Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin 20171207

Which was a no show from democrats, remember that was just last week. Moments ago the white house had this response when a reporter pointed out that this impasse is happening as republicans control both congress and the white house. They may control washington, but this still takes some democrats to be engaged in the process. And we hope frankly that democrats will play by the schumer rule and not hold this bill hostage by playing partisan politics and theyll come to the table and help fund our defense department, help fund our military, help fund veterans affairs. So lets go straight to the white house to our colleague there, jeremy diamond. So talk to me ha little bit about this meet tg. What is expected to come from this . Reporter thats right. Well the president gets to meet once again with chuck and nancy after last week that meeting canceled abruptly after the president took to twitter and seemingly criticized democrats over immigration and suggesting that really they werent going to it be able to get on the same page. Chuck schumer the Senate Minority leader and nancy pelosi the democrat leader in the house, they both canceled that meeting following the tweets saying they didnt want the president to be prejudging the outcomes. They will be meeting today though. And that comes just before these congressional leaders face this midnight deadline tomorrow to pass a bill to continue funding the government otherwise we could see a shut down. The White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders expressing confidence there will be clean resolution to keep the government open while the congressional leaders can continue to work on fuller budget for next year. So that is going to be the main topic of discussion today. But again they will be looking forward to this bigger budget fight which will look at serious issues like immigration for example where the president and democrats are both looking for a little bit of give and take. Brooke . All right. So as that is happening, or about to happen right this very moment, Hillary Clinton, talk to me about Hillary Clinton and this tweet storm on this tax plan. Thats right. Hillary Clinton Former democrat nominee who lost to donald trump in the 2016 election, she is taking to twitter to press republicans and democrat leaders to fund chip, thats the Childrens Health insurance policy, of course, which gives Health Insurance to about 9 million low income children. And if congress isnt able to actually pass something there, then you could see about a million low income children in the next year lose their Health Insurance coverage. And so far congressional leaders havent figured out a way to actually pass a resolution to get that through. Let me just read you a little part of her tweet where she says, it gets worse. During the campaign i warned that the rs would come after social security, immediate kad and medicare, now they are. That is in reference to paul ryan comments where he signalled after republicans were able to get through the tax bill, that could add perhaps a trillion dollars or more to the deficit over ten years, they now plan to tackle ethelments and medicaid and bring reform which means cuts. And those cuts opposed by Hillary Clinton and democrat party. Thank you. Lets now get into the nittygritty and what al franken said when he said the worst day of his political life. The democrat senator from minnesota announced he is resigning in the coming weeks and immediately called out President Trump and his alleged in discretions. First official resignation from congress with the ground swell of sexual misconduct. At least six women have a kuszed senator franken of groping them or forcing them to kiss him. Just two days ago the longest serving in congress, conyers announced his retiring after multiple women came forward. Senator franken directly addressed his allegations straight from the senate floor. I was shocked. I was upset. But in responding to their claims, i also wanted to be respectful of that broader conversation. Because all Women Deserve to be heard and their experiences taken seriously. I think that was the right thing to do. I also think it gave some people the false impression that i was admitting to doing things that, in fact, i havent done. Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others i remember very differently. I know in my heart that nothing i have done as a senator, nothing has brought dishonor on this institution. And i am confident that the Ethics Committee would agree. Nevertheless, today i am announcing that in the coming weeks ill be resigning as a member of the United States senate. I have all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that i am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of Sexual Assault sits in the oval office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the senate with the full support of his party. But this decision is not about me. Its about the people of minnesota. Its become clear that i cant both pursue the Ethics Committee process and they same time remain an effective senator for them. Lets start there. I have with me cnn political host of cnn smerconish. Good to see you. That was part of the bigger speech when he was standing on the senate floor and addressed really the nation. And so there is so much to pick part from t what stood out to you, michael . So i was reading the transcript as you were playing the tape and