we are starting monday off with a big peek in the impeachment investigation. key witnesses set to appear, and maybe president trump will, too. at least that's what he's suggesting this morning. tweeting in the last hour that he will strongly consider appearing after this hour from house speaker nancy pelosi. >> he could do it in writing. he has every opportunity to present his case. >> we've got your reality check on the president's past promises on testimony. eight witnesses, three days, and the most important -- yep, it's that guy, gordon sondland. he's the eu ambassador and one-time trump donor who has already changed his tune once. straight ahead, new details about the potentially explosive emails he sent to top trump officials. plus new reporting on the wedge impeachment may be driving between president trump and his closest cabinet can fi dant. the secretary of state, the message, reign your people in.

plus breaking news, a familiar face back on the bench at the supreme court. an update just in on justice ruth bader ginsberg. we're following all the developments on this monday morning. i want to bring in hans nichols at the white house and garrett haake over at capitol hill. hans, let me start with you and the new comment from the house speaker that apparently sparked the tweet from president trump. watch. >> the president could come before the committee and speak all the truth that he wants, if he wants to. >> you don't expect him to do that? >> if he wants to take the oath of office. he could do it in writing. he has every opportunity to present his case. >> hans, the president seems to be saying maybe i will and maybe i will? >> reporter: well the president is taking the opportunity and he's running with it. he's at least playing with it. about an hour ago as the president started off his morning on twitter, clearly suggested that he will be willing to appear.

maybe not necessarily in person, but answer in writing to what the house committee ends up asking him. let's go ahead and put up the tweet. the president did some usual complaining and then he gets to the heart of the matter that says i like the idea and will, in order to get congress focused again, strongly consider. it's the last line. so strongly considering it, hallie. and in a lot of ways when the president talks about this, when he's out there he seems as though, at least the appearance that he wants to give, is that he hasn't done anything wrong. so in a lot of ways you can see his written answer to this being something very similar that we've heard publicly on the south lawn, and that is the call was perfect, there was never a quid pro quo, and that he's the president and he has the right to root out corruption. and that someone should have looked into what was happening with the bidens and with what happened in the 2016 election. now, hallie, you and i both know from the president's experience with the mueller investigation, he's gone back and forth on whether or not he would appear, how he would testify, what

restrictions there are. white house officials tend to be concerned about potential perjry, so there would be a risk in actually putting the president before that hearing. although it certainly would be dramatic. and then you have this other line coming out from the president's allies. we heard over the weekend the point that they feel that the democrats are changing what they are accusing the president of being guilty of. >> you're seeing that they moved from, for example, the words of quid pro quo to bribery, because it plays better with a focus group. they're basically moving the goal post. this is what the democrats are doing. >> if the president doesn't do written answers and he does appear in person, that's a day you want to be on capitol hill, not the white house. >> garrett haake, big week this week. you've got eight witnesses set to testify publicly. obviously a crap shoot on whether the president does or

does not. we know that we're going to hear from eu ambassador gordon sondland. >> reporter: that's right, and the early word from democrats on the president's offer is they're not convinced it is a good faith offer. i just listened to an interview on another network saying if the president wants to be helpful, he ought to let mulvaney and bolton come testify. they've got to release documents that have been subpoenaed. democrats are very wary about getting bogged down in some mud slung back and forth about how and when he might provide some testimony. but as you mentioned, this week the marquis hearing this week -- and there will be eight different witnesses testifying over three days. but the wig bun is going to be gordon sondland, the ambassador who seemed to find himself em meshed in the scandal. we learned more about the phone call sondland had with the president sitting in an outdoor restaurant in kiev after the phone call between the president and president zelensky and just

this morning we're learning about emails that sondland sent. the wall street journal managed so we view some of these, some sent back to the white house, informing them, including the acting chief of staff, mick mulvaney, that essentially president zelensky was ready and waiting for a phone call from president trump. and that he would be willing to work with him on investigations. this further complicates any efforts there might be to throw sondland under the bus or to accuse him of free-lancing here, given that he has been informing white house officials of these discussions all along the way. and just raises the stakes for this hearing on wednesday where i think he can expect to be grilled by democrats and republicans about what he knows and about his truthfulness since all of this information keeps seeming to dribble out long after his closed-door deposition. >> garrett haake, hans nichols, hanks to the both of you. i want to bring in some experts from this field. our next three guests are veterans of capitol hill.

