symposium. the greatest invention of the civil war, william harris, author of "linchingon and congress" and abraham lincoln" and life. and walter star, author of "stanton, lincoln's war secretary." ook tv on c-span 2 is live discussing the bible's influence and impact on government, legal systems, education and human rights with the director and take your calls during the program. watch this weekend on the c-span networks. >> next, white house briefing with sarah sanders and talked about the special counsel investigation and the nerve agent attack on a former russian

spy and the president's nominee to be the new secretary of state. his is 20 minutes. mr. sarbanes: good afternoon. -- senator sanders: we are monitoring -- r. sarbanes: the ped doctrine. we are working to save lives and monitor the.

sarah: i would like to announce university of alabama will be our guest here at the white house on april 10. inful to read but they are a team. as you know, the president attended the national championship game in january and looking forward to hosting coach saudi arabiain as they celebrate their 17th national championship and we have alabama fans. it has been a while since we read a letter and i have a great one from a 10-year-old. self-proclaimed army brat doing work in her community. my name is paris and my sister's name is london. we have been stationed all over the world and has been a great

adventure. we are in kentucky. we are so patriotic. and in instagram at army royal. over the summer, i used my allowance and got 43 backpacks. we were wondering if you could help us out. we want to attend the white house easter egg roll. and writes the president is doing a great job and if he would invite them she would do my happy dance. paris get your happy dance shoes out, you will be our guests. this event is a timeless tradition that dates back to 1878 under president hayes. egg is the 10th easter role. we know it will be extra special

one. i would like to extend an invitation to the entire press corps to attend as our guests as well if you are interested if haveing your kids join us. on that, happy note, i will take your questions. reporter: the president said if would be a red line special counsel were to investigate the trump family's personal financial dealings. it has now been reported that counsel, l council -- is this a red line? sarah: as we have maintained all along, there was no collusion between the campaign and russia. for specific questions, i would refer you to them. reporter: the statement that the president made back in july be a red line?

sarah: we will fully cooperate. e are not going to answer. reporter: the points of attack in great britain. the president believes that it looks like putin authorized it and looks like the russians did it. will russia pay a price and make russia pay a price? sarah: the united states as we have said stands in solidarity with the united kingdom and share their assessment that russia is responsible and the united states is working together with our allies and partners to ensures that this attack does not happen again. reporter: in the past week, the secretary of state has been fired, the top economic adviser has been replaced and the president's personal assistant

was escorted out of the building and the president hinted more changes are going to come. is this an area of chaos especially as president trump is kim ing to sit down with jong un. sarah: the president wanths the right people in the right places in the right time. we have had an incredibly successful year. they don't lie. and as we look at new successes, the president wants to make sure he has the right people in those places, like director pompeo and director haspel. reporter: when will he have everybody in place? sarah: there are people who are going to lead those priorities. you may have changes from time

to time. the president is making sure he has the right people in the right place at the right time. reporter: what about criticisms -- ina haspel eastern vofmente. sarah: she is highly recommended and respected from both sides of the aisle. i would point you to some people that are not usually, those who sing prayses of the people, clapper and panetta where they have publicly shown broad support. reporter: what is the president's response to democrats on capitol hill who voted for pompeo and now saying we are rething? . sarah: they are trying to play political games and with our diplomatic efforts that would be a sad, sad day and a disgrace

and every reporter should ask them what made them change their minds. reporter: on daca, is the president open to the omnibus spending bill that would extend daca? sarah: we are continuing to negotiate what that would like and i don't have any specification. but we want to make a good deal but what is being thrown out in the press is not something we would support. reporter: ustr says we have a trade surplus with canada. the president has said we don't. sarah: they are not taking into account some of the additional things like energy and timber that wouldn't be included in those numbers and it shows there is a deficit. reporter: any other economic indicators that the white house agrees besides this particular

economic indicator. the usdr is putting out one number. you say that's not accurate. what is that number? sarah: there are plenty things once you take into account all of the trade between the two countries there is a deficit between those two. reporter: the other thing has to do with a story that appeared in the "washington post" about an audio portion from a fundraiser the president had in missouri in which he said -- in his conversation with his counterpart in canada -- sarah: that's not what he said. reporter: are there other times that the president has had conversations with his counterparts from around the world in which he is not accurate in terms of the conversation he is having with them? sarah: the president was asked

and there is a trade deficit. he didn't have to look at the specific figures because he knew there was a trade deficit. whether they got down into a dollar amount. i don't have that number. we will be happy to provide it to you. reporter: two questions, you talked about democrats playing political games with the nominations of director pompeo c.i.a. haspel from the rand paul came out against both nominations. is he playing political games as well? sarah: specific to the question that was asked supported director pompeo already for the confirmation process. we have two highly qualified individuals to lead these two

agencies. we are proud of these nominees and expect them to be confirmed. reporter: senator paul's language doesn't disturb the white house? sarah: these are two highly qualified and highly skilled and highly recommended individuals that should be confirmed and we expect that they are. i was referencing a specific question about the hypocrisy about the support for director pompeo. reporter: spain and south africa have relatively small steel ndustries and youthful aplomping 50%. where their unemployment continue grow? sarah: we will have those conversations with specific conversations countries, but it will be made on a national security basis and i can't speak to those two today.

eporter: the sanctions and the d.h.s. and f.b.i., there has been more bad behavior by putin since president trump has taken office. is putin playing president trump? sarah: the president has said if we can work together to combat world threats like north korea, we should. but the president has been extremely tough on russia throughout his administration and particularly you saw that today in the russia sanctions that were put forward. reporter: is putin a friend or a foe? sarah: russia has to make that determination. i think you can see from the actions that we have taken up until this point, we will be tough on russia until they decide to change their behavior. i have to keep moving.

