i'm sure it's a significant crowd in west hollywood, california. thank you very much. sara sidner reporting for us. that's it for me. to all our viewers, thanks so much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >> "outfront" next, trapped with a little help from his friends. peddling a conspiracy theory aim ed at destroying the special counsel's crede bability. is it working? and jared cukushner sitting dow can bob mueller for a second. we have new details and the homeland security secretary taking her loyalty to trump to a whole new level. let's go "outfront." and good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, trump and friends. together unleashing a coordinated assault on the justice department, pushing trump's theory that the fbi planted spies in his campaign. now they've provided no evidence to support the claim. the president himself offering

not one fact or piece of evidence to support his insind yar allegation. >> all you have to do is look at the basics and you'll see. it looks like a very serious event. but we'll find out. when they look at the documents, i think people are going to see a will the of bad things happen. i hope it's not so. because if it is, there's never been anything like it. i hope it's not true, but it looks like it is. >> of course it looks like it is. we'll see what the documents say. he's seen no documents or evidence, but he has no problem b throwing out there something so serious. even his own lawyer admitted president trump doesn't know if there was a spy in his campaign. so let's start with the facts because here the facts as we know them this evening. the fbi used a confidential source to speak with members of trump's team. cnn is reporting that person was not embed ded in the campaign a

the president alsos and the "new york times" reports and this is really important, so maier hear out. they report the fbi only sent the confidential source to talk with carter page and george p papadopoulos after the fbi receive d information that made them suspicious. okay, so let's play again part of what trump said today about his claims of a grand ton spearsy him and the fbi. >> i hope it's not true. but it looks like it is. >> hopes it's not true. here's the thing. you know, putting it out there again and again. with no facts to support it. he certainly acting like someone who wants everyone to believe it's true. in fact, he's the one who put it out there and he's tweeted about his conspiracy theory nine times over the past five days. nine times in five days and being the marketing success that he is, president trump is even branding his alleged scandal.

>> we now skaul it spy gate. you're calling it spy gate. >> no, we are not, but mr. president, really no one excement fexcept for your and your cronies are calling it spy gate. trump's allies are taking the story and running with it. from television to radio to the halls of congress. here's what trump supporters are hearing hour after hour. take his friends at fox news. >> this is a deep state, political hit job now spying on an opposition party campaign, the greatest scandal in modern political history. the fbi spying on the 2016 trump campaign. >> i think it's really unwise to dismiss out of hand the notion that the fbi could have found within itself to spy on the trump campaign. >> the fbi job b is not to spy on campaigns. >> president of the united states just tweeted this. spy gate could be one of the biggest political scandals in history. he's right. >> those are the fox tv hosts. here are the president's loyal

pundit friends and loyalists. >> i believe they committed crimes in doing so. purposely. sent people into the trump campaign to plant false information. >> if there was a spy placed on the trump campaign, it is the most agree shouse, most disgusting thing our country has ever seen. >> it's clear they had eyes ears all over the trump campaign. >> they're acknowledging they had a spy, but saying oh, it was to protect trump. to help trump. bs. >> then trump's friends on capitol hill who are eager to join the chorus. >> if they did this, if there was a plant, if there was a spy, if there was an informant put in the other party's campaign during the election, that is as wrong as it gets. >> if they ran a spy ring or informant ring and they were paying people within the trump campaign, if any of that is true, that is an absolute red

line. >> again. unfortunately, right now, there's zero evidence. conservative websites are ju jumping on board and the president said this person, the one he calls a spy, was only there according to his tweet, to spy for political reasons and to help crooked hillary win. so now, he sees he's got the this whole thing. a person is there to spy for political reasons to help hillary. that is a huge thing to claim. it does threaten american democracy. it is not something anyone should throw out there. the president of the united states should not be saying any such thing unless he had hard evidence it was true. heted it. as of now, there is zero evidence that they planted spies to help clinton. the facts don't seem to matter though to this president. what matters if s if it's working for him. by that measure, he can see a

measure of success. american's confidence in the russia investigation is slipping. the numbers say iing the russia probe should end is up six points in one month. tomorrow, we may get crucial answers because the head of the fbi will brief some lawmakers on this source. jeff seis "outfront" and this immediating incredibly controversial, but important. >> erin, the meeting is very important. you could almost see the gleam in the president's eye today. earlier today, we were asking him questions. calling it spy gate, he has clearly seized upon this as a way of brand thgened escalating this. turning a rumor into a full blown conspiracy theory. we are learning tonight something new about the meeting tomorrow. there have been serious concerns and questions it was only going to be a republican only meeting. we were told the president was concerned about the fact that it appeared to be partisan, not on the up and up, so now the white

