White House Communications Director Resigning; Trump Backs Obama Gun-Control Ideas; Attorney General Pushes Back at Trump After New Insult.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. Hope-less. White House communications director Hope Hicks is stepping down one day after being grilled by lawmakers in the Russia probe, stonewalling when questioning about her time in the White House but acknowledging she sometimes told, quote, "white lies" while serving the president. Reversal on guns. President Trump meets with bipartisan lawmakers on gun violence, telling them not to be petrified by the NRA and calling for steps contrary to long-held cherished positions of his own party. Is he siding with Democrats? Fighting back. President Trump once again publicly shames his attorney general, calling his handling of an investigation "disgraceful." But this time, Jeff Sessions is biting back, saying he'll act with integrity and honor; and his department will be fair and impartial. And examining Trump's past. As former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleads "not guilty" and gets a trial date, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is digging deeper into the president's own past, including his business dealings in Russia before launching his campaign. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in</s>THE SITUATION ROOM. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BLITZER: Breaking news, White House communications director Hope Hicks is resigning. The announcement coming just a day after she refused to answer some questions in the House Intelligence Committee's Russia probe while conceding she at some times told white lies in her White House job. As the special counsel closes in on the Trump inner circle, CNN learns Robert Mueller is looking at the president's business dealings in Russia before his 2016 campaign. And a source says presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner feels everyone is out to get him after being stripped of his top-secret security clearance. The president is again turning on his attorney general, calling his performance at the Justice Department "disgraceful." But Jeff Sessions is pushing back, saying he'll do his job according to the law and the Constitution. I'll speak with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of the Judiciary Committee. And our correspondents and specialists, they are all standing by with full coverage. First, let's go straight to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, for the breaking news. Jim, is Hope Hicks' departure a major surprise?</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is a huge surprise, and this is definitely one of the biggest departures for this administration thus far. Hope Hicks, the communications director for the president but also a close confidante and aide of Donald Trump even before he was president of the United States, announcing today that she is stepping down, the White House putting out multiple statements: from the president, from Hope Hicks, from the White House chief of staff, John Kelly. We can put up a statement from the president up on screen and then explain more on this. This is a statement from the president on Hope Hicks leaving. He says, "Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person." And the statement goes on to say, "I will miss having her by my side, but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure" -- and this statement goes on -- "we'll work together in the future." That perhaps may be an indication, Wolf, that perhaps she may have some role in his upcoming 2020 campaign. We don't have any word on that, but it is interesting that the president would say that at the end of that statement. Wolf, I just spoke with a White House official in the last several minutes who cautioned that had there is, quote, "nothing nefarious" about Hope Hicks leaving the White House. This official went on to say it is not about Rob Porter, that relationship she had with the person -- the staff secretary here at the White House who stepped down amid allegations of domestic abuse. This official went on to say it was not about yesterday's hearing up on Capitol Hill. Hope Hicks testifying in front of the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors and telling lawmakers during that session that she had to, from time to time, tell little white lies, as she put it, on behalf of President Trump. This White House official I spoke to said this was not about that, as well. In terms of a replacement for Hope Hicks, this official said they are not there yet. Although Mercedes Schlapp, who is also in the communications shop here at the White House, she has been filling that role from time to time as Hicks has been dealing with so many different issues, testifying up on Capitol Hill, dealing with the Rob Porter scandal, even talking with the special counsel's office. And this official went on to say that Hicks will be here for a period of weeks. She's not leaving in the near future, certainly sometime soon. But not, certainly, by the end of the week. That she'll be here for a period of weeks and that during that period, they'll be working on a replacement for Hope Hicks. Wolf, it goes without saying that Hope Hicks is perhaps the closest White House aide who is not part of the president's family. She is often at the president's side talking to him about various issues. Not just issues of the day here at the White House but his dealings with the news media and so on. We've had many dealings with Hope Hicks behind the scenes over here at the White House. And so he counts her as a very close and trusted confidante. And I don't think you can overstate how big of a departure this is for the president. This is like losing a member of the family over here at the White House for the president, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Yes, it's a huge, huge deal. Stand by, Jim. I want to get back to you in a moment. But I want to get some more now on the stunning development over at the White House. Our White House reporter, Kaitlan Collins, has been working the story for us, as well. What else are you learning, Kaitlan?