>> pierre thomas tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> and one more note tonight. amid all the talk of oprah winfrey now intrigued by the headlines, the tweets about her and a possible run for president in 2020, tonight, what president trump has said when asked, could he beat oprah? here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: in the white house today, president trump had this prediction for a possible 2020 oprah run. >> i'll beat oprah. oprah would be a lot of fun. i like oprah. i don't think she is going to run. i don't think she's going to run. i know her very well. >> reporter: his daughter, ivanka, calling winfrey's golden globes speech "empowering and inspiring." >> so, i want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon. >> reporter: the megastar instantly catapulted into the political stratosphere. >> there will be no running for office of any kind for me. >> reporter: that was oprah just a few months ago. today, her best friend, gayle king, says she doesn't think oprah's position has changed.

pierre thomas with the details. >> reporter: democratic senator dianne feinstein releasing the testimony from the dossier. the firm fusion gps was hired by republicans republicans and then democrats. >> it's very sad what they've done with this fake dossier. it was made up. >> reporter: but in a meeting with the senate judiciary committee, co-founder glen simpson fought back saying it's political rhetoric to call dossier phony. there were real interviews. there's nothing phony about it. it was written bay former british spy named christopher steele. steele became genuinely alarged abo -- alarmed from what he was recovering and went to the fbi, a concern about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed. the fbi revealed they had a voluntary source, someone who was concerned about the same concerns we had, the source was a member of the trump seem. but we're learning that it was in fact an australian official who has spoken to a trump campaign adviser. over the summer, the republican chairman of the committee said he believed the transcripts of simpson's testimony would eventua

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, we have learned the special counsel's russia investigation has reached right into president trump's own cabinet. attorney general jeff sessions questioned for hours by robert mueller's team. >> mr. president, are you concerned about what the attorney general told the special counsel? >> no, i'm not at all concerned. >> reporter: sessions, the first member of trump's cabinet to be interviewed by robert mueller, has faced scrutiny since giving what critics say was misleading testimony in his senate confirmation, telling lawmakers he had no contact with russians when he was a senior adviser on the trump campaign. >> i did not have any communications with the russians. >> reporter: that was not true. sessions had several conversations with the russian ambassador and when they became public -- >> i have recused myself -- >> reporter: -- the attorney general recused himself from the russia probe. >> i am disappointed in the attorney general. if he was going to recuse himself, he should've told me prior to

>> all right, pierre thomas leading us off on this. pierre, thank you. >>> we do have one more question on this tonight, so, let's bring in our senior white house correspondent cecilia vega, she's live over at the white house. cecilia, i know you pressed white house press secretary sarah sanders on whether president trump had anything to do with andrew mccabe's departure, and here's what she said today. >> reporter: can you say definitively that the president did not play a role in andrew mccabe stepping down? >> yes, i can say that the president wasn't part of this decision-making process and we would refer you to the fbi, where christopher wray serves as the director. the president has full confidence in him and has put the decisions at the fbi in his hands. >> so, cecilia, we heard that there, a denial from sarah sanders, but this white house is really facing questions whether the president is trying to influence the justice department. >> reporter: david, you remember, president trump fired fbi director james comey, sources tell us

>> i don't know what's the big deal with that. >> pierre thomas with us tonight, and obviously, pierre, we know mccabe stepping aside as deputy fbi director just this week. >> reporter: david, mccabe's departure was another sign of the mounting tension between the white house and the justice department. people inside the fbi and justice department are waiting to see how the president responds to these new bombshells. the question tonight -- how long can this tension continue? david? >> pierre thomas with us, as well tonight. >>> next, this evening, new concerns over the deadly flu epidemic. doctors in the northeast say the rapid flu tests that help diagnose know quickly are now in short supply, as well. and in new hampshire tonight, a mother of four dying of flu complications. she had decided against taking ant anti-viral medication. here's abc's linsey davis, on this again tonight. >> reporter: hospitals and clinics across the country now trying to stave off what officials are calling the worst one of the worst flu seasons in nearly a decade with the best defense possible -- free flu

abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: he was the spokesman for president trump's legal team. >> good afternoon, everyone, i'm mork reco mark corallo. >> reporter: an insider often called upon to give explanations. but tonight, abc news is learning more details about what allegedly caused mark corallo to abruptly leave the trump team. something the special counsel apparently wants to talk to him about, as robert mueller aggressively pursues the possibility of obstruction of justice. corallo quit in july, sources say, in part because he was concerned that some in president trump's camp were looking to unearth negative information about mueller, in an effort to find potential conflicts of interest for mueller, whose investigation the president has repeatedly called a witch hunt. >> the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> reporter: corallo also resigned less than two weeks after news broke of that now-infamous trump tower meeting involving the president's son, don jr., and a group of russians. mueller apparently wants to find out exactly what corallo knows about don jr.'s initial misleading sta

