captioning sponsored by cbs >> dickerson: today on "face the nation." 2018 is already auto doozya blockbuster behind the scenes account of the trump administration shakes up washington. and prompts the president to defend his mental stability tweeting that he is, a very stable genius. >> tweeting about your mental state, why did you feel a need to tweet about that? >> because i went to the best college. i went to -- i had situation where i -- made billions of dollars became one of the top business people. went to television and for ten years was a tremendous success as you probably already have heard. ran for president at one time and won. and then i hear this guy that does not know me. doesn't know me at all.

>> dickerson: meanwhile challenges for the commander in chief in iran, pakistan and north corey where what president tauntetaunted jong-un about thes of his nuclear button. kentucky senator rand paul will join us to talk about the challenges for congress in 2018. and former mississippi governor and rnc chairman haley barbour will talk about this election year and plenty of analysis here and abroad is all ahead on "face the nation." good morning, welcome to "face the nation" i'm john dickerson with temperatures getting down to the single digits in washington this weekend the president, members of his cabinet and republican congressional leadership left the city and huddled at camp david to talk about priorities. cia director mike mom mayo was there, is back in washington joins us this morning welcome, mr. director. >> thank you. dickerson: the president said

he's a stable genius, is he? >> i'm with the president nearly every day. we engage in some of the most weighty matters, i deliver this exquisite product that is developed by my officers. he engages in a way that he understands, yes, he asks hard questions. he delivers policy outcomes based on the information that we provide him. my observation of the president is that we deal in serious matters and that this book is in no way that. >> dickerson: let me get to the serious matters in a minute. give us an example of this. there is this book you refer to, got all the stories, debate about the veracity. one of these penetrating questions, these insights the president has had? >> i'll give you really good example it was from early spring, i've been serving for couple of months at this point. there was this question about syria. was this in fact the assad regime that used chemical

weapons, that's an intelligence question, can you demonstrate, were they used against civilians, was it the assad regime. he called me up had three very direct questions basically what i just. mike, i need to you answer these as quickly as you can. then we came back the next day gave him what we knew. he sent us back for a little more clarity we were confident in what we were doing before he made what he viewed as very important foreign policy decision about how to respond to that. i could give you countless other examples. >> dickerson: seems we have situation here where on the one hand you have the accounts in this book, if it were true, there were questions about the president's ability to perform his office would put duty to speak up. then on the other side you have what could be fundamental smear against democracy which to say fitness of the president, this isn't just some political critique, whether he can perform which goes to the heart of what is going on. those are the two options is that the way you see submitted.

>> i can only give you my experiences, john. i haven't read the book. i got plenty of important things to deal with. i don't put this as one of those. but my observation is that, my dealings with the president on some of the most important issues that the president has to face are as professional and as thoughtful as the american people deserve. the president is handling these duties in a way that i'm proud of to be part of his team. >> dickerson: one of those duties, north korea. the "new york times" has a piece in the "times" talking about intelligence on being able to track the north korean missile program. in that piece it says this. talking about intelligence community. their inability to foresee the rapid strides now ranks among america's most significant intelligence failures. what do you think of that piece and is that right? >> john, just got this one wrong. the author of the piece.

i've been one who has been candid where the intelligence committee has made mistakes, this is not. that in this case frankly before my time. the work that was done to understand jong-un to understand the regime and advancement of his missile program was really first rate. we did understand the progress that he was making. multiple administration have had access to that same set of information and that program has progressed. >> dickerson: not just david sanger, h.r. mcmaster street quoted as saying that the program has been quicker in the timeline is a lot more compressed than most people believe. >> you are never going to get the day right or the week right. but intelligence can provide policy makers is, an understanding of capability, capacity. and understanding of motive and intent we nailed both of those things. then our best effort to understand how that will proceed at what pace. frankly got that mostly right.

