wiback like it could used to? neutrogena hydro boost water gel. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena hello i'm wolf blitzer. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. up first, president trump talks terrorism, trade and much more with world leaders at the g7 summit in italy. the president is nearing the end of his first international trip since taking office. we've got a lot coming up, but toipt gi want to get to some breaking news. cnn has learned that the former fbi director james comey was aware that a critical piece of information in the hillary clinton e-mail investigation was fake, created by russian

intelligence. that awareness is what led to comey to act unilaterally when he publicly declared that the investigation was over last summer. our chief political correspondent dana bash helped break this story for cnn. she's joining us. dana, tell us what you and your team have learned. >> as you mentioned cnn has learned that this is the key, that the fbi director james comey, then fbi director, knew that a critical piece of russian information related to the hillary clinton e-mail investigation was fake but he felt that he needed to take action anyway because he was concerned that if the information became public, fake or not, it would undermine the investigation and the justice department itself. now, this is according to multiple sources talking to my colleague and myself. it was because of these concerns that comey decided to publicly declare that the clinton probe was over last summer without consulting then attorney general loretta lynch. you may remember that earlier this week "the washington post"

reported on this intelligence and the doubts about its credibility. the fact that comey felt that he had to act based on russian disinformation is a stark example of how russian interference really did impact the decision making at the highest levels of the u.s. government during the 2016 campaign. the russian information claimed to show that then attorney general lynch had been compromised in the clinton investigation because of e-mails between the then dnc chair debbie wasserman schultz and a clinton campaign operative saying lynch would make the fbi clinton probe go away. according to one government official in classified briefings comey told lawmakers that he was afraid that this information would, quote, drop and undermine the investigation, but comey didn't tell lawmakers at the time that he doubted the accuracy of the information even in a classified setting. according to one government official the fbi director felt

that the validity of the information didn't matter because if it came public he had no way to discredit it without burning sources and methods. >> in public comey gave the notion for breaking protocol and making this announcement last july because bill clinton had boarded then attorney general loretta lynch's plane which was inappropriate. that's why he decided to speak out. >> that's right. i am told he didn't even mention that in classified settings on capitol hill. he didn't talk about the plane incident. instead he told lawmakers that this russian information was the primary reason he took that unusual step to announce the end of the clinton probe himself. >> it sounds like the russians were still successful in their operation, even though comey knew this so-called memorandum was fake, he still acted as a result of it. at least in part. >> wolf, if you think about the chain of events that ended up -- this all ended upsetting off, when comey held his press

conference announcing no charges against clinton he took the extraordinary and some say inappropriate of calling hillary clinton careless. clinton aides are claiming that her reputation was damaged with voters and never recovered from that press conference and that press conference likely wouldn't have happened without russian interference. also talking to many officials on capitol hill and elsewhere, dissemination of fake information is still a major issue. multiple sources tell us that russia is still at this moment trying to spread false information on trying to cloud and confuse ongoing investigations. >> i want to bring in our panel. david is with us. david gregory and our legal analyst, former federal prosecutor laura coats is with us as well. david, if you're a democrat, your head is probably exploding right now getting a lot of this

new information on what prompted the then fbi director to go ahead with an extraordinary news conference last july. >> as dana said, a sort of cascading series of events that would cause those democrats to be banging their head on the table. it seems to me what's going on here is that when "the washington post" story broke the other day, there was this notion that jim comey was duped. i think what as dana is reporting, telling folks on the hill and others, is to sort of clean up that notion, no, he knew. can i ask you a question. ma'a i not know the answer. timeline wise, did he know -- because the justice department got the memo or the intelligence in march, right? did comey know at the time it was fake when he gave the press conference? >> we have been told that he knew pretty much -- that the fbi knew pretty much right away that it wasn't true. these briefings i talk about classified briefings on capitol hill, this was a few months ago

when he was trying to explain sort of expost fact to what happened. >> sort of an autopsy. >> exactly. >> the problem, david gregory, is that even though the fbi director james comey at the time knew it was a fake memorandum, what he feared was it would be released. but a lot of people out there would automatically believe there was a conspiracy going on between the then attorney general loretta lynch and debbie wasserman schultz, then head of the dnc, and clinton campaign operatives. >> i think to take the larger view, jim comey based on everything we've heard through reporting, ours and others, was trying to contain a situation that was getting out of control. so this thing is playing itself out. remember what's happening at that time. you've got a candidate, candidate trump saying the fix is in. the government is conspiring to let hillary clinton off the hook. so this kind of thing drops as dana reports. then all of a sudden the fbi is

