officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate jared kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience according to current and former u.s. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter. the trump white house believes they have come up with a foolproof way of keeping information about security clearances secret. >> i've been very clear that we don't discuss security clearances. that's not changing today. it didn't change yesterday. it's not going to change tomorrow. >> uh-huh. but the trump white house does discuss security clearances. it does it all the time through its endless leaking. and today's leakers first told us in a politico report presidential son-in-law and adviser jared kushner has had his security clearance downgraded, a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. politico added, all white house aides working on the highest level inte

values and morals. >> that is "all in" for this evening. >>> tonight jared kushner losings his top secret security clearance as "the washington post" reveals four countries have talked about how to manipulate the president's son-in-law. and robert mueller is looking into kushner tax with foreign leaders. >>> also one of the nation's top intelligence chiefs tells congress he has not received a direct order from the president to stop the russian meddling. >>> plus hope hicks spends over nine hours before a house committee and paul manafort due for arraignment just hours from now as "the 11th hour" gets underway on a tuesday night. >>> good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. day 404 of the trump administration brings a major shakeup for the west wing and jared kushner president trump's son-in-law in senior advisor has been stripped of his high level security clearance cutting off his access to highly classified information like the presidential daily brief. nbc news has learned that kushner who has been working under the highest level interim clearance

and tv for $34.90 more per month. call 1-800-501-6000. >>> two big breaking items on jared kushner, her security clearance was downgraded almost certainly barring him from seeing highly classified intelligence and should bar him from routinely seeing the president's daily brief. then came an item in the "washington post," source so kournt officials laying out a possible reason why. we begin with "washington post" story which dove tails with our own reporting. people familiar with the mueller investigation telling us the special counsel's interest in kushner now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition. the post meantime details how that need for capital may have been exploited. shane harris is on the story. he joins us now. can you talk about what countries they were and what they were hoping to use to manipulate him? >> the four countries that were identified are israel, china, mexico and the united arab emirates and what they found was these officials were discussing among themselves that jared kushner migh

re re-electi re-election. tonight there is a lot of heat developing on jared kushner, and the president, his father-in-law not helping him out. this news, jared kushner, right now officially losing his access to top secret intelligence. his security clearance is, quote, downgraded because he has been operating, as you know, with a temporary clearance for months. this is a very big deal, and we'll explain why, it has a lot more to do with what intel jared sees. it may seem subtle in a way, democrats have been saying repeatedly kushner should not have had this access in the first place. >> kushner's security clearance should absolutely be suspended. >> kushner absolutely should not have a current clearance. >> richard blumenthal with this reaction today. >> jared kushner's security clearance blocked brings the word overdue. there's no reason these interim security clearances should let people who have secrets in their background to handle the nation's secrets. >> this is a thing he doesn't want. it's at least a slap on the wrist. so the question tonight as this news breaks is, w

. >>> ouft next breaking news, jared kushner security clear lance downgraded as we are learning firms in at least four countries reportedly discussed ways to manipulate curvenekushn. plus what does this say about the chief of staff? did kelly win yet? >>> plus breaking news, 11 people sick out of washington. breaking news ahead, let's go outfront. >>> good evening to all i'm erin burnett. outfront. president's son-in-law jared kushner without clearance that allowed him access to highest information in the united states. information he had access to daily more than the inauguration more than a year ago. and just moments ago our phil mattingly, he found him in the capital, followed him for four minutes, asking about the stunning develop. . kushner refusing to answer questions this is make your set back. he sees the nation's top secret information every day. been at the president's side since day one. responsibilities include but are not limited to brokers peace in the middle east. relations with china, mexico and canada, oveeeing office of, ending drug addiction, and the security clearance to

nature and meeting during the campaign that involved kushner and claiming they had dirt on hillary clinton that had been collected and they wanted to deliver to the trump campaign. also today, another white house official is reportedly talking about the false statements about the trump tower meeting, josh raffle. he quit the white house today. josh raffle had kind of a strange job. he was technically deputy communications director at the white house though that title was never formally announced before he quit today. okay. and real life what his job actually was was that he was the spokesman for the president's children, for the president's children given ser yonior white house jobs. it's a strange thing to have the president's children and senior white house jobs and also a strange thing that we the taxpayers were paying the salary for the president's daughter and their husband to have their own dedicated communications specialist on tap. but today that communications guy announced he is quitting. we contacted the white house and josh raffle himself today to ask if he's been inter

