captioning sponsored by cbs >> pauley: today on "face the nation," the divisions between republicans on the hill and the president grow as washington braces for the opening of a sealed indictment stemming from special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. love 'em or leave 'em is the choice for republican lawmakers as two senators questioned the president's competence and moral standing. arizona's jeff flake announced he would not seek re-election and challenged his republican cog lesion to stand up to the president. >> we must stop pretending that the politics and conduct some of in our executive branch are normal. they are not normal. >> dickerson: bob corker of tennessee is another republican critic leaving the senate he claims the president's volatile behavior and inability to tell the truth threatens america's national security. >> i don't know why he lowers himself to such a low, low

standard and basis our country, but he does. >> dickerson: we'll talk to him about it. after meeting with senate republicans the president said there are far more loving him than leaving him. >> i call it a love fest, almost a love fest, maybe it was a love fest. but we had standing ovations, there is great unity. >> dickerson: president will need that party unity to get his tax plan through congress. maine senator susan collins, she'll also join us. plus as the president moves to address the opioid epidemic, has he done enough? we'll talk to business point man, chris christie. plus analysis on all the news and special look at music and politics. with the late show with stephen colbert's band leader jon batiste. it's all ahead on "face the nation." good morning and welcome to "face the nation" i'm john dickerson. late friday the news broke that special counsel robert mueller's

investigation into russian attempts to influence our election has resulted in at least one sealed indictment. charges are unknown and so is the person or persons under indictment but that hasn't stopped the speculation about what mueller might have found. the suspense is probably only temporary as those charges could be made public as early as tomorrow. when a judge will likely unseal the indictment in order to make arrests. now to what we do know, one of the president's toughest critics, senator foreign relations bob cocker he joins froes chattanooga, tennessee. i want to start with the sealed indictments. things are volatile in washington these days what do you think this is going to do to get things done say on tax cuts and that kind of thing? >> well, john, i have no idea. i don't know the substance. i have no knowledge like you relating to what happens, but most of you focused on the policies we have to deal with on

behalf of the american people. right now, that's been a side show as something develops that's more serious but obviously it will take up some space. i just have no way of determining that. >> dickerson: given advice to the president, he has not often listened but given if this comes out on monday what is your guide in terms of trying to stick to the issues that your guidance for the president? >> we got a short window of time to deliver on tax reform. something that i want to see happen on behalf of the american people and at least those of us in congress, it's our job to write those bills and to pass those bills that's where our focus needs to stay. again, i don't know enough -- i know nothing about what's happening on the other front. >> dickerson: before we get to tax cuts while we're in the russia neighborhood, in august congress passed sanctions on rusha administration has not been doing what -- what they're supposed to, where do things stand on that? >> actually, they did release

the information towards the end of this last week. we had been inquiring, i think it was very good first step, i have to give them credit for that. we want to stay involved, congress on vote of 98-2 in the united states senate which is rare pushed for this. but i do think the initial steps they have taken have been very good. we want to follow through on but i have to say, it takes awhile. the department of treasury that deals with this has been overwhelmed with all of the sanctions issues they have underway. and again, i thought thursday of last week was very good day. >> dickerson: let's talk taxes. you said that there some are, quote, ridiculous things things in tax reform that don't do anything about -- to help economic growth. what are those things? >> you know, here is the deal. when you pass tax reform, i don't think, john, people understand what we're getting ready to do. in the senate we passed trillion and a half deficit kind of

thing. but really, it's different than what people think. 500 billion was just to sink up between current law and current policy so you have a trillion dollars that we can use for dynamics going in the event dynamic scoring shows that we can use that trillion dollars. four trillion in addition to that, thoughs through what is called tax reform or basically getting rid of credits, deductions. the kind of things that have been in our code for years which makes it so complex, if you will for people to fill out their income forms. but also things that really don't move our economy along. you are getting rid of those four trillion dollars and you're moving them over trying to do something that creates growth. that is going to be the biggest tax free right since 1986, complicated. people will come in around the country to protect those things that they have. but in doing this, when you

