abc's jonathan karl has more on why. >> reporter: the face of mounting legal challenges and a growing political backlash, secretary of homeland security john kelly stepped forward to defend the extreme vetting executive order. >> this is not, i repeat, not a ban on muslims. >> reporter: the trump administration is battling these images. families detained a people from seven majority muslim countries went into effect. lives in limbo. in damage control mode the administration announced 872 refugees will be allowed into the country this week because keeping them out would have caused extreme hardship. and the white house press secretary said the order isn't even really a ban after all. >> first of all it's not a travel ban. i think you heard secretary kelly. i apologize. i just want to make sure i get this straight. >> reporter: but, wait, the president himself called it a ban in a tweet. >> he's using the words that the immediate were is using but at the end of the day -- hold on. he can't -- >> his words. >> jonathan, i'll let kristen talk. it can't be a ban if you're letting a million

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> now, early in that event, the president announced his new cabinet pick. alexander acosta has been tapped to head the labor department. right now, he's the law school dean at florida international university. acosta has already won senate approval three times for various government positions. if confirmed as labor secretary, he would be the first hispanic member of the president's cabinet. >>> the president was also asked about several provocations by russia over the last several weeks. among those russian jets buzzing a navy destroyer in the black sea last week as well as russia's kret deployment of a new cruise missile that would violate an arms treaty with the u.s. and a russian spy vessel that's being tracked in east coast. when pressed about the incidents, the president called them all not good. >> the greatest thing i could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of the water. everyone in this country is going to say oh, it's so great. what's not great. that's not great. >> can:00 so we did ask about possible responses

abc's jonathan karl at the white house. >> reporter: president trump welcomed the third foreign leader at the white house in less than a week. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. but overshadowing the visit the sudden firing of the man at the center of his national security team, michael flynn. just 24 hours ago, the white house said flynn was ousted for because had he lost the confidence of the president after deceiving the vice president about lis conversations with the russian ambassador. >> general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as i call it, the fake media in many cases, and i think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. >> reporter: yet it was the president who fired him, and his press secretary said trump did so decisively. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: the so-called "series of questionable instances" included flynn's failure to tell the

abc's jonathan karl has more on why. >> reporter: the face of mounting legal challenges and a growing political backlash, secretary of homeland security john kelly stepped forward to defend the extreme vetting executive order. >> this is not, i repeat, not a ban on muslims. >> reporter: the trump administration is battling these images. families detained at airports when the ban on refugees and people from seven majority muslim countries went into effect. lives in limbo. in damage control mode the administration announced 872 refugees will be allowed into the country this week because keeping them out would have caused extreme hardship. and the white house press secretary said the order isn't even really a ban after all. >> first of all it's not a travel ban. i think you heard secretary kelly. i apologize. i just want to make sure i get this straight. >> reporter: but, wait, the president himself called it a ban in a tweet. >> he's using the words that the immediate were is using but at the end of the day -- hold on. he can't -- >> his words. >> jonathan, i'll let kristen talk. it can

abc's jonathan karl has the details. >> the white house. that three-judge appeals panel deciding not to reinstate the president's travel ban. a big setback for president trump. the ban set off chaos at airports hours after it went into effect. families detained. makeshift legal clinics set up. an iraqi translator for the u.s. government turned away and only allowed back into the country once the washington state court put the travel ban on hold. >> i fought for my rights and i succeeded. >> reporter: president trump started attacking the judges of the 9th circuit court even before they issued their ruling. > i was a good student. i understand things. i comprehend very well. okay? better than i think almost anybody. and i want to tell you, i listened to a bunch of stuff last night on television that was disgraceful. >> reporter: but lawyers for washington state argued the president's executive order violated the constitution and travelers from the affected countries but also to the state of washington. >> what's the irreparable harm to the s

jonathan karl covering all of this. >> reporter: president donald trump is turning up the heat on iran, and preparing to impose new sanctions after iran tested a ballistic missile. >> mr. president, is military action off the table in iran? >> honestly, nothing is off the table. >> reporter: this comes just one day after national security adviser, michael flynn issued this warning to the iranians. >> as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. >> reporter: and as the u.s. confronts that foe, the president is defending an angry phone call he had with one of america's closest friends, australia. >> when you hear about the tough phone calls i'm having, don't worry about it. >> reporter: the president was talking about a tense phone call saturday with australia's prime minister, malcolm turnbull. on the call, trump slammed an agreement australia made with president obama to settle about 1,200 refugees in the united states. the refugees fled afghanistan, iran, iraq and other countries and are currently in detention centers on islands north of australia. "the washington

