Guilty. And north korea bragging that its taking a major step of the goal towards reaching the u. S. With its missiles. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. President trump touched down in israel today and met with Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, becoming the first sitting u. S. President to ever visit the holiest site in the jewish faith, the western wall. At about the same time as that visit we learned that fired National Security adviser Michael Flynn plans to plead the fifth and will not testify before the Senate Intelligence committee. That was big news, though, of course, the president is focused on his swing through the middle east. That began in riyadh, saudi arabia, where the president disturbed even some in his own party by suggesting in his speech that he would not, quote, lecture countries on how to live which many took as an abdication of the traditional role of the United States in publicly preaching the values of freedom and democracy, values that some critics suggest the Trump Administration might not fully appreciate. Case in point, a source close to former fbi director james comey told me that in comeys february 14thth Oval Office Meeting with President Trump the president expressed irritation with news stories about private phone conversations he had had with the leaders of mexico and australia, the president telling comby that he needed to pursue the leakers. Comey tried to explain to the president that leak investigations are quite difficult for Law Enforcement because often you end up having to threaten to jail journalists. The president told comey he should throw journalists in jail. This, the source said, is recorded in that memo composed contemporaneously by comey as first reported by the New York Times. Another example of the values. Secretary of state rex tillerson, a man who as americas top representative of the world is supposed to publicly demonstrate the importance of free speech and of free press. Tillerson held a News Conference sunday in riyadh without alerting any american reporters that he was doing so. Not exactly leading by example on the virtues of freedom of the press, but it was secretary of commerce wilbur ross whose analysis of his time in saudi arabia truly stunned observers. Theres no question that they are liberalizing their society and the other thing that was fascinating to me, there was not a single hint of a protester anywhere there during the whole time we were there, not one guy with a bad placard. The anchor pointed out that saudis dont have the same rights of free speech or Free Assembly that we have in the u. S. To which secretary ross replied this. In theory that could be true, but, boy, there was certainly no sign of it. Its not theory. In the wake of the arab spring in 2011 the Saudi Ministry of the interior informed the saudi people, quote, regulations in the kingdom forbid categorically all sorts of demonstrations, marches and sitins as they contradict islamic sharia law and the values and traditions of saudi society, unquote. Dissent in saudi arabia has been criminalized. Amnesty international this year noted that, quote, human rights activists in saudi arabia are an endangered species. One by one they are vanishing, prosecuted, jailed, intimidated into silence or forced into exile, highlighting authoritys zero tolerance approach to freedom of expression, unquote. But ross noted that at the end of his trip a number of Saudi Security guards asked for a photograph with him. And then they gave me two gigantic bushels of dates as a thank you for the trip that we had had. A pretty from the heart very genuine gesture. Two gigantic bushels of dates. Thats all it took for the saudis to cover up an abysmal human rights record, funding for extremism all over the globe, evidence of government participation in 9 11 and current alleged war crimes against civilians in yemen . A critic might say you guys are cheap dates. Pardon the pun. Cnn senior White House Correspondent jim acosta is traveling with the president in jerusalem. Jim, today the president seemed to perhaps inadvertently confirm that story that sources say he shared intelligence with the russians. Reporter thats right, jake, and the white house is hoping the president can change the narrative back home by showing off the alliances hes building with leaders other in the middle east, but the president finds new ways to step on his own message. He did that today when he tried to offer up an explanation for his sharing of Israeli Intelligence with the russians that didnt add up. President trump is discovering its not so simple to bring the art of the deal to the holy land after suggesting middle east peace might be easy just weeks ago, the president acknowledged what his predecessors have known for decades. Its not. Ive heard its one of the toughest deals of all, but i have a feeling that were going to get there she gently. I hope. Reporter even as mr. Trump continued this photoop for his foreign trip by becoming the first sitting u. S. President to visit one of judaisms holiest sites the western wall hes doing damage control with his israeli hosts had. The president appeared to confirm he recently shared classified Israeli Intelligence with top level russian officials with this misleading explanation. I never mentioned the word or the name israel, never mentioned it in that conversation, and they are all saying i did so you had the story wrong. Never mentioned the word