duck: quack! call to request your free decision guide now. because the time to think about tomorrow is today. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. in washington. wherever you're watching from around the world, thafrpnks ver much for joining us. sources tell cnn that the special counsel robert mueller's office is looking at possibly x expanding his investigation and "the washington post" reports that mueller is already looking into the issue of obstruction of justice by president trump. cnn has not independently confirmed that part of the story, but we do know that investigators are interviewing top intelligence officials as we speak. either way, the president is reacting to the news with a tweet saying, quote, they made

up a phoney collusion with the russian story. found zero proof. so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phoney story. nice. it's possible we'll hear more from the white house during an off camera briefing from the deputy white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders later this hour. we will of course monitor that. our other top story right now, a change of tone up on capitol hill. in the wake of the shooting at a congressional baseball practice. the majority whip steve scalise is in critical condition and undergoing a third surgical procedure. president trump today saying scalise is still in some trouble. >> he's in some trouble. he's a great fighter and he's going to be okay we hope. we've had a very, very divided country for many years and i have a feeling that steve has made a great sacrifice, but there could be some unity being brought to our country. >> congressman scalise is just

one of the five people that were injured in wednesday's shooting. let's bring in cnn brian todd. he's over at the washington hospital center here in the nation's capitol. the president says the congressman is in some trouble. give us an update on his condition and who also has come by to visit. >> wolf, we learned a short time ago that congressman scalise got some additional vip visitors. vice president mike pence and h his wife came in. they met with doctors and other personnel. what we can tell you about the congressman's condition is. this a source with knowledge of the situation has told cnn that congressman scalise has undergone a third surgery. a hospital official told me there was at least one additional surgery that was performed on him. it's not clear if he's still in surgery or if he's out of it at this point. the source with knowledge of the situation did caution us,

though, to say that this is not as if he might have been rushed into surgery. that hospital officials and doctors did expect yesterday that he would need some additional surgeries and that is what we were told last night as well. when you kind of run down what the hospital has told us about what happened to congressman scalise, you can certainly understand why he would need additional surgeries. he was -- he suffered a i think el rifle shot to the left hip. the bullet traveled across his pelvis, broke some bones. caused some internal injuries and some severe bleeding. he was transferred here in shock yesterday and then he had underwent one initial surgery and then some additional procedures to stop the bleeding. he had multiple units of blood transfusions given to him. again, we did know yesterday that he would require additional surgeries, so this was to be expected that he would undergo an additional surgery, at least one of them today. we hope to get you an update on how that went in a short time.

you heard sanjay gupta on the area a sort time ago talking about what critical condition means. the definition according to the american hospital association and the person's vital signs are outside the normal levels and he could be unconscious. often times it has to do with excessive bleeding, so it can be expected that at least one of these procedures probably was done to address some bleeding issues. >> it's a serious situation. all of us are wishing him only the best. we're praying for him right now. brian, thank you very much. we'll stay in close touch with you. doing an investigation on the gunman. james hodgkinson had been in the d.c. area for a few weeks living out of a cargo van. many people mentioned seeing him work at his laptop at the ymca which was right near the baseball field. neighbors also said he actually

hung out on a bench near the baseball field where the republican team was practicing. illinois congressman is joining us live from capitol hill. congressman, he lived in your district. he contacted your office we're told at least ten times over the past year alone. first of all, what you tell us about this man? >> wolf, basically what -- we got the call yesterday morning before anybody else and my chief was contacted and they mentioned the name and instantly we started going through our records. he had contacted us ten times in the last 11 months. he started last june. and he -- of those ten times, nine of them were e-mails. one of them was by phone. most of them were just on the issues of the day. he usually had a different position than i take. but we took his communications. gave response back. none of it, and i mean this,

we've look today over a lot since yesterday, turned it all over to the capitol police, but nothing that you could see anything more than just a person as an activist wanting to send his opinion to the local congressman. >> so you never felt threatened by any of those e-mails or that phone call? you never saw the need for example to report to law enforcement any of his messages? >> no. when we searched through it, the only thing that was even, and this happens quite often if somebody disagrees with you, a statement was made in one of the e-mails if you don't vote this way, we'll remember you. i think that's -- we're going to work on your opponent's campaign, so no, we didn't take that as a threat. >> but those are -- with hindsight potentially, that could have been ominous. he also as you know congressman, he had some very disturbing social media posts on facebook. >> right. >> he wrote this back in march, trump is a traitor.

