marc berman (d-palo alto) (kody: you expected the citizenship question.) i did. i did. i think we all kind of subconsciously.trump administration announced its plan to add a citizenship question to the decennial census - a first since 1950. california - as it's done throughout the trump term - sued.xavier becerra, attorney general "and we're going to defend everyone of our rights"

marc berman (d-palo alto) (kody: you expected the citizenship question.) i did. i did. i think we all kind of subconsciously.last week - the trump administration announced its plan to add a citizenship question to the decennial census - a first since 1950. california - as it's done throughout the trump term - sued.xavier becerra, attorney general "and we're going to defend everyone of our rights" attorney general xavier becerra and secretary of state alex padilla defended their lawsuit last week.alex padilla, secretary of state "it is impossible to ignore the intent by the president of the united states. that's why i laid out his rhetoric as a candidate, his rhetoric and actions as president of the united states, clearly anti- immigrant."sen. ben hueso (d-san diego) (16;22-24)

(pam) berman says there's a fear of an inaccurate count. and on top of federal funds...he says the state could lose a seat in the house. but he says they plan to contact every california resident and stress the importance of partcipating in the census. (steve) happening now.... police in the east bay are looking for these suspects wanted for theft. dublin police tweeted out these photos of two suspects -- a male and a female who allegedly stole a car. the male suspect can be seen in a warriors steph curry jersey with the woman in jeans and a black top. the pair are also wanted for committing fraud in several other cities. police are asking the public to contact them if they have any additional information. (pam) martinez police say two suspects robbed an a-t- and-t store on arnold drive

to the senate, keep berman in that job. berman is recused from the cohen case, the cohen case would presumably go on as it has been. or the president could decide to not leave jeffrey berman in that job, perhaps he doesn't like the fact that berman is to inconveniently recused from the michael cohen case, the case that could decide the president's fate. if the president decides in the next two and a half weeks he's going to stick somebody new in there, presumably that person would not be recused from the michael cohen case. and then what would happen to the michael cohen case? so, yes, keep watching this case unfold in lower manhattan, it is about the president to a degree we really ought to appreciate and take seriously. but watch these two things. watch republicans in congress as they are readying the field for the president to start firing his way through the justice department to try to shut this thing down. and watch this one job at the helm of that office that is bringing that case. eyes open. each year sarah climbs 5

there had been worries that jeff berman's role, his status as the interim u.s. attorney in the southern district, his recusal, his not being involved in the michael cohen case -- there had been worries that maybe the white house might try to use that as some sort of bargaining chip. he's the interim u.s. attorney. he has been appointed, he hasn't been formally nominated to the senate. senate has not confirmed him u.s. attorney. as an interim u.s. attorney, jeff berman's tenure in the southern district of new york is scheduled to end next week. had been scheduled to end as of may 4th unless the trump administration stepped in to formally and properly nominate him for the job. so, it's been this question hanging over the cohen case. when his appointment expires next week, and all of a sudden he can't hold that job any more without trump say-so, might trump take that opportunity to appoint somebody else to lead the southern district of new york who wouldn't have to take themselves out of running the cohen case? who wouldn't have a conflict of interest when it came

. >> talking about jeffrey berman, no relation to me, appointed by the attorney general and a temporary basis, but someone who

this was approved apparently by jeffrey berman, the new u.s. attorney in manhattan. >> they had to defer it to the southern district of new york? >> to be honest, that's a little unclear to me what the relationship was between the southern district and the mueller office in this. it appears that berman had some role and was involved, but who's leading this part of the investigation is a little mysterious to me. >> we have two aspects that are going to be important. first is people will think you can't violate the attorney/client privilege. this can't be allowed. the privilege is not absolute, true? >> the privilege is by no means absolute. if there's a conversation where a third party is present, if it's not related to the legal representation it's not privileged. so -- >> criminal disruptive privilege if the attorney is deemed by the prosecutors to be part of a potential crime that can also -- >> that's called the crime fraud exception to the attorney/client privilege. >> then we have the process which is rosenstein almost certainly had to be

marc berman 32;41 we're going to reach out to every california resident. we're going to talk to them about the importance of participating in coming up on the kron 4 morning news ... investigators are now calling it a crime... after a couple plunges off a cliff in mendocino county with their children. and details about a new pilot program in the east bay ... that's helping c-h-p officers crack down on carpool lane cheaters. ( rebecca ) and i am tracking your bay area forecast. (ácommercialá)

