Transcripts For CNNW Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer 20190509

Massacre. Were warning signs ignored . We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Were following breaking news on President Trump unloading on the Mueller Report, the new subpoena of his son, and much, much more. Mr. Trump slamming the decision by the republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee to try to force donald trump jr. To face more questioning on capitol hill. As for Robert Mueller, the president claims hell let the attorney general decide if the special counsel should testify before congress, a reversal of what he said before. He had plenty of harsh words for mueller during an impromptu q a session in which he rambled and raged at his real and imagined political opponent as well as americas global adversaries. Ill talk with representative Jackie Speier who sits on both the intelligence and Oversight Committees. And our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. First, lets go to our White House Correspondent kaitlan collins. Since we heard from the president , weve learned hes planning to make a major cabinet nomination. Reporter yeah, wolf, it took four months but the white house announced the president does intend to nominate Patrick Shanahan as the new defense secretary. Hes been in the role since january when james mattis resigned over a dispute he had with the president , and shanahan was recently cleared in an investigation into allegations that he was partial to his former employee, boeing, while he was at the pentagon. The president did not bring up Patrick Shanahan when he was speaking with reporters off the cuff today. My son is a good person. My son testified for hours and hours. Reporter a mix of surprise and frustration from President Trump today after the Senate Intelligence Committee Subpoenaed his son. Im just really surprised. Reporter the president blasting the decision by republican senator richard burr to bring donald trump jr. Back in for questioning, but he stopped short of saying whether hell fight it. My sons a very good person, works very hard. The last thing he needs is washington, d. C. Reporter the spur of the moment News Conference was supposed to be a rare moment of bipartisanship in washington over health care legislation. But, for the First Time Since the release of the special counsels report, trump fumed in front of the cameras for half an hour. The Mueller Report came out, thats the bible. Reporter after declaring on twitter that the special counsel shouldnt testify in front of congress, the president reversed his position. Im going to leave that up to the attorney general as to whether or not i think, to me, it looks like a redo. Reporter as he repeated his claims the special counsel has an antitrump agenda going wild. He was so angry. This man now is judging me. Reporter he added a qualifier to his line that there was no collusion and no obstruction. At the end of the testimony no collusion and, essentially, no obstruction. Reporter the president aired his grievances over the Mueller Report as a critical deadline for u. S. Trade talks with china approaches. I have no idea what will happen. Reporter he has threatened to raise tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese goods at midnight, but sources tell cnn if a deal is made those may not go into effect. The vice premier, one of the most respected men, in china is coming. Reporter talks were upended after the chinese tried to make big changes to parts of the deal the u. S. Said theyd already agreed to. They took many, many parts of that deal and they renegotiated. You cant do that. Reporter and today trump praised his National Security adviser while admitting they have major policy differences. He has strong views on things, but thats okay. I actually temper john, which is pretty amazing, isnt it . Reporter the president was addressing reports hes clashed with his National Security adviser over teasing a military option in venezuela. I have different sides. I mean, i have john bolton and i have other people that are a little more dovish than him. Ultimately i make the decision. Reporter the president also accusing former secretary of state john kerry of violating the logan act by meeting with iranian officials. John kerry violated the logan act. Reporter it bars private citizens from interfering in diplomatic relations between the u. S. And foreign governments though no one has been convicted of violating it. Trump claims kerry has told them not to talk to the trump administration. Reporter jo thats a violation of the logan act and he should be prosecuted on that. Reporter a spokesman for kerry fired back quickly saying the president was wrong about the facts, wrong about the law, and, sadly, hes been wrong about how to use did i mroep si to keep america safe. Now, wolf, those talks between the u. S. And chinese trade delegations are under way right now as we speak. And the president said earlier he was still hopeful an agreement was within reach, the clock is ticking because the tariffs he threatened on sunday are set to go into effect at midnight tonight. Now to capitol hill for more reaction to the subpoena of donald trump jr. Lets go to our senior Congressional Correspondent manu raju. What are republicans