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U.S. House Panel: Flynn May Have Broken Law; U.S. And North Korea Flex Military Muscles; Senate Summoned To White House To Talk North Korea; Ivanka Trump Booed At Women's Even In Berlin; Flying Cars No Longer Just a Futuristic Dream; Le Pen's Push To Broaden Her Support. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 26, 2017 - 01:00   ET

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


[01:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: You've watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Vause reporting from CNN's World Headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, a new twist in the investigation into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. Lawmaker's say one of the President's former Advisers may have broken the law.

SESAY: First, the U.S. and North Korea are both flexing their military muscle, CNN has the only American television journalist inside Pyongyang.

VAUSE: And Ivanka Trump, booed in Germany while defending her father's record with women. It's not the smoking gun which could prove the Trump campaign collided -- colluded rather, with Russia. But at the very least, there are new questions about how Team Trump vetted its top people and it could mean felony charges for one of the President's former Senior Aid. We got details from CNN's Manu Raju.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D) MARYLAND: This is a major problem.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: New problems for the White House over Russia, a Top Republican suggesting that President's former National Security Adviser may have broken the law.

From what you've seen, so far, do you believe that Michael Flynn broke the law from either not disclosing it -- these payments on the security clearance or not getting permission for getting these foreign payments?

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: Personally, I see no information or no data to support the notion that General Flynn complied with the law. I see no evidence that he actually did that.

RAJU: As a former military officer, Flynn was supposed to get permission from Top Defense Officials for payments that he received from foreign governments. And the law required him to list those payments including more than half a million dollars and took his lobbying fees, and $45,000 in fees for 2015 speech in Moscow paid by the Kremlin Bag Television Network: RT. During that same trip, Flynn was pictured next to Putin at a fancy dinner. Now House lawmakers say, Flynn may have knowingly falsified or concealed information on these forums, a felony.

And you think, Congressman, that this could be punishable up to five years in prison.

CUMMINGS: I think it's a -- that's what's cited in the code but that's going to be left for other to decide. Just wanted to know what this exposure is?

RAJU: In a statement, Flynn's attorney, Robert Kelner, said his client briefed the Defense Intelligence Agency extensively, both before and after the trip. But sources tell CNN that Flynn did not disclose that he was paid a fee for the trip as required. And today, a new question: whether Flynn told the White House about these payments as he was vetted to become Trump's National Security Adviser. The White House's Director of Legislative Affairs, Mark Short, said in a letter, that it would not provide some documents about Flynn because they were outside the scope of the committee's inquiry. But the White House won't say if Flynn broke the law.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't know what he filled out and what he did and did not do.

RAJU: The Top Democrat in the Senate declined to rule out pushing for a subpoena to force Flynn to testify.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: These are extremely, extremely troubling allegations today. Well, we'll see.

RAJU: And tonight, the GOP Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee rejected Flynn's offer to testify in exchange for immunity. Is there any way you give Flynn immunity to testify?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there's no way. No.

RAJU: Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Of all the legal trouble swirling around Michael Flynn, joining us now from Washington is Michael Allen. His many titles, Michael serves as the Staff Director on the House Intelligence Committee during the Obama administration; also with the National Security Policy for George W. Bush. So, Michael, how striking to you, was it, that this was a bipartisan rebuke, you know, the Republican Jason Chaffetz standing side-by-side with Democrat Elijah Cummings.

MICHAEL ALLEN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE DIRECTOR UNDER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Yes, it surprised me a lot. I think it really spoke to the underlying facts of the trouble that General Flynn has gotten himself into. I think he should have known it's a general law officer in the army that if you were going to take foreign money, or visit Russia -- he probably should have gotten that cleared especially since he had it an Intelligence Agency. And so, I think the Republican Chairman just had to acknowledge the facts since they were and say this looks pretty. He didn't say it was illegal per se, I think they're going to have to lead -- leave that to administrative or judicial processes, but you know, it looks pretty bad.

VAUSE: So, how serious though is the legal trouble for Michael Flynn? The bar for prosecution is pretty high though, isn't it?

ALLEN: Yes. I think it's pretty high because they'll have to prove that he intended to mislead or that there was some element of intent. It is plausible to me that maybe in the course of filling out these ball ominous forms, all of which -- those of us who have served in government have had to fill out that maybe you forgot one of the sources of income that you had. But look, you know, it was a pretty significant source of income -- I think at a minimum he was being cavalier and floppy. It's hard to see him getting prosecuted, but I think he'll get, at least, some sort of rebuke from the army.

