Constant communication with russian senior officials all this coming to light after the National Security adviser resigned. Michael flynn admitted quote he gave incomplete information. The story, he initially denied they talked sanctions and later that story changed today the president did not address that or the fact that his Campaign Aides were talking to russia but did praise the man whose resignation he just tendered. I think hes been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as i call it the fake media in many cases and i think its really a sad thing he was treated so badly. I think in addition to that from intelligence papers are being leaked, things are being leaked its a criminal act and its been going on a long time, even b before me, but now its really going on and people are trying to cover up a terrible loss that the democrats had under hillary clinton. I think it was very, very unfair general flynn the way he was treated and from what was illegally, i stress that illegally leaked. David, first to you, you just heard the sound from the president praising flynn as a great guy. And he had to go because of unfair media reports and these leaks. 24 hours ago we heard a very different story from sean spicer saying it was an erosion of trust and he misled the Vice President. Two very different statements. Whos telling the truth . We dont know whos telling the truth but we know the president clearly doesnt feel the same way as what sean spicer put out in this line because both things really cant be true, right . Donald trump cant say he had to go simply because of the unfair free treatment in the media, when yesterday we were told there was this eroded trust that became unsustainable. What seems to be the flaw here from Michael Flynn is that his line of Vice President pence became exposed to the public. That seems to be why he had to go from Donald Trumps mind. He didnt say one thing ant the trust issue that sean spicer spoke about yesterday. The fact that his Campaign Aides were in Constant Contact with russia even before he was elected he was not directly asked about that again. Other than our own jim akos s acosta trying to shout the question. That doesnt count. It is befuddling, donald trump in january said flat out no. Well, this reporting is the opposite of that, so that needs to be squared in some way and donald trump should relish the opportunity because what is not being reported on neither the New York Times nor us is reporting the content of these Communications Even somehow suggesting that it had to do with the dnc hack, but that hangs out there until trump addresses it so put everything out there to say what was the nature of the contact so they can try to turn the nature on the story. No one knows the content. Thats russia, then you have israel, thats where i want to bring you in clari rissrissclar. As far as settlements i would like to see you hold back on settlements a little bit. Well work something out but i would like to see a deal be made i think a deal will be made. Bb and i have known each other a long time, a smart man, great negotiator, and were going to have a great deal, it might be even a bigger deal than people in this room understand. So lets see what we do. Lets start. Doesnt sound too optimistic, but good negotiator. Thats the art of the deal. So im looking at twostate, and onestate and i like the one that both parties like. Im very happy with the one that both parties like. I could live with either one. I thought for a while the twostate looked like it may be the easier of the two, but honestly if bb and the israel and the palestinians are happy im happy with the one they like the best. Hes a good negotiator. Thats the art of the deal. Theres lafter, but hold back on settlements, thats not what Prime Minister netanyahu wanted to hear. Its not what he wanted to hear, but what he expected to hear, we have seen several member of the the Trump Administration including the president come out in recent weeks saying they dont think this is conducive or helpful towards establishing peace. To me what was more eye catching or alarming was the idea that it could be a twostate solution or a onestate solution as if its a kind of tomatotomato issue. That is breaking decades of International Protocol and u. S. President s for a long time now all espoused the idea that a twostate solution is preferable, i dont i dont think Prime Minister netanyahu will be disappointed but i think its bizarre to have a press conference before you really get into the knitty gritty and nuts and bolts how this panned out. This was about showing the world a new united front a new chapter in the page of u. S. Israeli relationships. The Prime Minister and his wife walking into the white house. Five steps later theyre in front of global press before they have the chat which is not normal protocol. Let me add another bizarre layer where you had this other israeli reporter asking trump about these antiis a msemitic attack. Here it was. We are going to have peace in this country, we are going to stop crime in the country, we are going to do everything within our power to stop longsimmering racism and Everything Else thats going on, i think one of the reasons i won the election is because we have a very, very divided nation, very divided and ill hopefully be able to do something about that. Youre going to see a lot of love, a lot of love. Doesnt condemn the attacks, mentions the Electoral College again and then talks about love. Bizarre . I thought that last part of him saying we are divides as weve ever been and that is true and that he hopes to do something about that. He did talk about this on his Election Night victory, but it would really be great to see what actions he wants to put behind that notion of healing. Barack obama was talking about this one of his great frustrations what he sees as one of his own failings was that he wasnt able