Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20170329 : vi

Would make headlines. Melania trump leaves trump tower to honor some courageous women. Welcome to the lead. Im john berman in for jake today. We will get to the bottom of this. That is the promise from senators investigating any links between associates of President Donald Trump and russia. That was the clear promise. The clear message, enough with the kids table. The grownups are stepping in. The Senate Intelligence committee has invited 20 people to testify and is pledging to Work Together in a bipartisan way. That comes as we learn more conflicting information about the apparently stalled house panels investigation which is a partisan mess. An fbi official tells cnn the house Intelligence Committee has not officially requested the fbi director to come testify which is odd, very, considering that Committee Chairman devin nunes said this weeks hearing had to be rescheduled because the fbi director could not come in. Cnn senior congressional reporter manu raju live on capitol hill. Manu, whats going on here . Reporter well, the house investigation coming to a total stand still, john, over this fight between the democrats and republicans over the role of devin nunes, the chairman of the committee who did say yesterday that he wanted to hear privately from fbi director james comey, but james comey telling cnn that hes actually not gotten that invite yet and does not want to be in the middle of this tugofwar between republicans and democrats about how to move forward. Now, this is a marked contrast to what was seen on the senate side of the capitol. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee Said they are conducting a thorough deep dive into the russian meddling in the elections, something that the chairman of the Committee Richard Burr said is the biggest one of the biggest investigations hes seen in the last two decades. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence committee vowing to answer this fundamental question. Did the Trump Campaign coordinate with the russians to meddle in the elections . From what you have seen so far, did you definitively rule out that there was no coordination whatsoever between Trump Officials and russian officials during the election . We would be crazy to try to draw conclusions from where we are in the investigation. I think mark and i have committed to let this process go through before we form any opinions, and i would hope that thats what you would like us to do, as much as wed like to share minute by minute. Even the snapshots we get as a team going through it are not always accurate when we find the next piece of intelligence, so let us get a little deeper into this before you ask us to write the conclusions. Thats clearly something we intend to do down the road. Reporter and refusing to rule out if the there are any direct links between russia and the president. And we wont take a snapshot in time and make any observations on it, but we know that our challenge is to answer that question for the American People in our conclusions to this investigation. Reporter the Committee Plans to interview 20 witnesses, including jared kushner, President Trumps soninlaw as well as other Trump Associates and suggesting that michael flynn, the former Trump National security advisers could face questions over his contacts with the Russian Ambassador that led to his firing. I think its safe to say that we have had conversations with a lot of people, and you would think less of us if general flynn wasnt in that list. Reporter the Senate Leader saying the panel will go wherever the intelligence leads. The staff has been providing an unprecedented amount of documents. Those documents include documents that up till this point have only been shared with the gang of eight and staff directors on the house and senate side. Reporter the senate probe gaining more prominence now that the house investigation is in gridlock. At least one House Republican has lots of confidence. My sense is right now that the house is in a situation where theres the issue has become overly politicized. They are kind of getting into a stale meat position, a bit paralyzed. The senate is moving on a better trajectory and i think well have to rely on the Senate Report for the russian meddling in the election reporter reason for that stalemate in the house is over chairman devin nunes decision last week to go and brief the president of the United States about surveillance information he received before talking to democrats and then abruptly cancelling a tuesday hearing where sally yates, a former Justice Department official was expected to talk about the flynn russia connections. That suddenly cancelled. Now on the senate side, they do want to look into some of the trump financial ties, but one thing, john, i talked to richard burr, the chairman of the committee right after that press conference. He said that they are not going to request Donald Trumps tax returns, at least not yet. John . All right, manu raju for us on capitol hill. Thanks so much. For more now i want to bring in a democratic member of the house Intelligence Committee, congressman castro of texas. Thanks for being with us. Thank you. Can you help us clear up some confusion here because we learned from an fbi source on background today, they are saying that no official request has come from your committee, the house Intelligence Committee, for fbi director james comey to come testify. That seems like it conflicts with what the chairman devin nunes said just yesterday. Clear this up for us. Well, i know at least the House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee have said that we would like to hear from jim comey and nsa director rogers. Wering to hear from them. What we didnt want is for them to come this past tuesday when there was an open hearing scheduled and i think my sense is the chairman wanted to replace that open session with a closed session with these gentlemen, so we very much want to hear from them, and my concern right now is because of the actions of the chairman, the committee has lost a lot of credibility in the publics eyes. I think the best thing to do right now is, number one, either go with and i pent commission, which weve been pushing, but if the speaker is insistent on not doing, it then the chairman should be replaced and this committee should get on with its work. But the fbi saying as far as they know he hasnt even been invited. Do you have any proof that hes technically been invited to come testify . At this point i cant clarify that either way. Okay. Your republican colleague charlie dent of pennsylvania told me earlier today, you know what, he thinks that the senate should just take over, that the house Intelligence Committee investigation is such a mess essentially that let the senate do this. Do you agree with him . I disagree. If were going to have an investigation in the congress, then both chambers of congress should be looking into this. What the chairman did should not be an excuse for the house to give up on this investigation and just send it over to the senate. In fact, the American People need as many eyes looking at this as possible. So is the House Committee actually doing any investigating right now . Whats the status of your work . This work there hasnt been any activity there. What is a tuesday hearing, an open hearing that was, of course, called off, a closed hearing on thursday that was called off, but i suspect if the house is going to continue to investigate that well start that again soon. When . I mean, the chairman of the committee