elizabeth, we want to wish you nothing but the very, very best. thanks for all your terrific work. glad you'll be back with megan very, very soon. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next, breaking news. president trump says his meet with kim jong-un is officially back on. he's welcome north korea's former top spy to the oval office. so why is he embracing a brutal dictator and alienating america's closest ally? plus, trump breaking decades of protocol with a single tweet ahead of the jobs report. is he giving his wealthy friends a heads-up about the markets. and michael avenatti facing new questions about his own financial dealings, including his work with a convicted felon. it's an outfront exclusive report tonight. let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin burnet.

outfront, the breaking news that's on. president trump declaring the on again/off again summit with kim jong sun on again and set for june 12th in singapore. trump meeting today with the top north korean envoy kim yong chol at the white house. here's trump right after the meeting. >> we'll be meeting on june 12th in singapore. it went very well. it's really a get to know you kind of a situation. >> all right, well, chol hand delivered a letter to trump from kim jong-un. you know, it was a letter from kim jong-un, right? look at that envelope. a big envelope. putting aside the absurdity of that situation, you'd think a letter from kim would be important, right? well, the president was asked about what was said in that letter and at first he made light of it. he toyed with reporters. >> that letter was a very nice letter. oh, would you like to see what was in that letter. how much? how much?

>> just moments later, though, trump actually said that, no joke, he has not even read that very nice letter. >> i haven't opened it. i didn't open it in front of the director. i said would you want me to open it? he said you can read it later. i may be in for a big surprise, folks. >> all right. just weeks after insisting that a meeting with kim would be about total denuclearization of the korean peninsula, today trump totally moved the goal post. to basically the 5 yard line. >> i think it's a getting to know you meeting plus. and that can be a very positive thing. >> getting to know you plus. that is a far cry from just two weeks ago when kim threatened to call off the summit and trump responded by being extremely clear with this. >> we'll see what happens.

>> are you still going to insist on denuclearization of the korean peninsula? yes. maybe not. but let's just not mince words here. today was an historic moment. the spy chief, one of kim jong-un's closest and most trusted aides was in the oval office and stayed there for an hour and 22 minutes. he and trump then bid a long good-bye in the rose garden. they smiled. posed for cameras. and kim jong chol's oval office access is historic. no one has been in the white house in 18 years. a special waiver had to be issued for the north korean envoy, which a waiver, obviously, trump granted. consider this. during the obama administration and two years of negotiations on nuclear armament with iran, no iranian diplomat was ever

granted that waiver. they never visited the obama white house, even before negotiations started, never mind the oval office. trump's welcome did not stop with the pomp and circumstance in the oval office. just this sums it all up. here he is one week ago and then here he is today after the meeting. >> our very strong sanctions and maximum pressure campaign will continue as it has been continuing. >> i don't even want to use the word maximum pressure anymore. i don't want to use that term because we're getting along. you see the relationship. >> okay. maximum pressure is off because we're getting along. don't need it anymore. so does trump today seem anxious to please pyongyang and make a deal. mitch mcconnell sure seems to think so. >> i think for these situations to work, you have to not want the deal too much. if you fall in love with the

deal, and it's too important for you to get it, and the details become less significant, you could get snookered. >> there's a new word. snookered. but it says a lot. and today there was also this jarring juxtaposition. while trump embraced north korea, a country whose leader maintains labor camps, assassinates its rivals, allows his own people to starve and has released videos like these promising, quote, the total annihilation of the united states, he simultaneously launched a trade war against america's neighbor and most loyal ally. a point just made by an angry canadian prime minister justin trudeau. >> from the beaches of normandy to the mountains of afghanistan, we have fought and died together. that canada could be considered a national security threat to the united states is inconceivable. >> so canada is a national security threat but north korea

is in the oval office? jeff zeleny is outfront tonight at the white house. jeff, look, we went from maximum pressure to we don't need it because we're getting along. that big envelope, opened or not. sure made a big impression on this president. >> it certainly did. good evening. we've heard president trump really for weeks saying he would walk away from a deal. but today he walks squarely into that meeting. he was the single driving force here between, you know, essentially what happened a week ago to what happened now. he wants that meeting to go on. it's going to go on in 11 days but you can hear the tone in the president's voice wanting it so much, of course. but he was moving back the goal post. he called it a process about nine or ten different times. this is the start of a process of a discussion. now he said he is convinced that kim jong-un is committed to getting rid of his nuclear arsenal at some point but he wants to be careful with that. that's a far cry from the earlier comments from complete,

