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Trump Opens Door to Meeting Special Counsel Mueller; Interview with Senator Mazie Hirono; Trump "Executive Time" for TV Viewing, Tweeting; Trump Compares Himself to Reagan on Mental Health Concerns; NYT: U.S. Intelligence Underestimated North Koran Capabilities. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 8, 2018 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Special Counsel Mueller's team, they have already interviewed some key players, past and present, from the White House. They include former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and most recently, current Communications Director Hope Hicks, as well as White House Counsel Don McGahn. Mueller's team are not just probing Russia's interference in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, but also questions of obstruction of justice. Did the president improperly and intentionally interfere with the investigation when, for instance, he fired FBI Director James Comey back in May, or when he helped draft that misleading statement over the summer about Donald Trump Jr's meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer in June of 2016, or perhaps when he directed his White House counsel to stop Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation, as was reported last week? Wolf, all of those issues, a lot of them being looked at by the special counsel, and the question, of course, will the president himself be interviewed -- Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Let's find out sooner rather than later.

Jessica, thank you very much.

Let's bring in Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat, who serves on the Judiciary Committee.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO, (D), HAWAII: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: We will play a little bit more of what we heard earlier from your Democratic colleague, Senator Blumenthal, and what he had to say about the direction of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Listen to this, Senator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, (D), CONNECTICUT: We will have more convictions - there have been two already -- and more indictments.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANCHOR: How do you know there's going to be more?

BLUMENTHAL: I thank that the evidence accumulating against individuals within the White House and within the administration, the mounting evidence of obstruction of justice that is public, and we have no idea of all of what is available special counsel.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANCHOR: From where you sit today, you believe that Don Jr and Jared Kushner could be facing indictment?

BLUMENTHAL: I'm not predicting. And I'm not saying what all the evidence may be. Certainly, the evidence points to continued investigation. And there ought to be some very searching consideration of whether they face criminal charges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Hirono, do you share those views?

HIRONO: My view is that Special Counsel Mueller will do a full and thorough investigation. And anyone else who needs to be indicted will be indicted. That investigation must continue, in spite of the fact that there are Republicans, especially in the House, who are questioning what's going on with special counsel. That investigation must continue, and I fully expect it to. I have been a long-time supporter of special counsel.

BLITZER: Do you think the special counsel will, in fact, ask the president of the United States to be questioned?

HIRONO: I think they do need to talk with him when they are fully prepared to do so in a face-to-face meeting and an affidavit from the president will not suffice. They need to be able to do follow-up questions, et cetera, with the president. And so he, himself, has said he is willing to cooperate, and he is drawing his own legal conclusions that there is no collusion or any obstruction of justice. That is the crux of the Mueller investigation, as well as what the Russians are doing in interfering with our elections.

BLITZER: I remember when former President Clinton was questioned by the independent counsel at that time, Ken Starr, in connection with all the allegations against him. And eventually, we saw that videotape of that testimony, the G&Q delivered at the time. So it's not unprecedented that a president, a sitting president is questioned by a special prosecutor.

On another related issue, potentially, Senator, CNN learned that federal authorities are investigating corruption allegations against the Clinton Foundation. Do you believe the president was directly or indirectly involved in getting this new investigation off the ground? Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, he suggested that.

HIRONO: I think it's very troubling that we have to ask the question as to the independence of the U.S. attorney's office and the Department of Justice and the FBI. It is very obvious that President Trump has been wanting an investigation of any and all Clinton matters. So it's troubling that there seems to be sort of possibly way into succumbing to the pressure from the president's office, but I hope that's not the case. If we can't trust in the independence of the FBI and the Department of Justice, that really is very, very troubling.

BLITZER: Another sensitive issue that emerged today, and I want to get your reaction, Senator. The Department of Homeland Security said it is ending what is called protected status for 200,000 Salvadorians who have been here in the United States since 2001, when they came here because of the earthquake in El Salvador. What do you think is behind this decision that was announced today that, over the next, what, year, year and a half, unless there is some other opportunity for them, they will have to go back to El Salvador?

[13:35:09] HIRONO: One wonders, what are they supposed to go back to? This is yet another untoward decision that impacts hundreds of thousands of people who sought asylum in our country and who have special immigration status. And that brings me, of course, to the plight of all the 800,000 or so DACA participants and what they are facing if we do not move ahead with finding a way to protect them. That finding is a legislation, which, by the way, we are perfectly happy to do in a bipartisan way, except that the president has thrown a huge wrench into the works by insisting upon an $18 billion wall. In fact, he is ready for a government shut down if he doesn't get his wall. Again, misplaced priorities. Just to put it into perspective, $18 billion for a wall would feed, for the children's health program that supports 9 million children. The children's health program costs about $16 billion. He is willing go down the line to shut government down for an $18 billion wall and, yet, we have not funded the children's health program.

