Transcripts For CNNW New Day 20180228

Representing donald trump she occasionally had to tell white lies. Was a subpoena ever issued for her . No. We will come back as a class and continue on. Good morning. Welcome to your new day. Alisyn is back in parkland, florida this morning. It is a big day as the kids go back to school. Cnn has learned special counsel bob muellers team is investigating President Trumps business dealings with russia prior to the 2016 campaign. Also chief of staff john kelly downgrading Jared Kushners security clearance. At least four countries discussed ways to manipulate kushner by taking advantage of his lack of experience, financial troubles, and intricate business arrangements. Hope hicks admitted telling white lies for the president. Alisyn . Chris, listen, its very active right here. We are 40 minutes away from class starting. All sorts of things are happening on the ground outside Marjory Stoneman douglas. We watch as a line of cars of teachers and Staff Members just stretched for blocks coming into this school for the first time in two weeks. That was poignant. We watched all the Police Officers from all the neighboring towns from hollywood, florida, broward county. We have pembroke pines. A huge show of force. What i wasnt expecting, and i dont know why, an emotional moment when we watched the school buses start arriving with kids sitting in there, you know, coming back to their beloved high school which of course for the past two weeks has been a crime scene. Down the road, this is where the memorial was. Mementos put up on a wire fence. There is a huge show of strength of students and Police Officers that have gathered together down the street in front of that memorial to remember all of their friends. So it is just a very emotional morning, as you can imagine. And throughout the morning we will be here talking to students and their parents about whether or not they feel prepared to be back and what they will do to further the National Debate over gun violence. We will talk to the students you have gotten to know best in how they are feeling today. There is a lot to cover this hour as we are here in parkland, florida. An important place to be. You have the struggle of getting things back to normal. And their hopes for a change and to see what will be different. That is an unanswered question at this point. Youre in the right on the right day. Well be back with you in a second. Lets begin with Cnns Abby Phillip live at the white house. We have not seen this much news in a long time. Thats right. A lot of on new developments overnight as it relates to the president s soninlaw Jared Kushner and this probe. Special counsel is looking into issues beyond the 2016 campaign, including the ways that russia could have influenced mr. Trump at the time before he started running for president , when he was thinking about running in 2016. Multiple sources tell cnn that investigators pore special Counsel Robert Mueller have been asking witness back seat mr. Trumps business dealings in russia, before the 2016 campaign as he considered a run for the presidency. I have no deals there. I dont know anything. I have no investments in russia, none whatsoever. Reporter questions from investigators include the timing of mr. Trumps decision to run for president , any potentially compromising information the russians may have had about him, and why efforts to brand a trump tower in moscow fell through. Muellers team also focusing on the financing of the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in moscow. If mueller was looking at your finances and your familys finances, unrelated to russia . Would that be a breach of what his actual the russia probe gaining steam as his soninlaw and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner remains uncertain. The Washington Post reporting that foreign officials from at least four countries have discussed ways to manipulate kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties, and lack of Foreign Policy experience. The post also reporting that white house officials were concerned kushner was naive and being tricked in conversations with foreign leaders. Jared kushner was also having his own conversations with foreign officials and people in other countries and was not reporting those in the normal channels to white house officials. Reporter the story came hours after his top secret clearance was downgraded after months of delays in his background check. For him to be carrying forward an important peace plan at the same time he lacks a top security clearance, i dont think thats workable. He is a valued member of the team, and he will continue to do the important work hes been doing since he started in the administration. Reporter one of trumps closest aides, hope hicks, also under scrutiny. A source tells cnn that hicks admitted during eight hours of testimony before a house panel that she has had to tell white lies for the president but says she has not lied about substantive issues. Committee members say hicks would not answer questions about her time in the white house or her role in drafting a misleading statement about donald trump jr. s 2016 meeting with russians promising dirt on hillary clinton. Democrats demanding more transparency. Anyone that doesnt answer questions. This is not exact privilege. This is not executive privilege. This is executive stonewalling. Reporter the debate on guns is going on. The white house says the president still wants to do that. He still thinks it should be 21. But we clearly know that the nra is opposed to that idea. We are also learning this week President Trump is supposed to be unveiling some new School Security measures this week before he leaves for Billy Grahams funeral friday, alisyn. Okay, abby, thank you for that update. It will be interesting to see where the president lands on