i'm jake tapper. explanations today from the white house simply do not add up. in march cnn's evan perez had learned from numerous officials that intelligence deemed credible said that isis was developing laptop computer bombs to be used on international flights. before reporting this on cnn, perez talked to trump administration officials who cautioned perez and subsequently cnn executives to not report certain details about the threat, including the city from which some of the intelligence was collected. by reporting are the city's name, trump administration officials insisted, that would tip off american adversaries about sources and methods used to gather the intelligence. tlt would, th-- it would, they get people killed. cnn did not report the details or the name of the city and last night the "washington post" reported and government officials say that president trump in a meeting with the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov and the u.s. ambassador sergey kislyak revealed highly classified inf

jake?urray, thank you so much. >>> preventing the north korea nuclear nightmare, a look at the critical missile test just conducted minutes ago. was it successful. say with us? you more ways to hep reduce calories from sugar. with more great tasting beverages with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portion sizes, clear calorie labels, and signs reminding everyone to think balance before choosing their beverages. we know you care about reducing the sugar in your family's diet, and we're working to support your efforts. more beverage choices. smaller portions. less sugar. balanceus.org. thereit comes to technology, about my small business so when i need someone that understands my unique needs. my dell small business advisor has gotten to know our business so well that is feels like he's a part of our team. with one phone call, he sets me up with tailored products and services. and when my advisor is focused on my tech, i can focus on my small business. ♪ ♪ then there are moments it becom

i'm jake tapper. president trump after months of bashing one. oldest and perhaps most successful military alliances in world history nato is getting ready for upcoming talks with the european leaders in brussels, belgium, about the future of the organization. that's even as a senior white house official last week threatened that the u.s. might leave nato. the president landed in belgium just hours ago after a quick stopover in rome where he and pope francis visited this morning in what the president called a fantastic meeting at vatican city. you will remember last year during the presidential campaign the pope said anyone who thinks about building walls and not bridges is, quote, not a christian and then candidate trump called those comments disgraceful and said the mexican government was using the pope as a pawn. this morning, however, we're told the two men discussed terrorism, climate change and world peace. here in washington the discussion -- seems a bit stalled. his budget proposal was declared

jake? >> topping our world lead, the nuclear dangers and north korea may have entered a new stage over the weekend as the kim jong-un regime test-fired a missile on sunday which was the most successful test yet unlike missiles of the other category which blew up within seconds of the launch. the missile not only flew farther than any previous attempts, going as far as 435 miles, but also reached the highest altitude yet. a terrifying yet significant sign that north korea may be one step closer to a working intercontinental ballistic missile. let's bring in cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr. nock has a long history of bombastic statements but its new claim of missiles topped with a nuclear warhead being able to reach the u.s., that cannot be taken lightly >> not taken lightly at all this time, jake. it is, in fact, altitude and distance that this missile flew that poses such a danger. north korea's latest ballistic missile launch is potentially more dangerous than any previous launche

jake? >> thanks so much. much more on that russian banker ahead in the program. >>> but coming up next, if the president does withdraw from the paris climate agreement the united states would be one of only three countries including syria, not included in that pact. what the would that mean for america's standing around the world, if anything? we'll talk to a member of the senate foreign relations committee next. stay with us. bp engineered a fleet of 32 brand new ships with advanced technology, so we can make sure oil and gas get where they need to go safely. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. and it's also a story mail aabout people and while we make more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget... that your business is our business the united states postal service. priority: you we asked people to write down the things they love to do most on these balloons. travel with my daughter. roller derby. ♪ now give up

i'm jake tapper.g with politics as obamacare repeal and replacement bill moves to the u.s. senate. health insurer aetna announced plans to drop out of virginia due to what they say are major financial losses. joining me to discuss this is democratic senator mark warner. senator, thanks for joining us, appreciate it. >> thank you, jake. >> aetna just the latest insurer to announce pulling out of virginia. other states are facing the same thing. according to one study, more than 20 counties in virginia could be left with only one option on the individual market in 2018. is obamacare failing in virginia? >> well, jake, what's happened has been -- and i was disappointed that aetna has pulled out, but i also understand with the lack of certainty. you've got this administration who is obviously very committed to using every tool it can to try to wreck obamacare. so not predicting whether they're going to honor the components of the law that require and affect the risk payments to be made, the fact i heard f