saying about the decision by the republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee, richard burr . Reporter republican after republican are siding not with richard burr but with trump junior suggesting he should fight a subpoena issued by the Senate Intelligence committee to compel his appearance. Already donald trump jr. Threatening to invoke the fifth amendment, threatening not to show up, and some republicans are saying he is perfectly within his rights to do so. Im not his lawyer so its up to him. If i were his lawyer, i would be reluctant to put him back in this circus. I think the rationale to keep the Committee Opening is wearing kind of thin. Reporter do you think he should not come in, donald trump jr. . I can understand why after the investigation is over his frustration thinking how much longer is this going to go on. Reporter is this criticism of burr warranted . Youd have to speak to senator burr. I stand by my comments. Reporter and that comment was the democrats are the ones pushing this. He, of course, like the other two senators shown there, is up for reelection and they need Donald Trumps support to win reelection. But democrats had a much different approach including Richard Blumenthal who suggested that donald trump jr. Should go to jail if he doesnt comply with the subpoena. If donald trump jr. Defies the subpoena he ought to be jailed. Very simply he has no privilege. He has no right to simply say no. He may be the president s son, but hes not above the law, and he has no privilege whatsoever. Reporter and, wolf, a lot of people commenting today. One person who did not was richard burr himself. We tried several times to talk to him and he told me flat out i am not taking any questions today. Even when i asked him does that mean your subpoena is voluntary as trump junior seems to be suggesting, he would not take that question. Very interesting. Thank you very much. Joining us now representative Jackie Speier is a democrat, she serves on the house Intelligence Committee as well as the House Oversight committee. Shes clearly part of the committee investigatesing the president. Congresswoman, thank you for joining us. My pleasure, wolf. Back in 2017 donald trump jr. Gave what was described as a private interview to your committee. Now that youve read the Mueller Report, what do you think the Senate Intelligence committee wants to ask him . So i dont know what his interview was like in the senate committee, but i do know what his interview was like in the house Intelligence Committee. And i have said for some time, and ive said so publicly, that donald trump jr. Needs to come before our committee again because i am of the opinion that he was not truthful in talking to the committee. Now the real question is, we have Michael Cohen who lied to our committee and is now in prison, and the question becomes is somehow donald trump jr. Going to be treated differently because hes the son of the president and lied to the committee . Thats the question that should be asked. Well, you, im sure, have gone back and take ann closer look at what he told your Intelligence Committee. Specifically what did he lie about supposedly . I think he should be given an opportunity to testify more specifically to the committee. He also had a lapse of memory more often than not when he testified before our committee, but there were a number of times when he was not truthful to our committee, and the Mueller Report actually makes that very clear. What was it about, the trump tower meeting or Something Else . Yes, it was the trump tower meeting and his engagement in the campaign. The subpoena for the son of the president of the United States, thats obviously very, very extraordinary. How far can the Senate Intelligence Committee Really go in terms of insisting that he actually appear . I think whats important to point out is this is a republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee who has called on donald trump jr. To come before the committee and has subpoenaed him. It shouldnt be lost on republicans, and it shouldnt be lost on democrats. It is also important to point out that Lindsey Graham was one of the people interviewed who said i wouldnt comply with it. This is the same lippndsey grah calling him a nut job. What we have is a number of people running for reelection. Lindsey graham being one of them. Who is concerned about winning reelection, and so well kiss the president s ring, if necessary, to make sure they are reelected. Mr. Burr is not running for reelection and appears to have the backbone to do whats right on behalf of the american people. After tweeting that Robert Mueller should not testify President Trump now says its up to the attorney general to make that decision. Do you think bill barr will stand by his word several times, that he has no objection to muellers appearing before congress . Wolf, we have to remember this is a pattern that the president uses. He comes out and says, no, i dont think he should testify before the committee, i dont want him to. Hes counselled by his staff and can testify and leave it up to mr. Barr. He will do precisely what the president wants which is what he said initially. I would be shocked, frankly, if the attorney general now allows bob mueller to testify. They voted to hold