The latest news from around the world with host Brooke Baldwin. Arguments. This afternoon. This means this trial is on its way. Its a very important trial, as you know, brooke, this is the Special Counsel investigating russian interference in the 2016 election facing off against Donald Trumps campaign manager. Of course, he was only there briefly, but for a very critical period. And as you know also, this means a lot of things for the state of play, at least in politics during a Midterm Election here in the United States, especially because the president has said so many times that in his view the Russian Investigation is a witch hunt, if Paul Manafort ends up being convicted, it will be a lot harder for the president To Throw Shay on the investigation. If Paul Manafort is found not guilty, that gives a lot of support for the trump side in this National Conversation over Russia Meddling in the 2016
election. So, brooke, we have 18 charges in this indictment. And we dont expect to hear even a word about collusion, but what we will hear about is the charges Paul Manafort is facing, those charges include bank fraud, those charges include tax evasion, allegations from the prosecution that he got 16 Million Dollars from ukraine, parked it in overseas banks and did not tell the tax collectors, the Internal Revenue service. Of course, hes pleaded not guilty. And were headed very quickly to trial in this case, brooke. Joe johns, thank you so much. In alexandria, we also know the jurors have just been seated to answer questions like, have you mortgaged your house . Have you ever opened a Foreign Bank Account . Do you know any ukrainians . What they werent asked, who did you vote for president in 2016 . Case, how does a jury avoid outside influence . In a case like this where every little everything is found right here on their phones . Its not easy. Theyre going to do their best. And usually they try their hardest, but things are likely to seep through. We dont know what, we dont know how, but it is likely the jurors will have contact with some information no matter what theyre told in advance. Your biggest question, thought, challenge, moving forward . Well, i think the big question here is, how is this going to play out in terms of, is it going to play out the way a political trial would . Or will it play out more like a general whitecollar fraud case . It seems to be laid out pretty much like a regular whitecollar fraud case. Well see how it develops. Roy futterman, thank you so much for coming by. More breaking news, an announcement by facebook that they are shutting down dozens of facebook and instagram accounts believed to be run by russians. Now they are reaching out and reaching back to the people who said they were going to go to one of these events. For instance, to left them know listen, the russians may have been behind the whole thing. Wow, drew griffin. Thank you, drew. A Major Development for the Revolving Door at the white house. Chief of staff john kelly just marked his oneyear anniversary on the job. And now it appears that he will be around for his second one. Lets go to the white house to our senior White House Correspondent jeff zeleny. We reported before the president s trip to europe that john kelly maybe was in a little bit of trouble. And now you have why john kelly wants to stay. Reporter well, brooke, we do. Good afternoon. Its not just that john kelly wants to stay, but more importantly that President Trump has asked him to stay. That is the question here at the white house, whether you are the chief of staff, occupying the Largest Office in the west wing with the exception of the oval office, or if youre just a lowlevel staffer. But President Trump, we are told, wants his chief of staff
to stay through at least the next election, through 2020. Now, this is something that was perhaps even more interesting, the fact that this is seeping out by design, we are told. John kelly clearly wanting to send a message to the staff here at the white house. Some of whom have liked him, some have been at odds with him, that he is here to stay. He has the trust of the president. Now, interestingly, for the last year, there have been questions of, is the president going to fire john kelly . Of course, thats what happened to the first chief of staff, reince priebus, more than a year ago. But now it seems much more likely, will john kelly decide to stay for that long . Or will he, perhaps, reevaluate these things after the Midterm Elections . Now, brooke, we should point out the standing with the president , with any president , but this one, in particular, is a daybyday sort of basis here. The president could always change his mind, but this is largely a reflection of, he wants some stability, but also with politics now front and center in the Midterm Elections in 2020, of course, not that far along, john kelly doesnt have
much to do with that. Hes largely in charge of the staff at the white house. So the president seems to be happy with that. And for now, brooke, he seems to be staying. I think what you said is key, that the news has seeped out by design. Jeff zeleny, thank you. Is the president trying to get ahead of something . Hes echoing Rudy Giulianis defense that the collusion with russia is not a crime. Lets dig deep into that. Also, u. S. Intelligence agencies are saying north korea is still developing missiles, begging the question, did the president get played in singapore by kim jongun . And they are untraceable, untrackable and just hours from now americans will be able to see plans and print 3d guns. Even the president tweeted out that he may be concerned. Well show you how they work and the effort underway to stop them. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. We really pride ourselves on making it easy for you tech at safelite autoglass, to get your windshield fixed. With safelite, you can see exactly when well be there. Saving you time for what you love most. Kids whoa kids vo safelite repair, safelite replace a book that youre ready to share with the world . Get published now, call for your free publisher kit today