i am getting told i have to wrap and i think i owe john berman a couple of meals. the idea that inside the white house there is more concern about the cohen investigation than the mueller investigation, does that square with your understanding? >> no. i see it gets the ratings and revenues that there is no evidence to that whatsoever. you saw him say it publicly in the cabinet room and stood by that on the week. we are very busy here working on the issues that this president was elected to do. this is the last tax day that people will have to live under the yoke of the tax increases tat th that they had over many different years. it will be simplified, paying less cht corporate tax rate is way down. look at the 5 million plus americans who are getting bonuses, raises or both. we have bnt gun to talk about trillions of dollars in repatrioted wealth. >> you need to offset that big fat deficit that we have now because of the tax cuts and other spending. >> what was the deficit when donald trump got here? that just exploded. >> this is an unprecedented amount of adig d

but here it was led by jeffrey berman. you w write jeffrey berman is a symbol of trump's abuse. explain. >> sure. among the people that trump fired -- he fired all of the u.s. attorneys in spring of last year. that is fairly normal. but the way in which he did it, particularly with regards to et, led people to believe he was firing him because preet was investigating him. he then, rather than nominating some of the else to take his place, he first of all interviewed both jeffrey berman ,nd a candidate for brooklyn the brooklyn u.s. attorney's investigating jared kushner, which does not happen. for the president to persuade interview a u.s. attorney candidate suggests far too much personal involvement in a position. but jeffrey berman has that you have been nominated. he is basically serving as an interim position. he does not have senate confirmation. the district court can remove him in a couple of weeks, actually, if they find his appoint it was inappropriate and name somebody else. they could name preet again. his position, particularly in what is the biggest or one of the bi

but here it was led by jeffrey berman. you write jeffrey berman is a symbol of trump's abuse. explain. >> sure. among the people that trump fired -- he fired all of the u.s. attorneys in spring of last year. that is fairly normal. but the way in which he did it, particularly with regards to et, led people to believe he was firing him because preet was investigating him. he then, rather than nominating some of the elsto take his place, he first of all interviewed both jeffrey berman ,nd a candidate for brooklyn the brooklyn u.s. attorney's investigating jared kushner, which does not happen. for the president to persuade interview a u.s. attorney candidate suggests far too much personal involvement in a position. but jeffrey berman has that you have been nominated. he is basically serving as an interim position. he does not have senate confirmation. the district court can remove him in a couple of weeks, actual, if they find his appoint it was inappropriate and name somebody else. they could name preet again. his position, particularly in what is the biggest or one of the bigges

marc berman (d-palo alto) (kody: you expected the citizenship question.) i did. i did. i think we all kind of subconsciously.trump administration announced its plan to add a citizenship question to the decennial census - a first since 1950. california - as it's done throughout the trump term - sued.xavier becerra, attorney general "and we're going to defend everyone of our rights" attorney general xavier becerra and secretary of state alex padilla defended their lawsuit last week.secretary of state "it is impossible to ignore the intent of the united why i laid out his rhetoric as a candidate, his actions as president of the united states, clearly anti- immigrant."(d-san diego) (16;22-24) "you're violating the constitution."san diego senator ben hueso and the latino legislative caucus unveiled their legislative priorities.promoting the 20-20 census.sen. ben hueso (d-san diego) (18;37-39) the time is now to start working on part of that outreach is through state funds..the governor proposed 40-point-3 million berman says begins with scenes work, hearings and profits. he

. >> i'm in contact with jay berman, some of who is extremely important on the passing of 26th alone -- 26th amendment. we can call him. that would work. >> we want to ask you some questions about your role in the 26th amendment. >> at the time i was a staff director at the senate subcommittee. it was both difficult and easy. i would say if you have the vote you need to use the vote. what they need his seniors in high school to have some sense of responsibility. by adam. >> by. you know anybody you could talk to? is my lives around here friend tyler. >> a found out there was a school auction. i saw it as an opportunity to get -- to make a difference at the local level we ended up in a six-week campaign. i didn't now reached a new voters for my graduation class. make sure they have enough information. city elections in school board , real voter registration. this is really important. >> thank you so much for talking. >> you finally made it in the home stretch. >> i kind of have to get home. my mom just texted me. [indiscernible] be a voter. >> it has been a week. maybe we should start

