the music causing problems. it's usually what people bring when listening to it. >> it doesn't mean that's how you have to enjoy the concerts or enjoy the show but there are always young people who are going to experiment, who are going to mix things. that's gone on for decades and decades. >> well, td garden was cited for serving alcohol to minors. they released a statement saying they take the matter very seriously and their thoughts on the guests were hospitalized, they've implemented added security and measures to restrict alcohol sales. >> jason, thank you. now here is wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> jim, thanks very much. happening now -- >> what i didn't hear in that was an apology. >> i don't think an apology is owed. >> in the hot seat, he's at the center of a growing scandal over his agency's targeting of conservative group. i'll speak with the irs commissioner. 500 americans, roughly the

number of u.s. troops now already on the ground in baghdad. they're trying to learn if iraq's military can withstand the insurgent onslaught as the militants take aim as an extraordinary new target. and grilling donald sterling. his clients have included the beatles, michael jackson, tom cruise, and john travolta. and now the legendary lawyer burt fields will cross-examine the clippers owner and join us to talk about that can this hour. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he's the man in the hot seat of a house republican investigation, but as yet to break a sweat. the irs commissioner john cos kanaan is no stranger to washington and now finds himself at the center of the scandal over the agency's targeting of conservative groups. john kaskey nen will join us but

first, here's tom foreman. >> i don't believe it. >> why should anyone believe you? >> what i didn't hear in that was an apology. >> i don't think an apology is owed. >> amid the storm of congressional outrage and accusations, there he sat serene as a saint. irss commissioner john koskinen. >> if you have evidence of that, i'd be happy to see it. >> i asked a question. >> i answered it. >> throwing jabs and making jokes. >> i did not say i would provide you e-mails that disappeared. if you have maj calloway for me to do that, i'd be happy to know it. >> the white house could not have picked a bretter brawler. he was traned in law at yale. he worked for a connecticut senator and deputy mayor of washington, d.c. during a financial crisis. what he likes most, however, are seemingly lost causes. he helped bring the world cup to the u.s. in '94 when many americans had never watched a match. president clinton tacked him with saving the nation's computers from what was feared

to be a y2k meltdown. >> i expect we will experience nos major national breakdowns. >> he headed fan i mack when it was spinning out of control. >> we asked for all the e-mails. >> you're going to get hundreds of thousands of pages of irrelevant documents. >> to interrogators he seems maddeningly unflappable. >> you've heard the phrase foliation of evidence, haven't you? >> i can't recall ever hearing it. >> it's true in administrative, civil hearings, criminal hearings. >> i practiced law once 45 years ago. gave it up for lent one year and never went back. >> when asked why he lacks evidence of lois lerner's actions from some years back. >> i have no evidence whether she beat her dog or her children or a whole series of things. >> he's not above giving his opinion whenever he thinks someone needs it. >> i have a long career. that's the first anybody has said they don't believe me. >> i don't believe you. >> that's fine. >> and the irs commissioner john koskinen is here with me in "the

situation room." thanks very much for coming in. you got a little smile there. somebody like paul ryan an cues you of being a liar, that's a pretty serious allegation. >> well, it is a serious allegation. we take the entire question seriously from the start. as i said when i began the improper criteria used to highlight organizations for investigation just bynaire name was a mistake. i apologize to anybody who had their applications held up needlessly. everybody needs to be confident that the irs is going to treat them fairly, republicans, democrats, whatever organization they belong to. it's a serious matter. >> it's a very are serious matter. the president initially said it was outrageous. the attorney general said it was outrageous. >> you've been commissioner since december. all this happened before you became the commissioner. when you were grilled up on the hill, the testimony, a lot of stuff you didn't know the answer to, right? what's the biggest question mark

in your mind right now? what do you need answered? >> right now, we're continuing to look at what other hard drives failed back in 2011, '12, and '13. we've hadded 2,000 failures already this year. as we were completing can investigation of how many e-mails we had and what happened to any not there we still need to run to ground who else was affected by this and what was the impact of it. >> because this looks fishy. as you know, the appearance is awful for the irs right now. lois lerner who ran this audit division of tax exempt organizations, the one who pled pleds the fifth, refusing to cooperate which is her constitutional right as we all know, her computer hard drive all of her e-mails crashed ten days after the chairman of the house ways and means committee dave kemp wrote a letter asking for specific information. all of a sudden, her e-mails disappeared. that looks suspicious, right?

>> it is suspicious. when we uncovered it, we pursued evidence to try to figure out what happened. we found a train of e-mails that the congress has had for some time that noted that they worked extraordinarily hard to try to recover those e-mails. we also know that the crash occurred in june but we have e-mails from april of 2011. so it was clear that people weren't wiping out e-mails and we were able to find 24,000 e-mails from this period. so they all have not been lost. >> but the u.s. archivist who testified before the hill, you saw him probably testify, he said the irs in his words did not follow the law in preserving documents as required by the statute for public and official records. so someone broke the law. >> the irs is run antiquated response to the records act which everyone treats seriously because of the e-mail system. official records and communications are printed out in hard copies. all of the information about taxpayers and their files are

saved separately. >> one of your predecessors, shouldn't someone be blamed for this antiquated awful system that allowed official official records to disappear? >> i think the ig is the investigating all of the issues about the hard drive crash. my approach when i parachute into these things is try to fix the problems rather than to figure out who to blame. sometime for us, i asked to review exactly how the e-mail system runs and whether we couldn't convert to a more searchable and retainable e-mail system and said we need to respond to the concerns confident archivist who came out with an interesting suggestion for agencies struggling moving forward into an electronic e-mail system, they should take the senior people and make sure all e-mails are preserved. if an e-mail is lost it doesn't mean we've lost at official record. >> the appearance looks really ugly. don't you think there should be a much more serious recent investigation, an outside

