with director coats in aspen was perhaps the most obvious of all of them, but dni coats, former senator coats has been direct to the point in one of the accolades on the hill, particularly among senators from both parties for being a straight shooter on russia, on north korea, and elsewhere, and sometimes that means that the president's sort of rhetoric and the president's view of say the north korean leadership or vladimir putin didn't line up with the intelligence and didn't line up with what then dan coats was going to say. >> it's interesting, dan coats is the guy who stood in front of the president and basically said north korea will continue to pursue or will continue to have its nuclear arsenal. iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons and russia did, in fact, involve himself in the elections in 2016. all things, the president as we well know said did not happen or will not happen. basically everything the president was putting out there politically. >>> the latest on the push for impeachment. >> house democrats want access to grand jury evidence of robert mueller's probe, as the par

we have a lame duck dni in dan coats. president trump puts more trust in vladimir putin than dan coats and trump is the ultimate client for the intelligence community. he's not looking for a director of national intelligence he's looking for someone to fit his political talking point so if dan coats leaves, whoever comes in next will face the same challenges. he'll call on intelligence community to fit a campaign slogan and undermine them and discount what they are saying if it is not censored before it meets his desk, if it doesn't fit again with the 2020 campaign slogan. >> and you remember in helsinki the president clearly didn't accept dan coats' view about russian interference. he accepted putin's view. >> aibbsolutely and that is onef the many sources of tension in the intelligence community. dan coats is a professional and a former senator and former congressman and he's one of the last men standing of the people who president trump brought in at the beginning to give him a sort of sturdy foundation, the

so what do you make of dan coats possibly stepping down? >> well, first of all i think it's simpler to play out that dan coats has been a benefit not just as a job as director of national intelligence. you know, he came in with lots of concerns around the communicate as to whether or not he would keep the intelligence community out of the political fray and work to speak truth to power and that's exactly what he's done. so i think this is an unfortunate development for the intelligence community because there's been a shield there between the ic and the political world, and i think it's going to be very important for the president to pick someone who helps to maintain that. but based on some of things that have been mentioned i hear that might not be the case. >> and talk to me about the importance of dan coats and his defense of the intelligence community especially as it pertained to russia's interference with the u.s. elections. >> reporter: yeah, i think it's that's really important. one of the things we talk about in the intelligence c

coats, congressman john ratcliffe, republican from texas. he's been a staunch defender of the president and was frit tough in his questioning -- pretty tough in his questioning of robert mueller during that hearing on wednesday. we're going to have a lot more on this potential shake-up and what it could mean for the trump administration. white house correspondent for reuters will join us in a few moments. >> i think everyone is shocked. no one would expect this kind of thing to happen around here. >> a lot of people are invested anytime, so it's kind of hart to let it go -- hard to let it go. i find myself checking the news every hour. arthel: people in manitoba, canada, are on edge as the hunt continues for two teenagers suspected of killing three people in british columbia earlier this month. police are urging the public to stay alert and report any suspicious activities to local law enforcement. jacqui heinrich is following the story from our new york city newsroom. >> reporter: well, arthel, police have combed gill am, man tone ya and so

dan coats, he was a decent man but he was certainly flawed. i think he could have done more to stands up to the mane women of the intelligence community when their work was being politicized. i think he could have done more to stand up to declassifications of things like the nunes memo. >> right. >> these efforts that had no other ends except to protect donald trump. i think he could have done more and said so publicly. when donald trump asked in the oval office to intervene with comey and to intervene with mueller, to put this russia investigation to bed, i think he should have sounded the alarm at the time, but i think we do have to judge dan coats by what he did do, and that is when push came to shove, he did speak truth to power before the american people. we know that the intelligence community continues to assess with high confidence that russia was behind the attack on our election because dan coats said so. we know that iran was abiding by the terms of the iran deal because dan coats said so publicly in congressional testimony. we know

and i think that's how we should characterize dan coats. he was a decent man but he was certainly flawed. i think he could have done more to stands up to the men and women of the intelligence community when their work was being politicized. i think he could have done more to stand up to declassifications of things like the nunes memo. >> right. >> these efforts that had no other ends except to protect donald trump. i think he could have done more and said so publicly. when donald trump asked in the oval office to intervene with comey and to intervene with mueller, to put this russia investigation to bed, i think he should have sounded the alarm at the time, but i think we do have to judge dan coats by what he did do, and that is when push came to shove, he did speak truth to power before the american people. we know that the intelligence community continues to assess with high confidence that russia was behind the attack on our election because dan coats said so. we know that iran was abiding by the terms of the iran deal because dan coats

but the president has long been unhappy with coates one of the many points of disagreement, north korea. >> we have made a lot of progress as far as denuclearization is concerned. >> we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wmd capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities. >> coates's comments were just ten days after the president's. and who can forget the very memorable moment when coates found out in realtime on camera that trump was inviting putin to visit the white house? >> okay. >> yeah. >> that's going to be special.