israel. The problem is those news reports never stated that the president mentioned israel by name in that meeting with the russians. While some in the administration insist theres no need for apologies. I dont know that theres anything to apologize for. Reporter others are conceding some reassurances may be helpful. Trying to reassure all of our counterparts that what they tell us is kept, trusted and valued, and we will return the favor. Reporter but the president and israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu are both touting their strong ties with sharp criticism of the Iran Nuclear Deal that was crafted by the Obama Administration. It was a terrible, terrible thing for the United States to enter that deal, and and believe me iran will never have a nuclear weapon. That i can tell you. Reporter still, the president has yet to follow through on his Campaign Promise to tear up the nuclear agreement. I think that agreement is a disaster for this country, for israel, for middle east. Reporter rand thats not the only contradiction from this trip. Contradict the president s rhett kick from the president on the campaign trail. I think islam hates us. Reporter with the softened language that the president used in saudi arabia. Theres still much work to be done. That means honestly confronting the crisis of islamic extremism and the islamists and islamic terror of all kinds. Reporter the president slipped and said islamic terror inside of islamist terror because the white house said, hes quote, exhausted, but Top Administration officials who danced the night away with the saudis are stepping around that comment. Hes doing better than i am. And hes got a few years on me. Reporter and the president will find that the bargaining will only get tougher when he sits down with the palestinian president mahmoud abbas. Abbas will obviously have to be a partner in any peace talks and while the president will have his soninlaw Jared Kushner at his side when he enters the talks, two of the top officials have already returned back to the white house, chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist steve back none are already back at the white house. Jake . Jim acosta live in jerusalem, thanks. With President Trump overseas the russia investigate full steam ahead and cnn being told Michael Flynn will plead the fifth. Coming up next, exploring all the options. That next. You love, sit behind it. parents whisper jingle safelite repair, safelite replace. That stood up to any amount of sunlight. No matter how bright. If a paint could protect your doors color against the strongest uv rays. Is it still paint . Aura grand entrance from Benjamin Moore ®. 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Our politics load and something of a set pac for the Senate Intelligence commit is investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by members of the Trump Campaign team, a source telling cnn the fired National Security adviser will invoke his fifth amendment rights in response to a subpoena. Just because flynn is taking the fifth does not mean hes done with this committee. No, jake, far from it. The top democrat on that Committee Mark warner just told cnn senators are looking at next steps, including whether to hold flynn in contempt, but his lawyers say flynn fears any documents he provides would be used against him, citing an escalating public frenzy by members of congress leaking information and calling for his prosecution. Tonight as criminal probes between possible collusion and the Trump Campaign mount fired National Security adviser is expected to invoke his fifth amendment right refusing to comply to a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence committee. A source close to flynn tells cnn it does not make sense for him to testify when several members of congress have called for his prosecution, a move then candidate trump said was evidence of guilt when used by Hillary Clintons aides to avoid testifying over her use of a private email server. You can see the mob takes the fifth. If youre innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment. Reporter sources tell cnn russian officials in conversations picked up by u. S. Intelligence bragged they could use flynn to influence trump. Newly appointed special counsel former fbi director Robert Mueller now looking at whether President Trump sought to obstruct justice by trying to pressure then fbi chief james comey to drop the bureaus investigation into potential wrongdoing by flynn. In february cornering comey alone in the oval office telling him, quote, i hope you can let this go according to a memo comey wrote recalling his conversation with the president. Trump denies he made the request. No, no. Next question. Reporter but has pointed to the russia investigation as a reason for firing comey. When i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. Its an excuse. Reporter and according to the New York Times the president called comey a, quote, nut job and said his firing would ease pressure on him regarding the Russian Investigation during a meeting with russian officials. The white house also said comeys firing could help end the investigation sooner. We want this to come to its conclusion. We want it to come to its conclusion with integrity, and we think that weve actually by removing director comey taken steps to make that happen. Reporter comey is expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence committee after