[01:05:23] VAUSE: There's also the question of where the White House stands in all of this. Listen to this exchange of the daily briefing with Spokesman, Sean Spicer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the White House believed that Lieutenant General Flynn might have broken the law when he filled out SF-86?

SPICER: I don't -- that would be a question for him and a law enforcement agent, whether or not he filled it. I don't know what he filled out and what he did or did not do. That all happened -- he filled that form not prior to coming here, and so be up to the committee and other authorities to look at that. I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, is that a credible answer that we're hearing from Spicer? And also, is there a bigger story here about the White House which doesn't seem to be cooperating with the investigations?

ALLEN: Well, look -- I mean, once, I think it was a credible answer. It is true that it is the obligation of the individual to fill out the forms truthfully. And maybe there should've been more vetting of the particular candidates that were up for the top jobs. In other words, someone taking a look at these things and saying, hey look, we saw that you were a guest of Russia T.V. in 2015, what's the deal with this? And then make some sort of political judgment about it. But I think his answer is reasonable which is that you know, we can't own the mistakes of everybody who's filled out forms on our behalf.

VAUSE: OK. So, with that in mind, lying on an SF-86 security clearance; it's a crime. So then, should Jared Kushner, son-in-law and White House Adviser, does he need a lawyer right now? Because he didn't include the meetings he had with Russian officials on the same form.

ALLEN: I don't have independent knowledge of that, but I'm sure they're all working quickly to update their forms and live up to their obligations now that they all have security clearances. I've seen those reports as you have, I think again -- I think a lot of these of folks are new to the government and may not know every in and out of what they need to sign. But in due course, I think they'll probably be corrected. I think General Flynn is sort of an outlier in this case because he knew or should've known what was required of him as a former General Officer in the army. And especially when you were all over the news having worked or visited with President Putin in Moscow. So, I think it's a special case for him.

VAUSE: Michael Allen, thank you for being with us. I really appreciate it.

ALLEN: Thank you.

SESAY: Well, the U.S. and South Korea are taking new steps to counter North Korea's nuclear threats. They have now moved parts of the THAAD anti-missile system to the deployment site. The goal is to have the system ready by the end of the year. China considers THAAD a threat to its own security, and some South Koreans are protesting the move as well. Meanwhile, North Korea put on a massive artillery drill supervised by leader Kim Jong-un to celebrate army day. Our Will Ripley is the only American television journalist in North Korea and has more from Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Army day in North Korea, the 85th anniversary of the Korean people's army. More than a million active duty soldiers, more than six million if you count reserves in paramilitary; 0ne of the largest standing armies in the world. We almost never see this side of North Korea's men and women in uniform.

This is a public holiday here North Korea which means citizens are enjoying a rare day off. And as you often see, on days like this, lots of dancing in the street -- carefully choreographed display of national pride. North Korea calls it "single-hearted unity," outsiders say, these men and women have no other choice. As Pyongyang residents dance, a very different kind of demonstration on North Korea's East Coast. The nation's Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un, showing force with what South Korea calls "a large-scale artillery drill," less than two weeks after this massive military parade and a failed missile launch. Analyst says these new North Korean missiles could someday carry nuclear warheads to the mainland U.S.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation faces serious --

RIPLEY: A growing arsenal, President Trump called "a grave threat to the world." He's pushing the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea for developing weapons of mass destruction that violate U.N. resolutions. In its own show of force, the U.S. deployed a nuclear submarine to South Korea as the U.S., South Korean, and Japan conducted joint naval drills Monday. All this, as the USS Carl Vinson moves closer to the waters of the Korean Peninsula. The approaching U.S. warship hound her memories for North Korea veteran, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Un Yong-il, speaks to me in front of the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy spy ship that North Korea captured in 1968.

UN YONG-IL, NORTH KOREAN SENIOR LIEUTENANT COLONEL (through translator): The Pueblo reminds me of another boat traveling very near the Korean waters, he says. The Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, we are not afraid. Just like we captured the Pueblo, we can sink that aircraft carrier.