following along. I find it so fascinating, because what occurs to me, brooke, is this, instead he were announcing he were staying and fighting, i think he would need to change only one, maybe two senses. Really. He admitted absolutely flog. And said essentially while not admitteding anything, he feels obligated to respect the womens right, plural, the accusers to have their day. But i must say in view of the totality of the statement, i keep coming back to him saying im resigning in the coming weeks, i cant help but think that hes wondering if this pendulum is going to swing. And if people are going to think this is an overreaction, maybe after tuesday, depending on what happens in alabama. So i dont know. Maybe im wrong. But im not sure this is the end. Really . You are the first person i have heard come on our air and say that. So when hes saying coming weeks, you are saying there is a sl sl sliver of possibility what happens in alabama this may change . Why coming weeks . I mean ive never heard of a resignation. Instead of today . Ive heard of a resignation that says ive done wrong, and im out of here right now. But thats not what this was. This was a very convoluted well written statement of a guy acknowledging no fault, but saying that in this climate he doesnt think he can hang on. And you know yeah he noted the irony relative to tuesday and President Trump. Of course the difference between those and this is the base. He was abandoned by the base of his own party. And thats why he probably thinks he has no choice. Im going to come back to the base of the party because thats interesting story. I dont know if you saw bush and he said this, franken should not have resigned. His fate should have been left to the people of minnesota. Moore who had sexual contact with the 14yearold should drop out. Conyers who hit on his employees should have resigned. Fwra franken is a creep who acted in frop rately but his facts are different. Would you agree . I think that i yearn for consistently in each one of these. And im mindful of the fact if you come down more defensive of one than the other, then people say its because your politics are aligned that way. Each of them needs to be evaluated casebycase basis. In my mind roy moore has shown a propensity, interest in young girls. And i find lee core if man the 14yearold to be entirely credible. Can i prove that . No. Above i think i can prove through the evidence of that case he was with 16yearolds at a time when he was in his mid30s. How much of a leap of faith is it to think a guy in his 30s taking an interest in women in their teens included a 14yearold and acted inappropriately. I dont think thats a leap of case. The franken case has always been complicated to me because that photograph was incredibly poor taste. I am not defending it. But that is not something for which someone resigns from the United States senate. I mean, im parsed that picture. There are shadows behind his fingers. Im not convinced he was touching her kevlar vest. He was posing or he wouldnt have been looking at the camera with the grin on his face. Was it in poor taste . Resignable offense . No. So i get beyond the picture and now i want to know about the other incidents. And, look, hes not admitting to anything. Kind of begs the question, why isnt he staying and fighting . So, well maybe one of the reasons was lots and lots of his colleagues yesterday all came together very, very quickly and said you got to go basically, youve got to step down and resign. Heres my question, because the over arching question today has been democrats, are they taking the moral high ground or is it a political high ground . Because you have the senator of minnesota democrat now picks a replacement. So if its a republican the democrats might not have pushed so hard. So has everyone debating did they do this for moral reasons or because of politics . Hey, the folks in alabama have television sets. They are paying close attention to al franken today like the other 49 states. Part of me wonders if this was a power play to put focus on voters on tuesday like hey the democrats have cleaned house. What are you now going to do with your roy moore predicament . If there werent an election on tuesday, im not convinced we would have seen this outcome today. And i think once kirsten july brand started this down the track, the pressure mounted on democrat female senators to do likewise. No one wanted to be the odd person out. Now what are the guys going to do . Whats Chuck Schumer going to do when julian brand and company are saying they have to go . Now they are saying he has to go. So franken didnt really have much of a choice but head for the door, im just not sure its closed. Wow, michael sn, thanks so m for that. From public radio, thank you, she has covered both of franken campaigns. Youve been listening to my conversation. Is it noteworthy the man stood on the senate floor and didnt say today im leaving, it was in the coming weeks, it was a lot of i and me, didnt do all these things hive been accused of doing. Then obviously the rib at the end against the president and potential senator from alabama. How did you see it . Brooke, i heard what michael said about consistency. And what im thinking, im looking at consistency through the lens of senator frankens tone. When the allegations first started coming out through lee and tweeden and then the ones that followed, his tone sounded very contrite. He sounded truly apologetic. It was a whole different ball