house is saying this ooempk there there's a second briefing. after the memorial day recess in a week or more, including the gang of eight. the house and senate are going to get the same information. however, this is not going to change the timing of f the meeting tomorrow. so there's still going to be the same briefing tomorrow with a couple of top republicans who you're showing have been raising these same concerns. nunes among them. it's at the department of justice. the democrats, there may be briefing tomorrow for adam schiff, but clearly, the big democratic briefing after memorial day. so a bit more equality here, but clearly, president injecting spy into this today more than he has before. no evidence of that at all. >> thank you very much, jeff. you know, obviously, significant development if you've got republicans being briefed tomorrow then you don't have the leadership until next week.

that could cause a problem. you heard jeff say adam schiff could be briefed tomorrow as well. that would be significant if that happened. now to the democratic congressman, ted li uru. you heard jeff. chairman nunes, tray gowdy, are going to be briefed tomorrow. you'll get the bipartisan group after memorial day. there's a ge que that a maybe adam schiff will be briefed tomorrow. would you be satisfied with that? >> not at all. why would they have that second brief iing? i'm sure many of us could clear our schedules and go to the same briefing. but take a step back. why is the president so concerned about this? i'm a form prosecutor. there's nothing wrong with the use of confidential sources. that's a legitimate and vital tool of law enforcement as well as common intelligence units and it's something we just maybe do for our investigations.

why would a president somehow be exempt from investigation or confidential sources. no reason for that. >> the president has raised unfounded claims. it is in his interest to do so because it plays to his base. his own personal interest, but there are some questions here, congressman, which have been b rai raised as a result. one which could end up being important. is how did this source first come in contact with the trump campaign to begin with. right? we know who the person is. it's a professor. did he approach the fbi or was he sent by the fbi? because they had other intelligence? >> i don't know, but my answer would be it doesn't matter. either you trust law enforcement to do their investigation the way they deem fit or you don't. and this case, it started out as counterintelligence investigation. meaning that fbi agents were

concerned that a foreign power, this case, russia, was trying to meddle in our elections and meddle with the trump campaign. so the they would do this to protect americans and to stop meddling from a foreign power. that's why you do a counterintelligence investigation. >> the president says he feels violated, right? that this is the greatest scandal in american history. part of the reason is that there was a source who was talking to people in his campaign or the fbi and he didn't know about it. former director of national intelligence, jim clapper, was asked today about this whole situation and here's what he said. he's talking here to joy behar. >> so, i ask you, was the fbi spying on trump's campaign? >> no, they were not. they were spying on a term i don't particularly like, but on what the russians were doing. trying to understand were the russians infiltrating, trying to

gain access, try iing to gain leverage and influence. >> if this was your campaign congressman, would you feel you were evaded by the fbi if found this now? would you feel like you were quote unquote spied upon? >> no. i would fully cooperate and i would want to know why are some of my campaign officials engaging in activities that are causing the fbi to want to have a counterintelligence investigation. and in this case, george papadopoulos has already pled guilty former trump official. more pled guilty. there were legitimate reasons for this gags to have started. >> congressman, you know the president keeps refer tog a deep state. to this as part of that. there's this deep conspiracy in the deepest bowls of the government against what he deems as an upstart insurgent leader like himself. you asked the secretary of state, mike pompeo, about this.

the president's repeated claims of a deep state. it was a really important change and i want to play it. >> do you believe there's a criminal deep state at the state department? >> i don't, i haven't seen the comments for the president. i don't believe there's a deep state at the state department. >> thank you. you served as cia director. do you believe your colleagues in the ci aurks are part of the criminal deep state? >> this term, deep state, has been thrown around. i say that's the employees that work for me at the cia nearly uniformly were aimed at achieving president's objectives. >> that's pretty firm. he doesn't see the deep state at the cia or state department. were you satisfied by mike pompeo and secretary of state and his answer? >> i was. he was pushing back on donald trump's allegation that there's somehow this criminal deep state. when you look at this

investigation, director wray is a republican. mueller is a republican. dni director coates is a republican. if any of them had any problems with this investigation, they would have said something. they did have any problems with this source, so again, the president is trying to smear the department of justice and fbi and that is harming our nation. >> congressman, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you, erin. >> next, jared kushner sitting down with bob mueller's ve investigators for a second time. seven hours and we know a whole lot about what they talked about. that's next and is kim jong-un reluctant, afraid to meet with trump because he's afraid of akey if he leaves the country for a couple of days and does that mean president trump is responsible for his safety if he's deposed? these are questions being asked tonight? and live picture of the volcano in hawaii that keeps getting so severe. some of this is turning blue.

