here to discuss this is arizona congressman trent franks.as been a long and difficult struggle to get to this point. tell us where we are. >> well, judge, we are on the very edge now of being able to see a landmark legislation that will protect this country against the dangerous electro magnetic. this is always kind of a business where everybody pats each other on the back. i want to genuinely express the sincerest gratitude in my heart. you made a difference my lady. it really allowed people like me to get the kientd of traction we needed. it is very significant for this country. >> i appreciate you saying that but without people like you to identify and fight the good fight it would never happen. what is so stunning to me is that there are actually people in government who resist the kind of legislation that americans need. and if the american people, and they did respond to the segments we did on this, and they did understand the dangers that are inherent in our electric grid. how we could literally be thrown back into the dark ages. ever

. >>> joining us now is trent franks, a republican congressman from arizona. he serves on the house armed services committee. congressman, thanks for joining us here. i want to get to the news of the day here. the president-elect when asked about these sanctions on russia said to reporters, we ought to get on with our lives. do you agree? >> well, i think it's important to keep in mind that the congress hasn't even been briefed on this at all. what we're hearing is information leaked from the intelligence community, primarily from the barack obama administration apparatus. and, so to come to these kind of conclusions at this point, i think, is a little premature to say the least. you'll have to forgive me for wondering why this president would complain that anybody was involved in some foreign election. this is the president that sent his own campaign team to israel to defeat benjamin netanyahu in his election. he's followed up with that hostility to russia with this recent resolution in the u.n. that, i've got to tell you, was an act of overt political coward

trent franks from arizona. he said if russia succeeded in giving the american people information that was accurate then they merely did what the media should have done. it was a comment that raised eyebrows. i want to know if you agree with congressman franks. >> i think it is an outrageous statement that you would celebrate the interference of a foreign government in our elections. we can have spirited campaigns but we should never invite or condone foreign interference in our elections, particularly an adversary country ruled by a brutal dictator, a thug that engaged in actions against political opponents, journalists. that's a disgraceful statement trent franks made. >> thank you very much for being with us. time for the last microsoft pulse question of the year. vladimir putin refuses to retaliate after president obama expelled 35 russian diplomats instead inviting u.s. diplomats' kids to a kremlin party. did putin outfox president obama? tell us what you think. head over to pulse. msnbc.com. we have an upd

trump's bravado, specifically the congressman from arizona, trent franks, a member of the arms services committee. this is what he just told cnn. >> donald trump has not even been sworn into office, should he be starting an arms race? >> i don't think that's what he's doing. i think sometimes donald trump's municipal kmagss may not always be the most diplomatic or the most elegant but he's got the principle right if he makes it clear that america will always deal from a position of strength that we at once tell the world that we have no designs on hurting anyone but there is no point in trying to force any sort of a major offensive against us because we have the capacity and the commitment to take care of ourselves. >> i wanted our viewers to hear another perspective. when you hear "position of power" or "coming from a position of power" what's wrong that? >> it's clear the united states is the most powerful diplomatic and military power in the world. but what trent franks is ignoring is that president-elect trump said in his tweet yesterday that he wants to expand and strengthen the ca

today on msnbc meanwhile, gop congressman trent franks suggested if the russians committed theft and sabotage it was a public service for americans. >> the bottom line, if they succeeded, if russia succeeded in giving the american people information that was accurate then they merely did what the media should have done. >> top congressional republicans are signaling support for today's actions while also simultaneously attacking the obama administration. house speaker paul ryan describing today's steps as "overdue" same words by john mccain and lindsey graham who viewed to lead the effort in the new congress to imsuppose strongstrong er sanctions. asked about the sanctions last night during his press availability standing next to don king, trump said this. >> i think we ought to get on with our lives. i think computers have complicated lives very greatly. the whole age of computer has made it where nobody knows what's going on. we have speed and other things but i'm not sure you have to kind of security you need. >> the whole age of computer has made it so nobody know what's going on

and here to discuss this is arizona congressman trent franks. >> good evening, congressman it is a longnd difficult strug toll get to this point. tell us where we are. njudge, we are on the very edge now of being able to see a land mark legislation that will protect this country against the dangerous electrical magnetic threats. it is it a long time. but you have been there from the beginning. i want to express gratitude in my heart. it helped people like me to get traction we needed and that is significant for the country. >> i appreciate you saying that. but without people who fight the good fight, it would will never happen. what is stunning to me is that there are people in government. who resist the feature. and the segket mets that we had on this. and the dangers that are inherit. but everyone assumes that politicians are on our side and we are not. we are not protected are we. >> no. but this is the end of the beginning. we have a man date to go forward and so does the manufactured. and it dove tails with the new administration. the trump administration understands this threat an