memorial day. Meanwhile, jake, lawyers and lawmakers hope that they will get ahold of those comey memos before this. Thank you very much. How will congress get answers in the russia probe . Senator Patrick Leahy from the Senate Judiciary committee joins us next. Stay with us. Its an important question you ask, but one i think with a simple answer. We have this need to peek over our neighbors fence. And once we do, we see wonder waiting. Every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. Bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. So, the question you asked me. What is the key . Its you. Everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. When they thought they should westart saving for retirement. Le then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. This gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us arent prepared for retirement. Just start as early as you can. Its going to pay off in the future. If we all start saving a little more today, well all be better prepared tomorrow. Prudential. Bring your challenges. Welcome back. Lets stick with the politics lead. While President Trump is on a busy trip overseas, back at home congressional investigations into possible russia ties are moving forward. Joining me now senator Patrick Leahy, democrat of vermont. Senator, thanks so much for coming on. As always a source telling cnn that former National Security adviser Michael Flynn intends to plead the fifth in a senate probe into russia ties. When Hillary Clintons i. T. Staffer pleaded the fifth in the investigation into her email use, this is how then candidate donald trump responded. So there are five people taking the fifth amendment like you see on the mob. You see the mob takes the fifth. If youre innocent, why are you taking fifth amendment . If youre innocent, why are you taking the fifth amendment . Is that a fair question for anyone . Well, i was a prosecutor for eight years. I prosecuted a lot of criminals who took the fifth. They had the right under the constitution, but general flynns lawyers say he wants to take the fifth because it may be a frenzy. No. Fifth amendment gives you protection against incriminating yourself for a crime, not protecting yourself against a frenzy. So you think that he should be what do you think the next step should be then . I dont know. I would like to hear to him. Hes obviously under investigation. Hes certainly theres certainly reasons to hear from him. I think the congress has asked for that. If hes unwilling to testify there are a lot of other people that we should talk with, and i think even though its a republicancontrolled congress, i think theres a growing feeling that we need to get to the truth of everything that has happened for the american people. Are we in control of the government, or is russia in control of the government . As you know, youre a former prosecutor. After the New York Times reported that the president told russian officials about firing comey, quote, i faced great pressure because of russia. Thats taken off now, unquote. You tweeted, quote, this is what obstruction looks like, unquote. A lot of other democrats are not willing to go that far, but you think thats evidence of obstruction of justice . I think it is reason enough to at least look at that, and thats why we have to go through and ask more questions. For example, attorney general sessions has agreed to come before the house and the senate this week. I commend him for doing that. If hes voted to come forward and tell the truth about what happened, well know far more about that, and i think we have to. They say they dont know what went on in the oval office but russia says, well, gee, weve got the notes on it. We have the transcript of what went on. I hate to think that we have to go to russia to find out what our government is doing. After that meeting in the oval office with the russian officials, there was a lot of questions about what the president revealed about intelligence, intelligence that might have come from a friendly source, some in the media said some sources told media that the source was israel. That i had in israel President Trump told reporters that in that meeting with russians he didnt mention the word israel when he met with russian officials. Take a listen. Just so you understand, i never mentioned the word or the name israel, never mentioned it in that conversation. They are all saying i did, so you heard the story wrong. Never mentioned the word israel. Now, of course, none. Media reports said he had ever mentioned the word israel. The question is whether or not he gave enough information that the russians would be able to figure out the source of the information. What was your response . Russia has a worldwide intelligence service. In fact, they are constantly spying on the United States. If you give a very direct idea of where information came from and what it was from, neither they nor we would have that much difficulty in figuring out which country it came from. Senator Patrick Leahy of vermont, thank you very much, sir. Appreciate it very much. Thank you. The white house sends its budget to Congress Tomorrow and there are some concerns that some people rely upon, including many trump voters will be on the chopping block. What the administration wants to cut next. What makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple veggie dish ever . 