you know -- abolishing it entirely. we're learning some interesting information tonight. i was just told by a white house official that that letter, that huge package, the envelope it came in it was examined before it arrived here at the white house. not surprisingly by the u.s. secret service for any, you know, poisons or toxins on it. so that's one of the reasons it was opened there. but the president read that before leaving for camp david. but also interesting, erin, when you look at the pictures of who was in the room. secretary of state mike pompeo was in that meeting. the people who were not, perhaps even more interesting. mike pence, the vice president, and john bolton, the national security adviser. that is showing perhaps a rift in this administration. who wants this meeting to happen. who wants this deal to happen. and those who are perhaps more skeptical. >> jeff zeleny, thank you very much. outfront, bob baer, jean lee, and frank bruney, "new york times" columnist. it was a stunning day.

an hour and 22 minutes inside the oval office, the former spy chief, one of the closest confidantes of kim jong-un on the same day justin trudeau is told canada say national security threat. it's been 18 years since a north korean official has even gotten into the white house and yet here trump is very publicly embracing him. >> it's really quite baffling. you'll not hear me say this too often. i agree 100% with mitch mcconnell. by a lot of signs, trump wants something here too much. i think when the meeting was called off, he felt a sense of loss but we have no good answers. no indications that between now and then anything has happened that gives us confidence that north korea is getting rid of its nuclear arsenal. the moment he meets with kim in singapore, he's legitimized a national pariah which keeps threatening people with its nuclear weapons. if that's going to happen

without any serious, serious commitment from them in advance, i'm just baffled as to why he is -- why he feels this is going to end up going to his favor and america's favor. >> here's the situation. he comes into the oval office, kim yong chol. his letter is examined for toxins. that's just the situation here between two countries that don't have diplomatic relations. they threatened annihilation of the united states. and yet the president says let's just not say maximum pressure anymore because we're getting along. >> well, erin, exactly. he's backing off the precondition that they agreed to get rid of their nuclear weapons and missiles. that clearly is off the table. and the fact he used the word process, that in effect means recognition that north korea is now a nuclear power and there's not much we can do about it. and going back to the room, the fact that bolton was there was key. he's the guy that talks about we can only get rid of these nuclear weapons. he wasn't there. it was a signal to the north

koreans, hey, you know, anything is possible. let's do this summit. let's draw this out. but right now you don't have to bump your nucloor weapons. >> we'll not put in the guy you've personally called out by name saying he's a problem. we're going to remove him from the room. they even are dictating who is in the room. you have personally negotiated with the north koreans. how crucial was this meeting today between the former spy chief and the president. >> if you're trying to get the north koreans to the table, you also have to understand how they think and how they operate. i dong the fact that john bolton wasn't in the room is recognition of the fact that some of the comments he made and the vice president made may have derailed these talks. i would not have advocated announcing or agreeing to this summit the way that the president did. my attitude with the north koreans and my strategy was always to keep that under wraps until it happens. but he did agree to it and so

now, now that we know he wants it to happen, the north koreans want it to happen, the point is to get them to the table. the comments made comparing north korea to libya and threatening the libya model did not help. that's the type of comment that is not going to get the north koreans to the table. and in that sense, i think that, you know, you do have to butter them up if you want them to be there. and that's what we're seeing. we're seeing these two leaders buttering each other up. they understand what it takes to work with somebody who has got a big ego. the buttering, certainly he's got a big envelope given to him, fine. but the buttering seemed to go one way. denuclearization. it's not their maximum pressure. let's not worry about it. and the president relished the moment. he came out to talk to the cameras. he was very happy. four times he started to walk away and then pulled himself right back and walked back toward those microphone because he wanted to stay longer and keep talking.

