these days, erickson is a super-connected power player in conservative politics, which is a big stepp from his job in the '90s as "media adviser for john wayne bobbitt, the man whose wife, lorena, chopped his penis off with a carving knife." can you imagine being john wayne bobbitt's media advisor? "john, the public's starting to lose interest-- how would you feel-- and hear me out-- we chop off your penis again?" ( laughter ) as part of that gig, erickson sent bobbitt on an international "love hurts" tour that included selling autographed steak knives. ( audience reacts ) i guess it was either that or monogrammed penises. ( laughter ) erickson not only bounced around many different jobs, he also made lots of enemies. he was sued multiple times for fraud, and one source described him as kind of like a taller, more physically unappealing leonardo dicaprio in "catch me if you can." ( laughter ) i believe that version of the movie would have been called, "anyone want to catch me? no? okay, well, i'll be here if you change your mind." ( laughter ) things between erickson and butina got s

her relationship with erickson quickly turned romantic.was duped by his young lover or wittingly lured into a spy operation to influence politics ahead of the 2016 election is unclear. erickson is nearly twice butina's age. >> you see a candidate you like show up and work for them. drop everything. >> reporter: after growing up in south dakota and graduating from yale he sought to make a name for himself in g.o.p. politics. he worked as a spokesman for john wayne bobt, the virginia man whose wife cut off his penis in the 1990s. he is currently under investigation for fraud by the u.s. attorney's office in south dakota. >> my story is simple. my father is a hunter. i was born in siberia for such places like siberia this is a question of survival. everyone has a gun. >> reporter: after graduating from a local university she set off to moscow to pursue political ambitions. there she launched her gun rights group and linked up with prominent russian official. by fall 2014 she was trading e-mails with her lover about how to obtain long term vis

her relationship with erickson turned romantic.e was duped by his young lover who used him for political connections or lured into a spy operation to influence politics ahead of the 2016 election is unclear. erickson is nearly twice butina's age. >> if you want poushwer, if you want influence, you see a candidate you like, show up and work for them. >> reporter: after growing up in south dakota and graduating from yale, he sought to make a name for himself in gop politics. he crossed pathings with now disgraced lobbyist jack abramhoff. erickson also launched investment schemes and faced lawsuits because of them. he's currently under investigation for fraud by the u.s. attorney's office in south dakota. butina's upbringing, starkly different. >> my story is simple. my father is a hunter. i was born in siberia. for such places of siberia, this is a question of survival. everyone has a gun. >> reporter: after graduating from a local university and dabbling in the furniture business, she set out to moscow to pursue political ambitions.

a nice little story about what happening with erickson. >> a nice win for erickson.00 million contract to provide equipment for the largest mobile network in italy. ck is buying it out. this is erickson benefiting from problems in the u.s.. with trump's ban on equipment supply. there was some speculation a couple months ago wondering whether cte would be able to have complete major contract in europe. now we are seeing that it cannot. guy: thank you, everybody. first go on your bloomberg. all the details on what happening with the stocks news. fair values. points to a negative start in europe. ♪ retail. under pressure like never before. and it's connected technology that's moving companies forward fast. e-commerce. real time inventory. virtual changing rooms. that's why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent network speed across multiple locations. every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver. start of cash trading in europe. europe is boun

erickson, a person identified we believe in the documents as person number one. according to the prosecutors, she was having this romantic but disdained having to do this. she offered sex in return for influence with another person during her time that the fbi was able to track. in emails, she talked about it and offer to work for russian intelligence. we are going to be fascinated to see where this case goes. will she actually go to trial? is it possible now that she is the only russian so far to be in u.s. custody as part of this investigation. i'm going to be careful about that. the nra has repeatedly said it has not been contacted by the fbi. that is fascinating, but it doesn't mean they haven't combed through possible dollars. we will have to see where this goes. let's just say if they find that money went to the nra, that will open up a whole new avenue of questions about whether there was any coordination between the nra pro-trump spending during the campaign and the campaign, which would not be permissible under federal election law. amy: she spoke a at t

her onetime poifboyfriend, paul erickson, adds to the intrigue.t clear where he falls into the alleged scheme. prosecutors suggest he may have been manipulated by butina who's half his age. joining me exclusively, maria but butina's lawyer, robert drisc driscoll. i want to read one between ther and the russian official she was communicating with immediately after donald trump won the election. she writes, "i'm going to sleep, it's 3:00 a.m. here. i'm ready for further orders." the rulgs russian official says "think about it. isis, understandably, what else we need to look at the american agenda." you say your client isn't a russian spy. why is she asking for further orders? >> i think that like most of the government's case is taken completely out of context. the twitter direct messages, by the way, most russian spies don't speak by twitter messages which are unencrypted. there are thousands of them between them. twitter direct message about picking up toothpaste in america, direct messages of pictures of kids and dogs and everything else. they bo

