Happy friday it is friday. Its been a long, busy news week. I have been telling you its friday for the last hour. We begin with a trade war thats escalating in a big way this morning. President trump more than doubling tariffs on chinese imports from 10 to 25 on 200 billion. China is vowing to retaliate. We just dont know how yet. The worlds two largest economies are set to resume talks in two hours meanwhile, President Trumps attorney Rudy Giuliani is planning to visit ukraine to persuade the incoming government to pursue investigations into joe biden. Let that sink in. The president s lawyer is trying to convince another government to meddle in the u. S. Election. Also this morning, new questions emerging about attorney general bill barr. Did he tell the truth when senators asked if the president asked him to investigate anyone. Statements like this from President Trump have people wondering what i would like to see with iran, i would like to see them call me. John kerry speaks to them a lot. John kerry tells them not to call. Thats a violation of the logan act. Frankly he should be prosecuted on that joining us now to discuss this, kaitlyn collins, cnn white house correspondent, michael smerconish, host of smerconish and frank bruni, cnn contributor. I want to start with the latest on the talks, kaitlyn. The president more than doubled the tariffs on 200 billion worth of goods at midnight the thinking had been before that if the talks went well last night the tariffs may not have gone into effect at midnight but they did. Thats where we are now. The talks are scheduled to resume in the next two hours or so. The question is of what they are going to achieve today by meeting. People think it is a good sign they are meeting for the second day in a row. Talks were scheduled for today and yesterday. They got through the dinner that the treasury secretary and the president s chief trade negotiator had with the chinese delegation. The question is what they are going to achieve today. The chinese said in their statement they are going to have to respond to the increase in the tariffs. They havent said exactly how theyll respond or when. Clearly, they think there could be progress made today. The people we have spoken with dont think theyll reach a big agreement today which is a big difference from where we were two weeks ago, how u. S. Officials were feeling about the talks it sounds like china reneged on some parts of agreement that the u. S. Thought were settled. So the president is frustrated, understandably, by that. And is doing tariffs in retaliation. Its hard to know frankly, how concerned to be or seriously to take it since, as you know, the president often makes a grand announcement or even some grand action and reverses course later that day. Hes working with a net in this instance. As you have been reporting all morning long, this doesnt impact those goods that are already approaching our shores. If there should be some kind of a resolution today then i think he can proclaim a political victory given that he made a pledge during the 2016 campaign that he would address this imbalance that exists in trade and the theft of our intellectual property. I cant help but think the white house thinks this is their best moment to make an agreement because of the gdp numbers and we are at full employment and there is a perception that the chinese economy is more vulnerable than ours i will say there is reason to believe they will not make a deal today. The president wrote just moments ago talks with china continue in a congenial manner. There is absolutely no need to rush. That may get to the point michael was making that the tariffs wont be felt until the goods actually arrive on u. S. Soil. There is another aspect to this. Maybe the president does want a deal today. But, frank, being tough on china is not necessarily bad politics. No. I think it makes him look strong in his eyes and a lot of peoples eyes. This is him following through on something he said during the campaign. He hasnt met all of his campaign promises. In the short term, this isnt a bad look for him at all. If this goes on, if Consumer Prices go up on certain products. If americans feel this in a way thats deleterious what happens then . If americans have less purchasing power, if the prices of things they want to purchase go up, i think hell have a hard time explaining that if they say, i feel less wealthy under your presidency than i do now. Thats where it could be three, six, nine months from now if it goes on without a resolution. Lets talk about this jawdropping revelation that Rudy Giuliani is going to ukraine to get them to investigate President Trumps political opponents. Let me read this. This is from the New York Times. Rudy giuliani says this. We are not meddling in an election. We are meddling in an investigation which we have the right to do. There is nothing illegal about it. Somebody could say its improper. This isnt foreign policy. Im asking them to do an investigation that they are doing already. And that other people are telling them to stop. Im going to give them reasons why they shouldnt stop it. That information will be very, very helpful to my client the president and may turn out to be helpful to my government. Let me get this straight. First they were looking for