As well as the firing of james comey. Will sessions invoke kpktive privilege to avoid answering . The attorney general expected to be grilled today on capitol hill by members of the Senate Intelligence committee. Were not sewer yet how forthcoming the attorney general will be. We do know his testimony comes at a time when President Trump and his associates appear to be interfering with the work of the special counsel Robert Mueller. I think hes considering perhaps terminating the special council. Just hours after leaving the white house, President Trumps longtime friend claims the president is considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, the man in charge of investigating possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and russia. I think hes weighing that option. I think it is pretty clear by what one of his lawyers said on television recently. I personally think it would be a very significant mistake. Sean spicer insisting mr. Rudi never spoke to the president regarding this issue. But hours earlier, spicers deputy says rudi, quote, speaks for himself. Several trump allies attacking muellers credibility despite initially praising his appointment. Former Trump Campaign advisor Newt Gingrich tweeting republicans are delusional if they think this special counsel is going to be fair. Last month gingrich praised mueller as a superb choice. One of the reasons for the revolt, who mueller has hired for his legal team. Three of the five lawyers on muellers team have donated almost exclusively to democrats, with two giving the maximum donation to Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign. Still, while house sources tell cnn trumps advisors are urging him not to fire mueller. It would be astonishing were he to entertain this. The echoes of watergate the getting louder and louder. Comes before todays testimony by Jeff Sessions. Sessions is expected to face a grilling about his contacts with russia and the firing of james comey. He was very close to and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons. We also were aware of facts that i cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a russia related investigation problematic. Sources tell cnn comey told senators behind closed doors that sessions may have had a third meeting with Sergei Kislyak which the Justice Department denies. It will likely be brought up today along with comeys account that sessions was booted from a meeting back in february before comey said the president asked him to drop the Michael Flynn investigation. My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldnt be leaving, which is why he was lingering. It is unclear whether sessions will invoke executive privilege. Do you believe that he should invoke executive privilege . I think it depends on the scope of the questions. Chris rudi firing back against sean spicer this morning. He gave a statement to our Jeremy Diamond this morning. It says spicer issued a bizarre Statement Last night, a press release that, a, doesnt deny my claim that the president is considering firing mueller and, b, i didnt speak to the president on the matter when i never claimed to have done so. Memo to shawn, focus your efforts on disposing the russia investigations and high liking his remarkable achievement. Dont waste your time trying to undermine one of your few allies. This morning the president s allies in a battle between each other as we get ready to hear from attorney general sessions later this afternoon. Friendly fire going on. Lets discuss. Ryan, thank you very much. The panel is with us. Cnn political analyst, reporter and editor at large for cnn politics, chris cillizza. Cnn legal analyst, bob mules special assistant at the Justice Departme department, by the way. What is happening here . This man is a friend. He comes out and says i think hes considering doing this. I think it is a bad idea. The white house says the conversation never happened. Now he is fighting with the white house. Well, youve got a fight between trump allies with. This is serious because chris rudi knows donald trump so well. It comes on the heels of Newt Gingrich coming out against mueller. One of the president s lawyers floating this possibility. So youve got a drum beat of trump allies and advisors saying hes considering or should consider firing bob mueller. So take one step for a second. That would be def come 10. That would cause panic among members of congress who are looking for a degree of objective oversight. It should cause concern among the American People. Why in the world would anyone think that donald trump wouldnt do this after firing james comey . This is a dangerous game being played in washington right now and the implications are massive for our democracy. Chris ruddi was using the television to telegraph a message to the president. We have heard this on his friends sometime dos that to say it would be a bad idea. Tell us the legal implications. Tell us what this would mean if the president were to fire mueller. Well, mostly the implications are political. Legally the president , through the Deputy Attorney general, is lawfully allowed to do this. So its within his power to do it. So the legal implications in the sense are none. He can do what hes allowed to do by