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his prior interview was in november. april and the second one seven hours. this comeing as kushner's white house security clearance has been restored. he l he lost it in february. "outfront" now -- thanks to all. there's a lot happening here and a lot happening as we're speaking. so let me start with you. mueller's team says we're ready to sentence george papadopoulos, who's been cooperating and giving them information. they had a second meeting with kushner. it was seven hours long. does this mean mueller is getting close to wrapping up? can we get there with that? >> well, he's certainly getting close to wrapping up the papadopoulos piece of the investigation. remember that papadopoulos in his cooperation deal mentioned the supervisor who turn ee eed o be cm clovis.

unless they come out with charges soon, i would expect that portion of his investigation is wrapped up. this suggests me he's trying wrap up a piece of what he's look iing at regarding kushner. you'll remember that kushner is being lookeded at relating to the obstruction inquiry that he has. we know that's something that mueller has been b trying to focus on wrapping up initially. >> so you know, look, kushner, cross hairs here, all sorts of questions, right? but you know, whether it's about financial dealings or his family getting a bailout from the middle east. all of these questions that have been swirling. yet his lawyer appeared on cnn a few moments ago and heb said tht mueller asked om specific questions. what's interesting is what he asked about what did not apparent hi come uly come up. >> the office of special counsel is look iing at two things. whether there was collusion with russia in the campaign and whether or not anybody was involved and if that violates

any law and they're look at this broad topic they call or the media calls obstruction of justice. they would have asked questions of all witnesses about those topics. but he has a unique role. he was there in the campaign. there in the transition and he worked in the white house when events occurred after the inauguration. that is of interest to the counsel. >> what do you hear when you hear that? collusion, obstruction of justice, duh but nothing b about financial mall fee sants, bailouts from foreign governments or anything like that. . >> it's curious to me they didn't ask those questions, but again, a lot of financial information is available without having to ask the person about disclosures, financial forms. these can be very black and white topics, but what's interesting to me was his phrasing of the media's term of this obstruction of justice. we have pulled it out of thin air. it's a codified principle in the law. it can be crime to do so. what it appears to me is he is

trying to suggest that he is being asked about the thing he is uniquely positioned to know about. which makes him very obviously somebody who would be in the interest of mueller and his team. that was not surprising. he tried to couch it in language to be more dismissive of his role. but i think we expected the reasons he is interested in jared kushner are is reasons he outlined perfectly. >> this comes as we learned kushner had security clearance reto restored and it had been put on hold in february. he has done countless edits to his application form, et cetera. but how significant is that. that it gets restored. does that say anything about where they are or how they are c concluded jared kushner? >> it definitely challenges the long standing belief that kushner might be in hottest water of all. it is hard to believe that if mueller and his team had found

all sort of things that suggested cukushner was able toe influenced by foreign governments, it's hard to believe. >> coming from foreign officials to his family company. you would presume. >> we know a lot of mueller's investigation, but there's so much more we don't know. a lot of our assumptions like jared kushner was the one who had the most to fear, those may be wrong. it's going to be fascinating once this report coming together. i think we'll find out we're right on track with some things and way off the mark on some things. >> and one person trying throw everybody off is rudy giuliani. he's doing a good job b swirling up the water, putting a lot of dirt in it so you can't see the floor and you know, charging up the president's base. he now says today, tells "the washington post" that he wants the president to talk to mueller. quote, i'd rather do the

interview, if it gets it overwith, it makes my clooint happy. which is opposite of before. when he said he'd be crazy to do it. but the president has said he wants to do it. good cop trump, bad cop rudy giuliani. and just a moment ago, giuliani talking to buzz feed and said no, guess what, this whole thing about telling the "washington post", no, not so. not going to do it until spy gate as they call that whole embroilio they have self-createded, is figured out ch what's giuliani's game here? >> wow, well, certainly a lot of misdirection as you're pointing out. i h say that when i heard giuliani say, oh, sure, i want to have my client interviewed. it reminds me of what defense attorneys do at a trial. they promise the injury and in their opening statement that oh, my client's going to testify. and then at the closing argument, they say oh, my client wanted to testify so bad, but i

