Finished a meeting with local leaders. They were near the niger border when their pickup trucks came under fire. The troops fighting back. Four of those men losing their lives before French Military assets came to their rescue. At some point during the firefight Sergeant Johnson got separated from his comrades. His body was found 48 hours later by niger een troupes and t known how he got there. How long he was alive. Why he was left behind. Joining me now as we sort out these details is our cnn senior diplomatic correspondent. Michelle, it appears the pentagon chief doesnt have the full story here. The lack of detailed information on how this happened, why the outcome, dismaying cnn is told by three officials even to the secretary of defense. He wants those answers. But there is an investigation going on. Doesnt seem like hes trying to rush the investigation. This is being handled by africa command. They are trying to establish a more detailed timeline, minutely minute if not more detailed of why and how this was so unexpected. The u. S. Intel sources who are in contact with these service members, they felt it was their assessment that it would be unlikely that they would be met with enemy fire. Why was that assessment as it was on that night . And we also know the investigation is going to incorporate all branches of the military, u. S. Intelligence is involved too. They want this to be very comprehensive to try to get some of those answers. And the lack of detail has been surprising as well as how this went down on the ground. Among the biggest questions are the intel situation, what exactly happened to sergeant la David Johnson. Was he alive when he was left behind. Why and how did that happen . All right. Very good questions that we dont have the answers to. Michelle, thank you so much. Senator john mccain says he may get a subpoena to learn the details of what happened in niger. Listen to what he said. I did have a good conversation with general mcmaster. We have a long friendship and we will hopefully get all the detail details. Will you wait for the department of defense to carry out whats on the ground . Thats not how the system works. We are coequal branches. We should be informed at all times. Cnns Caitlin Collins is at the white house. Senator mccain com deadlitpresident has experience. How has the white house been responding to this . Is. No response. They have not responded to our request for comment in response to what the senator said just there. Its likely Sarah Sanders will be asked about this in the next hour and shes going to be asked about the pattern of information and what the white house knew and when they knew it overall regarding this ambush. We have learned thanks to a report in politico that a National Security official drafted a condolence statement from the president in hours after this ambush happened but the statement was never published. The white house had Sarah Sanders tell reporters on october 5th the administration giving their thoughts and prayers on behalf of the families of the Fallen Soldiers and werent releasing names until the next of kin was notified. And Sarah Sanders was asked about after Sergeant Johnsons body had been found. It was a 12 day period we did not hear from the president on this and he was very uncharacteristly silent. We hear from the president whats on his mind, whether in tweets or comments to reporters and the president did not comment until my colleague sara murray asked him about it in the rose garden and the president said he had written letters to the families of these soldiers and we heard from the white house once again during the press briefing on this just yesterday. They were asked if the president is satisfied with the level of information he knows about how this situation went so wrong and the press secretary Sarah Sanders said while she couldnt get into specifics, the president was never satisfied there was a loss of life but without a doubt the white house is going to be pressed on this issue here in the next hour. Well be watching with you. Caitlin collins at the white house. Joining me now michael weiss, coauthor of isis inside the army of terror and steve warren, spokesman for secretary of defense james mattis. You have heard colonel that senator john mccain is not happy and feels like hes not getting the information he needs. When you look at that, how do you think the administration is handling this . Well, they have moved too slowly simply. Theres enough information out there on day one that they can Say Something. Now, theres often reasons that they will want to stay quiet for the first 24 or 48 hours. Perhaps it was because they knew that Sergeant Johnson was missing and they were searching for him, didnt know his status. I could understand staying dark during that window. But once they had recovered Sergeant Johnson then its time to explain whats going on. Three types of explanations lacking, why do we have forces in africa in the first place . Operationally the second level, did these forces have the support they needed . Did they have the medevac, the intelligence, the logistics, et cetera . And the tactical questions which are what happened on the ground that fateful day . It may be longer until that information comes out. Theres massive confusion in the case of a firefight. Unlike anything else in human experience. You know general mattis well. He is dismayed by the information he feels he is not getting. What do you make of that . Well, general mattis has been in plenty of firefights himself and understands these are difficult situations but also understands that information needs to move rapidly and