Trump Seeking Top Secret Security Clearances for Children; GOP National Security Specialists Concerned at Exclusion of Experienced Voices; ISIS Leader May Be Hiding in Northern Iraq.
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to THE LEAD. More in politics now. President- elect Trump just received his first presidential daily briefing today, the PDB. It's the same top secret briefing that President Obama receives. This comes as the Trump transition team looks to fill top national security posts in the new administration with growing concerns inside and outside the GOP about who's in and who's out.</s>SCIUTTO: Tonight concern among some GOP national security specialists that the Trump White House is excluding some of the party's most experienced voices.</s>MIKE ROGERS, FORMER HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE CHAIR AND CNN ANALYST: Utter and complete failure.</s>SCIUTTO: Among them Mike Rogers, Former House Intel Committee Chair and CNN analyst, removed as head of the National Security Transition Team. A list of leading contenders for the most senior posts is now emerging.</s>RUDY GIULIANI, REPUBLICAN FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: The next President of the United States, Donald Trump.</s>SCIUTTO: Former New York City Mayor and staunch Trump supporter, Rudy Giuliani being considered for Secretary of State. However, though a well-known figure nationally, his foreign policy experience is limited, and many of his positions unknown. Plus, his business ties to Qatar and to the Venezuelan-owned oil company CITGO are raising concerns according to a source familiar with the transition talks. Another candidate for state is John Bolton.</s>JOHN BOLTON, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: A deep concern to the United States.</s>SCIUTTO: Former Ambassador to the United Nations under the Bush administration. He has more foreign policy experience as well as some tough positions, including favoring bombing Iran's nuclear facilities rather than negotiating a nuclear deal.</s>JEFF SESSIONS, UNITED STATES SENATOR: Donald, welcome to my hometown, Mobile, Alabama.</s>SCIUTTO: Senator Jeff Sessions, a transition team leader and senior member of the Armed Services Committee, is one of the contenders for Defense Secretary. Sessions, who is one of the first GOP senators to back Trump, is also being considered for other top jobs, including Attorney General. Another candidate under consideration for Pentagon Chief is first-term Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Armed Services Committee and a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Considered hawkish on defense, Cotton told CNN earlier this month he agrees with Trump on using the now illegal practice of waterboarding terrorists in some circumstances.</s>TOM COTTON, UNITED STATES SENATOR: If experienced intelligence professionals come to the President of the United States and say we think this terrorist has critical information and we need to obtain it, and this is the only way we can obtain it, that's a tough call, but the presidency is a tough job. Donald Trump is a pretty tough guy, and I think he's ready to make those tough calls.</s>MICHAEL FLYNN, RETIRED UNITED STATES ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL: Donald J. Trump to be next President of the United states.</s>SCIUTTO: Retired General Michael Flynn who was pushed out is director of the Defence Intelligence Agency is now in Trump's inner circle of advisors, and is being seriously considered for a senior post including National Security Advisor.</s>SCIUTTO: I want to bring back my panel now. Congressman Rogers, you severed ties with the Trump administration just today officially, statement was very amicable. Why did you leave the team?</s>ROGERS: I think they were going in a different direction. So, all of the work on the transition has already happened. All of the national security portfolio, all the position papers, both the short papers and the wider position papers were done. They're getting ready to do what's called landing teams, although those people had been vetted. I understand there's been some changes on some of those teams, but those are the people they're getting ready to go in. So, I think it's a natural course of Vice President Pence, he's going to come in and kind of head up the transition from here until completion day. And I -- you know, it's a -- I think this is just kind of the natural occurrence of a campaign. There's -- is there a little confusion in New York right yet? I think there is, but I think this is growing pains. And once they integrate people who have been doing it with people in New York I think you'll see a more -- a smoother transition.</s>SCIUTTO: Do you have any concerns that the Trump National Security Team will not get the most qualified people for the most important senior posts?</s>ROGERS: You know, I've seen the list. I'd be a little bit skeptical of the name game that happens here. You know, we've seen people who were never on the list throw their name to the press to say, "I think I'm on the list." We've seen people who have always been on the list, I've not seen their name on the press at all. So, I'm always a little skeptical of the name game that I see here. I think that when -- the names that I saw in my portfolios that were sent up to New York are very qualified people. I think America would be comforted that they could serve in the -- in the capacities of which they were recommended for. And by the way, this notion that there's no one interested, thousands and thousands and thousands of really good people were interested a little bit before the election and a lot after the election.</s>SCIUTTO: Surprisingly. It happens in Washington and other places. Jennifer Jacobs, you've been reporting on the transition, you have some new reporting, what are you learning?