and steve bannon. they still have phone conversations not all that often but they do have conversations. and the president is in touch with him. of course, after that explosive alabama senate race with the roy moore campaign imploding, it certainly pushed bannon out -- onto the outer edges here. it's not on the inner circle at all. it remains to be seen what the president thinks of this. wolf, the president also sat down for interviews with the same author. those excerpts are not out yet. that, of course, will fill in some of the blanks about all of this, certainly explosive as the white house tries to begin year two of the trump white house. >> jeff, thanks very much. jeff zeleny at the white house. let's get perspective on all of this bannon's latest bombshell comments. joining us white house reporter kaitlan collins, politico's senior investigative reporter josh meyer and cnn political analyst april ryan. what do you make of steve bannon saying that june 2016 meeting at trump power in new york city

that's from steve bannon. if true, ken, how would all of that change what we know about the trump tower meeting? >> craig, i don't know that it changes what we know about the facts. it shows this pro-trump figure, steve bannon, reacted the same way to this meeting every other political professional did and regular americans. it just seemed wrong. you don't take dirt from a foreign government. as tactics you don't do it without lawyers in the room. it was morally wrong, he was trying to say, potentially treasonous and amateur hour. i spoke with a source who disputes that there was any pull aside and as bannon says he is sure probably happened. we're endeavoring trying to reach the reporter to get her on the record comment. >> the aforementioned investigation, quote, this is all about money laundering. what might mr. bannon mean? what does he appear to be alleging there? >> reporter: again, he's looking at this case the way i've heard a lot of legal experts, a lot of people believe it's unlikely robert mueller w

steve bannon said otherwise. joining me now, nbc's peter alexander, live at the white house, and nbc's senior political editor mark murray. peter, to you first, already this morning we're sharing quotes from michael wolf's new book. i'm looking at all this twitter noise saying, why are you guys believing anything steve bannon has to say? it's important to separate things out. steve bannon is very closely tied to president trump's base. steve bannon, who influences breitbart news, and whether or not you like what breitbart has to say, the influence they have and the power they've gained in the last two years with the conservative community is huge. so you two have been going through the pages of this book. what specifically is going through the pages of this book. what specifically is steve bannon saying about that trump tower meeting? >> we know from excerpts we've received, and we obtained a copy of this book that we are going through as we speak right now, that steve bannon refers to that meeting in trump tower

the way they subpoenaed steve bannon. there wasn't word that the committee demanded to have him back in to ask him the questions in a harsher tone. like previous officials who have refused to answer questions for a variety of reasons, yes, there were complaints from the democrats on the committee about that but the republicans didn't seem so particularly bothered. why was steve bannon treated so differently. a lot of people refused to answer questions. he's the only one that got subpoenaed by the committee. something with steve bannon is very different than the way everybody else is being treated in this scandal. everybody in trump's orbit, from trump campaign workers to trump administration officials both current and former. we know a great long list of them who have been brought in to speak to robert mueller and his investigators in a voluntary context. we now know that steve bannon was never asked to come in and meet with robert mueller in a voluntary context, before he was hit with a subpoena from the mueller office.

i think he should -- >> steve bannon? >> steve bannon. because he's saying this if it's just based on some theory or doesn't know it to be true, but if he knowto be true, if donald trump jr. told him it was true, trump himself told him or mike flynn told him, you know, i think that's really important information because then we would know that the president himself was part of an effort to collude with the russians. >> speaking of michael flynn, the book describes friends of michael flynn warning him that the $45,000 he made off a speech in russia might be a problem. this is before the election. and flynn responds, it would only be a problem if we won. therefore, according to this excerpt, flynn not thinking that they were going to win either, and that's one of the reasons he was involved in so many of these business dealings that have since come out and really damaged his standing. >> sure. i mean, and those lack of skruples and willingness to take money from russians is one of the reasons he's wound up pleading guilty to charges from th

steve bannon is dead. he's like i'm getting to davos. >> before we put any dirt, though, on the political coffin, i have to say, i'm going back out to see the trump voters and what they voted for, these were democrats who flipped in michigan, pennsylvania, florida, wisconsin and ohio. what they voted for was the bannon stuff. they voted for -- and for nafta. they voted for economic isolationism. they were not angry about the wall, they were not angry about a muslim ban. these were all things is that steve bannon had on his white board, whether you want to call them accomplishments or embarrassments, these are the only things that president trump has gotten done in his presidency. how much of a hit is it for donald trump not to have steve bannon there with the animated and excited -- >> to your point of him not being on the level of a david axelrod, i think it's true, he's the only one that came in with ideas and with a plan of action and so that's who they have defaulted on for many of the powers they star