he was alexander vindman's boss. we've got former chief of staff to nancy pelosi and former press secretary to mitch mcconnell. we are lucky to have you three with us. let me start with you, because i want to get your reaction to the president's tweet in response to your former boss, nancy pelosi, saying he would strongly consider testifying, maybe he would do it in writing. you heard garrett's reporting that some democrats are skeptical that's a good faith offer. what say you? >> the question that has to be asked is this a distraction by the president? it's monday morning, it's a tweet and we're talking about it. this is what the president is very capable of doing. he's trying to change the conversation. look, i want to come over and i want to testify. no, no, i may actually answer questions. i will strongly consider it. here we have to let bolton, let the chief of staff come before congress and tell us what they know.

look, it's pretty damning so far, everything that we have known about this president and what has been going on with ukraine. >> and to that point, this does seem reminiscent to me of when the president dangled the possibility of him speaking to robert mueller. i'm old enough to remember having covered the white house from day one when the president said repeatedly that he would consider doing that. in fact, here's a trip down memory lane. >> so if robert mueller wanted to speak with you -- >> i would be glad to tell him what i just told you. >> have you thought again about sitting down for an interview or answering writtenan questions? >> it seems ridiculous when i would have to do it when everybody says there is no collusion, but i'll do what is necessary to get it over with. >> is this another dangle or legit? >> i don't know. i think there's a part of him -- and i certainly don't speak for the president of the united states, because that would be hard to do. but i do think he clearly thinks

he's done nothing wrong and he wants to let everyone know it. maybe he's got everyone talking about this, but at the end of the day he is the president of the united states and this is circling around im so he has the right to do it. maybe he is really thinking about it. who knows whether his lawyers are telling him to do it or not to do it. if it is writing, it's certainly a controlled environment. i probably wouldn't send him up there because he's not the most scripted person out there so there is a lot of risk. but if he's willing to consider answering some questions in a written capacity, why not? >> we know who will answer questions this week and that is somebody who used to work for you, lieutenant colonel alexander vindman. he was on the call from july and i want to read this to you. he found president trump's phone call with the ukrainian leader, troubling, disturbing and wrong, but couldn't say whether it was illegal. you know this man, peter. what is your sense of how important he is for the democrats' case here and what do

you expect to see from him this week? >> yes, again, good morning to you and your viewers. first of all, when you mentioned the democrats, i think we have to speak about colonel vindman in respect to all americans, whether republican or democrat. he is self-made, totally self-made. he comes and has risen to his position in the national security council and he's a superb officer with a lot of people that he has worked with and impressed over his time. in my personal dealings with him, i found him to be balanced, utterly trustworthy. he had the courage of his convictions. we often would go and talk about issues and disagree, and he would tell me and i think that is very, very important. he's a straight shooter. he's got character. so as i hear all of this, and

the smear campaign that was thrust at him early in this process, i feel compelled to push back on his behalf. >> what is your sense of the republican support for president trump? because ultimately what i hear from my sources covering the white house is that, hey, this is going to go on, they don't think right now any of this is a game-changer because they're looking at the fact and they just don't see anywhere near those numbers. >> i think that's probably right. i would say i think there is a greater sort of span of where the republicans are. you have the die-hard supporters like jim jordan and others who are on the spectrum. i think most republicans on the hill who have been around for a long time, they're pretty deeply troubled by what actually happened. that the president doesn't really care about a lot of national security and foreign policy. that's his right as the president of the united states. he doesn't like foreign engagement and he doesn't particularly feel like the united states needs to be engaged in ukraine. he said that. there was a great journal story

about this. so i think a lot of republicans are concerned about the policy and what has happened here, but they also just don't necessarily think this rises to the level of him being thrown out of office. >> on the messaging niece of this, i don't know if you heard m mercedes schlapp say they're changing it from quid pro quo to bribery or extortion. your response? >> i think it's ridiculous. republicans are not going after the facts. they're going after words and they're going after individuals. individuals with longstanding careers. when you see republicans not responding to what the witnesses are saying and simply going after them and saying you've never really talked to the president. well, you may have heard secondhand, and so on and so forth, without talking about the facts. the facts are not in dispute. president trump wanted ukraine to investigate a political rival in order to get funds from the