it's not clear why berman chose to step aside now. we do know that his decision was approved by senior justice department officials. >>> stormy daniels is cooperating with federal investigators. a fact confirmed by her lawyer, michael avenatti, on the heels of the michael cohen raid. sources tell cnn investigators are looking into the nondisclosure agreement and subsequent payment made to her by cohen, the president's personal attorney. a source tells cnn the federal probe is extensive and aggressive, and a large team is working on this case. stormy daniels is set to appear on the next cover of "penthouse," featuring a profile about her and her alleged affair with mr. trump. >>> turning overseas, president trump is canceling a trip to south america this weekend. the white house says he wants to remain in washington to deal with the chemical attack in syria. on tuesday the president spoke by phone with prime minister theresa may and french president macron about a strong joint response from the west. all while russia was vetoing a u.n.

i'm john berman and michael cohen is not my attorney. we have new developments in the bizarre legal linkage between the investigation surrounding the president and fox news, don't call him a journalist except sometimes sean hannity but new comments from fired fbi director and new best selling author james comey, a new defense of some criticism of his work this morning in a new response to the president's charge that he should be in jail. >> the president of the united states is accusing people of crimes without evidence and pronouncing them guilty and saying they should be in jail. that should wake all of us with a start. >> now for those of you keeping track at home. this is still just the beginning of james comey's media blitz. the president is in for a long week of new commentary. abbey phillip in florida near the president's mar-a-lago resort. any response from the white house yet, abbey? >> reporter: hi, john. you're absolutely right. james comey's book believe it or not actually came out today but for the last several days the whit

attorneys do but he did it and picked geoff berman to be the u.s.torney and geoff berman is the person who authorized this search -- >> what you saw in the cabinet room today, donald trump, we talked a lot in the last year about him not respecting the traditional distance and independence of the justice department and the fbi, from the presidency. i think he got a real lesson today on what that independence is. this is a moment where i think the president was -- and you see it in how angry he is, that it is this way, but there's a full-on display example of the independence from the executive of the justice department fulfilling its mission. and he sat there with his national security team in the wake of a syrian chemical gas attack and he called the search warrant, while dramatic, perfectly legal. he called it, quote, an attack on our country. in that context, sitting around the table with men and women who are giving their lives to protect our country from real attacks, that's pretty offensive. >> also you could argue given the lack of such verbia

it's not just robert mueller and berman, the u.s. attorney in new york, it's the judges who approved the search warrant. >> true. >> they also were a check on the process. so the idea that this was just robert mueller is simply not true. >> >> everybody stand by. we have a lot to assess but right now i want to bring in congressman will hurd, a republican member of the intelligence and homeland security, former clandestine officer for the cia. what's your reaction to what we just heard from the president of the united states, congressman? >> well, i think bob mueller should stay, he should be allowed to turn over every rock, pursue every lead and this was obviously -- if you're investigating something and you find some potential criminal misconduct you can refer that but as all of the previous speakers and guests have highlighted, this was done by the u.s. attorney in new york city and a judge is the one that agreed that there was probable cause for going into the lawyer's office and home so it's been a pretty wild day in, no. you hav

berman.hat is not the normal course because you want to keep the political divide between the presidency and the department of justice. and so the fact that the president interviewed him gives him the potential apeerps peara a potential conflict of interest. >> got you. there's a lot of things i meant to get to in the short time we have left. is there any significance in that? what's the significance of that? >> well, the significance may be who the taxi cab folk are associated with. there's a history in new york. i hate to even say that because i don't have any evidence of that. and i understand they seized medallions, and if you understand how taxicabs exist in new york they're very expensive because there are limited numbers. i don't know if there are bogus medallions or they hope to find something. and i don't know which plane you search believe them, what they thought they were looking for. i can imagine they saw the medallions and thought there was anything suspect about them, they made

berman used to be a law partner of giuliani. there's a lot of scuttlebutt that giuliani helped berman get that job. trump wants that relationship to deal with the cohen situation, because that's always what he is most concerned about. >> and berman has recused himself, which is very, very important. so you -- i hope -- the southern district has a long and fine history. i hope it will be independent here, and frankly i don't think giuliani's bluster will get him anything here. >> thoughs might be more comfortable with -- >> i think it's going to do the right thing. i think what we don't understand and what donald trump doesn't understand is prosecutors -- i was a d.a. and i had 400 of them working for me. most of them are dedicated idealistic people and want to uphold the rule of law. they are there to preserve the rule of law. that's what they're going to do here. that's why the company will survive donald trump. if not, wee in big trouble. -- we're in big trouble. >>> thank ultimate all for joining mess. >>> crist matthews host

