steve muller is not saying that. hope hicks is not saying that. you think keith muller is a net?or people right there. this sort of exaggerating tabloid -esque nonsense that unfortunately the president has to deal with because look at the accomplishments over the last year and he's a combative person and he's got a twitter style that most liberals do not like and it's a little too bad but if you look at the economic dashboard, the national security dashboard, the things he's done in regulations he's had a great first year and he will have an even better second-year. people don't like that and so they will do this sort of nonsense and the tabloid -esque at nonsense. howard: if you are still in the white house would you advise the president to be sending out tweet after tweet mean attention to say that he's a stable genius and playing defense. he is obviously helping to keep the spotlight on the book that you and others. >> listen, this is when i delivered some of the people inside of the white house and more in line with corey and dave on this. let the president be the present. he

steve muller is not saying that. hope hicks is not saying that. you think keith muller is a net? those are for people right there. this sort of exaggerating tabloid -esque nonsense that unfortunately the president has to deal with because look at the accomplishments over the last year and he's a combative person and he's got a twitter style that most liberals do not like and it's a little too bad but if you look at the economic dashboard, the national security dashboard, the things he's done in regulations he's had a great first year and he will have an even better second-year. people don't like that and so they will do this sort of nonsense and the tabloid -esque at nonsense. howard: if you are still in the white house would you advise the president to be sending out tweet after tweet mean attention to say that he's a stable genius and playing defense. he is obviously helping to keep the spotlight on the book that you and others. >> listen, this is when i delivered some of the people inside of the white house and more in line with corey and dave on this. let the president be the

steve bannon. his evidence seen as crucial not only to the robert muller investigation, but to the three congressionald links between the trump campaign and russia. steve bannon a man with insight into the transition period of the trump administration and the early days of this white house, investigators clearly think he knows a lot of stuff that could be of use to them. do you know when they will have this meeting to discuss this further?m hasn't been made clear but what is clear is that steve bannon is going to bea clear is that steve bannon is going to be a busy man as far as giving evidence. i mention those three congressional inquiries. he spent the whole day yesterday before the house of representatives intelligence committee. he is going to have to give evidence to the senate intelligence and judiciary committees. indeed the house intelligence committee after a lot of wrangling yesterday in which he was reluctant to give evidence. they might be looking to bring steve bannon back again, possibly as early as tomorrow to give further evidence. nearly one year since donald trump came into office an

asked you to be used alexander phenomenon how significant it is that special counsel robert muller has called steve bannon to testify before a grand jury well if it's true it's going to be confirmed it's very significant because it would be the first time that mr miller is issuing a grand jury subpoena to seek information from from a member of the president's trumps inner circle and it would be a clear signal that the investigation is intensifying and not going to be concluded soon so it has to be confirmed but if you ask me i'm sure that it's very obvious that mr miller would like to speak to steve benen because of his very critical role during the trial come pain because of his critical role in the white house in the early days and because of his comments and michael walzer fire and fury book and were then on was quoted as saying that he expects the miller investigation to fuck with on money laundering thought of course i would assume that mr willow with miller with like to know whenever steve benen was just talking or whatever he has actually a half he has knowledge of for what he was talking ab

how important is the news today that we're getting from the new york times that robert muller has subpoenaed steve bannon to testify. well if it's true and it's going to be confirmed it's very significant because it would be the first time that mr miller is issuing a grand jury subpoena to seek information from from a member of the president's trump's inner circle and it would be a clear signal that the investigation is intensifying and now it's going to be concluded soon so it has to be confirmed but if you ask me i'm sure that it's very obvious that mr miller would like to speak to steve benen because of his very critical role during the trial come pain because of his critical role in the white house in the early days and because of his comments and michael walzer science hury book and were then on was quoted as saying that he expects the miller investigation to focus on money laundering soft course i would assume that mr willow would like to know wherever steve benen was just talking or whether he has actually have he has knowledge of what he was talking about mr mohler of course would like to

the subpoena by robert muller for steve bannon to appear before a grand jury is certainly a game changer and marks an escalation in the ongoing probe into trying campaign ties to russia and whether or not there was any collusion it's not likely that bannon will testify before the grand jury but what this does seem to indicate is some strong arm tactics by the special prosecutor essentially there may be some sort of deal making in the works where there is with the promise to cooperate another promise that band will not have to testify before the grand jury but it certainly is problematic for the president given the fact that it is an unraveling relationship between the president and his former chief strategist one that has deescalated into name calling not only has steve van in that book fired fury said that a meeting that donald trump jr participated in with a kremlin linked lawyer was treasonous but of course donald trump for his part has alleged that steve bannon was forced out of the white house because he had in the words of the president lost his mind well this certainly could be so