RIPLEY: It's a threat made by North Korean state media prompting the Pentagon to warn Pyongyang to stop provoking the U.S. Are North Koreans worried that you may be headed towards war with the United States? "It's a grave situation," he says, "but we're ready to counter the American threat with an all-out war and nuclear attack." In this militarized nation, even civilians are told they may someday have to pick up arms, even on days of celebration. Citizens say war with the U.S. is always looming on the horizon.

There's a new information coming in from U.S. Intelligence Analyst, they've been looking at satellite images from Punggye-Ri, that's the North Korean nuclear test site. They say there appears to be increased activity, perhaps, the digging of tunnels at that site which may indicate that North Korea's sixth nuclear test is not imminent. That doesn't mean it's not going to happen -- we know the Trump administration is pressuring the U.N. Security Council and specifically, China, to do more to rein in the North Korea nuclear threat. Also, an extraordinary meeting happening in the coming day at the White House with all 100 U.S. Senators, summoned for an intelligence briefing on what the Trump administration considers the most pressing international security threat right now. Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, China has launched its first domestically built aircraft carrier. It comes just days after the country celebrated the 68th anniversary of its Navy. The ship is not expected to end the service until 2020, but it could help Beijing flex its muscle and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China does have one other aircraft carrier which it bought from Ukraine in 1998 and refurbished.

VAUSE: We will take a short break. When we come back, gees in Germany for a White House Adviser, Ivanka Trump. What the first daughter said which brew those boos and hisses.

SESAY: Plus, the future is not so far away. Two companies up-close to making flying cars a reality, that's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WORLD SPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:16:12] SESAY: Hello everyone. Ivanka Trump was booed in Berlin. The first daughter and White House Adviser was attending women's summit in Germany at the personal invitation of the German Chancellor. VAUSE: The way she started defending her father's record, the crowd grew irritated and with less than impressed. CNN White House Reporter, Kate Bennett reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: First daughter and adviser to the U.S. President Ivanka Trump started a whirlwind day in Berlin with an esteemed panel for discussion of women's economic empowerment.

MIRIAM MECKEL, WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE MAGAZINE EDITOR: You're representing your father as the President of the United States, the American people or your business?

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: Certainly not the latter and I am rather in familiar with this role as well as this is quite new to me.

BENNETT: The event quickly turned into a grilling over her father's policies and his past comments about women.

TRUMP: He's been a tremendous champion of supporting families and enabling them to thrive in the new reality of --

MECKEL: You hear the reaction from the audience so.

BENNETT: The President top adviser receiving loud hisses and some boos from the crowd. Ivanka later told reporters, quote, "Politics is politics. I'm used to it. It's fine". But then more tough questions on foreign policy when asked whether she influence her father's decision to bomb Syria, the first daughter said, quote, "That would be a flawed interpretation," adding that the decision was, quote, "Incredibly well-informed and advised at every level."

Her visit at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel comes just weeks after a rather chilly first meeting between Merkel and President Trump at the White House. The invitation, an offer perhaps to warm relations with Germany, where media has deemed Ivanka, quote, "The first whisperer to President Trump." The international spotlight followed as Ivanka played the role of Chief Diplomat touring the technological school where she jokes about coffee.

Ivanka, who converted to Judaism before she married her husband Jared Kushner, then towards the Berlin Holocaust Memorial, a delicate visit taken just as President Trump spoke at a Holocaust Remembrance back in Washington.

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

BENNETT: The President spoke with Chancellor Merkel on the eve of Ivanka's trip, and she will cap her day by dining with the German leader. An opportunity, no doubt, to make an impression on her father's behalf just as he gears up to visit Europe next month.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BENNETT: Now, whether or not this visit to Germany helped sort of warmed the relationship between her father and Angela Merkel for his visit here next month that also time will tell what about the issue. But Ivanka is getting her feet on this global stage and she did a healthy job today considering the one little blip that she had there. Hopefully, this is a sign of what could be her role here for the Trump administration traveling abroad and being a mouthpiece and a surrogate for her dad and his administration, we'll see how it goes only time will tell. Back to you guys.

SESAY: White House Reporter, Kate Bennett reporting there. And I'm joined now by Democratic Strategist Dave Jacobson and Republican Consultant John Thomas. Guys, thanks for sticking around.

To pick up on what happened to Ivanka in Germany there, CNN's Editor- at-large, Chris Cillizza, wrote a piece for CNN.com which he said that he thought it was bad form. It wasn't fair game for Ivanka to be booed for defending her father. It was just uncalled for. How do you see it, John?