united states. these facts are not in dispute and these facts are extremely troubling and we're trying to find out how deep it goes and how far it goes. >> that is the center of this investigation, is whether or not there is this direct link from the president to the aid. and it is going to be very highly anticipated this week. thank you all for your expert perspective and analysis. i really appreciate it. we have so much more to get to. breaking news out of the supreme court. it turns out ruth bader ginsberg is back on the bench today. she missed a day of arguments last week. she had come down with what we were told is the flu. she is back as we speak. she was only out for one day recovering from the stomach bug. she's back at it at the age of 86 this morning. the big moment for the small-town mayor, how he's reacting to numbers showing him as the front-runner in a key state. whether this could reshape the

race or what happens in iowa stays in iowa. impeachment has opened up a rift between his president and one of his most loyal aids. the blame game inside the west wing. with the freestyle libre 14 day system just scan the sensor with your reader, iphone or android and manage your diabetes. with the freestyle libre 14 day system, a continuous glucose monitor, you can check your glucose levels any time, without fingersticks. ask your doctor to write a prescription for the freestyle libre 14 day system. you can do it without fingersticks. learn more at freestylelibre.us and everyone has dad's eyebrows! we chose eleanor. it was great-grandma's name. so apparently, we come from a long line of haberdashers, which is a fancy word for... they left everyone, and everything so they could get here.

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trump is set to meet with his secretary of state, mike pompeo, routine meeting, they talk all the time. but here is the interesting backdrop this time. we have new reporting on how

this impeachment inquiry seems to be threatening their once unbreakable bond. for weeks our sources are told, the president has been fuming at pompeo for hiring ambassador bill taylor and these other state department officials who testified to the house intelligence committee. according to the nbc news exclusive, quote, those familiar with the matter said the president confronted pompeo about these officials and what he believed was a lackluster effort by the secretary of state to block their testimony. this all went down during a lunch at the white house at the end of october. the secretary of state has long been viewed as this trump whisperer who survived ousted colleagues. he's now in what one official described as an untenable position, trying to please a boss with outsized expectations of loyalty. joining me now, one of the reporters behind the scoop, cara lee, and former white house deputy communications director

and tara. thanks both f you for being with us. let me start with you. fascinating piece. i think it's the most read piece on nbcnews.com and you write that during this lunch back in october. pompeo defended himself by telling the president he doesn't know who half these state department officials are. he noted there are thousands of people at the agency, explaining he cannot control them. how do you see this dynamic playing out, not just when the two meet today, but down the road? >> well, look, hallie, you know better than anybody that this is a relationship that has withstood the test of time, since president trump, his inauguration and until now, there's been a number of members of his national security team who have been chewed up and spit out and all the while, mike pompeo has remained steady. "the new yorker" dubbed him the secretary of trump. he's seen as the trump whisperer, they're very close. he's kind of the last man

standing of the original guard. and what somebody we talked to described this as once there's a crack in the relationship with president trump, it's really hard to repair that entirely. so there's always going to be a little bit of a rift there. now, we're told that after the october 29th lunch, that one person said that they had patched things up and repaired whatever rift there was between them and the president's frustrations had kind of been diminished at least for the time. another person said that pompeo is still being quote, unquote, iced out, which in trump world can look like not necessarily that you're not invited to the meetings before, but the president is not listening to you as much and is looking elsewhere. so we don't know. the president and pompeo have obviously met since then and one person said they still continue to have a close relationship. but this is significant in the sense that it's the first real crack in what was seemingly this unbreakable kind of bond between the secretary and the president. >> and it is legitimately a

fascinating read. thank you for coming on. tara, i want to bring you in. the president has sort of alluded to these tensions with secretary pompeo back in october a week before this meeting that carol is reporting on, he said it would be really good if the people within the trump administration could stop hiring never trumpers, and then a couple days later the president said pompeo made a mistake in hiring ambassador taylor. watch. >> here's the problem. he's a never trumper and his lawyers is a never trumper and the other problem is -- hey, everybody makes mistakes. mike pompeo, everybody makes mistakes. >> we should note that the white house nor state department responded to requests for comments. do you see this as the blame game building inside the west wing? >> first of all, mike pompeo is in a box to use bill taylor's ex expression. he has to walk into a state department that the ambassador

last week said was a hollowed out state department. two reports, hallie, have come out from the inspector general of the state department saying there is an atmosphere, particularly in the international organization's bureau of political intimidation and harassment. people don't feel that the secretary has their back. so it's getting very cold for mike pompeo in the state department. if it becomes very cold in the white house, it's very untenable for him. >> you also were talking about something that you've dubbed civic fatigue. how does that relate to this conversation? >> civic fatigue is where you throw so much at a public that ultimately they become disengaged. they can't follow all of this. they don't trust the media, they don't trust the government, they don't trust institutions and that becomes a challenge when suddenly the president is putting freedom and democracy into this conversation. he wants his freedom of speech and his freedom to testify.

