You have been watching an extraordinary press briefing, im Brooke Baldwin, youre watching cnn. That was a true show of force right before the president begins his ten day summer vacation. You have these different federal intelligence chiefs stand he at the podium warning of russian interference both about past and upcoming u. S. Elections. To assure americans that the Trump Administration is actively confronting those Cyber Security threats. We have subsequently made the determination to make this a top priority that it doesnt happen again. Were throwing everything at it and we will have and will be discussing that here today. Relative to my discussions with the president on whatever issue it is, those i do noted go public with that. I dont think thats the right,
proper thing to do. Our focus here today is to tell the American People we acknowledge the threat. It is real. It is continuing. And were doing everything we can to have a legitimate election that the American People can have trust in. In addition to that it goes beyond the elections, it goes to russias intent to under mine our democratic values, drive a wedge between our allies and do other nefarious things and were looking at that also. But today were here to talk about the elections coming up and what were doing and assuring the American People the disparity between that message and the message that comes directly from the president and his Press Secretary is enormous. Just remember one day ago the president said his Attorney General should end the russia investigation. And didnt at all acknowledge the active interference and today the New York Times is reporting the president wants to
try and convince special Counsel Robert Mueller that his own investigation is a witchhunt. So lets go to Katelyn Collins our senior White House Correspondent to catch some of this. Watching that, how extraordinary to have all of those different intel chiefs standing up. Seems almost like Bizarro World given what we normally hear from that podium with regard to the Russian Investigation and to hear Director Coats say russia is trying to interfere, the threat is real stunning. Reporter when the white house brings out these guests at the beginning of the briefing it almost seems as they are filibustering to avoid tough questions that they know are coming from reporters. Today quite a show of force with most members of the National Security council, most people who regularly attend those meetings coming out to the briefing today, each one taking time to come up to the pod wrum to speak to reporters about the threat they believe is real, is happening, saying democracy is
in the crosshairs because theres still efforts to affect the election. We got details of the director of the fbi Christopher Wray say its more Misinformation Campaign this fall than attack on election infrastructure. We got details like that from them. The over arching effort is yes bad actors will continue to interfere in our election and they will do everything to stop that. That comes with a very obvious backdrop here of those comments not being echoed by President Trump himself and certainly not being echoed as strongly as they just were by the secretary of homeland security, the National Security adviser, the president s chief intelligence officer, the director of the fbi and the head of the nsa as they did just there. Just last week on friday the president met with his National Security council to discussion Election Interference. A meeting that didnt even latinos over an hour long which raised criticism about whether
The latest news from around the world with host Brooke Baldwin. Except for ivanka trump. Reporter except for ivanka trump. I tried to pose that question listen the president s daughter, his own daughter said no, she doesnt think that were the enemy. And you saw it unfold there i was giving sarah several opportunities to set the record straight and she flat refused. What you can obviously see shes taken a lot what shes experienced very personally. I dont blame her for that. My goodness, she has taken on a lot. But at the same time she also has come up here to this podium on a regular basis and continued to tell the American People, you know, provable falsehoods, lies, and so on and, unfortunately, our job as journalists as you know, brooke, we have to call that stuff out. We have to fact check them. Were Fact Checkers in realtime with this president because he
tells falsehoods and lies so much. And, its unfortunate the position that were all in right now. And im standing in this Briefing Room right now. Theres no Government Official here but ill say that the press is not the enemy of the people. And, you know, i think maybe we should make some bumper stickers. Make some buttons, you know maybe we should go out on Pennsylvania Avenue like these folks who chant cnn sucks and fake news, maybe we should go out, all journalists should go out on Pennsylvania Avenue and chant were not the enemy of the people because im tired of this. Honestly, brooke, im tired of this. It is not right. It is not fair. It is not just. It is unamerican to come out here and call the press the enemy of the people and ivanka trump knows that. I dont know why her father doesnt. And i dont know why this Press Secretary doesnt. I mean she got yelled at at a
conduct operations against said meddling. Talk to me about that. Yes. You speak that language. Yes, i do speak that language. You know the good news is when it comes to domestically within the United States the fbis Counter Intelligence mandate allows them to not only investigate foreign intelligence but do undercover. To disrupt, expose or find out what these Intelligence Services are doing. And they can do that within the United States with the approval of the Attorney General. They dont need the president s approval to do that. Whereas, for example, to do operations abroad, the cia, the nsa, they need approval from the president of the United States and their hands are a little tied right now because the president is unwilling to even acknowledge this problem let alone find a strategy to counter it looking outwards. This was good news from director
wray for us at home. Good news for him and about time we heard from all of these people and the numbers that we did. Max what did you make of what we saw . I was thinking back to a headline that was posted just last night on the Washington Post where it says as midterm elections approach a growing concern the nation is not protected from russian interference. Obviously this Press Conference was designed to counter that impression and to deal with the lingering fallout from the humiliation in helsinki where donald trump did not stand up to Vladimir Putin and clearly this is a bit of political theater i would i guess on the new White House Communications director to send a signal no were on top of this, we got it, were mobilized. But the reality is, sort of. Theres no question that those individual agencies that were represented there are doing the best they can. I dont question the professionalism or dedication that kris wray or the other people up on that stage. But the fact that you had those
allegations represented makes clear what you need is coordination. There has to be very close integration of those efforts and it has to take place in the white house. Does anybody think donald trump is actually making this a top priority when he himself says its a hoax to claim that the russians attacked us or denies that the russia attacks are continuing. Thats the part so confounding. That you have this president i mean just even the word adversary, we were noting, using, hearing a word adversary when jim sciutto referenced to russians versus, again, what we saw on that stage in helsinki when clearly the president of the United States seemed to be siding with putin over this countrys intelligence agencies. This is another example of how you basically have two different foreign policies in the United States. You have the Foreign Policy of the Trump Administration and then you have the Foreign Policy of President Trump himself and
