join us to talk about how to solve the climate crisis in the trump era. that's tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. did the president knowingly mislead the public on the trump tower meeting? why did he have a direct role in crafting a statement we now know is far from the whole truth. plus donald trump defending his speech to the boy scouts now saying he was told it was the greatest speech ever made to them. so why did the top scout have to apologize for the president's speech? and working for donald trump. why one former exec says he loves chaos. let's go out front. why can't the white house tell the whole truth?

so the white house press secretary has a stunning defense of the president tonight, who reportedly dictated his son's misleading statement on his meeting with a russian lawyer. now, that statement read in part, we primarily discussed a program about the adoption of russian children. we now know that not even is that not the whole story. it doesn't even represent what the story is about. but that did not stop sarah huckabee sanders from saying this today. >> the statement that don junior issued is true. there is no inaccuracy in the statement. >> okay. well, that's not true. from donald trump jr.'s only e-mails, we know this. his own e-mails show trump jr. was promised, just in case you have forgotten, documents that would incriminate hillary and be useful to your father. it was part of russia's government support for trump. the meeting was set up with the

promise of dirt coming from the russian government, the russian government which supported trump's support for presidency. they say it is accurate that the meeting was just about russian adoption. it is simply not the whole truth and it is not even close. another thing the white house is saying today that doesn't add up is this. >> the president weighed in as any father would, based on the limited information that he had. >> he weighed in the way any father would on a statement. >> all right. so they clearly picked those words, practiced them and have given them out as talking points, as any father would. the truth is it is not as any father would because this father is the president of the united states and the question about his son being raised here is whether donald trump colluded with a hostile government to rig or impact the u.s. election. that's not just a father/son thing. the other problem for sanders

and kellyanne conway is the washington post report says president trump didn't just weigh in, but that he personally dictated that misleading statement released by donald trump jr. all of this directly contradicts what trump's own attorney said on at least three occasions on national television as he looked into television cameras and said the president had absolutely nothing to do. didn't weigh in, didn't dictate, had absolutely nothing to do with the statement. >> the president didn't sign off on anything. he was coming back from the g-20. the statement that was released on saturday was released by donald trump jr. and i'm sure in consultation with his lawyers. the president wasn't involved in that. i wasn't involved in the statement drafts at all, nor was the president. i want to be clear the president wasn't involved in the drafts of the statement and did not issue the statement. it came from donald trump jr. >> okay. it is not the whole truth and not even close. it is going to be important whether he lied or someone lied to him. we begin our coverage tonight.

and, jim, the trump administration, clearly unable to get a straight story here. >> it is a common problem over here at the white house, erin. this was a stunning admission from the white house today after the president's outside counsel, as you said, denied the president was involved in the drafting of that misleading statement. sarah huckabee sanders said the president had indeed weighed in. sanders went on to say his statement was true and was not inaccurate. that of course as you said is false. donald trump jr.'s initial statement left out the e-mails indicating the russian were prepared to hand over damaging information on hillary clinton. now, that misleading statement from trump jr. said the meeting with the russians would be about adoptions. that story, we should point out, is the same narrative the president pushed repeatedly last month. he also said this to reporters on air force one as well as a news conference in france with the president of that country. the president's involvement in

the drafting of that misleading statement for his son, donald trump jr., would, quote, further implicate him in this russia investigation, so lots of new questions being raised by all of this. but one person we have not heard from at this point is jay sec low, the president's attorney who said time and again the president was not involved in drafting that statement. we have reached out for a comment. he has not responded. but he would not be the first person working for the president to have his knees cut out from under him after making statements that turned out to be not true. >> it matters and i don't need to say why to all of you. but it matters. outfront now, mark preston, april ryan, tom hamburger, who broke the story on president trump dictating donald trump jr.'s misleading statement on that meeting and former white house ethics lawyer under george w. bush richard painter.

the white house says, and now you have seen from kellyanne conway and sarah huckabee sanders the president didn't dictate the statement, that he weighed in as any father would. you broke the story in the washington post. they say weighed in. you say dictated. which is it? >> well, erin, thanks. i think the first thing to point out is that, as you noted earlier, this story and the explanations for it are evolving. we had yesterday before our story appeared is that the president played effectively no role whatsoever in drafting the statement. now we're told that he weighed in. we have multiple sources that we worked with in developing this story, and i was one of four reporters on it. and our many sources from many walks of life and many aspects of the trump world tell us that, in fact, this -- excuse me.