start writing the code you do do some things that in my opinion are not pro growth. i'm not criticizing that. i'm just saying that, look, i understand where we are. things that would really cause our economy to grow would be reducing corporate rates to 20%. dealing with the territorial issues those are the kind of things that grow our economy. having to do whole lot more to get buy in, but that's just the process we go through in washington. >> dickerson: you set the white house should step aside let congress, do you think that will happen? >> that was really in reference to taking things off the table on the front end. i sat down with our tax writers who i have tremendous respect for. they are having great difficulty getting to $3.6 trillion. they got to get the other 400 billion in place far any of this to work. by the way, john, when groups start rallying against things and they succeed, everything starts unraveling. so, the point i was trying to

make is, we've got tough decisions to make, let's leave everything, the whole cafeteria of the code out there so that let the tax writers do their job. if you start taking things off the table on the front end we're not going to get where we need to go. >> dickerson: let me move to north korea you've been critical of the president and his tweets on this. what is actually the president doing to get in the way of the diplomacy you think should be happening? >> yeah, so, let's face it. our greatest partner is china. we have a state department and a secretary of state whose job is to exercise full diplomacy. to keep our men and women in uniform out of harm's way. every military leader wants the state department and our secretary of state to be successful when they do that. when our secretary of state is sitting down with a partner that matters most, china, trying to negotiate something that would resolve and keep froes going into military conflict with

north corey which brings in south korea, japan, russia, and knee capped by the president, it hurts our nation. it hurts our efforts. it leads us more fully towards the conflict that most of us would like to see resolved in another way. the tweets that are sent out mocking a leader of another country, raises tensions in the region. and so people are sitting there, they know they have got an erratic leader in north korea, they lived with three erratic leaders, actually this is the third one then when we start exhibiting some of those same tendencies, it creates an air that leads again more fully towards conflict where what we need to be doing is supporting the efforts that secretary tillerson and secretary mattis who is involved in this diplomacy are carrying out. >> dickerson: you make a national security point here, your colleagues seem not to have heard you. they have said that this is a family squabble, ted cruz

compared it to high school quarterback. others said your hurting the republican party by making these critiquess it that they're not hearing what you're saying? >> well, look, john, each of us has an election certificate and we try to do the best job that we can. i care deeply about our country, that's why i ran for the senate i care more deeply having been there 11 years. i've been in the foreign relations area the entire time i've been there, i'm chairman, i have coffees with tillerson often. i talk with him, i talk with united folks not only here but around the world i have a good sense of what is happening. i'm just seeking to that, that's my job. i'll continue to do so. >> dickerson: all right, senator corker, thanks for being with us we turn now to another republican, susan collins sits on the senate intelligence committee, one of the committees investigating russian attempts. given that experience and interviews work done on that committee how do you process

this news about sealed indictments from the special counsel? >> from the very beginning, this investigation has run two tracks. one is the independent counsel's investigation to see if there is criminal wrongdoing. and looks like we're going to find out as early as tomorrow about some indictments in that area. the other has been the intelligence committee of the extent of russian meddling in the last election and try to align the independent counsel and whether or not there was any collusion between members of president trump campaign team and russians. we are having very interesting time looking at the use of social media to influence the elections and so the seeds of desection in our country.

>> dickerson: any sign of collusion after all this time? >> i have not yet seen any definitive evidence of collusi collusion. i've seen lots of evidence that the russians were very active in trying to influence the election. >> dickerson: let me ask you about so-called dossier which is information that was gathered of all kinds about candidate trump. the russian post said that the clinton campaign and democratic donated, paid for part of its creation. john podesta came before senate intelligence committee said, we don't know who paid for this. well, that was before this "washington post" report. sitting next to poe december that was the lawyer from the clinton campaign who paid for the report. so these guys need to come back sit down tell the committee what is up. >> they absolutely need to be recalled. it's difficult to imagine that a campaign chairman, that the head of the dnc would not know of an

expenditure of this magnitude and significance. but perhaps something more going on here. but certainly it's worth additional questioning of both two witnesses. >> dickerson: and what about the lawyer. >> absolutely. more than anyone. >> dickerson: let's go now to the criticisms from senator corker and senator flake this week. senator flake in particular sais republican colleagues he said, basically, don't be complicit. what did you make of that message? >> first let me say that jeff flake is one of my best friends in the senate. i have enormous respect for him. and i'm really sorry that he's not going to be running for re-election. the senate will be a lesser place without his being in it. having said that, i think we need to accept that donald trump is our president.

