Transcripts For CNNW Wolf 20180124 : vimarsana.com

Murray, who helped break this story. What are you learning about muellers interests . He clearly thinks steve bannon can help. Thats right. Obviously weve seen mueller taking on a number of higher Level Administration officials. We saw him bring in Jeff Sessions. Now hes moved on to steve bannon, whos the former chief strategist at the white house. But one of the things thats interesting is when we saw bh bannon go on the hill, he refused to talk about his time at the white house whatsoever. Sources expect that to be a key area of focus for mueller. Specifically, what happened around the decision to fire Michael Flynn. What did these various advisers and the president learn about Michael Flynns discussions with the Russian Ambassador about sanctions . What went into the decision to fire the acting attorney general sally yates . And then the decision to fire fbi director james comey. So this will be a fascinating interview. Its not at all what we saw or heard or reported on from bannon out of his hearings on the hill. When he was before the house intelligence committee, he was willing to answer questions about the campaign, not willing to answer any questions about the transition or the time he served in the white house as chief strategist. But were now told this time hes going to be answering questions on everything. Thats right. He will not be able to invoke executive privilege when he does go in and meet with mueller the way he did on capitol hill. It does tell you that mueller believes that there could be revelations, moments bannon could shed light on that happened in the white house, both in terms of collusion, perhaps, when it comes to what flynn knew and what these various advisers knew about flynns discussion about sanctions, but also when it comes to obstruction of justice. We know, for instance, the president s decision to fire james comey is a key area of focus and muellers investigation into whether the president was trying to obstruct justice. And it could be before the end of this month, meaning next week, as early as next week. It could be soon. As of right now, were not aware any firm date has been set. Obviously we know Steve Bannons team has been preparing for this. Theyre watching the news developments just like we are. They know mueller is in full swing and certainly isnt worried about bringing in highlevel players at this point. So michael, what about the executive privilege . To answer questions on ing ready everything and wont exert confidentiality executive privilege. So executive privilege resides with the president. Its the president who asserts the privilege and instructs the person who is going to give out information about the policy communications they had not to answer that question. So its not really on bannon to decide whether something is an executive privileged communication or not. Its on the president. So well see whether or not the president through white House Counsel or his private counsel tells bannon not to answer that question, as he said he was told during his house intelligence briefing. So well see about that. When he refused to answer questions about that nature. I want you to listen to what he said on 60 minutes when he was asked about the president s decision to go ahead and fire comey. Listen to this. Someone said to me that you described the firing of james comey. Youre a student of history. As the biggest mistake in political history. That would be probably that would probably be too bombastic even for me but maybe modern political history. So youre smiling but hes obviously a very blunt guy. Well, yeah, i might put archibald c up there as blunders by presints. Cleay this is what set in motion the entire special counsel investigation. But for the president having done this, its not likely that there would have been a need for a special counsel. There may have been a need for sessions to recuse himself because he worked on the campaign and thats what the doj regulations require, but not necessarily a special counsel. And im sure the special counsel is going to want to question him about what he said in that Michael Wolff book about that trump tower meeting being treasonous, that Money Laundering potential i will ly e heart of all potential crime there is. Theyre going to want to get into all of that. Steve bannon says in that interview thats maybe too bombastic for him, but hes obviously very colorful, very bombastic in his language, as we saw in that book. A number of his comments did raise the interest of investigators not only on capitol hill but among mueller and his team. Theyre going to be parsing what he said in the book. Look, we know from Steve Bannons testimony on capitol hill that he acknowledged that some of these things were just hie besh l hyperbole, but mueller wants know what he has the facts to back up. Even if he wasnt involved in a key decision, for instance the decision to fire james comey, what was the president s mind set at the time . What were the conversations among the president s aides around him . Even if he wasnt party to one of these decisions that set off so many alarms with investigators, he was in the white house, he certainly saw a lot, certainly talks to a lot of people, including the president regularly, and mueller is going to want tonow about those conversations. One perfect example of that is the donald junior meeting on june 9th where bannon has a point of view about that, whether the president was informed of the meeting, whether he met the actual russians, what the president s mind set was when they were on air force one and drafting their response of statement. Bannon doesnt have to have been on the ground at the time