trump has destroyed our democracy. it's time to destroy trump and company. now, when he says destroy trump and company, that potentially could be seen as a direct threat to the president of the united states which is a crime. >> you're right. and because we didn't even look at his social media until yesterday, we didn't see a need to, but we deal with these -- this situation in our office quite often. you have people disagree with you all the time whether you're republican, democrat. and you have people that get on and can say some pretty rough things. we have in times turned things over. but this one never climbed to that level. >> the whole notion, though, of a threat like that on facebook to the president with hindsight should someone have reported that to the secret service? >> well, that didn't come through our office. >> i know it didn't come through your office, but let's say other people read it on facebook. >> if other people read it, i would say that if my staff read it, we would probably go okay,

this has climbed to a level that we need to report it and we've done that before. >> i know you know steve scalise, the marmjority whip. >> very well. >> tell us how you're reacting to this news now. he's undergoing his third surgery. he's listed in critical condition. >> well, let me tell you, everyone here has got him in our prayers. we love him. he's the leader -- one of the leaders. he's always there. he's always there to help. he's got a joke, a good time. of course, remember he also on fly in days for votes he normally has a lot of good louisiana food that he puts out for everybody. he's just a great friend and, you know, we never wish this on anyone. it's so sad that something like this happened. >> are you increasing your own personal security? for example, when you go back to your district in illinois, you have a town hall, a big event. are you going to ask local police to come over and help out? >> we usually do anyway.

but yeah, i mean, everybody -- this makes you become more aware. you know, in the marine corp it used to be situation awareness. that's what we have to do. we have to do our due diligence to make sure that we're safe. but remember, who would have thought on a baseball field in a good neighborhood that something like this would have happened? >> it's shocking. i've spoken to many of your colleagues, especially a lot of republicans. there's no doubt that this guy had -- he wanted to go after republicans. he tweeted in february republicans are the taliban of the usa. it's an awful situation. give us your reaction. it's now 24 hours later or so up on capitol till. how are your colleagues dealing with this? >> here's the thing. this is what i believe -- the road we need to go down. there's a rider th there's writer that used to use

a quote -- it should never climb to the level of combat. right now whether you're republican or democrat, we see each other in the halls, we're talking. we're together on a lot more issues than people realize. and i know it doesn't sell to the news media as well when we get along. about you we have a lot of things together. that baseball game tonight, that's something we're doing together. and trying to unite. we're still going to have differences, but we can't let the people of this united states get to the point that they are so angry that they step down the path that this shooter did. >> congressman, we'll see you at that game tonight, right? >> looking forward to it. you bet. i won't see me playing, but i will be there watching. >> of course you will. we'll look forward to that game at nationals park here in washington, d.c. it will be a big, big moment i think for all of us. congressman, thanks so much for joining us. >> wolf, thank you. let's get back to the russia investigation right now and another response from president trump. tweeting this, and i'm quoting

now, you are witnessing the single greatest witch hunt in american political history led by some very bad and conflicted people. let's go to our senior white house correspondent jeff zeleny. jeff, the special counsel robert mueller two days ago we were talking about him potentially being fired by the president, associates of the president were raising that possibility. now he's moving ahead possibly with an obstruction of justice investigation. have you heard anything more from over where you are other than that tweet by the president this morning? >> wolf, the president was asked directly about this if he believes he is under investigation as he was signing an executive order earlier today by our athena jones. he asked the question a couple times. he did not answer that question, wolf. but that is on the minds of staffers and officials here at the white house. it is something that is spoken in hushed tones mainly. but there is a sense that this investigation certainly is