welcome back to cnn. Im brooke baldwin. The president is embracing a new line of defense from his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani Rudy Giuliani, on the russia investigation. Trump is highlighting the Criminal Code that it has no criminal offense called collusion. Today the president tweeted this, collusion is not a crime. And then he went on to Say Something familiar, some sort of f familiar phrasing on collusion. Take note, the president just said collusion is not a crime. In what a lot of people are wondering is, is this a new strategy out of the white house . Because since before today when the president says the word collusion, there is almost some sort of negative connotation around it. Remember, this single answer he gave during a News Conference in january. Watch this. There has been no collusion, no collusion. They all say theres no collusion. And there is no collusion. I can only say this, there was absolutely no collusion. It has been determined that there is no collusion. When they have no collusion, and nobodys found any collusion from no collusion to no collusion is not a crime. With me, cnn legal analyst, Robert Muellers special at the doj. Lets start, michael, on shear definitions. Collusion is not a legal term, but conspiracy is. Talk to me about conspiracy. Right. Collusion actually is a legal term, but its mostly applied in the Antitrust Area where companies collude to keep prices stable and things of that sort. In the Criminal Law Context that were talking about, its conspiracy, and that is to interfere with the federal election or coordination, which is a violation of the federal election laws that make it illegal to receive a value or
solicit something of value from foreign nationals. Or filing of false declaration with the federal Election Commission about those funds that you received or didnt receive. So there are three crimes that fall under the umbrella of the shorthand expression collusion. Okay. And now this whole collusion is not a crime, it has become a thing now, which fits this pattern, talking about Rudy Giuliani, hes constantly going on tv and dropping bombs to get out in front of the story. Maybe take away some of the power or shock value and control of the narrative. Would that be fair . A Fair Assessment . Well, you know, im not one who has ever credited Rudy Giuliani with Strategic Thinking in this case. I think he freelances much more than he strategically thinks. But it seems as if what hes trying to say here is even if there is collusion to been found, its not a crime, which makes no sense to me. Because were there a charge against a normal person, not a
president , who may not be indictable, then you would charge them with conspiracy or false statements or coordination. They wouldnt be charged with collusion. So im not sure exactly what it gets him to Say Something which isnt a crime, isnt a crime when there are other crimes, which would be charged. Are these the actions of someone who is innocent . Well, you know, trey gowdy and others think that a president who behaves this way is not acting as an innocent president. I dont know how the president is processing all of this stuff. I just think hes mad that the investigation is ongoing. He believes himself to be innocent. And rather than take counsel from his lawyers to be quiet and let the system play it out, he cant in almost an obsessiv obsessivecompulsive sense, he cant stop tweeting about it. And really, none of the tweets really help him. And giuliani keeping the story
alive doesnt help the president because he can pivot to other stories he thinks are better for his presidency. In keeping the story alive, well take three steps back because the centerpiece of the story is the trump tower meeting, right . And the Trump Campaign met with russians. And they were promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. If Hillary Clinton had one and you flipped those names around, michael, that it was the Clinton Campaign who met with the russians and they were promised dirt on donald trump, and we listen, we dont live in that reality right now, but hypothetically, Couldnt Trump or republicans be calling for a recount . Well, they certainly would be calling for an investigation. They seem to like investigating Hillary Clinton quite a lot. But sure, if Hillary Clinton were shown to have colluded or conspired or coordinated with the russians to receive support, then sure, they would be asking
for the same thing that special Counsel Mueller is investigating here. You know, there is no lack of hypocrisy in washington. If youre a democrat and youre a democratic candidate who investigated the witch hunt, then if youre a republican and the republican candidate is being investigated, its a witch hunt. So it is what it is, brooke. Michael zeldin, thank you very much. Okay. As the president gets ready to head off to florida this afternoon, cnn is learning hes nervous that democrats might take back the house in november. One piece of his plan, campaign for candidates like this one who just released this wild ad with the help of his family and his child. Plus, the urgency is growing as americans will be able to see plans to build 3d guns at midnight tonight. The president says he may not be a fan. So what could be done in the 11th hour . Come away with me barnabas but i am a simple farmer. My life is here. [telephone ring] ahoyhoy. Alexander graham bell here. No, no, my number is one, you must want two two, i say like my father before. [telephone ring] like my father before. Ahoyhoy as long as people talk too loudly on the phone, you can count on geico saving folks money. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. Get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go online today. President trump is getting ready to head to florida this afternoon. And this is a show of force for his candidate of choice in the gubernatorial race. And that candidate is Republican Congress rob desantis. Hes showing a special kind of love for President Trump in an ad that has been called both bizarre and buzzy. Judge for yourself. Everyone knows my husband ron desantis is endorsed by President Trump, but hes also an amazing dad. Ron loves playing with the kids. Build the wall. He reads stories. Then mr. Trump said, youre
