Deny being a russian agent. Stop for just a moment. This after the New York Times first reported the fbi opened a counterintelligence investigation into whether the president was secretly working for russia. Here he is. I never worked for russia. And you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for russia. Not only did i never work for russia, i think its a disgrace that you even asked that question. That is an incredible statement for the president of the United States to have to make. I never worked for russia. He said it again and again and again. Heres the thing. It cant be a disgrace. It is a question that is now even being asked on his Favorite Channel of the president by his personal friend, jeanine pirro. Are you now or have you ever worked for russia, mr. President . I think its the most insulting thing ive ever been asked. I think its the most insulting article ive ever had written. But she had to ask. And then the president went on to say this i can tell you this, if you ask the folks in russian, ive been tougher on russia than anybody else, any other probably any other president , period. But certainly the last three or four president s, modern day president s, nobodys been as tough as i have, from any standpoint. Tough on russia . Well, the president ees behavi doesnt really back up his words. Take this. The Washington Post is now reporting that the president has gone to, quote, extraordinary lengths to keep the specifics of his five facetoface conversations with putin secret. Hes even confiscated notes from his interpreter after a meeting with putin. And of course, he has taken putins word over that of United States intelligence agencies, refusing to consistently acknowledge that russians hacked and meddled in the 2016 election to help him. I will tell you that president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And then when it comes to his actions, theres this, right . Just recently, trump announcing hes pulling u. S. Troops from syria, one of the single wishes of president putin. By the way, when you talk about folks in russia, that folk matters a whole lot, and he came out and specifically praised President Trumps move as correct. Theyre all coming back, and theyre coming back now. No one happier to hear that than Vladimir Putin. And in fact, President Trump has had nothing but kind words to say for Vladimir Putin. I think putins been a very strong leader for russia. Putin is a nicer person than i am. And trumps connections between putins russia have been out in the open for years, of course. His time as a businessman, pursuing a deal to open a trump tower in moscow. Of course, that continued even as he was running for president. And he was a candidate, he directly called on russia to hack Hillary Clintons email. Now, the list could go on and on. I want to go to pamela brown, outfront live outside the white house. Because pamela, when it comes to the russia investigation, more breaking news right now that you have on the president and bob mueller. Reporter thats right, erin. We have learned that the president s legal team in recent weeks rebuff eed Robert Mueller request to ask followup questions to the president in person. This was after the president and his team had submitted answers to those written questions from before trump was in office. And so sources tell me, my colleagues, evan perez and shimon prokupecz, that Robert Mueller then followed up and put in this request to ask follow up questions without specifying which questions he wanted to ask to the president in person. That was rebuffed by the president s team. So what is clear here, erin, is that that continues to be a Sticking Point as Robert Muellers probe is winding down. He stimwants to ta s still wank to the president in person. As one source told me, Robert Mueller is not satisfied. Now, weve heard the president s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, say that a president ial interview would happen over my dead body. And sources are telling our team that Robert Mueller has been upset or concerned the president s legal team in recent weeks. One thing that has been a Sticking Point is allowing michael cohen, the president s former attorney, to testify in front of congress. That has only lessened the chance of a voluntary interview with the president , according to sources weve been speaking with. And remember, erin, it was just about a year ago, that there were serious, substantiative discussions about allowing the president to talk to raobert mueller, that fell apart. And now it seems both sides are farther apart than other. The question now, will this end up in a subpoena fight . Bill barr will be testifying tomorrow. He is the president s ag nominee, and that is expected to be something he would be asked. Would he approve such a subpoena request if it happens from Robert Mueller. Erin . Pam, which you know, is crucial. And obviously, i think pretty significant, when you have at this point in the investigation, which we know is nearing its end, in some way, shape, or form, that mueller still wants to talk to the president of the United States. You also, when you talk about bill barr and his hearings tomorrow, you have some new information on the president s nominee for attorney general. And this could be very significant for this hearing. Reporter thats right. This is also something thats expected to be a focal point. The fact that bill barr had chaired this memo that he wrote with more