law. The political consequences are much more serious and you have to say to yourself if you are Rod Rosenstein would you stay in the administration. If you were the fbi designee, would you pull your name from consideration. If you were senator schumer, would you reintroduce the independent Council Statute to get around all of this . So there are a lot of political cascading impacts from doing this. But legally it is in his power to do it. It is not law, but it is no his power to do it. I think whats going on a bit is that the trump team or surrogates for the Trump White House are floating the trial balloon of can we go after mueller and his team in the same way that clinton went after star and his team . I think theyre looking at how that is going to play. I dont think it will play. I dont think looking at somebody who knows mueller and yes a lot of the people people were praising him. Theyre going after his choices of counsel. We are showing that a number of lawyers that mueller is picking did donate to democrats. Do you think that is a valid basis of criticism and disqualifying for mueller. So, look, it is not disqualifying for mueller. Mueller himself didnt make any contributions to any political candidate on either side. Principally the donation of one of his Office People who most likely will play a supervisory role in the administration of the case. He also gave some right. But the silliness of this argument is evident by the selection by Jared Kushner of his lawyer, which is a longtime democrat, former Deputy Attorney general in the clinton administration. A terrific lawyer whose judgment is not going to be prepared by who she made a political contribution to. This has nothing to do with the exercise of independence or good decisionmaking by his attorney. It is a silly gambit they are running, i think. Chris cillizza, what is your take . Well, politically speaking, i think that there is massive problems here for donald trump that was slightly down the road of talking about bob mueller. If there is if there was a def con 11, id be there. Legally of course he can do it but just because you can do it doesnt mean you could do it. This president puts unpredictability at the heart of everything he does. I think he likes to keep every possible option open. It is the same reason that the answer on are you or are you not taping conversations the white house says ill let you know, wink, wink. He likes to keep his options open. He likes to build intrigue and keep it as a cliff hanger. He is a Reality Television show producer in his heart of hearts. I dont imagine that is good politics for him. I think thats been bornout. When he plays to the pace, though, well, the political question for the president heading forward is can he grow . Let me ask you something, though, because the proof is in the performance of what were going to see today with the attorney general. Chris ruddy says flimflam accusations. Thats false based on what were going to see with Jeff Sessions today. These are heavy questions. What did you know about his desire to talk to comey alone . Why did you leave . Did you ask the president about that . Did you ask comey about it . If you did ask comey and he told you anything, what did you do about it . These are Big Questions that get him whether he claims ignorance or not. Thats the big question, is how much does he say im not going to speak about that because of the president s executive privilege. But the president would therefore have to exercise that privilege. A. G. Sessions would have to be directed by counsel that, yes, we are exercising the privilege. Thats a question also. Thats a question also. But it is going to be because he doesnt have a privilege, the a. G. Thats correct. But the white house could impose upon him in effect. Look, there are no no shortage of questions for Jeff Sessions to answer. From undisclosed meetings are russians to the firing of james comey to how much he actually recused himself from this Ongoing Investigation to his assessment of donald trump at a time when their relationship seems troubles. How much does he speak about it . Because if hes still trying to curry favor with the administration, hes going to be restrained about how honest and direct he could be. I think its a mistake to assume you are going to get a totally open conversation Jeff Sessions telling the truth as he tells it. I think he is going to tell the minimum viable truth. Michael, you are the former federal prosecutor. How open will sessions be . I hope he will be very open. Chris is right that the privilege is with the president. And, so, sessions answer of im exerting executive privilege is legally wrong. He has to say the president instructed me. Secondly, i think the a. G. Really needs to convince the American Public in some respect that he operates the department of justice in the independent and partial blind justice sort of way. His having to recuse himself so early in the administration put a stain on that independence and i think he has to resurrect. Hopefully that will lead to him being forthright in his answers, be what may come of it. Panel, we have to leave it there. You say blind justice, but he was like this. A little side eye going. Thank you very much, panel. Coverage begins at 