Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Fredricka Whitfield 2

Promised to raise the topic of election meddling with putin, but a source tells cnn there is still no set organized agenda for the talks. They begin in a couple hours. Cnns senior White House Correspondent jeff zeleny joins me. Theres been a lot of political chaos certainly leading up to this meeting, jeff. Anderson, there sure has been. One central question looming over this summit, which starts tomorrow, is not whether election meddling is going to come up but whether the president is going to finally confront Vladimir Putin over it. There are no signs that he is going to do so, but the sheer fact, anderson, that theyre having the summit at all is an early victory for Vladimir Putin. I think id have a very Good Relationship with president putin if we spent time together. I may be wrong. Other people have said that, but im different than other people. Reporter President Trump is about to find out if thats true. Vladimir putin has stood the test of time through four u. S. President s, but hes never been at the redhot center of american politics as he is today. On the eve of his helsinki summit, trumps relationship with putin is facing even more scrutiny in the wake of new charges of russian interference in the u. S. Election. The indictments of 12 more russian agents on friday still prompted a joke, not a condemnation from the president , even though he was briefed in advance that the charges were coming before they were publicly announced. I know youll ask, will we will talking about meddling, and i will absolutely bring that up. I dont think youll have any, gee, i did it, i did it, you got me. There wont be a perry mason here, i dont think. Reporter since taking office, the president has barely acknowledged Russian Election meddling, let alone forcefully confronted putin for masterminding it, as the u. S. Intelligence community believes. And there are no signs that will change in helsinki. Anything you do, its always going to be, oh, russia, he loves russia. I love the United States. Reporter yet, on no other president s watch has putins shadow loomed so large. The russian leader is looking for trump to do something special, to elevate him on the world stage back to a position of strength. The summit gives putin an early victory on that front. Since the days of strolling in moscow with bill clinton, meeting president bush in the oval office, and later on the bush family compound first id like to congratulate president putin for being the only person that caught a fish today. Reporter the russian president has become isolated, punished by much of the world for the invasion of crimea, the downing of a polish plane, the deadly nerve attack in the united kingdom, and more atrocities. After a reset with president obama, trump has repeatedly diminished any dark motives by putin, whos even become a central theme at his campaign rallies. Theyre going, President Trump, be prepared, president putin is kgb and this and that. You know what, putins fine. Hes fine. Were all fine. Were people. Will i be prepared . Totally prepared. Ive been prepared for this stuff my whole life. Reporter the helsinki meeting is trumps first solo summit with putin after an initial introduction last summer at the g20 summit in germany. They met again briefly last fall at an Economic Forum in vietnam, where trump showed little appetite for challenging his russian counterpart for interfering in the 2016 election. I believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. Reporter since then, the department of justice has offered significant evidence to the contrary. The latest round of indictments against russian agents making an already controversial summit dramatically more so, particularly as the president continues to discredit the special counsels election. I call it the rigged witch hunt. Reporter the president arrives in finland after at times publicly embarrassing american allies. Now his warm embrace of putin has the eyes of the world on this summit. And like that summit just a month ago in singapore with north korean dictator kim jongun, the president is giving Vladimir Putin a major stage, the world stage here in helsinki. The question is what, if anything, will come of this summit. Some in the white house now are not even calling it a summit. Theyre saying simply a meeting, already trying to lower some expectations. Anderson . Jeff, it is remarkable that the president , even after the indictments were announced, but even when he knew about these 12 indictments were coming out, he continues to call the Mueller Investigation a witch hunt. It was remarkable, but that is what the president believes. That is his whole narrative that hes been saying, you know, really since the beginning. I was actually asking Senior Administration officials if they believe this summit simply draws more attention to this. They believe, at least theyre trying to say and argue, that this meeting here with putin might redirect the conversation from the Mueller Investigation on to showing the president on the world stage doing his job, meeting with foreign leaders. But anderson, this investigation still hanging over them. The u. S. Government has put out so much more information about what russia actually did, so if it doesnt come up tomorrow, the president will have to be explaining why it didnt. Yeah, jeff zeleny, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Mr. Trump has publicly promised hell raise the topic of election meddling with putin, but he doesnt expect much to come from it, as you heard in that piece. A source told cnn. Michelle kosinski joins me now. What other details do we know, about how the president may or may not address this . It could be similar to the last time he brought it up. He said he raised it and he raised it again. He spent some time on it. I think it was 20 minutes the last time and putin kept saying the same thing, denying it. So this time around, for this thing that has many more eyes on it and so much pressure, the timing could not be worse for this sitdown. With members of Congress Asking him not to even have this sitdown, it still remains to be seen how hes going to bring it up. You heard hell bring it up and bring it up firmly, but if this is indeed going to be behind closed doors with only translators present, he could bring it up in the same perfunctory way that hes been saying behind the scenes he will. What hes been saying as hes been on this trip, according to a source of ours, is that he already knows what putin is going to respond. He doesnt really feel theres any point to bringing it up forcefully, and the only reason he will bring it up is because he feels he has to. Also in an interview with cbs that just happened, he was asked, well, how about extraditing those russian Intelligence Officers that were just indicted for election meddling . Heres what trump said. The russians who were indicted, would you ask putin to send them here . Well, i might. I hadnt thought of that, but certainly ill be asking about it. Again, this was during the obama administration. They were doing whatever it was during the obama administration. And i heard that they were trying or people were trying to hack into the rnc too, the Republican National committee, but we had much better defenses. Ive been told that by a number of people. We had much better defenses, so