told him not to because the government doesn't have enough evidence. he's creating all these reasons and excuses for why mueller is a bad guy and that's the excuse for why trump is going to take the fifth or fight the interview. >> giuliani and "the washington post" which predates the buzz feed threat about spy gate. he told "the washington post" he's worried the interview may not happen. it could be a perjury trap because he said, quote, truth is relative. >> that certainly -- >> i thought those comments were for kellyanne. sfwl the idea of truth being relative comes from a former u.s. district attorney of new york is shocking to me, but not with how he has betrayed himself over the last several weeks. he's having these magnanimous gestures and at the end, say well, it's not the o niehaus on the person that's being interviewed to tell the truth. i'd like toville nuys the person who i think the american people

will follow saying it's entrapment. remember just because you're speak tog an investigator does not transform an otherwise benign interview into a perjury trap. it is always incumbent upon person giving the interview to be truthful. if what rudy giuliani has to say is true, that means no single person was ever in anything but a trap. that's wrong. >> it is amazing that you have a billionaire, a bully, these are objective facts from things he says and does. successfully to so many painting himself as the beleaguereded victim. >> absolutely and what all of these quarter turns and half turns and full turns by giuliani. they're trying say trying to get to a place where we can talk to robert mueller. but spy gate, but deep state. but a donation to a democratic over there. like we can't do it because we're up against something to corrupt and poor, pitiful us. they're playing the victim and it's working to a certain degree. 53% of american's thought

mueller's investigation wasly motivated. these counternarratives, because trump and his allies are so shameless and are willing to weave the conspiracy theorys, it's actually working. >> which is incredible when you think about it, bob b mueller's team has not leaked a thing. silence taking the high road. we'll see. jury's still out. next, the credibility of another trump administration official questioned tonight. why is the homeland security secretary putting herself on the line for the president again and again for things that are not true? plus, michael cohen speaking out. who is the man known as the taxi king and what could he have on cohen? alright, i brought in new max protein ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't.

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new tonight, president trump's yes woman. today praising the president publicly a day after she didn't know like she knew russia meddled in the election. and the intelligence community. she is willing to praise him, to cover for him and to feed his -- while ignoring the facts. why? tom foreman is "outfront." >> for leadership on behalf of the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government. >> the secretary of security was heaping praise on the boss at a round table over immigration and violence. just a day after she slapped aside assessments by the nation's top law enforcement and intelligence agencies that russia tried to help donald trump win the election. >> i do not believe i've seen that conclusion. that this specific intent was to help president trump win.

>> her resume is surprisingly short for a b cabinet member. yes, she did zdisaster response with the bush administration, but then she was chief of staff to john kelly as he ran dhs. based on that experience, a former security official told a new yorker in a normal administration, there isn't a chance in hell she would get nominated for the job she holds. why was she? all signs point to loyalty. >> if there's a law before that needs to be replaced, it's being replaced by a new wall. this is the trump border wall. >> she fiercely ceo fends the president's projects from the border wall to merit based immigration. when people at a private meeting said he used a vulgar term, she said -- >> i did not hear that word used, no sir. >> when the president said he would send the national guard to deter illegal immigration, she explained, sort of, how many

troops? >> it will be strong. as many as needed to fill the gaps that we have today. >> what will it cost? >> we're working that out? why today, not yesterday, tomorrow. today is the day. today is the day we want to start this process. >> and when democrats and some outlets erupted over the president's characterization, these are animals. >> the white house said he was referring to violent criminals and nielsen jumped in. >> i think those lawmakers owe the president an apology. they are stirring facts in a dangerous way. >> none of that saved her from a brutal dressing down by the president during a resent cabinet meeting. some say afterwards sh she was ready to resign, but homeland security denieded it. she is still on the job. >> and of course praising him today. thank you so much, tom. now, former adviser to the trump campaign, steve cortez and maria

cardona. it's a pattern. we see her compliment k him, not remembering what he said in the oval office. again and again. is this about being nice the him? or is there more to it? >> first of all, i think this is really damaging not just to the country, but her personally. she's the secretary of homeland security. the fact that she said she didn't know or didn't see the intelligence reports that we all know 19 intelligence agencies have underscored that this is true in terms of russia meddling in our election and you said it that it was also underscored by the senate republican-led intel committee. she didn't see it. it makes her out to be, not fini finished. a liar or it makes her out to be incompetent. either one should make us quiver in our shoes. >> or either. can we get back the reality?

