Ago, when the republican led by ten points. Joining me now, senior Political Correspondent from the hill, amie parnes. Good morning. Good morning. Lets talk about this. Youve seen the poll numbers. Early voting, i believe, is already under way in ohio, and looks like the democrats, at least number of ballots that have been cast so far, more democrats. So, how worried should republicans be . A little worried. I mean, donald trump won this area by 11 points. Republicans outnumbered democrats 21 over there. So i think this was sort of a safe seat for them. I think that it came as a big surprise that it was very close, but you know, oconnor, the democrat, has been really trying to make inroads in appealing to people who have been a little bit upset with the way the Trump Administration has handled policy, the tone and tenor of his administration. And so, hes really tried to
A morning newscast featuring breaking news and weather reports. They can pack emails, which is what they did in 2016 and tried to use the information that they get, if its embarrassing, for example, to change preferences about a candidate. They can hack into the actual election infrastructure. And then there is the Disinformation Campaign going on. With regard to the hacking, both in the emails and in the infrastructure, part of that is going to be candidates taking their own precautions on their private information. And the infrastructure, that is up to the state mainly to take advantage of funding and Services Offered by the department of Homeland Security to address any vulnerabilities in their system. Those are the shortterm threats. The longterm threat is the disinformation, and thats a little bit harder to identify and patch. Its not just, you know, a loophole in, you know, the way that your Voting System works. This is really about information that voters are being bombarded with that can distort their
mr. Panetta and say its not just mixed messages. I think that on the international stage, and russia in particular, are paying attention to what the president says. And his lack of response, and indeed, his continued denials that there have been any theres been any Election Interference at all, in my opinion, is really giving russia the green light to continue and to, you know, basically have a field day with interfering both in our democracy, long term, and in our shortterm elections. And i think that that is very problematic. I hope that to the extent that our agencies can take measures, like the department of Homeland Security and the fbi, that they can at least address some of the threats, but it does need to start from the top. Okay, so, that was my question, because earlier this week we know that the senate voted down a 250 million appropriation to fund state election security. It failed right down party lines. But with that said, can you secure anything, even just the equipment . Can you make any decisions and secure anything if the president himself is not on board . You can. It does take funding. So, if the federal government isnt providing enough funding, thats a problem. But for example, Election Experts have said that states should replace paperless Voting Machines with voting that produces voterverified Paper Ballots that can be verified after the fact, if needed be. So, i think that there are sort of smaller steps that can be taken. Its not, you know, all or nothing, but i do think as a policy, in terms of sending a message, you know, before obama left office, he expelled 35 spies who were here posing as diplomats. I mean, there have to be
certain, sometimes symbolic steps. There can be sanctions. There has to be some kind of cost that russia needs to endure for doing these kinds of things, and thats the step that only the president can take. All righty. I think at the end of the day, when people go to vote, they just want to know their vote counted, and they just want to be confident of that. Absolutely. Asha rangappa, we appreciate your insight. Always learn from you. Thank you. Thank you. More details into robert heulers russia investigation. They emerged overnight with new details about the woman known as the manhattan madam. Kristin davis once ran a highpriced Prostitution Ring and went to jail for it. She has now agreed to an interview this week with special counsel Robert Muellers team. Now, on the surface, she doesnt appear to have a connection to the russia investigation, but she does have a close relationship with roger stone, a longtime adviser to President Trump. Sources say her testimony suggests mueller might be
building a case against stone here. Meanwhile, prosecutors slammed trumps former campaign chairman, paul manafort, during the fourth day of his trial, showing that he lied to his accountants and trying to prove that he also lied on his taxes. The Jury Saw Evidence to support Bank Fraud Charges and heard from a witness who said she discussed creating fake documents with manafort and longtime deputy rick gates. Gates is the prosecutions star witness. He is expected to take the stand early next week. Manaforts attorneys have pointed to gates as the man behind the alleged fraud. Prosecutors say they will show evidence that manaforts own lawyer said gates was not involved with certain bank records. Will President Trumps rally in ohio tonight be enough to secure a win in the Special Election . Well have Ryan Costello about that. Plus, Secretary Of State mike pompeo and north koreas Foreign Minister shook