blitzer, you're in the situation room. >>> the president's son-in-law jared kushner has been stripped of his top-secret security clearance and access to the most important u.s. intelligence report, the president's daily briefing. he's still failed to qualify for security clearances. kushner's troubles mounting as the "washington post" reports officials in at least four countries have been privately discussing ways to manipulate kushner. i'll get reaction from senator chris coons, a democrat, on the judiciary and foreign relations committees. and our correspondents and analysts are standing by first. let's go to jim acosta. jim, this is a significant loss for kushner. >> it is, wolf. the president we should point out ignored questions about his son-in-law jared kushner losing his top secret security clearance at the white house earlier today. the questions are coming in response to a change made here at the white house by chief of staff john kelly that will affect white house staffers who are operating on interim top secret security clearances. as a result, those employees, including kush

by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> happening now, jared kushner loses his top secret security clearance. how can he keep working on sensitive issues like the middle east and china? no authority. america's cyber security chief says president trump has not given them authority to go after the election hackers at the source. and twarns russians have not paid enough of a price to change behavior. another authority stonewalled the russia probe as hope hicks refuses to he answer questions about her time at the white house. and the florida high school gunman left behind 180 rounds when he fled and may have tried to set up a sniper's nest in a school window. perhaps to shoot at people outside. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." >>> breaking news, jared kushner is among the white house aides whose interim security clearances have been downgraded. they say it will keep kushner from seeing top secret material. plus, the russia investigation is in full swing on capitol hill. the national security agent chief says the president has not given him the authority to go after attackers.

>>> major developments for the president and his inner circle. jared kushner's security clearance downgraded. hope hicks admits she lies to protect the president. now mr. trump's own actions the focus of the russia special counsel. >>> students return to stoneman douglas high school in florida today two weeks after 17 lives were taken. the chances of major gun reform appear slim. >>> good morning, and welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> slim to none, right? i am dave briggs. imagine for those kids. going back to school -- >> a tough day. >> i was there 19 years ago, columbine, when they went back. those kids never wanted to go back to that school. >>> we start with the president. was donald trump's decision to run for president tied to his company's business dealings in russia? the mueller investigation is looking directly at the actions of president trump before the 2016 campaign. sources say investigators are asking witnesses when mr. trump became serious about running for president, how that timing co-ins sided with his business -- coincided with his business mov

. "the lead" starts now. breaking news. jared kushner's security clearance was just significantly downgraded. what happens if a senior adviser to the president cannot see the most sensitive material? >>> shocking testimony from the nsa about how the president has not yet given them authority to do everything he can to stop russia from messing around in our democratic process. this is as one of the close ess could n comfort dantes. >> public money for a private hole security system and family meddling at a federal agency. a whistle blower speaks exclusively to cnn about a cabinet member under fire. >> jared kushner has had his security clearance significantly downgraded. the downgrade will prevent kushner from viewing the nation's most sensitive secrets and it comes of a new rules were implemented by john kelly in the wake of the botched handling of the rob port he spousal abuses scandal. jeff, what is the news and what is the white house saying about it? >> we are learning this afternoon, our team is reporting that the threat, the new packs white house chief of staff john kelly sa

counsel robert mueller has been asking the last few months about jared kushner's business dealings prior to the investigation. mueller is asking about discussions kushner had with potential chinese and qatari investors. this is the first time the special counsel is asking about relationships he had with russia. there are questions about 666 fifth avenue, which the kushner company owns, and there are financial issues. the building is in debt by $5 million. we're told that the special counsel hasn't asked kushner companies for information. he also has not asked for any interviews with any of the executives from the kushner company, and a special counsel spokesperson declined to comment for the story, but we did get a statement from jared kushner's attorney earlier this evening in response to our story, and he basically said, quote -- this is from abby lowell, the attorney -- the story was based on another anonymous source with questionable motives now contradicts the facts. in all of mr. kushner's extensive cooperation with all inquiries, there has not been a single question asked no