of knowledge of those facts. , that w that was a meeting designed to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton from the russians, who showed up there. Everybody stand by. Theres more news were following. The special prosecutors desire to talk with steve bannon just one in a series of bombshells to drop in the russia probe. On the white house, the flurry of action could also be a sign that the special prosecutors investigation may be entering its time phase. Lets go to our senior White House Correspondent pamela brown over at the white house. Pamela, take us through these latebreaking developments. Wolf, theres been an avalanche of russiarelated headlines, much to the irritation of white house officials who want to keep the focus on the president s trip to the World Economic forum in davos. We have learned that Robert Mueller, special counsel, is seeking to question the president specifically on topics related to obstruction of justice, his decision to fire james comey, as well as his decision to fire former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. The circumstances surrounding that. Investigators want to learn more about the president s state of mind, his intention with the firing of those officials. In fact, we have learned, wolf, that Robert Mueller has interviewed james comey, the former fbi director, about the circumstances last year. Hes also interviewed Jeff Sessions as recently as last week. Of course, the attorney general, sources tell us that interview lasted for hours. Jeff sessions, as we know, was involved in the Decision Making to fire james comey. He spoke to the president about it before it happened. So all of this is part of what Robert Mueller is looking at. My colleague also broke the news, wolf, that rick gates has hired a new whitecollar attorney. Thats a signal that perhaps hes changing his strategy to his not guilty plea and negotiating behind the scenes with Robert Mueller. Rick gates was a former campaign aide, Trump Campaign aide, close to Paul Manafort, who was also charged and pleaded not guilty. All of this as we learn all of this, wo, were also learning about a conversation the president in the oval office with Andrew Mccabe, where he reportedly asked him who he voted for, and mccabe that made mccabe feel uncomfortable. The president has been very outspoken on twitter about that. In fact, the attorney general Jeff Sessions, according to sources, went to christopher wray, the fbi director, asking him to remove his top leadership, including Andrew Mccabe. When you look at the big picture here, now 17 former and Current Administration officials have now been interviewed by Robert Mueller. Of course, the next big interview will be waiting for is the interview with the president. If and when that happens, only time will tell, wolf. And maybe before the end of this month with steve bannon. Then the president , presumably, will be one of the final witnesses to appear. Pamela, thank you very much. Pamela brown over at the white house. Robert mueller could have the president in the hot seat in a matter of weeks as well. So what questions could the president face . Thats coming up next. And from accuser to soul mate, the republican congressman who used taxpayer dollars to settle a Sexual Harassment claim has a new line of defense. And after seven days and more than 150 victims coming forward with their stories of sexual abuse, an exusa gymnastics doctor is now sentenced to 40 to 175 years of prison. Youre going to see what happen in court. Stay with us. vo i was born during the winter of 77. I first met james in 5th g. We got married after college. And had twin boys. But then one night, a truck didnt stop. But thanks to our forester, neither did our story. And thats why well always drive a subaru. Dad dad can you drive me to jessicas house . groans welcome to my house by flo rida this is what our version of Financial Planning looks like. Tomorrow is important, but so is making the most of the house before theyre out of the house. Spend your life living. Find an advisor at northwesternmutual. Com. Thereswhatever type ofhe end of eweekender you are,ton. Dont let another weekend pass you by. Get the lowest price when you book at hilton. Com questioning the president , there are still many details to be worked out before the special counsel gets to interview President Trump as part of the russia investigation. Once again, Michael Zeldin is with us, our cnn legal analyst, former special assistant to robl mueller at the justice department. So how do you see this interview with the president eventually playing out . What will they focus in on . I think there are five broad areas. The first one is comey. What did you think when you were going to fire comey . What did you think when you were asking for loyalty . What did you think when you called him at the First Responders meeting . Was all of this an effort to buy loyalty, intimidate, and when you didnt get your outcome, fire him . So i think that whole interview of comey is about obstruction of justice. Thats the first primary area that if i were mueller, i would be asking about. I assume theyll get into the whole issue of that sensitive june 2016 meeting at trump tower in which the russians participated, supposedly providing, quoted, dirt on Hillary Clinton. Thats right. Thats the second area which well call coordination. Some people call it collusion. But its coordination. What did the campaign do in its communications with russians, whether it be the june 9th meeting with the russians at trump tower or the communications that don junior had with wikileaks or the papadopoulos or the carter pag meetings. What was going on around that communication process. I assume hell