they couldnt. I think the dnc should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses, and they were able to be hacked. A source with knowledge of discussions surrounding this says its possible that putin will offer some kind of noninterference agreement, but its unlikely that the u. S. Will accept it, anderson. Michelle kosinski, a lot to watch for. Thanks very much, michelle. Well, President Trump is passing the blame on to democrats, as you just heard. Not everyone, including members of the president s own party, are ready to let russia off the hook. I dont think its a witch hunt. Ive never thought it was a witch hunt. We now have two series of indictments against russians, one for the social media, the other for the unlawful intrusions. Russia attacked this country in 2016. I would ask the president to give some serious consideration. Your first request of Vladimir Putin needs to be, tell us which airport we can pick up the 25 russians that tried to interfere with the fundamentals of our democracy. If you really claim you had nothing to do with it, then you should be as shocked as we were that your military was being used to impact our election. Tell us where youre going to extradite those folks because an american grand jury indicted them for undermining our democracy. Joining me now, cnn White House Correspondent katelyn collins. Also, dav also, retired rear admiral john kirby. Certainly strong words there from congressman gowdy. The question remains, of course, what the president may actually say. The fact that when asked by jeff glor at cbs whether he was going to ask putin about extraditing them, we dont have an extradition treaty with russia, he said, well, i hadnt thought about it. Which is stunning. Its not even how the president , what he says to Vladimir Putin, its how he says it about election meddling. Hes made clear that in the times hes asked him before, hes denied doing it. The president has said essentially, what more can i do . But he lets him say it. He says hes going to confront him about it. The question is how much does he confront him about it, or is it just this ritualistic thing, did you meddle in the election, putin says no, and they move on to everything else. I cant think of another president that would come to a meeting, give Vladimir Putin all of this prestige by meeting with him in helsinki a few days after 12 russian Intelligence Officers, officials of the state, attacked an American Election and were indicted for it, and they dont bring it up to a large degree. Dave, its hard to imagine this is just a coincidence that these indictments came down when they did. The president was given advanced warning about them, could have canceled the summit if hed wanted to. The white house has not even put out a Public Statement critical of russia for hacking. They basically said, well, these indictments just show it had nothing to do with us, with the trump campaign. Now you hear the president saying it was the democrats fault. The president is saying basically if a thief goes up to a house and cant get in, its all locked up, then goes next door to the neighbor and can get in that house, the neighbor next door is the one responsible for the theft. Blaming the victim. Listen, a lot of people say he should cancel the summit. I think to the contrary. This is an ideal moment for the president to pivot. He could get really angry with putin. You lied to me continuously about this. We now have evidence that shows youve lied. You tried to steal this election. And were not going to be able to settle anything else until we come to terms with that and both of us clear the air. It would help the president enormously back home. Will he do it . I dont think so. Hes been so cavalier and dismissive of this in public. You can only imagine what hes been saying in private to his aides. You know, i dont know. The great mystery of this administration all along has been why is he so on seek wee use. When asked about foes of the United States, the first one was the European Union. Yeah, he names the European Union. He names china. And he names russia. The European Union is in the same league as your foe . And comes before russia. The top of your list. Its bizarre. I wish some psychoanalyst could come up with a big answer. But ill tell you, the country is going to be a lot of the people in the country are going to be cynical if he does not confront him in this meeting. Its the central drama right now of this summit. Admiral kirby, were in helsinki, which is a place there have been summits in the past. Obviously very historic ones. Whats different this time is there really is no set agenda. Theres not meetings that have been taking place, and theres a document or communique to be signed in advance or an agreement thats going to be signed by two world leaders, which often happens. And thats what i think makes this summit so worrisome to our european allies. Frankly, our other friends around the world. Normal lit staffs have done all this work and the outcome is precooked. Two leaders sit down, sign a communique, do a presser, and its done. Usually theres something tangible that both can take away from this, some agreement to move forward on a particular issue. Typically these summits are about one issue. In this case, we have none of that. So its pretty much a crap shoot. We have no idea where its going to go. And because trump tends to go off script and likes to ad lib, it makes the outcomes all the more dangerous. You also have this oneonone meeting between mr. Trump and mr. Putin, only with transla translators. Thats also unusual. And theres no written record. If they Say Something happened, we have no idea if theyre telling the truth. And the white house has been really lowering the expectations of this summit today. The u. S. Ambassador to russia, jon huntsman, said this isnt a summit, its a meeting, even though the president himself later referred to it as a summit. Huntsman referred to it as a summit several times during a call with reporters. The president himself saying he has low expectations. He doesnt know what his goal for it is. I dont know any other president that would come into this meeting days after these indictments came down and say they dont know what the goal of the meeting is going to be. Could they be pushing arms control . That could be the one area theyre pushing for a breakthrough. Bolton ruled out recognizing crimea as part of russia. He ruled out pulling forces out of syria. He ruled out stopping those joint mill tear exercises. Of course, none of that matters. What matters is what the president himself says. When the president was asked about that the other day, he was not as clear as john bolton was. The president said if putin asked about stopping military exercises in Baltic States that he would consider that. Again, that sent shock waves through all our allies in brussels as well as at the defense department. Thats the last thing we need to do, convey a message that were somehow going to waiver. And the Baltic States were freaked out as well. Absolutely. The Baltic States, especially the new ones, theyre the ones that are meeting the 2 . Theyre really stepping up because the threat from russia is real. Its on their doorstep. Its not just theoretical to them. It was interesting when you heard jon huntsman, the ambassador to russia, say that this is not a summit and then the president