He tweeted basically he was going to go after the leakers. He was very angry because some of his own financial records had been disclosed. He said in light of the leak of my Financial Disclosure info, which is a felony, i will be contacting the fbi, the Justice Department, swamp. Reince 45, thats Reince Priebuss twitter address. Seems as though he was implicating reince as the leaker who possibly put out his financial forms and he deleted the tweet and wrote meantime, he was also on cnn, to get the viewer fully up to speed, saying reince would have to answer for these leaks to the president himself. What do you make of all this . Right now, ed, is he trying to basically get rid of the chief of staff . First of all, ive worked in three white houses. Ive worked around washington for 50 years. I cant imagine anyone doing this, my first boss, Bob Halderman or jim baker or don rumsfeld, they would have had his butt out of there in 35 seconds. Hes supposed to be developing a Communications Plan and created a gigantic controversy. I like anthony, this is about as dumb and stupid a thing as i have seen in my life. Hes created a big controversy. He has tound that Financial Disclosures are public documents, part of going into the white house. Trish the political reporter put that out there. Challenge the chief of staff at a time of critical, critical fights on the hill right today with all the chaos over sessions and what have you, is about as dumb a thing as ive seen. Trish he must have good support from the guy that matters. It does not matter. Youve created chaos in the white house, and if the president told him to do, this which i dont think the president did, thats stupid. At the end of the day, youve created another controversy. Trish but he feels like he can. Regardless whether the president told him to do it or not, to why did he do it . Who gets hurt . The president gets hurt. When you have a chaotic white house, you can take any town in america, and no town with more pr, more sophisticated people about Public Relations than washington, d. C. , every hill guy has his own person and what have you. The talk of the town is not about his effectiveness and the fact hes come on board or not about sessions, its about how could you be so stupid . Thats not a good way to start to be the Communications Director. Again, i like him, hes my friend, i wish he hasnt done. This shouldnt have gone until the 15th of august. I will say this. The president has himself entangled with one of his most loyal supporters. If he is behind this thing, it is absolutely dumb, dumb, dumb. Trish you are referring, of course, to Jeff Sessions. Jeff sessions, as the attorney general. Trish and you think that Anthony Scaramucci might be behind . No, no, saying if the president is president is behind scaramucci. Trish oh, okay, then that is dumb. As dumb as it can be, and i can promise you, the president doesnt like priebus, he should get rid of him. If he does like priebus, priebus has a job to do, at the time you are trying to get health care legislation. He knows everybody in the town, hes been the party chairman, the chief of staff of the white house, hes the guy who has to negotiate. Hes one of the best friends of the speaker of the house, and anthony coming in, you know, four days ago, has created a controversy, and the other thing is once you tweet something, you dont get on take it back. Trish he took it down, yeah. Doesnt go away, its out there. Should have learned that from the things he said about President Trump with other candidates. I hope its a learning lesson here. I get my head down and learn whats going on before us. Trish he deleted the tweet and yet went on cnn, we have the clip to share with you now this morning. Watch. When i put out a tweet, i put reinces name in the tweet, theyre all make the assumption that its him because journalists know who the leakers are. If reince wants to explain hes not a leaker, let him do that. Let me tell you something about myself. I am a straight shooter and ill go right to the heart of the matter. Trish once again, seeming to implicate Reince Priebus saying he needs to explain himself to the president. Two top guys, bannon and priebus didnt want him in the white house, they had their case proven the last three or four days, and the white house is about allies, everybody is a type a personality. There are no clear fences, everybody gets in everybodys turf and about making friends and allies. This is the worst start ive seen. Trish again, getting back to the number one friend and ally, the president is the one who wants him there. He is seen as one of the president s guys. Does that give him the free rope . Youre saying no, but unless he comes down on him for this, one can anticipate i would think more. If youre going to get more, have you more chaos, and the reality is youre going to have anthony and nobody else in the white house functioning effectively for the president. Youre at a very critical time. I go back to were trying to get legislation through, weort verge of going down on health care, weve got tax bills and everything else. Priebus is the guy whos dealt with the hill. He knows the players, knows the speaker, knows everybody else. The chairman of the party for a long time and i think its not a way to treat him. Wasnt a way to treat sessions and at the end of the day, this is going to hurt the president and hurt the president severely. Trish do you believe Reince Priebuss days could be numbered . I think they could be numbered, but its not going to be this that sends him off. He may decide he doesnt want to be there anymore. While hes there, every single day he gets up and the Staff Reports to him and he has to go up and negotiate on the hill, and if all of a sudden everybody on the hill thinks priebus doesnt have the power anymore, and anthony doesnt have the knowledge to deal on the hill, so my sense is youve created chaos when you had no business creating chaos. Trish and the Jeff Sessions issue . Is that going to be resolved . Is the president going to come around there, as he watches him go after some of the leakers and go after some of the sanctuary cities. You now see a person who is the most loyal guy to donald trump. The first senator to support him, a guy who is beloved by the senators, who will have a onevote margin. John mccain is going to be ill in the next year, probably wont be there most of the time, and basically take a senator who is a beloved senator, that is absurd. Trish breaking news we want to bring you right now on the tax plan. This all as we await secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders. I do want to take a look at market, which is up 16 points. Youve had tech stocks dragging down the major averages after touching new record highs, earlier in todays session. Moments ago, heres the news for you. Lawmakers who have been working on tax reform issued a joint statement ahead of todays press briefing. Including House Speaker paul ryan and Senate Leader mitch mcconnell. And in it they say, we are all united in the belief that the single most important action we can take to grow our economy and help the middle class get ahead is fix the broken tax code for