Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20170612

President trump to court charging hes violating a constitutional ban on accepting payments from Foreign Governments. Do trump hotels and golf courses have an unfair advantage . And cabinet flattery. President trumps first full Cabinet Meeting turns into a rather bizarre praise session as the president pats himself on the back and then has his cabinet secretaries go around the neighborly paying tribute to his leadership. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. This is cnn breaking news. The attorney general Jeff Sessions will testify publicly before the Senate Intelligence committee tomorrow and hes certain to be asked about his contacts with russia and the firing of fbi director james comey but the white house suggests sessions may claim executive privilege on some questions even as it indicates that the president is no closer to resquealing if he recorded any conversations ahead of comeys firing. Sessions who couldnt get a clear vote of confidence from the white house last week was present for the first full meeting of the president s colleagues and joined colleagues around the table. He heaped extravagant praise on the president after the president extravagantly praised himself. That comes as the president once again suffers a major legal defeat. A federal Appeals Court ruling against his revised travel ban and citing his own trades declaring he exceeded his authority in restricting travel from half a dozen muslim majority nations, and another court case looms, as maryland and the District Of Columbia file a lawsuit charging that the president is violating a constitutional ban on accepting payments from Foreign Governments. They allege that trump hotels and golf courses are drawing money from abroad meant to gain influence to the detriment of businesses in maryland and d. C. Ill talk to democratic senator ben cardin of the Foreign Relations committee and our correspondents, specialists and guests, they are standing by with full coverage of the days top stories. Lets begin with russian meddling and contacts with trump associates. Attorney general Jeff Sessions will testify before the Senate Intelligence committee to have and what will now be a public hearing. Up first. Lets gets to our senior washington correspondent brianna keilar. What the can we expect . Reporter so many outstanding questions for attorney general Jeff Sessions, and we expect they will be asked if not answers. What role did they have in director comeys firing and why did he leave the room in midfebruary letting the president talk to then fbi director alone, an action that sessions must have known was inappropriate. What was expected to be a closed door congressional grilling of attorney general Jeff Sessions will now take place in full view of the cameras and senators have pressing questions about the president s meeting with him and the former fbi director. The president asked that the room be cleared. The attorney general apparently hung back. I thought the attorney general should have said something. This man works for me. I think i should be here, too, mr. President. But the fbi director ended read. His during during his confirmation in january. I did not have communications with the russians, and im unable to comment on it. Reporter it was later revealed that sessions in fact had two meetings, one of them a private audience in his Congressional Office with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and perhaps a third encounter at a washington hotel. The Justice Department has denied the hotel meeting, but will sessions who today met with the president . Trump has been seething that the attorney general recused himself from the russia investigation three months ago. Its an honor to be able to serve of you. Reporter meanwhile we were vindicated. Reporter president s son seeming to back comeys account of trumps controversial conversation with the former fbi chief where comey alleged trump directed him to stop investigating and now ousted National Security adviser Michael Flynn saying i hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. When he tells you to do something. Yes. Guess what. Theres no ambiguity in it. Theres no hey, im hoping. You and i are friends. Hey, i hope this happens but youve got to the do your job. Thats what he told comb de, and for this guy as a politician to then go back and write a memo, i felt so threatened, but he didnt do anything. Reporter the problem with this explanation, President Trump says thats not what he told comey. He did say under oath that you told him to let the flynn you said you hoped the flynn investigation, you could i didnt say that. So he lied about that. Well, i didnt say that. I mean, i will tell you i didnt say that. Reporter its become a huge nuisance for republicans on capitol hill. Republican senator Lindsey Graham suggesting the obstruction of justice charge is now a bigger problem for the problem than anything that happened during the campaign. I dont think what was said amounts to obstruction of justice. Now what the president did was inappropriate, but heres whats so frustrating for republicans like me. You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that if you just were quiet would clear you. Reporter senator graham also had more advice for President Trump, focus on the american people, not jim comey. This affair has