. >> let me ask you, paul erickson, the man she had a relationship with, is he the u.s.umber one named in the indictment? it seems like he is. >> i'm not going to confirm nor deny that here. >> okay. >> i think you're on the right track. >> can you sigh exactly what her relationship with erickson was, was she using him to gain access to the nra, to republican elite? >> no, i mean, i think that they have a personal romantic relationship. and they have for about five years and they attended lots of events together over time. >> was she using sex as a means to manipulate erickson? there was some indication -- there was one report she complained about being -- >> no. and i think it's very unfortunate, the government kind of dropped those allegations without any evidence the other day in open court. i vehemently asked the government for any support for those allegations about trading sex for things because i frankly find it kind of offensive just because she's an attractive woman that that's the direction people go in. i haven't seen any evidence of that and, you know -- >> i

conjunction with this case but he's been widely reported to be a republican activist named paul erickson who is described either as her boyfriend or her fake boyfriend just for spying purposes depending on whether you ask the defense or the prosecution. we still haven't seen any charges against mr. erickson and that's interesting given the way described as essentially her co-conspirator in the indictment. we heard reference in that hearing a couple days ago and the judge confirms in this footnote that paul erickson may himself "be the subject of a federal investigation." now, this is intriguing, right? you got this new federal indictment in the butina case, essentially a collusion indictment. you've got a russian citizen indicted and in jail a u.s. person described as a co-conspirator in her scheme who is according to discussions in court apparently he is the subject of a federal investigation of had his own. and according to what's happened in court in the butina case thus far his purported girlfriend apparently offered to help investigators in their investigation of the guy who was sup

by fall 2014 she was trading emails with her lover erickson about how to obtain long-term visas. russian handlers wanted her to have a more prominent u.s. foothold. by summer she was enrolled at america university on a student visa, all part of her cover story. by then she had already become a fixture at the nra events, with the prayer breakfast and working with torshin and erickson to work with back channel communications between president trump and vladimir putin. authorities found a note in his handwriting that red had how to respond to fsb employment. but it's inclear unclear whethe for him or butina. with school behind her, she was planning a move to sioux city with ericsen. day after buying moving boxes she was arrested. now erickson is not explicitly named in the butina indictment but they do match the operatives that assisted her. he's not charged in the butina case but he's under questioning for fraud. >> what a story that is. thanks very much. sara murray reporting. >>> just ahead, there's more information coming to light that president trump was recorded by his former

alix: stuart wallace and lisa erickson of u.s.anagement sticking with us. 132%, that is the earnings growth we will see in the second quarter according to analysts. david: energy is leading, right? in recent months at least. alix: at some point, that will wind up running out. speaking of reflation, inflation, we have june cpi numbers coming up after the break. as we had to break, -- head to break, live images of the nato summit. this is bloomberg. ♪ alix: this is bloomberg daybreak. we are minutes from the cpi data. we are looking at a risk off day. points,s futures off 40 but off the low of the session. in other asset classes, it is a buy the dollar story. the vix modestly higher. the 10 year yield goes nowhere, into the options, after the wishy-washy three-year option yesterday. those numbers coming out here, if you take a look -- producer price index, you back out food and energy, higher than estimated, 2.8%, so up for the month of june higher than estimates. final demand year on year also coming in stronger, 3.4%. on a month o

and butin butina. >> we, for example, have paul erickson on our list to be brought in.e was somebody who engaged in correspondence about using the nra as a back channel to the russians. we were not permitted by the g.o.p. in the intel committee to do that work. >> butina's next court hearing is next tuesday. bret. >> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thanks. let's talk about the summit, the president's comments, plus the latest with the russia investigation. andrew mccarthy is a former u.s. attorney, and a fox news contributor. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me, bret. >> bret: i want to play a little bit more of that cbs interview that's airing tonight. cbs news sat down with the president again today talking about what he said on election meddling. take a listen. >> you say you agree with u.s. intelligence that russia meddled in the election in 2016. >> i've said that before. i've said that numerous times before. and i would say that that is true. >> but you haven't condemned putin specifically. do you hold him personally responsible? >> i would