moving toward the oval office. now, it's just an ofinvestigati. that does not mean there's any wrongdoing. certainly the investigation in the sense that this is happening is hanging over this white house again. the president clearly venting his frustration this morning in a round of messages. and he is still calling this a witch hunt. but wolf, there's so many other republicans in this town who are saying simply let bob mueller do this is job. they say it's not a witch hunt. senator john boone is among those who was on morning television saying no, it's not a witch hunt. the question is is the white house going to be able to avoid being completely consumed and distracted by this? now, the president, his spokesman issued a blistering statement about this "washington post" report. it says this. it says the fbi leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal. that was the only official

comment from the president's lawyer or anyone here at the white house about this bombshell, wolf. but in about a half an hour or so, sarah huckabee sanders, the deputy white house press secretary will be briefing reporters off camera, but we will have a chance to ask her about this. of course, everything else that's going on here today. >> as you point out, a couple tweets. official tweets from the president of the united states including the one that says you are witnessing the single greatest witch hunt in american political history led by some very bad and conflicted people. #magamake america great again. thanks jeff zeleny. we'll stay in touch. you'll let us know what sarah huckabee sanders has to say in her off camera briefing coming up. up next, a member of the house intelligence committee, we'll get the late oeft their investigation and robert mueller's possible investigation of the president also.

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let's get back to the congressional russia investigation. "the washington post" now reporting that the special counsel robert mueller is looking into whether president trump obstructed justice. cnn has not con fefirmed the details of the report but we do know they're interviewing top officials. dan coats and mike rogers. joining us now is jackie spear of california. she's a democrat. she's a member of the house intelligence committee. thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure, wolf. >> what's your reaction to this report from "the washington post" that mueller is investigating the president for possible obstruction of justice? >> well, i think it was -- >> hold on one second. the vice president is speaking about the majority whip steve scalise right now. i want to listen in. >> injuring five people as they practiced for tonight's annual

charity baseball game. i served with many of these congressmen. they're my friends. including representative steve scalise who is seriously wounded. but i can say with confidence that he continues to receive the best possible medical care at med star hospital in washington, d.c. congressman scalise is a good man. he's a good leader and a patriot. and like all those who come to serve in our nation's capitol, steve loved this country. and his service does credit to the people of his state and the people of this nation. karen and i join millions across america in praying for steve, for all the injured and their families in this difficult time, but we're especially grateful to the brave police officers who ran into danger without regard to their personal safety. as i told her and her family

this morning at the hospital, the courageous action says of crystal griner and that was officer david bailey saved lives. and prevented an even greater tragedy. and the american people are grateful for these korcourageou police officers. [ applause ] >> while there will always be those who seek to divide, who choose insult over incite, tonight the world will see america is better than that. as president trump said yesterday, we are strongest when we are unified. when we work together for the common good. and when a neighbor is hurting or under attack, the american people always come together. with generosity, compassion, and prayer. and we always will.

it's in that spirit that i'm honored to stand here with all of you today. from across south america, central america, north america, at this historic gathering. >> so those strong very powerful words from the vice president of the united states, mike pence, speaking about congressman steve scalise of the majority whip who's now undergoing his third surgical procedure here in washington. we of course wish him only the best. a speedy recovery from that gunshot wound that he took yesterday simply while practicing for a baseball game later tonight. we're back with congresswoman jackie spear. you're going to be at that game tonight, right, congresswoman? >> absolutely. >> tell us -- >> i will be there praying for mike and his family. >> tell us about your reaction when you heard that a fellow member of the united states house of representatives, steve

scalise, and others were attacked yesterday morning simply practicing baseball, getting ready for a game for charity later tonight. >> well, you know, my heart sunk. and i think that this is a time for us all to pray for steve and his family, for his children madison and harrison and his wife jennifer in hopes that all will go well. it's also a time for this congress to heal itself, to find ways to work together. and i must say having personally, you know, suffered from gunshot wounds myself, it's a very difficult experience. it's very difficult what he's going through right now, what he will go through for probably months and years ahead. >> you were shot five times as a recall back in 1978 in south america and the congressman that you worked for, congressman lee