to break through the divide, donald trump starting his presidency thinks theres a way to do it. But it would be great to hear what are some of the solutions to bring together some of those divisions. A senior republican source says it is likely Michael Flynn could be called to testify as a Senate Intelligence committee investigates. No doubt if and when the retired general is called upon he will face tough questions about which staffers, which aides within the Trump Campaign were in that frequent and constant communication with which senior russian officials. I have with me the author of debriefing the president john nixon, a former analyst with the cia, also eli lake, columnist for bloomberg view. Thank you much for joining me. You gave this sobering sort of 30,000foot view of this Current Situation of the white house and with flynn and when you read through this piece you show how both sides could be in the right here. Well, i think that on the one hand, i am one of the journalists who has raised a lot of concerns about russian interference and the election, and i hope that it is investigated fully, but there is an extraordinary moment where through anonymous leaks of monitored conversations with an american citizen before he was a National Security adviser they were able to within less than a month of a new presidency knockout the National Security adviser. And, i guess to use a word thats sort of gaining a lot of traction today my hope is that that is not normalized in our country because i believe that is a kind of police state tactic where you do not have an opportunity to confront your accusers and this is an issue of public trust and we need do this to stop foreign criminals and foreign subversion but when that is made public selectively it can be used to destroy reputations and political revenge. Thats what we associate with countries like egypt and not liberal democracies. Eli, what do you think about that . I will very much agree with what he just said. I think flynn was his own architect of his own downdownfa. He was kind of a loose cannon ive been told that from a number of people and some of the things he wanted to do were illegal in terms of foreign policy, and if we want to get to the bottom, we should be able to see the transcripts of the phone calls picked up. If the leaks are coming from the Intelligence Community they usually are not caused by personal petty vendettas. If its intel why are they leaking so much . They dont burn messages over personal vendettas but will do something over what they think are poorly thought out ideas or policy proposals, if President Trump wants to have new relations are russia if he wants russian help with isis and get nato the pay more of their share, thats fine thats what President Trump was elect toded do, if he just has the National Security adviser has the president s ear then going behind his back and talking to the Russian Ambassador were going to make these changes dont worry about it thats another story all together and could lead to disaster, so if this is coming from the Intelligence Community its probably concern over the proposed changes the white house is thinking about. If the Intelligence Community has problems with proposed policy changes there are channels within the government for which they should do that. Are susure. Im a proponent of leaks, but when youre talking about communications of american citizens like this monitored, were crossing a line, also considering they quoted numerous sources of current and former officials the former part does lead one to think there are obama holdovers motivated politically. It smells really fishy to me. And i want to say i dont buy at all they had to inform and do all this because flynn might be susceptible to blackmail. That seems like the thinnest read in this story. As i understand it there are many different ways to read those conversations in and of itself for mike flynn to have a conversation with the Russian Ambassador in that transition is neither illegal nor improper. If it was raised by the Russian Ambassador what are you going to do about sanctions, then it was give us a couple weeks and well see, i agree with you, lets see the transcripts, but im sorry this looks like abuse of power and abuse of trust in a lot of ways. You say that flynn is just the appetizer. Yes. Why . Because i think as a general rule, not just democrats but i think i do think a lot of permanent washington, the swamp for lack of better word, and im part of that swamp, wants to destroy donald trump, im not trying to give trump a free pass, read my work ive been very critical but basically caving in at this point and letting trump go it will continue to be open season. Sean is in the water. Can i add something . Quickly, john go ahead. I think as hard as it is for President Trump to do this now a year from now he might be glad that flynn left and if he gets harward in, he will be helpful. Flynn was also the director of the cia and also a professional. And now hes out under obama and President Trump. Will thank ythank you. Thank you. A former cia officer operative joins me live with reaction to trump and why one of the president s tweets is making him furious. And he may be one of the first cabinet picks to go down in flames. Why Top Republicans are urging the president to withdraw his secretary of labor pick. Breaking news now from capitol hill, Top Senate Republicans urging the white house to withdraw Andrew Puzder nomination. Manu, first to you there on capitol hill, how much jeopardy does this mean for puzder . Significant. Its unclear whether or not he survives tonight. Wow. Were hearing republicans in the senate are awaiting a decision from the white house whether to continue with the puzder nomination. Im told by a source there are up to 12 republican senators who could vote no on puzder and four firm no votes. If you look at the math, that means hes