>> well, i think that the president had clearly tired of dan coats and dan coats clearly tired of the president and of the job. this had been rumored a fair bit, including a week ago at the aspen security forum where a number of intelligence officials were gathered. you'll remember that it was at that same forum a year ago that coats had the remarkable moment. you may have played it in the last hour. where he learned on stage talking to andrea mitchell that vladimir putin was going to be invited to the white house. >> yeah, in fact, do we still have that? let's play that again because it was quite the remarkable moment. and here it is. >> the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. >> say that again. >> vladimir putin coming to the -- >> did i hear you right? >> yeah, yeah. >> okay. that's going to be special. >> yeah, so everybody was laughing but, you know, that was a telling moment and perhaps even a very embarrassing one for the president because everybody was laughing about the idea. >> it was such a special moment that p

it was then mike pence, who hasnhas an indiana connection with coats, con vvinces coats not to predesign. you also have the president referring to mr. coats and mr. rogers. disparaging of him in private. then there have been the public blowups. if not blowups, friction. that's maybe a better word. andrea asked whether he knew about the meeting with vladimir putin and you saw his reaction. there's also been this issue of coats appearing -- i say appearing to contradict the president. you saw that on whether or not north korea was willing to give up all its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. the dni said, their assessment is that he won't give up his nuclear arsenal. there's been friction in the past. we're trying to figure out how high this friction goes and how hot it is and whether it means he is going to resign as "the new york times" and axios and "the wall street journal" are reporting. it's all very good reporting. but they are all ending up in the same place. that is that dan coats is not long for this world and that a potential replacement could be john ratcliffe, a former u.

rogers a lot but also dan coats is very much in the bush mold. he was the runner-up to don rumsfeld. so this is someone who much more fits the administration, someone like a dan coats. >> i take your point on that. there's that breaking news, but, of course, there are presidential tweets from over the weekend. seemingly changing the subject with the kind of tactics we very come to expect from him, trashing congressman elijah couplin cummings and district, which include the city of baltimore. if he spent more time in baltimore maybe he can help clean up this very dangerous and filthy place. "the washington post" reports trump's advisers concluded after the previous round of sweets that the overall message sent by such attacks -- and we're talking here about the squad -- is good for the president among his political base, resonating strongly with the white working class voters he needs to win re-election in 2020. this has prompted them to find ways to fuse trump's nativist rhetoric with a love it or leave it appeal to pray tree tix ahead of the 202

dni director coats and the president have had a a tumultuous relationship over the past year with coats contradicting the president multiple times. he was on the defense when the president went on the attack criticizing different intelligence agencies. in an interview last year, coats found out during the interview that vladimir putin from russia may come to white house. he expressed concern publicly. he also contradicted the president on north korea and syrian policy. congressman john ratcliffe, the incoming head of the dni if he's confirmed, is the opposite of coats in that he's a staunch defender of the president's policies. he has an intelligence background from the george w. bush administration. he made headlines op wednesday with his aggressive questioning of robert mueller. listen. >> can you give me an example other than donald trump where the justice department determined that a person was exonerated, that their innocence was not conclusively determined? >> i cannot, but this is a unique situation. >> reporter: the president tripling down on his attacks with baltimore congressm

. >> what about dan coates. this season the the first time president trump has thought about replacing him, why is this coming up again. we talked about dan coates before. dan coates has gone rogue in terms of giving his own assessment of things. and that has irked the president from time to time, and he's grumbled about dan coates from time to time. i talked to a senior white house official earlier this morning, dan coates has been in this position for two 1/2 years, he's thinking about retirement again. whenever senior white house officials are talking about high level positions in this fashion, that means that these kinds of talks are underway, the question is whether or not the president can find somebody who would be palletable up on capitol hill. dan coates is widely respected in washington as you know, but at the same time as we've been discussing all day long, the president and coats do not see eye to eye when it comes to some of these matters, how the federal government has responded to all of that, you