john berman here. the next few hours could tell us everything about the job security of the special counsel, the deputy attorney general, the attorney general and ultimately the president of the united states. this really is a new chapter. the fbi raided the home and office and hotel room of the president's lawyer michael cohen so what do investigators know about president trump today that they did not know yesterday? what the president imagine they might know? and most importantly, what is he going to do about it? so far he's confined himself to public displays of rage and wrongness. a short time ago he wrote, attorney-client privilege is dead. that's not actually true. nor for that matter is much of this. >> i have this witch hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now and actually much more than that. you could say it was right after i won the nomination it started. it's a disgrace. it's frankly a real disgrace. it's an attack on our country in a true sense. it's an attack on what we all stand f

i'm john berman.t a year after he fired james comey president trump is denying or forgetting or hoping that you will forget the rationale that he admitted in a tv interview at the time for why he fired the fbi director james comey. hold that thought, though, for a moment if you

rod rosenstein are in danger at this point. >> you said the president intends to nominate jeffrey bermanrn district. which raises the distinct possibility that we may discover that jeffrey berman recused himself from this case and left it to one of the career prosecutors in the southern district of new york. and if the president discoveries yet another approval has led to today's fbi raids we'll get some tweets about that one. thank you both very much for joining this discussion tonight. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you, lawrence. >>> coming up, how today's fbi raids might influence the president's decision about how to respond to a suspected chemical attack in syria. that is something that with this president, in this situation, we have to consider and that's next. at ally, we're doing digital financial services right. but if that's not enough, we have more than 8000 allys looking out for one thing: you. call in the next ten minutes... and if that's not enough, we'll look after your every dollar. put down the phone. and if that's not enough, we'll look after your every c

i'm john berman., in a few moments, we'll hear from one of the passengers who was on southwest flight 1380. one of the heroic passengers. firefighter andrew needham helped pull the victim jennifer riordan from the window

i'm john berman. breaking news this morning, a two state manhunt for a mass shooter. this man, travis reinking, is accused of walking into a waffle house with an ar-15, killing four people. this happened in antioch, tennessee. he was disarmed by a customer, disappeared into the night and is now believed to be armed and dangerous at this moment. our nick valencia is in antioch right now. nick, i still understand no credible sightings of this believed killer. >> reporter: good morning, john. an alleged killer still on the loose at this hour. no credible sightings of travis reinking overnight. what makes this shooting, this mass shooting all the more unnerving is that reinking, in 2017, crossed into a restricted area at the white house, and was arrested. he told secret service agents he had a meeting or wanted to meet with president trump, he also said he's a sovereign citizen, he had a raight to inspect the grounds. in 2016, he told police he believed that taylor swift was stalking him. he also in other instances said he was hearing voices and he believed that his compu

, as joyce said, the berman opinion was very strai t straightforward. no way manafort could win that. and as renato said, this was the right call also in the cohen case. yet, both of these judges were extremely comprehensive and thorough. this 24-page opinion, as you say, and o'terra saying there's an indictment likely. it's the president's attorney. there's real consciousness on the part of both of these judges that could what otherwise look like pretty pedestrian matters are, in fact, really freighted with history, but certainly consequence because of the trump overlay. >> did it read the same to you, joyce? >> it did. i think harry's analysis is exactly right. neither one of these rulings was a surprise. they were both pretty straightforward matters of law. but the judges do understand that these lawsuits are going to shape the course of history in a significant way. they were very careful. and it's important to note that judge berman was very clear that although she was ruling in the civil case, that the civil case wasn't the correct vehicle for thi

jeff berman, they are republican here. another example, perhaps, nancy and zeke, of the president seeing and understanding what he wants to see and understand and not necessarily the facts on the ground. >> well, absolutely. and he has been really up in arms about this. >> yeah, he's upset have some for months and has lashed out at a number of attorneys, the white house top attorney don mcginn for a bunch of months even though they wasn't in his purview. i think it just speaks to the president's view of lawyers. he thinks lawyers should able to clean up any mess and if they don't clean up a mess they're viewed as incompetent even if there is a special investigation underway. >> excuse me. nancy's right there if the if you look at michael cohen he's somebody that's been so close to the president that by his own admission he took a home equity line loan on his home to pay a porn actress weeks before the presidential election. that's the nature of their relationship. so it's no surprise that we're seeing the president react l