>> pierre thomas with us here in new york. pierre, thank you. and as i mentioned, we have also learned tonight of two key issues robert mueller would like to ask president trump about. so, let's get right to our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl, who is here with us in new york tonight. and jon, what are you learning? >> reporter: well, we know that two of the issues that mueller wants to focus on are the firing of james comey and the firing of michael flynn, but i've got to tell you, david, there is no guarantee this interview will happen. in fact, i think this could become a big fight. i have spoken to people very close to the president who say that he should do everything he should -- everything possible to stop this interview from happening, that it could be a disaster, even though he told me back in june he would be 100% willing to do it. >> yes, we remember that. and in the meantime, you heard the president today saying about jeff sessions being interviewed by mueller, that he's not at all concerned, were his words. what are yo

abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas and what he's learned tonight. >> reporter: he was the spokesman for president trump's legal team. >> good afternoon, everyone, i'm mark corallo. >> reporter: an insider often called upon to give explanations. but tonight, abc news is learning more details about what allegedly caused mark corallo to abruptly leave the trump team. something the special counsel apparently wants to talk to him about, as robert mueller aggressively pursues the possibility of obstruction of justice. corallo quit in july, sources say, in part because he was concerned that some in president trump's camp were looking to unearth negative information about mueller, in an effort to find potential conflicts of interest for mueller, whose investigation the president has repeatedly called a witch hunt. >> but the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> reporter: corallo also resigned less than two weeks after news broke of that now-infamous trump tower meeting involving the president's son, don jr., and a group of russians. mueller apparently wants to find out exactly w

>> pierre thomas live in washington. thank you, pierre. >>> the senate tonight has two new democrats this evening, narrowing the republican majority now to just one seat. alabama's doug jones sworn in today, escorted by former vice president joe biden. and minnesota's former lieutenant governor, tina smith, now sworn in to replace al franken, who resigned over claims of sexual harassment. >>> we turn next here to the case making national headlines. a call to 911 from several states away. police then showing up at a home in kansas. it turned out the 911 call was fake, swatting, as it's called. but an officer did open fire, and an innocent man was killed. here's abc's senior national correspondent matt gutman with new developments. >> reporter: tonight, the california man accused of that prank 911 call, leading to the death of a stranger 1,500 miles away, is preparing to face charges in kansas. >> are you the tyler raj barriss wanted by the state of kansas for a criminal offense? >> yes. >> reporter: that alleged criminal

i see no problem with releasing it. >> all right, pierre thomas with us live tonight from washington. and pierre, some republican senators have called for a criminal investigation now of that former british spy who fusion gps now says sounded the alarm to the fbi. they're targeting him now for criminal investigation. and they're furious democrats released this testimony on their own? >> reporter: that's right. republicans say it's that senator feinstein released that transcript, and they say it severely undermines the committee's work. david? >> pierre, thank you. >>> and one more note tonight. amid all the talk of oprah winfrey now intrigued about her and a possible run for president in 2020, tonight, what president trump has said when asked, could he beat oprah? here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: in the white house today, president trump had this prediction for a possible 2020 oprah run. >> i'll beat oprah. oprah would be a lot of fun. i like oprah. i don't think she is going to run. i don't think she's going to run. i know her very well

here's abc's pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: new questions about whether president trump was attempting to obstruct into russian meddling. "the new york times" reporting the president ordered why is counsel to personally pressure attorney general sessions not to recuse himself from the russia probe but sessions did it anyway. infuriating the president. >> if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and i would have picked somebody else. >> reporter: times also reporting new details of the president's alleged attempt to convince james comey to publicly proclaim trump himself was not under scrutiny. >> he asked to get it out that i the president am not personally under investigation. >> reporter: times claims reince priebus kept notes of conversations where the president told him he made that request of comey. special counsel bob mueller has these notes. according to the times as the president's frustration with comey mounted, the aide general sessions approached a capitol hill staffer looking for dirt on the fbi director. tonight the attorney general

