he attacks blumenthal and -- sorry, senator blumenthal, and it was a warning to him in the democratic party and the republican conference, i'll come out you. i'll find something you did in the past and i'll do it in front of the cabinets in the oval office. >> we're waiting from the 9th circuit court of appeals on whether the president's travel ban affecting seven majority muslim countries in the middle east will be reinstated or off the books at least for now. >> we expect that decision to happen this week. as though there isn't -- >> could happen today. >> it could happen today. exactly right. so, really, any minute now, we could expect this decision. and it could go a number of ways. the 9th circuit could send it back to the district court as you'll recall in the oral hearings. it was brought up this was all moving so fast. in fact, the doj lawyer admitted this is moving very fast, quickly. that's an option. could send it back to the district court. what happens to this temporary stay, this temporary restraining order is still unclear. the 9th circuit could either say, look, we'll

democratic senator richard blumenthal. senator, good to have you on "new day," as always. >> thank you very much. good to be with you. >> first we have a credibility attack and then an attack on the facts. what is your response to the president of the united states who says you should not be believed because you misrepresented your military record in the past. >> there's no question that judge gorsuch said to me that he found these attacks on the judiciary by the president to be disheartening and demoralizing. in fact, his spokesperson after the meeting confirmed it. he made the statement more than once. in fact, he has made that same statement to a um if ber of my colleagues including senator schumer. but i think that telling me that he finds these attacks to be demoralizing or disheartening behind closed doors is not enough. he needs to make that statement publicly and condemn this attack on the independence of the judiciary and show the american people that he will be independent. >> is that putting a political paramete

sidney blumenthal: thank you, dan. in general, now mary lincoln has become somewhat of an easy figure for people to dismiss and to discredit and degrade and even defame, but there would have been no lincoln without mary. [applause] sidney blumenthal: mary lincoln was difficult. she was volatile. she had an upbringing that created all sorts of problems for her. she had -- her mother died. her stepmother was that of cinderella. [laughter] she loved her father, but he neglected her. and she set her cap on lincoln. they had a tumultuous, confused relationship in which lincoln often, they can did not understand how to handle the members of the opposite sex, and eventually he and mary came together and she referred it to their marriage as our lincoln party. and in the beginning, there were only two members at this party. and it was lincoln and mary. she was a highly unusual woman in that she was political. she grew up in a political household. her father was a business partner and political ally of henry clay. she knew clay,

he tweets blumenthal misrepresents what he told him. the man that is leading communications for judge gorsuch confirms he did say what blumenthal said he says. your thoughts. >> i was in a meeting where they had this conversation. that's what his spokesperson said. it's highly unusual for a senator to disclose the entirety of a meeting after a private meeting like that and not believe that senator blumenthal and i would agree with judge gorsuch. we go back to january six years ago or 7 years ago in front of the joint session of congress and by attacking a decision they had made. he started it out with all due respect and that's not true. this is the first time that a president used the power of the office to criticize a supreme court decision or justice or a judge. >> there's no question that you have the right. he has spun a couple of turns away from what i asked you though which is i know neither of us are party to the conversation but if that were the only basis for having an opinion about something nobody would ever talk about anyth

the latest dust up with democratic senator blumenthal over neil gorsuch. gorsuch criticizing going after -- senator blumenthal said he found it disheartening and quote demoralizing, despite gorsuch's spokesperson confirming that conversation, president trump said this. >> you misrepresented his comments totally. >> i wanted to ask you what you're thoughts were, sir. >> his comments were misrepresented totally. >> he was asked in the briefing room to sean spicer, the answer was two

i trust senator blumenthal. i trust judge gorsuch that he was in fact disheartened and demoralized by the comments. yes, i do think it would help gorsuch's case if true and i believe it's true. it shows him to be the independent thinker that democrats might accept on the supreme court if not welcome with open arms. >> david, i am curious what you make of this. there are so many different versions or theories about what's going on here floating around. you have the idea that this is some kind of declaration of independence that gorsuch is making. the suggestion has been out there that the white house orchestrated this in some way. we raised the possibility with kelly o'donnell of hey, maybe gorsuch was trying to stiide-st the issue. blumenthal was asking specific questions. >> i think we're over complicating it and the variations of what gorsuch said are variations on a theme that's consistent with his world view on juris prudence. this is a judge known for deep commitment to separation of powers. one of his most