that's what i think steve bannon is saying. and i think that's where you are so right, that the idea that people involved in an american presidential campaign would agreedly reach out to the russian government for dirt on their opponent as donald trump junior and company did, does feel treasonous in a colloquial sense but the fact that he would say it was amazing. >> steve bannon is saying totally undermine that we are hearing from the white house. >> and they have several decades trying to target u.s. government officials, and into the hauls of the white house. so whether this meeting was treasonous or not, it shows that jared kushner and whoever else was present, were very easy intelligence targets. easily manipulated. they fell into this trap. and they should have gotten counter intelligence briefing at some point that they actually paid a tettention to. >> or have a lawyer present. instead of -- everything we know about is donald trump famous email back saying love it. >> and the question i mean obviously the russian invest

those are conversations that steve bannon had, information steve bannon had when he was working for the public, when he was working for american taxpayer. it certainly wouldn't be covered by that nondisclosure agreement. ask anything he said whether during the campaign or in the white house, certainly bob mueller would be able to get to either through an interview or if he needed to with a grand jury subpoena. >> one of the most extraordinary things in my view is someone who worked in the white house where lots of books were written, people very critical of george w. bush personally, people critical of george w. bush's foreign policy. i never had the experience, though, of -- when i was a communications director, i knew a lot of the contacts and conversations that were going on, especially in times of crisis. of having either a reporter that was waved into the west wing 17 times sit in and sort of observe and hang out for that much unfiltered off-the-record time for someone who wasn't a press person. nor did i ever witness an occasion that on a day when a book like this came out, white

steve bannon's words. >> yes. that's true. however, i think it was a mistake for them to put out this statement right before the press briefing. because of course, all of this now dominated the white house press briefing. the liberal reporters, their goal is to make trump look unfit to be in office. when you release a lengthy statement personally attacking your former chief strategist, it kind of only gives more weight to that argument. it certainly did not help with the focus of today's presser. so i think they didn't do themselves any favors. the country, conservative republicans would be better off if trump would put this behind him and focus on the issues at hand and moving the country forward. >> trace: we have to go, jessica. the question was asked whether or not the cell phone, if steve bannon can still call the president. sarah sanders said i don't know. i didn't know he had the president's cell phone number. >> i'm sure he can call him. text him, talk to him any time the president doesn't sleep that much.

steve bannon suggests otherwise. next, we're breaking down the timeline around that infamous meeting. >>> and the dow already breaking records this year. traded above 25,000 points for the first time. this morning, here's a look right now. the markets certainly like tax reform. remember, the markets and the economy, those are two different things. >>> and a monster storm hitting the east coast. you can see it there. you can hear my kids cheering right there with a shot of times square. governor cuomo declared a state of emergency this morning for downstate new york, and all flights at new york's jfk airport have been temporarily suspended due to winds and whiteout conditions. stick around. you're home. it's a snow day. hang out and watch "velshi & ruhle." and 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. he told me about non-insulin victoza®. victoza® is not only proven to lower a1c and blood

better than me reading it. >> steve bannon -- any words about steve bannon. >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> i don't talk to him. >> harris: i don't talk to him. what changed steve bannon's mind? >> i don't think his mind changed. >> katie: i agree. >> he is a great man, donald trump. he is an amazing leader. >> harris: why did he trash talk him then? >> well, two things. number one, i'm guessing taken at the best for michael wolff very much out of context. at worst, manufactured. because he certainly has done that in the past. i don't take those quotes. >> harris: steve bannon hasn't retruthed it. >> sandra: we are just getting this off camera remark from ivanka trump at the capital he was able to shoot off a question about the book and she is of course on multiple occasions quoted very negatively n this book by steve bannon the president has made his point of view very clear and everyone in the white house agrees with him and smiled on her departure. marie? >

that was steve bannon. there's no question now, there can be revisionist history if they would like but it does not meet the facts. bannon was along for the ride through all of this, leading the train in many respects here. the question here though is, will this break remain or will the president want to know what steve bannon is thinking in the months to come, certainly in the midterm election campaign and as this is years go forward here. so that is something we'll have to wait and see. is their friendship, relationship broken or not. but the whole point here also, there's been a feud between steve bannon and members of the trump family. jared, ivanka, everyone. that is what is underlying most of this. >> it reminds me a little bit of the soviet union. they used to have the pictures on a reviewing stand and a general would be out of favor and be sent to siberia and they would edit him out of the photo. more from the book especially on russia. steve bannon signals the investigation will walk straight over

