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Pictures from inside the debate hall at the university of houston. Donald trump will be front and center coming off three straight primary or caucus victories. Hell be flanked by senator marco rubio of florida, and senator ted cruz of this home state of texas. Along with dr. Ben carson and ohio governor, john kasich. On the campaign trail, rubio and cruz are already sharpening their attacks on the front runner. We cant be fooled by pt barnum. The time for the clowns and the acrobats and the dancing bears has passed. The front runner in this race, donald trump, is actually alluded to the fact he thinks parts of obamacare are pretty good. I can tell you, everybody running for president tells you i want to get rid of obamacare. Im the only one thats ever done anything about it. It remains to be seen, of course, just how aggressively either marco rubio or ted cruz will go after donald trump this evening. Also, how will trump respond to new questions about his tax returns, questions raised by the previous republican president ial nominee, mitt romney. And can ted cruz bounce back after three disappointing thirdplace finishes in a row . To talk about that, lets bring in cnn political reporter, sara murray, and senior white house correspondent, jim acosta. It is an understatement to say that people who are in the cruz camp and the rubio camp are hoping that the candidates will take on donald trump and in an effective manner. How likely is it, do you think . Well, thats a great question. Because they really go in if you are marco rubio and ted cruz, with two goals tonight. One is to slow Donald Trumps momentum. But the other is to kill each other off. Both of these campaigns are saying, we need this other guy to get out of the race so that we can take on donald trump oneonone and win. So i think youre going to see a couple things tonight. One, like you saw there, marco rubio foreshadowing these attacks on donald trump. He also went after him last night on israel and on not being suitable to be commander in chief. We can see some of that. For ted cruz, i think hes going to hit back hard at marco rubio, and at donald trump, and try to beat back this narrative that he is running a campaign of dirty tricks, that he is a liar. He really needs to put that to bed if he is able to survive his campaign. And instead of turning in those thirdplace finishes, start turning in firstplace finishes, jake. And sara, its obviously cnn is excited about this debate. But its nt hype to say that this debate really could be pivotal. We saw the importance of the debate before New Hampshire when marco rubio didnt have a good night. And that clearly affected the trajectory of his campaign. How high do you think the stakes are this evening . I think its kind of impossible to overstate them at this point, jake. Look, this is the biggest moment ahead of super tuesday, to slow down donald trump and for marco rubio and ted cruz to prove that theyre an alternative. Look, we also have to remember that john kasich is going to be on this stage tonight. Hes heading into the march 1st states, much like marco rubio, not wellpositioned to win any number of them. So hes going to go on stage tonight and try to beat back the narrative that marco is the only guy who can take on donald trump. The Campaign Just tells me they picked up another billionaire backer from california. Theyre hoping they can craft this narrative they are still in it. But the reality is, one of these candidates is going to have to prove that they can one, take on donald trump and beat him. And two, that they can actually win in these states and not just on the debate stage. I think that that really sets up what were going to see tonight, jake. And jim, former president ial nominee, mitt romney, he said that all of the republicans should release previous years tax returns. But it really seemed to be a criticism that was sharply aimed at donald trump. Take a listen. I think theres something there. Either hes not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasnt been paying the kind of taxes we would expect him to pay. Or perhaps he hasnt been giving money to the vets or to the disabled like hes been telling us hes been doing. And i think thats the reason that i think theres a bombshell in there, is because every time hes asked about his taxes, he dodges and delays and says were working on it. Jim, walk us through what you think the meaning of this broadside from mitt romney is. Is this a symbol of the panic that the republican establishment is feeling . Jake, i think its a symptom of it, no question about it. But we should point out to our viewers in just the last several minutes, mitt romney has been putting up a tweet that really responds to the sharp criticism from donald trump. Earlier this morning, donald trump was saying mitt romney should just come out and endorse marco rubio already, going to that notion you just mentioned, jake, perhaps the establishment freakout were witnessing here. But mitt romney just tweeted in the last several minutes, me thinks the donald doth protest too much. Show voters your back taxes, whatishehiding. Thats sharp words from mitt romney, given the fact he was the last standard bear for the Republican Party heading into