Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20170612 : vi

Dangers few will ever know and fewer will ever face. Cnn taking an indepth look at these elite warriors and their growing mission around the world. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. Well begin with the politics lead and with a president feeling under siege as we get ready to hear from the attorney general Jeff Sessions in public testimony before the u. S. Senate tomorrow, today President Trump set out to show the American People that his Administration Remains focused and positive with a Cabinet Meeting, the likes of which frankly weve never seen before. It started with the president and now familiar fashion boasting of his accomplishments and attacking his rivals. But i think weve been about as active as you can possibly be and at just about a recordsetting pace. If we had the greatest bill in the history of the world on health care, we wouldnt get one vote from the democrats because they are obstructionists. Thats what they want to do. But then cabinet members were invited to speak, and thats when it all got a tad unusual. Greatest privilege of my life a is to serve of as Vice President keeping his word to the American People. Mr. President what, an incredible honor it is to lead the department of health and Human Services at this pivotal time under your leadership. I cant thank you enough for the privilege that youve given me. Hundreds and hundreds of people were just so thrilled to hang out watching the whole ceremony. I want to thank you for getting this country moving again. The entire senior staff around you, mr. President , we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that youve given us to serve of your agenda. Now the white house might say this is just a display of focus and loyalty and positivity, but critics suggested that the display today was sycophantic and a little more disturbing. Some supporters of the president in the world of conservative punditry were busy out there trying to undercut a man today with an impeccable reputation for serving, Robert Mueller. Currently the special counsel heading up the russia investigation. With former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tweeting, quote, republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who hes firing. Chicago reports. What a difference a month makes. A month ago gingrich said Robert Mueller is amount superb choice to be special counsel and others are beginning to question mueller and his investigation and integrity for any number of reasons. Perhaps belying the positive vibes that we saw in the cabinet room earlier today, but lets focus right now on the testimony of attorney general Jeff Sessions who has thrown back into the center of of this storm by james comey last week. Sessions will also face the Senate Intelligence committee tomorrow and the testimony will be public. Cnns Jessica Schneider has all the late on the russia investigation. Jessica . Well, you know, jake, its fair to say that tomorrows testimony, it will be intensified in the wake of james comeys accusations last week that sessions left him alone with the president and didnt respond when comey told sessions the president made him uncomfortable, but questions do remain about how wideranging Jeff Sessions testimony will be and will the white house try to intervene . Its an honor to be able to serve of you in that regard. Reporter attorney general Jeff Sessions praising the president in todays Cabinet Meeting. Youre right, jeff, thank you very much. It followses of tensions between the two over sessions recusal over the russia investigation back in march. Sessions will testify tomorrow in front of the Senate Intelligence committee. Sources say he tried to raise a closed hearing and after objections from democrats agreed to speak publicly. The white house is still weighing whether to exert executive privilege to preclude some of sessions testimony. It depends on the scope of the questions, and it to get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature. Reporter sessions faces a long list of questions from lawmakers. What were his contacts, if any, with with russian officials during the during the period of the campaign . I think thats thats certainly a question that we need to ask. Secondly, a question im interested in is what role did he play, if any, again, in the comey firing . Reporter cnn has told james comey revealed to senators in a closed door briefing last week that sessions may have had a third undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in april 2016. Sessions could also come under scrutiny for comeys claim that sessions did not respond when comey told the attorney general he felt uncomfortable being left alone with the. And questions linger about why sessions left comey alone in the oval office on february 14th when comey contends the president directed him to drop the investigation into former National Security adviser michael flynn. Donald trump jr. Seemed to confirm comeys account of that conversation. When he tells you to do something. Yes. Guess what . Theres no ambiguity in it. Theres no, hey, im hoping. You and i are friends, hey, i hope this happens but youve got to the do your job. Thats what he told comby. Comeys memos about his interactions with President Trump could be turned over to the Senate Judiciary committee this week. Columbia law professor daniel richmond, a friend of comeys who shared the contents of the memo with media, has copies the committee wants. The president continues to criticize comey via twitter. I believe that james comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal and very cowardly. Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that could get the president in trouble. I dont think what was said amounts to obstruction of justice. Now what the president did the was inappropriate, but heres whats so frustrating for republicans like me. You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that if you just were quiet would clear you. And attorney general Jeff Sessions will go before the Senate Intelligence committee tomorrow at 2 30 p. M. Senators, meanwhile, are Still Deciding whether sessions will also be asked to testify in a classified briefing after that public hearing. All right. Jessica schneider, thanks so much. Joining my now is republican senator rand paul, republican of kentucky who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee among others. Thanks for joining us. Absolutely. I know you want to talk about your saudi arabia bill, but i do want to the ask you republicans are going after special counsel Robert Mueller, Laura Ingraham and anne coulter raising questions about a man who served with distinction, fbi director under both bush and obama. What do you make of this . You know, i think weve had special counsels in the past that have plilt sized things and i think weve had some who havent. You know, if it goes the way its supposed to go, its supposed to be done in secret like a grand jury and only if something ultimately sin dietable do you hear anything that. Actually would be fine with me and is actually something that would probably be a good way of looking at this. Now, i cant vouch for how its going town fold or what will happen, but if it happens the way its supposed to, i think i think the president will be cleared. I dont know what else happens out of it, but i think its probably the best way to look at it. Just to clarify, you have described the