bannon. >> so the complaints, realiance steve bannon? others weren't working with him -- >> any that did as far as we can dell did so at the request of mr. bannon. deborah? >> the president announced the most dishonest are and -- [ inaudible ] five p.m. details? where will he say it? will it be televised, how the awards will be -- >> i don't want to spoil anything, but my guess is that there are quite a few individuals that could be up for those awards, and beyond that i think we'll have to see what happens on monday. >> will the press corps be in the room nofor that? >> we'll keep you posted. might be hard to give awards if you're not there. we'll see what happens. >> and there is topics, a letter from the department of transportation suggesting that the administration doesn't support the split federal/state framework for the gateway tunnel connecting new york and new jersey. since it's infrastructure week, i'm wondering -- >> is it infrastructure week? when isn't it? >> in principle supports at least a 50/50 split on that. if not, what

look, there is steve bannon with the president one onone. there's steve bannon exercising his walk-in privileges in the oval office and with the national security team. and even after he left the white house, steve bannon continued to speak with the president. >> a very quick one. i don't understand the timing of something. steve bannon left in the summer, late summer, if the president said he lost his mind in -- when left, why did he continue to talk to him for so many months? >> that is a good question. press secretary sarah sanders answered suggesting there was nothing irreconcilable, about those two irreconcilable notions. >> look, the president continues to have conversations with him often asked for by mr. bannon, the president spoke with him but that doesn't mean that he can't hold that position. >> so she's saying the president of the united states is having conversations with someone he believes has lost his mind. let that sink in. and while you do that, as for sanders' claim that bannon and reince priebus were not on equal footing,

let's go to a steve bannon expert. cnn political analyst joshua green wrote the book, devil's bargain." so, josh, green, i have to get your response to this whole "lost his mind" referring to bannon from the president of the united states. have you heard anything from him about that? >> i don't have any idea. i imagine he weshs he could take some of those quotes back. >> do you? >> but this is something that's been building up for months. when my book came out, trump tweeted angry, didn't put out a statement, but clearly bothers him the idea that steve bannon is getting credit for his electoral victory or for being an influential strategist. and i think the other things in excerpts we see in wolf's book, it apparently portrays trump as stupid. and that is something that drives trump absolutely crasszy which is why you see the white house so quick to put out these very personal critical statements about bannon and then follow them up with other statements from white house officials. criticizing the book and trying to ta

what does steve bannon say? you'll be surprised. >> the president's voter fraud commission has been decommissioned. cnn has learned the effort to prove the unprovable has been in turmoil for months. >> first big nor'easter of the season churning up the east coast. major snowfall expected in parts of the northeast after blanketing the south. early reports this morning from washington. and seoul. good morning and welcome to "early start" everybody. >> it's a busy news day, thursday, january 4th. family feud on the front pages of all local and national pages. that's where we start with president trump delivering a crushing rebuke to his former chief strategist steve bannon. the white house releasing a stinging statement. bannon calling the meeting between a russian lawyer and top officials treasoness. he also told the author they're going to crack don junior like an egg on national tv. >> the president now claiming bannon lost his mind after losing his white house job. in an extraordinary statement from the preside

steve bannon has been a friend of mine for a long time. i like steve a lot. i like mr. bannon. he is a friend of mine. i like him and the press treats him very unfairly. steve is very committed. he's a friend of mine and very committed to getting things passed. >> michael, what is it going to take, if anything, for donald trump to reunite with steve bannon, if it's going to happen. >> well, in his statement yesterday the president said that bannon was just merely a staffer and had very little to do with his historic victory. so, the clips you played sort of contradict what the statement said yesterday. so, the point of the story in this morning's "washington post" was trying to explain that this is not the case. the idea that he's played a little role, he's played a major role. i interviewed people who know bannon and the president very well. bannon was crucial to shaping trump's views and crucial to the strategy for winning the white house. one of the big questions really is since i mentioned the mind of ideology that bannon quote lost his mind. bannon helped him learn and und

he tweeted his thanks to steve bannon "i want to thank steve bannon for his service. andame to my campaign helped me run against crooked hillary clinton." margaret, this is a huge u-turn for the president. ? margaret: iised think the implications are important, both in terms of inflaming the president's emotions and in terms of what we do not know yet, which is what is steve bannon know precisely about the conversations that took place among top trump campaign officials and any russian officials or intermediaries, beginning in the spring and summer of 2016? as you all remember, steve bannon was brought in after the end of paul manafort's run. time, he discovered a lot of policy decisions, whether on foreign or domestic policy, that had taken place up until his arrival there -- it was his job to take what had happened in that campaign and help shape it and move forward across the finish line of the campaign. it ended up being a successful campaign. that is important, and i do not think you can underestimate the impact that has had on the president's sensitivity. shery:

>> i think, i've known steve bannon for year and he's frankly always been about steve bannon and i am not surprised he did a tell all book after the fact. that is not exactly shocking to me. with respect to donald trump junior it is it highly speck mraative and makes for great media and interviews and headlines. bullpen the under lying facts, what is interesting that it appears that the russian attorney was briefed and talked to before the meeting and briefed and talked to after the meeting and it would appear that perhaps that person may have been a confidential informant. and perhaps the meeting was orchestraed and recorded and that would be interesting to find out. >> harris: interesting, chris, i haven't talked to you before. but thank you for doing the program. this is breaking news. the panel and will now my last guest cries farrell talking about the book and what steve bannon said in it. we have a communication's director for first lady and sarah sanders issuing statements. we'll get in to it more after the break. stay close. with an ingredient originally discovered... in jelly

bannon is. when was the last time the president talked to steve bannon? is the president now blocking steve bannon? reporter: i am not aware --sec. sanders: i am not aware he was calling his cell phone. i believe the last conversation took place at the first part of december. reporter: [indiscernible] sec. sanders: i don't think it does anything to the president's base. the base and the people who supported this president supported the president and his agenda. those things have not changed. the president is exactly who he was yesterday as he was two years ago when he started out on the campaign trail. as agenda has not changed. he is continuing to fight for and push for that agenda. i think the base is extremely excited and happy with the job this president has done and his first year in office, look at all he is accomplished, he is hot -- they are happy with where he is. reporter: steve bannon has been following -- some people who may not necessarily be for the other, people. what happens there? sec. sanders: i think that is a question you will have to

the book also says the steve bannon believes the russians were ta ken the steve bannon believes the russians were taken after the meeting to me to donald trump. the president has always denied that happened. with the ongoing investigation into possible russian interference in the presidential election, this explosive row between donald trump and his once trusted ally has left washington stunned. so why the venom? 0ur north america editor, jon sopel, is in washington. i thought it would take something to eclipse donald trump's tweet about kimjong on. eclipse donald trump's tweet about kim jong on. it eclipse donald trump's tweet about kimjong on. it now eclipse donald trump's tweet about kim jong on. it now seems that the president and steve bannon are engaged for who has the biggest bite and in the most powerful one. let me read you a little more of what the president has said about his former chief strategist. steve had little to do with our historic victory. he does not represent myspace. he is only in it for himself. he was rarely in a one—on—one meeting with me and only pretends to h

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president ? >> he called me a great man last night, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you very much. i don't know, i don't know. >> harris: an important day to get word from the white house, that coming up in a moment but let's first go to white house correspondent kevin corke, joining us live from the briefing room which will be a hot spot about 45 minutes. >> bottom of the hour we are expecting sarah sanders to come out and address reporters. if you know anything about the white house, it probably won't happen at the bottom of the hour but it will happen nonetheless. very interesting, i think i should point this out, harris. the president's lawyers are pushing back very forcefully. a flurry of letters going from his lawyers offices today, not just to steve bannon but also in particular to the publisher of the book "fire and fury." the president saying listen, you can't keep putting out false information, it could lead to libel, false statements and other mischaracterizations. we

bannon. margaret: so you would say they came from steve bannon. other white house officials were not working with him in helping him to gain information. sec. sanders: any who did as far as we can tell was at the request of mr. bannon. -- monday at 5:00 p.m., can we get details on that, will it will be televised, will there be any -- >> will there be an audience? sec. sanders: i do not want to spoil anything, but my guess is there are quite a few individuals who will be up for those awards. beyond that, we will have to see what happens monday. >> will the press corps be in the room for that? sec. sanders: we will certainly keep you posted. it might be hard for him to present trophies if you are not there, but we will have to wait and see what happens monday. justin. justin: i have two questions. one on policy. a letter from the department of transportation, just so the administration -- the framework for the gateway rail tunnel in new jersey, this infrastructure, i wonder if the president -- [laughter] justin: in principle supports the 50/50 split