i see no problem with releasing it. >> all right, pierre thomas with us live tonight from washington. and pierre, some republican senators have called for a criminal investigation now of that former british spy who fusion gps now says sounded the alarm to the fbi. they're targeting him now for criminal investigation. and they're furious democrats released this testimony on their own? >> reporter: that's right. republicans say it's confounding that senator feinstein released that transcript, and they say it severely undermines the committee's work. david? >> pierre, thank you. >>> and one more note tonight. amid all the talk of oprah winfrey now intrigued about her and a possible run for president in 2020, night, what president trump has said when asked, could he beat oprah? here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: in the white house today, president trump had this prediction for a possible 2020 oprah run. >> i'll beat oprah. oprah would be a lot of fun. i like oprah. i don't think she is going to run. i don't think she's going to run. i know her

here's abc's pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: new questions about whether president trump was attempting to obstruct justice by controlling the investigation into russian meddling. "the new york times" reporting the president ordered why is counsel to personally pressure attorney general sessions not to recuse himself from the russia probe but sessions did it anyway. infuriating the president. >> if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and i would have picked somebody else. >> reporter: times also reporting new details of the president's alleged attempt to convince james comey to publicly proclaim trump himself was not under scrutiny. >> he asked to get it out that i the president am not personally under investigation. >> reporter: times claims reince priebus kept notes of conversations where the president told him he made that request of comey. special counsel bob mueller has these notes. according to the times as the president's frustration with comey mounted, the aide to general sessions approached a capitol hill staffer looking for dirt on the

so, let's get right to pierre thomas tonight. pierre? >> reporter: david, the manafort team wants the indictments against him thrown out and is claiming rod rosenstein aseeded his power when he left the russia investigation expand into manafort's businesses. manafort's lawyers are slamming the probe, saying it goes way too far, allowing special counsel bob muler cart blanch to investigation anything he stumbles across. investigating overseas business dealing that go back a decade. tonight, a justice department spokesperson is discussing manafort's claims, saying the lawsuit is frivolous. david? >> pierre thomas, thank you. >>> the senate tonight has two new democrats this evening, their rogue the republican majority now to just one seed. alabama's doug jones sworn in today, escorted by former vice president joe biden. and minnesota's former lieutenant governor, tina smith, now sworn in to replace al franken. >>> we turn next here to the case making national headlines. a call to 911 from several states away. police then showing up at a ho

so, let's get right to pierre thomas tonight. pierre? >> reporter: david, the manafort team wants the indictments against him thrown out and is claiming rod rosenstein aseeded his power when he left the russia investigation expand into manafort's businesses. manafort's lawyers are slamming the probe, saying it goes way too far, allowing special counsel bob muler cart blanch to investigation anything he stumbles across. investigating overseas business dealing that tonight, a justice department spokesperson is discussing manafort's claims, saying the lawsuit is frivolous. david? >> pierre thomas, thank you. >>> the senate tonight has two new democrats this evening, their rogue the republican majority now to just one seed. alabama's doug jones sworn in today, escorted by former vice president joe biden. and minnesota's former lieutenant governor, tina smith, now sworn in to replace al franken. >>> we turn next here to the case making national headlines. a call to 911 from several states away. police then showing up at a home in kansas. it t

abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas leading us off. >>eporter: tonight, the number two at the fbi stepping down, following months of blistering attacks from president trump. today, the president ignoring questions about andrew mccabe's early depa >> mr. president, have you been? mr. president, have you been told >> thank you. >> reporter: it was mccabe who stepped in after president trump firefbi director james comey. thurst into the national spotlight. da mccabe defending his former boss after the white house claimed that the rank and file had losi. >> is it aand file no longer su director comey? >> no sir, that is not accurate. i can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of fbi employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. >> reporter: at the time, the white house also insisted the fbi investigation into russian meddling and any possible collusion was, quote, one of the smallest things the fbi is doing. mccabe was asked if that's true. >> sir, we consider it to be a highly significant investi

pierre thomas is standing by. >>> the passenger overboard on a carnival cruise ship. >>> and security justice ruth bader ginsburg weighing in on the "me too" movement and on the "snl" portrayal of her. chef had the audience laughing. chef had the audience laughing. you got to hear this. even if you're trying your best. along with diet and exercise, once-daily toujeo may help you control your blood sugar. get into a daily groove. ♪let's groove tonight. ♪share the spice of life. ♪baby slice it right. from the makers of lantus, toujeo provides blood sugar-lowering activity for 24 hours and beyond, proven blood sugar control all day and all night, and significant a1c reduction. toujeo is used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. it contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standard insulin. don't use toujeo to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar, or if you're allergic to insulin. get medical help right away if you have a serious allergic reaction such as body rash, or trouble breathing. don't reuse needles or share insulin pens.

abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: he was the spokesman for president trump's legal team. >> good afternoon, everyone i'mmark coren insider often called upon to give . but tonight, abc news is learning more details about what allegedly caused mark corallo to abruptly leave the trump team. something the special counsel apparently wants to talk to him about, as robert mueller aggressively pursues the possibility of obstruction of justice. corallo quit in july, sources say, in part because concerned that some in president trump's unearth negative information about mueller, in an effort to find potential conflicts of interest for mueller, whose investigation the president has repeatedly called a witch hunt. >> the entire thing has been a witch hunt. >> reporter: corallo also resigned less than two weeks after news broke of that now-infamous trump tower meeting involving the president's son, don jr., and a group of russians. mueller apparently wants to find out exactly what corallo knows about do misleading statement, which the es w aboard air force one, saying that meeting was "primarily about

here's abc's pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: new questions about whether president trump was attempting to obstruct justice by controlling the investigation into russian meddling. "the new york times" reporting the president ordered white house counsel to personally pressure attorney general sessions not to recuse himself from the russia probe but sessions did it anyway. infuriating the president. >> if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and i would have picked somebody else. >> reporter: administration officials do not dispute to abc news that he pressured sessions. "times" also reporting new details of the president's alleged attempt to convince former fbi director james comey to publicly proclaim trump himself was not under scrutiny. >> he asked to get it out that i the president am not personally under investigation. >> reporter: the "times" claims former white house chief of staff reince priebus kept notes of conversations where the president told him he made that request of comey. special counsel bob mueller has these notes. according to

i see no problem with releasing it. >> all right, pierre thomas with us live tonight from washington. and pierre, some republican senators have called for a criminal investigation now of that former british spy who fusion gps now says sounded the alarm to the fbi. they're targeting him now for criminal investigation. and they're furious democrats released this testimony on their own? >> reporter: that's right. republicans say it's confounding that senator feinstein released that transcript, and they say it severely undermines the committee's work. david? >> pierre, thank you. >>> and one more note tonight. amid all the talk of oprah winfrey now intrigued about her and a possible run for president in 2020, tonight, what president trump has said when asked, could he beat oprah? here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: in the white house today, president trump had this prediction for a possible 2020 oprah run. >> i'll beat oprah. oprah would be a lot of fun. i like oprah. i don't think she is going to run. i don't think she's going to run. i know h

here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, new concerns about terrorists determined to put bombs on planes headed to the united states. the tsa putting in place emergency regulations today based on, quote, recent information, aimed at stopping terrorists from detonating a bomb in the cargo hold of commercial planes. airports in five middle eastern countries now getting that extra scrutiny, including egypt, jordan and saudi arabia. this hole blown right through the side of a jet from a suspected laptop bomb smuggled onto a plane in somalia, a reminder of how creative the terrorists are becoming. the new tsa order in part the result of a foiled plot to down a commercial plane uncovered in australia this past summer. >> we could very well have had a catastrophic event in this country. >> reporter: the diabolical plot? smuggling the bomb inside of a meat grinder. david, isis and other terrorist organizations apparently still obsessed with trying to blow up a plane bound for the u.s. david? >> pierre, thank you. >>> when we come back, amazon now opening a store, no cash required, and no

>> it's a real possibility. >> okay, pierre thomas live from washington tonight. you heard jor johnson right there acknowledging it is a real possibility that this text about a secret society was a joke. but senator johnson also claimed to have an informant who said a group of fbi employees was holding secret meetings and tonight, one top democrat is demanding proof now of these meetings? >> reporter: david, senator johnson is the chair of the homeland security committee and tonight, the committee's top democrat, claire mccaskill is demanding, quote, hard evidence about that informant. essentially calling him out. so far, senator johnson has not offered anymore specifics. >> pierre, thank you. >>> next tonight, to the widening fallout from the usa gymnastics sex abuse scandal. less than 24 hours now after former team doctor larry nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. tonight, there are growing calls for a congressional investigation. more than 150 women and girls telling their stories of abuse. michigan state university president lou anna simon resign