jake? >> indeed, barbara. last few months we've reported on the deaths and woundings of navy s.e.a.l.s, of green berets and before news of of this death the commander of u.s. special operations addressed the strain on special operators around the world of the take a listen. >> we're not -- we're not the ultimate solution for every problem, and you will not hear that coming from us. >> can special ops keep up the pace? >> reporter: it is going to be very difficult. what general thomas, and we have reported on him extensively said there, it's one of the biggest military challenges right now. presidents tend to get very enamored of special forces and want to use them all the time around the world, and they are not the panacea. special forces will be the first to tell you that you neat diplomacy and economic action and financial action in many of these very troubled spots around the world. they can only do so much, and under the trump administration you're seeing more and more reliance on special operations forces

jake? >> all right. cristina alesci for us, thank you so much. >>> president trump spoke to the u.s. coast guard academy's graduating class of 2017 earlier today where the commander in chief complained about how unfair the world and especially the media have been to him. >> no politician in history, and i say this with great assurity, has been treated worse or more unfairly. >> let us forget for one moment that the service members in the audience about to put their lives on the line protecting our coasts might not actually feel that bad about a politician who has been criticized in some sharply worded editorials. let us focus instead on why the president is where he is. it is not because of anyone in particular being unfair to him or bad staffing or poor communications or an aggressive media. it's because of things the president has said and things the president has done. case in point. former fbi director james comey whom the president fired one week ago today, comey wants to tell his stor

good morning, good to see but >> good morning, jake and happy mother's day to all the moms who my mom god willing will turn 89 in the text few years. >> president trump said when he fired the fbi director he was thinking about the russia investigation. take a listen. >> fire comey, knowing there was no good time to do it. and in fact, when i decided to just do it, i said to myself, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a made up story, it's an excuse why the democrats are having lost an election that they should have won. >> does that admission when combined with the fact that president trump according to a source close to comey asked director comey for his loyalty, does that constitute obstruction of justice? >> well look, obstruction of justice is a very complicated issue, it involves intent. i've asked for and our democrats on the judiciary committee have asked for the inspector general to do a complete and thorough report about anyone, anyone at all, interfering with this investigation. once we get those facts, we can then consult some of the great legal minds and c

that's it for jake tapper and the lead.w, breaking news. travel ban blocked. another major setback for president trump's travel back as a federal appeals court refuses to clear the way for implementation. so what is the white house's next move? withholding the memos. the justice department informs house investigators it won't hand over documents pertaining to conversations between president trump and fired fbi chief j

i'm jake tapper. at any moment we'll hear from president trump in a news conference with the colombian president santos. there's been a cascade of revelations about his conduct and russia investigation including quite consequential decision by the attorney general to appoint robert mueller as special counsel to head the investigation into any possible collusion between the trump campaign and the russian government. at the very least, that decision ensures that questions about russia will continue to dog the president for months to come. now, just moments ago, president trump told some journalists, including myself, that the appointment of a special counsel is, quote, a very, very negative thing. he said, quote, i believe it hurts our country terribly because it shows we're a divided, mixed up, not unified country and it happens to be a pure excuse for the democrats having lost an election that they should have easily won because of the electoral college being slanted so much in their way. that's all t

jake? >> jim acosta live in jerusalem, thanks. >>> with president trump overseas the russia investigate full steam ahead and cnn being told michael flynn will plead the fifth. coming up next, exploring all the options. that next. you love, sit behind it. (parents whisper jingle) safelite repair, safelite replace. ...that stood up to any amount of sunlight.... ...no matter how bright. if a paint could protect your door's color against the strongest uv rays... ...is it still paint? aura grand entrance from benjamin moore ® . bp developed new, industry-leading software to monitor drilling operations in real-time, so our engineers can solve problems with the most precise data at their fingertips. because safety is never being satisfied. and always working to be better. ayou don't have to choose just one thing. choose your trio with any 3 of 9 selections for $15.99. like new creamy lobster pasta toasted parmesan shrimp and southern-style crab cakes. come create your trio before it ends. bring yo