the subpoena by robert muller for steve bannon to appear before a grand jury is certainly a game changer and marks an escalation in the ongoing probe into trying campaign ties to russia and whether or not there was any collusion it's not likely that bannon will testify before the grand jury but what this does seem to indicate is some strong arm tactics by the special prosecutor essentially there may be some sort of deal making in the works where there is with the promise to cooperate another promise that banham will not have to testify before the grand jury but it certainly is problematic for the president given the fact that it is an unraveling relationship between the president and his former chief strategist one that has deescalated into name calling not only has steve van in that book fire and fury said that a meeting that donald trump jr participated in with a kremlin linked lawyer was treasonous but of course donald trump for his part has alleged that steele. bannon was forced out of the white house because he had in the words of the president lost his mind well this certainly coul

to be questioned earlier this month it was revealed one time from strategist steve bamiyan has also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. late last year former national security advisor michael flynn and advisor george papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by donald trump's lawyer that the russian investigation would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying can really help get al-jazeera washington. the u.s. senate has approved president donald trump the nominee to be the next chairman of the federal reserve john powell has support from republicans and democrats to lead the central bank the lawyer and former investment banker will start next month he succeeds janet yellen who was the first woman to lead the federal reserve. hundreds of thousands of people are returning home in the democratic

and here's why it's likely that steve bannon will never actually testify before the grand jury but instead this is a bit of a strong arm negotiating tactic by robert muller essentially what this could be is a bargaining chip look steve bam if you cooperate with us you ask investigators questions you won't have to go through the jury trial proceedings so essentially this could be very problematic for the president at the same time we've learned that the subpoena came out last week but we're only learning about it as of today we do know the timing is rather interesting given the fact that steve benen is testifying up on capitol hill before a house intelligence committee that's also doing a similar rush of probe steve bannon said nothing about the subpoena for the special counsel when he went into this all day affair of questioning but it's certain he will be asked about it by reporters on his way out kerry did mention that this could be problematic for the president especially considering of course their relationship which is all reveled in recent weeks. right you touched on it to nick at the beginning of the segment when you referenced that meeting in jun

steve bannon, except in this book earlier today that have been released, and steve bannon himself things that robert mullerike paul manafort and jared kushner and donald trumpjunior, and a few follows the money it could be a serious challenge to donald trump. that kind of undercut statements trish and's position as well, but this is one of those things where we can wake up and find that there is some huge breaking news from the investigation that there is no indication of until we find out about it in the headlines. thank you for your help, we will talk to you tomorrow, one of the ever presence on 0utside source, live at us from washington, dc. don't forget you can get much more detail on our top stories on our website. huge surprise in ethiopia today — the government is going to free all its political prisoners. and in addis abbaba, the notorious maleekee detention centre will shut. numerous abuses have been detailed there. for example, back in 2013, human rights watch published multiple accounts of torture and ill—treatment — though the government denied them. today the prime minister said this move is "

to be questioned earlier this month it was revealed one time from strategist steve bam and has also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. late last year former national security advisor michael flynn and advisor george papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by donald trump's lawyer that the russian investigators and would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying can really help get al-jazeera washington. venezuela's president says he is ready to run for reelection nicolas maduro is yet to be formally nominated by his ruling socialist party presidential elections are due to be held by the end of april it's unclear who from the divided opposition will stand against maduro the brazilian city of sol pollo has called close its zulu and botanical gardens as the government grapples with an outbreak o

to be questioned earlier this month it was revealed one time from strategist steve bam and has also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. late last year former national security advisor michael flynn and advisor george papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by donald trump's lawyer that the russian investigators and would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying kimberly help at al-jazeera washington. still ahead on al-jazeera. uncertified in hong kong coming up why the city famous for its neon signs and glittering skyline may be under pressure to keep the lights and switch off. and that core is you to decide the fate of brazil's former president guilty verdicts could end his plans for a reelection bid distilling this. by the springtime flower of a mounting lead. to the first snowfall on a win

to be questioned earlier this month it was revealed one time from strategist steve bam and has also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. late last year former national security advisor michael flynn and advisor george papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by donald trump's lawyer that the russian investigators and would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying kimberly helped get al-jazeera washington. china and south korea have condemned the u.s. decision to impose tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machine the move by the chump administration is aimed at protecting u.s. manufacturers against foreign competition europe says it regrets the move which could see goods tax up to fifty percent mexico which will be directly affected says it will use all available legal resources in resp