him in contempt after he refused to provide them with the full unredacted Mueller Report. Your Committee Chairman of the Intelligence Committee adam schiff along with a Top Republican on your committee have made the same request. Will they get a different result . Our charge is to look at counterintelligence and to what extent any activity was engaged in that would weigh on our National Security, and those underlying documents should be made available to the committee for that purpose. Will that vote really make it more difficult for you to get the cooperation from the Justice Department as far as your Oversight Committee efforts . I think they are distinct and, again, the fact we are looking at counterintelligence issues should be compelling to a court to make sure we do access the underlying documents of the mueller investigation. Your chairman adam schiff, in the president s words, is conning the country. What is the president s goal, do you think, with these attacks . Regrettably the president cannot help himself and constantly has to attack those that he sees as threat ing him. And i think what im most concerned about, frankly, as the screws get tightened around him he is going to do something that will be untoward. I hope im wrong. We have to be prepared to ask swiftly if the president takes any action that will be detrimental to this country. Representative Jackie Speier, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, wolf. As the president fumes, does the republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee think he has something on donald trump jr. . And will the president actually push for former secretary of state john kerry to be prosecuted as hes accusing kerry of illegal contacts with iran. So. Youre stuck in the vicious cycle of credit card payments . Its time to get a personal loan from sofi. 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I wont let a heart attack or stroke come between me and everything i love. Neither should you. Tell your doctor to lower your ldl and reduce your risk with repatha®. Pay no more than 5 per month with the repatha® copay card. President trump slamming the Senate Intelligence Committee Subpoena of his son donald trump jr. Lets dig deeper with our experts and analysts. Biana, i want to you listen to the president earlier today, how he reacted to this subpoena. For my son, after being exonerated, to now get a subpoena to go again and speak again after close to 20 hours of telling everybody that would listen about a nothing meeting, yeah, im pretty surprised. It was part of a long rant. He is clearly very angry, agitated about this. Why is he so upset . He clearly wants this to be over and he thought it would have been over with the Mueller Report having been released and that doesnt seem to be the case. I think you cant underestimate the significance of a republicanled committee calling for the president s son to come before them again. Remember, burr has no incentive to continue this investigation any further than it has to be. In 2017, in august of 2017, he gave an interview where he said he expected their investigation to end by the end of the year in december. He said something earlier this year as well so clearly he must have seen something whether it was in muellers report or from what they heard from Michael Cohen that did not correlate with what they heard from donald trump jr. Earlier. You can understand why his son is upset why hes subpoenaed back but at the same time this isnt necessarily something the president has control over and that this is coming from a republicanled committee is very significant. What do you think, how big a deal is it richard burr, the chairman, went ahead and issues this subpoena for donald trump jr. To come and testify again . Its an indication they feel they really need to talk to him again. Now theyre going to force him to come in and testify or at least to assert the fifth. The notion the Mueller Report in any way exonerated donald trump jr. Is just not true on its face. The Mueller Report describes him as being aware of the russian plot, encouraging it, seeking to benefit from the fruits of that plot, lying to the public about it. He accepted a thing of value which would be a violation of Campaign Finance law. Muellers team decided they didnt think they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements he knew it was a crime at the time. They didnt know how to establish the monetary threshold, that it was worth 25,000. Theres another section of the report where it is partially redacted so we dont know who its referring to strongly indicates they contemplated charging trump junior under the fraud and abuse act but decided it wasnt appropriate with the statute. The Mueller Report describes quite shocking and appalling conduct by donald trump jr. They just decided not to bring criminal charges. Its clear from reading the report why congress would feel the need to follow up and get more answers. Its not an easy decision to issue this subpoena. What does it say to you . Its not easy and some were surprised senator burr did this. He was somebody who thought how he would be seen in the Rearview Mirror in the history books. I think that one data point tells me thats what hes thinking here. He knows donald trump jr. Is legally