allegations of any collusion between associates of trump and russia as a myth perpetrated by democrats, but you support seeing the probe through and letting the facts lead where they may . Yeah. I think the whole thing is sour grapes to tell you the truth. Did sessions meet with the Russian Ambassador ever . I mean, yes, i think its all sour grapes. I dont think theres anything there, but im not against people looking at facts, but i think we shouldnt get carried away with things. I think from comeys testimony there were some pretty important things. Comey said that the president was not, you know, the point of any investigation, and the president responded petulantly probably and said tell everybody im not the object of your investigation, and you can see where there are would be annoyance, but even by comeys testimony, hes saying he told me he hoped i would finish it. Certainly doesnt sound like obstructing any kind of justice when you tell somebody that they hope they will finish their job. Senator rand paul, stick around. Lots more to discuss including the conflicting stories from President Trump and the former fbi director. Thats next. Stay with us. Its your paradise perfected with behr premium plus paint. The best you can buy starting under 25. Only at the home depot. Usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. The process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like youre a part of the family. I love that i can pass the membership to my children. Were the williams family, and were usaa members for life. Heri think i might burst. Totally immersed weekenders. Whatever kind of weekender you are, theres a hilton for you. Book your weekend break direct with hilton. Com and join the summer weekenders. I feel it every day. But at night, its the last thing on my mind. For 10 years my tempurpedic has adapted to my weight and shape, relieving pressure points from head to toe. So i sleep deeply but feel light. And wake up ready to perform. Even with the weight of history on my shoulders. Find your exclusive retailr at tempurpedic. Com is to always keep track of your employees. R micromanage them. Make sure theyre producing. Woo employee of the month you really shouldnt leave their side. Vita coco coconut water, hydration comes naturally. I have agerelated maculare degeneration, amd, he told me to look at this grid every day. And we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression, including Preservision Areds 2. My doctor said Preservision Areds 2 has the exact nutrient formula the National Eye Institute recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd after 15 years of clinical studies. Preservision areds 2. Because my eyes are everything. Were back with our politics lead. Lots more to talk about with republican senator rand paul of kentucky. Youre against President Trumps 110 billion weapons deal with saudi arabia. Tomorrow the senate will vote on your legislation to block the deal. Last week the saudis and other gulf nations cut off ties with qatar and accused that country of funding terrorism in the region. President trump seems to clearly be siding with the saudis. Are you concerned at all that hes emboldening a country that itself has a long history of supporting terrorism . Yeah. I think one of the most important emails and information that we got from the leaked emails from Hillary Clinton was an email she sent to john podesta, and in it she said we need to put pressure on the saudis and the qataris because they are giving financial and logistical help to isis, so were going to give our cell, 350 billion to a country that the insiders say were actually giving weapons to isis. Thats a real problem for me. If you follow bob graham and the 28 missing pages in the 9 11 investigation, theres a lot of information that suggests saudi arabia was involved. 15 of the 19 hijackers were from saudi arabia. They have a terrible human rights record. I can list 20 reasons why im very concerned about giving them weapons, but one of those things is also coming up this week is were unhappy with iran for developing ballistic missiles. Well, guess what. Iran develops them in response to saudi arabia getting more weapons. Its an arms race over there, and were fueling it. Lets talk about tomorrow when your former colleague, now attorney general Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Intelligence committee. The white house suggested today that sessions might invoke executive privilege depending on the questions that are asked. Do you think that that might be a mistake . I guess it depends on the questions. I dont really know what that will be about necessarily. I still think that, you know, weve got a special counsel. Lets lem them do their job. The rest is all for show. This is political theater and those committees arent getting anywhere. If theres anything done wrong it will come out of the special counsel, and my suspicion is very little, if anything, will come out of there. There may be some people who didnt file their paperwork appropriately or didnt file to be registered as foreign agents but i kind of doubt that anything look, Jeff Sessions, known as a hardliner on russia, so its kind of crazy to sort of say oh, he must have been meeting with them in some secret deal with the russians. You know, he was known as a hardliner, all right, so i dont think any of that is going to go anywhere, but i think we keep going after it, but i think theres a political operation going on and i think dwelling some on this stuff. The white house and President Trump, both of them refused to confirm whether or not there are tapes that might clear up the different stories we have about his conversations with comey. I want you to take a listen to who your colleague republican senator Susan Collins said on state of the union. This is an issue that the president should have cleared up in his press conference. He should give a straight yes or no to the to the question of whether or not the tapes exist, and he should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence committee but to the special counsel. Do you agree, senator . I personally am not a big fan of recording private information, private calls between people who dont know they are being recorded are, and so many states have rules against this. The white house is in an unusual situation though where basically they call it a unitary executive. The support in charge and whether he ought to do something is one thing and whether he has to do something is another. I dont think it was an appropriate thing to threaten comey on it, but i think the interesting thing that is lost by some people about comeys testimony is i think it completely vindicated everything the president had said. Comey said he wasnt being investigated. Comey said he kind of felt pressured but he really wasnt told directly not to do anything and the president said he hoped he hadnt done anything. I dont know when hoping you dont do something is an obstruction of justice so i think theres absolutely nothing here to go on, but eventually well get to the bottom of it through the special counsel. But this is sort of what have happens. Both sides do this it. Every time we get a new president. One side spends years and years attacking them and trying to jin up investigations and then the other side, both parties are guilty of it but it is a distraction from a lot of things we do need to do in this country that are much more important, like trying to fix the Health Care