Assessing The Attack On Saudi Oil Refineries; President Trump's Tax Records Subpoenaed; Impeachment Calls On A Growing Number Of Democratic White House Against Brett Kavanaugh; Sen. Mazie Hirono (D- HI) Is Interviewed About The Attack On Saudi Arabia's Oil, The New Subpoena For President Trump's Tax Returns, And Impeachment Calls On Brett Kavanaugh; Trump: Certainly Looking Like Iran Is Behind Saudi Drone Attack
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks so much for watching.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news. Assessing the attack. President Trump said it looks like Iran was behind the attack on a Saudi oil facility as the U.S. tells at least one ally it has intelligence pointing to Iran. Will there be a military response. Tax records subpoenaed. CNN has learned that prosecutors in New York have demanded eight years' worth of President Trump's tax returns as part of the investigation into hush money payments. What will the president's financial records reveal? Impeachment calls. A growing number of Democratic White House hopefuls now say Justice Brett Kavanaugh should be removed from the U.S. Supreme Court amid new allegations of misconduct when he was in college. Were earlier investigations mishandled? And not the right time. The president tamps down suggestions he's been invited to North Korea saying he isn't ready for a visit yet. Can low- level talks between the two countries get nuclear negotiations back on track? I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in The Situation Room. We're following breaking news. On that attack on a Saudi oil facility that's disrupting the global oil supply and sending prices soaring. Just a short time ago President Trump again implicated Iran and said he's not looking for a military conflict, but he wouldn't rule out armed retaliation. Also breaking, CNN has learned that the New York district attorney has subpoenaed eight years of President Trump tax returns as part of the investigation into hush money payments. We'll talk about all of the breaking news and much more with Senator Mazie Hirono of the judiciary and armed services committees. And our correspondents and analysts are also standing by. First, let's go to our White House Correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, she is on the scene for us in New Mexico right now. Kaitlan, amid this rising tension with Iran, President Trump getting ready to hold a rally where you are in Mexico tonight.</s>KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Wolf. And just before he left the White House to head this way, the president would not rule out a military response to those strikes on those Saudi oil facilities, instead leaving that open as an option and when he was just leaving the White House before boarding Marine One, he was asked if he thought a lethal response would be an appropriate one in this situation and, Wolf, the president said he would.</s>COLLINS: Tonight President Trump is warning he's prepared to take military action as the U.S. builds the case Iran was behind strikes on crucial Saudi oil facilities.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was a very large attack and it could be met with an attack many, many times larger.</s>COLLINS: After saying the U.S. was locked and loaded, depending on verification, the White House is placing the blame on Iran. While offering no public evidence.</s>TRUMP: We pretty much already know. Certainly it would look to most like it was Iran.</s>COLLINS: Aides are cautioning that his tweet doesn't necessarily mean there will be a military response.</s>TRUMP: With all of that being said, we certainly would like to avoid it.</s>COLLINS: The weekend attack cut the kingdom's oil production in half, sending crude prices spiking and leading Trump to authorize the release of U.S. Oil Reserves if needed. Though he later said we don't need Middle Eastern oil and gas and in fact have very few tankers there. The attacks and accusations have thrown a potential meeting between Trump and Iran's president into question.</s>TRUMP: I have no meetings scheduled.</s>COLLINS: Both leaders will be in New York next week for the United Nations Summit, but Trump is now backpedaling and blaming the media for reporting he was willing to meet without conditions.</s>TRUMP: There were always conditions. That is why the press misreported it.</s>COLLINS: Even though he said so on camera twice.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No preconditions?</s>TRUMP: Not as far as I'm concerned. No preconditions. No preconditions. No, if they want to meet, I'll meet.</s>COLLINS: His Secretary of State and Treasury Secretary echoed him last week.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is prepared to meet with no preconditions.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is happy to take a meeting with to preconditions, but we are maintaining the maximum pressure campaign.</s>COLLINS: Tonight Trump is also calling on the Justice Department to rescue Brett Kavanaugh after a new book details sexual misconduct allegations against the Supreme Court justice. Allegations Kavanaugh has previously denied.</s>BRETT KAVANAUGH, NOMINATED AS UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT: My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed.</s>COLLINS: The book lays out one additional allegation, but the woman at the certainty of it declined to be interviewed and friends say she they doesn't recall the incident, but 2020 Democrats are calling for him to be impeached.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Someone should investigate that. Because the fact that something has not been proven, it doesn't mean it didn't occur, right?</s>COLLINS: Trump is also calling on General Motors and the United Automobile Workers Union to make a deal.</s>TRUMP: I would like to see it work out, but I don't want General Motors building plants in China and Mexico. This is before my watch. And I don't think they'll be doing that.</s>COLLINS: After nearly 50,000 General Motors employees went from the assembly line to the picket line today. Shutting down 33 plants in nine states as they call for increased wages and reopened plants.</s>COLLINS: Wolf, when the president was leaving the White House he was also asked why the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has explicitly said that Iran was behind those attacks when the president himself has declined to go that far. He said they're still figuring out details, but Wolf, we should also note, the president did say he is going to send Pompeo and other officials to Saudi Arabia. He just didn't say when that trip is going to happen.