>> not finished here. because she's the secretary of homeland security. >> it doesn't mean that -- [overlapping speakers] >> in her confirmation hearings, to be department of homeland security head, she could have said time and again, under intense grilling, that she accepted the intelligence community. >> just answer the question. she lied. >> she didn't lie. listen and you are also very -- you're very selectively showing a portion afterward in that same discussion with cnn. she clarified exactly what we meant, but here's i think the bigger point. you today secretary nielsen, president trump, went to long island new york to talk about solutions for a community under siege by the most violent gang that's ever operated in the united states. rather than talk about that, rather than talk about what we're doing to help real

americans of ms 13, you'd rather fix saate on a slight misstay. >> the animals issue has been talked about. >> and please -- but i don't think it's insignificant. if the person in charge of homeland security of the united states says she's not aware that russians meddled in the election. >> sheif fied that. >> i didn't say she forgot it. she did not lie. here's what's important. we've had no control over our immigration system in this country. and because of that, ms13 has been allowed to unleash its terror in places like long island and northern virginia and southern california. president trump, thank god, and secretary nielsen and tom and a strong, strong group of leaders have said enough. we are going to get control of

this system. but instead of talking about that story that really matters to real americans -- >> we've been talking about that torre a few times. what i want to talk b about now is kirsten nielsen. knows who threatened the united states democratic process. it matters and is significant. >> it matters because -- >> she said she didn't say it. >> she didn't recall. this is the biggest national security. of our time. and she is sitting there saying she doesn't recall. that's scary. >> she claire if rified it. she said russia wanted disruption. they did things for trump and against trump. >> she would not come out and say what the chairman said last week, that they wanted to help trump. and on that, she's not alone. in saying something that seems to be b i'm going to say what my

bos wants to hear. there are a few other examples. >> a pattern here. >> president what an incredible honor it is to lead the department of health and human services at this pivotal time under your leadership. i can't thank you enough for the privilege you've given me. >> mr. president, thank you for the honor to serve the country. it's a great privilege you've given me. >> on behalf of the entire senior staff, we thank you for the opportunity and blessing you've given us to serve your agenda and the american people. >> this was the larmgest agest e to ever witness an inauguration, period. >> the president still strongly feels there was a large amount of voter froud and attempted to do a thorough review of it, but a lot of states didn't want to cooperate and participate. >> i bet there was little coverage. i bet it's new information to people that president obama had a six-month ban on the iraqi refugee program after two came here to this country, were

radicalized then the master minds behind the bowling green massacre. didn't get covered. >> because it didn't happen. republicans have said there was no voter fraud. russians interfere nd the election with the intent of helping trump. why do these people say things that are not true? just because they think trump wants to hear it? >> this idea that trump loves yes men or women is so untrue. specifically to this issue, i can speak with personal experience and credibility on immigration. the debate on immigration within the white house has been intense. there are people for instance who wanted to end daca immediately and start deportation. then there are people who wanted to continue the obama practices on daca and everything in fwe between. and i know because i was involved in these debates. this is a president who tolerates a wide range of d dissent. he appointed new york democrats

to inkrcredibly influential plas in his government like gary cohn. >> he's not there anymore. zbl they was there through the most important. the idea he needs love from his supporters is not at all. interestingly enough, steve didn't answer your question, which is do they lie, because their boss lies. every single time he opens his mouth. he is up past 3,000 lies since the moment he took office. america deserves better. america deseves better. he is an inept president unfit for office. >> you have a president making us more prosperous and safe and getting more popular. >> he's a lair. >> and it's driving you people crazy. >> he's a lair. >> we hit pause. next, michael cohen. pushing back after his former business partner strikes a plea deal with prosecutors.

how much does the so-called taxi king know about cohen. plus, the live pictures on the lava tearing through hawaii. cracks in the earth large enough for homes to fall in. and new pictures coming in showing a heem literally sinking into one of those volcanic cracks. test.