2 00 p. M. Eastern. Take off your ear muffs and watch this everyone. Before this sessions testimony today, the head of the Republican Party is calling for an end to all congressional probes into possible Trump Campaign connections to russia. Why would such a request be made . We will ask. Plus, a blast from the past on new day. Our dear friend will be here to share the cause and place very close to her heart. Were dpoipg to sgoing to see v. You do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and Auto Insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. In just hours, attorney general sessions will testify before a senate panel about his introductions with russia and the firing of james comey. But the head of the Republican Party is calling for an end to all congressional investigations into the Trump Campaigns ties to russia. Lets bring her in. She is the chairwoman of the Republican National committee. Good morning. Good morning. Thanks for being here. Why are you calling for an end to the congressional investigations into whatever the ties were between the trump team and russia . Im saying that the investigations about the collusion between the Trump Campaign and the russians needs to be completed because this investigation started last july under director comey. We have not seen a single senator. We havent seen director comey or clapper say that there is any evidence of collusion between the Trump Campaign and the russians. So why is this continuing . Why is this going almost a year, this investigation . Isnt it time to put an end to it. If nobody can say there is definitive evidence, shouldnt we take that shadow off the white house and let the American People know there has been no evidence . You know what they would say thus far. Thats why the investigation is continuing. But its almost a year. It started last july. How long can you let this linger. Well, bob mueller was just named to lead this investigation probably three weeks ago, less than four weeks ago. Some people think it is just beginning. But director comey started it in july of 2016. The election ended in november. And now were in june. But Jeff Sessions today almost a year out and still just today the senate intel lawmakers are able to hear from him. There is not one senator, name one senator democrat or republican can say theyve seen evidence of collusion. They would say its not complete. But whats taking so long . Heres the thing thats concerning to me. I feel like theyre drawing it out. It is concerning. The democrats have a play book. Draw out, obstruct, play out the clock so we could get to 2018 with this doubt over the white house and i think the American People deserve to know is there evidence of collusion . If there isnt, lets put an end to it and stop putting this doubt in the American Peoples minds. I hear you. But of course republicans control congress. These are bipartisan committees. The senate intel, the house intel. Their chairmans are republicans, so its not just democrats with this play book. Im speaking from going across the country. I was in arkansas last weekend, buffalo and georgia and people are saying why is this taking so long . It started last july. Were almost a year in, a year into this investigation. Why cant we put an end to this . The election ended in november. Have you shared your why cant we Start Talking about what people are concerned about at home in my state of michigan, health care, tax reform, jobs. Listen, i have heard all of the claims that the russia cloud is preventing the president from moving forward with his agenda. Were just not talking about it because we keep talking about this one thing. Wait a second. You are saying two different things. Is the russia cloud preventing the president from moving forward with his agenda. I think the russia cloud needs to be removed from the American Peoples minds. If you see no evidence of collusion, lets get it done and over with. But the president is moving forward regardless. It is just not getting the coverage. Have you shared your feelings with the republican chairs of these committees, richard burr and devin nunes . Ive made some calls. But this is what the American Public is saying. What have they said about that . We havent talked about it at that length. I have just shared with them what i have heard out there, that the American People want to see this cloud removed. It is not fair. Were a year in from this investigation. Why dont we have a conclusion . No one can say there is evidence. If there is no evidence, why are we continuing to investigate it . Well, i hear you with the people that you have spoken to. But let me show you the latest polls because that is a wider slot of americans. Just last week, 73 of americans do support the independent Commission Investigating the links between team trump and russia. 