and my approach is to work with my fellow republicans, with democrats, with house members and also with this administration. that is the only way that we're going to get things done in the congress. it's the only way that we can assure the american people that they can have some trust in government. and that we're working to better their lives. >> dickerson: senator flake would say, that there is some responsibility, though, even while you're trying to get things done to call out those things that the president does that might get in the way of you getting things done. >> absolutely. and i have not hesitated to disagree with the president, whether it's with his comments after the incidents in charlottesville or on the very important health care issues. i'm going to continue to do that. i'll work with the president and support his policies when i think he's right. but i will not hesitate to

oppose him when i think that he is misguided. >> dickerson: the next big issue with which you have disagreement or total agreement with tax cuts, what are you looking for in this -- that concerns you that you'd like to make sure is in this package. >> three major principles will guide my evaluation of tax cuts, which i do think we need. first i want the tax code to be simpler, fairer and more pro-growth. that's really important. we can really lift standards of living for working families in this country, we can help small businesses create jobs. we can have a beneficial impact on the economy as a whole. if we do tax reform right. so far i'm encouraged by the discussions that i've had with the members of the senate finance committee and i'm hope half we can put together a package that will attract some democratic support, too. >> what about the deficit effects. you in the past have had consider -- you've been against some tax cuts because of the

affect on the deficit, in this case lot of people are calling alarms. >> that's why it's important that this tax reform package be pro growth. and if you look at the congressional budget office analysisf we have just four tenths of one percent increase in our gdp, which is entirely realistic it will cover the cost of the tax reform package. >> dickerson: final question i want to ask, congresswoman jackie spire came forward, she had been a house staffer and talked about the sexual assault that she experienced 40 years ago and she says that this kind of misconduct is still rampant on capitol hill. you were a staffer once, what was your reaction to this? >> i have not witnessed that. but that doesn't mean that it isn't occurring. i think we're seeing that there is sexual harassment and even assault in virtually workplaces

across the country. that's something that certainly all of us need to work on, but it's not something that i personally experienced. >> dickerson: senator collins, thanks for being with us. >> thank you, john. dickerson: we turn now to new jersey governor chris christie. governor we have a lot to get to but as a former federal prosecutor i want to start with this news about what robert mueller the special counsel may be up to. help us put in context the sealed indictment, is that a big deal? >> well, it's typical to do it that way in my experience. especially if you want to get certain things organized before you confront the potential defendant. i think one of the things to be concerned about here, john, is that there are strict laws against any of this type of leaking of grand jury activity and so the idea that we may know, in fact that there is been some activity done already depending upon who leaked that

information, that could be criminal violation as well. so, have to be very careful about this stuff. grand jury secrecy is very important to the effectiveness of an investigation. >> dickerson: about as pot cuter, the president said this is a witch hunt, questioned whether mr. mueller is compromised, how would you have reacted? >> i think that you're always going to be questioned as prosecutor, that's what you have to always be ready for. do your job honestly, forthrightly let the evidence lead to you conclusions not have conclusions beforehand and look for evidence that confirm it. what i would say important thing about today for the american people to know is, president is not under investigation, no one has told him that he is. he's been cooperating fully with special counsel's office and special counsel feels now along with the grand jury there is actions to take against some folks that is special counsel's job, although again i caution that this leaking is absolutely

against the law. >> dickerson: we'll switch to opioid issue. this week the president took action, he had previously said he wanted to spend whole lot of money on the opioid crisis. one of the criticisms of the actions he took this week, that there is not enough money. what is your response to that? >> totally misplaced criticism, john, let me tell you why. we recommended in our first commission report that he use either public health safety act or stafford act to be able to declare a national emergency. did he that under the public health safety act. now it is incumbent upon congress to be able to appropriate money into the public health emergency fund, only 57,000 dollars right now, nothing the president can do about. that congress appropriate. i believe from talking to bipartisan members of congress that this is not something that is going to take very long at all. they're going to react to this emergency like fund can puerto rico, funding texas, this is that type -- put it in context for you. 175 people are dying a day in