ask the president also about Michael Flynn, his National Security adviser for a month or so, about his communications with the russians. Thats right. So there are a couple of things about that. There are the december 22nd and december 29th conversations that flynn had with the russians about sanctions and settlements. Then his potential logan act violations with respect to that. Then his lies to michael pence, Vice President pence, about his communications. But that whole outreach, what was at play there and how did that come to inform the campaign about how it should be proceeding with this russia Trump Campaign relationship. What about communication or alleged coordination with other russians . Well, there are russians that are direct state actors, kislyak and the foreign minister. There are them. Then there are the surrogates of which the u. S. Intelligence agency consider wikileaks one of them. Then there are all of those eight or nine participants at the june 9th meeting, some of whom are supposed to be private people but are alleged to be state actors hiding behind prate people, you know, p. Theres also the issue of Money Laundering. Thats right. Money laundering is a creature of statute. It prohibits money from coming in or money going out. In this case, the allegation is that the trump organization, the financial real estate organization, while floundering in the 1990s and mid2000s was receiving infusions of illegal oligarch or alleged illegal russian organized crime money to keep itself afloat. Don junior in 2008 gave a speech that says we dont need banks. They werent going to get any anyway. We dont need banks because we have russians, especially in our highend real estate ventures. So that bringing in to the United States of illegally sourced money is Money Laundering. A crime in and of itself, wolf, but also potentially an understanding of how it came to be that the trump people had contacts with russians that then ported over to the coordination question that we just talked about. And steve bannon, the former white house chief strategist who is about to be interviewed in the coming days, hes the one that raised this issue of Money Laundering, improprieties in this new book by Michael Wolff. He said it was as plain as the hair on your face. Chael, thanks for all of that. The president s reasons for firing james comey at the fbi have changed over time. I want to remind our viewers right now what he said last spring during an interview with nbc news. I was going to fire regardless of recommendation. He made a recommendation. Hes highly respected, very good guy, very smart guy. The democrats like him. The republicans like him. He made a recommendation. But regardless of recommendation, i was going to fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. Its an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. All right. With me right now, our cnn political analyst David Gregory and chief political analyst gloria borger. The news we broke at the top of the hour, that steve bannon in the coming days is going to sit down with Robert Mueller and his team and answer all the questions they have. Right. Which is what he did not do in congress, and he has to answer all of bob muellers questions. I think what mueller wants to ask him about is the comey firing and what happened with flynn. What did people in thehite house really kno about flynn and flynn meeting with the fbi . I mean, bannon was not at new jersey that weekend that the president decided to fire comey. But it is very clear that he has been involved in discussions with people about what occurred that weekend. And theres a group of people inside the white house and outside the white house who say that, for example, Jared Kushner was a driver of that firing. What will bannon say about that . Why would people believe that kushner was a driver of that . Why would he have done that . Kushner, i will add here, denies that he was a driver, says it was the president s decision. What did they know inside the white house about flynns conversations with the russians, about his interviews with the fbi . These are all things that bannon can shed some light on. And bannon is the one in this new book, as weve pointed out. He raised the possibility of Money Laundering that should be investigated as well. Sf right. And even though he and Paul Manafort were not there at the same time, hes still a Senior Adviser to the president then goes inside the white house. Certainly knew a lot of people who were having conversations about things that manafort might have been involved in. So look, bannon has some credibility questions, some credibility problems, but thats not as important. If you were doing a story on this or if youre running an investigation, there are things he might be able to confirm or provide some insight on. Remember how this is all working. There are lower level folks that investigators are talking to. They get information and they then go up the ladder to talk to people as that information comes in. So he becomes incredibly unpredictable and perhaps very important for any case that they bring against the president or Anyone Around the president. And sooner rather than later, probably sooner, the president himself is going to have to sit down with mueller and his team and start answering questions. Right. His attorneys, i think, would prefer to have the questions be answered on paper. I think the question we have now is whether it would, in fact, be acceptable to the special counsel. I doubt it. I mean, i think you have to hear from trump. Can you imagine a more undisciplined subject of an interview for a deposition or this kind of interview that will not be under oath . Still, this is an opportunity