directly to him so he could make any adjustments that need to be made. Michael when you are not getting answers for a long period of time, the general public says what does that mean . What arent they telling us . The they start to fill in the gaps themselves or wonder if theres a reason, maybe because it looks bad that information is kept from the public. Whats your take as someone who is very much involved in analyzing whats going on with isis and the u. S. Battle against it . October was supposed to be the month we declare victory in a sense and isis has now lost raqqah, the de facto capital of its ka la fit. The president has said hes done more than barack obama had done to smash the Terror Organization although the Media Coverage hasnt been so kind. You have the disaster in niger and the calamity in Northern Iraq where baghdad is pitted against our ally and u. S. Backed forces facing off in what could be a civil war. So its not quite the Mission Accomplished banner headline he hoped for. If it turns out to have been a coordinated and plans isis assault look these guys are driven out of iraq and syria but setting up shop everywhere else. Afghanistan, yemen. When boca haram pledged allegiance to isis they didnt have the control that albaghdadis forces did at the time and this is going back several years but isis gained about 20,000 miles of territory in west africa with that pledge of allegiance. If guys are repairing to africa or to elsewhere in the middle east and frankly around the world, thats going to be a major concern for the United States because this is a sort of isis refers to it as immigration. Were losing our state but our forces are around the globe and were still a powerful insurgency to be reckoned with. Thats not Headline News the u. S. Government wants to embrace at the moment. So michael, when you understand that they walked into a totally unexpected ambush, 50 heavily armed isis fighters, how did they not know . How was the intel they were getting so far off base . What do you think . Frankly i dont know the answer to that question. I mean its not the first time that america has had poor or insufficient intelligence with respect to a jihadist organization. Lets not forget isis was the jv team and america was caught sleeping at the wheel in the summer of 2014. I really dont know. Theres questions that i have such as where the local authorities and local government on the ground infiltrated . We have seen this before in egypt in the Sinai Peninsula where egyptians Security Officials were bribed by isis affiliates there and led to terrorist attacks and assaults on military check points. These are the questions i would like to see answered. This is a two week period in which we have no answers, not even a kind of, you know, proforma Public Relations attempt at damage control, just the naming of the dead and then this pr disaster the president saying he knew what he signed up for. Colonel, you referenced this but i want you to make the final point on this, when this happened i think a lot of americans said oh, theres American Forces in niger but the truth is there are special forces in well over half of the countries around the globe. And this sort of reveals just how expansive this is a pretty secretive war against isis is. The forces are trained and equipped for this type of mission, this build building up of partner capacity, Security Assistance we call it and its to help the nations often fragile governments in charge of large spaces, help them to professionalize their military, it happens quietly, out of common sight. But it is happening. Its helping keep america safe. It is. Not without risk. Thats what we are learning. And thats what americans are realizes. Thank you so much so both of you. We have breaking news out of gainesville, florida, thousands of protesters and counterprotesters are converging at the university of florida because a white sue premise mist Richard Spencer is delivering a speech and moments ago President Trump asked how he would rate the u. S. Response in puerto rico. I give ourselves a ten. The inlaws have moved in with us. And, our Adult Children are here. So, we save by using tide. Which means we use less. Three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. Those are moms. Anybody seen my pants . Nothing cleans better. Put those on dad its got to be tide. Alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. And help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks ill take that. Yeeeeeah ensure high protein. With 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. Ensure. Always be you. For her compassion and care. He spent decades fighting to give families a second chance. But to help others, they first had to protect themselves. I have afib. Even for a nurse, its complicated. And it puts me at higher risk of stroke. That would be devastating. I had to learn all i could to help protect myself. Once i got the facts, my doctor and i chose xarelto®. Xarelto®. To help keep me protected. Oncedaily xarelto®, a latestgeneration blood thinner. Significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. It has similar effectiveness to warfarin. Xarelto® works differently. Warfarin interferes with at least 6 bloodclotting factors. Xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor interacting with less of your bodys natural bloodclotting function. For afib patients wellmanaged on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. And before starting xarelto®about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Its important to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know™. Just a short time ago President Trump