again it will be when the judge looks at the paperwork it's essentially is it in the name of the diocese, the name of the nuns and the judge is going to make that decision. >> all right, danny and paul we'll leave it there, thanks so much guys appreciate it. and thank you so much for watching. wolf starts right now. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we start with fears over possible terror attacks during this upcoming holiday weekend. law enforcement officials are ramping up security ahead of july 4 and are deploying more officers into high-profile locations. all this comes in the wake of a bulletin from the department of homeland security in recent days calling for more vigilance as we head into the july 4 holiday weekend. joining us is new york republican congressman peter king, a key member of the house homeland security committee and chairman of the subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence. congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

it's obvious the department of homeland security and fbi wouldn't be issuing these alerts if they didn't have something concrete to worry about. >> well these are very real concerns. this goes back at least two or three weeks when intelligence was picked up in various ways indicating something could be happening over the fourth of july that was initiated by isis supporters. then it was realized that a significant number of isis operative s operatives were in new york. we already had five arrested in just the last week to ten days in new york. some extremely dangerous in addition to that in june there's been nine or ten arrested throughout the country. this is very real. the people in new york were being watched, being monitored and one arrest has led to another and there's still an on going effort here. great concerning going back to dealing with the fbi and homeland security over the last

three weeks, i would say this is the most intense level of concern i've seen, maybe since 9/11. 9/11. >> is it out of an abundance of caution or a specific plot they're worried about? >> there was enough intelligence out there indicating that something could well be planned for the fourth of july. >> this is more than just the usual fourth of july or memorial day warning that goes out to keep your eyes and ears open. this goes significantly beyond that and when you add to the fact that you have in new york alone, in new york city metropolitan area five isis operatives have already been taken into custody is by the fbi, the joint terrorism task force. >> is it a concern for major cities like new york or here in washington or all over the country? >> well, the entire country has to be concerned. going back to several months ago, fbi director comey said he has active terrorist investigations in all 50 states.

in new york we have a special concern because new york has always been the number-one target. as we saw with the boston marathon as we've seen at other incidents, this can occur anywhere. we just believe that new york we have a special concern here. but i would think any part of the country certainly has to be on their guard against isis. >> is it isis or al qaeda? >> in this incidence it's isis. my understanding of the nature of the threat is these are isis supporters. >> are these isis individuals? what they call lone wolves or is there a cell out there, a conspiracy involving two or three of these guys. >> wolf i would say it goes beyond the lone wolf the odds are you would not have five individual lone wolves operating in the same location in the same period of time.

>> let me talk about this war against isis. the pentagon now says that over the past year or so they've trained basically fewer than 100 moderate syrians who are ready to fight isis in syria. they were supposed to be training a lot more than that. that sounds like a small number given the financial resource, the military expertise. what do you make of that? >> i can't go into great detail on that. i'm on the intelligence committee and the whole issue of what is happening with arming syrian rebels and training them. suffice it to say i don't believe enough progress has been made. we're talking about small numbers. there are real concerns and right now i would say those programs have not really made much progress. >> let's talk politics for a moment congressman. you've been thinking -- i know you've been thinking seriously whether or not to throw your hat into the republican presidential ring. it's getting close to a time when you have to make a decision. have you made a decision yet?

>> i've been to new hampshire nine times, rhode island vermont, the state of new york. i've decided not to run. it was a great experience i would love to have the opportunity to run, to go all the way. i think i can more than compete with any of those in there. but the reality is as far as money, the fact that i have a full-time job now on the intelligence and homeland security committees it's just not in the cards. i don't want to be taking up other people's time. i don't want to have 19 20 candidates whatever it's going to be. also another reason i went in originally to look at it was i was concerned that it was people like rand paul and ted cruz were monopolizing the airwaves. they were getting out what they thought was their republican message, i wanted to counter that. i think i've been somewhat successful in doing that. there are candidates in the race here are raising national defense issues. so i'm not running, i would have loved to run and i wish -- most of those in the race i wish them well and i will do whatever i can to work within the republican party. >> this is the first time i