i just lost my train of thought there. >> that's okay. april, i want you to jump in here because obviously this is crucial. this is an evolving story they're giving, whether he weighed in or dictated. they previously said the president had nothing to do with it. and the press secretary saying there is no inaccuracy in the statement. that's an absurd thing to say, right? technically maybe the line is true, but it misses the point that it is an insult to the american people for her to say there is no inaccuracy in that statement. >> well, first of all, let's really look at when you deal with a president there is never an occasion where you want a president to look like he's had his hands involved in something controversial. that's the first thing given. and maybe that's one of the reason why sara hh huckabee sanders made the statement she did. so at this point, when you have two sides who are supposed to be representing the same person, it

may need to be the case that there is never a definitive statement when it comes to this now because it seems that changes are always changes. they say one thing and the next thing comes. >> can i jump in for a moment? >> yeah. >> the white house today did confirm that the president had weighed into this statement, but denied our report that he had, in fact, dictated it. what i wanted to mention is that our multiple -- our sources used the word dictate and we're confident that we're reflecting the views of those sources and their description of what happened here. >> so let me ask you on this note. they say weighed in and you hear tom saying dictated is the word that was used by people who are talking to the washington post who know what happened, who were there. whether it's weighed in or dictated, and there is a big difference between the two, but both of them would show the president's lawyer the statement that he made to be a lie, right? he said the president had nothing to do with it. my question to you, richard, is

could the president be in any trouble legally? >> well, i think so. i mean, i'm sure you might say president nixon weighed in on obstruction of justice. this is just an argument over terminology. but no father in his right mind would knowing that his son is a material witness in a criminal investigation, no father in his right mind would assist, weigh in or get anywhere near involvement in preparing a false statement by his own son, which then, his son would have to repeat to the investigators here rob mueller and maybe testimony in court and commit perjury. the only father who would ever take that risk is a father who knows he has the power to pardon his son if he is convicted of perjury. this makes no sense. the statement was false. it focussed on adoptions. this has nothing to do with adoptions. it had to do with dirt on hillary clinton in turn for

releasing the sanctions. >> i think anybody looking at it objectively would know that's what a statement would respond to. it is insult to say the statement has no inaccuracies. >> it's a lie. and kellyanne conway and sanders and the rest of them are lying. sanders is worse than spicer in terms of lying. it's gone downhill. and the president should have nothing to do with the russian investigation. he should be focussing on his job, rather than trying to obstruct justice. >> mark, on this issue of who's lying because it will say -- in the case of jay, it's going to matter. he came on television and said something that is factually untrue. >> multiple things. >> saying he weighed in, right? they're admitting weighed in. okay. so either he decided as a prestigious lawyer to lie on television again and again and again knowing the truth or the president lied to him. other people lied to him.

which is more likely? >> wow. i mean, they're both not good options, right? because the fact of the matter is your word is worth something. and for a person that's all that you have. >> a lawyer, yeah. >> a lawyer, for gosh sakes. look, we don't know. we are going to find out. but the fact is, i think we're talking about the difference between weighing in and dictated. to me, it doesn't matter. okay? >> he was involved in something. >> he was involved in some way in doing it. >> misleading and untrue. >> we would not have found out about it had tom and the washington post not broke this story. why did it take to this point for them to aboutnology it? when you look at it strategically, and i'm not advocating this, but it is kind of pathetic how they have lied about this, about how they are rolled this out, how they have fumbled it. if you are a world leader right now or a member of congress and you see donald trump lying this

way, okay, or the white house misdirecting this way, how can you trust them? >> that is the crucial question here. tom, i want to ask you something because people may ask this, people that are concerned about the leaking or just want to know where you got this. i know you are not going to reveal your sources and i would not ask you to do so. but i am curious if you are able to reveal their motives, right? you are the one who got them to admit weighed in. your reporting dictating. it is crucial that the president was involved in this statement. and it didn't happen without you having sources who told you about it. what is their motive? why is it that they are choosing this case to tell you this, but in general, people in this white house, why are they choosing to tell this information to reporters like you? >> so i think it's a good question. and it is one that reveals something about this white house. i, as a reporter and the three colleagues i worked with on this story can't speak for motivation, but what i can tell you is there were multiple people working as advisors not