steve bam and her. it's also struck a deal with muller seemed to be interviewed. late last year former national security advisor michael flynn and advisor george papadopoulos pled guilty to charges in connection with the probe and are now cooperating as witnesses is suggests muller is ratcheting up pressure on the president who has been cryptic about whether he will speak with the special counsel will see what happens and despite claims by donald trump's lawyer that the russian investigators and would wrap up by the end of last year the questions by the special counsel continue and appear to be intensifying kimberly help at al-jazeera washington. still ahead on al-jazeera venezuela's president nicolas maduro says he's ready to seek reelection in april. and pakistani police make an arrest over the high profile murder of a seven year old girl. from dusky sunsets over the sprawling savannah. to sunrise the top in metropolis welcome back the weather across much of central southern china really quiet at the moment little bit of rain around but you know to shanghai stru

backdrop of the muller investigation special counsel wrote looking into russia's alleged interference in twenty sixteen election what are you expecting from the testimony for instance of steve benen formally trumps closest adviser and could that threaten the presidency. it could and i think the big question to ask right now is what's bannon's attitude about revealing information either to congress or. to muller before a grand jury i think a lot of people have been assuming that bannon is resisting efforts to be interviewed and that's why he claimed executive privilege before the congress and that's also why he had to be subpoenaed by muller because he wasn't cooperating with the miller investigations and their request for for an interview from him but you know the other possibility is that bannon really is willing to cooperate is willing to provide testimony but he doesn't want to appear to be disloyal to trump because over the last couple of weeks the one thing that bannon learned is that appearing to be disloyal to trump will really get him in trouble with the viewer the readership of breitbart news and the other members of the republican base that bannon really cares abo

steve cohen motives. he is terrified of what robert muller the special counsel is going to come up with and he is pointing to jared questioner and downtime jr specifically in saying these guys are in real trouble he's sending out sort of almost flares maybe even messages to president trump saying these are the guys you better you have to including your son that they're they could be in real real trouble why do that in a book like this in such explosive language i don't know i don't think steve benen really worries about what he says i don't think he's out there to make friends to make money. he doesn't want the former and he has plenty of the latter i think this is for his ideas and his ideas are bigger than steve bannon according to steve van and bigger even than donald trump so he's willing to burn any bridge in order to get where he needs what he believes in the country needs to go i think he is a dangerous enemy even more than he's a useful our i i don't think president trump can alienate steve benen fully even if he will no longer embrace him the way he once did. well as diane mentioned in her report

muller's special counsel. we see people indicted. we've seen steve bannon making these statements about not only treason but suggesting that there's money laundering involved and we see that the special counsel says that he is making steady progress. to me, the impact of all the trump people think it's not trump, don't look for anything here, look the other way. look at the clintons. >> harris: we can do three things at once. you can look at the current investigation in the trump side of it. you can look at the next investigation and the clinton side of it. i want that to be looked at from this vein. what's their bias at that fbi? was there bias at the doj mack i want to look at the case of the fbi men and one woman. in the text messages that were exchanged. take a look at that. was there any furthering of that mentality they are and what was the insurance policy that peter and this woman said they agreed upon? >> harris: hold on one second. america deserves to have it stressed to renewed news agencies that are test with not only keeping that but kee

i think first and foremost steve banahan undercuts a lot of the white house's defences against robert muller'sausibly treasonous, the meeting between donald trump jr and paul manafort. he said he is following the money through donald trump junior and. .. donald trump called that a witchhunt. now here is steve banahan saying, there could be real problems for the white house. —— steve bannon. that is one reason. another reason is that he was going after trump's family directly. he said ivanka trump was dumber than a brick. does slights. donald trump ta kes brick. does slights. donald trump takes everything said about him very seriously and pushes back as hard as he can. by reacting so furiously to this book, in a sense donald trump is probably going to promote it, may ita is probably going to promote it, may it a best seller. that is if he does not succeed in stopping its publication? i don't think he will succeed in stopping its publication. the letter sent out was a threat of legal action. it wasn't actual legal action. to satisfy the libel law bar in the us, you have to prove that the author

had what could be described by steve bannon as treasonous relationships with russia, so deeply damaging stuff. in the middle of of an investigation headed by robert muller reasons i have set out. it matters initially as well, because the president is commander—in—chief, and it raises questions not least in american minds about his suitability to take big decisions, in relation to north korea, to iran and the wider middle east. many thanks. the environment secretary has set out how farming subsidies will be dealt with after brexit, saying farmers will receive payments to protect the countryside. farmers are also guaranteed the current eu level of subsidies until 2022. michael gove said measures such as planting wildflower meadows, and improving water quality would be included — current payments are based on how much land farmers own. duncan kennedy reports. britain has more than 200,000 farm holdings, but the imminence of brexit has put farmers and food policy into a state of uncertainty. a healthy rural economy... that's why issues of animal welfare, food standards and trade deals dominated today's farmers' conference in oxford. michael gove said britai