this policy. At this hour, there is a lot of activity here at parkland high school. The sidewalks are filling up with students who are returning to Marjory Stoneman douglas for the first time. I dont know if you can see. There are school buses filled with kids who are coming back to their school two weeks after this massacre. Reporter alisyn, you were talking earlier how seeing school buses made you emotional. You werent expecting that. Ive been watching hundreds of Police Officers come in, some of which are walking arm in arm with the students here. They wanted to feel protected. One of the biggest things talking to kids last night, they were anxious. They were nervous about coming back to school. Some of them said were the safest place in florida. But they felt like they were still entering a crime scene. It is the job of the educators, teachers, the superintendent, to make sure they feel like theyre in a school is and not a crime scene. They are starting in the classroom that they were in when that shooting happened, which is difficult. And a lot of them have expressed apprehension about going back to that. And they did that because they thought psychologically it was important to reset the clock from there. They wanted to reset the clock. They wanted a chance to go back and be with those people they were with. This is a point of trauma in their life. They want to make sure they can be with the individuals they were with at that time. They can spend that time grieving. A lot of them say they dont really know what to expect, teachers and students. Theres no playbook for this. There shouldnt be a playbook for this. We will take it as it comes along every single day. How do you comprehend the loss. How do you return to normalcy after that . Normalcy, thats a word you try to figure out what does that mean here in parkland and coral springs. Just in the moments we were here, a lot of them have dyed their hair blonde in honor of joaquin oliver, who was killed in the shooting. Most are wearing shirts with the names of the 17 victims on their backs that they have made in the last two weeks. They are working on trying to heal. This is the first big step coming back together and figuring out what normalcy is. They have a new normal that has been forced on them. They didnt want a new normal. How are teachers preparing to help the students . Are they going to say to students when they all go back to the site of this shooting and what will be done to help the students emotionally recover and to keep them safe and keep them feeling safe . Joining us is the school superintendent. Thank you so much for being here. Youre about to go into this school and see all the students en masse for the first time. What are you going to say to them . Im going to welcome them back, tell them we love them, were there for them and were going to provide as much comfort and support as possible. We have flexible half days today, tomorrow, and friday. Were going to do whatever it takes so as a family that we can actually work through the healing process as best we can. The place for us to be is together back having some sense of normalcy. As a group, as a family, i think we can go through it. We will never forget this. It is a very traumatic situation that will take a long time to try to get through it. But we have to do it together. What is the thinking of having the kids go back to the classes they were in the moment the shooting started . Theyre not going back in the classrooms. Right. But going back to the moment. Thats part of the on healing process, trying to reconcile with that tragedy. That is something we have to face eventually. Again, were going to provide as much support as we can as they go through that. We understand it is extremely difficult for our kids today. If they go and feel too overwhelmed, what happens to them . We will make sure they have grief counselors and whatever support they need. If they dont want to stay for the day, we will make arrangements for them to go wherever they need to, if they need to go back home. We are ready for our kids. We have had a couple days to prepare and help the faculty get acclimated and deal with their challenges. We believe our kids are ready. Students are excited. As a family, theyre going to pull through it. Our kids are strong. Marjory Stoneman Douglas is enormously proupbd of them. We have seen them take the stage in the midst of their grief and pain. They figure out ways to turn it into something positive. I believe they will do that starting today. Kids are being handed white roses. Some are going in with white ribbons to remember their friends who were lost. Is there such a thing as kids who wont be able to come back to high school here . Sure. If any students believes they cant come back, we will provide a reassignment to another school in the district. We havent had many requests for that. They want to be together. We want to make sure that happens. The last time we saw you you were at the townhall. A lot of information has come out about the Police Response here, what lawmakers plan to do. Because there is a handful of folks, there have been allegations about their response. I dont want to characterize our Law Enforcement personnel. What i saw on that day was an unbelievable level of response from First Responders and Law Enforcement on site, folks running in and out of the building, not realizing the shooter was still in there or not, trying to save lives. That went on. We need to acknowledge the courage and bravery of our administrators. A i couple of them lost their lives to protect kids. They didnt have firearms with them. That is what i would expect from any Law Enforcement personnel that would be on our campuses, they would do whatever it takes to protect our kids. So we will see what happens with the investigation that has been initiated by the government and