tweeting this is a summit with a capital s. Im wondering if jon huntsman gets a call from the white house or if he gets recalled. Thats a huge disagreement with the president. It completely is. It goes to show its not just semantics. Its how unprepared this administration is, walking into this with different view points. You would think americas ambassador to russia would know whether or not its a summit. Those are the two people who should be on the same page. But there has been a disconnect between the president and his team all the way along. We had that going into the g7 meeting. They briefed it was going to be all roses. It turned out to be the opposite. We had it before the nato meeting. Huntsman and the others were briefing there was going to be unity. Its a lot to watch for. This location cannot be any more beautiful. Just over our shoulders is where this meeting is going to be taking place tomorrow. Thank you very much. The president is on the ground here in helsinki. Like his other stops, controversy has followed. Well tell you why he called the European Union a foe of the United States, and ill get reaction to the summit from the former u. S. Ambassador to russia just ahead. N. Yes or no . Do you want the same tools and seamless experience across web and tablet . Do you want 4. 95 commissions for stocks, 0. 50 options contracts . 1. 50 futures contracts . What about a dedicated service team of trading specialists . Did you say yes . Good, then its time for power e trade. The platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. Looks like we have a couple seconds left. Lets do some card twirling twirling cards e trade. The original place to invest online. At crowne plaza, we know Business Travel isnt just business. Theres this. A bit of this. Why not . Your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. Which is what we do. Crowne plaza. Were all business, mostly. A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. I love you, basement bathroom of solitude, but sometimes you stink. Febreze air effects doesnt just mask, it cleans away odors. Because the things you love can stink. You dont want to live with mom and dad forever, do you . Im making smoothies so, how can i check my credit score . Credit karma. Dont worry, its free. Hmmmmm. Credit karma. Give yourself some credit. But how do i know if im im getting a good deal . I tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices people in my area actually paid for the same car so i know if im getting a great price. This is how car buying was always meant to be. This is truecar. Welcome back. Were live in helsinki. You can see the president ial palace behind me where the historic meeting between White House Correspondent<\/a> jeff zeleny joins me. Theres been a lot of political chaos certainly leading up to this meeting, jeff. Anderson, there sure has been. One central question looming over this summit, which starts tomorrow, is not whether election meddling is going to come up but whether the president is going to finally confront Vladimir Putin<\/a> over it. There are no signs that he is going to do so, but the sheer fact, anderson, that theyre having the summit at all is an early victory for Vladimir Putin<\/a>. I think id have a very Good Relationship<\/a> with president putin if we spent time together. I may be wrong. Other people have said that, but im different than other people. Reporter President Trump<\/a> is about to find out if thats true. Vladimir putin has stood the test of time through four u. S. President s, but hes never been at the redhot center of american politics as he is today. On the eve of his helsinki summit, trumps relationship with putin is facing even more scrutiny in the wake of new charges of russian interference in the u. S. Election. The indictments of 12 more russian agents on friday still prompted a joke, not a condemnation from the president , even though he was briefed in advance that the charges were coming before they were publicly announced. I know youll ask, will we will talking about meddling, and i will absolutely bring that up. I dont think youll have any, gee, i did it, i did it, you got me. There wont be a perry mason here, i dont think. Reporter since taking office, the president has barely acknowledged Russian Election<\/a> meddling, let alone forcefully confronted putin for masterminding it, as the u. S. Intelligence community believes. And there are no signs that will change in helsinki. Anything you do, its always going to be, oh, russia, he loves russia. I love the United States<\/a>. Reporter yet, on no other president s watch has putins shadow loomed so large. The russian leader is looking for trump to do something special, to elevate him on the world stage back to a position of strength. The summit gives putin an early victory on that front. Since the days of strolling in moscow with bill clinton, meeting president bush in the oval office, and later on the bush family compound first id like to congratulate president putin for being the only person that caught a fish today. Reporter the russian president has become isolated, punished by much of the world for the invasion of crimea, the downing of a polish plane, the deadly nerve attack in the united kingdom, and more atrocities. After a reset with president obama, trump has repeatedly diminished any dark motives by putin, whos even become a central theme at his campaign rallies. Theyre going, President Trump<\/a>, be prepared, president putin is kgb and this and that. You know what, putins fine. Hes fine. Were all fine. Were people. Will i be prepared . Totally prepared. Ive been prepared for this stuff my whole life. Reporter the helsinki meeting is trumps first solo summit with putin after an initial introduction last summer at the g20 summit in germany. They met again briefly last fall at an Economic Forum<\/a> in vietnam, where trump showed little appetite for challenging his russian counterpart for interfering in the 2016 election. I believe that he feels that he and russia did not meddle in the election. Reporter since then, the department of justice has offered significant evidence to the contrary. The latest round of indictments against russian agents making an already controversial summit dramatically more so, particularly as the president continues to discredit the special counsels election. I call it the rigged witch hunt. Reporter the president arrives in finland after at times publicly embarrassing american allies. Now his warm embrace of putin has the eyes of the world on this summit. And like that summit just a month ago in singapore with north korean dictator kim jongun, the president is giving Vladimir Putin<\/a> a major stage, the world stage here in helsinki. The question is what, if anything, will come of this summit. Some in the white house now are not even calling it a summit. Theyre saying simply a meeting, already trying to lower some expectations. Anderson . Jeff, it is remarkable that the president , even after the indictments were announced, but even when he knew about these 12 indictments were coming out, he continues to call the Mueller Investigation<\/a> a witch hunt. It was remarkable, but that is what the president believes. That is his whole narrative that hes been saying, you know, really since the beginning. I was actually asking Senior Administration<\/a> officials if they believe this summit simply draws more