here's abc's jonathan karl. >> reporter: the white house firmly rejected calls for a special prosecutor to investigate russian influence into the presidential campaign. >> should there be a special prosecutor? darrell issa has called for a special prosecutor to look into this. >> and i guess my question would be a special prosecutor for what? >> to look into the whole russia connection. the whole russia influence on the campaign. >> we have now for six months heard story after story come out about unnamed sources saying the same thing over and over again. and nothing's come of it. >> reporter: but now a prominent house republican is calling for an independent investigation saying attorney general jeff sessions shouldn't be involved because of the prominent role he played in the trump campaign. friend of mine, jeff sessions, who was on the campaign and who was an appointee. you're going to need to use the special prosecutor's statute in office. >> reporter: but the white house insisted there is nothing left to investigate, even though key questions remain unanswered. >> do you now catego

abc's jonathan karl has more on why. >> reporter: in the face of mounting legal challenges and a growing political backlash, secretary of homeland security john kelly stepped forward to defend the extreme vetting executive order. >> this is not, i repeat, not a ban on muslims. >> reporter: the trump administration is battling these images. families detained at airports when the ban on refugees and people from seven majority muslim countries went into effect. lives in limbo. in damage control mode the administration announced 872 refugees will be allowed into the country this week because keeping them out would have caused extreme hardship. and the white house press secretary said the order isn't even really a ban after all. >> first of all, it's not a travel ban. i think you heard secretary kelly. i apologize. i just want to make sure i get this straight. >> reporter: but, wait, the president himself called it a ban in a tweet. >> he's using the words that the media is using but at the end of the day it can'ts -- hold on, hold on, he can't -- >> reporter: those are his words. >> jonathan

so let's get back to our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. are we hearing from this white house, and it would seem president trump was taking aim even before the decision. >> we are hearing from the justice department just now, david, saying, the justice department is reviewing this decision and will consider its options, but you're exactly right on this. you heard from the president of the united states as he heard the the oral arguments. he called them disgraceful. they won't be surprised by this, but they will be outraged by it. he said any high school kid would know that the president has the authority to do this, obviously, the court disagrees. >> stay with us, because we want to bring in abc's terry moran. he covers the courts for us. the temporary ban will not be reinstated, terry, but what comes next? >> reporter: what comes next, david, is essentially a trial because the lower court judge here, he issued his order. halting this immigration ban because he wanted to call a time-out to the whole thing, and take a look at the evidence. w

jonathan karl is at the white house. >> tonight lawyers for the white house argued the president was well within his legal authority when he imposed his temporary travel ban. >> this is a traditional national security judgment that is assigned to the political branches and the president. and the court's order immediately altered that. >> the lawyer for washington state order thad it was unconstitutional and damaging. >> >> what's the harm to the state of washington. >> we had students and faculty stranded overseas, families separated. we had long-time residents who could not travel overseas to visit their families without knowing they'd be able to come back. >> it's a legal battle that the president argued could go all the way to the supreme court. >> hopefully it doesn't have to. it's common sense. some things are law. i'm all in favor of that. some things are common sense. this is common sense. >> the white house insisted today that the president respects the judicial branch. days ago, he attacked the federal judge who put the ban on hold calling him "a so-called judge." tweeting j

abc's jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: in the face of mounting legal challenges and growing political backlash, sequester terry of homeland security, john kelly stepped forward to defend the extreme vetting executive order. >> this is not, i repeat, a not a ban on muslims despite reports he was blindsided by the details of the executive order, kelly insisted his staff helped write it. and he had seen several drafts themselves. >> clearly -- it was -- this whole approach was part of what -- what then candidate trump talked about for a year or two. so we knew all that was administration is battling images. families detained at airports when the ban on refugees and people from seven majority muslim countries went into effect. lives in limbo. and now, two of america's largest companies, amazon and microsoft, are joining lawsuits to stop the order. speaker of the house paul ryan said he wasn't told about the order until it was signed. >> no one wanted to see people with green cards or special visas look translators get caught up in all of this. i think regrettably the rollout was confusing