become such a problem for republicans on capitol hill, wolf. They have a lot to focus on, tax reform, the obamacare repeal. They do not want to be dealing with this. Infrastructure bill. They have got a lot of issues they would like to get to, but this clearly is dominating the subject right now. Brianna, thank you very, very much. The upcoming testimony by the attorney general Jeff Sessions could pose new problems for President Trump as his administration continues to dig in its heels against the russia investigation. Lets go to our senior White House Correspondent jim acosta. Jim, whats the latest over there . Reporter wolf, the white house and its allies are still on the attack, still trying to undermine the russia probe by questioning the motives of the investigators from former fbi director james comey to. And if the president was recording the conversations at the white house, if so, where are the tapes . The president made clear in the rose garden he would have an announcement. Any sort of announcement. When the president is ready to make it. When hes ready he will. He laid how the his position very clearly reporter wows not say whether they would invoke privilege when Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Intelligence committee tuesday. I think it depends on the scope of the questions and to get into hypotheticals at this point would be premature. Mr. President , its great to be here and celebrate this group. Reporter the president did take full advantage of one privilege as he met with sessions today, soliciting compliments from his cabinet secretaries. Has there been a president with few exceptions who has passed more legislation than what weve done. My hats off to you. Cant thank you enough for the privilege youve given me. Mr. President , thank you for the honor. A great privilege that youve given me. Thank you for getting this country moving again. We thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that youve given us to serve of your agenda. Reporter the cabinet kumbaya presented a trolling opportunity for democrats that was too much to reist. How did we do on the sunday show yesterday . Your tone was perfect. You were right on message. Michelle, how did my hair look coming out of the gym this morning . You have great hair. Nobody has better hair. Before we go any further, i just want to say thank you. Reporter the president lashed out once again at james comey over the former fbi directors orchestrated release of his personal memos tweeting that i believe james comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone thought possible, totally illegal and very cowardly. The line of attack echoed by top officials. Made him feel, quote, kwees, but he had no problem doing that. This is a man who admitted he leaked a memo to hurt this president. Reporter still, the president s daughter ivanka complains the attacks on his father are getting too personal. It is hard, and theres a level of viciousness that i was not expecting. I was not expecting the intensity of this experience, but this isnt supposed to be easy. Some. President s allies have a new target in their sights, special prosecutor robert mueller. Only weeks after trump surrogate Newt Gingrich praised the selection as a superb choice, former House Speaker is now tweeting republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. The president s take on that, the white house dodged that one, too. Once again, no answer, and when asked if the president has any tapes of his meetings, one of mr. Frumps personal lawyers was asked, he said ask him. The president will hold a News Conference in two weeks. Well see if we can wait that long. Thanks very much. Jim acosta, over at the white house. Joining us now is democratic senator ben cardin, Ranking Member of the senate Foreign Relations committee. Thanks for joining us. Wolf, good to be with you, thanks. If this reported third undisclosed meeting between the attorney general Jeff Sessions is and the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is confirmed, would you agree with some of your democratic colleagues that sessions would be guilty of perjury . Clearly hes stated on previous occasions about the contacts hes had with the Russian Ambassador, that there was no third contact. That would be different than what he has said. Clearly were going to get clarification of that when he appears before the Senate Intelligence committee this week. So senator sessions, attorney general sessions has an explanation that he needs to give. So do you think it would be perjury or would you call on him to resign if he acknowledges, yes, i did have that third meeting at the may flower hotel here in washington, d. C. , and i failed to report it. It would not be the first time that he has not reported information that should have been reported are. I think its an extremely serious matter. The attorney general needs to come clear as to what contacts he had and why he did not report them earlier when asked a specific question so i think its a very serious matter. Very serious matter. Youre at least not yet ready to say its perjury and he should resign. Have me back after he testifies before the Senate Intelligence committee. I might be ready by then. Lets see what he says tomorrow afternoon. What responsibility, senator, did the attorney general have to ensure the independence of the former fbi director james comey and