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I can honestly see both sides here. On the one hand, she is the daughter of the President and I don't think it's fair to boo family members. But on the other hand, she's putting herself out there politically as a surrogate and one can make the argument. He stepped into that realm, just like I think it was fair to hold Chelsea Clinton accountable if she goes on the trail and puts herself in that role. But if you're -- so, long story short, I think it is fair. If she wants to play that role, if she doesn't, if she does is just the daughter of Donald Trump, then it's fine.

[01:20:24] DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it's a double-edged story.

SESAY: Yes.

JACOBSON: Right. If you're just the daughter and you're not the mouthpiece of the Trump administration, then it's one thing. But if you're actively working in the West Wing in the White House serving as a mouthpiece, essentially of your dad but who's also the President in his administration, then I think it's fair game, you know? I think people ought to be able to express their frustration and moreover, I think express that pure hypocrisy surrounding her position she claims to be sort of this feminist but she's, you know, essentially opposed to a lot of these pro-feminist policies like equal pay for equal work, women's reproductive health care rights. It's like a range of issues that feminists hold near and dear.

SESAY: Yes. The issue is that her father is taking in a policy in terms of a different and somewhat destructive pasture towards. To talk about her being in Germany, to begin with, she was invited by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. The reed of this invitation is that Angela Merkel is looking to build backdoor channels to the White House to the President. And she has realized that the easiest, almost effective way, is to woo people like Ivanka and other people would say may emerge wooing the likes of Jared Kushner because President Trump believes blood is thicker than water, as he often said. Does that trouble you? Does that trouble you, John? This notion Dave that, you know, this is how business is done in this administration? At least that's how it's viewed out there in the wider world.

JACOBSON: Well, if you look at like the last press conference when the German Chancellor was at the White House. You had Donald Trump sitting next to her. There was this sort of awkward dynamic and awkward chemistry. They really weren't connecting and so, perhaps there's bad blood stemming from that first visit and perhaps they're trying to bridge, you know, and build relationships with other pieces of the Trump administration, you know, through an Ivanka or Jared or other elements of the Trump family, perhaps, the President himself.

THOMAS: It's no secret that lobbyist, whether they're on case street or wherever, focused less on the members of Congress and the members of the Senate. They almost focus on the chiefs of staff, the Leg. Aides. Those are the ones who are actually implementing the policies. So, it's a smart strategy. She should do all of the above, continue to try to build a relationship with the President and try to influence those who influence him. It makes sense.

SESAY: The one thing I would say in response to that in going towards to Chief of Staff or the leg. Aides, as you say, I demand lesser persistence so.

JACOBSON: Yes. You're correct.

THOMAS: Sorry. Yes, yes.

SESAY: But I would assume that, you know, in that sense, those people know policy. They have experience. They know what they're doing. And here we have someone who doesn't know anything about government being -- I mean, slightly different.

THOMAS: It is, but it isn't. I mean, they're going to be involved in that process so having somebody who's going to be involved, Kushner's going to be involved in many of these things.

SESAY: And everything.

THOMAS: So, it doesn't mean, just because he doesn't have a background in it, doesn't mean he's not going to be involved in the process.

JACOBSON: Oh, I think that's what the White House is so vastly different. It's the Trump's they're calling the shots. It's not necessarily the Chief of Staff, or the Chief Strategist, or any sort of high-ranking Trump officials. Ultimately, it's the family that makes the key decisions.

SESAY: Well, let's talk about another member, former member of the Trump team now. Nearly departed, I could say dearly departed.

(CROSSTALK)

SESAY: Michael Flynn, politically speaking. Michael Flynn, you know, but sounder things in some trouble now, you know. We heard from the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday saying he didn't probably disclose payments from Russia may have broken the law. Now, White House Spokesman, Sean Spicer, tries to say the White House doesn't have a hand in all of these. Kind of try to stay above the fray saying, you know, they're not cooperating with the House Oversight Committee's request for extra paperwork because basically, they don't have it or they just don't have a hand in this. That makes it seem they are involved in a cover-up. Does it not, Dave?