BLITZER: A quick question before I let you go, Senator. Oprah Winfrey, apparently, at least according to some sources, is thinking about a possible run for the presidency in 2020. You think that's what the Democratic Party needs?

HIRONO: I love the fact that somebody like Oprah Winfrey, who I really like, and I really loved her speech last night, because it's time put an end to harassment at all levels. If she wants to join the group of wonderful people running for the Democratic presidency, I say great.

BLITZER: She's apparently thinking about it. We will see what she decides.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

HIRONO: Thank you.

BLITZER: Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii.

Coming up, executive time -- there's a report that say that's what the White House is calling large chunks of the president's daily schedule. He uses the time to watch TV and to tweet. We will discuss that and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:34] BLITZER: President Trump's work day in the White House has apparently gotten somewhat shorter, according to the news site, Axios. The site obtained private schedules that lists President Trump as having, quote, "executive time" from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. each day. Axios says the president often spends that time in his residence upstairs in the White House watching TV, tweeting, and making phone calls.

Here to discuss that, the presidential historian, Allan Lichtman, the author of "The Case for Impeachment." He also predicted that Donald Trump would be elected president of the United States.

Sarah Sanders, the press secretary, responding to the Axios article, said, "The time is the morning is a mix of residence time and Oval Office time. But he always has calls with staff, Hill members, cabinet members and foreign leaders during this time. The president is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen and puts in long hours and long days nearly every day of the week all year long."

What do you make of this concept of executive time? He apparently doesn't get that national security intelligence briefing until he comes into the office at 11:00 a.m.

ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY & AUTHOR: In a sense, executive time might be considered a good thing, but not for this president. If he was using this executive time to read critical briefing materials, to inform himself about critical issues facing the nation and the world, like catastrophic global warming, for example, which he completely misunderstands. But to just spend his time watching television and being on the phone is a complete waste of time and really raises new questions about the fitness of this president to govern.

BLITZER: In a tweet over the weekend, the president compared himself to Ronald Reagan, saying, all the scrutiny about his mental state, Ronald Reagan's mental state, the president said, "Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I."

Do you see a comparison?

LICHTMAN: I don't. In fact, I see a contrast of polar opposite in the so-called Reagan comparison. Look, Trump has a tendency to blame prior presidents for all the ills he sees in the nation and the world, to draw on prior presidents when is he thinks it will benefit him. The situation is totally different. The questions about Reagan came much later in his term and did not refer to his mental stability, but rather to his sharpness as we age, and this became serious. Only after he seemed to fumble around in the first presidential debate during his reelection campaign. Trump has responded to allegations with bluster and bragging. They can do the opposite. He diffused it all with lightness and humor, saying in the second debate, I am not going to exploit for political purposes the youth and inexperience of my opponent, who happened to be in his 50s.

BLITZER: What did you think about the president's tweet when he called himself a stable genius?

LICHTMAN: I think if you are a stable genius, you don't have to trumpet that. It only raises further questions. Look, as a historian and political analyst, I feel it's my responsibility to report what I've learned from studying his entire career and presidency that I reported in "The Case for Impeachment," and is only kind of confirmed by the insider account by Michael Wolff. This is a president who looks only to himself. He cares only about himself. He looks at other people s only a means for his advancement and glorification. He has not only lied repeatedly on a daily basis, as fact checkers have shown, but shattered reality, brought us into an Orwellian world where truth is gone. He, with a straight face, he can tell us that he really won the popular vote because 3.5 million illegal voters somehow appeared on Election Day to vote for Hillary Clinton and all somehow disappeared without a trace. And, look, he lashes out instinctively against any slight. This comparison is juvenile comparison with Kim Jong-Un about who has the biggest button is very frightening. What would you expect, in the case of a provocation, that this president really would act with the same calmness and deliberation that President Kennedy did in the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were real doubts, and that's serious for the piece of the world.

[13:45:51] BLITZER: Allan Lichtman, presidential historian at American University here in Washington, thank you very much.

LICHTMAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, a new report in the "New York Times" details how U.S. intelligence agents apparently underestimated North Korean nuclear capabilities. A former CIA director is pushing back. The author of that "New York Times" report standing by. We will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:37] BLITZER: Maybe a small step, maybe not, but the meeting over the next few hours between North and South Korea could have huge implications.

