Lady is scheduled to attend a white house event this hour honoring gold star families. Why has she waited until now to appear in front of others. And replacing kims generals. Kim jongun purges three of the top military leadersad of the summit with President Trump. Tonight new details of the upcoming meeting and how it may be influencing kims decision. Im wolf blitzer and youre in the situation room. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Were following breaking news. The white houseeppered with questions about a false statement made and about President Trumps claim that he has what he calls the absolute right his words absolute right to pardon himself. Well talk about congressman John Garamendi and our correspondents are also standing by. Lets get straight to the white house first. Our chief White House Correspondent jim acosta is standing by. Some very pointed questions for the press secretary just a little while ago. But very few answers . Reporter that is right. The white house spent much of the day making questionable constitutional claims about the president s powers that he has the power to pardon himself and that the appointment of the special counsel is unconstitutional. But the white house didnt devote much time to explaining the claims and when asked why the White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders gave false information to the public, she referred that question to the president s outside legal team. Even though it was her own bogus stamt bogus statement and it was one of the days where you say beg your pardon. At the white house there were more talking points than actual answers. When asked about the president s tweets that he has the absolute right to pardon himself and the appointment of the special counsel is unconstitutional, White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders repeatedly turned to prepared responses. Thankfully the president hasnt done anything wrong and wouldnt have any need for a pardon. Once again, thankfully the president hasnt done anything wrong and wouldnt need one. The questions came in response to the president s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, a former prosecutor who made that cim over the weekend. Do you and the president s attorneys believe he has the power to pardon himself . He hes not. But he probably does. He has no intention of pardoning himself. But he probably does. Not only do fellow republicans disagree if i were president of the United States and hi a lawyer that told me i could pardon myself, i think i would hire a new lawyer. Reporter back in the 1970s, the Justice Department wrote just before the resignation of nixon that a president cannot pardon himself adding, no one may be a judge in his own case. The white house also side stepped questions about the explanation for donald trump jr. Meeting at trump tower with a russian attorney offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. At the time president s lawyer and sanders said he did not dipgt dictate the response. That was written by donald trump jr. With consultation with his lawyer. He certainly didnt dictate. But like he said, he weighed in an offered suggestion like any father would do. Reporter and now t lawyers tell the specinsel in a january letter that the president dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son. When asked to explain her own false statement, sanders dodged bigtime. This is from a letter from the outside counsel and i direct you to them. It is also pertaining to a letter from the president s outside counsel and i cant answer. Reporter giuliani conceded the trump tower meeting demonstrates why the president may not talk to the special counsel. This is the reason you dont let the president testify. It is our recollection keeps changing. And they touch this out landing exclamation of the president couldnt be indicted while in office, no matter what he did. And if he was itch impeach him and then do whatever you want. Is that correct for his attorney to say shooting james comey and thankfully the president hasnt done anything wrong and so we feel very confident if i could ask a followup question. I need to keep going. Not today, jim. We have a long briefing sometimes, sarah. Jay sekulow released a statement about the trump tower meeting say the statement in the january letter to the special counsel reflects our understanding of the events that occurred but even that statement does not explain the false statements initially given to the public about the trump tower meeting. Wolf, if the president likes to say there was no collusion, that this is a witch hunt, then why are they giving these false statements about the trump tower meeting and then when asked about why the president dictated that meeting and why they covered that up initially, why did they give false statements about that, false statements covering up false statements and in most peoples minds those are considered lies. Why wouldnt she take follow up questions from reporters. Ive been covering white house briefings going back several president s and every press secretary takes followup questions. Why wouldnt she. Because they just dont want to answer the questions. And this is happening gradually over , fewer briefings and they are shorter and Sarah Sanders is going aro the room and takin one question from reporter and we need a new strategy on the part of the White House