special prosecutor, for example, fbi should come in and take a close look, especially given the appearance of wrongdoing? >> the congress has asked the ip inspector general, the treasury inspector general for tax administration to do an investigation. he's working very hard at it. we've given him access to all the people, all the e-mails. he's trying to get at least an interim or the out in the next few weeks. the appropriate way to proceed is let's see what the ig finds out. we've provided all the information we have about it including the fact they tried to retain her e-mails. we'll provide everybody with all of the 24,000 had e-mails we found together with the 43,000 thereafter. we need to see what we know and then proceed. >> because the fact that lois lerner's e-mails disappeared and she's at the heart of it, the woman who pled the fifth, that looks awful. i think everybody will agree. the appearance is awful. >> it's a serious matter. i've been around washington a long time. when evidence is not available,

it's. >> potentially criminal? >> i don't know whether it's criminal or not. certainly we need to get to the bottom of it. >> worthy of a criminal investigation. >> i don't think at this time there's any evidence that. if she were destroying e-mails she wouldn't have kept making them. all the e-mails you've been reading were all e-mails she wrote we provided. >> here's another suggestion. there were these reports, the irs did have a contract with a private company son na soft that would keep a backup of all of these e-mails but during the period of the missing e-mails suddenly that contract was suddenly canceled. what was up with that? >> it's a problem with piecemeal information getting out. that contract turned out to be for the 3,000 employees in the chief counsel's office. it didn't retain records off site. it allowed it as a disaster recovery systemtom move e-mails from one server to another. >> why was is canceled? >> the because the chief counsel as office went to windows 2010

and the functionality. >> why not get a different backup system? >> the chief counsel's office at that time determined they had everything that the outside contractor would provide. at that time, it was possible that somebody could have decided we need a better backup system for the whole agency. two years ago, the irs tried to figure out what would it cost to have a better e-mail agency. >> here's what a lot of people pointed out to us. sar baens oxley, you're familiar where that law, private companies, they have to retain e-mail data for five years. you're familiar with that, right. >> i'm familiar with sarbanes. >> it's a criminal penalty if they don't. why wouldn't public companies have to do that, why wouldn't the can irs have to retain important e-mails for five years as opposed to six months? they were recycling their hard drives every six months or so. that sounds suspicious. >> the irs process is every important official record is supposed to be printed out.

we have 2,000 employees trained to make sure that happens. so the official records of the irs are printed out and saved in hard copy and are preserved. the e-mails are not official records. so at this point, the policy for the irs is to print them out. that's antiquated program. we're looking at trying to modernize it. >> i've got a ton of followers. i asked for suggested questions. i got a variation of this one by a lot of folks. this one from t.g. parker. why shouldn't taxpayers use the crashed hard drive excuse when undergoing an irs audit? >> i number of them have done that. the question has been is there a dual standard the irs has 20,000 lois lerner's e-mails. we have historically said if you have other evidence of what went on, we'll taking that from you. if you lose a document, it doesn't mean you lose the argument. we work with taxpayers to say we'll look at other evidence like the 24,000 e-mails and if

we can find any evidence to support your case and in fact, if the circumstances support your case, we'll support you and you won't have any problem. >> you're a democrat. you've given money to democratic causes, democratic candidates including the president of the united states. so the suggestion is you're not going to be objective in this kind of investigation. reassure the american people you're not going to let your partisanship interfere with this investigation? >> i've never been a political or partisan operative. i was asked by the bush administration to come in and work on freddie mac. >> you did contribute to the obama campaign. >> i've contributed for the last 40 or 50 years. many of them friends. at this point in my career, it's not my intention at all to play games with the congress. my goal is help restore people's faith in a critical institution for the corrupt, the irs. people need to feel comfortable that it's not a politicized agency that, it treats people fairly no matter who they are. >> because a lot of democrats think this is just a partisan

witch hunt. imagine if this were a republican administration that had the irs allegedly go after liberal organizations to question their tax exempt status applications, democratic oriented oriented organizations and all of a sudden the person in charge of that division decides to plea the fifth and a lot of e-mails are suddenly missing. if this were a republican administration, wouldn't the democrats be underbly outraged? >> i don't know but this investigation started out on the hill as you said, a political review of did the white house, did the treasury department, the administration drive this. last week the white house noted had no e-mails from miss lerner. treasury turned over all of its lerner e-mails. nobody has turned up an e-mail that says anybody outside of the irs was involved. >> a lot of those e-mails are missing from. >> not from the white house or treasury. >> but from from lerner.

>> they have e-mails she sent to the people in the agency. >> even though it's her right 0 plead the fifth, doesn't that look fishy? doesn't that look weird? if she did nothing wrong, why does she have something to hide? >> she and her lawyer took the fifth. our responsibility is to find evidence, produce it to and share it with the six investigations going on. now the ig is doing a seventh one. we've cooperated with everybody. nobody wants this to end sooner than i do. whatever the facts are, i've said we'll deal with them and the recommendations. >> why not let a special prosecutor investigate. >> at this point after six investigations now the seventh. >> but a special prosecutor can do stuff that an ig can't do and others can't do. >> listen, nothing has stopped this congress from subpoenaing records, interviewing people. they are not doing anything more than a special prosecutor would. i've said before, if the six investigations on the hill and the justice department and the