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Humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. Its proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. Humira is the 1 prescribed biologic for Psoriatic Arthritis. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Want more proof . Ask your rheumatologist about humira. Whats your body of proof . Welcome back to the lead. Testimony with politics. Programs helped lowincome children and families could take a hit. His budget blueprint comes out tomorrow. We had a preview and now swe have specifics. Its set to cut s. N. A. P. And food stamps. An Administration Official suggest the last week this program would likely remain untouched. What are the proposed changes . Exactly right. Doesnt appear to be true. If you look specifically at the food stamp project, the s. N. A. P. Program, the administration is going to propose 193 billion in cuts over a ten year period to that program. To give you perspective on that, the u. S. Spent 71 billion on that program last year. That cut would be around 27 of the total program. That is a dramatic cut. Now, the rationale for that is that they are trying to get the budget over the course of a tenyear period to balance, but as you noted this, seemed to fly in the face of what agriculture secretary sonny purdue said just last week. Take a listen. As far as im concerned, we have no proposed changes. You dont try to fix things that arent broken, and when the motto is do right and feed everyone, i view that as very, very inclusive. Now, jake, the administration is really messaging this as welfare reform. In total it will encompass about 274 billion in cuts. That includes the earned income tax credit and Child Tax Credit as well. They will save 40 billion. The big question right now is obviously this budget, the president s budget, any president s budget doesnt go very far on capitol hill, just a blueprint. Lawmakers are going to take their own pathway here, but this is not the type of thing that just democrats are going to be opposed to. Republicans are also very protective of this program. In all 1. 7 trillion in cuts to mandatory programs, thats an extensive cut, a dramatic cut and something that even for the most fiscally conservative of republicans might actually not work that great in their eyes. Jake. Well have much more on president s proposed budget tomorrow when it actually comes out. Phil mattingly, thanks so much. Lets dive right in with all the news with my political panel. David irwin, were learning former National Security adviser Michael Flynn is expected to invoke his fifth amendment rights and not turn over testimony. Lets hear what new Jersey Governor Chris Christie had to say today. Lets just say general flynn and i didnt see eye to eye and i didnt think he would bring benefit to the president and to the administration. I made that very clear to candidate trump and made it very clear to president elect trump. Your reaction . Yeah. Im not surprised by that. I think governor christie and general flynn are both gentlemen that have extremely big personalities and very strong opinions, and im sure that they didnt see eye to eye on lots of things. There does seem to be an effort though by some people close to President Trump or in his orbit who are saying now i never liked general flynn. Jeff . The last person who seems to be willing to like general flynn is donald trump and thats what matters. Yeah, theres a lot of never heard of him, never saw him, never liked him. Its a very sort of washington a washington way of behaving. And i want you to take a listen to this comment from wilbur ross talking about his experience in saudi arabia which apparently went very well as far as the secretary of commerce is concerned. The other thing that was fascinating to me there was not a single hint of a protester anywhere there during the whole time we were there, not one guy with a bad placard. Of course, theres a reason why there werent protesters in streets of saudi arabia. Would you like to enlighten our audience. Did no one tell him that they were already in jail or they would be if they got anywhere near him. Or dead. No plaque yards. Thats one of the rules, right. Wilbur ross is a smart guy. Where would his he probably misspoke. Look, this trip has been a huge success, both on symbolism as well as substance. I mean, i think across the tv dials, whether thats this network or others, ive seen nothing but favorable reviews from the president s trip in terms of the Terrorism Financing sentiment that was established in the kingdom of saudi arabia which is unprecedented. To cut down, to eliminate, to work cooperatively in a collaborative fashion on eliminating financing, headquartered in the country that houses two of the most holiest sites in islam, a big, big victory for the president , a huge arms deal, deployed thaad to saudi arabia, the saudis are paying for it themselves so burdensharing, economic development. Its a big victory. I think that the bad part is for the president to come home. Jeff, what do you think . What do you think . I would dissent slightly from that view and making the case that the president picking one of the most repressive countries on earth to make a visit to might not be the correct signal that a u. S. Leader of the world would have gone to. If we h was going to a foreign country what would you have suggested . Canada and mexico first and theres a whole host of allies one can visit across the planet that deserve american recognition from europe to asia, but, yeah, i