System and trying to look and fix our tax code so we dont lose businesses overseas are way more important than i think a politicized look at this russia thing. All right. Senator rand paul of kentucky, really appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. Coming up next, ivanka trump says shes been surprised by the viciousness directed at the trump family. Maybe she wasnt paying much attention to her dad during the last campaign. And coming up, maryland and d. C. Suing President Trump over his business empire. Could they end up getting ahold of those fabled tax returns . With the travelocity Customer First guarantee. Your only worry. Will be how to drink this monstrosity. Get help with hotels, free twentyfourhour flight changes, and our price match guarantee. Travelocity. ® wander wisely. ™ times up, insufficient were on prenatal care. Es. And administrative paperwork. Your days of drowning people are numbered. Same goes for you, budget overruns. And rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. Were coming for you, too. For those who wont rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. Optum. How well gets done. Welcome back to the lead. Sticking with the politics lead. A threejudge panel of the ninth Circuit Court of appeals has largely affirmed a hawaii judges decision against President Trumps travel ban handing the president yet another court defeat and once again the president s tweets were his own worst enemy. Cnns sara murray is live for us at the white house. Legal experts, even many friendly to President Trump have suggested his tweets might be an albatross around his neck. Reporter they think its been essential for certainly points of his presidency but this is definitely an instant where the tweets do not seem to be helping. The president insists the travel ban will go through once it makes its way to the Supreme Court another whether for Jeff Sessions<\/a> in public testimony before the u. S. Senate tomorrow, today President Trump<\/a> set out to show the American People<\/a> that his Administration Remains<\/a> focused and positive with a Cabinet Meeting<\/a>, the likes of which frankly weve never seen before. It started with the president and now familiar fashion boasting of his accomplishments and attacking his rivals. But i think weve been about as active as you can possibly be and at just about a recordsetting pace. If we had the greatest bill in the history of the world on health care, we wouldnt get one vote from the democrats because they are obstructionists. Thats what they want to do. But then cabinet members were invited to speak, and thats when it all got a tad unusual. Greatest privilege of my life a is to serve of as Vice President<\/a> keeping his word to the American People<\/a>. Mr. President what, an incredible honor it is to lead the department of health and Human Services<\/a> at this pivotal time under your leadership. I cant thank you enough for the privilege that youve given me. Hundreds and hundreds of people were just so thrilled to hang out watching the whole ceremony. I want to thank you for getting this country moving again. The entire senior staff around you, mr. President , we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing that youve given us to serve of your agenda. Now the white house might say this is just a display of focus and loyalty and positivity, but critics suggested that the display today was sycophantic and a little more disturbing. Some supporters of the president in the world of conservative punditry were busy out there trying to undercut a man today with an impeccable reputation for serving, Robert Mueller<\/a>. Currently the special counsel heading up the russia investigation. With former House Speaker<\/a> Newt Gingrich<\/a> tweeting, quote, republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who hes firing. Chicago reports. What a difference a month makes. A month ago gingrich said Robert Mueller<\/a> is amount superb choice to be special counsel and others are beginning to question mueller and his investigation and integrity for any number of reasons. Perhaps belying the positive vibes that we saw in the cabinet room earlier today, but lets focus right now on the testimony of attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> who has thrown back into the center of of this storm by james comey last week. Sessions will also face the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee tomorrow and the testimony will be public. Cnns Jessica Schneider<\/a> has all the late on the russia investigation. Jessica . Well, you know, jake, its fair to say that tomorrows testimony, it will be intensified in the wake of james comeys accusations last week that sessions left him alone with the president and didnt respond when comey told sessions the president made him uncomfortable, but questions do remain about how wideranging Jeff Sessions<\/a> testimony will be and will the white house try to intervene . Its an honor to be able to serve of you in that regard. Reporter attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> praising the president in todays Cabinet Meeting<\/a>. Youre right, jeff, thank you very much. It followses of tensions between the two over sessions recusal over the russia investigation back in march. Sessions will testify tomorrow in front of the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee. Sources say he tried to raise a closed hearing and after objections from democrats agreed to speak publicly. The white house is still weighing whether to exert executive privilege to preclude some of sessions testimony. It depends on the scope of the questions, and it to get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature. Reporter sessions faces a long list of questions from lawmakers. What were his contacts, if any, with with russian officials during the during the period of the campaign . I think thats thats certainly a question that we need to ask. Secondly, a question im interested in is what role did he play, if any, again, in the comey firing . Reporter cnn has told james comey revealed to senators in a closed door briefing last week that sessions may have had a third undisclosed meeting with Russian Ambassador<\/a> Sergey Kislyak<\/a> in april 2016. Sessions could also come under scrutiny for comeys claim that sessions did not respond when comey told the attorney general he felt uncomfortable being left alone with the. And questions linger about why sessions left comey alone in the oval office on february 14th when comey contends the president directed him to drop the investigation into former National Security<\/a> adviser michael flynn. Donald trump jr. Seemed to confirm comeys account of that conversation. When he tells you to do something. Yes. Guess what . Theres no ambiguity in it. Theres no, hey, im hoping. You and i are friends, hey, i hope this happens but youve got to the do your job. Thats what he told comby. Comeys memos about his interactions with President Trump<\/a> could be turned over to the Senate Judiciary<\/a> committee this week. Columbia law professor daniel richmond, a friend of comeys who shared the contents of the memo with media, has copies the committee wants. The president continues to criticize comey via twitter. I believe that james comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal and very cowardly. Senator Lindsey Graham<\/a> suggested that could get the president in trouble. I dont think what was said amounts to obstruction of