we just heard senator blumenthal use the word abhorrent. that was not something that judge gorsuch said. that was a word that the senator ended up using. that's caused controversy as well. >> reporter: no question about that. that is a word the senator added. that got under the skin of the president and it's been part of the back and forth all day today. >> heather: one more question. the former senator aotch. she has been on the hill, his sherpa, seeing him to these meeting. was she, in fact, in on that meeting with mr. blumenthal? >> reporter: she has been in some of these meetings. i understand she was in that meeting, so she's been able to clarify what was said between the two. we have seen her roaming the halls with the judge, helping him with the meet and greet with lawmakers who will vote on his nomination. >> heather: that is significant that she was in on this meeting. we will get to that in a moment. mike, thanks. a former communications director for governor tim kaine and pounding partner of 270 strategies. brie payton is a staff

today he went after senator blumenthal's credibility. >> ask senator blumenthal vietnam record that didn't exist after he said it did. ask him about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> shepard: the president is referring to blumenthal's said that he served in vietnam. he later clarified said he served during the vietnam war as a member of the marine corps reserves, which he did. senator blumenthal responded to the president today. >> there is no question about what judge gorsuch said to me. the white house staff was there. it was confirmed by judge gorsuch's own spokesperson. >> senator blumenthal says he wants more. he's calling on judge gorsuch to publicly condemn the president's comments. so far that's not happened. on the decision to reinstate the president's travel ban, we're expecting that today from the federal appeals court in san francisco. the timing is not certain. today the white house said the president has no regrets about his comments on judges and that he will continue to speak his mind. the president also went on a twitt

senator blumenthal has already met with judge gorsuch. there's enormous pressure from democratic base. they see this judge, probably very qualified but as a stolen seat. the fact that republicans stalled for over a year the nomination of judge garland now to put someone who while highly qualified seems to be conservative, i also think the way the judge responded was very clever. it's all about point of view. i'm not a hollywood big shot. golden globe winner like toobin but my friends talk about pov, point of view, which way is the camera casting your eye. it was about the feelings of the federal judges, these precious snowflakes, how can they be demoralized? it's about the institution being independent to stand up to an autocratic president. he didn't talk about the independence of the judiciary just the feelings of these poor ch pampered judges. poor grace. >> the judiciary independent. that's why they have life tenure including the one who issued this bogus temporary restraining order. >> so-called temporary. >> just as he waerd senator

so, ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. >> there is a leader of the free world going nuclear on senator blumenthal for making comments about his supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. blumenthal apologized seven years ago. our panel is still with us. bob costa is all over the gorsuch nomination effort. tell us what you're hearing on the hill. >> i spoke at length today, nicole, to senator blumenthal and he said he was surprised by president trump's comments because the white house counsel don mcgann was in the room with judge gorsuch during the meeting with the senator. a former senator out of new hampshire. gorsuch's spokesperson confirmed the comments and blumenthal said he just finds it odd that the president, in his words, is not communicating perhaps with his staff. you real have i a war of words between the capital and pennsylvania avenue. the one thing that i picked up today in my reporting is that gorsuch may have helped himself

ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> a very dense layered punch to richa richard blumenthal, democrat of connecticut. when he was running for office years ago, i covered that campaign, he was sort of caught on camera making the references if he had served in vietnam and not the vietnam era. he apologized for that at the time. that's kind of taking an old element against richard blumenthal and also saying that he misrepresented what neil gorsuch said and yet those working with neil gorsuch on behalf of the trump administration affirm that he did, in fact, talk about being concerned about the president's comments. so president trump again using the tactics from the campaign season that have carried into his administration where he punches back, and he will sometimes ignore certain facts to focus on other distracting facts like bringing up the issue of vietnam war service for richard blumenthal that's not pertinent to what's going on now. those who worked

so ask senate blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> i know what you are, but what am i? what's -- you figure that's what's coming next. what judge gorsuch told senator blumenthal has been confirmed by gorsuch's own spokesperson and all but confirmed by gorsuch white house team in spite of the white house spin. ben sasse went further saying he even teared up at times in their meeting over the attacks on the judiciary. senator blumenthal says gorsuch explicitly okayed him to relay these concerns to the public. still, president trump is attacking the messenger, senator blumenthal. he also slammed an interview that blumenthal gave this morning as fake news. but, folks, this is a symptom of a larger issue. the administration's response to criticism often takes a darker tone. they blame the press by falsely claiming it covers up terrorist attacks. they blame the courts for temporarily stopping the white house travel ban by warning that america is under the threat of terrori

so, ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. >> there is a leader of the free world going nuclear on senator blumenthal for making comments about his supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. blumenthal apologized sefrm ven years ago. our panel is still with us. bob costa is all over the gorsuch nomination effort. tell us what you're hearing on the hill. >> i spoke at length today, nicole, to senator blumenthal and he said he was surprised by president trump's comments because the white house counsel don mcgann was in the room with judge gorsuch during the meeting with the senator. a former senator out of new hampshire. gorsuch's spokesperson confirmed the comments and blumenthal said he just finds it odd that the president, in his words, is not communicating perhaps with his staff. you real have i a war of words between the capital and pennsylvania avenue. the one thing that i picked up today in my reporting is that gorsuch may have helped hims

so ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. thank you. >> you see the president of the united states meeting with democrats and republicans, members of the u.s. senate, making his pitch for his supreme court nominee, judge neil gorsuch to be confirmed. also in the same -- at the same, at the very end you heard him once again very, very critical of senator richard blumenthal. he says misrepresenting comments by judge gorsuch. judge gorsuch making the point to senator blumenthal yesterday that what the president tweeted, what the president said about the judiciary in judge gorsuch's words, this according to senator blumenthal, were the words were demoralizing and disheartening. the president saying that was a distortion of what was said, but it's interesting that the official spokesperson that the white house selected, that the white house had selected for judge gorsuch confirmed that's precisely what the judge said. take a look at this. we

he said it not only to senator blumenthal, he said it to ben sass, a republican. >> kelly ayotte put out a statement, that is not what she said he said. what we do know is senator blumenthal -- we all know his vietnam scandal, how much he has a credibility problem. it's a serious problem. that's what should be the focus of this conversation, the degree to which that senator has a serious credibility issue. but not to get off track here because we're going all over the place. let's be very clear and straight forward in saying the following: the united states of america has a terrorism problem. we have had hundreds of cases of foreign nationals entering our country from other countries and plotting, attempting or even carrying out terrorist attacks. we spend countless dollars a year, and we have thousands of federal officers and investigators who do nothing but run around the country trying the stop terrorist attacks for no other reason than because we make the mistake of letting people in who harbor hatred for this country. our immigration system should not be a vehicle for admitting

so ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> your response, senator murphy? >> i think you have donald trump in a nutshell, right, any time that donald trump is feeling pressured he just turns around and tries to shame or criticize or billy the person criticizing him. this is par for the course highway donald trump ran his campaign, how he is going to run the white house. i think this is a tactic that donald trump enjoys because it distracts from the underlying issue, which is donald trump trying to control the judiciary by calling out judges publicly when they disagree with him. he is able to cloud thatnd lying issue by attacking senator blumenthal just like he is able to cloud the issue of his policy of yemen in the middle east by attacking john mccain. this is the next four years, which is donald trump trying to obliterate the actual news of the day by engaging in personal attacks. my hope is that we don't fall for the bait that we as members of senate rise

president trump ripped blumenthal on twitter saying "senator richard blumenthal, you never fought in vietnam who set for years he had become a major lie, now mistry's misrepresenth judge gore such told him?" here's what the president said this morning. a twitter storm we should say. it senator mccain should not be talking about the success or failure of a mission to the media. it only emboldens the enemy! he's been losing so long, he does know how to win anymore, just look at the mess our country is in. a bogged down in conflict all over the place. our hero, ryan, died on a winning mission, according to general mattis, not a failure. time to for the u.s. to get smart and start winning again!" they are saying that the plan to replace the plan is obsolete already and it should be looked at already. i'll also saying that the faa should be a pilot and not a political appointee, also suggesting that there is a major tax-cut news coming down the pipe in just a few weeks' time. the president, a wind storm here today my apologies. the president also having a listening session with people he

but an aide to judge gorsuch confirmed to nbc news the judge's comments to senator blumenthal. and republican senator kelly ayotte who has been shepherding judge gorsuch around capitol hill also issued a statement this morning saying in part, quote, while judge gorsuch made clear he was not referring to any specific case, he said he find any criticism of a judge's independence and integrity demoralizing. first of all, there's all this nonsense about did he or didn't he. it seems right after senator blumenthal said this what he said, gorsuch's office confirmed that he did say that the comments were disheartening and demoralizing. that doesn't actually seem to be in dispute. >> reporter: you're right. not only did yesterday an associate tell us that, yes, that is the language what he used but today as you noted, kelly ayotte, the sherpa as they describe her on capitol hill with judge gorsuch said effectively the same thing. nonetheless, this is the pushback we've been getting this morning from the white house, specifically kellyanne conway attacking the public statement by richar