president's son-in-law. it's not just jared kushner's russia contacts. sources telling cnn, while kushner was working on the presidential transition, he was also trying to get financing from his -- for his company from foreign investors, including the chinese. mueller's investigators have been asking questions about kushner's conversations with those investors. more on that in just a moment. >>> plus guess who is coming to dinner? donald trump jr. hosting dinners in two cities, in india for buyers of trump-branded apartments, raising questions of whether he is selling access for the price of a condo. >>> the movie taking the country by storm, "black panther." what this superhero saga means in donald trump's america. we'll discuss all of that. >>> our cnn exclusive reporting on the mueller investigation, cnn justin reporter kara scannell, part of the team that broke the story. what's at the center of what mueller's vest investigating? >> cnn learned the special counsel, robert mueller, is asking questions about jared kushner's personal business dealings during the presidential transition. we'r

-in-law jared kushner's efforts to get foreign financing for his company during the presidential transition. even as kushner still has a full white house security clearance. tweet and sour. president trump attacks former president obama in an extraordinary tweet tirade. democrats and oprah. is the president trying to distract from the special counsel's indictment of 13 russians? russia's spies. we'll take to you a troll farm where there is a disinformation campaign spread through social media. and troubling re lagss. as the florida high school shooter appears in court, we're getting new information about his extensive arsenal and his disturbing behavior while the couple who took him in speaks out. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> the special counsel's investigation reaches president trump's family and their finances. sources say robert mueller is looking beyond son-in-law jared kushner's contacts looking the get foreign funding for his company during transition. the president is still fuming over the indictment of 13 russians accused of meddling in the electi

hour that jared kushner will lose his access to top-secret intelligence. it's a move that politico says will, quote, prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. nbc news has not independently confirmed this reporting but politico goes on to report that his security clearance has been downgraded. this following weeks of reporting of potential concerns raised in his background check . to help us answer all these questions our favorite reporters and guests. from the "washington post," white house reporter ashley parker. with us from harvard where he's a visiting law lecturer, juan z zerate. former deputy national security adviser to george w. bush. at the table, jonathan lamiere, associated press white house reporter. philip bump, "washington post" political reporter. z zerlina maxwell, now director of progressive programming for sirius xm. let me tell all the reporters at the table, feel free to look at your phones, take your calls and bring us any news you're hearing on this rather remarkable headline, ashley parker. jared kushner

. on jared kushner his security clearance was downgraded. then came an item in the "washington post." dove tailing some of our own reporting. people familiar with the mueller investigation telling us the special counsel interest in kushner. the post meantime details how that need for capitol may have been exploited. shane harris joins us now. can you talk about what countries they were and what they were hoping to use to manipulate him? >> the four countries that were identified are israel, china, mexico and the united arab emirates and what they found was these officials were discussing among themselves that jared kushner might be vulnerable on his lack of experience in government and foreign policy seeing him as someone they could persuade. and also his business arrangements which are complex and involve foreign as well. and the depth they incurred in the kushner companies. looking for international investors trying to shore up the debt. discussing he might be leverageable. >> they paid a huge amount, they refinanced that. that money coming due and even in the transition, kushner

america. >>> happening now. breaking news. kushner under scrutiny. cnn has learned the special counsel is expanding his investigation to look at the foreign business dealings of the president's son-in-law and senior adviser going beyond jared kushner's russia contacts. stand by for our exclusive report. >>> all tweet, no action. president trump is on the attack once again tonight, blasting president obama's response to the russia election meddling while refusing to blame vladimir putin. we are tracking mr. trump's on-going rant about new russian indictments. >>> kremlin denials. russia is helping the president feed his false narrative, dismissing the mueller investigation is much ado about nothing. cnn live in moscow with new reaction from the putin government. >>> and warnings and anger. the florida school shooter appears in court as we're learning more about his arsenal of deadly weapons and warning signs that were missed. the family who took him in is now telling cnn what they knew. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in

