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Trump Admits No Tapes; Republicans Roll Out Draft; White House Briefing Not Live. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 22, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I know you're getting ready for the White House press briefing over there. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House Deputy Press Secretary, is going to be briefing you and all of the reporters.

But, unfortunately, the White House has decided that the American people will not be able to see this briefing live. We're not going to be able to hear it live. Neither CNN nor any of the other cable news networks, MSNBC, Fox, C-Span.

Why have they decided they don't want the American public to see and hear this briefing live?

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Yet, again, they have decided that this is going to be an off-camera briefing. We're hoping that we'll be able to bring the audio to viewers a little bit later on after this has concluded.

But this is something the White House has been moving more toward, taking cameras outside of the briefing room, something that has traditionally been done on camera. And no longer having to answer these questions to the American public.

So, it really gives these administration officials an opportunity not to have to have their faces on camera while they're questioned about things, like why the president would float the notion of tapes that don't exist in the first place. Or, really, any questions about Russia, which we've seen this administration dodge over and over again.

But, of course, it is a blow to transparency. It's a blow to those viewers out there who, you know, fund this White House, who fund these people's salaries with their own taxpayer dollars for these folks not even to answer questions on camera.

BLITZER: Especially on an important day like today. The president's announcement now just on Twitter that there are no tapes or recordings of any of his conversations with the fired FBI director, James Comey.

Also, the Senate -- the Senate Republican leadership has finally released their version of health care reform, repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare. You would think that an important day like this, they would want live coverage of what the White House reaction to all of these developments is.

But they've decided, what, only after the briefing will we be able to play the audio only but no video. Is that what I'm hearing?

MURRAY: That's right. It's essentially embargoed audio until after the briefing concludes. You will not be able to listen to it live.

And, Wolf, I think one of the things that's worth pointing out is obviously people who are watching this at home, people, whether they vote for President Trump or not, may not agree with every question we ask in a briefing. Some may or may not be relevant to them.

But this is the point at which the administration has to answer not just to people who voted for Donald Trump but people who did not. And as you mentioned, it's on a critical day. Not just in terms of the Russia investigation, in terms of what is going on with these tapes, but also in terms of a huge health care initiative.

This is what President Trump and other Republicans ran on, repealing and replacing Obamacare. So, you would expect the White House to put someone in front of a camera to answer questions about whether the president is happy with this bill.

Whether he agrees that this is not a mean bill as he described the House bill. Whether he believes that this is a piece of legislation that has more heart. That that, it appears, is not something that they're willing to do today -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, I know that they're going to force our cameras to go down and show the floor, if you will. We're not going to be able to show live pictures of this briefing when Sarah Huckabee Sanders walks out. Reporters have gathered.

We'll touch base with you. We're anxious to get more details on the president's tweet that he just posted. No recordings, no tapes of his conversations with Comey. Also, get more reaction from the White House on the Republican health care bill that has just been released

I want to bring in our panel. Our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger is with us. Our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and CNN Politics Reporter Eugene Scott.

Let me read, Gloria, the tweet, first of all, once again to our viewers. The president saying, no tapes, no recordings of his conversations with Comey. Even though he's the one in early May in a separate tweet who raised the possibility of recordings or tweets.

Here's what he just posted. With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether there are, quote, "tapes," close quote, or recordings of my conversations with James Comey. But I did not make and do not have any such recordings."

As I say, he said the other day, we're going to be disappointed, the news media, when he tells us if there are recordings because we would have liked to have had those recordings, presumably.

But this is a -- this is the president who raised this possibility. And it was seen initially as a threat to Comey. You better shut up because there could be recordings.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: And maybe that's what it was. I mean, you have to ask the question, why did the president tweet this in the first place? Was it as a threat to Comey?

Or maybe there's another possibility. Does he believe he's actually being secretly recorded in his own White House by law enforcement? I mean, we don't -- you know, we don't know the answers to those questions.

The third thing we have to think about here is what we're -- as we're looking at this empty podium is the president, once again, believes he's his own best spokesman. He didn't have his press people release this. He released this.