</s>BLITZER: Kaitlan Collins in New Mexico for us. Kaitlan, thank you very much. Let's get some more on that attack on that Saudi oil facility. Our CNN International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, is in Saudi capital of Riyadh for us right now. Nic, how is the Saudi Kingdom responding to this attack?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're investigating. And right now their coalition, their top military spokesperson here has said that they have determined that these were Iranian weapon systems used. They've also said that they'd been able to determine these weapons were not fired from Yemen, which is what the Houthi rebels had claimed over the weekend. They say that they are continuing to investigate the precise location, where the weapon systems were fired from and interestingly what they say they are going to do is invite U.N. and other international experts to join this investigation. They're also making it very clear that by saying that they have the capacity and resolve to defend their land and saying as well that they will take appropriate response determined by what they discover through this investigation. They're making it very clear that there is going to be some kind of response. What it is isn't clear. What is clear, however, is that they want to internationalize this response by bringing other countries into the investigation and therefore ramped up their claims and their efforts to essentially stop Iran because that is who fundamentally they believe is behind these attacks. Accusing them of it being their weapons systems. They've stopped short of going that far on saying it, but fundamentally they want to bring Iran to heel and it does seem that they are trying to use statesmanship and diplomacy at the moment to achieve that rather than an immediate quick military response, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Robertson, in Riyadh for us. We'll stay very close touch with you. And there's more breaking news we're following right now. CNN has learned that the New York district attorney has subpoenaed eight years of President Trump's tax returns from his long-time accounting firm and the Trump organization. CNN's Kara Scannell is working the story for us. So, Kara, so what's behind this new effort to obtain the president's tax returns?</s>KARA SCANNELL, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Wolf, this is an investigation by the New York County District Attorney's Office and they're looking into whether there were any state laws that were broken as part of the hush money payments that Trump and the Trump organization had made to silence these two women. So the latest development in this investigation is that the D.A.'s office has subpoenaed Mazars, that's Trump and Trump organization's long-time accountant seeking tax returns both federal and state going back to 2011. Now this follows the prosecutors having interviewed Michael Cohen just a few weeks ago at the prison in Otisville, New York. So this investigation now looking into whether any state laws were violated, specifically if the Trump organization had filed false business records and noting how it had reimbursed Michael Cohen. Prosecutors there apparently thinking that having some insight into how Donald Trump and the Trump organization treated this on their tax returns would help aid in that investigation. It is unclear if Mazars will comply with the subpoena and how the Trump organization will respond. Currently a lawyer for them tells us that they are evaluating the new development here that we've learned today, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: As you know, Kara, President Trump, at least, so far has fended off multiple attempts to make his tax returns public. Could this new subpoena in a criminal investigation in New York lead to a different result?</s>SCANNELL: Well, I think that's the big question here, Wolf. Will Donald Trump and his lawyers and the Trump organization move to quash the subpoena which is in a criminal context. The other subpoenas that have been sent by the House Democrats seeking Donald Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One and also a subpoena to Mazars accounting firm, you know, are playing out in court. But a criminal investigation is somewhat different than what the House Democrats are looking into. There are different rules around that. The big question here is does Trump seek to quash this and then how will this play out in court, Wolf?</s>BLITZER: Lots of questions. All right, Kara, thank you very much. Some of the Democratic presidential candidates are now calling for the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to be impeached following a new allegation of misconduct and questions about how the previous investigation was handled. Let's go to our senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju, he is up on Capitol Hill for us. Manu, how are lawmakers reacting to this new information and allegations that way back when he was in college there was some sort of improper activity, sexual activity?</s>MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Republicans are roundly dismissing what they are calling an uncorroborated frenzy unsubstantiated report that initially came out of the New York Times over the weekend. Democrats say this is another example that this investigation that occurred last year during the confirmation proceedings was not fully vetted. Not looked into completely by the FBI and the new letter that we saw today from Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who sits on that committee had sent a letter to the FBI saying that he had spoken to an individual who had more information about one of the alleges incidents and he urge the FBI to look into it. He copied the Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on that letter, but it is unclear whether the FBI dug into that fully or even talked to that individual. Coons himself indicated we're told that he did not get a response back from the FBI other than the fact they had received that letter, but nevertheless, questions raised today about whether Democrats and Republicans had enough information and whether they stand by their votes that ultimately led to that party line confirmation right before the midterm elections. Just moments ago, Wolf, I talked to Joe Manchin, who is the only Democratic Senator who voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh and he indicated that he does not regret his vote.