peter, what's the significance of dan coats stepping down? it's no secret that dan coats and the president haven't seen i too i ona number of the president haven't seen i too i on a number of issues over the past few months, north korea and russia in particular. also the president has publicly contradicted some of the advice that he's clearly received from his intelligence chiefs. then there was an incident about a year ago, mr coats was speaking in the state of colorado at a 0&a speaking in the state of colorado at a q&a session, this was on live television, and he was given the news, just breaking at the time, at the white house was inviting president putin to a meeting at the white house at some point undetermined in the future to have discussions with the president, and it was mr coats's response to that, it was mr coats's response to that, it clearly took him by surprise, and he said, ok, that's going to be special. he said he looked rather bemused, he said after he didn't mean disrespect but the seeds were sown at that stage for what wo

it's the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. for an amazing taste... ...that outlasts your craving. new nicorette ice mint. stay on top of things. a faster laptop could help. plus, tech support to stay worry free. worry free. boom! ha.ha. boom! now, save up to 40% off furniture. up to 40% off at office depot officemax or officedepot.com. >>> what's going on -- >> we don't need it. >> what's going on is that i think too much has been made of the phrase impeachment inquiry. >> so, clearly there's confusion on capitol hill and outside capitol hill this weekend as the house judiciary chair jerry nadler there tries to tamp down impeachment talks. it comes after his committee revealed that lawmakers need to see mueller's secret grand jury evidence to determine whether to introduce articles of impeachment. watch as democrats try to clarify their stance today. >> you are investigating possible impeachment. but you haven't formally opened an impeachment inquiry. >> we're not trying to have it both ways. there are articles of impeachment

we have a lame duck dni in dan coats. president trump puts more trust in vladimir putin than dan coats and trump is the ultimate client for the intelligence community. he's not looking for a director of national intelligence he's looking for someone to fit his political talking point so if dan coats leaves, whoever comes in next will face the same challenges. he'll call on intelligence community to fit a campaign slogan and undermine them and discount what they are saying if it is not censored before it meets his desk, if it doesn't fit again with the 2020 campaign slogan. >> and you remember in helsinki the president clearly didn't accept dan coats' view about russian interference. he accepted putin's view. >> aibbsolutely and that is onef the many sources of tension in the intelligence community. dan coats is a professional and a former senator and former congressman and he's one of the last men standing of the people who president trump brought in at the beginning to give him a sort of sturdy foundation, the kind of es

. >>> tonight, breaking news the country's intelligence chief is stepping down dan coats, the director of national intelligence, who has often clashed with president trump on major policy issues involving russia, iran, and nortkorea. the president now nominating a republican congressman and trump loyalist to replace him. >>> the american teens held in the killing of an italian police officer. court documents say they blamed each other for the murder. a disturbing image why was one of them bound and blindfolded? >>> the army and air force now involved in rugged terrain where even polar bears roam. >>> hey, siri, who else may be listening in when we ask for help whata whistleblower now claims >>> and a giant challenge. >> why come all the way up here to get your cocones? >> why the redwoods of california are being tapped for a higher calling >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with kate snow >> good evening. we begin tonight with a shake-up at the highest level of america's national security network. dan coats, the director of national intelligence, charged with overseeing the count

director of national intelligence dan coats is stepping down after a long standing series of foreign policy clashes with the president donald trump announced on twitter saying he will nominate republican congressman john rachleff to replace him since being appointed by trump in 2017 coats is directly contradicted the president on u.s. policy towards russia north korea's nuclear threat and the iran deal patty colleen is live for us in washington so clearly this was a relationship with a fair bit of friction does his resignation come as a surprise that. it comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody they had been on the outs the president made it clear they have been on the outs and the president and think the timing is also important if he doesn't like the way the media narrative is shaping up perhaps around his racial his racist tweets that he tends to try and change the subject i don't know if dan coats is dismissal is going to be. anywhere big enough news to actually get that off the headlines it's what most people in the states are talking about still dan coats is a highly respected

he's been venting about coats' performance, particularly in january when coats offered congressional testimony that contradicted the president's world view of iran and north korea. even though coats apologized at the time and suggested that perhaps he was misquoted, president trump was very frustrated with that and that's the first time that he really started talking about removing coats. a senior white house official tells cnn that trump has never really warmed to coats. their relationship has never really been all that friendly, but that the discussions about removing coats has continued long after that january dust-up. he's now even more recently within the past several days been contacting confidants to ask them their opinion on removing coats. the office of director of national intelligence referred cnn to a statement that coats released in march saying that it was frustrating to continually be asked about whether he is going to be removed from the job and that right now he's focussed on doing it. it's unclear when or if the president will make a move. he's often using his kconf