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new tonight, michael cohen claiming the so-called taxi king is of not threat to him. he is avoiding up to 100 years in prison by cooperating with feds, but today, cohen denied he and friedman were partners. he tweeted we are fot partners and have never been partners in this business or any other. the problem b is that cohen is claiming that friedman is responsible for cohen's unpaid back taxes. extremes, right, if you have nothing to do with each other and there's no relationship. just who is he? the russian immigrant known as the taxi king. >> my business is only three thipg. excellent, very good or just good. >> his rise in the new york city taxi business earned him the nickname, the taxi king. the russian immigrant is a long time business associate of the president's personal attorney, michael cohen. friedman is now the latest to be linked to robert mueller's investigation after reaching a plea deal with new york's

attorney general and agreeing to help investigators with ongoing state and federal probes, "the new york times" reports. the author of trump russia describes the long standing relationship between cohen and friedman. >> friedman himself has called cohen a dear, dear friend and their relationship goes back many years. >> friedman made millions by managing over 800 new york city taxi medallions or licenses to operate a cab between 2012 and 2015 according to the new york attorney general's office. some are owned by cohen. but in 2016, this empire starte falling apart. he defalled on a loan and indicted for tax fraud. he agreed to be a potential witness for the government according to the times, leading to this tweet from cohen todayia am one of thousands of me ddalln

owners who -- but as recently as last year, friedman's company managed most of cohen's taxi businesses. his attorney said this in a statement. mr. friedman has a long stand ing relationship with mr. cohen and considers him his friend. he has accepted responsibility for his pasts. i have no comment on the details of his plea agreement and what if any impact it may have on other matters. so what would friedman know about his business practices or the special counsel's investigation? >> i think he may have information on cohen's medallions and his more direct personal business dealings as well as his relationship to trump. i think that's why you see such a light sense. because prosecutors are certain he has a lot to offer. >> this putting more pressure on the president and renewing

questions about whether cohen will flip on his friend is if faced with frl charges. >> we reviewed the court transcriptions from yesterday's hear iing interesting to note a part of the agreement, friedman will be exempt from future criminal prosecution as it relate to the medallions over that three-year period. it's interesting to note what future prosecutor couions out t. >> a year ago, obviously adds up. next, kim jong-un fearing tonight he could be deposed. if he travels to meet with president trump. is a coup likely? plus, live pictures of the violent eruptions and toxic steam clouds. one man living to tell about a strike. we've got the breaking details ahead. rd to bear, an expectation to surpass. but that's the point. bring us doubt,

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out of communications. you saw him here 24 hours ago, still out of communication. he's en route to the nuclear site that kim promises to destroy tomorrow. "outfront" now, gordon chang, author of "nuclear showdown:north korea takes on the world" and john kirby, former pentagon spokesperson. thanks very much to both of you. so this reporting, kim is afraid there could be a coup if he leaves this country, is this a possibility? >> it is a real possibility. one-man dictatorships are the least stable form of government. that's political science 101. we know kim il-sung, his grandfather, had created the most stable of the unstable one-man systems because of the overlapping security services and spies. but we've also got to remember there's a lot of evidence of instability. all of these purges and executions. and there's one other element, erin. and that is, kim has agreed to give up his weapons, according to south korea's president. i'm sure there are a lot of generals back in pyongyang who are not very happy to hear that. >> john, it also is at this

point, right? if kim jong-un, the so-called supreme leader of north korea is afraid to leave his country for a couple of days because there could be a coup knocking him out of power, if he is that vulnerable, why are we even negotiating with him? >> to some degree, it's all the more reason to negotiate and try to get to a better outcome here. because if he feels that unstable, if he feels that vulnerable, then, you know, rash actions may result from that, so i think it's all the more reason why, it just convinces everybody that the situation on the korean peninsula is not sustainable long-term. and we need to try to get to a more peaceful, stable outcome on the back end of it. >> even if he can't do what he promises to do at the summit, because there's a coup or something like that. >> yeah, but remember, erin, he yauds the same excuse back in 2015, when he was supposed to meet with putin. he said, i can't do it because i've got this coup. gordon is much smarter on this than me, and i'm not doubting that it's not possible. but he's used this before. could be a negotiating tactic. could be a stalling technique. could be something to try to get