what can't cnn's john berman do? j.b.g rain, ferocious winds, he finished the boston marathon four hours. look at him flying down the flying stretch, cutting quite a good-looking figure despite the conditions and there he is, triumphant seemingly unphased after running -- there it is, that's the eye of the tiger, four hours, three minutes, 22 seconds, boston strong all the way. >> john, congratulations. we're very, very proud of you, john. but -- but you did seem to be crossing over the finish line in great distress. >> no, no, no. i didn't see it that way. >> i saw it that way. it was the worst weather conditions ever. >> yes. i cannot imagine humanly worst conditions. the good stuff this morning is actually the soar stuff. i haven't seen that video. that's horrifying. it really. >> we could barely make you out zipping past people there. >> i passed nobody like the last three miles. there were children crawling on the street who were passing me watching. it was -- it was -- i stepped in a puddle of mud this deep before t

john berman back with you. the president went to bed fuming and woke up ranting. we're told he's in a whole different level of angst after the fbi searched the home, office and hotel room of his personal lawyer and right-hand man michael cohen. the president wrote this, attorney-client privilege is dead, which actually is not true. nor exactly was this analysis. >> i have this witch-hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now. and actually much more than that. you could say it was right after i won the nomination it started. and it is a disgrace. it is frankly a real disgrace. it is an attack on our country in a true sense. an attack on what we all stand for. >> an investigation of one of the president's closest associates is an attack on the country, he says. listen to that. you can see the president's anger. kaitlan collins at the white house. what is the latest? >> reporter: we have some breaking news, john. the white house just announced that the president will no longer travel to south america this week as has been scheduled for several weeks if not month

attorney for the southern district, geoff berman. he's someone i understand to be close to don mcgahn, the president's own white house counsel, somebody appointed by the president, somebody interviewed by the president and placed there as a trump appointee not yet confirmed as far as i understand. but this seems like another domino to fall in the president's ongoing war against his own appointees in the department of justice at the fbi and now in the u.s. attorney's office for the southern district. >> the president repeatedly does this with the justice department where he complains about it endlessly, just the other day complaining about the documents the justice department had not turned over to congress. i think the president sometimes forgets or maybe is afraid of the fact that he controls the justice department. he could call the justice department and tell them to end this. and i guess that's where we sort of stand right now. how truly angry is the president, and is he willing to do this? is he willing to push the republicans t

marc berman 32;41 we're going to reach out to every california resident. participating in coming up on the kron 4 morning news ... investigators are now calling it a crime... after a couple plunges off a cliff in mendocino county with their children. and details about a new pilot program in the east bay ... that's helping c-h-p officers crack down on carpool lane cheaters. ( rebecca ) and i am tracking your bay area forecast. (ácommercialá) ♪ when heartburn hits... fight back fast with tums smoothies. it starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue... and neutralizes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum tum tum tum... smoothies... only from tums no major hot spots. bay bridge wb 80 is less then 30 min from the maze to sf. ( darya ) in the east bay ... the city of danville is stepping up efforts to crack down on car pool lane cheaters. over the next few months ... the city's transportation commission will be testing a new camera system that would be able to spot violaters. officials say the new cameras can spot the number of people inside a car.

the defense is fighting efforts to introduce hearsay statements that berman told friends durst had killedrst wife and that killed his first wife and that she helped cover his tracks. (jr stone) four baboons were on the run in texas! (justine) and the challenge of getting them back to the facility they escaped from... was caught on camera. japhanie gray reports. jannelle bouton/saw escaped baboon:"i see four guys clapping at the bushes and i didn't really give it a second thought."a sight...jannelle bouton/saw escaped baboon:"i just went about driving and then all of a sudden, this brown, big mass pops out of the bushes. i'm like 'okay, that's a big dog."not a dog... but a baboon.jannelle bouton/saw escaped baboon:"and he was furry, and he was brown and he was pretty big."but this baboon jannelle bouton saw on her way to the store is only one of four that escaped the texas biomedical research institute -- a facility that conducts research on chronic and infectious diseases. jannelle bouton/saw escaped baboon:"and the baboon stopped and one point and was just looking and then darted into th