o ryan, he was killed in that jim jones cult attack. so you have personal experience in an attack along these lines. talk a little bit about that. >> well, congressman ryan was the first congressman to be assassinated in the line of duty. he was shot 45 times trying to save americans constituents from his district from jim jones and the people's temple. i was shot as you mentioned five times. i was on that airstrip for 22 hours without medical attention. i had those moments to think about the value of life and whether or not it was going to continue, what i was going to do with it. so it's a very, very difficult experience to go through. it's difficult for the family. it's certainly going to be difficult for steve. we need to be there to support him and his family. >> and we all need to be praying for him right now. he's listed in critical condition over at the med star washington hospital center. we hope he does make a full

recovery. let's talk a little bit about a very different subject right now. your house intelligence committee investigation. you saw that report in "the washington post" about robert mueller, the special counsel involved now according to "the washington post" in an investigation into possible obstruction of justice on the part of the president. what are you hearing? what's your reaction? >> well, i would say that, you know, it was predictable that the mueller special counsel would, in fact, look into that, whether there's, you know, truth to that or not, he certainly has to establish whether the president himself attempted to obstruct justice. in a historical standpoint, that's often been the case where presidents have gone too far. i hope that's not the case with president trump, but that's something that special counsel mueller has the right and responsibility to explore. >> the senate intelligence committee is apparently not

looking into the obstruction of justice allegation. they have got other issues they want to look into. what about the house intelligence committee? >> we haven't actually decided how far we're going on that particular component. we do have a responsibility to look into the russian hacking, into our election system, that their potential collusion with trump campaign operatives in trying to interfere with our election process. i am deeply troubled about the election system, the very systems that exist in our very states and the extent to which the russians attempted to access those forms of software. and could have corrupted many of those systems. so we have a lot of work to do in that regard. >> next week you'll be hearing open testimony i believe from jay johnson, the former secretary of homeland security during the obama administration. what do you hope to get from him? >> certainly he'll be able to

provide us with a perspective having served as the secretary of homeland security for most of the last four years of the president's term. he will be able to shed some light on the efforts that were under way by russia to interfere not necessarily in the election, but interfere in the operation of our country and hack into various systems within our country. >> congresswoman jackie spear, thanks so much for joining us. you're okay, right? that incident where you were shot five times, back in 1978? you're fine, right? >> yeah. i had a long recovery, but i'm perfectly fine. thank you. >> thank god for that. thanks so much for joining us. we just want to alert our viewers to an exclusive coming up later. paul ryan, nancy pelosi, they will sit down together, together, their first joint

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. the russian probe just exploded. president trump is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice. that according to a "washington post" report . cnn learns that robert mueller will interview three officials this week. dan coats, mike rogers and the former nsa deputy director richard ledgett. cnn has not independently, shim mo -- shimon confirmed "the washington post" report. how far are we willing to go in this report? >> when we're willing to say and what we've learned is that the special counsel, bob mueller, wants to talk to some of the intelligence -- these agency

heads of these intelligence agents, rogers and coats which you mentioned. all of this is really because a lot has come out through maybe leaks and also on the hill in testimony before congress where trump was asking these intelligence officials to basically knockdown these ports of collusion. it's just something that trump as we know has not been able to get his head around and has had issues that he or his campaign may have been involved in some sort of collusion with russia. tis is what basically what i think mueller wants to look at. to see if there was any pressure, did they feel any pressure from the president in these conversations that he may have had with them. interestingly, the third person he wants to also speak with is the deputy director from the nas who is now retired, but we're toll told he wrote a memo of a conversation that rogers had

with trump where there was a discussion about collusion and perhaps maybe some talk of having rogers go to the fbi and trying to ask them to maybe knockdown some of these reports. so that's supposed to take place sometime soon. we expect that mueller will interview them. we don't know exactly when. but that should happen soon. >> i'm sure it will happen sooner rather than later. the president was busy this morning tweeting as he often does very early, 6:55 a.m. they made up a phoney collusion with the russian story. he found zero proof. now they go for obstruction of justice on the phoney story. nice. an hour or so later he followed up you are witnessing the single greatest witch hunt, all caps, in american political history led by some very bad and conflicted people. #make america great again. those are official reactions to these latest reports from "the washington post" muamong others >> that's right. they are somein some ways class