. >>> loyalist to be the next intelligence chief after a rocky relationship with dan coats. some republican leaders are concerned that congressman john ratcliffe is too political, after his questioning of robert mueller. >> americans need to know this, as they listen to the democrats and socialists on the other side of the aisle. volume ii of this report was not authorized under the law to be written. >> the racial divide, donald trump doubles down on his inflammatory language, attacking a leading democratic congressman. the city of baltimore and the reverend al sharpton, while republican leaders all stay silent. >> calling me a troublemaker. yes, i make trouble for bigots. i made trouble for him with central park. i made trouble for him with birtherism and i'm going to keep making trouble for bigots. >>> a father's grief. a mass shooting at a food festival in california leaves three dead, including a 6-year-old boy. >> i lost my son. there's nothing i can do except try to be with him until i can put him in his resting spot, wherever that is. >>> good afternoon. i'm ayman mo

coates. it is not often that you hear the words of a young man and they enliven your emotional memory as he just did in this moment. thank you so much. i am deeply honored to be here today offering my testimony at this historic meeting about the reckoning of a crime against humanity that is foundational to the development of democracy and material well-being in this country. a national reparations policy is a moral, democratic, and economic imperative. i sit here as the great-grandson of a former slave, mary brorown, who was freed by the emancipatation proclamation on january 1, 1863. i had the fortune of meeting her as a small child. i also sit here as the grandson of rufus huntleyey. my maternal grandparents were both born before plessy versus ferguson supreme court decisionon in 189. and for a significant portion of their lives, they worked as sharecrcroppers in geororga until they were able to save enough money to purchase a small farm. despite much progress over the centuries, this heari

dan coats the current director will be leaving office on august 15th. i would like to thank dan for his great service to our country. the acting director will be named shortly. "the new york times" reports that coats a veteran republican lawmaker and former ambassador to germany had long wanted to go. and he told the president and vice president that he was ready to move on during a meeting just last week. coats was known to give blunt intelligence assessments, breaking with the president's rosy proclamations on north korea and openly acknowledged the bizarre relationship with russia president vladimir putin. >> we have breaking news, the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. >> say that again. >> you -- vladimir putin -- >> did i hear you? >> yeah. yeah. >> okay. >> yeah. >> that's going to be special. >> but the top senator is reportedly not sold on coats' potential replacement. ratcliffe was a u.s. attorney for the eastern district of texas from 2007 to 2008 while me served four terms as ma

dan coats has been at odds with president trump and his policies so why step down now. well it remains to be seen whether he stepped down or he was forced out by the president the president taking to twitter to announce that he was leaving notably we didn't hear it 1st from the director of national intelligence coats now all eyes are going to turn to the person that donald trump wants to replace him with that is representative john ratcliffe so what do we know about john radcliffe well he doesn't have any experience in intelligence if you look at the statue creating the d.n.i. the executive order it is said that it should go to somebody who has some intelligence experience that would be the preferred candidate he's a congressman a couple term congressman former u.s. attorney former mayor of a very small city in texas so he's going to have to face confirmation now again the republicans control the senate and they have been able to pretty much give the president exactly what he wants when it comes to his nominees but the intelligence community in which he is 1st to have t

. >>> and the end of a tumultuous tenure, dan coats is set to leave next month after he and president trump reportedly clashed over issues ranging from russia to north korea. >>> but we begin with president trump again attacking a minority member of congress. and an entire community. this time it's congressman elijah cummings and the city of baltimore and so far it's been mostly crickets from his fellow republicans. cummings, of course, the chair of the oversight committee investigating the administration, he was the target of an onslaught, at least 19 tweets by the president over the weekend and into this morning. his defenders struggling to answer for him. >> plus, look at what he said and why he did it. congressman cummings has sat there and attacked our border patrol agents. all right. this reminds me of what happened to soldiers coming back from vietnam. >> that justifies a racial resentment tweet in response. is that presidential leadership? >> well, look, i didn't do the tweets, chuck. >> i didn't do the tweets. critics didn't hold back labeling the tweets racist, including the

the us director of national intelligence, dan coats, has announced his resignation. he and president trump have had many disagreements over policy. the personal doctor of the jailed russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, says she believes he's been exposed to an unknown chemical, possibly administered by someone else. mr navalny was taken to hospital on sunday, reportedly suffering from an allergic reaction. his doctor says he's had acute swelling, discharge from his eye and rashes on his neck, back, chest and wrists. she and another doctor were only able only to observe him through a door. mr navalny was jailed last week for calling for unauthorised protests. the funeral has been held in cuba for cardinaljaime ortega, the former—archbishop of havana and one of the most important figures in the catholic church in latin america. cardinal ortega was crucial in helping to rebuild the relationship between the church and the communist—run government on the island, and helped mediate a rapprochement between washington and havana in 2014. but he also had his critics