good morning, john berman here continuing cnn special coverage. mission accomplished. there are larger questions about what exactly the long-term mission is? in the short term minutes ago. pentagon officials said the u.s. led air strikes achieved their goal was to cripple syria's ability to make chemical weapons. >> this strike aims to deliver a clear message to the syria regime of their chemical weapons use against their civilians is inexcusab inexcusable. we selected these targets carefully to minimize the risk to innocent civilians. initial indications we have accomplished our military objectives without interference from syria. >> barbara starr was at that briefing. it was interesting to hear the initial damage assessment as well as the array and u.s. allies forces used. >> indeed. they laid out considerable detail of the u.s. u.and milita forces and from the persian gulf area and combination of submarines and bombers and more than 100 missiles fired into syria at three chemical weapons and research development and storage site. the point the pentagon is making her

attorney berman is in an interim position. the report was the president was going to nominate him for full time. is that still the case? >> i don't have any personnel announcements on that front. >> reporter: thanks, sarah. all of the evidence so far in the syrian chemical call attack points to the use of chlorine glass. wh -- gas. what makes this potential attack different? >> i can't address specific intelligence matters, but i think everyone around the world can see why these recent attacks are so horrific. beyond that i can't get into details. >> reporter: to clarify your comment here on xi jinping's speech last night, it was seen around rhetoric on trade openness, are you saying the pre president didn't see anything that would encourage him to back off the tariffs? >> we're encouraged by the words but we want to see concrete steps and action. in the meantime we're going to continue to move forward. >> reporter: what could the chinese do to stave off the tariffs? >> it something that's part of prief negotiati private negot

blake berman live in washington with the latest. blake, good morning. blake: the president still continues to weigh his option in potential path forward in syria. yesterday the president con vine with national security team, afterwards white house press secretary sanders released quote, no final decision has been made, we are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies, the white house also said that the president would be speaking last night with the french president emmanuel macron and british theresa may. uk spokesperson said the following in a statement that, quote, they agreed that it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged and on the need to deter further use of chemical weapons by the assad regime. the president yesterday at least publicly remained noncommitted at one point saying, we will see what happens. >> we are looking seriously and we will see what happens, folks, we will see what happens. too bad that the world puts us in a position like that. blake: the presid

i'm john berman. a president who sometimes struggles with acting presidential is about to have his moment. in a spec tacle that oozes presidentialness, they will officially almost the president of france for a state visit the first since president trump took office. you're looking at live pictures right now from the south side of the white house. they'll be bands and troops and dignitaries and speeches and both pomp and circumstance all within the next few minutes. the french leader expected to arrive momentarily. then the serious business kicks in, a series of meetings on iran, syria and trade where the big question is whether macron can leave with anything more than the rack of spring lamb he'll be served tonight. abby phillip at the white house awaiting the arrival of the french leader, abby? >> reporter: good morning. this is president trump's turn to treat imanual macron to the pomp and circumstance is received last year for bastille day. this ceremony is one that dates back on the south lawn at

attorney in manhattan, jeffrey or jeff berman, who is the president's own pick for that office. so the idea that this is a witch hunt just seems ridiculous. >> if you look at the deciding officials that would be involved in a case like this, and you have to remember, don, that when you go into an attorney's office, it really requires permissions at the highest level. so you probably had christopher wray, the head of the fbi, rod rosenstein, the acting attorney general. the interim u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york, berman, and the head of the criminal division in the main justice department, all of whom are seasoned lawyers, all of them happen to be republicans, which i think is irrelevant, but the notion that that crew would somehow conspire to engage in a witch hunt against the president's lawyer for allegations of campaign finance violations doesn't hold true to me. >> i agree that it's relevant, but i think it's important to point out that the president keeps saying it's a witch hunt, it's the democrats, why aren't you looking at hillary clinton or barack o

talking about jeffrey berman, the u.s.ttorney in new york, they had to approve of this step of the fbi going into cohen's hotel room. >> jesse: did berman recuse? >> juan: i don't know that. what i do know is that trump in essence brought this on himself. we can talk about people who hate trump and all that but it was president trump who said last week that he knew nothing about the payment of money by michael: , technically his lawy. some people say he's his fixer, to this woman, stephanie clifford, stormy daniels. then it turns out that once he says that, there is no lawyer-client privilege because if that's the case, he is not representing the president of the united states and the president of the united states is now in a position where he is either lying about not knowing about this money or there is some secret that a factor who has given money for this and therefore has leverage to potentially blackmail the president of the united states, which is why i think it has set off alarms not only in law enforcement but na