in a position, wait, you're not prosecuting and you have all this information even though it's fake information? comey at all point is reaching a conclusion which is nobody would bring any criminal charges to hillary clinton or people around her. this does not rise to that level. but he's trying to control the politics because he has fbi a l agents who work for him. he's got conservatives on the hill who want to see her prosecuted. who go back to the petraeus case on his handling the information because it was intentional and think that there was unfairness here. he's trying to manage all of this and realizes ultimately that he can't by coming out publicly and saying that nobody would have ever charged her but at the same time she was reckless. this thing was just too big to contain and it shows just how successful the russians were at pushing on open doors of cynicism and disbelief among americans about hillary clinton, our institutions and our electoral system. >> jim comey also had an

american elector rat that he wanted to have faith. he also just wanted everyone when the information became public to have full faith in the investigation. >> that's very important. >> i'm anxious for your analysis as a former federal prosecutor. >> the role of the fbi is not to be the defensive politician who's safeguarding the integrity of democracy. the role is to be unseen and proactive investigator. so all of his endeavors to try to preserve the integrity of the fbi really undermine it because while he took the role that he did, and i was critical back then and essential tar and feathering in the public square and then try and usurp the role of the public prosecutor. the reason you can't do that and the reason he shouldn't have been responsive is you have to allow the investigation to go and run parallel and ultimately end at the desk of the people who decide the issue. in his intention and maybe they were pure, maybe they were ego based. who knows. but his intentions missed the

mark because what it did is show that even when it comes to knowingly fake news, you have to address, you -- he felt the need to try to put in the public an investigation that was yet not closed or should not have been in the public eye. >> you're 100% eye. could have been ego. could having good intentions. could have been both. we also have to be critical of attorney general lynch who took herself out of this game kp sane is the decider. she felt that she couldn't or wouldn't and that's a huge -- i think a huge area where she's vulnerable to criticism as well as him even though you're 100% right. >> let's be clear. what she said was not that she would turn a blind eye to the career prosecutors. her statement was she would defer to the recommendation of her career prosecutors and ultimately the fbi underlining their investigation. that happens every day on most cases. she or right now jeff sessions is not going to be the one to decide every single case. they must defer to the ones who are nonpartisan. >> if the fbi wasn't going to

charge, they should just shut up. >> but you're right, she does have some responsibility, but ultimately speaking, it still, even with that moment, was not the fbi director's role to then give a full press conference about the intentions of something he could not control. >> why couldn't comey simply d have said there's a fake memorandum, it's phoney, it's fake, forget about it, it has nothing to do with this investigation. he didn't even tell congress behind closed doors that he knew it was fake. >> that's right. sources i talked to was the information was given to congress but not that it was fake. that's mind boggling. i don't know the answer to that. maybe he was not sure even though it was classified setting that it wouldn't get out. because to answer the first part of your question is that there was a lot of concern about

protecting sources and methods and that if the u.s. government let it be known that they knew that this was a fake document or fake piece of intelligence from the russians and the russians would figure out where they got it from. >> don't you know another part of this answer which is what comey has said? he wanted to blow the whistle on the russians in the course of the campaign and he claims, i forget whether he said this publicly or through reporting, that the administration, the obama administration did not want to do that because they didn't want to put their thumb on the scale and make it seem they can they were trying to sway the election. there's a lot of people trying to put their arms around this thing, except donald trump who was out there saying the fix is in and it's a big conspiracy. >> in early october the obama administration did put out a statement saying the russians were -- >> that was earlier in the summer. >> but by october 8th i think that memorandum signed by jay johnson, the secretary of homeland security and the director of national intelligence at the time, they

issued that public statement accusing the russians of intervening. i want to quickly play a little sound. this is hillary clinton delivering some of her commencement address at her alma mater, wellesley college up in new england. and she drew a parallel to what happened back when she was delivering her graduation commencement address back in 1969 and what she suspects might be going on right now. listen to this. >> if any of you are nervous about what you'll be walking into when you leave the campus, i know that feeling. we were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually e eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice. >> she went one step further and

