House Intel Chair Nunes Cancels Closed Door Session; W.H.: Trump Serious About Working With Dems; White House Looks To Tax Reform
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): --in November, December and January, after the election, during the transition. Still, despite his big announcement, Nunes himself seemed unsure about all that he had been privy to.</s>MANU RAJU, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: You said that the president's communications were incidentally collected, but then you said it's also possible. So, was it collected or is it possible that it's collected?</s>REP. DEVIN NUNES, (R) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You know, I just don't know the answer to that yet.</s>RAJU: So you don't know if the president's communication --</s>NUNES: I know there was incidental collection regarding the president-elect and his team. I don't know if it was actually physically a phone call.</s>RAJU: And you don't know if it was the president himself, his communications?</s>NUNES: I do not know that.</s>KAYE (voice-over): His press conference was just the beginning. That afternoon, Chairman Nunes had bigger plans.</s>NUNES: And I will be going to the White House this afternoon to share what I know with the president and his team.</s>KAYE (voice-over): But before Nunes had a chance to brief the president, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was peppered with questions about the curious timing of it all.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because the president said that he had additional information that he believed the White House or he or his representatives would present related to this investigation, what Congressman Nunes has is not related to that?</s>SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't -- you're asking me questions that he has not briefed us. He has not briefed the president.</s>KAYE (voice-over): Nunes was back in front of the cameras Wednesday afternoon after talking with the president. And when asked about those claims by Donald Trump that he was wiretapped, Nunes' response was, "You could say a bit complicated."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does this seem to describe what the president was talking about, he was talking about quote, wiretapping, which they then said was broader surveillance?</s>NUNES: You -- when you -- what I've read seems to me to be some level of surveillance activity, perhaps legal, but I don't know that it's right and I don't know that the American people will be comfortable with what I've read. Let us get all the reports.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the president was correct with what he tweeted?</s>NUNES: It is possible.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president said that President Obama tapped his phones. Have you see anything</s>NUNES: No, no, no. That did not happen.</s>KAYE (voice-over): Nunes was also asked why he made the decision to brief the president.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is it appropriate for you to brief President Trump even that it's his own administration or campaign associates that are a part of this investigation? Does it appear to be interference in some form?</s>NUNES: Because what I saw has nothing to do with Russia and nothing to do with the Russian investigation. It has everything to do with possible surveillance activities and the president needs to know that these intelligence reports are out there and I have a duty to tell him that.</s>KAYE (voice-over): Later on Fox News, Congressman Nunes went even further.</s>NUNES: I felt like I had a duty and obligation to tell him because as you know, he's been taking a lot of heat in the news media.</s>KAYE (voice-over): President Trump, meanwhile, saw and opening and took somewhat of a victory lap.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel vindicated by Chairman Nunes coming over here?</s>DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I somewhat do. I must tell you, I somewhat do. I very much appreciated the fact that they found what they found. But, I somewhat do.</s>KAYE (voice-over): By Thursday, both Democrats and Republicans in the nation's Capitol were reeling. Democrat's going so far as to suggest Nunes is colluding with the White House, compromising his committee's investigation into alleged ties between Trump's team and Russia. They point to his campaign ties to the president as proof.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: In another diversionary tactic, deflector-in-chief created some kind of a scenario where he either duped or the chairman of the committee was a willing stooge. He committed a stunt at the White House yesterday raising questions about Chairman Nunes' impartiality, especially giving his history as a part of the Trump transition team.</s>REP. ADAM SCHIFF, (D) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We can't conduct a credible investigation this way and the chairman really has to make a decision about whether that's his intention and that's what he wants to do or whether he is still acting as surrogate for the president.</s>KAYE (voice-over): Then on Friday to button the week, Nunes abruptly cancelled what was supposed to be an open hearing this week about Russia's interference, explaining that he wanted FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers to be able to speak freely in a close session. The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee blasted Nunes calling it an attempt to choke off public info. But unlike the cancelled hearing, the controversy was very much alive. In fact, Congressman Eric Swalwell hinted earlier at something that was just around the corner.