justice. Now what the president did the was inappropriate, but heres whats so frustrating for republicans like me. You may be the first president in history to go down because you cant stop inappropriately talking about an investigation that if you just were quiet would clear you. And attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> will go before the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee tomorrow at 2 30 p. M. Senators, meanwhile, are Still Deciding<\/a> whether sessions will also be asked to testify in a classified briefing after that public hearing. All right. Jessica schneider, thanks so much. Joining my now is republican senator rand paul, republican of kentucky who serves on the Senate Foreign<\/a> Relations Committee<\/a> among others. Thanks for joining us. Absolutely. I know you want to talk about your saudi arabia bill, but i do want to the ask you republicans are going after special counsel Robert Mueller<\/a>, Laura Ingraham<\/a> and anne coulter raising questions about a man who served with distinction, fbi director under both bush and obama. What do you make of this . You know, i think weve had special counsels in the past that have plilt sized things and i think weve had some who havent. You know, if it goes the way its supposed to go, its supposed to be done in secret like a grand jury and only if something ultimately sin dietable do you hear anything that. Actually would be fine with me and is actually something that would probably be a good way of looking at this. Now, i cant vouch for how its going town fold or what will happen, but if it happens the way its supposed to, i think i think the president will be cleared. I dont know what else happens out of it, but i think its probably the best way to look at it. Just to clarify, you have described the allegations of any collusion between associates of trump and russia as a myth perpetrated by democrats, but you support seeing the probe through and letting the facts lead where they may . Yeah. I think the whole thing is sour grapes to tell you the truth. Did sessions meet with the Russian Ambassador<\/a> ever . I mean, yes, i think its all sour grapes. I dont think theres anything there, but im not against people looking at facts, but i think we shouldnt get carried away with things. I think from comeys testimony there were some pretty important things. Comey said that the president was not, you know, the point of any investigation, and the president responded petulantly probably and said tell everybody im not the object of your investigation, and you can see where there are would be annoyance, but even by comeys testimony, hes saying he told me he hoped i would finish it. Certainly doesnt sound like obstructing any kind of justice when you tell somebody that they hope they will finish their job. Senator rand paul, stick around. Lots more to discuss including the conflicting stories from President Trump<\/a> and the former fbi director. Thats next. Stay with us. Its your paradise perfected with behr premium plus paint. The best you can buy starting under 25. Only at the home depot. Usaa gives me the and the security just like the marines did. The process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like youre a part of the family. I love that i can pass the membership to my children. Were the williams family, and were usaa members for life. Heri think i might burst. Totally immersed weekenders. Whatever kind of weekender you are, theres a hilton for you. Book your weekend break direct with hilton. Com and join the summer weekenders. I feel it every day. But at night, its the last thing on my mind. For 10 years my tempurpedic has adapted to my weight and shape, relieving pressure points from head to toe. So i sleep deeply but feel light. And wake up ready to perform. Even with the weight of history on my shoulders. Find your exclusive retailr at tempurpedic. Com is to always keep track of your employees. R micromanage them. Make sure theyre producing. Woo employee of the month you really shouldnt leave their side. Vita coco coconut water, hydration comes naturally. I have agerelated maculare degeneration, amd, he told me to look at this grid every day. And we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression, including Preservision Areds<\/a> 2. My doctor said Preservision Areds<\/a> 2 has the exact nutrient formula the National Eye Institute<\/a> recommends to help reduce the risk of progression of moderate to advanced amd after 15 years of clinical studies. Preservision areds 2. Because my eyes are everything. Were back with our politics lead. Lots more to talk about with republican senator rand paul of kentucky. Youre against President Trump<\/a>s 110 billion weapons deal with saudi arabia. Tomorrow the senate will vote on your legislation to block the deal. Last week the saudis and other gulf nations cut off ties with qatar and accused that country of funding terrorism in the region. President trump seems to clearly be siding with the saudis. Are you concerned at all that hes emboldening a country that itself has a long history of supporting terrorism . Yeah. I think one of the most important emails and information that we got from the leaked emails from Hillary Clinton<\/a> was an email she sent to john podesta, and in it she said we need to put pressure on the saudis and the qataris because they are giving financial and logistical help to isis, so were going to give our cell, 350 billion to a country that the insiders say were actually giving weapons to isis. Thats a real problem for me. If you follow bob graham and the 28 missing pages in the 9 11 investigation, theres a lot of information that suggests saudi arabia was involved. 15 of the 19 hijackers were from saudi arabia. They have a terrible human rights record. I can list 20 reasons why im very concerned about giving them weapons, but one of those things is also coming up this week is were unhappy with iran for developing ballistic missiles. Well, guess what. Iran develops them in response to saudi arabia getting more weapons. Its an arms race over there, and were fueling it. Lets talk about tomorrow when your former colleague, now attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> testifies before the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee. The white house suggested today that sessions might invoke executive privilege depending on the questions that are asked. Do you think that that might be a mistake . I guess it depends on the questions. I dont really know what that will be about necessarily. I still think that, you know, weve got a special counsel. Lets lem them do their job. The rest is all for show. This is political theater and those committees arent getting anywhere. If theres anything done wrong it will come out of the special counsel, and my suspicion is very little, if anything, will come out of there. There may be some people who didnt file their paperwork appropriately or didnt file to be registered as foreign agents but i kind of doubt that anything look, Jeff Sessions<\/a>, known as a hardliner on russia, so its kind of crazy to sort of say oh, he must have been meeting with them in some secret deal with the russians. You know, he was known as a hardliner, all right, so i dont think any of that is going to go anywhere, but i think we keep going after it, but i think theres a political operation going on and i think dwelling some on this stuff. The white house and President Trump<\/a>, both of them refused to