exonerated but would like to get to the facts of the matter and why democrats have tried to thread the needle instead of just, for instance, last week when attorney general barr was there, ask him, okay, you couldnt charge donald trump jr. With a crime but do you think it was appalling . Get an answer on the report. They have an allegation against the chairman of the Intelligence Committee that he leaked to the white house Sensitive Information that the gang of eight, the leaders in the house intelligence leaders, democrats and republicans, received. He says he doesnt remember that. On the heels of the president continuing to characterize this as a bunch of angry democrats, the lumme of republicans, starting with Jeff Sessions, going to rod rosenstein, to Robert Mueller and now including richard burr im starting to see its a bunch of angry republicans. If i could pick up on the point and make it even more simple about exoneration. Boy, what a distance weve crawled through the mud. Two and a half years ago the campaign didnt want to talk about russian contacts because there were contacts. An Intelligence Service that is our foe. Then we go on to say, yes, we talked to them but it was about people, kids coming into this country. And then rerealized there are a top of contacts and Rudy Giuliani says, why wouldnt you want to take information from the russians . You might be exonerated by the law, but the shame we should feel for traveling in two and a half years from saying it would be completely inappropriate to talk to russia saying this might be part of american politics, he will never be exonerated in my book. Its a bit rich for donald trump jr. To respond through a spokesperson or somebody close to him by calling senator burr a socalled republican. Remember, he was one of the nominees, candidate then Donald Trumps first surrogates. He had always been a supporter of the president and had been closely aligned with him. To somehow now paint him as an antitrumper is just revisionist history. Its a big deal obviously. Everybody stand by. Theres a lot more on all the breaking news right after this. My experience with usaa has been excellent. They really appreciate the military family and it really shows. 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Flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. At sam adams, we brew with lime, plus lemon, orange zest, summer wheat, and grains of paradise, for a new lighter and brighter summer ale. Sorry, lime wedge. Weve got this. Sam adams summer ale. Were back with our experts and analysts, very interesting development, susan, youve been following it closely. Today you have the president said he wanted the former secretary of state during the obama administration, john kerry, prosecuted for violating the logan act by talking directly with the iranian officials but his people didnt want to do that. Too stood out now that senator kamala harris, the member of the judiciary committee, said she had specifically asked the attorney general, bill barr, when he testified before the Senate Judiciary committee about whether the white house had asked him to prosecute individuals. First listen to the exchange had with bill barr, the attorney general and then what the president said today. Has the president or anyone at the white house ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone, yes or no, please, sir. Yes, but im trying to grapple with the word suggest. There have been discussions of matters out there that they have not asked me to open an investigation. Perhaps theyve suggested . I dont know. I wouldnt say sugt hinted . I dont know. What id like to see with iran, id like to see them call me. John kerry speaks to them a lot. John kerry tells them not to call. Thats a violation of the logan act and, frankly, he should be prosecuted on that. My people dont want to do anything thats only the democrats do that kind of stuff, you know. If it were the opposite way they would prosecute him under the logan act. But john kerry violated the logan act. Hes talk to go ireyeing to ira been and is telling them what to do. That is a violation of the logan act. Kamala harris, the senator, has writ ann lettten a letter ae should come back and specifically answer her questions. This was one of the most arresting moments of barrs testimony he sort of damaged, refused to give a clear answer whether the president had ever directed or suggested him open an investigation. That would be a grave abuse of power. Now he says he has had suggestions about prosecuting a specific individual, john kerry, for this violation of the logan act. That raises the question, is the his people the president is referring to the attorney general . Harris wants to follow up to find out, hey, you werent able to answer the question last week. Can you give us more clarity . I wish this were friday night because this would be a way to kick off a weekend this is too rich for a thursday night. The president of the United States has one of his advisers, michael flynn, pick up the phone to the russians and say in what i can only interpret as a negotiation before that team is ever inaugurated, dont Pay Attention to the obama sanctions, were going to hook you up. If someone needs to be prosecuted of the logan act, he has a short memory. We have him on