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Obama Warned Trump on Michael Flynn; Interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar; White House Press Briefing. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 8, 2017 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington. Thanks very much for joining us.

Right now, we're keeping an eye on several live events coming up over the next 90 minutes or so. Up first, the White House press briefing only minutes away. You're looking at live pictures right now.

Sean Spicer, the Press Secretary, he'll brief reporters, take questions as well. Likely to be peppered on a whole bunch of issues, including health care. Certainly, on the expectations for a very important Senate Judiciary hearing -- Judiciary hearing that's coming up later today on the Russia investigation.

Also later this hour, we expect to hear directly from the FBI director, James Comey. You're looking at live pictures. He will be speaking at the Anti-Defamation League Summit here in Washington. We last heard, by the way, from Director Comey when he spoke and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee the other day.

The committee's next hearing, as I said, begins next hour. The former director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, will testify along with the former acting attorney general, Sally Yates. Yates is expected to lay out exactly what kind of warning she gave the White House about their choice for national security adviser, the fired Michael Flynn.

Let's bring in our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim, Sally Yates wasn't the only one who warned the Trump administration about hiring Michael Flynn as the president's top national security adviser. You have breaking news on this. What are your sources telling you?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. As a matter of fact, it was President Obama who warned then President- Elect Trump on November 10th. You'll remember that 90-minute Oval Office meeting that they had here at the White House, two days after President Trump was elected. They both were sitting in the Oval Office. And, according to our sources, then President Obama warned the president-elect not to hire Michael Flynn. To stay away from the retired general, in part because he was being swept up in this Russia investigation.

And also, I'm told by former Obama administration official, that in the view of President Obama, there were just better people for President-Elect Trump, at that time, to select for the position of national security adviser.

Of course, this news broke, Wolf, just a few hours after President Trump tweeted, once again, that it's the Obama administration that is to blame for Michael Flynn. Tweeting early this morning, General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama administration. But the fake news seldom likes talking about that.

Wolf, of course, we have talked about that, time and again. It was in this briefing room just a couple weeks ago where we went round and round with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer who was trying to make the case that, listen, yes, there was some vetting that went on inside the Trump transition. But they were relying, in the view of Sean Spicer and this White House, on the Obama administration which had done a security clearance on Michael Flynn in the early months of 2016.

And they were essentially saying, and President Trump is essentially saying in his tweet this morning, why would we have to worry about Michael Flynn when he was vetted by and cleared by the Obama administration?

So, it's not too surprising, I think, Wolf, that, you know, when you hear these statements coming out of the Trump White House, time and again, that Obama administration officials had given the security clearance to Michael Flynn. I think eventually it was just going to happen that Obama administration officials were going to say, oh, by the way, President Obama warned President-Elect Trump about Michael Flynn two days after he was Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States.

It is a significant story, obviously, because President Obama has -- with the exception of last night's remarks on health care, has, sort of, stayed out of this story and stayed out of Donald Trump's hair while he's been president of the United States.

But, clearly, this is an indication that the Obama folks are getting very frustrated and they're losing patience with President Trump with, you know, these remarks about the, you know, Obama administration being responsible for Michael Flynn -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, the Obama administration fired Michael Flynn as the DIA director back in 2014. And in early 2016, when he got his security credentials, his security clearances renewed, it was the DIA, his former employer at the Pentagon as well as the U.S. Army that gave him those security credentials.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Jim, he's being investigated for misleading, for not necessarily providing all the information about the money he was paid from Russian television, when he was applying for updated security credentials, right?

ACOSTA: That's right, that's a part of that. And don't forget, he was fired by President Trump because he did not provide information to the administration, about these conversations that he had about Russian sanctions with the Russian ambassador during that transition in December.

And so, the timeline becomes very interesting. You have, two days after President Trump is elected president, that he's warned by President Obama to steer clear of Michael Flynn. And then, it was in late December when the former retired general, the soon to be national security adviser, was having a conversation with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, about these Russian sanctions that had become a -- obviously, a huge problem for the kremlin that they were hoping the Trump administration would provide some relief on.

[13:05:17] And then, of course, there is the entire saga of how Michael Flynn did not tell the truth to Vice President Pence who went onto the Sunday talk shows and said, oh, no, no, you know, Michael Flynn did not talk about Russian sanctions. He didn't do anything wrong. And then, that turned out to be bad information and that was, essentially, why Mike Flynn was fired.