60 of americans, if you add these next two numbers together believe that the president did something illegal or unethical. So americans do not feel that we should you need this to be concluded. You had director comey last week say the president was never under investigation, that he has never been under investigation. Director clapper has said no evidence of collusion. There is no evidence. So lets conclude the investigations and let the American People know that there is no evidence thats been found. Well, look, these polls dont stru suggest that americans feel we need to be done with these investigations. About the president not being the target, you know, here is the list of his associates that investigators are still looking into. I mean, as is evidenced by today, just a few hours from now at the top of this list, Jeff Sessions will be asked these questions. You know the investigations into Michael Flynn. They didnt disclose their meetings with russian officials. Whats that about . Well, its ridiculous because the Obama Administration between 2009 and 2013 had 22 meetings with kislyak. You have seen senators on the democratic side meet with him, schumer, pelosi. This is something that democrats and republicans do when they are in the senate. Why did Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions disclose those . Jeff sessions talked to his fbi counter part and said you dont have to disclose things that took place while you were in the senate. Were going to hear from him today but the reality is why are we still talking about this a year out . Im not saying dont do the investigation. The investigations have taken place. But if today no senator and director comey and clapper have said there has been no evidence of collusion. When is the end point . When is there the speediness . Theyre ongoing. I mean Robert Mueller is at the end. Yeah. But comey was continuing the investigation from july to november. He still hadnt completed it. Whats taking so long . I think thats a fair question. What is taking so long. If you have no evidence, conclude the investigation. Thank you very much for sharing your perspective on all of this. Nice to have you. Thank you very having me. And it is in that vein of lets avoid criticism of the president or anything about him that leads us to our next story, what happened at the first full Cabinet Meeting with the president. Look at what they did. Biggest privilege in my life is to serve as Vice President to a president thats keeping his word to the American People. The entire senior staff around you, mr. President , we thank you for the opportunity and blessing you have given us to serve your agenda. So what led to this ring of praise at the Cabinet Meeting . Were going to get it in the bottom line next. So, if anyone has a reason that these two should not be wed, speak now. coughs so sorry. Oh no. Its just that your friend daryl here is supposed to be Live Streaming the wedding and hes not getting any service. I missed, like, the whole thing. What . And i just got an unlimited plan. Its the right plan, wrong network. You see, verizon has the largest, most reliable 4g lte network in america. Its built to work better in cities. Tell you what, just use mine. Thanks. No problem. All right, lets go live. Say hi to everybody who wasnt invited vo when it really, really matters, you need the best network and the best unlimited. Plus, get our best smartphones for just 15 a month. We send our kids out into the world, full of hope. And we dont want Something Like meningitis b getting in their way. Meningococcal group b disease, or meningitis b, is real. Bexsero is a vaccine to help prevent meningitis b in 10 to 25 year olds. Even if meningitis b is uncommon, thats not a chance were willing to take. Meningitis b is different from the meningitis most teens were probably vaccinated against when younger. Were getting the word out against meningitis b. Our teens are getting bexsero. Bexsero should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. Most common side effects are pain, redness or hardness at the injection site; muscle pain; fatigue; headache; nausea; and joint pain. Bexsero may not protect all individuals. Tell your healthcare professional if youre pregnant or if you have received any other meningitis b vaccines. Ask your healthcare professional about the risks and benefits of bexsero and if vaccination with bexsero is right for your teen. Moms, we cant wait. All right. Lets get the bottom line. The president s first full Cabinet Meeting was a little unusual. Each member spent several pin y minutes going around the table. Greatest privilege of my life is to serve as Vice President to a president who is keeping his word to the American People. Mr. President , im privileged to be here, deeply honored and i want to thank you for keeping your commitment to the american workers. Mr. President , what an incredible honor it is to lead the department of health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership. I cant thank you enough for the privilege you have given me. Mr. President , it is an honor to serve the country. On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, mr. President , we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing you have given us to serve your agenda and the American People. Only the secretary of defense didnt talk about the honor of serving the men and women who fight for this country and that sense of privilege. Lets get the bottom line from david axelrod. Is this media cynicism . Is this a good thing that, you know, it is nice to be nice to the president . Everybody is so tough on him all the time. I think it was embarrassing. I sat in committee Cabinet Meetings