just to the president but to his inner circle, meaning the family, who were willing to talk about this and who were concerned enough to speak out. what their motives were, i can't speak for them. what we do know is that they described to us, and we quoted some of these folks anonymously, saying that they were -- that the president is simply not following advice. he thinks that he is innocent of any collusion and that there is nothing to apologize or be worried about, and so he's going ahead. one of the things they're reporting is that he chose to ignore advice and suggestions from many of those advisors we talked to to be more transparent and more open, to avoid the very problem that we're discussing tonight, which is that it appears as though the first statement now was an attempt to mislead or cover up. >> so the press secretary today tried to say that this is a nonstory, that the president was

involved in this statement, that it's democrats that are making this a story. here's how she said it. >> the democrats want to continue to use this as a pr stunt and they're doing everything they can to keep this story alive and in the papers every single day. >> that would be convenient except it is not true, again, like a lot of things we're pointing out tonight. senator lindsey graham is a republican. that's how he votes. and here is how he reacted to the news that the president was involved in writing this statement. >> if that's true, then that was a bad decision by the president, which will make us ask more questions. when you get caught in a lie about one thing, it makes it hard to just say let the other stuff go. >> april, people are not afraid to use the lie word, which is a serious word to use. >> that's a strong word in washington, lie. i mean, you know, we use words, you know, the credibility issue, you know, your credibility is lacking. but lie is a very strong word. and for a member of his own

party, someone that people look to to say the word lie, that's saying something. and when you go back to the briefing tonight, erin, what sara did, they have been doing since they came here. any time there is a moment to pin down an answer on a certain question that says a negative light on them, they divert attention to hillary clinton or barack obama instead of answering the question. you add on two journalists who you might say are on the conservative side. they screamed out when she was going through this diatribe. they screamed out, but he's president instead of going to hillary clinton. so you're hearing a lot of uproar from many republicans in the president's own party whose very concerned about what it looks like, what it smells like, what it tastes like and what it sounds like. >> and mark, let me give you the final point because i think this

is important especially for those out there frustrated by leaks. but if it weren't for these leaks, we wouldn't know how many lies there are. but with these leaks they are exposing is this white house has lied again and again, misled. >> yeah. there is no question about it. and, look, in washington as journalists or anywhere as journalists or lawmakers, the one thing that bonds everyone together is your integrity and your honesty. once you lose that, once you can no longer be trusted, whether in politics or business, then you're done. i would suggest that donald trump is walking down a dangerous road right now as the president of the united states. it's his word you can't trust. >> thank you all very much. next, was the trump campaign too disorganized to collude with russia. someone in the white house is saying that tonight. plus, did the president call the white house a dump? and this contentious exchange between maxine waters and the treshsy inspired a new song.

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complete with key nutrients we may need. plus it supports bone health with calcium and vitamin d. one a day women's in gummies and tablets. tonight jared kushner's newest defense against possible collusion between the trump campaign and russians. kushner told congressional interns that, quote, they thought we colluded, but we couldn't even collude with our local officers. now, kushner thought his comments were off the record.

someone in the room recorded him. outfront now, the democratic senator of rhode island and member of the senate judiciary committee. i appreciate your time. let me start, senator, with this news. he says the trump campaign was too disorganized to have colluded with russia. your reaction? >> well, we'll see. that's what rob mueller is going to be looking into, the intent to obstruct justice, for instan instance, or the intent to launder money or the intent to make a false statement is an element of those various offenses, which are probably going to be the core offenses. colluding by itself obviously not a criminal act. so if they were too imcompetent to do this, that's a tough one to make for the white house. >> so the washington post, i'm sure you're aware, is reporting that the president dictated the statement issued by his son