[13:05:06] The timing is, of course, coincides with a briefing that we will not be able to see on camera because he, once again, wants to be his own spokesman here.

BLITZER: And, Dana, here is the tweet, let me put it up again, in early May that the president initially posted. And this is the tweet. Let's get it up on the screen now. There you see. James Comey better hope that there are no, quote, "tapes," of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

So, he's the one who raised this first, and it's now taken well over a month to get a final answer from the president. In his new tweet, I did not make and do not have any such recordings.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, he was incredibly frustrated. We know that he doesn't maybe always use the take a deep breath and count to 10 rule before he uses social media.

And he, at the time, because the context is that he had seen probably a story that was out there, not long before he sent that tweet, that, you know, talked about a private conversation that he had with James Comey.

But Sara is exactly right and we were talking about this. That because he didn't, kind of, withhold his own emotions and anger and frustration. And, you know, OK, people get frustrated. It's understandable. But he didn't stop doing it on Twitter.

Then, you have Comey testifying, publicly, that the reason he got his memos out there was a direct reaction to that tweet. Because he said, oh, there's the president, you know, basically threatening me. I better get my side of the story out first.

And then, the domino effect has just continued over and over and over again.

BORGER: Called self-sabotage.

BASH: Exactly. BLITZER: He could have -- Eugene, he could have clarified this a long

time ago, right after that initial tweet of his, and said, you know what? There are no recordings. But it's taken all this time. Why do you think it's taken so long for the president of the United States to say, no tapes?

EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: I feel like he thinks that this is in the best interest of people to keep them waiting and to keep them intrigued. It's almost a concept he perhaps picked up from being a in reality television.

But it suggests to some people that he doesn't grasp the seriousness of what this concern was. I think he could have really made it very clear, as quickly as possible, when he put it out that, you know what? Actually, that, perhaps, was not the best thing to do.

But that's not something he has a track record of doing. And it will be interesting to see what types of changes come from here, from his communications department, after he sees that this, perhaps, was not received as well as he thought it would be.

BORGER: He's never going to see that, though. I mean, that's -- if Donald Trump doesn't admit that it was a mistake. And as Dana and Sara pointed out, you know, this led -- I mean, this original tweet led to a whole chain of events that have not, one would argue, worked in the president's favor because of the appointment of a special counsel.

But I don't think Donald Trump will ever say, oh, you know, I made a mistake. In fact, I think he's, kind of, reveling in this. To a certain degree, raising the prospect that perhaps he is being taped in the Oval Office, given the number of intercepts that had been publicly repealed.

SCOTT: I think the no idea part of the tweet --

BORGER: Yes.

SCOTT: -- is really worth paying attention to. I think he made it clear, he said, I didn't record it, and I don't have any tapes. But I have no idea if tapes exist which implies that perhaps someone else could have them. We don't know now.

BASH: Can I just say, given the number of unanswered questions we have from this White House, of this White House, about all things Russia, you know, and other issues that the president has, sort of, thrown out there and the not followed up on, I have to admit, I was kind of expecting the week to end without the answer on whether or not he did -- he did the tapes.

But he actually did decide to tweet it. And so, you know, we can cross this off the long list of unanswered questions that we have.

BLITZER: Yes. His lawyer, a private lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said over the weekend that there would be an announcement on the tapes by the end of the week. And Sean Spicer said something similar -- BASH: Right.

BLITZER: -- the next day.

I want to bring in Evan Perez, our Justice Correspondent. Evan, what are they saying over there about the original Trump tweet which was seen at least by some as a veiled, maybe not so thinly veiled, threat to Comey to shut up?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Wolf, part of the issue here is that if there were -- but simply because the president raised the possibility that there were these tapes, it created a legal issue for him. Because he has to -- he would have to turn that over, obviously, to any investigation that is ongoing.

Certainly, the members of Congress had already written letters to the White House asking for those tapes to be turned over, if they existed, or if there are anything that memorialize those conversations.