But this is just another example, Wolf, of this, sort of, drip, drip, drip problem with Michael Flynn for this White House. And I expect it will dominate a big part of the discussion here in the briefing room today.

BLITZER: Yes, I suspect right. We're waiting to hear from Sean Spicer momentarily. You'll be heading over to that lectern.

Jim Acosta, thanks very much.

Let's talk about all of the breaking news. We want to bring in our panel, including CNN's Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large and CNN Reporter, CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto, our Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson, and our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger.

This is -- you know, I guess what President Trump is trying to do is say, I wasn't responsible for Michael Flynn. I was only adhering to the highest-level security clearances he received during the Obama administration.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Michael Flynn has become an orphan, Wolf. Nobody wants to claim responsibility for him. And I have talked to former transition officials who said that they -- you know, they kind of felt the same way that President Obama felt. That they all had questions about Donald Trump but -- I mean, about Michael Flynn. But then, they were fired and then, of course, Flynn was hired.

And I was told by one former transition official that he had actually raised some issues about Flynn with the president-elect and the president-elect kept making the point that he is a really loyal guy.

And, in the end, I think that was probably what the decision to hire him as national security adviser was about. Which was ultimate, complete loyalty to Donald Trump, despite all the red flags.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The other thing about this, it totally inaccurately reflects the vetting process for the most senior national security officials. If you're chosen as national security adviser for any administration, that is not based on a two or three-year-old security clearance.

For those positions, there's additional vetting done. That's the responsibility of the incoming administration. That's what -- I mean, this whole thing about the security clearance is, frankly, a red herring here. The administration does the vetting.

BLITZER: Hold on one -- hold on one second. Amy Klobuchar, the Senator from Minnesota, is joining us right now. She's a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Senator, did you know about this warning from President Obama to then President-Elect Trump over Michael Flynn?

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D), MINNESOTA: No, I had never heard about it until today. But I'm not surprised, given that President Obama had basically fired Flynn from his administration. So, I don't think it's a surprise at all.

And I was more surprised by the fact that the president, President Trump, is now trying to act like, you know, this wasn't their problem. He'd been hired originally by the Obama administration when, in fact, there had clearly been several warnings, something we'll be asking Sally Yates about today.

BLITZER: What are the main issues you want answered during this upcoming hearing? It's supposed to begin in about an hour and a half or so from now.

KLOBUCHAR: Well, the first will be about the fact that she had warned the White House. And while she may not be able to reveal classified information, she can tell us the process. You know, was it just some heads up at a cocktail party? I don't think so. And I think it's very important because there's been intimations that it wasn't a real formal warning and I think it was.

Secondly, I want to ask about how we prevent this from happening. At some point, the parties are going to have to put aside their differences here so this doesn't happen again. Whether it is how the press handles these kinds of clear cyber-attacks from another country, what happened in France this past week. How the parties, the different political parties handle it, when they know that they may be getting something.

A campaign maybe getting something as a result of the cyber-attack. I think we have to have a major discussion as a nation over how we protect ourselves from the influence of foreign countries.

BLITZER: You probably saw the president's tweets this is morning. He argues the onus is on the Obama administration for giving Michael Flynn the highest security clearance. I want you to respond to that as well as President Obama, his warning about Flynn, why he was given that kind of access.

KLOBUCHAR: Well, first of all, it is just absurd that the president, the current president, would be blaming Obama for someone he then hired, given that we now know, as of today, the news that's been coming out, that President Obama warned him not to hire him. That we now know that Sally Yates has talked to the White House and warned them that he'd been compromised.

[13:10:11] I mean, this is a guy, General Flynn, that actually called up the Russian ambassador the day that President Obama decided to expand the sanctions against Russia. And the reason this is relevant and why the administration was so concerned and why the FBI and intelligence officials were so concerned is that can compromise someone, right? They could be blackmailed over something like this.

So, they had every reason to warn the Trump administration. They were doing the right thing as was President Obama.

BLITZER: We're waiting for Sean Spicer, by the way, to step up to the lectern over there.

As you know, maybe you don't know, but we've been told that members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, some of those members say they're running into road blocks right now, Senator, which could delay any findings until next year.