attention to this. They believe, at least theyre trying to say and argue, that this meeting here with putin might redirect the conversation from the Mueller Investigation<\/a> on to showing the president on the world stage doing his job, meeting with foreign leaders. But anderson, this investigation still hanging over them. The u. S. Government has put out so much more information about what russia actually did, so if it doesnt come up tomorrow, the president will have to be explaining why it didnt. Yeah, jeff zeleny, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Mr. Trump has publicly promised hell raise the topic of election meddling with putin, but he doesnt expect much to come from it, as you heard in that piece. A source told cnn. Michelle kosinski joins me now. What other details do we know, about how the president may or may not address this . It could be similar to the last time he brought it up. He said he raised it and he raised it again. He spent some time on it. I think it was 20 minutes the last time and putin kept saying the same thing, denying it. So this time around, for this thing that has many more eyes on it and so much pressure, the timing could not be worse for this sitdown. With members of Congress Asking<\/a> him not to even have this sitdown, it still remains to be seen how hes going to bring it up. You heard hell bring it up and bring it up firmly, but if this is indeed going to be behind closed doors with only translators present, he could bring it up in the same perfunctory way that hes been saying behind the scenes he will. What hes been saying as hes been on this trip, according to a source of ours, is that he already knows what putin is going to respond. He doesnt really feel theres any point to bringing it up forcefully, and the only reason he will bring it up is because he feels he has to. Also in an interview with cbs that just happened, he was asked, well, how about extraditing those russian Intelligence Officers<\/a> that were just indicted for election meddling . Heres what trump said. The russians who were indicted, would you ask putin to send them here . Well, i might. I hadnt thought of that, but certainly ill be asking about it. Again, this was during the obama administration. They were doing whatever it was during the obama administration. And i heard that they were trying or people were trying to hack into the rnc too, the Republican National<\/a> committee, but we had much better defenses. Ive been told that by a number of people. We had much better defenses, so they couldnt. I think the dnc should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses, and they were able to be hacked. A source with knowledge of discussions surrounding this says its possible that putin will offer some kind of noninterference agreement, but its unlikely that the u. S. Will accept it, anderson. Michelle kosinski, a lot to watch for. Thanks very much, michelle. Well, President Trump<\/a> is passing the blame on to democrats, as you just heard. Not everyone, including members of the president s own party, are ready to let russia off the hook. I dont think its a witch hunt. Ive never thought it was a witch hunt. We now have two series of indictments against russians, one for the social media, the other for the unlawful intrusions. Russia attacked this country in 2016. I would ask the president to give some serious consideration. Your first request of Vladimir Putin<\/a> needs to be, tell us which airport we can pick up the 25 russians that tried to interfere with the fundamentals of our democracy. If you really claim you had nothing to do with it, then you should be as shocked as we were that your military was being used to impact our election. Tell us where youre going to extradite those folks because an american grand jury indicted them for undermining our democracy. Joining me now, cnn White House Correspondent<\/a> katelyn collins. Also, dav also, retired rear admiral john kirby. Certainly strong words there from congressman gowdy. The question remains, of course, what the president may actually say. The fact that when asked by jeff glor at cbs whether he was going to ask putin about extraditing them, we dont have an extradition treaty with russia, he said, well, i hadnt thought about it. Which is stunning. Its not even how the president , what he says to Vladimir Putin<\/a>, its how he says it about election meddling. Hes made clear that in the times hes asked him before, hes denied doing it. The president has said essentially, what more can i do . But he lets him say it. He says hes going to confront him about it. The question is how much does he confront him about it, or is it just this ritualistic thing, did you meddle in the election, putin says no, and they move on to everything else. I cant think of another president that would come to a meeting, give Vladimir Putin<\/a> all of this prestige by meeting with him in helsinki a few days after 12 russian Intelligence Officers<\/a>, officials of the state, attacked an American Election<\/a> and were indicted for it, and they dont bring it up to a large degree. Dave, its hard to imagine this is just a coincidence that these indictments came down when they did. The president was given advanced warning about them, could have canceled the summit if hed wanted to. The white house has not even put out a Public Statement<\/a> critical of russia for hacking. They basically said, well, these indictments just show it had nothing to do with us, with the trump campaign. Now you hear the president saying it was the democrats fault. The president is saying basically if a thief goes up to a house and cant get in, its all locked up, then goes next door to the neighbor and can get in that house, the neighbor next door is the one responsible for the theft. Blaming the victim. Listen, a lot of people say he should cancel the summit. I think to the contrary. This is an ideal moment for the president to pivot. He could get really angry with putin. You lied to me continuously about this. We now have evidence that shows youve lied. You tried to steal this election. And were not going to be able to settle anything else until we come to terms with that and both of us clear the air. It would help the president enormously back home. Will he do it . I dont think so. Hes been so cavalier and dismissive of this in public. You can only imagine what hes been saying in private to his aides. You know, i dont know. The great mystery of this administration all along has been why is he so on seek wee use. When asked about foes of the United States<\/a>, the first one was the European Union<\/a>. Yeah, he names the European Union<\/a>. He names china. And he names russia. The European Union<\/a> is in the same league as your foe . And comes before russia. The top of your list. Its bizarre. I wish some psychoanalyst could come up with a big answer. But ill tell you, the country is going to be a lot of the people in the country are going to be cynical if he does not confront him in this meeting. Its the central drama right now of this summit. Admiral kirby, were in helsinki, which is a place there have been summits in the past. Obviously very historic ones. Whats different this time is there really is no set agenda. Theres not meetings that have been taking place, and theres a document or communique to be signed in advance or an agreement thats going to be signed by two world