met in the office with the governor of puerto rico when he was asked to rate his recovery response to the hurricane there on a scale of 1 to 10 and heres how he answered that question. Between 1 and 10 how would you grade the u. S. Response . I would say its a 10. It was probably the most difficult when you talk about relief, when you talk about search, when you talk about all of the different levels, and even when you talk about lives saved, it hit right through the middle of the island. Right through the middle of puerto rico. Theres never been anything like that. I give ourselves a 10. I think that locally i really think locally they have in this gentleman great leadership. Its a tough job, but we have provided so much so fast. Well the president also said that puerto rico faced add situation worse than katrina. Thats a quote. Joining me is cnn correspondent polo sandival. That was the opposite of what he said when he was in puerto rico, when you think about how the people of puerto rico would respond to the president s assessment what do you think they would say overall . Reporter i think you may see a number perhaps not as optimistic as we saw earlier today. This perfect 10 out of 10 coming from President Trump. There certainly is a level of frustration when you leave puerto rico and go into the more rural areas where still people who are in the dark. Youre looking at only 22 of the residents in puerto rico that have no leg tris tis. When you look at the map you will find those are sobering statistics. The more other numbers that tell more of the story here. There is though promise, yes, we have seen improvements for example, 78 of gas stations are open and full commercial air traffic has been restoried but when you go into those Rural Communities it certainly is not a perfect 10 situation. Particularly when theyre dealing with trying to get supplies. You heard President Trump talk about issues at the local level. Saying that that is where theyre facing several issues with the local municipalities and government that is are not able to get help to some of the residents. We have seen a little bit of both. We have seen local officials, mayors who get in vehicles and drive around with water and supplies but you have also seen some other local governments that are a bit more scaled back in their response which is interesting to see because there are many of the residents that are still in the dark, still needing food and water. But when you get into the more incorporated areas, yes, we certainly have seen improvements every day. That is something that seems to be Getting Better but the other areas, that is certainly not the case. The storm basically just blew through here. Many people a month after are still dealing with the same struggle they did when the storm swept through. Its amazing. 1 in 5 people only have power one month after this happened in puerto rico. Thank you, sir. Next former president speaking out both george w. Bush and barack obama made separate public appearances today. Bush, 43 taking a not so thinly vaileded swipe. What he says the nation has to do to move forward. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brainhealth supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. When did you see the sign . When i needed to create a better visitor experience. Improve our workflow. Attract new customers. Thats when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics. Yeah now business is rolling in. Get started at fastsigns. Com. Yeah now business is rolling in. Throughout history, the one meal when we come together, break bread, share our day and connect as a family. [ bloop, clicking ] and connect, as a family. Just, uh one second voice guy. [ bloop ] huh . Hey . I paused it. Bam, family time. So how is everyone . Find your awesome with xfinity xfi and change the way you wifi. Two of President Trumps predecessors are making a rare return to the spotlight. In the next hour president obama is attending a Campaign Rally on behalf of the democratic gub nah toirl candidate in new jersey and president george w. Bush speaking out against blass facility my against america, bigotry and White Supremacy. Heres more from the 33rd president. It is not determined by geography or ethnicity. By soil or blood. We become the heirs of Martin Luther king jr. By recognizing one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. This means that people of every race, religion, ethnicity can be fully and equally american. It means that bigotry or White Supremacy in any form is blasphomy against the american creed. Provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them. Ten years ago i attended a conference of democracdemocracy. The goal was to put human rights and freedom in the center of the relationship and the crisis of confidence would be developing within the core democraciedemoc joining me now is ana navarro and ken. Ana youre friends with the bush family. Maybe this doesnt come as a surprise to you, this speech. Is it possible to see it as anything other than a rebuke of President Trump . Of course its not. I think it was where he went unnamed but we know who he was referring to and made it clear who he was referring to. For me, frankly, you know, as a republican, as an american, as a hispanic, an immigrant, it felt like aloe on a burn. It was refreshing to hear that kind of unity, that kind of statesmanship coming from somebody thats got a national platform. We have heard it twice this week. Earlier from john mccain. And we heard it from george w. Bush who has been very quiet. Theres unspoken pact among former president s to not criticize their success ares but enough