prevent those oneonone meetings, the very controversial meetings that comey had with President Trump. That was clearly wrong. What the president did was absolutely wrong. Whether its obstruction of justice, well find out from the mueller investigation, but the attorney general should be there to protect the integrity of the fbi and the department of justice. The attorney general should have interceded and said no, mr. President , that type of meeting cant take place when theres an active investigation involving associates of yours with the fbi director. So he should have interceded to stop that. But do you agree with with a lot of republicans and even some democrats who say comey himself should have uttered those same words to the president and told him that its not appropriate to be raising these matters with me the way youre doing it . Well, you know, i clearly think that mr. Comey understood that this was wrong. Yes, i would have hoped he would have been more articulate in making sure that that compromising circumstance did not take play, so, yes, i think he could have done a more effective job to make sure that that conversation ever took place. The press Secretary Sean Spicer said that the president is not waiting for anything to either confirm or deny existence of any recordings of his conversations with comey and that President Trump will make an anointment when hes, quote, redry. Is the that appropriate to leave this question unanswered since that original tweet by the president and that was back on may 12th when he himself raised the possibility of, quote, tapes. No, its not its not right. This is not a matter that you have to investigate to see whether there are tapes or not. They know whether there are tapes or not. If there are tapes, the president needs to acknowledge it and make it available to the investigators. If theres no tapes, he has an explanation as to why he raised this particular issue. Why havent any senate committees, at least not yet, formally subpoenaed those tapes if they exist . Well, my guess is youre going to see subpoenas come pretty quickly if the president doesnt give a full explanation. I think you will see subpoenas. President trump, as you know, hes accusing the former fbi director of lying under oath. Thats perjury. You can go to jail if convicted and also dangling the prospect of those recordings if there are recordings to prove it. How does that refusal to release those tapes impact from your perspective, senator, the president s credibility. Well, the president s credibility has suffered a great deal. I mean, mr. Comey has directly couldnt ducted the president , semiof the pings that the president has said have been shown to be falls and i think the president s credibility has been impacted, not just by this investigation but other statements that hes made that arent true. What he said about the london mayor is just not true. What he said on so many different occasions have been absolutely wrong, so his credibility has already been affected by how hes handled the office of the presidency which is which is very compromising to american interests. Youre the ranking democrat on the Foreign Relations committee. Do you worry how people all over the world, they are watching this as closely as we are. How they are saying this. Oh, absolutely. Move meetings with foreign leaders all the time, and, yes, many times they are diplomatic in the first conversations, but after you take for a while. This matter is very much on the minds of World Leaders as to the integrity of the president and whether what he says can be believed. Do you think they are worried about when they meet with the president about being taped . Well, thats also a concern. I mean. That is outrageous that that question mark looms. You dont know whether youre being taped or not because hes opened up the issue as to whether or not hes recording conversations in the white house. My gut tells me a lot of those foreign leaders simply assume they are being taped when they have meetings over at the white house. Senator. Weve got a lot more to discuss. I need to take a quick break and well resume all the latebreaking developments right after this. Hey dad, come meet the new guy. The new guy . What new guy . I hired some help. He really knows his wine. This is the new guy . Hello, my name is watson. You know wine, huh . I know that you should check vineyard block 12. Block 12 . My analysis of satellite imagery shows it would benefit from decreased irrigation. I was wondering about that. Easy boy. Nice doggy. What do you think . Not bad. What do you think . A trip back to the dthe doctors office, mean just for a shot. But why go back there, when you can stay home. With Neulasta Onpro . Strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. In a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17 to 1 . A 94 decrease. Applied the day of chemo, Neulasta Onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. Neulasta is for certain Cancer Patients receiving strong chemotherapy. Do not take neulasta if youre allergic to neulasta or Neupogen Filgrastim . Ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. Report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. In patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. The most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. So why go back there . If youd rather be home, ask your doctor about Neulasta Onpro. [hissing] uh i [sound of wrench] [intricate guitar riff] [engine starts] [guitar continues] these make cleaning between myi love easy. Sy. Gum brand for healthy gums. Soft picks, proxabrush cleaners, flossers. Gum brand. Were talking to senator ben cardin. Stand by. Theres more breaking news that were following as a federal Appeals Court rules against the president s revised travel ban using his tweets to make the case against him. Lets bring in our justice reporter laura jarrett. Another major loss in the courts for the president and his revised version of the travel ban. Right. This is now the second time that a federal Appeals Court has ruled against the trump administration, but, wolf, the courts are doing something a little bit different here. In the past they looked at the constitutional analysis and they looked at Trumps Campaign statements and said i think that there is fueled by some sort of discriminatory intent. This time for the first time the court is looking at the statutory analysis, the statute that the president so often invokes for his power here and saying even under that the president hasnt justified the National Security interest justifying this travel ban. We havent heard anything from the Justice Department, but the white house says that they are reviewing this decision and they feel confident that they will ultimately prevail in the Supreme Court. Lets see what happens in the Supreme Court and other major legal challenge though to the president said. The attorneys general of maryland and the District Of Columbia, they filed a lawsuit against the president saying he was violating the socalled emoluments clause of the constitution by accepting money from Foreign Governments through his business empire, specifically his hotels. Exactly. This all seems from the fact that the president refused to divest his business interests before he took office and now the states are saying, well, wait a minute. Every time a foreign dignitary stays at the Trump International hotel here in d. C. Or even plays at his golf course, that is money flowing directly into his pocket in violation of the federal emoluments clause which prohibits payments from foreign dig trimpts lets take a little bit of a listen to what the attorney from d. C. Had to say earlier today laying out his case. I can tell you that as i look out the window and see the tower of the Trump International hotel, we know exactly whats going on every single day. We know that Foreign Governments are spending money there in order to curry favor with the president of the United States. Just one example. The kingdom of saudi arabia whose government has important business and policy before the president of the United States has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Trump International hotel. Reporter now the Justice Department has said fair market transactions like the one the attorney general is describing, cant possibly violate the constitution and sean spicer today also addressed this lawsuit calling it pure partisan gamesmanship. Take a listen to who he said. The president interests as previously discussed do not violate the emoluments clause. Its not hard to conclude that partisan politics is the partisan politics is what drives the suit filed by two democratic attorneys general. Reporter at the end of the day what the states want sat court order telling trump to stop accepting these foreign payments, but it also appears what they are driving towards is his Financial Information and the president s taxes, wolf. Thats what they would clearly like to get, his tax returns which hes refused to make public. Thanks very much for that report. Were back senator ben cardin of maryland, the Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations committee. On the issue of the travel ban, new york the white house says its confident that this executive order will be upheld by the nine justices of the u. S. Supreme court. Whats your reaction to that . Every Court Decision is holding that the president exceeded his authority, that this was a veiled effort to impose a travel ban based upon religion, based upon being muslim, that it was not in keeping with the values of america or the powers the president has and he hasnt made a case that america will be safer as a result of the travel ban, so i think in all those cases the president has lost in the courts. I dont see why we were expected a different decision from the Supreme Court. Will the lawsuit brought brought forth today by the attorneys general of d. C. And maryland, and youre from maryland, do you believe they will eventually lead to the release of the president s tax returns . Well, i think thats an interesting point because theres going to be discovery and discovery will involve that type of information, but i think the real issue is what you just heard in that clip, and that its impossible to determine whether the saudis or any Foreign Government that uses trump towers or uses the Trump Organization properties is doing that in order to curry favor with the president. We also know that Trump Enterprises has business interests in sawed should a. They have business interests in many foreign countries. What the attorneys are saying is not only violates the constitution, it presents a competition issue with american companies. If you own a hotel in washington, d. C. And youre in competition with trump