>> he is loving the theater and the drama of this. he's loving the theater and drama of this so much that it makes you worry he's really attending to the substance of it. we have no way of understanding what has happened, why the goal posts have moved. why suddenly it's a good idea to meet when it wasn't a week and a half ago or whenever that was. we have no answers for that and it seems more than anything else like donald trump just relishes the theater of this. when we're talking about this or when we're talking about roseanne barr, we're not talking about russia and mueller. and i don't think that's insignificant. >> bob baer, look, when this kim threatened to call this off and trump was debating and he was the first one to do it because it was important to be the first one to call it off, you heard him say, are you going to insist on denuclearization? he was asked directly. the answer, yes, but apparently not. >> we're getting sucked into the north korean vortex, this whole process thing. at the end of it, i guarantee

you he's still going to have his nuclear weapons, and i think this president really, truly believes he can pull off the deal of the century. the art of the deal. and he's going to, you know, promote this as a great success by 2020 if you can just guarantee this is going to happen. >> yet you heard the republican leader of the senate. obviously mcconnell saying snookered. if you want a deal too badly, you get snookered. that's what he's worried is happening here. is trump too eager? >> i'm sorry. was that for me? >> that was for me. >> sorry. i'm having trouble hearing. you know, this -- what i'm concerned about is that he's going to take kim jong-un at his word. you have to go into this with a huge dose of skepticism here. he is rebranding himself. the leader of north korea is rebranding himself as somebody who embraces the concept of a nuclear-free world. but he is saying, i will give up my nuclear weapons if you give up yours. so you have to go into this very

intelligently and very skeptically. >> right. of course, that isn't going to happen. and as we've been reporting, it's been very clear, the destruction of the nuclear test site was a propaganda move. they breached all these landmarks in just the last ten months in terms of striking the continental united states. >> north korea's identity is so tied to its nuclear arsenal that they'll not give it up easily. >> right. >> kim knows, of course, if he were to give that up, all of a sudden, regime change is right on the table. >> thank you all. next, trump jumps the gun with a tweet about good economic news. really good economic news. some people made a whole heck of a lot of money. so did the president cross a legal line? michael avenatti facing serious questions about how he handled a bankruptcy claim against one of his own firms. it's an outfront exclusive. and stingrays. spying devices that can listen

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at 8:30 this morning. well, you know, stock futures, bond yields, the value of the dollar, it all moves fast, immediately, after the president's tweet about the number. some people were making a lot of money ahead of the actual release of the numbers which came as it always does at the exact same time, 69 minutes later as it has every single month for decades showing a 49-year low in the unemployment rate and 223,000 new jobs added in the united states. those are great numbers. but here's the problem. there is a federal rule dictating the federal employees who know the job numbers ahead of time, including the president of the united states, must keep their mouths shut about it. it says, quote, all employees of the executive -- prior to the official release time. the council of economic advisers, austan goolsbee and steve moore who is now an

informal white house adviser. austan, you were part of the briefing that happened to president obama on the jobs numbers. the night before he finds out what they purpose you say if you had done what trump did today, you'd be under investigation tonight. >> yeah, absolutely. totally inappropriate. he shouldn't have done it. i was the guy, the chairman of the council of economic advisers, is the one who receives the data and writes up a report and goes and briefs the president. and this is confidential information of the highest order. when you talk to your own staff at the council of economic advisers, you cannot talk about the numbers on the telephone. you have to use an encrypted line, what we call the bat phone, if you want to discuss those numbers with your own staff. so i -- trump should not have done this. and as soon as he did it they should have just apologized and said he's never going to do that again because the -- he directly

violated federal regulation that exists to prevent exactly what happened this morning, which is he tweeted something, he put out the information that was market moving and a bunch of people made a lot of money off of information that was not public. >> and that's the bottom line, steve. should he -- at the very least, let's talk about an apology because you did have a few people make a lot of money. and a lot of people didn't. >> well, look, i agree with austan that it was inappropriate for president trump to send out this tweet but i was tweeting out that we were going to get a blockbuster jobs report and i hadn't even seen the numbers. i don't think there was anything too surprising about trump saying we're looking forward to the numbers because -- >> except for we know that he gets the numbers -- >> he has seen the numbers and you hadn't. he comes out saying, i can't wait for it. it's clear he knows it's good. >> of course but we all knew --

>> the market doesn't move -- >> we don't know what moves the market this morning and a lot of times when you have -- >> literally the minute he said that, it began to move. >> okay, but look. my point is first of all, should he have done it? no. was it an appropriate thing? probably not. but most people knew that we were going to get a good jobs report. anybody who has been following these numbers knows that. but, look, we're burying the lead here. the important thing is we've got an economy that's firing on all cylinders. it's an amazing accomplishment. all of your friends who said a year and a half ago that trump was going to destroy the economy, cause a second great depression and so on were wrong. we've got a hotter economy now than we've had in 20 years. that's an amazing story. >> it was a good jobs number this month. was relatively weak the last two months. we're averaging about 175 a month. that's a solid report. we've had 107 months of positive job growth. donald trump has been there for

