Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20181116

Ominous news out of north korea as there is a demand from kim jongun. Why . Welcome to the lead, im jake tapper. Our politics lead. President trump is under pressure both from the pending democraticcontrolled house and from potential moves by special counsel, Robert Mueller. So as the president does, when feeling the heat from situations that are often largely of his own doing, hes now seeking to blame others in his orbit as top officials at the white house and the Trump Administration prepare for a purge. Asserting this afternoon, the president is happy with, quote, almost all of his cabinet officials. The president has in recent days been talking to aides and advisers about possibly getting rid of chief of staff, john kelly. And department of Homeland Security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen. But would that solve anything . As one Senior Administration official put it to me, quote, in this administration, there are arsonists and there are firefighters. The president is looking to get rid of the firefighters. The more he does, the faster his administration is going to burn down. But its not just shuffling staff. Even the president s policies are problematic, according to some of those who work for him. This same Senior Administration official told me about the troops before the midterm election. Quote, its a paper tiger. A total joke of limited Operational Utility and a waste of our troops time. Secretary nielsen knows it, chief of staff kelly knows it. But that battle was lost with the president. He was hellbent on troops, unquote. Now, one of the president s more prominent conservative critics is a man named George Conway, the husband of white house counselor, Kellyanne Conway. And speaking about his own decision not to join the Trump Administration, he was once under consideration to be solicitor general, conway has had harsh things to say about the president. Conway told yahoo news this. Im watching this thing, and, you know, its like the administration is like a [ bleep ] show in a dumpster fire. And just to underline this point, conway, the husband of a top trump aide, this week formed an organization of former Top Republican Justice Department and National Security lawyers to try to protect the rule of law and constitutional principles that they see President Trump as continually undermining. Cnn White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is here with me. And President Trump railing against the Mueller Probe saying the former fbi director is trying to set perjury traps for him. Thats right, jake. He said he found these questions easy to answer, but he questioned why Robert Mueller needs to know this information in the first place, and implied that hes trying to set him up for perjury by asking him some of these questions. But jake, make no mistake, the fact that the president has completed the answers to these written questions and is prepared to submit them, he says, does seem to take us one step closer in what has been nearly a year of negotiations between the special counsel and President Trump. After 24 hours of twitter silence about the russia investigation, President Trump addressing it out loud today from the oval office. There should have never been any mueller investigation. Reporter announcing hes finished the written answers to questions from special counsel, Robert Mueller. And even penned them himself. I write the answers. My lawyers dont write answers, i write answers. Reporter trump met with his legal team nearly every day this week and despite his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, raising concerns about some of the questions no collusion. Reporter trump said he hasnt submitted them yet, but doesnt have any problems. But theyre not very difficult questions. Reporter the president insisting hes not bothered by the russia investigation, despite writing in all caps the day before that it is a witch hunt like no other in american history. And has gone absolutely nuts. I like to take everything personally, because you do better that way. Reporter trump suggesting investigators from the special counsels office were setting him up to perjure himself. Was the weather sunny or rainy . He said it may have been a good day. It was rainy. Therefore, he told a lie. He perjured himself. Reporter the back and forth with his special counsel coming as the president is weighing shaking up his own staff. Today when department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen standing over his shoulder, he said hes not done making changes yet. Im extremely happy. Im very happy with almost all of my cabinet. And, you know, changes are made because theyre always made, especially after mid terms. Reporter sources say trump has decided to remove nielsen from her post, but hasnt picked a replacement yet and there are questions in washington about who wants to work in a white house engulfed in chaos. In a rare interview today, Kellyanne Conways husband explained why he turned down a top job at the Justice Department. I realize, this guy is going to be at war with the Justice Department. Reporter George Conway referring to the administration as a shit show in a dumpster fire. Reporter now, there are all these questions about who is going to work in this white house, but its stunning that someone who already works in this white house, a Senior Administration official, is describing the president as firing all the firefighters and giving you this, quote, the more he does, the faster his administration is going to burn down. Kaitlan collins joins our team of experts. This just in, President Trump is planning