>> that was abc news reporter jonathan karl. a wave of oppositioned to delayed a confirmation vote for president trump's pick for attorney general. they used a procedural move to delay today's vote. they gave lengthy speeches for several hours of opposing senator jeff sessions. democrats question the alabama's record and women's health care and immigration with some saying he can't be impartial. >> he has been the fiercest, most dedicated and most loyal promoter in congress of the trump agenda. >> we know that he will uphold and enforce all laws equally without regard to person, just as he pledged. >> another vote is set for tomorrow morning. >>> elaine chow who served in the cabinet of several administrations has been sworn in as transportation secretary. chow was a vice president of bank of america. >>> bet sey devoss is closer to becoming part of the nomination despite efforts to stop the proceedings. kate larson was in oakland today where hundreds turned out to protest this nomination. >> reporter: demonstrators brought tedd

. >> jonathan karl has more. >> reporter: in this morning's first look, president trump and the first lady honored the nation's governors at a white house gala. >> i wanted to salute and toast the great governors. >> reporter: the president influence in the campaign. including contact between his associates and washington intelligence. as the fbi investigates, a prominent republican wants an independent, special prosecutor to review the case. meanwhile, democrats are regrouping for a fight. former obama labor secretary tom perez edged out minnesota congressman ellison to become the new chair of the democratic national committee. that's not the only committee news. >> not as liberals or conservatives. >> reporter: at 7:00 a.m., we'll look how hollywood took on trump at the oscars. with your gma first look, i'm jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >>> napa police and firefighters fished out a car in the napa river. a teenager took the parents car, drove through a roadblock and into the river, not knowing the street ended. two other teens were in the car when it crashed. officers say all

>> i did not hear jonathan karl's report. and good to be here this morning. what you saw last night from the president of the united states is an important show of solidarity between the united states and japan. a powerful symbol to the world as the prime minister of japan and the president of america stood side by side and shoulder to shoulder and expressed the strength and enduring nature of the alliance. that is a message that will be lost on no one. >> did that test cross president trump's red line? >> george, the president's comments on this are clear. the message we're sending to the world right now is a message of strength and solidarity. we stand with japan and our allies in the region to address the north korean menace. and the important point is that we're inheriting a situation around the world that is as challenging as any we have seen in our lives. the situation in north korea. the situation in syria. the situation in yemen. these are complex and difficult challenges. and that's why president trump is displaying the strength of america to the who

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> one more note from the white house. hours before losing his national security advisor, the president gained a treasury secretary. >> former goldman sachs banker steve nuchen was sworn in to the cabinet post on thursday. he was sworn in 53-47. only one democrat approved his nomination. >>> dr. david shulkin is the new veterans affairs secretary. he won unanimous support from the senate after spending the last two years in the obama administration as an undersecretary in the agency. he's the first nonveteran to lead the department. >>> now to the crisis at one of the nation's biggest dams. emergency repairs are under way right now to shore up the emergency spillway of the oroville dam in northern california. meanwhile, the main spillway is showing few signs of erosion reducing the chanc catastrophic collapse that would wash away nearby communities. nearly 200,000 residents of the towns were suddenly told to evacuate. >> we slept in the car. oh, it was miserable. we didn't sleep. we were awake. there was people walk and pe

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: under fire tonight, the president's national security advisor michael flynn, now accused of misleading the public and even the vice president about his conversations with the russian ambassador to the united states. the story, first reported by the "washington post" and confirmed by abc news, on the very day in december that president obama imposed sanctions on russia for meddling in the election, flynn told the russian ambassador the incoming trump administration would review those sanctions. that directly contradicts what vice president pence said last month. >> what i can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: and not just the vp. press secretary sean spicer portrayed flynn's call with the ambassador as about nothing more than setting up a later call between vladimir putin and donald trump. >> the call centered around the logistics of setting up a call with the presid

karl. >> reporter: tonight president donald trump turning up the heat on iran.rump turning up the heat now considering plans to impose new sanctions after iran tested a ballistic missile. >> mr. president, is military action off the table in iran? >> nothing is off the table. >> reporter: this comes just one day after national security adviser, michael flynn issued this warning to the iranians. >> we're putting iran on notice. >> reporter: and as the u.s. confronts that foe, the president is defending an angry phone call he had with one of america's closest friends, australia. >> when you hear about the tough phone calls i'm having, don't worry about it. >> reporter: he was talking about a phone call saturday with australia's prime minister. he slammed an agreement australia made with president obama to settle about 1,200 refugees in the united states. the refugees fled afghanistan, iran, iraq and other countries and are currently in detention centers on islands north of australia. "the washington post" reporting he told the prime minister it was the worst deal ever, and accused austra