, the investigation in the white house, in the family and in the finances. the interest in jared kushner growing. he had an arsenal. new information today on the florida high school shooter as young survivors of this massacre back new generation of activists. plus, they infiltrated news feeds and minds, vladimir putin paying to write garbage and spread it on social media. today, the troll farm at the very heart of the russia probe. welcome to "the lead." we begin with breaking news in the russia investigation involving president donald trump's own family. cnn has learned that special counsel robert mueller's interest in the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, jared kushner, has expanded now beyond kushner's contacts with russia and now includes his efforts to secure money for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition. this according to multiple sources. during that time, kushner was also the lead contact for foreign governments trying on reach his father-in-law, the president-elect. joining me to break this story, also with us, sarah murray on a key new

. >>> i'm stephanie ruhle. we start with access denied. jared kushner loses his top security clearances, sparking questions on how exactly he can do his job. >> he's effectively in the same status as the people who work in the white house kitchen or mow the lawn. >> work in the white house kitchen, wow. >>> hope hicks' appearance before the house intel committee drawing mixed reactions. >> this is not executive privilege. this is executive stonewalling. >> i think she's been very forthright and open to all the questions we have. >>> pump up the volume on this. unloading. dig's dick's sporting goods will stop selling assault rifles, sending a clear message to congress, hey, boys and girls, thoughts and prayers are not enough. >>> and the slow, slow road to recovery. students return to classes at marjory stoneman douglas high school. >> i do want to go back, because staying home would be letting fear win. >> those kids are amazing. >>> we begin today with the president's son-in-law out of the loop when it comes to america's most classified information. chief of staff john kelly was the on

trump senior adviser and son-in-law jared kushner losing access to highly classified information. and white house communications director hope lihicks appearing before the how intel committee, but refuses to answer some questions related to the russia probe. good morning. it is wednesday, february 28. i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside louis burgdorf. we begin with fresh concerns that the u.s. may not be ready to thwart the cyber intrusion expected from russia ahead of the midterm elections. three senior u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news that there is substantial evidence that russia backed operatives gained entry into the elect websites or voter registration systems of seven states prior to the 2016 election. those states include alaska, arizona, california, florida, illinois, texas and wisconsin as you see on that map. all state officials agree no voters were changed and no on voters were taken off the rolls. while several states were told foreign entities were probing their systems, state officials say none were told russia was behind it. to this day illinois is the only stat

is the news that on any other night would be our top story. jared kushner denied access to top secret intelligence. the president's son-in-law and senior white house advisor who was operating on an interim clearance had his access downgraded last week after chief of staff john kelly made changes to the security clearance system. and we are learning officials from at least four countries have reportedly discussed how they could use kushner's business dealings, inexperience and financial troubles to manipulate him. that is according to the washington post, which also reports that those countries, israel, mexico, china, and uae, acted on those conversations. the report goes on to say that a source said top white house officials were worried that kushner was, quote, naive and being tricked by foreign officials. going to bring in now cnn's chief national correspondent jim sciutto. jim, good evening to you. what are you learning tonight? >> sir don, my colleagues gloria borger, pamela brown and i are told that investigators for mueller have recently been asking witnesses about donald trump'

" reported jared kushner had basically been blowing off the national security protocols with meetings, including meetings alone on at least one occasion from the chinese ambassador. further reported on u.s. intelligence intercepts that turned up some worrying discussions about kushner's dealings with the chinese. quote, u.s. intelligence agencies aggressively target chinese government communications including the ambassador's reports about meetings in the u.s. according to current and former officials briefed about chinese communications, chinese officials said that in meetings to prepare for the chinese president summit at mar-a-lago, the chinese ambassador and jared kushner discussed the business interests along with u.s. government policy. if jared kushner is bringing up his own personal business interests alongside government policy while talking with the chinese government, that's a serious national security breach. and what just broke tonight in the "washington post" tells us a little more detail about why that is. we're going to go through that with shane harris in just a secon