to meet with Florida Attorney general, pam bondi, next week at maralago, according to a source. Bondi is under consideration for a few cabinet posts, including department of Homeland Security. Sunlen, your reaction. That seems like probably a pretty good fit. There are a lot of names in the mix. We talk so much about staff departures and we cant forget the headache this causes for the other end of pennsylvania avenue, meaning Senate Republicans who have to confirm these posts. A lot of these really contentious, controversial fights. Youre talking about Homeland Security, all these debates erupting about immigration, attorney general issues that go on in the Justice Department. And youre having Senate Republicans when it comes to that attorney general post anyone from lamar alexander, who can speak candidly and sometimes goes away from the party line and to john cornyn, close trump ally, saying we cant emergency a new attorney general getting confirmed who doesnt commit publicly to not interfering with the Mueller Probe. So whenever these confirmation fights are going on, its going to be any indicated for Senate Republicans. Fortunately, they should have a little bigger majority next your, pending the results in florida. Although you hear that from cornyn, that whoever the attorney general is going to have to publicly say im not going to interfere in the probe, but thats probably whether its secret or not, what the president wants the new attorney general to do, interfere in the russia probe, you know, rein it in, if not end it. Sunlen is so concerned about those poor Senate Republicans. Shes a compassionate person. She is. Im not. For me, that would be crocodile tears. Maybe they could actually protect mueller, maybe they could hold the existing cabinet secretaries to account. We have an acting attorney general of the United States who is manifestly i would say unqualified for the job. Wages 1 million questions, including the fact he was appointed without having been confirmed. They were in session today, come back after thanksgiving. There is the thing called the Senate Judiciary committee. They have hearings. They could call him before them and get him to assure them he wont interfere. Hes acting attorney general. There wont be anyone confirmed until after, do you think, in the lame duck. But god forbid they actucall up acting attorney general and make sure we have the rule of law. So this Senior Administration official compared him and maybe its unfortunate given whats going on in california right now. But he said the administration is made up firefighters and arsonists and the president in seeking to get rid of nielsen and kelly potentially and seeking to get rid of sessions is getting rid of all of the firefighters, and is getting rid of all of the people who stop the chaos as opposed to the arsonists who will remain. Again, its an unfortunate metaphor, given whats going on in california. But do you agree with that basic idea . If he is, he hasnt yet gotten rid of enough people. Because it does seem like there are people in the administration who are, according to reports, trying to slow him down. Maybe he is going to give it to some of them. But remember this, this is a president who sent troops to the border in the middle of a political campaign, but seems like for purely political benefit. And general mattis, who was supposed to be one of the babysitters, did not stop him from doing that. So what we have seen is a president jump over a line of demarcation that we thought maybe he wont go that far. Hes gone that far. Now hes fired the attorney general, which we were told by Lindsey Graham there would be hell to pay if he did that. And there is none. I just dont know if there really are any guard rails when it comes to republicans. The only chance we may is the 20 or 21 republicans up for election in 2020 after seeing what happened this midterm say, huh, maybe my own self interest doesnt lie in supporting this president. And the same city Administration Official gave that other quote, saying that sending troops to the border was a paper tiger and total joke. Mattis knows it, nielsen knows it, but the president is still doing it. A damning thing to say. It is. I would love to know if this person thinks theyre a firefighter or arsonist. Im going to assume they think theyre in the firefighter camp. I assure you, the person thinks he or she is a firefighter. Who this person is a heck of a quote. That was something that really bothers the president is there are people giving quotes like this in the white house who think they are there to save the country from the president. That also stems back to when that person who works in this administration wrote that oped for the New York Times anonymous. And still has not come forward who it is that wrote that. Thats what bothers President Trump. He thinks there are people trying to actively work against him. And hes gone back in recent days to talking the way he did in the beginning of the administration when there were so many leaks coming out, and it walls such a period of chaos. And not that it has really eased up since then, but it was really so stunning in the first few weeks of the white house. President trump seems to have returned to that, to where hes retreating back, seems more isolated. People who work with him every day are saying that. And then sunlen, today Kellyanne Conway was asked if the president was frustrated by all the speculation surrounding the staff shifts that could be coming. Frustrated, you know all this talk, by the way, is because hes running around asking people what they think. But take a listen to Kellyanne Conway. The president was frustrated by this