</s>SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I based my vote on the facts I had in front of me. And I went through them thoroughly, and everything available to me and the facts basically didn't show any type of -- between them as far as being together at any time. So I said if the FBI reports that I had at the time to make my decision on would have been revealed to the public. I think it would have showed there was no interaction between them. And I made my vote based on that. Now there is other allegations, I haven't seen any more facts come forward. So I'll wait and see whoever is going to do -- if they'll do an investigation or if there is more facts that are coming forward or whatever, I'll do the same as I did before.</s>RAJU: And I asked him whether or not he -- what he thinks about these Democratic candidates saying that Kavanaugh should be impeached and Manchin told me, well, it is an election year, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Manu Raju, up on Capitol Hill, thank you. Let's get some more on all of this. Joining us now Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, she is a member of both the Judiciary and Armed Services Committees. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.</s>SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): Certainly.</s>BLITZER: Let's begin with the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure. First of all, have you been briefed on this attack?</s>HIRONO: Not by the administration. About apparently the decision is that Iran did it, although, you know, I'm glad that Saudi Arabia is seeking an international group of countries to weigh in. Unlike what the president first said that he was locked and loaded ready to go depending on what Saudi Arabia recommends that we do. Which is a crazy way of handling foreign relations. But be that as it may, I think we need to be very careful because the Middle East is wrought with peril and a lot of opportunities to miscalculate events and under normal circumstances, Wolf, you would think that the United States could play a role in tamping down the -- tamping down the -- what is going on there and the heightened tensions, but that's not the kind of role we apparently are being looked to play.</s>BLITZER: Do you think the evidence at least what you've seen so far points toward Iranian involvement, that that evidence is conclusive?</s>HIRONO: I don't know that the evidence is conclusive. Especially as Saudi Arabia -- would like to have further investigations. So, I think that's what needs to happen. Because as I mentioned, Wolf, the Middle East is an area fraught with peril and we can't afford any miscalculations. And so apparently the president has walked back his locked and loaded comments by saying that he doesn't want to go to war with anybody. Well, yes, that would be good, because if he you would go to war, he have to get congressional authorization to do that.</s>BLITZER: Let's move on to this new subpoena for President Trump's tax returns. Lawmakers as you know, in the House Ways and Means Committee, they haven't been able to obtain the tax returns, but now prosecutors in New York are demanding the documents from President Trump's long time accounting firm as well as the Trump organization. Do you think that effort will be successful?</s>HIRONO: I have little doubt that the Trump administration will fight that as well. That effort to follow the money, which will probably result in a lot of information coming out, but the New York D.A. has his -- I don't know if it is a woman or man. But they need to investigate whether or not any state laws were violated by these hush money payments. So they will do their best to put their best foot forward to investigate what is going on with the Trump organization.</s>BLITZER: Let's turn to the latest allegations of misconduct involving the Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Did the FBI, do you believe the FBI did -- did the FBI mishandle the investigation into Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings?</s>HIRONO: It was not just me, but others have called their investigation a sham. Because -- not because of the FBI's limiting their investigation, but because they were told by the White House and by Senate Republican leadership as to how many people they could talk to. So I think that it is clear that the investigation was incomplete and a sham as I frame it. Because with Debbie Ramirez, she named -- her attorneys disclosed some 25 people who could potentially have corroborated her allegations about what Brett Kavanaugh did and as you may know, Wolf, I ask every nominee whether or not as an adult they've engaged in sexual assault or sexual harassment of any kind and Kavanaugh said no. So, if the investigation had been complete and these 25 people who potentially could have corroborated Debbie Ramirez's allegation then that means that Brett Kavanaugh lied to Congress. And that is serious business.</s>BLITZER: But "The New York Times" is quoting from the book, saying, she doesn't have any recollection -- personal recollection.</s>HIRONO: No, that is not -- that is not with regard to Debbie Ramirez. That is regarding another person who is alleged to have experienced this kind of behavior. Debbie Ramirez is a totally different person with a different allegation about his sexual misconduct.</s>BLITZER: Well do you believe --</s>HIRONO: And then the bottom line is whether he lied to Congress.</s>BLITZER: All right. Well do you believe that like several of the Democratic presidential candidates are now saying that Kavanaugh should be impeached?</s>HIRONO: I'm saying that the House Judiciary Committee should begin an impeachment inquiry which is a prelude to any decision that they would make regarding impeachment.</s>BLITZER: Senator Hirono, as usual, thanks for joining us.</s>HIRONO: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: Up next, we'll have more on the breaking news, President Trump said it is certainly looking like Iran is behind the drone attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities. And later the president downplays the chances of making a visit to North Korea, but he won't say if Kim Jong-un has extended an invitation.