welcome back to "face the nation." before i traveled here to beijing, i sat down in washington with cbs news correspondent policy and national security contributor, h.r. mcmaster, to discuss some of the challenges with the u.s. and china. thehioute was h increasingly aggressive actions by the people's liberation army. that's china's military, in recent months. there was video of a near-miss in the south china sea in the air and one at sea in the taiwan strait recently, as well. how unusual are these incidents? >> they're not unprecedented. but it's unusual in the quick succession of multiple

incidents. china is sending a message, we're in charge now. you're finished, to the west and the united states. it's indicative of what they hope to achieve, margmargaret, laid claim to the ocean in the south china sea. this calls for us to have a strong response. i think with secretary blinken's visit there, it may portra a bit of weakness in terms -- >> what do you mean? >> we have been anxious to have the discussion with the chinese and the chinese have been playing hard to get, in terms of the discussion. they hope, with the optics of this meeting, and i'm sure secretary blinken is aware of this, is to create a perception that we're going there to pay homage to the communist party. they're going to use that perception of china ease strength, relative to the united states, toregion, and time to

bandwagon with us. this is a new era, the era of international relations. >> arguably, a lot of the biden administration policies look a lot like the trump administration policies, at least directionally here. relations have been going downhill for years now. this is the first visit since 2018. if the visit itself, you question, is a risk, how do you make this successful? >> well, i think it's okay to talk, right? diplomacy is okay. it's the conditions under which the discussion is conducted and portrayed. >> you mean location? >> not necessarily location. but the atmosphere around it, in connection with china really, i thnk wanting to try to get some conc concessions, in exchange for the privilege of talking with them. this might have to do with policy conditions to restrict or ask allies to restrict chip sales to chinese industries. what's important to note, is that china has not come off the

path of aggression. you mentioned the people's liberation army aggression, but a broad range of economic aggression that china is engaged in. it's important to stick to our guns on this. and it's important to have diplomacy with china and have diplomacy with countries on the fence, saying, your choice is not between washington and beijing, it's between sovereignty and servitude. >> one of secretary blinken's stated goals is to open up the lines of communication between the militaries. >> i think it's important to haveconfidence-building measures. but it takes two parties to do it. >> right. >> one of the obstacles is that the chinese communistcentralize unwilling to uncentralize to anybody else. when you meet with party officials, they are reading off cards. you try to tell a few jokes.

make a personal connection. it's really hard to do. >> when we spoke with bob gates, the former defense secretary, he said in the worst days of the cold war, there was a way for the united states and soviet union to have conversations about military incidents to avoid escalation. that framework does not exist today with china. doesn't one have to be created? or do you think the ambiguity or that risk is a choice? >> we say, the door's open for that communication. it's up to the party. it takes two to have that line open. the ccp has become very aggressive, not only against the united states, but a broad range of nations. and not to mention, the military aggression. how about cyber attacks. how about campaigns of economic aggression, against australia, lithuania and others. it's important to look at the

behavior of the party because they talk a great game, right? a new era of common destiny for all mankind. that sounds like a great program. that's not what i want to sign up with the communist party in charge. >> it was publicly disclosed that china has set up, in nearby cuba. to a lot of people that hear and see something like that, they think of the old cold war. how different is this model? >> it's worse. >> what do you mean? >> it's a more difficult problem set because of the way the economies have become interconnected, in large measure, based on the flawed assu assumptions, on the sxwintentio of the communist party. we thought we could determine the behavior of the party by the

way we engaged them. but the party leadership had aspirations that went beyond in reaction to what we do. and china wants to establish itself as it sees it, at the center. >> what were the key phrases and things you were looking for and watching for out of this meeting? >> competition and recognition that the chinese communist party has to change the behavior for there to be a better relationship. there's an impulse in diplomacy, to think that a better relationship is the end of itself. if the perception is we're going to make concession after concession, just for a better relationship, the outcome could be something that appears like a diplomatic achievement. but could be a political disaster. we'll be right back. how's the heart? i feel like it's good. how do you know? let me show you something. it looks like a credit card, but it is the kardiamobile card. with kardiamobile card you can take a medical-grade ekg in just 30 seconds from anywhere.

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in recent months, the world of professional golf has been divided in two camps, with players forced to choose being part of the pga tour, or an

upstart saudi-backed golf league, known as liv. the two plans recently decided to join forces and there's been backlash, due to saudi arabia's human rights abuses and the killing of journalist jamal ume investigation into the merger. senator blumenthal, thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me, bob. >> you demanded more information from the pga and liv about how this agreement came together. what exactly do you want? >> the subcommittee on investigations, that i chair, is trying to uncover the facts act what went into this deal, who was behind it, and whether there was improper conduct or wrongdoing and what the structure and governance will be of the entity going forward? there are very, very few

details. remember, what we have here is essentially a repressive, autocratic foreign government, taking control over an iconic, cherished, american institution, for the clear purpose of cleansing its public issue. the saudis have been explicit, they have an objective here. they've been in numerous mall aligned activities, killing jamal khashoggi, as you mentioned, and other journalists, torturing and imprisoning dissidents and critics. supporting anti-democratic activities, even terrorist activities, like 9/11, as well as the internal war in yemen. there's a real risk to american interests in the saudis taking t toet to thef d are yilling t

