it did not start with donald trump. he is a symptom, not the cause. >> former u.s. president takes aim at the current president and mr. trump fires back in kind. meantime the u.s. president is asking the justice department to investigate thanonymous op-e piece. and bracing for florence, what could be a major storm that could affect millions of people. let's watch for that one. welcome to our viewers in the u.s. and all around the

world. we're coming to you live from atl. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell. newsroom starts right now. >> thanks again for being with us, cnn has learned the list of possible authors of an anonymous but damaging opinion piece in the new york times has been trimmed down by the white house to just a few names. >> a source says the u.s. president is obsessed at learning the identity of this person identified only as a senior administration official. kaitlan collins picks up this report. >> reporter: president trump calling on his attorney general to investigate the unnamed source of a critical "new york times" op-ed questioning his ability to lead the country. >> i think it is national security. i would say jeff should be investigating the author of that piece because i really believe it is national security. >> reporter: speaking to reporters on air force one,

trump voicing concern that the anonymous official who described the president as petty and ineffective has a security clearance. >> supposing i have a high level national security and he has got a clearance and he goes into a high level meeting concerning china or russia or north korea or something, i don't want him to -- >> reporter: asked if he can trust his own white house staff -- >> now i look around the room and i say, hey, if i don't know somebody -- >> reporter: sources say trump has fumed about the op-ed since it was published as the search inside the administration continues to be a guessing game. >> we'll take a look at what he had, what he gave, what he's talking about. also where he is right now. eventually the name of this sick person will come out. >> reporter: as high ranking officials race to deny it was them who trashed trump, the president not ruling out administering lie detector tests.

>> people have suggested it. hand pa rand paul who i like and respect came out this morning and said have them take a lie detector test. >> reporter: miles away from washington, trump in south dakota with the russia investigation on his mind, telling reporters he is open to sitting down with robert mueller with conditions. >> i think it is a big waigs of ti waste of time. >> reporter: but he wasn't concerned about perjurying position. >> i don't want to be set up with a perjury charge. everybody who looked at anybody over there, they get them on some kind of a lie. >> reporter: the "new york times" has responded to the president's directive for attorney general jeff sessions saying we're confident that the department of justice understands that the first amendment protects all americans and that it would not participate in such a blatant abuse of government power. of course the question still remains what it is that the president wants the justice department to investigate

exactly, but for their part, they are only saying that they don't con on firm or deny investigations. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. and natalie, clearly there is a hunt within the white house to find the author of this op-ed, but now we're also hearing from kellyanne conway who says mr. trump believes the author is not inside the white house but instead a member of the national security team. >> conway also denies that the op-ed has made the white house staff more paranoid. here is what she told christiane amanpour for her program which premieres monday. >> i'm not interested in an investigation. i guess those who are investigating, great. i really hope they find the person. i believe the person will put themselves or her self out though. people brag to the wrong person. they brag that they did this or they did that because i assume part of this isn't the goal here not what the op-ed pretends the

goal here, isn't the goal to try to sow chaos and get us all suspicious of each other. >> so what you all getting suspicion of each other? >> no. >> and friday we saw a return of the former u.s. president barack obama keeping in mind that former presidents typically try to stay out of politics or avoid criticizing their successors. >> barack obama made a very public display of warning that democracy is in peril all you because of donald trump. a's in athena jones has the story. >> reporter: politics of paranoia has unfortunately found a home in the republican party are president obama making his first foray into the midterm election season, blister going rebuke of his successor's political tactics and calling him out by name. >> it did not start with donald trump. he is a symptom, not the cause. he is just capitalizing on

resentments that politicians have been fanning for years. >> reporter: the former president who has not spoken with the current president since inauguration day warning the country is at a critical moment with america's democracy at stake and urging ordinary people to get involved. >> you need to vote because our democracy depends on it. a glance at recent headlines should tell you that this moment really is different. the stakes really are higher. the consequences of any of us sitting on the sidelines are more dire. >> reporter: he slammed republicans in congress for failing to act as check and balance on trump. >> republicans who know better in congress and they're there, they are quoted saying, yeah, we know this is kind of kra are still bending over back cards to shield this behavior from scrutiny or accountability or