when i was in the white house. I think the president would have burst out laughing if a couple of people had gone down the row doing that because it was so clearly orchestrated. Felt very north korean. I think donald trump is in a deep hole. His polling numbers are bad and we know that he reads them. The general narrative the negative and hes trying to create an alternative reality and theyre trying to keep his spirits up. So we get what is this new reality show. But at the end of the day, only general mattis talked out of there with his dignity. I am curious what its like in the white house. Dont you have to be sick of it. Yes, mr. President , how high . Not if you have a secure president. There is no doubt that there is an aura to the presidency and when you walkthrough that oval office you feel it and there is a tendency to want to agree with the president. But to heap this sort of praise on the president it is a projection of a certain perspective. You hear it with the podcast. You hear it when you do your speaking. You hear it at the university in chicago. People say you guys are too tough on the president. It is always negative. Where is the nice stories . Where is the positive stuff . What do you answer . My answer is, having been there, you know, no one would argue that barack obama was the target of division on the part of the media. But there were times when we were completely under siege and you felt it. But they say it is more with trump. The fact that sometimes you follow the facts and the facts create that sense. I have no doubt that there are times when people are unfair to donald trump. There are times when people are unfair to politicians generally. And he has chosen the media as a straw man to operate against. Thats part of his political strategy. So we have that die gnynamic. But at the end of the day, the news media has an obligation to report what is happening and what is not happening. I will say this, i do think as serious as this russia probe is, and i think it is dead ly service, there are a lot of other things going on every day that are important on health care, on banks and financial reform, on deregulation. Sure. And those things actually have more bearing on the daytoday lives of people, and they get submerged in this over the coverage of this scandal. Cant we be done, she said, with this investigation because its eclipsing everything else. Let me say i think there is a strategy on the part of the white house now to try and be submerged in these probes and the mueller piece was part of it. But i go back to what i said before on the russia piece. They cant stop because russia is not stopping. And whatever happens to their conclusion about collusion, those committees need to get to the bottom of what russia did and how we stop it because this is a threat to democracy. And their work is not done obviously. Absolutely. David axelrod, great to see you. Happy to be here. So the man of the moment in the orbit around the president right now is his friend chris ruddy. You ever se you have seen him on tv. He is saying what the president might be thinking about doing with respect to the special counsel. Weve got him on the phone for his side of the story. Stay with us. You too, unnecessary er visits. And hey, unmanaged depression, dont get too comfortable. Were talking to you, cost inefficiencies and data without insights. And fragmented care stop getting in the way of patient recovery and pay attention. Every single one of you is on our list. For those who wont rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. Optum. How well gets done. Looking for a hotel that fits. Your budget . Tripadvisor now searches over 200 sites to find you the hotel you want at the lowest price. Grazie, gino find a price that fits. Tripadvisor. More people are choosing nissan. Its americas best sales event at nissan the fastestgrowing auto brand in the u. S. A. Take on every day get 0 for up to 72 months on 13 models. To err is human. To anticipate is lexus. Experience the lexus rx with advanced safety standard. Experience amazing. All right. We have the man of the moment for you. Longtime friend of President Trump who says the president is considering firing special counsel bob mueller. The white house denies that the conversation ever happened. Ruddy says he never had a conversation with the president about it and now he is fighting with the press secretary, sean spicer. He is on the phone. News max ceo chris ruddy. What is going on, my friend . Thank you for having me on. I wouldnt say i was fighting with sean spicer. I think that sean is doing something unusual and different, which is making a news story where one doesnt exist. I was on cbs yesterday and they asked me about reports that the white house was unhappy with the special counsel. As you know, the president s own attorney went on tv this weekend and said that the president was leaving open the option of terminating Robert Mueller as the special counsel. And i said that the president was indeed considering that. I never said that the president told me. I never said i had a conversation. I never implied. As you know, i have been on cnn many times. I always speak for myself and not the president. He has his own speaks mokesman. Although i think