suggested that maybe you wouldnt have hearings before the house recessed which could be, you know in, a week and a half, and then you go away for three weeks and it could be another month before you do any work . Well, if thats the case, then the chairman and speaker ryan are abdicating their responsibility of the American People who most of all want to know whether there were any americans who conspired with the russians who interfered with our 2016 elections, and for them to not move forward on the investigation is really an obstruction. Fbi director james comey, you said you do want to talk to him again. He was supposed to be before your committee yesterday again or the chairman has suggested he might come in private. What more do you want to ask him . Theres a whole host of questions that we want to ask him. A lot of that he couldnt speak about in open session, but certainly a lot of the people that the senate is talking to, we want to ask about. You heard me in open session and others ask about some of those individuals. Hopefully the director can be more candid in a classified setting. Congressman, last question. When are you going to decide whether youll run for senate in texas . As you can tell, ive been very busy with a lot of russia stuff lately. Ill take until about the end of april to make a decision. Hope youll come back on the show and make an announcement then. Congressman cass trove texas, thanks so much. Thank you. All right. President trump makes a bold prediction about health care. And i know that were all going to make a deal on health care. Thats such an easy one, so i have no doubt that thats going to happen very quickly. Now the white house says he was just having fun and his comments, quote, light hearted. This whole literal thing once again. Did President Trump really sound like he was joking there . Thats next. T food that goes beyond assuming ingredients are safe. To knowing they are. Going beyond expectations. Because our pets deserve it. Beyond. Natural pet food. But theyre different. D kind its nice to remove artificial ingredients. Kind never had to. Weve used real ingredients, whole nuts, and Natural Flavors from the very beginning. Give kind a try. What makesheart healthysalad the becalifornia walnuts. R . The best simple veggie dish ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple dinner ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. Great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. So simple. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. Various shouting heigh ho its off to work we go woman on the gulf coast, new exxonmobil projects are expected to create over 45,000 jobs. And each job created by the Energy Industry supports two others in the community. Altogether, the industry supports over 9 million jobs nationwide. These are jobs that natural gas is helping make happen, all while reducing americas emissions. Energy lives here. Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong insurance company. With Liberty Mutual new car replacement™, you wont have to worry about replacing your car because youll get the full value back including depreciation. And if you have more than one Liberty Mutual policy, you qualify for a multipolicy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. All right. Welcome back. Youre looking at live pictures of the white house. Just moments ago President Trump made remarks at a Womens Empowerment Panel. This was in the east room. In attendance, the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, the u. S. Ambassador to the United Nations nikki haley, the head of the Small Business Administration Linda mcmahon and the head of medicare and medicare seema vergea and also education secretary betsy devos. Well, thank you very much. What an amazing audience this is. So many young faces that represent the future of leadership in our country, so true. Melania and i are deeply honored to join you, and melania, thank you for being here. [ applause ] so as you know, melania is a very highly accomplished woman, and really an inspiration to so many, and she is doing some great job. In fact, i shouldnt say this, but her poll numbers went through the roof last week. What was that all about . Through the roof. She has to give us the secret, right . Anyway, i appreciate it very much. My cabinet is full of really incredible women leaders. Administrator Linda Mcmahon who has been a friend of mine for a long time, long time. [ applause ] done an incredible job in business, by the way. Administrator seema verma, secretary betsy devos and, of course, my good friend from South Carolina who is a very tough competitor, i want to tell you, nick kay haley, ambassador. Shes doing fantastically well. [ applause ] and were also joined by Florida Attorney general, highly respected, pam bondi so i want to thank you, pam. Thank you. [ applause ] elaine chow, our secretary of transportation who is a real expert. Show was secretary of labor, but she said i really wanted to be secretary of transportation. Thats her real expertise and shes doing incredibly. She would have been here, but shes celebrating the 50th anniversary of the department of transportation right now as we speak, and shes going to work on infrastructure, and we are going to put up one of the big and great infrastructure bills of all time. [ applause ] were going to get our infrastructure fixed in our country. And were going to rebuild our country, and thats what we need. Lots of jobs also. And i want to thank ford. You saw their big announcement yesterday and so many others are announcing tremendous numbers of jobs. They are not leaving our country anymore, folks. They are staying and building right here. So we really have these these incredibly strong and dedicated leaders, and they are with me, and they are with us, and im very happy about it, and i want to thank you as being representative very much of our group. Thank you all very much. Thank you. [ applause ] and im so proud that the white house and our administration is filled with so many women of such incredible talent. This week as we conclude womens history month, we honor a great woman of american history. Since the very beginning, women have driven, and i mean each generation of americans towards a more free and more prosperous future. Hey morning these patriots are women like the legendary abigail adams. [ applause ] right . Would during the founding urged her husband to remember the rights of women. She was very much a pioneer in that way. Weve been blessed with courageous heros like Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery. [ applause ] and went on to deliver hundreds of others who freedom, first in the underground railroad and then as a spy for the union army. She was very, very courageous, believe me. Around weve had leader like susan b. Anthony, have you heard of susan b. Anthony . Im shocked that youve heard of her who dreamed of a much more fair and equal future and an america where women themselves as she said helped to make laws and elect the lawmakers, and thats whats happening more and more. Tough competition out there. I want to tell you. From the untamed frontiers of the Western Plains to the skyscrapers of manhattan, american women in every generation have shown extraordinary grit, courage and devotion. Our present generation stands on the shoulders of these titans, and thats what they were and are, titans, only by enlisting the full potential of women in our society will we be truly able to you have not heard this expression before, to make America Great again. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Its been a lot of fun. And we didnt get that one from madison avenue, right . My administration will work every day to ensure that our economy is a place where women can work, succeed and thrive like never before. That includes fighting to make sure that all mothers and all families have access to affordable child care. [ applause ] we want every daughter in america to grow up in a country where she can believe in herself, believe in her future and follow her heart and realize her dreams. And we want a country that celebrates family, that celebrates community and that creates a safe and loving home for every child, every child. Thats what we want. Early this year i met with a Remarkable Group of leaders. They were Women Entrepreneurs from all across the country. They started their businesses from absolutely nothing and today have grown them into Successful Enterprises that employ hundreds an in certain cases even thousands of people. Just think of what our country could achieve if we unleashed the power of Women Entrepreneurs nationwide. Think of that. [ applause ] so as a man i stand before you as president , but if i werent president , i wouldnt be happy to hear that statement. That would be a very scary statement to me because theres no way we can compete with you, so i would not be happy. [ applause ] just wouldnt be happy. One of the Business Owners i met lisa phillips, used to be homeless. Shes now the owner of an President Donald Trump<\/a> and russia. That was the clear promise. The clear message, enough with the kids table. The grownups are stepping in. The Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee has invited 20 people to testify and is pledging to Work Together<\/a> in a bipartisan way. That comes as we learn more conflicting information about the apparently stalled house panels investigation which is a partisan mess. An fbi official tells cnn the house Intelligence Committee<\/a> has not officially requested the fbi director to come testify which is odd, very, considering that Committee Chairman<\/a> devin nunes said this weeks hearing had to be rescheduled because the fbi director could not come in. Cnn senior congressional reporter manu raju live on capitol hill. Manu, whats going on here . Reporter well, the house investigation coming to a total stand still, john, over this fight between the democrats and republicans over the role of devin nunes, the chairman of the committee who did say yesterday that he wanted to hear privately from fbi director james comey, but james comey telling cnn that hes actually not gotten that invite yet and does not want to be in the middle of this tugofwar between republicans and democrats about how to move forward. Now, this is a marked contrast to what was seen on the senate side of the capitol. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence<\/a> Committee Said<\/a> they are conducting a thorough deep dive into the russian meddling in the elections, something that the chairman of the Committee Richard Burr<\/a> said is the biggest one of the biggest investigations hes seen in the last two decades. The leaders of the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee vowing to answer this fundamental question. Did the Trump Campaign<\/a> coordinate with the russians to meddle in the elections . From what you have seen so far, did you definitively rule out that there was no coordination whatsoever between Trump Officials<\/a> and russian officials during the election . We would be crazy to try to draw conclusions from where we are in the investigation. I think mark and i have committed to let this process go through before we form any opinions, and i would hope that thats what you would like us to do, as much as wed like to share minute by minute. Even the snapshots we get as a team going through it are not always accurate when we find the next piece of intelligence, so let us get a little deeper into this before you ask us to write the conclusions. Thats clearly something we intend to do down the road. Reporter and refusing to rule out if the there are any direct links between russia and the president. And we wont take a snapshot in time and make any observations on it, but we know that our challenge is to answer that question for the American People<\/a> in our conclusions to this investigation. Reporter the Committee Plans<\/a> to interview 20 witnesses, including jared kushner, President Trump<\/a>s soninlaw as well as other Trump Associates<\/a> and suggesting that michael flynn, the former Trump National<\/a> security advisers could face questions over his contacts with the Russian Ambassador<\/a> that led to his firing. I think its safe to say that we have had conversations with a lot of people, and you would think less of us if general flynn wasnt in that list. Reporter the Senate Leader<\/a> saying the panel will go wherever the intelligence leads. The staff has been providing an unprecedented amount of documents. Those documents include documents that up till this point have only been shared with the gang of eight and staff directors on the house and senate side. Reporter the senate probe gaining more prominence now that the house investigation is in gridlock. At least one House Republican<\/a> has lots of confidence. My sense is right now that the house is in a situation where theres the issue has become overly politicized. They are kind of getting into a stale meat position, a bit paralyzed. The senate is moving on a better trajectory and i think well have to rely on the Senate Report<\/a> for the russian meddling in the election reporter reason for that stalemate in the house is over chairman devin nunes decision last week to go and brief the president of the United States<\/a> about surveillance information he received before talking to democrats and then abruptly cancelling a tuesday hearing where sally yates, a former Justice Department<\/a> official was expected to talk about the flynn russia connections. That suddenly cancelled. Now on the senate side, they do want to look into some of the trump financial ties, but one thing, john, i talked to richard burr, the chairman of the committee right after that press conference. He said that they are not going to request Donald Trumps<\/a> tax returns, at least not yet. John . All right, manu raju for us on capitol hill. Thanks so much. For more now i want to bring in a democratic member of the house Intelligence Committee<\/a>, congressman castro of texas. Thanks for being with us. Thank you. Can you help us clear up some confusion here because we learned from an fbi source on background today, they are saying that no official request has come from your committee, the house Intelligence Committee<\/a>, for fbi director james comey to come testify. That seems like it conflicts with what the chairman devin nunes said just yesterday. Clear this up for us. Well, i know at least the House Democrats<\/a> on the Intelligence Committee<\/a> have said that we would like to hear from jim comey and nsa director rogers. Wering to hear from them. What we didnt want is for them to come this past tuesday when there was an open hearing scheduled and i think my sense is the chairman wanted to replace that open session with a closed session with these gentlemen, so we very much want to hear from them, and my concern right now is because of the actions of the chairman, the committee has lost a lot of credibility in the publics eyes. I think the best thing to do right now is, number one, either go with and i pent commission, which weve been pushing, but if the speaker is insistent on not doing, it then the