hands and smiled at the cameras this morning as a u. N. Report says north korea is still going ahead with its nuclear program. Also, a mothers illegal status in this country is posing a threat to her health. Theyre literally pushing themselves to the brink of death. We are. To get this treatment. Am i overstating that . No, not at all. Potentially be. Do they have any assets in turkey . We dont know, but it would seem unlikely that its going to be a lot. So, theres something about this that looks as if its a tit for tat, but its a little unexpected and does hint at this deteriorating relationship. Secretary of state mike pompeo in the last 24 hours met with his north korean counterpart. The meeting was said to be constructive, that they would go to their home countries and continue discussions, although the turkish said we cant fix our problems in one day. Thats the thing, the United States and turkey have pretty big issues they could be discussing. Syria would be high on that list. So, this is unexpected, hints that its a deterioration. Perhaps it isnt that significant because the people involved do not have significant assets in turkey, although we wont know until we know precisely who they are. So, its, yeah, its sort of Come Out Of Left Field a little bit, but it doesnt really seem to give confidence that andrew
brunson, the pastor whos just been released from jail in turkey, put under house arrest, it doesnt seem to hint that hes going to get home any quicker, which is, of course, what President Trump wants to see. It is, indeed. Hes not alone in that. Nic robertson, thanks very much. Republican congressman Ryan Costello of pennsylvania with us now. Good morning, congressman. How are you . Very good. You . Im well. Thank you. So, your reaction, first of all, to nics report about turkey. Should the u. S. Respond, and how . Well, thats obviously a very complicated question. I have the same concerns that everyone else does. I think ill take a pass on saying anything too dispositive there. Okay. I do want to get into this backandforth that were seeing when it comes to National Security. President trump obviously giving a very different answer to what russia is doing, directly contradicting what all of his National Security leaders came out this week and said, that
russia is interfering. And im wondering, what do you tell republicans where you are when they go to the polls . What is this doing to your party . What do you say to them to give them confidence that the president and that the republicans and that National Security is intact . That we should have faith in the Administration Officials that were at the press conference, i think it was two days ago. The president has missed the mark here in terms of coming down forcefully and clearly against russia in its Election Interference, but the director of Homeland Security, the National Director of intelligence, the National Security adviser, those are the folks that we should be listening to as it relates to russian interference in the election. I think we are well positioned to fight back against this. You had a guest on a little while ago who really hit the nail on the head in terms of the different types of russianElection Interference. What we can do, what will be more difficult to get our arms around, the Disinformation Campaign is going to continue to persist. Theres only so much we can do about that at any one time, but making sure that every vote that is cast is counted and that there isnt anyone getting in the way of that i think is the single most important thing that we can do. Right. Because like i said, i think people go to the polls and they want to know that their vote is counted. So, with that said, when we know where the president stands on this, where National Security leaders stand on this, what is being done to secure the voting procedures, that equipment, that the infrastructure is solid . Well, i think elections happen at the county level. A lot of this on the cybersecurity side are things that we dont know about on a daytoday basis because its highly confidential, but those things are happening, and that was the point of the press conference. Our intelligence community, our Homeland Security community, theyre doing what they need to do in order to make sure that
russia does not interfere there. I have full faith and confidence in that. I was just going to ask, are you confident when you go to the polls . Certainly. I certainly am. And to be critical here, we just have to set aside what the president may have said at a rally or at a Summit Overseas and place our faith in those Administration Officials who have been tasked with this obligation. They were very clear that russia is intending to interfere and that they are taking all precautionary steps and proactive steps to ensure that every vote cast is counted. I want to look at President Trumps endorsements, because hes going to be in ohio today, of course, for this rally. When we look at, lets say his scorecard, 19 people that he has endorsed have won. There have been four losses, including rick saccone there in your state. How much weight does the president hold, do you think . How beneficial is he or not to