fired. I love that part. Hes Teaching Madison to talk. Make America Great again. People say rons all trump, but hes so much more. Big league. So good. I just thought you should know. Ron desantis for governor. Lets go straight to someone who knows Florida Politics oh so well. Hes the Political Editor at the tampa bay times, adam smith. And adam, that ad, how much is it benefiting this desantis by the fullthroated embrace of the president . Well, were talking about it right now. And early voting by mail, which is a key part of winning an election in a primary, is underw underway. So i think it is very helpful. Will it help in the general election . Well see. But basically, this primary has been all about trump. The big embrace of the president , which also helped with kemp in georgia, well have to wait and see how it works in the general. Some reporting we have from dana bash here at cnn, shes learning that the president is itching to participate in more and more rallies like the one there in florida because hes nervous that mueller is chipping away at his legitimacy as president. And apparently hes nervous because he thinks perhaps the democrats could take the house back in november. If you think about florida, you know florida, trump dominated that whole, you know, the election cycle. He beat out jeb bush and marco rubio. And im wondering, do you think hell still have the same effect come november . I have to say, ive spent a lot of time the last few weeks talking to rankinfile republicans. And my sense is they are at least as energized as the very energized democrats are in the state. Really . So, i think the big question are some of the swing voters, tampa bay, where trump is coming, thats the capital for swing voters, but this primary between ron desantis and hes running against a fellow named adam putnam. Adam putnam at one point not that long ago looked like a shoein to win the primary and probably be the next governor. So what changed it . Trump. Really, its trump. Trump . And i think the sentiment that establishment politicians are not what the electorate wants these days. And adam putnam has been in office forever. Wow. We also, adam, know that the president now is going to war with the Koch Brothers. And we know that over the weekend the Koch Brothers broke with trump. And now he thinks the Koch Brothers have become a total joke in real republican circles. And im just wondering if warring with the deeppocketed Koch Brothers is the answer for
the republicans let alone this president. Well, the base, again, i mean, that old shoot somebody down fifth avenue thing that trump said seems to hold. Whether its turning away from Family Values or cozying up to putin or free trade, you know, the base, including people that have been stalwart republicans for decades, they seem to be standing by trump no matter what he does. Adam smith in tampa, thank you so much. Well look for the president down there in just a little while. Meantime, they are untraceable, undetectable and starting tomorrow, you could download and print a firearm at home. The president tweeted out that he may have some concerns. So lets talk to the connecticut Attorney General who is one of several states suing to stop this. And after his facetoface historic meeting with kim jongun, the president has maintained that the north is not a nuclear threat. But according to some new reporting, including satellite
images, they are proving otherwise. So is this a breach of the Handshake Deal between these two . Well discuss that ahead. Reporter at the center of the controversy is defense distributed, a nonprofit in texas thats been fighting the State Department for several years over the firms desire to release the gun plans, insisting this is a free speech case. These are merely instructions to build something. Cody wilson who leads the company has described himself as a Crypto Anarchist on a mission. Giving you the ability to make something to Military Specification but affordably. Reporter kind of. A Ghost Gunner Machine from defense distributed, a 3d printer specifically designed to make Gun Components at home, costs well over 1,000. Beyond the range of some casual buyers. But the price point here is not prohibitive for those who right now have an interest in undetectable and at times untraceable firearms. So lets go to straight to connecticut Attorney General george jepsen, one of a number
of top state officials suing the federal government, trying to block this, arguing that it makes cheap weapons available to terrorists and criminals. So, there Attorney General, welcome. Good to be on your show. Sorry about the circumstances. Lets dive in right now about what the president tweeted and i want to read it for you, im looking into 3d guns being sold to the public. Already talked to the nra. Doesnt seem to make much sense. Now, as i just pointed out, despite the president s tweet, it was his administration that cleared the way for tonights deadline. Mr. Jepsen, how do you interpret trumps tweet . Its scarcely believable and laughable. Theres no way that Secretary Pompeo would have allowed this to happen under his watch unless he has explicit encouragement from the president. I just dont buy it at all. So why would the president say that . I im frequently confused by what President Trump says. And asking me to explain much of what he says is beyond my
