Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20150728

Accusation from decades ago. Athena jones is here with me. Give us the context of what happened. The details. This is causing a political stir. It is because trump is the run if sore anything he says is going to get a lot of attention. This comment appeared in an article posted last night to the daily beast web site and it came about because the reporter who was inspired by Donald Trumps own remarks at his Campaign Launch back in june. This reporter said hey, lets look into trumps past find out if anything has been said about him on rape. During the reporting, that led him to trumps lawyer Michael Cohen leading cohen to make that erroneous statement about rape. Cohen also threatened to sue the daily beast, threatened to sue the reporter and ruin his life. And cohen has since issued a lengthy statement. He has. Ill read the whole thing for you. I believe we have it. Cohen says i want to clarify a statement i made to the daily beast. As an attorney husband, and father there are many injustices that offend me but nothing more than charges of rape or racism. They hit me at my core. Rarely am i surprised by the press, but the gall of this particular reporter to make such a reprehensible and false allegation against mr. Trump truly stunned me. In my moment of shock and anger i made an inarticulate comment which i do not believe and which i apologize for entirely. So cohen apologizing for that erroneous remark able rape but not apologizing for threatening and coursing his reporter. His first wife ivana trump issued a statement. She says ill quote it i have recently read comments attributed to me from nearly 30 years ago at a time of very high tension during my divorce from donald. The story is totally without merit. Donald and i are the best of friends and have raised three children that with love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign. Incidentally, i think he would make an incredible president. So shes basically coming to his defense defense. Shes disavowing her earlier statements but that hasnt stopped the democrats from pouncing. Theyre piling on. The head of the Democratic National committee is trying to link these comments to other comments republican candidates have made about rape in the past controversial comments. And shes calling on all republicans to stand up and to denounce this call it despicable. Trumps campaign is distancing itself. Well see if this latest controversy has any impact on him. Athena thanks very much. Lets get more of the political implications what haves going on. Sally kohn is a columnist in for the daily beast. Jeffrey lord is a former Reagan White House political director for american spectator. S. E cupp is a columnist in as well. Sally, you tweeted someone needs to teach trumps lawyer how to apologize better. What did you mean by that . Well i mean come on look, in this day and age politicians are going to make a lot of wrong statements. Learning to apologize thoroughly and well should be like lesson number one for Anyone Running for office. And what that apoll skri did cohen, in that apology, he continued to blame and bait and attack the reporter who is just doing what reporters do i dont care what the outlet and second note the subtleties. He said the greatest injustice, he thinks one of the greatest injustice is not rape but the charges of rape. No excuse me sir, the greatest injustice is rape and the fact that anyone could have said out of their mouth the things he said not just about rape lies false information but continue to attack reporters for just doing their job. It shows what kind of operation trump would run. It makes Chris Christie look like, you know, the neighborhood nice guy. Its ridiculous. Jeffrey let me get jeffrey into this. Youre a trump supporter. The trump supporter says Michael Cohen not necessarily a surrogate, that donald trump speaks for himself on these issues. Whats the fallout from this . How hard will it be for the Trump Campaign to distance itself . I assume they want to distance themselves from what Michael Cohen said. Look i dont think theres a person in New Hampshire or iowa who knows who Michael Cohen is. I mean i think hes a perfectly nice guy. The point here is the issue is not Michael Cohen. The issue is this article was false from the very beginning to the very end. The very beginning, that article, says and ill read it he introduced his president ial campaign to the world with a slur against mexican immigrants. Donald trump was talking quite plainly about illegal immigrants. Not mexican immigrants. Illegal immigrants. And it ends with the story from ivana trump that says that the story is totally without merit. So from beginning to end the whole thing is a lie. And nobody is going to care what Michael Cohen said theyll care about the issues illegal immigration, jox, what have you. What do you think, s. E . Anyone thats run into trump has run into Michael Cohen and i have as well. I would not agree hes a nice guy. Hes a goon and, frankly, if he were sophisticated and savvy as a political strategist and communication strategist and hes not he would have recognized that this daily beast story was a gift for all of the reasons that jeffrey was outlining. Its not true. Its reheated from a 1993 book that came out. Its already Public Knowledge and ivana herself as has said its not true. But Michael Cohen, the goon he is didnt realize this was going to be a gift and threatened and intimidate add reporter said something that was patently false as an attorney he should have known better