16 of those. he deserves some credit, and he should not have been violating federal rules when tweeting out this information. the irony is, why did he do that? he was trying to call attention to good numbers if he had not said anything breaking the rules, there would have been more attention on the numbers than there is now because a lot of the attention -- >> to this point, this is what i'm curious about, right? trump was briefed last night, which could open the door now that he's going to go on twitter more than an hour before the release comes out and talk, sort of, you know, brag about the upcoming release or promote it, shall i say. it makes me remember when he and his friend, carl icahn, sold off more than $30 million in steel stocks just days before trump announced upcoming tariffs. carl icahn made a bunch of money. trump and carl deny they spoke about it, but now it's -- we know this president talks to his

friends at night. his big money friends and he's off on twitter putting numbers out. can you be sure he's not telling them about it the night before because he's so excited and wants to brag. >> that's the point here. austan talked about it. you said you were the guy who got the numbers the night before the report came out. if austan had called his friend at goldman sachs and said we're going to get a blockbuster report or the numbers look terrible tomorrow, then there would be a gross violation. that would be effectively insider trading. but, look, there are 20 million people -- >> but is this now a concern that we need to talk about? you look at the icahn example and the question marks about that. a president who has no respect for the rule to not put it out on twitter? >> i doepn't think the president -- >> do we need to ask is he telling his friends about it? >> whether it's the president or any of his deputyies, nobody should be releasing information that's proprietary that will be released to the public later.

there's nothing in his statement -- it's not like saying we're going to get -- whatever the number was. 220,000 jobs. that would have been inappropriate. he just said i'm looking forward to some good numbers. >> you do not have to give the exact number to be in violation of the federal rule. that's not correct. if i get up and i go -- i didn't tell you what the number was. >> good point. >> you cannot do that. >> that's a fair point but, look, austan. these numbers on the economy are so amazing. i want you to admit that this tax cut is working pretty well. not only are we getting the blockbuster jobs numbers. a report that came out at the federal reserve bank of atlanta today that estimates 4.7% growth for the first two months of this quarter. the revenue numbers for -- >> you said -- >> it's an incredible economy that's growing much faster than it ever did under obama. >> steve, on this program you

predicted that the first quarter growth rate of this year was going to be over 5%. >> i never said that. never once did i say that. you show me the quote. >> i am going to hit pause on this conversation. i am going to check -- >> i never said 5% growth. but i have said 3% to 4% and we're there. >> i don't remember that exact quote. that doesn't mean you didn't say it. >> donald trump might have said it because he always said we're going to get 5%. >> thank you both. we're going to check that tape and have you both. next -- president trump considers commuting the sentence of the former governor of illinois rod blagojevich, a man convicted of 17 counts. does trump have an ulterior motive. blagojevich's lawyer speaks out. and avenatti speaks out. it's an outfront exclusive. >> can you tell me what kind of investigative work you were doing for egan avenatti's law firm? >> no. i was managing my moderate

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tonight, a cnn exclusive. porn star stormy daniels' attorney michael avenatti facing questions tonight about his past and his business dealings. dealings involving an ex-convict who was able to drive avenatti's multimillion-dollar law firm into bankruptcy. so who is this convicted ex-con? and why was he working for avenatti's firm? sara sidner is outfront. >> the guy doesn't even know the law. he's a thug. your friend is a thug. >> thank you. >> michael avenatti's brash, take no prisoners tactics have

helped expose lies about president trump's knowledge of the $130,000 hush money payment to porn star stormy daniels. >> if folks want to continue to hide this stuff and cover it up, i think it's fantastic because i am going to out him. >> reporter: and he's revealed millions of dollars in questionable financial dealings by trump's personal attorney michael cohen. >> if there's a number of things that are nefarious. >> reporter: but michael avenatti is also facing questions about his own financial dealings involving one of his firm's work with a convicted felon. in spring 2017, the firm egan avenatti was battling a former partner who said he was owed millions of dollars. jason freight accused the firm of failing to pay millions owed to him, failing to hand over tax returns and misstating the firm's profits. the case went into arbitration and a three-judge panel found avenatti's firm was engaged in a pattern of delay, obfuication and unresponsiveness and ordered