leaders, which often happens. And thats what i think makes this summit so worrisome to our european allies. Frankly, our other friends around the world. Normal lit staffs have done all this work and the outcome is precooked. Two leaders sit down, sign a communique, do a presser, and its done. Usually theres something tangible that both can take away from this, some agreement to move forward on a particular issue. Typically these summits are about one issue. In this case, we have none of that. So its pretty much a crap shoot. We have no idea where its going to go. And because trump tends to go off script and likes to ad lib, it makes the outcomes all the more dangerous. You also have this oneonone meeting between mr. Trump and mr. Putin, only with transla translators. Thats also unusual. And theres no written record. If they Say Something<\/a> happened, we have no idea if theyre telling the truth. And the white house has been really lowering the expectations of this summit today. The u. S. Ambassador to russia, jon huntsman, said this isnt a summit, its a meeting, even though the president himself later referred to it as a summit. Huntsman referred to it as a summit several times during a call with reporters. The president himself saying he has low expectations. He doesnt know what his goal for it is. I dont know any other president that would come into this meeting days after these indictments came down and say they dont know what the goal of the meeting is going to be. Could they be pushing arms control . That could be the one area theyre pushing for a breakthrough. Bolton ruled out recognizing crimea as part of russia. He ruled out pulling forces out of syria. He ruled out stopping those joint mill tear exercises. Of course, none of that matters. What matters is what the president himself says. When the president was asked about that the other day, he was not as clear as john bolton was. The president said if putin asked about stopping military exercises in Baltic States<\/a> that he would consider that. Again, that sent shock waves through all our allies in brussels as well as at the defense department. Thats the last thing we need to do, convey a message that were somehow going to waiver. And the Baltic States<\/a> were freaked out as well. Absolutely. The Baltic States<\/a>, especially the new ones, theyre the ones that are meeting the 2 . Theyre really stepping up because the threat from russia is real. Its on their doorstep. Its not just theoretical to them. It was interesting when you heard jon huntsman, the ambassador to russia, say that this is not a summit and then the president tweeting this is a summit with a capital s. Im wondering if jon huntsman gets a call from the white house or if he gets recalled. Thats a huge disagreement with the president. It completely is. It goes to show its not just semantics. Its how unprepared this administration is, walking into this with different view points. You would think americas ambassador to russia would know whether or not its a summit. Those are the two people who should be on the same page. But there has been a disconnect between the president and his team all the way along. We had that going into the g7 meeting. They briefed it was going to be all roses. It turned out to be the opposite. We had it before the nato meeting. Huntsman and the others were briefing there was going to be unity. Its a lot to watch for. This location cannot be any more beautiful. Just over our shoulders is where this meeting is going to be taking place tomorrow. Thank you very much. The president is on the ground here in helsinki. Like his other stops, controversy has followed. Well tell you why he called the European Union<\/a> a foe of the United States<\/a>, and ill get reaction to the summit from the former u. S. Ambassador to russia just ahead. N. Yes or no . Do you want the same tools and seamless experience across web and tablet . Do you want 4. 95 commissions for stocks, 0. 50 options contracts . 1. 50 futures contracts . What about a dedicated service team of trading specialists . Did you say yes . Good, then its time for power e trade. The platform, price and service that gives you the edge you need. Looks like we have a couple seconds left. Lets do some card twirling twirling cards e trade. The original place to invest online. At crowne plaza, we know Business Travel<\/a> isnt just business. Theres this. A bit of this. Why not . Your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. Which is what we do. Crowne plaza. Were all business, mostly. A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. I love you, basement bathroom of solitude, but sometimes you stink. Febreze air effects doesnt just mask, it cleans away odors. Because the things you love can stink. You dont want to live with mom and dad forever, do you . Im making smoothies so, how can i check my credit score . Credit karma. Dont worry, its free. Hmmmmm. Credit karma. Give yourself some credit. But how do i know if im im getting a good deal . I tell truecar my zip and which car i want and truecar shows the range of prices people in my area actually paid for the same car so i know if im getting a great price. This is how car buying was always meant to be. This is truecar. Welcome back. Were live in helsinki. You can see the president ial palace behind me where the historic meeting between President Trump<\/a> and president putin will be takesing plaing p. The white house is brushing aside any suggestion that President Trump<\/a> back out after the indictment of 12 Russian Military<\/a> officials for meddling in the election. President trump clearly wasnt going to pull out of this meeting just because democrats told him to. Is there a message, mr. Ambassador, that he can or should send to Vladimir Putin<\/a> . Yeah, its clear the president was never going to give up this meeting, and there is a lot that he should be talking with putin about. Im in favor of the meeting. First of all, he should raise the interference in our elections with the indictments. Its all the more stark that russians were threatening our democracy. He should bring this up with him and not just brush it aside. Theres also a lot of other behavior the russians have been engaged in, their aggression against ukraine, their aggressive approach in syria, which doesnt have our interests at heart. And they violated an arms control agreement and conducted a lot of provocative military activities in europe. So theres plenty to talk about, but not a lot thats easy to agree about. Aaron, in terms of a summit, have you seen anything like this one, just in terms of the lack of an actual plan or the lack of what the content is going to be . No, the answer is no a thousand times. I worked for rs and ds, voted for rs and ds. This is the first president in a modern period that seemingly has an inability to turn the m in me upside down so it becomes a w in we. In short, his conception of the National Interest<\/a> is tethered to what he likes and doesnt like, what his needs are, and what his own requirements are. Nowhere is this more alarmingly demonstrated in my view than in his relationship with Vladimir Putin<\/a>. Theres no Foreign Policy<\/a> or National Security<\/a> explanation for the pretur naturally safe space this president seems to accord to the russian leader. And it has resulted, i think, in what you suggest, an unplanned, illprepared summit where the likely