she said back at that time that president, referring to nixon, fired the man who was in charge of the investigation. >> she would know these facts because she served as a staffer on the watergate committee after her college days. of course nixon, just to get the factual record right, wasn't impeached. it was the threat of impeachment. >> he was about to be impeached and then offered his letter of resignation. >> exactly. but watching that speech which was a takedown of trump without calling him out by name, we've seen multiple hillary clinton appearances and speeches since the election where she just doesn't give a heck about anything anymore. this woman that used to be the most scripted, afraid of her shadow, consult ent laden, weighing in mher mind, say this say that, in the last six months we keep seeing her in a way she just doesn't care about the

perception of her remarks as she once did and feels emboldened to make these remarks against the president. >> it's interesting. what does she have to lose? she wants to speak out. >> exactly. >> i suspect she's not going to be running for anything anymore. if she wants to speak out, she can speak out. >> no question about it. she was in her ultimate comfort zone giving a speech to wellesley graduates, 40 plus years after she gave a speech to wellesley graduate when she was one of her own. it was very fiery, very tough, she knew her audience would lap it up, which she did. and the fact that she made those pair le parallels is something that -- how could she not do that? >> that speech 40 plus years ago was so notable for its idealism. it's actually very sad to see on the other end of it that she, hillary clinton, is in a place of so much cynicism because i think a lot of younger people probably feeling that way and we can't lose hope in the system,

nor should she lose hope. i think she has to take some responsibility for where she fell short and i know that's coming. we have to wait for the book. >> all right, guys. everybody stand by. a lot more coming up. still ahead, new details in the investigation into this week's deadly attack in manchester, england. british authorities are now working to contain the terror network that they believe was behind the suicide bombing. plus we'll have more on hillary clinton's commencement speech to wellesley grads. she called out the president on several issues including his budget proposals, the russia investigation and a whole lot more. >> in the years to come, there will be trolls galore. they may even call i a nasty woman. e artificial ingredients. kind never had to. a nasty woman. y a nasty woman. o a nasty woman. u a nasty woman. and a drizzle of dark chocolate.

give kind a try. ♪ ready or not, here i come.ek.) ♪ galo ais the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us. you need one of these. you wouldn't put up with an umbrella that covers you part way, so when it comes to pain relievers, why put up with just part of a day? aleve, live whole not part.

tell you what, i'll give it to you for half off.

tech: when your windshield needs to be fixed... trust safelite autoglass. for these parents, driving around was the only way to get their baby to sleep. so when their windshield got cracked... customer: we can't drive this car. tech: ...they wanted it fixed right. so they scheduled with safelite. our exclusive trueseal technology means a strong, reliable bond, every time. at safelite, we stand behind our work. bye, bye. because the ones you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace.

. president trump's first international trip since taking office now winding down. the president and world leaders are meeting in italy right now, but the trip has not provided the escape from the russia controversy that the administration hoped it would. our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny is

joining us live from sicily. the administration was asked earlier about whether sanctions imposed against russia for election meddling will continue. the president's top economic adviser said right now we don't have a position. so what is gary cohn saying to clarify the administration's position? >> wolf, that was so interesting when he said that yesterday. certainly raised eyebrows. but just a few moments ago in a briefing with reporters here in sicily, gary cohn sort of changed his statement and he said very bluntly. he said we're not lowering our sanctions with russia. if anything, we would probably look to get tougher on russia. the president wants to continue to keep those sanctions in place. so wolf, that was the president's top economic adviser saying something that we've not really heard from the president at all along this entire week. that's talk about russia. he clearly wants to avoid the controversy that's happening back in washington, but by doing so, he's raising questions about

if he's willing to get tough on the russian president. of course that is a central sort of unspoken question in the hallways here in the meetings and other things, what donald trump's view of russia is and is he willing to get tough with president putin. >> the g7 summit in sicily where you are right now following the president's speech to nato allies where he scolded members for not meeting their financial obligations. one analyst described the speech as diplomatly innept a-- and insulting. >> the president of course has made these comments but it was a surprise he was doing it in that moment and his dedication to eight 9/11 memorial. there really were some jaws sort of dropping because of this. but the -- the challenge here is

that shows the advisers inside the white house, their disagreements. this is the steve bannon view, the america first view of this white house here. so some leaders certainly were not that thrilled by. that wolf, we're getting new word just a short time ago that the president is going to have a one-on-one meeting with the german chancellor here this evening. angela merkel. he will be talking of course face-to-face for the first time on this meeting. he is doing a lot of meetings on the sideline here and you have to wonder if he's doing some, you know, much more of a charm offensive in person because after yesterday many people here think he needs it. >> wonder if he's going to respond to what you said about not building walls. we know he wants to build a wall between the u.s. and mexico. jeff zeleny, thank you very much. as the president wraps up his first overseas trip, let's take a step back and assessed how he handled it. joined by retired admiral john