game today on the floor of the senate. I think he sounded defiant. I listened closely to what he said about he thought he would have been cleared through the senate Ethics Committee investigation. I think thats the first time that he stated is quite like that. And what that sounds like to me is back to what hes been saying all along, is the women need to be heard. Youll notice he doesnt use the word believed. The women need to be heard. But i dont remember these incidents the way these women did. And add to that i think the senate Ethics Committee would have cleared me. There is a lot of inconsistency there. There has been a real ark of a change of tone from the beginning of this to what i believe is the end. I hear michael saying he thinksthinks al franken is holding out. I think a resignation is a resignation. And i dont think thats his plan. But there certainly has been a change in tone. And i think thats something that im going to be talking about on my show over the next few days. Do you, carry, do you get the sense that people where you are in minnesota, did they think he needed to step down before the conclusion of an ethics investigation . There is a lot of ambivalence, brooke, a lot. I do a call in show every day on minnesota public radio. And the phones are jammed. And i would say opinion divides, i mean, this is unscienmore tha wanted to see the Ethics Committee go through. There is a lot of sadness hes taking this step. But i am hearing from younger women. In fact, somebody said to me today, via twitter, hes both a scapegoat and a sacrifice. And i think thats a really good way to put it. There is something about this moment in which senator franken finds himself that if we were talking about this two months ago or two months from now things might be different. But he is where he is. And we are where we are. And i think thats reflected in opinion here in the state of minnesota. Yeah. Im with you on the resignation is a resignation is a resignation. But my goodness next tuesday is going to be interesting. Carry miller thanks so much for coming on i appreciate you and your voice. Thank you. And this whole conversation on senator franken. Ahead donald junior about the conversations with his father. Does it legally add up. And defending the badge in his first public appearance, fbi firing back saying they were in tatters. Fresh reaction from the white house there. And california on edge as several large fires burn out of control and these weather conditions continue to worsen. Is this the new formnormal for west. Stay with us. Im brooke baldwin. And this is cnn. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brainhealth supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. The morning walk until. It. Wasnt. Dont let type 2 diabetes get between you and your heart. Even if you reach your a1c goal you are still at risk for heart attack or stroke. Talk to your Health Care Provider today about diabetic heart disease. And find out more at heartoftype2. Com. Your heart and type 2 diabetes. Make the connection. Weraise their voice to sayo lethat this president le is unfit for office and needs to go. I love it yes yes [ chuckles ] there it is over there mcminnville, tennessee. Poughkeepsie, new york. Milton, indiana. Chattahoochee, florida. Wow. Were looking at the whole country. Not just the coasts. Even in utah, were starting to realize trump has been doing things that are against our laws. I definitely worry about war. North korea. I dont want that guys hand near the bomb. Sick to my stomach. Hes not the kind of person that should be running our country. The things that he does has consequences. Is this going to be here for my grandchildren . Hes not being held accountable. If we have the vote, like we have for election day, they will impeach him. Times square is the crossroads of the world. We need everyone to go and put their name down at needtoimpeach. Com. We need to speak up together and demand an end to this presidency. This s electricity. This is a power plant. This is tim barckholtz. Thats me this is something he is researching at exxonmobil using fuel cells to capture Carbon Emissions at power plants. This is the potential. Reducing co2 emissions by up to 90 . While also producing more power. This could be big. Energy lives here. L. We appreciate it very much. And, chuck, nancy, would you like to say anything . Chuck . Well, we hope we can come to agreement. Funding the government is extremely important, and soldiers and helping average citizens is very important. So we are here in the spirit of lets get it done. Thank you, mr. President , for this opportunity. We are here to make progress. We have some important issues that we share with you. You have described the Opioid Crisis in our country. We want to address that. Help our veterans. As chips, Childrens Health insurance, and again all things that have bipartisan support in the congress. Thank you, nancy, very much. Mitch . Mr. President , we are here to reach a bipartisan agreement to finish out the year. And im glad you invited us and happy to be here. Thank you very much. Paul . Glad we are lear to resuhere resume conversations. One sentence, im grateful for the leaders of both political parties. This is a time of great opportunity in this country. We are seeing growth at home but we have many challenges a broad. Many challenges facing the American People. Anaheim more confident than ever, mr. President , with your leadership and with the good faith of all the people in this room, that before this Christmas Well produce real results for the American People that will make america stronger and more prosperous. Thank you very much. I thought with whats going on in the world, i would bring our great military genus person along and maybe general mattis could say a couple of words. Im honored to be here from the leaders of the hill, sir, number one priority for our country is to make certain we protect this constitution and our way of life and weve had great bipartisan support. Im confident well walk out of this with it. I do too. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [ inaudible question ] thank you. Thanks. Thank you, sarah. Hanging on every second. Room full of congressional leaders. Four this time. Remember it was just two last week as the democrats there both Chuck Schumer and nancy pelosi bailed on the meeting because of a tweet from the president seen shal essentially saying there would be no deal. So now you have in the room, the president , Vice President and all four congressional leaders. And also in there the secretary of defense. So mark preston, from the little bit of, what do we call it, politic political co political couple buy yeah we got on camera, whats going on there . They talked about getting things done. Ill tell you what, those cameras are off right now, their discussions are not going as smoothly as what we saw on camera. So very big division between republicans and democrats how to move forward to fund the federal government. Second thing who is the one person in the room out of place, defense secretary, reason why he would be in there because we do know there is a big push from conservatives on capitol hill to increase defense spending, to put more money into the military. At the same timekeeping funding for domestic programs here at home on level, on base. So trump bringing in his defense secretary was very much a calculated move to make the case to nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer to increase defense spending. What about also, mark, we know leader pelosi had said earlier shes not leaving d. C. Without a d. R. E. A. M. Er fix . Right. So democrats right now, and this gets into the weeds, but it can be very explanatory where we are at, democrats are demanding right now the democrat base that there be a fix for daca at this point. If you go back to september, donald trump announced they were winding it down, meaning he was punting it to congress to deal with that issue. Right now is it really the only Political Capital that democrats have to try to get something done. Now, trump gave six months for this to be resolved. So it doesnt have to be done right now. It could be done in january or february of next year. But the fact of the matter is theyll be nothing for democrats to use in terms of Political Capital to try to get what they want out of daca. Thats why you here nancy pelosi saying it. The problem with nancy pelosi, brooke, she cant stop it. If all the democrats support a long term funding bill, the democrats in the house cant do anything about it. And the senate though, the United States senate could do something about it, because the senate has more power or at least the minority in the senate has more power. Minority democrats. Mark preston. Thank you so much. The quick analysis what we can see and hear from the congressional leaders, if only we could see whats happening right now. Mark, thank you. Coming up next here, donald trump junior testifying before lawmakers for hours and hours, but refusing to tell them about one particular conversation he had with his father. But the reason hes giving for that, does it legally add up . Thats what we are asking today. Also is a frightening reality, winds are Hurricane Force strength pushing flames closer to homes to the Southern California fire zone. We will take you there straight ahead on cnn. [vo] quickbooks introduces rodney. He has a new business teaching lessons. Rodney wanted to know how his business was doing. So he got quickbooks. 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All while navigating kitchens, bathrooms and those hard to reach places. You and braava jet from irobot. Better together. We thats why at xfinityic. Weve been working hard to simplify your experiences with us. Now with instant text and email updates youll always be up to date. You can easily add premium channels so you dont miss your favorite show. And with just a single word, find all the answers youre looking for. Because getting what you need should be simple, fast, and easy. Download the xfinity my account app or go online today. We are back. Youre watching cnn. Im brooke baldwin. President s oldest son, not an attorney, the president is not an attorney either, yet when congressional investigators asked donald trump junior to detail his conversation he had with his father, he refused to answer, invoking attorneyclient privilege. The conversation at issue here revolves around how don junior should do reports about the reports of the trump tower with russians. Some not satisfied with the answer. He invoked the privilege and made it clear on our side of the aisle this was not a recognizable privilege. He and his counsel said they would go back and discuss it with their lawyers and president s lawyers and get back to us. The question comes if they get ba back to us and say no we wont answer questions, theyll be able to subpoena donald trump junior back before the committee. Joining me now. Gentlema