towers, youre at an unfair advantage because Foreign Governments are trying to curry favors with the president of the United States. So i think its a very important lawsuit, one in which i hope will not only disclose President Trumps Financial Holdings which should have been disclosed well before that, but the president is required to take steps to divest of his holdings to avoid this conflict. And very quickly, senator, where does your efforts stand to enact more sanctions on russia . We are negotiating, as this program is going on, were very close to reaching an agreement between the leadership on the Banking Committee and the senate Foreign Relations committee. There are three issues that were trying to get done with russia. One is new mandatory sanctions. The other is to review any attempt by President Trump to take sanctions off of russia in exchange for any type of an agreement, and, third, to to authorize democracy initiatives between the United States and our european allies to fight against the attacks that russia is making to our democratic institutions. Were very close to working out an agreement. All right, senator, thanks very much. Senator ben cardin of maryland. Still ahead herman cain the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer once again dodges questions about whether President Trump taped his conversations with the fbi director james comey, but take a look at Donald Trumps past and it provides some rather intriguing clues. Hang out . [team member] yes. [woman] we want to be that house. [team member] i love that. And now, with my credit options guide, we can help you find which type of credit might be right for you. Ready to get started . [woman] okay. [man] definitely. Whimper yap yap yap yip is your dog trying to tell you something . Allergic itch in dogs is a medical condition thats more common and treatable than you think. Thats why theres prescription apoquel the revolutionary medicine thats giving millions of dogs the relief they deserve. Apoquel goes to the source of the itch to provide relief in as little as 4 hours. Woof and apoquel is safe without many of the side effects associated with the use of steroids. Apoquel is for the control of itch associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of Atopic Dermatitis in dogs. Do not use apoquel in dogs less than 12 months old or those with serious infections. Apoquel may increase the chance of developing serious infections and may cause existing parasitic skin infestations or preexisting cancers to worsen. Do not use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs. Most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. Dont wait. Ask your veterinarian about apoquel today. Apoquel. Its itch relief worth barking about. Bark 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. I knew at that exact moment. Im beating this. My main focus was to find a team of doctors. Its not just picking a surgeon, its picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. Visit cancercenter. Com breast the future isnt silver suits anits right now. S, think about it. We can push buttons and make cars appear out of thin air. Find love anywhere. Hes cute. And buy things from, well, everywhere. How . Because our phones have evolved. So isnt it time our networks did too . Introducing americas largest, most reliable 4g lte combined with the most wifi hotspots. Its a new kind of network. Xfinity mobile. Swroirks were following multiple breaking stories including the white house hinting that attorney general Jeff Sessions may not be able to answer some questions tomorrow when he testifies before the Senate Intelligence committee because of executive privilege. Lets bring in our political and legal specialists and chris cillizza, we know that the testimony that comey gave before congress on may 3rd certainly wrangled President Trump. I guess its certainly one of the factors that led to the president firing comey. It will be on attorney general sessions mind tomorrow when he testifies before the senate you think thats an understatement that it will be on his mind, absolutely. Wolf, look, what we know is that donald trump consumes lots and lots of television. Cable and otherwise and whether its sean spicers press conference or testimony like this very, very closely. I actually think that Jeff Sessions decision as it relates to whether forced or he accepted the decision to do it an open hearing as opposed to a closed one is smart in this regard there. Would be leaks, breaking news there, would be leaks out of a closed hearing about what sessions said, people characterizing it and that sort of thing. Trump would seize on those, particularly if it was anything that hoe teamed not to be a fullthroated defense of him which is hes not already thrilled about. To me sessions in this setting, what he says, how he looks and how he acts is all right out there. Now, trump can interpret it the how he wants as can anyone else watching it, but theres no way to have it be mischaracterized in the room, so i think that that is a move clearly designed knowing the president is watching and sessions is as well. Sean spicer, very intriguing, raised the possibility that potentially there could be executive privilege exerted by sessions. It depends on the scope of the questions. Thats what sean spicer said. So how does that influence what the public is going to learn tomorrow. I think well