winner and sandy may agree is going to be putin, merely because the meeting is taking place. Ambassador, do you think thats the case . Which is what many people were saying in advance of the north korean summit. Just by having the meeting on the world stage like this between these two leaders, kim jongun won something without giving up anything, and Vladimir Putin<\/a>, do you think he does the same . I do. Just having this meeting is a signal to the russian people and to the rest of the world that putin is no longer in isolation or being punished for the aggression against ukraine or the hacking of our election. Its sort of let bygones be bygones. Thats not the approach we should be taking when there are so many issues the russians have to answer for. The problem is putin doesnt take responsibility for anything. When he gets in the room with the president without the staff involved, just the interpreters, hes going to give him lectures about the history of ukraine, which will try to convince the president its all our fault, that nato is the provocative ones, and the russians are the innocent ones. Maybe because theres no agenda were going to end up with some kind of serious mistakes by the president , just as he made in singapore. Aaron, often in a summit like this, they try to have some sort of signed document or joint communique or joint declaration. Is there some Common Ground<\/a> that perhaps could be reached, assuming Vladimir Putin<\/a>, as president said, is not going to admit to meddling and the president may not even push it very hard or demand something on that front . Is there movement on Nuclear Weapons<\/a> that we might see . If you look at the issues, anderson, they seem to be they fall into either root canals or migraine headaches. New s. T. A. R. T. Expires in 2021. The inf treaty needs to be addressed. Theres no question ukraine is a problem. Syria, where people have speculated there may be some balance of interest to be agreed on, i just dont see any of the substance falling into place. What i think you could hope for is the diplomatic equivalent of the hippocratic oath. Above all, do no harm. Dont give the russians a pass publicly. Thats the key here. Whatever mr. Trump says to mr. Putin in a throwaway talking point privately really doesnt matter. For me, the issue is interference in our election. If the president is prepared in a public press conference with mr. Putin to press the issue of russian interference and warn of the consequences, if it continues, that would be a president who has courage, conviction, and would stand up. I just think the chances of that happening are slim to none. Mr. Ambassador, do you think the president was saying that if president putin asked him to limit or halt military exercises in Baltic States<\/a> that he would consider that. I assume that led to some huge amounts of surprise in the Baltic States<\/a>, in brussels, and even among our military planners. Absolutely. I was just in brussels for a couple days during and after the summit. There was a lot of anxiety about that remark. While bolton has assured everyone that its not going to happen, we saw in singapore at the last minute that the president agreed to curtail exercises and bought the kim jongun narrative that these are provocative, which theyre not. Theyre about defending an ally in a proportionate way. So that could happen. He could make some statement about the sovereignty of russia over crimea without changing our position but basically telling the ukrainians give up on ever getting your territory back. So theres a lot of risks here, but the best thing that could happen would be to agree on some followon negotiations. You know, dont make any deals that could end up being half baked, but get pompeo and lavrov and mattis to take up the dialogue on some sensitive issues like arms control, where there is a need for some work before the inf treaty collapses and s. T. A. R. T. Expires. I dont see any deal to be had on syria. And the russians are showing no interest in moving on ukraine, particularly because ukraine has elections next year, and they hope theyll end up with a leader more pliable than president poroshenko. Ambassador, appreciate it. Aaron david miller as well. Thanks very much. Our special coverage of the upcoming trump putin summit continues in a minute. Theres a lot of news happening at the israeli border. For that, we get to martin savidge. Israel agrees to a ceasefire with several militant groups. But the pause may not last long. Well go live to jerusalem next on the cnn newsroom. Keep it comin love. Keep it comin love. Dont stop it now, dont stop it no. Dont stop it now, dont stop it. Keep it comin love. Keep it comin love. Dont stop it now, if you keep on eating, well keep it comin. All you can eat riblets and tenders at applebees. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Thats confident. But its not kayak confident. Kayak searches hundreds of travel and Airline Sites<\/a> to find the best flight for me. So im more than confident. Hows your family . Kayak. Search one and done. Your hair is so soft did you use head and shoulders two in one . I did mom. Wanna try it . Yes. It intensely moisturizes your hair and scalp and keeps you flake free. Manolo . Look at my soft hair. I should be in the shot now too. Try head and shoulders two in one. Uhp. I didnt believe it. Again. Ooh, baby, do you know what thats worth . I want to believe it. [ claps hands ] ooh im not hearing the confidence. Okay, hold the name your price tool. Power of options based on your budget and well make heaven a place on earth yeah oh, my angels ooh, heaven is a place on earth [ sobs quietly ] ooh, heaven is a place on earth does your Business Internet<\/a> provider promise a lot . Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business gives you gigspeed in more places. The others dont. We offer up to 6 hours of 4g Wireless Network<\/a> backup. Everyone else, no way. We let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. Them, not so much. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go on line today. Welcome back. Israeli Prime Minister<\/a> Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> says that ceasefire with gaza militants will come to a swift end in the arson attacks against israel do not stop. That pause came after israel launched what it called its largest Bombing Campaign<\/a> in gaza since the 2014 war, but netanyahu warned the pause will end if gazas balloons do not stay grounded. Our ian lee is in jerusalem for us. Whats the latest tonight . Reporter well, martin, its really hard to call this a ceasefire because today israels air force said that it targeted a number of hamas units that were preparing these fire balloons to send them over from gaza into israel where we see them create these brush fires. As you pointed out, the Prime Minister<\/a> said that theres no ceasefire as long as this continues to happen. He even said that they consider these sorts of incendiaries like missiles, like rockets, like mortars, and so theyre going to take a very heavy hand toward them. This will create a situation where we could see another uptick in violence. Definitely today we saw a reduction of those tensions. Thats because the u. N. , egypt has been able to negotiate between the two sides. This is what were hearing. But unless theyre able to really come and create a more permanent ceasefire where there is a cessation of hostilities on both sides, we expect to see this sort of level of violence that we saw yesterday happen again. I just have to point out that this happened in may, this happened in april, this has happened a number of times. Again, if they arent able to bring these two sides and stop these hostilities, expect to see it again, martin. Yeah, it can flare up very, very quickly. Ian lee in jerusalem. Thank you very much for that. Coming up, President Trump<\/a> casts blame after his own Justice Department<\/a> announces an indictment against 12 russians over election hacking. But you might be surprised whom hes blaming. [music playing] vo from the beginning, wells fargo has supported Community Organizations<\/a> like united way, nonprofits like the american red cross, and our nations veterans. 