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Car Plows into Times Square Crowd; Senate Leaders Back Special Counsel Appointment; President Calls Probe a Witch Hunt. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 18, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jim Sciutto. Wolf Blitzer is on assignment today. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thank you very much for joining us.

And We begin with a president defiant even defensive in the face of an expanding investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. We will hear from the president this afternoon at the White House.

But, as often happens, we already have his thoughts via Twitter. This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history. And this, with all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign and Obama administration, there was never a special counsel appointed. The spelling error corrected there after the initial tweet. That tweet drawing this response from Senator Mark Warner. He's the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA, RANKING MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I don't think there's an American that I've talked to in the last few weeks that doesn't think this is extraordinarily serious. You've got complete bipartisan recognition that the Russians interfered in our elections.

You have a firing of an FBI director. You have the president potentially sharing classified information with the Russians. You have, I think, many members of the administration who understand how serious this is. The one person in that White House that perhaps doesn't understand how serious it is is the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: The president is holding a joint news conference with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos. That is in a couple of hours.

There will likely be questions about the investigation and the naming of a special counsel. The president also very likely to be asked about new allegations involving the former national security advisor, Michael Flynn. "The New York Times" reporting that Flynn actually warned the Trump

transition team that he was under investigation for his ties, his paid ties to Turkey. That warning coming well before the inauguration and before Flynn was finally named the national security adviser.

And next hour, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be on Capitol Hill, himself. He was supposed to brief the Senate on the firing of FBI Director James Comey, but now he'll likely also have to explain his decision to name a special counsel in the Russia investigation.

CNN White House Correspondent Sara Murray is at the White House. CNN Congressional Correspondent Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill.

Sara, to begin with you. The New Flynn reports, has there been any response from the White House to that?

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well we know the vice president was, of course, leading the transition, at the time when all this is happening.

And so, his team is insisting that they knew nothing about the fact that Flynn was under investigation. An aide to the vice president put out a statement today saying the vice president stands by his comments in March upon first hearing the news regarding General Flynn's ties to Turkey and fully supports the president's decision to ask for General Flynn's resignation.

Remember, Jim, the vice president hasn't always been as closely in the loop on these things as you might expect him to be. Of course, we know the Department of Justice warned this administration about Michael Flynn and that he could be blackmailed by the Russians.

That information was not shared with vice president Pence. It took him a while to find this out. He found out via news reports that he had been lied to by General Flynn. Ultimately, that was why he was fired.

SCIUTTO: Thanks, Sara. Sara Murray at the White House.

Phil, we have the special counsel decision less than 24 hours old. Are you hearing bipartisan welcoming of this decision or is it mostly the Democrats?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it's bipartisan. And I think, obviously, that's a rarity up here so it's something you pay attention to.

Look, there's clearly bipartisan support for the selection of Robert Mueller for this position. Democrats have been calling for this for a number of months now.

And Republicans, even those who were, kind of, vociferously opposed to the idea of moving this away from just the Congressional investigations, they have come out in support as well. But there's also been a big question now. Now that this is in place, what does that mean for the Congressional investigations? Both these ideas were addressed by Speaker Ryan just a short while ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I believe that the professionals in the Justice Department need to do their jobs independently, objectively and thoroughly. And I believe the special counsel, which is Robert Mueller now, helps them do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think it interferes with the Congressional investigation?

RYAN: No, it doesn't, actually. So, we are going to keep these investigations going here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And so, the big question now is will those investigations in any way interfere with what Robert Mueller is trying to do? Obviously, the committee chairs of the relevant committees have said -- agreed with Speaker Ryan, agreed with leader McConnell that these investigations will continue.

But can they get everything they need? Will FBI Director Jim Comey still testify publicly, as he's been asked to do by four separate committees? Those documents, those memos also requested by four separate committees. So, I think there are some unanswered questions there.

We'll also note there, Jim, as you noted, Rod Rosenstein will be in the Senate today briefing, in a classified session, all 100 senators. He'll be in the House tomorrow, briefing all 432 members that, I believe, are currently in place there.

[13:05:00] There are still a lot of questions. Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House Democrats, just had a press conference as well. And she noted that she has a lot of concerns about whether or not the Justice Department still has some oversight of what Bob Mueller will be able to do.

And she also, and she's not alone in this, has a lot of questions still about the firing of Jim Comey. Those questions will be asked. The big question now is this is -- these will both be classified briefings. Will lawmakers be able to say anything about what they heard when they come out?