help from russia. Now in this election they are looking for help from ukraine. How does it make sense for Rudy Giuliani to advertise this . There are people in the white house who wish Rudy Giuliani would stop making comments like that ones hes making there to the New York Times. They do not think it is helpful. People inside the Justice Department and the white house think they are responding properly to the russia investigation and the outcome of the Mueller Report, especially as it relates to the attorney general. They do not find it ever helpful typically based on people we have spoken to inside the west wing that when Rudy Giuliani makes stunning comments saying hes seeking help from other governments to discredit some of the investigations or prop up the president , thats not something the white house wants to hear from the president s outside attorney. There is consternation inside the west wing about what Rudy Giuliani does, especially things like this. This is something they dont want him to do or say publicly on the record to the New York Times this has to do with a story that broke in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago about whether joe biden used undue influence to stifle an investigation by the ukraine government into his son hunter. Rudy giuliani has been on the phone, texting, calling, trying to drum up the story for months. He admits it. Hes proud of it. Now hes talking to the New York Times saying im going to ukraine to try to get them to investigate joe biden. I find it staggering, michael. Particularly the phrase again, this is a quote. Some people might say its improper. Some people might say its improper to welcome the assistance of a foreign country in an election. Some people may say its more improper to try to go and attract that involvement. Michael. If two months ago joe biden determined, you know what, hes had enough. His long and distinguished career the over, family considerations necessitate that he not run for president , would Rudy Giuliani be making the trip now . The answer is of course not. It lays bare the partisan nature of the visit. Its a shame that we have a tendency to take a look at the events based on which outlets report them and then decide whether we think they have merit. By Rudy Giuliani being the person to give this heft, hes undercutting the president s eventual argument if he wants the claim to be taken as legitimate frank, why does President Trump need ukraines help to win the election . Hell take help anywhere he can get it. The notion that this is not meddling in an election is ridiculous its about the election. They wouldnt be doing it otherwise as we sit here today, joe biden is 20, 30 points ahead of anyone else in polls. I dont think this is how it will play out. If you were playing the smart money you would say joe biden will be the nominee. Thats something the Trump Administration is considering. To have Rudy Giuliani out there trying to create trouble for joe biden during the election. Thats the quintessence of meddling in an election. This is a story fox is pushing. Well continue to follow it from every angle. I want to play sound from senator Kamala Harris of california questioning the attorney general just last week. Remember when she was pressing him and he was squirrely on whether or not the president had asked him to investigate anybody. Listen. Has the president or anyone at the white house ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone yes or no, please, sir. Yeah, but im trying to grapple with the word suggest. There have been discussions of matters out there that they have not asked me to open a investigation. Perhaps they have suggested . I dont know. I wouldnt say suggest hinted . I dont know. Squirrely, right . At least squirrely. He was really struggling with the word suggest. So now and michael, i will put it to you. Now we learn from the president himself that hes been talking to advisers about investigating john kerry for violations of the logan act for discussions that john kerry had with people in iran more than a year ago about the sanctions there. Is it possible that the president asked william barr to investigate john kerry . Senator harris has written a letter to barr as a follow up saying whats going on here . I guess its possible. That may be what she was after. It may be what the president has in mind. I was wondering in this back and forth why would the iranians listen to john kerry. If we accept the president at face value that he would be receptive to some form of contact from the iranian leadership. But john kerry who today has no portfolio tells them not to do so. Why would they listen to kerry and not be receptive to have dialogue with the president . That made no sense to me just that part . For now. Okay. All right. Thank you all very much. Be sure to watch kwoez sm smerconish at 9 00 a. M. Tomorrow morning. The threat of flooding is real in texas and the southeast. Schools are closed in the houston area after torrential rain in the past 24 hours. More rain is on the way. Ed lav has more for us. Houston is the city that floods. Its been a treacherous night. Not just here in houston but across the region in southeast texas. This is one road in downtown houston. This is water being pushed out one of the main bayous getting pushed