kochbsien consequence. >> reporter: he also referenced the "new york times" op-ed who said there are people working i believe the administration to thwart trump's worst impulses. >> that is not a check, i'm serious here, that is not how our democracy is supposed to work. these people aren't elected. they are not klaccountable. they are not doing us a service by actively promoting 90% of the crazy stuff that is coming out of this white house and then saying don't worry, we're preventing the other 10%. >> reporter: obama argued that preventing nearly 3,000 americans from dying in a hurricane and either after math, a reference to hurricane maria's toll on pourtd, shouuerto rico, be a partisan issue. >> we're sure as heck supposed to stand unclearly to nazi

sympathizers. how hard can that be? saying that nazis are bad. >> reporter: and he talked about the importance of showing up. not only on the campaign trail, reaching voters in all corners of the country, but also showing up at the polls. >> these are extraordinary times. and they are dangerous times. but here is the good news. in two months, we have the chance, not the certainty, but the chance to restore some semblance of is an it tid to our po politics. >> reporter: athena jones, cnn, urbana, illinois. all right. so what did president trump think of mr. obama's unprecedented broad side at his leadership? here he is. >> and he said what did you think of president obama's

speech. and i said i'm sorry, i watched it, but i fell asleep. i found he is very good, very good for sleeping. i think he was trying to take credit for this incredible thing that is happening to our country. >> let's talk about this now with steven erlanger, "new york times" in europe live this hour via skype in brussels. let's start where the former u.s. president stating certain truths that should be obvious that are not partisan, that nazis are bad, that bullying is z b bad, racism is bad. but we also saw him casting certain political nets to reach moderate conservatives, to reach undecided voters. does it work?

>> well, we'll have to see. it is really quite unusual for a sitting president to be criticized in this way by his predecessor. it really is unusual. george w. bush didn't do that. others didn't do that. so obama clearly feels he was pushed a lot by the democrats, he clearly feels he needs to engage. it may of course backfire. and because as you heard trump, trump is very good at a certain kind of mockery. but at the same time, obama is trying to energy democratic voters to send a real message during the midterm. so we'll see what happens. personally i think it probably helps the democrats, but it gives trump something else to punch at. >> well, let's talk more about that. this concept of backfiring. so style and tone very important here. mr. trump we heard a moment ago saying that the speech put him to sleep. also this from senator lindsey

graham if we could pull this tweet to the fore. the more president obama speaks about the good old years of his presidency, the more likely president trump is to get reelected. goes on to say in fact, the best explanation of president trump's victory are the results of the obama presidency. so to your point, your suggestion here that this could backfire, do on republicans welcome barack obama back on the stage? >> well, republicans certainly don't. and barack obama, you know, when trump won the election, but he won it over hillary clinton, he didn't win it over barack obama. i'm pretty sure barack obama would have beaten donald trump had he been able to run again for a third term. it is partly on obama's record that trump won. trump really does disagree with obama on almost everything and it is clear from trump's actions many of the things he's done have been to undermine or undo what obama did, that is true of

health care and the iran nuclear pact, true of many things. so obama and trump don't get on, they don't like each other. it will be, you know -- it is a very partisan election. and it is becoming more partisan because as i say, normally presidents who had had the job don't criticize the ones who are in it. >> i want to shift now talk about mr. trump's attacks on his own attorney general even allegedly calling jeff sessions a dumb southerner in the south where it was sessions' support that helped give rise to president trump among other conservatives. do these attacks backfire on mr. trump? >> well, i think that they do. trump is actually popular in the south and mocking southerners is not a great way of keeping your support. >> no, it really is not.

