captioning sponsored by cbs >> dickerson: today on "face the nation," president trump embarks on his first official tour of asia and congress debates the biggest tax reform plan in a generation. the president kicked off a 12-day, five-country tour in tokyo, japan, where he sent this message to north korea's leader: >> no one, no dictator, no regime, and no nation should underestimate ever american resolve. >> dickerson: will president trump pursue a diplomatic approach to the hermit kingdom, or will he echo his previous promise to totally detroit north korea? we'll have the latest news from his travels. and in washington, special counsel robert mueller brings indictments against members of the trump campaign team. are investigators any closer to moving the trump campaign

colluded with the russians? we'll ask virginia senator mark warner, the top democrat on the senate intelligence committee. plus republicans take on tax reform. >> that's why we're working to give the american people a giant tax cut for christmas. we are giving them a big, beautiful christmas present in the form of a tremendous tax cut. >> dickerson: but who gets the biggest boxes under the tree? we'll talk to house majority leader kevin mccarthy, who is working to pass the tax package in the house. we'll have analysis of all the week's news and look ahead with our politics panel. plus bestselling author michel louis joins us, and former white house photographer pete souza brings us the best of his eight years capturing the obamas. it's all ahead on "face the nation" good morning and welcome to "face the nation." i'm john dickerson. our focus this week, indictments and taxes. special counsel robert mueller's investigation into russian interference in the 2016 presidential election made its

first big move this week. on monday former trump campaign chair paul manafort and former aide rick gates were charged with a litany of crimes, including money laundering and being unregistered foreign agents, but manafort's attorney said the 31-page indictment showed -- >> there is no evidence that mr. manafort or the trump campaign cloudied with the russian government. >> dickerson: but mueller did have evidence that trump aide george papadopoulos met with the russians, the second known contact with the campaign and russians peddling dirt on hillary clinton. the other big story: tax reform. thursday was tax day in washington with house republicans finally unveiling their long-talked-about plan. >> this plan is for the middle-class families in this country who deserve a break. we are getting rid of loopholes for special interests and we are leveling the playing field. >> dickerson: the president left washington friday and will update you on his first moves in asia. first, the big news of the week and the investigation into

russian interference in the election. senator mark warner, to top democrat on the senate intelligence committee, joins us from roanoke, virginia. welcome, senator. i want the start with the indictment and the plea agreement this week with the special counsel. so the president said there was no collusion proved in the indictment of his former campaign chairman, mr. mr. papadopoulos did agree he had lied about a meeting with the russian, but so far it looks like the russians were knocking on the door but they never got any side. you've done hundreds of interviews. is there any evidence they got inside and they were connected to this campaign? >> john, the one thing we do know is that the russians had a very organized effort to try to intervene in our elections. they tampered with 21 states' electoral system, they used social media platform, and they released information that was harmful to clinton and helpful to mr. trump. they also we've noun seen evidence both in terms of reaching out the mr. papadopoulos and the june 9th meeting with

mr. manafort and mr. trump, jr., attended where they had an organized effort to try to offer dirt or e-mails on hillary clinton. the question was: did folks from the trump campaign respond in kind, and those are questions we still have to get the final answers to. >> dickerson: if the trump campaign was chomping to get its information as it's been portrayed by their critics, you think that one of these two meetings wound have sparked something. but there is no evidence they bit when they were offered this. yes, the russians were offer, but they didn't seem to grab it. at least based on what we know now. >> job, i think those are questions that still need to be answered. there is obviously enormous concern, as well, with the campaign manager and the deputy campaign manager, both indicted, as well. i think there are many more chapters in this story to be told, and some of this information will further down the perhaps, perhaps even with the special prosecutor, we have different lanes. we have a policy review to do.

we have a fact check that we have to lay out. he's got criminal intent he's got to find. we have to continue to de-conflict. but i think there will be more stories to be written. >> dickerson: what are you focused on now given what you may have learned from the special counsel or where we are in this narrative. is there a certain set of questions we want andered at this moment? >> there are still a number of principles. for example, mr. trump, jr., we still need to see, we've talked to a lot of folks who are in that so-called june 9th meeting. we have been holding off on the principles until we get all the preliminaries done. there are other figures that at the senior most level that we want to talk to. we also want to continue to explore policy standpoints, this whole question around social media, the fact that for a relatively small amount of money, $100,000 plus, plus a series of fake accounts, the russians were able to contact or touch 126 million americans with