gentlemen, welcome to both of you. Michael zelden, this whole attorneyclient privilege work with you in your world . No. The classic attorneyclient privy essentially four elements. Which is communication made between privileged people, meaning attorney and client, in confidence for the purpose of seeking legal advice. The presence of the third party generally constitutes a waiver. I dont think don junior conversations through hope hicks on the airplane allows him to reasonably assert attorneyclient privilege. So i think it more falls into the category tvof a delay. Remember, brooke, back in september he testified before the Senate Judiciary committee and asked about this he said he doesnt really recall it so he didnt really answer the questions. Yesterday he said i recall it moran i talked to hope hicks and not my dad. Then they asked lets lab rate. He said attorneyclient privilege. So i think this is delay, in the worst kind of light perhaps obstructionist behavior. But its not a valid assertion of the privilege. Okay. Do you think its valid, mark, quickly . I have one other for you. Very quickly, i think its not valid. Its another almost trip to bizarre world the way they do that. Although there is a slice they might be able to do it, Defense Joint agreement, if two lawyers are working together on a case or event, they can talk. And if that ws an argument that they made that might be a slice of light they can run this through. But very difficult and hopefully in writing beforehand. Can i add one thing. Go ahead. Hes correct. You could have a joint defense agreement. But the fact of this case undermine that, especially with the presence of hope hicks. Agreed. Okay. So, mark, back to you then this whole invoking certain types of privilege, particularly executive privilege, right, we have heard that before. It was Jeff Sessions at one point when he was testifying and someone else as well. It becomes a bit of a pattern with these interviews with these other key people in the president s orbit. My question to you would be from a legal perspective, is it a strategy, sighticiting privilegt may or may not be valid . Does it by you more time . Yeah, and i think it political arrogance. What are they going to do . Because when he says attorneyclient privilege im not going to talk to you congress, even if they subpoena him hand he comes back in, only way that gets identified and resolved is some judge somewhere. There is nobody in congress who can make him answer. Presumably some judge can. So i think it is, what i said, arrogance the way they are doing it. And yes now we are entering this world where all of this is okay. Let me tell you if i went in front of a judge or a client of mine went before a judge and said attorneyclient privilege, it would not pass. And that judge would order him to testify or be held in contempt of court. Thats right. And, brooke, may i just add. Please. You have this appearance, which is voluntary before congress, if they subpoena him, its exactly right they could seek to hold him in contempt. But there is a whole different reality when mule teeller subpo him and all of this games man ship falls by the wayside. And what hes doing here is hes testifying voluntary but under oath before congress. And those under oath statements can be the basis for false statement charges and now hes got to go before mueller and now going to have potentially conflicting statements. So its a terrible legal strategy. Okay. We are going to leave t michael and mark, thank you so much so much. Coming up next we have to talk about california. These pictures, this is what tells the story whats happening in Southern California. Hurricane force winds fueling the flames right up to the main artery on the west coast, the 101. A live report straight ahead here on cnn. New ultimate surf turf event. Get ready these 5 pairings are gonna floor ya. Like our new feast with lobsterwrapped scallops and a juicy sirloin, plus a savory lobsterandshrimp smashed potato. And our new lobster and seafoodtopped filet . Every bite is better than the last. The classic is here too. Come indulge in surf turf like youve never had it before its too late. And weekdays, create your own seafood lovers lunch for just 9. 99. Create your own seafood lovers what if we could keep more amof what we earn . D. Trillions of dollars going back to taxpayers. Who could possibly be against that . Well, the National Debt is 20 trillion. As we keep adding to it, guess who pays the bill . Him. And her. And her. Congress, we should grow the economy. Not the debt. I met bruce i saw on his lapel ches got a purple heart. E bruce we started talking about the service. I outrank him. chris [laughs] yeah. Meals on wheels reaches so many people. Its impactful beyond anything ive ever done in my life. bruce the meals and his friendship really mean, means a lot to me. vo through the subaru share the love event, weve helped deliver over onepoint seven million meals to those in need. Get a new subaru and well donate two hundred fifty dollars more. chris and bruce put a little love in your heart. Does your sleep aid leave you groggy . Switch to drugfree midnite®. Its specially formulated to work with the bodys sleep mechanism to promote natural sleep. Try midnite® tonight. Day four and still no clear sign of relief for firefighters and those living in Southern California. At least four wildfires are still burning through dozens of neighborhoods destroying homes, and torching land all the way to the pacific