trump. he had called it a hoax before. essentially saying it was phoney. they are in keeping with where the rnc wants some of this dialogue to be in terms of this investigation basically saying that it's without merit. and also you hear from some surrogates like newt gingrich that bob mueller is surrounding himself with people who donated large sums of money to hillary clinton for instance. that is in some ways a political strategy. it's designed to keep trump fighting in some ways with folks. and his supporters have come to see him as someone who's going to be that way and very brusque. it's something being led by marc kasowitz who's had a very different reaction who said the problem is leaking. i think this is going to be what you see from donald trump. this is going to be the playbook. you'll see some of his surrogates jump on this band wagon and the rnc take an active

role to trying to discredit mueller. the long-term question in a lot of people's miends is what happens to mueller. are there going to be stirrings from this white house, trump in particular, to have mueller go away in the way that he made james comey go away. >> fire him? >> there have been some conversations. we had trump aides essentially on our air, trump friends say that this has been discussed. that trump was apparently talked out of it. but the problem that trump has is that he has no control over this. ho h he has no control over where this investigation goes. all he has is twitter essentially and to connect with his folks. >> laura, apparently rod rosenstein, the acting attorney general would be the one that would have to fire mueller. i don't think there's any reason to believe rosenstein will fire him. what the president could do is fire rosenstein and put someone else in place who might be open. i don't think of that is going

to happen. >> rosenstein said as much on the hill a couple days ago. we're not there yet. >> mueller is definitely there. he's leading the special counsel investigation. but it's by no means a slam dunk, this obstruction of justice. that is a tough charge to prove, especially for a sitting president. >> it's really tough. mostly because you have to show corrupt intent. it can't just be a mistake. i think it's important to note that under the regulations, the special counsel regulations that the justice department is using to put mueller in place, it specifically contemplates that muller would have this pow toer look into obstruction of justice but it also says he can look into whether the president is obstructing the special counsel investigation and whether he's tampering with witness or any sort of serperjury. that's why i think you hear legal experts say he needs to be careful with the tweets. it's not only obstruction of justice with the fbi investigation but the special counsel investigation. >> when he says these people led

by some very bad and conflicted people, he's really going after mueller among others. >> that's right. also keep in miend that if this obstruction of justice investigation continues there is a chance that rod rosenstein will have to recuse himself. because there is some -- he wrote that memo that ultimately sort of supported the firing of comey. so that will sort of open a door that becomes even more interesting. what happens after that. so that certainly is an element, you know, i think rod rosenstein when he was on the hill sort of intimated that. there is a possibility that he could be part of this investigation. there by he would have to recuse himself. >> absolutely. he has said if i am a witness in this or if i need to step aside i will. >> in contrast to the president's very angry tweeting on this, he's been very compassionate and statesman like in the reaction to the shooting at the baseball field yesterday. >> he has been. he talked yesterday for about five minutes or so in the wake of this awful shooting yesterday

during this practice and we'll see the baseball game happen today. very statesman like. very compassionate. calling for unity. talking about the folks out there, the capitol police who really saved people's lives by their quick action. he talked about steve scalise as a friend and that everyone is praying for him and of course that's absolutely true. >> we certainly are. those of us who know him and interview him wish him only the best. guys, thank you very, very much. looking forward to the game at nationals partial later tonight. that will be a very nice moment for so many people. big crowd over there as well. up next congressional shooter posted anti-trump messages on social media, donated on the bernie sanders presidential campaign. i'll speak live with senator sanders wife jane sanders. she's standing by. we'll speak about her husband