>> any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. >> the president wasn't just stunned by bannon's claims, he was furious and disgusted. >> reporter: reportedly growing more furious by the minute. >> if steve said that was treasonous, he should retract that. >> i can sense that he's probably very frustrated and disappointed that steve would do this. i think steve actually is somewhat delusional with some of these claims. >> michael wolf is a sleaze bag. i was asked to talk to him in the white house when he floated around the west wing and i refused to talk to this guy. >> steve bannon said he would go to war for president trump when he left the white house. now the white house is going to war on him. and the author of the book who claims he has tapes. bannon, author michael wolf, and the book's publisher have all gotten cease and desist letters if one of the president's lawyers. today bannon may have been trying to smooth things over. >> there is no one

here's the thing, he's distancing himself from steve bannon, because fw this is true, what steve bannon said in this book is true, this is a very unflattering picture of the president. he looks like someone who is kind of fumbling, who everyone was calling him names behind his back and no one really thought that he was a serious person. if he doesn't distance himself from everything about this book, including steve bannon, who also led him astray he says on the roy moore race, it looks bad -- the president looks bad. >> you know, ron brownstein is with us as well. listen to the president last summer speaking about steve bannon. listen to this. >> look, i like mr. bannon. he's a friend of mine. but mr. bannon came on very late, you know that. i went through 17 senators, governors and i won all the primaries. mr. bannon came on very much later than that. and i like him. he's a good man. he is not a racist. i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we'll see what happens with mr. bannon, but he's a good person and i think the press tr

that was steve bannon. interesting that trump again tried to downplay one of his top advisers, suggesting that he was not ak party of the victory. he previously said that paul manafort, his campaign chairman, that he also didn't play a critical role in the victory. it starts to look like trump is the only person that played a pivotal role in his winning. thank you. much more on that coming up in beyond 100 days. it is still pretty bloody out there, but storm eleanor is well out of the picture. it is actually across southern scandinavia, centred around denmark, copenhagen, infact. this is where the storm is. there is another area of low pressure with weather fronts heading another area of low pressure with weatherfronts heading in our direction. there will be more wind and rain, but nothing of the scale of what we have just had. through the course of the night, a lot of clear skies, like a wind across many eastern and northern areas. you can see the next weather fronts weeping from the atlantic and an increa

you have been friendly with steve bannon. it seems his attacks on the president may jeopardize his position at "breitbart." >> i think bannon will be fine whether he stays at "breitbart." he's a skilled political strategist with a lot of deep ties in the conservative wing of the base. the media would love to see bannon crash and burn. he's perhaps more despised than donald trump himself. there is a perception in the media that barn noon is the one controlling the narrative. the media is treating bannon like this temporary chapel "on. but i still think the media hates him. they love it when republicans fight with each other and this bannon trump feud is being used as a distraction. howie: steve bannon played a key role in the campaign and the white house. do you think the media has a seething lay tread for him? >> i don't. if you mention, his credibility is in jeopardy. there was an article in the national review talking about how steve bannon is a victim of his own -- buying his own hype. and the fact that -- never happens, n

an open question what steve bannon knows. this is one of the rare splits i should say on the intelligence committee leading congress's investigation between the top republican and top democrat. i don't know how they will get through that. richard burr is the chairman. multiultimately it's an open question what steve bannon knows. he was not on the campaign when donald trump jr. held the meeting in russia. he may have his own opinion about it that he shared, but it's not clear whether he was involved as reporting comes out about mueller's investigation. another parallel investigation into this. we haven't heart steve bannon's name. >> hoar suggests money laundering is a major problem which is illegal especially doing it with russians and suggesting that the meeting at trump tower was treasonous. that raises questions that committee members want answers to. >> the point is and you are right that he joined this administration after the trump tower meeting. a couple of months. we also know the context of all of this which is that

so, yes, steve bannon is on the outs. does that mean steve bannon will for every be on the outs. if passes with trump, no. sometimes he drawn to the people that he has crossed swords with, because he knows that the reconciliation makes great tv. >> and people pay attention and they talk about it. >> yeah. >> and he reads about it. on the whole radio point and steve bannon, abby to you, he's been doing radio and answering questions from trump supporters. now, reiterating his support for trump, calling him a great man, supporting his agenda. told one caller let's not let the left wing media stir that up. but how does one reconcile his response to this book with the direct quotes attributed to him in this book? >> well, to chris's point, brooke, bannon hasn't really talked specifically about what he is quoted as saying in this book. he's just pivoted and praised trump which was typically what people do in trump universe when they've made a mistake. and for bannon it's particularly important because his empire, this breitbart empire is so fully framed around donald trump, that if you