more out of the american side. i still think that, i'm where pompeo is, i think that the printing process is going forward. i think there's still a better than not chance that this summit happens. >> and yet, gordon, when we talk about the u.s. side, the pentagon tonight is making public its assessment of kim. which, by the way, this is trump's pentagon, right? secretary mattis is his secretary. they have come out with their assessment of kim. and the conclusion is, is that the primary function of kim jong-un is to, quote, ensure perpetual kim family rule at the expense of the north korean people. i mean, i'll say this again. this is donald trump's pentagon, saying that to do anything with kim is to perpetuate the family rule at the expense of the north korean people. >> yeah. >> that's a pretty stunning thing to come out of trump's own pentagon at this time, isn't it? >> well, with you knoyou know, history, though, erin. we've seen that. i think the kim rulers have realized that destitution is actually good for kim family rule. because when people are weak and scrounging for food, they don't have the means to resist. people who resist authoritarian

regimes are often middle class, got a lot of money, got a lot of property, and have influence. so the kim family has sort of looked at this and said, uh-uh, poverty is really good for us. >> and yet, john, though, here's the thing. if the pentagon is saying to do this at the expense of the north korean people, here's what donald trump has been saying about kim jong-un, right? he's been promising kim that he's going to protect him, that he's going to keep a guy in power who wants to hurt the north american people. here's trump -- i mean, the north korean people. here's trump. >> we're willing to do a lot. and he's willing to, i think, do a lot also. he'll get protections that will be very strong. i will guarantee his safety, yes. we will grrpt his safe-- guaran and we've talked about that from the beginning. he will be safe, he will be happy. >> so what do you say to that, john? he's going to be safe, he's going to be happy. a guy trump's on pentagon is coming out and saying that he wants to perpetuate himself at the expense of his own people. >> we talking about kim being on

this big charm offensive and this is trump's charm offensive. he's trying to convince kim to move forward, have the summit, to trust that it's the right path forward. it is, though, to gordon's point, though, it's a dangerous position to be long-term, because you might be setting up expectations for this summit that is just -- they're not sustainable. they're not achievable. you know, in one meeting with this guy. >> all right. thanks very much to both of you. by the way, conventional weapons not even put on the table yet by the trump administration. which is, you know, ripping up the iran deal because they weren't on the table by obama. so there's all sorts of issues here. next, a lava mountain in hawaii scorching everything in its past. we're live on the ground. once there was an organism so small no one thought much of it at all. people said it just made a mess

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tonight, blue flames, toxic gas, homes in danger of falling into giant cracks in the earth. the newest explosions from kilauea are getting hotter and more dangerous and stephanie elam is there. >> more than three weeks in and kilauea shows no sign of letting up. >> this is my backyard. >> reporter: residents forced to dodge creeping lava flows, as they rush in and out to check on their property. are you concerned about how much you're breathing in here? >> i am. i feel saturated when i go home at night. i just feel like i can't get clean. it feels like it's stuck on my skin and my lungs. >> reporter: the images getting stranger by the day. here, methane gas from burning veg taketation creates blue fla rising from cracks in the road. lava bombs raining down on homes. >> snapped it in half at the ankle and foot. >> reporter: darryl clinton was struck by a bowling ball-sized lava bomb as he checked on his homes. this cnn interview with clinton,

just the day before, showed the danger of the falling lava. >> i just wanted to live. i didn't care if they cut my leg off down there or not. >> reporter: where lava isn't the problem, cracks are. >> and the house is literally falling into that crack system here. >> reporter: this home in leilani estates on the verge of being swallowed. the crack itself offering rares a neighbor glimpse deep underground. officials say lava is still dripping into the ocean, creating toxic gas laced with glass particles. >> not knowing hour to hour where it's going to pop up. >> reporter: for residents like stacy welch, it makes for a risky trip home, as long as home is still there. >> when you look at this and you see this black lava now, what does it make you think? >> uncertain. definitely, uncertain that we're saf safe. >> and that lava is on the street behind her one-acre lot and on her street, there are very large cracks just feet away

from her driveway. that drive is something that is a new routine that she does every day, erin. >> wow, it's just incredible to see, as this develops. thank you so much, stephanie. and we now have a live camera on the volcano. cnn does. so you can watch it at any time, and as long as you want, on cnn.com. thanks for joining us. anderson's next. good evening. for days now, the president of the united states has been making unsupported claims about the possibility of a spy in his campaign. it's not hard to see why he was doing this, but tonight there's even more evidence about his thinking. the associated press has new reporting. they write, quote, trump told one ally this week that he wanted to brand the informant a spy, believing the more nefarious term would resonate more in the media and with the public. well, today, if anything, the volume rose and so did the president early this morning, tweeting at 6:54 a.m., look how things have turned around on the criminal deep state. they go after phony collusion with russia, a made-up scam, and they end up getting