avenatti and others in his firm to sit for a deposition and face questions about the firm's finances. two days before the deadline for that deposition to take place, the entire legal proceeding stopped. after this man, gerald tobin, filed paperwork in florida that forced avenatti's law firm into involuntary bankruptcy, an obscure move that effectively froze the arbitration. >> it's incredibly rare to see these cases. if you look at bankruptcies generally, well less than 1% of bankruptcies are involuntaries. >> i'm sara sidner with cnn. i had a couple of questions for you. >> okay. >> can you tell me what kind of investigative work you were going for egan avenatti's law firm? >> no. >> reporter: bankruptcy documents show tobin claimed avenatti's firm owed him $28,700. >> they said they had millions in liabilities and in assets. so one would question why a

$28,000 issue across the country is the one that resulted in an involuntary filing at a period of time that conveniently stopped a deposition from going forward. >> reporter: but in court, the judge questioned whether toban has some relationship with the firm that would have induced a cluesive filing or whether avenatti's firm just got lucky. avenatti told cnn he was surprised as anybody about tovin's filing. >> why would i talk to you guys about anything. >> why wouldn't i? >> give me a reason why i would. >> why not tell us how it is that you were able to file for involuntary bankruptcy to put egan avenatti into involuntary bankruptcy. do they owe you money? >> reporter: in addition, the firm's lawyers call tovin a private investigator who did investigation on one of the law firm's cases. the state of florida requires private investigators be licensed. we checked. and tovin does not have a

license. what he does have is an extensive criminal history. more than two dozen arrests spanning over 20 years ending in multiple felony and misdemeanor convictions. his latest arrest earlier this year for domestic violence for which he plead not guilty. when the camera was turned off, he did admit to having a lengthy criminal history. he said he can't even vote because of the multiple felonies he's been convicted of. and he certainly is not a private investigator, he said. and as far as him being able to bankrupt a high-flying firm like egan avenatti, he said, no way. i'm just a nobody. and then he added he couldn't talk much about it because he signed an nda. avenatti told cnn he knew nothing about tovin's criminal record and despite what was stated in court, he was not hired as a private investigator. avenatti provided cnn with a declaration signed by tovin months after he filed that

involuntary bankruptcy stating he was asked to assist the firm in gathering evidence and facts for a potential lawsuit in the wake of the 2016 pulse nightclub shooting in orlando. avenatti refused to answer questions for this story on camera, but in a statement told cnn egan avenatti previously retained mr. tovin to do work for a short period of time. he was retained in connection with a case the firm was considering but passed on. a billing dispute arose that has now been fully resolved. the firm did nothing wrong and no court has ever found that the firm did anything wrong. this is a complete side show and has nothing to do with my present work or cases. who cares. eventually avenatti wanted out of bankruptcy and signed a settlement late last year for his firm to pay millions in back taxes to the irs and millions to his former partner. a few weeks ago, avenatti and his firm failed to make the first payment required by the deal. a federal judge then hit the egan avenatti law firm with a

$10 million judgment. as for tovin, he told cnn his debt has been paid. >> thank you, sara. harry is with me, former u.s. assistant district attorney. you have an ex-con that they admitted they hired. avenatti's firm. pushes his firm into bankruptcy two days before a deposition was supposed to happen. >> yep. >> what does all this mean? >> what it seems to me or what the concern is here why people have raised an eyebrow is that by filing this petition, the deposition, which it appears that mr. avenatti may not have wanted to go forward, the deposition could have been stayed because when there's an involuntary bankruptcy petition, it stays, things like depositions. >> doesn't want to be deposed and he's relying on an nda. it sounds like a guy he's critical of, obviously, the president of the united states. so now you have this whole other situation going on. bankruptcy judge now says the whole thing has a stench of

impropriety. that's what the bankruptcy judge said when talking about avenatti's situation. what does this do to his credibility? a guy who blankets the air waves? >> i think it's not good for this hs credibility. when a lawyer decides to try a case with such a heavy media strategy, they, by necessity, put their own conduct as a lawyer under the microscope. and that seems to be what's happened here. whether this was just a coincidence that the petition was filed right before this deposition that he didn't want to happen or not, he -- it looks suspicious to people and will hurt his credibility. >> thank you very much, harry sandick. and trump considering as many as a dozen more pardons tonight. is he sending a message? and homeland security says it found devices near the white house that can spy on cell phones, both calls and texts. could the president's phone be the target? hi.i just wanted to tell you that chevy won a j.d.power