not going to get confirmed if those numbers hold true. You cant lose more than two. This is all happening behind the scenes as republicans try to determine whether or not puzder has enough support to get confirmed. Tomorrow is a critical confirmation hearing because at this point donald trump still has the ability to move forward, but everything piling up from a messy divorce, to hiring an undocumented immigrant, his views on policy, all leading to a perfect storm. Im told, brooke,s that republicans dont want to go through all this, take a hit for supporting him if at the end of the day he do you not get the votes to get confirmed so why not pull the plug right now. Thank you. Still no comment from the white house. And jamie, we talked to democrats on the hill, they dent like betsy devos, didnt like jeff sessions, what about puzder . Why is he going down in flames supposedly . What a difference a week makes. I really think what youre seeing is a change with the republicans. They are now willing to say to the white house were not going to go here. Youre not going to get the votes on it. Just say no. And the fact they didnt do it privately. Manu is a great reporter and they came out and told him this is not happening, so this is a pushback that we didnt see a week ago. Okay. Stay with me, because meantime, leaks, legal challenges, forced resignations, possible ethics violations, secret communications with an american adversary is the Trump Administration in turmoil just three weeks . Senator john mccain seems to think so. I think there are significant dysfunction in the National Security apparatus of the Trump Administration when you see that you dont know who is in charge, this flynn situation, the whole environment is one of dysfunction in the Trump Administration. He is not alone. Former director of the cia leon panetta echos this as well. Spanning nine president s, saying i have never been so nervous in my lifetime about what may or may not happen in washington. General tony thomas says our kwofrt continues to be in unbelievable turmoil uh. I hope they sort it out soon because were a nation at war. These are the usual suspects on capitol hill. Senator mccain, graham, rubio. Yes, senator roy blunt of missouri and senator bob corker of tennessee, these are two senior people who have been very quiet the first three and a half, four weeks and now we have some sound of them speaking out. Theyre concerned about these links with russia. Lets listen. I think its likely general flynn at some point will be asked to come and talk to the committee about both post election activities and any other activities he would be aware of. The base issue is getting to the bottom of what the russian interference was and what the relationship was with associates of the trump effort, so that is the big elephant this the room that has got to be dealt with in the most appropriate way. Hmm. What specifically do they want to know . What are they saying about the investigation . Look, senator mccain, Lindsey Graham they have been after this for a long time. This is a change in attitude, what im hearing is that the Senate IntelligenceCommittee Really that it is likely they are going to call general mike flynn. To testify. To testify. That they also are liking to ask two former officials, former dni clapper, former c ishlgsia dire brennan, those were the officials who briefed donald trump and what they want to know is go back to the howard baker line from water gate, what did the president know and when did he know it . So i am told this is going to be a very serious investigation, that the Senate Intelligence committee had an almost twohour conversation about broadening the scope of it. Jamie, thank you. Sure. Thank you. More breaking news President Trump pointing fingers at the media, on the firing of Michael Flynn. My next guest Evan Mcmullin with join me live. His reaction to everything thats been unfolding today. Also can President Trump have it both ways criticize Intelligence Leaks but also praise leaks . Lets discuss that. This just came out. This just came out. Wikileaks. I love wikileaks. From intelligence papers are being leaked, information is being leaked, its a criminal act and its been going on a really long time, even before me and theyre trying i think it was very unfair the documents and papers that were illegal leaked, its really unfair. Now one of former President Trumps rivals is with me. A former cia officer, today mcmullin tweeted in response, the classified information is illegally given out by intelligence like cancandy, so real scandal isnt that the president of the United States appears to be coopted by americas greatest adversary. Evan, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. What the president said today which is a direct contrast to what sean spicer said yesterday, where there was an erosion of trust to it was the media. The Trump Campaign, the trump team has had on going contact with the russian officials, o according to the New York Times, reussian intelligence officials, every week we hear more and more information about trump team ties to russia, we see trump acting on behalf of russia. I know its hard lots to cover and opportunities to ask Donald Trumps information or response to these issues is limited but the point is we have an american president who ran a campaign that was assisted by a foreign adversary, our greatest foreign adversary and during that period his team had Constant Contact with russian officials according to the New York Times with russian intelligence officers. I cannot stress how much this is how uncommon and how concerning this is. When youre running a campaign, especially a president ial campaign, the last thing you want to do as a candidate or the Candidates Team is have contact with a foreign adversary. But the fact that we know so much because of these leaks and these sources from our reporting or the