Senate Intel Chair: Kushner's Testimony "Likely" Under Oath, More of Interview With Leon Panetta, WH: No At...

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Gen. front facing-five at front cancel Russia contact this the president's son-in-law Jerry Fisher prepared for his own testimony likely under oath intelligence uproar chairman Devin Nunes rejects) aside from his committees Russia investigation amid growing controversy in part as a renter I'll ask the former CIA director Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his take on new newness his actions and his credibility regulation rollback the president signs a sweeping executive order to undo the Obama administration's policies to combat climate change will create jobs as Mr. Trump claims and accepting blame top US commander now concedes that an airstrike likely killed innocent Iraqis devices deliberately lure coalition forces to attack a location not knowing dozens of civilians we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world I'm Wolf Blitzer you're in the situation room breaking news this hour the White House is pushing back against new controversy in the house investigation of the trunk camps, camps contact Russia the Press Secretary Sean Spicer flatly denied the report the administration sought to block testimony by the former acting Atty. Gen. Sally H but Democrats are questioning whether House intelligence committee during that had been scheduled for today was canceled to prevent Yates talking publicly this this is another cloud over the investigation led by Republican Devin Nunes the House intelligence committee Sherman tonight Nunez is rejecting growing calls for them to step aside from the probe as even some Republicans are joining Democrats and raising concerns about his credibility also tonight the Senate intelligence committee is moving forward with plans to question the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner about his Russia contact the panel's chairman revealing Christer's testimony will be conducted in private and likely under of the president meantime is making good on a campaign promise got Obama era environmental policies is just signed Executive Order is designed to put energy independence and jobs over efforts to combat climate change this hour I'll talk with Leon who served as defense secretary and CIA director under Pres. Obama and our correspondence and analysts are also standing by first let's go to our senior White House correspondent Jeff Sally job John Spicer says the administration would actually welcome testimony by the former acting Atty. Gen. Sally eight what that is what Sean Spicer said today at the White House briefing but I can tell you either are some conflicting accounts of how serious the White House is about this testimony otherwise scheduled to be a hearing today on Capitol Hill another hearing about these Russian allegations of course that was called off at Sally H was going one of the star witnesses know you remember that she was a Deputy Attorney General in the Obama administration and she was a holdover she was the acting Atty. Gen. in the first days of the trump administration until she was fired at the bit of background here but the press briefing today Sean Spicer said they would welcome her testimony on the 24th initiates attorney sent a letter to the White House counsel requesting that consent specifically stating that if they did not receive in the response by March 27 at Tinian they would quote conclude that the White House does not start executive privilege over these matters the White House did not respond he took no action to prevent initiate from testifying that's the story that's what the document shall I hope she testifies I look forward to it was never date let's be honest hearing was never we actually never notified if they choose to afford great we had no problem with her testifying plain and simple but the question here is executive privilege here and now the issue were talking about wall is the investigation and Michael Flynn in contacts he had with the Russian operatives of course he is the former national security advisor who was fired that Sally H was involved in the investigation into him in the final weeks of the Obama administration so she has a perspective on this that she wanted to share with the hearing today with the as intelligence hearing which is abruptly canceled wolf so even though the White House is saying they would like to have or testify we'll see if that ever happens in a house committee or on the Senate committee which is also underway there would've been a fascinating hearing I was looking forward to that testimony jobs only acts very much also tonight on the House intelligence committee chairman that insistently panels rush investigation is in fact moving forward as he rejects growing calls to recuse himself let's go to work senior congressional reporter mono Roger mono get another chance to question Nunez today yeah that's right it needs really defiantly staying in that position believing that these questions for him to step aside essentially amount to partisan politics that's what even some Republicans on the committee including Peter King of New York told me earlier today now is all coming after it has what in Greek the White House present top last week surveillance information that he learned from a secret source on White House grounds about some communications with swamp officials were picked up in some of these intelligence reports but also his decision to abruptly cancel Tuesday's public hearing that was at post to happen today and also the committee and because of this canceling all other private briefings that were going on today raising real questions about whether this committee can go forward now can I when I asked units they will you listen to these Democratic calls recuse yourself he said he would not are you going to stay its chairman and run this investigation oh why would I not because indigo asked them why they're in why these things are being said in this investigation continue as you as chairman