about that meeting with the russian lawyer. the white house now admits the president weighed in via sarah huckabee sanders and kellyanne conway. what is your position, that donald trump jr., as you point out, had an intent. the intent was for the russian government to provide the trump campaign about damaging information about hillary clinton. what is your position about the president was central to that statement? >> first, it ties the president into the june 9th meeting in a way that didn't exist before. he's either interested enough in the june 9th meeting to make up stuff about it, or he knew a lot more about it than anybody has led on to date. so it puts the president much more closely into that. second, it potentially is another piece of evidence of obstruction of justice. he was well aware, having fired comey, that there was an ongoing investigation. and it is possible to make false

statements to the public with the intent to obstruct an investigation. so -- >> so you think that could be obstruction of justice in and of itself? >> i think there is already a prima fa sha cascia case. and the last thing is, interestingly, they keep bringing up this business of adoption. >> right. >> anybody who knows anything about this knows that adoption means magnitsky. >> the sanctions. >> the magnitsky act. the magnitsky act means sanctions, and sanctions is the reason russians collude. so keeping continually saying adoptions is putting, i think, all the investigators on the hunt that this ends up with an effort to collude about sanctions. >> so the president's attorney, as you know, repeatedly said the president was not involved in

drafting this response. here is just a brief clip. >> i wasn't involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the president. i'm assuming that was between mr. donald trump jr., between don jr. and his lawyer. i'm sure his lawyer was involved. that's how you do it. you know that. to put this on the president i think is absolutely incorrect. >> all right. this has proven to be false. it's not true. do you think the president lied to his lawyer, or do you think that his lawyer lied on his own on national television repeatedly, senator? >> well, it is one or the other. there is not a third option. and neither is very good either for the lawyer or for the president. so it almost really doesn't matter which way that breaks. but it is really not good for a lawyer to say publically things that are proven to be flat-out

false. so most lawyers go out of their way to try to avoid that, so that throws i guess the benefit of the doubt here towards the lawyer and that it was he who was lied to by the president. but who knows? maybe he was so overcome with the excitement of working with the president of the united states that he felt he had to take a dive for him. if so, really bad decision. >> before we go, senator, i want to ask you about the sanctions. i don't know if you know this, but kellyanne conway just spoke to brett bare and opened the door to the russian sanctioned bill not being technically signed by the president. here's the exchange. >> august 9th is the last day to sign the bill or veto it and then the 10th, if the president does not veto the bill, the sanctions bill becomes law without his signature. is that a possibility? >> it's a possibility, but he intends to sign it. >> all right. the fact that she said it's a possibility surprises me. does it matter to you if the president doesn't sign the

sanctions bill, if it becomes law anyway. >> it doesn't really matter to me. it becomes law anyway. just to be clear, when i was talking about sanctions earlier, i didn't mean america's sanctions under this bill. >> right, i understand. >> i meant the magnitsky act sanctions that are the reason that all this collusion or attempted collusion was taking place. the russians, we have heard testimony in our committee, are december r desperate to lift those sanctions. >> but you wouldn't read anything into him not signing this? >> i wouldn't know what to read out of it. it would seem to me to be the sensible thing to sign it, particularly under these circumstances. but i have given up on trying to understand the inner workings of mr. trump's thinking. >> thank you very much. i appreciate your time, senator. >> good to be with you. >> next, breaking news, donald trump says the head of the boy scouts called him to say trump gave the greatest speech every made to the boy scouts. just breaking, the boy scouts responding to the president.

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like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. breaking news, the boy scouts pushing back against the president tonight in a claim he made to the wall street journal. a transcript obtained tonight, the president denies there is any mixed reaction to the controversial boy scouts speech he gave. and the president said, quote, they loved it. he said it was no mix. that was a standing ovation, and i got a call from the head of

the boy scouts saying it was a greatest speech ever made to them and they were thankful, so there was no mix. it appears someone is not being honest here because an official from the boy scouts apologized for the rhetoric in trump's speech and moments ago the boy scouts told out front issuing this, saying the chief scout executives message to the scouting community speaks for itself. they are sticking with their criticism of the political rhetoric in the speech. just to remind you some of what the president said that caused this, here he is to the boy scouts. >> who the hell wants to speak about politics when i'm in front of the boy scouts, right? we would use some more loyal tichlt i will tell you that. by the way, just a question. did president obama ever come to a jamboree? we have a tremendous disadvantage in the electoral college. popular vote is much easier. we ought to change it from the word swap to the word cesspool