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: on capitol hill today, republicans escalating their attacks on special counsel robert mueller's investigation. >> american public should have some very serious concerns. >> reporter: republican senator ron johnson pointing to personal text messages exchanged between peter struzok and lisa page, an fbi lawyer seen in this alumni picture. in texts sent during the campaign, the couple exchanged their private thoughts, including critical comments about a number ofic figures, including candidate trump. strzok calling him an idiot. page saying he's awful. mueller learne o immediately removed strzok from the investigation. but senator johnson now raising questions about a potential larger fbi conspiracy against the president. >> yeah, but we have an informant that's talking about a group that were holding secret meetings off-site. there is so much smoke here, there's so much suspicion. >> let's stop there. a secret society, a secret meeting off-site of the justice department? >> correct. >> reporter: today, johnso

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, steve bannon on the hot seat. "the new york times" reporting the former white house chief strategist has been subpoenaed by the special counsel to appear before a grand jury. abc news has not independently confirmed this report, but today, bannon met with house investigators over comments he allegedly made in the book "fire and fury." >> obviously i have a lot of questions based on his comments in the book. >> reporter: in the bombshell book, bannon allegedly calls don jr.'s infamous meeting at trump tower with the russians "treasonous," saying, "the chance that don jr. did not walk these jumos up to his father's office on the 26th floor is zero." and saying the investigation would cause don jr. to "crack like an egg on national tv." bannon also allegedly suggested that don jr., jared kushner and his former campaign chairman paul manafort, might have engaged in money laundering. >> what's the basis for his assertion that the president met with the participants in the trump tower meeting. as well as h

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas with what we've learned tonight. >> reporter: tonight steve bannon at the center of the russia investigation. abc news learning special counsel robert mueller issued a subpoena to the president's former chief strategist to appear before a grand jury. sources familiar with the investigation bannon has now worked out an agreement with the special counsel for a voluntary interview. at issue, bannon's alleged explosive comments in the book "fire and fury," calling don jr.'s infamous trump tower meeting with the russians "treasonous," alleged comments that led the president to give bannon that new nickname "sloppy steve." >> that's why sloppy steve >> reporter: this coming just 24 hours after bannon was grilled capitol hill for more than ten hours. and again, something very unusual. you subpoenaed him in the midst of the session. >> that's never happened. we've been at this not for about ten months that's never happened with a witness. >> reporter: but the session left members of both parties fuming after bannon appeared assert execut

abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, the number two at the fbi stepping down, following months of blistering attacks from president trump. today, the president ignoring questions about andrew mccabe's early departure. >> mr. president, have you been told mccabe is resigning? mr. president, have you been told that mccabe is resigning? >> thank you. >> reporter: it was mccabe who stepped in after president trump fired fbi director james comey. thurst into the national spotlight. days later, on capitol hill, mccabe defending his former boss after the white house claimed that the rank and file had lost confidence in comey. >> is it accurate that the rank and file no longer supported director comey? >> no sir, that is not accurate. i can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of fbi employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. >> reporter: at the time, the white house also insisted the fbi investigation into russian meddling and any possible collusion was, quote, one of the smallest things the fbi i

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: tonight, steve bannon on the hot seat. "the new york times" reporting that the former white house chief strategist has been subpoenaed by the special counsel to appear before a grand jury. abc news has not independently confirmed this report, but today, bannon met with house investigators over comments he allegedly made in the book "fire and fury." >> obviously i have a lot of questions based on his comments in the book. >> reporter: in the bombshell book, bannon allegedly calls don jr.'s infamous meeting at trump tower with the russians "treasonous," saying, "the chance that don jr. did not walk these jumos up to his father's office on the 26th floor is zero." and saying the investigation would cause don jr. to "crack like an egg on national tv." bannon also allegedly suggested that don jr., jared kushner and his former campaign chairman paul manafort might have engaged in money laundering. >> what's the basis for his assertion that the president met with the participants in the trump tower meeting, as well