>> sessions has been very loyal to him from the very beginning. and as usual with trump who loves to mock anyway, i mean he does a lot of personal insults like an eighth grader, but what bothers him about sessions is the mueller investigation. that is what it is all about. let's keep our eyes on the prize. it is about the mueller investigation. it is not about jeff sessions or jeff sessions as some sort of southerner. it is jeff sessions as the attorney general who was appointed by trump, reduced himself from treduced -- recusing position from the russia investigation. >> and i want to talk about this op-ed published in your newspaper, mr. trump suggesting strapping people down to a lie detector test to find out who did it. for a president who often complains about witch hunts, what are your thoughts about this witch hunt and is it a

matter of national security as mr. trump says it is? >> well, i doubt it is a matter of national security, but other presidents have authorized lie detector tests to find out le leaks. this is not unusual. as a journalist, i find it sat and rather pathetic, but the fact is leaks are a nightmare for every administration. and this one is no different. the difference inside this one is because it is like an anonymous source speaking, but it is an anonymous source writing which may to my mind give it more credibility. but i don't believe it is a national security issue. it is an insight into the president he'd character a president's character and the way the white house operates that obviously has the trump people very, very anxious. so they are trying to find all kinds of ways to diminish whoever it is male or female who wrote this. but trying to find out who wrote it and then firing them, that is

something other presidents have done for decades. >> it is interesting. my colleague chris cuomo pointed out it is an administration that leaks like a sieve. there are a lot of people that have different feelings about the u.s. president. so finding the one person that might have penned that op-ed will be interesting to see if it comes down to one. steven erlanger live for us in brussels, thank you for your time. >> thanks, george. a former aide to the trump campaign is on his way to prison. and the message to the trump white house could not be clee clearer. that story coming up. plus from world leaders to pen pals, another leader from kim jung-un on its way to the white house. oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (vo) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it.

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welcome back. a new personal letter from kim jung-un is on its way to the u.s. president mr. trump says that he thinks it will be a confident letter. >> this as they mark the country's 70th anniversary. >> and will ripley is live in

pyongyang covering it for us. kic kim jung-un has reportedly expressed unwavering trump in president trump. the question is do north koreans feel the same way and will this be a positive letter? i guess we won't know. >> reporter: if the white house releases its contents, maybe we'll get insight. but frankly north koreans haven't said anything about a letter and they often don't release information freely as mr. trump. trump has certainly tweeted positive things about kim jung-un and gotten a positive response. so things are very friendly between the north korean leader and the u.s. president. things have been much more tricky when they actually get down to the nitty get gritty of denuclearization talks. a lot of the posters targeting the united states with missiles, those are all down thousand. but when you talk to people deck

aireds of hostility and mistrust, they say it can't go away overnight. at the height of tensions last year when fire and fury rhetoric was at a fever pitch, anti-american propaganda was everywhere in pyongyang, from missiles blowing up the u.s. capital to a personal attack on president trump. this prop begaganda banner sayst the workers are motivated by their burning hatred for the united states. what a difference a year makes. this is my first time back in pyongyang since president trump's historic summit with kim jung-un. almost three months since their june 12th meeting, north korea's nuclear program is still here. what is not here, at least as far as we can tell, images like this. a year ago when we were here, you couldn't turn a corner without seeing anti-american propaganda. now you are seeing much more of this, this is about building a

socialist economy even the missile imagery itself is faded into the background. government guides are always with us in north korea showing us exactly what the state wants us to see. this time it is all about the economy. i visit the same pyongyang factory and the same worker i first met two years ago. a lot of people used to describe to me emotions like burning hatred when they talked about america. do people still feel that way now or is it changing? our burning hatred won't go away overnight, she says. the americans are approaching us diplomatically, but they are not very sincere. workers like kim used to be surrounded by anti-u.s. slogans. not anymore. this one here says compete with the world, challenge the world, overtake the world. a lot different than nuclear a

nile lags. she says the poster may be gone, but the hatred is still in our hearts. we don't have any illusion about the americans. we can't let down our guard. here in north korea, taking down posters is much easier than building up trust. it is really important that what kim said, we can't let down our guard, that really does explain why north korea is reluctant to give up the weapons at the beginnings of denuclearization process and not the end. they want security guarantees because there is a real fundamental lack of trust when it comes to the united states. and we're certainly experiencing that chatting with people on the ground here. >> very interesting story there, will. and the different perspective from when you were there last and now. so makes it all the more interesting what will be in this letter kim has sent to president trump. but want to ask you about the