Is the Senate Judiciary Committee, and you're a member of the Judiciary Committee, the subcommittee which will be holding its hearing in a -- less than an hour and a half or so from now, having similar issues should it all end up, in your opinion, with an independent, outside investigation?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, I'm one of the first people, Wolf, that called for this independent commission. Senator Cardin and Adam Schiff and Elijah Cummings and I stood together on January 4th and said, we think we need this independent commission just like we did after 911.

And a lot of this focus is, yes, finding out what happened. But also, making sure that we protect ourself and our own security in the future. And I'm not surprised at all there are these delays. I have a lot of faith in Senator Warner working with Senator Burr in the Senate Intelligence Committee. But their purpose will be to dig in and find out what happened.

And if they keep getting these road blocks, it's all the more reason that we also have an independent commission as well as we know the FBI investigation that's going on.

BLITZER: Senator Klobuchar, thanks so much for joining us. We'll be watching this hearing coming up.

KLOBUCHAR: Wolf, thank you. It should be a good one.

BLITZER: Thank you.

As we wait for the hearing, we're also waiting for Sean Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, to show up. We'll have live coverage of that. Lots going on this hour.

Chris Cillizza, why do you think that President Trump did hire Michael Flynn as his national security adviser, if his immediate predecessor said don't do it. Sally Yates was later giving some warnings. But even as Gloria reporting that even some transition officials were saying this is not a good idea. Hold that thought. We'll listen to Sean and then we'll get back you to.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE: Good afternoon. I want to thank my colleague Sarah for standing in on Friday. She did a great job. I missed you all tremendously.

(LAUGHTER)

Now that I've realized that we can do that a little more, I'll spend a little more time at the Pentagon.

Moved this up a little bit -- I appreciate your flexibility today -- so that the pool has enough time to cover the vice president and Secretary Shulkin as they welcome Honor Flight veterans to Washington on the anniversary of V-E Day.

The vice president is hosting more than 120 veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War as part of National Military Appreciation Month and Public Service Recognition Week, highlighting the Trump administration's commitment to our military and public service.

Also today, the vice president, Secretary Price, Secretary Shulkin all attended an event on the scientific opportunities in biomedicine. Key leaders from government, the private sector and academia discussed the United States' comprehensive biomedical landscape, and further educated White House staff, including assistants to the president Ivanka Trump and Reed Cordish, on this important topic.

The meeting was organized by the National Institutes of Health and was led by its director, Dr. Francis Collins. Leaders in the -- medical, education and research joined executives from companies who invest in biotech to provide analysis and real-life examples of how America's sustained leadership in the biomedical industry has resulted in immeasurable benefits to both our country's economic and physical well-being.

Among the participants were Bill Ford, the CEO of General Atlantic; Dr. Craig Thompson, the president of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Dr. Cornelia Bargmann, the president of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of Stanford University; and Dr. Rick Lifton, president of Rockefeller University.

The United States currently sits atop the list of global investors in innovation and the life sciences, responsible for 44 percent of global research and development. This investment is dependent on the NIH and the important research it funds.

In order to maintain our international leadership in biomedicine, we must strengthen the partnerships between government agencies, investors, academics, the biopharma industry and research foundations. This meeting was an important step in reinforcing that essential cooperation.

Moving on, I'm pleased to announce that today, shortly after this briefing, we will release a list of the president's third wave of federal court nominees.

[13:15:05] These 10 individuals that the president has chosen were chosen for their deep knowledge of the law and their commitment to upholding constitutional principles.

Two of the nominees today came from the list of potential Supreme Court nominees that the president released during the campaign.

If confirmed, Justice Joan Larsen will be a circuit court judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Justice -- Justice Larsen is currently serving on the Michigan Supreme Court.

And Justice Davis Stras will be a circuit court judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit. He currently serves as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The campaign list was put together from input from the Heritage Foundation as well as the Federalist Society. And as the president said last September when it was released, these, quote, "highly respected people are the kind of scholars that we need to preserve the very core of our country and make it greater than ever before," end quote.

The president followed the principles that were used to guide that list to select the additional eight individuals. And as I mentioned, the full list should be out very shortly.

In terms of the president's schedule for today, this morning, he met with his national security adviser, General McMaster.

He also spoke with the French president-elect to congratulate him on his victory. A readout of that call should be out very shortly.

The prime minister of Georgia was also at the White House meeting with the vice president. The prime minister then dropped by with the vice president into the Oval Office to greet the president.

And earlier this afternoon, the president had lunch with the vice president.