</s>KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly stunning. It's actually surprised a lot of people inside the White House, because Hope Hicks, I'm told, only told a very small group of people that she was actually going to depart. People had known for a few weeks that she had been considering it. She first seriously started considering it, I'm told, after the fallout from that Rob Porter scandal. The person, the staff secretary that she was romantically involved in. And that was one of the few times that we saw President Trump grow frustrated with Hope, because he felt during that period that she let her relationship with Porter cloud her judgment and therefore put her own priorities ahead of the president's there. So certainly, the first time we saw them but, as Jim said, that is certainly not the only reason that Hope Hicks is now departing. But she has been in the spotlight much more recently. Her personal life, her role in this White House has really been in the spotlight. Certainly very much so. But what this -- what's significant about this is not what it means for Hope Hicks but what it means for President Trump. She is one of the very few people left in his actual inner circle that was still here in the West Wing. And her presence in the West Wing is something very significant. Other staffers know that, though she was technically the communications director, she actually wore a lot of hats in this White House. And she didn't often even leave the White House to go to lunch or meet people, because the president often would just yell for her from the Oval Office, "Hope, get in here." We'd talk to her. She was present for a lot of interviews that the president had. He would go back and forth with her about how significant his campaign was. So certainly, a very big person to the president in this White House. And now what we have, Keith Schiller has left. Hope Hicks is leaving. His two children, Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, their status in the West Wing is highly questionable, and people don't believe they'll be there for the long term. And Dan Scavino is really the only person who is in the president's inner circle that has been around the president for several years that is left in the West Wing with Hope Hicks' departure.</s>BLITZER: She was also involved in the drafting of that statement following the controversial Trump Tower meeting in New York that the president's son and others, Paul Manafort, had with Russians, and that statement that was released by the White House was misleading.</s>COLLINS: Right. That's why there were so many questions surrounding her appearance in front of the House Intelligence Committee yesterday, because Hope Hicks knows so much. She has been there for the president. She helps him draft statements and all of those things. And she certainly has played a large role in the campaign and in this White House. So it's incredibly significant that she's leaving, but it's also incredibly significant that she did not answer those questions surrounding the drafting of that statement, which initially said that meeting was about adoption, not about getting dirt on Hillary Clinton. But she certainly has been there from day one with everyone in this White House.</s>BLITZER: The timing of this announcement is amazing, coming the day after she spent nine hours behind closed doors, answering questions, refusing to answer some questions about her time in the White House before members of the House Intelligence Committee. The timing is awkward, to put it mildly.</s>COLLINS: Certainly. And this is very surprising to a lot of people in the White House. I can't overstate just how surprising this is. Very few people knew. But clearly, the White House was ready to go with their statement from her, from Hope Hicks; from the president; from several officials, ready to go once "The New York Times" did break this story. But this is certainly stunning to a lot of people in the West Wing.</s>BLITZER: And her acknowledgment that she told some white lies in the course of her job as director of communications and earlier in the campaign on behalf of the president. We don't know what those white lies are. But everybody, all the serious journalists in Washington are looking to find out what those, quote, "white lies" were.</s>COLLINS: Certainly.</s>BLITZER: Kaitlan stand by. I want to quickly go back to the White House. The president focusing in on gun control today as the Russia investigation continues to take a heavy toll on his White House. I want to bring back our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, to bring us up to date. What's the latest, Jim?</s>ACOSTA: Well, we thought this was going to be the most remarkable thing to happen at the White House today, Wolf. And that was this frank exchange the president had with lawmakers of both parties inside the White House about the issue of gun control. At one point, the Republican told a Republican lawmaker, "You're afraid of the NRA." But the lawmakers were also dishing back at the president, insisting to him that, unless he stands up to the NRA, nothing will get done.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to act.</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): This time, President Trump promised new gun- control measure are on the way. But first, he professed his love to his lawmakers from both parties gathered at the White House.