ig can't find things out, it will be surprising to me. it would seem to me as i've said in the past a significant waste of taxpayer dollarses. we need to get to the bottom of this. we need to get information out. it's a serious question. >> you don't want the irs to getting involved in political witch hunts for political reasons. if that occurred, that's outrageous. >> i couldn't agree more. any time anyone even suggests internally or externally the irs be used for political purposes, that's outrageous. >> you saw the an e-mail suggesting chuck grassley should be audited because of an invitation he got to attend some event. maybe his wife could go along. >> for years the irs had programs that make it impossible for nel individual to start an exam. that's a proposal that i support strongly. >> was she write to write that e-mail? let's take a look at chuck grassley. >> i can't talk about any

taxpayer issues but as i read the e-mail in the press, it's not clear whether she was suggesting the organization should be examined or the senator should be. at this point let me just say no individual then or now has the ability to cause an exam to start. the vast majority of our exams are all done statistically in terms of going forward. there are protections. before an exam starts, several people have to sign off. no individual has the right, the authority and should be allowed to start an exam. >> are you happy you took this job? this job has been perhaps more interesting than i agreed that i should have read the fine print of the contract more closely. >> if you had to do it over again, would you say to the president, no thanks. >> i'd take it in a minute. this agency is critical, and it touches virtually every american and every taxpayer. i think if you believe in public service, the opportunity to try to help it through this time to restore the faith of the public that it is in fact nonpolitical,

that its job is tax administration was too an important an opportunity to pass up. >> in the end, i'll leave you on this, in the end that is critical. we all know the important work the irs does. to reassure the american people it's doing the right thing, maybe an independent counsel or special prosecutor is needed to clean this up for good? >> i think we've got enough investigations going if the congress, justice department and inspector general don't come up with all the answers i'll be surprised. i've been encouraging the investigators to let us know what they need. we need to get to closure so everyone will know what the facts were and what the recommendations are. >> john koskinen, good of you to come in and answer our questions. >> delighted to be here. >> up next, some iraqis turn out to join the army. others are backing the insurgents. can their military withstand the onslaught? nearly 500 american troops are now in baghdad. and it's been a tug of war between the president and the

congress, but the u.s. supreme court just lined up on the lawmakers' side with a major ruling against the obama administration. she keeps you on your toes. you wouldn't have it any other way. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bpeo frequently or urgently.

tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about experiencing cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial.

but we're not in the business of naming names. the volkswagen passat is heads above the competition, the fact is, it comes standard with an engine that's been called the benchmark of its class. really, guys, i thought... it also has more rear legroom than other midsize sedans. and the volkswagen passat has a lower starting price than... much better. vo: hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for $199 a month. visit vwdealer.com today.

[ female announcer ] we love our smartphones. and now telcos using hp big data solutions are feeling the love, too. by offering things like on-the-spot data upgrades -- an idea that reduced overcharge complaints by 98%. no matter how fast your business needs to adapt, if hp big data solutions can keep wireless customers smiling, imagine what they can do for yours. make it matter.

as iraq spirals into sectarian warfare, many are answering the call of the country's prime minister as shiite religious leaders to turn out for the iraqi military. but will iraq's army stand up to the relentless advance by isis insurgents and their sunni allies? that's the question u.s. troops, a growing number of them are trying to answer on the ground in iraq. here's our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> wolf, the question right now is can the u.s. military get the

iraqi military to get its act together in time. in baghdad, nearly 500 u.s. troops are now on the ground. including 180 military advisors, of the 300 president obama authorizeded, plus security teams and intelligence analysts already there. priority one, determine if iraqi troops can hold onto the capital or if it's in danger of falling to the isis oos militants. the current assessment? the shia-dominated iraqi military will keep control. the sunni backed isis won't risk an all-out urban war but there is deep worry about the strength of iraqi forces across the country. >> well what we need to see is the army get back on its feet. we have folks trying to help the elite units do that. but the situation on the ground is still very serious. >> iraq's haditha damn northwest

of the baghdad may be the most critical target to protect. they're battling for control of the largest hydroelectric plant in western iraq. government forces are holding onto the dam but u.s. intelligence is watching closely. isis seizes the dam, water and power for millions of iraqis is in jeopardy. prime minister nuri al maliki now says he's happy to have syrian air strikes against isis. >> translator: there was no coordination involved, but we welcome this action. >> the u.s. does not welcome what it says were syrian air strikes that reached inside iraq. cnn has learned u.s. aircraft flying reconnaissance missions over iraq to collect intelligence are keeping an eye out for both syrian warplanes and iranian drones and keeping an eye on threats against stay with us military advisors.

this video message pur poredly from a sunni cleric calls for attacks against u.s. embassies worldwide if the u.s. conducts air strikes in iraq. now, the pentagon has sent one army general to baghdad to run the advisory mission there. earmarked another general to go to northern iraq if that part of the mission ever begins to take place. this is a lot of muscle power, wolf, for whatever may come next. >> barbara, we're also learning the obama administration will seek $500 million from congres to start training syrian rebels. moderate syrian rebels. what's the latest on that front? >> not entirely clear what that training will exactly comprise but it's still the same issue, wolf. who is the moderate syrian opposition? there are so many factions now fighting in that country, including of course, isis the same faction fighting across the border in iraq. it couldn't be more complex. very difficult to see a way ahead there.