tape telling the russians im going to negotiate away sanctions before were ever in office. Most legal scholars believe the logan act, which has not been used in more than a century would violate the first amendment. There is a reason they dont want to prosecute the case. David, what do you think . I agree with everything said and would add the attorney general in the clip you played was being too cute. When a senator asks the attorney general did anybody suggest and he gives that cute shrug and says, what do you mean by suggest . It suggests that hes not interested in answering the question. Well, it does seem to fit with the president s m. O. You hear reports of the president pressuring his former attorney general Jeff Sessions to open an investigation into hillary clinton, the pressure on don mcgann, on jim comey t. Seems to him this goes back to what a roy cone should do. This is something he has reported to doing the past couple of years and the most uncomfortable part of that was him looking around the room today and to his hhs secretary for sort of validation and support and no one really knew how to respond to him. Wanting to agree that, in fact, he was in violation of the logan act or should be prosecuted. This seems to fit a pattern of the president s weve been reporting over the past couple of years. Well speak about that later with Anderson Cooper and to our viewers, by the way, stay with cnn for a live town hall with the former fbi director, james comey. Anderson cooper will moderate later tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Coming up, were learning about an ominous warning of conditions at the Colorado School where a deadly shooting occurred this week. One parent feared a repeat of columbine. Uhoh, looks like someones still nervous about buying a new house. Is it that obvious . Yes it is. You know, maybe youd worry less if you got geico to help with your homeowners insurance. I didnt know geico could helps with homeowners insurance. Yep, theyve been doing it for years. What are you doing . Big steve . Thanks, man. There he is. Get to know geico and see how much you could save on homeowners and renters insurance. michelle i know what its like to be in a financially struggling family. We had a lot of leftovers. [chuckles] i couldnt have asked for better parents, but like most people they didnt have anyone to teach them the best financial habits. So we changed that. As a Financial Health coach, i help people every day. I try to put myself in their shoes from my own experience. 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Dont start humira if you have an infection. Woman help stop the clock on further irreversible joint damage. Talk to your rheumatologist. Right here. Right now. Humira. More breaking news were following right now. A new statement just out from secretary of state mike pompeo on the iranian threat to u. S. Forces. Pompeo writes, and im quoting him now, we do not seek war but he vows that any iranian attack will be met with what he calls a swift and decisive u. S. Response. Lets dig deeper with brian hook, the u. S. Special representative for iran Senior Policy Adviser to the secretary of state. Brian, thanks very much for coming in. Pretty alarming statement. Give us the details whats going on. We received a number of credible threat assessments that iran was plotting attacks against american interests and against our partners in the region. And so we repositioned military assets as a prudential move, its a defensive move, and also sent a signal to the Iranian Regime that they do not want to escalate this. What specifically does the u. S. Fear . What are the iranians up to . They have been running a very violent Foreign Policy around the middle east. So many of the missiles you hear about hitting various targets whether its in israel or in saudi arabia, theyre iranian missiles. We need to really restore deterrents. The best way were going to do that is to make clear that we will respond with force if iran runs an offense. Youre saying there are new specific threats youve learned which has caused the u. S. Movement of Aircraft Carrier strike force, bombers, and urgent, unannounced visit by the secretary of state to baghdad . It was important the secretary go to baghdad to sit with the iraqi leaders and to make clear that we want a strong, stable, and soven iraq. The Iranian Regime doesnt want any of those things. So the u. S. Troops in iraq, there are about 5,200 troops, maybe another 7,000 contractors, half of whom are u. S. Citizens, are they in danger right now from iranian supported surrogates, shiite militias in iraq . Back in september we had our embassy in baghdad that was the subject of rocket attacks from who . From iranian backed militias, and so we have put in place the necessary safety precautions. Now with the most recent threat streams weve received we have repositioned our forces. There seems to be an urgency right now, the intelligence that you have and your confidence that its good. The threat in iraq but a lot of american troops in kuwait and bahrain, saudi arabia, are they in danger from iranian proxies . So many of those plagueses you mentioned have been in danger for the last 40 years. With the defeat of isis, and so we, for the first time, are taking an entirely different