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: under fire tonight, the president's national security advisor michael flynn, now accused of misleading the public and even the vice president about his conversations with the russian ambassador to the united states. the story, first reported by the "washington post" and confirmed by abc news, on the very day in december that president obama imposed sanctions on russia for meddling in the election, flynn told the russian ambassador the incoming trump administration would review those sanctions. that directly contradicts what vice president pence said last month. >> what i can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: and not just the vp. press secretary sean spicer portrayed flynn's call with the ambassador as about nothing more than setting up a later call between vladimir putin and donald trump. logistics of setting up a call with the president of russia and the president-

abc's jonathan karl has the details. >> reporter: a major defeat for the white house. that three-judge appeals panel deciding not to reinstate the president's travel ban. a big setback for president trump. the ban set off chaos at airports hours after it went into effect. families detained. makeshift legal clinics set up. an iraqi translator for the u.s. government turned away and only allowed back into the country once the washington state court put the travel ban on hold. >> i fought for my rights and i succeeded. >> reporter: president trump started attacking the judges of the 9th circuit court even before they issued their ruling. > i was a good student. i understand things. i comprehend very well. okay? better than i think almost anybody. and i want to tell you, i listened to a bunch of stuff last night on television that was disgraceful. >> reporter: but lawyers for washington state argued the president's executive order violated the constitution and had done harm not just to the travelers from the affected countries but also to the state of washington. >> what's

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> one more note from the white house. hours before losing his national security advisor, the president gained a treasury secretary. >> former goldman sachs banker steve nuchen was sworn in to the cabinet post on thursday. he was sworn in 53-47. only one democrat approved his nomination. >>> dr. david shulkin is the new veterans affairs secretary. he won unanimous support from the senate after spending the last two years in the obama administration as an undersecretary in the agency. he's the first nonveteran to lead the department. >>> now to the crisis at one of the nation's biggest dams. emergency repairs are under way right now to shore up the emergency spillway of the oroville dam in northern california. meanwhile, the main spillway is showing few signs of erosion reducing the chances of a catastrophic collapse that would wash away nearby communities. nearly 200,000 residents of the towns were suddenly told to evacuate. >> we slept in the car. oh, it was miserable. we didn't sleep. we were awake. there was people walk

abc's chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl at the white house tonight. >> reporter: the white house today firmly rejected calls for a special prosecutor to investigate russian influence into the presidential campaign. >> should there be a special prosecutor? darryl issa called for a special prosecutor to look into this? >> and i guess my question would be a special prosecutor for what? >> to look into the whole russia connection. the whole influence on the campaign. >> we have now for six months heard story after story come out about unnamed sources saying the same thing over and over again. and nothing's come of it. >> reporter: but now a prominent house republican is calling for an independent investigation saying attorney general jeff sessions shouldn't be involved because of the prominent role he played in the trump campaign. >> you cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions who was on the campaign and who was an appointee. you're going to need to use the special prosecutor's statute in office. >> reporter: but the white house insisted today there's nothing left

here's jonathan karl with his perspective. >> reporter: there is nothing new about a president of the united states criticizing or even vilifying the press. even thomas jefferson, the same thomas jefferson who wrote the declaration of independence and wrote our liberty depends on freedom of the press, even thomas jefferson, when he was a few years into his own presidency was so upset about what was being written about his administration that he flatly declared nothing can be believed that is seen in a newspaper. teddy roosevelt is next to jefferson on mt. rushmore wrote, there must be no criticism of the president, that we are to stand with the president right or wrong is not only unpatriotic but treasonable to the american pu almost a decade after he left office. when he was in the white house, he coined the term muckrakers. he said they were so obsessed with the negative they were missing the good in the world, including the good he was doing as president. such negativity in the press, roosevelt said, is one of the most potent forms of evil. and that brings me to president donald tr

