the mueller investigation, nbc news reporting on the focus on michael flynn's short tenure inside that west wing. the 11th hour on a monday night begins now. >>> and good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. as we start a new week, day 326 of the trump administration, and it is the eve, of course, of alabama special election for the u.s. senate. the race for a senate seat in the state of alabama which has attracted global attention and the involvement of the two major national political parties, of course. starting just hours from now, really, alabama voters will go to the polls to decide between the republican candidate, the ousted judge roy moore who has since been accused of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls or the democratic candidate doug jones. roy moore has indeed denied the allegations made against him. the candidates both held rallies at just about exactly the same time tonight, a chance to deliver their closing arguments to voters. >> we've had this history in the past of going on a road that has taken us down a path that has not be

the chief strategist steve bannon. >> as far as i know, yes. bannon, michael flynn. >> so you're saying had he communications with top levels the campaign? >> yes. >> everything he is doing is with the knowledge of those officials. >> as far as i know, absolutely, yes. never took an initiative without the blessing of the campaign. >> but the president from which you know, will the president be happy with the story george tells? >> i -- i don't -- i don't know. i think they try to dismiss george as a coffee boy so i'm sure not to be happy to read that. there are consistent evidence that he was not a coffee boy. >> interesting stuff. let's turn to our leadoff panel for a friday night. a busy one at that. jeremy bash, former chief of staff at cia and former council for house intelligence. ken dilanian, nbc news intelligence and national security reporter, and philip rucker, white house bureau chief for the washington post and msnbc political analyst. jeremy bash, what would mueller's team have to talk with hope hicks about over two days? i hasten to add borrowing the title of clark

bannon, michael flynn. >> everything he was doing was with the knowledge of those official snz. >> as far as i know, absorolute yes. >> the president, will the president be happy with the story george tells? >> i don't -- i mean, i ten he tried to dismiss george as a copy boy. so there are consistent evidences he was not a copy boy. >> interesting stuff. let's turn to our leadoff panel on a friday night. former chief of staff at cia and pentagon and a national security analyst. nbc national security reporter and bureau chief for the washington post and a political analyst. what would mueller's team have to talk to hope hicks about over two days? i hasten to add borrowing the title of clark clifford's tone, she was present at the creation. >> she knows just about everything the president has known, conversations he's had. and three things that struck me about the fbi having warned hope hicks early on in the administration. it shows the russians were working every single angle to mike sure they got a full return on their if vestment. second, it shows the fbi doing their job well. it shows w

getting started here. >> absolutely. the newsroom is like michael flynn is cooperating so we are just getting under way. >> so you concur. >> we have been hearing similar things that the president's lawyers are telling him that mueller could exonerate him by the end of the year. it seems impossible of that case. why would his lawyer be telling him that and telling media that. it is raising this expectation that's unrealistic. i find it a bit puzzle. >> thanks to michael and ken thomas and general ter rogers. >> it is been called the special relationship be with just his cell phone. how much damage has the president done to america's friendship with the u.k. will rex tillerson be the next to go and who would take over as secretary of state? the latest from the west wing >>> his case is a much more than a business executive. >> do you want rex tillerson on the job, mr. president? do you want him to stay in his job? >> thanks everyone. that's a quick snapshot of the evolution of president trump relationship with the secretary of state, rex tillerson, former ceo of exxon mobile. today new

advisor michael flynn, who you'll remember just days ago pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about contacting russia's ambassador back during the transition. well, nbc news reports that according to an unnamed whistle-blower mike flynn sent a text to a former business associate 11 minutes after donald trump was sworn in as president. saying, russian sanctions would be quote, ripped up once trump was inside the white house. and that a u.s./russia business plan to build in the northeast was good to go. while the president was delivering his inaugural address, and the timing of the text means by our calculations it was during this portion of the president's speech. >> i will fight for you with every breath in my body, and i will never, ever let you down. america will start winning again. winning like never before. >> the speech where the president later contended it did not rain, the speech known forever as the american carnage address. the whistle-blower gave that account to the house oversight committee in june. while today maryland democratic congressman elijah comings laid out the

after this eventful day. michael flynn is now a felon. he pleads guilty to the fbi as the russia investigation reaches inside the trump west wing. jared kushner was the very senior member of the transition directing flynn to contact russia. >> also tonight, a west wing taken by surprise. and what this means for donald trump. what stories does flynn have to tell to avoid decades in jay. the 11th hour on a friday night begins now. >>> good evening, once again, day 316 of the trump administration, it's one that will be remembered in history, it's the day president trump's former national security adviser, one of his first real allies in the game, publicly turned on him and agreed to cooperate in the mueller investigation. mike flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi. he walked out of that same course a convicted felon a sign in the crowd today that red lock him up mueller's first conviction against someone who worked inside trump's white house. the plea agreement stems from phone conversations, flynn had with russian ambassador sergei kislyak. after the election, but before preside