aproep to irans expansionist Foreign Policy that has destabilized the middle east and killed hundreds of americans. Were putting in place a new strategy so we can promote more peace in the middle east. Have you seen a new aggression in the aftermath of ripping up the Nuclear Agreement and imposing much tougher new sanctions . Well, we have seen iran is this retaliation by the iranians, for example, to what the u. S. Has done . Its hard to know what drives them. We do know that from the beginning in 1979 this is a revolutionary regime. Its the last revolutionary regime on earth. It is committed to destabilizing the middle east. And so we are committed to the safety and the security not only of american interests but also our partners and friends in the region. You heard the president today in his q a with reporters say the National Security adviser john bolton is more hawkish than he is. He has to calm his down. He has a National Security cabinet that is committed to this strategy. We do want to get to a new and better deal and that would address not only the Nuclear Threat but would address the missile threat, the regional aggression, the arbitrary detention of american citizens that are currently held in iran. Were going to take a comprehensive approach thats been the new strategy and its working. What about john kerry . You heard the president today say he should be investigated and charged with violating the logan act because of conversations hes had with iranian officials, a lot of conversations hes had. Tell us what the president wants. We should have one secretary of state at a time, and senator kerry has had numerous meetings with irans foreign minister hes suggesting he hasnt. Senator kerry has confirmed that he has met with the Iranian Foreign minister in norway,munich, and at the united nations, and those arent coordinated with the state department. So we dont know what happens in those meetings. What people have reported is that he has advised the Iranian Regime to wait out this administration and their strategy of economic pressure so that whoever how do you know he said that to zarif. We dont know. The meetings are not coordinated with the state department. That is actively secretary pompeo has said this is actively undermining american Foreign Policy and is not appropriate. You agree with the president the former secretary of state should at least be investigated for violating the logan act . Im not an expert on the logan act, but we do know that he has been conducting meetings with irans foreign minister on a fairly regular basis as a private citizen and that isnt appropriate. Because, remember, during the transition there were accusations that the future National Security adviser to the president , michael flynn, was violating the logan act by having conversations with the russians. Predates me. That was not your department. No. Bottom line, how worried should we be about a war between the United States and iran . Were not seeking a war, and the president made that very clear today. He is open. He wants to have a diplomatic solution to the entire range of threats to peace and security that iran presents. Now thats going to require a change in behavior, but he does want to get to a new and much better deal than the deal that we left a year ago yesterday. Lets see what happens, brian hook. Youre making us nervous just hearing all that stuff. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Just ahead, a warning of a columbinestyle attack at a denverarea school months before this weeks deadly shooting. I didnt have to run for help. I didnt have to call 911. And i didnt have to come get you. Because you didnt have another heart attack. Not today. You took our conversation about your chronic coronary Artery Disease to heart. 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School to investigate serious allegations, listing more than a dozen complaints from an anonymous parent concerning student violence that could lead to a repeat of columbine. They called this the perfect storm blaming a High Pressure violence and added that several students have reported Sexual Assault in school and that nothing is being done. It was sent in december, five months before s. T. E. M. Schools Highland Ranch left one student dead and eight others injured. Its extremely disturbing but i havent heard of anything like that, you know, through my son at all. Reporter at the time the schools executive director penny yuker an attack in a letter to parents saying they were false investigations and that an investigation by s. T. E. M. Board and leadership showed no violence. They wrote in a Statement Like any school with more than 1800 students, we receive complaints, all of which we take seriously and investigate promptly. The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff is our highest priority. The school even filed a defamation lawsuit against a jane doue since the parent remains anonymous. The grounds of the lawsuit are far from clear and School Administrators have not returned calls. In december a group of parents wrote a 240 page report asking the county to intervene describing an atmosphere of distrust, uncertainty and hostility about issues ranging from safety concerns to special education programs. The county board of education even