kirby and elise. i asked both of you last week before the trip started to give me thoughts on what you thought were the biggest challenges facing the president. john, you told us staying strategic, staying on message and staying engaged were big challenges. >> he had a strong -- he was able to stay out of the details on the peace process. but the unifying message came by villifying iran. right when they were reelecting a moderate president. the way he has couched terrorism, no talk about the social economic and political factors that go into radicalization. so i think he's mixed there. on message, yes, he was very disciplined. i think he gets an "a" for staying on message. i would have liked to see him do a press conference. yes, there's risk but i think that would have been useful. then staying engaged, i go back to what i said earlier. i think he fell flat. he had a chance in brussels to

show american commitment and leadership and he didn't do that. he complained and nagged about defense spending. it was a chance to show the united states as the big nation we are. instead he made us look cheap and small. >> you said that his three big objectives in your opinion strengthen u.s. ties with sunni arabs, raise more muslim support to fight terrorism, restart the peace process. how did he do? >> i think on the first two as john said he did pretty well. he had the message of reengaging the sunni and golf arabs who felt abandoned do you recall the bo obama administration. that was a good set of days. i think he got good marks. with terrorism i think he had a unifying message that he was not at war with islam but that islamic and arab leaders had to take more of the responsibility

of shutting out those who are exploiting their religion. i think on the israeli peace process, both sides were really excited about his visit. you never saw an israeli prime minister so giddy about a u.s. presidential visit, and also he visited the palestinian which i think was significant. but both sides were looking for him to say and do certain things. we didn't see any announcement on the movement of the embassy or anything on the two state so solution, so people were there expecting to see more. >> there's no political will to move that process forward. he's trying to reset the process which is fine. no political will. there's belief in isreal that netanyahu is vulnerable here. he needs his base. i don't think he moves on anything right now. >> let's see if they can do something there. they're trying. they're working behind the scenes. what they're trying to do is get the sunni arabs on board to help

out and they're making a point that the saudis, maybe they can help out. >> he has couched this terrorism fight and that's probably a mistake going forward. >> only sunni arabs were invited to saudi arabia for that summit. the shiite leaders including the prime minister of iraq was deliberately not invited to that summit in riyadh. thanks very much. coming up, we're following new details in the investigation into this week's deadly attack in manchester, england, including a conversation between the bomber and his brother. we have new information. we'll be right back. s that splenda naturals gal, isn't it? coffee: look, she's sweet, she's got natural stevia, no bitter aftertaste, and zero calories. all the partners agree? even iced tea? especially iced tea. goodbye, sugar. hello, new splenda naturals. ♪ goodbye, sugar. ♪

♪ ♪ sfx: engine revving ♪ (silence) ♪ only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. tylenol® and i quit smoking with chantix. i was very grateful to have chantix. at times when i would normally go smoke, i just didn't it's kind of like "wait a minute, i would normally be running out the door

to go grab a cigarette." along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be life-threatening. stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. tell your healthcare provider if you've had depression or other mental health problems. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. the most common side effect is nausea. thank you chantix. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. many insurance plans cover chantix for a low or $0 copay. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free. it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles.

try super poligrip free. ♪ mattress firmness? fortunately there's a bed where you both get what you want every night. enter sleep number and the semi-annual sale going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. it's the lowest price ever on our temperature balancing i8 bed, save $700 plus 36 month financing. ends monday. go to sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my account, you can figure things out easily, so you won't even have to call us. change your wifi password to something you can actually remember, instantly. add that premium channel, and watch the show everyone's talking about, tonight. and the bill you need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount

i think it is important that as leaders we have shown our fierce determination to ensure that we use every tool available to us to fight against terrorism and protect our people. >> that was the british brprime minister. meanwhile the u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson is in the uk today meeting with the british foreign secretary boris johnson. both signed a con dollens book for the victims of the manchester attack. part of the visit is aimed at smoothing over some pretty ruffled feathers. the uk is angry at the u.s. over leaking investigation details to the u.s. news media. >> we take full responsibility for that. we obviously regret that happened. in terms of how to fix the relationship between the u.s. and great britain, this special relationship that exists between our two countries will certainly