sister-in-law. and it's not just jared kushner's russian contacts. while he was working for the president, he was also trying to get financing for his company from foreign investors, including the chinese. mueller's investigators have been asking questions about kushner's conversations with those investors. we'll have that for you in a moment. >>> plus we're going to cover the parkland school shooting for you. five days. that's how long it's been since the shooter opened fire at marjory stoneman douglas high school, a gun he never should have had in the first place. teachers and students were shot in cold blood in a school where they should have been safe. parents, teachers and students are demanding something needs to be done. innocent americans will keep dying until we have the courage to put their lives ahead of politics. if you want to see what courage looks like, i want you to see the students from stoneman douglas high school and listen to their message for the president. >> if donald trump wants to listen to us, he should have taken the first invitation. we are not going

reporting on special counsel mueller's interest on jared kushner going beyond the russia story. that and more when we continue. you won't see these folks at the post office they have businesses to run they have passions to pursue how do they avoid trips to the post office? stamps.com mail letters ship packages all the amazing services of the post office right on your computer get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again sometimes you need an expert. i got it. and sometimes those experts need experts. on it. [ crash ] and sometimes the expert the expert needed needs insurance expertise. it's all good. steve, you're covered for general liability. and, paul, we got your back with workers' comp. wow, it's like a party in here. where are the hors d'oeuvres, right? [ clanking ] tartlets? we cover commercial vehicles, too. i think there's something wrong with your sink. weintrtechnology withnema.es, incredible color, sound and streaming. just as the creators intended. ♪ up to 40% off at dell.com ♪ >>>

. more on that. >>> nonthe news on any other night would be a top story. jarnd jared kushner zpied access to intelligence. the son-in-law and senior adviser operating on an interim clearance had the access downgraded after the chief of staff made changes to the security clearance system. and we learn that officials from at least four countries reportedly discussed how they could use kushner's business dealings and experience in financial troubles to manipulate him. that's according onto the "washington post" which also reports the countries, israel, mexico, china and uae act the on conversations. the report goes on to say that a source said top white house officials were worried that kushner was, quote, naive, and being tricked by foreign officials. i'm bringing in now cnn chief correspondent jim sciutto. good evening to you. what are you learning. >> so, don, my colleague, gloria boringer pamela brown and i are told that investigators for mueller have recently been asking witnesses about donald trump's business activities in russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he con

just the russians, special counsel bob mueller now looking into jared kushner's meetings with other foreign contacts during the transition, including investors from china. cnn has the exclusive details ahead. >>> breaking moments ago, mueller filing new charges against a russian-linked lawyer for lying about his interactions with former trump aide rick gates. what does this mean for the russia investigation? stay with us. i have type 2 diabetes. i'm trying to manage my a1c, then i learn type 2 diabetes puts me at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. can one medicine help treat both blood sugar and cardiovascular risk? i asked my doctor. she told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood sugar, but for people with type 2 diabetes treating their cardiovascular disease, victoza® is also approved to lower the risk of major cv events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. while not for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. (announcer) victoza® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not take vict

shows americans think congress is failing. >>> special counsel's interest in jared kushner now extends beyond russia. businesses beyond china under the microscope. >>> breaking news. the drug store chain rite aid is being sold off. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. good to see you. good to have you back from vacation. >> a couple days off. >> it is tuesday, february 20th. we start with the latest on gun rights. six days after the school massacre in parkland, florida, the nation's youth on seizing the microphone demanding changes to the gun laws. more than 100 teens i staging a high-in on presidents' day to toughen gun regulations. >> students will board buses to speak to state lawmakers tomorrow. students in florida yesterday were promising to take their message to washington. >> this is simply a matter of are you with us or are you against us? are you for taking steps to save us or are you for taking nra blood money? we are not letting the united states be run by that terrorist organization. my friends and i, my community and i have stah