wrote, we urge you to consider a change in leadership. Reporter meanwhile, students gathered to mourn the loss of kendrick castillo, the 18yearold killed trying to tackle one of the shooters. The vigil quickly turned political as students walked out in protest when some speakers pressed for more restrictive gun laws. At one point students were chanting but with just three days left of School Students are pushing on. You dont stop your life because of one bad thing. You cant let that get in the way. You have to band together as a community. You have to stay strong. S. T. E. M. Strong. Reporter and according to a Law Enforcement force with direct knowledge of the investigation, the 18yearold suspect in the case had taken the two handguns used in the shooting on tuesday from his parents. They had purchased them legally. I should also mention, wolf, that the School District had scheduled a Public Meeting to discuss tuesdays shooting. This afternoon the meeting was canceled because of logistical challenges. Neither suspect has heard formal charges and both will be back in court tomorrow. All so heartbreaking. Thanks very much. Up next, President Trumps new swipe at Robert Mueller. He says the special counsel is in love with the former fbi director, james comey. We have details of a cnn town hall with comey. Here he is, Anderson Cooper. Hes the moderator. Hes here in the situation room. Well discuss right after this. E to drink a lot of water. Medications seem to be the number one cause for dry mouth. I like to recommend biotene. It replenishes the moisture in your mouth. Biotene definitely works. [heartbeat] morning. What are you doing . Isnt it obvious . Nah. Were delivering live market coverage and offering expert analysis completely free. Were helping you make sense of the markets without cable or a subscription from anywhere you are. I get that. But what are you doing here . Nice pajamas. Really . I say pajamas. Pajamas, pajamas, whichever. Good. Yahoo finance live. Stream free anywhere. Welcome to the show. Lets make finance make sense. Welcome to the show. Can we talk . We used to play so beautifully together. Now we can barely play anything. Even cards with the girls. If you have bent fingers, and cant lay your hand flat, talk to your doctor. It may be dupuytrens contracture. Your hand is talking. Isnt it time you listened . There are nonsurgical options. Take the first step. And learn more about dupuytrens. At factsonhand. Com President Trump taking another swipe at special counsel Robert Mueller and the fbi director. Trump fired james comey. Lets bring in Anderson Cooper. The president spoke about comey earlier in the day. Listen to this. Bob muellers no friend of mine. I had conflicts with him. We had a business dispute. We had somebody that is in love with james comey. He liked james comey. They were very good friends. Supposedly best friends, maybe not. Supposedly best friends. You look at the picture file and you see hundreds of pictures of him and comey. What do you think . Im not sure what to make of that exactly. Whats interesting is that actually in the Mueller Report many things that President Trump said comey was lying about were confirmed by mueller in the report with other documentation so comey stands up pretty well in terms of the things he was being called out by the president on. Its interesting and its very important, were all going to be watching tonight, why do you think comey has decided to go out and do a town hall . Hes written an op ed, hes done some other stuff. One, his book is coming out in paper back so theres clearly that incentive, but i think he wants you know, he wants to remain engaged on some level and i think hes trying to figure out what that is. You know, he actually canvassed in the 2018 democratic race in virginia. So its interesting to see if he actually plans to kind of continue having a public role after this stage or if hes going to kind of go below the radar. So youll ask some questions but mostly the audience. Right. Its a town hall. Weve got an audience full of people, people all over the dc, virginia area. Republicans, democrats. Well have a lively discussion. Ill follow up with some questions. Presumably were going to get his detailed reaction to the Mueller Report. Right. I mean, theres a lot theres a lot in the Mueller Report to talk to him about. Obviously theres a lot about the Inspector General report which is going on within the department of justice, which obviously republicans are focusing on a lot. So theres a lot to talk about. Get ready, one hour from now. Well all be watching. Yes. Appreciate it very much. Thanks very much to our viewers for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. Erin burnett out front starts right now. Out front next, what is trump afraid of . The president on the defense about his sons subpoena. Is there something President Trump knows that he wants to hide . Plus the democrats say they have the backing of millions of voters who want President Trump impeached. And a fight for 2020. A Record Number of women are running for president. Why arent they in the lead . Lets go out front. Good evening. Im erin burnett. Out front tonight, whats trump afraid of . The president going on a nearly fiveminute rant about the subpoena of his son, donald trump jr