to abandon steve bannon. kennedy: you already have another close run of the president who was quoted in the book as saying -- this is a billionaire who has known the president for years, was quoted in the book as saying, he's not only crazy, he's stupid. the quote attributed to me by michael wolfe is completely utterly false. i have never been interviewed by michael wolfe. if steve bannon does the same, that may be the kiss of death for the author's reputation. but maybe great for a page turn. >> there's also a part in the book where he says that president trump didn't know who speaker of the house john boehner was. that's been shown to be false. the two of them played golf together before he was president. there are things that are going to wash out. all we know now is a 23-page exert put out by new york magazine. if you're interest maryland politics, these things are rivetting. you want to see what's being said, who is saying what. i think after that donald trump statement today where he just eviscerated, d

has the desired effect on steve bannon? >> secretary sanders: i'm not sure what aspect made him change his tune, but i think that there was certainly a difference in some of the language that he used for this book versus the language that he used last night. >> i have a question on oil drilling, rick scott, the governor of florida is expressing concerns about the administration's new oil drilling plan which would allow drilling on most coastal waters, can the president of ford to cross less important political ally? what do you plan to say to governor scott about the whole plan? >> secretary sanders: our goal is not to cross governor scott. we have a great relationship with him. we will continue working with him on a number of issues. just because we may differ on issues from time to time does not mean that we cannot have an incredibly strong and good relationship. we will continue those conversations with him, and hopefully all comes to an agreement. i will take one last question. >> recalling the michael wolff book full o

that is something that steve bannon faces. the really big question, trump wants to go after him, to after him for defamation for big payday. to do that it is a high burden, he would have to show malice on steve bannon's part. cheryl: depends on what the disclosure in the contract says, if it's a monetary hit, whatever it will be. i want to read the statement from president trump, he as always president trump does, did not mince words and criticism. steve bannon has nothing to do with me and my presidency. when he was fired he not only lost his job but lost his mind. steve was a staffer that worked for me after i already won the nomination after defeating 17 candidates. steve bannon's comments to michael wolff back in september, there was nothing to the russian investigation, all was well. what do you think changed? >> i will say this though. i think president trump is on to something when he says steve bannon is in it for himself. it is not just the "60 minutes" interview that contradicts some of the stuff he said to wolff. al

i mean, steve bannon is the headline today. it is every single person working in that white house that michael wolff has access to with something negative to say about this president. >> it is incredible, lawrence. there's a bit of eskimos so exposed to winter they have 23 words for snow. the thing that strikes you in the book n whether it's mnuchin or mcmaster, everyone around trump either calls him dumb or stupid or an idiot. it is like they have 23 different words for moron. i mean, it is astonishing portrait of the president as an idiot, as an incompetent. not by his political foes, not by enemies or people but those closest to him in the white house. and that's what you see when you read the excerpts from this book. >> jonathan, maggie is reporting in "the washington post" new rule for the white house. as of next week, west wing staffers have been told they can't use personal cell phones anymore per multiple aides. they were told this early in the term but it's now being enforced with security concerns being cited. and, jo

steve bannon is all about steve bannon and will always only ever be about steve bannon. brian: one thing i would not know is that if he does have a part of the base, will he take that with him since he has now drawn sides between him and the president? can the president afford to lose a part of that base to steve bannon? >> i don't think so. the president didn't need steve bannon to win and the president doesn't need steve bannon to be successful. steve bannon's contribution to this is taking over a website that was crated by a better guy and running it into the ground and making it a platform for the alt right. some commenters at this website are not going to be enough to bolster steve bannon's momentum. president trump proved he had a bigger nuclear button against steve bannon. you never go to war with a guy who will push back hard on you and that's what we saw yesterday. ainsley: dana, we were watching the press pool earlier asking is he cavalier, is he demented. have you joy behar who says he needs to be medicated and hospitalized. listen to her comment and we will g

the president, obviously, though, is focusing on steve bannon because steve bannon seems to be at least the first headline, major headline in this book. but let's remember, donald trump is a fan or at ealeast has beenn of steve bannon. here's what he said about his former chief strategist back in october. >> i have a very good relationship, as you know, with steve bannon. steve's been a friend of mine for a long time. i like steve a lot. steve is doing what steve thinks is the right thing. >> that was after steve was fired. so what does that mean for bannon's credibility here? >> well, look, we know that president trump and bannon actually stayed in touch in the months since he was fired. they've had occasional phone calls. steve bannon has considered himself sort of an outside adviser and has had a line in to the president at times off and on. over these last few months clearly they're at a breaking point right now. but it's not like the day steve bannon left the white house he o lost all of his influence with this president. he's also been a political force on the outside with some of