the president ial general election back in 2012. The fact that he is going after donald trump now and asking him to release his taxes, is quite something, given the fact that donald trump right now is looking very much like he might be the republican nochl knee this time around. And, you know, there is no love lost, it appears, between these two figures. Which is also remarkable, given the fact that Donald Trump Endorsed mitt romney four years ago. I remember, you know, donald trump had some very kind words to say about mitt romney four years ago. Now donald trump is tweeting this morning, you know, i will do what mitt romney could not do four years ago, and that is win. So this may be a symptom of the establishment starting to have some serious jitters about the prospect of drimp beionald trum t the nominee, jake. Thank you so much. The Republican Committee says it is not up to the organization to choose. Sean spicer says the nominee will need the organization, need the rnc to win in november. No nominee can win without the party. Reince priebus has put four years of data and field staff out there, building this party, making relationships, ensuring that whomever that nominee is, is prepared to go. Its a relationship. And you dont go into any relationship and tell anybody you will do this or that. Thats false. What i do believe is important is that, like any relationship, we need the nominee. The nominee needs us. Were going to be proud participants in helping them win back the white house. Lets bring in cnn political commentators, Amanda Carpenter and kevin baden, republican strategist with no dog in the hunt. She is a conservative writer and former Communications Director for senator ted cruz. Amend, let me start with you. What do you make of how the rnc is trying to negotiate this tricky terrain with mr. Trump . Sean spicer has an incredibly hard job to do. But at this point, i think we really have to look at the wisdom that rnc has exercised thus far. They intentionally accelerated the primary schedule, designed it that way, so they could protect the front runner for being criticized too much. Now were seeing people like mitt romney coming out, saying this guy needs to be vetted a little bit more. So that decision is looking very poor at this point in time. And also, we should be revisiting the postmortem report they put out after the last election, where they encourage everyone, republicans, to do something, anything, on comprehensive immigration reform. Because we have to reach out to hispanic voters. That was a brutal mistake, damaged marco rubio more than anything. The fact that he did gang of eight. And the reason that republicans have no credibility on immigration led to the rise of donald trump itself. So the rnc has something to answer for. Kevin, you used to work for mitt romney. This is some really sharp, sharp criticism. Whatishehiding from mitt romney about the republican front runner. Thats wrong. I think at the heart of this is a desire by mitt romney to see people take donald trump head on. I think the second part of it is that he recognizes the effectiveness of this attack. Because it was effective towards him. He also knows that this is something that the democrats are going to do. And i think hes sort of exposed one thing that donald trump has as a weakness, which is donald trump doesnt like when people ask him questions that he doesnt like to answer. This is one of those instances. Last night he dodged and weve had on it, by saying my taxes are very complex, there is a lot of work involved in putting them together. But were not talking about taxes Going Forward. Were not talking about 2015. Were talking about returns that he took a picture with today and tweeted out. He can release those today. Right. And democrats are going to make this attack. I think other his opponents in this campaign are probably likely to take up this line of attack. So if he doesnt have anything to hide, he should put them out there. I heard some people suggest this isnt fair today. Of course its fair to do. Donald trump has made his wealth, the reason why he should be trusted to be president. Also the ongoing question about what organizations has he donatesed to. What is his value, net worth. But also, what are his values . Those returns will show us. Also a standard threshold disclosure. Every single candidate for the president releases two years of tax returns. And the argument is that this stuff should come out. This was the argument against mitt romney in 2012. Release it now, while Republican Voters are still making their estimations and see if there is anything there that could hurt the republicans in november, do it now so republicans can make their judgment now. Yeah. And there were many republicans that privately communicated to the campaign in 2012 that holding back when governor romney initially resisted, or at least took his time in releasing those tax returns, that it was a mistake. And to put it out, disclose it, and go on. And he did that, and it ended up not hurting him at all. He eventually did. And if you remember during the general election, what the democrats did was make requests for additional disclosures. And when those additional disclosures didnt come, the democrats framed it as this is somebody you cant