did you talk about the attack on senator blumenthal? >> reporter: did you ask him to calm down his rhetoric? >> jon: a love democratic friends in the senate, but those are two of them, joe manchin and heidi heitkamp discussing positions with the president. we will be back with more and perhaps that white house briefing adjusting in it. >> jenna: to the white house now, sean spicer. >> press secretary spicer: -- top law enforcement officer. after the attorney general swearing in, the president signed three executive ordered dedicated to extending high law enforcement who risk their lives every day to reduce crime and stop cartel violence be the first executive order directs the newly installed attorney general to develop a strategy for more effectively prosecuting people who commit violence against members of law enforcement. we must better protect those who protect us. our men and women in blue need to know that we are with them 100% as they patrol our streets. unfortunately, this has not always been the case. law enforcement officials

so one of those who interviewed blumenthal was chris cuomo on the cnn morning show. that prompted this tweet from the president of the united states. he never asked about his long-term lie about service in vote a number of. fake news. kokomo * reacted in real-time. -- cuomo reacted with this. >> the first point i made in the interview, the president with all due respect is once again off on the facts. >> he was right to say he did bring this up. i think in general. howie: the senator didn't answer the question. >> when there is a war, there is a way for cnn to get ratings. right now the war is cnn versus trump. other news organizations are finding a way to say it's not accurate. but cnn is taking this on in a way that inserts them into the story. howie: earlier he said for a journalist to be called fake news, it's like being called the n-word. >> i was going to bring up the fact chris cuomo said fake news is like using the n-word. when you are being pair did on "saturday night live" as being a baby in the cage. it seems like they are doubling down on this rivalry and

donald trump going after senator blumenthal over looekd gorsuch comments. and john mccain for criticizing the raid in yemen. >>> meanwhile pressure mounting this afternoon as the president and his advisors jump to ivanka trump's defense. the back and forth with nordstrom heating up now. some experts say that ethics rules have been broken. >>> and winter wallop. more than 50 million people are in the path of a monster storm that's pounding parts of the northeast with blizzard-like conditions. our man, al roker will join me here in the studio with the latest forecast j just a few minutes. >>> let's start with the fallout from judge gorsuch's comments. moments ago president trump meeting with those senators at the white house. you just saw it here. the main topic, the nomination of judge neil gorsuch to the supreme court. the judge on capitol hill once again today, part of the usual charm offensive for supreme court nominees. but

maybe blumenthal will vote in favor of gorsuch anyway. instead of focusing on the most important news of the day, donald trump tweeted and sean spicer followed up with some very, very interesting news for a lot of people that affects everyone. tax cuts are coming. massive new tax reform. instead, were going to worry about a couple words gorsuch may or may not have said. >> kimberly: let's listen to those exchanges back and forth. >> the comments were misrepresented braid what you should do is ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record that didn't exist. ask senator bhumibol about his vietnam record. he represented that. just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. >> i am simply repeating what judge gorsuch said to me and i hope he will repeated an even stronger terms clearly, unequivocally, emphatically thing the president of the united states is absolutely wrong to be attacking the judiciary. >> kimberly: what do you make of the back-and-forth? >> dana: i see these things as separate. the comments against senator senator mccain, anyt

jesse: you want to see schumer yank blumenthal. >> he lied about serving in vietnam. lied repeatedly, and the voters of connecticut decided to send him to the senate. that's sick in the ahead. the navy s.e.a.l.s should haul him off to arlington national cemetery and allow john wayne mcwayne to kick his ass all over the grave yard. jesse: next up, senator warren, versus senator sessions when she got benched on the senate floor. take a look. >> he is a disgrace to the justice department and should withdraw his nomination and resign his position. >> is there objection? >> object. >> objection is heard. senator will take her seat. jesse: i think it's warren who is the racist because she lied about being native american to get into harvard to take another native american's spot there. >> exactly right. and she's half out of her mind also. makes hillary clinton look like mother teresa, between blumenthal, warren, schumer, pelosi and ellison, you have liars, psychos and jew haters running the democratic party. they're in trouble. jesse: warren on the war path. we're going to

i thought it was so unusual that he also told senator blumenthal, that blumenthal should feel-free to tell people about it. these meetings are typically so quiet and closely held. we don't know what happens in these meetings, but now we do know it, this will absolutely i think encourage democrats, people who would be worried -- this would come up anyway in his confirmation hearings. he would be asked about these statements, for democrats to know ahead of time that they and judge gorsuch are on the same page on judicial independence. it's typically not a question, but because president trump put it out there, they would want to know that this is where gorsuch sits and stands on this issue. now that he's told blumenthal, it will make people feel a lot better, opposing him on this basis will be something for democrats as well. >> for background here, senator mccain said the white house shouldn't be calling this yemen raid a success because one navy s.e.a.l. died. sean spicer hitting back yesterday saying you shouldn't be saying that, et cetera. now the president is saying this, and i thi