believe congressman you're telling us flatly you have made a decision not to run for the republican presidential nomination. i know you've told me many the past you would tell me first. is that what i'm hearing right now? . >> belief me everything in me wants to keep fighting for as long as i can but i'm accepting reality. i'm not going off on some wild dream. i've made the decision. i hope even though i'm not longer a candidate maybe i'll have the chance to get back on your show every now and then. >> you will. a final question, who do you like among these republicans? are you ready to endorse someone? >> no but i would say jeb bush marco rubio, george pataki and others but those are three that i will be leaning toward. >> what about donald trump, your fellow new yorker? >> i think it's great donald trump is in the race. if it goes further, we'll see. i like donald trump, he's been

good to me he's supported me in rough times when i was being attacked by others so donald trump will add a lot to the race. i think people are selling him short. but right now the three i mentioned are the ones who are closest but i wish donald trump well. i would say without being overly negative that two i would oppose would be ted cruz and rand paul. >> you don't like either one of them? >> i certainly don't like their views, i understand rand paul is a nice guy but i don't agree with his views at all. >> all right, peter king telling us right now he's not going to seek the remember presidential nomination. congressman, we'll talk national security homeland security intelligence all those issues thanks very much for joining us. >> wolf thanks for the opportunity, i appreciate it. >> thank you, representative peter king of the house homeland security committee. let's get new details on another major story we're following, that new york prison escape david sweat who was shot when he was captured is now telling investigators he was the mastermind he claims of the breakout.

his mother told cnn's aaron burnett it's not her son's fault. she blames the people who helped him with hacksaw blades and other tools. >> i still say to this day if that woman and whoever else was involved didn't give them that stuff those guys wouldn't have never broke out of jail. they wouldn't have had nothing do it with. they more or less let them loose. they knew what was going on and they didn't stop it. >> we're also learning more about the last days of richard matt's life. authorizes say matt had been drinking grape-flavored liquor inside a cabin he broke into. also he fired shots while by himself in this trailer. one bullet struck a recreational vehicle leading to his being found. we have learned matt's family won't claim the body so the county will take care of his burial. we knew sweat and matt rehearsed the escape but now we know just how far they actually got the night before. sweat is telling authorities that the pair made it all the

way out to a manhole cover in the street. joining us is jeff dumas, a former new york corrections sergeant who worked at that clinton correctional facility. jeff thanks for joining us. what do you make of this that they had a dress rehearsal the night before they got to that manhole cover, saw they could get out but decided to wait 24 hours. >> we've seen it before in prior escapes so i have a tendency to believe that part of his story that they were down there. of course they were probably down there a couple other times trying to find their way around. yeah i tend to believe what he says. >> the state inspector general doing a thorough investigation as they should over all sorts of procedures of that prison in upstate new york and looking into reports that guards were asleep on the job. you worked there. is that possible? >> i don't believe it's possible due to time constraints. there are certain procedures they have to go through throughout the night and it

would be extremely hard to believe able to do those and also sleep. but we values the brie vances from inmates prior to that say, hey, they keep waking us up they're making loud noises with the keys, the gates, the flashlights are too bright. all of these other grievances that come along the way to show the inmates don't like us doing our rounds. >> they put the leadership on suspension at least for the time being administrative leave. nine guards have also been put on administrative leave. they want to find out if maybe some of these guards did stuff incorrectly. were they too friendly for example, with some prisoners there. what do you make of that? >> it's twofold. with the administration, mr. rozet and mr. quinn, they're the middlemen between staff and inmates. that ie ear in an unfortunate situation. as the albany times union