question about house hes frustrated about Congress Failing to act on immigration. If hes frustrated about anything, its that this town just doesnt keep pace with his way to change. If hes frustrated with anything, its that this town doesnt keep pace with his rate of change. Hes also frustrated with the people surrounding him. Lets be clear. And i think particularly when Kellyanne Conway mentioned the issue of immigration, hes not satisfied with the way things havent changed at the border much to his liking. Thats his way of venting his federations at the dhs secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen who is essentially on her way out. She wants to try to make it to her oneyear anniversary on december 6th, but President Trump has made it clear she is going to be exiting. But for her, the difficulty is that under a law, there is not she can go as far as she can, but there is not a lot she can do that would make President Trump happy in terms of sealing the border. And closing off the border. But the president hasnt seen that, and hes adjuvanted the frustration. It was remarkable earlier this morning how he said im happy with almost all of my cabinet. And she was standing right behind him. And the idea that kellyanne is saying this town cant keep up with the rate of change in the white house. Thats a problem for the white house, because they cant find anyone to hire. The president doesnt have candidates who he immediately wants to replace him with. Thats why we saw Reince Priebus leave so quickly, because President Trump had john kelly in mind. So when he can picture someone to take a job, he gets rid of them quickly. Thats why we saw Jeff Sessions remain in his post for so long, along with the pressure to not fire him. President trump approached being a president like a big city mayor. Expects everyone to do what he says when he feels like it. You call the police chief. The Justice Department, they do and investigate what it is you want and stop when you want. Thats just not the way things are done at the federal government level and he has yet to transition to that reality. Im going to give you a tip. Hes not going to. No, he wants them done that way. Its not that he doesnt get understand. But i flipped the quote before you reported from there. I think youre right. General mattis has been able to check trump on a lot of things, some reported, some ive heard with b, as well. And this one he managed to check the way in which they were deployed and engagement. So he did have some effect he felt and general kelly felt they couldnt stop. In the middle of an Election Campaign sending troops to sit arou around. Stick around. President trump telling the world hes written answers to questions from mueller. The special counsel is actually acting. And does nancy pelosi really have the votes to be the next speaker of the house . Were going to talk to one incoming congresswoman who says she is not going to vote for pelosi. Stay with us. Plaque psoriasis derate to e is not always easy. Its a longdistance journey, and you have the determination to keep going. Humira has a proven track record of being prescribed for over 10 years. Humira works inside the body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to symptoms. Most adults taking humira were clear or almost clear and many saw 75 and even 90 clearance in just 4 months. And the kind of clearance that can last. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. 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Really, jake, we have learned the president and his legal team have taken issue with some of the questions from Robert Mueller and his team, which cover the transition period of time after the 2016 election. They believe it could be off limits under executive privilege, as they pertain to the presidency. This is according to a source i spoke with familiar with these negotiations. The source would not say whether the president answered the questions, other than to say there have been responses to all of the questions asked. So take that for what you will but trumps lawyers saying the president would only answer questions related to collusion before the 2016 election. Thursday, the rpresident s attorney, Rudy Guiliani saying there are some that create more issues for us legally than others. And it turns out, this is what hes talking. About a list provided by the special counsel included inquiries about efforts during the establish a back channel line of communications to russia and the 2017 and founder of the private Security Company known as black water. The president and lawyers are finalizing answers and could return the responses as early as next week. I asked one of my sources to respond to what the president said today, that he has win all of the reasonses to these questions, and this source would only say he has been heavily involved in the process. Jake . Pamela brown, thanks so much. My legal team is with me. What is your response to the president being reluctant, especially during the transition. Of course, he is. But, of course, the drekd directive and mandate mueller has is to focus on things that happened prior to the inauguration, the actual campaign. Whether there was a collusion to russia. Also, the issues happening of at inauguration. Mooug has what he needs if he to were bring a charge of obstruction. He has got different information. What more could he ask . And finally, i dont know if youre buying it, kim, the idea that he has written all his answers himself. Theyre going to be vetted by your attorneys before mueller sees them and barely probably rebel when youve seen. That sounds like mark legal advice. No lawyer is going to write it