chairman should be replaced and this committee should get on with its work. But the fbi saying as far as they know he hasnt even been invited. Do you have any proof that hes technically been invited to come testify . At this point i cant clarify that either way. Okay. Your republican colleague charlie dent of pennsylvania told me earlier today, you know what, he thinks that the senate should just take over, that the house Intelligence Committee<\/a> investigation is such a mess essentially that let the senate do this. Do you agree with him . I disagree. If were going to have an investigation in the congress, then both chambers of congress should be looking into this. What the chairman did should not be an excuse for the house to give up on this investigation and just send it over to the senate. In fact, the American People<\/a> need as many eyes looking at this as possible. So is the House Committee<\/a> actually doing any investigating right now . Whats the status of your work . This work there hasnt been any activity there. What is a tuesday hearing, an open hearing that was, of course, called off, a closed hearing on thursday that was called off, but i suspect if the house is going to continue to investigate that well start that again soon. When . I mean, the chairman of the committee suggested that maybe you wouldnt have hearings before the house recessed which could be, you know in, a week and a half, and then you go away for three weeks and it could be another month before you do any work . Well, if thats the case, then the chairman and speaker ryan are abdicating their responsibility of the American People<\/a> who most of all want to know whether there were any americans who conspired with the russians who interfered with our 2016 elections, and for them to not move forward on the investigation is really an obstruction. Fbi director james comey, you said you do want to talk to him again. He was supposed to be before your committee yesterday again or the chairman has suggested he might come in private. What more do you want to ask him . Theres a whole host of questions that we want to ask him. A lot of that he couldnt speak about in open session, but certainly a lot of the people that the senate is talking to, we want to ask about. You heard me in open session and others ask about some of those individuals. Hopefully the director can be more candid in a classified setting. Congressman, last question. When are you going to decide whether youll run for senate in texas . As you can tell, ive been very busy with a lot of russia stuff lately. Ill take until about the end of april to make a decision. Hope youll come back on the show and make an announcement then. Congressman cass trove texas, thanks so much. Thank you. All right. President trump makes a bold prediction about health care. And i know that were all going to make a deal on health care. Thats such an easy one, so i have no doubt that thats going to happen very quickly. Now the white house says he was just having fun and his comments, quote, light hearted. This whole literal thing once again. Did President Trump<\/a> really sound like he was joking there . Thats next. T food that goes beyond assuming ingredients are safe. To knowing they are. Going beyond expectations. Because our pets deserve it. Beyond. Natural pet food. But theyre different. D kind its nice to remove artificial ingredients. Kind never had to. Weve used real ingredients, whole nuts, and Natural Flavors<\/a> from the very beginning. Give kind a try. What makesheart healthysalad the becalifornia walnuts. R . The best simple veggie dish ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple dinner ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. Great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. So simple. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. Various shouting heigh ho its off to work we go woman on the gulf coast, new exxonmobil projects are expected to create over 45,000 jobs. And each job created by the Energy Industry<\/a> supports two others in the community. Altogether, the industry supports over 9 million jobs nationwide. These are jobs that natural gas is helping make happen, all while reducing americas emissions. Energy lives here. Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong insurance company. With Liberty Mutual<\/a> new car replacement\u2122, you wont have to worry about replacing your car because youll get the full value back including depreciation. And if you have more than one Liberty Mutual<\/a> policy, you qualify for a multipolicy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you\u2122. Liberty mutual insurance. All right. Welcome back. Youre looking at live pictures of the white house. Just moments ago President Trump<\/a> made remarks at a Womens Empowerment Panel<\/a>. This was in the east room. In attendance, the first lady of the United States<\/a>, Melania Trump<\/a>, the u. S. Ambassador to the United Nations<\/a> nikki haley, the head of the Small Business<\/a> Administration Linda<\/a> mcmahon and the head of medicare and medicare seema vergea and also education secretary betsy devos. Well, thank you very much. What an amazing audience this is. So many young faces that represent the future of leadership in our country, so true. Melania and i are deeply honored to join you, and melania, thank you for being here. [ applause ] so as you know, melania is a very highly accomplished woman, and really an inspiration to so many, and she is doing some great job. In fact, i shouldnt say this, but her poll numbers went through the roof last week. What was that all about . Through the roof. She has to give us the secret, right . Anyway, i appreciate it very much. My cabinet is full of really incredible women leaders. Administrator Linda Mcmahon<\/a> who has been a friend of mine for a long time, long time. [ applause ] done an incredible job in business, by the way. Administrator seema verma, secretary betsy devos and, of course, my good friend from South Carolina<\/a> who is a very tough competitor, i want to tell you, nick kay haley, ambassador. Shes doing fantastically well. [ applause ] and were also joined by Florida Attorney<\/a> general, highly respected, pam bondi so i want to thank you, pam. Thank you. [ applause ] elaine chow, our secretary of transportation who is a real expert. Show was secretary of labor, but she said i really wanted to be secretary of transportation. Thats her real expertise and shes doing incredibly. She would have been here, but shes celebrating the 50th anniversary of the department of transportation right now as we speak, and shes going to work on infrastructure, and we are going to put up one of the big and great infrastructure bills of all time. [ applause ] were going to get our infrastructure fixed in our country. And were going to rebuild our country, and thats what we need. Lots of jobs also. And i want to thank ford. You saw their big announcement yesterday and so many others are announcing tremendous numbers of jobs. They are not leaving our country anymore, folks. They are staying and building right here. So we really have these these incredibly strong and dedicated leaders, and they are with me, and they are with us, and im very happy about it, and i want to thank you as being representative very much of our group. Thank you all very much. Thank you. [ applause ] and im so proud that the white house and our administration is filled with so many women of such incredible talent. This week as we conclude womens history month, we honor a great woman of american history. Since the very beginning, women have