what's under assault now for all americans is this non-rule based system. who should follow rules? should you stop at a red light? should i stop at a red light? do we have police officers? >> you're drawing the analogy of the white house is telling people don't stop at a red light and congress is saying do stop. and you have folks like john bolton who say what do we end up doing here? >> exactly, what kind of country do we want to go forth with. >> secretary of state mike pompeo, there is widespread speculation that maybe he's got his own political ambitions, a run back in his home state somewhere. what do you see the best move for him strategically? >> it's interesting, remember jeff sessions left and is running. it's a very common thing to leave. if i'm mike pompeo, i would try to get my troop's morale up very fast so they're not on your show in the next few weeks telling their war stories. >> mike pompeo is welcome,

president trump is always welcome on the show. tara, thank you very much. i appreciate it. we've got a lot more to get to, including big news for the buttigieg campaign. their ground game seems to be paying off in iowa. but can he translate his strategy nationwide. we're breaking down the history at the big board. but first the quarterback has been out of the nfl since 2016 after he set off a fire storm kneeling during the national anthem. but this weekend colin kaepernick held a workout with scouts to show teams he's still in game shape and ready to make his return. they're america's biopharmaceutical researchers. pursuing life-changing cures in a country that fosters innovation here, they find breakthroughs... like a way to fight cancer by arming a patient's own t-cells... because it's not just about the next breakthrough...

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i've been feeling momentum in the sense that when people hear the message, they connect with it and they get more and more interested in supporting this campaign. so it's great to see that feeling validated in some of the numbers. but we're not getting carried away by a poll result. >> that is the new word from mayor pete buttigieg, playing down what a whole bunch of his supporters are playing up. look at this, the new iowa poll showing buttigieg as the

front-runner in the state now. he is up 16 percentage points since september. he's blowing past joe biden, elizabeth warren, bernie sanders. let me bring in national political correspondent, steve kornacki. is this an instance of maybe what happens in iowa stays in iowa? >> that's one of the questions, would this be bigger than iowa. also another question, is he peaking too soon. this is what it looks like on the ground in iowa right now if you picked up the biggest newspaper in the state on sunday. you put the poll result there, 9 point lead now in the signature poll out in iowa, the des moines register poll. competitive democratic caucuses, this poll having a lead in this poll, the des moines register poll at this point. how have those candidates done in recent elections? we can show you the most recent election, democratic side, hillary clinton was the leader at this point ruffle in the des moines register poll and they won 48% in the pole, 49.9 on

caucus day. 2008, barack obama with 28%, he led in the des moines register poll around this point, won the iowa caucuses. there's a good track record, but it is not a perfect track record. think back to 2003. remember this guy? richard gephart. he was the leader in iowa at this point, second place in iowa at this point in the 2004 cycle. howard dean, the winner, this guy, john kerry. john kerry ended up winning. second place in 2004, john edwards. so there's a good example here. sometimes you can be the front-runner, you can hang on and you can win. but the 2004 democratic race, it was kind of a jumbled mess. there were a bunch of candidates. the party was eager for someone to take on george w. bush. basically it was a fluid race and kerry got hot late. kerry won iowa, kerry won the nomination. so an important example to keep in mind. obviously if you're leading in iowa, you've got to feel good if

you're buttigieg, but this 2004 example is a reminder of how jumbled the races can be. >> leading at any point in better than losing at all the points. talk about beyond iowa and let's look at some of the numbers from south carolina. that is where buttigieg has come under some fire, particularly as it relates to the critical voting constituency, african-american voters. >> can he roll it to other states, particularly south carolina 60%, probably more than 60% of the electorate will be african-american. certainly not the case in iowa. take a look at the latest iowa poll and look at this. biden, warren, buttigieg in single digits. 37 points behind joe biden. this has been the story the entire time in south carolina. you take a poll in south carolina, biden isn't just leading overwhelmingly, he's winning overwhelmingly support from black voters. and i think that's the biggest problem sign for buttigieg. even as he's moved up in iowa and a little in national polls,