And, certainly, Robert Mueller, the special counsel, would want to have access to those. Those are government records. They're supposed to be preserved. And they need to be turned over because there is an ongoing investigation.

[13:10:05] So, I think the reason why you heard Jay Sekulow bring this up and, sort of, address this in the past few days is simply because they were under some kind of legal pressure there that had been created, frankly, by the president's own tweet.

And, really, the other important part of what has happened now is that with the president's clarification today, is that essentially this means that it's his word versus the word of James Comey, right? We're not going to have some kind of neutral party here which is in a recording that really could -- that really put to the final end here what happened in those conversations.

And that's an important thing because it makes it so much harder for the investigators. Both in Robert Mueller's special counsel's office, and also in the Senate and the House which are also doing their own investigations for us to get to know what exactly happened in those interactions.

BLITZER: We have done, Evan, several of freedom of information requests to various government agencies, --

PEREZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- including the secret service asking if there are tapes. And tell our viewers, I think all of them came back, in recent days, and said they have no -- they have no recording devices there.

PEREZ: They have no recording devices. That's what they all came back. And it wasn't a surprise, per se, because everybody seemed to be completely flummoxed when the president raised this issue in the first place with his tweets. So, it wasn't a shocker that they tweeted the secret service had no record of it. None of the other agencies could say that they had anything like this.

So, if there was some kind of recording, it would have personally, perhaps, been made by the president, using his phone or perhaps some kind of tape device that -- which we know he's used in the past, right? I mean, during his private sector days.

So, that's the way this all stood. And it was a matter of time for him to have to either put up or shut up about this -- about these recordings because it was a big, big part of this investigation now if there were -- if there were recordings of them.

BLITZER: When you say, put up or shut up, there's a deadline. Tomorrow is the deadline. The House Intelligence Committee had asked for any recordings, if there are recordings, by tomorrow, right?

PEREZ: Right, exactly. There were deadlines that were put forward by these committees. And, again, these are committees that are chaired by Republicans. So, it's not, like, just Democrats are hunting and asking for things.

The president created this uncertain here -- uncertainty, and so the committees, which are chaired by Republicans, wanted access to that information.

BLITZER: I want to go back to Sara Murray over at the White House. You're still in the briefing room. They're going to be forcing our cameras pretty soon to stop live coverage of the upcoming press briefing that's about to begin. The deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is about to brief reporters on this and the health care bill that the Republicans introduced in the Senate.

But you're getting more reaction to the final word now from the president. And I'll put it up on the screen, once again, his tweet that he just posted. Let me read it for viewers who may just be tuning in. Quote, "With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance, intercepts, unmasking and illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether there are, quote, "tapes or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make and do not have any such recordings."

What additional reaction are you getting?

MURRAY: Well, I think one of the things that we're hearing, one of the things my colleague, Jeff Zeleny, is also hearing is that this was a misstep by President Trump to suggest that these tapes existed. And to, sort of, leave that notion hanging out there for so long.

This is also what we've been hearing from others who are close to the president, who have suspected for weeks that these tapes don't exist. That the president essentially put this out there, friends of his believe, to try to intimidate James Comey. To try to get him to tell the truth, in the president's view. Now, James Comey eventually went and testified under oath about his conversations with the president. He provided a number of details from the memos he kept. And he said all of this was a result of the president's tweets, a result of that notion that there may be tapes of their conversations.

And there are many people close to the president who feel like this was not a great move on his part. They feel like it was a mistake. They feel like, in many ways, he misjudged the environment he was in.

He was acting like a businessman approaching a lawsuit when he was now the president of the United States, dealing with an investigation that was being overseen by the FBI, as well as a number of committees in Congress.

So, I think there is a bit of dissatisfaction from some of Trump's allies. I'm willing to bet that we will not see the president out there, saying that this was a misstep or saying this was a mistake. He does not tend to do that.