would say saudi arabia, obviously israel, deserved to be visited, but i dont think its the right timing and i dont think that the symbolism is what we want to you know, i mean, saudi arabia not only is one of the most repressive countries in the world, it is the source of obviously some counterterrorism, but also the source of terrorism. I mean, its sort of the complete package, and that was not talked about during the visit that saudi arabia is the source of financing for terrorism including 9 11, 15 of the 19. One person who is definitely enjoying this trip and thats Benjamin Netanyahu. Practically giddy next to President Trump. He is talking about how this is a new day in israelu. S. Relationships. Hes very happy. Yeah, and he has good reason to be. He has in donald trump someone who has already given him as the leader of israel the thing he wants most which is unqualified support against iran, and hes also given him this thing he wants second most which is not too much pressure on settlements and peacemaking. I will say that there was some tension mild tension, but tension nonetheless in the run up to the trip where netanyahu was a little concerned that trump might be have too great a personal stake in a peace deal which would put netanyahu in a difficult place if it turns out that netanyahu doesnt want to or cant make a deal. If donald trump as the president. United states says we want that, it will make things difficult for him. David, you have a feel for trump supporters, and i want to ask you, people dont know that he ran the state of pennsylvania for the Trump Campaign, President Trumps language when it comes to islam, when it comes to muslims, his participation in the sword dance and taking the medal, that might be surprising to a lot of trump supporters, especially in the t of pennsylvania where he said muslims hate them. Theres a huge difference between campaigning and governing the world. The president went there with a real mission to help rid the world of islamic terrorism, fundamentalism at its very basis, and i think hes evolving. I think some of his stances evolved. Hes not backed off of where hes come. Hes changed his language a little bit. Yeah. Jeffrey, what did you make of when President Trump said today with the whole controversy about whether or not he spilled the beans to russians about any intelligence that might have actually come from israel to begin with, when kind of out of nowhere standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu he never said i never used the word israel. I would say that donald trump is not the sort of person who would stand up well under intensive questioning by Law Enforcement. He he went out of his way to make a statement i didnt say x when no one had accused him of saying x. And the stories never said he said that. The stories never said he said x so it was almost sort of a telltale heart type situation going on there where he felt compelled to say this to try to obviously the israelis are extremely upset about this, and we all learned that through reporting, but its just interesting to me in this particular moment he is having i mean, the trip is not 100 its better than being here, obviously being over there for him right now. Its going fairly well, and he introduced this new element that was unnecessary, and it goes i have to imagine theres a lot of people in the white house who felt, you know, dont go there. Were trying to put that behind us. Youre always good for a poe reference. Thats 100 from jeff, fairly well. Thats a good grade. Yeah, yeah. Quickly, in you could. One note on secretary tillerson, not alerting the media he was about to have the u. S. Media he was about to have a press conference. I wasnt there so i dont have a lot of firsthand knowledge here but speaking as somebody who covers the state department it seems a little strange. The state department explanation is that it all came about very suddenly. In a Perfect World the u. S. Press would have been invited and he had a short confab with the president on air force one today as a makeup. All right. Makeup better than nothing, i suppose. Thanks one and all for being here. Appreciate it. A programming note. Tonight tune into cnn for a special report, a white house in crisis all starting at 11 00 p. M. Eastern. Refusing to and over administration. Why the trumps latest refusal to turn over information is shocking democrats and republicans. Then there are moments it becomes clear, together always was, and always will be, a better way. Bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. Because safety is never being satisfied. And always working to be better. Welcome back. Also in todays world lead in a new show of defiance, north korea held another missile test over the weekend. It was the second missile test within one week, this time launching a medium range Ballistic Missile into the waters off its east coast. It comes as the pentagon says it is sending a second u. S. Carrier group in that direction. Lets go to Cnns Barbara Starr who is live for us at the pentagon. Barbara, north korea now says its ready to mass produce these medium range missiles. Whats the potential reach, and who should be afraid of being a target . Well, theres just one answer. Their target, jake, really their ultimate target, the west coast of the United States. North korea is showing the world its missiles are on the move and then launching. Its latest provocative act, the latest sign the regime is undeterred. Kim