</s>TRUMP: I see some folks that don't say nice things about me. And that's OK. Because if you turn that into this energy, I'll love you. I don't care.</s>ACOSTA: The president then vowed action is coming. First on the use of bump stocks, attachments that effectively turn semiautomatic rifles into machine guns.</s>TRUMP: I'm going to write it out, and we'll have that done pretty quickly.</s>ACOSTA: Mr. Trump then reaffirmed his interest in raising the age limit to 21 for purchasing some firearms after some waffling from the White House on the issue.</s>TRUMP: I think it's something you have to think about. So I'll tell you what: I'm going to give it a lot of consideration.</s>ACOSTA: Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein showed the president data that shows how the assault weapons ban passed in the '90s cut down on gun deaths.</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: When it ended, you see it going up.</s>ACOSTA: Also on the table was the influence of the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby closely tied to the president.</s>TRUMP: I'm the biggest fan of the Second Amendment. Many of you are. I'm a big fan of the NRA. But I had lunch with them, with Wayne and Chris and David on Sunday, and said, "It's time. We've got to stop this nonsense. It's time."</s>SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: The reason that nothing has gotten done here is because the gun lobby has had a veto power over any legislation that comes before Congress.</s>ACOSTA: On the proposal to expand background checks sponsored by senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey, the president criticized the measures GOP sponsor Toomey as fearful of the</s>NRA. TRUMP: You know what? Because you're afraid of the</s>NRA. ACOSTA: The president also made the stunning comment that people with mental health issues should have their firearms confiscated.</s>TRUMP: A lot of times, by the time you go to court torsion get due process procedures. I like taking the guns early. Take the guns first, go through due process second.</s>ACOSTA: The president staged the gun discussion as the West Wing is still trying to get a handle on why so many of its top aides lack top- secret security clearances. Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, recently had his clearance status downgraded from top-secret to secret. But CNN has learned other White House staffers have been notified their clearances were bumped down, as well. That's despite promises from the president during the campaign to properly handle classified material.</s>TRUMP: This was not just extreme carelessness with classified material, which is still totally disqualifying. This is calculated, deliberate, premeditated misconduct. If elected, Hillary Clinton would become first president of the United States who wouldn't be able to pass a background check.</s>ACOSTA: Another headaches for the president appears to be Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his handling of alleged abuses in the Russia investigation. The president tweeted: "Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the inspector general to investigate? Will take forever. Why not use Justice Department lawyers? Disgraceful." Sessions announced he's letting the Justice Department's inspector general to look into it.</s>JEFF SESSIONS, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the high standard in the FISA court. And yes, it will be investigated. And I think that's just the appropriate thing. The inspector general will take that as one of the matters he'll deal with.</s>ACOSTA: Today Sessions fired back at the president's tweet with a blunt statement: "As long as I'm the attorney general, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner, according to the law and Constitution."</s>ACOSTA: Now getting back to the gun discussion over here at the White House, Wolf, we should also point out that the president at times during that meeting seemed to show that he did not have much of a command over the gun issue. At one point, he indicated he did not know what the Manchin-Toomey bill entailed, when of course, most people in Washington know it's about expanding background checks. At one point the president went on to say that Barack Obama, the former president, did not do enough to advance that legislation. That is simply not the case. President Obama, as we know, after the Sandy Hook massacre up in Connecticut, advocated strongly for the passage of that bill. It did not garner enough votes in the Senate, including some red-state Democrats, who voted against that legislation. At another point during the gun discussion over here at the White House, Wolf, the president seemed to say that, had there been an armed person inside the Pulse nightclub massacre down in Orlando a couple of years ago, that that was a result of -- that would have resulted in perhaps fewer lives being lost. If somebody inside that nightclub had been armed. Wolf, you can go back and look at the details from that massacre. There was an armed police officer who was off-duty but there on the scene and certainly could have been somebody who made a difference. He tried to exchange gunfire with that gunman at that time. But it was not enough. So the president seemed to be a little bit off in terms of his information on that. And at the same time, Wolf, we should also point out, the president has had discussions like this with lawmakers before. Remember: it was in January, early January when the president had a discussion with lawmakers from both parties about the issue of DACA, the deferred action program for immigrants who came into this country as children. The president