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: on capitol hill today, republicans escalating their attacks on special counsel robert mueller's investigation. >> american public should have some very serious concerns. >> reporter: republican senator ron johnson pointing to personal text messages exchanged between peter struzok and lisa page, an fbi lawyer seen in this alumni picture. in texts sent during the campaign, the couple exchanged their private thoughts, including critical comments about a number of political figures, including candidate trump. strzok calling him an idiot. page saying he's awful. mueller learned of those texts over the summer and immediately removed strzok from the investigation. but senator johnson now raising questions about a potential larger fbi conspiracy against the president. >> yeah, but we have an informant that's talking about a group that were holding secret meetings off-site. there is so much smoke here, there's so much suspicion. >> let's stop there. a secret society, a secret meeting off-site of the justice departme

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas tonight. >> reporter: on capitol hill today, republicans escalating their attacks on special counsel robert mueller's investigation. >> american public should have some very serious concerns. >> reporter: republican senator ron johnson pointing to personal text messages exchanged between peter strzok, a former member of mueller's team, and lisa page, an fbi lawyer seen in this alumni picture. in texts sent during the campaign, the couple exchanged their private thoughts, including critical comments about a number of political figures, including candidate trump. strzok culling him "an idiot." page saying, "he's awful." mueller learned of those texts over the summer and immediately removed strzok from the investigation. but senator johnson now raising questions about a potential larger fbi conspiracy against the president. >> yeah, but we have an informant that's talking about a group that were holding secret meetings off-site. there is so much smoke here, there's so much suspicion. >> wait, let's stop there. a secret society, a s

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas with what we've learned tonight. >> reporter: tonight, steve bannon at the center of the russia investigation. abc news learning special counsel robert mueller issued a subpoena to the president's former chief strategist to appear before a grand jury. sources familiar with the investigation bannon has now worked out an agreement with the special counsel for a voluntary interview. at issue, bannon's alleged explosive comments in the book "fire and fury," calling don jr.'s infamous trump tower meeting with the russians "treasonous," alleged comments that led the president to give bannon that new nickname, "sloppy steve." >> that's why sloppy steve is now looking for a job. >> reporter: this coming just 24 hours after bannon was grilled on capitol hill for more than ten hours. and again, something very unusual. you subpoenaed him in the midst of the session. >> that's never happened. we've been at this not for about ten months, that's never happened with a witness. >> reporter: but the session left members of both parties fuming aft

here's abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas with what we've learned tonight. >> reporter: tonight, steve bannon at the center of the russia investigation. abc news learning special counsel robert mueller issued a subpoena to the president's former chief strategist to appear before a grand jury. sources familiar with the investigation say bannon has now worked out an agreement with the special counsel for a voluntary interview. at issue, bannon's alleged explosive comments in the book "fire and fury," calling don jr.'s infamous trump tower meeting with the russians "treasonous." alleged comments that led the president to give bannon that new nickname, "sloppy steve." >> that's why sloppy steve is now looking for a job. >> reporter: this coming just 24 hours after bannon was grilled on capitol hill for more than ten hours. and again, something very unusual. you subpoenaed him in the midst of the session. >> that's never happened. we've been at this for about ten months, that has never happened with a witness. >> reporter: but the session left members of both parties fuming a

>> it's a real possibility. >> okay, pierre thomas live from washington tonight. and pierre, you heard senator johnson right there acknowledging it is a real possibility now that this text about a secret society was a joke. but senator johnson also claimed to have an informant who said a group of fbi employees was holding secret meetings and tonight, one top democrat is demanding proof now of these meetings? >> reporter: david, senator johnson is the chair of the homeland security committee and tonight, the committee's top democrat, claire mccaskill, is demanding, quote, hard evidence about that informant and any other allegations. essentially calling him out. so far, senator johnson has not offered anymore specifics. david? >> all right, and you'll stay on it. pierre, thank you. >>> next tonight, to the widening fallout from the usa gymnastics sex abuse scandal. less than 24 hours now after former team doctor larry nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison. tonight, there are growing calls for a congressional investigation. more than 150 women and girls t

i see no problem with releasing it. >> that's pierre thomas reporting from washington. new developments with former white house strategist steve bannon. he's stepping down as executive chairman of breitbart news network. bannon became a target of president trump last week after being quoted in the book "fire and fury." bannon called a 2016 trump tower meeting involving the president's son treasonous and unpatriotic. >>> there's talk that oprah winfrey is now intrigued by all of the headlines and tweets about her and a possible run for president in 2020. tonight, abc news reporter cecilia vega on what president trump said when asked if he could beat oprah. >> in the white house today, president trump had this prediction for a possible 2020 oprah run. >> yeah, i'll beat oprah. oprah would be a lot of fun. i like oprah. i don't think she's gonna run. i don't think she's gonna run. i know her very well. >> reporter: his daughter ivanka calling winfrey's golden globes speech empowering and inspiring. >> so i want all the girls watching here and now that a new day is on the h