became aware that michael flynn lied to the fbi, you referred her to john dowd. john dowd is not engaging on that. that's a knowable fact in this building, not a legal matter, not for the attorney to say. can you just tell us when the president became aware of that? >> the attorneys feel differently and feel this is a question that should be answered by them. i'll have to refer you back to john dowd again. >> does the white house believe that the fix was in, that robert mueller's probe was biased from the beginning? >> look, we are fully cooperating through this process. we're going to continue to do so. as i said a few minutes ago, we certainly felt like some of the political leadership at the fbi was problematic. we're glad that director wray is there. we feel like he's going to clean up some of the messes left behind by his predecessor. >> and in the meantime, new polling numbers are out tonight. pew research asked people whether they thought senior trump officials had improper contacts with russia during the campaign. 59% said definitely or probably yes. 30% said definitely o

, president trump's legal team plans to cast former national security advisor michael flynn as a liarseeking to protect himself if he accuses the president or his senior aides of any wrongdoing. attorneys for trump and his top advisers have privately expressed confidence that flynn does not have any evidence that could implicate the president or his white house team. but since flynn's cooperation agreement with the prosecutors was made public earlier this month, the administration has been strategiesing how to neutralize him in case the former national security advisor does make any claims. she elaborating today. here's what she said to say. >> anyone watching on the outside looks at the deal that michael flynn, the former national securityads visor received and wonders, wow, what kind of great dirt does he have? because he could have been charged reasonably with four or five counts of lying and misleading, defrauding the u.s. there were many, many instances in which the prosecutors could have gone harder on him. >> the strategy is a huge reversal for trump who has been openly supportive of

subsequent reporting that he was indeed told that michael flynn lied to the fbi before, weeks before he fired him, and before, the consequential part, before he asked james comey, according to james comey, to let this thing go with respect to the michael flynn investigation. all of these things are just little -- more drops in the bucket that fills up, that gets closer and closer to what could be an obstruction charge. and keep in mind, we don't even know everything that robert mueller and his investigators know. >> more than that, we know a small portion of what robert mueller knows, and yet to her point, jonathan, it feels to lay people like tightening. so, how are trump's allies and associates taking all of this? >> it's actually a great schism right now in trump world. his legal team is still preaching confidence. ty cobb, john dowd, they suggested this was going to wrap up shortly. there was one prediction this would be over by thanksgiving. >> where are they getting -- >> by most, people outside observers suggest, no, this process has a long way to go. for now, anyway, the preside

he's going to go after democrats and republicans. >> he did not mention michael flynn. we have been hearing a lot about michael flynn. there's a "the washington post" report out that the trump legal counsel is considering trying to paint flynn has a liar. why no mention of him? >> the president's very difficult to interview because he can move very quickly from one issue to the next. and the next thing you know you've been off on a different tangent and we didn't have a chance to focus on flynn. there's so many different issues to talk to the president about and trying to get him to talk about north korea. he tweeted about it that day and didn't get a chance to talk about flynn. he pewent on about manafort and never really addressed flynn or the question of a pardon of flynn or anything like that. but the president again moved quickly with language in a way i have never -- >> i understand you on that one. he also told you, and this is getting a lot of pickup right now, that he has the absolute right to do what i want to do with the justice department. in your estimation, from this i

evidence to bring charges in his investigation of former national security adviser michael flynn and his son. >> as we're having this conversation, i'm remembering, on my broadcast we had julia ainsley of nbc news talking about her exclusive, peter baker of "the new york times" and robert costa of "the washington post." >> republicans are enthused at this late moment because president is in the corner of roy moore, trying to rev up his base in that state. the stakes are enormous and at this point it's a jump ball. >> more often than not that resembles our first segment. we throw out stuff that we can't handle in our hour. there's so much news now, this network is all about covering it. >> they're competitive, i'm sure. but there's camaraderie to covering not just donald trump and the unconventional ways that he has turned the presidency on its head, but covering this moment. you just think of all of the people sort of bringing us these stories day after day after day. it's an embarrassment of riches. >> we also sit here knowing that this christmas season, meryl streep and tom hanks.