-- steve bannon from calling his cell phone? ms. sanders: i'm am not aware they are calling his cell phone but the less conversation took part in the early part of december. >> what does this do for the president's base? ms. sanders: i don't think this does anything to the base. they supported the president and his agenda and those things have not changed. the president is exactly who he was yesterday as he was two years ago when he started out on the campaign trail. his agenda has not changed. i think he's continuing to fight for and push for that agenda. and i think the base is extremely excited and happy. they are pretty happy with where he is. steve bannon has a distinct following, the alt white. ms. sanders: that is in question you have to ask steve bannon p . the president's is very solid and has not changed because the president has not changed. his agenda has not changed. we are continuing to accomplish what we did last year and will do a lot more at the beginning of 2018. >> -- did the president -- >> you don't think i can

they fired steve bannon. steve bannon is not an employee of the white house. and i'm not sure the reason they wanted to subpoena him is that -- i'm not sure he has the right not to answer a question. i mean, if it's a friendly and informal process, then obviously he has the right not to answer a question. but if he refuses to answer a question before a congressional, he has no standing as a private citizen not to answer a question if he is sworn under oath in front of the congress or he can be cited for contempt of congress and thrown in jail. >> anna lease jordan, this conversation about loyalty is so irrelevant to the mueller probe because we worked in the white house where a lot of the senior staff -- it was very disorienting to have a lot of the senior staff in the bush white house -- they were not targets or subjects, but they were witnesses in the pat fitzgerald special counsel investigation into the leaking of valerie plame's name. no more loyal than scooter libby. but loyalty doesn't get you through the criminal investigation into the underlying crime.

imagine what we can do for you. >>> it was subpoena day for steve bannon while steve bannon was actually getting subpoenaed today by the house intelligence committee in the middle of his meeting with the house intelligence committee because he was refusing to answer the questions of the house intelligence committee. "the new york times" revealed that steve bannon had already been hit with a subpoena by special prosecutor robert mueller. steve bannon is now the first person from president trump's inner circle to receive a subpoena from the special prosecutor. "the times" reports that mr. mueller is likely to allow mr. bannon to forgo the grand jury appearance if he agrees to be questioned by investigators in the less formal setting of the special counsel's offices. the subpoena came davis michael wolff's book "fire and fury" was released. in the book, steve bannon is reported as harshly criticizing president trump, his family and members of his staff, and speculating about their legal culpability. bannon called the trump tower meeting between donald trump jr., jared kushner, paul manafort

why, why would steve bannon do this? he even -- even as he said yesterday on a breitbart radio show, he still believes trump is a great man. still supports him. why in the world would he -- what's his incentive? i understand he spoke on the record. what does he gain by doing all of this. >> you sound like one of steve bannon's allies who called me yesterday and said, why would he do this? why would he do this? >> maybe it was ayman. if you know the answer, you're smarter than me. this does not strike anybody close to bannon as even one dimensional chess. i can't fathom a strategy. one thing we will be reporting on axios is bannon has told friends that if trump -- if the russia process ends badly for trump, he would requester running in a republican primary against mike pence. he does have large visions for himself. >> interesting. >> i was hearing steve bannon with all the information he revealed yesterday and pushing the investigation this direction, hasn't spoken to robert mueller. >> now wondering if in fact he would

at all to steve bannon and called that a misnomer. let's get to senior corresponden. jeff, what did you make of the brief but important comments? >> very brief comments and it was the president's decision to answer that question. we saw him for several seconds. the aide are are saying thank you and they are being escorted out. the president decided to answer that which i decided was swg. he was paying attention to the breitbart radio show last evening when steve bannon referred to the president as a great man. he also said he changed his tune quickly there. certainly interesting. dana, i think it raises an initial question. is this feuding permanent with the president and steve bannon or will they at some point make up, if you will and will steve bannon still be in the mind of this president? i think we have seen several times the president has a hard time fully getting rid of advisers and things. we likes to collect different thoughts and continues. steve bannon is in that group there, but certainly interesting that he decided to add