there has been no sign with him of increasing support among black voters. if that doesn't change, even if he wins eye warks it's hard to see where he goes from there. >> while we're talking about support from african-american voters. i've got to ask you what happened over the weekend with someone who is not in the race yet, former mayor michael bloomberg and this startling a apology for stop and frisk. people were sort of blown away by this because this is not a person who is known for being super reflective in that kind of a reversal. >> bloomberg says if he's going to run for president, he's going to skip iowa and new hampshire. that means he's going to try to enter if race, if he does, once it gets to the south and beyond south carolina. once it gets to states with large black populations. nationally right now here's the one pool we've seen since bloomberg indicated he might enter the race. 2% last week. obviously if you're bloomberg and you're going to enter after

iowa and new hampshire, it's doubly important you have appeal to black voters. soy think there might be a connection. you can see if he does get in this race, he's got a long way to go. >> steve kornacki, thank you so much. i appreciate you walking us through the numbers. i want to bring in chief political reporter for the des moines register. we just checked out your front page. talk about what your reporting tells you about what is behind this sort of buttigieg rise in iowa. >> well, this is -- these poll numbers are reflecting what we're seeing on the ground right now. he's reinvested on being on tv in iowa, he's opened more than 20 field offices and has more than 100 staffers on the ground which gives him one of the biggest footprints. so what we're seeing is really reflected in this pool for him. >> in your latest reporting you note that he benefits from more moderate democratic caucus members who want actionable policy ideas, compared to a smaller portion who want riskier

ideas. so let me ask you this. if that is what's accounting for senator elizabeth warren and senator bernie sanders losses in iowa in these recent polls, what about joe biden? what is accounting for that? >> well, joe biden i think we were looking at this kind of steady downward trend for him and i think his support is polling a little bit toward pete buttigieg. we asked everybody who their second favorite candidate is and the share is pete buttigieg. so we're seeing some of that into new fresher directions when you talk about people with joe biden, you ask, you know, what are your concerns, and they are concerned that he's a little bit older. they would rather see somebody younger, a woman, maybe somebody more diverse. so we are seeing some of the support peel off, even though there's a desire for a more moderate candidate reegt now in iowa. >> thank you very much for being in us. i appreciate your reporting. just two days from now speaking of the democrats, those presidential contenders will get back on the debate stage in

atlanta, georgia. it's a state emerging as a to say-up. you've got ten candidates who have qualified for wednesday's debate. that's a little bit of a smaller lineup than we've seen, even as the field gets a little bit bigger. vaughn hillyard took not the midnight but the morning train through georgia. vaughn, what did you hear from folks on the ground there? >> reporter: you know, this is a state that is recognizing its changing face. this is a state that has seen growth here in the metropolitan and atlanta area here. when we were taking the train from rural stevens county, this is a place where 80% voted for donald trump, there is an acknowledgment that in a lot of these rural counties that are ruby red, there is a slow population decline as individuals and voefolks are mog into the metropolitan area. atlanta is the fourth fastest growing city in the united states, and on that train ride

into town we met a mother and daughter, kimberly and her daughter jasmine, who actually just moved here earlier this year from new york. and they are going to be newly registered voters here in georgia voting in 2020, and suddenly you are seeing an acknowledgment here of the state, a place that donald trump won by five points. but stacey abrams lost in 2018. i want to let you hear directly from kimberly, the newest resident of atlanta. >> stacey abrams nearly lost her race for government in 2018. does this chanstate have a chano go blue in 2020? >> we have to keep pushing forward and fighting for what we believe in and i believe that there are some great principles that they holds true that we can stand in the gap with her on. i believe that there is definitely hope for it to turn blue. >> in 2020? >> in 2020. >> reporter: hallie, kimberly

said she and her family moved her because of the opportunity and the fact that atlanta is thriving and has opportunities for entrepreneurs. we should know since the 2018 election there's more than 350,000 new registered voters here in the state. that's a 5% increase, hallie. >> nbc's vaughn hillyard live in an atlanta. wednesday big night obviously, msnbc, the washington post hosting the next democratic debate live from the studios in atlanta. we'll be asking the top ten candidates what voters need to know about less than three months until iowa heads to the caucus rooms. that is wednesday at 9:00 eastern only on msnbc. we're also looking at what's happening in washington with democrats' strategy for week two of this public inquiry.