withstand this particular unfortunate event. >> meanwhile, new raids and a new arrest. police in manchester now have eight people in custody in connection with monday's terror bombing. libyan militia says the bomber salman abedi spoke with his brother in libya only 15 minutes before he launched the attack. for more on these developments, let's bring in our senior international correspondents fled and arwa damon. what are they saying about the investigation? >> they're saying the investigation is still very much high paced. they've been making progress. you've mentioned some of the arrests. they say that is something they hope will help contain this network that they believe is behind this bombing. however, the big question here is is there still someone at large who is capable of building explosive devices like the one that was used in the manchester

bombing. the authorities hearsay they're making progress on that but at this point in time they simply cannot be sure. they say they are working around the clock though. listen really quick to what the state secretary for security affai affairs had to say earlier today. >> we're following up the network and roll it out and try to contain it and get to the bottom of how big it is and how many are involved. we're getting to a stage where we're working it through. as you've seen from the number of arrests we're hopeful ne the right track to contain it and make sure that people that pose a further risk are being picked up and we're making sure that we can hopefully get back to normal. >> but at this point in time they're not even close to getting back to normal. the threat level here is still at krcritical which is the hight that country has. you still have soldiers on the street in london who are guarding key installations. a lot more armed police as well. as the authorities are trying to sift through that network and has the minister there said, trying to contain the network

and through these arrests really trying to get more and more of those people off the street and stop them from being a danger to the public here in the uk, wolf. >> arwa, what can you tell us about the conversation between the suicide bomber salman abedi and his brother and the father role in all of this as well? >> at this stage the most recent information we're gets suggest from the spokesman for the special deterrent force. this is the armed group that actually detained salman's brother as well as his father. and it's basically an armed group that nominally falls under the control of the ministry of interior. according to the spokesman, he says that salman and his brother spoke about 15 minutes before the attack took place. he says that the brother only really knew about his brother's movements. he knew he was planning on not going to the religious pi-- as

told his father knew that he was going to manchester. knew that he was planning some sort of attack but he did not know when or where it was going to be happening. it is believed at least by the libyans that both brothers were somehow involved in plotting this attack. they do believe that plans for it began as far back as the ed d of 2016. libyans are saying there wasn't a lot of plotting or planning trying to put together the device that took place while the two brothers were in libya. at this stage they're trying to piece all of this together. the brother's father also detained at this stage. we don't know what he is being accused of, what he's being investigated are. remember he yanked both brothers from manchester, brought them back to libya about a month before the attack took place because he was concerned they were getting wrapped up in some sort of criminal gang activity.

the boys mother as well as two other siblings were also taken in for questioning, but they were released shortly there after. so still a lot of effort under way at this stage trying to piece together exactly where it was that these two brothers were radicalized. remember the brother who was detained according to the libyans at least under interrogation and we do not know exactly what those circumstances were. did confess that he and salman were members of isis. but exactly where they joined the organization, were they somehow c somehow radicalized in manchester? did it happen in one of their trips back and forth. those are going to be key points in trying to determine how it is that two brothers, it would seem who were born and raised in the uk, who were both on their way to getting an education and not exactly from an impoverished

family end up being drawn into this violence. >> both doing excellent reporting on these investigations. thanks very much. all of the victims by the way in the manchester terror attack have now been identified. a family friend says 15-year-old megan hurley was killed in the blast. she's just one of 22 victims that were killed during that suicide bombing attack this week. we'll be right back.

when they thought they should westart saving for retirement.le then we asked some older people when they actually did start saving. this gap between when we should start saving and when we actually do is one of the reasons why too many of us aren't prepared for retirement. just start as early as you can. it's going to pay off in the future.

if we all start saving a little more today, we'll all be better prepared tomorrow. prudential. bring your challenges. and i thought, well, you need to go to the doctor. i was told that is was cancer, and i called cancer treatment centers of america. dr. nader explained that they can pinpoint the treatment. once we identified that there was this genetic abnormality in her tumor, we were able to place her on very specific therapy.

our individualized care model gives each lung patient specific treatment options with innovative procedures that are changing the way we fight lung cancer. we have excellent technology that allow us to perform very specialized procedures for patients who have lung disease. to learn more about these targeted therapies and advanced procedures for lung cancer, as well as the experienced physicians who deleliver them, go to caceer.com when he showowowowed me the cat scans, i was somazed. with this treatment, she had a dramatic response. call or go to cancercenter.com cancer treatment centers of america. care that never quits. appointments avale now.

