[Christine Romans, Cnn:] Controversial Senate candidate one week to Election Day.
[Unidentified Male:] Frankly, the idea that our president is above the law is Nixonian.
[Davi Briggs, News Day Co-host:] The president's legal strategy causing widespread confusion even as the lawyers not on the same page. We have the latest on the Russia investigation.
[Billy Bush, Former Access Hollywood:] You're reopening wounds on them too. Enough is enough. Stop playing around with people's lives.
[Romans:] And Billy Bush venting in his first public interview since the access Hollywood tape went public. What he say about the president in the way that sexual misconduct claims, now resurfacing. All right 30 minutes half an hour welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
[Briggs:] I'm Dave Briggs. It is 4:30 eastern time. We start with the Alabama Election, one week before voters go to the polls in Alabama, a new fracture in the Republican Party over senate candidate Roy Moore. On Monday President Trump for the first time threw his full support behind Moore, the accused child molester, first in his tweet. Democrat's refusal to give even one vote for massive tax cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama.
[Romans:] And then in a phone call to the candidate the campaign say the president called Moore, called him a fighter and finished up by saying "Go Get them, Roy." Last night the Republican National Committee joined the president in backing Moore after walking away from him last month over those allegations of improper sexual conduct. And officials say the RNC will transfer money to the Alabama Republican party.
[Briggs:] But Moore's potential Senate colleagues are refusing to budge. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee Colorado's Cory Gardner sticking to the position he laid out last month. He said then he believes Moore's accusers and added if he refuses to withdraw and wins the senate should vote to expel him because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the United States Senate. Many other Republican senators not so thrilled with the idea of working side by side with Moore.
[Sen. Jeff Flakes , Arizona:] I still think it's unfortunate. We're going have a tough enough time in the coming years and being the party of Roy Moore is not going to help.
[Sen. Bill Cassidy , Louisiana:] I've learned long ago that voters don't want to be told from Washington who to vote for. I've made my position clear on Mr. Moore. But again it's not up me or the president. It's up to the people of Alabama.
[Romans:] And then this digging in as a committed Moore opponent former Republican nominee Mitt Romney he tweeted, "Roy Moore in the U.S. Senate would be a stain on the GOP of the nation. Lee Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes, no vote, no majority is worth losing our honor and integrity."
[Briggs:] Not shying from a fight, Moore responded, "Either Mitt Romney has lost his courage or he doesn't care about truth anymore. Sad day America's reawakening was led by Donald Trump not you Mitt", ironically the hash-tag during the swamp appearing on that tweet. Poll showing that he raised the Washington Post. Moore's Democratic opponent Doug Jones is up by 3 points well within the poll's margin of error.
[Romans:] The president set to attend the opening of the Mississippi civil rights museum on Saturday after holding a rally in Florida on Friday which means the president will be in two states that border Alabama without ever actually being in Alabama before the election.
[Briggs:] Series of new twists and President Trump is constantly shifting legal strategy for the Russia investigation. The president opened the
[Romans:] That claim drew howls of protests from critics and by late Monday a White House lawyer Ty Cobb was down playing it telling "The Washington Post" the theory is not the president's official legal strategy. Cobb said, "It's interesting as a technical legal issue. But the president's lawyers intend to present a fact-based defense not a mere legal defense." As for whether the president can in fact obstruct justice it is worth noting that articles of impeachment against both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton did include obstruction charges.
[Briggs:] As we've now also learned another White House lawyer told President Trump in January, he believed Flynn had misled the FBI as well as Vice President Pence. That raises new questions about what the president knew when he urged then FBI Director Jim Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn, something by the way the president says never happened.
[Romans:] It also appears the testimony of a former deputy to Michael Flynn does not line up with core documents. K.T. McFarland told the Senate Committee she was not aware of any communications between Michael Flynn and the Russian Ambassador Sertgey Kislyak. That contradicts a court filing that says Flynn spoke to a senior transition team official about what to discuss with Kislyak.
[Briggs:] CNN has reported McFarland was the senior transition official. But she is not mentioned by name in the court filing. A representative for McFarland could not be reached for comment.
[Romans:] FBI Director Chris Wray responding now to President Trump's claims that the bureau's reputation is quote in tatters. Wray sending an agency wide e-mail that reads "because of the importance of the mission, we are also entrusted with great power and we should expect and welcome people asking tough questions about how we use that power. We find ourselves under the microscope each and every day and rightfully so."
[Briggs:] Wray finished off with one of his favorite work ethics slogans. "keep calm and tackle hard." Wray did not mention President Trump by name though. The president's criticism of the FBI intensified after it was revealed one of the bureaus top experts have been removed from the special council's investigation over a potential anti-Trump bias.
[Romans:] CNN has learned that the expert Peter Strzok is the person who changed a key phrase when James Comey described how Hillary Clinton handled classified information. He changed it from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless."
[Briggs:] Billy Bush speaking out for the first time since NBC fired him. Overnight he sold Stephen Colbert he felt like he got hit in the gut when he first heard himself Donald Trump on that infamous Access Hollywood tape days before it leaped. And that the president delivered a second gut on by recently questioning the tapes authenticity.
[Bush:] He last week, for some reason came out with, "That's not my voice on the tape." Like I said you can't say that. That is your voice I was there, you were there, that's your voice on the tape. And what that does though is multiple I told you about my own personal problem with it. But then you've got 20 women at the time. I don't know what the exact number because there's more, but 20 women who used their names. We've got powerful people being held accountable now. And sometimes there's unanimous sources. All of these women came out with their names and told their detailed accounts. Twenty women don't get together and say, "Hey, you know, what would be really fun let's take down a powerful guy together ha, ha." No, they don't. And their names should and I said OK. You're reopening wounds on them too. Enough is enough. Stop playing around with people's lives that upset me.
[Romans:] One interesting side note, Billy Bush told Colbert former "Today Show" host Matt Lauer spoke privately to NBC executives trying to save Bush's job when the tape leaked last year.
[Briggs:] Michigan Congressman John Conyers will make an announcement on the radio this morning. No official work on the content though. But the "New York Times" reports Conyers plans to announce he will not seek reelection amid allegations he sexually harassed former members of his staff. The Times sites Ian Conyers the grandson of the congressman's brother who tells the Times he plans to run for the seat.
[Romans:] The 88-year-old Conyers is the longest serving current serving member of the House. He already gave up his position as ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee as Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi have both said Conyers should resign. The younger Conyers expects the congressman to finish his term.
[Briggs:] All right, breaking over night, a fast-moving fire in California, charring 10,000 acres. Hundreds of thousands without power, one person is dead. That's next on "EARLY START."