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Lets go grab a couple thousand friends and chase each other up a hill. Lets go make a personal best, then beat it with your personal better than best. Lets go bring the worlds best instructors right to you. Better yet, lets go bring the entire new york studio live. Lets go anytime, anywhere, with anyone whos willing. And lets go do it all right here. Ready to go . Peloton. Welcome back. Were coming to you live from helsinki, finland, our special coverage of tomorrows summit between President Trump<\/a> and Vladimir Putin<\/a>. Moments ago, secretary of state mike pompeo arrived. The president and first lady arrived shortly before him. Trump says he plans to bring up russian meddling in the 2016 election with putin, but he continues to blame the election attacks on really everyone but the russians, from the Democratic National<\/a> committee to the obama administration. Joining me now is cnn contributor and former counsel to the Nixon White House<\/a> john dean. Thanks so much for joining us. I want to know what you make of the president casting blame really at what he said was sort of bad Computer Security<\/a> at the dnc. I think its pretty weak, anderson. He is inclined, as we know, to never take responsibility for anything and to pass the blame any time he can. I think thats a particularly weak pass because obama did take action, and he did alert the trump campaign. Law enforcement was on it. The intelligence agencies were on it. So its not even true. How should the president confront putin about the election meddling . I mean, he has spoken to him about it in the past. He has very publicly you know, the president has often said, well, you know, president putin denies it. And thats sort of his First Response<\/a> when he talks about that. Do you actually see him confronting him . I dont see him confronting him. I do see him dealing with the issue in their talks. I do for this reason, anderson. Theres a joint press conference thats scheduled where the two leaders are going to be there with some 1400 reporters who have been credentialed for this summit. So its going to come up from somewhere. So i think what trump will do is probably say, we need to talk about this because the media wants to talk about it. We ought to discuss it ourselves, and that would be the avenue in for it. Very nonconfrontational. They might see what their stories are. Its highly doubtful, though that, the 12 russian Intelligence Officers<\/a> indicted would be extradited or held accountable for the hacking. So what could President Trump<\/a> demand from putin as retribution for the attacks or what could he do as retribution . Well, of course he has sanctions at his disposal, but he hasnt even fully enforced the sanctions that hes been authorized to impose. I think he might say this is one of the reasons we need an extradition treaty between our two countries, and that could be something they could announce theyve decided to do in light of this indictment. You know, an indictment isnt a press release. This is a document that says we have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that these things happened. You know, in the past putin has just said, well, these are just charges. Well, as i say, this is much more than that, and trump, who undoubtedly has not read the indictment, at least could be briefed enough to put that point in front of putin. Do you agree, though, that this summit should have gone ahead . Obviously there are a lot of democrats, even some republicans, who were saying it should not. You know, theres that old churchill quote about its better to jaw than war. Im thinking most right now about syria and nuclear arms. Thats very true, anderson. But he could have made a very strong statement about his displeasure with the attacks on the United States<\/a> by the Russian Military<\/a> and other organizations that have attacked our last election by cancelling. He decided not to do that. This is something trump wants as much as putin apparently. We dont know why he wants it. We do know that trump has certainly been very prorussian since about 1987 when he made his first trip over there. We know he actually wanted to be reagans ambassador to russia. So this is a longtime event for both men, actually. Yeah, john dean, thanks very much. Appreciate it, john. Up next, were going to take a look at First Lady Melania Trump<\/a>. Shes here in helsinki. Shes been with the president every step of his european trip. While hes ruffled feathers along the way, shes mastered the art of representing america abroad. That story when we come back. [ screams ] [ laughs ] whoa, whoa, whoa. Your one item would be the name your price tool . 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Change the course of your treatment. Ask your doctor about victoza\u00ae. Welcome back. On these big trips overseas the spotlight on First Lady Melania Trump<\/a> is sometimes soft, but kate bennett has been following her throughout europe and she has been getting focus on a trip like this. Yes, and she does a really good job on the world stage and more comfortable in the global spotlight than in washington, but certainly, the things that mrs. Trump has been doing since on the trip and the things that the president have been doing are vastly different. Certainly, she has had the more light hearted and casual time abroad and that is typically what she does, her role. And do we have a piece on this . We do. Lets take a look and talk about it. Reporter as President Trump<\/a> confronted the nato leaders in brus sells this week. Many of the countries are not payinging with what they should. Reporter and ruffling feather m feathers in the u. K. And weighing in on theresa mays leadership. I told her how to do it, but she did not agree or she didnt listen to me. Reporter and the First Lady Melania Trump<\/a> spent the afternoon at a Belgian Music<\/a> school with the nato spouses listening to a concerto of Classical Music<\/a> and in london went lawn bowling and she did arts and crafts. Very nice. Very professional. Reporter and perhaps never more than this european trip has the juxtaposition of trumpre fiery rhetoric. Germany is a captive of russia. Reporter and melania trumps activities differed so vastly, but this is what the first ladies have done so often throughout history, as the president s tread the murky waters of diplomacy, the wives do it a different way. A fine art of orepresenting america abroad is all that she has mastered whether it is the style to nod to the host country and yesterday