ocean. More than 100,000 acres so far gone. But amid the panic and the sadness, people are helping one another. And their pets escaped the danger. This man stopped in the middle of the firestorm to save a wild rabbit darting across into the flames. My goodness. In bel air firefighters making progress on the scroll fire. 20 . Outside of this burnt out home in bel air, what you were explaining last hour is how quickly this fire can move and destroy homes and cars like that. Reporter and unless you are out of here when you see the fire in area like bel air, very hilly and valleys you cant escape. This is why. Look at this car. This happened very, very quickly, everything in this car melted that wasnt metal. And part of this there are indeed metal simply blended. So what we heard from the mayor of los angeles is this area is under a mandatory evacuation order. 110,000 people in Southern California under mandatory evacuation order. And you can hear choppers in the distance, there are still hot spots all around this area. In these burned hills. What firefighters are trying to do today is they are still hitting it from the air. You can see a chopper just along the ridge line as it comes across. This is something we have seen throughout the day and they are still hitting these hills. Because of the wind. Brooke, you had mentioned that one of the biggest concerns here is the weather. The wind gusts here in some parts of in land Los Angeles County the wind gusts are Hurricane Force winds. So the concern here trying to keep people alive, making sure they dont return to the burned out areas. Even though it looks like no fire, they need to make sure in case there are embers. Frightening for the people who had to evacuate, thank you so much for being live for us in a really precarious part of the country. I appreciate it. Breaking news john luisa announcing why he is skipping the opening of a Civil Rights Museum in mississippi this weekend. The reason has everything to do with who was attending, the president of the United States. More of that coming up. You might take something for your heart. Or joints. But do you take something for your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brainhealth supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Was supposed to be a wake reup call for our government . Sh people all across the country lost their savings, their pensions and their jobs. Im tom steyer and it turned out that the system that had benefited people like me who are well off, was, in fact, stacked against everyone else. Its why i left my Investment Firm and resolved to use my savings for the public good. But here we are nine years later and this president and the Republican Congress are making a bad situation even worse. They wont tell you that their so called tax reform plan is really for the wealthy and big corporations, while hurting the middle class. It blows up the deficit and that means fewer investments in education, health care and job creation. Its up to all of us to stand up to this president. Not just for impeachable offenses, but also to demand a country where everyone has a real chance to succeed. Join us. Your voice matters. My name is jamir dixon and im a locafor pg e. Rk fieldman most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg e. My truck is something new. Its an 811 truck. When you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you dont hit them when youre digging. 811 is a free service. Im passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. Theyre the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then ill drive it every day of the week. Together, were building a better california. We are the driven. The dedicated. The overachievers. We know our best investment is in ourselves. We dont take no for an answer. We fight for what we want. Even for the things that were once a given. Going to college. Buying a home. And not being in debt for it for the rest of our lives. But were only as strong as our community. Who inspires and pushes us to go further than we could ever go alone. Sofi. Get there sooner. Just in, congressman john lewis, civil rights icon, will be among those lawmakers skipping saturday Opening Event for the Mississippi Museum because President Trump will be attending. The statement in part the president and hurt full policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this museum. They go on, the president dispar i going comments about women, the disabled, immigrants, and nfl players disrespect the people honored in the museum. So there you have it. He will not be there on saturday in mississippi. Well stay on that here on cnn. As tech giants trying to cut down, laura siegel is here on divided we code. What did you find . Increasing pressure to take care of the platform. You see the weaponizing of these platforms during the election. When they kick them off they dont go away. In many cases building out their internet. I want to warn our viewers they might find the content disturbing. Backlash has gun. Companies like google. Facebook and twitter have dilemma. One hand fighting content and terrorist and harassment on their platforms. But also walking ade delicate le between free speech. Some people think they have gone too far. Anderson mather founder of youtube. When they think this, i think they are affected. Its his alternative to youtube. Can you describe the users . I think at the beginning it would be mostly fringe characters. This was a pretty horrific title for a