the president going off on connecticut senator richard blumenthal writing, he never fought in vietnam when he said for years he had, major lie, now misrepresents what judge gorsuch told him. here is the background. judge gorsuch, the president's nominee met with blumenthal yesterday and he asked him about the attacks ton the jude -- on the judiciary. here is what blumenthal said to the press after the meeting. >> my strong hope is he will be more vehement publicly. he certainly expressed to me that he is disheartened by the demoralizing and abhorrent comments made by president trump about the judiciary. >> i'm told by a source that while the judge said attacks on the judiciary -- he spoke in generalities and did not speak specifically to what the president said about district judge james robart or the 9th circuit court of appeals hearings. kelly ayotte shepherding gorsuch backed it up saying judge gorsuch has made it clear in his discussions with senators, including blumenthal, he could not comment on any specific cases and the judicial ethics prevent him from commenting on political

senator richard blumenthal, thank you so much for being on the show. if you want some physical exercise, you can come to connecticut. we have a lot of snow here. you can shovel your driveway. it's getting pretty messy. listen, we love having you on the show. thank you so much. greatly appreciate it and we appreciate your service to america. >> thank you, joe. >> all right. we'll be right back with more "morning joe." >> what's going on in chicago? thanks for loading, sweetie. ...oh, baked-on alfredo? ...gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. cascade platinum powers through... your toughest stuck-on food. nice. cascade. mattress firmness? fortunately there's a bed where you both get what you want every night. enter sleep number and the ultimate sleep number event, going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. and right now save 50% on the ultimate l

we asked him if the president was aware of what he said to senator blumenthal. he declined to answer questions. that typically has been out how they handled things like this. k kelly ayotte has been sort of following him around, shepherding him around through these meetings. she was until recently the republican senator from new hampshire. he's in there now with senator susan collins, the first of a series of meetings that he has today on capitol hill. looks like they're going to stick to the procedures they've been using. >> go get 'em, kasie. you have 30 minutes left in the show. i hope to have you back with more later in the show. and senator baldwin here from wisconsin, we appreciate you being here. i want to start with what we were talking about with kasie. you have not had a chance yet to meet with judge gorsuch. i want to get your reaction to what's been happening. senator blumenthal said today he urged neil gorsuch to make thinks comments publicly. do you see this as a political ploy by judge gorsuch to give democrats some space to support him, showing h

you heard what senator blumenthal said. the judge needs to go further and needs to say this publicly. is that likely to happen? >> i think judge gorsuch is nobody's fool. he walked a clever line here. he has demonstrated some independence from president trump, but he also is not really rubbed the president's nose in it. it's a good confirmation strategy for him, but that's what he thinks. that's a pretty good deal. >> do you believe there is a reason for president trump or his allies to push back or does it help the judge get confirmed and therefore get what he wants? >> does it make sense to tango with this person or that person? the one person on earth that donald trump shouldn't be messing around with is judge gorsuch. in part because he is his own selection to be the next supreme court justice. judge gorsuch appropriately and in a dignified fashion if senators come in stated his beliefs. i agree with jeffrey tobin. i think he believes what he said. i also think that the use of phrases like calculated or clever really su

this is blumenthal calling on him to defend it. >> meghan: i think, i don't even know. also just speculating, he seems very immature who is not very and political. he has a great reputation, very respected. i think he's speaking authentically from the heart. i would implore our president not to come out and attack him. it would look bad for everyone all around. it would give the democrats more ammo. all red red red state democrats one republican states. what i want to know, the democrats meeting with president trump, either going to be eviscerated by people like elizabeth warren, bernie sanders and try to reach out? on these sacrificial lambs for the left right now? >> geraldo: these are all great questions. >> geraldo: i think that those f things diminish the president. >> harris: we are awaiting a decision right now from a federal appeals court on president trump's travel ban. remember, they put the word out yesterday, it was going to come then. so will it come today? meanwhile stephen miller is ripping in the media coverage. watch. >> it is extremely dishonest and it

senator richard blumenthal met with nominee neil gorsuch. listen to how he said gorsuch responded when asked about the president attacking federal judges. >> my strong hope is that he will be more vehement. president trump about the judiciary. but i will be asking for more specific and forthcoming responses s ts to those kinds questions before i determine how i will vote. >> a spokesperson for judge gorsuch confirms that senator blumenthal's version of the conversation took place and gorsuch did use the words disheartening and demoralizing. joining me, former senator kelly ayotte, she has been tasked by the trump administration to be the so-called sherpa for supreme court nominee judge gorsuch, she's in charge of getting him through what could be a rough and tumble confirmation process. ever thought you'd be called a sherpa? >> never thought i would be. >> okay. i'll give you an easy one first. is that senator feinstein, ranking democrat, this is good for you, she says judge gorsuch is impressive. but you've got this other problem, now every