i'm jake tapper. president trump is controlling to the strong man section of the rolodex calling russian president vladimir putin. the white house says the conversation was, quote, a very good one. on the home front the president seems to be sending mixed messages about the congressional budget deal. before a crowd of air force academy cadets earlier today he declared the budget a clear win for american people and clearly irritated that the democrats are claiming victory given that the white house had to drop a raft of priorities to get the budget through the senate and he sent out his budget chief mulvaney to express frustration that the president is not getting enough credit. jason carroll joins us live from the white house. we're learning more about the presidential phone call with vladimir putin. what can you tell us? >> rex tillerson, secretary of state, jake, was also on that call, and he described it as, quote, very constructive. he said there were a lot of detailed exchanges. meanwhile, this p

>> it will help, jake.t explained earlier is the fact that this is coming through the u.s. mail system so as opposed to heroin which primarily comes over land from mexico or other drugs, crystal meth coming from mexico or produced in america, this is produced for the most part overseas and shipped to our country via the mail system. what law enforcement tells us it's impossible for them to find packages that are suspicious packages to try to stop some of this poison from coming into our communities. if we just require the post office to provide information as other carriers have to provide, ups, other private carriers, it would really help them to be able to identify suspicious packages and stop some of this poison from coming into our communities. >> senator klobuchar, the drugs are being shipped into the country because of a high level of ave dix. it's a true crisis. how dewe also help combat the addiction where it starts? >> exactly. four out of five heroin users-ins this country, jake, got their start o

jake. >> thanks so much. what is the white house saying about the president opening up the possibility of direct talks to kim jong-un and inviting a leader to the white house who bragged about murdering people? that's ahead. why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. ♪ ♪ i was thinking around 70. to and before that?re? you mean after that? no, i'm talking before that. do you have things you want to do before you retire? bragged abo

i'm jake tapper. you're watching cnn's live special coverage of the fallout over president trump's firing of the fbi director james comey. comey's termination has been raising all kinds of question throughout washington and the country about what will happen now with the fbi's investigation into the trump campaign and any possible coordiation with the russians interfering with the 2016 presidential election. a source close to me -- i'm sorry, a source close to comey told me today the fbi director was fired for two reasons. one, comey's refusal to provide president trump with any assurance of personal loyalty and then, two, because the fbi russian probe is not only not disappearing as president trump would like it to, but it's accelerating. it came right as comey was seeking more resources for the russian probe. they sources say beginning three weeks ago director comey began receiving daily instead of weekly briefings on the probe, and quote, mr. comey was concerned by information showing potential evi

i'm jake tapper. stunning news from the white house minutes ago about why it took the trump administration 18 days from the moment they were warned about their national security advisers possibly having been compromised by the russians until the moment that president trump finally requested the resignation of former lieutenant general michael flynn. white house press secretary sean spicer said the white house did not know how to take the warning from then acting attorney general sally yates because they did not think she was a trump supporter. it's a stunning admission when you consider the high stakes of what yates was alerting the white house to and the petty partisan politics the administration apparently allowed to cloud their judgment. yesterday was the first time that the public heard the story directly from yates on her surprise upon hearing that vice president pence and other senior white house officials denying that flynn in his december conversations with russian ambassador kislyak had discu

and jake is about to return fire. >> no!e bit wsh there, there's a information. >> this isn't real spray paint. but it looks like spray paint and it's hard to peel it off. but you can peel it off afterwards. >> he's just pretending to cross the line. now it's time to get logan on board. >> you want to come to my house really fast? says can you help me. he says sure i'll be there in ten. because of where he lives, the valet is going to bring out his car. logan's not there yet. and it's funny what you can get away with. >> let's take it far joyride. >> time to ruin logan's day. >> are you waiting at the valet? >> yeah. why? >> they gave us your car instead. and we drove it over on the side of your building. >> yeah. prank wars. so you're going to want to come over here, bro. >> then it sinks in. >> no! >> you're going