Our international correspondent, Will Ripley, is joining us from Seoul, South Korea, with more -- Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, less than 24 hours from now, we'll see something on the Korean peninsula that hasn't happened in more than two years. A group of North Korean officials will walk across the military demarcation line that separates the North and the South and they'll sit down for talks. The first official talks since December of 2015 with South Korean government officials.

This comes off a very tense time here on the peninsula, scores of missile launches, nuclear tests and unprecedented heavy sanctions on the North Korean regime.

The question, did the United States play a role in all of this? President Trump and his administration and even South Korea's president say, yes, but over the weekend, North Korea put out messaging saying this is a matter between the two Koreas only, and they should be free of outside interference. Obviously, North Korea hoping to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, trying to keep the U.S. sidelined during this process. And also hoping to perhaps get some concessions out of these discussions, which, for the moment, will only be centered on sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, but the hope is there will be agreements after the Olympics for other talks about other issues, the biggest one, of course, North Korea's nuclear program.

But if you look at history, we have seen, time and time again, talks that look promising at the beginning, only to fall apart down the road. And the fear is that North Korea might get what it wants, but then not give up their nuclear weapons and not listen to the international community. And so there is certainly cautious optimism here going into these discussions. Even though North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-Un, said he wants to improve relations with his neighbors in the South, he has always said repeatedly he will not give up his nuclear arsenal and, in fact, he plans to grow it even more in 2018 -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Will Ripley reporting. Thanks very much.

In the last year, North Korea's nuclear arsenal grew faster than anticipated, catching many U.S. intelligence officials off guard. That's the assessment in a "New York Times" article by David Sanger and William Broad. "The CIA and other American intelligence services had predicted this moment would come eventually. For decades, they accurately projected the broad trajectory of North Korea's nuclear program, yet their inability to foresee the North's rapid strides over the past several months now ranks among America's most significant intelligence failures, current and former officials said in recent interviews."

David Sanger, a CNN analyst, is with us, as well.

How did U.S. officials miss this, David?

DAVID SANGER, CNN ANALYST: As the article states, they did a remarkably good job on the strategic intelligence, and that means the long-term projections. As early as 2000, we found intelligence reports, public ones, that said, by 2015 to 2020, they would have an intercontinental ballistic missile, Wolf, that could reach the United States. The problem came in the past year or two. As Kim Jong-Un ramped up his missile program, more like the Manhattan Project, what we did to develop our nuclear weapons, then what his father and grandfather were doing, which were sort of using the missiles for political purposes. And in that time period, the U.S. interfered with one of his missile programs, using that cyber and electronic warfare program. He then switched courses, went to a new design that was partly Russian put together, and we missed the speed at which he could get that up and running. Those are the missiles that now look like they could reach as far as Washington.

BLITZER: The former CIA director, Michael Hayden, was on "NEW DAY" with Alisyn Camerota earlier today. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I don't want to use the word failure. Can you do better? Perhaps, yes. Should have we been more sensitive that this new, young leader was going to amp it up? Alisyn, let me give you something that's a truism with regard to intelligence. We're less about prediction than we are about understanding. And I do think we communicated a certain understanding that this is where the North Koreans are going, and before very long, we're going have a big problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think of that analysis?

SANGER: I think he's got it just about where we came out. They had a really good understanding of where the program was going. It's the timing they didn't have. And why is that important, Wolf? Because we're headed into a period of time where the president may have to make a decision about whether or not to take military action, either a kind of punch in the nose action at the North Koreans or something broader. And if that's the case, you'd want to know exactly what they could shoot back, how many nuclear weapons they have -- there's disagreement in the intelligence community on that -- and where you'd find them.

[13:55:29] BLITZER: Were you surprised the president, over the weekend, at Camp David, told reporters, yes, absolutely, he would meet face to face with Kim Jong-Un?

SANGER: He's been all over the place on this. During the campaign, he said he'd have a hamburger with him. He told me, at one point, he had no problem sitting down and talking directly and negotiating with Kim Jong-Un. I'm less concerned about the question of, will the president talk to him and so forth, than whether this administration has a long-term strategy of how they're going to deal with this once they sit down and talk to them. Because as Will reported before, the U.S. position has always been, it must be a completely denuclearized Korean peninsula. And Kim Jong-Un's position is, I'm already a nuclear power and I'm never giving that up. The question is, do you get involved in the discussion with someone who says that your ultimate objective he's not going to allow happen.

BLITZER: David Sanger, good reporting as usual. Thanks very much.

SANGER: Great to be with you.

BLITZER: Sources close to Oprah Winfrey tell CNN she's actively thinking about a presidential run. What are her chances? That, and a lot more coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)