blumenthal: where view has it in your been deficient? gen. nicholson: with respect to the connie network and taliban, inside pakistan. sen. blumenthal: and that would be the northern area of pakistan? gen. nicholson: it would be the tribal areas of pakistan, north and west, primarily the western areas. so around the city of quota where taliban leadership resides. and in other areas. sen. blumenthal: that area has bedeviled us for years, correct? gen. nicholson: correct. sen. blumenthal: are we doing enough to bring pressure on the pakistani government to be more aggressive and active because my understanding is that the materials for ied's, a lot of the other kind of support for our adversaries in afghanistan continue to come from that area of pakistan? gen. nicholson: that is correct, senator. with respect to pressure, i think we need to do a holistic review of our relationship with pakistan. there are many areas of common interest where we can work together and we want to achieve progress in these areas, but you are absolutely right. it has

democratic senator blumenthal over neil gorsuch. gorsuch criticizing going after -- senator blumenthal said he found it disheartening and quote demoralizing, despite gorsuch's spokesperson confirming that conversation, president trump said this. >> you misrepresented his comments totally. >> i wanted to ask you what you're thoughts were, sir. >> his comments were misrepresented totally. >> he was asked in the briefing room to sean spicer, the answer was two letters, wasn't it. >> that's right. no. let's play the sound and talk about it on the other side. >> this is what senator ayotte said, judge gorsuch made it very clear in all his discussions including senator blumenthal that he could not comment, he has exercised the importance of an independent judiciary and while clear not referencing any specific case finds any judge's -- disheartening and demoralizing, so there's a big difference between the comments made in the tweet and the general philosophy and respect for fellow judges and i think the senator's comments were very clear

but i think if anything, his comment to senator blumenthal showed his independence. i think he's a very impressive guy that's going to do very well. >> do you think the republican leadership should break their silence on donald trump's tweeting? we heard sean spicer say he's not going to stop. many believe this is an attack on the separation of powers in this country. do you not as a party have a responsibility to pushback publicly? >> i certainly understand and appreciate your question. i think republican leaders have commented on some of the tweets and will continue to comment on some of the tweets. i mean, president trump is going to say what he's going to say. here in the senate, we'll work to do our job on behalf of the american people and get the work done that will really help benefit the country and try to focus on the substantive things that will move the country forward. and we're doing that every day, and we're going to continue to do that. >> what about the americans out there tired of seeing donald trump tweet? a number of donald trump supporters who say

and twitter attacks on richard blumenthal and john mccain. is white house running wild or is there a method to the madness? we'll discuss all of this. pamela brown, mark preston. laura coates. alan dershowitz, f. michael higgin both am at university of baltimore and constitutional

today a spokesperson for him confirmed something that had been claimed by senator dike blumenthal. senator blumenthal said he had a meeting with the judge and the judge in that meeting described the way president trump has attacked judges in cases against him, described those attacks as disheartening and demoralizing. that means the judge is putting some distance between himself and president trump. did anything like that happen in your meeting? what's your take on this? >> i asked judge gorsuch to publicly condemn donald trump's attacks on the judiciary. i said this president shows so little respect for an independent judiciary that the bar is higher and any nominee particularly by the supreme court to this president has to show independence. i said you have an obligation to publicly condemn the actions of president trump. he said, well i'm disheartened by them. to whisper to a senator behind closed doors that he's disheartened without condemning or making a public statement is not close to enough and i will tell you having seen kelly ayotte go on television and tout she said it,

so then trump lashed out not at gorsuch, but instead at senator blumenthal. the president tweeted chris cuomo in his interview with senator blumenthal never asked him about his long-term lie, about his brave service in vietnam. fake news. he yells "fake news" every time he gets mad. you remember when the hulk would say "hulk smash" when he got mad? chris cuomo did ask him about that. he asked him about the fact that back in 2010, "the new york times," which is also fake news, revealed that senator blumenthal never went to vietnam, but he led people to believe he did. whereas donald trump during the war served towards bravely fighting bone spurs in his foot at the wharton school of finance, but -- [ laughter and applause ] donald trump, it's so crazy what he gets involved in, because trump attacking blumenthal for not serving in vietnam is like milli attacking vanilli for lip-syncing. then trump went after a real war hero. he tweeted, saying, mccain has been losing so long he doesn't know how to win anymore. i guess they were teammates during white house picti