confirm whether or not there are tapes that might clear up the different stories we have about his conversations with comey. I want you to take a listen to who your colleague republican senator Susan Collins<\/a> said on state of the union. This is an issue that the president should have cleared up in his press conference. He should give a straight yes or no to the to the question of whether or not the tapes exist, and he should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence<\/a> committee but to the special counsel. Do you agree, senator . I personally am not a big fan of recording private information, private calls between people who dont know they are being recorded are, and so many states have rules against this. The white house is in an unusual situation though where basically they call it a unitary executive. The support in charge and whether he ought to do something is one thing and whether he has to do something is another. I dont think it was an appropriate thing to threaten comey on it, but i think the interesting thing that is lost by some people about comeys testimony is i think it completely vindicated everything the president had said. Comey said he wasnt being investigated. Comey said he kind of felt pressured but he really wasnt told directly not to do anything and the president said he hoped he hadnt done anything. I dont know when hoping you dont do something is an obstruction of justice so i think theres absolutely nothing here to go on, but eventually well get to the bottom of it through the special counsel. But this is sort of what have happens. Both sides do this it. Every time we get a new president. One side spends years and years attacking them and trying to jin up investigations and then the other side, both parties are guilty of it but it is a distraction from a lot of things we do need to do in this country that are much more important, like trying to fix the Health Care System<\/a> and trying to look and fix our tax code so we dont lose businesses overseas are way more important than i think a politicized look at this russia thing. All right. Senator rand paul of kentucky, really appreciate your time. Thank you, sir. Coming up next, ivanka trump says shes been surprised by the viciousness directed at the trump family. Maybe she wasnt paying much attention to her dad during the last campaign. And coming up, maryland and d. C. Suing President Trump<\/a> over his business empire. Could they end up getting ahold of those fabled tax returns . With the travelocity Customer First<\/a> guarantee. Your only worry. Will be how to drink this monstrosity. Get help with hotels, free twentyfourhour flight changes, and our price match guarantee. Travelocity. \u00ae wander wisely. \u2122 times up, insufficient were on prenatal care. Es. And administrative paperwork. Your days of drowning people are numbered. Same goes for you, budget overruns. And rising costs, wipe that smile off your face. Were coming for you, too. For those who wont rest until the world is healthier, neither will we. Optum. How well gets done. Welcome back to the lead. Sticking with the politics lead. A threejudge panel of the ninth Circuit Court<\/a> of appeals has largely affirmed a hawaii judges decision against President Trump<\/a>s travel ban handing the president yet another court defeat and once again the president s tweets were his own worst enemy. Cnns sara murray is live for us at the white house. Legal experts, even many friendly to President Trump<\/a> have suggested his tweets might be an albatross around his neck. Reporter they think its been essential for certainly points of his presidency but this is definitely an instant where the tweets do not seem to be helping. The president insists the travel ban will go through once it makes its way to the Supreme Court<\/a> another whether for President Trump<\/a> as the ninth Circuit Court<\/a> of appeals rules against trumps travel ban. On the same day that trump touted his productivity in the white house. I think weve been about as active as you can possibly be, and at just about a recordsetting pace. The court dealt trump a stinging defeat on a signature policy priority, largely agreeing with previous rules that temporarily blocking all refugees and foreign nationals from six muslim majority countries, likely violates the constitution. The judges cited trumps own tweets to back up their ruling, including one miss any of which trump tweeted thats right. We need a travel ban for certain dangerous countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people. Its a ruling thats all but certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court<\/a>. The president s executive order to protect this country is fully lawful and ultimately will be upheld by the Supreme Court<\/a>. Reporter as trump tried to stick to as i agenda today turning to his notes to tout a Gop Health Care<\/a> bill and an upcoming announcement on the battle against isis, this week is still shaping up to be another one dominated by the russia investigation. Today the white house once again refused to say whether trump has tapes of his conversations with fired fbi director james comey. The president made clear in the rose garden last week he would have an announcement shortly. Reporter and in an unusually public Cabinet Meeting<\/a> Jeff Sessions<\/a> sat across from the president offering up his compliments. Its an honor to be able to serve of you in that regard. Reporter while trump in turn dodged questions about whether he still has confidence in his attorney general. Just a day before sessions is slated to testify on capitol hill. Take your questions. Today White House Press<\/a> Secretary Sean Spicer<\/a> declined to say whether the white house would invoke executive privilege to prevent sessions from discussing his conversations with the president. It depends on the scope of the questions and to get into a hypothetical at this point would be premature. But its clear the russia cloud remains a distract for trump. On sunday he tweeted i believe that the james comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal. Very cowardly. Its clear the washington environment is weighing on the president s allies, too, particularly his daughter, ivanka trump. It is hard and theres a level of viciousness that i was not expecting. Now, of course, theres a certain amount of irony that comes with ivanka trumps comments. Of course, President Trump<\/a> won the republican nomination coming up nicknames for his opponents throughout the campaign. He feuded with the pope and he insulted a gold star family, so certainly viciousness coming from all different directions. Jake . Yeah, thats the abbreviated list you just provided. Thank you so much as the white house. What did attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> think when President Trump<\/a> asked to be left alone with his fbi director . What to expect when sessions speaks tomorrow. That story next. Stay with us. 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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. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty stands with you\u2122. Liberty mutual insurance. At crowne plaza we know Business Travel<\/a> isnt just business. Theres this. a bit of this. Why not . Your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. Which is what we do. Crowne plaza. Were all business, mostly. Welcome back to the lead. The democrats attorney general of maryland and the District Of Columbia<\/a> announced that they are suing President Trump<\/a> arguing that the president has, quote, flagrantly violated the u. S. Constitution. Its our conflict of interest watch. The lawsuit takes issue with the ongoing ownership as well as a worldwide network. Hotels and golf courses and commercial properties. Lets get right to cnns cristina alesci. Weve been talking for months about this clause in the constitution that might not permit northern governments spending money at trump hotels. I feel like we talk about this once a week. The emollments clause which is supposed to guard against corruption barring the president from accepting gifts and benefits from foreign governments. This is to ensure theres no selfdealing and no question about where the president s loyalties actually lie. Now the d. C. Attorney general today in a press conference put it very tax credits at the Trump International<\/a> hotel. Just to name a few. Look, d. C. And maryland say they have a right to sue because they are a party to the constitution and some of their residents actually compete at trumps hotel that they have been harmed because of unfair competition. The attorney generals are asking the court to intervene here and force the president to stop violating the constitution. All right. But bottom line, do maryland and d. C. Stand a chance here with this litigation . Its a very good question and ive talked to lawyers on both sides of the aisle and its unclear, but one thing is for sure, expect a very strong pushback from the white house. It will likely move to dismiss the case when asked about it today. The press secretary zasean spic said they denied it and heres an important detail. If this case does move to the next stage, the plaintiff will ask for documents, including the president s tax returns, and, look, as as weve noted before, weve covered this issue and a similar lawsuit filed by a nonprofit watchdog group. This one might have more firepower because its two state attorneys because its unclear because of the emoluments clause has never been tested and heres the thing also that im hearing. This is not the end of the lawsuits. More are coming on this issue. Cristina alesci, thank you so much. Im joined now by my political round table. We have lots to discuss, but i do want to start with ivanka trump this morning. Lets roll that tape. It is hard and theres a level of viciousness that i was not expecting. I was a little blindsided by it on a personal level. It is true there is a level of viciousness this this town and ivanka, jared and her father have been subjected to a lot of it but donald trump is no slouch when it comes to being tough and being vicious himself. This is politics. What some of the family members are subjected to is perhaps a little unfair and kneeling it for the first time and it stings, but i think it is it is unfair on some of the family members, but but the president you dont hear the president complaining. Continue we dont hear the president complaining. He dishes he gives it out just as well as he takes it. Okay that. Part is more agreeable. Was it tough. You worked with barack obama when he was a senator. Was it tough for him and his family members, especially michelle, the first lady, to deal with how vicious this town can be . Sure. D. C. Is a viper pit and i think every family who comes here experienced is r it in a new way but ivanka trump is not just a daughter. She took on that role. Overseeing a lot of use like womens rights and what shes experiencing right now is a bit of a disappointment. She have came here and people thought she would be a moderating norse. People thought she would be somebody that moderate republicans and democrats could reach out to and now that shes not i think people are disappointed. Yes, absolutely. Every white house and every family, its an exposure that you dont experience no matter what your background is. I think what she expressed this morning is disappointment that she sees herself across america, right . Voters didnt send the president here. They sent them here to change washington and to break some china and Jobs Creation<\/a> and education and work force development. Were not getting that right now, and i think theres a little frustration on the part of what was expressed this morning. Whose fault is that . Its not like the president has reached out to democrats and a lot of infighting is between republicans and democrats have absolutely nothing to do with it at this point. They are blaming him yet republicans control everything. I want to turn to the issue of special prosecutor mueller. One of the president s lawyers did not rule out if President Trump<\/a> would ever order the firing of mueller. Take a listen. The president of the United States<\/a>, as we all know. Its a unitary executive, but the president is going to seek the advice of his counsel and inside the government as well as outside and im not going to speculate on what he will or will not do. I cant imagine that that issue will rise but then again thats an issue the president with his advisors would discuss. Why this comes up is because when comey was a worked in the Justice Department<\/a> for president bush. When he was Deputy Attorney<\/a> general. He wrote a letter to the gentleman who was investigating the leak of Valerie Plame<\/a> and gave him, patrick fitzgerald, independence. Like in that letter, but mueller does not have the same amount of independence so theoretically he could be fired. Do you think this is just something that media is creating, or did you think this is a real issue . You can never tell with President Trump<\/a>, and it seems like his his lawyer was being careful. You can never definitively say that President Trump<\/a> is not going to do; and weve seen him turn on a dime. Now, would it be politically perilous for him to can bob mueller . Yes, very. Look, i dont think that its going to happen. I think that this is a media spin. One comment from jay sekulow. You can just move on. You know, you heard earlier senator rand paul talking about this is a sideshow tomorrow. We have a really credible person looking into this. I think its the congress, usually very much in favor of congressional oversight. I dont think youre going to hear anything new tomorrow from attorney general sessions. I think director mueller is an incredibly capable guy who will get to the bottom of this and washington needs to move on. Kind of a bizarre moment early this afternoon. The president met with his cabinet and went around the table and some of them effusively praised the president in a manner that i cant imagine you doing, david. Listen, im a huge fan of the president. I come on national tv and praise the president. Yeah, you do, but not in the manner. Senator schumer, the democratic leader of the senate, the minority leader, had a little fun with it with his staff. Take a look. I want to thank everybody for coming. I just thought wed go around the room. Lucy, how did we do on the sunday show yesterday . Your tone was perfect. You were right on message. Michelle, how did my hair look coming out of the gym this morning . You have great hair. Nobody has better hair than you. Before we go any further, i just want to say thank you for the opportunity and blessing to serve you. Well, specific dig at repreparus there at the end for his effusive praise. Do you think that was a genuine emotional outpouring or do you think that President Trump<\/a> needed to hear that because he feels a little