ultimately, you know, not to coin a phrase here but trump trumps his administration. What the president says and does is ultimately more important than people underneath him are doing even though they are trying to do a great job they are not getting a consistent message out because the president is at odds with his own government. Brooke, on that point, before those intelligence chiefs went to the podium, both john bolton and Sarah Huckabee sanders said in their words that the president has been very clear, hes made it very clear how election, preventing Election Interference is his priority. The fact is hes not been clear, right, because as you said, brooke, hes been all over the place. A couple of weeks ago he stood next to the russian president and said not certain russia was behind it. The contrast with his senior most intelligence officials there is very clear, and by the test, if the u. S. Has been sufficiently clear to russia and
other adversaries about Election Interference and raised the cost to a point where it, you know, it was sufficient, then the Election InterferenceWouldnt Be Continuing today as it is. Thats really the key test here. I speak to numerous intelligence officials and republicans and democrats, frankly who say the costs have not been raised enough for russia to stop this and the proof is in the pudding. If they are continuing that kind of interference today it seems whatever the policy is to this point and the Previous Administration its failing. Noted. Also, from it was from Director Coats, that when he was asked specifically about the 2016 meddling and comparing it to whats happening to the midterms in november, which is more intense. He said its not the kind of Robust Campaign from 2016. We havent seen that kind of robust effort from them so far in 2018. Will that assuage concerns of
americans heading to the polls hearing that . When director wray spoke he mentioned this isnt just about the election. This is a Long Term Strategy to essentially erode the social trust that we as americans have in each other. Sowing discord. Making us fight against each other. Making us lose faith in our institutions and the system. And this is where it ties back to what acosta said, which is that, you know, there are certain pillars that bind us together regardless where we are on the political spectrum. Freedom of the press being one of them. Liberty. Tolerance. All of these fundamental values. And when you have messaging coming out from the white house that its fake news, enemy of the people, that is actually aligned with putins goals to erode some of these fundamental values. Its working. He said im tired thats a part of the game. Make you so tired you give up. Max i want to hear from you on that as well. You heard my conversation with jim sciutto. Was it a conversation the back and forth between Sarah Huckabee sanders and jim. Jim was saying can you Stand Up There and say, now, press is not the enemy of the people which is what weve heard over and over from this president. Weve just heard that ivanka trump has said no they are not. Only now. I would love to hear you weigh in on that. She nailed it when she talked about how this is really serving putins interest because as dan coats said theres a pervasive Message Campaign designed to divide and weaken americans and guess what . Donald trump is the most important player in that pervasive campaign whether consciously or unconsciously thats exactly what hes doing. Hes dividing americans and weakening our institutions. Hes attacking every pillar of our society that can stand as a check and balance upon his misbehavior starting with the press and that very ugly display that jim acosta was subject to
at that trump rally which seemed Something Like a regime from the 1930s. Also trump, for example, on a daily basis attacks the integrity of the Department Of Justice, attacks the integrity of the fbi. Keep in mind, brooke, the official white house designation for the Robert Mueller investigation a lawful duly appointed Investigation Set Up by Department Of Justice is a witch hadnt. Not just President Trump, Sarah Huckabee sanders, they all call it a witchhunt. Thats scandalous. That really serves putins interest in hiepding his machination and undermining the integrity of our institutions. A telling moment is when john bolton said we all know what the president s priority is. What we all know thats not the president s priority. The president s priority is actually to protect himself from political harm and he doesnt care how many institutions he
takes down with him, how much he divides america, how Much Division and hatred he sows. Its all about protect donald trump not about protecting the country the way the intelligence chiefs standing up there are trying to do. I want everyone to stand which. Well take a quick break. Well have much more on this huge breaking news. Here we are months from the midterm elections and hearing these intel chiefs standing up there saying russia is trying to interfere, the threat is real. Im Brooke Baldwin and this is cnn. Including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. Its more complete allergy relief. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist helps block six key inflammatory substances. Most pills only block one. And six is greater than one. Flonase sensimist. Thats because they meet their high standards of quality and service. Wanna learn more . Its easy. Call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company now and ask. For this free decision guide. Inside youll find the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans and their rates. Apply any time, too. Oh. Speaking of time. About a little over half way and theres more to tell. Like, how. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. Great for staying with the one you know. Or finding. Somebody new, like a specialist. There are no networks and no referrals needed. None. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. So, if youre in another state visiting the grandkids, stay awhile. Enjoy. And know that youll still be able to see any doctor who accepts medicare patients. So Call Unitedhealthcare today. They are committed to being there for you. Tick, tick, tick, time for a wrap up. A Medicare Supplement plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. You know, the pizza slice. It allows you to choose any doctor, who accepts medicare patients. And these are the only plans of their kind endorsed by aarp. Whew Call Unitedhealthcare today and ask for this free decision guide. The issue was discussed and, in fact, President Putin said, i thought at the Press Conference but certainly in the expanded bilateral meeting when the two leaders got together with their
senior advisers, President Putin said the first issue that President Trump raised was election meddling. I guess the question is, at the Press Conference, the president didnt highlight any of the maligned activities that you have and that his advisers have. And so should americans believe that hes listening to your advice or that hes going his own way when hes having meetings like he had with the president of russia . The president made it abundantly clear to everybody who has responsibility in this area that he cares deeply about it an