the state. Very quickly, one of the things lawmakers are considering is having ten teachers firearms trained. Are you in favor of that . No, im not in favor of that. Why not add another ten Law Enforcement on campus . We should be finding Law Enforcement people, not arming our teachers. They have enough of a burden on their plate trying to deal with everything that they have to succeed in an instructional day. They made many sacrifices of their own. We need to arm them with greater compensation, better benefits, and working conditions. Thats what we need to look at, not putting guns on their hips. Money in their pockets is what they need. Mr. Runcie, thank you for talking with us now and back then. Well be talking to you. Thanks so much. So, listen, in the two weeks stkeupbs the tragic shooting, some of the survivors have become, as we know, these influential voices, these activated voices. These teenagers didnt think they were going to turn into a movement. But they have turned into a movement. They have ignited this entire National Conversation about gun violence and gun control and what they want to see happen. As we watch these kids go back in the school. These are live pictures youre looking at. They are being handed white roses. Some of them are wearing white ribbons. Some are wearing nsd strong tshirts. That is the message we have heard from so many wearing maroon and white School Colors. They are showing their strength and solidarity in coming back together. The question is what happens now that they return to class. And what happens with their movement . So we are joined by two of the shooting survivors and now gun control advocates. We have david hogg and his sister lauren hogg. Great to see you. Thank you for being here. David, you were the First Student that we talked to in the hours after this massacre. And everybody remembers it. Because you sort of gripped the nations attention because you were so clear headed. What are you feeling . Paul ryan wants to see more teachers be armed, along with the republican party. They want to sell more guns. Work on behalf of the people that own them, nra, multiple special interest groups. They want to scare more people, get more guns sold to get reelected. They want to scare the people. We dont want to see that happen. The thing that makes me the most mad, even after two weeks of all of this, not a single bill has been passed at the state or federal level. None of our glass is being replaced with bulletproof glass. None of our locks that are being replaced are able to be locked from the inside. There are just more chances for things to go wrong. What about a student like me. What if i was miss identified. What if there is a blue on had blue situation where we had a scenario thought they saw a School Shooter and as such they started shooting at each other and slaughtered everything behind. The only change is we have more guns. All sorts of scenarios. Because you lived through this you have had to contemplate. How are you getting the strength to go in today . I have to because our politicians are cowards marco rubio, rick scott, donald trump. They wont stand up to the nra and rip off their shock collar. All of that said, your state legislature does appear to be doing some things. There proposals. They appear to be moving forward of raising the age limit and as you know, they also are considering training teachers. Thats just a compromise for the gops politics. Why . What do you want to see . What would be action to you . Raising the federal age of gun ownership and possession to the age of 21, banning all bump stocks, making sure that we have a universal background check, making sure people who are committed of acts of Domestic Violence arent able to get a gun. And making sure people who have history of Mental Illness arent able to obtain weapons of mass destructi destruction. Isnt your state legislature doing that . I think the fact that i have had to threaten the entire state of florida is a testament to how disgusting the state of politics has become. Do you see action . Some. I see some action and that gives me some hope. But at this point seeing everything thats going on is giving me hope. Thats why im here today. If that bill is not on the house floor at the Florida State level, i wouldnt be here today. I wouldnt feel safe coming to school. Honestly, i dont. We dont have bulletproof glass. We just have more guns. Lauren, how are you feeling . It is surreal. To be quite frank, im scared at this point. What are you afraid of . Going back into my classes and seeing empty chairs where my friends once sat. Not being able to talk to them before class. And i am scared at this moment. Are you a freshman . Yes, i am. Your freshman year, you have had to endure this unthinkable tragedy that adults cant even imagine. So how have you prepared for this . All i can do, ive been thinking about to have done. Thinking about my tpreupbgfrien thats where i get my strength. There is a reason i made it out that day and that reason has to be to make change. And what do you want to see happen . Exactly what david said. I want stricter gun control. Im a firm supporter of the second amendment. I just dont think people should have access to guns of that caliber. What good are they for . The other thing i want to point out is the legislation i was talking about earlier, rick scott trying to implement it a year later so he can have that happen right around his election. He cant let that happen. We cannot let that happen. I know he is saying it takes time. It doesnt. Hes governor. We saw his response to hurricane irma. He cares more about his political agenda. David, lauren, thank you both very much. We know what these two weeks have been like for you. We appreciate you coming and sharing all of your very strong thoughts. Obviously well be following everything that you both