driven, and i mean each generation of americans towards a more free and more prosperous future. Hey morning these patriots are women like the legendary abigail adams. [ applause ] right . Would during the founding urged her husband to remember the rights of women. She was very much a pioneer in that way. Weve been blessed with courageous heros like Harriet Tubman<\/a> who escaped slavery. [ applause ] and went on to deliver hundreds of others who freedom, first in the underground railroad and then as a spy for the union army. She was very, very courageous, believe me. Around weve had leader like susan b. Anthony, have you heard of susan b. Anthony . Im shocked that youve heard of her who dreamed of a much more fair and equal future and an america where women themselves as she said helped to make laws and elect the lawmakers, and thats whats happening more and more. Tough competition out there. I want to tell you. From the untamed frontiers of the Western Plains<\/a> to the skyscrapers of manhattan, american women in every generation have shown extraordinary grit, courage and devotion. Our present generation stands on the shoulders of these titans, and thats what they were and are, titans, only by enlisting the full potential of women in our society will we be truly able to you have not heard this expression before, to make America Great<\/a> again. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Its been a lot of fun. And we didnt get that one from madison avenue, right . My administration will work every day to ensure that our economy is a place where women can work, succeed and thrive like never before. That includes fighting to make sure that all mothers and all families have access to affordable child care. [ applause ] we want every daughter in america to grow up in a country where she can believe in herself, believe in her future and follow her heart and realize her dreams. And we want a country that celebrates family, that celebrates community and that creates a safe and loving home for every child, every child. Thats what we want. Early this year i met with a Remarkable Group<\/a> of leaders. They were Women Entrepreneurs<\/a> from all across the country. They started their businesses from absolutely nothing and today have grown them into Successful Enterprises<\/a> that employ hundreds an in certain cases even thousands of people. Just think of what our country could achieve if we unleashed the power of Women Entrepreneurs<\/a> nationwide. Think of that. [ applause ] so as a man i stand before you as president , but if i werent president , i wouldnt be happy to hear that statement. That would be a very scary statement to me because theres no way we can compete with you, so i would not be happy. [ applause ] just wouldnt be happy. One of the Business Owners<\/a> i met lisa phillips, used to be homeless. Shes now the owner of an Event Planning<\/a> company and trains Homeless Youth<\/a> in baltimore for a godpaying job. Lisa had a message for all of us. As she put it, this is a country of chances. If youre willing to work hard, youll get the chance, and she means it, and shes become very successful. Shes terrific. Lisa is right, but we have to fight to ensure that more people have the chance to succeed. To do that, we must believe in each other and we must dare to dream of a better, brighter and more prosperous future for all of our citizens. We have no choice. Thats what we have to do, and to be honest, whether youre a woman or whether youre a man, you have that same dream. You want to be able to dream. You just have a big advantage over us. You know why . Right there . [ applause ] theres a lot of truth to that, right, mike . Thats what i want for each and everyone, and each and every one of our daughters and our grand daughters, and i know together we will get there. I want every young person in the audience today and watching from home, and they are all over the place, the cameras are all over, to know that the future truly belongs to you. We are americans, and we will not stop until we have achieved our dreams. I want to thank very much for being here. Its my great honor, i will tell you, to be here. In fact, melania said this is something i just have to be at. She feels so strongly about it. She feels so strongly about it. [ applause ] so thank you, god bless you and god bless america. Thank you very much. Thank you. President trump speak moments ago at a Womens Empowerment Panel<\/a> in the east room of the white house. He talked about the need to unleash Women Entrepreneurs<\/a> in the country and he also praised many of the women who fought for freedom in this country over the past 200 years, and he talked about his wife, Melania Trump<\/a>, who needed to be there, wanted to be there no matter what. Well talk much more about Melania Trump<\/a> coming up in a little bit. She gave a very rare speech today and a rare appearance in our Nations Capital<\/a>. Meanwhile, some comments the president made overnight about u. S. Troops in iraq. He said they are fighting like they never have before, a statement that has some of questioning both his timing and his strategy. Stay with us. I think when youh the disaster that strikes a country, you do see that people care. People were dying. We have to do something about this. We have something in development, so well accelerate. I think it was really necessary for people, companies to step up and try to do something about this. So how old do you want uhh, i was thinking around 70. Alright, and before that . You mean after that . No, im talking before that. Do you have things you want to do before you retire . Oh yeah sure. Ok, like what . But i thought we were supposed to be talking about investing for retirement . Were absolutely doing that. But theres no law you cant make the most of today. What do you want to do . Id really like to run with the bulls. Wow. Yea. Hope youre fast. I am. Get a portfolio that works for you now and as your needs change. Investment Management Services<\/a> from td ameritrade. Back now with our world lead. President trump raising some eyebrows right now saying u. S. Soldiers are fighting like they never have before in iraq. Thats interesting in and of itself. Also, with no reference to the military commander that is potentially responsible for an air strike that killed hundreds of innocent civilians last month. Cnn pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr<\/a> joins us now and White House Press<\/a> Secretary Sean Spicer<\/a> said the president is pleased with the progress in iraq and this is a different assessment than before he was president. Reporter this begins to raise an interesting question. Is President Trump<\/a>s military strategy really any different than president obama . Were doing very good in iraq. Reporter rare comments on the war in iraq. He meant have meant them as morale booster in chief but our timing seems peculiar. Our soldiers are fighting and like never before. In this particular case he was ignoring the fact that the really hard fighting occurred with the invasion of iraq in 2003 and 2004 and 2007. Reporter comments also come after word of a formal investigation into u. S. Led air strike in mosul after more than 100 civilian deaths. The Trump Administration<\/a> is now dropping 500 precisionguided bombings on mosul every week a u. S. Defense official tells cnn. The Top Commander<\/a> acknowledges that keeping civilians out of the line of fire while attacking isis is growing harder. As we move into these urban environments, it is going to become more and more difficult. Reporter as the Trump White House<\/a> increases