and, as sally says issued an apology that clears nothing up. So if donald trump is serious, and i know hes very loyal to his inner circle but if hes serious about becoming president hes got to get rid of the goons. Michael cohen does him no favors. Sally, hold on i want to bring you in but lets let jeffrey respond to that. Go ahead, jeffrey. Well you know i just the entire issue here and i was interested in the comment there is that democrats are pouncing on this. Theres somebody who has not retracted her rape story and thats Jaunita Broderick. And if this campaign is going to be run with Hillary Clinton as the democratic nominee, we have somebody out there in the person of Jaunita Broderick who has not at all retracted a very detailed allegation of rape against bill clinton. Are we going to go back to all of this all over again . Is this what were about . As you recall at the time this was dismissed as it was only about sex back in the 1990s. So i just think this is a huge mistake on the part of democrats to reopen this kind of thing on the ideas wow. Go ahead, sally. Im going to send you a bigger shovel sir, youre going to need it. That the first thing you said was that Michael Cohen, who is the attorney for mr. Trump should not be treated as a surrogate and no one should be taking seriously what hes saying. And then you come back and try and say thats not what and you said what we should be taking seriously is old allegations against someone who isnt even running for president let alone an official sur gas. You just keep digging your hole there, sir. This is news. This is sad. He needs to distance himself. With all due respect, Michael Cohen isnt on the ballot. Well, then where are mr. Trumps statements on this . The candidate is on the ballot. What do you think of jeffrey what do you think donald trump needs to say and do to deal with this . Obviously its caused a big uproar. I think just stay focused on this. The story, which is where all of this comes from is false from beginning to end. Just stay focused on that. I mean honestly this is very much like the trump mccain situation where he said hes done for and his poll numbers go up. I wonder sometimes whether the daily beast is not on Donald Trumps payroll. Wolf, the problem is when you add this story of Michael Cohen intimidating a journalist using disgusting language add that to the trump story of barring the Des Moines Register from a press event, threatening a telemundo reporter saying youre finished. You add that and it would make you, i think naturally, ask questions about what a Trump Administration would look like in terms of dealing with the press. Is he going to unleash his goons every time a reporter wants to write something krit zmal will he sue news organizations if they write something unflattering . And im uncomfortable we keep referring one at a time. Jeffrey then sally. Just the other week Hillary Clinton kept a daleydaily mail reporter ott of his event. Yes, and we are outraged by that. What . Im sorry. And we are outraged by that. As conservatives we have to be outraged when any candidate behaves that way with the press. We talk about hillarys bad relationship with the press all the time. You cant excuse Michael Cohen and then talk about hillary or obamas bad relations with the press. Its not for me to excuse or not excuse Michael Cohen. Im simply saying to you from a political standpoint no one whos out the there in the voting public cares about what Michael Cohen says or doesnt say. They care in this case about donald trump. Thats it. Very quickly, sally, go ahead. Im uncomfortable that in all this we seem to be letting slide the suggestion that the entire story wasnt true. And, look its based on credible reporting. Its based on facts known at the time in court documents. Its well sourced. It was backed up at the time by ivana trump. So lets not suggest that just because the story is changed, retracted, different lights are put on it now that there wasnt a kernel of fact to it. No one has reacted the fact of what happened. Theyre changing the characterization of it. Lets be clear about that. Well ivana trumps Statement Today sally, is pretty firm right . Right. But she previously made a statement saying that it was rape but she didnt mean in the the criminal sense, she just meant in the emotional seasons. And before that in her own Court Statement she said it was raperape. On no other variations on the theme there, right . So i do think its reporting. Its credible reporting, well documented reporting. And just because the campaign includeing by ivan that trump who is under court order and cant speak without trumps permission on this, the fact shes said something i i we should look at it with a skeptical eye. Well stay on top of this. Sally kohn thank you for joining us jeffrey lord s. E cupp. Well have all of you back, obviously. Can the white house win over skeptical lawmakers on capitol hill right now involving the Iran Nuclear Deal . Obama administration officials, the highest ones theyre taking their campaign to capitol hill. Well have two u. S. Congressmen where they stand after todays hearing. And theres no question how Mike Huckabee feels. The gop president ial candidate had a chance to walk back some very controversial comments. Instead he doubled down. Listen up. Im reworking the menu. Mayo, corn dogs. You are so out of here ahh. The complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. With nine grams of protein. And 26 vitamins and minerals. Ensure. Take life in. Uhhh i left my phone in the living room. This isnt the most efficient way for people or air to travel. Awww ducts produce uneven temperatures and energy loss. Mitsubishi electric systems offer a better way with no new ductwork. And lower energy bills. 