jonathan karl, abc news. white house. >> a son of former penn state football coach and convicted child molester jerry sandusky is feisting child sex charges of his own. jeffrey sandusky is being held on $200,000 bail arrested on child pornography, child sex abuse and other charges. jerry sandusky, his father is serving up to 60 years in prison for molesting young boys. >>> the federal government can continue its lawsuit against lance armstrong. the postal service is suing armstrong for damages stemming from its responsible soreship of his former cycling team. his request to throw out the case was denied. after admitting he used banned drugs. >>> there's a move toward peace in the drama playing out around the new york knicks. of course, you recall it all started last week when former knick charles oakley was ejected from the knick game and then arrested and charged with assault. and banned from madison square garden. >> oakley was accused of acting inappropriately by the knicks owner but yesterday the two met

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >>> and you saw senator mccain there but he's not the only republican in congress moving to try to get answers. >> house oversight committee chairman jason chaffetz is asking the inspector general to immediately investigate the leaks that led to flynn's removal. earlier this week he resisted taking action on the issue and the senate judiciary is now asking for information about flynn including details about his communication with russian officials. >>> in a major departure from long-standing u.s. policy, president trump now says he would be open to a one-state solution to the israeli/palestinian conflict. >> during the joint news conference with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the president said he would support one state or two state, whichever makes both parties happy. he also put netanyahu on the spot urging him to hold back on settlements in the west bank. >> as far as settlements i'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. we'll work something out. but i would like to see a deal be made. let's seat what we d

jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> now, early in that event, the president announced his new cabinet pick. alexander acosta has been tapped to head the labor department. right now, he's the law school dean at florida international university. acosta has already won senate approval three times for various government positions. if confirmed as labor secretary, he would be the first hispanic member of the president's cabinet. >>> the president was also asked about several provocations by russia over the last several weeks. among those russian jets buzzing a navy destroyer in the black sea last week as well as russia's kret deployment of a new cruise missile that would violate an arms treaty with the u.s. and a russian spy vessel that's being tracked in international waters off the east coast. when pressed about the incidents, the president called them all not good. >> the greatest thing i could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles offshore right out of the water. everyone in this country is going to say oh, it's so great. what's not great. that's not great. >> can:00 so we did

karl. >> reporter: tonight president donald trumpur on iran. now considering plans to impose new sanctions after iran tested a ballistic missile. >> mr. president, is military action off the table in iran? >> nothing is off the table. >> reporter: this comes just one day after national security adviser, michael flynn issued this warning to the iranians. >> we're putting iran on notice. >> reporter: and as the u.s. confronts that foe, the president is defending an angry phone call he had with one of america's closest friends, australia. >> when you hear about the tough phone calls i'm having, don't worry about it. >> reporter: he was talking about a phone call saturday with australia's prime minister. he slammed an agreement australia made with president obama to settle about 1,200 refugees in the united states. the refugees fled afghanistan, iran, iraq and other countries and are currently in detention centers on islands north of australia. "the washington post" he told the prime minister it was the worst deal ever, and accused australia of try

karl. >> reporter: tonight president donald trump turning up the heat on iran.rump turning up the heat now considering plans to impose new sanctions after iran tested a ballistic missile. >> mr. president, is military action off the table in iran? >> nothing is off the table. >> reporter: this comes just one day after national security adviser, michael flynn issued this warning to the iranians. >> we're putting iran on notice. >> reporter: and as the u.s. confronts that foe, the president is defending an angry phone call he had with one of america's closest friends, australia. >> when you hear about the tough phone calls i'm having, don't worry about it. >> reporter: he was talking about a phone call saturday with australia's prime minister. he slammed an agreement australia made with president obama to settle about 1,200 refugees in the united states. the refugees fled afghanistan, iran, iraq and other countries and are currently in detention centers on islands north of australia. "the washington post" reporting he told the prime minister it was the worst deal ever, and accused austra