." >>> cbs news has confirmed the security clearance of jared kushner, the president's son-in-law, has been downgraded. kushner, senior adviser will no longer have access off to the top security reports the president's daily brief. more now on this from mark rhett brennan. >> mr. president, on jared's downgraded clearance, sir, any concerns? >> reporter: president trump ignored questions about whether his son-in-law, jared kushner's high level security clearance had been downgraded effectively shutting off his access to information if disclosed could be damaging to national securitiment as adviser to the president, kushner had been granted interim access to such materials as the the fbi completed his background check. the report was delayed after kushner had to refile his paperwork three times. because of undisclosed contacts with foreign nationals. one of those encounters was a june 2016 meeting with a russian lawyer at trump tower. a meeting that is now being examined by special counsel robert mueller. >> valued member of the team. heave will continue to do the important work he

debt tied to kushner's family. there was a meeting, some discussions that took place during the transition. kushner was close to getting a deal done that would have given them an infusion of cash from some chinese folks and even at one point some qatari folks. that deal broke down. it was never clear as to why the deal broke down. but some of the discussions occurred during the transition, and we've been told by several sources mueller is now asking questions about those meetings. at issue is whether or not there was any kind of quid pro quo. whether or not kushner made some promises to any of these foreigners. if they invest in these properties, was there any promises made once they get into the white house, there will be some moves made. kushner is not part of the investigation and this could be something mueller is just investigating to make sure there is nothing nefarious here. this comes from people who have been before the special counsel, people who are familiar with some of what the special counsel is asking. but again, as with everything in the special counsel, it's ver

president's decision. son-in-law and senior adviser jared kushner. >> it really did show that some of the people around the president who were pushing this are beyond politically naive. >> after his fire james comey returned to capitol hill and revealed something extraordinary. >> i asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. >> the memo describe his last meeting with the president and in the oval office. >> i asked him to because i thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. >> he was right. this is huge, pamela. >>s in a significant step we are learning the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein has appointed former fbi director bob mueller to oversee the russia probe. >> that was a -- a dangerous day for the president potentially. >> just about a month after terminating comey, trump may have pursued yet another firing. he pressed white house counsel don mcgahn to look into potential conflicts involving robert mueller. "the new york times" reported that trump wanted mueller fired. until mcgahn threatened to quit, warning it would be catas

organization both declined to comment. >>> this morning, senior white house adviser jared kushner no longer has access to the nation's most closely held secrets. at least for now. the first son-in-law's interim security clearance downgraded from top secret to secret. the new clearance level will allow him access to far less information. for example, the presidential daily brief of top-secret material no longer included. a republican source who has worked closely with the white house tells cnn the change "directly undercuts jared's main job." more now from senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny. >> reporter: something of a bombshell at the white house with jared kushner, the president's senior adviser and, of course son-in-law, no longer age to look at the nation's -- no longer able to look at the nation's top-secret information here. chief of staff john kelly has made good on his plan to clean house in the security clearance front. jared kushner, of course, for the last 13 months or so, has been operating under a temporary security clearance. in the wake, of course, of the resi

senior adviser jared kushner stripped of his temporary top secret security clearance at the white house. kushner's response just in. >>> also tonight, the president's close aide, hope hicks, on capitol hill, and questioned behind closed doors. what we've learned from inside the room. >>> we're tracking a possible nor'easter tonight, set to hit the east coast. and the desperate scene, the flooding across several states. >>> new information tonight, the cdc scientist missing without a trace. what authorities have just revealed. >>> the horror in syria continues. hundreds killed, families and children in government and russian air strikes. tonight, that five-hour cease-fire did not hold. preventing food and medicine from getting in. and our team with the syrian refugees stranded. >>> here at home, the world's largest plane taxiing down an american runway. >>> good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy tuesday night. and we begin with that hazmat scene unfolding at this hour at a military base not far from the pentagon. several people falling ill, including m

about the financial dealings of senior adviser, the president's son-in-law, jared kushner. much, much more on that in a minute. first, we begin with cnn's abby phillip at the white house today where it will be interesting to see how the white house responds to all of these things, abby. >> reporter: that's right, john. a big day for meeting with the press for sarah huckabee sanders as the public is looking for answers to a lot of questions about where the white house and the president stands on big issues. the most glaring at this moment is the parkland tragedy last week, and the national conversation about guns that has been sparked by the children victims of that tragedy. the white house and the president signaled some openness to gun control. there are some questions about whether president trump, how far he's willing to go and how much he's willing to lead on this issue. as you just mentioned, a slew of issues on the agenda, unanswered questions including about the reaction to these 13 indictments of russian nationals announced last week, the questions about whether the president'