and details that match those of erickson.ious filings, u.s. officials say he helped butina make inroads with other u.s. political operatives at organizations. the government alleges the relationship was a scam. living with u.s. person one and expressed disdain for having to continue living with erickson. arrested over the weekend, officials say, because she appeared ready to leave town. her lease in washington was up and she intended to move money out of the u.s. she pleaded not guilty on charges of conspiracy and acting as a foreign agent. >> also taking pains to try to distance this case from what's going on with robert mueller's investigation. he insisted this is not a spy case and his client should not be treated as a proxy between the issues being carried out right now. >> i want to go straight to the former cia operative bob bears, what she did here, how significant it was, allegations, sex for political access. romantic relationship with a political operative. apparently that she said she didn't want to be with. do the

even without official credentials though, erickson pressed trump donors and former campaign officials pushing for top positions for other people. one person recalled his lobbying to get conversation t. mcfarland named as an adviser to michael flynn, trump's first national security adviser michael flynn. this is u.s. person one within who is named in this latest indictment in the scandal as cohabiting with and essentially being a co-conspirator with an accused russian secret agent who is now being held in jail awaiting washington. according to the "washington post's" reporting, this guy who was very personally involved in her and potentially in on her scheme, he recommended that the new deputy national security adviser should be k.t. mcfarland? that was an unusual choice. k.t. mcfarland had been involved in republican politics. she had worked in earlier republican white houses. when i say earlier, i mean way, way, way earlier. she's been an occasional contributor to fox news but barely on the periphery of even weird trumpian national security politics. not a high profile figure. not a

it was an e-mail she sent to paul erickson. this was an infiltration plan. >> exactly. that was very savvy insight. the way -- the goal here was to change the republican party's attitude towards russia. traditionally hostile -- >> but it was sort of the john mccain view of russia is what they assumed all republicans were. >> and the way to do it was through the nra. who has more influence with republican members of congress especially than the nra. they spend more money, they're the most powerful special interest group. so the idea was butina sets up this russian gun rights organization to forge this alliance with nra members as a way of influencing the republican party. >> let's go back to paul erickson. >> yes. >> she's been now romantically linked with him. i guess they lived together in south dakota perhaps or shared some sort of -- >> right. apparently not totally willingly on her part but she felt this was part of her obligation and duty. >> she wrote this e-mail to him at the time to sort of like ask him am i wording this correctly? it was sort of to get his -- i

and anyone who was in paul erickson's rolodex, including dana rohrbacher and wayne lapierre and scottr is right now shaking in his boots waiting for mueller to come knocking. >> so why wasn't this a mueller indictment, matt? why wasn't it tied in directly? >> i think that it was probably not part of mueller's initial charges. if you look at the indictment, this is someone the fbi has been surveilling for some time going back to 2016, maybe to 2015. long before the investigation into the trump campaign ever began. and if you look at what the activities it lays out, they are accusing her not of trying to influence the election, but of trying to cultivate influence in the united states, of trying to infiltrate the nra, trying to infiltrate the republican party on behalf of the russian intelligence services. in a filing the justice department made public today they illustrate, i think, pretty clearly her connections to the russian intelligence service, not just the oligarch she was first reported to have worked for, but reference what appears to have been an job offer to the successor of

she began a romantic relationship with paul erickson, a south dakota based gop operative who was 27 yearswas simply a grad student at american university adding his client did not flee after the fbi raided her apartment on april 20th of the week after she sat through 8 hours of testimony before the senate select intelligence committee on russian election. top democrat on the intelligence committee said they were blocked from issuing subpoenas. >> we for example have paul erickson on our list to be brought in, someone who engaged in correspondence, we were not permitted by the gop to do that work. >> one congressman came to her defense. dana rohrbacher hosted nra members in moscow and arranged a meeting with her russian mentor, a vladimir putin ally sanctions by the government earlier this year, quote, it is ridiculous and stupid, she's the assistant of some guy who is head of the bank and a member of parliament, that is showing how bogus this whole thing is. her next court hearing is next tuesday. >> jennifer griffin, thank you very much. new york times headline asks what she was doing at

she began to romantic relationship with paul erickson, a south dakota g.o.p. operative who was 27 years her senior. she complained to her moscow handle her about having to cohabit with them this as part of her cover. >> for example we had paul erickson on our list to be brought in, he was somebody who engaged in correspondence about using the nra is a back channel to the russians. we were not permitted by the g.o.p. end intel committee to do that work. >> her lawyer said she is not a russian agent and was simply a graduate student trying to establish a friendship society. he said she voluntarily appeared for eight hours before the senate intelligence committee. >> harris: thank you very much for that. meanwhile on the heels of the trump-putin summit, the white house is sending around a fact sheet detailing ways in which the administration has protected our elections and stood up to russia. that list includes president trump signing an executive order to strengthen and review our nation's cyber security and critical infrastructure, imposing sanctions against ru