these endorsements as we head into midterms just three months away now . This weekends rally i think is important for the following reason. This is a tight race. Everyone knows it. Democrats are coming to the polls. Republicans should be coming to the polls, but many republicans hold very strongly favorable views of the president , and this is a Get Out The Vote election. Were in august. Most people arent used to voting in august. And so, getting your voters to the polls is extremely important. No one can do that better than the president as it relates to republican turnout. This election may ultimately hinge on independent voters, where governor kasich coming out and supporting the republican nominee i think is a step in the right direction. But if the president can get a couple extra thousand Republican Voters to the polls, thats very, very significant in a Special Election. When you talk about voters going to the polls, and we were talking about what the russia
infiltration threat is here, how do people, or how would you convince people to disseminate between what is, you know, distinguish between what is noise and what is factual when they are deciding who theyre going to vote for . Its such an excellent question. And to be honest with you, even if russia were not interfering, thats a challenge for every candidate, just given how much noise is out there on social media, even from your opponent, right, and from a lot of the outside special interest organizations. I think you have to look at a candidates character. You have to look at what they themselves are actually saying, what their Voting Record is, what their record in business and in the community is, and focus more on that than what someone else is tweeting about or what some outside organization may be misrepresenting. Thats ultimately what it comes down to, and thats why theres
always a local element to every single race. You cannot discount, particularly amongst independent voters and swing democrats and swing republicans. Theyre going to look at the individual, even in this year where i think the president s going to probably be on the ballot in november for most voters. You have to make sure youre cutting your own message and youre making sure that youre leading with your personality and what your record is. That is, i think, going to be the secret sauce for winning candidates in november and next tuesday. Okay. And last but not least, the economy. It is certainly in the president s favor, in republicans favor right now. Is it going to be enough, do you think, as a campaign tactic, to make sure that people get to the polls . Were going to find out. The economy is doing very, very well. Thats a big part of the republican message, but it cant be the only part. You have to be speaking about what youre going to be doing, where you may disagree with the
president from time to time. But the other thing i might say is i think the challenge for republicans right now is when things are going well, oftentimes voters then start looking at other areas or other issues. Its when the economy isnt going well that oftentimes the focus in an election is on the economy. When the economys doing well, it oftentimes is on other things. So we need to keep repeating the message of why our policies are helping improve the economy low unemployment, stock market, increase of wages. So, its a tricky political environment when things are going well and youre saying this is why theyre going well. Mmhmm. All right. Congressman Ryan Costello, appreciate you being here. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Secretary of state mike pompeo and north koreas Foreign Minister promise to cooperate on denuclearization this morning, but a u. N. Report says north korea is still going ahead with its nuclear program. Its a hightech revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart bed. It intelligently senses your movement and automatically adjusts on each side to keep you both comfortable. And snoring . How smart is that . Smarter sleep. To help you lose your dad bod, train for that marathon, and wake up with the patience of a saint. The new sleep number 360 smart bed, from 999. Smarter sleep will change your life. Or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for Heart Failure or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Since enbrel, my moms back to being my mom. Visit enbrel. Com. And use the joint Damage Simulator to see how joint damage could progress. Ask about enbrel. Enbrel. Fda approved for over 18 years. There is a u. S. Report this morning that says north korea is continuing to develop nuclear and missile programs and that its in violation of international sanctions. Cnns Senior International correspondent ivan watson live from singapore with us right now. What are you hearing about this report and whats actually happening, ivan . Reporter well, this wasnt a formal meeting. This was a gathering of diplomats from around the world, Southeast Asian nations. And Secretary Of State pompeo was there. The north Korean Foreign minister was there, but they didnt have a formal bilateral meeting. What happened actually was quite interesting. During a group photo with these dozens of diplomats, pompeo walked through a crowd of diplomats and reached out and shook hands with the north Korean Foreign minister and then had this letter from President Trump to north Korean Leader kim jongun, basically given to him to hand off to the north Korean Leader later. And so, while there were some of these diplomatic niceties and they were trying to make nice,
there was also some criticism. Pompeo saying that north koreas behavior has been inconsistent, as he put it, with kim jonguns commitment to denuclearization, to getting r