they are wringing their hands, blake berman and standing by. how long will these victory laps continue just as people are getting very worried about the effect of any kind of trade problems. >> and who you had at the white house this morning were lawmakers from those states who have a vested interest in agriculture who are now seemingly caught in the crosshairs, at least for the moment of this bat back and forth between the u.s. and china. they were here to talk to the president, talk about their concern and what could potentially sort of pull back those concerns. however, "after words" those lawmakers came to the microphone and talked about the meeting. one of them, ben sass dropped a huge headline when he was speaking to reporters and during that meeting, one of the things that president trump told them was that he had told his top trade advisor, his top economic advisor that he wants them to look into potentially rejoining the transpacific partnership trade deal. >> the president is a guy who likes to blue sky a lot and entertain a lot of di

until then here's cnn's "newsroom" with john berman. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm john berman.ews and we are chasing it all and just moments the confirmation hearing for the president's pick for secretary of state cia director mike pompeo. he faces a grilling from lawmakers about his record and his reputation as a war hawk. this as we get major breaking news that could influence the imminent military action against syria, the french president says there is proof that the syrian regime launched a chemical attack against its own people. at this moment, usa airpower, navy destroyerers, submarines preparing for a possible order from the president as the nation's top security officials meet in just the next few hours. and all of this on top of big developments that might spell new legal jeperdy for the president and his personal lawyer

i'm john berman. brand new this morning, almost a year after he fired james comey president trump is denying or forgetting or hoping that you will forget the rationale that he admitted in a tv interview at the time for why he fired the fbi director james comey. hold that thought, though, for a moment if you will because also new this morning the president broke his social media silence on the matter surrounding stormy daniel, the adult film actress who claims that she had a relationship with the president and she was threatened to keep quiet. the president calls that a total con job. the important thing here, this is the first time he's chosen to weigh in on this on social media. our kaitlan collins in florida with the president near mar-a-lago. what are you seeing. >> reporter: this is the first time we're hearing from president trump on stormy daniels. he made remarks on air force one denying that he knew about that payment that michael cohen made to her and he's weighing in and this sets this up fo

jeff berman is the attorney of jeff sessions in new york. he's overlooking michael cohen.e's the one who authorized the raid on his home. and robert mueller, the special counsel. what do all of these have in common? i'm answering my own question. they are all republicans and they were all named to their current positions during the trump presidency, during the trump administration. so when the president says this investigation is a bunch of democrats who are biased and anti-trump, these are all republicans, they were all named by his people. >> absolutely. we should point out that mr. berman, i believe, my colleagues are reporting that he has also recused himself from this particular matter. but it's true these are all republicans, it's true they were all appointed during the trump administration. it seems, talking to people around the president, that that almost makes it worse in his mind. he feels like he should be protected by these people. this has been his beef with jeff sessions all along, that why isn't he protecting me from this? he's my attorney general, i'm the o

poppy harlow along with john berman.amanda carpenter and simone sanders are with us. ladies, you look lovely. i want you both to react to what was just chanted at the president in washington, michigan as he talked about diplomacy and the progress being made with north korea. they started chanting "nobel, nobel," as in nobel peace prize. amanda carpenter, your thoughts. >> i believe in the ronald reagan adage of trust but verify. if we prevent north korea from developing nuclear weapons, i think he's up for a nobel peace prize, that would be a huge historic achievement. i think we're getting a little bit ahead of our skis. but i'm hopeful, i hope he does it, and if he does, i support that. >> simone? >> poppy, i think i was struck by the fact that donald trump took full credit for everything that happened, took full credit for the meeting between the two, north korean and south korean presidents, when there is a lot of credit to go around, and it's still early in the blame. if donald trump himself is the reason denucleari

>>> hello, everyone, john berman here. this morning we are witnessing an unprecedented, unfetterred, full contact brawl, all within the last two hours. a battle between the fired fbi director, james comey, and the president where both sides are not just fighting, they are fighting dirty. i mean dirty. donald trump didn't seem to care much about russian election meddling but cared a lot about russian prostitutes and that other thing. this is the stunning contention of james comey who we are hearing from out loud for the very first time this morning. stunning for what he says, but more so for how he chooses to say it. listen to how he answers questions about the unverified salacious intelligence he discussed with donald trump back in 2016 that the russians allegedly had videotapes of russian prostitutes with donald trump urinating on each other. this was on abc a short time ago. >> i said to him, sir, when he started talking about i may order you to investigate that. i said, sir, that's up to you, but you want to be careful