their fake news or their stories that were trying to sew discontent, and that was before facebook acknowledged the additional hits used on instagram. there are a lot of stories that continue to be unraveled. >> dickerson: let me pick up on that. there is a very provocative cover on the economist that has the facebook logo and it says, "social media, a threat to democracy." you had executives from facebook, google, and twitter on the hill this week. do they get it? >> i think they are getting it. it's taking them longer than i'd like. you know, these are great, iconic american companies that. they have changed our lives for the better. i want them to be successful. but there is also a dark underbelly that's been created. the russians used it this past election, we have to make sure on a going-forward basis these companies work with us to help disclose, particularly when they see foreign countries try to influence directly our political advertising. >> dickerson: should there be

regulations regulating ads used on social media? >> as a pro-tech guy, somebody in the tech business locker than politics, i think we need to take the lightest touch possible, but the basic requirement that there ought to be the same disclosure for political ads on the internet that exist for ads that appear on your show i think makes sense. >> dickerson: two other issues on your committee's purview, one, is so-called field dossier, salacious information about candidate trump. we learned the clinton campaign had paid for part of it. when you had 2 chairman of the campaign in front of your committee, he said he didn't know who paid for it. susan collins said podesta should come back. the clinton lawyer who was there with podesta when he testified as his council could have spoken up and said he knew who paid for it, he did not. he should testify. where are you on this question? >> i think what we found out now on the field dossier is that it was partially paid for by a major republican backer. it was partially paid for by the

democrats. what i'm interested in is not so much who paid for it, but whether the dossier is true or not. it's obviously very inflammatory. what i wish would be that mr. jerrad steele would come ind testify. the chairman and will travel anywhere to try to meet with him, because at the end of the day, what's most important is is that dossier true or not true. >> dickerson: two key questions about the clinton angle: one, the material the clinton folks got is definitely but what is paid for by the russians. it had a russian component. so it would be important on that front who paid for it and why. and secondly, you have to have people coming in front of your committee telling the truth, and there seems to be discrepancy about who paid for what, when, and that would be why they would come back. so do you want them to come back? >> if there is discrepancy, there ought to be a chance to get that cleared up and to find out what was the basis of that discrepancy. most importantly, john. this dossier has been out there for ten or 11 months. i find it remarkable, whether

it's news organizations or whether it's our its or others, this dossier sits out there and much of it still remains, you know, a real question of whether it is true or not true. at the end of the day, that's where we have to focus our effort. >> dickerson: quickly, jeff sessions, should he come back and testify about what he knew when about russian contacts with the campaign? there has been reports he knew about something and he told your committee he didn't. -i want to give the attorney general the benefit of the doubt. a picture is worth a thousand words. the fact that mr. papadopoulos was there in that meeting with then-senator sessions, if there is more information that he needs to clarify, weed like to hear that. >> dickerson: final question, the former dnc chairman donna brazile dropped a bomb this week saying the democratic national committee was rigged in hillary clinton's favor do. you believe that's true? >> listen, i have seen some of the press reports. what i'm a lot more focused on, we've got a really critical election coming up in two days

in virginia where we elect the governor. i hope it's going to be a lot more democratic candidates. that's where i'm focused. a lot of folks in florida are frustrated with what's going on. particularly from this administration. most important thing they can do is get out and vote on tuesday and hopefully --. >> dickerson: democrats don't want to get out and vote if they think their party is corrupt, which is the charge brazile is making. if you don't address the corrupt part, how do you get people to vote for a democratic candidate? >> there is a heck of a lot of enthusiasm. i don't believe the democratic party is corrupt. i believe the democratic party is forward-leaning. i think we have that kind of candidate running in virginia right now. i'm going the leave here, and i'll crisscross southwest virginia to help get out the volt. i hope on tuesday night we'll have great victory both from the virginia standpoint but also sends a message that some of the actions of this president are at least not acceptable in the commonwealth of virginia. >> dickerson: senator, thanks so much for being with us.

>> thank you, john. >> dickerson: we turn now to house majority leader kevin mccarthy. mr. majority leader, we want the talk about a the tax cut. the congressional score keepers have weighed in. this will increase deficits by $1.5 trillion. supporters say there will be economic growth that will take care of that problem. there was a heritage study that said that debt would be gone entirely from those tax cuts. so things sometimes don't turn out the way everybody hopes. given that, and give then score of $1.5 trillion in the deficit, isn't this a huge gamble for all of the reasons that republicans have long said about adding to the deficit and debt. >> no. john, look at this. for decades the hard-working americans have been ignored or forgotten from washington. but not anymore. this tax cut and jobs act bill is going to be the change of that. let me give you three points why. first, it lets every american keep more of what they earn.