trust. What is he hiding . Now even though there is nothing to hide and he could be trusted, those questions in the voters minds were oftentimes crucial in whether or not people decided whats so interesting about it, mitt romney is doing the exact same thing that donald trump that was done to him, including, you know, engaging in hypotheticals about this might be in there or this might be in there. A lot of people called it dirty pool. And now mitt romney is doing it to his own party and i think there are fair critiques of that. That hes making an unsubstantiateded claim like that. There is only one way to dispute it release the returns. Thanks so much. Tonight is the night. Join my colleague, wolf blitzer, as he moderates the final Republican Debate before super tuesday. The republicans square off this evening, 8 30 eastern, 7 30 central, on cnn and cnn international. Bill and Hillary Clinton holding several events in South Carolina today ahead of the democratic parties primary in that state. Noticeably absent from South Carolina, Bernie Sanders. Well discuss, coming up. Plus, one senior republican is calling for senators cruz and rubio to team up. To take down donald trump. But to do so, one of them, of course, needs to drop out. The details, just ahead. melodic, calm music we said goodbye to the day. And to the city. And drifted off into the twilight. And when we woke, we found that the whole world had reinvented itself. Sail with princess cruises, the best cruise line in europe. Limited 7day mediterranean fares from 999. Call your travel consultant or visit princess. Com. Princess cruises. Come back new. 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With only two days until the South Carolina primary, democratic president ial candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are going with very different strategies, despite a large lead clinton is hitting South Carolina hard. Shes crisscrossing through the palm metto state today, making four campaign stops. Absent from the palmetto state today is rival Bernie Sanders. Hes in ohio right now, with planned stops in michigan and illinois. Sanders schedule is raising questions on whether or not he has written off South Carolina. Lets discuss it. Im joined by senior washington correspondent, joe johns. Hes in columbia, South Carolina. And cnn correspondent, chris frates, in ohio. Hillary clinton getting some help from her husband on the trail today . Get agoing a lot of help from her husband, bill clinton. And yes, all here in the palmetto state. They are crisscrossing the state today, going to several different cities. And look, the strategy certainly right now is to run up the vote in South Carolina. In hopes of demonstrating what the Hillary Clinton campaign can do when the broader demographics of the Democratic Party are at play, opposed to what we saw in iowa and New Hampshire earlier this year. Hillary clinton right here in columbia, South Carolina, earlier today articulating some of the core themes of her campaign, as we approach final arguments. Listen. Weve got work to do to help more people, to be able to knock down those barriers that stand in their way. To an education, to health care, to economic opportunity. And that includes taking on systemic racism, which is still a problem in america. It includes reforming the criminal justice system. It includes providing alternatives to jail and prison. So, bill clinton, Hillary Clinton, all over the palmetto state. They will be joined by Chelsea Clinton tomorrow, campaigning in advance of the primary for saturday. But i also have to say, jake, there is going to be a very quick pivot on saturday, Hillary Clinton headed out to alabama and then on sunday, to arkansas. So once the primary gets started, the voting gets started, theyre going to move very quickly to the super tuesday states. And chris, in ohio with the Sanders Campaign, just a simple question. Is the Sanders Campaign writing off South Carolina . Well, ill tell you, jake, when you talk to the Sanders Campaign, they definitely say they are not writing off South Carolina. They point out to the fact that he has been campaigning there for months and hes going back on friday. But when you look at all of the time and money that they have spent in South Carolina, they still havent really been able to eat secretary clintons lead. Thats largely because she has such a strong well of store among the africanamerican community. And that brings us to why Bernie Sanders is in ohio today. Hes making sure he can stay competitive throughout the primaries that are coming up. And you really heard him start to talk about africanamerican issues in a way that you didnt hear him in New Hampshire. He talked about how hes been listening to africanamericans talk about why unarmed blacks are being shot by police. He made the point that young africanamericans are have a higher Unemployment Rate and that africanamerican women have a higher wage gap than whites. Lets take a listen to how he talked about criminal Justice Reform just a few moments ago, jake. I have talked to people in the africanamerican community, people with phds who say if im driving across the country, i get kind of nervous. I get kind of nervous. And the reason for that is that africanamericans are stopped a lot more for