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[ male announcer ] youll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. Plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. See why millions of people have already enrolled in the only Medicare Supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. Dont wait. Call now. Nato is holding a rare meeting to discuss turkish fears about a security crisis on its border with iraq and syria. Turkey wanted to consult with nato allies about the crisis fuelled by isis in syrias civil war but it didnt ask for any military deployment from the alliance. Afterwards nato secretary general also made it clear the alliance wont join efforts to create a socalled safe area for refugees fleeing war in iraq and syria. Last week turkey began launching air strikes against both isis targets in syria as well as kurdish rebel camps. Meanwhile, the showdown between the Obama Administration and the u. S. Congress over the Iran Nuclear Deal is heating up dramatically on capitol hill. The House Foreign Affairs committee is holding its first hearing on the deal today. The secretary of state john kerry and secretary of Energy Ernest moniz are both testifying. Houserepublicans, some democrats also, are suggesting the deal gave too many concessions to iran didnt get enough assurances in return. Secretary kiriir kerry warned his critics of the consequences of walking away from the deal. But if this deal is reject ed rejected we needily go back to the reality i just described without any viable alternative. Except that the unified diplomatic support that produced this agreement will disappear overnight. Let me underscore the alternative to the deal that we have reached is not some kind of unicorn fantasy that contemplates irans complete capitulation. Ive heard people talk about dismantling their program. That didnt happen under president bush when they had a policy of no enrichment. Lets talk more about whats going on. Joining us now is representative Mac Thornberry of texas, a republican chairman of the Arms Services committee. Mr. Chairman thanks very much for joining us. I know you were in some closeddoor briefings with secretary kerry and others yesterday. Today we once again are hearing a Strong Defense of this Nuclear Agreement with iran. Whats your alternative assuming youre going to reject as almost all republicans will reject this deal. Well i think there are three baskets of concerns. One is will this deal be enforceable and verifiable. Another basket of concerns is even if its enforced perfectly is it a good deal or not. And then the third area is all of irans other activities. I think the Obama Administration has hurt their credibility when they try to say its a choice between this agreement oar war. And thats basically the approach that they have put out there. I think a lot of folks think you can have a better agreement. There are some who believe that even no agreement would be better than this which essentially ratifies iran as a Nuclear Threshold state. Were going to have a hearing in the Arms Services committee tomorrow morning to hear a panel of outside experts but the more you dig into it, the skepticism on various aspects of this agreement is really growing on both sides of the aisle. The secretary says if theres no agreement, if Congress Rejects it and overrides the president s expected veto, the International Coalition which imposed tough sanctions on iran will crumble. There willing nothing stopping iran from going ahead developing a nuclear bomb to which you say . Well i know the secretary is proud of his work and he wants us to convince us all that this is absolutely the best deal that anyone could get. I think, though its a pretty far leap to say if you dont agree with the deal i negotiated then iran is off on its own, building a Nuclear Weapon and all of the consequences that go from there. I dont think those with two things necessarily follow from one another. But i also think there are increasing questions about verification and so for example, just last week a major expose on how the noters in syria who were supposed to be looking for chemical weapons were thwarted. And remember the close relationship between iran and syria. So the question that i think a lot of us are asking is whats going to be different in iran to make sure they comply versus what has happened in syria where it turns out they did not give up all their chemical weapons after all. The rhetoric has really heated up, as you know mr. Chairman republican senator ted cruz made a reference to this deal being what he called a jihadist stimulus deal. Senator tom cotton of arkansas has compared john kerry to Pontius Pilate and we heard Mike Huckabees comments about this deal taking israel, in his words, to the door of the oven, a reference to the holocaust. How comfortable are you with this rhetoric . Im uncomfortable with it all. Im uncomfortable with what senator john kerry has been saying that its this or war, im uncomfortable with the comments you just made. This is Serious Business i think one point on which opponents and supporters agree is that this potential deal has far reaching consequences. There will be a lot of implications in the middle east and around the world that come from whatever happens with this agreement, where its enforced or not. So thats the spirit we ought to look at it and most republicans and democrats