for the special counsel to either answer some questions that make the issue go away or to certainly press the president about what he specifically was involved in and what else hes being told. So it becomes very important. And you know, the president has been telling his friends that he would like to, in fact, talk to special counsel. Hes done this many times. Dont forget, hes a serially litigious person. And thes lots of people cocky enough to think i can deal with these lawyers and their questions. Ill just put it all to bed. Doesnt always work out that way. I think his lawyers would like a takehome test. That applies to a lot of people. I dont think a written q a is going to happen. Everybody, stand by. Theres much more were following. No wall, no daca. The president is blasting the Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer after the top democrat takes funding for the border wall off the negotiating table. Plus, as the russia probe picks up steam, Republican Leaders are on the attack with claims of an antitrump fbi secret society. Dont wait until february. Walk into a Jackson Hewitt, day or night, and you could get up to 3200. So why wait . You could get up to 3200 with a nofee refund advance. Go to Jackson Hewitt today. With a nofee refund advance. Alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. And help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks ill take that. Yeeeeeah ensure high protein. With 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. Ensure. Always be you. I dont want to lie down. I refuse to lie down. Why suffer . Stand up to chronic migraine with botox®. 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Talk to your doctor and visit botox®cmsavings. Com to enroll. vo just one touch. Ith with fancy feast creamy delights, she can have just the right touch of real milk. Easily digestible, it makes her favorite entrees even more delightful. Fancy feast creamy delights. Love is in the details. Were starting over. Thats how the Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer describes negotiations over the fate of dreamers, those young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. Earlier, President Trump lashed out at senor schumer for taking the border wall with mexico off the table th president tweeting this. Quote, crying Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if theres no wall, theres no daca. We must have safety and security together with a Strong Military for our great people, close quote. David and gloria are still with us. So what, are we back to square one right now . Were talking about 700,000 or 800,000 Daca Recipients who have until early march for the government to figure out whether they stay or go. Yeah, Chuck Schumer took his marbles and went home. He decided thats not the game hes playing right now. And yeah, we are back to square one. I mean, i think that im of the Lindsey Graham school that the president has to kind of tell people what he will accept and what he wants, and then youll get to yes sooner because then republicans and the house will be able to see if they can live with it. But the president just kind of sitting back now, these guys are going to be children all over again. At the end of the negotiations to reopen the government, schumer was on the record saying, yes, well support the billions and billions of dollars for the border wall in exchange for the dreamers. I guess there was a question about whether he was willing to authorize it versus actually pay for it. I have this math teacher in high school who would say, i cant take knowledge from you. Well, you cant take the knowledge from President Trump that he knows the leader of the democrats was willing to back the wall and pretend like it didnt happen. Hes going to insist on it. Democrats, i think, are going to have to cave at some level to the concept of a wall. Whatever form that ultimately takes, the president campaigned on it. Hes adamant about it. Hes influenced by people all the way up to his chief of staff who want him to fight for it. Hes got people like Lindsey Graham who want it. So in some fashion, i think democrats are going to have to give on that. And louis gutierrez, the congressman from the chicago area, and schumer have indicated theyre probably going to give. Let me you call it Border Security and make believe its not a wall in some way shape or form and kind of try and fudge it with semantics. Different elements. Theres a wall, there a fence. Drones and all sorts of electronicquipment. Lisey graham had a message for the president. Ill read it to you. You better start telling us what youre for rather than what youre against. To my friends at the white house, youve been all over the board. You havent been a reliable partner, and the senates going to move. Hes obviously, together with a lot of his colleagues, republicans and democrats, frustrated. He might not be invited on the golf course any time soon with the president. I think he is frustrated because he believed that at that open meeting where trump said im going to take the heat, ill sign whatever you bring me, he said a bill of love. And Lindsey Graham came out after that and said this was the man i know. This is the man i played golf with. Well, i think he may have been deluding himself to a great degree because thats not the man that we heard from during the shutdown or who said you have to have the wall or who was listening to general kelly. But this is a perfect example that the president of the United States does not know what he believes about this issue. This is a hard issue. He doesnt know it. He habsnt been a governor. He hasnt been a legislator. He hasnt faught in these wars over immigration. So he pops off