america. if those people were dying at the hands of a terrorist organization, how much money would the united states congress be willing to spend to make it stop. and that's the type of emergency we're dealing with, i'm sure congress is going to approach witness that type of urgency in concert with the president. >> dickerson: the the didn't say what you said in september in new jersey when you were addressing this issue you said, i don't want to you worry about money. i want a wish list. why didn't the president say something like that? >> well, i think he laid out things that are going to cost real money, john, if you listen to what he said this week at the white house. he talked about waving certain medicaid rules that will open up literally thousands of treatment beds to poor folks across this country who need treatment who right now can't get access it to. he talks about increased training for physicians, he talked about increased regulation on physician. this week we'll bring final report with more recommendations hon how to deal with this prop. we have to stop our people from dying and i know the president's

committed to, this everyone who listens to him this week with the personal story that he told about his brother, understands it's not just a policy issue, this is personal. i'm proud of him. >> dickerson: one of the things the president said that in fact he said it was most important part of what him proposing is massive advertising campaign to get people, he said earl he especially children not no wouldn't to take drugs in the first place. you've worked on this issue a lot. is that really going to do it or i heard you tell stories about your mother's smoking habit and your friend who had died from addiction. would they have been stopped by being told, don't do it? >> listen, i think that's part of what we need to do. in new jersey we've done. that we spent $25 million in the last six months on advertising campaign in new york and philadelphia to eliminate the stigma around treatment and to encourage people to reach out and get help and we are now working on another $25 million campaign just in new jersey for advertising to young people to talk to them about dangers of

prescription drugs. why even if it's given to you by a doctor doesn't mean it's good four, doesn't mean it's safe. i think that's an important part of it. only part of it. but very important part of it because we need people to understand that this crisis started not on a street corner somewhere, this crisis started in the doctor's offices and the hospitals of america. we consume 85% john of the world's prescribed opioids. that's outrageous. our medical community and our pharmaceutical companies have lot to do with that all of our insurance companies, everybody has to pitch in to turn this around. >> dickerson: we'll take a short break we'll be back in a minute with more from governor christie. and an ice plant. but we brought power to the people- redefining what that meant from one era to the next. over 90 years later, we continue to build as america's 3rd largest investor in infrastructure. we don't just help power the american dream... we're part of it.

retail. under pressure like never before. and it's connected technology that's moving companies forward fast. e-commerce. real time inventory. virtual changing rooms. that's why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent network speed across multiple locations. every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver. >> dickerson: we're back with governor chris christie. today is the fifth anniversary of super storm sandy. damages were over $35 billion in the state of new jersey alone and dozens were killed. governor, given your experience with that hurricane, i wondered if you would reflect on the response to puerto rico, you

know about federal-state coordination. president gave himself ten out of ten in that response. do you think it deserves that grade? >> well, i gave him a grade of b plus. it's close, what i would say is the federal government has brought resources to bear on puerto rico that is needed to be brought to bear. the real problem, john, that unlike where new jersey was from infrastructure perspective back in 2012, puerto rico's infrastructure because of its bankruptcy was degraded significantly before the storm. so for instance i've heard stories we've sent more folks than any other state in america to puerto rico to help. 1100 national guardsmen and state police all who have said the experience. as they started to come back and rotate new folks in, what they have told me is the big problem is not how having enough supplies that's literally there are no roads that are passable outside san juan and many regions. so they're having to airlift

things there, it's delaying things significantly while they try to rebuild these roads and get infrastructure back up on power. but i've spoken to the homeland security advisor on number of occasions and governor on a number of occasions i think they both believe that all the resources that need to be brought to bear are being brought to bear. we're just going to have to work harder at puerto rico because of how bad a shape it was in from an infrastructure perspective before the storm hit. >> dickerson: governor chris christie, thanks for being with us. >> thank you, john. thanks for having me. >> dickerson: we'll be right back.

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>> dickerson: we'll be back with a lot more.

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