they are in need of help from time to time. They issued a bizarre press release last night saying that i had not spoken to the president about it. And i said, hey, i never said i spoke to the president and interestingly enough they never denied my underlying report. Thats whats generating the interest here is this is friendly fire. You have the substance and the style. Lets deal with the substance first. Do you believe that the president is seriously considering getting rid of bob mueller and why do you think that . I think it is a consideration the president has had because mueller is illegitimate as special counsel. Chris, remember, there is no evidence of wrongdoing. There is no evidence of collusion. There is no evidence of obstruction. There is no serious allegation made that the president or any of his senior staff engaged in collusion or any other crime. We dont know what theyre really looking at. And how can you say bob mueller is illegitimate. He was praised by your side of the aisle as a great choice as special counsel by republicans. I dont understand what this newfound disparment is about. You just said he is illegitimate as special counsel. Thats not nice. Correct. But i said as a man, i think he did a great job running the nci. I think it is inappropriate. This man was interviewed by the president a day or two before he was named special counsel to become fbi director. He had a private conversation. Dont you think it is unethical for him to become the investigator against the president after having that private conversation . I think it is. No, i dont. Where would be the conflict of interest . In fact, mueller never disclosed that fact. You did. But what would be what would be the conflict there . He had a private conversation with the president on his views about all sorts of matters potentially about the investigation, i dont know. And the next day hes now maybe using some of that information in his investigation. The president nor his counsel, nor anybody around him ever raised that as a concern. They praised bob mueller as a choice. But, chris, what was the actual evidence that the president or anybody around him did wrong here . You are veering off the point here. No, actually id love to focus on exactly that point because here is my problem with this assertion and we just heard it from the gop about it as well. We do not know what the evidence is in the investigation. We have heard from comey and others that they didnt see proof of collusion. But there are a lot of other questions and leads and nobody involved in the investigation that ive talked to believe the work is done. And you and i dont know what they know. So lets play out and see where it goes. If it is nothing, it is nothing. I think Angela Merkel has interfered in the american election. I think she wanted to elect hillary. Im making that allegation to you. I know i have no evidence of it, but id like you to appoint a special counsel. I mean, thats how ridiculous this is. But it isnt. But it isnt and ill tell you why. Ill tell you why it doesnt stand up because if you talk to comey, if you talk to clapper, they will say not only is what russia did unprecedented in its malice and in its intricacy, but that there are a enough questions about people around trump and about how russia did this and how to stop it that it requires investigation. And remember when you make a political argument to try to get this away from the president , you are also you are also creating a disadvantage for this democracy. You need to know how russia did it and how to stop it and who was involved. Those are real questions. Clapper has said there is no evidence. No, he did not. He said he was not aware clapper did not say that. I interviewed him myself, chris. Look, there has been numerous congressional members that have chris, let me get the fact out there. He said i wasnt monitoring the fbi investigation. I dont know what he had. Thats what clapper said, not there is none and i know everything there is to know. He didnt say that. But your side of the aisle uses that and deceptively so. Chris, youre the son of a great lawyer, mario qcuomo. And there is a rule in law that you have to have evidence. That exists when you have someone in custody. Were talking about the president of the United States and open questions that go to the fundamental basis of our democracy. Chris, if you change the names here and chris ruddy was considering whether or not we need to know whether the russians helps Hillary Clinton, i guarantee you there would be in passty in your investigation. I thought it was totally a violation of fbi protocol last june. I thought his interference in the election with reopening the investigation two weeks before was an interference and violation of fbi and Justice Department protocol and i thought his writing of the memos with the president and leaking it to the press was an ethical violation potentially a criminal one. Its the whole thing has been very strange. Nobody wants to talk about what comeys activities have been, which democrats have criticized time and again. I think we have talked about all of that a lot, by the way. I think what id rather talk about is when i think the president says this is a political witch hunt, i think it is a