Was actually dictated by President Trump himself, saying this, we primarily discussed a program about the adoption of russian children. With no mention of dirt on Hillary Clinton. It wasnt until the New York Times was going to break the story that trump junior was promised damaging information on clinton back in july of last year. That was the New York Times reporting. At the time, trump junior and the trump team started changing their tune, saying the promise of damaging information turned into mainly an adoption conversation. They get into the meeting, and it quickly turns a pretext for Russian Adoption, according to his statement. The comments are about any type of information on Hillary Clinton were vague, meaningless. As you can see from the emails, the pretext of the meeting was, hey, we have information. There was some small talk. I dont even remember what it was. It was sort of nonsensical. Then it quickly went on to, you know, a story about Russian Adoption and how we could possibly help. There was nothing as far as we know that would lead anyone to believe there was anything except for a discussion about adoption. All right. This change comes as sources tell cnn the president is concerned about his son becoming entangled in the russia probe. Cnns White House CorrespondentBoris Sanchez is in new jersey near the president s golf resort, where he is staying for his working vacation. So we know this meeting is of interest to the mueller team. What is the White House Position on this latest trump approach . Reporter hey there, fred. Yeah, another denial from the Trump Administration. The president responding to this reporting from cnn that indicates hes not only worried and concerned for his son and his soninlaw and the legal implications of this russia probe but that hes agitated enough to aggressively attack the Special Counsel. Several sources telling cnn thats part of the reason the president has become so
aggressive toward Robert Mueller over the past several weeks. The president this morning denying that reporting on twitter. Heres a tweet that he sent out. He writes, quote, fake news reporting a complete fabrication that im concerned about the meeting my wonderful son donald had in trump tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics, and it went nowhere. I did not know about it. Of course, in that tweet theres no mention of adoption, which was the official story that we got from the white house when asked what the purpose of that meeting was. And when the White House Legal Team was pressed, they told us and the american that the president had no involvement in the crafting of that adoption story. A short while later through sources, we learn that the president actually dictated that statement put out by donald trump jr. Today it was one of his attorneys that led that denial, acknowledging he was wrong. Listen to this. I had Bad Information at that
point. I made a mistake in my statement. I talked about that before. That happens when you have cases like this. As far as when did we correct it, the important part is the information that weve shared with the office of Special Counsel, im not going to get into the details, but we were very clear as to the situation involving that trip and the statements that were made to the New York Times. So i think its very important to point out that in a situation like this, you have, over time, facts develop. Thats what investigations do. I agreed to go on your network and others days within being retained on this and had a lot of information to process. I got that one wrong. Reporter now, despite calls from the president for this russia investigation to end, every indication is that it will continue. Last week cnn reported that Special CounselRobert Mueller is interested in hearing more from people that were in that trump tower meeting, including
that russian pop singer whose father is a Russian Oligarch with deep ties to vladimir putin. He helped facilitate that meeting. What were hearing from sources is the Special Counsel has been involved in ongoing conversations for over a year to try to set up a meeting with that russian pop star, fred. All right, Boris Sanchez. Thanks so much. So what does all of this mean for the russia investigation . Joining me right now, cnn legal analyst and former federal prosecutor michael zeldin, cnn political analyst and congressional reporter for the washington post, karoun. Good to see you all. We just heard from jay sekulow there, one of trumps attorneys saying he misspoke in previous statements. Hes also now questioning the meetings overall legality. Take a listen. The question is how would it be illegal . The real question here is would a meeting of that nature
constitute a violation, the meeting itself violate the law. There are irregularities in this investigation, the likes of which we have not seen. So michael, you first. A few things there from jay sekulow. Kind of sounds like hes falling on the sword, saying i made a mistake, i misspoke. Then to the issue of legality, he says a meeting of this nature, talking about of adoption, thats not legal or is he talking about just meeting period, whether theres dirt or whether its about adoption . Right. So a couple things. First, Isnt It Refreshing to have jay sekulow instead of Rudy Giuliani . But secondly, to your exact point, the meeting itself can be illegal or legal depending. Depending objen the content . Depending on the content and the purpose. Under the federal election law, if you knowingly and willfully