and stunnel trump's top spy chief is stepping down dan coats will resign as the director of national intelligence next month since being appointed by trump and $27.00 seen cote says directly contradicted his boss several times as mike hanna reports. why this was the moment that it would appear most and good president trump flanked by soprano intelligence chiefs dan coats presents the annual worldwide threat assessment to the senate intelligence committee and essentially says that the basis for the president's enthusiastic endorsement of north korea and good intentions is not just flawed but wrong we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wm d. capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival. in response the president angrily tweeted that intelligence should go back to school and i think. you. know i disagree with certain things that they said i think on the way but time will prove that time will prove me right probably then an oval o

he will nominate texas congressman john radcliffe to replace coats. nbc's tracie potts joining us with the latest. tracie, the president and coats have had aomhat rocky relationship at times. >> reporter: yeah, no question, phillip. it's clear they were not always in lockste who can forget dan coats sitting next to andrea mitchell when she announced to him that russian president vladimir putin had been invited to visit the white house. sided, sort ofed it off.nd then there w north korea where dan coats said publicly they had no intention of giving up their nuclear weapons in conflict with what president trump had said. now coats is leaving as of the middle of next month, augustin 15th, accordg to a tweet by the president. his replacement,t at lease nominee for his replacement, will be john radcliffe, a former u.s. attorney, former small town mayor in tex, and representing the northeast part of texas. northeast of dallas and fort worth. but it was in this hearing with robert mueller last week that radcliffe really impressed thewi president his comments

. >>> another week, another shakeup at the white house dan coats is stepping down in august following a rocky relationship with president trump throughout his tenure. the president will also announce that he will nominate john radcliffe to replace coats >> reporter: dan coats oversees 17 different intelligence agencies but his tenure was often at odds with president trump over issues with issues like white house and north korea. >> vladimir putin is coming come to the white house in the fall >> say this again. >> vladimir putin coming to the white house -- >> did i hear you? >> yeah. >> okay. >> that's going to be special. >> reporter: coats also -- >> north korea will seek to mape tain its wmd capabilities and unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities. >> reporter: the president announcing coats' replacement, john radcliffe >> donald trump is not above the law, but he shouldn't be below the law. >> reporter: doubling down on attacks against a baltimore congressman calling him racist but cummings getting support in his hometown saying this is a pre

dan coats is resigning. president trump took to twitter to announce his successor, congressman john ratcliffe of texas. twitter is where chuck schumer announced his opposition to the pick, saying it's clear it's because he exhibited blind loyalty to donald trump. if he's elevated to a position requiring intelligence expertise, it would be a mistake. to discuss, we have bill in washington. you had folks on both sides of the aisle praising dan coats, even mitch mcconnell talking about how this should be a nonpartisan position. what do we know about whether redcliff will make it through the senate and take the job? bill: it's going to be an interesting but tough pathway for him. the reaction from a lot of senators, including many republicans, is that they really don't know much about redcliff at all. he raised his profile a little bit during the mueller hearing last week when he offered some very harsh questioning of the former special counsel. we know the white house was looking at him at one point as a possib

coats leaving, others all but gone. jumping off what david just said, tim, it seems as if the president is choosing to surround himself with yes men, filling all of those positions with people that agree with him on every level. we know where dan coats sat on north korea. they will not let up on the nuclear weapons. he said iran is not developing nuclear weapons right now. he said actually russia did interfere in the u.s. elections. all things that were the antithesis of what the president was putting out there on a daily basis. >> and it's my understanding that one of the initial things that turned the president against coats was coats was one of the few people in the oval office to recommend that they not fire jim comey, and that that stuck with the president, that he felt everyone else around him including jared kushner said you should get rid of this guy, protect yourself. get him out of the way. and coats said, you shouldn't do that. and i think one of the themes that has stayed around dan coats is he envisioned hi

i think dan coats was dismissed as a chamber of commerce republican from indiana. look at what his challenge has been under this boss and the ram parts he has built up around this job so jeremy, same can question to you. address what his loss would mean >> i couldn't agree more with general mccaffrey. dan coats is a highly capable, highly honorable public servient and though he comes from the political side of the house, having served as a republican senator and republican ambassador, he has done the job in a nonpolitical way, in a nonpartisan way and what he's done is kept the intelligence community off the so-called ax he's really kept them out of the line of fire for the most part from the president although the president has of course been launching bride sides about the quote unquote deep state by and large the community has its nose down and serving its purpose and dan coats has been ably leading them. a loss of dan coats would be ea problem unless they replace him with a career person like his current deputy, sue gordon. but it they bring in somebody highly