." >> host: this is lanae erickson here to talk about issues of importance to democrats represented by the group. good morning to you. >> guest: good morning. >> host: howhow would you descre your group, particularly the kind of democrat you appeal to? >> guest: we were really looking at how do democrats appeal to people in red and purple places. so you could call us center-left. you could call us kind of mainstream democrat, but we're trying to figure out how democrats can appeal to the widest swath of a big tent in order to defeat donald trump. >> host: as far as the message then, what's the message of appeal to those people in those red and purple places? >> guest: well, we're out with a new poll this morning, and what we found is people are still really anxious about the economy. they feel like in their community it's still very difficult to earn a good life. and 55% of them say it's very difficult to earn a good life, and what we've found is they really want government to focus on expanding opportunity to more people and places. and so when you ask them about what the biggest prob

news that he co- -- erickson if he tried to set up a meeting between trump and putin. >> i was just wondering if you would be willing to talk to us about what the u.s. times is reporting, about you trying to set up a meeting between president trump and putin. >> oh, yeah, it didn't exactly happen that way. >> the man who mentioned buttina has been sanctioned by the u.s. and messaged herr one month. she earned a 4.0 at american university, all while making the most of washington, d.c. torsion called her a daredevil girl when she took a photo near the u.s. capitol on president trump's inauguration day. she also buttoned up for political events, she's seen here with political candidate scott walker and sitting just feet away from former national security advisor michael flynn. at the freedom festival in las vegas in 2015, she was visiting from russia and asked then candidate trump this. >> if you were elected as president, what will be your foreign politics especially in the relationships with my country? >> i believe i would get along very well with putin, okay? >> and buthe fbi has b

erickson came, his face, he said -- i said please don't let me die today. he said i have no intentions of that. >> reporter: she was on a ventilator, suffered broken ribs, had part of her colon and small intestine. four weeks later -- >> i freaking love him. >> reporter: dr. erickson treated her the night of the crash. >> how bad was it? >> pretty bad. pretty bad. miss arrington was without a doubt bleeding to death. >> your recovery has to be physical but also emotional. >> survivors guilt and ptsd are real, and it's hard not to think i'm the one who's out of the hospital, i'm the one who's alive. and why. that's been really hard for me. >> reporter: she has months of rehab ahead, but that hasn't kept her off the campaign trail. >> hello, everybody. how are you doing? don't mind these guys. >> reporter: arrington beat sanford in the primary by defending the president. >> president trump came out and gave a voice to us, the deplorables. i'm a deplorable. >> reporter: she still is even as she's facing a general election. backing the president up on tariffs.

citizen, political operative named paul erickson, specifically designed to penetrate the u.s.ent decision making apparatus. we've gone from if friday was a kind of a tom clancy novel, this is an episode of the americans in real life. she has a couple years where she consorts with all kinds of high ranking political officials, congressmen, scott walker and others. and through interestingly the nra. she is herself a big -- she seems like a center democratic fo democraticfold for a gun lovers magazine. but it is flat out connection between the russian government, not some unnamed russians, and u.s. operatives with connections to the trump campaign. it just misses that last piece that mueller is mining we expect between those people, paul erickson and the like, and the actual trump campaign. >> and she got real close to the actual trump campaign and donald trump himself. let's watch. >> and trump jr. >> do you want to continue the politics of sanctions that are damaging both economies? >> i know putin. and we get along with putin. putin has no respect for president obama. big prob

erickson, and that's interesting given that he's described as her co-conspirator. we did hear a reference and now judge confirms in this footnote that paul erickson may himself, quote, be the subject of a federal investigation. now, this is intriguing, right? you got this new federal indictment that is essential lay collusion indictment. a russian citizen indicted. a u.s. person describe as a co-conspirator in her scheme. who is, according to discussions in court, apparently, he is the subject of a federal investigation of his own. and according to what has happened in court in the buttina case thus far, his purported girlfriend apparently offered to help investigators in their investigation of the guy who was supposedly her boyfriend. even though prosecutors say he really wasn't. so it is definitely intriguing about this case. potentially very important in terms of understanding this case. if you were intrigued by this information about maria butina and her alleged boyfriend and her being in jail awaiting charges and him being an alleged co-conspirator, this is a