big 70th anniversary event this weekend, north korea always does it up big. but perhaps this will be somewhat different with the somewhat changing climate. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. but it will be big. it could be bigger than ever. there are around 130 journalists here, they ev they have sullact this room behind me for the journalists. it is rare to bring in this many reporters. it is a hassle for them, managing us, making sure we don't put our camera somewhere they don't want us to point it. and they want to show something big to the world. they want to celebrate their 70th founding anniversary and there is a couple big events that we're expecting in the coming days. one, a military parade. we'll undoubtedly see the soldiers. but the big question, will we see the icbms rolling through that we saw last year. if north korea put those on display because we know they

still have them, what kind of a message is that the going to send to the united states or will they have keep them in the garage so to speak for this particular parade. and then of course the mass game, something that hasn't happened in more than five ye s years. i've been told that it is extraordinary to see tens of thousands of north koreans in a stadium holding up cards and flipping the cards to create these different images. in the last year, they were a mushroom cloud, a missile. this year the messages will tell us a lot about north korea's focus and their messaging moving forward as they have said that they are now trying to focus more on their economy and they finished their nuclear program. >> we look forward to your reporting on the event. thank you so much, will ripley for us yet again live from north korea. and also good to catch will on instragram. he has great information that he posts regularly on his trips to north korea. switching now to a big situation that is affecting the united states on both sides, we are talking about major storms

for the u.s. and its territories from guam to the western pacific, all the way here to the east coast. >> and we start with derek and tropical storm florence. >> yeah, we're rounding the climatological peak of the atlantic hurricane season which is centered around september 10th. it is fitting that we have so many named storms at the moment. but it is also the pacific that is extremely active. get to the graphics. we have florence, olivia, newly formed tropical storm helene, a tropical depression, let's cover it all. florence, this one we're paying lot of attention to because it is starting to become a little more organized and it is entering an area of extremely warm ocean water temperatures. this is just going to add fuel to the flame per se as all computer models suggest that it will rapidly intensify and we should see this storm approach

unfortunately the east coast of the u.s. and this is all thanks to a very strong high pressure that will build just to the north of the tropical storm and it will use that as a steering current to keep this moving in a general west to northwesterly direction with unfortunately all of our model consensus, you've seen this before, this is a spaghetti plot, all the various computer models starting to hone in on the east coast, specifically the carolinas. of course we're several days out before the potential landfall of this tropical system. we're talking about tuesday, wednesday into thursday of this upcoming week. so we'll fine tune that over the coming days for on sure. there is a tropical depression that will move across the caribbean. again, we're talking about the peak of the atlantic hurricane season, but there is also activity across the pacific ocean just of off the coast of mexico. norman not a player, that is moving north of hawaii. but olivia is creating this tension across the hawaiian

islands because it is moving in a very strange direction. more of a west to southwesterly direction and could bring tropical storm force winds to the big island. and even into portions of maui. the national weather service increasing the probability of tropical storm force winds for that area. we mentioned mangkurt, it has its eyes on guam. 40-mile-per-hour winds at the moment, but look how quickly this system intensifies over the coming days. 130-mile-per-hour winds making that a category 4 by the time it reaches guam. and then got its eyes focused on taiwan for the second half of next week. so, wow, we are going to be very busy in the weather center to say the least. >> taiwan, taipei certainly on the watch and on the east coast, millions of people. >> yes, this is one that they need to be preparing for now because they have the time. >> all right. thanks. the man whose actions in the

trump campaign helped launch the russia investigation, he is now heading to prison for lying about it. we'll have more about that coming up. plus tesla's ceo, you see it there, elon musk under fire for -- i don't know. we'll talk about it. is he having a meltdown? that is the question. stay with us. office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again! know about cognitive performance? as you'd probably guess, a lot. that's why a new brain health supplement called forebrain from the harvard-educated experts at force factor is flying off the shelves at gnc.