wearing british design er Victoria Beckham<\/a> while talking to the schools about her be best initiative with philip may who also bought a new suit for the occasion. Follow, whatever your passion is. Reporter or quietly observinging the protocol with the firstever meeting with the queen of england. Her husband a awkwardly trying to do the same. Melania trump who grew up in slovenia and worked as a model in france and italy is demonstrating her comfort on the world stage and able to sidestep the bombshells dropped by the president and practice a less complicated type of diplomacy. And now we will see melania tr trump in hel sin ski who is scheduled to have tea with the first lady of finland and of course, with will see here with Vladimir Putin<\/a>. And they arrived a little bit more than the an hour ago. Kate bennett, thank you. A lott more ahead of the coverage with the trump putin summit. And there is also an update on the transfer of more than 200 remains. Martin savidge. Those remains could be back on u. S. Soil within a couple of weeks. We will have a live report next. Keep it comin love. Dont stop it now, dont stop it no. Dont stop it now, dont stop it. Keep it comin love. Keep it comin love. Dont stop it now, if you keep on eating, well keep it comin. All you can eat riblets and tenders at applebees. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. New family connections, every day. Llion thats more ways to discover new relatives. People who share your dna. And maybe a whole lot more. Order your kit at ancestrydna. Com dnice, candace, but this time bold. Did someone say bold . gasping starkist jalapeo tuna in a pouch loaded with bold flavor. Just tear, eat. Mmmmm. And go bold try all of my bold creations pouches where were making the next generation of multiscreen welcadvertising possible. Ght, we have the broad and targeted reach you need to access the customers youre looking for on tv and digital platforms. Then we connect you to our team of media experts, who are ready to help you maximize your budget while elevating your advertising effectiveness. Sounds like an advertising opportunity knocking. Visit comcastspotlight. Com today. Visit comcastspotlight. Com today. Does your Business Internet<\/a> provider promise a lot . Lets see who delivers more. Comcast business gives you gigspeed in more places. The others dont. We offer up to 6 hours of 4g Wireless Network<\/a> backup. Everyone else, no way. We let calls from any of your devices come from your business number. Them, not so much. We let you keep an eye on your business from anywhere. The others . Nope get internet on our gigspeed network and add voice and tv for 34. 90 more per month. Call or go on line today. We have some breaking news. A u. S. Official telling cnn that the u. S. And north korea are now working on the time line for the transfer of Service Member<\/a> remains. Cnns Barbara Starr<\/a> is joining us on the telephone. What more do you have . Good afternoon, martin. What we are learning from the u. S. Official is that following the conclusion of the talks that wrapped up a few hours ago, there is now a time line that the remains are expected now to be transferred back to the u. S. Within the next 14 to 21 days, two the three weeks, and still subject to change, because this is north korea and no one can be sure, but that is what we are now hearing that the agreement is 14 to 21 days. This is of course extremely important for humanitarian reasons. The North Koreans<\/a> say they have 200 sets of remains of americans who were killed in the war in the korean war. The u. S. Wants to get those reman remains back, and it could take years of of course to fully test them to see exactly what is there and who they can possibly identi identify. But it is also politically important for President Trump<\/a>, because it is the first deliverable if you will from the singapore summit. It was first agreed to at the singapore summit and it was supposed to happen, and it never did, and the president kept talking about it, and it just never happen and no one was sure what the hold up was with the north kroreans, but they did no do it and now another set of talks, and now it is lookinging that the u. S. Is hoping that there is some positive movement and if they can get the remains back, that is really going to be one of the very first things that the North Koreans<\/a> have lived up to in the singapore summit agreement in that agreement they made and pave the way for more positive outcomes on all of the other denuclearization matters and still very much under discussion, and martin . Well, it does sound like good news, barbara, and thank you for g bringing it to us. Meanwhile n massachusetts a Police Officer<\/a> says he was gunned down with his own service weapon. The officer was responding about erratic driving near boston. The suspect attacked the officer and killing him before taking off with his weapon. In the chase, the suspect also killed a bystander. He then attacked officer can chezna with a large stone and striking him in the head. And officer chezna fell to the ground. Lopes then retrieved the officers firearm and discharged it several times in the head and che chest. It is believed that mr. Lopes discharged the officers firearm an additional three times and a striking a local resident in her home. Cnns Polo Sandoval<\/a> is following the story for us, and aside from the police getting the call for the erratic driv g driving, do we know anything about why this happened . No, the officer is saying that he made contact with Emanuel Lopes<\/a> after he was spotted vandalizing a home in weymouth, massachusetts, south of boston and so as the investigators trying to figure out what happened. Lett me tell you about the 42yearold officer who was shot and killed earlier this morning. The husband and father as well to two children. His mother telling the police chief there in that city that he joined the army with the sole intention of starting a career in law enforcement. Tomorrow, he would have been with that Police Department<\/a> for six years. Officer chezna worked the midnight to 8 00 a. M. Shift there, martin and so he are presumably would have been at the tail end of the shift as he responded to the final call of service. As for the suspect, he is expected to face murder charges tomorrow, and not only for the officer, but also for the woman who was essentially caught in the gun ur fire. Investigators believe that she was hit by a bullet that was fired by the fallen officer. Just horrible, horrible news. Okay. Polo sandoval, thank you. Cnn special live coverage of the helsinki summit continues now with Anderson Cooper<\/a>. Hello and thank you for joining me. Im Anderson Cooper<\/a> and i want to welcome our viewers in the United States<\/a> and around the world to our special coverage of the summit of president s Vladimir Putin<\/a> and donald trump. We are here live in helsinki and hours away from the highly an","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601009.us.archive.org\/23\/items\/CNNW_20180715_190000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Fredricka_Whitfield\/CNNW_20180715_190000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Fredricka_Whitfield.thumbs\/CNNW_20180715_190000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Fredricka_Whitfield_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240617T12:35:10+00:00"}