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have open hearings for the next week. i don't know if there are any beyond that. then we're out for thanksgiving. it doesn't mean depositions couldn't be taken during that time. and then when we come back, my then maybe a decision or maybe they have more hearings. and then i have six committees who have been working on all of

this, and those six chairmen have been very involved in how we will proceed. >> so what's interesting there, the house speaker not being super committal on a timeline for the impeachment inquiry or whether it will wrap up by the end of the year. and you heard her say maybe you will see more depositions over the thanksgiving holiday. that's after the eight witnesses are set to testify in public this week. democrats want to question them to find out whether president trump was directly involved in this deal to maybe trade ukrainian military aid for investigation of joe biden's son. with me now a member of the democratic leadership team in the house, assistant speaker ben lujan of new mexico. thank you for being back on the show. >> good to be with you again. >> let me start with the president's new remarks this morning also in response to a comment from the house speaker saying that he would strongly consider testifying, either in person or via written questions, to members of the house. do you think he will? >> look, the president has every

open opportunity to be before the committee. i'm certainly hopeful that he will. it's important for the american people to hear the facts surrounding this investigation and the president's activities, behavior. some that i'm very concerned of that have risen to the point of corruption, extortion and bribery. so look, i think the speaker laid out very clearly over the weekend, as she has been consistent, with laying out exactly the opportunities the president has to come before the committee. and so again, mr. president, we hope that you will come forward and you'll testify to the american people. >> and if he does it via written questions and not necessarily in person, is that sast fact rye t you? >> you heard my comment from vermont, peter welsh, be very clear during last week's testimony that the person that started all of this should be

before the committee and that's done other than the president, donald trump? >> so we know the president may or may not answer questions from house investigators, from house democrats. we know somebody who will answer questions, and that's eu ambassador gordon sondland. it is tough to overstate how anticipated the testimony is. are you confident he's going to show up this week? >> every indication is that mr. sondland will show up this week to testify. there were many reports over the weekend associated with what that testimony may be, and so i'm definitely looking forward to hearing the testimony, as are my constituents and people all across america. >> he initially submitted, as you know, written answers or at least did a closed-door deposition, went back and revised some of what he initially told house investigators. do you find ambassador sondland, do you think he will be a credible witness? >> well, what the ambassador had to do in correcting that testimony was ensuring that the facts were laid out. and it's important for everyone.

it's actually law, the law requires that you come and you testify. as a matter of fact, look at the conviction just last week of roger stone, one of the counts was lying to congress. so everyone must understand the power of this. and again, that testimony coming forward, setting the record straight and presenting the facts to the american people, is something that we demand and that is expected and that i expect before the congress this week. >> i know that you have some insight into the timing here as a member of leadership or when this might get wrapped up. the house speaker has been publicly noncommittal. are you confident that this will be finished if the congress were to vote on articles of impeachment by christmas, the end of the year? >> i think the speaker eloquently laid out what is still before us, another week of important testimony before the american people. we have a week-long recess going into the thanksgiving break. there will still be work done, possible depositions that could be conducted, a report that i

expect will be turned over to the judiciary committee to be reviewed. and if the judiciary committee feels compelled to author articles, then that will come forward before the congress. so there's time in front of us, but again, we understand the urgency of having to act given what's at stake. the president violating his oath to office, jeopardizing our national security, and continuing to invite foreign powers into our elections in america. >> when you talk about the urgency of what's at stake, are you at all thinking about the urgency of trying to get this wrapped up before, frankly, the primary elections begin and voters head to the caucuses in iowa? you've got republicans already, according to politico with this big ad blitz out accusing democrats of a politically motivated charade, et cetera. is there an incentive for you to finish this up before you get into 2020? >> our republican colleagues will argue the politics and the process. this is about a constitutional responsibility and that's why democrats are being thorough and

why we're inviting republicans, why we've extended the invitations and submitted the subpoenas around the trump administration. and president trump continues to block the testimony and evidence and doesn't allow the people to come testify. to this constitutional responsibility is one that we will take seriously, that we are taking seriously, and that we will make sure we present to the american people. it's not about the politics. it's about getting the facts out to the country. >> congressman ben lujan making some news with us this morning. thank you for being with us. i appreciate it. >> thank you. we're going overseas to the anti-government demonstrations in hong kong taking a violent turn. you've got protesters fighting police with arrows and molotov cocktails. we are headed live to the ground with the latest. we are we want to tell you about a new nbc news exclusive, after the developments in the case of rodney reed. he is the texas man set to be executed wednesday for the 1996 murder of stacey.

he has long denied any involvement in her death. a texas court of appeals put an indefinite hold on his execution. his case in in the sfolt with advocates. kim kardashian was with him when he got the news of his stay of execution. >> when we got the news, it was just this overwhelming sigh of relief and hope. >> what did he say? what did his face look like? >> he was emotional. it was extremely emotional. and he said "praise jesus", and he said it just so -- i could just feel his soul when he said that. egy. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3. ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy.