traffic issues than are whites. We have got to take on this issue of institutional racism and a broken criminal justice system. So there you have Bernie Sanders talking about institutional racism of broken criminal justice system. And thats largely because even when he leaves South Carolina on saturday, he needs to build support with africanamericans going through into super tuesday, and beyond. And thats part of what youre hearing in that stump speech. And i would expect, jake, to continue to hear it moving forward into march. All right, joe and chris, thanks so much. Coming up, the battle over the next Supreme Court justice. Senate republicans have promised no hearings, no vote. They wont even meet with the potential nominee, president obama says hes going to go ahead with the process and accepted them one. Well get democratic senator al franken to weigh in on the fight. Hell join me live, next. Absolutely ageless® night cream aveeno® with active naturals® blackberry complex. A whole new way to keep skin looking younger longer. Starting tonight. Part of the new absolutely ageless collection from aveeno® dont even think about it. Cough if you can hear me. I took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. Yeah. But what about mike . It works on his cough too. Cough it works on his cough too. Mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs for 12 hours. Lets end this. [ rock music throughout ] [ engine starting ] [ tire screech ] [ car engines roar ] [ pit crew audio ] when youre a fan its never just one thing, its everything. Introducing nascar on xfinity x1, get live race stats right on your tv. Change the way you experience nascar with xfinity x1. Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and indeed around the world. The white house and Senate Republicans may be one step closer to a meeting about the Supreme Court vacancy. But the big question, of course, will it make a difference . Case in point, republican senator chuck grassley, who scha chairs the Senate Judiciary committee wrote an oped today about holding consent. Its based on the principle that in an american democracy, in a divided nation, he writes, the people should be able to write in on such a consequential decision. Its an extremely contentious issue between Senate Republicans and democrats. Lets discuss it with democratic senator al franken, a member of the key committee, the Senate Judiciary committee. Senator franken, thanks for joining us. You bet. So the Obama Administration had floated the notion that they were vetting Nevada Republican governor, brian sandoval, to fill the Supreme Court seat left empty by the passing of antonin scalia. But he issued a statement saying he had notified the white house and senators, democrats and republicans, that he is with drawing his name from consideration. What do you make of this . You know, whoever the president submits in line with his constitutional obligation and duties, we will consider. And im on the Judiciary Committee, and that means having hearings, which is which we have had every time a nominee has been offered by the president since they first started having hearings in 1916, over 100 Supreme Court nominees have had hearings. Nine didnt, but those were all confirmed within 11 days. So this is unprecedented, what theyre talking about doing. And its irresponsible. And i its without precedent, and this is very destructive. I believe. Do you think that the white house was seriously considering sandoval, or do you think it was about more making a point of, look, even if we nominate a republican governor, the republicans are such obstructionists. I dont know what the white house im sure theyre trying to find someone who would be a very good Supreme Court justice, and who could pass through the senate if once they have a hearing. You are youre friends with senator grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee. At first, he said that he hadnt made up his mind about whether or not he would hold hearings. And then all of a sudden he was very firmly against it, writing an oped with michigtch mcconne saying there wouldnt be any hearings, writing another oped today in usa today. A similar situation played out with republican senator, Lisa Murkowski from alaska. She said she thought there should be hearings and later that evening, somebody tweeting from her account, maybe her, tweeting that there should not be hearings. Whats going on . Well, theyre obviously falling in line. This is very disappointing. The constitution is very clear that when you have a vacancy, in this case caused by Justice Scalias death, that the president has a responsibility to nominate a prospective justice, and we in the senate have the obligation to provide advice and consent if we so you know, on the consent side if we consent. And the constitution also says that the president has a fouryear term. And scientists tell us that there are almost 11 months left in the president s second term. Right. Senator joe biden, when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee back in 92, you were not even in the senate at the time, i dont hold you responsible for what then senator biden had to say. Thank you. He certainly sounded different he certainly sounded different than you sound back then. He said if a vacancy