so let's get back to our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. are we hearing from this white house, and it would seem president trump was taking aim before thedecision we are hearing from the justice department just now, david, saying the justice department is reviewing this decision and considering its options. you're right on this. you heard from the president of the united states as he heard the the oral arguments. he called them disgraceful. they won't be suoutraged by it. he said any high school kid would that the president has the authority to do this, and the court disagrees. >> stay with us because we want to bring in terry the temporary ban will not be reinstated, terry, but what comes next? >> reporter: what comes next david, is a trial. this whole argument was about whether or not that judge robart inhe right thing in calling a time-out. they said the judge did, so let's have a trial, and take a close look at the law, and the evidence. who has been harmed? how important are the government's interests? and it will go on appeal again. t

karl and the white house press secretary. it's critical. listen. >> you still say definitively that nobody on the trump campaign, not even general flynn had any contact with the russians before the election. >> my understanding is that what general flynn has now expressed is that during the transition period, well, we were very clear that during the transition period he did -- he did speak with the fwaed. >> i'm talking about during the campaign. >> i that would conclude me that anything different has changed with respect to that time period. >> and in january the president denied he or anyone in his campaign had contact with russian officials before the election. >> we will be following all these major developments on that part of the story. >>> meanwhile, there's also outrage about some other communications with russia which actually led to the resignation of national security adviser michael flynn. >> yes, so at issue with this particular end is flynn's call with the russian ambassador to the u.s. before president trump's

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: today, president trump basked in the glow of a friendly crowd. >> i love this place. love you people. >> reporter: then he slammed his own top law enforcement agency for failing to stop what he called illegal leaks. "they can't even find the leakers within the fbi itself," the president tweeted. "classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on u.s. find now." the president is especially outraged at a "new york times" story quoting officials alleging repeated contacts between the trump campaign and russian intelligence. over the weekend, chief of staff reince priebus said the story was nonsense. >> i've talked to the fbi. i know what they're saying. >> reporter: now, the president is furious about new reports priebus pressured the fbi to knock the story down. such pressure could violate longstanding policy prohibiting white house interference in ongoing investigations. >> i'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources. they shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name. >>

let's go right to our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl leading us off. >> reporter: tonight lawyers are making the case that the president's travel ban should be put back in place immediately. save the president's temporary travel ban. a battle that could go all the way to the supreme court. >> we'll see. hopefully it doesn't have to. it's common sense. some things are law, and i'm all in favor of that. and some things are common sense. this is common sense. >> reporter: president trump pledged to, quote, take it through the system, and the white house said he would respect the results, win or lose. >> there is no question the president respects the judicial branch and its ruling. >> reporter: but just days ago, the president attacked the federal judge who put the ban on hold, calling him a "so-called judge" and tweeting -- "just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. if something happens blame him and the court system." and on capitol hill today, homeland security secretary john kelly echoed the president's warning that pausing the ban puts american liv

jonathan karl leading us off. >> reporter: today president trump welcomed the third foreign leader at the white house in less than a week. benjamin netanyahu. but overshadowing the visit the sudden firing of the man at the center of his national security team, michael flynn. just 24 hours ago, the white house said flynn was ousted for deceiving the vice president about his conversation with the russian ambassador and losing the confidence of the president, but today. >> general flynn, is a wonderful man. i think he has been treated unfairly by the media, as i call it the fake media in many cases. and i think it's really a sad thing he was treated so badly. >> reporter: yet it was the president who fired him, and just yesterday, his press secretary said trump did so decisively. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: that so-called "series of questionable instances" included flynn's failure to tell the truth about his conversations

. >>> now to chief white house correspondent jonathan karl in washington tonight. in all your years covering and studying politics, have you seen a president start campaigning 30 days into his first term in office and is this more about 2017 than 2020? >> i have never seen quite this early. we've seen early campaigns. president trump filed his papers to set up re-election campaign on inauguration day, on january 20th. but this is not so much on winning votes four years from now, this is really about getting the president bucked up. you know, he loves those rallies, tom. he loves the crowd. he feeds off their energy. this has been a brutal first month of the presidency. supporters again. >> jon karl, thank you. >>> of course you'll have much more of the president's first month in the office on "this week." plus, the first interview with retired navy s.e.a.l. robert harward since he turned the job of national security adviser. >>> to the world political stage now, in germany today at the munich security conference the vice president reaffirming america's commitment t