pierre thomas. >> reporter: the number two at the fbi stepping owg months of attacks by president trump ign about mccabe's early deal ppart. it was mccabe who stepped in after president trump fired fbi director jach oior james comey. the day after comey was ousted. sources tell abc news about a tense conversation. the president angry that mccabe allowed comby to fly back from california after getting fired on an fbi plane allegedly calling mccabe's wife a loser. the was has the not responded to multiple requests for comments from abc news. days laltder on capitol hill, mccabe defending his former boss, after the white house claimed that the rank-and-file had lost confidence in comey. at the time,sisted the fbi investigation into russian meddling and any possible collusion was one of the smallest things the fbi is doing. mccabe was asked if that is true. >> sir we kid it to be a highly significant investigation. >> the president refused to comment on nick cabe. in tweets he let the world know about h

pierre thomas has more. >> reporter: new concerns about terrorists determined to put bombs on planes headed to the united states. the tsa putting in place emergency regulations based on recent regulation aimed at detonating a bomb. airports in five middle eastern countries getting that scrutiny. this hole blown right through the side of a jet from a suspected laptop bomb, a reminder of how creative the terrorists are becoming. the new order in part the result of a foiled plot to down a commercial plane in australia this summer. >> it could have been a catastrophic event. in respect >> reporter: smuggling a bomb inside of a meat grinder. isis apparently still obsessed with trying to blow up a plane bound for the u.s. pierre thomas, abc news, new york. >>> the deaths of more than 30 children nationwide are being blamed on the worst flu season in nearly a decade. a 2-year-old girl in mississippi died just days after being diagnosed and doctors say the flu killed a six-year-old girl on friday in north carolina. that was three days after her diagnosis. and in the meantime, a high school i

pierre thomas has the details. >> reporter: president trump and his republican allies made it out to be a scandal, the idea that the fbi lost months of personal text messages between an fbi on the special counsel's team and an fbi lawyer. >> if you take a look at you know the five months' worth of missing texts. that's a lot of missing texts. as i said yesterday, that's prime time. look at that and say what's going on? >> reporter: the fbi says they were lost to a technical glitch that affected thousands of bureau devices. the president compared it to watergate. but they say many of those missing texts have been recovered. some of the personal messages previously released, and the lawyer seen here discussed the presidential campaign, both expressing disdain for donald trump. god, trump is a loathsome human. yet, he may win. and fuelling claims that fbi is biassed against trump even though some of the messages also trash liberals. page "i just saw my first bernie sanders bumper sticker made me want to key the car." robert mueller removed him from the team after seeing the text message

here is abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: the number two at the fbi stepping down. following months of blistering attacks from president trump. the trump ignoring questions about mccabe's early departure. it was mccabe who stepped in after president trump fired fbi director james comey. the day after comey was ousted, sources tell abc news about a tense conversation. the president angry that mccabe allowed comey to fly back from california after getting fired on an fbi plane allegedly calling mccabe's wife a loser. the white house has not responded to multiple requests for comments from abc news. days later on capitol hill, mccabe defending his former boss, after the white house claimed that the rank-and-file had lost confidence in comey. at the time, the white house also insisted the fbi investigation into russian meddling and any possible collusion was one of the smallest things the fbi is doing. mccabe was asked if that is true. >> sir we consider it to be a highly significant investigation. >> the president refused to comment on mccabe. in tweets he let the worl

pierre thomas with the details. >> reporter: democratic senator dianne feinstein releasing the testimony from the dossier. the firm fusion gps was hired by republicans and then democrats. >> it's very sad what they've done with this fake dossier. it was made up. >> reporter: but in a meeting with the senate judiciary committee, co-founder glen simpson fought back saying it's political rhetoric to call the dossier phony. there were real interviews. there's nothing phony about it. it was written bay former british spy named christopher steele. steele became genuinely alarmed from what he was recovering and went to the fbi, a concern about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed. the fbi revealed they had a voluntary source, someone who was concerned about the same concerns we had, the source was a member of the trump seem. but we're learning that it was in fact an australian official who has spoken to a trump campaign adviser. over the summer, the republican chairman of the committee said he believed the transcripts of simpson's testimony would eventually come out. four mont