SCIUTTO: Well, a lot of hard questions seemingly arising every day now. I just want to note, as I say, thanks to Sara Murray and Phil Mattingly, that we're just learning that Senator Burr is now walking back his comments on national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

He had said earlier today that Flynn had refused Senate Intelligence Committee requests to give documents and his testimony. We now understand that the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is saying, well, that may not be true for that question and more.

Joining me now is New York Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin. He is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman Zeldin, thank you for joining us today.

REP. LEE ZELDIN (R) NEW YORK, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Happy to, thank you.

SCIUTTO: So, on this question here. First of all, news that Michael Flynn may indeed cooperate with some of these requests coming from the Senate Intelligence Committee. How important do you believe his cooperation would be?

ZELDIN: I think it's very important. In order to get to the bottom of the facts of what General Flynn knows, he would need to be responding to subpoenas proactively.

Any type of questions to be answered or documents requesting production for, it's important whenever a Congressional oversight hearing is taking place that we're able to obtain as much information as possible. And where it relates to General Flynn, his maximum cooperation certainly will be warmly welcomed.

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you about how the president, himself, has characterized the appointment of a special counsel. As often -- as he often does, he does it via Twitter and he pronounced it, as he has done before, this investigation a witch hunt. Do you think that's a fair characterization of the investigation now to be led by Robert Mueller?

ZELDIN: Well, Bob Mueller is very highly-regarded. My conversation since yesterday with colleagues here on Capitol Hill, both sides of the aisle, conservatives, liberals, Republicans, Democrats, everyone holds Bob Mueller in the highest regards.

We hold our law enforcement as well as our intel community to the highest regards as well. So, as it relates to the Department of Justice, the appointment of special counsel, the investigations taking place, law enforcement intel, we have the great professionals doing their work. And it's important that we get their facts and that, you know, they don't jump -- no one jumps to conclusions.

Now, we do have people who serve in Congress. We have members of the American public who are jumping to conclusions and certainly are very much -- I mean, there were people protesting the president while his hand was on the bible calling for his impeachment.

SCIUTTO: Yes. But let me -- let me -- let me say that the president, the description you just gave of the professionals in the Justice Department, Robert Mueller, himself, very different from the president dismissing this from the very beginning as a witch hunt as un -- and unjustified.

Are you contradicting the president?

ZELDIN: You know, it's hard to judge, based off of two tweets a couple hours apart. I mean, his first tweet says this is a witch hunt. But doesn't actually say what this is. And then, two hours later, he started say --

SCIUTTO: No.

(CROSSTALK)

Come on, let's be fair. We know what he's -- we know what he was tweeting about here. I mean, he also described himself as the most unfairly treated president in history and then referenced why wasn't there a special counsel for Obama and Hillary Clinton?

ZELDIN: Right. But when he -- when he was tweeting that this is a witch hunt, it's -- I see it with colleagues and members of Congress. We have colleagues who -- people I serve with who are calling for the president's impeachment, literally as his hand is on the bible before he even takes office.

So, he -- that is the -- a lot of the noise. When we had a meeting on tax reform and health care and strengthening our military, and we walk out of the room and we have dozens of cameras only wanting to ask us, you know, about Comey or a tweet, that's an unfortunate distraction.

So, where that takes away from the president's agenda where the headlines are about, you know, that investigation and not the most important substantive issues related to tax reform and securing our country, I see why he'd be upset.

SCIUTTO: Wait, are you saying -- are you saying that the Russia investigation interference in the U.S. election is not an important issue?

ZELDIN: No. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is when it is impossible to talk about these other issues -- and here we are, right, you know, I get the opportunity to reference some of them where you're unable to talk about these other issues.

Let -- I have a -- I have a district in the east end of Long Island. And you ask people, what's your most important issue? One person will say health care. The next person will say taking care of our veterans. The next person will say -- will reference this investigation.

And I think we need, you know, enough of -- enough space, enough bandwidth to be able to focus on a legislative agenda to take care of our country and all these other issues that are incredibly important. There isn't just one issue that's important right now before Congress and before the American people.

[13:10:15] SCIUTTO: Listen, it's a fair point. I hear it from people as well, although the polls are increasingly showing that people do want this Russia investigation to move forward and reach its conclusion. Just a final question. I wonder, who do you hold responsible for the -- I don't want to say hijacking but the distraction away from the Republican legislative agenda? Do you believe that the president, himself, shares some of the responsibility for that?

ZELDIN: Well, you decide what, you know, you cover. And we have a lot of, you know, different ways that people, you know, get their information. And, you know, you choose what stories we want to talk about. And, you know, the president where there are victories that, you know, he works hard on with people in Congress and with the American public, that's great.