down and hand it in. No. It will be carefully educate educated and drafted. We have heard a lot about executive privilege, but i think what hes talking about here is his role as commanderinchief ahead of the executive branch, the idea being i cannot obstruct justice in theory, because im in charge of the Justice Department. And thats a very kind of sort of off the radar i think so constitutional point of view. But if it debgets to the suprem court, that would be a big deal. Nixon said in the famous david frost interview, its not illegal. Same thing, yep. President trump also dropping possible hints into the inner workers of Robert Mueller, special counsel. Take a listen. I imagine its ending now. From what i hear, its ending. And im sure it will be just fine. And you know why its going to be just fine . Because there was no collusion. The president also tweeted something suggesting he knows something about whats going on in muellers circle. He tweeted yesterday, quote, they are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. You can always i mean, its always a possibility that President Trump is just making things up. He does that. Is it also possible maybe he has sources . Some conservatives are speculating maybe its the acting attorney who is a clear trump loyalist. The question you ask of a journalist, whats your source of information . Why all of a sudden after youve been radio silent on a nun of issues through twitter and not condemning mueller or the probe for some time, maybe the midterm was a distraction. But all of a sudden within a weeks time of having Matthew Whitaker in place, some have said he may be a plant and the actual statute he operates under doesnt allow someone to be briefed in and hear about the information. Now we have the president alluding to what he now knows is he speculating . Guiliani said this about the questions. Quote, there are some that create more issues for us legally than others. Guiliani also said some questions were unnecessarily, some were possible traps and me which consider some as irrelevant. So i think theyre refusing to answer questions and the next step will be whether there is going to actually be a subpoena from the special counsel to put him in the grand jury or to interview him. To put President Trump in the irabout view and he, in that instance, i think its a fair assumption that mr. Whitacre is giving information to the president about but is in a position to be the pickup truck master, which is why we had a separate statute. Members of congress are talking about passing statute, so the president doesnt have this role into himself. And this kind of role passed next to the next president is something all americans have to worry about. Do we really want an accountable presidency. And by the way me thinks doth lady protest too much. If you really wanted an actual investigation to play out asis and perhaps lessen innocence. Questioning the loyalty of the one member of his administration who everyone says is loyal. Stay with us. burke at farmers, weve seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. Even a huge drag. Nothing worth losing sleep over, because we covered it. Talk to farmers. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum for you to reflect on homecomingyour servicepace and think about what comes next. I cant wait to hear your stories. And talk to you about where you see yourself in the years to come. Does anyone have any questions i can answer . Mitzi Psoriatic Arthritis tries to get in my way . Watch me. mike ive tried lots of things for my joint pain. Now . Watch me. joni think id give up showing these guys how its done . Please. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are changing the way they fight it. Theyre moving forward with cosentyx. Its a different kind of targeted biologic. Its proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. Dont use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. Or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Mitzi with less joint pain, watch me. For less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. Ask your rheumatologist so, lets talk about Conference Calls. Theres always a certain amount of fumbling. A lot of times it doesnt work. We have problems. Comcast business goes beyond fast. By letting you make and receive calls from any device using your business line. And Conference Calls you can join without any dialins or pins. phone there are currently 3 members in this conference. I like that. I like that too. I would use that in a heartbeat. Get started with innovative Voice Solutions for a low price when you get fast, reliable internet. Comcast business. Beyond fast. The blue wave in the house of representatives swept over even more territory today with another congressional district. Democrats picked up a net gain of at least 34 seats and in the six races that remain uncalled, all were held by republicans before election day. Democrats currently are ahead in five. Joining me is one member of the new democratic majority, congresswoman elent abigail span berger, representing the richmond suburbs. This is the question everybody is asking you and i hate to be cliche, but your very first vote is going to be about who should be the speaker. You met with nancy pelosi today. And you told her that you were still going to vote against her as you told your constituents you would. Why . Whats wrong with nancy pelosi . Nothing is wrong with nancy pelosi has done tremendous things as speaker, minority leader, and i have tremendous respect for her. Among the reasons there are so many women entering congress now is because she paved the way for us. But one of the things i talked about