video. Oh wow. So like racist images, or antisemitic images, thats pretty awful. Im running into like trouble, like do we even show any of this or do we just kind of scrap this . I dont actually think that some of these people deserve a platform. And clearly some of the Tech Companies dont either, but, but the news value there is that they have a platform and that they are gathering and so you cant ignore it, even if you dont agree with it. It is one of many alternative sites popping up. This is cody wilson. I spoke to him years ago when he was working on a pretty controversial project. I think im known as one of the more radical free speech activists. Reporter he was dubbed one of the most dangerous people on the internet showing how to 3d print a homemade gun. Its called harion. Extreme political content can get funding. Fascist probably. Hes like a very famous troll. Yeah, sent to federal prison for the way he trolled at t. You get somebody like that, thats a nice endorsement. He could get for you. Yeah. Reporter just remember that narrative, okay. Mr. Spencer is considered a successful cultural person. Reporter keep in mind, Richard Spencers ideal is to have an white et no state, the fundamental question is should these people get a platform and where should the line be drawn . Are you worried that some of the speech will incite violence, will you draw the line there . So, no. Im not worried about it. I mean, when im talking about like a site or a policy, im talking about okay, youre outside of someones home, theres a mob, and you say, there he is, get him. Thats not protected speech. But these personalities that use hatred, these people are at worst trolls. Performance artist, vulgarians, and at best, they represent elements of a political hate speech that should not be censored. Reporter he doesnt align himself with the world views, swinls enabling what he calls the political speech of these characters. Hes taking a cut too. He gets 5 of every dollar raised on hatrion. Its this idea that evil to see whats out there and how much attention should we pay . And i think more and more were paying attention because so much of this hate online over the last couple years has turned offline just cant ignore it, brooke. Is it all these kinds of characters that are upset with Tech Companies or are there others . You know whats interesting, these kinds of characters, right, but maybe even the larger story is its also the government upset with Tech Companies. You have a month ago Tech Companies right on capitol hill going and facing some really challenging questions about who stays and who goes on the platform, the weaponization of their platform, and you have lawmakers calling for regulation. So, you know, tech, ive been covering tech for many years, it starts out with a little beat that could, and now youre looking at this massive issues that impact every single one of us. The election and all the people who were affected by that. Laurie siegel, thank you so much. Divided we code. Make sure you watch the full special. It airs this saturday, 2 30 p. M. Eastern time here on cnn. Laurie siegel, thank you. Coming up here, senator al franken hits growing harassment allegations, announcing he is resigning from congress while also taking shots at both the president and roy moore today. Were back in just a moment. So t to be when you retire . Uhh, i was thinking around 70. Alright, and before that . You mean after that . 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Speaking before lawmakers today on capitol hill, wray painted a different picture of agencys accomplishments. There is no shortage of opinions out there. What i can tell you is that the fbi that i see is tens of thousands of agents and analysts and staff working their tails off to keep americans safe from the next terrorist attack, gang violence, child predators, spies from russia, china, north korea, and iran. The fbi that i see is tens of thousands of brave men and women who are working as hard as they can to keep people that they will never know safe from harm. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said today there is no discrepancy between wrays praise and the president s opinion of the fbi. Sanders said the president takes issue with the quote, political leaders in the fbi. And we now know the outcome to a Police Shooting that just rocked this nation after video showed walter scott, an unarmed black man getting shot as he was running away from a white cop. A federal judge just sentenced former Police Officer Michael Slager to 20 years in prison. He pled guilty to a federal civil rights violation after his state murder trial ended in a mistrial. Heres the video from the 2015 shooting, just to warn you, it is graphic. [ gunshots ] slager has two weeks to appeal his sentence. Im brooke baldwin, the lead with jake tapper starts now. This is cnn breaking news. Good afternoon. And welcome to the lead. We have some cnn exclusive breaking news for you right now on the russia investigation and the question of whether the trump team has been disclosing the whole truth about that june 2016 meeting that donald trump jr. Helped set up between the campaign and a woman he had been told was a russian lawyer promising incriminating information about Hillary Clinton. Donald trump jr. Testified before the House Intelligence Committee all day yesterday where among other questions, he was asked more about what was discussed that the meeting cnn learned. As you may recall, trump jr. Set