</s>REP. ERIC SWALWELL, (D) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Where did he receive this information? From our knowledge, no one on his staff and no other members were a part of this, so that meant it had to be outside of the Capitol. So did he go to another agency and does that mean that the White House was a part of this? It sure seems like the White House after what came out on Monday was scrambling to do anything it could to put another smoke bomb into this investigation.</s>KAYE (on camera): Was the White House part of this? That's the question everyone now asking, that's because we now know that Chairman Nunes was at the White House the day before his bombshell announcement. Was 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue where he mysteriously disappeared to after abruptly leaving his staff? (voice-over): He did tell CNN he was not in the White House itself and that no one in the White House was aware he was there. The purpose of his visit, he said, was to, "confirm what he already knew." It was a disclosure that put the White House on its heels today, namely, who at the White House cleared him for his visit?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clarification on your answer to Margaret, you said I don't know that members of Congress have to get cleared in. There is some question about that. Who in the White House signed him in essentially?</s>SPICER: I don't know that you had -- I'll be glad to check on that. I'm not sure that that's how that works, but I will follow up on that point.</s>KAYE (voice-over): We followed up on that point and members of Congress do have to be cleared onto White House property. So it seems someone in the White House knew Devin Nunes was there. Who that is remains a mystery at least for now.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And Randy joins us. Now, it's -- I mean, it's fascinating to see that long timeline. Congressman Nunes spoke out this evening. What did he say about who let him into the White House grounds?</s>KAYE: Well, Anderson, as you know, he was asked directly about who cleared him onto the White House grounds and he refused to say. He did not want to get into the whole process of how he got onto the grounds, but we do know, Anderson, that he would have needed a White House staffer to actually clear him to get through that gate and get onto the grounds. So, even though he's not giving out a name, we do know that that is how the process works. So I can also tell you that Nunes' quick to say that this was not some big secret operation that he was there on the White House grounds during the day that the sun was shining. He spoke with (inaudible) that he recognized. He spoke to people. He was trying to hide it and didn't want people to know. He said he could have gotten onto the grounds during the night. His main point today, Anderson, was to let people know that he was there for one reason, to get into one of those skiffs, those secure rooms so he can look at those confidential documents, Anderson.</s>COOPER: All right, Randi thanks very much. Back now with the panel. Joining the conversation as well is CNN Political Commentator Jason Miller and Angela Rye. He's a former senior communications advisor for the Trump campaign and was the communications director for the Trump transition. She is the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. Gloria, I mean, does this timeline make sense? I mean, is this unusual, this whole --</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. It's all very unusual, particularly since you have foreshadowing of this kind of information that is going to be revealed from the president and then Sean Spicer.</s>COOPER: Well, the president said we're going to be submitting something later on and then Sean Spicer said, "Well, let's wait and see."</s>BORGER: Right. And then you have Devin Nunes showing up on the White House grounds. And, you know, I was told today that this, by a source who's familiar with what Nunes was looking at, that the documentation was in control of the White House. So that's why he had to got fly, he had to go there. And so, you know, you have to put one and one together and say, this is an effort to divert attention to change the subject. Nunes may have very good reasons for complaining about the unmasking of names in intelligence and, you know, this incidental collection, and that's a legitimate thing to look into. But it is not what he was -- is supposed to be looking into, which is the Russia investigation.</s>RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What it looks like is Trump tweeted something that had no grounding and fact.</s>BORGER: Exactly.</s>LIZZA: And so the White House and the head of the House Intelligence Committee had to spend days figuring out what's something that could sort of be a fig leaf that would justify what he said even though it's not really what he said and that's what this entire process was and they turned to incidental collection as that fig leaf.</s>KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But even when he came out with what he said, it wasn't actually what Donald Trump had alleged?</s>LIZZA: Absolutely.</s>POWERS: But what was interesting in the timeline, of course, it ends with Donald Trump coming out and saying he's been vindicated. So it's just whole, like, just leading all the way up to this of him being vindicated even though he wasn't vindicated, and so it sort of the charade.