do. Best of luck today. Thank you both. All right, chris, these are two of the students well be talking to. Well talk to a girl coming up who cant good back into school. What is she going to do . Very understandable, alisyn. There is no judging how somebody can respond to that type of trauma. Very important to have you there. Very important to have you viewers here as well because we have big news in the russia investigation. One very important headline. Robert muellers investigators are looking into President Trumps russian business dealings before the 2016 election. This comes as Jared Kushner is stripped of his top secret security clearance. Joining us now is ken starr. We know that name. He led the independent counsel investigation into bill clinton. Great to have you. Thank you for being with us. Thank you. One thing that is getting controversy that doesnt make sense to me knowing how you are on these issues as i do. When it comes to obstruction of skwrus teurbgs you said to me many times on and off camera, you havent seen any evidence of obstruction of justice compelling to you at this point. But you are completely open to what we dont know, right . Absolutely. Its what we know. People have jumped to conclusions that are completely inconsistent with the law. That is to say that the president exercising his power because of self interested reasons has obstructed justice. Our law doesnt sweep nearly so broadly quite apart from constitutional consequences of a president having article two power. Im on solid ground here with the Supreme Court of the United States rebuffing the government years ago 90 for trying to end obstruction issues by overemphasizing and overdefining the word corrupt. Corrupt doesnt mean you want to do something in your own self interest. It means something really beyond im looking out for myself. Subjective. It has to be a quid pro quo. I read that decision what i was preparing for this. We shouldnt jump to conclusion. Lets allow bob mueller to do his job. Which has been my position from day one. Lets allow the facts to come out. That is what is unfolding. I have an operative phrase called nontroversy. Conversation matters more. I want to hear it out of your mouth. So lets get to what happens here this morning. Bob mueller looking into trumps business dealings before 2016 to see if there was potential opportunity for exertion of influence by russian actors on their part. Fair point . I think its beyond his mandate. The mandate is what happened during the 2016 election in terms of collusion. That is the key idea. So heres what i think has happened. I think bob mueller is finding out information leading him back to the Deputy Attorney general. Bob mueller is an officer of the Justice Department. He is reporting to the Deputy Attorney general. If rosenstein didnt like it, he might not do it . Under the regulations, Rod Rosenstein is a man of impeccable integrity could say dont go there. It might be, mueller, youre not the person to do it. Well have someone else do it. Lets look at the premise again. You think it extends purview. Instant case only. If hes trying to figure out what might have happened during the election that would have been wrongful access, wrongful access and all those defining moments, why not look at Financial Arrangements that might have been created leverage on then candidate trump . And its a judgment call. Bob mueller might be saying exactly what you did and say, look, this is a logical outgrowth. Lets assume for purposes of this discussion there was no substantial evidence of collusion. In fact, i think the indictment of the 13 russian nationals and three companies saying no collusion. Why . Because the russians developed this enormous operation out of st. Peters berg and sent operatives in the United States to sow discord and spend millions of dollars. They didnt collude with anyone. We are seeing a focus on what happened before. So i think it is a policy call within the Justice Department for Rod Rosenstein to say i hear what youre saying, go ye forward. Or he is saying i think this is beyond why we brought you in. Right. Heres one thing. The American People want to know if there was collusion. My concerns would be, but i dont have all the facts. Bob, i love you. Lets just stay focused on what the issue is. That is collusion in the campaign. You understand these issues better than most. Certainly the guy in the chair across from you. What do they have . Four companies were talking about how to manipulate him. That is the wisdom of the world. They are looking how to undue influence, United States including. Why is it not true about trump . He wouldnt show his taxes, wouldnt open his books. We know from his own sons mouth they had a ton of russian money buying assets. Could be benign, may not be. It seems a logical question request. It might be a complete outgrowth of whats happened. But it has nothing to do with collusion and the campaign. It does if you find out because of what is transacted in the past there were opportunities in the minds of russian actors to try to get things. It is a little suspicious that you have a man who doesnt stop for a second. There is a good chance he will take a shot at you. But never putin. Never a cross word for Vladimir Putin. Oh, listen, i have been saying lets blow that whistle and take the appropriate action. I completely agree. We have to protect this country, protect our democratic process. So whatever happens in business dealings and so forth, there should be an iron curtain that comes down because youre now the president of the United States. Russia has done something dangerous to our Democratic Society they were supporting bernie sanders, jill stern. They are trying to ow discord. They were trying to hurt hillary clinton, trump, maybe some others as well. But, chris, thats one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it, they supported an antitrump Campaign Rally and a pro trump rally. They are just really malicious right. By the way, i think that that indictment was a shadow indictment of Vladimir Putin because of the connection with with the oligarchs. Somebody has to do something to prevent it from happening again. The president hasnt directed him to do anything in retaliation. Well see what gets done. But that is not your purview. 