Around the world. Im rosemary church, and this is cnn newsroom. Donald trump is lashing out again at his attorney general Jeff Sessions. And his recent tweet shows two things, hes clearly worried about democrats taking control of the house of representatives in the midterm elections, and he thinks the Justice Department should be protecting him and his supporters. Cnns jeff zeleny reports. Reporter summer may be over at the white house but the same storm clouds are gathering as President Trump heads into the fall. Tonight the president lashing out again at attorney general Jeff Sessions but this time over the Justice Departments recent indictments of two republican congressmen. Two easy wins now in doubt because theres not enough time. Good job jeff, the president said on twitter. Hes referring to Chris Collins of new york indicted on Insider Trading charges. And Duncan Hunter in california accused of stealing campaign funds. Its an extraordinary statement but also suggesting that Justice Department should overlook criminal allegations for political reasons. All this as a confrntrationtati looming over special counsel mueller and the white house. It has nothing to do with collusion. Reporter Rudy Giuliani saying theyre likely to cite executive privilege, telling the new yorker, im sure we will try to block the release of the report. Abruptly changing course and going back inside. On a day traditionally seen as a kick off for the Fall Campaign the president had no Public Events on his schedule but tweeted our country is doing better than ever before with unemployment setting record lows. As democrats like joe biden provided the opposing view while marching on labor day. With the midterm elections only two months away the president is hitting the road again this week heading to montana, north and south dakota, and hes still threatening to intervene in the russia investigation as part of his ongoing feud with his own Justice Department. I will get involved and ill get in there if i have to. Reporter the president also increasingly isolated from his most loyal supporters. As words from the Funeral Services of john mccain still echo. The america of john mccain has no need to be made great again because america was always great. Reporter while President Trumps name was never spoken a critique of his travel brand of politics was a notable theme. Johns voice will always come as a whisper over our shoulder. We are better than this, america is better than this. Its a politics that pretends to be brave and tough, but in fact is born in fear. John called on us to be bigger than that. Reporter only hours after the service a trump tweet served as a quiet rebuttal, make America Great again. All this setting the stage for confirmation hearings this week for President Trumps Supreme Court nominee. I will nominate judge Brett Kavanaugh to the United StatesSupreme Court. Reporter his nomination is one of the bright spots for the white house as the president seeks to secure a more conservative legacy on the high court. Now, those confirmation hearings will begin in the Senate Tuesday and will continue all week. Many republicans hope this is a moment to unify them. Of course hes done at the Supreme Court appointments as well as the federal court. But the president seems to be focusing on his own war with the Justice Department just months before the midterm elections. Lets bring in scott lucas. Always good to have you on the show. Thank you, rosemary. So lets start with President Trumps tweet criticizing Jeff Sessions for indicting two republican congressmen. Mr. Trump tweeted this. Two easy wins now in doubt, good job, jeff. Speaker paul ryans spokesman reacted by saying this, the department of justice should always remain apolitical and the speaker has demonstrated he takes these charges seriously. For more you can ask him at his press conferences this week. So, scott, why does the president of the United States not appear to understand the role of an attorney general and his department, and could this issue potentially divide the Republican Party . Because donald trump doesnt believe in the rule of law. If he thinks it might affect him adversely, its as simple as that. I mean theres a specific here, and that is donald trump is setting up to possibly remove Jeff Sessions because hes upset that sessions will not take charge of it trumprussia inquiry and fire the special counsel mueller. Thats been running for months and trump has been insulting sessions for months. But what he did this weekend goes wider than that. And that is by interfering, and it is in interference in the cases of representative hunter and collins, both of whom who face felony charges over Insider Trading allegations, Campaign Finance allegations. Trump is effectively saying my politics take precedence over the courts, in the same week that hes trying to get a Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh nominated. Hes actually saying, look, the courts have to stand aside if i dont like this. Of course, whats the widest context of this, because hes saying that not only about individual congressmen but the russia investigation, which i suspect within months will be pressing charges against some of trumps most closest advisers and possibly forcing the president to reconsider his own position. Do you think thats an ignorance of what the attorney general is supposed to do in his department or do you think President Trump just doesnt care . He doesnt care. Rosemary, you can go back decades and whatever you think of donald trump, right or wrong, his approach to the courts has been as a businessman, for example, that the courts have no right to inflict punishment upon him. This goes back to 1970s when he was accused of discrimination inhousing practices. Remember hes criticized, insulted, threatened to remove judges in cases for example like trump university. Let alone cases that may have important political ramifications. So im not sure trump is the brightest spark in the fire when it comes to understanding the law. That doesnt matter to him. The law be damned. So scott, just nine weeks away from the midterm elections, how vulnerable is President Trump or his party, or do the numbers show what seats once considered republican now threatening to go democratic . Well, id be a fool to place a bet on elections adive found in the past. I think theres a good chance that the democrats will win the lower house. I think theres probably a toss up theyll take the senate. But more important than that is the trend state by state. And that is are you seeing in effect what we call that base, the notion of republican and trump loyalists holding the fort against all these controversies or do we see a tilt in participation that tilts towards the democrats . If the latter, were not talking about just numbers but a change in mood. Which is not only about individual issues. It may be about, for example, the notion that trump should not be allowed to continue in this fashion. We need a different type of politics. And of course it may even extend to the idea that maybe this man should no longer be in the white