steve bannon's hands are on a pink slip. and trump had famously recently said bannon lost his mind after being fired. tonight let's be clear, steve bannon lost his largest alt-right platform for power. and it was never his to begin with. steve bannon rose to power by melding what he called grass roots populist outrage with funding from the conservative elite. that may have been a messy alliance, but it always worked up until tonight because of the money. a former banker himself steve bannon did have a kind of special independence from the gop structure because he had independent money. but he also forgot a cardinal rule of power. what puts you on top can also bring you down. as sean connor explained, the same sword they night you with, they will good night you with. and as jimmy cliff observed, the harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all. a special panel on this developing political news, christina greer, katty kay, ej dionne, and eric deegans, krit tim a critic and analyst. and i begin to go around the horn with

steve bannon was very much inside the tent. he may be similar to trump in his self aggrandizing pro cliffities. but he has taken on the president here. what's most striking is him taking on the president, whom he says he still supports, by fueling the biggest danger to this presidency, and that is this russia investigation. going after don jr. saying that he might flip, saying that that meeting at trump tower was treasonist. these are the kinds of things that i think even beyond the bumbling nature of the trump white house and trump as president himself are so damaging and striking. >> let's start our look at the book with the beginning. before he even won, look at this about what the expectations were in trump land. trump himself was sanguine. his ultimate goal, after all, had been never to win. i can be the most famous man in the world, he has told his aide. he would come out with a far more powerful brand and untold opportunities. this is bigger than i ever dreamed of, he told ailes. i don't think about luosing. it isn't los

advising steve bannon not to talk to that committee today. having somebody on those two different sides of the story both represented by the same attorney? that's weird. that does it for us tonight. now it's time for "the last word with lawrence o'donnell." good evening, lawrence. >> good evening, rachel. so that's weird. >> yeah. >> that's the weird thing. >> i found one weird thing in the news today. >> no, but it really is. i remember commenting on that and talking about it when it was revealed who this lawyer attorney burke is representing. reince priebus, don mcgahn, and steve bannon. there was bound to be a conflict very soon. and here we had it today. >> and it's interesting. because he was representing priebus and mcgahn for a long time before this. and that alone seemed like a strange potential conflict. now he is representing bannon as well. one thing to keep in mind here is if there is a conflict of interest, as it relates to the mueller investigation and the things that mueller is looking at, presumably mueller's lawyers will purs

why subpoena steve bannon? why not do a voluntary or informal interview the way they have done with white house people and trump campaign people? based on public reporting, we believe everybody from the white house counsel don mcgahn to hope hicks to christopher steele to george papadopoulos, there is a ton of people questioned by the mueller inquiry but didn't get a subpoena. they didn't get told to turn up as a witness. before the grand jury. why is steve bannon the one and only senior trump advisor being treated this way and given a subpoena and told to testify to the grand jury? does that necessary mean they asked him to do an interview and he refused? michael schmidt says, quote, the subpoena could be a negotiating tactic. mr. mueller is likely to forego the appearance if he agrees to be questioned by investigators in the less special setting. he says yet the subpoena could be a negotiating tactic. mr. mueller is likely to forgo the appearance if he agrees to be questioned by investigators in the less spec

steve bannon. steve has been a friend of mine for a long time. >> not just a friend, just a good guy, a friend for a very long time. that's what the president said. and the two of course do seem particularly close in photo after photo. here they are greeting the tesla ceo, elon musk, in the state dining room as trump signs an executive order about the oil pipeline industry. and this, trump speaking on the phone with vladimir putin, and who is there? steve bannon. and then when they worked together in the white house, check this out, their offices, steps apart. in fact the only person who sat closer to the president of the united states than bannon was president trump's son-in-law, jared kushner. even the official chief of staff, reince priebus, sat farther away from president trump. and of course as trump knows well from his real estate days, power is all about location, location, location. slamming bannon, though, was only part of the white house operation today. the press secretary tried to rip t

steve bannon, his attorneys are consulting with the white house. >> we were told by steve bannon's attorneys that they were on the phone in the meeting with the white house. instructions from the white house mr. bannon could not talk about anything of the transition or recent conversations he has had with the president. >> sarah sanders also confirmed that steve bannon's lawyer was conveying with the white house. is that the same proces that is typically followed. >> i hope he was not doing that because that would be an effort to read into the white house a committee's sensitive investigation. the white house has a right to put parameters in place for any time that steve bannon was at the white house but they cannot, they should not know what we are asking mr. bannon with respect to the campaign. >> sanders citing executive privilege that goes back decades. >> no. to my knowledge that has never happened in history. and it is happening right now with mr. bannon and also not supported by any case law or any statute. we believe this is the white house in most aggressive way yet, trying -- i hop