cornered right now . Like, youre serving with the president because you want to work there. People dont take the job because of the high pay and glory. Here its seven days a week 20 hours a day. I believe everyone around that table is completely sincere. I believe it was an attempt to start to pivot, right, and to to focus on Workforce Development<\/a> and get back to the meaningful issues here in washington. Veterans suicide, open yoid crisis, plenty of things to focus on in washington and then the investigation that that director mueller is going to undertake for the next year. We can spend the next year talking about it. We can pivot and begin to look at real things like workforce issues and things that the president talked about this week. Jen, i want to ask you one question. Over the weekend president Bernie Sanders<\/a> said sharp words when he was asked about mr. Trump winning the election. Take a listen. My answer is that trump didnt win the election. The Democratic Party<\/a> lost the election. The Democratic Party<\/a> must finally understand why. I mean, it sounds like the Democratic Party<\/a> is like really going through a tough time right now. Theres something to what senator sanders said. Now, theres a division in the Democratic Party<\/a>. Some of which many argue hes stoking which i agree with, but in the couple of months after the election, when you talk to a lot of democrats, including the dnc, they would acknowledge that there was a problem, but they would say we won the popular vote and this is a fluke. In my recent conversations with officials over there and people who are helping them started to recognize and acknowledge that changes need to be made, that the Democratic Party<\/a> needs a platform and that that fields to be done together. Whether that will be successful, well see over the next 6 to 18 months but ive seen a change in the recognition that theres a problem and seen some changes that tom perez has tried to make so well see. So they are at the acceptance level. They are at the acceptance and trying to come up with a platform. The Democratic Party<\/a> did do a lot to lose the election. Its not just that donald trump won. Democrats had their campaign they had their convention in pennsylvania. They worked really hard in president and the president won this election, the democrats didnt lose it. He won it. David urban with flag in pennsylvania, thank you. Elite or American Forces<\/a> are on the front line in the war on terror. Well take you behind enemy lines next, and coming up, the president s young son is living at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. For the first time in 50 years. Will the first family change President Trump<\/a>s white house . Stay with us. Heres to the safety first. I think i might burst. Totally immersed weekenders. Whatever kind of weekender you are, theres a hilton for you. Book your weekend break direct with hilton. Com and join the summer weekenders. At whole foods market, we believe in food thats naturally beautiful and fresh. Delicious and powerful, and full of nutrients. So there are no artificial colors. No artificial flavors. No artificial preservatives. And no artificial sweeteners. In any of the food we sell. We believe that the food we eat connects us to the Natural World<\/a> and to each other. We believe in real food\u2122. Whole foods market. This is a story about mail and packages. And its also a story about people. People who rely on us every day to deliver their dreams theyre handing us more than mail theyre handing us their business and while we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget. That your business is our business the United States<\/a> postal service. Priority you we cut the price of trades to give investors even more value. And at 4. 95, you can trade with a clear advantage. Fidelity, where smarter investors will always be. And at 4. 95, you can trade with a clear advantage. The Energy Conscious<\/a> whopeople among usle . Say small actions can add up to something. Humongous. A little thing here. A little thing there. Starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. Who are all these caretakers, advocates too . Turns out, its californians its me and its you. Dont stop now, its easy to add to the routine. Join Energy Upgrade<\/a> california and do your thing. Were back with the world lead. The pentagon has identified three u. S. Troops shot and killed by an Afghan Army Commando<\/a> on saturday on what is being designated an insider attack. They are 25yearold Sergeant Eric<\/a> hauck, 29yearold Sergeant William<\/a> baez and Corporal Dillon<\/a> bal d. Rich, and their deaths are another stark reminder that the u. S. Has tens of thousands of u. S. Service members in harms way around the globe and while these three souls were not special operations increasingly american casualties have been from special forces, navy seals and other special operators. In a cnn exclusive Barbara Starr<\/a> reports on the exceptional valor showed by two navy seals killed in the line of duty earlier this year. Navy s. E. A. L. Ryan owens 36 killed in action in yemen during a nighttime raid. Its one of the most Dangerous Missions<\/a> that special Operations Forces<\/a> are called upon to carry out. Kyle milliken also served while serving as a military adviser to somali forces. The two navy s. E. A. L. S spent years on secret missions, dangers few knew anything about. Congressman scott taylor, a former navy s. E. A. L. Sniper knew them. Its a big tragedy we lost boast those men because they were outstanding heros for our nation. Cnn has obtained the battlefield citations for both owens and milliken both who served for years on highrisk classified combat missions. New details now reveal of their extraordinary service. Owens was posthumously awarded the will silver star, the nations third highest medal for valor in a never disclosed battle against 400 al qaeda militants in 2015. U. S. Officials say it all happened deep inside wartorn somalia. This secret battle raged for three days in july 2015. Owens leading a 12man team alongside african forces, targeting 400 enemy militants, constantly ambushed and attacked with small arms, machine guns, antiaircraft guns, rocketpropelled grenades, mortars and improvised explosive devices according to his citation. Owens repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire. The citation says eventually the team securing a town that had been in enemy hands for ten years. On earlier tours he helped rescue buddies who were wounded. Hes a great i go, highly committed and talent the. From somalia to yemen, iraq, syria and afghanistan, its largely fallen on special Operations Forces<\/a> to wage battle against isis, al qaeda and their affiliates, and they are increasingly paying with their lives. Five killed in action in 2017 and 22 since june 2014 when the war against isis began. Taylor, like so many who served on the front lines, we jekts the controversial pentagon view that when troops are military advisers they must stay out of the direct line of fire. Theres no boots on the ground, just advisers. Thats just bs. On millikens final mission he was an adviser to somali forces, alongside them in the line of fire. He certainly cant fault the operator for wanting to get into the fight. They are there. They are there on the ground with the force that they are helping. Scott taylor recalls his own First Mission<\/a> in iraq which was alongside milliken. Everyone loved kyle, everyone