</s>COOPER: And, Jason, I mean, first Chairman Nunes said that the story was about surveillance activities, that he felt the president needed to be aware of. And then to Sean Hannity he said that it was his duty to brief the president because he was, "taking a lot of heat in the news media." Does that seem --</s>JASON MILLOR, FORMER SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: You know, look, I think the biggest surprise today is that Nancy Pelosi is still around and we haven't seen her in a quite a bit, and so for her to jump in and --</s>COOPER: But, I guess, is it the chairman's job to protect the president from taking heat in the news media?</s>MILLER: I think, clearly, Chairman Nunes saw something that really concern. I mean, he brought it forward. I mean, look, the focus right now shouldn't be on the palace intrigue and the tick talk, it should be on what exactly Chairman Nunes saw and what he was so concern about that he brought to the president. And quite, frankly, I don't understand why the Democrats are calling for Chairman Nunes to step aside. This is supposedly an investigation into alleged collusion between the campaign and some (inaudible) before the election. Chairman Nunes has said very clearly, this is something that was after the election. It had nothing to do with Russia.</s>COOPER: They were looking for any contacts, but this has nothing to do with Russia at all.</s>MILLER: But that was to my point that it such a political stretch and quite, frankly, as someone who's partisan as a Republican, I'm glad to see the Democrats really overplay their hand here and I think it will be egg on their face.</s>COOPER: Mary Katharine?</s>MARY KATHARINE HAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So what is worth, Nunes did tell to Eli Lake, Bloomberg News, that his source was an intelligence official, not a White House official.</s>BORGER: Right.</s>HAM: Just to put that out there. Look, I think it was a far better way to handle this because he's in the situation -- I think it actually is part of his job to investigate wrongdoing if he thinks it's there in the Intel community as the House Intelligence had. But, because you're doing this other investigation, you do it in the cleanest way possible, and you bring forth this information and you got it in a very serious way and it does not appear to be what happened here. But I will say, I have no chill about the idea, the incidental information on any American citizen that sort of passed around like candy in a fun way within any administration. I do think that we give tremendous power to these entities and as a libertarian, I just want to say that that can be a problem. The Russian investigation is also an issue.</s>ANGELA RYE, POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Mary Katharine, speaking of no chill, I don't have any either, because we're talking about Donald Trump once again throwing a story line, instead of us talking about missing D.C. girl, instead of us talking about a white supremacist that killed a black man and had plans to kill more black people just because of who they were, instead of us talking about the health care debacle, we're talking about something that didn't happen that your president can't even spell, tap.</s>RYE: No, no, I'm not directing that to anybody else besides me, because --</s>RYE: So, I think that the bigger issue that I have, speaking of having no chill, is that if this would have been under the Obama administration, there would be no end to this. Barack Obama had to be the next best thing to Jesus and here we are just two months in and isn't change and there is issue after issue. Maybe it's not Russian collusion, maybe it's collusion with the Intel committee chair, but it's highly problematic. There are skiffs on the hill that this chairman could have went to, to get the classified information that he needed to be briefed on.</s>MILLER: But not to contain that information, he said that today.</s>RYE: I think that the bigger issue that we have here is the Intel committee chairman all of a sudden has forgotten what procedures he needs to undergo, to study and learn and/or brief someone on classified information.</s>COOPER: But it's also interesting, I mean, there was at the beginning of last week, this bombshell of a hearing where Director Comey makes the statement and there was a certain amount of momentum to that and then Chairman Nunes has made several unilateral decisions basically to cancel the public hearing, which was supposed to take place tomorrow, which was essentially going advance this investigation, said it was going to be a closed door hearing with bringing back Comey and Rogers. That's now been canceled.</s>LIZZA: And, you know, what it looks like to me is Schiff and Nunes negotiated a very wide scope for a serious investigation and after Monday's hearing Nunes said, "Wait a second, maybe I made a mistake here. These guys just killed us, killed Republicans that talking about a criminal investigation of Trump. Maybe I need to put the genie back in the bottle, because everything he has done since Monday has been to dismiss, put up a smoke screen about what happened that hearing and shut down the public about the hearing."</s>COOPER: We got to just take a quick break. We're going to continue this conversation. Ahead, the united fund that House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff had been presenting. That is certainly history (ph). Schiff now, calling for Nunes to step aside. What Congressman Schiff told Phil Mattingly just before we went on air, plus the panels' take and the White House playing blame game before and wide for the failed GOP health care bill. The blame game they're playing sounds familiar to some who've watched Donald Trump over the years. Details on that, ahead.