the us director of national intelligence, dan coats, has announced his resignation. he and president trump have had many disagreements over policy. the personal doctor of the jailed russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, says she believes he's been exposed to an unknown chemical, possibly administered by someone else. mr navalny was taken to hospital on sunday, reportedly suffering from an allergic reaction. he was jailed last week for calling for unauthorised protests. more than 1,000 people were detained on saturday, and the eu criticised the disproportionate use of force against the protesters. steve fish is politics professor at the university of california, berkeley. he's also authored a book on russia called democracy derailed. he gave his opinion on the authorities‘ response to the demonstrations. this is a sign that putin is upping his tactics now. he is feeling quite insecure at home. it is looking like he is flying internationally right now. in other ways, putin seems to be doing very well internationally. but at homes, he has a stagnant economy, he h

intelligence dan coats will step down. the president tweeting this moments ago. i am pleased to announce that highly respected congressman john ratcliffe of texas will be nominated by me to be the director of national intelligence, a former u.s. attorney, john will lead and inspire greatness for our country he loves. dan coats, the current director, will be leaving office on august 15th. i'd like to thank dan for his great service to our country. the acting director will be

as a potential replacement for coats. he's had discussions with the white house about potentially taking that job, but brooke, we know that president trump is no stranger to creating a vacancy without having a permanent replacement in the pipeline, we don't know when or if the president will make his move on coats. >> you got that. >> sara westwood, thank you very much. a cnn legal analyst back with us today. she's the editorial page editor for the miami herald which broke open the epstein case massively last fall. the paper did a deep dive into alex acosta's work. how a future trump cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime. >> starting with you, obviously, acosta did not survive the white house. legally speaking. what might this mean for him? >> i think acosta's biggest concern is the investigation that the department of justice is doing internally, to look at the process of that plea agreement. to me, he's got two big problems. the bottom line in that plea deal is beyond anything you could explain

well dan coats so also was someone who did not have a deep intelligence back. around and it's important to know that as the director of national intelligence it is not necessarily the role of the director to and search their opinion in these issues the primary role is to call the information from 17 different intelligence agencies and then take that information and provide the best analysis the best counsel and advice to the president of the united states and what we saw over and over was dan coats was someone who was who was a studiously and gauged in taking the information what was given to him and providing that to the president and that was an issue but and do you think that that's something that john that cliff. while given that john radcliffe has shown himself to be someone who is willing to attack and the intelligence agencies we do know that he has called for the attorney general william barr to actually to prosecute and go after the intelligence agency i think we could see in an area an issue where he could be at odds with the very agencies that he is

dan coats now out as director of national intelligence. and the president's pick to take over, one of his biggest defenders over on capitol hill, congressman john ratcliffe from texas. you may remember him from the mueller hearings. he may have used it to audition for the president. >> i agree with the chairman when he said donald trump is not above the law. he's not. but he damn sure shouldn't be below the law, which is where volume 2 of this report puts him. >> joining me here on set, former cia director john brennan and senior national security and intelligence analyst. great to have you on the show. >> good morning. >> your reaction overall that he is accepting dan coats resignation. >> i think he did an admirable job in a difficult time. he had the independence and the integrity that the men and women of the intelligence community expect. mr. ratcliffe, however, appears to be somebody who is more interested in pleasing donald trump. he doesn't have intelligence background. he is on the intelligence committee in the house. but that is

dan coats was an unlikely hero. he was a politician himself but he won the trust of his workforce by pushing back the day of the helsinki summit when donald trump seemed to be siding with vladimir putin on his own. dan coats released a statement essentially defending the intelligence community. he didn't ask permission of the white house. he just did it and people loved him for that. the workforce in the intelligence community as near as i can tell is traumatized. people are looking over their shoulders. they're worried does anybody have their back? there's increasingly a narrative about the deep state being pushed by republican members of congress. they feel that they're in the bull's-eye. the final point to make, this may be the most important one, we depend for our security on the cooperation of key intelligence partners around the world who can get to places that our intelligence officers can't. those services i know are increasingly worried about sharing their most precious secrets with the united states becaus

dan coats is a public servant of tremendous dignity and good judgment army vet, congressman, senator, ambassador to germany and he's objective. so i think and jeremy i know knows a lot about this the biggest problem you can have is when you're intelligence system tells you things they want you -- they think you want to know. so i don't know mr. flight general dunford's name is floating around. mr. trump doesn't like independent objective advice. >> jeremy bash, dan coats and your old boss are polls apart kind of personality-wise i do believe dan coats was kind of unfairly dismissed as a kind of chamber of commerce republican from indiana look at what his challenge has been under this boss and the ramparts he's built up around this job so jeremy, same question to you, address what his loss would mean. >> i couldn't agree more with general mccaffrey. dan coats is a highly capable, highly honorable public servant and comes from the political side of the house having served as a republican senator and republican ambassador, he's done the job in a non-political way in a non-partisan way an