Obviously, we'll see what Sarah Huckabee Sanders says. But, again, that will not be a reaction that we're expecting to get on camera today -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Here's what intrigues me, Sara. And I want to just get your reaction because if you read this tweet very carefully, he says, at one point, I have no idea whether there are tapes or recordings of my conversations with James Comey. But I did not make and so not have any such recordings.

[13:15:00] He's had weeks, if not more, to look at this issue. He is the commander in chief. He's the president of the United States. And he acknowledges right now, I have no idea if there are recordings or tapes? That sounds strange to me.

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is a bit strange. Luckily for the president, a number of news organization have done some of the legwork on his behalf and gone to a number of government agencies and said, hey, do you know of any recording systems in the White House? Are there any new recording systems installed? Are you aware of any? One of those requests went to the Secret Service and they responded by saying, no, essentially, we've haven't installed any recording devices. We're not aware of any new taping systems.

I think maybe the president leaves the door open to the fact that I guess Comey could have been recording his side of the conversation. Obviously in some ways he did. He recorded them in memos. But, no, there don't seem to be any tapes of these interactions. And I think this is another instance of the White House essentially not getting to the bottom of something that they don't want to talk about anymore. We've seen it over and over again in these briefings, them just sort of punting questions that they don't want to answer.

BLITZER: So, Sara, stand by. I know the briefing with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy White House press secretary, is about to begin. Unfortunately, they're not going to allow any of the cable news networks to broadcast it live. We would have, of course, taken that live. They will later allow us to air some of the audio of this briefing, but no video. For some reason they've decided the American public should not be able to get reaction to this tweet from the president about no tapes or reaction to the Senate Republican health care bill, which has just been released.

We're going to get back to you shortly, Sara.

I want to bring in Laura Coates, our CNN legal analyst.

It all started early May, Laura, with that original tweet when the president said, you know, Comey better hope there are no tapes before he leaks information to the press.

Go ahead.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): We do know that. And we know that that set the ball in motion at that point for James Comey to, in the middle of the night, begin to just remember that he had memos of his own that could verify his recollection of what he talked to the president of the United States about, which then set in motion the appointment of a special counsel. And so when the president made these statements, I know the assumption is that social media is not somehow a presidential statement and perhaps shouldn't be taken that way. But, in fact, it was the most presidential and led to a turn of events that has placed the magnifying glass of the Russian collusion investigation squarely on top of the president.

And his statements about there not being any tapes, I don't think it's a really big surprise to many people that there may not have been tapes. He's been hedging for a long time. But the shock of it is, the lack of foresight and wherewithal to understand what the role of that statement may have been in the overall investigation that was already ongoing in terms of the Russian counter espionage attacks.

BLITZER: There's going to be a lot more on this story developing. Certainly more reaction coming in throughout the day. The president tweeting, "I did not make, do not have any such recordings" of his conversations with the fired FBI director, James Comey.

We're going to get back to all of you all.

I want to turn to the other big story we're following right now, health care. The Republican bill is now officially out. Republican leadership in the Senate, they have finally revealed their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The plan has been shrouded in secrecy and drafted behind closed doors, but now it's out in the open. So let the debate begin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: When legislation does come to the floor, it will present the Senate Democrats with another opportunity to do what's right for the American people. They can choose to keep standing by as their failing law continues to collapse and hurts more Americans, but I hope they will join us instead to bring relief to the families who have struggled under Obamacare for far too long. Either way, either way, it's time to act.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: Simply put, this bill will result in higher costs, less case, and millions of Americans will lose their health insurance, particularly through Medicaid. It's every bit as bad as the House bill. In some ways, it's even worse. The president said the Senate bill needed heart. The way this bill cuts health care is heartless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're going to get reaction to the Republican health care bill in just a moment. But first, let's take a closer look at what's in the so-called discussion draft released by Senate Republicans.

Joining us now from New York, our CNN Money senior writer Tami Lubhy.

So, Tami, what are the highlights? What's in and out of this bill?

TAMI LUBHY, CNN MONEY SENIOR WRITER: Well, the bill largely mirrors what's in the House bill. It eliminates the individual mandate. It suspends funding for Planned Parenthood for a year. That was all in the House bill, as well.