. >> robert mullers former special assistant at the justice department. thank you for coming in. appreciate it. as we heard steve bannon is set o meet tomorrow. what questions will he face? >> i think in addition to what he talked about with respect to the treason meeting. on june 9. the other things that are of interest to me and would be of interest to the committee is one, the cam bridge analytics. the firm that dealt with wikileakss and part of the kushner effort to target districts. that were vulnerable to the trump message. some think that was helped by russians. that is one aspect that will be covered and bannen said the heart of the case the cup is money laundering. what does he mean by that? remember there is a financial crimes component to what mueller is investigating. the president said he thinks that should be off limits. mueller has thoun shown no indication of heeding that. because he said that's the heart of the matter. all road run through that. that will take a lot of time with respect to bannen. >> let me ask you about quotes. he was quoted make lg some comments in the book "fire and fury." ca

muller and the f.b.i. we don't see what's happening there yet but that's probably going to come let's take the word of steve benen his former chief strategist who gives him a thirty percent chance to finish out his term so let's see where that is going thirty percent is not nothing certainly not as joe has been alarmed as a political strategist thanks for being with us thank you dana. well as we've heard trump's approval ratings continue to be quite low depending on the day generally around forty percent but for the most part trump's supporters continue to stand behind him just before christmas to debbie reporters crisscrossed the country speaking with trump voters across the nation about how they think their candidate is doing now that he's in office. a christmas tree dedicated to president donald trump but we're not a trump tower we're in the middle of new hampshire at lugar gee all those house this year's christmas tree is a symbol of his increased support for a president who has constantly been criticized by the media worldwide i would say that's false and fake news mr trump has accomplished a great dea

sixteen and he left the campaign was let go in favor of a steve bannan he was indicted last fall for money laundering by special prosecutor robert muller as it related to his lobbying before he came into the campaign well now momar is suing i'm sorry man a ford is suing malar and the justice department saying that muller sort of stepped over went beyond the investigation that this money laundering accusation or indictment relates to his lobbying business not what he did with the campaign but again the u.s. justice department gave moeller a very wide berth in investigating the administration and the cam and the election and so it would argue that it had every right to look into his business dealings be when he was with the campaign or before he came into the campaign to anticipate there live from washington d.c. to and thank you well joining me now via skype from new york is david cay johnston he's an investigative journalist and author of the making of from a defense of a warm welcome to the program good to have your company should not be what more can be surprised that this rather bizarre relationship i see some people calling it took

and right now everyone wants to hear from steve benen we know that there's not only an investigation underway in the house there's also you know robert muller's an investigation that the special counsel we know that he has issued a grand jury subpoena for bad and we just we just learned about this apparently it happened last week. this is of course the investigation between trump's you know associates and russia possible connections to address if he refused to speak to lawmakers in the house can he refuse to speak to muller under this grand jury executive privilege does not apply to grand jury clear criminal investigation so he will be forced as you know reports are coming out to disclose all information any and all information to the grand jury and of course he was not there for that one incident of potential collusion that we're aware of the june twenty sixth meeting between. don jr and to tell you about some of the sky which also included jared push there and others all men afford but he was there so he wasn't there for the alleged potential crime let's say or the scene of the incident but he was possibly there for the cover up everything

muller himself or a member to visiting to talk about the issues. he can take breaks. it is different to the grand jury that it looked like steveg to be subjected to, until he made his own deal with the mueller team. there's been a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the past 2a hours. mount kusatsu—shirane has erupted in japan. mount mayon in the philippines began erupting a few days ago. and then there have been earthquakes off the coast of java in indonesia, and off the coast of alaska. let's look at images from these events. i these from japan, where the eruption caused an avalanche. a soldier was killed. 14 others were injured. these are timelapse images of mount mayon in the philippines. these pictures are from indonesia. these workers and residents injakarta fleeing from high rise buildings that swayed after a 5.3 earthquake. and this is a trafficjam in alaska after people followed police orders to evacuate. that earthquake measured 7.9 and triggered a tsunami warning. that warning is no longer in place, by the way. the un office for disaster risk reduction sent out this tweet with details of those quakes and

in terms of robert muller's investigation because this is the first time we've seen a subpoena for somebody. within donald trump's inner circle but it doesn't necessarily mean that steve benen will testify before a grand jury what is likely to happen is this is a bit of a negotiating tactic what this means is essentially that there has been a subpoena for him to testify but that could be waived if steve bannan does agree to cooperate with the special counsel the testifying could be waived as a result so it appears that this is a bit of a strong arm tactic if you will what this also is significant is the fact that this is coming on a day when steve bannon was testifying already before the house intelligence committee now we know that when he went into for this all day affair and and it is a closed door session he did not talk at all about the subpoena but i can guarantee he will be asked about it by reporters when he accepts committee help thank you very much indeed. in venezuela a former police officer who'd been on the run for the past six months has been killed in a special operation oscar perez and his accomplices stole a police helicopter in june last year and thr