The Trump Campaign and the kreml kremlin. Be clear about one thing. This report is highly partisan. The president jumped on it and put in all caps, proclaiming his innocence on twitter on the basis of this. The only unbiased authority on whether or not there was collusion or any suspect information or what we need to know about russian interference will come from one source, special counsel bob mueller. Meantime, all eyes are on the special election in pennsylvanias 18th congressional district. Voters there heading to the polls to fill a house seat. The battle is being seen as a referendum on Donald Trumps presidency. It comes as the president travels to california today, his first trip to the state since becoming president. Hes there to see prototypes of his border wall. Lets discuss. We have cnn chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and cnn senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Lets start with the investigative bona fides going on here. Ever since nunes went to the white house, we started seeing the two sides divide. Literally put a physical wall between themselves in the work space. Leaks all over the place. Now one of the members saying the entire Intelligence Community got it wrong. They analyzed the Data Information wrong and its time to end it. You know whats remarkable about the House Republicans report here, they didnt have to go as far as theyre going in saying that russia didnt want to help trump. Of course russia wanted to help trump. Now, the more toxic question is did Trumps Campaign work with the russians. Thats very much not established for certain at this point. But to say that russia didnt want trump to win, wasnt helping him win after the wikileaks hack, the social media indictment of the 13 russians and after the trump tower meeting, why fight that battle when the real battle is one they might actually win. Theres also the question of, because we know how even just the fact theres a physical wall, as you pointed out. From devin nunes going to the white house, recusing himself for a certain amount of time, the month well never get back when were wondering about the memos and when well get them, is it in some ways good that this was shut down, because there was not a lot of faith in this investigation to begin with . I dont think anybody was looking at the house Intelligence Community for a definitive word on what happened in the 2016 election for all the reasons you cited. I think this report is more useful as a measure of what has happened with the house over the last generation. Going back a long way, the way in which it has been rotted from within by this intense partisanship that has made it into more of a parliamentary institution. I would predict, as jeffrey suggests, because they went to this very difficult to defend place that there was not only no collusion, which hasnt been established one way or another, but to say that russia was not trying to help donald trump, i think leaves them in a position where it is more likely youll see democrats than republicans citing this report in the Fall Campaign and basically arguing it is proof that a republican majority is never going to perform serious oversight or constrain donald trump in any way. Look, i think maybe go a step farther and say you cant have any of these men and women investigate their own, they just cant do it. They cant surrender the me to the we. Its shame on them for not doing what the people put them there to do. This isnt oversight. Its just cya. If its your party youre looking at, there are going to be problems. Isnt that just a simple truth . I think we sometimes do a little false equivalency here in terms of, democrats or republicans, theyre both bad. I have to say i think the democrats were trying to get at the facts here, they were trying to interview more people, they were trying to get more documents, trying to get financial records. So i dont think this was a purely equivalent situation. The leaks wind up being one of the corrosive aspects of it. I get it if you dont have the power. There are always going to be leaks in congress. But that spoils the cooperation, also. Thats true. But i always feel a little funny about oh, i like the leaks. Im saying, ron, if im on the committee and i know erica is going bad on me when it doesnt suit her political aims, well have a problem working together. You still end up in this very strange place of saying the sky is not blue, Vladimir Putin was not trying to help donald trump. I think its reflective, and i think its revealing of the broader evolution of the way House Republicans and Congressional Republicans interacted with the Trump Presidency, started with more independence, more skepticism, particularly after the tax cut, theyve moved to a much more circlethewagons position, defending him on all fronts. That paradoxically, they increase their risk in november at a time when his Approval Rating is 40 or below. Especially on russia. Theyre conflating two things the same way the president does, the significance of the interference and the aims and goals of that interference with it being making the election result illegitimate. Thats what the president does. We see it dramatically running through other big matters of state. Such as secretary of state Rex Tillerson, he had to wind upcoming up after the white house to condemn russia for a nerve agent attack on a former russian spy in britain. Listen to what tillerson said. There is never a justification for this type of attack. The attempted murder of a private citizen on the soil of a sovereign nation, and we are outraged that russia appears to have engaged in such behavior. Why is this important . Because just hours earlier, the White House Press secretary Sarah Sanders said the same thing, but left something