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welcome back to our viewers. this is "cnn newsroom" live from atlanta. i'm natalie allen. >> and i'm george howell with the headlines we're following. the white house that narrowed down the list of possible

authors of that anonymous damn i go opinion piece in the "new york times." mr. trump said that the u.s. justice department should go after the unknown senior official who wrote that mr. trump is unfit for office of president of the united states. another letter from north korean leader kim jung-un is on its way to the white house. the state department says it has been given to secretary of state mike pompeo. no word yet on what is in it. president trump says he believes it is a positive letter. u.s. rapper mac miller has died. the cause of death has not been released. the coroner's office says he was found unresponsive inside his home on friday. the federal investigation into russian election interference has now led to the first prison sentence for someone associated with the trump campaign. >> we're talking about the former aide george papadopoulous oig. he will spend the next two weeks in prison for lying to investigators. sara murray explains.

>> reporter: george papadopoulous a rm former foreign policy adviser sentenced friday to two weeks in prison t and a $9500 fine. papadopoulous expressing regret for lying to investigators about his kremlin linked contacts telling the judge people point and snicker and i'm terribly depressed. papadopoulous' lawyer argued for leniency saying his client was naive and a fool. >> that whole situation is a rigged witch hunt. it is a totally rigged deal. >> reporter: but claiming president trump's comments have done more to harm the russia investigation than his client's lies. 31-year-old papadopoulous now the first member of the president's team to be sentenced as part of the russia investigation. and the white house and its allies have been eager to down play papadopoulous' role in the 2016 campaign pa. >> it was a volunteer position. and again, no activity was ever done in an official capacity. >> i have no idea why people would think that a volunteer

coffee boy like george papadopoulous would get to the top of this campaign. >> reporter: it was papadopoulous who revealed to a diplomat that he had been told that the russians had thousands of e-mails about hillary clinton. that helped set off an fbi that eventually became robert mueller's special counsel probe. during the 2016 campaign, the young adviser attended a meeting of trump's new national security team including donald trump and jeff sessions. papadopoulous pitched a meeting between then candidate trump and russian president vladimir putin. sessions would later say he discouraged papadopoulous from setting up the meeting. but papadopoulous recently contradicted that saying sessions actually seemed enthusiastic about a trump/putin meeting. as the papadopoulous saga winds down, another trump associate long time political adviser roger stone is still under scrutiny. a comedian and radio show host testifying before the grand jury friday, stone claimed he was his back channel to wikileaks which

russian intelligence used to issuing is late hacked information about the democrats in 2016. >> how did i of the hell get involved in this mess is what i'd like to know. a nice guy like me. what is a nice guy like me doing in a place like this. >> reporter: he fielded questions before the grand jury mainly about his relationship with stone, all with his dog at his side. >> bianca didn't park one time. she was so good in there. >> reporter: now back on the issue of george papadopoulous, attorney general jeff sessions through his attorney put out a statement saying that he stands by his testimony that he discouraged papadopoulous from trying to arrange that meeting between then candidate trump and russian president vladimir putin. sara murray, cnn, washington. thousand untn until now, pas not done any interview, but he has now spoken to jake tapper. >> and while papadopoulous maintains he does not remember telling anyone on the trump

campaign that the russians clamted to haclam claimed to have some of hillary clinton's e-mails, he left open the possibility that it did happen. >> there will be people who think that there is no way papadopoulous didn't tell anyone on the campaign. did you tell anyone on the campaign? >> as far as i remember, i absolutely did not. >> you didn't tell cory lewandowski? >> as far as remember, i did not share this information glp not sam clovis? >> anyone. >> dearborn? >> anyone. >> mashburn? none of them. >> i might have, but i have no recollection of doing so. i can't guarantee it. all i can say is my memory is telling me that i never shared it with anyone on the campaign. >> papadopoulous also contradicted sworn testimony by u.s. attorney general jeff sessions. >> he says sessions and then candidate trump both supported his idea of setting up a meeting between mr. trump and russian president vladimir putin.

listen. >> when did you first meet donald trump? >> march 31st at the national security meeting. >> there is a photo of you at the table. candidate trump is there. senator jeff sessions is there. what was discussed at that meeting in terms of russia, in terms of meeting with putin? >> as far as i remember, it was i who brought up anything regarding russia. i was under the impression that an individual i had met in rome, the so-called professor, was able to provide high level connections in russia that would result in some sort of summit or meeting, mostly for a photo-op. so i sat down and, you know, i looked at candidate trump directly and said i can do this for you if it is in your interests. and if it is in the campaign's interests. and the collective energy in the room, of course there were some dissenters, but the collective energy in the room seemed to be interested. >> collective energy.