Press corp to start asking the question from the previous reporter who was cut off by the press secretary because clearly this is a strategy designed to not give information to the American People, wolf. Jim acosta at the white house. Thank you. Lets dig deeper. Evan perez is joining us. The president tweets he could pardon himself and the special counsel appointment is unconstitutional. Are those arguments part of the Legal Team Strategy . Look, i think the pardoning yourself argument is not going to be one that theyre going to pursue very much longer. I think Rudy Giuliani sort of got himself into a corner there that i think even the rest of the legal team is willing to pursue but the question of whether or not the Mueller Investigation is constitutional, i think well see that surface again, especially if they cant reach a deal with regard to a voluntary interview with the special counsel, whether the president has to sit down with him and the special counsel has to resort to a subpoena, we may yet see that argument. And lets keep in mind, Paul Manaforts lawyer, the former chairman for the Trump Campaigns whole idea that mueller was he was illegally appointed by Rod Rosenstein and one judge has ruled that is not true. And the january 29th letter 20page letter of the New York TimesFirst Published this letter from the president s former lawyer john dowd to Robert Mueller lays out an aggressive strategy against mueller but that was in january. Has it escalated since then . Yes. I think it has escalated. Now if you listen to the president s legal team they view this as less of a lase and more of a political case. This is something that Rudy Giuliani is not much of a president hes not much of a lawyer for the president. He is more of a political mouth piece for the president. There is not much lawyering happening there. The lawyering is being done by the raskins and jay sekulow and handling the interaction with the special counsel and if there is a deal for n interview, that is where it will come. Rudy giuliani is just to do television. The first person to serve jail time in connectiowith the Mueller Probe was release the after 30 days for lying to investigators. Does that mean that there is a new start now of the beginning of the end . What . I dont think it is the beginning of the end. I think one phase of the investigation certainly is closing. It is nearly closing i think. Certainly the president and whether or not he sits down with the special counsel is what everybody is waiting. And it appears that the strategy at least for the part of the president is to drag this out and it appears theyve decided they want the this t midterms and so this is why six months after this began, this whole the discussion of whether or not to do a volunteer interview, we still dont know whether he will sit down with the special counsel. So i think their lengthening out becau they believe politically this works for the president. Once the president sits down and then well see whether there is another phase of the investigation to focus on the russians and what they did in the 2016 election. Evan perez, thank you very much for that explanation. Now to more on all of this. John garamendi of california is joining us, a member of the Armed Services committee. Thanks for joining us. Let me get your reaction to the White House Press secretary who said the president is not above the law butresident said he has absolute right to pardon himself. How do you see it . Well the president is absolutely wrong. The framers of the constitution did not want a king. They didnt want a monarch that had absolute power and they very carefully designed the constitution such a way as to make certain the president was not a king. And did not have absolute power. Now the president has responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the nation. And if you break the law, then it seems to me that he is subject to the full indictment against breaking the law. And besides that, hes there to honor and preserve the constitution. The president s legal team believes this will come down to the question of whether or not congress decides to pursue impeachment. If the president were to pardon himself, do you believe republican in congress would line up behind an impeachment effort . Well, there would be something ahead of an im of a pardonnd that is an indictment. And at that point, it would seem that congress has to act. It is the impeachment is misdemeanors and high crimes. There is an allegation of a crime even before there was a pardon. Now if there is a pardon, you just add that on top and absolutely under that circumstance there should be an impeachment and a trial and in which the president would be found guilty. Now all of that is off in the future. Well see what happens. But there should be no doubt no doubt in anybodys mind that if the president purposely disobeys a law, for example obstruction of justice which is a law, then indicted and if found and at that point an impeachment would be in order. And the president also tweeted this morning that the special counsel robert Mueller Investigation in his word, is unconstitutional. Does that line of attack have any legal basis at all . Well, constitutional lawyer. But ill tell you, it has no political basis. That what we havee is the department of justice setting up a special counsel to investigate a special set of problems and that is what