Small Businesses and american job creators, competing at home and around the globe. So theyre stressing here their commitment to tax reform, and that they are united in this belief that we need to fix what they view as a broken tax code. Joining me as we await Sarah Huckabee sanders, republican strategist Ford Oconnell along with capri cafaro. To taxes in a minute. The story du jour is the palace intrigue which is taking us away, should i point out, Ford Oconnell, as mr. Rollins eloquently pointed out as well from the things that need to happen, i. E. , health care and tax reform right now . That is the problem, we are taking away from the important things have, to get the tax reform through. That said, my advice to the white house is simple, do not air dirty laundry in public, you undercut your own mission, to make America Great again and put americans back to work. I find this to be completely selfdefeating. Trish selfdefeating, capri, i imagine you agree with that. People are getting frustrated within conservative ranks, and frankly a lot of people that were very loyal supporters of the president. Because theyre look at his treatment of Jeff Sessions. Thats right. Trish theyre looking at, reince is an establishment guy, he may not have a lot of sympathy from the base, but sessions most certainly, is he running into interference . The president , that is, given all this drama thats going on when you have so many important things ahead, namely, health care reform. Look, one of the things i think is the biggest problem for the Trump White House right now and how they are dealing with some of their cabinet members like Jeff Sessions is that, you know, this reflects on whether or not President Trump, number one, believes in the people he put around him, and frankly, undermining his own choices. He made these choices. He chose Jeff Sessions, he chose Reince Priebus. And all of a sudden, as ford said, airing dirty laundry on front street, and i think that undermines the perception that donald trump is a strong negotiator. Let me say one thing, i think the priebus and the sessions situation are very different. I agree with that. If donald trump wants Reince Priebus out of there. He needs to say privately, tender your resignation right now. With Jeff Sessions, its a totally different ball game. Jeff sessions should have never recused himself from the russia probe. I disagree with that. Hold on. Jeff sessions is doing an excellent job, hes the essence of trumpism, which is immigration, tough on terror, which is trade, putting people back to work and protecting our borders. Which begs the question why, why would President Trump undermine his own agenda with his own attorney general that he chose simply because Jeff Sessions chose to be err on the side of caution. Good question, Jeff Sessions if he was going to recuse himself and you knew this was likely to come up because youve been banging the tomtoms. Dont say you guys. The democrats, capri. And Jeff Sessions if this had come up, should have said straight up, i have to recuse myself. He would be the secretary of department of Homeland Security and not attorney general. This is a problem. 50 of the problems that donald trump has come from a russia probe, we have no evidence of a crime and you guys are hitting us over the head and here he is with the media, and a major problem. What i believe on that, we as democrats are better served actually holding this administrations feet to the fire in regards to the things they have not done for reasons like my own in ohio. They havent taken action on nafta. Taken action on labeling china a currency manipulator. There are areas like this, they think we need to get at. Trish back to health care, which is a biggie right now. Do you think, as they consider this skinny bill, which would basically repeal the individual and employer mandate, ford, that its going to happen . And if it does, are we at risk for seeing more debilitation, if you would, still of the health care process and system in this country and do republicans get blamed for it . Look, heres the deal, action is not an option, they have to get it done, if they dont, theyre fine with the status quo which is obamacare. Yes, it has to get done because it dovetails into tax reform without question the biggest item on the agenda and has to get done. Heres the bottom line, whether its tax reform or health care. We have a bridge a divided republican caucus, and they have to overcome this and realize something is better than nothing. They have to understand that the democrats, no matter what, their hatred of trump, supercedes, i disagree with the currency manipulation trade, democrats have canceled themselves out and ready for the 2018 midterm elections. They are helping themselves if they dont focus on the areas the administration has fallen short, that mean something to main street america, like the economy, and the stock market is going well, as i said a few weeks ago on a piece for the washington examiner, a lot of times the successes of wall street are not trickling down to those on main street. I personally believe, if someone who had been in office for ten years and the minority leader of the ohio senate, my advice to the democrats on capitol hill is be adults, come to the table, have your own policy proposals that are real. Dont make it for show, try to actually work with the republicans, because the clock is ticking and you know, spinning tops about russia is only going to get you so far. And what youre saying capri is absolutely right, but that is not the course of action the Democratic Party has taken. The republicans have to be smarter to understand that. Problem is Chuck Schumer and company arent going to call out issue, and the republicans have to recognize trish all right, weve got more breaking news to bring you all right now. One of the things you heard discussed over and over was this border tax idea, that anything coming into the country would be slapped with a significant tax, which one would have to assume would then carry onto consumers, and so there were concerns about it, and this is something that was seen as possibly really holding up tax reform. We have learned that that is dead right now. Border adjustment tax, talk of that is no longer happening. They are no longer going to include that in the tax package, and so there is some sense as you watch a market thats up 25 points right now that, in fact, we are one step closer, and i say this with a little caution here, perhaps one step closer to actually seeing a tax plan that will get passed, now that we no longer have the sticking issue of the border tax provision. Guys, stay with me, i want to remind the viewers, still waiting on press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders to come out for todays briefing. She will likely face some of the questions about tax reform, including the border tax adjustment. The border adjustment tax. Health care, whether that is going to happen, whether we are going to see the senate before the skinny bill and vote on that as well as attorney general Jeff Sessions, and then as i was talking about at the top of the show with ed rollins, the palace intrigue going on between