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we're learning more about the gunman who opened fire at congressional baseball practice yesterday. infuriated by president trump in public posts. he also called republicans stupid. called them the taliban of the u u.s. his facebook page shows he was an extreme supporter of senator bernie sanders and his campaign. apparently volunteered on the senator's presidential campaign. listen to what senator sanders said on the senate floor when he heard this news. >> i have just been informed that the alleged shooter at the

republican baseball practice this morning is someone who apparently volunteered on my presidential campaign. i am sickened by this despicable act and let me be as clear as i can be. violence of any kind is unacceptable in our society and i condemn this action in the strongest possible terms. >> strong words indeed. joining us now bernie sanders wife jane sanders. jane, thanks for joining us. >> good to be here, wolf. >> it's an awful situation. have you been able to verify that the shooter in this case did, in fact, volunteer with the bernie sanders presidential campaign? >> i haven't, but his facebook indicates that he had. along with tens of thousands of other people. that's neither here nor there. people volunteered and supported

various candidates. this is completely unacceptable. this is not the answer. violence is never the answer. wolf, you know, we've been -- bernie and i have been very vocal about the politics of personal destruction and this is it to the extreme. this is not okay. and it's certainly not what bernie preaches. we've had rallies with 1. million peop 1.5 million people and there was not violence at the rallies or afterwards. this is a person that was troubled and certainly not indicative of his supporters. >> and certainly full of a lot of hate as we saw from some of those facebook postings. is there a chance, jane, that you or the senator ever met with him while he was volunteering out there on the campaign trail at an event or rally? do you have any recollection at all? >> no. i mean, as we -- as i said, we met with millions of people and

certainly worked rope lines. i've never seen him. but he may have shown up on a rope line. i have no idea. >> since the shooting, there's certainly been a lot of talk about the type of language that a lot of politicians are using. i want to play something for you that your husband said while talking to an audience of progressives this past weekend, then we'll discuss. listen to this. >> today in the white house we have perhaps the worst and most dangerous president in the history of our country. >> with hindsight, does he go too far in speaking like that about the president? >> i don't think so, wolf. i think what's interesting is that was at the people's summit and what i noticed on the weekend was that without any prior discussion, roseann, nina

turner, van jones and i all spoke about being careful and being involved with our policies and with our facts, but not engaging in the politics of personal destruction that we believed in civil discourse. nina was saying hard on issues, soft on people. van jones was saying i don't care who you voted for. what we care about now is where do we stand. now, dangerous, i mean, when you throw 23 million people off of health care without even a hearing, that's dangerous to those 23 million people. we have to have -- we have to be able to discuss the issues without demonizing the opponent. honestly, wolf, i think the media needs to look at itself as well. the media, it characterizes every conversation as an adversarial one. your job, the media's job, i

think, is to illuminate the facts, not fan the flames. and the media continues to cover the latest scandal, the latest back and forth, but not the issues so much. >> let me interrupt, jane, with all due respect, if a president or a senator or someone of authority is making very, very strong statements, you want us to simply ignore those statements if there's a social media post, a tweet, and the president says something really, really strong or senator bernie sanders says this is the worst and most dangerous president in the history of our country, do you want us to sensor those words as part of the news media? >> no. >> what are you suggesting? >> well, i'm suggesting that just like the democrats and the republicans and the independents and the progressives are all thinking about what happened in this presidential race, that the media needs to do some

self-reflection as well. >> the media is doing a lot of self -- we're doing -- i can assure you we're doing a lot of self-reflection. we are always looking back. we are learning lessons. we want to make sure as the first draft we correct it as quickly as possible. this is not a perfect science, by any means. but, you know, you hear a lot of criticism in the mainstream media, jane, from the conservative elements, from the right wing. we're getting a lot of criticism from the left wing from the progressives, people like you as well. it underscores that we're trying to do as responsible a job as we possibly can and we certainly aren't going to sensor very strong statements of people of responsibility. >> i agree. i agree, wolf. what i'm saying is that during the presidential election, if i were a republican running, i would have had a fit.