during the campaign about were going to have a wall and mexicos goi toay for it,ouingike a populist and nativist. Then he turns around in front of the ceras and says we want a bill of love and ill take the heat. I think he has the potential as an outsider to pull off something really big. But you know, former president bush got a lot of heat on immigration and plenty of other matters. He understood this issue. If not for 9 11, he would have had it and gotten it done. I think Lindsey Graham is right. Hes got to commit to what he thinks about it, what hes prepairpr prepared to do. The only thing he really committed to in the campaign is wall, wall, wall, wall. So there has to be something so he can go to his base and say i kept my campaign promise. Thats what the democrats have to kind of figure out. I think thats fair enough for him to do. Exa exactly. And the White House Press secretary made it clear yesterday they hate the Lindsey Graham dick durbin compromise. Listen to this. It would not secure our border, encourage more illegal immigration, increase chain migration, and retain the visa lottery system. In short, its totally unacceptable to the president and should be declared dead on arrival. Looks lake they got a lot of work to do if theyre going to resolve this. This fighting between the conservative view about immigration is playing out between the white house and capitol hill. Thats interesting. Democrats might be able to deal more. They may not be able to overcome this problem within this conservative circle. Maybe the democrats should say mexico should pay for the wall. Were for it. Dont hold your breath. All right, guys. Thanks very much. The republican congressman whos been under fire for using taxpayer dollars to settle a Sexual Misconduct complaint is now calling his accuser his soul mate. Plus, seven days of wrenching testimony came to an end last hour. The disgraced exusa gymnastics doctor has now been sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse. Well take you inside the courtroom. Stay with us for that. This extravagant . Or make a back seat that feels nothing like a back seat . Why give it every feature you could want, along with a few you didnt know you needed . Its simple. You can build a car, or you can build a cadillac. Come in now for this exceponal off on the cadillac ct6. Get this lowmileage lease on this 2018 cadillac ct6 from around 549 per month. Visit your local cadillac dealer. Wont replace the full value of your totaled new car. The guy says you picked the wrong insurance plan. No, i picked the wrong insurance company. 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Why did you pay her off using taxpayer money . Thats the big question. Why did you do that, congressman . Because i wanted her not to caulk out of the situation onc it got engaged with attorneys i a way that was just going to harmful. I paid a severance because i cared about her. And i didnt want her to be in a situation that was not going to resolve itself for years. And thats what happens in litigation. Republican congressman from pennsylvania Patrick Meehan admitting he used taxpayer money to settle a Sexual Misconduct claim filed against him by a former aide. Meehan, a married father of three, told the philadelphia inquirer, he saw the much younger woman as his, quote, soul mate, adding that when he found out she was dating someone else, he didnt act the best. Cnns m. J. Lee is with us following this story. What else do we know about the contact he had with this woman . Whats stunning is that we know quite a bit about the interactions the congressman says he that wihad with this fo aide, even though he signed a confidentiality agreement with this woman, hes now speaking out sense that story first broke. He says that he developed a deep affection for this former aide, and that he basically considered her his soul mate even though he denies the allegations of Sexual Harassment. He said that he is happily married and was never interested in and did not pursue a sexual or romantic relationship. But at the same time that hes saying all of this, he also acknowledges that when he found out that this woman had a serious relationship with somebody else outside of his office, that he did not react well, that he lashed out. To try to clear the air a little bit, he wrote a letter to this woman. Let me read a part of what he wrote in this letter. He said, you are kind and sensitive and caring and infectious with your laugh. You are and have been a complete partner to me and have brought me such happiness. It is a very, very lucky man who might get to be your partner for more of your life is this indeed the one. I hope you will find great contentment. Now, the womans identity is not being revealed. Her lawyer, in fact, says that she values her privacy and she does not want the congressman continuing to speak out about the details of their relationship. House Speaker Paul Ryan has removed the congressman from the house ethics committee, which is now investigating him and wants him to pay back the money that he used for thissence, for this settlement. The congreman, ithe meantime, is saying hes not going awhere. He plans to run for reelection. All right, m. J. Thanks very much. Another scandal on capitol hill. Theres more breaking news were following. The president s former chief strategist steve bannon getting ready to speak with Robert Mueller. Youre going to hear where the special counsel wants to focus in. Plus, mueller also hoping to sit down with President Trump himself after several of his firings to discuss several of his firings. Stand by. Over the years, paul and i have met regularly with our ameriprise advisor. We plan for everything from retirement to