jongun with his generals supervising the second successful Ballistic Missile test in a week. South korean and japanese Officials Say the missile traveled to an altitude of 620 miles and a distance of 300 miles. All options are on table. What does that mean . What does that include . That means weve made it very clear that we dont want to start a fight so dont give us a reason to have one. Reporter north korea now claims it can mass produce Ballistic Missiles, but it could be this launch a few days ago that could be the missile test that changes everything. U. S. Military intelligence now calculates this missile after traveling to had a higher altitude than any other north korean launch reentered the earths atmosphere in a partially controlled effort by pyongyang, achieving reentry into the earths atmosphere is crucial for a long range intercontinental Ballistic Missile to be able to hit the western United States. The Trump Administration says china is among the nations trying to force kim jongun to pull back on his Weapons Program with mixed results. There appears to be some impact by the chinese working here. Its not obviously perfect when they launch a missile which i think you pretty accurately just described about going higher and reentry capability, that sort of thing. Reporter defense secretary james mattis says pressing that diplomacy is the route the Trump Administration wants. If this goes to a military solution, it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale. Reporter cnn has learned before leaving office the Obama Administration estimated the regime might need just a handful of additional underground Nuclear Tests before it might be able to fashion a warhead to put on a missile. Now were starting to worry that they have two of the three pieces in place, that they may have a small enough warhead though we dont know for sure and may have a reentry vehicle. Reporter and now a second u. S. Navy Aircraft Carrier conducting testing and Training Operations off the coast of japan, perhaps yet in the future days another signal to the north. Jake. All right. Barbara starr at the pentagon for us, thanks very much. Turning now to our conflict of interest watch. Candidate trump promised to drain the swramp bamp but now me saying hes trying to hide the swm swamp. Here with me is cnn money correspondent cristina alesci. Why does this concern ethics experts . As you said, the president had promised to at least slow the revolving door between lobbyists and the government, and it austin powers that he is not meeting that pledge right now at least. Look, the administration has hired many former lobbyists to work at federal agencies, but that requires getting a waiver to get around ethics rules, and now washington, d. C. s chief watchdog wants to know who is getting those waivers and why, but the white house has said no. Ethics lawyers, both republicans and democrats i spoke to say this breaks with precedent. Remember, the Obama Administration did make these documents publicly available, of course, voluntarily because the law does not require it. Sure, i remember writing a bunch of stories hammering them for the lobbyists that they allowed to work for them. What is the trump white houses excuse for in . They basically say the office of government ethics has overstepped its legal boundaries. It says the oge wants too much information in an unrealistic time frame calling the request, quote, breathless. The administration wants the Ethics Office to withdraw the data request until the Justice Department weighs in, but, look, realistically the oge cannot force the white house or other agencies to disclose who is getting waivers and why, but former ethics officials are still shocked the administration is refusing the request. Thats not normal or routine. The white house usually wants to work with oge to make sure its following all the rules. Let me highlight Something Else about the white houses response today. It essentially suggested that this information was leaked, that the discussions between the administration and oge was leaked. The reality is the New York Times filed a freedom of information request and freedom of information act request and got the document that way, so it was not a leak. It was a legitimate request that was put through. This is not normal or routine, you said. I feel like we should we should put that up on the wall behind us. Cristina alesci, thank you so much. A murder on a College Campus is being investigated as a possible hate crime after police say they found disturbing facebook posts from the suspect. The details that have tragic story ahead. I guess i was born with a crayon in my hand. I decided to see if there was a way for design to play a. Positive role in what was going on in the world. 