lou: even senator blumenthal has to think less of him tonight for what he did. >> blumenthal wasn't going to vote for him anyway so i'm not sure i'd waste my time but that's all part of the process. lou: indication of judge gorsuch it is deeply troubling. sea mate he's only been there three days. lou: he had better make the most of the rest of his days there. senator elizabeth warren been silenced by majority leader mitch mcconnell. she is running for president, she's trying to fund raise and she is acting just irresponsibly with her discourtesy to senator sessions. >> the bottom line is senator sessions is a great man and will be confirmed a few minutes as attorney general. lou: 37 yes votes and 44 we are told as he approaches what we expect to be and certainly hope will be his confirmation tonight >> this is an extraordinary man. i was on the selection panel in the white house and he was not confirmed at that time by a lot of very savage things that turned out to be dishonest. he went back and got elected attorney general became a very effective attorney general and came back to the uni

so then trump lashed out not at gorsuch, but instead at senator blumenthal. the president tweeted chris cuomo in his interview with senator blumenthal never asked him about his long-term lie, about his brave service in vietnam. fake news. he yells "fake news" every time he gets mad. chris cuomo did ask him about that. he asked him about the fact that back in 2010, "the new york times," which is also fake news revealed that senator blumenthal never went to vietnam, but he led people to believe he did. where's donald trump served toward bravely fighting bone spurs in his foot at the wharton school of finance. [ laughter and applause ] donald trump, it's so crazy what he gets involved in because trump attacking blumenthal for not serving in vietnam is like milli attacking vanilli for lip syncing. then he went after mccain. saying he's been losing so long he doesn't know how to win anymore. i guess they were teammates during white house pictionary. the last the trump attacked the media, a reporter and two senators all before breakfast today. he's getting a lot do

it didn't exist, after years of saying it did, so, ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that, just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. there is no question that judge gorsuch said that these attacks on thejudiciary are disheartening and demoralising. you needn't believe me. there were white house staff in the room, and his own spokesman confirmed afterward what he said. the judiciary and executive are two separate branches of government that meant to keep their distance. judge gorsuch, when he was unveiled at the white house, seemed determined to do that quite literally, though it seems to be something to president is struggling to accept. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. an independent report has concluded u nsafe an independent report has concluded unsafe construction at schools in edinburgh was the fault of the council and the building contractor. it was apparently just luck that no one was killed just over a year ago when a wall collapsed. it was closed after safety concerns. more than 8000 pupils were affected. we report.

so, ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. senator blumenthal: there is no question that judge gorsuch said that these attacks on the judiciary are disheartening and demoralizing, and even, believe me, his own spokesman confirmed afterward what he said. jon: the judiciary and executive are 2 separate branches of government that are meant to keep their distance. judge gorsuch, when he was unveiled at the white house last week, seemed determined to that quite literally. though it seems to be something the president is struggling to accept. laura: for more on the wesident's legal battles -- know that the federal appeals court is going to rule on this travel ban by the end of the day. anthony: it will set the narrative -- that?ow long is of course, if donald trump loses, he will go on the attack even more. if you look at the body language from the white house and the sort of things that have been set, i'll almost sense there is an expectatio

blumenthal is one of two senators who said gorsuch finds the attacks disheartening. mr. trump claims blumenthal is misinterpreting the remarks and sean spicer is backing up the president. >> the judge was clear he wasn't commenting on any specific matter. he was asked about general philosophy. you can't take that back to the specific. he literally went out of his way saying i'm not commenting on a specific instance. >> gorsuch's spokesman confirms that the judge made the comments to senator blumenthal. he also said he should feel free to mention his thoughts publicly. >>> let's get a check on cnn money stream. all three averages at record highs. it looks like more gains at the open. dow futures up. s&p futures higher. stocks in europe and asia higher. a big game in tokyo. mr. trump says tax reform will be ready in a few weeks. >>> his love of twitter had analysts thinking most users would flock to the struggling social platform. shares of twitter tanked. sales increased 1% last quarter. wall street was sfektiexpecting bigger rise. a problem for twitter, it can't seem to

well, this is senator blumenthal's summary. is this conversation between judge gorsuch -- this is an interesting question in each senator private or can it be revealed to the public? brian: that's the first thing i asked you in the hall. >> i don't know what the answer to that is, brian. except to say that senators, like senator blumenthal, will reveal what they think will help themselves politically. steve: sure. >> he obviously is not a fan of donald trump and not a fan of judge gorsuch. and might want to do what he can to drive a wedge between them. i have defended the president's criticism of these judges because their questions, both the trial judge, judge robart and the three appellate judges were political questions. they all said. brian: exactly. >> what studies did he rely on to choose the seven countries? that is an irrelevant question. their job is not to second guess him. not to decide if he was smart or prudent, but just to determine if his behavior was constitutional and lawful. my late great friend justice scalia