JACOBSON: Precisely. This is one more reason why we need -- it's further evidence why we need an independent outside investigation spearheaded by an independent prosecutor to really make sure that there isn't a political process that's overseeing this. I think whether it's the House or the Senate, no doubt, they're going to be political because you've got elected officials spearheading those investigations. But if you have an outside, sort of non-political entity investigating all of these elements, I think that's the way to go. That's the way that we're going to get to the bottom of this in, sort of, know all the facts. But I think that at the end of the day, it does look like a potential cover up. There is this vast spider web and network of Trump campaign officials, Trump business entities, Trump administration officials, all of which who have these connections and this mass -- were connected to this mass spider web with Trump and the Russians.

SESAY: John?

THOMAS: Well, I think the Russian connection arguments are largely then kicked to the side.

SESAY: By who?

[01:25:02] THOMAS: Well, by Trump's actions. By Trump's actions in Syria, not approving the EXXON deal recently, I mean, there are points where we can say he's backed Russia. So, you can get -- until you go to that rat hole, I don't think it's going to work. But here's the deal.

SESAY: OK.

THOMAS: This is a bipartisan agreement that Flynn was a bad actor. Both members of the House Committee that looked to this said he was a bad actor. As soon as it was found out that Flynn lied to Pence, Vice President Pence, he got canned out of the administration. I don't know how long you want to keep dragging the administration through something of which they said he's fired. He's bad.

SESAY: Again, you don't think that the very fact that he got -- the very fact that he was vetted or -- that's a question.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: Well, it appears that he wasn't. It appears that he wasn't.

SESAY: Exactly. I mean, the fact that he made it into the team in on of itself, with all of this hanging out there, doesn't that trouble you? I mean, doesn't that beg questions about the White House? THOMAS: Oh, I mean. Well, it was a mistake and then -- in the early

days of the campaign, there weren't a lot of people that did want to work in that campaign. So -- and their vetting process wasn't robust but I think I can serve the administration and he's not. I think it's just vetting people who happen to be on the campaign trail. It's just looking in the premier at this point.

JACOBSON: Doesn't also that beg the question that you've got the sitting Attorney General who lied to the United States Senator and Confirmation Hearings about whether he met with high-ranking Russian officials, he know the Russian Ambassador? You know, it begs the question, did the President know that meetings took place? If so, when did he know? Did he know that Jeff Sessions lied to the Senate? I mean, there's just so many questions that haven't been answered.

SESAY: So many questions.

JACOBSON: Right.

SESAY: You can't just brush this one away, John.

JACOBSON: All of which adds for the --

THOMAS: Well, sure. There are endless questions. But I think that you just have to focus on the task at hand. Is -- Flynn is the bad actor, you have to look into him and that's that.

SESAY: Well, I think the question is, was Flynn the only one doing things he wasn't supposed to do and that will be uncovered by all these investigations that are underway.

JACOBSON: Right.

SESAY: Gentlemen, always appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you.

JACOBSON: Thank you.

SESAY: Thank you very much. All right, John?

VAUSE: OK. We'll take a short break, Isha. When we come back, political analyst says she's facing an uphill battle. We'll tell you how Marine Le Pen is trying to win over French voters at the Presidential runoff.

SESAY: And hackers are targeting her opponent, Emmanuel Macron. We'll look at who's suspected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for staying with us. I'm John Vause. We're reporting from CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.

ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Isha Sesay in Los Angeles. Here are the headlines this hour.

(HEADLINES)

VAUSE: The runoff for the French presidential election less than two weeks away. An opinion poll show Emmanuel Macron is now heavily favored to win, at least for the time being.

But in a development reminiscent of the U.S. election, hackers appear to be trying to the influence the outcome. Brian Todd reports on the Russia connection.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New details of how Vladimir Putin's elite hackers may have gone after the campaign of a man who could be a close American ally, French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.

Researchers with the cyber security firm Trend Micro tell CNN the hackers they exposed likely had to be working at least to pursue the goals of the Russian president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The interests and names of the group align very closely with the interests and names of the Russian state and taken as a whole really don't align that closely with anybody else.

TODD (voice-over): Trend Micro says it can't definitively link the cyber attacks against Macron's campaign to Putin. But the firm says the hackers who targeted Macron's campaign, a group they call Pond Storm, had the same footprints as hackers nicknamed Fancy Bear.

That's the group which U.S. intelligence officials say targeted the Democratic Party and is believed to be commanded by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether they're called Fancy Bear, whether they're called Pond Storm, we're talking about the same organized group and the attacks bear all the same hallmarks.