was created in 92 when george h. W. Bush was president , that then president bush should not appoint somebody. And ive been hearing republicans all week invoking the biden rule. What do you make of that . I think theres a couple things that should be brought up. First of all, biden was chair of the Judiciary Committee when Justice Kennedy was confirmed in the last year of reagan administration. And secondly, i think that the context of that was a justice with, you know, resigning, who is older. That would be like, say, Justice Ginsberg deliberately resigning so that president obama could appoint somebody or nominate somebody. Thats this is very different. This is a vacancy caused by the death of a justice. And so what were talking about now is for the next two terms of the Supreme Court, that we would not have anybody there. And thats just unacceptable. Especially when you have would have so many 44 decisions. And people rely americans rely on decisions from the court. Senator franken, i know youve endorsed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the democratic president ial nominee. I have. And she certainly seems like she is regained, if she ever lost, her frontrunner status. What do you make of donald trump as the potential republican nominee, and do you think democrats are not taking him as a threat seriously enough . Well, you know, hes not the nominee yet. Im not a republican. Thats their job. Thank goodness. They have to choose who their nominee is going to be. I know that whoever their nominee is, we are going to take very, very seriously. Because as a senator, ive seen kind of up close how important it is who the president is. And as i again, read my constitution, the president has these fouryear terms. And the president has the power granted to him by the constitution for all each of those four years. All right, senator al franken of minnesota, thank you so much for joining us. We always appreciate it. Youre very welcome, jake tapper of washington, d. C. Coming up, a senior House Republican calls for ted cruz and marco rubio to unite on a single ticket. A letter hes now circulating and why he says it would all be for the good of the Republican Party. Plus, reaction from a top cruz supporter. Thats all coming up next. Look how beautiful it is. Honey, we need to talk. We do . I took the trash out. I know and thank you so much for that. I think we should get a Medicare Supplement insurance plan. Right now . 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I dont know whats going on here. Putting that whole college loan thing into a different light. The stage is being set for tonights republican president ial debate, which can only be seen on cnn and cnn international. It will feature the five remaining republican candidates squaring off one final time before the allimportant super tuesday. Donald trump will take center stage as the front runner with three straight victories. That leaves the other candidates on a mission to try and slow his momentum and get their own breakout moment before 11 states, including this one, head to the polls. A total of 595 delegates will be up for grabs for the republicans. Nearly half the amount needed to win the republican president ial nomination. The stakes, needless to say, are quite high for all the candidates this evening. Perhaps, especially, for marco rubio and ted cruz as they try to close in on the undisputed front runner, donald trump. Now a republican congressman is calling for rubio and cruz to join forces, and unite against trump. Congressman trent franks says, one candidate should continue in the race, and in the other, asris hunting mate. Take a listen. We really have a mathematical issue here, rather than a political one. I pray both these candidates will consider the alternative and the fact that the window is closing. I dont want to suggest how they should do it. Its not a matter of running from the fact. But yes, if it comes down to flipping a coin, flip a coin for the sake of the future. Lets talk about this with former georgia congressman, bob bar, a supporter of ted cruz. He joins us from atlanta. What do you make of congressman franks idea . Its not going anywhere. This question comes up pretty much every cycle, where somebody out there believes, rightly or wrongly, that the candidates certain of them, should drop out. Its not going to happen. In this case, you have two very wellknown senators who are very, very strongly committed to running, who have many, many supporters all across the country. Theyre not all of a sudden going to drop out because a congressman asked them to. Despite the fact that, you know, a lot of people may want that. I support senator cruz, and i would be very disappointed if he were suddenly to just because he loses a game of rock, paper, scissors, drop out of the race. An article in the National Review says some conservative activists backing senator ted cruz are re evaluating their support after three straight thirdplace victories or nonvictories, i should say. And these activists are considering defecting to senator rubio if cruz doesnt do well on super tuesday. What do you think of that . Its more of what we always see as we get closer to an important date. In this case, super tuesday or s. E. C. Tuesday next week. People are