dig? you asked for records from the executives. do you want records from the players? >> we welcome player cooperation. we have reason to believe that players are dissatisfied with this result. many of them feel betrayed, as do the 9/11 families. so, we're seeking records and documents right now. i'm not going to prejudge where we're going. >> is a subpoena on the table, senator blumenthal? is it subpoena on the table? >> any disclosal, including subpoenas, hearings, recommendations for action are all on the table. we're ready and willing to seek information by whatever legal means we have to obtain it. heldn capitol hill? >> i think a hearing is possible within weeks. the american people deserve a clear look at the facts here.

not prejudging. but what the saudis are doing is not taking control of a single team or hiring a single player. they are taking charge of the entire sport. >> is that a national security concern, senator? >> i think there's national security implications to this deal. anytime there is foreign influence over a central institution, there's a security risk. and remember, this institution plays a central role in our society. and players are ambassadors and role models. there's travel implications with travelers tournament this week, is going to have an economic impact on local economies in connecticut. in the t clearly risk to

ntral, iconic, cherished this institution. >> you say central influence. the counter has been it's a minority stake by the saudis. what's your response to that? >> we still have yet to hear authori authoritatively, what the terms of the deal are. reportedly, the chairmanship is going to go to the head of the saudi public investment fund, the pif. the close confidant of the ruling monarchy. we have every reason to believe that the saudis are taking control. and the 9/11 families feel betrayed, so do the players. and i sat with the leadership of the pga tour, just about a year ago, in cromwell. they sought to enlist me and my colleagues in supporting their efforts to bring back players

from liv. thn ongoing antitrust investigation reportedly by the justice department. a lot is going on here and it should be. >> senator blumenthal, thank you for joining us. the pga tour declined our invitation for jay monahan to appear on the broadcast. but they said in a statement, they are confident that once all stake holders learn more, they will understand how it benefits our players, fan and sport. we'll be back in a moment.

(male) there are many voices in today's world. everyone is voicing their opinions about everything, and jesus is no exception to that. what if there was a clear voice telling you exactly

who jesus is? (male announcer) join dr. david jeremiah as he teaches who jesus is wh tune in to dr. jeremiah's new series, "christ above all", on the next "turning point", right here on this station. we mentioned the tumultuous week at the top of the show. who better to turn to than our cbs news political panel here with us. thank you all for being here this morning. terrific to have you here. with me at the table, let's begin with you. can you react to bill barr and his statement that he believes trump could be indicted on the january 6th investigation? >> i took notes during your interview. what jumped out to me was his statement that this was not government overreach in the

florida indictment. this was self-inflicted, fundamentally flawed, he said of the former president. it was reckless conduct. and the reason that bill barr's comments matter and may sting for some, he's been attorney general twice. when he served president trump, he was a staunch defender during the russia collusion allegations. what we know from the special counsel's findings, john durham, is the fbi, when there was evidence that conflicted with that narrative, they discounted it or willfully ignored it. that's inconsistent with the fbi's assessment of being the preeminent law enforcement agency. >> nicole, you listened to former new jersey governor chris chr christie. as the republican presidential race heats up and trump's conduct is in the spotlight. you're on capitol hill, day-in/day-out, talking to congressional republicans speaking to mccarthy. r beat?the >> what strucvernorsaid,sultiplt

he described this indictment as disturbing. and ultimately said he believes the former president's conduct was indefensible. yet, on capitol hill, you have the opposite, with congressional republicans, largely rallying and defending the former president. take for instance, i asked speaker mccarthy last week, was it a good look to have the boxes stacked in a bathroom at mar-a-lago. and his response to me, was a bathroom door locks. that's the defense that some republicans are putting forth. you're seeing daylight between republicans, even among house republicans. for instance, ken buck recently said, if the former president is convicted, he cannot support him in 2024. you look at the senate side, people like john thune, one of the top republicans in the senate, saying, we lost in '18. we lost in '20. t in '22. this is not a winning strategy, to stick with a guy like the former president. >> to take what nicole just said, she used the phrase

daylight. is there daylight emerging in the presidential race? you've been talking to senator tim scott, and former ambassador, nikki haley and others. how is this going to affect the republican race, beyond governor christie? >> what's so remarkable, if you take a step back, this week, a republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, indicted. charged with mishandling national security by the federal government. you would think that would be a huge opening for republcans who are vying to go and that have position to go after him. and yet, we haven't seen a real cohesive strategy on behalf of republicans to take down donald trump. we've seen a lot of republicans get into the race. the virtue of the candidacies is they sense there's an opening of vulnerability with trump. but they're loathe to cross him and his sum porters. you saw ts week, maligning the justice