frequently on the campaign trail was the need to have new voices in congress. The need to turn a new page and the way we engage across the aisle and really to be able to work on the priorities that were most important to the people in my district. Is anyone even challenging her . Is there a candidate running against her . I dont think so. Currently, nobody declared. So no one is better than nancy pelosi . I dont understand. Yay. So i will be voting for someone. When i was talking with my constituents, i said i wouldnt be voting for her, i would be voting for new leadership. So really my first vote is about making sure that i am from day one so whoever runs against her, youre going to vote against them. It depends on who runs against her. Youve told cnn you have your eyes on lots of plum Committee Assignments. Ways and means. I saw this list. I thought, to be a freshman again. Ways and means, intelligence, education, foreign affairs, veterans affairs. Those are all great committees. Do you really think you can get your chosen desired Committee Assignments when going against nancy pelosi, who probably will be the next speaker of the house . Youre crossing her. Well, so i have additional committees on the list of committees i would like to be on, beyond even those. At the end of the day, i think she wants whats best for congress and for the country. And im requesting the committees that i will be requesting, a couple of them, are, in fact, on that list. Once i pare it down. Those are committees where i be able to bring my skill set and background of knowledge to congress. And so i fully expect shes going to make the best choice for the members of congress and for the country and put people on committees where theyll be able to bring other own background and perspectives in a viable, important way and they can best certain the districts that elected them. At the end of the day, and priority of every person in the democratic caucus, make sure were doing a lot of good things so that well be there again in 2020. So you represent the richmond suburbs, has not been represented since 1968. How are you planning on breaking from your party . What are some issues where you plan to be more mod ral . It seems like the center of gravity for the Democratic Party will be to your left. What are some things youll work on that might appeal to swing voters, independents, who voted for you this time . I think across the board, the things important to people and voters in my district, whether they identify as democrats or middle of the road independents or even republicans who decided across party lines in this connection, number one issue is health care. Beyond that, the Rural Communities that are part of our district, as well, Broadband Internet infrastructure. Education and career and technical training. Ensuring that the economy is working for everyone. And so among those priorities, those are pretty broad brush priorities. Theyre important to people. Theyre kind of governance issues, right . Not necessarily, you know, i supported this project of the president , which might be stereo typically considered to be conservative. Exactly. So when were looking at places where we can find some level of real positive forward movement, i think its incumbent upon us as a broad Democratic Party to find places where we can create impactful legislation and where possible, Work Across Party Lines so that were not volleying back and forth as we did in recent years. I know dont know details, but the House Ethics Committee sanctioned two male colleagues. An outgoing democratic congressman, reuben kuhn and mark mettis, who is accused of not firing his chief of staff after accused of sexually harassing his female coworkers, instead made him a senior adviser. Mo more broadly, more than 100 women in congress. Having a woman in congress doesnt mean theyll be more sensitive to these issues with a new ex woman from connecticut. Do you think more women in congress will mean less of that kind of affair . Well, i think theres probably a couple Different Things that will mean less of this ideally in the future. One, as a member who sat through orientation, the responsibility that each member of congress has to ensure his or her office is a positive working environment and one where any allegations of any sort, be it sexual in nature or others, are taken incredibly seriously and moved on quickly. With so many women coming into congress, i do think that we will bring with us experiences and in some cases firsthand perspectives of what certain work environments are like. And i think many of us, and i cant speak for everyone, but i know myself, im going to do Everything Possible to ensure we have a positive working environment, that expectations of zero tolerance are wellknown. And that we are able to focus again on the issues that my constituent sent me to washington to focus on. And those are policyrelated issues, and those are about, you know, health care and education and infrastructure issues. Ill just say, good luck to you and just a tip on the Sexual Harassment stuff. There are a lot of pigs on capitol hill. Democrats and republicans. Its a bipartisan affliction. So i hope you guys you take care of that to a degree. Thanks so much for being here and requegood luck to you. Continuing in politics, its hard to imagine anyone in the world who could be more loyal to President Trump than Vice President pence. Our president is a man with wide shoulders and a big heart. The President Donald Trump stands without apology as leader of the free world. President trump has been making history since the first day of this administration. Because of your leadership, mr. President , and