reported security concerns were brought to them but they can't make those decisions. they go to albany. they say know and mr. rozet and mr. quinn have to live with that. now they are being blamed for their lack of leadership when they don't have the power for the final says in the policies and procedures. >> you worked there for how many years? >> 22. >> so off the top of your head give us one or two recommendations, knowing what you know after all those years inside the prison knowing what has happened these past three weeks plus give me a recommendation what they immediately need to do to fix a problem they have there. >> immediate would be no more honor blocks anywhere in the state. >> especially someone convicted of murder serving life in prison. the notion it makes me nauseous to think about it, that these guys are privileged and get this honor treatmet if you will and they can walk around and -- >> it's absurd. >> you saw that when you were there? >> and the prisons are clouded in secrecy. the government doesn't want all the information out there and

it's tough to get the spokesman from albany to say anything about what happens in there. fortunately now people will speak out because of this. >> so lose the honor block and what other thing? >> lose the honor block, then - you have visiting rooms. they need to be more secure. they need to be non-contact. there's no reason for an inmate's family to pass any contraband to them whatsoever. they need glass, they need a telephone to talk on and it will eliminate 95% of the contraband. >> because some of the fears are they may have been able to even pass heroin in that visiting room when a spouse comes in. jeff thanks for joining us. good recommendations. still ahead, a major milestone after half a century of hostility between the united states and cuba. the landmark deal that will see embassies reopening, diplomatic ties fully restored. we're going live to havana. plus donald trump's straight talk has him in hot water with mexico but strikes a chord with voters.

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open embassies in our respective countries. this is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the cuban government and people and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the americas. >> president obama opening up that new chapter in the relationship with cuba. half a century of mistrust now over. joining us patrick ottoman, our man in havana. also joining us andres oppenheimer, a columnist in for the miami "herald" and a host on cnnseencnns pan oriole.

let me go to you first, patrick, how unusual was it that state run television would carry president obama's rose garden speech live. >> i only remember one other time, that was december 7 with this new path of cuban/u.s. relations was announced. the fact that they would carry his speech, have subtitles is near unprecedent eded things no one expected to take place are taking place. is it was a short ceremony an exchange of letters from both presidents but that marked the end of the cold war in terms of cuba. on july 20 the relations between these two countries will be resumed there will be a cuban embassy in washington, d.c. and we're told later on in the summer secretary kerry is expected to travel to havana and reopen the u.s. embassy in havana. a moment of tremendous symbolism, wolf. >> when you think about what's

gone on since 1961 when president eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with cuba over these past 54 years. it's almost breath taking to see what's happened over the past six months so don't you agree? >> i agree with that wolf. but it's not very surprising. the obama administration needed a foreign policy victory. they have not had successes in iran iraq syria the palestinian israeli talks, et cetera. so this came very handily as a very -- as a good political success story at a low cost. for the cuban it was very convenient because as you know, wolf cuba's economy is in a shambles they are dependent on venezuelan oil, venezuela is doing badly and nobody knows how long venezuela will continue subsidizing cuba with oil.

both sides needed it for different reasons. >> andres you here in miami, we've seen the reaction of cuban-american bus it's a generational difference. the grandparent, people who came from here cuba they may have a different attitude towards cuba than their children or grandchildren. talk a bit about that. >> yeah that is by and large true wolf. overall there's a lot of cuba fatigue in the miami community. it's been $50 years. the million polled and said overall nationwide about 60% of cuban-americans support this and 40% oppose it but in south florida you have to opposite. you have about 60% opposing it and about 50% 40 plus percent supporting it. yet this is astounding that 10 15 20 years ago the overwhelming majority of cubans

in miami were very very - staunchly against any measure, any kind of opening the cuba. overall i think time has made its mark on this issue and there's cuba fatigue in this community. people are resigned and hoping for the best. >> andres stay with us because i want you to continue our conversation on donald trump and mexico. patrick, get ready, you'll be busy over these next several weeks and months john kerry, the secretary of state, he will go to havana where you are right now to reopen that u.s. embassy in july. guy, thanks very much andres don't leave. still ahead, donald trump is rising in the polls, sparking a media frenzy. are his candid comments on mexico and migrants helping his campaign? our political experts getting ready to weigh in. plus they say three is a crowd what about 16?

how the republican hopefuls stack up against each other and hillary clinton. all that and more when we come back.