bombing and troop levels against isis in several countries, still no sign of a Trump Military<\/a> strategy. I think theres the vague idea that you have to throw some troops at the problem, whether the problem is in iraq, in syria or yemen or some other place. Reporter more u. S. Troops are headed overseas. I think that is what what you continue to see with all of these deployments right here. We are not one of our key principles other with our folks forward is to help our partners fight but not fight for them. Reporter in afghanistan, commanders want hundreds of additional troops. In iraq another 250 are on the way. In syria, up to 900 are on the ground at any one time. In yemen, the u. S. Is increasing military support and stepping up air strikes against isis. Trump is also facing calls for more troops to counter russia. Our partner russia has turned from partner to protagonist. Reporter trump defended russia. If we have a Good Relationship<\/a> with russia, thats a good thing, believe me. Reporter a fundamental difference from the defense team. Defense secretary james mattis says hes not ready for cooperation. Russia will have to prove itself first. Reporter but relying on the local forces around the world the u. S. Training and advising them, it does sound a lot like the obama strategy. Those local forces especially in mosul, iraq, now paying a very heavy price for their fight. In the last five weeks more than 300 iraqi soldiers have been killed in mosul. John . All right. Important to note that. John, Barbara Starr<\/a> at the pentagon. Lots to talk about with our panel. Jack jackie kucinich, the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee took their veil off and richard burr and mark warner provided a bipartisan base, were the grownups and another headline manu raju asked senator burr outright. The white house keeps on saying that everyone says theres no evidence of collusion between Trump Associates<\/a> and russians. Are you ready to say that now and Richard Burton<\/a> said, no, im not ready to say that now . Well, right. Hes saying and he also said that they will go where the facts lead them which is traditionally how you would have an investigation, not the way the house is doing it. Its refreshing to see the two of them, senator mark warner and senator presenting a united front and you get the sense that is there will be serious work done there which is not the case on the other side of the capitol. Its clear to me they wanted to show a united front. Margaret hoover, charlie dent, moderate republican from pennsylvania earlier told us today here on cnn that the senate should just take over, that hes lost face in the house intelligence congressman which is very rare to hear from a member of congress to say. Its unfortunate. I like charlie dent a lot and i happen to disagree with him. The reap we have two bodies that you represent people in the United States<\/a> is you want as many people with the eyes on the government, looking at the government and checking on its accountability and what charlie is saying he doesnt have faith in the leader devin nunes and they should get someone who has the confidence of the house of representatives in that position because you want both houses of the legislative branch looking at these problems. Chairman nunes not going anywhere still, according to chairman nunes and congressman castro doesnt want to take it out of the house hands. Angrily rye, the Senate Committee<\/a> in talking to 20 people, wont tell us which 20 people except for jared kushner, President Trump<\/a>s soninlaw. It sounds like a lot of this will be behind closed doors. In fact, it sounds like on the house side if anything does happen it wont be for a long time. We may have seen the last in public of these investigations for some time. Yeah. Theres so much left to be discussed in the public domain. People have a ton of questions, and i think its unfortunate that they arent being fully transparent. I understand the sensitive nature around this investigation. I understand all of that, but we do know so many people have been making jokes about devin nunes going over to the white house in the dead of night. I dont know what time it was. We do know he hopped out of a car and got into an uber. I think the issue is why the house been calling for an independent commission because it is clear, right, that the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee<\/a> on intelligence is compromised in some way y. Were they calling for a special prosecutor out of doj . Well, its clear that once Jeff Sessions<\/a> lied in his testimony during his during his nomination hearing, that he also is compromised. He also has had conversations. Theres a laundry lives Trump Associates<\/a>, business partners, et cetera, that have had some type of conversation and engagement with rush. And many of them by name appear to be speaking before the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee at some point. Jackie, sean spicer, White House Press<\/a> secretary today once again was asked would he turn over the name of the person who cleared chairman nunes on to the white house grounds to have the meeting where he looked at the intelligence and sean changed his story again today to an extent. He said ive asked but i still have nothing new for you on that. My understanding from talking to people who have worked in the white house, you know, you can get that information in minutes if not seconds. Its not a matter of asking. Its a matter its right there. Can you go get it. So if he wants to get it it can be got. Yes, of course. I mean, he probably im not saying sean spicer knows who it is, but this is not secret information. Its not that hard to get. Not that hard to get. I worked in the white house, a white house staffer, which was over eight years ago, you put in a persons name and Social Security<\/a> number and its in the system that secret service runs so you have to coordinate with secret service in order to get that clearance but it is accessible. You dont have to be privileged in order to get. You have to let secret service let you get it and that was post 9 11. Look this, White House Leaks<\/a> a lot, okay. One thing that they are not particularly good at is keeping a lid on secrets so if thats really that easy to find, everybody go work your sources. Youll have it in 24 hours. Angela, charlie dent, margarets friend charlie dent made more news today. Hes a member of the tuesday group, moderate House Republican<\/a>s, and thats one faction that was not supportive of the Health Care Bill<\/a> and Freedom Caucus<\/a> on the other side was not supportive. Charlie dent the white house hasnt reached out to him in the next couple of days and house leadership hasnt been in conversations about negotiating a new Health Care Bill<\/a> so the ideaed that theres some resurgence of discussion going on somehow behind the scenes makes me wonder if its not actually going the way people are going. Youre asking if something that they said might not be factual, john. Just wondering. This white house cant have nice things. The way the Trump Administration<\/a> rolled out a health care initiative. Not only have they not talked to the house hand they failed in a lot of way to talk to members of the senate, they failed to engage key stakeholders, like doctors, medical associations, pharmaceutical companies, on this last stretch. Lets see if they do anything different this time but you have to have a broad campaign. I think we learned that with obamacare and the Affordable Care<\/a> act, you have to have a number of people who are engaged and