Where there is a distraction that he is responsible for, an unforced error on the part of the administration, there's nowhere else -- no one else you can blame but yourself.

But, at the end of the day, when you -- you know, you're doing an overall analysis of all the issues that we should be talking about and aren't, you know, it's -- you know, with all due respect, I'm just here to answer whatever questions you have on any topic.

And I would love to be able to focus on these other issues of bills that are getting passed and signed into law or other bills that need to be passed and signed into law to help my constituents and to help the American public. That's where everyone gets their news, through you, watching T.V. right now.

SCIUTTO: Well, I look forward, Congressman Zeldin, for further opportunities to talk about that and all these issues. Thanks for taking the time today.

ZELDIN: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: We continue to follow breaking news in New York's Times Square where the FBI is now helping New York Police in investigating a deadly accident there.

Less than two hours ago, a speeding, out-of-control car plowed into pedestrians there. Police tell us at least one person has died, 19 injured. Although, police are now saying they're investing this -- investigating this as an accident rather than an intentional event.

I want to bring in CNN's Brynn Gingras. She's been down there at the scene for us. What is the latest you are hearing from the New York Police Department about this accident?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right -- well, right now, Jim, we're being told this is an active crime scene. They continue to push us back out -- street by street, rather, so they can continue investigating.

We also know that the bomb squad is going in to investigate that car. But I am told, by a source, that is just standard practice and there's no, sort of, alarm right now for that actual happening.

But I do want to bring in Anette Pearl. She is actually here. She witnessed this all go down. She was here with a whole bunch of her kids on a field trip to see "Phantom of the Opera." And they were in the middle of Times Square taking pictures and then what did you see?

ANETTE PEARL: Yes. Well, it was -- I didn't see the initial hit. It was more hearing it. We heard the vehicle coming up fast. I heard people screaming. He -- when it hit, he went into the divider thingies that they have here to try to keep us from the traffic.

Gravel was flying everywhere. I got hit by a piece. The car landed sideways. I saw a gentleman underneath the car and another gentleman was pulling him out. And it was a real mess.

And then, I looked up at the front of the car and I saw the flames. And I'm, like, I've got to get my kids out of here because cars and fire are -- you know, it was something to worry about to begin with. So, it's, like, I'll just bring my kids up the street and, you know, people just scattered all over the place.

GINGRAS: Terrifying moments. And you said there was no way this car was going the right speed. Why do you say that? What was your instinct?

PEARL: It sounded like it was going fast and the way it landed up on -- on the -- on the pylon, the divider thingies. And it just did not sound like it was doing normal city speed limits.

GINGRAS: Did you actually see the driver?

PEARL: No, I did not.

GINGRAS: All right. Well, I'm glad all you and your kids are safe. And I thank you so much for talking to us. We really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

PEARL: Thank you.

GINGRAS: Jim, I know I want to reiterate what you said. We do know, from the FTM, why the 19 people were injured. We have confirmed with police that one person was killed in what is preliminarily believed to be an accident. But, of course, that is still being investigated, at this point.

And as I mentioned, we just continually are getting moved up. I do want to quickly mention, I talked to another witness who said he actually saw the driver run from the scene and he chased him down. He is now being interviewed by police, at this point, as a witness.

And we know, from sources, that driver was believed to be intoxicated. So, we are still learning a lot of information here on the scene, but certainly we'll get back to you when we have more -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: But, just to be clear for our viewers here, and we do know it's preliminary, this is not a final conclusion. But they're investigating it, though preliminary is an accident, one. That he appeared to be intoxicated. And isn't it our reporting as well that he had a history of drunk driving Brynn, is that right? GINGRAS: Yes, that's what sources are telling CNN. He did have a history of drunk driving and it's possible he was intoxicated when this crash happened.

[13:15:00] And, again, to give you a quick landscape, Jim, of the area where this happened. It's really just one street that this car could have gone down. And as you heard this witness say, the car was definitely speeding, in her account.

And that's when it sort of flipped up on its side and many witnesses told us it caught on fire. But certainly, like I said, one witness said that driver did try to get away but he helped stop him. So we'll still try to confirm that with police. But, yes, that driver, according to CNN sources - sources tell CNN, rather, that that driver does have a history of drunk driving and it's possible he is intoxicated at this point.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Brynn Gingras, thanks very much.

And even if an accident, of course, a deadly one and dramatic for all those who witnessed it firsthand. Thanks very much, Brynn Gingras on the scene.