In about an hour, he'll meet with Secretary of State Tillerson. Secretary Tillerson has also been meeting with several foreign leaders today at the State Department, including the prime minister of Montenegro, the foreign minister of Slovakia, and the foreign minister of Qatar. Secretary Mattis is also meeting with many foreign leaders during his European trip this week, to reaffirm key United States military alliances. The secretary's in Denmark to co-host a meeting with the Danish minister of defense, with senior leaders from 15 countries that are key contributors to the de-ISIS military campaign.

While in Copenhagen, Secretary Mattis will also meet separately with the minister of defense to discuss European security and the importance of the NATO alliance, and with the Danish prime minister to reaffirm the close ties between Denmark and the United States.

In other Cabinet news, Secretary Zinke is in Utah today, continuing his four-day listening tour on the Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, putting into action President Trump's April 27th executive order to review these monuments. Secretary Zinke will be accompanied by the governor, a member of Utah's congressional delegation, and local state (inaudible) for a morning aerial tour of the million-plus acre monument, and an afternoon hiking tour, and a roundtable meeting this evening with friends of Cedar Mesa Museum.

While in Utah, the secretary and other officials are holding daily press briefings on the ground. You can reach out to the Interior Department for more details.

And with that, I'd be glad to take a few questions.

Kristen (ph)?

QUESTION: Sean, thank you.

Former President Obama warned then-President-elect Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser. Why did he ignore that warning?

SPICER: Well, I -- I -- the president doesn't disclose details of meetings that he has, which, in this case, was an hour-long meeting.

But it's true that the president made it -- President Obama made it known that he wasn't exactly a fan of General Flynn's, which is -- frankly, shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, that -- given that General Flynn had worked for President Obama, was an outspoken critic of President Obama's shortcomings, specifically as it related to his lack of strategy confronting ISIS and other threats around -- that -- that were facing America.

So, the -- the question that you have to ask yourself really is, if President Obama was truly concerned about General Flynn, why didn't he suspend General Flynn's security clearance, which they had just reapproved months earlier. Additionally, why did the Obama administration let Flynn go to Russia for a paid speaking engagement and receive a fee?

There were steps that they could've taken that -- if that -- that was truly a concern more than just a person that -- that didn't -- had bad blood.

QUESTION: And I want to follow up on a couple points because you raised the security clearance. But before that, if -- if a sitting president raises the name of one individual, why wouldn't that give the president-elect pause?

I understand what you're saying the caveat of the fact that he campaigned against Hillary Clinton, et cetera. But wouldn't that give the incoming president pause?

SPICER: Well, I -- I think -- I -- I don't know that I agree with your characterization. You made it clear that he wasn't a fan of his, and I don't think that should've come as a surprise, considering the role that General Flynn paid -- played in the campaign, criticizing his...

QUESTION: So, it didn't give him any pause at all?

SPICER: No, I -- I think -- again, I think you -- you -- if you know what we knew at the time, which is that the security clearance that he had, had been reapproved in April of that year, and they took -- not only did they reapprove it, but then they took no steps to suspend it.

So, the question has to be what did they do if they had real concerns beyond just not having -- you know, not liking him for some of the comments that he made.

[13:20:03]

QUESTION: And it -- it's our understanding -- and if you could clarify this -- did Mike Flynn not need upgraded security clearance in order to serve as the national security adviser?

SPICER: No, he'd been head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. That's the same...

QUESTION: (inaudible) vetted him as well?

SPICER: But that's the same clearance that -- the -- the security clearance -- we went over this a while ago -- it's the same clearance at any level. Once you get it, you get it.

From the time he had -- he had had his reinvestigation in April of 2016, and the Obama administration took no steps -- not only did they reaffirm that security clearance, they took no steps to suspend it or take any other action.

QUESTION: But did you not vet him yourself?

SPICER: Well, you don't vet -- on a security clearance, that's -- that's what -- that's why you get a security clearance. Everyone in the government goes through the same process. So, the answer is is that those same -- that same process worked for General Flynn as it did for me or anyone else who works here. There's no difference of -- of a security clearance once it's issued.

Zeke?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean. (inaudible) what we do at the time. Should this -- knowing what the White House knows now, does the White House, does the president believe that General Flynn should not have had that clearance reissued last year, number one?

And number two, does the White House believe that General Flynn was -- was truthful when he filled out SF86 for that reinvestigation last year?

SPICER: Well, I'm not going to get into those -- those details.