on the hill are treating it in that serious way in spite of the rhetoric we hear from a few. Let me get your thoughts on whats going on with turkey, a key u. S. Ally more involved in the fight against isis launching air strikes against isis targets in sere y, allowing other allies to use incirlik other bases to launch strikes. But in addition to going after isis, the turks are launching air strikes against kurdish positions. How comfortable are you what w what turkey is up to right now . Im not happy at all with Turkey Bombing kurdish positions. Look we all want turkey to play a greater role in pushingback against isis. And i think there are a number of details about that role still to be worked out despite some of the press reports. But it is causing enormous problems to have turkey using this opportunity to attack the kurds when the kurds have been some of the most effective fighting force against isis. So that sews dissension shat sews dissension sows dissension in the ranks ss causes a number of problems that the Obama Administration and all of just to deal with. Mr. Chairman thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. Up next well speak with the leading democrat in the house of representatives about why hes undecided about this deal with iran. Youre driving along having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pickup truck slams into your brand new car. One second it wasnt there and the next second. Boom you had your first accident. Now you have to make your first claim. So you talk to your Insurance Company and. Boom youre blindsided for a second time. They wont give you enough money to replace your brand new car. Dont those people know youre already shaken up . Liberty mutuals new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car, plus depreciation. Call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch to Liberty Mutual insurance and you could save up to 509. Call Liberty Mutual for a free quote today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Whoa what are you doing . Putting on a movie. Im trying to watch the game here. Look i need this right now ok . Come on i dont want to watch that. Too bad this is happening. Fine, what if i just put up the x1 sports app right here. Ah jeez its so close. He just loves her so much. Do it. Come on. Do it. Come on yes awww, yes that is what im talking about. Baby. Call and upgrade to get x1 today. Lets get back to our conversation in the Iran Nuclear Deal. U. S. Secretary of state john kerry testifying about the agreement before the House Foreign Affairs committee telling the committee that the deal is better than the status quo which could put potentially see iran getting a Nuclear Weapon in very short order. Thats his assessment with congressman elliot engel. Hes the ranking democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee. Thanks so much congressman, for joining us. I take it youre still very much on the fence. You havent decided whether to support the president and the secretary of state or to vote against the deal. Is that right . Yes, thats correct. We do have 60 days. I guess its 50 some odd days and im going to use at least the next few weeks to continue to read and reread the bill and have discussions. Theres a lot to take in. I read your Opening Statement and you outlined several deep concerns. It sounds to me that youre leaning against this deal but you tell me if thats right or wrong. I wouldnt say im leaning against it or for it. I say i look at the deal and i understand and fully appreciate the hard work that went into getting this deal but there are certain things that give me pause for concern. This deal purports to prevent iran from having a Nuclear Weapon. But yet the way i read it at the end of 15 years iran is basically legitimized as a Nuclear Threshold state. They could produce highly enriched weapons great uranium with impunity and thats troubling because that means iran is not prevented from having a bomb it only postpones iran having a bomb. Thats my major concern. I have to try to work around that but thats a very major concern for me. Well you outlined at least four or five concerns in your statement about access to various sensitive sites in iran whether military sites, suspected nuclear sites. You talk about the billions the tens of billions of dollars that would be freed up for iran to use not necessarily to have infrastructure develop mtment. I wonder if you believe there will be enough democrats throughout who have l vote against this agreement. Almost all the republicans will vote against it, that will undermine the president s deal. Well i dont know how it will turn out. I mean obviously everyone expects the deal initially to be rejected by congress and then when the president vetoes it the question is can there be a twothirds vote in both the house and the senate to override. Thats very difficult, i think, thing to accomplish. I dont think its impossible but i think its a very difficult thing to accomplish. Look there are things in the deal and you mentioned some of my concerns, the fact that undeclared sites, the iranians could have up to 24 days to keep inspectors out of it. Thats a vrp, very troublesome. Iran has been the leading supporter of terrorism in the middle east and around the world for many many years now. Its one of the reasons why israel is so opposed to the plan because iran has been supporting with cash hezbollah and hamas and iran is going to be awash in cash when these sanctions are ended. Iran is going to have more money than it knows what to do with. Thats a concern. Its