see a hearing that looks more like last week featuring dan coats and add miller motorcycle rogers when they were asked directly to sort of characterize these conversations they had had with President Trump and they declined to do so. They didnt explicitly invoke executive privilege, but they were essentially doing that, and compare that to what we saw from james comey, the very next day. He was very forthcoming. He had a story he wanted to tell. I think were likely going to see from Jeff Sessions a lot more similar a hearing thats a lot more similar with the coats rogers hearing, and the common denominator here is he works for the president. Rather remarkable. A rather remarkable precedent that the committee allowed them not to answer the questions without explicitly invoking the executive privilege. I was thinking back to the henry waxman, the great and famous henry waxman with all the tobacco executives lined up and they said i do not think its appropriate to answer these questions in open session, what do you think the response would have been . Just trying to imagine what just happened in terms of allowing that to go forward in that manner. And its worth noting that chairman burr at the conclusion of that hearing did chide those witnesses. He said if youre coming before in committee you need have answers. I wonder if sessions will be held to the same standard. Lets let jeffrey weigh in. I just think as a practical matter, if Jeff Sessions refuses to answer questions tomorrow, hes going to refuse to answer questions. They cant go to Court Tomorrow and get and get some sort of court order, and, you know, senator burr says bad on you. So what. Its just like really under sessions control tomorrow which questions he wants to answer and thats up to him. If he says, jeffrey, you know what, these are confidential private conversations, i as the attorney general that im having with the president of the United States, and i dont want to talk about that publicly, what if anything can the senators do . Move to hold them in contempt and litigate question by question whether those the answers to those questions are covered by executive privilege. That would take at a minimum months. So, you know, i think we can have an interesting discussion over the merits of executive privilege and the extent of it, but as a practical matter Jeff Sessions is going to say what he wants tomorrow and thats what everybody will have to live with. And also the most important question may not be the attorney generals conversation with the president but whether he had additional conversations with the russia ambassador which presumably would not be in the scope. Thats right. A privileged communication or executive privilege with the president. The and i think the peril to sessions is a great deal more regarding those conversations with the russians because he he made sworn statements on his security clearances that appear to be contradictory to his actual contact of contacts with russia. That relates to his personal liability and thats what hes considerably worried about. Hell have some explanation. Well see if people find it credible. To jeffs point, i i think you always have to remember in this administration and the legal process, in terms of the political process, you always have to remember that these people are performing for an audience of one. Ive stayed before and will say it again. Sean spicer a few weeks back, his performances were panned as he took very few questions and essentially said this is a false narrative that you media types are saying and then he got out. I and i and many other people said this was a terrible performance. My guess is donald trump liked it, so, look, Jeff Sessions probably wants to keep his job. Now obviously he wants to keep himself out of significant legal peril. Theres no question there, but i think that there is a performance aspect to all of these hearings thats even more so with donald trump in the white house. Do you think the president is a nielsen householdle . Is the white house a nielsen white house . Again, this is you know he is going to be watching. You know hes going to be pargs your words. That is that is who he is. Thats who he is and always has been. And looking for perceived slights. And hell have bigger slights in terms of who is parsing his words. And bigger problems to what he pays atension to. Yes, he has bigger problems. I meant attorney general sessions. Oh, okay. All of us remember during the campaign when he was asked where do you get your information and he said on the shows. That was about the military, wolf. National security issues. Everybody stand by. Theres a lot more that were following. Well be right back. The average familys hectic home its raised 1 dare devil, 2 dynamic diy duos, and an entrepreneur named sharon. Its witnessed 31 crashes, 4 food fights, and the flood of 09. Its your paradise perfected with behr premium plus low odor paint. The best you can buy starting under 25. Unbelievable quality. Unbeatable prices. Only at the home depot. I was always tpeople dont stare anymore. I never joined in. That wasnt fair to any of us. I was covered. I tried lots of things over the years. But i didnt give up. I kept on fighting. I found something that worked. That still works. Now . See me. See me. I found clear skin that lasts. See if cosentyx could make a difference for you cosentyx is proven to help people with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Find clear skin that can last. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx, you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms. Or if you have received a vaccine or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease, tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. See me to know. Clear skin can last. Dont hold back. Ask your dermatologist if cosentyx can help you find clear skin that lasts. I have agerelated maculare degeneration, amd, he told me to look at this grid every day. And we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression, including Preservision Areds 2. My doctor said Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula the National Eye Institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd after 15 years of clinical studies. Preservision areds 2. Because my eyes are everything. Listen up, heart disease. 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. Before we get back to our political or legal specialists, i want to show you part of todays rather bizarre meeting of the president s full cabinet. The president went around the table soliciting praise and sometimes effusive praise from every cabinet member. Thank you, mr. President , and just the greatest privilege of my life is to serve of as Vice President to a president who is keeping his word to the american people. Mr. President , i am 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 to lead the department of health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership and i cant thank you enough for privilege youve given my and the leadership that youve then. Mr. President , thank you for the honor to serve of the country, a great privilege youve given me. On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, mr. President , we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that youve given us to serve of your daj and the american people. I want to congratulate you on the men and women youve placed around this table. This is a team youve assembled thats working and in glove with for the betterment of america and i want to thank you for that. These are great team members, and were on your team. Thank you, mr. President. Its a great honor traveling with you around the country for the last year and an even greater honor to be here serving in your cabinet. Chris, how unusual is that . Okay. So im watching it on cnn, of course, and i i think that hes he makes a statement which, you know, is typical of these things and usually a reporter then shouts a question that they ignore, the photographers take their picture and thats the end. Then he goes to his newer cabinet members, sonny purr durpurrd. Ue, recently confirmed, oh, okay but then it goes on and on. Wolf, can i say something. Wolf, i just want to thank you for having me on the situation room. Classic toobin. Youre doing such a great job in general and especially today, and its just an honor to be here with you. Im surprised jeff didnt mention your suit and the nice fit on you. Its an oversight by jeff, but i want you to know that i mentioned your suit. Beside all the strange third world tin pot dictator elements of this of this meeting, theres Something Else about it which is kind of the the circle, the insolarity, it was fler and effusive and overwrought but it is their sense of where things are going at a moment when today in the gallup tracking poll tied its alltime high at 59 and you can see in polling in 2018 at this point, democrats having a dig lead on the generic ballot. They believe they are moving forward. They are, you know, mobilizing their base and speaking to their base with things like the climate decision or the senate motoring towards repealing the Affordable Care act entirely in secret with no public hearings or no disclosure of the bill, but there is a whole other world out there, if you look at polling, of people who run easy from the policy and kind of operational perspective on how this presidency is unfolding. None of that. He is really almost completely given up on the idea of speaking to had a majority of the country. Foucsing almost entirely on his base. Jeffrey, thank you so much for your kind words. Deeply appreciate it. Really mean that. On a very serious note, the lawsuit that the attorneys general of maryland and the District Of Columbia filed against the president saying hes violated the emoluments clause of the constitution, what do you think . Im extremely skeptical that this will lead to anything serious in terms of an impact on President Trump. You know, the eel momoluments c has never been applied in the modern world and i think this is a political attempt to interfere and damage the presidency. I dont think its going to lead to anything significant, and and, remember. Even the discovery process which, is you know, where they might get the tax returns, thats only going to take place after the administration moves to dismiss the lawsuit just on standing grounds, on the grounds that it doesnt state a claim for which relief can be granted. I just think if donald trump is going to be damaged politically, its going to come through other sources. But there may be some opportunities, even if they fail in the end, rebecca, to get maybe the tax returns as part of discovery. That is possible, and certainly thats going to be the gold ring for any opponents of the