endeavor to receive a donation or a thing of value from a foreign national, that can be a crime. The facts here could reach that. Similarly, if you conspire with others to defraud the federal Election Commission of their rights to run fair elections, that could be a crime. So to answer jays question, there are two crimes on paper that could fit the facts here. Whether a prosecutor would ever bring a case like that is another matter. But there are two crimes that mueller will look at and make determinations, presumably about whether these meetings meet the standard of probable cause to believe that a crime was committed. So theres the political message. Theres the legal message. That kind of underscores the legal messaging. But why politically does jay sekulow or even President Trump think its better to clean this up, you know, to try to help out don junior . Who better to clean this up
at this stage . Theres been several rounds of cleanup. At what point is it the final round . Thats not clear. If things go poorly for don junior, that starts to get close to the president. You start to see the father son relationship, its a lot more difficult to assume, okay, well, there was no conversation casually there, the way you could say for trump and an employee. With the various sorts of legal problems the president is having and the people around the president , this issue of credibility comes up often. Don junior was a face for the president in his original campaign. Were now back in Campaign Mode again. You kind of want to have people trust the trump name and all the trumps that are associated with it, even if theres a mess going on. You can always blame people for not having been loyal enough or not having given you the straight story. It helps them to try to also push this to the side because it has kept coming up over and over
The latest news from around the world with host Fredricka Whitfield. The latest news from around the world with host Fredricka Whitfield. File, for the record so they have a consistent account to present, whether its to congress or someone else. Thats right. Mueller at end of his investigation has to file a confidential report with rosenstein to say, these are the people i indicted, these are the people i didnt indict, these are the reasons why i didnt indict them. So being able to complete that narrative, i think, is important from a legal perspective and perhaps from a political perspective as well so that we know what happened and that if the president did nothing wrong, we can move forward from it. If he did something wrong, we can know what that wrong was and what the action that should be taken in respect of it is. So i think that the interview is important, but its parameters still need to be negotiated. Karoun, this speaks volumes perhaps that jay sekulow would come in the way in which he is. We havent heard a lot from him. Story. It is a weird thing for a lawyer to do, certainly, but we have seen a lot of weird things happen in the last year and a half, especially when it comes to stories changing as explanations are being given for episodes in this Presidency Campaign that potentially have legal consequences because things were done not on the up and up. But yeah, i think its interesting that hes saying what hes saying in a way of being like, everybody calm down, nothing to see here, but also interesting hes separating himself from his client. Right, but in sekulows credit, things do evolve. It evolved in white water. It involved in watergate. Things evolve. In this case, evolved. Where it takes us next, well see. We still have to answer the question of when did the president know of this meeting . Thats still a flat denial by the president. I did not know of this meeting before the fact. That still needs to be sorted. And julian, are these thanks so much to all of you. Appreciate it. All right. It is a key test for the Trump Administration before voters head to the polls in november. The Special Election in ohio just two days away now. A republican nominee in a traditionally republican district should be a sure win, but thats not the case. Is President Trumps popularity enough to get the nominee over this hurdle . Well discuss next. Plus, a shocking discovery in new mexico during a search for a missing child. Authorities find nearly a dozen children in a filthy trailer wearing nothing but rags. No food or fresh water. A live report coming up. Keep it comin love. 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. Our new, hot, fresh breakfast will get you the readiest. buzzer sound holiday inn express. Be the readiest. Gathered here are the worlds finest insurance experts. Rodney mastermind of discounts like safe driver, paperless. The list goes on. How about a discount for long lists . Gold. Mara, you save our customers hundreds for switching almost effortlessly. Its a gift. And jamie. Present. Together we are unstoppable. So, what are we gonna do . Insurance. Thats kind of what we do here. That alternates between harmonized scents for a continuous renewal of fragrance. Plus, febreze plug is formulated with odorclear technology, which cleans away odors instead of just masking them. For freshness youll notice week after week, try febreze plug. [sfx mouse click] in a Special Election this tuesday, republicans in ohio risk losing a seat in a district