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be relentless. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio. ithe race for governort. has turned into a scam. gavin newsom's trying to elect a republican who was endorsed by trump. and villaraigosa's being bankrolled by a handful of billionaires. it's everything that's wrong with politics. and none of it is helping struggling families. here's my pledge to you. i'll keep our budget balanced. invest in affordable housing. fight for universal healthcare. and stand up to donald trump. as governor, you can trust me to do what's right- because i always have.

new tonight, no end in sight for the pardon parade. a senior white house official telling "the washington post" that as many as a dozen other pardons are being considered by president trump. and that most of them are likely to go ahead. this comes as the president is considering commuting the 14-year sentence of rod blagojevich. the former democratic governor of illinois convicted on corruption charges. outfront now, blagojevich's attorney leonard goodman. thank you for your time, leonard. your client is now back in the

news in a very big way. let me start off by getting the facts from you. has rod blagojevich or anyone acting on his behalf, whether you or his wife, been in touch with the president or the white house about commuting his sentence? >> no. he has not. he's filed formal requests for a commutation of sentence. he filed it under obama. obama took no action. so the president is certainly aware of that. we've been in touch with the pardon office but, no, there's been no communications with donald trump. >> so nothing -- >> donald trump knows rod blagojevich. >> of course, he does, actually. and i remember being on that season of the" celebrity apprentice" when the then governor was there. do you know why the president is raising this now? certainly he knows rod blagojevich, but you're saying you haven't reached out to the white house. his wife hasn't. he hasn't. why is trump raising this now? do you have any idea? >> well, i do. i think there's some troubling aspects to the blagojevich case

that would trouble donald trump. and maybe some things that would hit home for him. rod blagojevich was charged in 2009. the fbi admitted at his trial he was targeted for prosecution back in 2003, early on in his first term as governor. they used -- made deals with some shady characters in order to get wiretaps. they got wiretaps on eight phones. listened to all of his conversations for 40 days, including his private calls with his wife. all of his aides. >> yes. >> selective excerpts were leaked in order to make him appear corrupt. so there's a lot of very troubling aspects. and the one other thing about rod blagojevich, very much a populist governor. he was not in bed with special interest. his main accomplishments and efforts as governor were for the people of illinois. >> leonard, hold on one second. >> he advocated for -- >> you say he was made to appear

corrupt. in "the wall street journal," he wrote an op-ed four days ago. you know about this. but he said he's done nothing wrong. he writes here i am in my sixth year of a 14-year prison sentence for the routine practice of attempting to raise campaign funds while governor. >> it's true, erin. >> but here's what he said at his sentencing. he said i have nobody to blame but myself for my stupidity and actions and words and what i thought i could do. >> he said a lot of stupid things. >> he said he was guilty. >> he didn't say he was guilty. he said a lot of stupid things in his private conversations with his wife. his conversations were recorded during a 40-day period in a high pressure time when he was under pressure to raise campaign funds. you know, you can regret certain things that you said or certain things you gdo. he certainly would have done things differently.

the supreme court said in 1991 when you raise funds you just can't make a specific promise to anyone. >> so then let's get to that. let's get to that because -- >> yeah. >> when you look at this and how this was seen, his vote for impeachment, right, was unanimous. so democrats and republican in the state agree, 59-0 impeachment. his second trial, jury was unanimous in saying he was guilty of 17 different charges. now five of those charges have been overturned, as i'm sure you're about to point out. but this was unanimous by the grand jury and by the illinois house. i mean, a major piece of evidence was this. you say maybe they shouldn't have been taping him, but here's what he said about selling off president obama's open senate seat. >> i mean, i've got this thing, and [ bleep ] it's golden. and i'm just not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. i'm not going to do it. >> and, you know -- >> why is president trump going to say forget all that.