Anthony Scaramucci, and, of course, Reince Priebus, the chief of staff of the president. You know, look, Jeff Sessions, meanwhile, another thing people are caught up in and showing no signs of quitting, despite this onslaught of public attacks from the president. Today, he flew to el salvador on a mission to find ways to end brutal street Gang Violence by ms13. Also, members of the Senate Judiciary committee are working on legislation that would keep special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired, no matter who is running the Justice Department. Here to discuss all of this, we have republican senator, former republican senator jim demint, who along with former Senate Colleagues is defending sessions against trumps attacks right now. Senator, donald trump isnt too happy with him right now. Youre saying you dont like the way hes going about this. Is there anything Jeff Sessions should be doing to appease the president . I certainly understand the president s frustration. A witchhunt has been unleashed on him and his family, but on the other side of that, Jeff Sessions is probably the one in washington whos most passionate about the trump agenda, and he will run a Justice Department in a way that americans will be proud of. So i hope the president and the attorney general can work this out, it would be very bad for the country right now, for the Trump Administration, to have another distraction and Chuck Grassley has already said no one new would be confirmed for the rest of the year, so we would have a Justice Department in chaos. They need to work this out. I know the president is disappointed, but i think they can pull this back together and Work Together again. Trish let me ask you your thoughts on whats going on with the battle that has erupted between Anthony Scaramucci and chief of staff Reince Priebus . Anthony scaramucci who runs communications, newly appointed to run communications, really going on the attack on twitter, and then again on cnn, basically accusing Reince Priebus of being the leaker in the administration does. This suggest to you that Reince Priebuss days may be numbered . I dont know, its hard to tell. I just hope that the administration. Theyve got great folks there in the white house, and theyve been doing some good things that all the pressure from the media and the folks on the outside dont get them to turn against each other, and they need to stop this stuff and do it in private. Again, good people, priebus, good guy. Im sure the new Communications Director is going to do a great job. Trish hes communicating something, though, senator, right . Hes the director of communications, hes definitely communications. As someone who supports the trump agenda here and is trying to help pull together a consensus on the hill to get some things done, i want to see the Trump Administration move forward and get rid of these distractions. Trish would that mean getting rid of Anthony Scaramucci or at least curtailing his enthusiasm to go after his colleagues . I just hope they can get along, and i think they will. Theyll overcome this, theyre a good time. I was over there today, its a good atmosphere. People working together. I know theres a lot of tension. Theyre in a box canyon, trish, everybody is firing at him from all directions. Its hard to work in that environment. I have a lot of empathy for that. The country is counting on him, and the president is doing as good a job as he can, they need to solve the personnel issues. Trish theres past history and perhaps contributing to this. Anthony scaramucci was up for previous jobs within the administration, and per sources, Reince Priebus was instrumental in make sure he didnt get some of the positions. Can you imagine scaramucci feels as though he doesnt necessarily have an ally there in the way of Reince Priebus. What he has done is transcended the issues that they would otherwise be fighting internally and brought that out into the public. So here we are talking about Anthony Scaramucci and Reince Priebus as opposed to how does health care happen . Weve got to have health care, weve got to have tax cuts. Newt gingrich has to right. Were going to have to get aside the wonderful reforms weve been working on for years, get the tax rates down, get the economy going so americans can see the conservative ideas of low taxes can make their life better. That has to happen by thanksgiving, and i hope theyll get busy in doing that. Thats what they need to be communicating. Thats what the chief of staff needs to be orchestrating from the inside. I think they can get it done. Congress seems to be in a mood now to move ahead a little more aggressively, so lets stay optimistic and keep encouraging the folks to work it out in the white house. Trish lets take a look at the Retail Stocks right now because, senator, we got word nat border tax adjustment idea, that is d. O. A. , they are no longer going to pursue that. That was seen as a problem for a Retail Sector struggling significantly as we go through the structural shifts in the economy, and amazon comes into being. All the retailers across the board are up right now because i think that that is a big relief for many of these retailers. We do have Sarah Huckabee sanders, so lets go straight to the white house now. Id like to bring up tom hoeman who you may know, the acting director of immigrations and customs enforcement, and rob herr, prl Deputy Attorney general to talk about what the department of Homeland Security and department of justice are doing to eradicate criminal organizations like ms13. Mr. Hurr, and tom will stay and answer your questions. As always, id like to put out a friendly reminder for you to stay on topic and after that ill come back up to take your questions. Thanks, guys. Thank you, sarah. Good afternoon. My name is robert hurr, about five weeks ago i was sworn in as the principal associate Deputy Attorney general at the department of justice, in that role i serve as the principal adviser to the Deputy Attorney general. I appreciate the chance to talk to you about the Justice Departments aggressive efforts to achieve this administrations goal of dismantling the transNational Gang known as ms13. As you all know, the president is traveling to long island tomorrow to talk about our fight to eradicate the violent threat of ms13. As we speak the attorney general is in el salvador where he will spend the next two days addressing the root of this problem. San salvadorian prison that house the leaders of this dangerous gang. While, there the attorney general will meet with members of the Justice Departments transnational Antigang Task Force on the ground in el salvador, and the attorneys general from the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras to discuss joint efforts to disrupt and take down ms13. Earlier in my career, i served as federal prosecutor in maryland where i personally prosecuted a number of ms13 racketeering cases. These included capital cases in which the defendants crimes were so violent and so heinous that the government saw fit to pursue the death penalty. Through the prosecutions i learned firsthand from the victims their grieving and heart broken families