20 years were coming up on the lewinsky anniversary. Did you see the latest piece she wrote about all of this . Excerpts were read to me. I still havent seen them. The personal aspect for you to respond is she does not explain your initial meeting with her in flattering terms to you. She said it was creepy. She didnt like the way you touched her and it was a weird thing for her. What do you remember about that meeting . I found it pleasant but poignant. I had very little to say. She did most of the talking. It was christmas eve. We were headed to church. I was heading out, she was heading in. When you look back two years later, do you feel that that investigation went to the right places that it should have . Yes, it did. And it was authorized by the attorney general of the United States. She said in light of the linda tripp tapes, this has to be examined. She said if she goes to the court, special division and said this has to be examined. Perjury and possible influencing of witnesses, which is what we investigated. Now, when you look back, i wish the president had not committed perpblg seu and settled the paula jones is lawsuit. As dean of law school, i did you were painted certainly i read it. You were reported that you wanted this. You were looking for things. Absolutely untrue. I left or announced that i was leading to become dean of pepper dine law school. Let me ask you one thing, outside your purview but relevant. Everything were talking about with metoo and the need for systemic names, and whether or not women can consent, people can consent. When you look at lewinsky and clinton, do you think the argument could be made, yes, by age she was able to consent. But do you believe consent was even possible for her in the context of that relationship . I think it is a very hard question because she was an employee. Now, she was an intern. But there was a power structure arrangement to it, which i think is very difficult. And you have to be extremely careful treating all people with dignity and respect, period. But especially in the Employment Relationship and where you do have a power structure. That wasnt what we were looking into. True. We werent looking into employment issues, just whether there was obstruction of skwrus teurbgs perjury and the like. Youll never see someone arguably the victim get treated the way Monica Lewinsky was. Helpful in helping people make judgments about whats going on going forward. Thank you, chris. Always a value to have you here. Alisyn, back to you in parkland, florida. Chris, we are five minutes away now from the school bell going off here. We see the sidewalks are just flooded with kids all coming together, locking arms. So many of them are in their burgundy and white School Colors that may msd strong. They recognize that they are going back into a crime scene. So we are watching now as a huge gathering of kids has formed outside the makeshift memorial where they have hung souvenirs and mementos of all of their loved ones they lost. Up next, a father who has to accepted his son back to this school where his daughter was killed. Youll all remember fred guttenberg. We talk to him next. Last years ad campaign was a success for choicehotels. Com badda book. Badda boom. This year, were taking it up a notch. So in this commercial we see two travelers at a comfort inn with a glow around them, so people watching will be like, wow, maybe ill glow too if i book direct at choicehotels. Com. Who glows . Just say, badda book. Badda boom. Nobody glows. He gets it. Always the lowest price, guaranteed. Book now at choicehotels. Com small business, internet providers promise you a lot. Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business offers fast gigspeeds across our network. At t doesnt. We offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g Wireless Network backup. At t, no way. We offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. At t, not so much. Get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call 18005016000. Okay. About one minute from now, the bell will ring for classes to resume here for the first time at Marjory Stoneman douglas high school. They are all returning to their classrooms after the massacre two weeks ago. One of the loss was jamie guttenberg. Her brother has to return to school. Fred, her father, joins us now. You will remember him from the cnn townhall. Good morning. Thank you so much for being here. You confronted marco rubio. What has happened that you have seen change . Little. The Florida Legislature met this week. They seem to be doing things. They took minimally acceptable first steps. Theres a lot more to do. It will at least change the age, threeday period. There was almost a poison pill with this whole martial plan to arm the teachers. They are trying to get money for ten teachers at every school to be trained and armed. I made my feelings on that. That is such a diversion ear poison pill in this effort. It is an unproven way to go. I have spent most of the the time talking to the kids than the people in tallahassee. You have no way to know who was being shot at. And the teach eers, they wouldn have the level of arms that the shooter did. How do you feel as you watch your son walk back into this school today . Well, im not scared because this is now the Safest School in america. But bittersweet. My son walks in here without his sister. My daughters friend they used to always walk in