daily life a guessing game. and bloating made will i have pain and bloating today? my doctor recommended ibgard to manage my ibs. take control. ask your doctor about nonprescription ibgard. . hillary clinton returned to the political spotlight today with the commencement speech at her alma mater. she spoke to wellesley college graduates about her election loss and how to move forward given today's politics. >> you are graduating at a time

when there is a full-fledged assault on truth and reason. >> today was a familiar picture. almost five decades ago back in 1969 hillary clinton addressed her fellow graduates at the school's first student -- as the first school -- as the school's first commencement student commentme comme commencement speaker. brianna, she had some strong words about the current political landscape. update our viewers. >> that's right. there was certainly some optimism for the class of 2017 but also those strong words were what you really noticed there, wolf. she lamented the current state of politics. she told grads they didn't create it but they could change did and she made a number of jokes at president trump's expense. you played that sound where she said that there is an assault on truth and reason. she went on to say including

what we see with our own eyes. roasting donald trump and his administration, really the white house's efforts to say that he had a record inauguration crowd. she also, though, had a very serious and dire warning. >> when people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society. that is not hyperbole. it is what authoritarian regimes throughout history have done. they attempt to control reality. not just our laws and our rights and our budgets, but our thoughts and beliefs. >> this was of course a very friendly crowd for hillary clinton here at wellesley and a bitter sweet home coming, wolf.

i think you could definitely say she was sort of devil tep self deprecating, humorous chl. she said she's been going on long walks, organized her closets, said to much laughter chardonnay really helped. but how sharp she was against president trump, something we have seen her do in a big way lately here in the last few weeks. >> it was not very veiled at all. brianna at wellesley college. thanks very much. the republican national committee just released a statement responding to hillary clinton's speech. let me read part of this. quote, today's speech was a stark reminder why hillary clinton lost in 2016. instead of lashing out with the same partisan talking instead of lashing out with the same partisan talking points, hillary clinton would be wise to look inward. talk about why she lost and expan the dwindling base of democratic party supporters. we won't hold our breath though.

that statement from the rnc. coming up just one day after being charged with assaulting a reporter, the montana republican greg gianforte captured the state's open house seat after the break. what the win means for the gop. only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. tylenol® it's about moving forward, not back.t. it's looking up, not down. it's being in motion. in body, in spirit, in the now.

boost® high protein it's intelligent nutrition with 15 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. for when you need a little extra. boost® the number one high protein complete nutritional drink. be up for it tech: when your windshield needs to be fixed... trust safelite autoglass. for these parents, driving around was the only way to get their baby to sleep. so when their windshield got cracked... customer: we can't drive this car. tech: ...they wanted it fixed right. so they scheduled with safelite. our exclusive trueseal technology means a strong, reliable bond, every time. at safelite, we stand behind our work. bye, bye. because the ones you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace. i count on my dell small for tech advice. with one phone call, i get products that suit my needs and i get back to business. ♪ ♪

a republican candidate wins the montana special election 24 hours after he was charged with assaulting a news reporter. greg gianforte defeated rob quist in the race for montana hope house of representatives seat. during his victory speech gianforte apologized for his awful behavior. >> i'm not proud of what happened. i should not have responded in the way that i did. and for that i'm sorry. >> and you're i should not have treated that reporter that way. and for that, i'm sorry, mr. ben

jacobs. you deserve a congressman who stays out of the limelight and just gets the job done. >> president trump went out of his way to comment on gianforte's win while he was over at the g-7 summit in sicily. he whispered to the news media, great win in montana. our congressional correspondent phil mattingly is joining us with reaction from capitol hill. phil, what are you hearing from lawmakers? >> reporter: it's no surprise that lawmakers after they left for recess and after the charges were filed were not rushing to the cameras to defend the action. most were very clear, it was out of line. it was uncalled for. however, they did not say it was disqualifying. the speaker had very blunt words. >> there is no time where a physical altercation should occur with the press or just between human beings.