because of the strong support of leadership in the congress of the United States, youre delivering on that middle class miracle. In fact, in one cabinet meeting, pence praised trump once every 12 seconds for three straight minutes leading dictionary. Com to tweet, there is a word for a person who would praise someone every 12 seconds and they posted a link to the definition of the word sycophant. Despite that, the New York Times is reporting that the president has been asking aides and advisers if they think Vice President pence is loyal. Lets talk about it with the panel. Bill, i cant think of anybody, including the first lady, who has been more loyal to President Trump than Vice President pence. I feel like i should praise him and talk about how ive been enjoying my off the record conversations with him. You know, talk about how im glad hell be taking on more of the burden of governing and you know, just to cause even more uproar in the west wing in case theyre watching this show. Its a little insane, yeah. What do you think about it . Well, i think that the president asked a lot of people if certain staffers are seen as loyal. So i dont think thats highly unusual for him to be asking if mike pence is loyal. And i think hes actually done that for a while now. Hell randomly say, what do you think about this person . What do you think about this person . Then when it comes out hes asking that, hes like, well, im right behind this person. So i dont think thats that unusual. And you have to look back to that press Conference Last Week when President Trump was asked, is Vice President mike pence going to be his running mate in 2020, and he had him stand up in front of everyone in the east room, asked him to run with him again in 2020. It was a very public show of what was seen as commitment at the time. So i dont think mike pence is being kicked off the 2020 ticket right now. You dont think thats the opposite . I think having the whole public show in trumps head, its not a strategy. In trumps head, thats probably like what you do before you knife the guy. Could also say its not super unusual for a president to mull over what their ticket is going to look like when they run for reelection. It is in a way if it ends up in the newspapers. Yeah, right, sure. And this story comes at an interesting time. Remember where Vice President pence is right now, in asia, a trip that u. S. President s had done to critical forums in the region that every u. S. President has done since 2013. Barack obama couldnt make it that year because there was a Government Shutdown at the time. But pence is taking on the role at least for now in that part of the world that the u. S. President is supposed to be doing. Im going to tweet that and make a big deal. Pence doing great job job president s usually do. Just making an observation. The white house has responded to this story, said, quote, the president absolutely supports the Vice President and thinks hes doing an incredible job helping to carry out the mission and policies of this administration. Cnn is reporting that trump is not openly suggesting hes not suggesting that hes going to replace pence. But he is asking about his loyalty and asking about loyalties of other people, too. Suggesting that maybe the president is just worried about overall who in the white house can he trust. You know who raised this, a little bit earlier on, omarosa. In her book, she had an entire chapter. You read her book. I read her book and interviewed her. But she had an entire chapter in that book about mike pence and what said when she was around the pence staff. I wonder im sure who else read it, donald trump. What did it say . The book said that her staff his staff talked about they called him mr. President in private. And they made other jokes about when he got when he was going to be running the white house. She talks about that pretty directly and talked about it on our interview on hill tv. And hilltv. Com. And ive seen there is less speculation about mike pence and more about nick ayers being bandied about as a possible replacement for john kelly. And a lot of people who arent so fond of him, i would say. Why . Hes kind of an operator, certain washington type. Maybe a little bit on steroids in terms of not being entirely says one thing to one person, another thing to another person. Did very well as a consultant and people have looked at some of those campaigns and wondered about some of the ethical practices. So he fits right in, in the trump white house. No, i think hes been maneuvering to replace kelly. You would know hes been maneuvering to replace john kelly for quite a while. Which wouldnt be entirely surprising that the Vice President s chief of staff would like to be chief of staff in the west wing. I think there is an active effort to prevent nick ayers from becoming chief of staff. Why . There are multiple staffers who do not want him to become chief of staff. People who are loyal to general kelly and believe he should still be the one running the white house or they believe a lot of the criticism is that he is an operator. But so many people who work in a white house, work in washington i dont understand that criticism at all. That is an unusual criticism. And a lot of the people who were saying that, maybe they picture themselves as chief of staff one day. But there definitely is an effort under way to convince President Trump not to select nick ayers as his chief of staff. Ive been around for a my presidencies. Ive never seen the Vice President s chief of staff become the president s me either. I know a little about that. There are other things that have happened. The Vice President S Communications