with my daughter. I just saw them and hugged them and they are walking in without my daughter. This is in the what we envisioned for ourselves watching our kids go through high school. Sweet is the only way i can describe it. Today Dicks Sporting Goods made an announcement of changes. Tell me what your thoughts on are . I am so proud and happy to hear that news. No more assault weapons, highcapacity bullets. Nobody under 21 can buy a gun. This is what america is all about. People taking steps in the face of a crisis. What it also tells me is this event was different. And people are not going to stand still and they are not going to go away. Listen, i have been relentless online going after amazon is and apple because they will not end their pweup relationship with the nra and specifically amazon selling these weapons still. I dropped my amazon membership. Everyone i know dropped theirs. The flip side, is i will be going to Dicks Sporting Goods store today to buy something. I am so proud and so happy that they are taking a voluntary step to make our kids safer, to make all of us safer at any public facility. Is and i couldnt be happier. Thank you and congratulations. What a steph. There look, you have been very vocal, activated since this happened. You will not have let your daughter die in vain. It comes at a huge cost. What has it been like for you . Im exhausted. It so angered me that i immediately turned into an activist. 13 days ago i was just this guy from this amazing neighborhood here in parkland. And now i cant stop what im doing because i dont want another parent to go with this. Everybody who says i come to this with an agenda, anything but. My only agenda is what can we do to make our friends, our families safer. It is exhausting. Its emotional. I watch these heroic kids do what theyre doing to take on this lobby just to demand their safety. That gives me strength. But it has been a rough couple of weeks. Of course it has. We know your son and wife are also still struggling. How does he feel . Hes bittersweet. He has this Amazing Group of friends who have had their arms wrapped around him the last couple of weeks, and they are going to continue to do so. I love those kids. Theyre amazing. Thats beautiful. Can i interrupt something. Go ahead. There have been threats against these kids. Yes. Online threats and beyond. Im hoping the president who today, a lot of folks want to talk about this as situation al violence and threats ignored. So we cant ignore whats going on. I need President Trump today to demand that everyone who is making these threats stop. I am hoping that right now as we do this interview, the fbi and broward sheriffs and all the other investigative agencies out there are investigating these threats and are initiating arrests. This community has been through trauma. We cant have additional trauma in this community. Since we know the situational aspect is part of it, we cant have that going on. Dont let threats go unheeded. We know theyre out there. Investigate it. And, trump, make an announce. We will be following everything for weeks to come. Appreciate it. All right. You just heard alisyn mention a big change for ducks Sporting Goods. Will others follow suit by banning assaultstyle rifles . We have details next. With expedia one click gives you access to discounts on thousands of hotels, cars and things to do. Like the Bicycle Hotel casino for 30 off. Everything you need to go. Expedia almost 800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. With liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. 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Were told the retailer will no longer sell high capacity magazines and dicks wont sell any gun to anyone under the age of 21 regardless of local laws. Edward w. Stack is the chairman and ceo of Dicks Sporting Goods. Hes going to join us live in our next hour to make the case for why this is the right move for his business. President trump up and tweeting just moments ago about his, quote, big victory on his signature border wall saying, quote, i have decided that sections of the wall that california wants built now will not be built until the whole wall is approved. Big victory yesterday with ruling from the courts that allows us to proceed. Our country must have border security. The win comes from a judge that the president repeatedly attacked during the campaign. District judge Gonzalo Curiel ruling the administration can waive environmental laws and other regulations to begin a construction process. One, and heres the key here, that congress has yet to authorize. And thats where the win would come. Youll remember crump slammed curiel in 2016 claiming the judges mexican heritage made him biased in the class action Fraud Lawsuit against trump university. That case was ultimately settled. The head of the nsa says trump has not given him the goahead to combat russian cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. This is highly unusual. It raises the question will any security measures be taken before the midterm elections . We know the russians want to meddle. We ask senator tim kaine next. Its inspected by mercedesbenz factorytrained technicians. Or it isnt. Its backed by an unlimited mileage warranty, or it isnt. For those who never settle, its either mercedesbenz certified preowned, or it isnt. The mercedesbenz certified preowned sales event. Now through february 28th. Only at your authorized mercedesbenz dealer. The Trump Administration is facing a new round of criticism for its lack of response into Russian Election interference. This comes as the msa chief had this exchange before a senate panel yesterday. You would need basically to be directed by the president through the secretary of defense . Yes, sir. I mentioned that. Have you been directed to do so given the strategic threat that faced the United