But there are some significant changes. It maintains the cutting - the deep cutting of Medicaid. However, it would extend Medicaid funding for the expansion population for one year, and then it would phase down the funding more slowly over three years instead of a steep cliff. So that's going to be a plus for some moderates.

[13:20:12] But what's really also going to hurt a lot of conservatives, they're going to be unhappy about this, is that it keeps the Obamacare subsidies largely in place. The House wanted to convert it to age-based subsidies, but the Senate continues to make it a more income-based and geographic-based subsidy. So the conservatives are not going to be happy about that. Some of the moderates will be happy about that.

And on pre-existing conditions, it actually maintains some more of the Obamacare protections for pre-existing conditions. Those who have those conditions will not have to pay more for their health insurance. However, they may find that they can't get comprehensive policies because the plan would allow states to waive out of what's called the essential health benefits, which requires insurers to cover ten essential health benefits such as medications and hospitalizations and other things that are important to people who need medical care.

BLITZER: All right. There's a lot we need to unpack from all of this. And we're going to be doing that clearly here on CNN, not only this hour, but throughout the day and the evening, the days and weeks to come, as well.

Tami, thank you very much for that report.

Let's get some reaction now from Capitol Hill to all of the late- breaking developments. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is joining us right now. He serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senator, thank you very much for joining us.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: Thank you. Good to be with you.

BLITZER: All right, so let's get to the - one breaking news development. Minutes ago we did hear from the president in this tweet that as far as he knows there are no recordings, no tapes of his conversations with the fired FBI director, James Comey. There you see it right there. "With all of the recently reported electronic surveillance intercepts unmasking an illegal leaking of information, I have no idea whether there are tapes or recordings of my conversations with James Comey, but I did not make and do not have any such recordings."

What's your reaction?

BLUMENTHAL: There have been a lot of surreal and strange statements by Donald Trump since he became president, but he seems to have a capacity to outdo himself. This one is certainly at the top of the list. And the reason, quite simply, Wolf, is, he is the commander in chief, as you observed earlier in this show. He has access to all of the most sophisticated, electronic surveillance and monitoring equipment in the world. The intelligence community can certainly tell him whether there have been any kind of electronic surveillance of him since he's been in the White House and perhaps before. So to say he has no idea is absolutely preposterous and really an insult to the intelligence of the American people.

I called for a subpoena of these tapes by the Intelligence Committee some time ago. Unfortunately, it wasn't done. The special prosecutor may still with to issue subpoenas simply to verify whether or not there are any tapes because the president saying he has no idea simply is not enough.

BLITZER: Some have suggested that that original tweet the president posted in early May in effect warning Comey don't leak information because there - you better hope there are no tapes, they've suggested that could have been witness intimidation on the part of the president. Do you believe that?

BLUMENTHAL: It certainly smacks of intimidation and threats. And when it was issued at the time, in the context, involves potential intimidation and is part of a larger unfolding obstruction of justice case that no doubt the special prosecutor is investigating actively. And he'll have to consider that tweet, as so many other tweets will be relevant, too.

BLITZER: You said on CNN last night, senator, that you think there may have been others at the White House involved in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. I want you to elaborate. What did you mean by that?

BLUMENTHAL: There are a variety of staff at top levels, but also at lower levels, in the White House, who may have been involved in conversations with each other or with the president about the conversation with Comey to let Flynn go, or the conversation with Comey, as well, asking for a pledge of loyalty. These kinds of conversations need not involve knowledge about the whole scope of the potential conspiracy but simply a part of it.

The law of conspiracy is very broad. And a co-conspirator need not know the full scope of the conspiracy or all of the action that are taken but maybe just a party to one conversation or another with Donald Trump or with other members of his staff. And so the law of conspiracy and the fact that the special prosecutor's investigating is very important.

BLITZER: All right, senator, I want you to stand by for a moment. I want to go to Sara Murray, our White House correspondent, who's in the White House briefing room right now.