and other members of terrorized communities what a scourge this group of thugs really is. This gangs chilling motto means kill, rape and control. They seek to live up to this motto through truly shocking acts of violence, designed to instill fear. Vicious machete attacks, executionstyle gunshots, gang rape and human trafficking. They use whatever they can get their hands on. Guns, knives, machetes, baseball bats, tire irons or fists and feet, not just inflict violence. They use violence to shock, send a message and control territory here in the u. S. And in Central America. The attorney general has answered the president s call, and we at the Justice Department are moving forward aggressively against ms13. Specifically, pursuant to the president s direction and executive orders, the attorney general has directed the departments Law Enforcement agencies, atf, dea, fbi and the Marshal Service as well as federal prosecutors to prioritize the prosecution of gang members, specifically ms13. The attorney general issued charging guidance regarding Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement, both of which directly target ms13 members and associates. In addition the department of justice requested funding for 300 more federal prosecutors to focus specifically on Violent Crime and criminal immigration enforcement, and prioritized multiagency and cross border collaboration in order to attack ms13 from all angles. The Justice Department and the department of Homeland Security are coordinating antigang efforts to ensure that we bring both criminal and immigration laws to bear in the fight against transNational Gangs. We continue our critical partnerships with state and local Law Enforcement around the country whose brave men and women are truly on the front lines in the fight against ms13. And we work, of course, hand in glove with our Law Enforcement partners in the northern triangle countries of el salvador, guatemala and honduras, they are helping us take the fight on ms13 on its home turf. Attorney general has traveled to the nerve center of ms13. Indeed, earlier today, just hours ago, el salvadorian prosecutors announced they have filed charges against and arrested over the past 36 hours, hundreds of members of ms13 in el salvador. Many of the defendants are members of the ms13 clique centered in the la Paz Department of el salvador. Members of the clique committed several highprofile murders in el salvador. The shooter in the murders fled to the United States and is now in i. C. E. Custody pending immigration proceedings. This prosecution showcases just how closely we are working with our partners in el salvador to combat ms13. Specifically u. S. Law enforcement agents with i. C. E. On the ground in el salvador are coordinating with counterparts in the u. S. To ensure the shooter is removed from the United States as quickly as possible to face charges in el salvador. This investigation is handled by salvadorian gang prosecutors who are trained and mentored by embedded d. O. J. Prosecutors in el salvador and salvadorian Police Officers trained and mentored by the fbi and advisers from the state department. At the request of salvadorian prosecutors, the Justice Department has also arranged to have an essential witness to the murders transported to el salvador for court proceedings. United states Law Enforcement and federal prosecutors recently targeted leaders and members of the same clique operating here in maryland. Charging 16 defendants with racketeering offenses involving murder and attempted murder, the last of whom was sentenced this year to life imprisonment. These are very significant blows to ms13 and made possible by close crossborder coordination. We vitalized the Hearing Program which brings judges to adjudicate the immigration status of federal criminal alien inmates while incarcerated. This results in quicker deportation after the criminals serve out prison sentences here in the United States. Finally, we are holding sanctuary cities accountable for lawless conduct. Attorney general will not allow sanctuary cities to become sanctuaries for criminals. Earlier this week, the attorney general announced new grant conditions. Cities and states may only receive grants if they comply with federal law, allow federal immigration officials access to detention facilities and provide 48 hours notice before they release an illegal alien wanted by federal authorities. Taking on ms13 is a top priority of this administration and this Justice Department. We will not tire and we will not fail. Im humbled to be in a position to work to reduce and ultimately decimate this gang to make our communities safe for all americans. Thank you. Youre not welcome in the United States, and youll find no harbor here. President trump made it a priority to get these criminals off our streets, and when possible, out of our country. And thats exactly what the men and women of i. C. E. Are going to do. Every single day to help keep america safe. I. C. E. s Homeland Security investigation known as hsi, National Gang unit, leads our efforts along with our deportation officers to identify and arrest gang members while working to dismantle the organizational structure that supports them. Gang members are involved in a broad range of criminal activity including murder, extortion, narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes with a nexus to border security. I said the beginning of january i said the beginning of january this year, i. C. E. s investigation has arrested 3,311 gang members across the country in a number of targeted operation. Ill speak just about two. Project new dawn, a recent gang surge led by i. C. E. Hsi netted 1,378 gang arrests. Operation mat a that door matador up in new york state, since may 9th, has netted over 100 gang members and affiliates. Vast majority of ms13 members. Make no mistake, organized violent transNational Gangs threaten the safety of our our communities not just this major metropolitan areas, but in suburbs like suffolk county, new york. Where ill be joining the president tomorrow to discuss this issue. Let me share a couple of examples that demonstrate the violence of these criminals. Recently, two members who were juveniles arrested as part of operation matador have been implicated in the quadruple homicide of four young adults this new york. An additional arrest admitted to being complicit to homicide of two juvenile females. Multiple other arrests have led to admissions of narcotics trafficking, weapons smuggling and intelligence and other unsolved crimes in the region. The proliferation of ms13 remains an ongoing challenge for Law Enforcement everywhere. Our efforts to eradicate gangs such as this are much more effective in areas where our partnership with local Law Enforcement is the strongest. As i said, the last time i was here i cannot stress enough our operations are more effective when there are strong local partnerships supporting them. Sanctuary city policies only make it more difficult, if not impossible, for i. C. E. To remove known gang members and other criminal aliens who are loose in this country without the opportunity to commit additional crimes. As i said when i was here