my name is michelle erickson jones. i also currently serve as the president of the montana grain growers association, i am on the board of the national association of wheat growers. as a fourth-generation farmer, it is my honor to testify today on the impact of tariffs on our farm, my industry and my community that depends on trade for their livelihood. american agricultural is a tremendous global success story and the wheat industry is no different. trade is critically important to the u.s. economy and our communities. farmers across the country depend on our ability to sell commodities to the foreign consumer. we are aware of the prevalence of unfair trading practices used by some countries and we support the administration's interest in finding solutions to tariff and nontariff barriers that impede fair trade. what i would like to share with you today are examples of the impact of tariffs imposed by our administration and the retaliatory tariffs leveled by our trading partners. these impacts felt -- in may i testifie

erickson jones. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify today. my name is michelle erickson jones. i'm the co-owner of goose neck landing cattle from montana. i also currently serve as the president of the montana grain growers association. i'm on the board of the national association of the wheat grows and a member of farmers for free trade. i it is my honor to testify here today on the impacts of tariffs on our farm. my industry and most importantly my community that depends on trade for their livelihood. american agriculture is a tremendous global success story and the wheat industry is no different. as such trade is critically important to the u.s. economy and our rural communities. farmers across the country depend heavily on our ability to sell our commodities to the foreign consumers. we're painfully aware of the unfair trading practices used by some countries and support the administration's interest in finding solutions to tariff and nontariff barriers that impede fair trade. but what i'd like to share with you today are some examples of

she had this very close relationship with this guy, paul erickson, conservative activist in south dakotay got my attention was the alexander torshin connection. alexander torshin, who you mentioned, was a deputy governor of the russian central bank. he was a close ally of putin. most importantly, he was under investigation by the spanish national police for money laundering. in fact he had these ties to this organized crime money laundering gang in spain. the spanish national police had him on wiretaps -- >> he was going to be arrested. >> they were going to arrest him. he was referred to by the organized gang leader as el padrino, the godfather. they were all set to arrest him when he was going to fly in for a pirt day party. he got tipped off and didn't go. all this time he's flying in and out of the united states with butina meeting with nra leaders and republican activists. >> so in the criminal complaint against her when they decided because they thought she was going to flee, i want to read this e-mail. it's a bit -- some rough english but it's in her words. it's an e-mail they put

what you say do we send you to the penalty shootout not just the first one for ten more christine erickson so it's a catch the smoker making a no the save in addition to the one in exits on his father was going absolutely crazy there are so to speak the sparkle and then mark couldn't capitalize that was the level schools you can see a nickel you'll be seen missed and that was the winning yvonne racquets getting the gold put through a shift through to the quarterfinals drawn a fresh michael's senior and junior that. disappointed of course for denmark who i should congratulate than three to face unexpectedly russia in the last rites in a day of records one of the two thousand and eighteen world cup has read agassi being incredible is the first time that russia made it explicit finals of the shocking victory of spain western and shot western in stoke it was also a versus first of a penalty shootout at a wildcat a guy and in the later game of the day crisis and i'm not out of the. one man's also winning on kind of. the count of firms the banks the rating agencies the government and the central

she began a romantic relationship with paul erickson, a south dakota based g.o.p.7 years her senior. butina's lawyers have a 29-year-old was simply a grad student and american university, adding his client did not leaver apartment on april 25th, a week after she sat through eight hours of testimony before the senate select intelligence committee on russian election meddling. the top democrat on the house select intelligence committee says republicans on his committee blocked them from issuing subpoenas to ericsson and butina. >> we had paul erickson on our list to be brought in. he was somebody who engaged in correspondence about using the nra as a back channel to the russians. we were not permitted by the g.o.p. and the intel committee to do that work. >> at least one congressman came to her defense. republican dana rohrabacher, butina hosted nra members in moscow and i arranged a meeting between her and her russian mentor, a putin ally, sanctioned by the u.s. government earlier this year. "it is ridiculous, it's stupid, she is the assistance of some guy who was t