muell. I dont think it is a question of constitutionality, it is a question of process. We have a prosecutor and an Investigation Underway by a special counsel. Let that go forward. Let the whatever it is going to be, let it show its hand. Was there a crime . Yes, no. Was there obstruction of justice, yes or no and was there collusion, yes or no. That may lead to an indictment and may not and may lead to an impeachable offense, it may not. We dont know. But we have to get this investigation not only underway, but completed and the president and his cronies have to keep their hands off of it. Justice has to ound. Wondering why a year after this investigation started all of a sudden the president is saying, the w thing is unconstitutional even though the Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein named robeller to lead this special investigation. To nurn explanation about that misleading Public Statement regarding the 2016 trump tower meeting between Trump Campaign officials and russians, including the president s son. The president s legal team now acknowledges that the president himself dictated that Public Statement which was released by his son donald trump jr. This comes after months of denial that he had anything to do with it at all. Should those misleading denials repeated once again over several months by multiple white house officials play a role in Robert Mueller obstruction investigation . I would think that they would. And an obstruction is anffort by an individual or parties to derail, to obstruct an investigation. And it seems that this is something that mueller will clearly want to look at and particularlyp in mind that if you are looking for the truth, dont look to trump. And dont look t his team. There has been one lie after another since even before he was sworn into office. And it is continued on at about nine lies a day right now. That is that seems to be the average number of lies either in tweets or in words that come from the president or directly from his tweets. And that statement that the president dictated he said the meeting was not a Campaign Issue at the time but we know the meeting was largely the result of a proposal from the russians that theyad socalled dirt on Hillary Clinton. They wanted to share with the Trump Campaign. So that statement was not a Campaign Issue, at a time that it had something to do with adoptions and clearly it was erroneous. There is no doubt about it. And you also have the president s son, with his very famous statement and Something Like bring it on or Something Like that. No, they knew exactly what they were looking for. They were looking for some dirt on hillary and the russians who were offering it. There is no doubt that. Whether now the question arises, was there effort to derail, to misdirect the investigation, was that obstruction . That is what mueller will be looking at. Congressman garamendi. Thanks for joining us. Glad to be with you. More breaking news. The president slams the Mueller Investigation once again as urn constitutional but said he will, quote, play the game. Plus more on the president s claim that he could pardon himself. Why is he floating the idea if he has no intention of doing it . Just another day on the farm. Or is it . This farmers morning starts in outer space. Where satellites feed infrared images of his land into a system built with ai. 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Why people everywhere are upgrading their water 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 . sighing 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. Get more out of your water. Liberty mutual saved us almost 800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. Liberty did what . Yeah, they saved us a ton, which gave us a little wi wish our insurance did that. Then we could get a real babysitter instead of your brother. Hey, welcome back. This guy, right . laughs yes. Ellen. Thats my robe. You could save 782 when liberty stands with you. Liberty mutual insurance. Breaking news, the white house facing questions after President Trump tweeted about his power to pardon. Lets dig deeper with our specialist joey jackson. Our legal analyst tweeted that he had absolute power to pardon himself and the White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president is not above the law but reiterated he hasnt done anything wrong. Do you have a clear sense of where his lawyers are heading right now with all of the various statements . Well you know, wolf, i think what theyre doing is what lawyers always do and that is argue in the alternative. What does it mean . It means the president hasnt done anything wrong so what would be the basis for pardoning himself. That is argument one. But argument two in the alternative, if he did, he could pardon himself and so here is where it stands. The fact is that it would be legally questionable and politically untenable to the legal issue. We know that a president can presumptiveln and we saw it with ford and nixon and avoiding any indictment and the question is if you do that, what is the constitution say. It is silent as to the issue of whether the president could pardon himself and we know that it is a vast and virtually unlimited ability the president has. However, turning that to himself, i dont think the constitution would permit or otherwise allow it. It offends our notion of justice and offends the notion