we begin with jonathan karl. >> reporter: a surprising revelation from the white house today -- the president has known for nearly three weeks that national security advisor michael flynn deceived the vice president and the public about his conversations with the russian ambassador to the u.s. yet it wasn't until last night that the president fired him. >> a level of trust between the president and general flynn had eroded to the point where he felt he had to make a change. >> reporter: the story begins on december 29th, when president obama sanctioned russia for meddling in the election. that same day, less than two hours after sanctions were imposed, flynn spoke with the russian ambassador. but flynn insisted to pence and others he did not discuss sanctions, a claim pence then repeated on national tv. >> those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: but on january 26th, the justice department told white house counsel don mcgahn, who immediately told the presiden

jonathan karl leading us off. >> reporter: today president trump welcomed the third foreign leader at the white house in less than a week. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. but overshadowing the visit the sudden firing of the man at the center of his national security team, michael flynn. just 24 hours ago, the white house said flynn was ousted for deceiving the vice president about his conversation with the russian ambassador and losing the confidence of the president, but today. >> general flynn, is a wonderful man. i think he has been treated unfairly by the media, as i call it the fake media in many cases. and i think it's really a sad thing he was treated so badly. >> reporter: yet it was the president who fired him, and just yesterday, his press secretary said trump did so decisively. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: that so-called "series of questionable instances" included flynn's failure to tell the truth

jonathan karl, abc news. white house. >> a son of former penn state football coach and convicted child molester jerry sandusky is feisting child sex charges of his own. jeffrey sandusky is being held on $200,000 bail arrested on childolesting young boys. >>> the federal government can continue its lawsuit against lance armstrong. the postal service is suing armstrong for damages stemming from its responsible soreship of his former cycling team. his request to throw out the case was denied. he was stripped of his titles after admitting he used banned drugs. >>> there's a move toward peace in the drama playing out around the new york knicks. of course, you recall it all started last week when former knick charles oakley was ejected from the knick game and then arrested and charged with assault. and banned from madison square garden. >> oakley was accused of acting inappropriately by the knicks owner but yesterday the two met with the commissioner to smooth things over. even michael jordan was involved in the ta

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: under fire tonight, the president's national security advisor michael flynn, now accused of misleading the public and even the vice president about his conversations with the russian ambassador to the united states. the story, first reported by the "washington post" and confirmed to abc news by senior administration officials, on the very day in december that president obama imposed sanctions on russia for meddling in the election, flynn told the russian ambassador the incoming trump administration would review those sanctions. that directly contradicts what vice president pence said last month. >> what i can confirm, having spoken to him about it, is that those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: and not just the vp. press secretary sean spicer portrayed flynn's call with the ambassador as about nothing more than setting up a later call between vladimir putin and donald trump. >> the call centered around the logistics o

abc's jonathan karl leading us off. >> reporter: today president trump welcomed the third foreign leader at the white house in less than a week. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. but overshadowing the visit the sudden firing of the man at the center of his national security team, michael flynn. just 24 hours ago, the white house said flynn was ousted for losing the confidence of the president after deceiving the vice president about his conversations with the russian ambassador. but today -- >> general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as i call it, the fake media in many cases, and i think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. >> reporter: yet it was the president who fired him, and just yesterday, his press secretary said trump did so decisively. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: the so-called "series of questionable instances" included flynn's fai

here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: today, president trump declared he wants the united states to be the world's dominant nuclear power. >> it would be wonderful. a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack. >> reporter: currently, russia has slightly more nuclear warheads than the united states. but both countries have enough to destroy all of human civilization. before taking office, trump tweeted, quote, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability, and he spoke with david muir about the moment he received the nuclear codes. >> does it keep you up at night? >> no. confidence i'll do the right thing. the right job. >> reporter: russia recently deployed a new cruise missile in violation of a 1987 nuclear treaty. trump vowed to bring that up when he meets with putin, telling reuters, to me, it's a big deal, and today, rare public comments from the president's chief strategic, steve bannon. he may be the president's most powerful and controversial aide. today, he told a