if you're single, the first $12,000 is tax-free. if you're a couple, $24,000. the average family will save almost $1,200 more in their pockets. so the first $55,000 a family of four earns will not be taxed at all. second, what it does for small business, i created my first small business when i was 20. the lessons i learned, i was first to work, i was last to leave and last to be paid. it created more jobs than anything else. lowering it to 5% is the lowest since world war ii -- 25%. i was in the oval office just this week. this is going to make america competitive again. based upon our tax bill, this is a company who left america because the taxes came too high. they are now because of the tax bill moving back to america. that's $20 billion in revenue a year. you know what's even more important? it put $3 billion every year into r&d and $6 billion into

manufacturing. that's jobs, good-paying jobs for america. >> so those are the promising being made. but there is the score from the people who do the accounting. they know about the economic affects -- effects here. they may not calculate them the way you like, flu is a big risk. we'll get to talk about whether everybody really does get a tax cut from this bill. given how much republicans have talked over the years about the dangerous effects of the debt and its down side on growth, the answers here are basically we've got to hope this turns out. is there any mechanism to save the down side if things don't turn out as you promise and hope they will? >> there is a philosophical difference in washington. democrats want the charge more and spend more. republicans want you to keep more of your money and spend less. one thing that republicans have shown since they took a majority, when it comes to discretionary spending, they've cut spending. we know where the challenge is when it comes to entitlements. we've put those plans out there. we have to grow the economy and

save the entitlements for the next generation by changing them to be actually prepared for the future. and you say these are studies, but think of this: broadcom took an action to move their company back to america based on just the introduction of this bill. that's stronger than any study out there that jobs are coming. >> dickerson: well, but the study that's out there is by the congressional score keepers who will ultimately determine how this gets volted on and determine the rules of the senate. but let me very quickly, often republicans have said the federal government needs to balance its budget like a family does. would family balance its budget based on this kind of promise of the future? would that be wise family budgeting? >> i think so, because one thingly tell you, it's only washington that thinks let family keep $1,200 is not a lot of money. that's an investment. if you're going to grow the economy, think about the last eight years. always in america we've averaged more than 3% growth, but the lowest growth we've had in those last eight years.

if you look back to bill clinton, his worst growth year is higher than the largest of barack obama's. growing the economy is key to working back and helping us balance the budget. >> dickerson: mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader, said nobody in the middle class will get a tax increase. is that the case with the house legislation that's proposed, everybody in the middle class will see no tax increase? >> look, we are cutting rates. we're in the raising rates some this is a tax cut. as i said --. >> dickerson: will everybody get one in the middle class? >> yes. it is a fact that if you are the first $55,000 you earn for family of four will not pay any tax. it is a tax cut. >> dickerson: there is some discrepancy because there is some sun setting of some provision, including the child tax credit, so that some of the analysis done here finds that, in fact, middle-class families will pay more in years 2023 and 2024. so is that math wrong, or why is

there that discrepancy? >> john, as you understand, we've made most everything permanent. because 206 rules of the senate, we could not make those permanent as we go forward. but i will promise you this: as the growth comes in, those will be kept. they will not go away within the tax credit in the sixth and seventh year. that's exactly what chairman brady has said, as well. >> dickerson: why not guarantee that in the legislation? >> well, we know the rules... well, the one thing we see, because of the rules of the senate, for us to move forward, within the sixth and seventh, but we know with growth and look at the the study coming in saying more than $1 trillion, we will keep those in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth and tenth years. >> dickerson: the rules of the senate are there to keep gimmicks from happening. let me ask you, though, about the individual mandates. people have talked about getting rid of the individual mandate that's part of obamacare in this tax legislation. would you support that? >> well, i know people are

talking about currently is not in this bill. i know the senate is looking at it. we will start marking up this bill in ways and means next week, and i look forward to having the bill on the floor the week after that. the senate will come out with theirs shortly. we do not currently have it in there. my focus is on tax as the individual mandate does. it would not with opposed to that. i want the see this bill go forward so the american people can start keeping their of their own hard earned money. >> dickerson: the speaker has said it would be naive to suggest that sairmtd doesn't happen in congress. is there a sexual harassment problem in congress? >> well, we're a microcosm society. we take this very serious. this house administration is holding hearings on this coming forward. to look at this there are other rules. the speaker and others, we put out a letter to every author to make sure they're taking training. my own office will be done with the training this month, as well. there is no role for that inside the house. we have to make sure to there are not problems inside the house, as well.