that the president would be above the law or equal to the law of everyone else and it fends notion of separation of government in a democrat process. And so i think it becomes very problematic whether it can be done. Final point and that is this, from the political politically untenable position, if you are pardoning yourself, how would in any stretch of the imagination congress permit that and that would be a basis finally for congress to intervene and to draft articles impeachment which would there by remove him and i dont think anyone in the court would permit that and it i institute that and he could be out of office by saying im impeaching myself. Where does the Justice Department stand on this. There is an opinion out of the office of the Legal Counsel from the 1970s said that said the president cannot pardon himself or be the judge in his own case before nixon resigned and it does give an interesting loophole, saying under the 25th amendment, you could be disabled and get the vp to pardon you and then come back. But the way the president s legal team wants to have it both ways on on all of the olc opinion that a president cant be indicted treat as though it is a religious document but in this opinion, theyre less faithful to they are trying to play this one both ways. Why is the president raising this whole issue when he tweeted this morning i have the absolute right to pardon myself. All of audden if he doesnt intend to pardon himself, if hes done nothing wrong, why is he even talking about this . The short answer, i dont know. Longer answer, my guess is joey touched on a little of this. I thinkis politically untenable to pardon yourself. Full stop. And that said, i think what youve seen in the last three or four months is an attempt and Rudy Giuliani is the edge of this, an an attempt to discredit Robert Mueller and 13 angry democrats and et cetera. And that is the findings. And then i think this if there is a political calculation, is to soften the idea of pardon. That if he needed to do this, well it would only be because this group of democrats, again not true, but angry democrats found that he had done things. So to sort of float the idea to his political base. That said, i just dont sure some people in the base would say, hes only pardoning himself because this is a witch hunt but i dont think that even all of his base who would agree with that. And the power component to this reminded me of Donald Trumps tweet to kim jongun that his button was bigger than his and this is him saying that his button is bigger than mueller. And this ishe president testing the boundaries and makes the bold statement and waits to see what kind of pushback and weve seen some pushback from Congressional Republicans but more muted than you would expect considering the astonishing claim tt hes made. And i always liken the President Trump to a basketball game. If in the First Quarter you go out and you foul the other team relentlessly, the referees have two options, throw everyone out and end the game and make the fans unhappy, or change the way in which the game is called. Make fouls be you have to foul harder. I feel like hes alreadyone that over the first 16 months and hes moved the goalpost to susans point repeatedly on what is acceptable, how far Congressional Republicans are willing to go. Back in the campaign, he would Say Something offen and paul ryan would say thats it and im out and heow signed on full form to a text that increases the debt for trillion dollars. And this is about whether we have a president or a monarch. And the president said the whole Mueller Investigation is now unconstitutional. All of a sudden a year into this investigation he said it is unconstitutional. I see a little smile on your face . I dont think that there is any merit at all. That is the political calculation, what he has to do is to continue to attack, attack and attack and the legitimacy of the investigation itself in order to establish what he loves to say, wolf, witch hunt, witch hunt, witch hunt. The fact of the matter is there is no question about the collusion. The issue is or excuse me the interference with regard to the election now you have to get to the question of whether there was collusion. That is a proper form and source of investigation. There is scial counsel that is investigating it and it was they were properly promulgated to move forward. I know he hates the investigation. He hates the department of justice. He cant stand sessions. But the fact now that you are that it is unconstitutional maybe you dont like it and it is brother some so to your agenda but that is an argument that he loses. Stick around. Were watching and well take a quick break and be right back. The first survivor of alzheimers disease is out there. And the Alzheimers Association is going to make it happen. But we wont get there without you. Visit alz. Org to join the fight. Find thenah. Ote yet . Honey look, your old portable cd player. My high school rethainer. Oh dont. Its early 90s sitcom star dave coulier. Cut. It. Out [laughing] what year is it . As long as stuff gets lost in the couch, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Im a small business, but i have. Big dreams. And big plans. So how do i make the efforts of 8 employees. Feel like 50 . How can i share new plans virtually . How can i download an efile . Virtual tours . Zipfile . Really big files . In seconds, not