always going to start feeding stuff to the media that either helps or hurts one candidate or another. The fact of the matter is, certainly from my perspective here in georgia, senator cruz is doing very well. We see no dilution or lessoning of his support from any of the groups that have supported him. A new Monmouth University poll out today shows that senator cruz is ahead here in texas, which is obviously senator cruzs home state. Hes at 38 ahead of donald trump, and 23 . Marco rubio at 21 . A senior republican lobbyist saying texas is in the bag. But the bag has a weak bottom. How important is a win in texas, and additionally to that, there is another poll showing rubio trailing in his own state, trailing trump. Can a candidate credibly continue if he doesnt win his home state . It would be very difficult for that to happen, particularly at this stage. And thats why were very pleased, as cruz supporters, to see ted cruz strongly ahead in texas, and why i think senator rubio should be very concerned that he is not doing well in his home state. All right, former congressman bob bar, cruz supporter, thanks so much for joining us. Great to see you, sir. Thank you. Just in, nevada governor brian sandoval, saying today hes not interested in the Supreme Court nomination. He said, quote, i notified the white house that i do not wish to be considered at this time for a possible nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. I have also spoken to senators reid, heller and mcconnell and expressed the same desire to them. The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling. And i am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned, unquote. White house press secretary, josh earnest, saying the president has a team of people continuing to evaluate candidates. Coming up, Congress Accusing the pentagon of deleting emails and providing false information regarding national security. The details on that story. Plus, new information on the battle to unlock the iphone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorists. The fbi outlining exactly what they are asking apple to do, and why apple is saying no. Man sternly where do you think youre going . Mr. Mucus to work, with you. Its taco tuesday. Man youre not coming. I took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. Im good all day. [announcer ] mucinex keeps working. Not 4, not 6, but 12 hours. Lets end this welcome back. Were live on the campus of the university of houston, getting ready for this evenings republican president ial debate. The last one before super tuesday. But lets turn to some world news now. Isis and al qaeda foreign fighters and homegrown terrorism. The iphone and encryption software. These were just some of the topics mentioned at a worldwide Terror Threat hearing on capitol hill earlier today. Top Security Officials testifying before the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence. Heres the director of national intelligence, retired general james clapper. There are no more sunni violent extremist groups members in safe havens than at any time in history. The rate of foreign travelers traveling to syria and iraq in the past few years is without precedent. At least 38,200 foreign fighters, including at least 6,900 from western krirs countries have traveled to syria since the beginning of the conflict in 2012. Lets bring in our pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, what were some of the highlights of todays hearing . Hi, jake. Well, you know, the Intelligence Community likes to make a lighthearted comment about all of this, calling it the litany of doom, and that is what it was. I think one of the real underlying threats, which is how much isis has taken over as a major threat to the u. S. , how much it has grown beyond what al qaeda ever was. And that is driving a lot of what the Intelligence Community clearly is doing these days. All of this leading to the republican chairman of the committee absolutely blasting the pentagon, and it really caught our attention over its intelligence practices. The chairman accusing the pentagon from everything of providing the congress with false information to deleting emails. Another email scandal out there. Listen to just what the chairman of the committee had to say. We have been made aware that both files and emails have been deleted by personnel at cen com and we expect these and all other relevant documents from the committee. The war against isis, now, they say no, we didnt delete any emails, they told us a short time ago all Senior Leader emails are maintained. The congressman did not refer to Senior Leader emails, he just said emails. The committee critical of the pentagon claiming, saying, alleging, that the pentagon gave them false information about the relocation of an Intelligence Center so contractors would be kept happy because theyd be working close to london and not in another much more remote location. So besides all the threats out there, isis, north korea, everything, russia, a lot of anxie anxiety, a lot of tension between the committee and the pentagon this morning, jake. All right, Barbara Starr at the pentagon. One of the top issues, the battle between the fbi and apple computers. As the Company Fighting a request to unlock the