[13:25:05] Sara, and I just want you to explain why, unfortunately, we're not going to be able to show the White House briefing live to our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

MURRAY: Well, we are now about two minutes away from the White House briefing. We just got the announcement over the loud system.

Again, this is an off-camera briefing. This is something that the Trump administration is doing with frequency in a way that we did not see in previous administrations. Normally someone would stand at the podium to my left. They would brief the American public. It would be on camera. It would be on the record and we'd be able to bring it to you live.

That's not the case under this administration. We are expecting Sara Huckabee Sanders to come out. We are expecting to get audio from the briefing. But it's going to be embargoed until after it is over. Which means there will be no live coverage for us to be able to bring you.

Now, again, this isn't breaking with tradition. It's something that is pretty new to the Trump administration. And Sarah Huckabee is coming out now.

BLITZER: All right. All right, unfortunately, you saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders walk up to the lectern there on the podium, but the White House rules are that none of the cable networks, none of the broadcast networks are allowed to carry this briefing, even though it's a briefing that's very, very important on a day where there's a new Republican health care bill that affects tens of millions of Americans out there, a sixth of the U.S. economy, a day when the president tells the world that as far as he knows there are no tapes or recordings of his conversations with James Comey. Unfortunately, the White House won't allow us to bring that briefing to our viewers here in the United States and around the world live.

We'll get audio of it later. We'll get a report of the briefing, but we can't show it to you live. It's strange to me, especially as a former White House correspondent, why an important day like this they don't want the American public to see this live. But that - those are the White House rules that CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, C-span, all of the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, CBS, we all have to live with those White House rules. Let's hope they change those rules down there.

Let me get a quick reaction from Senator Blumenthal before I let you go. What's your reaction to this decision by the White House that we can't show the American public this briefing live?

BLUMENTHAL: I never thought, Wolf, in America, that I would see broadcast news excluded from a White House briefing. I'm in total disbelief and shock, not just as a public official, but as a citizen. And, frankly, there's a pattern of secrecy and concealment here in this White House, secret conversations with the Russians, concealed conversations and contacts with not only Russian diplomats but bankers. And, frankly, the health care plan, which was shrouded in secrecy. We now know why, because they were probably ashamed and embarrassed about it.

But this pattern of secrecy is so antithetical to American values. And I want to just say that as a citizen and as a public official, that when the history of this era is written, the free press and the independent judiciary will go down as our heroes because they have broken so many stories despite efforts to keep secret these contacts with the Russians, the president's dealings with foreign governments and the emoluments, the payments and benefits going to him from those governments. We know so much simply because the free press, including CNN, has been so dogged and determined to get the truth to the American people.

BLITZER: Senator Blumenthal, thanks so much for joining us.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

BLITZER: All right, let me bring back our panel. Gloria Borger, our chief political analyst, is with us. Our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash. CNN politics reporter, Eugene Scott. Also join us, CNN justice correspondent Evan Perez.

I want to quickly get your reaction - all of us are journalists. We've worked covering the White House over the years. It's pretty surprising. There are gaggles that they do at the White House that are off camera, usually in the press secretary's office, where they just want to review certain issues. But when a press secretary goes into the briefing room where there are a lot of cameras, usually, almost always, they allow us to take that live if we want to.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, the press secretary and the staff of the White House work for the American public. And the job of the press secretary is to tell the American public what the president is thinking. And what the White House is thinking. And today, as you point out, is a very heavy news day.

But I would say that just minutes before this briefing was originally scheduled to begin, the president tweeted about the tapes. And I think that that leads us to believe that the only person who can speak on camera perhaps for this White House is now Donald Trump himself. And perhaps that's the way he wants it.

There are important stories here. The tape story is an important story since the president over a month ago said that perhaps there were tapes in a tweet. Now we've learned that there weren't. But there's a whole new conspiracy theory that has been started by the president today regarding the tapes because he sort of implied, unless there's another taping system that I don't know about.

[13:30:09] So - and we have a health care bill right now, which is important. And millions of people, as you point out