why would it not because there's our night briefing you guys continuously but there's even you and keeping you up there saying that he cannot run as you wish it would you can go talk to them that sounds like their problem I don't have you know my colleagues are perfectly fine to me there's they know were doing the investigation that will continue now we know it today today's hearing was supposed also features Sally Yates as He Was Just Reporting Now the Question Had Been Whether or Not the White House Was Seeking to Block Court Testimony the White House Denied That Of Course but When I Asked Devon Unit Is Whether or Not the White House Had Any Role in Urging Him To Cancel Today's Hearing He Would Not Say Yes It Is Speculated Sorry Whenever There's Never This Time Will Do a Press What Did They Ask You to Cancel the Hearing on Today, Why Is It Not Been Why Did You Cancel There's No Nothing Is Been Canceled Now and It Is Also Now Today Earlier Suggesting That He's Okay Open to Having FBI Director James Comey and Mike Rogers the NSA Director Come before the Committee and a Private Briefing Exit Cancel That Briefing Today but Adam Shipped the Top Democrat He Was in a Public Hearing Before Moving Forward Some of Private Briefings for the Senate Intelligence Committee Wolf Moving Forward On Its Own Including They Started to Make Plans to Interview Jared Kushner Who Is a Present from Son-In-Law and a Top Advisor but He's Contacted Russian Officials the Chairman That Commits through Committee Richard Burke Telling Me It's Likely That That Testimony Will Happen under Oath But It Will Be a Private Setting at a Public Setting So We'll See What Whatever We May Learn Private Test Menorrhagia Getting Some Excellent Exercise up on the Hill As Well Not a Thank You Very Much Were Also Learning More Tonight about the Senate's Rush Investigation Implants the Question the President's Son-In-Law and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner's Testimony Is Likely to Be under Oath and It's Likely Also The Focus At Least in Part on His Newly Disclosed Meeting with Russian Banker Who Has Close Ties Vladimir Putin Seen As Jessica Schneider Is Looking at All of This for Us This Hearing Is Supposed to Take Place I Take It behind Closed Doors That's Right Will Chairman Richard Bernstein That Kushner's Testimony Will Be That Private Interview but Likely under Oath in Court on That List of Likely Questions Why Jared Kushner Taken Meeting with the Chair of the State Run Russian Bank at the Height of the Transition Jared Kushner Met with This Russian Banker during the Transition Serge Gore Coffees the Chairman of VEB Bank Has Deep Ties to the Russian Government for Comp Was Appointed to His Job by Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin the White House Disclosed That Kushner Met with Cork off at the Request of Russian Ambassador Serge Kissling Act in December 2016 That Insists This Was All Part of Petitioner's Transition Duties Jared Attended the Meeting in His Capacity As a Transition Official Nothing of Substance Was Discussed There Was No Follow-Up but the Date Is Met with Kushner As Part of a Road Show Business Meetings in 2016 Disclosing That Court Cost Met with A Number of Representatives from the Largest Banks in Business Circles in the United States Including the Head of Kushner Companies Jared Kushner So Which Was It a Transition Officials Meeting or Meeting to Discuss Private Business the White House Not Answering a Request to Clarify Instead Insisting All Inquiries about the Administration's Ties to Russia Are Just Another Distraction If the President Puts Russian Salad Dressing on a Salad Tonight Somehow That the Russian Connection but Experts Say There Is Cause for Concern the ED Bank Was under UN Sanctions for Three Years Generally Simply Meeting with an Entity under Sanctions Necessarily a Problem Doing Business with It Might Be When Christer Met with Cork Hockey Was Still CEO of Krishna Companies at the Time the Company Was Trying to Attract Financing A Building Project in Manhattan Derek Kushner's Position within the Term Transition and Administration Was Well Known to the People Who He Was Doing Some Sort of Business Wet so That's Where You Get the Issue of Gray Area and Lines Blurring between What Somebody Does in His or Her Private Capacity As a Business Person and What Somebody Is Doing in Their Public Capacity As an Official Or As an Advisor to the Most Powerful Man in the World VB's Bank Strategy Posted to Its Website Highlights Its Tight Relationship with the Russian Government Stating Together with the Government We Will Select the Most Promising Growth Areas in the Economy A Kremlin Spokesman Says the Russian Government Was Not Aware of the Meeting between Kushner and Gore, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burke Tells CNN That Jared Kushner Will Likely Testify under Oath but Privately to Senators Republican Sen. Susan Collins Says Her Committee Needs to Clarify Whether Kushner Was Acting As a Member of the Chum Transition Team or His Private Business, Suspects the Russian Bank Just Trying to Drum up More Confusion Why Practice at the Radisson since Spread This Information so I Was Surprised When They Contradicted and Mystic Because There Is an Explanation of Why These Meetings Intelligence Committee Begins Its Open Hearings on Thursday the First Day Will Feature Russian and Cyber Security Experts Still No Word yet on When Jared Kushner Actually Appear before the Committee Jessica Thank You Jessica Schneider Reported Let's Get Some More in All of This up With the Former Defense Secretary the Former CIA Director under Pres. Obama Leon Put on Who's Joining Us Dumpster Sec. Thanks for Joining Us Only Get to All the Developments Involving Jared Kushner A Few Moments before Us the Let Me Ask You about The Canceled Testimony of the Former Acting Atty. Gen. Sally H Both the White House and the House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes Maintained That They Did Not Communicate About Her Testimony That They Still Want to Hear from Hers Why Do You