d.c. access denied, president trump's senior adviser and son-in-law jared kushner stripped of his access to classified informat n information. what does this mean for his future at the white house? >>> and white lies, white house communications director hope hicks admits to telling white lies in her role for the president. we'll talk to a lawmaker who was in the room for hez testimony. >>> one of the sporting goods stores announces tougher restrictions inchuding the end of the sale of assault weapons. how will the nra respond. we start with jared kushner's future at the white house on a day that his father-in-law spent remembering pilly graham. kushner's family ties is the only thing that stands between had him and a severely diminished role at kmowhite hou. kushner and other white house staff found out friday their interim access to the most closely held secrets was gone. we want to start with our team of reporters with peter alexander. my colleague at the white house. and you want to start with you. we have been talking to our sources about this story throughout the night. so wh

rosenstein's call to the white house two weeks ago about issues with jared kushner's security clearance. the report coming just hours after the president says he'll let john kelly decide whether kushner gets final approval. >>> all that plus highlights from a classic trump performance today before conservatives. "the 11th hour" begins right now. good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. i'm caseyhukasie hunt in for br williams who has the day off. it is day 400 of the trump administration that brings new legal trump for two former trump campaign aides. "the washington post" reports tonight the deputy attorney general warned the white house weeks ago about problems with jared kushner's security clearance. we're going to have more on that just ahead. but we begin with the mueller investigation. special counsel robert mueller has obtained another guilty plea. this one from former trump deputy campaign chairman rick gates who stayed on during the transition. today gates pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the united states as well as to lying to investigators. and

in russia before the campaign. the president's son-in-law, jared kushner losing top secret security clearance and bombshell saying officials from at least four countries discussed ways to target kushner, look at his financial woes and his inexperience. white house communications director hope hicks admitting to a house committee she has told white lies and the president's latest slam on his attorney general, calling jeff sessions' actions on surveillance warrants, quote, disgraceful. sessions did just respond. we're going to get into all of this. but first to the breaking news involving the growing tensions between jared kushner and chief of staff john kelly. jeff zeleny is joining us with this. are these battle lines deepening? >> seems they are. seems to be lying in wait, if you will, a bit dormant over the past weeks or so but they are again showing themselves. john kelly, of course, followed the president's directive and stripped jared kushner of his top secret security clearance. this is something that has ininflameded tensions but something jared kushner knew since friday. he

committee wants more about security clearance. we learned jared kushner has been cut off from some classified secrets. >>> plus, manafort in court right now, his first appearance since his former right hand pleaded guilty. manafort, breaking right now has pleaded not guilty. they have set a september trial date. >>> speaking of russia, what about that testimony from hope hicks? we saw her live yesterday. as of today we are learning more opinion what she said and those white lies, she reportedly admits she tells. >>> plus reporting on russia election in the '16 election. substantial evidence seven states were compromised. all of it happening as the gun debeat now takes an unexpected turn. >>> dick's announcing it won't sell assault style rifle anymore. we have a very busy 59 minutes to get to. i want to start it off with nbc's peter over at the white house. a deadline today is faced to turn over information been security clearances broadly. i asked sarah sander about this, she said halle i have nothing to report to you just yet. have that hanged ate all or still no news on that fron

key part, before the 2016 campaign. also, white house chief of staff stripping jared kushner of his top secret security clearance. a bombshell report in the "washington post" says that at least four countries discussed ways to manipulate kushner by taking advantage of his lack of experience, financial troubles, and intricate business arrangements. and a source tells cnn the president's communications director, hope hicks, admitting to house investigators, she has had to tell white lies for the president. but a top democrat says hicks refused to discuss her role in drafting a misleading statement about that 2016 trump tower meeting with russians. alisyn? >>> okay. so, chris, i am back here in parkland, florida. i am outside of douglas high school, as you can see over my shoulder, as well as a huge police. because it was exactly two weeks ago that the gunman turned marjory stoneman douglas into a war zone. so just one hour and a half from now, students will return to class for the first time since then. of course they will be without 17 of their friends and teachers who were killed du