is enough. A lot of people are heartbroken, sad and that want to its time to speak up and act up and have a position. Ken, what did you think . Certainly he sounded president ial. He was speaking in broad themes and he went on to also lament the lack of civility and the Conspiracy Theory type of reporting that goes on in discourse that goes on now and thats been rising over the years. I think you can read this more broadly than what president bush as a attack by president bush on President Trump for sure. He was addressing more than that. I dont think he has any problem laying a land mine here or there for President Trump. Hes made that clear in the past as well. He was very indirect about it if thats what he was doing here today. As you noted, there is this pact among president s where they tend to leave quietly and president bush certainly did that. He was not much in evidence in terms of policy discussions in the obama era. And of course some people appreciate that and some people dont appreciate that. But it has kept a continual tradition of expresident s. You felt like he was under the radar in his criticism . Since hes been president he stayed under the radar when president obama was president. I thought you meant with this speech though of President Trump you did you feel yeah. I dont the speech wasnt set up and designed to undermine President Trump. He certainly touched on themes that have been discussed as raw nerves since President Trump became president. I also think some of that he had complaints about institutions as well and some of that certainly rings true. You just look at charlottesville, when we think of that, we think of the august display of violence and bigotry and so forth and hatred and repressive of speech and Everything Else going on there. The month before a lot of the same people got together, the kkk got together in charlottesville the month before and without all that pushing, there were 50 people there, 50. Not 1,000. I feel like some of his complaints about institutions are that in the media side of things were giving err to the ill voices in our society. I dont know if that serves well as a society by doing that. He also said and this is close to verbatim, he said bullying and prejudice in public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, compromises moral education of children and he said the only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them. I mean, it seems that would be maybe he is speaking generally but seems he is also speaking specifically. Look, lets not play dumb here. Of course, hes speaking about donald trump. The same way that john mccain was speaking about donald trump without naming him earlier in the week. I think what youre seeing president george w. Bush do is say look i know what its like to be president and held the office and we have a moral duty to be an example of a american unity. You have a platform as a president that you can use for good or division and hostility. Please use it for good. He is reminding i think donald trump and the people who support donald trump that theres consequences to the words that a president uses. That theres consequences to the tweets, theres consequences to the actions, consequences to the tone and we are seeing it affect the National Fiber and it is setting a national tone. Ask School Teachers about children repeating the bullying tones and words donald trump uses. You know, it is affecting our National Psyche and how we behave. I think what george w. Bush today was doing was, you know, i dont think it was an attack. I think it was a warning. I think it was a plea. I think it was advice. Ana i so sorry to interrupt you but we need to listen to h. R. Mcmaster, the president s National Security adviser speaking live right now. I got to defer to the department of defense and they will give you definitive answers to all these questions. When Something Like this happens obviously the report does come to us and its as we say in the military, you know, the first report is always wrong. So theres a period of time theres always ambiguity as to whats going on halfway around the world. So on the mission there, it is a mission will be the Defense Department will describe the circumstances of that action and the deaths of those soldiers and all that will come out. What happens in these instances, anything that happens like this is theres a full investigation and the investigation really has a couple of was this something that could have been prevented . Let me talk about it in a little more broadly and narrow it down. First of all, our condolences to the families of the soldiers we lost. I just say we honor our troops, every one of them, every life is critical. These young people have passed the hot political rhetoric and signed up volunteering for the armed forces as part of the 1 willing to do so in our country. These young men and women. We have been engaged with the french and African Forces for some time supporting the french led and african troops. In the campaign to throw isis and the terrorist, the radicals those who ferment instability and murder and mayhem, the french maintain over 4,000 troops down there where we maintain a little over 1,000 in support. Mostly were providing refueling support, intelligence support, surveillance support but we have troops on the ground. Their job is to help the people in the region learn how to defend themselves. We call it Foreign Internal Defense and we actually do these kind of missions by with and through our allies and the loss of our troops is under investigation. We and the department of defense like to know what were talking about before we