also a concern when just barely a week after the agreement was signed the United States the ayatollah is become leading chants of death to america, death to israel. You would think that just having signed a Nuclear Agreement he would at least temper the rhetoric. So there are concerns and i think its important for those concerns to be raised. I think the administration though when it talks about you have to consider the alternatives is right. Its not a matter of the deal or nothing its a matter of what are the alternatives if the deal is rejected and thats something we have to look at as well. Congressman, the secretary of state was asked about those four american citizens being held in iran. Im going to play for you what he said. Listen to this. My last conversation with foreign minister zarif and with the brother of the president was regarding the four people being held, the four american citizens and we have followed up on that conversation since then. We are in direct conversations. Thats all im going to say here today. I hope that they will be returned to be with their families. Families. Dan kildee, a democrat from michigan, is working to get amir hekmati released. He said if iran were to release those four americans soon that would show iran is serious about rejoining the global community, it might have an impact on how these various undecided members would vote. Would the release of these americans have an impact on your final decision . Well it would be one factor. I dont know how much of an impact it would have but it would be one factor. Look i think its outrageous that iran continues to keep our citizens in jail at a time when were signing a Nuclear Agreement with them. I understand we didnt want our peep to be used as bargaining chips so we didnt want to make them part of the deal but if they werent released before and this they should be released now and if theyre not it shows incredibly bad faith on irans part which would give me and others pause to think about whether iran could be counted on to keep its commitments. We know theyre bad actors. Theyre the leading sponsor of terrorism around the world. So we all look at iran or at least i do with skepticism. That would factor in, but whether it would be the decisive factor, i dont know. Elliott engel is the ranking democrat on the House Foreign Affairs committee. Congressman, thanks very much. Always a pleasure. Republican president ial candidate Mike Huckabee is standing by his words about the Iran Nuclear Deal but has he taken it too far . Our political reporters are stand big. What do a nascar® driver. A comedian. And a professional golfer have in common . We talked to our doctors about treatment with xarelto®. Xarelto® is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. Xarelto® has also been proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. For people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. 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Before starting xarelto® tell your doctor about any kidney liver, or bleeding problems. Xarelto® has been prescribed more than 11 million times in the u. S. And that numbers growing. Like your guys scores. With xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. Treatment with xarelto® was the right move for us. Ask your doctor about xarelto®. President obama visited his fathers homeland in kenya and the seat of the African Union, ethiopia. He addressed the African Union today. He stressed the importance of african nations taking their place in the Global Economy. I believe africas success is not just important to africa but the entire world. We will not be able to meet the challenges of our time for maturing a strong Global Economy to facing down violent extremism to combatting Climate Change to ending hunger and extreme poverty without the voices and contributions of one billion africans. Reporter president obama also says i wouldnt mind serving a third term as president of the United States during his speech before the African Union. He said and im quoting him now i think if i ran again i could win but i cant. Hes limited by the u. S. Constitution. A new cnn orc poll shows the president s job Approval Rating holding said the any positive territory. 49 of americans approve of the way hes handling his job. Thats the same as in june when it was 50 . In the latest poll 47 disapprove odd the president s job performance. The president s Approval Rating is higher than george w. Bushs was during the same point at his presidency but lower than bill clintons. About the same as ronald reagan. Speaking of polls, donald trump has a sizable lead over rival jeb bush in the first primary state of New Hampshire. The Monmouth University poll has trump leading with 24 while jeb bush placed second with 12 . The first of eight, by the way, right around the corner. Theys still only a set number of slots with a prime time debate performance as you can see, everyone from newly announced candidate john kasich to ted cruz they are all in Single Digits right now. Candidates with some of the lowest polling are scrambling for more support. Theyd like to appear on that stage in that prime time debate. Only 10 republican president ial candidates will get that opportunity. Lets discuss whats going on with David Chalian and our senior political reporter niamalika henderson. David, the gop candidates all want to compete with donald trump right now but in New Hampshire, this is a critical state, hes got a doubledigit lead. Twice as much as jeb bush. Right. The live free or die state. Hes a good fit for New Hampshire