than just top doj officials, which is what we already knew. Were now learning through my colleague, air y colleague, air yanya de vogue, that that memo was made to deceive white house officials. He shared it wildly. This was a memo laying out on 17 pages why he didnt think it was right that mueller was investigating the president on obstruction. And it certainly raises questions why he shared it with the white house. Did he want it to go to the president , was he angling for the job . He would say that, no, that is not the case, he just wanted to share his views with as wide a circle as possible. Erin . Thank you very much, pamela. And a very significant, barr saying he did discuss that with the president prior to his nomination. Outfront now, denny heck, member of the intelligence committee. Congressman, i want to start with some of this new reporting. Mueller wants this face to face, right . They submitted written answers. Here they are nearing the end, and mueller wants more and he wants a sit down. That obviously could be very significant. Should mueller go ahead with a subpoena of the president . Well, i dont believe, erin, frankly, that the president or Rudy Giuliani acting as an attorney ever sbreintended whatsoever for the president to actually sit down with a facetoface with director mueller. But the fact that he will not do it begs the same question that so many of his other behaviors beg. Why did he ask for the translators note . Why did he defend putin last year at helsinki . Why does he refuse to sit down . And the answer is increasingly and inescapably, because hes hiding something. On that front, you have the president now denying hes a russian agent. Last time we spoke, you said, the writings on the wall. The walls are closing in. This is the beginning of the end for the trump administration. That was when you and i spoke just a few weeks ago. What do you say tonight . I was right. Listen, i am beginning to feel i am on the set of the manchurian candidate. This is beyond bizarre now. And i guess my question for all of those who continue to support the president is, what lie will it take in order for you to open your mind to the fact that there might be something highly nefarious going on here, after all the evidence, after the 16 operatives of the Trump Campaign reached out to russian operatives, after all of the indictments, after all the criminal convictions, what will it take for people to understand, this is not good for america. This is not good for americas future, whatsoever. Let me play again what he said today, which, by the way is after his personal friend, fox news host, janine piero, right, asked him directly if he was an agent of the russian government. He was asked about it again today and heres the response. Let me play it for you. I never worked for russia. And you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for russia. Not only did i never work for russia, i think its a disgrace that you even asked that question. Because its a whole big fat hoax. Its just a hoax. Your response . So, im of an age, erin, well, i well remember when another president protested a little too loudly, i am not a crook. That, of course, was dick nixon. And of course history reveals that he was a hoocrook. Thats how i feel and react when he makes that assertion. So you youre speaking as youre speaking, saying, you were right, the beginning of the end, were there, are you at the point where you see grounds of impeachment at this time . I am of the school that believes that theres an awful lot of information that bob mueller has that we do not have. So if you think about one of the significant news developments last week, namely the kind of clumsy court filing with the redacted material by the manafort team, the redacted material was unmasked, and you think about, erin, all of the Court Filings that have occurred over the last year, in all the redacted material, if you took just the redacted material and added it together, it would form a book thicker than war and peace. Bob mueller knows all of that stuff. He knew what was in the redacted material of the manafort filing, and he knows all the rest. Thats redacted, so the public cant consume it. Imagine what else will be discovered, once his report is submitted. So, i think we ought to wait for the quintessential professional to complete his work. The irony of picking that on a novel. The Foreign Affairs committee met today to talk about whether to subpoena the interpreters record, you just referenced that, from one of the trump Putin Meeting last summer. One was just trump putin and putins interpreter. So we wouldnt even know. Then theres another one, when there was just trump and his interpreter and putin and his interpreter. You want to subpoena those records. Do you know what was decided . Is that subpoena coming . I dont know what was decided , but i think what absolutely defies explanation, erin, is what type wouldnt the president want his own toplevel advisers to know what was discussed . I mean, theyre the ones charged with actually implementing his policy and the Foreign Policy direction he wants to take. They have to have that information in order to help him be successful. And he didnt even want them to have that information. So once again, i ask, why . Why wouldnt he share that with his inner circle, his most trusted advisers . Unless there was something there he didnt want revealed. Quickly, before we go, are you concerned, though, that