loved him. Reporter milliken also had years of combat. In 2007 alone, 48 combat missions in iraq. On the one mission, he helped evacuate three wounded soelz under fire. There is one clue on how secret their work was. In 2015 milliken was awarded the Navy Achievement<\/a> medal for developing groundbreaking procedures for future National Mission<\/a> taskings. In the world of special operations. National missions are the most classified requiring president ial approval and remaining secret for decades. Barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. And our thanks to Barbara Starr<\/a> for that report and other world news today. The white house this afternoon called on the russian government to release demonstrators arrested earlier today in anticorruption protests across russia. Press Secretary Sean Spicer<\/a> calling the arrests, which included minors, an affront to core democratic values. One of those taken into custody, a wellknown Opposition Leader<\/a> and putin critic. Lets go right to st. Petersburg in russia. How did these protests come about . Reporter well, this is the second round of protests called by navalny, a kremlin cricket and anticorruption campaign, and hes managed to galvanize tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities across this country r. Today the second time that they came out, and the kremlin i think has been taken back by the scale of these protests and has reacted both times by detaining hundreds of protests as most of them in moscow and st. Petersburg and i think hes hoping that that crushes the momentum that novalny is trying to build and it may not be that eared. Tell us more about the Opposition Leader<\/a>. Reporter well, hes a very interesting figure. Hes an anticorruption blogger. Hes produce the these videos on youtube which have been viewed millions of times, detailing the kind of yachts and estates belonging especially to the Prime Minister<\/a> Dmitry Medvedev<\/a> and that really resonates with the young who feel that the political elite in this country lead a very, very different life when many normal people cant really scrape past the poverty line. Hes campaigning to run for president in next years elections, and its unclear whether he will because of a lightly spurious embezzlement conviction. That means the laws in this country may mean he cant run for Public Office<\/a> but with these protests hes trying to put pressure on the kremlin so if they block him from running it will appear illegitimate and against the public will and so far hes been sprayed with antiseptic and you can see him with burns to the eye. He is a very interesting figure and someone that the kremlin will be watching and i think possibly fearing. Jake. Indeed. Diana, thanks so much. The first family is back together living under one roof. Will that affect the president s nighttime tweeting routine . Thats next. Americas Beverage Companies<\/a> have come together to bring you more ways to help reduce calories from sugar. With more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels, and signs reminding everyone to think balance before choosing their beverages. We know you care about reducing the sugar in your familys diet, and were working to support your efforts. More beverage choices. Smaller portions. Less sugar. Balanceus. Org. That when it comes to hospital romances,nows the more complicated, the better. I love you. But i love him. I love him, too. So do i. They also know you should get your annual checkup. Schedule a checkup with your doctor to learn your four health numbers, and start taking control of your health today. It could save your life. Cigna. Together, all the way. At crowne plaza we know Business Travel<\/a> isnt just business. Theres this. a bit of this. Why not . Your hotel should make it easy to do all the things you do. Which is what we do. Crowne plaza. Were all business, mostly. Its witnessed 2 diy duos,s 31 crashes, 4 food fights, and the flood of 09. Its your paradise perfected with behr premium plus paint. The best you can buy starting under 25. Only at the home depot. For on our politics lead, the first family is finally living together under one roof fulltime. First Lady Melania Trump<\/a> and barron moved into the white house and some were wondering if she would ever move out of manhattan. And she said when barron is done with school they will move down here. Not unusual for the first family to land back in washington from a trip and this time it was Melania Trump<\/a> coming home. Today marks the first full day Melania Trump<\/a> and 11yearold son barron trump are official residents of the white house, having finally moved from their new york penthouse apartment in trump tower. With a single tweet she made the announcement. The white house is no longer without a fulltime first lady. It was accompanying President Trump<\/a> on his first trip abroad last month that offered the public the longest and most consistent opportunity to learn more about mrs. Trump. After wowing International Audiences<\/a> with her style, who can forget that 50,000 jacket, the first lady closed the trip with a rare public speech to u. S. Military families stationed abroad. It is because of your selfless commitment that we enjoy the freedoms we have today. Reporter since january back home in washington the first lady has taken part in official duet which is shes able, hosting the wives of dignitaries. Thats beautiful, thank you very much. And making two visits to childrens hospital. Her presence and that of barron might also fill up some free time for the president who has been living solo and having a few extra hours to watch the news, ponders politics and, yes, tweet. Now back together, melania could tell him to put down the phone. As she said in an interview last year shes tried to do. Something he listens and sometimes he doesnt. Im not a big tweeter. I dont do too many. Being a first couple now fulltime also means trump might be on better behavior. Making sure not to crowd his wife off the red carpet. Theres the and swat from his trip and remembering to cover his heart for the national anthem, something that took a nudge at the easter egg roll. A white house official this afternoon tells cnn the first lady is being thoughtful about her platform and initiatives and she looks forward to announcing them in coming weeks. All right. Kate bennett, thanks so much, appreciate it. Thats it for the lead today. Right now turn you over to one mr. Wolf blitzer in the situation room. Thank you so much for watching. Happening now. Breaking news. Open sessions. Attorney general Jeff Sessions<\/a> prepares to testify publicly before a senate panel amid questions about his contacts with russia and the firing of the fbi director james comey. Will the white house use executive privilege to limit his testimony and when will the president reveal if he recorded conversations with comey. Another court defeat. Using the president s own tweets to make the case against him. A federal afeels court rules against the president s revised travel ban saying he exceeded his authority from limiting travel from six mostly muslim countries. Suing the president. Ma","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia800604.us.archive.org\/9\/items\/CNNW_20170612_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper\/CNNW_20170612_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper.thumbs\/CNNW_20170612_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240617T12:35:10+00:00"}