what you say do we send it to the penalty shootout not just the first one for ten more christine erickson so it's a pass this was the licking and no the saving it is the one in exits on this fall that was going absolutely crazy the divine rackety getting the goal that put through a shift through to the quarterfinals draw on a push michaels senior and junior that. disappointed of course for denmark to asia congratulations and then three to face unexpectedly russia in the last day it's been a day of records one of the two thousand and eighteen world cup as a leader and it's being incredible is the first time that russia made it through to the quarter finals of the shocking victory of a western shot western in stoke it was also versus first in a penalty shootout to well catch a guy and in the later game of the day craziest and denmark out of the tournament also winning on penalties. are donald trump and put in an other news who will be holding their first official meeting on july sixteenth in finland as our guys never ports not everyone is happy about the summer. trump is acting strange stra

what you say do we send it to the penalty shootout not just the first one for ten more christine erickson so it's a pass this was a licking and no the saving it is to the one in exits on this father was going absolutely crazy yvonne racket teached getting the goal that put croatia through to the quarterfinals draw on a fresh michaels senior and junior that. disappointed of course for denmark who i should congratulations than three to face unexpectedly russia and the last night in a day of records one of the two thousand and eighteen world cup as a way to add this being incredible is the first time that russia made it explicit finals of the show for victory of spain western and shot best in show it was also versus first in a penalty shootout to well catch a guy and in the later game is a decoration stand and not out of the tournament also winning on penalties. current american administration is raising tariffs and revising old trade agreements when america sneezes the rest of the world of only to contracting protectionist fever. what politicians do something to. put themselves on the line.

you say do we send you to the penalty shootout and not just the first one for ten more christine erickson so it's a catch the small collecting and no the save in addition to the one in exits on his father was going absolutely crazy there are never speak the sparkle and then mom couldn't capitalize that was the level schools you'll consider nicole you'll dismiss the not as the winner yvonne racket teached getting the gold put away she through to the quarterfinals drawn for smikle so senior and kenya that. disappointed of course for denmark to ayesha congratulations and then. suffice unexpectedly russia and last night's been a day of record swell of the two thousand and eighteen world cup as a leader and as being incredible is the first time that russia made it through to the quarterfinals of the shocking victory of spain western shot best in stock and it was also a versus first of a penalty shoot out of the world pats a guy and in the later game of the day craziest and denmark out of the tournament also winning on penalties. so the celebrations continue i really don't think it has but. try

you say do we send you to the penalty shootout and not just the first one for ten more christine erickson so it's a test the smoke a licking and no the save in addition to the one in exits on his father was going absolutely crazy there are no other speakers for michael and then mark couldn't capitalize that was the level schools you can see a nickel you'll be finished and that was the winning evolve record teach getting the goal that put you on a ship through to the quarterfinals stronger for smikle so senior and junior that. disappointed of course for denmark too i should congratulate than three despite unexpectedly russia and the last night's been a day of records one of the two thousand and eighteen world cup as read as it's being incredible is the first time that russia made it explicit finals of the show from victory in spain west and shot best in stoke it was also versus first in a penalty shootout to the wild cats a guy and in the later game of the day craziest and i'm not out of the tournament also when. and i don't think. so the celebrations continue i really don't think because

erickson is open to options.e swedish company sees multiple potential hires for its technologies. erickson was the focus on its wireless network is this. u.k., and richards has quit after two years. she will be chief executive at fidelity international which see over these 4-iron $14 billion. -- $414 billion. to see her gong to fidelity international. i want to do a chart. iceman's all crypto. he's knee-deep in crypto. there's the chart, it going. basis, it's soup. the price is just there. link your interest in crypto into this east, bitcoin. how are they connected? the me first say that i am not an expert on cryptocurrency. feeling thing i will say is i don't understand its social utility because it's not like you to go to a store they are not taking your dollars. the only thing i can figure out about is money laundering. speculate about the value of cryptocurrency but i don't understand how anybody even values these cryptocurrencies. it's like asking how many angels dance on the head of a pen. everyone is to se

erickson joins the marines. rob: here is melanie laney's patriotic daughters.roud americans enjoying their community with more than 40,000 star spangled banners. turning red, white and blue for the 20th year in a row. rob: gas prices reaching the highest they have been in 40 years. national average at the pump $2.86 a gallon. some airlines raising ticket prices to compensate for the gas prices. jillian: new poll reporting only 32% are extremely proud. that number has been on the decline since the president took office. republicans are 74%. their highest in five years. rob: that is interesting. celebrating independence day with red, white, and blue berry bread. jillian: rolling out the patriotic white bread filled with cranberry, but berries. i would like some. rob: we are not gluten free around here. jillian: no, we are not. rob: 200 plus locations. jillian: happy independence day. rob: enjoy it, see you later. >> democrats say we want to abandon ice. we are not abandoning ice. and we are not abandoning our law enforcement protest outside of customs immigration