nikki haley, tim scott, mike pence, went farther than they have been, to condemn what the allegations suggest. they're looking at the numbers here. our cbs polling shows that 76% of republican primary voters say this is more than political indictment. the question moving forward, is the course of this primary will be defined by trump's legal troubles. as you were talking to bill barr about, the january 6th investigation. the investigation in georgia. as this unfolds, does this boost him? or do the candidates say, time to go after him? they haven't reached that conclusion yet. >> moving forward, who is going to represent the former president? so much chaos inside of his legal team. >> they haven't ruled out adding more lawyers, even down in florida, as they address this indictment in that state. what i learned my conversation over the weekend with sources close to his legal team, as a

threshold issue, they are likely anticipating limited discovery to get under the hood of the special counsel's case and the strength of the evidence. and the other two top tier targets are a motion to dismiss, based on allegations of prosecutial misconduct. and the excluded the notes of the former defense attorney, at the heart of this obstruction case. and the thing i learned this weekend, which was new to me, these notes are more than 40 pages in length. it's fair to say in this indictment, we're seeing a snapshot of the conversations. and not quite the full picture. >> something we don't have a snapshot of yet, is georgia. former attorney general barr, nicole, seemed to wave it off a little bit. you've been covering this for months. and we heard that the district attorney has a charging decision that is going to be announced, maybe late july. maybe early august. take us inside the latest on georgia.

>> i think fulton county is preparing. you know, we saw that in a number of ways by willis coming out in two letters stating, she intends to announce the charging decisions between july 18th, september 1st, and narrowing that time juframe into early august. this is a multifacetted investigation. at the heart of it is an investigation into election interference in the election of georgia. it deals with a false slate of electors that we learned recently. some of them accepted an immunity deal. and it dives into potential data breaches that existed in georgia. this is a sprawling case. what we know, though, is the special grand jury completed its report earlier this year. what they found was no widespread evidence of fraud. but they do believe that some of the individuals may have committed perjury. some of the jurors have spoken

out since this report has wrapped up, suggesting that indictments are possible. that's why i think you see the district attorney trying to lay that groundwork for when she makes that decision. georgia officials say when and if the time comes, they believe they are ready. >> i appreciate that update. it's sometimes hard to keep track. the new york investigation. there's two special counsels. january 6th and records. and then, what's going on in georgia. as much as it dominates the news, trump and his legal challenges, that's not the only story right now in american politics. it's just a year ago, roe v. wade was overturned last summer. you listen tontsi pdeen b idwee, or hear from vice president kamala harris, you hear about abortion rights. despite all of the trump frenzy, abortion rights, it does seem to be front and center. what's your reporting on that? >> they are deploying kamala harris to go to north carolina later this week to mark the

anniversary. north carolina just passed an abortion law recently. this is an animating force. it kicks everything back to the states. the states decided their laws. and now, the battle is in the state supreme court. that's what we saw in iowa this week. we're expecting a decision in south carolina and in florida. that's the front here in the next phase. and why a lot of activists are looking at constitutional ballot measures in states. just godog reporting on that, as well. as you're looking at the primary landscape and republican party politics, we've seen them struggle to provide positions. you're seeing ron desantis take an opportunity to go after donald trump from the right. as much as we're talking about the investigations andhe them, destis is figuring this is anre h boastonseative agenda.

>> when you're on capitol hill and talking to congressional republicans, someone like former governor christie says, a national abortion ban is never going to happen. there needs to be consensus in the states first. if you believe that the freedom kcaucus get more power, they would pursue a national born ban if it was a republican-controlled congress across the board. >> i think it's possible. i think the approach has been fractured in congress. you have some pushing for a six-week ban. some support a 15-week ban. onsl honestly, since the roe v. wade decision was overturned, will there be a national ban? we've seen republicans push back off of it. it is democrats that are trying to keep this front and center. next week, we know that house democrats will be introducing a discharge petition to discharge

abortion access, even if it's symbolic. >> a lot to follow across the beats. couldn't be luckier than to have all of you here. we'll be right back. ♪ there are currently more than 750,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the u.s. ♪ the google cybersecurity certificate was made to fill that gap. -with hands-on training, recruitment support, and access to a wide network of employers, this program provides the necessary skills to begin a career in cybersecurity. -one of the best defenses against cyberattacks

is a growing workforce trained to stop them. ♪ when you humble yourself under the mighty hand of god, in due time he will exalt you. hi, i'm joel osteen. i'm excited about being with you every week. i hope you'll tune in. you'll be inspired, you'll be encouraged. i'm looking forward to seeing you right here. you are fully loaded and completely equipped for the race that's been designed for you.

that's it for us today. thanks for watching. we want to wish all your fathers out there, including my own dad, a very happy father's day. margaret will be back next week. for "face the nation," i'm robert costa. ♪

♪ >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." tonight we begin with a new diplomatic push aimed at cooling tensions with china. secretary of state antony blichken arrived in beijing sunday for two days of high-stakes talks. it's the first u.s. diplomatic mission there in five years. cbs's margaret brennan is traveling with the secretary in beijing and leads us off tonight. margaret, good evening. >> reporter: jericka, after more than 5 1/2 hours of intense and very direct talks between secretary blinken and his chinese counterpart, there