campaign. also, "the washington post" reports that jared kushner was targeted by other nations for manipulation. kushner has been stripped of his top-secret security clearance. white house communications director hope hicks at the same time admitting that she tells white lies, her words, for the president. former campaign chairman paul manafort pleading not guilty to new charges against him today. let's begin with the breaking news and the tensions between jared kushner and the white house chief of staff john kelly. first, listen to what president trump said just days ago about general kelly and jared kushner's security clearance. >> general kelly respects jared a lot, and general kelly will make that call. i won't make that call. i'll let the general, who's right here, make that call. but jared's doing some very important things for our country. i will let general kelly make that decision, and he's going to do what's right for the country, and i have no doubt he'll make the right decision. >> let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny. he's joining us with bre

full-time employees. so what does that mean? what kind of job does jared kushner have as of tonight? the president in south korea. does she have a job when she comes back. it's going to be a fun weekend. no one has ever fired the son and daughter before without having a say in it. that does it for us. we'll see you on monday. now it's time for the last word with joy reed. >> that's right. >> here's a visual reminder if you kept the news on this weekend, joy reed. >> i might have a job for the kushners, right? if they need new digs. cpac communications director. the current one, not to say this person won't be in the job -- did you hear about it? >> no. >> at the reagan dinner, this person is sitting at a table with other republicans at the cpac dinner and says the following, we elected mike steele as chairman because he was a black guy. that was the wrong thing to do, unquote. apparently there were audible gasps at the table when he said this. so john lavene is tweeting it out. so you know what happened next, we tweeted michael steele and said, do you want to come on last word and r

kushner's security clearance, what does it mean for his role in the white house? justice department launches its own investigation into the foreign surveillance court, fisa. president trump gets a jump on the competition by naming his 2020 campaign manager two and a half years before the election. we will talk live with kellyanne conway on a host of issues. this is "special report" ." good evening. i am bret baier. we are coming to you live tonight from the white house where the current occupant is already making plans to stay here for another four years after his first term. president trump has named his 2020 campaign manager 979 days ahead of the next election. as a host of agenda issues loom ahead of the midterm elections, we will talk live with presidential consular kellyanne conway in a moment. first, major development in the controversy over the security clearance for the president's son in law who is also one of his top advisors. chief white house correspondent john roberts joins me. the latest information about access for jared kushner. >> chief of staff john kelly changed t

developments. the special counsel is looking at jared kushner's links to foreign investors. >>> new details about the florida school shooter. he obtained ten rifles before shooting, cut his own arms and posted video on snapchat. why were there so many missed signs? >>> trump's obsession with oprah. why she just can't quit her. >>> good evening. i'm dana bash. breaking news on the president's son-in-law. cnn has learned that special counsel robert mueller is expanding his investigation to look into jared kushner's discussion during the presidential transition with foreign investors. mueller is going beyond kushner's foreign contacts and digging into his attempts to secure financing for his real estate businesses and other foreign investors including china. president trump returned to the white house moments ago after a long weekend in florida at mar-a-lago. after a weekend twitter storm about the investigation, trump was back at it again on this president's day. he tweeted obama was president up to and beyond the 2016 election so why didn't he do something about russian meddling. the

kushners, right? if they need new digs. cpac communications director. the current one, not to say this person won't be in the job -- did you hear about it? >> no. >> at the reagan dinner, this person is sitting at a table with other republicans at the cpac dinner and says the following, we elected mike steele as chairman because he was a black guy. that was the wrong thing to do, unquote. apparently there were audible gasps at the table when he said this. so john lavene is tweeting it out. so you know what happened next, we tweeted michael steele and said, do you want to come on last word and respond? he's going to do that tonight. >> that's excellent. in a normal world we'd hear that and the guy is resigning and they're sorry. it's possible he said that because he's about to be the new number two person at the department of homeland security and this is his warmup act. in this era is that a firing offense anymore. >> he doesn't need a security clearance he can do the job. >> that's true for all of us. >> who needs that? >> thank you. good luck. >> conspiracy against the united states.