TODD (voice-over): Officials from Macron's campaign tell CNN the hackers tried to trick staffers with fake emails and other familiar attacks.

TODD: It wasn't just fishing and attacking the website, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, absolutely, Russia clearly wanted to go after Emmanuel Macron to support the other candidates who are in favor of a stronger relation with Russia, were pro-Putin, fascinated with Putin. So we see fake news being disseminated on social media by RT and Sputnik, which are Russian outlets.

TODD (voice-over): But Macron campaign officials tell us no sensitive data was stolen from them. Analysts say Putin wants to work against Macron to tilt the election toward his favored candidate, the far right populist, Marine Le Pen, who wants to bring France out of NATO and the E.U. Now key questions about Putin's real involvement with his hacking teams.

Is he directing the hackers' moves?

Experts say likely not but the president's not out of the loop, either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No major foreign policy intervention, either a cyber attack into a foreign election or a military expedition into a neighboring country would happen without Putin's knowledge, permission and say-so.

TODD: Vladimir Putin denies trying to disrupt the French elections and his aides say it is nonsense the Kremlin-backed hackers targeted the Macron campaign. But analysts at Trend Micro tell us there are indications they have gotten that those same hackers went after other entities that work against the Kremlin's interests, entities like NATO and a think tank associated with Chancellor Angela Merkel's campaign in Germany -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Macron's opponent, Marine Le Pen, is trying to broaden her support by walking away from her far right party. Melissa Bell joins us live from Paris with more on her interview with Le Pen.

Melissa, so for the U.S. president, it was all America first.

For Le Pen, a very similar campaign message.

[01:35:00]

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very similar campaign and I did put to her those allegations about Russian involvement in this particular election campaign. She said that until it had been proven, she would, if she were elected president, continue to give Moscow the benefit of the doubt.

Of course, she wants closer ties with Russia, maintains that that is in the best interests of France.

I also put to her that the populist wave that had brought the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, Donald Trump's victory in the United States, appeared to have ended on Sunday when she failed to come first heading into the second round. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARINE LE PEN, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL FRONT (through translator): What is happening is certainly a revolt against elites. The people get the feeling that the elite have been working for their own personal interests and that they have forgotten the huge responsibility that they have got in regard to the people.

And so people are saying we want to take back power. We don't trust the elite anymore. We need to take back the power and we want to be sovereign once again. And that's probably what happened with Brexit and probably what happened with the election of Donald Trump, whose campaign was conducted in extremely difficult circumstances because he was confronted by a wall which was almost impenetrable.

Media access, fingers and the formers (ph) were all against him. Everything that makes up the oligarchy. This distrust is now spreading right across Europe.

BELL: You're right. But it is spreading throughout Europe and that's something we've been following very closely. And indeed, in the run- up to this first round, we felt this anger building in France and got the feeling that you could, in fact, succeed.

Your difficulty now, though, in the run-up to the second round is that you will have to convince the other parts of the French electorate, 50 percent of them, that you are not the candidate of anger and that you can bring them together around a single common project.

What is your strategy?

LE PEN (through translator): Just look at how our president of the republic has been behaving in relation to other countries as well as those people immediately around him, of which, of course, Mr. Macron is one, because he is the candidate of Hollande.

I have never seen such an attitude as this. And completely level- headed and clear in this respect, I am absolutely against double standards and for a multipolar world. I think that what the nations of the world cannot put up with are double standards.

The French are often reproached for their arrogance and for giving lessons to other people. I don't have that vision at all. I want a peaceful relationship with all the nations, with the United States, with Russia and with the U.K.

What have seen over the last couple of months?

We've seen the U.S. president more or less insulted by the president of France. Those who voted for Brexit insulted as well and for Russia, well, I don't even want to say how the president of France talks about Russia.

This means that we're at war with everyone, with Poland, whom we call all kinds of names; with the Greeks. But I don't have that vision at all. Once again, I believe that I am the candidate who is capable of having absolutely peaceful relations with all the nations of the world because what nations want is respect. Everyone wants to be respected and that goes for the French as well.

Their way of life, their choices, their identity, that's exactly the policy which will be mine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL: No, of course, Marine Le Pen goes into this second round very much as the underdog; all the mainstream parties have called for their electorates to vote for Emmanuel Macron. I asked her also whether she had a single good word to say about him. She could think of nothing.