welcome back. just a short time ago cnn learned macy's department store is cutting ties with the business mogul and presidential candidate donald trump. in response donald trump now calling for a boycott of macy's. this back-and-forth stems from comments trump made about mexican immigrants during the launch of his campaign. >> they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems with us. they're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapist and some, i assume are good people. >> in addition to macy's a number of mexican companies are washing their hands.

joining us, a well known columnist in for the miami "herald" and the host of cnn ens pan oriole. what do you make of the reaction? zbl( well, a reaction between bewilderment bemusement and outrage. people can't understand how somebody like trump can say something like that when mexicans who follow this much more closely than most americans know that the number of mexicans crossing the border illegally to the u.s. has been dropping dramatically over the last couple of years. so people are sort of wonder inging is what is this guy saying. the other thing, the implication that mexicans are flooding the u.s. is being questioned because, in fact about 50% of mexicans who come to the u.s. come by plane and land in new york and washington and los angeles and don't cross the border sneaking at night as some

of these things show. so trump's implication that we're being flooded with illegal immigrants is seen in mexico as something like totally outlandish. >> i just saw this tweet he posted i guess it was yesterday. "i love the mexican people but mexico is not our friend. they're killing us at the border and they're killing us on jobs and trade. fight." those are comments that will spark -- i suspect a bitter reaction inside mexico. >> definitely. i'm writing my column on this precise issue for tomorrow my column in the miami "herald" and i called a pollster in new hampshire who did this poll that shows that trump is now number two in new hampshire for the primaries, for the republican primaries. hi said it's not really that republican voters are supporting his views on mexico but that he's suddenly vitzable in the press, visible in the media.

he's sort of -- we are talking about him right now, wolf and that helps him. that helps him. what the big question is where's the republican national committee on this? where are the other republican candidates on this? i tell you, wolf 34 million people in the u.s. of mexican descent feel pretty offended about this or most of them at least, at least the ones i talked to and this is something that can cost the republican party dearly unless they formally come up against it. >> i'll look forward in reading your column in tomorrow's miami "herald," andres. andres oppenheimer. an important programming note for our viewers, donald trump will be speaking with don lemon later tonight on cnn. cnn tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern, check it out. jeb bush and donald trump, by the way, they have emerged as the leaders of the republican pac in our brand new cnn/orc

poll. but both trail hillary clinton in hypothetical head-to-head matchups and clinton continues to dominate the field of democratic candidates here's where the republican race stands right now. jeb bush is in first place with 19%, followed by donald trump at 12%. they're the only two republicans, by the way, with double-digit support, at least for now. our cnn political director david chal i don't know is here with us watching what's going on. what do you make of this development? it's not a fluke, he's number two in new hampshire, nationally. donald trump is doing well. >> and we gotten a iowa poll today, he's number two in iowa as well. he obviously is here for a little while and having an impact. listen wolf when you have a field of 16 candidates if you just -- if you get to something like 12% support as donald trump has, that can have an impact. we see it in our poll. we see because of his rise other people have fallen in our poll. >> well look at marco rubio. look at. this we'll show our viewers, he's at 6% nationally in our new

poll down from 14%. scott walker hasn't declared yet but he's only at 6% down slightly from 10% so they're going down. trump is going up. >> right. i think what our poll really shows is that jeb bush has solidified himself as the front-runner in this very crowded field but donald trump is sucking up all the oxygen right now and oxygen is what scott walker and marco rubio, two contenders serious contenders for the nomination, that's what they need to expose themselves to not just republican voters but donors and the republican universe at large. so with donald trump sucking up the oxygen marco rubio and scott walker don't have as much ability to get their name out there. >> what he's saying is resonating with some folks out there. hillary clinton leads all the democrats by huge numbers right now. more than 40 points. bernie sanders has been drawing enthusiastic crowds but he's behind the vice president jbdoe biden who hasn't said whether