>> dickerson: when you last spoke in august you said attack from north korea is not something that is imminent. where is that -- you still believe that now? >> i d. i do. dickerson: just few months away from crossing the threshold to putting u.s. city of nuclear attack. where are we now on that timeline? >> that remains the same. dickerson: still a few months away from that? >> yes, sir. dickerson: what is few, three or four? >> i can't give you that kind of certainty. >> dickerson: north korean soldiers some have sprinted to freedom, what are we learning from them? >> two things. that the team would identify is that this is a -- we talk about the nuclear force, it's the big focus but i will promise you secretary mattis and our team never forgets they have enormous conventional capacity has well, that threatens not only south korea but other neighbors. we -- i don't wanted to on the show here tell you but we have what we think very good tea saysment of their military capability.

how ready those enormous forces are. >> dickerson: you said in december the president's tweets actually helped the cia execute its mission. this week, the president tweeted about the nuclear button, how does that help the c iota do it mission? >> yes, sir. that tweet is completely consistent with u.s. policy. president, unlike previous administrations, has made a real commitment that is that the denuclearization of the peninsula is the mandate that is what we are going to achieve. the president has made very clear that we're going to do everything we can to do that in a way that doesn't involve military action. but equally made clear that we're not going to stand for allowing jong-un to hold los angeles or denver at risk. what you saw in that message the same as the rest of the messaget made that policy crystal clear. important to jong-un idea that clarity. >> dickerson: some thought it

was joke around or you don't be cavalier about nuclear weapons. is that, though, helpful that kind of willingness to risk talking about nuclear buttons in a casual way in terms of keeping the other side off guard? >> i can't tell you that kim jong-un has read that, but i'm confident that he did. my my guess as he is trying to figure out exactly how it is he does what he wants to do, which is keep his nuclear weapons and stay in power. i think that's what you see happening this week where he's now agreed to have some conversations with the south koreans, alacking for foothold to walk himself back. enthoroughly consistent with the historical activity. we see the threat, he tries to pacify it. you can be sure that this administration is not going to fall prey to the same trap that previous administration did. >> dickerson: with north korea they have continued testing, u.s. said stop testing we might talk spin fashion. in that context this decision to

talk to the south koreans would seem to be positive step if he's in the modesto step back instead of test. >> yes, sir, i hope that's the case. ever the optimist, always the realist. i hope that's the case but past his torely would indicate that this is a faint, not likely to lead to any true strange in his outlook, he'll continue to want to maintain his nuclear capability. that the president has said is unacceptable. >> dickerson: the engagement in the last several months is your picture clearer, more sharp about the north korean leader or fuzzier? >> a little more clear. frankly the great officers that work for me their efforts to deliver to the president a little more granularity and a little more color to help understand what not only kim jong-un is thinking but those around him. john, we don't though kim jong-un is getting the straight story from those around him about the tenuous position he finds himself in domestically and internationally. it is not a good healthy thing

to tell kim jong-un bad news. >> dickerson: he tweeted about the deep state s. there a deep state at the cia? >> no, sir. dickerson: has there ever been one? >> i've only been there a little while. i can't believe it's ever been there. these are professional who sacrifice so much to serve america, they're patriots. truest and highest order. >> dickerson: iran, what is the significance of the protest is this a turning point or just a flash point in the regime will continue? >> difficult to know analytically if this is a turning point. it is different. the protests that we saw in 1999 hand 2009 were from elites. this was not that. it was ordinary -- same people who would enlist in irgc their neighbors are now the ones out protesting. they're protesting because they have seen the failed promises of the president that they haven't been able to deliver the check out comes that they said. they said they would get jcpoa the food would be plentiful,

jobs would rise, simply hasn't happened. >> dickerson: the so-called iran deal. in that sense is the iran deal forced destabilization in iran there for that good for in terms of the u.s. interests? >> from the perspective, what is clear is that there have been economic difficulties in iran in places outside of take ran, there's a massive uncommitment what the iranian people were promised has not happened they can see that. they have taken to the streets. >> dickerson: let me ask you about pakistan, u.s. is cutting off aid to pakistan. that is a nuclear power. is it a good idea to pressuring pakistan, given all the rest of the plate in the united states, with the nuclear power? >> john, again, i'm going to avoid the policy that you asked about. but from the intelligence perspective what we see. we see the pakistanis continuing to provide safe harbor, havens inside of pakistan for

terrorists who present risks to the united states of america. we are doing our best to inform pakistanis that this is no longer going to be acceptable so this condition aid, we've given them chance if they fix this problem, we're happy to continue to engage with them. but if they don't we're going to protect america. >> dickerson: haven't we always, though -- get a line in the u.s. intelligence benefits from things that the pakistanis do, isn't there kind of a relationship that may not be perfect but for the bad things they do they allow counter terrorism to benefit from staging, isn't that at risk in terms of national security problem? >> the president has made very clear that he needs pakistan to cease being a safe haven for terrorist that threaten the united states of america, period, full stop. >> dickerson: the seven of two, there are some questions about how long to reauthorize it.