said during that meeting that he could take the heat, that he wanted to have lawmakers give him a bill. The result of that meeting was essentially nothing. They had that discussion, but no legislation was passed, and the president ever since then has blamed Democrats for failing to take action on that issue -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Jim Acosta with the very latest at the White House. Thank you. There's more breaking news we're following. President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty today to the latest charges from the special counsel, Robert Mueller, including money laundering, conspiracy and making false statements about his foreign lobbying. He faces a trial date in September. Let's go to our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto. Jim, we're also learning learning that Mueller may be looking more closely into Trump-Russia ties in the years leading up to his run for president.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Myself and my colleagues were told by a number of sources aware of questions asked of witnesses before the special counsel that he's now asking questions about Trump's activities, business activities, travel to Russia in 2013 and 2014 before he formally announced his run for president. And among the things they've been asking about there are specific business deals, including the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, as well as unsuccessful discussions to brand a Trump Tower Moscow, extending the questions in the lines of inquiry, the special counsel, to prior to the campaign actually started. Keep in mind the special counsel's remit is not only to investigate Russian meddling in the election but also ties between Trump associates and Russians and, by that remit, anything that may also come up over the course of the investigation that's relevant, and that's where he's going now. One of the key questions is, due to these business dealings and due to the fact -- due to the fact that they happen at the same time that the president was deciding, making a decision about running for president, it raises the question as to whether Russia was attempting to exert any influence over the president as he was making that decision.</s>BLITZER: Because, as you point out, some questions have touched on the possibility of what is described as compromising information that the Russians may have, or claimed to have, about President Trump.</s>SCIUTTO: That's right. I was told by a source that one of the witnesses was interviewed, asked questions about that Kompromat, as it is known in Russian, compromising information that Russia claims to have. That does not mean that that information is corroborated or confirmed but questions being -- being asked there. And I should mention, of course, that the first we ahead about that compromising information, or the possibility that Russians may have it or threatened to have it, was in what's known as the Steele dossier, this collection of memos put together by a former -- a former British intelligence agent. And we should mention that the money behind that dossier was basically opposition research. And it was at the time paid for by the Democratic National Committee and others supporting the candidacy of Hillary Clinton.</s>BLITZER: Jim Sciutto with the very latest. Thanks very much. Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee. Congressman, thanks for coming in.</s>REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: Thanks for having me, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Let me get back to the breaking news, the White House communications director, Hope Hicks, resigning. Do you believe the resignation is related to this overall Russia investigation?</s>JEFFRIES: Absolutely. You know, another day, another scandal, another resignation in the Trump White House. What else is new? What we've seen from the very beginning of this administration is nothing but chaos, crisis and confusion. And of course, her resignation is related to the fact that, just yesterday, she was before the Intelligence Committee and acknowledged -- acknowledged telling lies on behalf of the Trump administration.</s>BLITZER: She called them white lies.</s>JEFFRIES: She called them white lies, but they're still lies. To the American people. That, in and of itself, is disqualifying.</s>BLITZER: You think that in and of itself?</s>JEFFRIES: Well, I think largely, she was one of Donald Trump's closest associates throughout the campaign and into the administration. And the evidence continues to mount that there was an apparent conspiracy between some members of the Trump campaign and Russian spies to sell out our democracy and then engage in a possible cover-up. And Hope Hicks appears to be connected to all of those particular elements. That ultimately may be the reason why she's out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.</s>BLITZER: Apparently, according to the reports, she's been thinking about this for a while, but the curious thing is the announcement was made a day after nine hours of testimony by her behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee. We're continuing to dig on that. Let's get through some other issues while I have you, Congressman. Is digging into President Trump's business dealings, prior business dealings before he became a candidate for president, is that fair game for the special counsel, Robert Mueller?