or perhaps to the word sewer. >> outfront now former counsel to president clinton and senior communications advisor for the trump campaign. the president says the head of the boy scouts called him to say this was the best speech every. the head of the boy scouts said he wanted to apologize for the political rhetoric inserted. that was never our intent and they have moments ago in response to this interview the president gave reiterated that saying they standby that message speaks for itself. is the president being fully honest here? >> i think so. i mean obviously i wasn't on the phone with the president whoever from the scouts called him. i loved the speech. it looked like the folks in attendance, whatever it was, they sure seemed like they were having a good time. and president trump was making it fun again. it was great to have a president there for the first time since 2005. they were having fun. it wasn't a boring political

speech. it was definitely very lively. and i'm absolutely positive that i'm sure somebody called and said that was a fantastic speech, they absolutely loved it. any organization like the scouts, of course you will have people from both sides of the aisle and probably a little bit of heat. but, look, if president trump says somebody gave him a call and said it was a fantastic speech, i'm sure that probable happened. >> the president saying not only did he get a call, but the head of the boy scouts told him it was the greatest speech that was ever made to the boy scouts. of course, the boy scouts' statement was apologizing to those offended by the political rhetoric. if the president is accurate here in what he's saying, then the head of the boy scouts appears to be a big hypocrite. >> of course we all know the boy scott motto. but truth worthy first. the first attribute scouts site

about themselves. we were taught to tell the truth. if you ask me who i believe, our president or the head of the boy scouts, goi with the head of the boy scouts because you just had 30 minutes about the president's lack of credibility, but this is something different than just credibility. this is his willingness to debase any group he goes before, any event he participates in. jason is right about this. it is terrific my president went to the boy scouts. he's the honor president of the boy scouts. i don't support him on anything, but i love my president went to the boy scouts. he stood in front of 175 stars of heroes and debased that moment by bragging about his crowd size. he went to the commissioning of the gor rald ford carrier and debased that wonderful event. >> those in attendance loved it. >> it's a 12-year-old boy,

jason. >> on this issue he said he got a call saying it was the greatest speech ever made to them. we -- a source is telling us they are not aware, a source is saying they are not aware of a call from any boy scouts of america headquarters to the president. now, obviously, you know, there may have been a call. there may not have been a call. i don't know. it does raise the question. >> i don't work at the boy scouts. i'm sure president trump did get a call from somebody in the boy scouts. >> whether it was the head of the boy scouts. >> like most americans, i don't know the exact internal structure of the boy scouts or however it is. those in attendance loved it. i'm sure those watches on tv loved it. i think for particularly the democrats, this is something -- this is all they have to go and harp on probably shows you that -- just how far their russian rhetoric is falling off and now they're trying to go back to president trump's speech

with the boy scouts and take issue with that. >> i want to ask you what else came out today in golf magazine, about donald trump's relationship with golf. he loves golf. in the article, they quote members of his club, where we know he's going to be spending his vacation who say the president said, quote, that white house is a real dump. paul? >> again, you know, he just trashes everything. the white house, i had the honor, the privilege of spending several years of my life working in the white house. you walk up to that door and a young marine snaps to attention and opens that door. and, you know, everybody from that young marine's hometown is so proud that one of their own is there as an honor guard at the white house. and you go in there, and that place is beautiful. it's immaculate because people devote their whole careers and sometimes families whose parents, grandparents and grandsons all worked there to make that the most beautiful

wonderful building in america and now our president even trashes the white house. i just cannot imagine it. if that doesn't inspire him, what will. >> he mass said publically many positive things. he said they used to have a call in this beautiful place. he has said publically many positive things. but these are people he plays golf with. >> and he's talked about how cool it is and how much history there is at the white house. so he's made a number of positive comments. none of us were there when this conversation happened so we don't know the dynamics and compared to the trump properties it is not quite as fancy. but president trump enjoys being at the white house and said a number of positive things about this. i think this all sounds overblown for me. >> i've got an offer for him. if he thinks it is a trump, i'll raise the money to get him a u-haul to go back to trump tower. >> next, an explosive lawsuit

against fox news claims a made up story is linked to the white house and the president. we'll give you everything you need to know about this. and donald trump deconstructed. a high ranking executive who says why he thrives on chaos. binders. done. super-cool notebooks. done. that's mom taking care of business. but who takes care of mom? office depot/office max. this week, filler paper just one cent with five dollar minimum purchase. ♪taking care of business.