if that is suspected, that that would mean future president s wouldnt be able to speak freely with their counterparts . I am on the assumption if it is suspectbpoenaed, if it is provided, it will have gone through the same vetting process by the Intelligence Community that all the rest of that kind of material would. I appreciate your time. Thank you, congressman heck. Next, the day trump seized his russian interpreters notes was the same day that he found out the New York Times was about to run a bombshell report on the 2016 meeting. They were calling for comment. Is all of this just coincidence . And trump claims that democrats breaking with pelosi in the shutdown showdown. Are they . And trump asked about steve king embracing White Supremacy. A guy hed said he was the biggest donor for. Heres how that went down. I havent been following it, i really havent been following it. Well be right back. 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Tonight, growing questions about what President Trump discussed with Vladimir Putin during two facetoface meetings in hamburg, germany. In one meeting, trump seized his interpreters notes and demanded the details not be shared with anyone else. In the other, trump and putin were alone except for putins interpreter. No other american was present. All of this happening the same day that the New York Times reached out to the white house about the 2016 trump tower meeting, which involved don jr. , Paul Manafort, jared kushner, and russians who said they had dirt on hillary clinton. Just a coincidence . Sara murray is outfront. Reporter a private dinnertime chat between President Trump and russian president Vladimir Putin at the g20 summit in 2017 sparking new questions about what exactly the two men discussed. As trump geared up for meetings with world leaders, the white house received an unwelcome inquiry. The New York Times had learned that donald trump jr. , jared kushner, and Paul Manafort met with a russian lawyer at trump tower in the summer of 2016. Trumps lawyers had known of the meeting for weeks, but now the times was doing a story and needed a comment. That afternoon, trump and putin met for two hours. Its an honor to be with you. Thank you. Reporter seeming to hit it off, even as putin denied meddling in the 2016 election. There was a very clear, positive chemistry between the two. Then secretary of state reelection tillerson had been in the room, along with translators. But a former state Department Official tells cnn the president confiscated the american interpreters notes and insisted the staffer keep the details of the conversation secret. The white house insists thats outrageously inaccurate. That vng in germany, trump sought out putin at a dinner for world leaders. The two men spoke for roughly an hour. The meeting, which was eventually confirmed by the white house, wouldnt become public for more than a week. No one attended that from trumps side. There was no translator there. There was no adviser there. It was just trump. For him not to say then afterwards, oh, by the way, let me give you a quick debrief on the meeting i had with putin, thats exceptionally unusual. Trumps meeting came soon after justice Department Officials had moved to open a probe into trump for potential obstruction of justice. An investigation that included trying to answer a disturbing question. Was trump making moves designed to benefit russia or was he merely an Innocent Party . Theres no indication that trump knew at the time that he was under investigation. After trumps double facetoface with putin in hamburg, he headed back to the u. S. Aboard air force one, trump and his advisers hashed out a statement to respond to the New York Times. According to the statement, in donald trump jr. s name, we primarily discussed a program about the adoption of russian children in the 2016 meeting with the russian lawyer. Days later, it came out that the lawyer had actually promised dirt on hillary clinton. As the carefully crafted statement fell apart, trump was still talking up russian adoptions, insisting thats what he and putin discussed over dessert. I actually talked about russian adoption with him, which is interesting, because that was a part of a conversation that don had in this meeting. Now, andrew weis, a russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment was one of the prominent voices questioning whether all of these events were just happenstance, but a number of people have come out saying, we really need a lot more information. Erin . Sarah, thank you. I want to go now to former federal prosecutor, jack weis, also a former democratic member of the Los Angeles City council, and cnn chief political analyst, gloria borger. Jack, your name is not a coincidence. Your brother is andrew, right, as sarah was just referring to. He posted this thread on twitter about the timeline crediting you with the idea. How did you connect all of the ideas here . Well, look, andrew is a russia policy expert and im a former fed. So for the last two years, we just go back and forth on a daily basis, wherever something pops up. When the hamburg summit first occurred and ian bremmer came out with that scoop of his after the summit that trump had sought putin out and had met with him privately, we both thought that was bizarre and probably indicative of something. Over the weekend that just passed, when the Washington Post reported that trump had confiscated his interpreters notes from t