>> barbara, thanks very much. ukrainian officials say that despite a cease-fire, their security forces came under attack today in the eastern city of donetsk. a russian separatist hot bed. the cease fire declared by the news president expires tomorrow but in an interview with christiane amanpour, president petro poroshenko says negotiations with separatists will continue even as he signs a cooperation agreement with the european union. that's the very issue that sparked the bloody crisis in his country. watch this. >> what do you think president putin -- you've spoken to him on the phone yesterday. i assume you were having several of telephone conversations with him around this important time right now. what do you think he wants? are you the person who can forge a peace deal with him? >> i'm ready to make a peace deal with anybody. i want to bring the peace to my corrupt, not because we are weak but because we are less -- we

are ready to defend my country because i hate it the idea not to use the last opportunity to bring the peace to the region. sometimes the position of mr. putin is quite dramatic. sometimes it is very emotional. i tried to find out the time when he's more pragmatic than emotional. >> meantime, the secretary of state john kerry is turning up heat on russia saying it faces tougher sanctions if it does not act within, quote, hours to crockdown on the separatists. coming up, the supreme court sides with congress in a high stakes power struggle with the president. jeff toobin is standing by. and a cnn exclusive. his clients included the beatles, michael jackson, tom cruise, and john travolta. now the legendary lawyer burt fields will cross examines l.a. clippers owner donald sterling. he'll be here in "the situation room" first to talk about it. stay with us. we'll be right back. ♪

the last four hours have seen... one child fail to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane... his shoes! and a third simply doesn't want to be here. ♪ until now... until right booking now. ♪ planet earth's number one accomodation site booking.com booking.yeah!

humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call...

to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? radio announcer: it's mattrebulldog:unters that cloud reminds me of... radio announcer: a queen size serta pillow top mattress... bulldog: that's it! radio announcer: now on sale for just $597. bulldog: that's a ringer of a deal! radio announcer: mattress discounters 4th of july sale ends soon.

could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. certainly been a tug of war between president obama and the congress. a high stakes power struggle

over presidential recess appointments. those top jobs the president fills when congress isn't around here in washington. that's fairly often. but in a ruling announced today, all nine supreme court justices lined up behind the lawmakers. our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin is here not often that there's a unanimous decision. this is pretty significant setback for the white house. >> definitely because the republicans in the senate have held up a lot of the president's appointees. one way he responded was through the recess appointments. what the court said unanimously today is what you president obama calls a recess is not really a recess. so those appointments made in this case specifically to the national labor relation board are invalid and all the actions taken by the nlrb during that time are invalid. >> that's a huge deal. it's unconstitutional. but all presidents have done what are called these recess appointments. let me put up on the screen,

reagan did 240rks george h.w. bush 77, bill clinton 139, george w. bush, 171, barack obama only 32 so far. some notable recess appointments include the late president when he was a general, dwight eisenhower, the justice thurgood marshall is, earl warren, alan greenspan, the former federal reserve chair. the supreme court today said there are recess appointments and there are recess appointments. they were ruling against one type of recess appointments. >> this tug of war has been going on for a long time. what the republicans have done is have tried to keep the senate in session for longer for so that these recess appointments could not take place. what the obama administration said was those -- that's not real that those are actually not -- the senate is not really in session. they're really in recess so i can make these appointments.

supreme court said no. the senate can make its own rules and the senate says they're in session, they're in session. >> even between let's say between christmas and new years they could have one senator show up for 15 seconds, gavel, we're in session. 15 seconds later saying gavel, we'll go out of session. we'll take a break. the supreme court ruled that is not a sham. they are in session if that's the rule of the united states senate. >> even the republican house of representatives can effectively keep the senate in session. so even though the democrats control the senate, the republicans can keep the senate in session. that means the president's going to have a hard time doing more recess appointments. >> the white house said they were disappointed but would harn the unanimous decision. the liberal and conservative justices, all nine. >> one more day. hobby lobby the last case will be decided. >> that will be monday. then they go on vacation.

>> all summer. >> thank you. tonight cn florida's original series "the '60s" returns with the story of men and women who never fired a shot but blazed the trail for civil rights. joinc nn or set your dvr for "the 60s, a long march to freedom," tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. watch this. >> i say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. ♪ something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear ♪ >> we're manching today to dramatize to the nation hundreds and thousands of any grow citizens of alabama denied the right to vote. >> we're willing to be beaten for democracy and you must use democracy in the streets. >> we are confronted primarily with a moral issue. >> do you think you can keep birmingham in the present situation of segregation? >> i may not be able to do it but i'll die trying. >> i thought we were going to be

arrested and when he said troopers advance, he thought i was going to die. >> i believe the time has come for the president to step in. >> it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. >> the '60s tonight at 9:00 on cnn. >> up next, he's been called the most feared lawyer in los angeles. he's about to cross-examine donald sterling. my exclusive interview with the attorney bert fields. that's coming up, plus, a disturbing scenario. did malaysia flight 370 fly to its doom with both pilot unconscious? we have details why some now believe the plane spent its final hours on autopilot. ♪

(train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. thank ythank you for defendiyour sacrifice. and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel. thank you daddy. military families are uniquely thankful for many things, the legacy of usaa auto insurance can be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family, get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. mom has a headache! had a headache! but now, i& don't.

excedrin is fast. in fact for some, relief starts in just 15 minutes. excedrin. headache. gone. if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred.

before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. take the next step. talk to your doctor. this is humira at work.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi?