just how big are the differences between coats and ratcliff? >> they're both republicans but that appears to be where the similarities end. coats distinguished himself in the job by standing up to the president on behalf of the intelligence community. he testified before congress iran was complying with the nuclear deal, north korea was unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons, and russia was continuing to interfere in our politics. those are all things the opposite of what trump was saying at the time. so in short, coats appeared willing to speak truth to power. speaking to andrea mitchell last summer he made clear that he thought it was ridiculous that president trump was inviting vladimir putin to the white house, a meeting that never happened. ratcliffe by contrast is about as partisan a republican as we have in congress and he has been sort of hewing to the conspiracy theories about the origins of the russia investigation. he said yesterday he believed obama administration officials committed crimes in launching that investigation. we don't

the president says his top spy chief stepping down dan coats will resign as the director of national intelligence next month his departure follows weeks of speculation after a public disagreement with donald trump on foreign policy mike hanna has this report . this was the moment that it would appear most and good president trump replying to vice fellow intelligence chiefs dan coats presents the annual worldwide threat assessment to the senate intelligence committee and essentially says that the basis for the president's enthusiastic endorsement of north korea and good intentions is not just flawed but wrong we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wm d. capabilities it is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival. in response the president angrily tweeted that intelligence should go back to school today. no i disagree with certain things that they said i think on the way but time will prove that time will prove me right probably then an oval off

only nicorette gum has patented dual-coated technology for great taste. plus intense craving relief. every great why, needs a great how. lick fast like a cookie dough ninja. apply that same speed to the ford hurry up and save sales event. for the first time ever get 20% estimated savings on select ford models, plus earn complimentary maintenance through fordpass rewards. it all adds up. don't you love math? so get here asap because tasty deals and summer go fast. get in or lose out on 20% estimated savings on select ford models, plus earn complimentary maintenance through fordpass rewards. and my side super soft? be firm? plus earn complimentary maintenance through with the sleep number 360 smart bed you can both... adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. so, can it help us fall asleep faster? yes, by gently warming your feet. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. will it help me keep up with him? yup. so, you can really promise be

president says his top spy chief is stepping down than coats will resign as the director of national intelligence next month his departure follows weeks of speculation up to a public disagreement with donald trump on foreign policy by ken explains this was the moment that it would appear most and good president trump flanked by some fellow intelligence chiefs dan coats presents the annual worldwide threat assessment to the senate intelligence committee and essentially says that the basis for the president's enthusiastic endorsement of north korea and good intentions is not just flawed but wrong we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wm d. capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival. in response the president angrily tweeted that intelligence should go back to school. you. know i disagree with certain things that they said i think on the right but time will prove that from time will prove me right probably then an oval office m

coats doubted kim and said he believed he was lying to president trump. intelligence repo have since backed up that idea that north korea has not andoned its weapons program with coats leaving, president trump is already selected the man he wants to replace him, congressman john radcliftcliff been asked totep up. congressman ratcliff is familiar with matters of national security. coats will stay in his position until august 15e and we ar waiting to learn who confirmation hearings concerning ratcliff will be held. >>> in puerto rico, the woman ne this li to replace the island's outgoing governor does not want the job. she hopes the secretary of state will be appointed. rossello allegedly insulted people of an online chat that was leaked. >>> in moscow, oer the weekend, riot police slashed with demonstrators and thousands of arrests were made. russian s authorities the protesters are illegal but it's not clear what charges who have been arrested will face. >>> heads-up for iphone users. when you ask siri for help, others may be listening in. a whistle-blowe

coates strongly defended u.s. intelligence agencies and their assessment that russia interfered in the 2016 election. he was famously caught off guard by news of a trump/putin meeting. >> i do want to say, we have some breaking news. the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall. >> say that again. >> you -- vladimir putin coming -- >> did i hear new. >> yeah. yeah. >> okay. >> yeah. >> that's going to be special. >> special reaction there. coates' resignation effective august 15th. >>> president trump escalating his twitter campaign against a leading african-american congressman over the weekend. on saturday trump attacked maryland democrat elijah cummings calling his majority district a disgusting rat and rodent infested mess. that draw accusations of racism. he called cummings a risist and accused him of being a racist. >> dave and christine, president trump on sunday doubling down on his attacks of congressman elijah cummings and his district following up