was donald trump interested? >> the candidate gave me sort of a nod. he wasn't committed either way. but i took it as he was thinking. >> senator jeff sessions was there, too. >> yes. >> what was his response? >> my recollection was that the senator was actually e enthusiastic about a meeting between the candidate and president putin. >> so you say that then senator now attorney general sessions was enthusiastic about the idea of candidate trump meeting putin, but he has said the exact opposite. he says -- he testified before congress saying that he, quote, pushed back when you raised the possibility of a meeting with russia. that is not true you're saying. >> i don't remember that. >> you you dondon't oremember h back? >> no. i remember him being enthusiastic about a potential meeting between the candidate

and president putin. after i raised the question. >> papadopoulous there. jeff sessions released a statement through his lawyer and here it is, attorney general sessions has publicly testified under oath about his recollection of this meeting and he stands by his testimony. sessions has of course been a prime target of president trump for quite a while now. sources tell cnn jeff sessions concedes his relationship with the president has worsened in recent weeks and likely will not end well. >> sessions was in his home state of alabama on friday and so was our gary tuchman speaking with some long time supporters of the attorney general and it is interesting to hear the different responses from people there in alabama. >> reporter: alabama might have voted for donald trump, but really it is jeff sessions country. >> i think he is doing a great job. i'm behind him. i really like what he stands

for. i like the way he thinks. the way he executes. i feel good about it. >> reporter: folks around here look out for their own. and they don't like the way the president is now treating the attorney general. what would you say to president trump if you could talk to him about this? >> i would say hey trump, let's talk about your personal skills with people. maybe you could be kinder, gentler trump, more understanding, more open minded and slightly less of a jerk. >> reporter: this as the do drop inn, a mobile restaurant where jeff sessions has been a frequent customer. they are glad president trump is president, but don't like how disrespectful he's been to sessions is particularly now. >> you hear these quotes calling jeff sessions allegedly mentally retarded and making fun of him as a dumb southerner. how does that make you feel as a trump voter? >> well, it is upsetting and very discouraging that he would do that if in fact he did that.

>> so do you believe the book? >> i'm not sure. in washington who can you believe? >> who would you believe more, a guy like bob woodward or the president of the united states if you had to put money on it? >> i'd probably believe mr. woodward. >> jeff is a patriot. he loves this country. >> reporter: diana whitehead says she's personally known sessions for about 20 years. and she says she voted for donald trump. the president despairages him, disrespects him, puts him down, criticizes him, makes fun of him, how does that make you feel? >> not very good. >> reporter: there are trump and sessions supporters here who say it is not a big deal, that this is just trump being trump. >> it doesn't bother me. i don't think it bothers jeff. >> reporter: you don't think it bothers him? >> no. >> reporter: mr. attorney general, can we ask you a question? we couldn't find out if the attorney general is bothered. because he did not take reporter questions at the dedication of a

new federal courthouse in mobile. a strange relationship with the white house certainly bothers a great many people in this city where sessions lived and worked. >> i'm surprised that jeff sessions ever really got involved with somebody of that low character. >> reporter: the attorney general has plenty of support here and a lot of people wishing donald trump would join them in that. gary tuchman, cnn, mobile, alabama. still ahead, the provocative ceo of tesla, elon musk's latest stunt has a lot of people wondering is everything okay? welcome to the place...

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elon musk under fire a bit for lighting up a fire of his own here. you will see in this interview, take a look, musk and joe rogen taking a hit of pot there, afterwards tesla's stock took a

hit as well, plunging 6% by the end of the day. >> this is just the latest in a string of incidents that had some questioning whether the tech mogul can keep this up. here is our report dan assifrom simon. >> reporter: he is one of the world's most successful ceos with a net worth estimated at more than $20 billion. so when elon musk started smoking a joint on joe rogan's podcast, people noticed. >> probably can't because of stockholders, right? >> it's legal, right? >> totally legal. do people get upset at you if you do certain things? there is tobacco and marijuana in there, that is all it is. >> reporter: it is just the latest bizarre incident for the high profile ceo of tesla and spacex. >> alcohol is a drug. >> reporter: on the same day the podcast was published, his chief