we are hearing from senator blumenthal who said thejudge expressed hearing from senator blumenthal who said the judge expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the way donald trump has criticised a particular judge way donald trump has criticised a particularjudge who put his immigration order on hold and that dissatisfaction was confirmed by other republicans who were in the room, but this morning we saw, donald trump attacking senator blumenthal directly, talking about a pa rt blumenthal directly, talking about a part in his past when he made up his war record and be in an annexe at a rate dipped and saying that the remarks were taken out of context. we are seeing a lot of focus now on thejudge and we are seeing a lot of focus now on the judge and there will be calls from democrats for him to finally come forward and say exactly what he thinks about donald trump and his immigration order and what he said aboutjudges immigration order and what he said about judges and i'd immigration order and what he said aboutjudges and i'd say yes, i said that to a senator or no, i did not

ask senator blumenthal about his vietnam record. he misrepresented that just like he misrepresented judge gorsuch. thank you all very much. thank you. neil: all right. that is the president meeting with senators, democrat and republican. might be very influence of course, confirming judge gorsuch to be the next supreme court justice of the united states but he was referring to michael blumenthal, the connecticut senator who revealed a conversation with judge gorsuch in his chambers, something normally not done. president came out with accuracy of that. we have confirmed and neil gorsuch confirmed he found president trump's disparagement of a judge that ruled against him before this appeal in the san francisco district court, so-called judge, and judge gorsuch had found those comments demoralizing and disheartening. he wasn't disparaging the president, saying he didn't like him using those words about a judge. so the words were accurate, whether the senator from connecticut should have revealed them or shared them, is in some dispute

senator richard blumenthal is here to recount

president trump called the ruling political and started his day attacking senator richard blumenthal on twitter for revealing what trump's supreme court nominee according to the nor said to him, neil gorsuch, about donald trump's criticism of judges. the white house denying what he said. athena jones has details. >> reporter: supreme court nominee neil gorsuch meeting with senators who will decide his fate and avoiding questions about president trump. this after senators from both parties say gorsuch told them in private he found the president's remarks criticizing the federal judge's lg a challenge to the immigration's immigration ban demoralizing and disheartening. attacks on the judiciary by the president to be disheartening and demoralizing. >> reporter: today meeting with a bipartisan group of senators to discuss the nomination to the high court, the president denying gorsuch ever criticized him. >> his comments were misrepresented. >> reporter: white house press secretary sean spicer went further insisting over and over that gorsuch was talking in general term and not direct re

lou: even senator blumenthal has to think less of him tonight for what he did. >> blumenthal wasn't going to vote for him anyway so i'm not sure i'd waste my time but that's all part of the process. lou: indication of judge gorsuch it is deeply troubling. sea mate he's only been there three days. lou: he had better make the most of the rest of his days there. senator elizabeth warren been silenced by majority leader mitch mcconnell. she is running for president, she's trying to fund raise and she is acting just irresponsibly with her discourtesy to senator sessions. >> the bottom line is senator sessions is a great man and will be confirmed a few minutes as attorney general. lou: 37 yes votes and 44 we are told as he approaches what we expect to be and certainly hop will be his confirmation tonight >> this is an extraordinary man. i was on the selection panel in the white house and he was not confirmed at that time by a lot of very savage things that turned out to be dishonest. he went back and got elected attorney general became a very effective attorney general and came back to the unit

mccain and blumenthal forl f criticizing his policies to thet media.a. after senator mccain questionedd the success of a recent raid inn yemen that left one u.s. service member dead and blumenthal toldl reporters that during a privatee meeting the supreme court nominee neil gorsuch expressed d concern over the president'srest comments about the judiciary.ry the president says the press is miss character sizing gorsuch's account to criticize blumenthalt and mccain. mccain has not formally respond thed tweets. blumenthal hopes trump willill listen to his own staff.taff >> it is windy out there.here >> just bit. >> um canning up gwen is backac with your seven day forecast. >> that includes more on thecl r overnight winds and valentine'se day is on the way,. w,. >> oh, valentine's day. yay. >> come on, jim.ome , ji it's cupid. cupid. >> stick around.>> s ♪♪ ♪♪ now at havertys furniture, it's our presidents day event, where you can create the perfect home. from now through february 20th, everything is on sal