house. In just a few hours from now confirmation hearings for President Trumps Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh get under way. A lawyer for former president george w. Bush has just released 42,000 pages of documents to the judiciary committee. What impact would you expect those documents to have . Of course, its going to be tough for people to wade through them all and review what they contain, but how likely do you think it is that kavanaugh will eventually get confirmed . Oh, if the republicans get their way, you can have 200,000, 300,000 pages, it doesnt matter. Theyre going to steam roll their way through these elections. The question is whether we actually have a due diligent process, as we should with any nomination, to consider Brett Kavanaughs strengths and his weaknesses and whether in fact this becomes a political rather than Legal Process and that this is rushed through. Because quite frankly Senate Republicans are scared to death the tide will turn against them in just two months time. Scott lucas, thanks so much for coming on and giving us your perspective on these issues. Appreciate it. Thank you. So if confirmed judge Brett Kavanaugh will likely tilt the Supreme Court further to the right. He is more conservative than the swing justice hes replacing, anthony kennedy. But what does kavanaughs record suggest on how he may vote on hot button issues such as abortion rights or president ial privileges . Cnns ranldy kaye takes a close looks at izr his career and statements. Reporter judge Brett Kavanaugh now hoping to occupy the seat of a man he once clerked for, Justice Anthony kennedy. Kavanaugh has been on the d. C. Court of appeals since 2006 and spoke of kennedy during that confirmation process. He conveyed to his clerks and certainly conveyed to me to use one of his favorite phrases, the central neutrality of the law. Reporter kavanaugh spent years working for independent counsel kenneth starr, helping to investigate bill clintons affair with monica lewinsky. The New York Times says kavanaugh also helped outline grounds for president clintons impeachment. Later in 2009 kavanaugh wrote the nations chief executive should be exempt from time consuming and distracting lawsuits and investigations. Some have interpreted this as opposition to an indictment of a sitting president. Cnn has learned that the Trump White House was aware of these comments during the vetting process. On health care and abortion kavanaugh has already made controversial decisions. Last year he sided with the Trump Administration to block an abortion for a pregnant immigrant teenager in federal custody. Noting the governments per missive history in favoring fetal life. During his confirmation process in 2006 he was hardly forthcoming in his personal views. Do you consider roe v. Wade to be an abomination . If confirmed to the d. C. Circuit i would follow roe v. Wade fully. I asked your own opinion. And i was saying if i was confirm today the d. C. Circuit, senator, i would follow it. Its been affirmed many times including in planned parenthood i understand. But whats your opinion . Youre not on the bench yet. Youve talked to other people in the past im sure. I dont think it would be appropriate to be okay, not going to answer the question. Reporter more recently kavanaugh raised eyebrows when the Washington Post reported he racked up 60,000 to 200,000 in credit card debt, buying baseball tickets and taking on a loan. The Washington Post reported his debt exceeded the value of his Bank Accounts and investments. A white house spokesman told the paper kavanaugh had bought Washington National season tickets and playoff tickets for himself and a handful of friends who then reimbursed him. He said the judge has stopped buying season tickets. Kavanaugh attended Yale University and Yale Law School graduating in 1990. In 2001 he met his wife when they were both working for president george w. Bush. They have two daughters. He coaches one of his daughters basketball teams where the players call him coach k. Now hes looking for a new title on the highest court in the land. Randi kaye, cnn, new york. Much of the u. S. Gulf coast is bracing for Tropical Storm gordon, which could be a category one hurricane by the time it makes its expected landfall tuesday night. The governors of mississippi and louisiana have each declared a state of emergency. Gordon is expected to gain strength as it moves northwest through the gulf of mexico from the florida keys. Well, the father of a murdered College Student has a message for politicians whom he says are exploiting his daughters death to advance their own agendas. That message, stop it right now. Plus Vladimir Putin tries to soften his image and turn his declining poll numbers around. Well explain how when we come back. Stay with us. Your spirit is unbreakable. Your phone, not so much. Purchase protection can help you replace small things that get damaged along the way. Another way we have your back. The powerful backing of american express. 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And now, all beds are on sale. Its the last chance to save 50 on the new sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus, 36month financing. Ends labor day. Sleep number. Proven, quality sleep. The father of murdered iowa College StudentMollie Tibbetts has a message for people, dont exploit his daughters death. He is asking people to stop using his daughters as a pawn in the immigration debate. He says mollie wouldnt want that. The 20yearolds murder has become a political talking point because her suspected killer is an undocumented immigrant from mexico. Rob tibbetts wrote in the Des Moines Register do not appropriate mollies soul in advancing views she believed were profoundly racist. He added instead lets turn against racism in all its ugly manifestations, both subtle and overt. Lets turn towards each other with the all the compassion we gave mollie. Lets listen, not shout. Lets build bridges, not walls. Lets celebrate our diversity rather than argue our differences. His oped saturday came one day after President Trumps eldest son had his own oped in saturdays newspaper. He wrote the mask is off and the true radical face of the democrats has been exposed. They are seemingly more concerned in protecting their radical open borders agenda than the lives of innocent americans. And for his analysis and perspective im joined now by an attorney and immigration analyst as well as a cnn opinion writer. Good to have you with us. Thank you. So Mollie Tibbetts father made it very clear in his oped he doesnt want his daughters death politicized. So why is donald trump, and his son and others ignoring it and using her death to push their own immigration policy . Its sad to say but the one reason they seem to be using this tragedy a young woman named kate steinle was shot and killed, and to some extent it worked for him because of immigration and what he perceive today be the threat from undocumented immigrants became his signature issue. So i think the trump family sees this as an issue they can win on. And for the International Viewer