political diversion. The president has had tremendous success. He went over to saudi arabia and got a hundred billion in arms deals. No president has been able to do that. Hes gotten the korea thing finally being dealt with by the country. Jobs are a priority in this country, like they have never been before. And i think they dont want to talk about the president s achievements. Im open for criticizing him. There will be stories critical of him, stories supportive. But it seems like stuff is just being made up. I can understand the frustration that the president has. I get thats a frustration. I also think it is a false premise. I say this to people all the time. I get you dont like him. But show me whats untrue. Show me what we report on this show that is wrong or doesnt deserve the coverage. You cant ignore the fact that the president creates these sicksic cycles himself and on purpose. Youre asking for that coverage, are you not . I think some of the tweets should be reviewed. I think there should be a review process. Some . Hes the president of the United States. Everything he says matters so much. Look at what hes done in terms of perception of the media in this country. Sheerly through the force of his own personality. I think the president should be more careful about public issuances. But i also think the public and the press have a job of not just telling the you selectively tell the stories you tell. Look at the poll numbers for the president. This is the most negative barrage of media any president has had to sustain in the history and yet he still has 40 of the polls. If you look at the polling numbers ant vobout voters, vote said they would still vote for him. There is no question he has a base that is solid and he plays to it. The question is how he will grow. But to the main point here, chris, and you know i have always been open with you about criticism. You have to hear it and you have to learn from it and thats a lesson for everybody in this situation. But, look, the president could tweet about whatever he wants. You talked about health care and his job plan and what it actually is. But what did he just tweet about just now . A. G. Lynch made law enforce ft decisions for political purposes, gave Hillary Clinton a free pass and protection, totally illegal. He made that choice. He just put that tweet out there. You know it is pregnant with reasons for criticism. Are we not supposed to talk about it . The American Public elected donald trump president because they liked the fact hes very candid and open and the type of guy that does not hide what he thinks. He had a long history coming from new york of being that way. Its not necessarily my approach. It is not your approach on how you would deal with Public Policy issues, but this is the way he is. And thats his prerogative, but isnt it our duty to review what he says . I think youd agree with me, chris, it is no surprises weve seen for the president. Hes doing what hes always done. Its beside the point. The point is hes my president and he just tweeted about about attorney general lynch calling her a felon. Am i supposed to not cover it . You should. And that will be the news cycle. This is going to drive the next several shows here because what he just said is so damning. I believe it is okay to report what the president is saying, but we should be fair in how we report his achievements and i dont think the press is doing a very fair job. I dont think the White House Press office is doing a good job in explaining what the president s achievements have been. And they are now facing a very serious threat from Robert Mueller. But i do think at the basis of all of this, i think it would be a mistake to fire mueller, but i also think the basis of his investigation is flimflam. You can think that, but flimflam means deceptive nonsense and i dont think thats fair to mueller. We appreciate you being on new day as always. Chris, we are switching gears right now to a much lighter and arguably interesting topic. Our special series champions for change. This is a series in which a dozen anchoring are sharing the causes closest to their hearts and hln anchor joins us now from los angeles to tell us all about optimist youth home and fanlly services, a place that gives kids a fighting chance to get on the good path. You are better looking every time i see you. Flattery will get you nowhere chris cuomo. I have had to break out the protective eye wear from time to time. Sexy. And the anchor away spray. The anchor away spray is very important. Everyone likes it. Well, you guys know the work that i do is very important to me on the air, but there is a lot of work i do off the air. I am about to introduce you to a place close to my heart and has a lot to do with my upbringing. Take a look. There is just something special, and i cant always put my finger on it. But i feel it every time im here. Why are you giggling down there . Oftentimes when i take my way to the optimist youth home, i find myself pulling into the driveway like am i in the right space to be here today. All of that stuff isnt important when i get here. And its like church, its like therapy, it is like a hug from mom. So i wanted to bring you here to the place that is all of those things to me, optimist