college savings. Giving us the ability to add on for an important member of our family. Welcome home mom. With the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. Special counsel Robert Muellers investigation has now clawed all the way up to President Donald Trump. Sources tell cnn that mueller has indicated very strong interest in questioning trump about the firing of the former fbi director james comey and the firing of the former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. Its a culmination of at least 17 interviews with current or former trump officials. Lets take a quick look at how we got here. Mueller was appointed as special counsel on may 17th, 2017, and in the sixth months that followed, mueller interviewed nine officials, including former white house chief of staff Reince Priebus and former White House Press secretary sean spicer. In november, thats when mueller began closing in on the president s inner circle, interviewing Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller and the president s soninlaw Jared Kushner. The biggest bombshell yet came on december 1st. Thats when Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the fbi and announced he was fully cooperating with the special counsels probe. And just a few weeks later, mueller interviewed White House Communications director hope hicks and white House Counsel donn mcgahn. In january, we learned mueller issued a subpoena to the former white house chief strategist steve bannon. Hes going to be testifying. s going to be answering questions later this month, were now told. And on january 17th, he sbh interviewed the attorney general of the United States, Jeff Sessions. As i said earlier, President Trump could eventually be added to this very long list. Heres what the white house said when asked whether the president would sit for an interview. Were going to be fully cooperative with the special counsel, and were going to continue to do that throughout the process, but were also not going to comment on who may or may not or could be interviewed at any point, but were going to continue to be fully cooperative with the process. Why doesnt the president just get rid of bob mueller . Just fire him. It was said today its wasting taxpayers money. In that regard, why doesnt he end the investigation because its wasting the taxpayers money . Look, we want to see this come to a complete and full conclusion. I think we all know what everybody in this room would do if the president did that, and i dont think thats helpful to the process. All right. Lets discuss with our cnn commentator and former director of the office of government ethics, walter schaub, and james schultz. Walter, let me start with you. Theres this report in the washington post, and im sure you saw it, that during a meeting back in may, the president asked thenacting fbi director Andrew Mccabe who he voted for in the 2016 president ial election. Mccabe later said that he found the exchange quite disturbing. Is it normal for a president to ask an acting fbi director who he voted for . No, its completely outside the culture of the federal government to the point of being shocking. It would be what wed call a prohibited personnel practice under a particular statute if anyone other than the president asked a subordinate that. Once again, we have the president holding himself to a lower standard that the 2. 7 million civilian federal employees who work for him. And Andrew Mccabe is a career fbi official. Jim, do you agree . I dont agree. If its in the context of at the time, i believe it was in the context of discussing whether Andrew Mccabe was going to be fbi director. The president of the United States, thats an inherently political office. The people of the United States chose a republican. He can ask whatever questions he wants relative to someones background and their political filiations, et cetera. Theres nothing wrong with that whatsoever, admitted by walter here today. Go ahead, walter. Thats so unbelievably hypocritical given the attacks of partisans and ton the fbi fo being supposedly nonobjective and being biased. We have members of congress screaming that employees at the fbi gave legal donations to candidates during elections. Yet, the president is going to ask somebody in the fbi director role who will be supervising them if hes enough of a partisan for the job. In fact, i could tell you no one ever asked me who i voted for when i was nominated for the director of the office of government ethics. Go ahead, jim. Walter, i think it was pretty clear who you voted for. Nonetheless, elections have consequences. When youre selecting members of your cabinet, folks to lead agencies, the president has every right to know the political affiliation, every right to ask those questions as it relates to people who are going to serve in his cabinet and serve in leadership roles. Jim, you think the president should sit down with Robert Mueller and answer all the questions he has . I think the president should sit with mueller. Obviously this is going to be negotiated in terms of how, the place, the time, whether questions are written, whats submitted beforehand, the scope of that discussion. But i think it is important that he does sit across from mueller so this can be brought to a conclusion, and i think thats why i think thats why were seeing now that mueller is looking to interview the president , just to bring this to a conclusion. Let me get walter and then jim to respond. I look at the instructions that the acting attorney general at the time, rod rosenstein, gave mueller when he was named special counsel and conduct the investigation into any links and or coordination between the russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation and any other matters within the scope of 600. 