abc news reporter pierre thomas has more. >> reporter: tonight, new concerns about terrorists determined to put bombs on planes headed to the united states. the tsa putting in place emergency regulations today based on "recent information" aimed at stopping terrorists from detonating a bomb in the cargo hold of commercial planes. airports in five middle eastern countries getting that extra scrutiny, including egypt, jordan, and saudi arabia. this hole blown through the side of a jet from a suspected laptop bomb smuggled onto the plane in somalia reminder of how creative the terrorists are becoming. the new tsa order in part as a result of a foiled plot to down a commercial plane uncovered in australia this past summer. >> we could well have had a catastrophic event in this country. >> reporter: diabolical plot, smuggling the bomb inside of a meat grinder. >>> vice president mike pence is calling on the palestinians to come back to the negotiating table, but it looks at this point like a nonstarter. the vice president made the remarks in his address to the knesset in jerusalem. he gave th

abc news reporter pierre thomas has the latest. >> reporter: the number two of the fbi stepping down. following months of blistering attacks from president trump. today the president ignoring questions about andrew mccabe's early departure. >> mr. president, have you been told mccabe is resigning? >> thank you. >> reporter: it was mccabe who stepped in after president trump fired fbi director james comey, a day after comey was ussed sources saying to abc news a tense conversation about the president and mccabe, the president angry comey flying back from california after getting fired, calling comey's wife a loser. days later on capitol hill, mccabe defending his former boss after the white house claimed the rank and file had lost confidence in comey. >> is it accurate that the rank and file no longer supported director comey? >> no, sir, that is not accurate. i can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority, of fbi employees enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. >> reporter: at the time, the white house also insisted that the fbi investigation into r

pierre thomas, thanks very much. we're going to get more from the white house now. cecilia vega is there and, cecilia, want to switch gears and pick up on that oprah boom that got kicked off. possible talk about a run in 2020. what was the reaction at the white house? >> reporter: well, we don't actually know whether the president saw oprah's speech. we know his daughter did. take a look, george. she's tweeting overnight just saw oprah's empowering and inspiring speech at last night's golden globes. let's all come together, women and men and say time's up, united. got quite a response. people like alyssa milano saying you can donate to the time's up movement in you want to support people like your own father's accusers so got a little rough online for ivanka overnight. now, in the late '90s, donald trump was asked who he would choose as a running mate if he decided to run for office. he named oprah and you know that interview you had with him on the day he announced his candidacy for this office, he said, i like oprah. so we will see the official line from the white

pierre thomas, thanks very much. we're going to get more from the white house now. cecilia vega is there and, cecilia, want to switch gears and pick up on that oprah boom that got kicked off. possible tal 2020. what was the reaction at the white house? >> reporter: well, we don't actually know whether the president saw oprah's speech. we know his daughter did. take a look, george. she's tweeting overnight just saw oprah's empowering and inspiring speech at last night's golden globes. let's all come together, women and men and say time's up, united. got quite a response. people like alyssa milano saying you can donate to the time's up movement in you want to support people like your own father's accusers so got a little rough online for ivanka overnight. now, in the late '90s, donald trump was asked who he would choose as a running mate if he decided to run for office. he named oprah and you know that interview you had with him on the day he announced his candidacy for this office, he said, i like oprah. so we will see the official line from the white house is we wel

>> okay, pierre thomas, thanks very much. robin? >>> and george, we have more on the president's first state of the union address. he's expected to focus on the economy, immigration, and national security. and our senior white house correspondent cecilia vega has more on how it's coming together behind the scenes. good morning, cecilia. >> reporter: hey, robin. busy day here at the white house. the white house says it will be must-see tv. we all know this is a president who excels in primetime. so it will be definitely a big show. behind the scenes exactly what president trump will say tonight remains a bit of a mystery. i've got to say, even though among the president's inner circle, very few people have seen the entirety of the speech he's going to give tonight. unlike that american carnage speech that the president gave during his inaugural address. this one, i'm told, will be -- the key phrase for it will be optimism. and that the president gave specific direction to staff members that he wanted to see it as a positive and uplif