VAUSE: OK, well, it is politics. And it is getting close to the vote. But that is an interesting answer.

Melissa, thanks for being with us, Melissa Bell there, live in Paris.

SESAY: Now Facebook says it has removed videos that reportedly show the man in Thailand killing his 11-month-old daughter. Two videos were posted on the man's Facebook page for about 24 hours before they were taken down. He reportedly killed himself after killing his daughter.

The girl's mother and other family members attended the baby's funeral on Tuesday. It is the second tragedy on Facebook watched this month. Last week, a man in Ohio fatally shot a random bystander then posted the video of the shooting.

The fitness tracker may be the key to solving a U.S. Medicaid. Richard Debayet (ph) claims a masked intruder killed his wife, Connie, inside their Connecticut home in 2015. But police say Connie's Fitbit shows she was still walking around after her husband claims she was murdered. He's now charged with murder, tampering with evidence and making a false statement.

We're going to take a quick break here. We'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:40:00]

SESAY: There was a time when Donald Trump looked forward to marking his 100 days in office. And those days ended that Trump

predicted at the 100-day mark he would have the list of glowing accomplishments for all the world to see.

That was then and this is now. Now with the benchmark just days away, the president and his team are taking a different approach and appear to be doing all they can to change the subject from the president's report card.

So let's find out what grade President Trump deserves. Joining us now from Austin, Texas, author and CNN presidential historian, Douglas Brinkley.

Douglas, going to have you with us once again.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thank you for having me.

SESAY: So, President Trump, already bristling at the attention being focused on his record of achievement during his first 100 days in office.

This is what he tweeted out on Friday. And let me read it out.

"No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, and it has been a lot, including Supreme Court, media will kill."

So Douglas, here's the thing. There has not been a single piece of major legislation passed by President Trump in this time but the president still says he's accomplished a lot. Clearly he believes his time in office has been a success. Let me ask you, is that the case?

BRINKLEY: No, it has been a disastrous 100 days. In the 2016 campaign, he could say things like, on day one, I'm going to do all these things. I'm going to walk on water on day one. On my 100 days I'm going to accomplish all these incredible things.

But he was an outsider running, did not understand how Washington machinery works and he keeps kind of flubbing up. He issues executive orders that found not to be legal to do them.

He picked the repeal of Affordable Care Act, a repeal and replace and it blew up in his face. It wasn't the Democrats that did it to him. It was his own Republican Party. And he's had a dark cloud over this investigations about General Flynn, who was his first national security advisor and then had to resign because of potential conflicts of interest.

One could go on and on. It has just been an empty 100 days. But what he has got going for him is two things: Neil Gorsuch, he got a Supreme Court justice through and his base Trumpians have stayed by his through these 100 days.

SESAY: How accurately do the first 100 days serve as a barometer for the rest of a president's term?

BRINKLEY: Well, you really want to get momentum early because in America by 2018, we're going to be running midterm elections already. So you really only have one year before back into that political process. And he promised to build the wall and repeal and replace ObamaCare.

I think now he is going to switch gears and try to deal with corporate tax cuts, something that might unify the Republican Party. But he is looking for an issue that he can get --

[01:45:00]

BRINKLEY: -- a win. He needs to put some points on the board and, thus far, I mean, his best moments, I think, have probably been in the foreign policy arena. But they were one-offers; some people are very glad about the 59th Tomahawk (INAUDIBLE) missiles on Syria.

Some people think that his summit with the Chinese leader at the Mar- a-lago may reap results down the line. That might be true about that incidentally. But it didn't some kind of incredible results here. And in fact, the world is angry at the United States. Mexico's furious; Canada's furious, you know, Russia's been just a bizarre 100 days with it. North Korea, you know, threatening so it does not seem that he is calmed global nerves. But the economy was good when he inherited. The economy is staying good now and Trump needs to kind of pivot and do jobs, jobs, jobs; try to do infrastructure; try to get working America working even better than it was under Obama.

That should be his primary goal coming up.

SESAY: Well, President Trump doesn't want us to look at his presidential report card.

But what grade would you give him?

BRINKLEY: I have to give him an F and I don't say that lightly. I mean there really has been that abysmal. I think the seminal problem was, he believed his own outsider campaign and he never really got a hold of the Republican Party.