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the white house fighting back against a new lawsuit that alleges president trump was personally involved in a false fox news story about the murder

of a democratic national committee staffer. brian is outfront. >> there's a possibility this is a guy who provided two wikileaks, all those dnc e-mails. >> also false story could have fingerprints that reach to the white house. a new lawsuit claims fox concocted a story about the murder of 27-year-old dnc staffer and claim it is white house had oversight. >> if it was true, that he gave the dnc e-mails, wouldn't that blow the whole russia collusion narrative that the media has been pushing out of the water? >> that is part of this pro-trump conspiracy theory? his family says his thedeath ha been exploited by right wing media. tuesday's suit filed by a fox news contributors claims they were in cahoots, contriving a

link between hitrich and wikile. >> it is consistent for a person with my experience to begin to think, well, perhaps there were some e-mail communications between seth and wikileaks. >> rich's family says that's not true and d.c. police believe his killing was a botched robbery, nothing politically motivated. but that didn't stop fox. >> it looks like a murder. >> after days of coverage back in may, the network retracted the story. now, months later, his explosive lawsuit says he was misquoted, defamed by fox. and his suit goes further claiming he coordinated the phony story with the white house. why? quote, to shift the blame from russia and refute collusion claims. named as a defendant in the suit, strongly deny it is allegation. >> the lawsuit is absolute crap.

there is nothing to this lawsuit that has any merit whatsoever. >> this text message is one of the suits most eye popping claims. not to add any more pressure, but the president read the article. he wants the article out immediately. it is now up to you, but don't feel the pressure. >> he says he was kidding around. >> i was just joking with the man. and that's all that was. >> the white house pushing back as well. >> the president didn't have knowledge of the story. the white house didn't have any involvement in the story. >> but there is a link to the white house. they met with then press secretary sean spicer. spicer says it was just a ten-minute courtesy meeting and the white house had nothing to do with his story. but the suit claimed that spicer asked to be kept abreast of developments. as for fox, it cauquote, comple

erroneous. >> it's pretty amazing. it does seem like the idea that president trump was involved is pretty farfetched. is it? >> right now it is only a text message claiming this. this was to continue forward. the plaintiff has a tough road ahead. if it gets to court, maybe more evident will come out. he has voice mails that point to unethical journalistic conduct at fox news. there needs to be more proof. however, the lawsuit does say that this gop do nor has a relationship. the lawsuit alleged bannon was in touch with him and this is about the two competing realities. in one reality russia is a scandal. in the other reality promoted by fox, it is a hoax. what is donald trump thinking about who he fires, fires and defends.

an executive who worked for him is outfront. and the song inspired by max zone waters and her famous line from a congressional meeting. >> reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. >> the time belongs to the gentle lady from california. with my moderate to severe crohn's disease,... ...i kept looking for ways to manage my symptoms. i thought i was doing okay... then it hit me... ...managing was all i was doing. when i told my doctor,... ...i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease... ...even after trying other medications. in clinical studies,... the majority of people on humira... saw significant symptom relief... ...and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability... ...to fight infections, including tuberculosis.

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who knew that phones would starentertaining us,ng? getting us back on track and finding us dates. phones really have changed. so why hasn't the way we pay for them? introducing xfinity mobile. you only pay for data and can easily switch between pay per gig and unlimited. no one else lets you do that. see how much you can save when you choose by the gig or unlimited. call or go to xfinitymobile.com. xfinity mobile. it's a new kind of network, designed to save you money. tonight, does president trump have a gate keeper? the white house says john kelly is putting together a structure for how senior staff will get face time with the president. >> i don't know that i would say approval is the correct word, but i certainly don't think it's like we're getting permission slips signed.