michael flynn. this new reporting comes as the president's allies on the right including friendly media are escalating their attacks on the special counsel, his team and the fbi. >> we may now have proof the investigation was weaponized to destroy his presidency for partisan political purposes. and to disenfranchise millions of american voters. now, if that's true, we have a coup on our hands in america. >> there's nothing to this investigation. the president has been emphatic. the rest of us know there has been nothing to do with russia or any of it. it's a made-up fantasy. >> it just seems like there's a specific, intended purpose to undermine the president. there's nothing to hide. there is no collusion. >> the special counsel's team has also come under fire as recently as this weekend simply for obtaining access to thousands of e-mails sent and received by trump officials during the transition. the lawyer for the transition has said the documents were not illegally obtained, something mueller's team denied. here is the president on that. >> reporter: mr. president, do you beli

anyone aside from michael flynn who had contacts with russia. >> can you say whether you are aware that anyone who advised your campaign contacts with russia during the course of the election? >> no, nobody that i knew of. how many times do i have to answer this question. russia is a ruse. i have nothing to do with russia. to the best of my knowledge no person that i deal with does. >> susan page's washington bureau chief for u.s.a. today. republican chair of republican national committee and the president and ceo of voter latino as well as msnbc contributor. you write front page coverage for u.s.a. today which is kind of opinioniated. the wall is still there. let me ask you about this compairson to water gate. i see this step by step the way he seems to be coming forward in a john dean way. we haven't seen a tape yet of president trump cutting deals with russians. >> i think it's potentially much more serious because it if volves a hostile foreign government affecting our election and that's a more serious set of circumstances than we had with the watergate affair. what we don't know i

after this eventful day, michael flynn is now a felon. he pleads guilty to lying to the fbi as this russia investigation now reaches inside the trump west wing. nbc news sources revealing jared kushner was the quote very senior member of the transition directing flynn to contact russia. also tonight, a west wing taken by surprise and what this means for donald trump. what stories does flynn have to tell to avoid decades in jail? "the 11th hour" on a friday night begins right now. and good evening once again from the nbc news headquarters in new york. day 316 of the trump administration, it's one that will be remembered in history. the day president trump's former national security advisor, one of the first real allies and friends in the campaign publicly turned on him and agreed to cooperate with the muller, russia investigation. mike flynn walked into a federal courthouse this morning and pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi about contacts with russia. he walked out of that same courthouse a convicted felon and greeted the man that led the charge of lock her up at the convention was

looks at the deal that michael flynn, the former national securityads visor received and wonders, wow, what kind of great dirt does he have? because he could have been charged reasonably with four or five counts of lying and misleading, defrauding the u.s. there were many, many instances in which the prosecutors could have gone harder on him. >> the strategy is a huge reversal for trump who has been openly supportive of michael flynn, even after his firing and his guilty plea. >> michael flynn, general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he's been treated very, very unfairly by the media. this man has served for many years. he's a general. he's in my opinion a very good person. well, i feel badly for general flynn. i feel very badly. he's lead a very strong life, and i feel very badly, john. i will say this, hillary clinton lied many times to the fbi. nothing happen today her. flynn lied and they destroyed his life. will you consider a pardon for michael flynn? i don't want to talk about pardons for michael flynn yet. we'll see what happens. let's see. >> meanwhile michael flynn's broth

the investigation into michael flynn, that could be a key that mueller could use for an obstruction charge against the president. >> and, jeremy bash, at the risk of repetition, what are all of the ways donald trump could have learned that mike flynn, his guy, had lied to the fbi and underscore for our viewers what it would take to put together an obstruction case here. >> well, the president could have directed mike flynn to lie. that's first. he could have learned that mike flynn lied from don mcgahn. he could have learned that mike flynn lied from mike flynn. and possibly what really happened across those 18 days, brian, was that there were numerous conversations inside the west wing about how precisely to thwart the fbi's investigation into the russia matter because they came from mike flynn, that surely meant they were going to come interview others. they were probably going to come interview steve bannon. they were probably going to interview kellyanne conway, reince priebus, others, maybe even the vice-president, maybe even the president. there probably were numerous strategy

democrats and republicans. >> he did not mention michael flynn. we have been hearing a lot about michael flynn. there is a "washington post" report out that they are trying to paint flynn as a liar. why not mention? >> the president is very difficult toy interview because he can move very quickly from one issue to the next and the next thing you know you are off on a different tangent. there were so many different issues you can talk to the president about and i tried to get him to talk about north korea because he tweeted about it that day and we didn't get to it. he had gone on about manafort and trying to put distance between himself and manafort. we never addressed the question of a pardon of flynn or anything like that. the president moved quickly with language in a way that i have never seen. >> i understand you on that one. this is getting a lot of pick up. he has the absolute right to do what i want to do with the justice department. in your estimation from this interview, do you get the sense that he believes he could stop this investigation if he ultimately wanted to? >> he see