minutes. Just like that. Like everything. The answer is simple. Ill do what ive always done. Dream more, dream faster, and e all. Now, ill dream gig. Now more businesses, in more places, can to dream gig. Comcast, building americas largest gigspeed network. Back with our political and legal experts. And susan, i want to play for you some of the statements that were made by Trump Lawyers and political officials in the aftermath of the New York Times disclosi that trump tower meeting in june of 2016 between the president s son, soninlaw and Campaign Chairman and russians. Listen to this. That was written by donald trump jr. And im sure with consultation with his lawyer. So that wasnt written by the president the president didnt sign off on anything. He was coming back from the g20. The Statement Released on saturday was release donald trump jr. And im sure in consultation with his lawyers. The preasn involved that. The president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the stax the statement. It came from donald trump jr. He certainly didnt dictate but offered suggestion like any father would do. In this 20page document that john dowd wrote to mueller in january, here is a couple of sentences. The president dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of donald trump jr. And his son followed up by making a full Public Disclosure regarding the meeting including the public his public testimony that there was nothing to the meeting and certainly no evidence of collusion. Your analysis . I think it goes to the core question of obstruction of justice. We have this important admission and the president of the United States admitting that he sought and personally attempted to conceal the purpose of this meeting. But that he lied to the American People and directed other individuals to lie to the American People. That raises the question of whether or not he just did so in order to mislead the public or whether he was also attempting to mislead investigators. I also think it seeks to guilty knowledge here. They clearly understood that they had something to hide. And i think Rudy Giuliani did give the game away this week and when he said that is why you dont let the president testify. Hes saying, they call it perjury trap. Hes saying the president of the United States cannot be trusted to comply with the law. Can he not be trusted to tell the truth and that itself is a consequence cal statement. And today Sarah Sanders said in august of last year he didnt dictate, referring to the president , the Public Statement in the aftermath of the New York Times story and refused to answer questions why she said that which clearly wasnt true. I was going to go crazy. It is beyond ridiculous, wolf. This is this makes no sense. You cannot deny that he dictated it from the same place that you then say, oh, i have to refer you to the office of Legal Counsel. You cant do that. Susan is right, there is zero question now, this is not not Anonymous Sources and this is donald trump and his lawyers proving that jay sekulow and what Sarah Sanders said is wrong. Im not going to accuse them of lying because my guess is the information that they were getting was incomplete orimply false. Where were they getting that information from . Susan touched on it. Donald john trump. We know that. He is not partisan and that is beyond dispute. The only question that needs to be asked and answered now is why . Why was donald trump not telling the truth. Why did he say he didnt dictate the statement and he did. Why was the statement to say, well this is a meeting about adoptions when a simple phone call to his son would have said, we set it up because they had promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. And that was a political element of guilt. Go ahead, joey. The issue is consciousness of guilt. If there are things that are going to be helpful to you or otherwise dont hurt you, what are you lying about. So if you are lying, there is a consciousness of guilt, guilty knowledge and jus briefly, were in a strange era of alternative facts. I used to think a fact is a fact to a fact and it is an alternative fact and the president teasing the media, wouldnt you like to see a letter. I didnt open theetter yet. Really . I just dont know how you lie with impunity and lie about things that dont need to be lied to. If you dont like the news, it is fake news. I just think it is a strange era and it is difficult in my business because everyone youre supposed to go to court and tell the truth and nothing but the truth but i dont think people know the distinction between a fact and lie and almost a fact and a true fact and alternative fact. It is very strange. Rudy giuliani, the president s lawyer said ted it is just a case of, quote, changing recollections. But we do know that mueller is clearly looking into this whole Public Statement that was released that the president dictated as a potential source of obstruction. Rebecca, lets turn to another story today. Bill clinton was on tv earlier today talking about Monica Lewinsky and this new age of the Metoo Movement. Listen to this exchange. I like the Metoo Movement. It is way overdue. I think that it doesnt mean i agree with everything. I still have some questions about some of the decisions which have been made. Looking back on what happened then, through the lens of metoo now, do you think differently or feel more responsibility . No. I felt terrible then. And i came to grips with it. Did you ever apologize to her . Not yes. And nobody believes that i got out of that for free. Do you feel like you owe her an apology . No, i i do not i never talk to her. But i did say publicly on more than one occasion that i was sorry. That is very different. The apology was public. What is your analysis of that . The reason that this is getting so much play, wolf, is because it is just completely tone deaf. Stunning. And you could see why the clintons have been sort of sidelined by democrats in this era. Not only because Hillary Clinton lost her election, but because bill clinton, to say Something Like that, you have to be completely oblivious to where the Democratic Party and where the country is today. It is an amazing moment when bill clinton, who was you remember his speech to the Democratic Convention a few years ago, that went on and on and was heralded as this amazing speech that lifted up president obamas candidacy and it is amazing to see him in this situation where hes instead this huge liability when he opens his mouth. What does he i dont understand what he means . What does he mean this is a very different thing. Hes right, a public apology is a very different thing than calling and writing a letter but he suggested it is a better thing than a private apology. I just tnk Monica Lewinsky is the best or among the best voices on this go read the piece he wrote in vanity fair how she talks about how she has reassessed their relationship in the context of the Metoo Movement given hes the president of the United States and she was a white house inturn. Rebecca is white. There is a reason why bill clinton is not going to be out on the campaign trail for a very specific reason. Because he it is not just that he says stuff like this, he thinks stuff like this. And that is so out of step with where we are as a country, particularly within the Democratic Party at the moment. Causing n uproar, this whole rightly so. Stick around. Coming up, Melania Trump is scheduled to make the first appearance in weeks. But why isnt the white house allowing any cameras inside . Vo theyre getting more out of life by starting with miraclegro potting mix and plant food. Together, guaranteed to produce three times the harvest. More to enjoy. To share. Three times the harvest. One powerful guarantee. Miraclegro. At the white house, Melania Trump is scheduled to make the first appearance since hospitalized for a kidney procedure last month. Let as go to kate beckett working this story. Is this event a milestone. Walk us through the decision for her to participate. She did this event last year with the president. So it is not unusual t shes honoring gold star families. This is something shes done before and very supportive of the military. However, we havent seen or heard from her in person in about i think 25 days. Erday. So i just got a statement, wolf, from the first lady spokesperson and im going to read that to you here. Mrs. Trump has always been a strong and independent woman who puts her family and certainly her health above all else and that wont change over a rabid press corp. Shes confident in what shes doing in her role and knows the rest is just speculation and nonsense. So clearly shes still defending against the stories and rumors that have popped up since the kidney procedure over two weeks ago and this is certainly fallout. I dont think it is just the press, i think there are democrats and republicans and fans, there are a lot of people wondering where is the first lady of the United States. How is she doing . Because we havent seen her in 25 days. So her spokesperson tells me shes doing well and great and taking meetings at the white house but i think clearly this wasnt a minor procedure considering what we all saw. She stayed in the hospital for five days. She recuped at the white house. She hasnt had a public appearance until tonights event. So certainly it may have been a bit more serious than that initial statement let on. Why is this event at the white house now closed to the press, no cameras . Why not just let the cameras in at the beginning . A lot of people are saying that, wolf. And it is hard to argue that when you havent seen her but these are gold star families and who have lost somebody in war and the military and more about 40 families there and out of respect for them, this is a closed and shes not going to canada or to singapore for the summit and staying here. Right. And i dont think we should read into that. I think anyone with a medical procedure they are advised not to travel. Im not a doctor. But her office tells me that certainly there is nothing to read into this. Le will speculate. She needs to get back out there and hear from the first lady. And we wish her only the best full recovery from that procedure. Thank you for that good reporting from kate bennett. Still ahead, new questions after the president s attorneys reveal he dictated the statement his son issued kbt meeting at trump tower with russians during the campaign. And kim jongun suddenly purges three of the top generals. What doehat meanor the upcoming summit next week . Liberty mutual saved us almost 800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. With liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. Hey oh, thats my robe. Is it . When you switch to liberty mutual, you could save 782 on