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we are following breaking news out of hong kong. look at this video here. hundreds of protesters are barricading themselves inside one of the big universities. we've been watching these images overnight. hong kong time versus u.s. time. as demonstrations have escalated dramatically. nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. i know you're in the thick of

it. what are you seeing and why is this all popping off today? >> reporter: you mentioned, hallie, the university that's been under siege for more than 24 hours. outside university, students have rallied to this area around the university, basically trying to break in. police are putting up a very, very tough defense. these protesters here, they're kidded out with gas masks. i should be wearing mine but i am talking to you. they have umbrellas and they're picking up bricks and trying to lob them at the police line that's over there. and the police, of course, are responding with tear gas. they're also throwing molotov cocktails. that's one of the reasons police here have said that these are basically murderous acts on behalf of the protesters. hallie? >> what was the turning point, matt? by the way, please put on your gas mask if you're seeing tear gas anywhere. we'll talk with you through that. that's obviously not an issue. >> reporter: no problem. what started this, is that your question?

>> yeah. the turning point. >> reporter: basically, early this evening -- yeah, the turning point was this morning before dawn. police tried to raid hong kong polytechnic university. that was the last of five universities that had been basically barricaded, turned into kind of like sit dcitidels these protesters. makeshift slingshots, bows and arrows and, of course, bricks and molotov cocktails they've been trying to gather together and use at the cops. the cops reacted very aggressively, moved in and tried to take over and take back this university. they were not successful. since then, university administrators have been trying to arrange some kind of deal that would allow the remaining hundreds of protesters still encamped inside polytechnic university to try get out peacefully. so far, we haven't heard if that's been successful. hallie? >> looks like those

demonstrators are on the move behind you, matt. i'll let you go. >> brett bruin who knows many diplomats have talked to congress as part of this whole thing. we'll be back with that and a very special announcement. t and very special announcement.

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the president's plan to get rid of e-cigarettes got a lot of attention when he promised to do it in october. it's now november. not a lot of movement. new response from the white house this morning. hans nichols is back with us. what are they saying about this? >> reporter: they're saying that the president's plan, his process is moving forward to ban any flavor of e-cigarette. when they announced this in september they said they would be banning all flavors. early november before the president left town for a trip, he said he would announce something the next week, that was last week. last week came and went without any regulations on what sort of flavors they'll be banning from e-cigarettes. in the interim, and we know top aides have left and gone to work for companies like juul. in the interim there's misgivings about the politics of

this. in swing states, as you mentioned, those e-cigarettes are popular and this may be a bit of a backlash for the president. hallie? >> hans nichols, thank you much. something you might have missed over the weekend when i filled in co-hosting over the "today" show and took a viewer question. >> do you have some news for us this morning? >> a little bit. frank and i did our family christmas card photo earlier this year. want to take a little peek? >> hey, hallie jackson is pregnant, ladies and gentlemen. >> there it is. >> congratulations. >> thank you, buddy. we're so excited. >> how are you feeling? >> i feel awesome. lot of exhaustion the first trimester but we're halfway there. >> doing this while she's powering through 19-hour day as the the white house. >> does the blue dress mean anything? >> decoy dress because i don't have a hot pink one.

>> oh, it's a girl. >> baby girl coming in early april. good news is that i'll be along with you through the key swing states and i'll be back after maternity leave miechlt partner and i are feeling very warmly support bid all of you. thank you so much. we are over the moon. craig melvin, we figured we're not busy enough, covering politics, frank and i, doing impeachment. what could we do to add something? >> the best kind of busy. that kid hit the parent lottery, you and frank. >> thank you, my friend. >> parent lottery. congratulations to you. >> we'll meet her soon. a few more months. coming up on a monday morning, i'm craig melvin. will he or won't he? this morning, president trump hinting he is open to testifying as the public impeachment hearing enters another week. eight more witnesses, including a member of the