at the podium a month ago, cooperation is critical. It is often state and local Law Enforcement not i. C. E that first come into contact with transNational Gang members. Together, through partnership, we can keep our streets safe. Together our ganging is bigger than theirs gang is bigger than theirs. In addition to making our communities safer, the intelligence gathered from operations targeting msing13 helps our agents and investigators continue their effort to fully dismantle these global criminal enterprises. From the command and control structure in el salvador to the street members walking our communities and everybody in between. In closing, ill say this the progress were making would not be possible without the brave and dedicated men and women of i. C. E. These are professionals, american patriots who leave the safety of their homes and their families every day to help keep us safe, to keep people safe theyll never meet, and i am honored and proud to represent them here today w. That, ill take questions. Sir . Thank you. [inaudible] there is the ms13 activity, and when they have prosecuted ms13 there, they have said that the [inaudible] members, some of them are citizens. And to get help from the immigrant community where they are being, where theyre plaguing, you know, the plague is on the immigrant community, that they have not been successful because theyre afraid of being taken out of the country, that youre going to deport them. So for those in the immigrant community who are being taken advantage of, do you guys are you going to offer any type of support for those who were not involved in ms13 who come forward to assist Law Enforcement . Because local Law Enforcement says thats the largest problem they have in getting people to come forward, they think theyre going to be deported. The mixed messaging that i. C. E. Is out there doing, neighborhood raids and roadblocks and things that were being accused of doing. Weve got to to get the message straight. I. C. E. Prioritizes arrests based on criminal threats, national security, those who violate immigration laws. Were not looking to make victims of witnesses. I believe especially ms13, they victimize the very communities in which they live. So if immigrant communities are being victimized, they dont want them in the community either. They should be safe to go to Law Enforcement, report the crime. We do not target victims of crime. Matter of fact, theres actually benefits through the immigration process, so they should feel safe to go and report criminal activity, and well we wont target the most were going to target the most violent criminals, not the witness, not the victims, to remove them. And we need their help. We need the communitys help, and most importantly, we need local Law Enforcements help, especially county jails that will have an ms13 booked in that a county jail, but its located in a sanctuary city, they get released back to the streets. Thats what we need to change. We need cooperation from local Law Enforcement but youre saying maam. Youre not going to take advantage of the victim taking advantage of immigrant look, were theyre not going to be deported. We need the immigrant community to assist us in identifying the most heinous criminals, and thats ms13. Its the most violent gang out there. So, again, ill say this again, if theres a victim of crime and they come forward, were not looking to arrest the victim of crime. Were looking to arrest the bad guy, right . Now, let me make this clear. Now, my standards theres population of illegal aliens are off the table, im not saying that. But victims of crime have certain protections, and they need to take full advantage of the protections. Maam . Thank you. Do you have a count for how many people [inaudible] part of the ms13 across the country . And what has the reaction been from sanctuary cities to the new policy announced earlier this week by the attorney general . And if you could speak broadly about, obviously, the president s been very critical of the attorney general [inaudible] has that criticism in any way impacted your ability, federal Law Enforcements ability to do their jobsome. Thats a lot of questions. I can tell you that thousands of ms13 members in the country, and that number changes every day depending on who sneaks in the country. As far as sanctuary cities, i dont know how they feel about the recent legislation, the recent action taken by doj, but ill say it once again. Sanctuary cities are criminals biggest friend. If youre an alien smuggler and youre smuggling people in this country for a living, that is one thats one sales pitch. We can get you to a sanctuary city where that city will help shield you from immigration. So, you know, ive said it, every time i speak i say sanctuary cities need to help us keep their communities safe. They not only endanger Public Safety, they endanger my Law Enforcement officers because when we cant get a violent alien out of county jail, it means one of our officers has to go knock on a door, which anybody in Law Enforcement knows thats one of the most Dangerous Things to do. So rather than arresting a violent criminal in the safety, security and privacy of a county jail, weve got to go knock on a door, weve got to arrest them in the community. The communitys put at risk, our officers are put at risk and the alien themself is put at risk. Weve got to think about Public Safety and the men and women of i. C. E. , the men and women of Border Patrol who weve lost many at the hands of violent criminal aliens. Weve got to join forces with these cities. These cities have to come to us and work with us the keep our anything on the attorney general . What was the question on the attorney general . The fact that the president s been criticizing him recently. Has that in any way impacted your ability, federal Law Enforcements ability to do their jobs . I. C. E. Is going to do our job, continue to enforce the law. The attorney general is a strong supporter, and so is the president. Ill end it there. Nothings going to change the way we do our business. The men and women of i. C. E. Are professionals. Were going to continue to keep enforcing the law within the orders of the executive order. Sir . [inaudible] are you telling the country you that and if youre not, what is different about your approach as compared to the previous administrations approach with ms13 and those gangs like it . Well, i can tell you that the Prior Administration prioritized criminals and security threats, but the difference is for those that criminal aliens get booked in a county jail, on the Prior Administration they needed a conviction before we can put a retainer on them and ask for them in our custody. Thats not necessary anymore. If youve been arrested and youre in a county jail, were going to drop a retainer what does that mean . Were asking the local jurisdiction hang onto them until we can take custody of them when theyre done with you. Has that proven effective . Yes. I think weve got more jurisdictions coming to the table now. You know, the story is weve got sanctuary cities here and there, but more Law Enforcement and jurisdictions are coming to the table now. Weve doubled