accounting officer announced his resignation. he did not cite the incident. last month during an emotional interview with the "new york times," musk said that 120 hour workweeks were taking a toll on his physical health. i've had friends come by who are really concerned, he said. some of tesla's board members have raised concern about his use of the prescription drug ambien which musk admits he sometimes takes to help him sleep. a little red wine, vintage record, some ambien he tweeted year. the 47-year-old engineer has been called the real life tony stark, better known as iron man, but his reputation taking serious hits. >> he is a great tech visionary. not clear that he is necessarily a great business leader. and i think that is the fundamental problem that he is running into. >> reporter: musk's judgment was also questioned when he announced that he wanted to take tesla private. the company lost nearly $2 billion last year and has never earned a profit.

amid a chorus of criticism, he reversed course saying tesla will remain public. and even his admirers had to be dumbfounded when he talkhe atta british diver who helped relisc the thai kids trapped in the careful. he called the man pedo. musk later apologized, but then last week in an e-mail to buzzfeed escalated the attack calling him a child rapist. buzzfeed says musk did not provide prove of the claims. the diver is reportedly planning to sue. while announcing a slew of management changes, elon musk e-mailed his employees saying in part, quote, there will be lots of fuss and noise in the media. just ignore them. in the meantime tesla shares have lost about a third of what they were since august. this latest incident is not likely to help. what will help is profitability and musk says the future quarter

looks bright. it can't come soon enough. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> it is interesting because musk represents a brand, right? he is a visionary, he inspires so many people. but when people are investing their money into a company, they want to know that the stability is there. and i think that what he is finding is that you can't square the circle by doing one thing with another. >> you can only work 100 hours a week for so long. >> yeah, before that grinds on you. coming up here, it is probably one of the most cindy lating mysteries of this week, who in the white house wrote this op-ed in the "new york times." we're just as curious as you. and we'll take a look coming next. oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (vo) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? (vo) and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study,

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a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! it is the guessing game few can resist playing. who wrote the explosive "new york times" opinion piece titled i am part of the resistance inside the trump administration. >> it is the classic who done it. the president and white house are definitely focused on finding out who is behind it. jean any moine moos picks up th question. >> reporter: it is the question of the summer. who do you think wrote the

op-ed? momentary stunned silence on the street. and on tv? >> it could be this person or that person, it could be a lot of people. >> it was written by the secretary of -- >> reporter: endless speculation. ♪ who can be now punctuated by some daring to name names. >> i think it fits dan coats like a glove. >> suggested that it was kellyanne conway. >> i think it was mr. vice president. >> reporter: his suspicions raised by the use of the word -- >> lodestar. >> reporter: a weird word, but lodestar be a loaded word? >> she is the kind of person who would find out that mike pence used lodestar a lot and would try to pin it on him. >> reporter: colbert claimed he had exclusive.

on the betting sight my bookie, people were putting their money on pence. omarosa offered a multiple choice survey. the chief of staff came in first. but enough with a who done it. let's move on to who denies it. for instance, the vice president. >> he done it. >> reporter: he denies it. up splank trang the walls of de. >> it is not me. >> wasn't me. >> reporter: someone tweeted a live look inside the white house as they tried to figure out who wrote the op-ed. but if you are going to rip into anonymous, better learn how to say it. >> anonymous. really anonymous, gutless. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, who do you think wrote the "new york times" op-ed? >> very smart people.

>> reporter: new york. >> more about the who done it op-ed next. we'll be right back with our top stories. these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

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and over here i'm having my birthday party. dj fluffernutter, hit it! ♪ dj fluffernutter simple. easy. awesome. ask how to get $300 back when you sign up for xfinity mobile, and purchase a new samsung phone. visit your local xfinity store today. the investigation as president trump punt for the writer of that anonymous "new york times" op ed. plus new pen pals, new letter from kim jung eun as north korea gets ready to mark celebrations we are following. also ahead this hour. >> well, be every the rally, they told us you have to be enthusiastic. you have to be cheering f