capacity. Well, what do you think are the gravest consequences of printing these guns . Well, this is incredibly alarming and disturbing. To me, the most dangerous thing is that people who want to bring these have these guns, will be able to get past security, whether it is airport security, so the risk of a hijacked plane goes up. The political events where theres frequently security. You would be able to slip past with a gun and perhaps assassinate a public figure. Terrorists will want them. Criminals will want them. And no good can come of it. The new york ag would agree with you, barbara underwood, she put it this way, it is simply crazy to give criminals the tools to build untraceable, undetectable 3d printed guns at the touch of a button. Yet thats exactly what the Trump Administration is allowing. The Obama Administration fought the company who makes the guns
for years and now again this green light, the Trump Administration used american taxpayer dollars to actually pay this company back in its legal fees. I know you are fighting this, sir, but why do you think you can stop them now . Well, what is most extraordinary is that the lawsuit in joining defense distributed from downloading the blueprints was won by the federal government. And the Supreme Court would not grant so the Trump Administration up until now has been doing the right thing. And they had won this case. And with this secret backroom deal, they handed that victory to defense unlimited. So its thats a very disturbing aspect about this. Yeah, time is short for us. We have a very short line. We havent heard whether a hearing has been scheduled out in washington state. We hope there will be a hearing,
but if not, the judge can make a decision and granting a restraining order, simply as we say it on the paper. So just reading the arguments that are written down. But we hope that there will be a hearing and then a decision. This Defense Distributive owner cody wilson, his argument is that the State Department has been violating his First Amendment rights of free speech and the Second Amendment right to bear arms. And he was just interviewed by a colleague of mine, and she asked him the question, dont you think this will lead to more deaths . And his answer was, is democracy dangerous or not . Hes wrong. His side lost in court. The trial court found on behalf of the government, the Appellate Court found on behalf of the government, the u. S. Supreme court refused to take up the case. So hes wrong about the violations of law. The only violation of law is whats going on now. And we as State Attorneys General are taking it upon ourselves to try to get this
lastditch effort to stop it. Last bit question, because we have not heard much from the nra, what is their role in this since this doesnt actually impact their bottom line . Its tough for me to say where their role would be. Im sorry, i dont have a better answer, but its difficult to understand what their role would be. George jepsen, connecticut Attorney General, sir, thank you so much. Thank you. Just in, we are now hearing from prosecutors on whether they will pursue charges against cbs ceo Leslie Munvees with stunning allegations against him. And one i. C. E. Detention center compared these statistics of children to summer camp. And another official warned before the separations that they would cause harm to kids. Sometimes a day at the ballpark is more than just a day at the ballpark. Stadium pa all military members stand and be recognized. Sometimes fans cheer for those who wear a different uniform. No matter where or when you served, tmobile stands ready to serve you. Thats why were providing half off family lines to all military. You may be learning about, medicare and supplemental insurance. Medicare is great, but it doesnt cover everything. Only about 80 of your part b medicare costs. A Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan may help cover some of the rest. Learn how an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan, insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company might be the right choice for you. A free Decision Guide is a great place to start. Call today to request yours. So what makes an aarp Medicare Supplement plan unique . These are the only Medicare Supplement plans endorsed by aarp because they meet aarps high standards of quality and service. Youre also getting the great features that any Medicare Supplement plan provides. You may choose any doctor that accepts medicare patients. You can even visit a specialist. With this type of plan there are no networks or referrals needed. Also, a Medicare Supplement plan. Goes with you when you travel anywhere in the u. S. Call today for a free guide. Process. And i was reading something you wrote that its time for the Trump Administration to learn to live with the nuclear north korea. Why . Well, i dont think we have to love the north korean bomb, brooke, but well have to get used to the reality we have to live with it. Because even under the most ideal circumstance, kim jongun is not going down to zero warheads. And any sense on the part of the administration that is Xre Comprehensible will see this wont happen over time. They have to cap and restrain some of the more egregious capacity. But the idea again of figuring that kim is going to give up his nukes aint going to happen. One last point. Yeah. We got to not lose sight of the goal. The goal is to reduce the prospects of war on the Korean Peninsula between south korea
and north korea and reduce the prospects of war between the United States and north korea. You probably could accomplish that with a peace treaty between the north and the south and a functional relationship and roll back of a large part of kims program. And if you could do that, then whats a few nukes . Frankly, among frenemies. Thus your point and one of the reasons i love you quoting the stones in this article saying, well, you cant always get what you want but you can get what you need, in this case, peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. Let me ask you about iran. Because, at the same time, trump suggested he would meet with iran without preconditions, whenever they want, which is a short departure from the threats against the regime last week. You have the Secretary Of State, mike pompeo, reiterating the laundry list of preconditions for said talks. Watch. I believe in meeting. I would certainly meet with iran if they wanted to meet. I dont know that theyre ready yet. Theyre having a hard time right now. No preconditions, no, they want
