Dan coats putting the 2020 election front and center. I first would like to mention election security. This has been and will continue to be a top priority for the intelligence community. We assess that foreign actors will view the 2020 u. S. Elections as an opportunity to advance their interests. We expect them to refine their capabilities and add new tactics. Dana Katherine Herridge right outside the hearing room. This hearing is something i look forward to even though it is sometimes concerning information. What did you learn . Reporter the leadership of the u. S. Intelligence community is behind closed doors with senators on the Intelligence Committee after the Public Session this morning. Youre right. These hearings are important because they publicly lay out the threats against the United States and help set Budget Priorities for congress. If there was a dominant theme, it came down to china. New alliances china is building are russia to try and get the advantage over the United
Brooklyn, new york. I came from the projects. We were completely destitute. Back to that in a moment, but we begin the hour with a big meeting on capitol hill with an agenda that seems like a mission impossible. Finding consensus on the Border Security issues that just led to that partial government shutdown. A Bipartisan Group of lawmakers meeting this afternoon for the first time. Their deadline, only 16 days away. President trump setting the tone on twitter this morning saying if the committee of republicans and democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a wall or physical barrier, they are wasting their time. Thats from the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi telling the president in response, butt out. I think the conference can reach a good result left to its own devices without interference from anybody else. I am confident in the appropriators. President stay out . Live up on capitol hill. This is the beginning. Set the table and what do we ex
And thats despite the promise from President Trump time and again that he would protect the most popular provisions of the law like protecting people with preexisting conditions. Now, clearly not so much. Adding to the head spinning confusion here, there are new report this is mos this morning some key cabinet members arent on board with the president s decision to target health care right now. Jeremy, what are you learning about this white house infighting over this decision . Reporter it all began in december when a federal judge in texas ruled that the entire Affordable Care act should be struck down. That ruling is now working its way through the appeals process. But at the time, the administration believed that only parts of that law should be struck down. So this ruling from this federal judge ignited a heated debate within the administration about what the administration should do. Thats what one white house official told me. It essentially broke down the battle lines between th
Prejudice and tolerance that this time is across the aisle. So now the house of representatives seemed to distance itself from this members remarks and will apparently send a vote to condemn antisemitism for the second time in just a few weeks. Well, i hope this time the message is clear. Support for israel isnt about the benjamins, its about the hearts and minds of the american people. Back to that story in a moment, but we begin the hour on capitol hill where Kirstjen Nielsen is making the declaration, and warning that the things at the border are getting worse. Secretary nielsen says new numbers from customs and Border Protection back the administrations case. People apprehended and crossing illegally or without proper papers in february. Thats the highest encounters in any february over the last 12 years. Secretary nielsen says the United States is on track to encounter close to 1 million Illegal Migrants at the southern border this year and she says, yes, this is a true crisis and
Part of the continuing coverup that we have seen as it relates to the white house trying to gloss over the wrongdoing that clearly has taken place as it relates to the president s abuse of power. One of the things the white house and the president has trumpeted is they released this transcript of the call. The president called it an exact transcript. It was never not. It was never advertised on its face. It was a rough transcript. If theyre trying to keep things from the public, how much of that should be a focus of your investigation . Well, the focus will continue to be on what we know took place. The rough transcript confirms that donald trump pressured a Foreign Government to target an american citizen for political gain and thereby solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election. That right there is textbook abuse of power, particularly because at the same moment, 391 million in military and Security Assistance to the ukraine that was allocated by congress on a bipartisan basis