>> in other words, nobody just walks into the oval office, and that could be a very big change. jack o'donnell was president of the president trump plaza casino in atlantic city. jack, you're not a fan, you left your job after only three years. but a question i have for you in that role, obviously you dealt with him and dealt with him in a very direct way. will he be able to have another person, a chief of staff, fully regulating every single person who comes and goes in his office? >> my experience, erin, would say no, he won't be able to. i would guess that he's going to make an effort, but i think just the way he operated back then was really on a 24-hour basis. i think that's probably going to be the problem that general

kelly is going to have with this president. he will be on the phone and walking around 24 hours a day. so he in essence is not going to be controllable all the time. >> and you know, ivanka trump tweeted in response to kelly's promotion, which obviously she was supportive of. but she tweeted "looking forward to serving alongside john kelly as we work for the american people." the operative word in that tweet appeared to be "alongside," not reporting to, but alongside. and the press secretary sarah huckabee sanders has said ivanka trump, jared kushner will report to kelly. but the tweet obviously doesn't sound that way. will ivanka trump report to kelly and go through kelly to go to her father? >> well, erin in fairness, i think she was about 6 years old the last time i saw her, so i don't know her demeanor today. but it certainly, from everything that we've seen, is going to be very difficult for her to not report directly to her father. >> so when you say he works 24

hours a day, he's always on the phone, always talking to people, certainly that's consistent with what reporters like myself who have dealt with him would also say. i want to play for some that tom baric, a friend of the president's, said how he is run thing white house back in april. here he is. >> there's only one president and only one point of view. what happens is he cure rates different points of view and encourages confusion amongst them. you're going to have fights inside the sandbox that are on purpose. >> the question for you, jack, having worked for him, does having fights and getting people to be confused and doing this all purposefully, purposeful chaos, does it motivate people? maybe it motivates people to give their all? >> well, i think it motivates people early on, when you're around donald trump. he sets that stage almost immediately, that this is going to be a very competitive

atmosphere. and you're going to either be a winner or a loser. i think as time goes on, that really begins to wear on people. because quite frankly in an organization, you have to have some friends. and it really raises a doubt in everybody's mind what team you're on or if anybody is on your own team. i think that's just poor management. >> oh this firing that we've been seeing of the shortest chief of staff in american history, would you expect more of that? >> oh, i think there's no question, erin, that's going to happen. this is a president who has always gotten fascinated with people very quickly, even people with limited experience, and consequently, once these people are put on the stage, whether it's in business or at the white house, they just can't succeed. >> jack, thank you very much for your insight. appreciate it. >> thank you, erin. next, jeanne moos on congresswoman maxine water's

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tonight's number, how a

congresswoman's fiery three words have gone viral and become gospel for some. seriously. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it's her latest reclaim to fame. >> reclaim it my time. reclaim it my time. >> your time belongs to the jemtle lady from california. >> reporter: representative maxine waters felt steve mnuchin wasn't answering a letter she sent. >> i was going to tell you my response. >> just tell me. reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. reclaiming my time. >> perhaps, mr. chairman, i don't understand the rules. i thought i was allowed to answer questions. >> reclaiming my time. would you please explain the rules and do not take that from my time. >> reporter: in no time, that became a thing. the dance remix was fun, but it's the gospel version that

will be time honored. ♪ i'm reclaiming my time, i'm reclaiming my time ♪ >> reporter: broadway performer michael kilgore loves aunty maxine and says her reclaiming time sent him over the moon. >> it hit me hard. >> reporter: took him 20 minutes to rip this up. ♪ reclaiming my time, give me the answer or don't open your mouth again ♪ >> i'm a pastor's son, so singing gospel is like breathing and speaking to me. >> reporter: conservative critics said representative waters interrupted 12 times. >> reclaiming my time. >> reporter: just like a 5-year-old does. but michael was thrilled when waters responded to his video, tweeting wow, that we would be -- >> headed to the grammys. i was like, okay. >> reporter: and on that note, i think it's time for me to stop and let you reclaim your time.

♪ reclaiming my time, yes, i am, my time, every minute ♪ >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> well, now, we'll give some extra time to anderson as a gift. you can watch us any time anywhere. anderson starts now. good evening. we begin keeping them honest with the white house's latest admission that raises serious questions about their credibility and honestly. last night, "the washington post" broke the story that pfs president trump who dictated a statement that donald trump, jr. released on july 8 when "the new york times" was about to reteal that trump junior met with a russian attorney. this is the statement that donald trump, jr. put out that the post says his father dictated --