auto and home insurance. And still get great coverage for you and your family. Call for a free quote today. You could save 782 when liberty stands with you. Liberty mutual insurance. Now im gonna te my mma that im a traveller im gonna follow the sun now im gonna tell my momma transitions™ light under control™ visit your local visionworks to ask about transitions™ brand lenses visit your local visionworks south l. A. Is very medically underserved. When the old hospital closed people in the community lived with untreated Health Problems for years. So, with the countys help we built a new hospital from the ground up and having citi as an early investor worked as a signal to others to invest. With citis help we built a wonderful Maternity Ward aweve made sible for thease an mpeople who live here to lead healthier lives and thats invaluable. The white house announced President Trumps first meeting with kim jongun will be at 9 00 p. M. Eastern, a week from tonight. That would be monday that would be Tuesday Morning in singapore. As the summit approaches, were learning of some important and sudden changes taking place inside north korea. Brian todd has been working his sources. What are you hearing . Reporter kim jongun has persi purged three of his top generals. U. S. Officials telling cnn, kim was concerned about potential corruption among the three generals and wanted to get rid of them in anticipation of investment coming into north korea if he can strike a nuclear deal with President Trump. Tonight, kim jongun is moving swiftly and ruthlessly, purging his top generals ahead of a planned summit with President Trump. According to media reports, north koreas top three military officials have been replaced by younger men believed to be loyalists to kim. These are the guys he brings in, because they will implement his policies. They will be loyal to him. They wont resist. There wont be any resistant, any opposition. They share, to a certain degree, a world view with kim jongun. Reporter as kim jongun expands the portfolio of top leaders he is meeting with, the top generals has better experience dealing with foreign dignitaries and handle themselves better than the old guard. They know how sit up straight. They know not to doze off. They know not to get drunk if they are visiting a foreign capital and cause a scandal. They know how to behave. Reporter u. S. Officials say they believe kim was concerned the three generals he just tossed out could possibly skim off the top and take advantage of outside investment which might flow into north korea as a result of a possible nuclear deal with the u. S. Analysts say the north koreans people army controls trading kopgs kop kopg corpns. A officia had been in their place for any time had tied into the hard currency operations which bring in money and hard currency into the regime. Therefore, they would have been skimming. With this newer generation, i think kim is trying to enforce greater discipline. Reporter u. S. Officials tell cnn, kim also wants to make sure he and his loyalists get their cut. The people that kim is putting into key positions of power now really are people who will follow the rules in terms of paying the loyalty payments to the kim family. You have north korean elites that operate businesses, especially in the military, in the Upper Echelon of the military. They operate businesses, whether Construction Companies or Bus Companies or trucking companies. So they pay a tax to kim jongun. Reporter analysts say another possible reason kim might have undertaken this purge now was maybe to avoid a repeat of what happened shortly after he took power. Members of north koreas old guard led by kims uncle reportedly built up their own bases of power separate from his base. That fight led kim to execute his own uncle. You are hearing that there could be concern among kim jongun and his inner circle about this beihi out of the country. Reporter theres been speculation kim does not want to leave north korea for an extended period of time. If he does, it might encourage opponents to stage a coup. Michael madden believes thats why he put the generals in ple, to have loyalists in place if something might happen. Thanks very much, brian todd breing news next. The white house is forced to fend off tough questions about President Trumps claims that he has the power to pardon himself. The first survivor of alzheimers disease is out there. And the Alzheimers Association is going to make it happen. But we wont get there without you. Visit alz. Org to join the fight. Happening now, breaking news. Absolute right and wrong. President trump declares he has the power to pardon himself, unleashing new fears about his response to the russia investigation and the possibility of a constitutional crisis. Does he t hbovechanging stories. The president lawyers admits he dictated the statement about the trump power Statement Meeting with russians. Can Administration Officials be believed . The president insists that Robert Muellers investigation is, quote, totally unconstitutional. A claim at odds with the facts and the law. What might have triggered his new tweeting frenzy . Meet and greet. Were learning more about the administrations diminishing expectations for the trump kim s summit. Will there be any substance behind the handshakes and smiles . Welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. You are in the situation room