director or press secretary, biden and obama with jay carney. Thank you so much, everyone. Inside the gutwrenching and frantic search for the missing in the california fires as the list surges to 600 people. Stay with us. This is not a bed. Its a revolution in sleep. The new sleep number 360 smart beds are on sale now during sleep numbers veterans day sale. It senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. It even helps with this. So you wake up ready to put your pedal to the metal. Its the final days of our veterans day sale where the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only 1299 save 400. Plus, 24month financing on all beds. Ends sunday. Sleep number. Proven, quality sleep but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. ready to juvederm it . Correct agerelated volume loss in cheeks with Juvederm Voluma xc, add fullness to lips with juvederm ultra xc and smooth moderate to severe lines around the nose and mouth with juvederm xc. Tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring or are taking medicines that decrease the bodys immune response or that can prolong bleeding. Common side effects include injectionsite redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, firmness, lumps, bumps, bruising, discoloration or itching. As with all fillers, there is a rare risk of unintentional injection into a blood vessel, which can cause vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs or scarring. juvederm it. Talk to your doctor about the juvederm collection of fillers. In our national lead, its being called one of the largest body Recovery Missions in the United States since 9 11. The death toll in california is at 66 with an unbelievable 600 people unaccounted for or missing. And for some of those survivors who managed to make it out after losing their homes now, norovirus is sweeping through shelters in Northern California with 140 people sick, and the toxic smoke in the area is now crippling other parts of the state, forcing dozens of schools to close. Health officials urging folks to stay indoors and one air Quality Monitoring Network calling the air in the San Francisco bay area now the worst in the world. Cnns scott mclean in paradise, california. Why is the number of missing shot up so quickly . Reporter yeah, jake. Its because authorties have actually been going back through 911 call logs and Police Reports to make sure that anyone who was reported missing during those first few frenzied hours of this fire is still missing in that list or still reflected on that list. Meanwhile, search crews continue to go house to house, searching through the ashes, looking for human remains. It is a slow process that could take weeks. You guys both lost your houses . Yes. Reporter for those lucky enough to survive the deadliest wildfire in california history, the list of those who may not have made it is gutwrenching. John, oh, geez. Reporter you know him. Well, yeah. Reporter the latest list of those possibly missing in just one county is filled with more than 600 names of family members, friends and neighbors. This, in addition to the photos and pleas posted online, and to local Community Boards like this one. My clients were wonderful people, very giving people. Reporter she is a caregiver and housekeeper of her 11 clients in paradise, california, shes heard from all but one. An elderly woman with no local family. She didnt drive any more. And she had a farm big farm gate across her property. Youve got to get the key out and the farm gate was big and cumbersome. Reporter the womans house now little more than ash. How much hope do you have . Half and half. Reporter officials warn that the number of missing is likely to change as the displaced reconnect and the long search for human remains continues. This is a dynamic list, right . Some days there might be more people. Some days there might be less people. Reporter at the height of the danger of the fire tore through towns at the rate of one football field per second, leaving little time for escape. Many of the missing were last seen fleeing the flames by car. Teams now searching charred neighborhoods ask Evacuation Centers for clues. She had burns up her arms. And i knew it was her. Reporter officer matthew gates tears up speaking about the mother he found by chance at a recent evacuee dinner. I went and gave her a hug, because i had been looking for her body. Reporter more than 60 people are confirmed dead and nearly 10,000 homes have burned to the ground. In the destroyed town of paradise, california, more than half the police force is now homeless. My 3yearold son keeps asking, why cant we just go home . And i dont know what to tell him. Reporter and the elderly clients home burned wide open. Not clear if she was able to get help getting off of the property in time. We also know that crews have yet to search her property, jake. It could be some time before people here have answers. Scott mclean in paradise, california. Thank you so much. And our world lead. For the First Time Since President Trump met facetoface with kim jongun, the leader personally supervising a, quote, newly developed ultra modern weapon test according to state media. This comes as Vice President pence announced the u. S. Is backing down from the key agreement from that june summit, requiring north korea to provide a list of missile and nuclear test sites. Cnns Barbara Starr has the story from the pentagon. [ speaking in Foreign Language ] reporter north korean state broadcasting announcing kim jongun has personally supervised testing of what it is calling a new ultra modern weapon. The only evidence so far, a photo of kim with his commanders, but no