Washington Post or wherever else your former cia, why are they so leaky . What are their concerns . Ill tell you theyre concerns are that donald trump poses a threat to the country because what they see in terms of his relationship with Vladimir Putin and to other russian intelligence officers, these people are deeply committed to our security. They risk their lives routinely for it overseas. And they have seen it playing out overtime that truly concerns them so while leaking in illegal, their first responsibility the oath they take when they first start their Service Requires them to defend the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. If something innefarious is going on, do you give the president leeway and say theres been too many leaks . Leaks are illegal and he can make the complaint and so it does have a certain validity, but so intelligence officials see a threat, theyre responding to that. Are any of these people ta youre talking to concerned about the president getting information . They are concerned about the briefings. Security briefings, but caught between the law on one hand and your oath on the other. Thats a discussion we can have and donald trump can make his complaints but should not overshadow the underlying issue here, we have an adversary trying toundermine, election, and now finding out the chief of National Security is having conversations with russian officials. We should know, should be able to listen to the transcripts. And the ramifications as a result. Im paraphrasing some folks in d. C. , john mccain has generally said theres no one in charge, leon panetta, most nervous hes been in his life. And now saying this cannot be because the nation is at war. I think its clear that is it administration is not functioni functioning appropriately. I hate to say this, but i do believe that weve entered into a period of governance instability in the United States. Instability. Yes. You could parse the word, perhaps use another word for it, but look vap Vladimir Putin wano destablealize our country and other democracies, now trying to succeed in the United States. This is why we dont eye line ourselves with foreign adversaries trying to influence our elections overtly and coverc covertdly. This is what happens. The u. S. Will quote moderate its commitment unless nato increases defense spending. Whats your reaction to that . General mattis is somebody i have a lot of respect for, it sounds like hes responding to President Trumps position on that. Global peace, it is absolutely critical. Donald trump has made an effort to under mimine i think the strength of nato to the benefits of Vladimir Putin. I think our nato partners should increase their commitment, many of them havent, but theres way to make that point to negotiate their fulfillment of their responsibilities without making a public ultimatum that end up weakening our own alliance and weakening our National Security so why would we do that and unfortunately thats donald trump and his team. With all due respect to general mattis who i respect deeply. Thank you for swinging by i really appreciate it. Thank you. Donald trump avoiding tough questions by only calling on conservative out lelets again today. How much longer can he keep up this strategy . And now a dreamer who was arrested by ice. Why was he being targeted according to his lawyer and might he be deported as early as friday . Well be right back. Welcome back, youre watching cnn im Brooke Baldwin. The president is pointing fingers at the media. The fact that trump aides on the campaign trail were in constant communication with russia wasnt addressed. The president once again only taking questions from conservative newsoutlets, this is the recent track record, today he called on the Christian Broadcasting Network and town ha townha townhall. Com. They did not ask him to confirm or deny essentially the story of the day. Lets talk to a legal analyst for abc news. Thanks for swinging back by. My colleague jim acosta either sitting front row in a press Briefing Daily in the east room shouting this question to the president about the news of the day, hes in a fix. Two things, the trump team is saying this to the media. Thats number one, number two is of course he doesnt want to deal with the really tough questions. Now thats not to suggest these conservative out lelets arent going to ask him tough questions, some will. But you cant hide from the Mainstream Media. I think the trump team is under estimating the influence of the Mainstream Media. This is strategic from the white house, lets be clear. I think this is bannon and trump basically saying the Mainstream Media doesnt matter. Were going to keep talking about the fake this and the fake that and we dont really care what they say. Okay, thats fine. Were not going to call on them in press conferences, you can say that all you want. But look what happened to mr. Flynn, thats because of the Media Coverage, it doesnt mean that the Media Coverage got him out. It means you cant avoid the mainstream reporting of the media, you cant call them fake. But President Trump stood up there and said general flynn is a wonderful man, im paraphrasing, it was the fake media who treated him like this. And 24 hours earlier it was sean spicer who said it was an erosion of trust. So hes making it sownund li the media got rid of flynn. No, they exposed facts surrounding flynn as a result, there were consequences and again i will say they under estimate the media at their own peril. Theyre trying to under mimi the media. Do you think its working . Yeah, i think it works some. Are they effectively getting people to question the media . Yeah. I dont think thats not a bad thing, do they have a percentage of people who will never trust Mainstream Media . Yes. What about then candidate trump saying i love wikileaks. Look, look, you should read this. But now theyre really leeks. Can he have