. >>> now to chief white house correspondent jonathan karl in washington tonight. in all your years covering and studying politics, have you seen a president start campaigning 30 days into his first term in office and is this more about 2017 than 2020? >> i have never seen quite this early. we've seen early campaigns. president trump filed his papers to set up re-election campaign on inauguration day, on january 20th. but this is not so much on winning votes four years from now, this is really about getting the president bucked up. you know, he loves those rallies, tom. he loves the crowd. he feeds off their energy. this has been a brutal first month of the presidency. he wants to get out amongst his supporters again. >> jon karl, thank you. >>> of course you'll have much more of the president's first month in the office on "this week." plus, the first interview with retired navy s.e.a.l. robert harward since he turned the job of national security adviser. >>> to the world political stage now, in germany today at the munich security conference the vice president re

here's our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. >> reporter: as president trump welcomed canadian prime minister justin trudeau to the white house, there in the front row his embattled national security adviser, michael flynn. abc news has learned that flynn has apologized to vice president pence for misleading him about the phone call with the they had not imposed sanctions on russia, and then he repeated it on national tv. >> what i can confirm is those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: but multiple sources to abc news say the topic of sanctions did come up. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: today, the president dodged questions about whether flynn would keep his job, but later, kellyanne conway offered the administration's first show of public support for flynn since the story broke. >> general flynn does enjoy the full confidence in the president. >> reporter: this comes as president trump faces his first national security crisis. north ko

karl. >> reporter: tonight president donald trump is turning up the heat on iran, and preparing to impose new sanctions after iran tested a ballistic missile. >> mr. president, is military action off the table in iran? >> honestly, nothing is off the table. >> reporter: this comes just one day after national security adviser, michael flynn issued this warning to the iranians. >> as of today, we are officially putting iran on notice. thank you. >> reporter: and as the u.s. confronts that foe, the president is defending an angry phone call he had with one of america's clos australia. >> when you hear about the tough phone calls i'm having, don't worry about it. >> reporter: the president was talking about a tense phone call saturday with australian's prime minister, malcolm turnbull. on the call, trump slammed an agreement australia made with president obama to settle about president obama to settle about 1,200 refugees in the united states. the refugees fled afghanistan, iran, iraq and other countries and are currently in detention centers on islands north of australia. "the washington pos

here's abc's white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: today president trump used a visit to washington's new african-american history museum to finally denounce the recent spate of anti-semitic threats and attacks in the united >> this tour was a very meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms. >> reporter: one of the most jarring incidents, this jewish cemetery near st. louis desecrated. more than a hundred tombstones overturned as the fbi launched an investigation into bomb threats that have sparked terrifying evacuations of children, some in cribs, from jewish community centers. 68 incidents in all. those 11 threats just yesterday across the country. president trump said today he denounces anti-semitism whenever he gets a chance. but listen to what happened last week, when he was directly asked about it. >> mr. president, since your election campaign and even after your victory, we've seen a sharp rise in anti-semitic incidents across the united states. >> reporter: instead of conde condemning the anti-semi

let's go right to our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl leading us off. >> reporter: tonight lawyers are making the case that the president's travel ban should be put back in place immediately. >> reporter: the white house is waging a legal battle tonight to save the president's temporary travel ban. a battle that could go all the way to the supreme court. >> we'll see. hopefully it doesn't have to. it's common sense. some things are law, and i'm all in favor of that. and some things are common sense. this is common sense. >> reporter: president trump pledged to, quote, take it through the system, and the white house said he would respect the results, win or lose. >> there is no question the president respects the judicial branch and its ruling. >> reporter: but just days ago, the president attacked the federal judge who put the ban on hold, calling him a "so-called judge" and tweeting -- "just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. if something happens blame him and the court system." and on capitol hill today, homeland security secretary john kelly echo

here's our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl. >> reporter: as president trump welcomed canadian prime minister justin trudeau to the white house, there in the front row his embattled national security adviser, michael flynn. abc news has learned that flynn has apologized to vice president pence for misleading him about the phone call with the russian president in january. they had not imposed sanctions on russia, and then he repeated it on national tv. >> what i can confirm is those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: but multiple sources to abc news say the topic of sanctions did come up. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: today, the president dodged questions about whether flynn would keep his job, but later, kellyanne conway offered the administration's first show of public support for flynn since the story broke. >> general flynn does enjoy the full confidence in the president. >> reporter: this comes as president trump faces his first nati