what is the cia's position about this program which allows surveillance of foreign people but also critics believe allows back door to gaining information about americans? >> john, the section 702 is important component of american national security, allows us the cia to observe communications from non-u.s. citizens, persons outs side of the united states that's central to our mission. so we are very hopeful that we can reach an accommodation that we can get to the right place and i understand it may well come to a vote this week. i hope that's the case. i hear the critics from the other side, i understand their concerns, i hope that we can accommodate them in a way and achieve our national security mission. while doing -- while continuing to protect americans' privacy, i think we can do them both. >> dickerson: let me ask you a final question here. that is san election year, lot of talk about the russians, destabilization. are the russians engaged in trying to undermine the

elections and do you worry about that this year? >> yes, sir, i do. dickerson: are they currently doing that? >> yes, sir. have been for decades. yes, i continue to be concerned not only about the russians, but about others' efforts as well the we have many folks who want to undermine western them mock:see. this is washington-based focus on russian interference. make sure we broaden the conversation. we hawaiian important function as a parted of the american nation national security team to keep the american elections safe and secure and democratic. we're working diligently to do that we're going to work against the russians or any others who threat then very outcome. >> dickerson: direct for pompeo, thanks for being with us. we'll be back in one minute to talk with kentucky republican senator rand paul in his first sunday show appearance since being injured in an altercation with his neighbor. stay with us.

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paul. good to have you back, senator. we hope you have fully recovered. by the way, happy birthday as well. >> thank you. i was wondering about getting presents today but i understand that the ethics rules of the senate won't let me take any presents. >> dickerson: your presence is our present. how are you feeling, by the way? >> a little better each day. it was a living hell for the first four or five weeks, difficulty, couldn't get out of bed without assistance, six broken ribs, damaged my lungs, two bouts of pneumonia. it was really a tough go of it but each day i feel a little bit better. this last month hive been doing better. >> dickerson: you haven't talked about the motivation for this, there is an increased -- in politics things have gotten a little bit uglier, was that part of what happened here, can you talk about that with your colleague? >> you know my colleagues come up all the time they want to make sure there is some kind of deterrence because people don't

want to think that it's open season on our elected officials. i was also at the baseball field when we were shot at with semi automatic fire and steve scalise was severely wounded i was ten feet from a young staffer who was shot in the leg. yeah, i've been involved in violent attacks twice in the last year. we're very aware of it. i think one of the thing about motivations is people got obsessed, some in the media about motivations, but i think really we usually don't ask if someone is raped or mugged why the person did it. we want punishment and deterrence, i guess that's what people mostly about. i just don't think of any kind of motivation or justification whether it's political or personal to attack someone who is unaware from behind in their own yard. >> dickerson: those who are involved in politics might think about changing the way they believe and change that climate. >> maybe. dickerson: let me ask you 'with the the climate here in washington this new book about the white house, as politician,

the president has responded by talking about his mental stability, why do you suppose did he that when instead he could say, forget this book, we have tax cuts, defeating isis, we've nominated bunch of judges, why do you think he did that? >> you know, i don't know. i guess my first response this was sort of gossipy book, like kitty kelly book back when i was in high school, nobody really believed them. they were treated as sort of like a sitcom or treated as a television show. they weren't treated seriously by the media. i think from high experience, i've been around the president quite a bit, i've been in the white house quite a bit. i can give you one example that i think really shows his great insight and ability to cut through to the chase and do things that ordinary politicians don't d. that is when i took him the idea of letting individuals join together to buy insurance across state lines. every politician, republican and bureaucrat in washington said we