because he has the ability to speak to the activist republicans but also some independence there who may want to play in the republican primary may be attracted to his brash style, his not sounding like a typical politician thats something that people respond to in New Hampshire. Hes a formidable frontrunner there. We saw a poll on sunday that showed similar numbers and he has been there a lot. Hes been campaigning and visiting New Hampshire both before his formal announcement and since. And this New Hampshire poll i take it was completely done after the controversial comments he made about john mccain and his p. O. W. History and vietnam . Right. So it doesnt seem to be having an impact. Now, remember those comments were made in iowa they got National Attention everywhere but in New Hampshire that didnt hurt him at all and as weve seen in our National Poll almost everything controversial he says doesnt seem to have the impact as you know nia. I dont know if the impact of this lalest daily beast story and Michael Cohen his advisor apologizing for the words he said. I dont know if that will have much of an imzblakt if history is any guide, no. We talked about this yesterday, the idea of him as the teflon donald able to withstand all onslaught from his own gaffes and people around him. I think the Michael Cohen thing with the harsher comments hes since walked them back. It suggests he might want to get political folks around him but the question is if he does that does that water down his brand which is him as this anti politician. If you believe the polls, i think its fair to say he is the republican president ial frontrunner right now. Theres no doubt about it. That is what the polls show right now. Every poll is a snapshot the trajectory is all in his favor right now. Its amazing. Here is the latest comments from Mike Huckabee, the republican candidate and former governor of arkansas. He said that president obama with h this Iran Nuclear Deal is marching israelis in his words, to the door of the oven. A reference to the holocaust. Heres the latest, what he said earlier today on the today show. As president of the United States would you use the words march the israelis to the door of the oven . Yes, i would and let me tell you why. Because i have been to auschwitz three times. I have stood at that very place. Ive been to israel dozens of times. My first trip there was 42 years ago. The one thing i am answer electrocutely assured so that for 6000 years jews have been hunted down. We need to use strong words when people make strong threats against an entire group of people as the iranians have made against the jews. Hes being criticized by folks, including the israeli ambassador to the United States whos fiercely opposed to this iran deal as well but hes not backing down at all. And this is vintage Mike Huckabee in a lot of ways. There is some of that going on but this has kind of been Mike Huckabees mo for a while. Hes a preacher he understands the power of language and weve seen him do this before he suggested nullification after the Supreme Court decision on samesex marriage. I think he said obama the obamas were bad parents because they let their daughters listen to beyonce. So hes a cultural warrior, a social conservative. Thats his brand and hes sticking to it. And hes decided to align himself as the defender of israel. That is taking the evangelical base that is very supportive of israel and just saying i am the leader of that movement. He wants to block out Rick Santorum there. He wants to be the one guy in the race that will do anything to stand up for israel. Hillary clinton is watching all of this republican tumult from the sidelines. Stand by. Still ahead, well have more on whats going on in the race for the white house. Hillary Clinton Holding a town hall in New Hampshire today, taking questions from voters. But there was one answer she refused to give. Well tell you what it is. This, is why we travel. And why we continue to create new technology to connect you to the people and places that matter. Listen up. Im reworking the menu. Mayo, corn dogs. You are so out of here ahh. The complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. With nine grams of protein. And 26 vitamins and minerals. Ensure. Take life in. [dad]i wear a dozen different hats doing small gigs,side gigs. Gig gigs. Quickbooks selfemployed helps me get ready for tax time. To separate expenses,i just swipe. Its one hat i dont mind wearing. [passenger] i work for me. And so does quickbooks. It estimates my taxes,so i know how much stays in my pocket. And thats how i own it. [announcer]stay in the flow with quickbooks selfemployed. Start your free,thirtyday trial today at joinselfemployeddotcom. Hillary clinton is in New Hampshire today where the first primary is held. In february she faced voters in a town hall answering questions on everything from health care to the Keystone Pipeline. As president , would you sign a bill yes or no please in favor of allowing the keystone xl pipeline . This is president obamas decision and i am not going to second guess him because i was in a position to set this in motion and i do not think that would be the right thing to do. So i dont want to wait and see what he and secretary kerry decide. If its undecided when i become president , i will answer your question. Lets bring. All right. Lets bring in jeff zeleny up there in New Hampshire watching this town hall. That was a question that was a q a that the former secretary had that is raising some questions. Isnt it jeff . Reporter good afternoon, wolf. This