the president's state of the union speech on tuesday night pelosi said she decided to shred what she saw as a quote compilation of false odes to make a statement that quote clearly indicates to the american people that this is not the truth. trump and his republican allies for their parts all pelosi's action as disrespectful and any legal one at that. >>she ripped up to date first of all it's an official document do not allow illegal what you did. she broke the law what i have the dead a lot of people that knew that they could believe >>the associated press ran a fact check on the president's accusation. they say, according to legal experts, no laws were broken. they say th

city mayor also picking up an endorsement from president trump's former secretary of the navy richard spencer. >>that was abby philip reporting. bloomberg picked up spencer's endorsement at a military event in norfolk virginia this morning. spencer compared his leadership with that of president trump's and shared his plans to support the military. it runs and their families. >>happening tomorrow, san francisco is celebrating the chinese new year the lunar new year fear though of the corona virus as cause some concerns about the new year parade, but as sarah stinson reports. organizers say the show will go on. >>people walking here on the san francisco's streets tell me they're not going to let their fear of the corona virus stop them from going to the lunar new year parade tomorrow know you just take precautions. >>if you worry about you don't get the flu just hovering your mouse >>and to his only a few cases here and you know it's it's outside its fund them. think we should we should be attending and that's exactly what parade organizers want to hear they want to make sure spectator numbers

the now fired navy secretary richard spencer. >> mike has a track record, a track record of productivitytrack record as an honest and principled man. he is the candidate the united states needs, ladies and gentlemen, a president who can bring the country together, a president who appreciates the strengths of our allies and partners. a president who respects opinions, who respects diversity. a president who understands the value of our men and women in service. i do believe mike can get it done. >> spencer lost his job after he tried to intervene in the disciplinary case against navy s.e.a.l. eddie gallagher, he was demoted in rank after his convictions for posing next to the body of an isis fighter, but president trump stepped in and reversed that decision. so let's discuss this endorsement today. eye each is that moody mills is with me, a cnn political commentator and alice stewart is with us, also a cnn political commentator and republican strategist. good to have you both on. alice, looking at former secretary spencer, this life-long republican, now endorsing mike bloomberg. how big o

new hampshire, but he is touting a big endorsement from president trump's former navy secretary richard spencer. peter, kristen? >> dausha burns in new hampshir this morning. thank you. >> we are joined now exclusively by senator elizabeth warren. thank you so much for waking up early with us. we know you had a late night. we appreciate it. >> glad to be here. >> we're going to get to the campaign in just a minute, but we do want to starts with those developments overnight at the white house. a number of your republican senate colleagues did acknowledge they believe what president trump did as it relates to ukraine was inappropriate. some of them even said they think he's learned a lesson. given those ousters overnight, do you think president trump has learned a lesson, senator? >> yes, i think the lesson he has learned is he can do anything he wants. that he is above the law and that nearly all of the republican senators will lock arm and protect him. that's corruption. he is treating this government as if it is only loyal to him, his own private play thing instead of a government that is supp

he just picked up an endorsement from president trump's former navy secretary richard spencer.omberg is not on the ballot here. instead he's focused on the 14 states that southeast super tuesday. >> made it clear that's where he wants his money to go. >>> president trump has begun his revenge in the wake of his impeachment trial. yesterday he ousted the two witnesses who provided some of the most damaging testimony against him. gordon sondland, the ambassador to the european union and lieutenant colonel alexander vindman who was the top ukraine expert on the white house's national security council. both were removed from their posts on friday. this comes two days after the president was acquitted by the senate. paula reid is at the white house. paula, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michele. after ousting these two key impeachment witnesses the president appears to be on a campaign of post-acquittal retribution. as he arrived back here at the white house last night he ignored questions about whether these firings are meant to send a message to anyone who was the agains