couldn't do it, they hadn't done it in 30 years, he looked at the original law, told his lawyers look at the original law and see if the interpretation of the previous government attorneys have been corrected. he had the wherewithal just to say, no. we're going to let individuals join these groups so they can get cheaper insurance and perhaps better insurance as well and perhaps get insurance for people who don't have insurance. but did he that because he's different than any other politician. now we have all these wise acres wanting to criticize be presumptuous about trying to judge someone's intelligence, i can tell you he has the wherewithal that no politics has beenably to do and in a good way. >> dickerson: a couple of policy questions, we tacked about section 702 of the cia director, you have held up a nomination of john demmers and talking about filibustering this, why? >> 702 is supposed to get information on foreigners, we

have lower than constitutional standard. well the constitution doesn't apply to people in other countries, i agree with that. we collect massive amount of information on foreigners but they talk to americans. so after you gather millions of bits of information, turns out there's a lot of americans in the database. we don't want to happen is that domestic law enforcement, police and fbi looking at database that was collected without cons if i talksal protection and let's sae medical marijuana people in colorado, which is legal in colorado but now federal government talking about changing their policy and going after them. what is if they're searching a database that was collected on foreigners to get incidental information on medical marijuana in colorado. i have a real problem with that. they should have to get a warrant before they look at that. and really none of that information should be used for domestic crime because it was gathered with a less than constitutional standard. >> dickerson: what are you going to do? >> we're trying to stop them.

the people on the other side, the cia director and others want permanent reauthorization, no reform. when you ask them, are you using that for domestic crime there's a little bit -- they say, well, we don't do it very often but they won't tell you whether they are looking at the information then not presenting in court but using that information to develop what's called parallel construction, develop cases. they want just permanent reauthorization to me means no more oversight by congress. the reason we need more oversight, as madison said, men are not angels. we've seen, we've had people in the fbi that had bias againstment president. we also have seen now people department of justice who were married to people that were doing opposition research on trump. you can see how people are human, bias could enter into this the history of the cia and the fbi are not without blemish. the hoover years are a great tarnish, we also had civil rights activists in the '60s, illegally spied upon, vietnam

protesters illegally spied upon. this great to do, the church commission back in the '70s and fias was supposed to reign that in now many of us, we have a bipartisan said, we have to defend the americans' right to privacy and right now we're sort of a minority in the senate. in the house it's close to 50-50. >> dickerson: we'll have to leave it there. thanks so much. happy birthday again. >> thank you. dickerson: we'll be back in a moment. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ what we do every night is like something out of a strange dream.

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very long period of time the intelligence community accurately assess the nuclear program and it's not consistent with the observable facts. what i mean by that, if the cia at the end of the obama administration and the beginning of the trump administration was saying there were years, why did barack obama tell president trump that this was his most urgent and serious problem. then why did the trump administration move so quickly to put maximum sanctions on north korea. this is not an intelligence failure this is an intelligence success. >> dickerson: tom, give us your sense of where things stand right now with north coreya director said months away still from from the -- >> i agree with michael's point on the analysis. potential military conference, should be doing everything it can do short of war. to pressure north koreans to the

negotiating table and achieve our goals. the director said earlier, that include working with our allies, includes continuing sanctions or pressure, by the way we just started in a lot of these areas in the bank and finance and oil and energy area. it's having some affect, i think we saw some that have with respect to jong-un on new year's day i agree with the assessment not likely to lead anywhere differently but nonetheless indication of the pressure. we need much more aggressive enforcement. we should be thickening our ballistic missile. put pressure on human rights front and get to negotiation at some point. lot more pressure we can put on them. >> dickerson: we'll be back to this in a moment. need to take a short break, lot more with mike morell and tom donilon when we come back.

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>> tv's new comedy. >> can you believe this? it is caught for the win! >> once and for all for sergio. >> justin thomas is the pga champion. [captioning funded by cbs sports division] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org james: wild card sunday in the nfl. the buffalo bills will face jacksonville jaguars, that before a packed house of more than 75,000 pumped-up fans as jacksonville hofertse its first playoff game in 18 years. w shouldn't be a factor. temperatures around 50 degrees under partly cloudy