Coming up, one top Republican senator says that the appointment of a special prosecutor will diminish the congressional investigations and the public's access to information. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He's going to join me to discuss all of this right after this break.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee are backing the appointment of a special counsel on Russia, but Republican Chairman Richard Burr and the ranking Democrat, Mark Warner, say that their panel's own investigation will go on. Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

[13:20:05] Thanks very much, senator, for joining us today.

SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, looking at this now, I know that Democrats are welcoming the appointment of a special counsel. As a practical matter, though, does this appointment in effect overshadow the Senate probe?

REED: It doesn't overshadow it. They're complementary. The special prosecutor will be pursuing criminal charges, investigations with the full power of an investigative office, the power to subpoena, to compel testimony, much more so than the powers that we have in the Intelligence Committee.

Our view is also to get the story. But also to do it in the context of what we have to do to change the United States laws, to change policies, to provide resources so that we not only can look backward but also forward. This is a threat. This Russia threat is not just a history. It's pending for our elections going forward. So both investigations are complimentary.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this, because as I understand it, Mueller is the special counsel now decides, for instance, what the FBI shares with you and your committees. I know there have been some frustration early on about how quickly, for instance, the intelligence community was sharing relevant documents, et cetera. I know that that's no longer the case. But does this mean you're going to be - you're - likely your committee will have less access to the latest discoveries in the investigation, et cetera?

REED: I don't think there'll be any less access. Again, we have to go ahead and ask the agencies to provide us information. They have to comply with their rules. And the rules of the FBI are a bit different than some of the intelligence communities. We've made progress in getting cooperation from the intelligence agencies. We're similarly pursuing cooperation with the FBI. But I don't think his appointment will slow us down. In fact, I think he will be, I think, cooperative. In fact, I have no doubt he will be cooperative.

SCIUTTO: And what about - in terms of public testimony, since the revelation of memos written by James Comey after this - this meeting with the president where he took it that the president was telling him to lay off the investigation into Flynn, great interest in his public testimony, including before your committee. Have you heard from the former FBI director? Has he answered your request to come testify?

REED: What I have heard is through the chairman and the ranking member that he is very much interested in testifying. The question is the appropriate time. But my sense is, again, through their comment, is that this is not a question of if but when.

SCIUTTO: OK. And the fact that there's now a potentially criminal investigation underway would not prevent him from coming before the Senate to give public testimony about this?

REED: I don't think it would prevent him. I think it might circumscribe the detail or the questions that he would deal with. But he is, again, a very knowledgeable lawyer himself and I don't think he would do anything that would either jeopardize an ongoing investigation or in some way complicate the process of justice.

SCIUTTO: You know, senator, there's a contrary point of view that to some degree the appointment of a special counsel is sort of good news for the Trump administration in that, one, they can now refer all questions to the special counsel, say, listen, not a question for me, talk to the special counsel, and, two, that because the special counsel works in secret that, you know, a lot of this information that's been coming out, as you know, by some public comments, some leaks, et cetera, that this might put a damper on that. Do you think that's an accurate assessment of how this might go forward?

REED: Well, that might be impossible (INAUDIBLE), but I think the best news is for the American people because they were increasingly worried about the direction this investigation was taking. Would it be partisan? Would it be a series of accusations back and forth? And now with Director Mueller in charge, I think everyone can have confidence that there's a professional with great integrity who understands the FBI very well, who understands the criminal justice process very well, and who I believe is committed to following the facts and the law to the appropriate conclusions. So I think that's the best outcome that has taken place here and it's a good one.

SCIUTTO: Final question for you, Senator Reed. You're aware, of course, of Mr. Trump, President Trump's tweet this is morning calling himself the most unfairly treated president, politician, rather, in history, calling the special counsel investigation a witch hunt. What's your reaction to those comments from the president?

REED: I think they're inappropriate, frankly. The Russians involve themselves in our campaign. That is the conclusion of our intelligence community's public conclusions. They have demonstrated the willingness and the ability to involve themselves in other campaigns. We've had testimony recently that they expect this to be the new norm, that they're going to come into the elections in '18 and the president's elections in 2020. So the notion that this is all about the president and it's - he's the one who's being the object of this is not appropriate. This is a crisis basically with respect to our institutions of governance, our democracy. We cannot allow a foreign entity, any foreign entity, to come in and wield decisive influence on an election. So this is not about one person, even the president. This is about the health of our democracy.

[13:25:44] SCIUTTO: Senator Jack Reed, thanks very much.

REED: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, was it personal or political? New questions about why former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would not green light a plan to fight ISIS. Details right after this.

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