</s>JENNIFER JACOBS, BLOOMBERG POLITICS NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I think -- I think Congressman Rogers is being polite. There's probably more power struggle happening than people realize. I think anyone who's loyal to Chris Christie is probably going to have trouble getting any sort of a cabinet post, and I know that some within Trump's inner circle did think that Mike Rogers was someone who was an ally of Chris Christie. He was, of course, tapped by Christie before the election to oversee national security for the transition. I think that Rudy Giuliani or Jeff Sessions could pretty much have the pick of any post they would like. I know that Rudy Giuliani has his heart set on Secretary of State. It sounds like Sessions is interested in defense, so those are the two we're -- you know, we would think that they would be leaning towards, but we also hear that there are other finalists for Secretary of State, still, including John Bolton is still in the mix as well as Richard Armitage and Henry Paulson.</s>SCIUTTO: Very similar to our reporting both on the infighting but also on many of those senior positions. Matt Viser, of course, one of the most signature positions of the campaign, Donald Trump, was draining the swamp, and that's still a phrase we hear since the election. But many of the names that are coming up for these senior positions are not exactly outsiders or new comers. Is that likely to quickly disappoint some of his supporters?</s>MATT VISER, BOSTON GLOBE DEPUTY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Potentially. And I mean, you look at the lobbying activity going on right now, too. I mean, the swamp is being filled, you know, in Washington in many ways. And I think that people may be disappointed, but you look at Trump and how he's made his past decisions. And none of these should be that much of a surprise. The way he ran his campaign was often a campaign in turmoil with different people, lots of infighting, people being shoved out, coming back in. And I think that it shouldn't be a surprise now the way that this transition is being run. But I do think that some of the names -- you look at his vice presidential pick, going with Mike Pence, you know, a very traditional type of politician, not somebody out of the box. So I think the names that Trump is looking at now for some of the key positions are people that you would expect in those kinds of positions.</s>SCIUTTO: Now, I wonder if just the setup of the leadership sets up for bigger divisions going forward when you have these -- you have a Priebus in there as the Chief of Staff and you have the somewhat unusual Senior Adviser position, Steve Bannon, certainly a very strong personality coming from a different camp and then you have Jared Kushner, the son-in-law. Does that concern you, Jennifer Jacobs that they could bring it all together and actually run the government?</s>JACAOBS: Well, I do know that they got along during the campaign, the Priebus and the Bannon camps really truly respected each other and got along surprisingly well. I think it's more about a power struggle. No one expected Donald Trump to win, not even Mr. Trump. And so, as this has become a reality, and it's only been a week, the power struggles have really become strong.</s>SCIUTTO: Four years minus one week. Jennifer Jacobs, Matt Viser, Congressman Rogers, thanks very much. We'll turn now to our "WORLD LEAD." The elusive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be hiding in Northern Iraq, that's according to a majority Shiites paramilitary force known as the Popular Mobilization Units or PMUs. This, as anti- ISIS forces are pushing forward to take back Mosul, closing in on ISIS from several fronts with Iraqi and Peshmerga forces pushing in from the east and with these PMU units moving in from the west. I want to bring in CNN international correspondent Phil Black. He is on the ground there in Irbil, Iraq. Phil, there have been a lot of rumors now about al-Baghdadi recently. How credible are these -- your information that anti-ISIS forces are getting closer?</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, as with so many things in Iraq, it's not entirely clear. As you say, this information, this claim, it has come from these Popular Mobilization Units, these former militia that have been brought into the Iraqi State and they have claimed that their intelligence indicates that Baghdadi is in a location west of Mosul, this corner of Iraq somewhere between two towns, only an hour's drive apart or so. Now, this claim can't or won't be backed up by other departments and ministries of the Iraqi government. The defence ministry says that its intelligence indicates that Baghdadi was in Mosul at the start of the operation but left shortly after, and he headed west. If you keep heading west, you hit the Syrian border and then, of course, on the other side, the territory there that ISIS controls which is beyond the reach of Iraqi ground forces. There were right, there have been lots of rumors about his location in recent days and weeks, but it appears for the moment, he remains an elusive figure, Jim.</s>SCIUTTO: So, the early signs of this battle, even from our own colleagues. We've seen some of these firsthand there, is that this is going to be bloody. What is the latest on progress in terms of recapturing Mosul?</s>BLACK: Jim, members of the coalition including the United State say that this is going to plan, but there is no doubt that in recent days, the tempo has changed. For much of the four-week operation, the fighting has been concentrating on the areas around Mosul, the towns, and villages and territories, driving ISIS from there, there's been relatively rapid success. But ever since Iraqi forces penetrated the built-up area of the city in the east while their advance has slowed dramatically because ISIS knew they were coming. They've fortified, they built tunnels and multiple car bombs. They know those narrow streets. They're using all of that to their advantage. And so, the fight is just incredibly difficult there. Now, the expectation is that eventually forces from the north and south will eventually converge on the city as well, into the city, draw some of the pressure away, but it's still seems some time off. This fight, well, Mosul is looking to fall imminently. It looks like this fight has weeks, perhaps months left in it yet, Jim.</s>SCIUTTO: And many civilians still there, too. Phil Black on the ground for us. Thanks very much. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @jimsciutto or tweet the show @theleadcnn. That is it for THE LEAD today. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Jake Tapper. I turn you over now to the very capable hands of Wolf Blitzer. He is where you'd expect him to be in "THE SITUATION ROOM."