4. So he can go and investigate any allege crime, right, walter, even if it has nothing to do with collusion or coordination with the russians . Thats absolutely true. It has to have arisen from the course of his investigation. So, for example, if theres a Money Laundering issue that is not directly related to the collusn issue, he can go ahead and investigate that . He could although i wouldnt be so quick to assume theyre not related. This may be the source of links to russia that theyll eventually uncover. Think back it was under a different statute but think back to the ken starr investigation that ended up with a sexual relationship with a subordinate. So there is precedent in our country for investigators to not turn a blind eye to criminal activity or other activity they find. Jim, how broad of a mandate does mueller have . Look, i think you have to look no farther than the team he put on it, with the team on financial crimes to understand they will be looking at a broad scope. What you also have to understand is if theyre getting this close, theyre getting to the president s inner circle, theyve interviewed the attorney general, theyre likely going to interview the president of the United States, theyre interviewing steve bannon, according to reports. So if theyre getting that close, theyre coming close to a conclusion on a set of facts so that mueller can make a determination going forward. And its not likely theyre going to get the president a second time. Does it look like theyre wrapping things up, as they get closer to the president himself sitting down for an interview . Its too hard to speculate. We dont know whats going on in the investigation. With the blatant partisan attacks coming on the Mueller Investigation from congress, from the president , from people like jim, its possible that mueller feels the need to accelerate and conduct an investigation into the obstruction matter while perhaps the Money Laundering matter could take longer. Walter shaub and jim schultz well continue this conversation, very good conversation indeed. After decades of sexual abuse, more than 150 victims speaking out, the disgraced former gymnastics doctor is sentenced up to 175 years in prison. Well take you inside the courtroom. This is what our version of Financial Planning looks like. Tomorrow is important, but this officially completes his education. Spend your life living. Find an advisor at northwesternmutual. Com. Stay at la quinta. Where were changing with stylish makeovers. Then at your next meeting, set your seat height to its maximum level. Bravo, tall meeting man. Start winning today. Book now at lq. Com she pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. But once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. I use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get it fresh and soft. You are free to go. Tide and downy together. And when youod sugar is a replace one meal. Choices. Or snack a day with glucerna. Made with carbsteady. To help minimize blood sugar spikes. You can really feel it. Now with 30 less carbs and sugars. Glucerna. Now to a very powerful court case in michigan where a judge has sentenced former usa gymnastics dr. Larry nassar up to 175 years in prison over the course of seven full days, more than 150 women and girls read impact statements, detailing how nassar sexually abused them. He addressed the court, reading a statement directly to his victims. Your words these past several days, your words, your words have had a significant emotional affect on myself and has shaken me to my core. I also recognize that what i am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotional destruction that all of you have felt. There are no words that can describe the depth and breadth of how sorry i am of what has occurred. Before sentencing, the judge read a letter written to the court by nassar, defending his medical practices and accusing the women of lying. The judge then addressed him directly. Survive 60 years first and then serve another 40 years, youve gone off the page as to what im doing. My page only goes to 100 years. Sir, im giving you 175 years, which is 2100 months. Ive just signed your death warrant. The fallout from this case is really only beginning. Now the public eye has focused in on the institutions that actually employed nassar. Usa gymnastics, the u. S. Olympic committee and Michigan State university. Thats where he worked. And a number of women accused the organizations of turning a blind eye to nassars abuse and even pressuring some of these victims to remain silent. Awful, awful situation. Thats it for me. Thanks very much for watching. Ill be back 5 00 p. M. Eastern in the situation room. For our international viewers, amanpour is coming up next. For our viewers here in north America Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin starts right now. This is cnn breaking news. Hi, there, im Brooke Baldwin. Youre watching cnn. Thank you so much for being with me here. Any minute now the White House Press briefing will begin. It is happening a day after a bombshell after boshell dropped in this russian investigatio with another two breaking headlines today, both do not focus on the campaign but specifically what donald trump did after he became president of the United States. Two sources say that special counsel bob mueller has indicated an interest in questioning the president on his dismissal of these officials, former fbi director james comey and former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. And the president isnt the only one muchlt eller plans to ask about these firings, which leads to development number