talk and so we do not have all the information yet. We will release it as rapidly as we get it because we are very proud of our troops. As you know, we investigate any time we have our troops killed whether it be a training accident or combat. I dont care if its in the a car accident, we investigate the circumstances surrounding and see how we can address the questions you brought up about what can we do in the future. At the same time, war is war and these terrorists are conducting war on innocent people. Of all religions. Conducting war on innocent people who have no way to defend themselves. I would just tell you that in this specific case contact is considered unlikely. But theres a reason we have u. S. Army soldiers there and not the peace corp because we carry guns and so its a reality, part of the danger that our troops face in these Counter Terrorist campaigns but remember, we do these kinds of missions by, with and through allies. It is often dangerous, we recognize that. We have been unapologetic about standing by our allies and certainly the french with 4,000 troops have been engaged down there for years and have lost many, many more troops. This is an example of how seriously we take this mission. That we put our troops in that position. Any time we commit our troops anywhere, its based on answering a simple first question and that is the wellbeing of the American People sufficiently enhanced by putting our troops there that we put our troops in a position to die. That is the number one question when i make the recommendation to the president. One point i would make having seen some of the news reports, the u. S. Military does not leave its trooping behind and i would just ask you not question the action to the troops who were caught in the firefight and question whether or not they did everything they could in order to bring everyone out at once and i would also ask you dont confuse your need for Accurate Information with our ability to provide it immediately in a situation like this. The french response included armed fighter aircraft, armed gunship. Medevac that lifted out our wounded. We had a contact aircraft that lifted out our excuse me. Sergeant johnson was found later by local nationals and they would then endeavor to get the body back to us which shows the relationship we have in this area. But a full investigation is under way. This sort of investigation we always conduct and certainly update you as we have Accurate Information not speculation. I just close by saying we need to stand together united in this country when these heartwrenching times are here. Thank you. Given that it is possible that it was a pocket of isis there or isis affiliate is the department considering changing its footprint or adding additional protections . And then more broadly, you yourself have comforted families of the fallen. In the last week or so gold star families have been brought into this larger fray. Does that anger you to see them dragged out into this . As far as the stance we take the efforts we take and the force protection efforts and the capabilities, i dont telegraph that and i dont want to tell the enemy what were doing. I prefer not to answer that. We honor or fallen in america and thats all the more ill say about the gold star families. Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. I want to bring in Barbara Starr at the pentagon as we look at what we heard from the defense secretary. There was some news in there barba barbara. Indeed. He knew these questions were coming and you can tell he was well prepared and had thought out what he wanted to say about all of this. I think looking at my notes what strikes me the most is the circumstances regarding sergeant la David Johnson, the young man whose body was not found for 48 hours. He made the point that the u. S. Military does not leave its people behind on the battlefield. He is very strong on that point. But we do know that la David Johnsons body was not found until 48 hours later. In fact, by local African Forces. The secretary went on to Say Something interesting, he said that he didnt want people to come to some judgment basically about what the troops on the ground tried to do to get everybody out all at once, all at the same time. That really goes to the big unanswered question here. I dont think anybody has really questioned the devotion of the troops to getting everybody out, to trying to get everybody out. But theres not a public answer yet about why that did not happen. The questions are there to be answered. Was he simply was there a miscount and they thought they had everybody but did not. Nobody is questioning the tro s troops devotion to getting everyone out. It looks like he was separated from the rest of the group. How did that happen . How far away was he found . Why couldnt they find his body right away . Remember, in the that first 48 hours, in fact, there was a secret plan for a possible rescue. They had some feeling, some intelligence that did not pan out obviously that it was always possible he was still alive out there somewhere behind enemy lines. The president had been briefed, navy s. E. A. L. S had moved into place and the news media was keeping quiet because we were told there was a possibility that an american soldier was still out there alive. So that first 48 hours was very difficult. We know very little about it but the niger forces kept looking and did find his body and made sure it was returned to the u. S. I would say the real point from secretary mattis is saying dont jump to any conclusions the troops didnt try. I dont think we are. I think the problem is right now we dont yet know