iphone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. The director today explaining the judges order. The federal judge has ordered the maker of the phone to do two things. That is disable the auto erase function on the phone so that if the fbi is trying to guess the pass code to the phone it doesnt automatically delete the contents essentially aft effort tenth try. And second, to disable the delay between tries function. If were going to try to guess the code, it doesnt take years and years but instead were able to do it in minutes and hours. The code the judge has directed apple to write works only on this one phone. The code will be at apple which i think has done a darn good job of protecting its code. Lets bring in democratic congressman adam schiff, a Ranking Member of that committee on intelligence. You talked about this at the hearing. What is your position . My position is that in term also of the phone that was used by the male shooter farouk in San Bernardino, i think the fbi has a good legal case under the all writs act to follow up on the earlier court order that apple assist in this way. I think apple has a compelling argument that while this order may only deal with this one phone, the precedent will be applied to other cases around the country and i think the director of the fbi pretty much acknowledged that today. So this case has much broader policy implications which is why ultimately the Court Decision wont decide this issue. In fact, by the time this court rules on appeal, apple will have probably already changed its operating system such that the fbi wont be able to request this relief in the future. Ultimately, its going to fall on us, jake, in congress, to try to draw the line in terms of what the Technology Sector must or must not do and i think that would be best if it can be part of a negotiate agreement between the tech sector, Law Enforcement Intelligence Community as well as stake holders. I think that is the best way forward at this point. You also spoke about libya where isis is clearly gaining a stronger foothold. What do you think should be done to keep isis from taking even more control of that country . I think we have to act more aggressively and more swiftly in taking out key isis figures and pushing back isis in supporting militias that will fight isis and im worried that we have not been as aggressive on this front as we should be because we have been waiting for this political fight between these two factions and libya, theyre trying to form a government to be sorted out. That has gone on week after week, month after month, and all the while that these two factions are fiddling, libya is burn. Id like to see us with our European Partners act more aggressively, militarily, and con tem rainious with the diplomat efforts. Frankly, if we allow isis to get that kind of a foothold, a socalled caliphate in libya, we have seen in iraq and syria just how hard it is to later uproot. I know youre concerned about libya and the greater middle east is about that country not about politics. But can you say anything other than the region is in a worse situation than it was when president took office in terms of libya and iraq and syria and in that sense, isnt this an issue that is really helping republicans as they make their case to the American People this Election Year . I think its certainly true that the arab spring unleashed really incredible unprecedented forces which has caused a lot of these state boundaries and lines drawn up over a century ago to largely evaporate in places like iraq and syria and introduced a whole new level of violence and instability in the region. I dont know you can lay the arab spring at the feet of the administration. Theres certainly going to be a lot of fodder to debate over what our policy ought to be Going Forward in syria and iraq. I do think its interesting, though, much as the republican president ial candidates criticize and attack the president over his handling of syria and iraq, they dont really offer much in the way of a different policy. They largely subscribe to what the president is doing and if they dont, theyre unwilling to say they really want to introduce strong numbers of american troops. I think Lindsay Graham was the only person will to go there and hes no longer in the president ial field. Its a fair response. Congressman adam schiff of california, Permanent Select Committee on intelligence, thank you. Thanks, jake. Thats it for me. I will be back at 4 00 eastern, 3 00 houston time on the lead. For our International Viewers amanpour is next. For viewers in north america, newsroom with poppy harlow and john berman starts right after this. Virgin islands nice so nice so nice, so nice spend a few days in the u. S. Virgin islands and return with a lifetime of experiences. Thats Virgin Islands nice. 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Youre watching special coverage of the debate which is, john berman, tonight. Thanks, poppy. Im john berman at the university of houston. Right here in less than seven hours, you will see the smallest field of republicans on stage so far under the greatest pressure in this campaign so far. Behind me are the great students of the university of houston. They were talking to cnns jake tapper just a few minutes ago. You can s t