Believe Chairman Nunez Canceled That Important Hearing Been Scheduled Today with Yates the Former CIA Director the Foreman after the Former Director of National Intelligence As Well Well That's a Major Question Wolf Why Why Those Hearings Would Be Cat Would Be Canceled Canceled Abruptly the Whole Purpose Here Of These Investigations Is to Determine the Truth The Truth of What the Russians Did in the Election What Can We Do to Prevent That from Happening in the Future And It Wasn't Was There Any Collusion Between the Trump Campaign And the Russians Those Those Are the Issues Were Entitled to the Truth The Only Way to Find the Truth Is by Allowing Testimony to Take Place by Gathering Evidence And by Trying to Find the Facts Involved in When You Cancel Hearings When You Failed to Look at the Facts and the Evidence It Does Impact on the Credibility of That Investigation People Are Wondering Why the Those Public Hearings That Have Been Announced for A While Why Were They Suddenly Canceled the Letters First Published Mr. Sec. The Washington Post the Justice Department Wrote to the Law Firm Representing the Former Acting Atty. Gen. Sally Is Let Me Read Couple Sentences from That Letter Ms. Yates Seeks Authorization to Testify about Communications She Is a Senior Department Official Had with the Office of the Council The President Such Communications Are Likely Covered by the Presidential Communications Privilege and Possibly the Deliberative Process Privilege the President Owns Those Privileges Therefore To the Extent Ms. Gates Needs Consent to Disclose the Details of Those Communications The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence She Needs to Consult with the White House White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer Said Today The White House Did Not Exert Executive Privilege I Would Have Let Her Testimony Testified Her Testimony Proceed Had the Hearing Not Been Canceled Explain This Idea Of Executive Privilege to Our Viewers What's at Issue Here Well There Is Something Called Executive Privilege Where Communications between Members of an Administration and the President Are Protected under This Executive Privilege Rule It Seems Clear That Somebody A Raise the Issue of Executive Privilege However the Press Secretary Made Clear That They Are Not Asserting That Privilege And Obviously The Deputy Attorney General Now Has the Opportunity to Testify I Guess My Recommendation Would Be That the Committee Sought to Immediately Proceed To Get Her Testimony When a Former Department Of Justice Employee like Her Disaster Testifies a Typical to Have This Type of Negotiation Possible Restrictions On His or Her Testimony Normally the Role of a White House Counsel Is to Raise the Issue Of Whether or Not the Executive Privilege Applies That Was Shortly Done in the Time I Was in the White House End of the President Usually Operates to Try to Protect That Privilege However If There Is An Investigation That Is Going on Then Clearly That the Privilege Can Be Waived It Sounds like Other Willing to Waive That Privilege In This Case and I Think That's Good Because Will Be Able to Find the Facts out to As to What She Knew and What You Don't Know yet Sean's Measurements No Words He Says The White House Wants Her Justify Let's See If That Hearing Does in Fact Take Place Last Week's Testimony from the FBI Director James Comey The National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Robert Rogers Contradicted Resident Trumps Wiretapping Claims against Pres. Obama Considering the Former Acting Atty. Gen. Yates and His Role in the Departure of the Gen. Michael Flynn Is the National Security Advisor From the Trump Administration Is It Likely That Her Testimony Would Also Contradict Previous Statements From the White House on Russian Contacts I I Think the Issue Here Is What Did She Know about the Investigation Particularly As It Related To the National Security Advisor of Flip And What Were His Contacts with the Russians and Was She Forthright in Explaining the What Those Contacts Were about I Suspect That That Is the Main Area That She Would Testify to Although You She Is a Deputy Attorney General And Is Aware of a Number Of Elements That May Be Involved in This Investigation yet Is Important Is Her Testimony Would've Been If There Had Been That Hearing Today The Former Director of National Intelligence Are James Klapper The Former CIA Director John Brennan They Were Also Scheduled to Testify That Open During Today Their Testimony I Could Been Even More Significant In the American Public's Learning What Was Going on I Assume You Agree There's No Question This Is an Intelligence Issue Our Intelligence Agencies Are the Ones Who Determined That the Russians Were Deliberately Trying to Influence Our Election Issues Show Surrounding What the Russians Were Doing Clearly Came to Intelligence Officials That Were Involved in This Matter Show Their Testimony I Think Would Be Critical To Be Eight Being Able to Determine Exactly What the Facts Are As It Relates to Russian Interference A Lot Of Those Supporters of the President Though Feared That Whatever They Said I Could Have Contradicted Some of the Accusations That Have Been Leveled by Pres. Trump Well Again You Know the Whole Purpose Here I Think What the American People Expect Is That We Will Find the Truth And That's the Purpose of These Investigations The Investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee By the FBI, and by the House Intelligence Committee Although Clearly the House Intelligence Committee's Investigation Has Some Real Credibility Problems Now As a Result of What German Newness Did but the Whole Point Is Try to Find the Truth Find the Facts And Determine Exactly What Happened Not Speculate Not Listen to the Statements That Are Coming Out Of All Sides As We Go through This Investigation but What Are the Facts What Is the Evidence And What Is Established But in Truth in Terms of What Happened Here Mr. Sec. We Have A Lot More to Discuss I Want to Take a Quick Break Will Resume All of This Right after This a Quick Commercial