the answer. Barbara, stay with us. Ill bring in admiral john kirby along with colonel warren. If nobody is questioning the dedication of the troops and trying to locate the body of sergeant la David Johnson, why is the defense secretary likely character rising that as such and warning people not to question do you think . It sounds to me and steve might have a different view hes a little per turned about some of the Media Coverage. That it might be misconstrued . I think he thinks that the Media Coverage is leaving the American People with the notion that we turned our back on this young man and left. Thats obviously not what happened. Thats not in our culture to do that and the circumstances were so unique in this case that there were little just not no choice. Colonel, it strikes me one of the ways the defense secretary had to begin talking about these four dead soldiers in niger, he had to explain why they were there. Because a lot of americans dont know why they are there. As he said it, Foreign Internal Defense training but still boots on the ground and a lot of people dont understand there is this presence. There are 1,000 u. S. Forces he said. Thats right. This Foreign Internal Defense training is American Forces partnering with those host nation forces, whatever nation it may be. It could be africa, latin america. Our forces are conducting these internal Defense Operations around the world. On these forces left behind, i think some of the reason the secretary may be unhappy with some of the reporting, its our choice of words. We have been saying left behind. He wasnt left, he was separated from his unit and that unit never stopped looking for him. And that is certainly your impression as well. Yeah. I think he was per tur bed by some of the terminology and strikes to the heart of who we are as a military. We dont leave anybody behind. What do you want to know . You want to know the la David Johnson was still alive when they were separated . Obviously, the condition of his remains when they were found. What are the outstanding questions for you that could give you a idea of what happened . How did he come to be separated . Then what was the chain of event that is led them to finally finding him and how long did it take for that information in context to become known . I think thats really important. I do think the family has a right to want to know the answers of those questions, too. I think those certainly will be curious. What is next in your investigation . The full investigation will take time but secretary mattis wants answers and knows the American People want to know what happened to these men out in the field. The next step is what needs to be changed. Okay. They were out there. They were helping, advise, assist local forces but didnt have any overhead protection, the planes that came in are not allowed to drop weapons. They were lightly armed, not in armored vehicles. That was the standard procedure. Do things need to be changed . If u. S. Special operations are going to go out in these areas and face a agree grogrowing isi in africa what needs to be changed to make sure they are appropriately protected . Always danger but troops should be out there with appropriate levels of protection and how can the u. S. Improve the intelligence . If isis is beginning to develop these cells and pockets across africa, the u. S. Needs to know a lot more about where they are and how they are operating. Admiral, what do you think . Shes spot on. Interestingly enough, in the 2017 Posture Statement before Congress General waldhouser said hes only get 20 to 30 of isr. And this is a real resource problem in africa. It has been for a long, long time. I know for a fact that the bill thats in conference between the senate and the house has a provision in there to enforce the dod to provide more feasibility studies to them about the resource allocation in the command specifically. And the resource allocation questions are difficult. There is only so many Resources Available to the department. What we call whats happening in africa, we call that an economy of force operation. In other words, we deliberately put more resources in areas where we think are higher priority, in this case the middle east. As someone who knows general mattis well, when you heard him respond to this the gold star families who have been thrust into the spotlight initially by President Trumps comments and repeated comments and the back and forth with the congresswoman and the family of la David Johnson, all he said in response was weour fallen in america. What did you think him answering that question . He can say a lot with very few words and he just made it clear to me and anyone paying attention is that this is not the right way to honor our fallen. This public back and forth, this little feud thats happening in the public eye, it doesnt serve the family. It doesnt serve the fallen. Its time for everyone to focus on this mission and let the fallen rest. I want to get your opinion on something because we just have learned that h. R. Mcmaster, the president s National Security adviser says that senator john mccains comments, it was easier to get information from former defense chief ash carter in the Obama Administration that in this administration it quote, hurt his feelings. I think is what we are understanding. This is just in so im just reading off the teleprompter. Whats your reaction colonel . Well, h. R. Mcmasters feelings, its hard to hurt his feelings. But his point being that i believe the professional soldiers, the professional security operators in this administration are doing everything they can to try and get