i would have been so upset because every day was covered with the latest terrible thing that candidate trump said. and when marco rubio said some silly things, he got attention for a couple of times. he backed off and said, this is not the attention i want. i just think that we need to focus on the issues and recognize that, yes, we're going to have spirited debates. we just started the sanders institute and we believe an informed electorate demands civil discourse and real discussion and bold thinking. so i just -- i hope that this does not make people think, well, we can't disagree on issues, we can't take spirited stands. that is not healthy for our democracy. what we need to do is to focus more on the issues and you know, i've been telling you that forever, since every time we talk i'm saying, let's focus on

the matter at hand rather than who said what. my hope is that, you know, we believe at the sanders institute that a democracy, a vital democracy requires an informed electorate. >> and we saw the words from a former state senator nina turner working at your institute. both sides need to look in the mirror. we have to decide what kind of language we're going to use in our political discourse. the only reason i point that out is because the language that bernie sanders said, "it's generated some reaction when a sitting senator makes that kind of accusation against the sitting president of the united states. >> but it wasn't just a sound bite, wolf. >> i'm not saying that. these were very strong words. and what he's saying, basically -- >> they are strong words but back them up with the rest of the paragraph and recognize that

we need to deal with this. >> from your perspective, worse than richard nixon? >> i think these things -- right now, we're at a political crossroads. i think we're very concerned -- a lot of people are concerned about us becoming an oligarchy. there are concerns about authoritarianism. we have veterans that have fought and died for our democracy. if we can't call attention to undemocratic attention, that's not good. we need to have free speech, spirited discussion, we need not to make it personal or demonize people. i mean, members of congress, that's one of the concerns that i have, again, with the media, is that members of congress on all stripes are caricatured as

fools or demagogues or terrible people and they pay a price for that. i don't think you understand what it takes to be a public servant today. >> a robust democracy needs a free media, needs a robust media. >> yes. >> that's what we're doing responsibly, accurately. there are elements out there that aren't doing that, but we certainly are. jane sanders, as usual, a good conversation. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. bye-bye. just ahead, a pennsylvania courtroom awaits a decision in the bill cosby trial. the jury said it was deadlocked and the judge asked jurors to keep deliberating. we'll have the latest when we come back. "how to win at business." step one: point decisively with the arm of your glasses. abracadabra. the stage is yours.

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and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. be the you who talks to your dermatologist about stelara®. jurors deciding bill cosby's fate let the judge know this morning they were deadlocked but the judge asked them to go back to deliberating. >> this deadlock shows the not guilty that mr. cosby has been saying the entire time. >> this deadlock could change. they're deadlocked on all three counts. after further deliberation, perhaps after lunch as well, it could be that they could reach a different decision. >> with us now from outside the courthouse in norristown,

pennsylvania, is jean. where do things stand now? >> reporter: it's been 2 1/2 hours since they got the charge from the judge to go in and continue deliberating. with he have not heard from them. so they are deliberating. they are trying to reach a verdict, at least on some of the counts. they have not come out with another note but i was in that courtroom when we realized something was up. just the way the atmosphere was. and i looked at them and one juror had his hands folded sort of defiantly. another juror may have had a very small smile. they sat. they looked defeated as a whole group and the judge said, i understand you have reached a deadlock. remember, there are three counts here. aggravated indecent assault, a lack of consent, the fact that the accuser was unconscious and, number three, the fact that when the assault happened, that an

inti intoxicant was used by bill cosby on her without her knowledge. >> cosby never took the stand in his own defense, right? >> no, he did not. they said to the jury, he said, bill cosby did not take the stand. he didn't have to, ladies and gentlemen, because you had his words in his statement to police in 2005. >> how long will they be deliberating before they take a break? >> reporter: i don't know. the judge said i am not going to set a time limit on this. so they are in control. i have seen before when they bring in another note, i've seen that charge read a second time and they go back in. this judge, we don't know what he will do. >> jean casarez, we'll stay in

close touch with you. let us know the latest. thanks very much. that's it for me. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. in "the situation room." "amanpour" is coming up next for our international viewers. for those in north america, brooke baldwin is live from capitol hill. >> here we go, top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin live for cnn's major stories unfolding right now. the president of the united states lashing out against a a report that he is being investigated for obstruction of justice. we have much more on that in a moment but first the story that is reverberating here on capitol hill. the number three house republican steve scalise is in surgery again. his third time on