he's running. >> we expect an announcement come august. we asked democrats who's your second choice for this nomination? 35% of democrats, a plurality, say joe biden. and if you look in those numbers you see those are hillary clinton voters that give biden the second choice. so if biden disappears you'll see hillary clinton consolidate some of the people with joe biden. >> do you think he's going to run biden? >> if i had to place a bet, he won't run, but he's not made the option. >> he's pointedly not saying whether he's going to run so we'll see. thanks very much. still ahead, flames roar through a historic black church in south carolina. the building's tragic history and why the feds are now investigating whether a string of fires across the south could be hate crimes. verizon say neversettle. t-mobile agrees. never settle for verizon's overpriced gimmicks.

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a senior fbi official is now

telling cnn a lightning strike not arson may be blame for a fire the mt. zion ame church in greeleyville could be racially motivated. on the record investigators say they're not ruling anything out but a cnn weather analysis shows there were four lightning strikes in the vicinity of the church last night. this is the sixth black church to catch fire since the massacre two weeks ago. only two of those are confirmed arson right now. joining us now is our law enforcement analyst, former fbi assistant director tom fuentes. as you know, there's a lot of concern out there, tom, that these fires are not necessarily natural fires from lightning or something else but they are arson, that these are hate crimes target historically black churches. >> and that's always the concern. any time one of these churches gets burned or bombed or whatever might happen, the fbi immediately diligently

investigates to determine whether it's been a hate crime. in these cases atf assists with the crime scene investigation and local state arson investigators as well. this particular church was burned down 20 years ago by the ku klux klan and the investigation was conducted and the people that set that fire went to prison for 20 years for setting it. so yes there is extensive investigation done any time one of the church goes up. >> because this specific historically black church was burned down 20 years ago in greeleyville south carolina, people are not necessarily going to believe it was just lightning or something like that. a lot of people will fear the worst. >> and there's not much you can do with that if the evidence shows it wasn't an arson. the fbi consulted with national weather service immediately about lightning strikes that occurred around 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., the time of the fires, and determined there were lightning strikes in that immediate vicinity of that church. >> two of these six churches that have burned in recent days have confirmed that's arson,

that's two too many. >> it's two too many. the unfortunate thing is that in the united states there is a church temple synagogue or mosque burned almost every single day. one a day minimum that occur. the fbi has determined in its domestic terrorism program that 60% of those are arsons. unfortunately they've also determined that the majority of the arsons are self-ignited for insurance fraud purposes. so are accidents where local kids start a fire as a prank not realizing the whole structure will fwourn the ground. >> is it time for some of these historically black churches especially in the south, to add security at their locations given the massacre that occurred in charleston a couple weeks ago? >> it might be. but some of these churches don't have the resources to do that. if you look at this church, the pastor said he had 62 parishioners or something. that won't generate enough revenue to hire 24/7 security or at least overnight security

because you have to set up something on the perimeter that somebody can't throw an incendiary device or pipe bomb or light the corn you are of the church on fire. so you're talking about a lot of resources that would be required. >> and local law enforcement doesn't have those resources, either, to protect the churches or synagogues or mosques or temples in their community which could be targets of hate crime, tom fuentes helping us appreciate what's going on. coming up bill de blasio throws down the gauntlet accusing the new york state governor andrew cuomo of political manipulation and lashing out in revenge. we have details. two democrats, they're battling each other. we'll have details when we come back. ♪ ♪ ♪ (singing) you wouldn't haul a load without checking your clearance. so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck.