bought into the process. They didnt do that. They wanted to drain the swamp and they forgot while they were actually filling the swamp to talk to people who you need to carry the water. Real, not Real Health Care<\/a> discussions right now . Maybe there are discussions but nothing is going to come of this. The players havent changed. The bill hasnt changed. Nothing has changed since last week. I dont know if they are trying to save face. Dont underestimate the ideological sort of weddedness that the conservatives and the Movement Conservatives<\/a> have to reforming health care. Many of them didnt like obamacare. They didnt like president obama and they werent for it for those reasons, but a lot of them really truly believe that you can have a better a reformed Health Care System<\/a> and they have worked so long in order to get themselves to this place they feel real el fraught that they have missed this opportunity. I dont think paul ryan is going to give up yes. I dont think many of them are going to give up yet. I dont think it is going to happen in the next 28 days, but i think that they are unwilling to just say, okay, we missed our chance, so my guess is on the back burner they try to start figuring out if theres a way to do it before the cycle is over. Angela . This is a really bad example of what happens when you study history. They should have studied history and realize that had this is going to cost a lot of Political Capital<\/a> if you do this at the beginning, obamacare, and they are doing the same exact thing. Turns out health care isnt so easy despite what the president said. Jackie, angela, margaret hoover, thanks for being here. Really appreciate it. Coming up the top democrat from the house Intelligence Committee<\/a> adam schiff will join wolf blitzer in tthe situation room. A move that has a lot of people nervous and maybe clearing some folks search history. Thats next. i moved upstate because i was interested in building a career. I came to ibm to manage global clients and big data. But i found so much more. its really a melting pot of activities and people. applause, cheering new york state is filled with bright minds like victorias. To find the companies and talent of tomorrow, search for our page, jobsinnewyorkstate on linkedin. Back now with the national lead. Any day new President Trump<\/a> is expected to decide the fate of your online privacy. Congress voted to repeal a rule that required Internet Service<\/a> providers to get your permission before collecting your data, like the web browsing history and the apps you use. Republican supporters say its time the old priflsy rules still innovation and prevent your Internet Provider<\/a> from competing with google and facebook. Want to bring in jeff chester. You are an advocate for one side, but before we goat that i just want to the have you explain to people how this is different. The information that your Internet Service<\/a> providers have and now will be able to hand over as compared to google, facebook, instagram which also hand over that information. Well, your Internet Service<\/a> provider like verizon, comcast and at t have a front row seat into your lives. Your most personal details are now online. Your financial interests, your health concerns, are you searching for depression . Does your child have attention deficit . Are you looking for a lon, you know . Who did you vote for in the last election. All of this information is now online, and the isps have kind of a onestop Shopping System<\/a> in place that can gather and make lots of money off all of this information. Look, you decide to go to google and facebook and you know they are an advertisingbased business, but you pay a lot of money each month for your Computer Connection<\/a> at home or your mobile phone and dont expect the same company to also basically steal your information and sell it to the highest bidder. So youre saying you have more of a choice to go to google, more of a choice to go to facebook. You know what youre getting into there, but getting on the internet in and the of itself now is almost a requirement for being a member of this society, and then youre opening yourself up to all that information which will now be available to the highest bidder . Thats right. The isps, these big Internet Service<\/a> companies, and lets remember most americans dont have much choice when it comes to their Internet Service<\/a> provider, we really have kind of a monopoly here and they also bring you your television service, you know, they have invested a lot of money in todays big Data Technologies<\/a> to to generate new profits. Look, because of innovation and because of our use of the mobile phone, you companies are now able to know so much about us, and they are able to tie all that information together in profound ways that it wasnt before possible. Where do you shop and where do you buy and who your friends are and how much money do you spend and who do you communicate with . All of that information on a minutebyminute basis is now gathered and and processed so people can be marketed to and targeted by advertisers and others. Isps have an unfair position because they are in your home. Right. They are in your mobile phone. All the fcc rule said was they have to ask first before your sensitive information, your most personal details, could be used. The regulation didnt say they couldnt use it. They said they had to ask. If President Trump<\/a>, who we hope will veto this bill, if somebody came to President Trump<\/a>s desk in the oval office and took his financial information, his Health Information<\/a> and other personal details about his children, hed be furious. Thats what this sensible rule does. It simply says you have to ask first, but the companies are afraid telling consumers, telling subscribers what they are really doing. Yes, were selling your financial information, yes, were selling your Health Information<\/a>. We have about a minute left here. How do you protect yourself if you dont want people to know to buy the information about what sites youre searching on or where you might be looking online . What can you do to protect yourself . This is a real problem because in america whats happened is we dont have any privacy regulations for the internet really except for children, a law that we got through back in 1988 before there was a a google or a facebook. So its its a wild west out there. Your data is being collected in more manned more ways literally every day. You can be technologically savvy and maybe you can afford to kind of buy some technologies to get you out of this and protect your cookies but for the average person who wants the Free Shipping<\/a> and the discount and wants to know where the drug store or gas station or directions, are you have to give up this information. Right. And youre not told what its going to be used for, so people have no control, and for the first time in almost 25 years people were about to be given some control over the sensitive information, not about buying a book or buying a shirt but about your Health Information<\/a>. Thats why we need people to go on on the white house website, the we the people petition, and sign the petition and tell President Trump<\/a> protect the average americans prif. I he said he is going to support this bill. Jeff chester, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. A lot of information veil and these Internet Service<\/a> providers dont have to ask. The first lady stepping into the spotlight making her first speech in the Nations Capital<\/a> and some are noticing the person she did not