[indiscernible] reporter: does the president feel the justice department should move to fire mccabe? sarah: that is up attorney general sessions and well documented that he has had troubling behavior and a bad actor and should have some call for concerns. but that should be a concern that d.o.j. reporter: he will not receive his full pension. sarah: the department of justice has to make. reporter: just to get some specific clarity, the question was asked about a red line if the finance questions went beyond anything relating to russia, does the president draw a distinction between a red line on family financens relating to russia as it pertains to this case? sarah: the president believes there was no collusion between

the trump cam bain and russia and for questions specific to the trump organization, i would refer you to them. reporter: what about the timing and the speed and drawnout process. the president's attorneys have repeatedly said this will be over by thanksgiving and christmas. do you believe this has been drawn out too long? do you believe the president believe it has been drawn out too long? sarah: we have seen the house intelligence committee come out collusion.s was no we look forward to them concluding soon. reporter: two republicans on the committee said it didn't happen at all? sarah: we will continue to cooperate with the office of special counsel. reporter:

[indiscernible] reporter: does he believe veterans are well served? sarah: he has a large number of individuals that are working hard to make sure the v.a. are helping veterans and continuing to review if there is anything to review and improve on that system. i don't have any personnel announcements but how to better the system whether it's through policy changes or personnel changes. not at top level but across the board. we have made a number of changes in the personnel and making sure to bet serve our veterans. reporter: one on russia. is the trum administration own assessment that russia was behind the attack. sarah: we are working in close

coordination with the u.k. we have a position, i clearly stated that we are working in con junction with the united kingdom. reporter: we have heard that h.u.d. secretary carson and his diningcked out a $ 1,000 system and canceled it when it came out in the press and has the president talked to him? ms. sanders: i don't have any updates on that at this point. reporter: the white house has created a working group on north korea to prepare for the summit. can you tell us what agency are involved in the working group, who is carrying it out? sarah: we are continuing to move forward in this process but no updates to provide today.

reporter: the president has until tomorrow tore sign the act to allow u.s. officials to travel to taiwan. does the president plan to sign this act or veto it or allow it to become law? sarah: the final decision hasn't become made. reporter: h.r. mcmaster had strong words for russia and iran. how much influence did trump have on the words of mcmaster and the current relationship between the president and his national security advisor. sarah: they are putting pressure on russia to do the right thing. you can see what the administration's view point is by the actions we took today by placing new sanctions on russia. reporter: the president has said

numerous times about mccabe. is the president concerned. i know you said he not commenting. sarah: he is leaving that determination to be at the attorney general. [ indiscernible] reporter: he is considering measures that what the u.k. has adopted? any order been given to look out for similar possible threats on american soil? sarah: i can tell you we are going to continue to work with our ally, the united kingdom and working in close coordination with them moving forward and keep you posted. reporter: actions are under consideration? sarah: i'm not going to get ahead of that but we will stay in close coordination with our allies.

indiscernible] sarah: that is a perfect example of why hillary clinton is not in the white house. she is completely disconnected from the american public and shows her disdain for the millions of americans who came out and voted for president trump and still support him today. . reporter: twice the president cited the mckinley tariff. that tariff pushes consumer prices so high the republicans lost both houses of congress and the presidency afterwards. sarah: the president focuses on making sure we're protecting american industry and american workers he specifically thinks it's important we prothect steel

and aluminum industry due to the fact of making sure we have the ability to still manufacture those goods for the purpose of national security. reporter: can you cite any tariff in the last 150 years that has worked and done what you want to do now? sarah: i think we've made progress since the president's announcement just over a week or so ago. i think it's improved the conversations and some of the negotiations we've had. last question. reporter: at this fundraiser yesterday in missouri, the president talking about environmentally unfriendly standards of the japanese allegedly apply on u.s. imported automobiles, talked about a bowling ball test where a bowling ball is dropped from 20 feet in the air on the hood of , car and if the hood dents it's not good enough. he said this is horrible. i worked in japan for about 20

years, i covered the automobile industry, i don't recall anything about this. did you speak with the president about this? where did he get this from? sarah: the president has been talking about unfair trade practices for decades. part of the reason he was elected is to end unfair trade practices and push more free, fair, and reciprocal trade. obviously he's joking about this particular test but it illustrates the creative ways some countries are able to keep american goods out of their markets. thanks so much, guys. see you tomorrow. reporter: what about russia being a friend or foe? >> tonight the house armed services committee holds a heerning military operations to counter potential russian aggression in europe that starts at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on -span. >> sunday on c-span's "q quand a," professor tom cronen talks about his book, imagining the

great republic, political novels and the idea of america. >> i think a reading of major is can political classics empowering in terms of this country stands for something very special and the great stories they're tellers, i tried once to to something special. not just a city on a hill but a city that cares and loves one another and thauns politics is indispensable to bringing about progress for as much people as possible. >> "q&a" sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span. arizona's senator jeff flake talks about bipartisanship. he's become a frequent critic of the president but says he has no plans to run for the white house. some of the other topics

included the 2020 presidential election and the need for conservative candidate to run against president trump. immigration policy. and gun control efforts. this is an hour. >> today's speaker has a reputation for standing up for his convictions and making news. from the speech he gave on the senate floor rebuking president trump's attacks on the mediaed to the to the op-ed he wrote for "the washington post" where he criticized congress for failure to approve protections for young immigrants with daca status, arizona republican senator jeff flake has earned his reputation. more recently, senator flake announced in the wake of the parkland, florida, shooting that he's backing a bipartisan bill to raise the minimum age required to buy a semiautomatic rifle. last june, when shots rang out during practice for the