very important out. Take a listen. The use of a highly lethal nerve agent against uk citizens on uk soil is an outrage. The attack was reckless, indiscriminate and irresponsible. We offer the fullest condemnation and extend the sympathy to if victims and family. We stand by our closest ally and the special relationship that we have. Youre not saying russia was behind this . Right now were standing with our uk ally. I think theyre still working through even some of the details of that. Were going to continue to work with the uk and we certainly stand with them through out this process. Theres also, too, in the New York Times in an op ed, President Trump has allowed putin with a free hand tillerson didnt. Theresa may comes out and mentions russia. S when you ask the question, why did russia enter feern in the election, why did russia want donald trump to win, here you see donald trump never criticizes Vladimir Putin, neither does his white house, even in the face of the evidence thats good enough for theresa may, good enough for Rex Tillerson, but not good enough for donald trump. Rex tillersons comments went beyond that. He said after a year of trying to engage rush yoo in a more productive relationship, we have little to show for it. In fact, theyre becoming more aggressive. It was just another moment in which you see the secretary of state and white house have completely different foreign policies. Which is not shocking, but to have it be that clear, the big question obviously is what does this mean going forward, ron . If were going to continue to have this public difference and presumably at no time in the near future will we hear anything different from the white house, how does that impact the broader issues . Its not just russia. Its obviously north korea where you have the secretary of state saying were a long way from negotiating and the president jumping in to page 370 saying lets hold the summit that other president s said would be the end of the process, not the beginning. I think all indications are, you throw in the aluminum and steel tariffs, the idea is well see a white house that is completely untethered from any of the normal bureaucratic processes that drive policy in the administration. And there will be people who welcome that unpredictability. There will be obviously allies around the world who make it very nerveracking. Look whats happening on guns. Once again, on the dreamers, the deferred action where the president says one thing in a Public Meeting and then the institutions of the Republican Party pull him back to the point where he is now almost completely fallen in line with the nra. That kind of this kind of swerving i think is going to be the rule, not the exception as we go forward. Can i hijack this interview for one moment and ask Ron Brownstein a question because he knows more about politics than anyone in the United States. Who is going to win in pennsylvania, ron . The late polling, basically as toup. Whether conor lamb wins or loses by a point probably doesnt matter. This is a district 93 plus white. The district donald trump won by 20 points and has been so republican that the democrats havent put up a candidate in each of the past two elections against the previous republican incumbent. Yet we have talking a knifes edge election. If the democrat wins or comes close, it gives them the one piece that has been missing so far in virginia, alabama, new jersey, the big elections of 2017. They made a lot of progress with College Educated suburban whites coiling from trump on cultural and personal grounds. Theyve shown much less progress among working class white voters, the core of the trump coaliti coalition. Theres no way for conor lamb to get close or win if not competitive. If he wins, the last piece is coming together for a really ominous trend for republicans. It also shows what could be a shift in the democratic partys approach. Youre getting candidates that match the district. Theyre not just having a cookie cutter set. Thats what ron did in 2006 with the dccc when they won it back. Well see how it pays off. Thank you, gentlemen. Republicans on the House Intel Committee abruptly shutting down their investigation, and we say abruptly because they didnt even tell the democrats. Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell will give us the inside scoop of what was happening in this probe next. Show you exactly when well be there. Saving you time, so you can keep saving the world. Kids safelite repair, safelite replace ftheres flonase sensimist. F up around pets. It relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. And all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. Flonase sensimist. But through goodt times and bad at t. Rowe price weve helped our investors stay confident for over 80 years. Call us or your advisor. T. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. With a 500,000 Life Insurance policy. How much do you think it cost him . 100 a month . 75 . 