indication of when or where it was taken. South korean sources say it may have been longrange artillery. The worry . Not the weapons test itself. Sources say it may not be that new. But why now for kim . It certainly shows a return to the militaristic stance of north korea. Its certainly in contrast to his statements of seeking peace. Reporter a sign of that peace process. South korean guard post blown up at the dmz, a confidencebuilding measure. U. S. Intelligence Still Believes kim wants a nuclear deal with President Trump in exchange for sanctions being lifted. But kim is under pressure from his own elites not to give away the store to the u. S. He has to depend on the military, his Security Forces, to stay in power. And those Security Forces and the military were never going to let him make a bad agreement. Reporter now, a possible concession from the white house. Trying to find a way to ensure there will be another trump kim summit. Vice president mike pence telling nbc news that a list of nuclear and missile sites must be discussed between the two leaders at the next meeting instead of insisting north korea provide the information beforehand. I think it will be absolutely imperative in this next summit that we come away with a plan for identifying all of the weapons in question. Identifying all of the development sites. Reporter talks have stalled, discussions with secretary of state mike pompeo were cancelled earlier this month. Its a stark difference from the image President Trump painted just after the midterm elections. Were very happy how its going with north korea. We think its going fine. Were in no rush. Reporter north korea also announced its deporting an american man who entered a restricted border area and claimed to be cia. South korea believes its the same man who was caught in approximate similar circumstances last year and deported, according to the associated press. And the u. S. Taking it as a positive sign that the north koreans are not holding on to this american. Jake . Barbara starr at the pentagon for us, thank you so much. You might not know his name, but he almost assuredly brought a smile to your face. A tribute to a great talent that we lost, next. Behr presents ordinary versus overachiever. Behr premium plus, behr through it all with a top rated paint at a great price. Get incredible savings on behr 2gallon ceiling paint. Exclusively at the home depot. Booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. I felt i couldnt be at my best for my family. , in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured and left those doubts behind. I faced reminders of my hep c every day. But in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. Even hanging with friends i worried about my hep c. But in only 8 weeks with mavyret, i was cured. Mavyret is the only 8week cure for all common types of hep c. Before starting mavyret your doctor will test if youve had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv1, or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take including herbal supplements. Dont take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if youve had certain liver problems. Common side effects include headache and tiredness. With hep c behind me, i feel free. Fearless. And theres no looking back, because i am cured. Talk to your doctor about mavyret. Youve i like working. Areer. What if my Retirement Plan is i dont want to retire . Then lets not create a Retirement Plan. Lets create a plan for whats next. I like that. Get a plan thats right for you. Td ameritrade. The money lead. And lets hope they shoot it in landscape mode. Apple is announcing its now in the movie business. The company says its partnered with the oscar winning studio a24 to produce featurelength films. In a move that will aim to compete with other tech beasts such as amazon or netflix. Apples stock today finished in positive territory on the news after a rocky and costly past few weeks. The pop culture lead now. The death of a storyteller. Today we lost the oscarwinning screen writer and bestselling author, william goldman. May have best known for writing Butch Cassidy and the sun dance kid which earned him the oscar for best original screenplay. No, no, not yet. Not until we get the rules straightened out. Rules in a knife fight no rules you might not know william goldmans name, but he no doubt brought you joy. For the younger generation, you might best know him for the princess bride. Anybody want a peanut . He didnt fall inconceivable maybe most relevant to the current era, goldman adapted all the president s men for the big screen. You tell me what you know, and ill confirm. Ill keep you in the right direction, if i can. But thats all. Just follow the money. William goldman dead at 87 years old. May his memory be a blessing. Be sure to tune in this sunday morning to state of the union. Ill have arizona senator jeff flake and three incoming freshman, dan crenshaw. It starts at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. Our coverage on cnn continues right now. Happening now. Breaking news. Written answers. President trump reveals hes personally responded to questions from his special counsel, Robert Mueller, saying he didnt need his lawyers to do it. And tonight, were learning which questions his legal team balked at. Press pass restored. A federal judge appointed by President Trump orders the white house to give back the credentials it revoked from our chief White House Correspondent, jim acosta. Now the president is vowing to make rules for how white house reporters act. Almost all. With his embattled Homeland Security secretary standing just feet away, the president says he loves almost