is the kind of freeflowing give and take that happens, all kinds of voters are free to come in and ask whatever questions that they like and we saw that very direct exchange. New hampshire voters are known for asking crisp questions. He wanted a direct yes or no answer and she didnt give him that. We caught up with him after ward to see what he thought. I thought it was a very weak answer. I just want to know where she stands on it one way or the other. Part of running for president is youve got to give an answer. Reporter so she didnt exactly win over this voter. His name is bruce from nearby am amhearst New Hampshire. He said hes a Tea Party Republican going around to Campaign Events asking questions of candidates. He said he was not trying to cause her to stumble or trip her up. He wanted to know a very specific yes or nowhere she stood on this issue. After we talked with him, she actually had a press conference and we asked her the way she asked the question as she did. I was involved in this process and my assessment is that it is not appropriate nor fair for me to prejudge in a public arena what secretary kerry and president obama eventually have to decide. And, therefore, i will not do it and i am sorry if people want me to. Ive been very clear. I will not express an opinion until they have made a decision. Reporter now, on the substance of this wolf the Keystone Pipeline is so important to liberal voters and is she going to be liberal enough for the base . Is she going to answer specific questions like this . Some other voters said they thought it sounded like an evasive answer that she was not going to answer a simple question like this. As she explained to voters in the room, shes going to try not to tip the scales on this and weigh in on this. While its clearly a sign that she learned a lesson from her 2008 campaign shes willing to take a shortterm political hit, maybe, for not answering a question to not be boxed in by Something Like this. That was just one exchange of many here today in New Hampshire. Wolf . He did not get a yes or no. Where does she go from here . Wolf shes up in New Hampshire this afternoon. She has one more venue in hoppington New Hampshire. Shes here today and in washington tomorrow. By the end of the week shes in florida. Jeff zeleny on the campaign trail with the former secretary of state. Thanks very much for joining us. Stay in close touch with you. By the way, for the latest in politics you can always head over to cnnpolitics. Com. Well be right back. Lets say both of your kids are going on a trip, but they each have to ride in a different vehicle. The Chevrolet Traverse has a 5star Overall Vehicle score for safety. The honda pilot does not. Which child goes in which vehicle . How does a mom make a choice knowing that . I mean. Just kidding. We can all go in the traverse. Yesss. Chevrolet traverse. 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In July Jonathan pollard had a hearing before the u. S. Parole commission and that Parole Commission has now granted his parole which means on november 21st he will be able to leave prison. What this means is a couple of things. His lawyer says hes going to ask president obama to grant him clemency so he can leave the United States if he wants to or perhaps even leave prison before november 21st which is his release date. Secondly they also say that, according to terms of his release, hes going to be required to stay in the United States for five years. Again, that can change if president obama grants his request for clemency. Thats the request from Jonathan Pollards attorneys. We have a statement attributed to mr. Pollard from his attorneys. He says mr. Pollard is looking forward to being reunited with his wonderful wife ester who lives in israel. We should also note this has been a big issue for the state of israel. The israeli Prime Minister the Israeli Government has already been publicly tweeting their thanks that they are grateful that this is finally coming to pass. Again, wolf this is a formality, something that the u. S. Parole commission was expected to do in advance of november 21st which is when he completes his 30year sentence. The last time he was eligible for parole the parole board rejected parole at that time. But this time they are saying he will be paroled, he will be out of prison serving exactly 30 years of a life sentence. Right. In november. November 21st. Hell be free to walk out of that prison . Thats right, wolf. 30 years under the statute, under the law at the time that Jonathan Pollard was sentenced for life. 30 years was the limit of that sent sentence. And so that date is november 21st. Hes not getting any breaks at all based on what his sentence was when he was found guilty. Evan perez, thank you very much for that update. Once again, Jonathan Pollard, the convicted israeli spy who worked for u. S. Naval intelligence he will be out on november 21st. Thats it for me. Thanks very much for watching. President ial candidate john kasich by the way, will join me at 5 00 p. M. In the situation room. In the meantime, the news continues next on cnn. Wolf blitzer, thank you so much. Great to be with you on this tuesday. Im brooke baldwin. Youre watching cnn. Well have much more on that breaking news that wolf blitzer and evan perez were just reporting here on the israeli spy here. But first, she helped two murderers escape from prison and now Joyce Mitchell is facing her own time behind bars up to seven years, in fact. She was sniffling and crying here in court. She pled guilty in an upstate new york courtroom. Richard