mention, plus plus, we have some breaking news about ivanka trumps new official role in her fathers white house. Thats next. People confuse nice and kind but theyre different. Its nice to remove artificial ingredients. Kind never had to. Weve used real ingredients, whole nuts, and Natural Flavors<\/a> from the very beginning. Give kind a try. Welcome back. We have breaking news just into cnn. Ivanka trump is becoming an official white house employee. This is an unprecedented role for a first daughter. The white house says she will be an unpaid adviser to her father. The role will offer her increased opportunities they say to lead initiatives driving real policy benefits for the American Public<\/a> but the statement doesnt say anything about her level of security clearance. A statement from ivanka trumps Attorney Says<\/a> ivanka trump will file the Financial Disclosure<\/a> forms required of federal employees and be bound by the same ethics rules she planned to comply with voluntarily. Much more on that later. Now in the east wing of the white house, Melania Trump<\/a> has been keeping a low profile spending most of her time here in new york city but in the past 24 hours the first lady has been busy in washington. Moments ago she attended a white house event with the president just hours after headlining an event at the state department. Want to bring in cnn White House Reporter<\/a> kate bennett. We havent heard much from mrs. Trump but will get a sense of the causes shoal champion as first lady. Thats right, john, and in todays speech she talked about her passion for empowering women and supporting gender equality and sort of a first glimpse of an official platform from the played it who has stayed far away from the spotlight. The first lady of the United States<\/a>, mrs. Melania frump. A public appearance by first lady Melania Trump<\/a> is rare, but today in washington mrs. Trump made her first formal speech since the inauguration. Im deeply humbled to be here today. Wearing a white coat dress, a look thats quickly becoming a signature, melania was at the state department handing out the International Women<\/a> of courage awards. As they continue to preserve against unimaginable odds, these women are extraordinary examples of reaching within to find the courage that lies inside us all to change the world. It was a speech that is shaping up to be her platform, enencouraging gender equality womens empowerment on a global stage. Together with the international community, the United States<\/a> must send a clear message that we are watching. It is, therefore, our duty to continue to shine the light on each miraculous victory achieved by women, all capable of trying, truly leading the change to fight for those that cannot fight for themselves. Reporter mrs. Trump didnt reference her husband, President Donald Trump<\/a> in her speech. She used the opportunity to speak at length about her own beliefs. However, last night she was at trumps side for a dinner with senators and their spouses at the white house. Thank you all for being here. Melania, thank you very much reporter appearances, along with a spike in social media presence, shes been instagramming and tweeting, mark an active few days for melania. This week she finally announced the hire of a communications director, a sign she could be ready for more public sightings. You feeling good . Reporter for now the first lady remains a new York Resident<\/a> until her son barron finishes the school year and she will likely join her husband full time at the white house. And weve been getting these somewhat lengthy gaps between her public glimpses of melania and were anticipating her back in washington for the annual white house easter egg roll. John . Kate bennett, thanks so much. Facts are fickle things and these days the search for truth is difficult, but even as members of the left denounce the conspiracy theories flowing from the white house and the president , liberals are not immune to misinformation. Our jake tapper filed this report. Reporter since the president ial election this was the largest audience to ever wins an inauguration period. Reporter the role of conspiracy theorist has grown to include not just members of the Trump Administration<\/a>. I said wait a minute, theres a lot of wiretapping being talked about. Reporter but now more liberal ones as well. Did you hear mr. Trump and russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a> were seen together at a swiss resort according to a fake news site created by a movie Marketing Team<\/a> and another asked whether the travel ban was a trial balloon tore a coup and there was also a report that the president cut funds for a veteran suicide hotline. Of course, none of these stories is true, but for some people these days facts are fickle. It is remarkable how people are condemning the conspiracy theories that trump promotes while at the same time promoting conspiracy theories of their own, and i think we need to take a sober second lock and think more carefully about what the evidence really supports. Reporter a political scientist at Dartmouth College<\/a> says conspiracies aimed at trump may be a coping mechanism for liberals. Its not like conspiracy theories have gone away on the conservative side, but the intensity is seemingly lessened. People tend to believe them when they are negative about their opponents, and in particular after they have lost power they may be more vulnerable. Reporter of course, washington conspiracies are nothing new. In some cases they turn out to be true. You can think of watergate as a Conspiracy Theory<\/a> that turned out to be true. But at the same time conspiracy theorizing leads to a kind of sloppy thinking. Reporter past rumors include the clintons leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. 9 11 was an inside job and, of course barack obama should give his birth certificate. Reporter so whats new now . Well, the Trump Administration<\/a>s unprecedented disregard for facts. Alternative facts to that. Reporter according to nyhan, russias intrusion into the u. S. Election has lowered the bar for belief even further. Contacts with russia and the unprecedented russian interference in the election have seemed to legitimize elaborate conspiracy theories of the sort wed see on homeland or house of cards. Those people have taken those legitimate questions as a license to believe in all sorts of things for which theres no evidence. All right. You need the evidence. That is all for the lead today. Im john berman in for jake. I now turn you over to wolf blitzer in the situation room. Happening now, breaking news, Senate Intelligence<\/a> leaders say their investigation of ties between Trump Campaign<\/a> and russia will be the biggest in years. They want to question at least 20 people and they say they will follow the intelligence wherever it leads, even to the highest level. Stalled in the house, amid partisan infighting the house investigation grinds to a the had a. Democrats accuse the republican chairman of working with the white house. He refuses to step aside and indicates no public hearings will be held for weeks. Ill speak later with the ranking democrat adam schiff. An easy one. Just days after the collapse of the republican obamacare replacement","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia601409.us.archive.org\/9\/items\/CNNW_20170329_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper\/CNNW_20170329_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper.thumbs\/CNNW_20170329_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240617T12:35:10+00:00"}