here to discuss this is arizona congressman trent frank.en a long and difficult struggle to get to this point. tell us where we are. >> judge, we are on the very edge now of being able to see a landmark legislation that will protect this country against the dangerous electromagnetic pulse threats. it has been a long time but you have been there from the very beginning. i know that this is always a kind of business where everybody pats each other on the back. i want to express gratitude in my heart because you made a difference. you helped people understand the significance of this issue and it really allowed people like me to get the kind of traction we needed. this is something very significant for this country. >> you know, and i do appreciate you saying that congressman. without people like you who identify and fight the good fight it would never happen. what is so stunning to me is that there are actually people in government who resist the kind of legislation that americans need. it's the american people and they did respond to the seg

. >> joining us now is a lawmaker you just saw, arizona congressman trent frank.hank you so much for joining us, congressman. so people consider -- >> thank you, kimberly. >> -- that to be pretty much a provocative comment, some accusing you of siding with russia. you tell us what you meant. >> well, i mean obviously if you can see the whole interview that would be somewhat helpful, but i would just suggest to you that i made it clear in that interview that anything that russia did to compromise any of our systems should be met with the appropriate response. i even called mr. putin a kgb thug in the interview. >> but they didn't show that in all of the clips, right, exactly. >> didn't show that. that's all right. that happens a lot. but i appreciate the opportunity to come here. unfortunately, you leave me with little to add from john bolton, who i consider to be one of the greatest foreign policy experts in the world for america. >> i agree. >> i think he should have been secretary of state. and sebastian gorka, i have to say something nice about him because he c

congressman trent franks joining us from arizona. >> thank you. >> happy holidays, sir. merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you, sir. >> thank you. >>> now to the end of the manhunt for the man that police believe slammed his truck into a crowd of people at a berlin christmas market. the manhunt ended on it's streets just just outside's milan, italy, shot and killed by police. german authorities, moil, still on high alert looking for new accomplices. this video showing him pledging allegiance to isis and abou bakar baghdadi. >>> and now cnn terrorist analysts, nina, tall, italians this was an accident how he was kaushg caught. take us through what happened? >> reporter: outside the spot he was actually gunned down here, 3:00 a.m. in the morning. just behind me on the tarmac, look closely, you can still see his blood. he turned up in a, has to be said, rather industrial neighborhood, northeastern part of milan, essentially a satellite town to italy's northern biggest city. and stopped for a random i.d. check. itted to present papers instead pulled out of a caliber pist

yesterday trent franks, vice chair of the armed services subcommittee for emerging threats and capabilitiesssia had done a service. >> the bottom line, if they succeeded, if russia succeeded in giving the american people information that was accurate, then they merely did what the media should have done. >> the political fallout from the obama administration's condemnation of israeli settlements continues to mount, meantime, as leaders here at home and abroad criticize the president and secretary of state over what's being considered a parting shot of shorts. british prime minister theresa may called the speech an inappropriate attack on israel. kelly cobiella has more op one of the settlements in the center of this international dispute. >> reporter: we're in the israeli settlement that's one of the oldest settlements in the west bank. it started in 1977 with just 16 families. 6500 israelis live here now, and these are some of their homes, these red-roofed homes you can see just behind me. if you look across this road on the other side of the road are palestinian homes. that's the edge of

. >> so representative trent franks, really casting a little bit of a doubt on the intelligence communitythat russia was behind this k thatting, essentially taking a little bit of the same tone as president-elect donald trump when he said, look, they don't know that it's the russians, they don't know if it's the chinese, they don't know if it's a man in new jersey sitting on his bed. so i'm curious to get your thoughts. we haven't seen the evidence. the public hasn't seen the evidence. why trust both the intelligence community, who have gotten things wrong in the past or the administration on this issue. >> yes, the intelligence community has gotten some things wrong in the past. but let's be clear. there's enough information out there from the fbi and cia and from this administration who has given us zero scandals that russia was definitely indeed behind th. so when we have a man who does not understand the gravity of the office, and uses twitter as his main way to communicate with people, this is before he's even taken the oval office and so he tweets things that can actually not just m