up into the city streets. Emergency officials have been dealing with situations like this popping up all over the region. In fact, overnight there were nearly 40 motorists stranded in their cars along interstate 10. Portions of that highway have been shut down. All of the motorists have been rescued in the overnight hours. Its been a long night as the rainfall has fallen for hours and hours here. So the threat of more flooding continues as the bayou system fills up. The threat of flooding becomes a dangerous situation and will be through the day in the houston area ed, i feel like it wasnt that long ago i saw you standing in flood waters in houston. It keeps on happening again and again. Thank you very much. President trump escalating the trade war with china. More than doubling tariffs overnight. 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Its a now theres one store that connects your life like never before store. The xfinity store is here. And its simple, easy, awesome. If you are just waking up, a, im envious. B, you are waking up to a trade war. President trump doubled tariffs on 200 billion worth of chinese goods. It went into effect at midnight. Joining us now is republican congressman will herd of texas. Thank you very much for being with us. You are critical of this move in this posture from the president. Why . Lets start with the facts. We are, indeed, having a deal with an aggressive china who has been doing things for years like hacking into our systems, stealing our intellectual property, using it for themselves to undercut u. S. Businesses. They have been flooding the market with cheap steel thats in opposition to a number of international agreements. So china has been and still is engaged in a number of Economic Activities negative to the u. S. Economy. Ultimately the u. S. Economy. The way you deal with that is not what using a tit for tat tariff war. Ultimately a tariff, we should think of a tariff like a sales tax on whom . On american consumers. Its going to be more expensive for americans to buy products. Thats why this has a longterm impact on the u. S. Economy. Also, we need to realize that one of the things is how do we compete with china in the markets. One way is to focus on competitiveness. We should be working with mexico and canada on countering the threat in china. The steps we should be taking, if a u. S. Company cant do something in china then a Chinese Company cant do that in the United States of america. Thats simple reciprocity. That would ultimately balance the problem we are dealing with in china. Thats something that doesnt require negotiations with the chinese. This is something we can do by ourselves on our own. The other thing we have to remember that china is an authoritarian government. They dont care about pain impact on their citizens. They are going to be able to with stand pain longer than the u. S. Economy can. You dont want to get into a tit for tat with an authoritarian government a sales tax on the american consumer. To be clear this is not because your opposition to tariffs isnt because you are soft on china. I have heard you more tough on china than most on issues. Take Artificial Intelligence which we dont have tommy t del into but you think china could be edging us out there its a threat to our economy. Another thing we can do today. There is a Company Called zte, a Chinese Company that manufacturers cell phones. They are the largest producers of cell phones. They have found multiple times they violated a number of international treaties. We should have had a ban on u. S. Manufactured integrated circuits. That would have killed zte. Its one of their most important companies. That would show we are being tough and we are not going to allow these kind of praks i thes by the Chinese Government practices by the Chinese Government the president gave a pass when he was doubling tariffs overnight. Stay tuned. Well check back in a few hours. Im interested in where the trade talks go. It could get worse or they could have a deal in the next few hours. I want to talk to you about various aspects of the russia investigation. Let me first play sound overnight. Former fbi director james comey was part of a cnn town hall. He was critical of the current attorney general. Listen. What do you think of the way attorney general barr behaved . He acted in a way thats less than honorable in the way he described it in writing and during a press conference and continues to talk as if hes the president s lawyer. Thats not the attorney generals job. William barr, less than honorable. Your response . I have had many disagreements with jim comey. Jim comey takes steps when he was part of the fbi that he probably shouldnt have. I think where we are and all of this. Coming to congress to talk about and ask questions about understanding the perceived differences between his opinion of the Mueller Report and the interpretation that was done by william barr. The judiciary committees are the committee where that should happen. I would hope that all the members of the judiciary committee, especially senior democrats would actually go in and read the less redacted version of the Mueller Report that has already been provided. There is a version that only has seven lines marked out on the senior Democratic Leaders are able