agreements under this administration, i expect to triple them by the end of the year. Most Law Enforcement agrees with what im saying. The street cops, they want to identify these threats to the community and get them out of their communities. These people are not welcome. Local Law Enforcement are teaming up with us. The operation in new york city, we worked withs nassau county, suffolk county, nypd. They all want the criminal element out of their neighborhoods. The immigrant communities themselves dont want these people in their communities. We all should get on the same page here. Again, new york city, one of those places we cant put our hands on people that are here illegally. When it comes to gang members, gang members walk out of county jails every day in this country. Thats what we need to change. Maam . How are suspected gang members being identify for i. C. E. Enforcement . Is it just through local Law Enforcement . Are there databases that youre using . Like, how do you know how to find these gang members . Local Law Enforcement, theyre usually the ones that, you know, they have the most intelligence on gang members. As far as what we look for to find gang members, id rather not discuss that because i certainly dont want to share the information with the gang members who may be watching. Well just do this a little bit different. There is a myriad of factors we look we dont arrest people for the way they look, i want to say that. Tattoos and clothing, that is one of many, many factors we look at. Its really quite Law Enforcementsensitive, how we identify, target and locate gang members. I can tell you that the men and women of i. C. E. Are well trained, other federal agencies whether its the bureau or to counties, they do this for a living. Theyre professionals. They look at a lot of factors including database check, but id rather not share the factors we all consider, because id rather not dont want to share that with the criminal element who may be watching this program. [inaudible conversations] thank you. You said that victims of crimes who are immigrants will not be targeted. In february your agency detained a woman in el paso, texas, who was seeking a protective order against a domestic abuser. Can you say now that your agency will not be doing that again . And if its been done in the past, why i mean, why should we believe you that it wont be done in the futuresome. Okay. That case youre talking about you obviously dont know all the facts that i do. That is not the way theres much more to that story than youre presenting here today. I can tell you that was a solid arrest, and its under litigation. I cant give you the i cant give you all the information i have. That was a good arrest, that was a Public Safety arrest, and i cant say any more because its under one last question. The president s [inaudible] the most violent gang, ms13, and suggesting thats what i. C. E. Is focused on. Im reading a story last month that said the biggest number that i. C. E. Arrests are up of Illegal Immigrants and the sharpest spike is on criminals. I think the other side of the issue would say that i. C. E. And administration really is going after noncriminals and is using these moments to sort of suggest otherwise. What do you say about that . Its ridiculous. I mean, when under the Prior Administration noncriminals were not a priority. So when you to go from 0100, of course you going to see the biggest rise in that. Anybody that reads the executive orders, no populations off the table. Noncriminals, yeah, those that have got a court order from the judge that refused to leave, were looking for them. Those who enter the country illegally, that is a crime to enter this country illegally. And when they get their due process at great taxpayer expense, billions of dollars spent on border security, immigration court, detention. So when they get their due process and a federal judge orders them removed, that order needs to mean something or the whole, the whole system has no integrity. Nowhere else in Law Enforcement has anybody asked Law Enforcement agencies to ignore a judges order from a bench. Theyve had a due process. Our job is to enforce those orders, and thats what we do. And for the people that say we concentrate too much on those that are not criminals beyond them committing a crime of entering the country illegally, you should ignore them. Theyve been here. Let em go. That message drives what happened in san antonio. That message drives what happened in victoria, texas, that i investigated back in 2003. If we send the message that if you get into the country, you get by the Border Patrol and dont get arrested by local Law Enforcement for another crime and no ones looking for you, that is a magnet, that is a pull factor. Weve got to stop that messaging. Weve got to tell people its not okay to violate laws of this country. You cant want to be a part of this country and not respect its laws. You cant have it both ways. Until we get that message clear that there is no safe haven here, and if youre in sanctuary cities, thats where we send additional resources, were going to enforce the law. Weve got to stop sending the message that people that dont commit a crime should be forgotten. Enforce the law. [inaudible] and including, you know, american immigrant families that maybe have mixed situations. The president , trump, the other day called it in a speech in ohio twice referred to criminal gang members as ab malls. Animals. I think there are some who would say thats sort of another attempt to paint broader slots of immigrants as criminal and violent. He wasnt that specific about who he was talking about necessarily, and im wondering if you think that kind of rhetoric is appropriate or whether that could, you know, potentially set back some of your efforts in trying to convince Community Members to work with your department. As a career Law Enforcement officer, i can tell you criminal aliens are a threat not only to Public Safety, but to national security. Weve got to enforce the laws. The men and women of i. C. E. Are doing it in a professional manner. And i shared with you the last time i was here why its so important to let the folks know in Central America and mexico, let those that want to come to the United States who find themselves in a sanctuary city, why its so important to send a message they should not make that dangerous trek. In my years, in 33 years of doing this job, these are criminal organizations that transport these people into the country. The same organizations, the same illicit pathways that struggle drugs, weapons and smuggle people that want to do harm to the country. And by continuing to ignore that segment of the illegal population, we are bankrolling these criminal organizations. As i said earlier, sanctuary cities, thats a smugglers best friend. Thats their advertisement. Well get you to a sang sanctuary city. Ive seen people that were killed that could not pay their smuggling fee. Ive seen weve talked to the women who have been raped, children who have been molested, people have been killed. I shared with the media yesterday, in phoenix, arizona, during the hostage crisis people couldnt pay their