theyve controlled for three decades. Thats why President Trump made a special trip there for a rally last night. We must elect more republicans, and we must elect troy bolderson. We have to elect troy. So get your friends, get your neighbors, get your family, and get out and vote for troy on tuesday. I need your volunteer hours, your enthusiasm, and most importantly i need your vote august 7th. All right. Its the last major race before the mid terms, and it will reveal a lot about what well see this fall potentially. Joining me right now, reporter at the columbus dispatch. He covered last nights rally. Harry, good to see you. You first. There are several things on the line in this ohio race for the gop and for the white house. Sum it up for us. I would just say this, this is a district that donald trump won by double digits in 2016. Its a district that hasnt had a democratic representative in it since at least the 1980s. And if the republican cannot win in this district, it is just another sign that the republicans are in major trouble heading into this midterm election. Its another Special Election where the republican candidate vastly undershot Donald Trumps percentage of the vote in 2016. And thats just bad news for republicans. So harry, you write. Im just taking a small section. In ohio, balderson is barely holding on because trumps Approval Rating is about even with his disApproval Rating in the district that voted for him by 11 Percentage Points in 2016. So what are you hearing specifically from voters . What happened . What changed so many minds about
the president . You know, i think essentially the biggest change is Hillary Clinton is not the democratic nominee for president in 2018. Republic remember, donald trump was very unpopular in 2016, but he was facing off against Hillary Clinton, who was the second most unpopular candidate. Without Hillary Clinton on the ballot, its all about a referendum on donald j. Trump. This is whats going on, and thats the big change, i believe. So was that a big risk for the president to be campaigning for him and for Balderson So Tod to say, if you want someone who will fight for the president , it goes both ways. Yeah, i would say its somewhat of a mistake. Donald trumps numbers in those districts arent as bad as they are nationally. His Approval Rating is about equal to his disApproval Rating. This is also a district that isnt a donald trump type of republican. Its much more the john kasich type of republican. Its the besteducated district
in the state. If Troy Balderson does, in fact, win on tuesday, its not going to be because an assist of donald trump. Its because of an assist from john kasich, whos been pro republican in this particular Special Election. And jim, the latest polls showing that race is tightening after the republican candidate lost a sizable lead. Were talking about one percentage point between them according to this Monmouth University poll. Just as harry was saying, Governor John Kasich says normally this race would be a slam dunk for republicans. Look into the crystal ball. What could potentially happen here . Well, theres a reason that Danny Oconnor, the democrat, has been courting kasich republicans. As was just said, this is not a this is the wealthiest and most highly educated district in the state. These are the type of folks that Danny Oconnor believes are not necessarily your hard core Trump Supporters but are folks who maybe are more in the kasich
wing of the party. He has been out there talking about how, hey, im for Medicaid Expansion just like john kasich. Im for some of these Gun Provisions like red flag laws, just like john kasich. Hes been attacking the tax cuts quite a bit, saying these are nothing but corporate giveaways. So hes really trying to appeal to not appeal to the donald trump wing, but appeal to others. Right new theres a lot more democratic enthusiasm in the district. If you look at the three largest counties in the district, right now democrats are plus 23 compared to where they were in 2016. So then jim, as you talk to people, do you feel you mentioned theres this democratic enthusiasm. Do you feel like voters as they cast their ballots will, indeed, be casting a referendum, you know, vote for or against the
president . I do think thats going to be a big part of it. I mean, in an election like this where really, to be honest, you have two candidates running, but its a compressed time. Neither one of these candidates is particularly well known throughout the district when this all started. So yeah, when you have donald trump coming in last night, six days ago mike pence was here. When you have that type republicans are drawing from that in order to gain enthusiasm and try to drive up the vote. Its hard to see this as much other than whether or not this is going to be a referendum on the president s performance. I do still think its an uphill battle for Danny Oconnor. Voter registration in this district is two to one republican. So even with more enthusiasm, its still a tough hill to climb. And this is kasichs assessment of the race. Lets listen. So, you know, i think donald
trump decides where he wants to go. I think they think theyre firing up the base, but at the same time hee com comes in here was with someone last night who said, you know what, im not voting. And theyre republicans. This is the problem the party has now. The problem the democrats have is i dont know what their message is, george. You tell me. Its sort of like antitrump but no message. You cant win elections if you dont have a message. So harry, is he on point there . I think you can win a Special Election without a message as long as your message is im not donald trump.