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a bare-knuckled political brawl has broken out between the

mayor of new york city and the governor of new york. mayor bill de blasio and governor andrew cuomo are both democrats, but that didn't stop de blasio from blasting the governor and what he calls a lack of leadership. let's bring in brianna keilar who's got details. brianna, what's behind this feud. >> it's shocking. sometimes it's normal for there to be friction between the governor of new york and the mayor of new york city even if they're the same party. but when it comes to how public this is this is far from normal. you could say this is unprecedented. mayor de blasio has a beef with governor cuomo over a couple of things one having to do with not supporting a fair housing initiative in such a way this that he could have provided by more housing to low income people in new york city. that's one of the things he focuses on in these scathing comments. also limiting the mayor's

authority over new york city schools because what happened was de blasio was given a one-year extension of this authority where when you look back at mayor michael bloomberg he got a several year extension twice. so listen to some of these comments harsh words from mayor de blasio in what was clearly a very calculated decision to take on governor cuomo. >> what i've found was he engaged in his own sense of strategies his own political machinations and what we've often seen is if someone disagrees with him openly some kind of revenge or vendetta follows. >> he won't on and on wolf this is fascinating. he talked about how the governor had exhibited a "lack of leadership." he said he did not act in the interest of new yorkers and to put this into more context, these are two guys who have a history. back when cuomo was the hud secretary under the clinton administration bill de blasio was working under him.

so they've known each other for some time and you're still seeing this friction going on for some time behind the scenes now spilling forth publicly. >> he's accusing the governor of acting out of revenge against new york city. that's a major charge. what's the reaction from governor cuomo? >> we don't have reaction specifically but his office is reacting. this comes from the governor's communications director who who says "for those new to the process it takes coalition building and compromise to get things done in government we wish the mayor well on his vacation." he's heading off on his july 4 vacation. this seems to the response of the accusation of being transactional and you sort of see the governor's office framing this in a different way about how you don't get everything you want. but you have to remember this relationship is far from over. these two men need to work together and govern together in

tandem so it raises questions about how that will play fourth going on. >> de blasio is taking a risk, too, because the city of new york depends on new york state for a lot of help. >> exactly. he's taking a real gamble i guess you could say here. especially because he is eyeing reelection you would assume, in 2017 his term is up in 2008. so he has all these years ahead of him but he's also trying to deliver on a promise of a progressive agenda that launched him into his role as the mayor of new york city. so he's trying to do that. he's feeling inging stymied by the governor in that regard but at the same time there are observers, long-time observers of new york city politics new york state politics who say this may not play well for the mayor going forward. >> thanks very much brianna keilar reporting. presidential candidate chris christie is known for his sharp words as well. now he's trying to defend his controversial demeanor. you'll hear his explanation when

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by formally entering the race for president new jersey governor chris christie became the 14th republican to do so so far as his campaign gets under way. perhaps christie's biggest supporter is his wife who left a lucrative job at wall street to work on his campaign and she spoke exclusively to cnn's gloria borger about her husband, the bridgegate scandal and his run for the white house. >> chris christie! >> reporter: in announcing for the presidency chris christie didn't stick to a script. >> i mean what i say, and i say what i mean. >> reporter: but he did stick to his brand, a straight-talking take no prisoners leader. >> i'm going to give the answer to the question that's asked. >> reporter: not afraid of ruffling a few feathers. >> did i stay on top snick are

you stupid? your rear end will get thrown in jail idiot. get over it. >> reporter: after this traffic jam became a national scandal the candidate who was once the man to beat is starting his campaign behind. >> we are going to go and win this election. >> reporter: an unusual star for a political star who for most of his career has been at the top, from new jersey's hard-charging u.s. attorney. >> justice has finally been done. >> reporter: to an even higher perch as the deal-making two-term republican governor in a democratic state. >> you think you know had a it's like to be governor. you really don't. >> reporter: a tough job, says mary pat christie but her husband was the perfect guy for it. >> he's a very complex person like any executive leader is. he thinks four or five steps ahead of most people and just comes up with all sorts of solutions. he plays things out in his mind. >> i think he's got more natural ability than any politician i've seen since bill clinton.