it both way ss . Of course he can. Coming back to the media, journalists hate hypocrisy, they like to point out inconsistencies, if youre going to name call, which the media does like, at least back ate up with facts, dont just name call. Thats not politics. Thats journalism today and i think people are confusing this idea that well, people are after trump. Theyre after trump for a lot of reasons. Does the media like donald trump . Of course not. Why . Because he insults them all the time so the media isnt going to like him but that doesnt mean they cant report on him fairly, but you can continue to attack and continue to under mimine bu you are going to pay a price in the end. Remember gary hart, he said follow me around, follow me around and see what happens. And the media followed him around. And the media is going to follow donald trump around, not like gary hart, but if they dont pay close attention and care more, theyre going to find themselves in bigger trouble. This is week four. Week four. And its great for media sites. Blowing up. Blowing up. Thank you for coming by. Up next, the first undocumented immigrant who came in under president obamas dreamer, is he a member of a gang and being possibly going to be deported illegally . Well get the facts next. President trumps new immigration policy setting off more protests and a federal lawsuit in seattle because Daniel Ramirez the first dreamer arrested by ice. He was authorized to stay in the u. S. Under the daca act, it allows children to stay in the u. S. , work or school if their parents brought them here illegally. His parents brought him here at seven years of age, but he was arrested last week during a raid that initially targeted his father. They say hes a selfconfessed gang member. His Attorney Says he was forced to say that in his confession and now they are demanding that he be released. His legal team is with me right now. Thanks for joining me. Thanks, glad to be with you. What happened during the raid. Why did ice show up in the first place . Our understanding friday morning around 9 9 00 a. M. , fo or five ice officers came to arrest the father of ramirez, they had specific information about the father and in fact affected an arrest, but that was the only focus of activity that is daniels father. So the father and then daniel himself . Daniel was inside the residence and our understanding what happened next the father said ive got two sons, they have both got authorized work permits i want to let them know where im going, so they went at that point into the house to let the father let the sons know what was going on. Ice saw daniel there, they said to daniel give us your name, give us your date of birth, tell us where you were born, he answered all the questions, he then said he had a permiso, and they didnt listen to that and brought him down for questioning. Hes been daca authorized twice. Which is why the case is getting the attention it has. Thats right. Let me come back to that. Ice is saying that your client is a selfprofessed gang member, thats ice, which is why they say he was detained. What is your side of the story. That doesnt make any sense does it . Theres no criminal record attached to daniel, ice has access to every criminal data base, every gang data base in the universe. We have checked those data bases daniel is not part of those data bases, equally even more significantly hes been authorized twice to be a daca beneficiary, thats not a simple process, thats a process by which the individual gives up everything in his or her life, becomes an open book to the federal government, the department of Homeland Security in particular. A specific part of that criteria is do you have any criminal record, criminal attachments or gang affiliations or gang attachments. If theres anything close to a suspicion then he wouldnt get the authorization. Not even close, but was authorized as early as 2016. If he was really a selfprofessed gang member wouldnt you search the house, look for paraphernalia, wouldnt you call local Law Enforcement and say weve got a serious problem, a possible gang member you need to check this out. We have said to a asa, if you have any evidence, any evidence whatsoever that supports the claim that he is a gang member, come forward with it. Let us know what it is, and the response i got when i made that statement was im not aware of any such evidence. Let me move on because i only have so much time and i want to get to this very important question so he has this hearing on friday. Are you worried he will be deported on friday . Absolutely not. Why not . Because we have filed a lawsuit saying that this is unconstitutional and were going to if the government doesnt acknowledge a mistake was made in this case well take this and fight this as long and as hard as necessary supported by dreamer thes across the country, supported by alsorl sorts of individuals when the executive branch makes a promise that daca means after we have subjected to you to rigorous scrutiny, you can work, be in the military, pay taxes thats a solemn promise, thats the hallmark of a government of integrity and were here to enforce that representation. Lets stay in contact friday and find out exactly what happens to your point on Daniel Ramirez, mark rosen babaumrosen for your time. Top of the hour, youre watching cnn, im Brooke Baldwin breaking news from capitol hill Top Senate Republicans urging the white house to withdraw andy puzders nomination for labor secretary, and senator Elizabeth Warren says if puzder cant stand the heat he should get out of the kitchen. Lets go to manu raju. Its suppose to happen tomorrow. Whats the update . Im told thats likely to be cancelled. The word coming down that this nomination is expected to be withdrawn from the white house. Now that official word has not come down, so we dont know officially yet that puzder has dropped out but we are hearing