i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. he's hollywood's heavyweight lawyer, notorious for some brutal cross-examination over the years and soon he'll be unleashing it on donald sterling himself in his lawsuit to block the sale of the l.a. clippers. i'll have an exclusive interview with bert feels in l.a. in a moment. let's get background first. brian todd is here to show us what sterling is likely in for. >> wolf, this is a dramatic new development in the donald sterling case,' bold stroke by the attorneys for hess estranged wife shelley in setting up bert fields to confront sterling they're bringing in a plan who has brought some of hollywood's most powerful people to their knees in court. >> a dramatic courtroom

confrontation between two hollywood heavyweights. super lawyer bert fields squaring off against then disney chairman michael eisner. eisner accused of not paying jeffrey katzenberg what he owed him. fields question to eisner, you said i think i hate the little myth. eisner. >> caller: just want to say that is ill advised. if you pursue this line of questioning, it will put in the public record those things i think are not necessarily to be in the public record. fields, and did you say to mr. schwartz, i don't care what he thinks. i am not going to pay him any of the money? eisner, i would say again in anger, i said that. eisner and disney reportedly ended up paying katzenberg more than $250 million. now fields will face off against donald sterling. >> do you expect him to get under donald's skin? >> i do expect him to. i think there's certain hot buttons not the least of which is probably magic johnson and those kinds of things are hard for sterling's lawyer to control

him on. >> sterling felt betrayed by magic johnson after sterling's racist remarks were leaked to the public. when the trial over donald sterling's mental capacity starts, with the future of the l.a. clippers at stake, sterling, a lawyer himself, will face a man who's got a reputation as a pitbull in court. >> bert fields is one of the great ones in los angeles. he is a legend. >> fields has represented superstars like tom cruise, madonna, michael jackson, steven spielberg. at this trial, sterling's estranged wife shelley will try to problem she sacked properly in removing sterling from the family trust and agreeing to sell the clippers on her own. her side according to court papers will hammer at donald sterling's alleged mental incapacitation which his side denies. >> it will be very uncomfortable because i think bert fields won't have any problem at all just picking at donald sterling and getting him to fall part right there in the courtroom. >> but those attorneys we spoke to experienced litigators in

los angeles warn that donald sterling himself has been through some tough cross-examinations and that he's a wiley operator in court. they also say if bert fields is too aggressive, it might blow up in his face. if he hammers mercilessly at sterling, it could bring about something maybe none of us thought was possible and make donald seem like a sympathetic figure. >> thanks very much. bert fields is joining us now from los angeles. bert, thanks very much for coming in. so donald sterling's spoken out. you've seen the interviews. he's trying to explain himself. what do you want him to explain to the public, to the fans, to the flab about his behavior during your cross-examination? >> i just want him to face up to the truth. and if he faces up to it, is going to show that shelley behaved properly and he did not. when i say he did not, i've got some very strong feelings about mr. sterling's behavior in a

number of ways. and hopefully, the cross-examination will bring those things out. >> give me an example. >> well, here's a guy who in writing authorized shelley to sell the team. here's a guy who then said i'm joining in her sale. i'm really happy about it. i join in selling the team. five days later, he said i'm fighting the sale of the team. why did he do it? according to his lawyer, he did it to restore his dignity. now, that's just ego. mr. bal mer has agreed to pay $2 billion, a fantastic price for this team. it's a great thing for mr. sterling's family if he gives a damn about his family, he'd grab at that, but no, he's more concerned with restoring his ego. and those are his attorneys' words. well, that's the kind of guy that is a pleasure to

cross-examine. >> stand by for a moment because we're just getting started. we have a lot more questions. do you believe, for example, that donald sterling is mentally competent? it's an important feature. i'll ask that question when our exclusive interview with bert fields continues. [announcer] if your dog can dream it, purina pro plan can help him achieve it. ♪ driving rock/metal music stops ♪music resumes music stops ♪music resumes [announcer] purina pro plan's bioavailable formulas deliver optimal nutrient absorption. [whistle] purina pro plan. nutrition that performs. we are a collection of smalls. a home saved. a hero homebound for a new opportunity. a kitchen that kick starts careers

wells fargo invests in our communities a little differently. small measures that add up to make our whole even greater. little by little we can do a lot. because... small is huge. visit www.wellsfargo.com to see how big small can be.

[ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual insurance. save up to 10% just for combining your auto and home insurance. call liberty mutual insurance at... to speak with an insurance expert and ask about all the personalized savings available for when you get married, move into a new house, or add a car to your policy.

personalized coverage and savings -- all the things humans need to make our world a little less imperfect. call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

we're back with our exclusive entire ru with the los angeles attorney berth fields who will be doing the cross-examines of donald

sterling. so berth, do you believe that donald sterling is mentally competent in. >> depends on what you mean. if you mean can he function as a trustee? he is certainly not competent to function as a trustee. two very distinguished doctors have examined him and certified that he is not competent to be a trustee. that doesn't mean that he's crazy or doesn't mean that he should be institutionalized. he should function as a human being with but he shouldn't be a trustee of this wealthy trust. it's not right for his family. >> his lawyers suggested that those two doctors who examined him are violating doctor/patient privileges? >> what do you say to that? >> i don't think they would say in in court. he specifically waived the dr./patient privilege when he signed the trust.

it explicitly provides for a waiver of that privilege lenl. otherwise you couldn't exam lynn the trustee to show that he wasn't competent. that's right there in the trust instrument. >> i assume donald sterling's lawyers are getting other doctors to examine him and will come to a different conclusion. i assume you'll anticipate that? >> of course if it comes to a trial we anticipate that. what we asked the court to do is not have a trial or have a very brief one because the trust instrument says if two specialists in the field certify that e he is u inkomcompetent a trustee, he's out. they have done that. the whole purpose of putting the provision in the trust, which donald signed, is to avoid a trial so you don't have the battle of the experts. it's embarrassing for donald, it will be embarrassing for him.