to meet, ill meet. Any time they want. But the iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their people, reduce the maligned behavior, it can agree that its worthwhile to enter into a Nuclear Agreement that actually prevents proliferation. And the president said hes prepared to sit down and have a conversation with them. And here is irans response today that trumps meeting with iran contradicts his actions. And pulling out of the ira irannuclear deal is illegal. Why does trump think they want to sit down with him . I have no requested. And i think thats part of the problem. I mean, i think i mentioned to you, i mentioned this before, is the first president here in American History to defy american interests that is untethered from his own political interests and his own needs. As a consequence, you have
tweets and comments. This one, in the company of the italian prime minister, who are unhinged from any comprehensive strategy. If i believed we had a strategy on iran, even if it involved pressure, but it was designed to actually return to the negotiating table, reaffirm the existing Nuclear Agreement, or even negotiate another one, this would be good. We should be talking to the iranians. If only to eliminate the prospects of tripping or triggering a provocative unnecessary war. But these sorts of statements, frankly, undermine our credibility. They are not attached to any strategy. And they confuse allies and adversaries. Not to mention the president seems out of sync with his Secretary Of State on the whole precondition thing. David miller, thank you so much. Thank you, brooke. And coming up, shocking allegations to get to the former head of hr at fema. He is accused of trading jobs for sex. So well talk to the woman who
broke the story wide open. Also breaking this hour, a jury has been seated in the First Federal trial for former Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The first highprofile test for the Special Counsel, robert mueller. Well take you just outside the courtroom coming up. When we switched our auto and home insurance. With liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. Hey oh, thats my robe. Is it . When you switch to liberty mutual, you could save 782 on auto and home insurance. And still get great coverage for you and your family. Call for a free quote today. You could save 782. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Interview, he resigned. The Washington Post lisa rhine brought this story to light. Shes with me from washington, and lisa, the head of hr. I know, isnt that the greatest irony . Well, brooke, what is disturbing about this story is, as brock long, the Trump Appointee who runs fema told me yesterday, this is really only the tip of the iceberg. So mr. Coleman was having sex with a number of subordinates. And when they pushed back and decided they didnt want to be in relationship with him anymore, he demoted one, chased one out of the agency, and promised the other that he would promote her if she stayed. Its actually worse than that, because he was hiring women who he met on match. Com and perhaps
other sites who he met in bars, hiring them so they could be sort of, kind of pimped out for some of the men that he was also hiring who it turns out were his friends and many of his Fraternity Brothers. And not only that, let me just take your reporting a step further in reading further into your piece, not only did he hire the women for the men to enjoy, but he transferred these women according to the investigators to other cities, other locations, so other men could enjoy them as well. Right. And this is i do want to make clear, so fema is doing an internal investigation. They have been investigating this on brock longs watch for seven months. And he says that they have a much more to go, they have interviewed 73 witnesses who are both former and current employees, and they have sworn statements from about 95 people. And they are continuing to understand what went on with this very strange twist on what
we know to be Sexual Harassment in the me too movement. The quote from brock long, let me read it. The biggest problem i may solve here could be the erradication of this cancer. How many complaints were not heard . Ive got to make sure we have a safe Working Environment for our employees. But lisa, what about this guy, coleman . Any luck getting in touch with him . Has he said anything . Right. Unfortunately, we tried, have tried and continue to try to reach him. We went to his house in washington, we tried Cell Phone Numbers that had been discarded and given to other people. We tried a home number. We havent reached him. If youre out there, mr. Coleman, if you have a lawyer, please get in touch with us. We really would like to try and were trying some of his Fraternity Brothers now. So we really dont know. He resigned just about five weeks ago before he could be interviewed as part of this investigation. Lisa rein, keep digging. Thank you so much, with the
Washington Post. What a story. Thanks. Thanks, brooke. We continue on. Youre watching cnn on this tuesday afternoon. Im brooke baldwin. Thank you for being with me. Heres what is breaking right now. There are 12 jurors who will decide the fate of Paul Manafort. And they are now all seated. In what is the first highprofile test stemming from Robert Muellers russia investigation. Opening statements are set to begin shortly for President Trumps former campaign chairman. Manafort is accused of hiding millions of dollars in income for lobbying work done on behalf of prorussian politicians in ukraine. So shimone is all over this for us walking us through the case with manafort. So, lets start with the tax fraud charges. Thats right, brooke. These are charges stemming from the work that Paul Manafort did for prorussian ukrainian
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