</s>JEFFRIES: Absolutely. What you have is three different elements of this criminal investigation. You have the money laundering that may have taken place prior to the campaign. You have the possible criminal conspiracy that took place during the campaign to undermine our democracy in partnership with Russian spies. And then you have the obstruction of justice that took place afterward. In order to get to the criminal conspiracy, you have to understand motive and intent. And a possible motive and intent was a pre- existing relationship with people closely associated with Russia, possibly engaged in money laundering, which would be a criminal violation. If that, in fact, did occur, that may provide a link to the actual collusion that subsequently took place during the campaign.</s>BLITZER: Yes, he has said in that interview in the "New York Times" a few months ago, that any investigation by Mueller of his personal financial business dealings, long before he became a candidate, that would cross a red line to be inappropriate. But I want to get to some other issues. You're on the Judiciary Committee. The president really went after the attorney general of the United States, Jeff Sessions today. I'll read the tweet. We put it up there. This is an official presidential statement: "Why is the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, asking the inspector general at the Justice Department to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse?" The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse -- "Will take forever. Has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey, et cetera. Isn't the I.G." -- inspector general -- "an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? Disgraceful." What do you make of this public humiliation of his attorney general?</s>JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, Trump obviously understands -- misunderstands clearly the role of the attorney general. The attorney general is the people's attorney; the White House counsel is the president's attorney. And so Jeff Sessions is correct in following procedures in this instance as it relates to the investigation. But this is all part of the dysfunction that we've seen in the Trump White House. Sessions is fighting with Trump. Trump is fighting with Bannon. Bannon is fighting with Kushner. Kushner is fighting with Kelly. Kelly's fighting with Scaramucci. And you know who loses at the end of the day, Wolf? The American people.</s>BLITZER: Because he's fighting back right now, Sessions. He says the inspector general's investigation is an appropriate process and the inspector general, Michael Horowitz, he could come up with his conclusions and recommend prosecution if he feels that's appropriate. That's the normal way that things are done.</s>JEFFRIES: Well, you know what? At the end of the day, here's what is really disgraceful. Donald Trump continues to refuse to release his taxes to the American people. That's disgraceful. He fired the FBI director in the middle of a criminal investigation into his campaign. That's disgraceful. He refuses to do anything about the continuing Russian attacks on our democracy in advance of the mid-term elections. That's disgraceful. When Donald Trump tweets things like what he did this morning, it's all designed to be a distraction, and we're not going to fall into that trap.</s>BLITZER: But can the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, really do his job if he doesn't have the confidence of the president? The president really was angry at him when he recused himself as far as the Russia probe is concerned.</s>JEFFRIES: Well, it would be very difficult for him to be able to do his job. But at the end of the day, I think Senator Grassley, the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has previously gone on record to say that, if Sessions is forced out, there's a lot of things that we've got to do in Congress, and he has no intention of holding a hearing to confirm a new attorney general. So Donald Trump may be trapped.</s>BLITZER: I want to put up on the screen some of the criticisms that the president has lashed against Sessions. Look at this. You can see some of the words he's used: idiot, beleaguered, very weak, very disappointed with him, he did a terrible thing, and now "DISGRACEFUL!" -- all caps with an exclamation point. Those are comments the president has made. Yet Sessions continues on the job. Some are suggesting the president has done that. He wants him out so he can name someone else who would be more supportive, shall we say?</s>JEFFRIES: Well, this actually may be part of a continuing pattern to obstruct justice and to shape the Mueller investigation in a matter that could inure to Trump's benefit. That would be problematic. What I also find problematic, Wolf, is the fact that Donald Trump is attacking his own attorney general, one of his best friends, closest allies on the campaign trail, his earliest endorser from the United States Senate. He's attacked our allies in this country. Attacked Great Britain. Attacked Canada, attacked France, attacked Germany, attacked Mexico, attacked Australia. He can't say a single negative word about Vladimir Putin. That fundamentally is the problem. And this back and forth with Jeff Sessions illustrates the dramatic double standard that he has.</s>BLITZER: Yes. Hakeem Jeffries, thanks, as usual, for coming in. We appreciate it very much.</s>JEFFRIES: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: There's breaking news we're following. The White House communications director, Hope Hicks, is stepping down a day after being grilled by lawmakers in the Russia probe, stonewalling when questioned about her time in the White House. And President Trump stuns lawmakers by seeming to embrace some strict gun-control measures.</s>MURPHY: Mr. President, it's going to have to be you that brings the Republicans to the table on this, because right now the gun lobby would stop it in its tracks.</s>TRUMP: I like that responsibility, Chris. I really do. I think it's time; it's time that a president stepped up.