it's costly. that's why they put anytime the trust. he's trying to get out after that and we'll call people who will say or doctors are wrong. they're not wrong. that ear very distinguished people. one of the doctors wrote the regulations in the code on how you judge competence to be a trustee. >> how aggressive are you going to be during your cross-examination of donald sterling? if you go too far you might create some sympathy for the guy. >> you're absolutely right about that. it's my job not to create sympathy for the guy but to bring out the truth by questioning him carefully. i'm not going to tip my hand adds to how i'm going to do that but i'm certainly not going to be stupid enough to be a bully or be abusive. i hope i've never been abusive in a courtroom and i sure as hell am not going to be abuse i to donald sterling. my guess is he'll be abusive to me.

he's threatened our doctors, called them up, said he was going to take their licenses away, he was going to sue them. he was going to get the one doctor, a distinguished man from ucla, he was going to get him thrown out of ucla. if anybody is going to be abuse in this courtroom, it's going to be donald sterling, not me. >> did he know when he was examined by these two doctors in los angeles at the request of his wife that whatever they came up with could be used to remove him as an owner for all practical purposes of the clippers? >> he may or may not have known that. i hope the doctors didn't tell him that. if you read the literature in the field, it would put him under enormous stress if you told him your being a trustee, your competence depend on how you do today in this examination. i think iffy ear a competent doctor, you don't want to tell him that he's there being tested to see whether he's competent to be a trustee.

>> how long is your cross-examination, do you anticipate that it will last? >> i would think a couple of hours. i'm usually pretty short in cross-examining. if i can't do it in a couple of hours, i probably can't do >> it and your goal is to try to convince everyone that he isn't mentally competent to remain as a trustee? >> well i have a number of goals. and among those goals is the issue of competence if the judge says that has to be tried. there are other issues, like did he authorize her to make this deal and now that he's now trying to back out of. many other shoes. >> bert fields, thanks very much for coming in. >> wolf it's a pleasure. >> coming up in "the situation room," nearly 500 u.s. troops are on the ground in iraq as washington ends up on the same side as some of its enemies. we're going to i live to baghdad

for an exclusive report. than ts count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. [ female announcer ] we love our smartphones. and now telcos using hp big data solutions are feeling the love, too. by offering things like on-the-spot data upgrades -- an idea that reduced overcharge complaints by 98%. no matter how fast your business needs to adapt, if hp big data solutions can keep wireless customers smiling, imagine what they can do for yours. make it matter. this is mike. his long race day starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here

creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

happening now. dangerous alliances. cnn takes you inside a notorious army that's targeted americans and now is on the same side as the u.s. plus, startling new scenarios about the final hours of flight 370 and the pilot's condition as the plane went down. we're digging deeper in an official new report in the next phase of the search. team usa fans celebrating after losing a crucial world cup match. we're going to have brand-new results telling you what's next for america's underdog team. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room". this hour, nearly 500 u.s.

troops, they are now on the ground in iraq to help local forces battling isis terrorists. but the countries embattled prime minister appears to be encouraging additional help from one of the most ruthless regimes in the world, in syria. at the same time the white house just asked congress for half a billion dollars to train opponents of syria's bashar al assad. they're blurry and troubling for the united states right now. cnn's correspondent is standing by with an exclusive report from baghdad. but first, let's go to jim shoe to who has just return from iraq. >> john kerry told us that military action must be coupled with political compromise among iraqi leaders. what we're seeing in the meantime is a measured increment l deployment of u.s. american force. the american forces on the ground is a combination of

advisers, additional security personnel sent in to protect the embassy and plus others who have been on the ground to protect american diplomats for the last two years. one other country is stepping in. iraq's prime minister, al mielke welcomed syrian air strikes like this one. >> translator: we actually welcome any syrian strike against isis but we didn't make any request to syria. they carry out their strikes and we care ru out ours and the final winner are our two countries. >> reporter: but the deadly risks were immediately clear. 57 iraqi civilians killed. more than 120 others wounded. traveling in iraq this week, secretary of state john kerry vowed intense and sustained support. with 50 american servicemen

arriving today, 180 american military advisers are now on the ground. so far, the u.s. has avoided air strikes. >> you said sustained and intense would be u.s. military action would be sustained and intense if the president decides to go forward. if you could better define the time frame and also the measure of success? is it isis destroyed, isis restreeth? is it partial retreat >> that's precisely the strategy that needs to be define. intense would be the support to the government of iraq. and our efforts to try to help rebuild the military structure as well as hopefully support a new unity government. >> reporter: isis militants are warning that any u.s. strikes will be met by attacks on americans. sitting on a tear ras at the u.s. ambassador's residence in paris, kerry met with the prime ministers of jordan and saudi

arabia, trying to reinforce the point that isis is not just a threat to iraq but the entire region and the globe. >> iraq is one of the predominant ones. it concerns every single country here. >> iraq's parliament has been a called to meet next week. is this a meaningful first step to forming the unity government the u.s. has been asking maliki. this next week or two is crucial awe watching what steps iraqi rulers take. are there substantive steps or is there bickering. >> the white house is asking congress authorization for a half a billion dollars. that would be $50 million to train and equip these moderate rebels in syria. but there's deep concern abwas you know, that some of that equipment could end up in the hands of isis if these guys lose. >> that's been the president's

principle reason for delaying until this point arming rebels in syria, which is something, as you know, that some of his advisers, hillary clinton included has been pushing for. now that he's doing it, there will be critics saying isis is strog, assad as won to come degree. it's too late. but clearly the administration is realizing that they and the various parties involved with digging in for a long battle and they need the pressure to come. >> iraq abandoned the tanks, those missile and isis has control about them right now and there's concern about that. thanks very much. in the battle against isis, the united states is winding up right now, hard to believe, but it's son the same side as some of its most dangerous