so that is wrong and should not have happened. should the gentleman apologize? yeah, i think he should apologize. i know he has his own version and i'm sure he's going to have more to say, but there's no call for this, no matter under any circumstance. >> reporter: wolf, it's notable that despite that speech the speaker made it very clear, if he won, he would be seated. it's something he echoed in his statement after the victory last night. here's what he said. basically, elections are about consequences. this is from ryan's spokesman. selecting gianforte to represent them in congress, he goes on to talk about what he brought to the table but the most noteworthy line was the last one. he will bring that experience to congress where he will be a valuable voice in the house. it's worth noting, montana democrats say he should not be sworn in until charges are resolved one way or the other. speaker ryan making it clear, they are not going to wait. montanans voted and it's a statewide election in the state of montana and, therefore, he

will be sworn in. an interesting element of this that everybody is trying to figure out is what does this mean for the national landscape of things. it's very difficult to know in this election but gianforte won statewide and lost to a democrat in 2016. the democratic opponent that he had didn't exactly thrill a lot of democratic consultants and republicans dumped a ton of money into this. while this was a state that president trump won by 20 points, gianforte only won by 6, it was noteworthy that the democratic opponent very rarely mentioned president trump's name. he's still popular in states, not surprisingly, that he won by 20 points. there's no question about it, when you look at these special elections going forward, people are trying to figure out if messages will work nationwide. wolf f. i will say this, this race is not a great indicator but for republicans, a victory. they are happy, despite the circumstances, that surrounded it the last 48 hours.

>> i hope gianforte learned his lesson. once he arrives where you are up on capitol hill, you and manu and other congressional correspondents, you're going to be chasing him with microphones and let's hope he responds as he should. phil mattingly, thanks very much. a federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that blocks president trump's travel ban against six muslim majority nations. now the trump administration says it's taking its appeal to the u.s. supreme court. we have details. ♪ ♪ i'm dr. kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. ♪ energy lives here.

ready or not, here i come.ek.) ♪ anyone can dream. making it a reality is the hard part. northrop grumman command and control systems always let you see the complete picture. and we're looking for a few dreamers to join us. mattress firmness? fortunately there's a bed where you both get what you want every night. enter sleep number and the semi-annual sale going on now. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store. it's the lowest price ever on our temperature balancing i8 bed, save $700 plus 36 month financing. ends monday. go to sleepnumber.com for a store near you.

...to a new world.s... deeper than the ocean. as unfathomable as the universe. a world that doesn't exist outside you... ...but within you. where breakthrough science is replacing chemotherapy with immunotherapy. where we can now attack the causes of disease, not just the symptoms. where medicines once produced for all, are now designed to fit you. today 140,000 biopharmaceutical researchers go bodly to discover treatments and cures unimaginable ten years ago... ...and are on the verge of more tomorrow.

the trump administration vows to take its travel ban case to the highest court in the land after an appeals court refused to reinstate the order. the u.s. attorney general jeff sessions releasing a statement saying, among other things, this department of justice will continue to vigorously defend the power and duty of the executive branch to protect the people of this country from

danger and will seek review of this case in the united states supreme court. our supreme court reporter is with us right now. what happens next? >> well, jeff sessions said he was going to the supreme court but didn't say when or how. what we think will probably happen is he'll file an emergency application and the administration will say allow this to go into effect now pending appeal. the justices look at that and one thing they look at is the status quo. this never went into effect. they may not want to change the status quo and may be worried about the chaos that could trigger. remember, the chaos in the airports. so they'll look at that and then may consider the merits and, keep in mind, this court has five conservatives, four liberals and they could go down ideological lines but the executive order has a lot in it, right? it's got religion and the president's authority and immigration so maybe that would

make strange bedfellows when it make it is to the supreme court. >> you never know what these nine justices are going to do. this is a huge setback, though, for the president, the second time he revises the initial travel ban, this time affecting six muslim-majority countries. it's a major setback for him. >> oh, it was lashing. the court said the executive order drips with religious intolerance, aminis and discrimination. >> they clearly failed before the fourth circuit court. >> absolutely. second time around. >> and another decision could come any time now? >> we expect it today or next week. >> that could be a another setback for this decision, right? >>. >> that's how it looks but you

can never be too sure. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." for our international viewers, "amanpour" is next. for our north american viewers, brooke baldwin is here right now. . >> wolf, thank you so much. i'm brooke baldwin. we begin with breaking news regarding the fbi's role in the 2016 presidential election. we're now learning why the fired fbi director went public to announce the investigation of hillary clinton's e-mails was ending. you remember james comey held an infamous news conference last summer. turns out, he was worried about the russians impacting the integrity of the investigation. dana bash has the new breaking news here. what exactly have you learned? >> cnn has learned, brooke, that then fbi