listd paul erickson on our to be brought in. he was somebody who had engaged with thepondence russians. this was an area where we had concerned not only in the terms of the potential back channel but in terms of making sure russians were not funneling money through the nra. there is more money to be done never but we are not permitted by the gop in the intel committee to do that work. this is to understand and underscore which in hinds said about the special investigation. toy may have not been able go forward where we could not. there would've been no revelation that maria bettina was working as an agent for a foreign power. we have to determine if the mueller investigation can determine if there were others acting with her. we have to be protecting this investigation at this point. [indiscernible] -- >> perhaps in the country but in the congress we want to stay protect our mission to our country. protecting our country is always been our first responsibility, and the constitution as well. the constitution, in our view, is at r

bay and placer spca's to take the pets in and find them new homes in the bay area.sot: stephanie erickson, tony la russa's animal rescue foundation// "it's critical for us to have these adopters here in the bay area they could not find these animals homes potentially in the fire area. many people as you know are going to be without houses for a long time so bringing them here brings them a new outlook on life."after their long trip the dogs and cats will be given the night to settle in before they are medically and behaviourally assessed to be ready for adoption - some as early as wednesday. the pet profiles will go up on the arf website...and if you aren't ready for the commitment that comes with adoption, you can always foster.live in walnut creek ella sogomonian kron 4 news (vicki) at least five people have been arrested on suspicion of looting in carr fire evacuation zones. police say one man was arrested on saturday after he was found in an evacuted zone of redding dressed in camoflage clothing and carrying a loaded handgun. four more men were arrested yesterday in redding. police sa

she was with her boyfriend, paul erickson, who was there and had different business dealings around.hey traveled together. >> you work with the doj and in the past in the program you've given an awful lot of credit for being number one fair, to nonpolitical. now you argue essentially they are bumbling who have somehow railroaded this poor grad student and charged her with being a russian agent. how are those two compatible? >> they haven't charged her with anything espionage. everything she's done according to the government itself would be legal and file a piece of paper with the attorney general. >> why are they doing all of this over this gun rights activists? >> it's hard to know. they been telling her for 18 months. after 18 months they appear to have one picture of her with the russian cultural center or shows they live in washington. to me, i think it's an overblown case. >> y overblow it. they circled among people involved in u.s. politics. >> you get the doj are passed about your motives of trying to raise the issue. >> i don't think they do things in bad faith. if you ask m

erickson jones. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify today. my name is michelle erickson jones. i'm the co-owner of goose neck landing cattle from montana. i also currently serve as the president of the montana grain growers association. i'm on the board of the national association of the wheat grows and a member of farmers for free trade. i it is my honor to testify here today on the impacts of tariffs on our farm. my industry and most importantly my community that depends on trade for their livelihood. american agriculture is a tremendous global success story and the wheat industry is no different. as such trade is critically important to the u.s. economy and our rural communities. farmers across the country depend heavily on our ability to sell our commodities to the foreign consumers. we're painfully aware of the unfair trading practices used by some countries and support the administration's interest in finding solutions to tariff and nontariff barriers that impede fair trade. but what i'd like to share with you today are some examples of

for example, we had paul erickson on our list to be brought in. he was somebody who engaged in correspondence about using the nra as a back channel to the russians. this is an area we had deep concern, not only in the terms of nra back channel but to investigate and ensure the russians were funneling money through the nra. there was more work to be done there. we were not permitted by the gop in the intel committee to do that work and this is to underscore what was just said, the importance of the special counsel's investigation. had they not been able to go forward where we could not, there would have been no revelation that maria bou tina was working as an agent of a foreign power and we'd have to hope that the mueller investigation could determine whether others were liable and acting in concert with her and our responsibility at this point has to be protecting that investigation. >> yes, ma'am? >> do you think the impeachment effort will pick up as a result of the president's comments yesterday? >> perhaps in the country, but, again, in the co

here are the reasons why we should hear from her, here are the reasons why we should hear from paul erickson who is alleged to have been involved in setting up this secret back channel. the republicans were unwilling. they said no. we don't want to have them come in, we don't want to hear what they have to say. they wouldn't explain why but it was very clear that anything that might tarnish the nra, anything that might lead to discoverable evidence that might incriminate the white house or people around the president, they didn't want to hear. the respect to other witnesses who have shown a willingness to come in and have expressed that they will come in what the gop has done when they've learned those witnesses were coming to testify before the committee is they've now affirmatively called those witnesses to say please don't come and talk to the minority, we'd rather they don't know since we don't know. >> congressman adam schiff, thank you very much for all of the information. john? >> interesting discussion. >>> president trump seemed to question whether it was worth defending a key nato