fees. The fees would double once they got here, they couldnt pay the fees. We rescued one man who was duct taped from head to toe, his whole face and they had a hole poked in his mouth with a straw so he could breathe for two days. I did stand in the back of a tractortrailer with 19 dead aliens with a 5yearold. What do you think that 5yearold went through . What do you think his father went through the last 30 minutes of his life knowing down at his child knowing he couldnt help him [inaudible] im not calling anybody animals. Im saying theres those who break the law and those to who dont. Youve got to respect the laws of this country. Thereses millions of people that are members of society that enter this country the right way. And thats what we need to push. We need to push enter theres a legal way and an illegal way. Weve got to be pushing the legal message out there and stop sending this message that if you dont commit yet another crime beyond the crime you committed when you came to this country, that its okay to be here. Its not okay to be here illegally. Its not okay to violate the laws of this country. Were going to enforce law. That is why and what everything youre reading right now and all these horrific events, thats why we need more we need the 10,000 officers that trump, President Trump has promised so we can go after these gangs even harder. We need the border wall. Thats one more tool in the toolbox that might prevent some of these things from happening. That is why what President Trump is asking us to do, that is what hes proposing and makes sense to the Law Enforcement community. Not just tom homan at i. C. E. , but the 20,000 men and women that work at i. C. E. , the 20,000 Border Patrol agents that wear the uniform and step on the front line every day. We need this help. We need these executive orders to make sense of what we do every day. Thanks so much, tom. We really appreciate it. Thank you, tom, rob. Just like the dedicated men and women of i. C. E. And doj who are unquestionably producing results every day in these fights against vicious cartels, Senate Republicans now have an opportunity this evening to deliver on one of our biggest promises to the American People. On the hill, the senate is gearing up for a series of votes on the republican plans to finally repeal and replace obamacare and replace it with the Freedom Health care bill. Congressional republicans have been telling the American People that given the chance they would save them from this increasing damage of this disastrous law. After seven years of skyrocketing premiums and dwindling health care options, now is their chance to act. The president looks forward to seeing the senate fulfill that promise later tonight when they finally repeal obamacare and end the nightmares it has caused for American Families and businesses. I hate to start the q a off on a low note, but i wanted to get ahead of some of the personnelrelated questions and just let you guys know ahead of time that, no, i cannot confirm whether or not sean spicer will be on dancing with the stars [laughter] upon leaving the white house. And with that, i will take your questions. Jonathan. Sarah, does the president have confidence in his chief of staff . Look, i think ive addressed this question when it comes to staffing and personnel many times, that if the president doesnt, then hell make that decision. We all serve at the pleasure of the president , and if it gets to a place where that isnt the case, hell let you know. So you cant say right now if the president has full confidence in chief of staff Reince Priebus . I think i answered that. Look, i think what we have, this is a white house that has a lot of different perspectives because the president hires the very best people. Heir not always going to agree theyre not always going to agree, there are going to be a lot of different ideas. Unlike previous administrations, this isnt group think. We all come and have a chance to voice ideas, voice perspectives and have a lot of healthy competition. And with that competition you usually get the best results. The president likes that type of competition and encourages it. The people that are here are here because they love the president , they love this country, and they want to see the best things happen. And sometimes youre going to have different ideas come to the table. Thats all were talking about. Public humiliation of both the attorney general and now the chief of staff left to kind of wonder about their own fate and their own status within this administration. I dont know that the president s spoken about that particularly on attorney general sessions. Look, hes been clear that he was disappointed with his decision to recuse himself. But at the same time, as ive said, look, attorney general sessions knows better than anybody that the president and his campaign had anything to do with russia and his decision to recuse himself was disappointing to the president. At the same time, the president wants him to do his job, do it properly, he wants him to be tough on the intelligence leaks, and he wants him to move forward. Lindsey graham says therell be holy hell to pay if attorney general sessions is fired. What does the president say to that . You know, i havent asked him about Lindsey Grahams comment. Matthew. The president excuse me, the pentagon has announced that the president s statement via twitter did not change the transgender policy in the military and that the white house actually has to issue a policy directive to the secretary of defense. To make that change happen. So two questions. Does the president plan to do so . And if so, how will that affect transgender troops that are currently serving . As i said yesterday, the white house will work with the d. Of defense the department of defense and all of the relevant parties to make sure that we fully implement this policy moving forward and do so in a lawful manner. What is the policy, and was the president aware he cant make policy changes via statements on twitter i think he was making an announcement of the policy change, so that was policy yet been formulatedsome. Like i said, theyre going of to work out the details to lawfully implement that policy change from this point. Sarah, thank you. Moving on to the health care, you talked about how Senate Republicans have the chance tonight to really undo obamacare, but it seems like there are things most likely to get through is the skinny repeal, and that would just kind of that would maybe get rid of the mandate, some other things, but its not the massive overhaul that had been promised. So would the white house support just a skinny repeal, that being signed into law . Certainly support progress moving forward, and thats what were seeing taking place in the senate right now. And i think that thats the place where weve been since we started this, is were looking for moving the ball forward down the field. Repealing and replacing it with a Better Health care system, this is one step within that process. But does the white house believe that a skinny repeal on its own would be must have to address the issues of premiums, you know, rising premiums, deductibles and things