he's that good. >> reporter: former new jersey governor tom cain has known christie for decades ever since the 14-year-old chris knocked on his door while his mother waited in the car after hearing cain give a political speech. >> sir, i heard you talk and would really like to get involved in politics, how do i do it and i said i'm going up to speak in bergen county tonight. get in the car, come with me and see if you like it and i've known him ever since. >> reporter: christie is now 52 and kean who has had his own ups and downs with christie has watched his fellow republican become a political force, navigating tough partisan terrain with a lot of back room skill. >> a little bit lyndon johnson, you know. he'll almost grab you by the collar and say this is what we're going to do together, you know, and he's persuasive in very much of a strong way. >> reporter: and with maybe too much public bravado for christie's own good. >> i can go back and forth with you as much as you want. >> reporter: has he learned over

time? a little bit better self-control keep the temper under control, to use it not have it use him. >> so listen you want to have the conversation later, i'm happy to have it buddy, but until that time sit down and shut up! >> if you're disrespectful you may, you know be called out on it. >> reporter: too blunt, too aggress sniff. >> i don't think those are faults of his. >> you asked the question. i gave the answer. >> it's a hallmark of his leadership. i think so many times our politicians kind of don't state the obvious. they don't tell the truth. i think america is looking for someone to tell the truth. >> you give it you very well may get it back. >> reporter: that's the christie tell it like it is plan. he's proudly new jersey through and through. >> don't they know that i am from new jersey? >> reporter: rocking his way through more than 130 springsteen concerts. >> for those of you hooting. >> reporter: and feeding off the crowds as a candidate, town halling his way through the

early primary states. >> he has a lot of fun with it. he loves to debate. >> reporter: christie's outspoken truth-telling brand was tested a year and a half ago. >> i work the cones actually. >> reporter: but it wasn't a laughing matter. stories had surface that had some of his staff had deliberately created a massive traffic jam on the george washington bridge to extract political retribution on christie's behalf. he fired them. >> i had no knowledge of this of the planning the execution or anything about it. >> reporter: while christie hasn't been charged with anything two of his former staffers have been indicted and one former ally has pleaded guilty. people abandoned you? >> well i think that you felt that people were all against you and that you wanted to shout what the truth was. when you're in those kind of situations you know that you can trust your family and so -- so we really leaned on one another.

in a strange way i think it was healthy. i wouldn't recommend it but it was healthy in some ways. >> reporter: it certainly didn't help politically. >> we're past that. everybody now knows chris had nothing to do with that and, look, people -- we have to remind people why chris is such a good leader. >> reporter: reminding voters of the strength of christie's leadership in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. i remember that fleece he wore non-stop for -- >> i would have to pull it away to wash it at night once in a while. that's because he was working 20-hour days. he would literally go to the shore towns that you know and walk the streets. he felt people's pain and he was able to just hug them. >> reporter: christie was full of hugs for everyone including president obama just a few days before the presidential election a moment that some republicans found less than touching. it's a different picture now. christie has gotten healthier,

undergoing lap band weight loss surgery in 2013 but he's struggling to regain lost momentum. >> i think he's got big problems right now. if this was another candidate who had a similar problem i might be writing him off. i know chris christie too well for that. never write off chris christie. >> that report from gloria borger and as gloria just showed us in her rost the governor chris christie often makes his news for his angry outbursts in a new interview christie was asked whether he has the temperament to be president of the united states. >> there have been very few times in the course of my governorship where i've lost my temper. it's happened but very few times. >> you want to have the conversation later, i'm happy to have it buddy, but until that time sit down and shut up. when you look at most of those moments, matt it's an absolute controlled anger, a controlled anger. i'm angry about the fact that taxpayers were being ripped off in new jersey.

i'm angry about the fact that our urban kids can't get a good education. i'm angry about those things you're darned right i am and i think america wants to find someone who is willing to fight for that as long as that anger is controlled and with me it is almost all the time. >> that's it for me. thanks for watching. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. all right. here we go. you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. thanks so much for being with me. my goodness every day new details. today some pretty incredible new information about this prison escape in upstate new york. captured killer david sweat still in the hospital still singing like a canary saying he was the one who masterminded the whole thing starting back in january, but it seems the escape may not have been as well planned out as many suspected. sweat telling police they only used hacksaws not power tools, and they were able to actually knock down this wall using a sledgehammer he says they just happened to find in an