>> dickerson: majority leader kevin mccarthy, thanks so much for being with us. we'll be back in one minute with our politics analysts. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied.

and always working to be better. >> dickerson: we turn now to our political panel. susan page is the washington bureau chief for "usa today." ramesh ponnuru is 2 senior editor at the national re"viewpoint." we're also joined by "slate" magazine's political analyst jamelle bouie, and jerry seib. ramesh, we start with you. what do you make of this tax bill now as it stands coming out of the house? >> well, it is a very complicated piece of legislation. i think people are still digesting the implications. what it has going for it in terms of getting passed is republicans' desperation to accomplish something, anything legislatively that they can call a win. that's a sentiment that is shared by house republicans and senate republicans. but there are a lot of moving parts, and i do not think some of these things are going to survive. the senate is not going to want the take things on like the

adoption tax credit, frample. so this is going to be changing before it gets to the president's desk, if it ever does. >> dickerson: the adoption tax credit is out of the house version. susan, who are the winners and lose centers this bill? >> well, hard-working americans according to the congressman. the winners are big businesses, biggest corporate tax cut in history from 35% to 20%. people rich enough to have estates more than $5.5 million because the estate tax would be eliminated. and people caught in the alternative minimum tax, which includes, by the way, donald trump, who paid $31 million more than he otherwise would have in 2005, the only tax return we, have because of the a.m.t. the winners, you know, another loser, people in high-tax blue states like new york and california because you lose the state and local tax deduction. >> dickerson: i'll stop you... >> those are the winners. >> dickerson: jerry, what's your sense of how this works, particularly on this question of the middle-class tax cut. there is some debate about

whether everyone will get one through the course of this bill. >> the priority here with the corporate tax cuts. business tax cuts. if you look at the overall amount of tax cutting that's done in this bill over ten years, it's $1 trillion for businesses, $300 billion for individuals. so the priority here to get the business tax cut down. everything else i think is in service of that goal. that's an important goal for republicans, and by the way, a lot of democrats think the corporate tax rate is too high. so there is consensus on that. the problem is we're seeing why it's been 31 years since we did tax reform. this is hard. if you start with that kind of imperative, you have to find other people the pay for the cost of that. you are going to end up, for example, seeing some upper middle class americans probably paying slightly more here, not slightly less. i think the key to this is republicans convincing people that the number of jobs created and the amount of economic growth generated will be enough to make people swallow and accept the fact they're going to get some things they don't like. >> dickerson: jamel, the point is basically growth will go up

and middle class will benefit through higher wages. do you think that's a politically saleable point, that the corporate tax break has a direct line to the middle class? >> i think your point you made to the congressman, this these promises have been made before and have not shaken out will probably form the basis of the democratic response to it. if democrats can get through public noise to make that point, i'm not sure the republican message will be able to sell, in pa made before andse it hasn't been the case. >> dickerson: we're about to have a big debate. >> one point, the congressman stressed small businesses. the small business lobby, the nsib is not in favor of. this. >> dickerson: all right. we'll be back in a moment with our panel. stay with us.

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so get back to it. and do the best work of your life. ♪ ♪ >> dickerson: every generation reinterprets the civil war. our re-examination has been prompted by the debate over confederate monuments. this week whiteef of aff john kelly warned autse houc misunderstanding civil war

history only to be rebuked by civil war historians who said he misunderstood his civil war history. we have these uscae history is theion bsts dsi instruction manual we have as a country. it tells us who we are, which guides us toward who we want to be. churchill said the further back yoook, the further forward you are li lkelyn tou . we must be humble in evaluation leaders of the past to understand them in their time. this context helps us recognize why our forebearers were flawed. how those flaws were remedied and how we can avoid similar flaws today. but that lens we use to understand is different than the gaze we reserve for what we revere. once of lessons of the civil war is that it was possible to do the right thing then but the moral standards of today. abolitionists opposed slavery because it was a moral and human wrong, contrary to the principles of the nation founded on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. those who fought slivery pushed

the country to be better when it was opposed by custom, habit, and eventually bullets. that example is worthy of rev represents because we face similar choices today. how to keep faith with standards and morals when it is easier to cothe other thing, when the system encourages you to do the other thing. it requires character, self-sacrifice and wisdom. it's not easy, but that's why not everyone deserves the monument. back in a moment.

what if we could keep more amof what we earn?d. trillions of dollars going back to taxpayers. who could possibly be against that? well, the national debt is $20 trillion. as we keep adding to it, guess who pays the bill? him. and her. and her. congress, we should grow the economy. thnoe det . bt ♪ de retail. unes 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 storene ofae leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver. >> dickerson: we'll be right back with a lot more "face the nation." stay with us.

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