adversaries, the syrian regime. we spoke with commanders of that notorious shiite military group. we have an exclusive report. share with us what you've learned. >> reporter: it's almost unimaginable when you think of the alliances, iran, syria and the u.s. with a common goal. who would have predicted so many years ago when they were fighting their battles against the u.s. here in these very streets that they might find themselves on the same side. some of these men looking to join the side of isis are straight from fighting with al-assad. take a look at this, wolf. the army is on the move. they've come together to answer

the call of their leader. for years he and his army fought pitch battled against american soldiers. today as the threat from the sunni extremist group isis grows, they could find themselves unlikely allies. ♪ >> reporter: a neighborhood on the outskirts of baghdad. this is a shiite strong hold as is much of the iraqi capital. we've come to meet with the army commanders. on the television, anti-u.s. films play. one of the commanders tell us he's just returned from fighting isis in syria alongside another u.s. foe, hoz beulah. he's asked that he conceal his

identity. these are the pictures he took when he was fighting in syria and this is the video that the sigh sis fighters took of his unit coming under attack. he and his unit found a memory stick with it and other videos on the body of an isis militant. he was detained by u.s. forces for six months during the war. for him, the u.s. will always be the enemy. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: but he also can't deny the reality that facing his country. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> reporter: as isis continue on their fight towards the country's capital, the army await. if he says fight, they will. regardless of who fights alongside them. if they went to protect what they hold dear, the enemy of their enemy will have to become a friend, at least for now. and just this evening, wolf, a suicide attack dangerously close to one of the holiest of shiite sites here. wolf? >> for days u.s. officials have been deeply concerned about some of those shiite holy sites and sigh sis going after them. that could spark who knows even a worse civil war than is currently under way. sb safe over there. thanks very much. still ahead in "the situation room," there are new theories about the pilot's final hours

before flight 370 went down. we're going to talk about the surprises in a brnd-new official report from australian authorities on the scene. and the win went to germany but team usa isn't dwelling on defeat. it's getting ready to play the next match. rachel nichols is standing by to join us. she's still the one for you. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours.

if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. ♪ sweet, sweet, st. thomas nice ♪ ♪ so nice, so nice ♪ st. croix full of pure vibes ♪ so nice, so nice

♪ st. john a real paradise ♪ so nice, so nice ♪ proud to be from the virgin islands ♪ ♪ and the whole place nice [ female announcer ] to experience your virgin islands nice, book one of our summer packages today.

humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask an insurance expert about all our benefits today, like our 24/7 support and service, because at liberty mutual insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us.

plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to $423. call... today. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? we're digging deeper into a brand-new report on the mystery of flight 370. it lays out a theory that the plane was on autopilot for hours before it crashed in the ocean and that's renewing serious questions about the captain and what role if any he played in the jet's disappearance. here's our aviation

correspondent, rené marsh. >> a startling scenario. the pilots of malaysia are lines 370 unconscious. the plane not under human control as it flow over the indian ocean. >> it is highly likely that the aircraft was on auto pilot otherwise it could not have followed the ord he path that has been identified through the satellite sightings. >> a 64-page report details the information. the plane still flying somehow sucked of oxygen, everyone on board passed out. it happened on payne stewart's looer jet and again in 2005 on a greek passenger flight. all 121 people killed. >> when you get above 35,000 feet, we're talking five to ten seconds of useful consciousness. as the pilot suffers hypoxia,

the motor skills decrease. >> the australian government is only focused on finding the plane. the cause is being left up to malaysian investigators tmplts questions as to why this occurred are not ones that we needed to address in determining the search area which has been our focus. >> the assumptions lead here, the new search area highlighted in orange where flight 370 made its final connection. >> this site is the best available and most likely place where the aircraft is resting. >> but we've heard that before when the focus was 500 miemgs northeast where blue fin 21 searched with no sign of flight 370. this new search zone is massive, roughly the size of west virginia. search crews were here before months ago looking for floating debris but nothing was found. now the search returns to go

miles under water. >> the search will still be pain staking. of course we could be fortunate and find it in the first hour or the first day. but it could take another 12 months. >> well they believe the pilots did not communicate because they were simply incapacitated, a lack of oxygen. pilots tell me that you can get tunnel vision where you gray out essentially, you can only see your center field of vision. you also experience this feeling of euphoria. but even if passengers had time the get those oxygen masks on, we know, wolf, that there's only enough air to last roughly 12 minutes and we know the plane was flying for many hours. >> all right. renee, stand by. i want to bring in richer quest and peter goals, a former managing director of the ntsb. richard, why did it take so long to put out this comprehensive report and what jump ud out at

you? >> i think it took so long because they were collecting all of the evidence. what this report is a summary of what's been done so far, the new evidence that they've used to find the next search position. so if you like, this takes us to year dot. this is the beginning point for the search moving forward. what struck me was the care and detail with which they're putting into where the plane may have come to rest. you talk about the hypoxia scenario but that's only being used to determine how the plane would have fallen out of the air. what would have been the occasion when it ran out of fuel. wolf, they are not saying in this report is which scenario actually took place. they've talken mechanical failure, they've taken hypoxia, they've taken i'm running out of fuel and they have to work out where the plane would have come down and which configuration