States and the significant consequences you recognize already . No, i have not. Joining me now is democratic senator tim kaine of virginia. Good to have you, senator. Thank you for joining us. Absolutely, chris. What was your level of surprise to hear mike rogers say, no, the president hasnt asked me to do anything to combat russian cyberattacks . Chris, i was shocked but not surprised. Im on that committee as well. I was in the room. I asked admiral rogers. I said, look, dont you think weve been humiliated as a nation . Weve probably lost the first cyber war weve been in with a foreign adversary. He acknowledged it and said we did not view the electoral system as Critical Infrastructure we needed to protect. But then you add to it, okay, have you been directed now to protect it. His answer was no. Thats why mayors and governors around the country who have to operate elections dont have much confidence that the federal government is acting to protect the american democracy. Why isnt it happening in your opinion . Theres not been a direction from the commanderinchief to any of the relevant agencies to provide the level of protection we need. Admiral rogers stressed yesterday, im an operator, i need direction from the top to do things. Elections are things that states and localities run. Claire mccass still jumped in and said, you cant tell me that the missouri secretary of state is equipped to go up against russia in the cyber realm and defend an election. Weve got to have federal help from the dhs or the dod. The head of our cyber command, admiral rogers, a dedicated professional says hes not been given any directive to do that from his commanderinchief and superiors. The pushback youll get is we dont need direction, we do so much every day. Just because the rest of you have woken up to the reality, doesnt mean the intelligence community, the dod and pentagon havent been all over this for a long time. Do you believe thats a fair pushback . I dont believe its fair. I dont think admiral rogers believes it either. I said, look, we failed as the u. S. Was humiliated by a foreign adversary. I said the u. S. Government failed to protect the u. S. Democracy. I asked admiral rogers what was the source of that failure. He basically cited two problems. He said, first, we didnt view the electoral system as Critical Infrastructure. We protect the electricity grid, we protect financial institutions, but the government wasnt protecting the electoral system. The second thing he said, and this was telling, he said we underestimated the adversary. We thought when we told them we know what youre doing, dont do it anymore, they wouldnt persist. But russia persisted. Theres a painful lesson there, but were not yet acting to try to put into place what we learned as a result of this failure. Lets go to another category of thing not getting done. Dicks Sporting Goods pulling high capacity magazines off the shelf. We see other corporations stepping up to make changes they think are in line with their ideas and their business model. We see states stepping up. My assertion is this, we will not see you guys in congress do anything meaningful when it comes to guns. Prove me wrong. Chris, id like to prove you wrong. Im certainly doing my part in voting for things. I support reinstating the ban on assault weapons. Will it happen . Look, i introduced the bill yesterday. Right now there arent the votes for it. I think theres a new opening to get comprehensive background checks. So all sales covered . All sales, gun show, private sales, sales through registered dealers which are already covered. We need universal background checks and full entry of data into the nix system so background checks can prevent a dangerous individuals from getting weapons. When you see the Florida Governor or other republicans saying we need to do this now, theres an opening in congress. Frankly, the opening has been created by the passionate and energetic advocacy by these young people, these students who are basically forcing us to look into the mirror and saying, whats more important, the lives of your kids or political contributions . We both know. I dont think its cynicism. I think its just reality. Conscience isnt going to drive change in washington, d. C. Consequence is going the drive change. If at the polls people get rewarded and punished for what is done and not done now, that will be the mandate that is adhered to. Well have to see what happens in the midterms. Let me ask you about one other thing. There is an opportunity to help spouses of people serving in the military. How so and what are you doing about it . Ive been having roundtables with military spouses for a year or so, introduced a bill to allow them to find employment quicker. We need to provide them more training, more opportunities on bases, the ability to use educational funds to get credentialed in the new states they move to. Yesterday i introduced a bill with senators bozeman and tester, bipartisan, to extend tax credits given to businesses if they hire veterans, to also have it be accessed if they hire military houses. Something both sides should be get around. So many people talk the talk about supporting the troops but they dont walk the walk. They dont get the help and benefits they deserve. Senator, thank you for being here. I hope you prove me wrong. I hope you take the mantle and do something to top these shootings. Its on us. Thank you, chris. Were following a lot of news. Lets get after it. I have nothing to do with russia. I have no deals there. Investigators for Robert Mueller have been asking about Business Activities of donald trump in russia pry to the 2016 campaign. This is a president who can be incredibly compromised. Just because theyre asking doesnt mean they have evidence of it. The fact hes been downgraded suggests that he really is not in a position to