The very fact that the Freedom Caucus, conservative Republicans, dissed him on his big legislative rollout, repeal and replace ObamaCare, was quite stunning. In retrospect, he was trying to feed his base raw meat, trying to do the wall, repeal ObamaCare when, in retrospect, it may have been better, since he is such a controversial figure, to have worked with Democrats and maybe done some infrastructure and get one legislative accomplishment done, just to get some momentum.

He is operating with virtually no momentum in Washington, D.C., right now.

SESAY: Yikes, an F. That's the kind of report card you hide behind the sofa.

Douglas Brinkley, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

VAUSE: One of the founders of Google has a new soaring ambition. We have the details on his flying car. There it is. After a break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

[01:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

VAUSE: Ah, never gets old. When George Jetson first flew across our TV screens, it started more than half a century of car envy -- flying car envy, to be precise. And by the end of this year fantasy might become reality. That is where the Kitty Hawk Flyer is expected to go on sale. It's the long- rumored project from Google founder Larry Page. More than a dozen high-tech startups are working on some version of a flying car right now. That includes the ridesharing company, Uber, which plans to roll out its own version by 2020, starting in Dallas and Dubai.

Luke Stagel (ph) is a tech reporter in "Silicon Valley Business Journal." He joins us now live from Berkeley, California.

Luke, good to see you. The take on (INAUDIBLE) fairly famously said we want flying cars but we got 120 characters.

So how does innovation technology really reach the age of The Jetsons because the flyer does not really look like the flying car I wanted.

LUKE STAGEL (PH), "SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL": Exactly. Yes, I would say this is the first step in a very long journey toward flying cars. But I think it is a good first step. You know, this is, the flyer is really interesting. It's an octocopter, it weighs 220 pounds and it can achieve speeds of up to 25 miles an hour.

But what we're really looking at a really early iteration of the flying car (INAUDIBLE).

VAUSE: Every few years we have these reports of the car of the future, you know, the flying car is just around the corner. And like clockwork we roll out "The Jetsons" open (INAUDIBLE) different this time, at least from what I can see, the incredibly deep pockets of Larry Page.

STAGEL (PH): Yes, yes, it's rumored that Larry Page has spent $100 million dollars of his own money on the Kitty Hawk so far and he is really serious about the future of flying cars vision. That vision is really interesting. He envisions a world where our skies are filled with drones of all sizes and so tiny drones for deliveries and packages and large drones for individuals and for families. But getting there is going to be a challenge. You know, it is partly engineering challenges, it's also partly a regulatory challenge and, yes, the Kitty Hawl Flyer is one of the first steps (INAUDIBLE) that.

VAUSE: You still got the challenges, there are flying cars already out there; they're called a/please. So I'm just wondering if the flying car or the flying car, will that ultimately be controls by artificial intelligence because right now there are a lot of people on the roads who struggle with the concept of driving on a smooth, flat road.

STAGEL (PH): Yes, I think that autonomous drones really are the future. You have to remember that these drones are going to be flying at different speeds at different altitudes with different payloads. It's going to really complex up there in the air and putting that in the hands of human would just be too dangerous.

But I do think that that autonomous self-flying on drones and self- flying vehicles are really the future. VAUSE: So when we look at the plans Uber, they say that by 2020, they will have this limited network rolling out in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the United States, also in Dubai in the UAE.

How serious is this target or is that more aspirational right now?

STAGEL (PH): I would say it's aspirational. That is a really tough target to hit, I think, by the year 2020. We can expect self-driving cars being far more --

[01:55:00]

STAGEL (PH): -- ubiquitous than they are now but getting to the point where the self-flying car is taking off, you know, taxiing people around, it's a pretty big lift.

VAUSE: Yes, OK, well, thank you for being with us and giving us some insight into what is essentially a fantasy for so many people and, like you say, we're still many years away from actually getting to that point. Good to speak to you.

STAGEL (PH): Thank you.

SESAY: I'm bad enough driver as it is.

VAUSE: I know.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: Seriously.

SESAY: What do you know?

VAUSE: I've seen you drive.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: You're not flying anything.

I am leaving, though.

You're watching CNN, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

VAUSE: We're going to fly. I'm John Vause in Atlanta, though we will be back. We're staying here. More news right after this.