Obviously, it was something that was adjudicated by the Obama administration in April of 2016. They took no steps to -- to suspend that. So that's really not a question for us, it's a question for them at that time.

QUESTION: Well, knowing what you know now, that's the (inaudible).

SPICER: Yeah, I think the president took appropriate action when he did, once he felt as though General Flynn had misled the vice president. And he -- he took appropriate and decisive action at the time and he stands by that today. QUESTION: Did his ties to Russia, did his work as a registered foreign agent -- now registered foreign agent for the government of Turkey lead to his firing (inaudible)?

SPICER: Well, again, I don't think we're going to relitigate this. The president made the right decision back then and he stands by that.

Hunter?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean.

Last week officials indicated the Pentagon planned to send the president a proposal to send several thousand additional troops to Afghanistan.

Can you confirm whether or not the president has made a decision about sending additional troops to Afghanistan? And if so, when are they going? How many are going? And what is their mission?

SPICER: Yeah, I -- I'll refer you to the Department of Defense on that. They are in contact with him, but I -- we have nothing to -- to share at this time.

Sarah?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean.

The president tweeted this morning that senators on the Intelligence Committee should ask Sally Yates about her role in classified leaks about General Flynn.

Does the president have evidence that ties Sally Yates to the Flynn leak? Why did he tweet that?

SPICER: Well, I think you guys are well aware of the president's concern about spills of -- of classified and other sensitive information out into the open. It's something that should concern every American. And the president's made it very clear for -- since -- since he took office that that's a big concern of his.

And so, the idea that classified information made its way into the press is something that I think, while we're asking all of these questions, is one of the ones that I think the senator should ask. How did that information get -- get out into the -- the open like that? I think that is an equally important question that, frankly, isn't getting asked.

QUESTION: But did the president believe that Sally Yates was the leaker in this...

SPICER: Again, I think the -- the tweet speaks for itself. What he's saying is that the Senate should ask those questions.

Yeah? QUESTION: Sean, aside from the announcement today that the president will nominate 10 judges to fill federal vacancies, many conservatives remain concerned the White House is woefully behind on overall appointments. The president recently told The Examiner, paraphrasing, that he doesn't need to fill vacant posts in the administration. After -- and -- and after these 10 there will still be 110 judicial vacancies.

Does the president still believe vacant administration jobs do not need to be filled? And are there any plans to increase the pace of political appointments?

SPICER: So, there's, like, three questions in there. I'll try to break them down.

Number one, we have a very robust schedule of releasing names. There is a method to this in terms of -- of the -- the nominees that are getting put out now, and I think you should expect to see more and more go through.

The process this time around is a little bit different. We're actually going through the Office of Government Ethics and FBI clearances before announcing most of these individuals, and so there's a little bit of a difference in how we're doing this. But we are well on pace with respect to many of these to get the government up and running.

But the president's point that he was making in that interview was that part of the review of government is to make sure that we're looking at these positions and figuring out whether or not we have -- the taxpayers' getting the best bang for their buck, both in terms of productivity and cost.

And so, we're looking through the entire government. Director Mulvaney, I think, briefed you all awhile ago about how we look -- we look at government to figure out whether or not we can do a better job of filling positions, of staffing the government.

But we're going to continue to have announcements on key positions as this week goes by. QUESTION: (inaudible) control the (ph) bureaucracy if you don't fill some of these...

SPICER: No, we are.

And that's what I'm saying. I think you're going to continue to see -- whether it's judicial nominations, ambassadors, other key positions -- I think we -- we have a very healthy clip of announcements that continue to go out.

Trey?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean.

Ahead of her testimony today, does President Trump believe Sally Yates is a trustworthy source of information?

SPICER: Well, that's not up for us to decide.

I mean, that is up to the Senate to decide whether or not what she -- what she does. And we'll have to wait and see what that.

QUESTION: And -- and following up on Sarah's question, it seemed that the president was implying that Sally Yates may have had something to do with the leaked information to newspapers. Is that what he was implying?

SPICER: Well, I think the tweet speaks for itself. I don't -- sometimes you don't have to read too much into it.

Richard?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean.

Two questions on NAFTA. First, the Canadian prime minister on Friday said that they're considering, as a reaction to what the prime minister calls "an unfair, punitive duty on Canadian softwood lumber"...

SPICER: Right.