information to move and its tough. I will tell you that some people, not everybody on the hill feels the same way about this. I talked to some today on the house side and theyll tell you we are willing to wait, would rather have complete context from the Defense Department. Theyre willing to wait for a bit for secretary mattis to get them a more fuller picture. We heard him say the first story you get is incorrect, thats a saying he knows and knows to be true. Thank you so much gentlemen, appreciate your expertise. The White House Press briefing moments away. Defense secretary james mattis saying they do not have all the Accurate Information that they need. Were going to bring you the briefing live. The number 1 rated ego power plus blower. Blasting 530 cubic feet of air per minute. Powered by the industrys most advanced lithium ion battery technology. And now, introducing the new ego backpack blower. Delivering the power of gas. Without the noise, fuss or fumes for up to 2 hours on a single charge. Exclusively at the home depot and ego authorized dealers. When youre clocking out. Sensing your every move and automatically adjusting to help you stay effortlessly comfortable. There. I can also help with this. Does your bed do that . Oh. I dont actually talk. Though im smart enough to. Im the new sleep number 360 smart bed. 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Candidates for two positions in new york and one in washington. Cnn senior legal analyst who was fired by trump is a top federal prosecutor in h new york spoke with wolf blitzer. I understand he personally interviewed the potential applicants for u. S. Attorney in manhattan, brooklyn and washington, d. C. Which happened to be places where donald trump has property and assets and companies and not interviewed personally u. S. Attorneys for other positions and i think that reasonably raises a number of questions. Former federal prosecutor Michael Moore joining me now. You served in the middle district of georgia, fired acting attorney general sally yates was a colleague of yours. Why do you think trump is interviewing u. S. Attorneys and how weird is this . It really is a strike thing. I think your prosecutors are the gatekeepers or goaltenders of the Justice Department and the only assumption you can make is that hes hoping to capitalize on some relationship maybe hes trying to develop with these particular individuals. I just left a conference with former u. S. Attorneys from all over the country. Le these are fine people and good Public Servants and beyond this type of silliness. And its been selective silliness by the president. Its so close where hes only talking to attorneys from districts, either dealing with himself, his family or business. You dont think they would be swayed by this and yet, he is doing this thing that shows such a conflict of interest . I dont think they would. I can tell you from the folks i just left, these are great folks. But i think hes done this in his professional life, too, where hes trying to capitalize over relationships and trying to build this sense of loyalty by making people think hes their friend or has something he can give them or some reason they need to feel a certain way toward him and probably hes grasping at any hook he can get in these particular districts. I dont think they would be swayed. He does have a number of lawsuits against him. Dozen of them. Attorney general Jeff Sessions was asked about this and made the point that the president quote, has the right to interview u. S. Attorneys and sessions said i assume everybody would understand that. Right. Well everybody clearly doesnt understand that right . Well, the president makes the appointment. The typical process is not to go to the president. Again, the donald trump of justice is an independent Investigative Agency just like the fbi. I think that really the attorney general is sort of fayneded ignorance about what is going on yesterday at the oversight hearing. While the president may have a right to make an appointment. When you have a president who were already talking about russia investigations, corruption and collusion it starts to smell fishy when hes interviewing people that might be in charge of those investigations in those districts or at least aspects or prongs of an investigation. Even if the he was not particularly pleased with his development, maybe would not be unusual for Jeff Sessions to conceal that in a hearing too, right . Its unusual. I mean i will tell you that. We just dont do that. I was pleased to be appointed by president obama but i can tell you he didnt interview me prior to the process. Michael moore, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Next, the White House Press briefing. How are they going to respond to former president george w. Bush with some criticism for President Trump. What about Congress Demanding answers on the niger ambush. Well bring that to you live. We are waiting for the White House Press briefing to begin as more questions asked about that deadly ambush in the african nation of niger that led to the deaths of four american soldiers. 15 days later theres so many unanswered questions, even the defense secretary himself is growing frustrated and demanding answers but a timeline is emerging. We know that a unit of 12 u. S. Soldiers was leaving a meeting with local leaders in a convoy of pickup trucks when they were ambushed near the border. The troops fired back but four lost their lives before French Military asets came to their rescue. At some point during the firefight sergeant la David Johnson got separated from his comrades. His body was found 48 hours later by