youth home and family services. More than 200 at risk teams live fulltime in foster programs throughout the los angeles area. This is the main campus. So in order for a kid to land here, they usually have encountered law enforcement, sometimes there is drugs, sometimes there is gangs, sometimes there is true wansy, sometimes it is all of it. Either a judge or the Probation Department gives them this option. There is structure. They have school they have got to attend like every team. But a lot of it is on them. The work is with them. Im getting my bachelors degree next may. You are not i first met victor nearly ten years ago. He was in and out of the Juvenile Court system in san jose, california. My family had a tough time, especial especially my mom being a single mother. At 16, a judge gave him one last chance and sent him to optimist. I had to do a year. I had to be here for a year, so i kind of got comfortable. Thats when i started being open and, you know, talking to the counselors and the therapists. Is it better now if your family . It is better. I have a beautiful relationship with my mother and my brothers. I can see how much that means to you. This place feels very familiar and comfortable and normal to me because our home was essentially like that. My sisters all lived in foster homes. I wasnt. I was an infant when i was adopted. Somebody gave us a chance. The five of us got a chance. I believe every kid deserves a chance. Saturdays attack on London Bridge i often ask myself what path my life would have taken had i not got that chance . Ive been working with them for over ten years because i see what a difference it makes. Its home, right . They all landed here for different reasons. Ive been through foster care and i have been always bouncing houses and when i came here, i didnt plan on staying. Like i remember i was just like, yeah, as soon as i get there im dipping. I didnt think i would stay to even try to get it a chance. I just got used to it and got used to things more. Got to know a lot of good people and i just maneuvered in. And now . Now im good. Now youre good. Yeah. Two years from now, three years from now, where do you want to be . In college. I want to go to community college, then transfer, get a nice apartment, get a job i like, a house. You got dreams. You got dreams, baby. You can do it. What do you want to do . I want to be a nurse. My mom was always sick when i was younger. She was having seizures and stuff and she has cancer so i like helping people because i always helped her. In los angeles there are numerous groups doing worthy work, but my path was led here. The executive director and now my dear friend. When you ask why the kids like it here it is because people cared for them. It is obvious you cared for kids and thats why were here. There by the grace of god, you know thats why im here. I dont believe in bad apples. I dont believe in throwaway kids. I just dont. Thats why i stay here. At the end of the day, it is a kid. They need guidance, direction, love. They need some forgiveness. She says its perfect. And they need help. This guy right here, victor, you make me happy. And handsome, too. Look at this face. You know, i got to give kudos to the bosses here at the network for giving us an opportunity to shine the light on these nonprofits because they are not the ones with the big pr firms to give them lots of publicity. Theyre doing the quiet, important work that a lot of people dont hear about. So i am glad were able to shine the light on it. Gosh, what a beautiful piece you put together. I get the sense of the place and the good stuff they are doing. Thank you. It is great to see you. You make a difference. You make a difference, my friend. We love you. We miss you. Thank you. Cnn and hln anchors will be bringing you their causes all week. John berman will reveal his Charity Today at 10 00 a. M. Eastern. Cnn news room right after this break. I noticed it as soon as we moved into the new house. A lot of people have vertical blinds. Well, if a lot of people jumped off a bridge, would you . You hungry . Im okay right im. Im becoming my, uh, mother. Its been hard, but some of the stuff he says is actually pretty helpful. Pumpkin, bundling our home and Auto Insurance is a good deal like buying in bulk thats fun, right . Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto. Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, finding the best hotel price is now a safe bet. Because tripadvisor searches over 200 booking sites so you save up to 30 on the hotel you want. Lock it in. Tripadvisor. [vo] what made secretariat the grwho ever lived . E of course he was strong. Intelligent. Explosive. But the true secret to his perfection. Was a heart, twice the size of an average horse. Good morning to you. Im poppy harlow. Im john berman. A special counsel under fire and startling statements made by close allies of the president under scrutiny. Jeff sessions is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence committee. This is the same panel that hosted the explosive testimony from james comey. Sessions will face questions about how and why the fbi director was fired. He will also be grilled on his own dealings with moscow officials. And shortly we will hear from the