agricultural products fireman farmers are watching with growing alarm we are joined by michelle ericksont of the grain growers anegotiation in montana. thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> in montana, what% -- what are you exporting and to which markets? >> montana exports 73% of the wheat crop we export quite a bit of beef. in terms of the wheat crop, the bulk of it has the pacific rim china is the number 6 customer for our total exports. so exports is a huge part of ouring a culture kpee agree anding a surlt is the montana economy. we are export dependent here. >> are you more concerned about trade dust ups between the u.s. and china or more concerned about potentials frictions and maybe, you know, the disappearance of nafta affecting trade with canada and mexico in. >> certainly both of them are pretty significant concerns for montana. those three countries make up the topping agricultural export incidence force u.s. agricultural we would like to see nafta a and wrapds up. mexico has been a critical export for barley exports out of montana. it's a

person one, reportedly paul erickson, maria butina's fake boyfriend that prosecutors say she was romantically involved with, just for the sake of spying boyfriend, according to the "washington post," he's the one who recommended k.t. mcfarland for the job in the first place which is a job you might not have ever expected her to get. sally yates was acting attorney general when she tried to warn the white house with urgency about a senior official in the white house being compromised by the russian government. she was driven by the urgency of needing to get that official out of there because of the danger that represented to our country. the white house we know at the time didn't see that it same way. how does it change the story? how does it affect our understanding of the lack of urgency to now know that flynn wasn't alone. that flynn's deception around this was not something that he was alone, and there appears to be a connection which the justice department apparently just broke up. sally yates is the first frern whom we americans got the news about the people in the highest levels of the

prosecutors say she had a personal relationship with a man cnn confirms was paul erickson, a republican twice her age. butina reportedly describing him as her boyfriend. prosecutors say she used her own moscow-based gun group, right to bear arms, to build relationships with the national rifle association. >> i'm a representative of russian federation here, and i am a chairman of the right to bear arms. >> reporter: butina once posed with a pistol, wearing stilettos and leather for this risque russian "gq" magazine shoot. and in 2015 at the nra convention, she managed to meet republican presidential candidate scott walker, and that's butina at the 2017 national prayer breakfast, once again in the same room as donald trump. >> this gathering is a testament to the power of faith. >> reporter: butina has pleaded not guilty, and her lawyer insists she's no spy, just someone looking to create a better relationship between the two nations. but prosecutors tell a very different story. they say butina came to this country in 2014, if not earlier, and once offered sex in exchange for a position w

. >> butina was in a romantic relationship with paul erickson. do you think he was just a dupe?, i think he was. this was very typical, this falls in line with what i was saying earlier about the fail fast and fail cheap. the russian way of doing this is similar to the business emerging strategy. you throw a bunch of stuff against the wall, see what sticks and focus on this. apparently she was having come transaction with this gentleman of the nr ark. what i want to know is what is still out there that we don't know about. >> interesting. authorities having on butina for years. who else could be wrapped up in this. do you think there's a lot more that we don't know, jeffrey? >> i assume that there is. i know individuals that were targeted by her. that's what bothers me, again, fail cheap. she wasn't -- >> they said it was -- >> she would kind of promote herself in a way, she had inroads in the senior political people, it wasn't clear that she did. kind of bragging. but pushing the envelope of where she could get influence of a government. and it was a skater shot. again, let's s

there is a man named rick erickson who was part of the delegation that was invited, an nra member, partto russia and he has close ties to torshin and butina. rick dearborn saying that he was in a position a couple of days ago to begin cultivating a back channel to president putin's kremlin. is there a way where this could end up connecting? >> it absolutely could. and i think that that's bound to be the speculation given the fact that the nra put a lot of money into the campaign. there's been some digging into that. and also in this affidavit, we see miss butina reflecting on the fact that the n reflera is the biggest sponsors in u.s. elections. undoubtedly we'll have to keep an eye on whether this case somehow merges in the middle with the mueller investigation and whether perhaps it becomes that actual linkage, the collusion between people in the trump campaign and the russians themselves with an effort to use funding or something else to influence an election. it's, i think, premature to go that far. what we have at this part is an effort by an unregistered russian agent to influence