president and something even if these court cases fail to produce, something that democrats will be going after if they take control of the house, can you bet on that. You did mention, rebecca, got a nice haircut over the weekend. Very good, wolf. I like your haircut a lot. I think it could go on. Theres a lot more news coming up, including some very, very surprising breaking news out of north korea. Get ready. Kim jongun may be about to get a special visitor. We have details. Thats coming up. Tech when you schedule with safelite autoglass, you get a text when were on our way. You can see exactly when well arrive. Im micah with safelite. Customer thanks for coming, its right over here. Tech giving you a few more minutes for what matters most. Take care. Kids singing safelite® repair, safelite® replace. Itbut one i think with quesa simple answer. We have this need to peek over our neighbors fence. And once we do, we see wonder waiting. Every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. Bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. So, the question you asked me. What is the key . Its you. Everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. Will you be ready when the moment turns romantic . Cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. Tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. To avoid longterm injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis. This is cnn breaking news. Were getting some breaking news. Cnn has learned the former nba star Dennis Rodman is heading to north korea again. Lets bring in brian todd. Brian, what are you learning . Wolf, learning that just a short time ago that Dennis Rodman is on his way to north korea. Two north korean officials tell cnn hes expected to arrive in pyongyang on tuesday, but gave no other details. Cnn spotted rodman today, he declined to answer questions, but a member of his entourage mouthed the words, see you thursday. Its not clear what may happen on thursday and the visit of rodmans visit is not clear at the moment, but he arrives at a time of heightened tensions between the u. S. And north korea. Kim jonguns regime has test fired 15 Ballistic Missiles and they are obtaining four americans, university of virginia student, and two academics who worked at a university in pyongyang. Rodman is one of the only americans who have ever met with kim jongun facetoface. He has visited that country at least four times, the last visit coming in 2014 when he and other former nba players took part in an exhibition basketball game, which was a Birthday Gift for kim. Wolf, a u. S. Official telling cnn tonight the state department was aware of rodmans plans to travel to north korea but stress he is not going in any official capacity with the u. S. Government. Interesting that we spotted him. We have that video of him in beijing at the international airport. You want to go to pyongyang, you have to fly to beijing first, then get a visa in beijing, then fly into north korea, payongyan. A lot of us remember the negative publicity for the last visit. Thats right, he was heavily criticized for not bringing up the case of american kenneth bae, who spent more than two years in north korean custody. Rodman had an expletive laden outburst during the trip. He did say after his return he was sorry for what was going on and meant the trip to be an instance of, quote, basketball diplomacy. A key question tonight, does the trip have anything to do with the four detained americans. Well see over the next few days, wolf. Who knows. They are four guys being held there, couple for quite some time. Is rodman going to do anything regarding their custody . Thats going to be a key thing to watch. Certainly important to see if he meets with kim jongun himself. I think hes the only american that has met with the north korean leader. Thanks very much. Breaking news in the situation room. Coming up, the attorney general Jeff Sessions prepares to testify publicly amid serious questions about his contacts with russia and the firing of fbi director james comey. Will he claim executive privilege to duck some of the toughest questions . Theres nothing more than my vacation. Me so when i need to book a hotel, i want someone who makes it easy. Booking. Com gets it. And with a book now, pay later feature, i dont have to pay for anything when i book. Visit booking. Com. Booking. Yeah. [boy] cannonball [girl] dont. [man] not again [burke] swan drive. Seen it. Covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum are upgrading their watere filter to zerowater. Start with water that has a lot of dissolved solids. Pour it through britas twostage filter. Dissolved solids remain what if we filter it over and over . Oh dear. Thank goodness zerowaters fivestage filter gets to all zeroes the first time. So maybe its time to upgrade. Get more out of your water. Get zerowater. Happening now, breaking news. Public sessions, the attorney general is just hours away from being hammered with tough questions in the russia investigation as he prepares to face senators in an open hearing. Will sessions try to avoid giving answers by citing executive privilege . Travel ban blow. Another federal court rules against the president s revised executive order, using mr. Trumps tweets against him. Taking trump to court. Attorneys general from the District Of Columbia and maryland announcing they are suing the president ,