like that . Like, would the president sign just a skinnily peel . Well, weve got to see what they get to tonight. We havent seen a final piece of legislation. Were continuing to work with the senate to make sure we get the best health care we can. Go ahead. Yeah, sarah, i want to ask about the president s management style and one about immigration enforcement. Is the president aware that occasionally days like yesterday when he had a big jobs announcement he wanted to roll out that his seemingly impulsive decisions to make an announcement on transgender troops steps on his own message . Is this president aware of that dynamic, and is he interested in changing it at all . I think the president s aware that he can walk and chew gum at the same time. This is a white house that takes on a lot of Different Things every day, not just one, and were going to continue to do that moving forward. On immigration, i have a question sorry. So this week when the president spoke in ohio, he spoke about ms13 and gave a litany of the violence that theyre capable of, and then he said our guys are rougher than their guys. What was, whatd the president mean by that . I think president means that our guys are going to do whatever it takes to protect americans, protect american lives, protect our borders. Is that a license for the use of more force when it comes to making arrests against ms13 . Look, the president wants people to do their jobs, not go beyond the scope of what they should do. But he wants to protect our country. He wants to protect American People. And hes asked the Law Enforcement agencies to step up and help be part of that process. I think we would all expect for them to. Law enforcement agencies to change the rules of the use of force when it comes to making arrests against ms13 . Im not aware of any specific changes. Thank, sarah. Anthony scaramucci was on cnn talking about Reince Priebus, quote, if he wants to prove hes not a lyric, let him do that. I cant imagine you would speak on anthonys behalf, the but if you would, does the white house think reince is a leakersome. Im not going to comment on anthonys suggestion. Ill let him answer for himself. I think i made pretty clear where the president is, and is i dont have anything to add beyond that. [inaudible] does the president believe a tax overhaul should increase the budget deficit or should it be revenueneutral . Look, were continuing to make announcements on details of the tax reform plan as im sure you all saw. There was a joint statement that came out earlier today, and were making a lot of progress on this front as we get closer to lining out the final details. Well certainly be putting those out in front of all of you. The big pieces are simplification and helping take off the relief for the middle class. Those are big places that were really focused, and were going to continue to do that as you saw from the statement. The border adjustment tax was taken off the table, and thats another big step forward in the process. Peter . Sarah, can i ask you quickly about Anthony Scaramucci . A little housekeeping. Only if you do it quickly. Fine. [laughter] has he taken an oath of office . Not that im aware of. His security clearance has gone through . As always, we to not discuss is he an official member of the white house staff now . Initially, it was announced it would be in he is working at the white house, but on your other [inaudible conversations] were going to go with one question thursday because were kind of tight on time. The president s got an open let me ask you about the boy scouts im going to actually go to john. Sorry, peter. Thank you, sarah. I do have to ask you about the health care bill. Many who are in the Freedom Caucus say that they would oppose the skinny repeal that was referred to earlier, that if a measure came out with just, oh, ending the mandates and ening the tax on medical ending the tax on medical devices, that that would and not addressing anything else, theyd vote against it. Is the president aware of this . And is he making any calls for specific parts of the repeal effort . Look, the administrations been working hand in hand on pushing repeal and replace of obamacare. We actually like term freedom bill a lot better, because we think it addresses what this bill actually is. It removes a lot of those mandates that allow people to have the type of freedom, have states have the freedom that they want, and that was one of the big priorities for this administration. Were, you know, happy about that progress. And were going to wait and see where this bill ends up later this evening. John decker. Thanks a lot, sarah. Is the president just to follow up on what john [inaudible] just asked you, i dont think you got to that particular part of the question. Sorry. Is the president picking up the phone . Is he calling seven or eight republican senators, making the case for them that this may be their last best hope for repealing and replacing obamacare . And if he is, whats his message to those particular senators . The same one hes been making all along, lets get the job done, lets replace a Terrible Health care system with a better one. And hes going to be engaged, and ill keep you posted on any specifics and people that he talks to. Peter . [inaudible conversations] sorry. Were real tight on time. Im [inaudible] going to keep it to one question. Be polite to your colleagues. Peter. The president might veto the russia sanctions bill even as senator corker has withdrawn his objection and the same version that weve already seen from the house is going to be up for senate vote. Is that, in fact, possible . Will he veto a bill that passed with just three negative voteses in the house and two in the senate . As i said yesterday, the president and the Administration Support sanctions against russia, iran and north korea. We continue to support strong sanctions against those three countries, and were going to wait and see what that final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point. [inaudible] as soon as we have a final piece of legislation, well let you to know. In terms of working with the dod on this new policy to, how longs it going to be before you find out what the details are . I dont have the specific timeline, but i believe theyre going to [inaudible] again, i dont have a specific timeline on whoo that looks like, but i know theyre ready to start moving and work on that implementation. Dont do what we fear you might be contemplating. On the betterment of the Senate Republicans that are working with this white house on a lot of issues put it to rest once and for all. There is equity be need for a recess appointment. The country inn for Senate Republicans who appear based on their Public Statement to be anxious about this prospect. I guess im not sure how may times you have to lay an issue to rest. Ive tried many times. The president said time will tell. I am only telling you what Senate Republicans want to say. And yesterday you probably saw a statement come out from here that there was more fake news from the washington post. On the fact that we were considering a recess appointment
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