50 . Actually,duncan got his 500,000 for under 28 a month. Less than a dollar a day. His secret . Selectquote. In just minutes, a selectquote agent will comparison shop nearly a dozen highlyrated Life Insurance companies, and give you a choice of your five best rates. Duncans wife cassie got a 750,000 policy for under 22 a month. Give your family the security it needs at a price you can afford. So republicans on the House Intel Committee abruptly shut down their russia investigation and decided to buck the Intelligence Communitys assessment that Vladimir Putin was trying to help donald trump win the white house. Theres just tons of proof of that suggestion. Why they decided to reject it we dont understand. They did this without telling any democrats on their committee which is just a reflection of how partisan it had all become. Joining us is one of those democrats in the dark, congressman Eric Swalwell of california. Aim wrong, or did you find out about this on twitter . Saw it on twitter and saw breaking news alerts coming in. More importantly than the process is this report invites another attack, not just russia but other adversaries with similar capabilities. Theyll look at us at being weak. They may not stay on the sidelines as in the past, they may try to get their preferred candidates and policies through in upcoming elections. Now that the probe is over, you can speak more about the tone and tenor of it. Is it true that during testimony there was a real difference in disposition and questioning between the democrats and republicans in terms of who was being probative there . The republicans said all along no collusion, no collusion, no collusion. They werent looking for collusion. I hope the public gets to see these transcripts. They will see how few of them showed up to ask questions, what questions they asked and how off the topic they were and how much they tried to protect the president when our job is to protect the ballot box as we go to the polls this november. The American People should see these transcripts. With little resources democrats didnt have subpoena power, didnt have republicans willing to bring them in and force them to answer questions. It was a take them at their word investigation where they could assert something and we didnt subpoena cell phone records, bank records, travel records. No republicans were willing to work with us to get the truth. Whats the chance that we get the transcripts . I hope so. If the republicans believe in transparency, theyll come out. I dont want to do anything that compromises bob muellers investigation. You want to hold the information close and dont want witnesses what others said. I wro et that legislation after the attack in 2016. Republicans have joined us in it. O now more than ever its the best way to tell the American People who is responsible. The idea of what Chris Stewart came out and said, the Intelligence Community just got it wrong. They came to wrong conclusions on data that theyve seen. Weve seen it. I can say that with certainly. Do you share that opinion . I believe they were wrong in the way that they responded. Part of that they didnt respond really at all to russia. Part of that was that donald trump had gotten in everyones head. He said the elections were going to be rigged. They saw evidence that russianss were trying to rig the elections, they didnt want to validate what donald trump said and they were caught flatfooted. They have sought to discount the assertion that the russians wanted to help donald trump. You dont have to be on the Intelligence Committee to see that evidence. Weve seen all the ads, the social media posts that were pro trump and anti hillary. To go that far to protect the president s fragile ego shows who theyre looking out for. Youre not on strong footing when you say there is no proof that russia wanted to help trump in the election. You see it all over the place, you see it in the indictments from mueller. In terms of the Intelligence Committee not doing anything, thats a political process. Some of that stink has to be on obama and biden. The Vice President and i went at this when i interviewed him. They made a decision not to come out more aggressively. They put out their statement. I get the political considerations. They could say Mitch Mcconnell wouldnt do it with them. They didnt need mcconnell. Should have done more, yes, i believe he should have done more. Part of the reforms would be when is congress notified when you see election interference . What right does the public have to know about foreign adversaries trying to meddle . I completely agree government response was inak kwat. We see something that is schematically consistent, the republicans have joined the president in mitigating russia as an adversary. Its just true. You guys passed the sanctions. People will say no, we didnt. We passed the sanctions. True. But the republicans are criticizing the president now we see what happened in the uk, this horrible, got forbid, when asked about why shes not saying russia, shes saying were not saying so yet. Why does this white house go so far to be quiet about this country and this man, Vladimir Putin. Russia helped the president. Russia has long invested in donald trump. Hes invested in the russians. I think thats the simplest answer that is oftentimes the correct one. You believe on some level this is a quid pro quo, or do you think trump just believes the issue has been so politicized, he cant go after russia now because it will expose he should have been doing it all along. Whether he was working with him wittingly or unwittingly before the election is irreleva irrelevant. The end result is the same, es drawn us close to an adversary. He cant attribute an attack in the middle of the town square to the russians. He cant impose sanctions, cant say a bad thing about a brutal dictator. Whether he worked with him or not, its hurting america and hurting our ability to have a secure election. Eric swalwell, thank you for your take of what was going on inside that mess of a committee investigation. Appreciate you being here. My pleasure. Polls are open in the hotly contested house race in pennsylvania. Will the states 18th district turn blue . Turn blue . A live report is next. It was my very first car accident we were hit from behind. I called usaa and the first thing they asked was are you ok . they always thank you for your service, which is nice because as a spouse you serve too. Were the hayles and were usaa members for life. See how much you could save with usaa by bundling your auto and home insurance. Get a qu