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To learn more about these targeted therapies and advanced procedures for lung cancer, as well as the experienced physicians who deleliver them, go to caceer. Com when he showowowowed me the cat scans, i was somazed. With this treatment, she had a dramatic response. Call or go to cancercenter. Com Cancer Treatment centers of america. Care that never quits. Appointments avale now. Welcome back. Our buried lead. Thats what we call stories we dont think is getting enough attention. Everyday in faroff places u. S. Service members are putting their lives on the line for the United States and even here on u. S. Soil Service Members are doing very dangerous work. Is the v. A. There for those veterans, too . Take a look. Henry mayo jr. Knows his appearance can upset people. And i lost my skin. My glands dont work. I dont sweat so i just have to live with it reporter 80yearold army veteran says this painful skin condition is just one of many confounding ailments hes developed years after serving at ft. Mclellan in alabama. After losing my hair and my skin started to get back and that was something to be scared of, you know, you didnt know what was going to happen next. Reporter he was drafted in 1959, just as these military training films were being released. Chemical warfare involves the military use of chemical compounds. Reporter he was soon sent to ft. Mcclellan, home of the armys Chemical School and chemical corps. He says mustard gas was tested on his skin. They would leave it on there like had a little pin dot that would just let you see how that place was blistered up. Reporter he also participated in radiation tests wearing a badge to monitor exposure with no protective gear. We went out to this radiation area, and no kind of instruction or nothing. They just gave us the bag and told us to pin it on us. Reporter despite all this the v. A. Says theres no proof that any of mayos medical issues are servicerelated meaning the v. A. Does not have to cover the high cost of his care. Ft. Mcclellan closed in 1999 several years after the Environmental Protection agency named it a superfund site, an area that pose a risk to human health. The armey kror of engineers says radioactive materials were used, stored or buried at nearly two dozen areas across the main post at ft. Mcclellan as well as at toxic training or radiologic survey areas nearbich the v. A. s website acknowledges kem cole compounds and warfare agents and chemicals from a nearby pcb plant as potential exposures at ft. Mcclellan but the v. A. Adds those exposures have been shown to cause a vite of Adverse Health effects there is no evidence of exposures to this magnitude having occurred at ft. Mcclellan. We didnt know until a few years later that things started to happening to me and you started to think it. Reporter v. A. Records show mayo has sought aid for multiple conditions including his skin condition which is a form of lymphoma due to exposure of agent orange. They have to agree that ft. Mcclellan was a contaminated base, even though everything points to it. Reporter over the weekend in washington, d. C. Selfproclaimed toxic veterans from across country gathered to try to raise awareness and ask congress for help. Were already exposed. Its going to kill us one way or another. But for my children and grandchildren i want to be able to leave knowing that ive left them with something, a bill being passed, compensation that i may have. Congressman paul tonko, a democrat, has offered a bill to give veterans easier access to care but his bill has not passed. They are owed a registry. They were put at risk and we should do everything to enable them to have a full life. Mayos daughter is not giving up. So many soldiers out there thats reaching out to congress, and they are reaching out to their doctors, you know. It just seems like it doesnt matter. Had her father deployed to vietnam like many of his peers, however, things might be different. The v. A. Says veterans deployed to vietnam have a presumption of exposure to chemical likes agent orange or mustard gas commonly used in combat but its easier for them to receive benefits but for the members who served stateside have a higher burden of proof. They say you didnt serve in a war zone but ft. Mcclellan was a war zone in itself. I mean, they were training there, but they ended up with conditions just like someone who actually was, you know, on the front line. When asked about mcclellan veterans it told cnn they review cases on a casebycase basis and they have no plans to create Health Care Policies for the group. The v. A. s position notwithstanding henry mayor, jr. Continues to be remined of his Service Every time he looks in the mirror. And our thanks to henry mayo jr. And his family for their service and their sacrifice. Whatever the government does or does not acknowledge. In our national lead, a stabbing over the weekend at the university of maryland is now being investigated as a hate crime. Sean urbansky a white student has been charged with the murder of Richard Williams ii, an africanamerican. Williams were waiting at a bus stop before being approached by urbanski, a member of the atlright. Collins was only three days from graduating from nearby bowie state university. Follow me on facebook or twitter. Thats it for the lead. Im jake tapper. I turn you over to wolf blitzer next doar in the situation room. Thank you so much for watching. Happening right now. Breaking news, refruiting to testify. Fired National Security adviser Michael Flynn is planning to plead the fifth and will refuse to turn over records for the Senate Intelligence committees investigation, but two former Trump Campaign officials are now cooperating with the probe. Will flynn be held in contempt . Apparent admission. President trump seems to confirm that he shared classified intelligence with russian officials during an Oval Office Meeting while accusing the news immediate yeah getting the story wrong. Has he damaged critical intelligence relationships. Middle east mission. Shifting poll tis and changing rhetoric mark the president s trip to saudi arabia and israel. Hes softening