after it ran out of fuel. >> you believed all along, peter, that this was a human result, human decision for whatever reason that this plane disappeared, went down with 239 people on board, a boeing 777, a u.s. made plane costs $225 million. there are only 1200 of them flying around the world right now. but you can't be 100% sure. it could be a mechanical problem. they have to figure this out to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> they have to find the plane and make a determination. we can't have a vacuum over the 777. >> they're not going to resume the actual search until august or so and then they're going to map out the whole region in this could go on and on. >> private contractors, they're going to take over the search. we know that that's not expected to start until august. and this is going to be -- not

going to be an easy task at all. we're talking about water that is as deep as three miles in some areas. and this particular part of the ocean, there's a part of it called broken ridge. just speaking to david gallow, one of our analysts, he says that is a mountain which has a very streep decline. the decline could be, you know, two, three miles just from top to bottom. so it's going to be tough. but the good thing is they do have a ship there that's mapping the ocean floor so at least they know what they're going to be up against when they do start the underwater search. >> and richard, if in fact everyone on that plane lost oxygen, everyone in effect was dead, the plane was on auto pilot, u it could fly until it ran out of gas. >> right. >> and then it would glide for a while too? it could glide for a significant time, right? >> that's the significance of this report. it goes into those scenarios. what would have happened. first of all, the left engine probably would have flamed out,

then the right engine would have flamed out. and to your point, wolf, if nobody was at the controls -- this is the significance of the hypoxia theory. if nobody was at the controls, the auto pilot would have disengage and the plane would not have glided gently down. this report says it would have started to spiral down and that's why they've looked at these various scenarios to see what could have happened given different parameters on how to plane would have entered the water. when you know that, you know where to look. >> and peter very quickly, if in fact everyone died on that plane because there was no oxygen for whatever reason, that wouldn't be the first time something like that happened? >> no. it's happened before. we've looked at these kinds of accidents. but richard make as good point. if the plane spiralled down, it would have been a lot of wreckage in the ocean. we were searching there. it's still a mystery. >> still nothing floating either. >> they haven't found anything

yet. just ahead, a very different story. fans are celebrating even though team usa lost today. and if i tap my geico app here i can pay my bill. tap it here, digital insurance id card. and tap it here, boom, roadside assistance. on'tday ooklay, it's axwellmay. the igpay? otallytay. take an icturepay! onephay, onephay! really, pig latin? [ male announcer ] geico. anywhere, anytime.

just an aptay away on the geico appay. dad: he's our broker. he helps? look after all our money. [ male announcer ] geico. anywhere, anytime. kid: do you pay him? dad: of course. kid: how much? dad: i don't know exactly. kid: what if you're not happy? does he have to pay you back? dad: nope. kid: why not? dad: it doesn't work that way. kid: why not? vo: are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed? wealth management at charles schwab. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪

she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

female announcer: time is running out on a new mattress. deal sleep train's 4th of july sale is ending soon. right now at sleep train, save $300 on beautyrest and posturepedic mattress sets. plus, pay no interest for 36 months on tempur-pedic and serta icomfort. big savings and interest-free financing? these deals aren't just hot... they're explosive! sleep train's 4th of july sale is ending soon. ♪ sleep train

♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ across the united states and around the world, millions of people were glued to today's critical world cup match between team usa and germany.

the team usa lost but still came out a winner advancing to the next round of 16 teams. rachel nichols is joining us now. how can this happen? i know how it happened but explain to the viewers how the united states loses but still moves on to the next round. >> reporter: in the states we're used to the idea, it's the playoffs, you win job you advance, you lose you go home. well in the world cup they have this round robin round at the beginning. and you can almost think of that like the regular season. you could lose your last game of the regular season in the nfl but still make the playoffence go to the super bowl and that's exactly what happened here. they played well enough in their round robin and that enabled them to move on to what is now the knockout round. this is the playoffs because this is do or die. they're going to be facing some stiff competition. >> the ncaa they call it sweet

16 as we know. this is going to be the final. so who does team usa play on tuesday? >> reporter: they're going to face belgium want the top seed coming out of their group. the u.s. is now the number two seed coming out of group g that yaw eve been hearing about. belgium is tough. they've beaten the u.s. the last two times they played. they had a good leadup to the world cup. but here's what the americans have going tore them. they just made it out of the group of death, the ufest in the world cup. by the way, they made it out of that group of death without arguably their best player, a great scorer for them. he went down with a hamstring injury in their first match. he's expected to be back or tuesday's match. and he's joining a team that's riding very high. >> i want to put two pictures up on the screen. the president of the united

states. he watched the game on board air force one with one some of his aides. they're watching the game. the speaker, john boehner, he was watching the game with a bunch of his aides as well up on capitol hill. here's the question. are americans now beginning to love soccer? >> reporter: well, first of all, politicians are no fool, right? wolf, watching, showing yourself watching american soccer, it's like the new kissing babies. everyone is popular because of it. i don't know how much it's going to extend beyond this world cup. we've seen this in the past with big events, right? look at the miracle on ice, considered a seminole event in u.s. sports history. even the olympic games, the final hockey match in vancouver in 2010 between the u.s. and canada. that did a huge enormous spectacular rating. didn't really have a huge impact on nhl ratings in the following months and years. this is exciting and fantastic and certainly we've seen world cup ratings and interest build

over the past 12, 15 years. i think we're going to see that continue into the next quadrant. the mayor league soccer in the united states, you might have a little bit of carryover but that's going to build a little bit too at its own pace. i don't think you can expect a crazy explosion next season. >> we're continue our conversation tomorrow here in "the situation room." that's it for me. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room". let's step into the cross fire now. >> the entire supreme court passed judgment today and our debates starts right now. >> tonight on "crossfire," congress wins. >> a clear rebuke to the president's brazen power grab. >> and what should happen to the tens of thousands of children pouring across the border? on the left, van jones