>> here's the thing, erin. if the jury had heard the rest of the calls, you know, and that's one of the things. they steered this case in front of a prosecution friendly judge. they played only the excerpts that made him sound one way. if you heard the rest of the,it's true. he wanted a political benefit for his constituents, for that senate seat. and if he had just given it away as president obama was asking him if president obama wanted to appoint valerie jarrett, he wanted something in return for the people of illinois. he wanted something to be pushing national health care. so, yes, he wanted a political benefit. and as the appellate court said, those types of political deals have been done throughout history. he's the only person in the history of the united states who's ever been prosecuted for political appointments. this was an overreach by the government. they had to change the law. the supreme court said what the law was in 1991, they changed it in order to try to get a conviction. that still didn't work in the

first trial. they got a hung jury. they then rewrote the jury instructions with the judge's approval in order to tell the jury that any deals, even the deal later found to be completely legal is corrupt. so, yes, this man got an unfair treatment. and commutation by the president would be an act of mercy. it would be correcting an injustice. there may be political -- >> the impeach was 59-0. he was guilty. but the bottom line is, do you expect a commutation from president trump and do you expect it imminently? >> i don't expect anything. we're very hopeful. it's hard to get your hopes up. the man has been away for six years. he has two beautiful daughters. president trump has met the family. i think, you know, we're hopeful. obviously, it's going to be up to president trump. i hope he has the courage that president obama did not have to do the right thing and correct this injustice.

>> leonard, thank you. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, erin, for having me on. next, devices that can listen in on cell phone conversations in washington, by the white house. was the president the target? whad do we know about this. and after nearly a month since the volcano started to erupt, we show you what's happened. else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. flonase. jardiance asked: when it comes to managing your type 2 diabetes, what matters to you? you got a1c, heart, diet, and exercise. slide 'em up or slide 'em down. so let's see. for most of you, it's lower a1c. but only a few of you are thinking about your heart. fact is, even though it helps to manage a1c, type 2 diabetes still increases your risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke.

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new tonight, growing concerns someone could be listening to president trump's phone calls. the department of homeland security has found sophisticated cell phone surveillance device near the white house. often used by foreign country including russia but not exclusive to them. jessica snyder is "outfront" near the white house. how worried are they that the president himself is the target? >> reporter: these authorities, they are not revealing much about the types of devices found out here. only saying when they did find these devices all over washington, d.c. including here at the white house were in fact

legit. as a result, were the president's phones compromise. that is because in 2017, the first year of trump's presidency, homeland security discovered a number of devices were operating with sting ray technology. this technology operates as this fake cell phone tower. mobile devices that connect to it. and the people operating these devices can snoop in on cell phone traffic. they can intercept phone calls and access text messages. they can also even plant malware here and we have reported that the president is increasingly relying on personal cell phones to tweet, and to interact with some personal confidants and while the white house has said his cell phone is secure, it is still raising alarm bells. when the report was released

last months, the democratic senator from oregon immediately called for an investigation of telephone phone companies and as well as the federal communication. was the president's cell phone perhaps compromise? thank you very much. and the fact that they don't know about these automatically. surprising for many to hear and next, hawaii's volcano, once a tourist draw, is now devastating the big island's industry. only botox® cosmetic is fda approved to temporarily make moderate to severe frown lines, crow's feet and forehead lines look better. it's a quick 10 minute cosmetic treatment given by a doctor to reduce those lines. there is only one botox® cosmetic, ask for it by name. the effects of botox® cosmetic, may spread hours to weeks after injection,

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. tonight the volcano's serious affect on hawaii's tourism. miguel marquez is out front.

>> reporter: lava, typically a draw, is now fountaining 200 feet in backyards. >> this is insane. >> we are used to lava. but not used to it coming out in our subdivision. >> reporter: run two businesses. and he also heads up the tourism board. and how much is tourism down? >> 80% to 90%. >> reporter: over the last few week as soon as. >> three weeks since the event began. >> reporter: the lava so far shows no signs of slowing down. >> for the people here, meaning southeast kilauea puna, it is very bad. ♪ last night i dreamt that i was

returned ♪ >> reporter: sitting below the orange glow, popular restaurants typically packed. not these days. >> cut our staff, reduce hours. >> we ship anywhere. >> reporter: for people here, it is like being hit twice. the lava destroying their homes, tourists staying away, and damaging their livelihood. the impact on their entire island is unclear. future hotel bookings are down. national park, the hawaii's volcano observatory has been closed for weeks. and cruise stops foregoing in hilo at least for now. >> 2,000 to 3,000 acres.

>> reporter: it really is a big island. ♪ that is the place i'll be >> reporter: where life goes on even in the shadow of volcano. as they hope the volcano goddess takes a breather soon. >> reporter: cnn, hawaii. >> anderson is next. today is a strange day indeed. the president appears to be getting cordial with a bitter enemy. presides over the planet's most oppressive regime. when the president slapped tariffs, the administration called it a national security move and canada is taking umbrage