QUESTION: ... considering banning coal imports from the U.S. Is it the beginning of a trade war between Canada and the U.S.?

SPICER: No, that's why we have dispute settlement mechanisms to do this in a -- in a responsible way.

Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, has been in touch with his counterparts over there, and I think -- look, we've -- we've -- there's a reason that the dispute mechanism is set up the way that it is under this particular trade agreement, but -- under most trade agreements, so that the two parties can resolve them in -- in a way that allows for both sides to air their concerns.

But that's -- that's why you have an agreement and that's why you have a mechanism set up to do that. QUESTION: So you trust the mechanism on this...

SPICER: No, no, we'll -- let's let it play out. But I think Secretary Ross took appropriate action to protect the U.S. industry and we're going to let the process play out. QUESTION: And 10 days ago, the president said that Mexico and Canada have agreed to fasten the process to renegotiate NAFTA. What else has happened in the last 10 days?

SPICER: Well, I think our officials will start to -- we'll have further updates for you on that. Right now, there's no -- nothing to share.

John (ph)?

QUESTION: Thanks a lot, Sean.

Did Sally Yates have to run any of her planned testimony by the General Counsel's Office that she'll deliver later this afternoon?

SPICER: I'm not aware of it, no.

QUESTION: And also, do you have any reason to doubt that her testimony which will be under oath will be truthful before the Senate subcommittee?

SPICER: I have no -- I mean -- no, I would assume that when you raise your right hand and agree to tell the truth and nothing but the truth that you'll -- you'll do that. That's the whole reason that you pledge.

Francesca?

QUESTION: Thank you, Sean.

For weeks during the transition, President Trump was not receiving a daily intelligence briefing; he was receiving his information from General Flynn.

Do you think that lack of direct information from the intelligence community contributed to the lapses that include (ph) General Flynn?

SPICER: So, first, he did get his -- we -- we extensively went over the -- the PDB briefing throughout the campaign. I believe back then it was three times a week that he was getting it, I think supplemented (ph) by his national security team they would go in and do that. So I don't -- I think the premise is not there.

Secondly, as I mentioned to Kristen (ph), the processes that were followed by General Flynn were followed -- are followed by every government employee who receives a clearance at that particular level.

QUESTION: Sorry, sorry, on another thing.

(inaudible) talk about the signing statement that came out on Friday with the spending bill. Senior administration officials, including Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, didn't seem to know about that.

Why didn't she or people working on that issue know about that, know it was coming? Whose idea was that?

And what happened between when Sarah was out here on Friday saying that she didn't think there was going to be something like that and then close of business when there was a signing statement?

And did you know it was coming?

SPICER: So, signing statements are a pro forma activity that occurs during a bill sign that's performed by the Department of Justice Office of the Legislative Counsel. It's been used by every president. So I'm not really sure what -- what everyone knew, but that is a -- that is something that goes along, going back multiple administrations.

Cecilia?

QUESTION: Sean, can I follow with that on...

(CROSSTALK)

SPICER: Cecilia?

QUESTION: ... signing statement, please?

QUESTION: Thanks, Sean.

On the travel ban, a couple questions if I may.

Back in February, the president said that lifting the travel ban would mean that many bad and dangerous people would be pouring in. Have you seen any evidence that that's been the case for the three months that this ban was lifted?

SPICER: I think that's a question for the Department of Homeland Security.

QUESTION: Well, is it something that you've been tracking?

SPICER: No, I -- I personally (inaudible).

QUESTION: (inaudible)

SPICER: I'd be glad to follow up with the Department of Homeland Security. I don't have anything at this time.

QUESTION: OK.

On the -- in the same vein, if -- if -- if this White House is no longer calling this a Muslim ban, as the president did initially, why does the president's website still explicitly call for, quote, "preventing Muslim immigration," and it says, "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and completely shutdown of Muslims entering the United States"? SPICER: I'm not aware of what's on the campaign website. You'd have to ask them. I know how we talked about this from the first day of this administration as a travel ban (inaudible) countries. National security. You're supposed to make sure that people who are coming here are coming in here with the right motives and reasons, and that we're having a public safety aspect to making sure that we're protecting our people.

I think that's -- we've been very consistent since the first day of this administration on this.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... though, and completely disavowing the use of that phrase "Muslim ban"?

[13:30:00] I mean, if it's still on the website, if the president's words are being used against them in court today, is it worth you clarifying that once and for all?