the us president meanwhile has announced that the director of national intelligence dan coats will be the latest figure to leave his administration donald trump announced this on twitter saying that he will nominate republican congressman john rachleff to replace and his departure follows weeks of speculation that intensified following a public disagreement with the president on foreign policy mike hanna points. why this was the moment that it would appear most and good president trump to be a threat flanked by soprano intelligence chiefs dan coats presents the annual worldwide threat assessment of the senate intelligence committee or mine and essentially says that the basis for the president's enthusiastic endorsement up north korea and good intentions is not just floored but wrong we currently assess that north korea will seek to retain its wm d. capabilities in is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival in response the president angrily tweeted that intelligence

again i dan coats was the last national security figure left from the very 1st trump cabinet and even though he had no intelligence background he'd earned bipartisan respect in congress with many messages of support in recent weeks d.n.i. dan coats is a good friend to former senate colleague and leader of integrity who's always served our country well said senator susan collins i served on the joint economic committee with dan coats as representative done by a he was widely respected and trusted by everyone on both sides is a man of integrity but trump doesn't want integrity he wants people who tell him what he wants to hear and intel leaders who will agree that 2 plus 2 equals 5 and i'd be your offspring it's unlikely that dan coats will read to children with his wife at another white house easter egg roll. it was a boy. was a girl and enjoyed disagreement with no consequence to like the story mike hanna al-jazeera washington. britain has sent a 2nd warship to the goal to protect u.k. flying to vessels crossing the strait of hormuz the h.m.s. duncan has joined a british forget alread

he's very different than dan coats. dan coats, while obviously a republican, former senator, spent a lot of time on the hill a partisan over a career, least understood the purpose of the job was not to be political but to be as sober minded and neutral, advocate of the intelligence agencies as one can be in that position. he spent a lot of time in that position. john rat cliff is well respected by a lot of the republican peers, particularly on the conservative side, but has very little resume that would naturally suit this job, probably less than anybody since the job was first created in the years after 9/11. some of the senate republicans made clear they're lukewarm about this. senator burr, richard burr of north carolina, the republican chairman of the intelligence committee, said he only spoke with congressman rat cliff last night for the first time. doesn't know him. and his comments today indicated that he was not at all necessarily sold on him at this point. >> peter, is there anything in his resume that would st

sources indicated that coats had eyes on retirement. the two men disagreed on multiple occasions, on a variety of issues. the president being contradicted frequently by coats when it comes to russian election meddling, his outlook on vladimir putin, kim jong-un, north korea, and the list goes on. that infuriated president trump but this departure, it seems, was relatively on good terms, the president thanking dan coats for his service and announcing that representative john ratcliffe would be his nominee to replace him. i am pleased to announce that john ratcliffe of texas will be nominate bid me to be the director of national intelligence. a former u.s. attorney, john will lead and inspire greatness for the country he loves. dan coats, current directer, will be leaving office august 15th. because of his questioning of robert mueller, very aggressive, clearly in line with president trump's belief that this investigation was inappropriate and potentially the result of a deep state conspiracy against him. president trump apparently a big

dan coats is stepping down as director of national intelligence in august following a rocky relationship with president trump throughout his tenure the president also announced he will nominate texas congressman john radcliffe to replace coats. nbc's hans nichols has more. >> reporter: dan coats over sees 17 different intelligence es, but his tenure was often at odds with president trump over issues including north korea and russia >> the white house has announced on twitter that vladimir putin is coming to the white house in the fall >> say that again? [ laughter ] >> vladimir putin -- >> did i hear you? >> yeah, yeah. >> okay. [ laughter ] >> that's going to be special. [ laughter ] >> reporter: coats also publicly contradicted the president on kim jong-un's willingness to give up his nuclear weapons. >> north korea will seek to retain its wmd capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities. >> reporter: the president announcing coats' replacement, congressman john radcliffe who impressed him during the mueller hearing last week. >> do

he's very different than dan coats. dan coats, while obviously a republican, former senator, spent a lot of time on the hill a partisan over a career, least understood the purpose of the job was not to be political but to be as sober minded and neutral, advocate of the intelligence agencies as one can be in that position. he spent a lot of time in that position. yawn rat -- john ratcliffe is respected by by a lot of the republican peers, particularly on the conservative side, but has very little resume that would naturally suit this job, probably less than anybody since the job was first created in the years after 9/11. some of the senate republicans made clear they're lukewarm about this. senator burr, richard burr of north carolina, the republican chairman of the intelligence committee, said he only spoke with congressman ratcliffe last night for the first time. doesn't know him. and his comments today indicated that he was not at all necessarily sold on him at this point. >> peter, is there anything in his resume tha