jake? >> all right. clarissa ward, thanks so much. >>> as investigators are hunting for terror links british authorities have raided homes and properties over the mast 24 hours including that of the suicide bombers. cnn's atika shubert is in the fallowfield neighborhood. are police still going through the suspect's house? >> reporter: well, we still have police here. you can see they have cordoned off the street, and we've counted about maybe a little less than a dozen police still in the area there. earlier there were forensics crews going through and taking out documents and, of course, it started very dramatically with the controlled explosion to gain access into the home. now, what we have found by going through public records, speaking with neighbors and friends, that this is the last known address of the suspect. this is where he was registered as living since 2014, but we don't have many other details than that. he was a stranger to many of his neighbors and seems to have kept to himself and we do

jason, stop. ♪ hey, jake? listen. jake? oh, god. it's the chimera. jake, don't. helena: bravo!ake! [ beeps ] all right. that's the canister? yes. she was gonna use it. well, it's unlocked. we have to get everyone out of here. no! you have to stay! no.

and i want to say one thing, jake. the silence of my republican colleagues is choosing party over country at a time when we can ill afford it. foreign manipulation of our elections, no matter who did it, is a very, very serious issue. it damages people's faith in our government. it is one of the things the founding fathers most, most warned about. so, our republicans should be stepping up to the plate and joining us in asking for a special prosecutor blp is the howard baker of 2017? >> are republican colleagues of yours saying anything to you off the record, obviously without naming them, about all of this, about the comey firing and the explanation and the tweets and the seeming threat? >> yeah, well, i've had conversations with a good number of republican colleagues. they're my friends. these are one on one. i wouldn't make them public. and i've told them more or less what i've said here, that this is so serious about the republic. there's a need to get to the bottom of this. there's a crisis of credibility with the

i'm jake tea party. follow me on twitter @jake already tapper.tzer in "the situation room." have a great weekend and happy mother's day. >>> happening now. breaking news. trump's threat. in a twitter outburst, president trump threatens the fired fbi director saying james comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations. sources say comby is not worried but does the president need to worry about what comb el might reveal? >>> tale of the tapes. the president and his aides refuse to confirm or deny whether there are recordings of his talks with comey, but lawmakers are now asking the white house if such recordings exist and if so turn them over. loyalty pledge. sources say president trump asked comey to give him a personal loyalty pledge and that comey was

two hours west of chicago, jake hubbard is a corn and soybean farmer.m his whole life. >> it's my waif of life. it's not my job, it's not my work, it's what we do. >> reporter: jake lost his arm in a farm accident four years ago, but he learned to get by with a replacement prosthetic. he's never received a permanent one. >> it's a tool in my tool box. you don't wear it to go out to eat or in public with when i'm not at work. >> reporter: a friend of jake's, eighth grade students, stepped up to help him. using their 3-d printer to make him a new prosthetic arm. >> we all pushed each other. we wanted to work on this arm. >> reporter: it took nearly the entire school year to complete it. and this week, jake arrived at the school for his new arm. >> morning, guys. it's pretty heartwarming they would do that, especially for someone they actually had never met until today. oh, that's nice. >> i've never really done anything like this before, so, when i saw him screw on the arm and saw him clench the fingers, it was just one of the best moments i've ever had i

hello i'm jake tapper in washington where the state of our union is reeling. first, president trump surprise firing of fbi director james comey, the man heading the investigation into possible collusion by russia by the trump team, then a series of hard to believe explanations from the white house staff that trump himself revealed to be, well, not believable. and then a stunning admission by the president and what seemed like a threat to the fbi director about secret tapes of their conversations, answers about what really happened are in short supply, director comey splind declined an invitation to testify before congress. comey managed to take in a musical posing for photo with the cast of "fun house." we asked the white house to provide us with somebody who could answer your questions but the white house declined. president trump did speak to fox news insisting the fbi investigation into possible collusion between the trump campaign and russia is a waste of time. >> i'd like it to move fast, if possible, but i'll tell you what i really want. there is no coll

i'm jake tapper. president trump is on his way to saudi arabia, the first stop on his very international trip since taking office, and shortly after air force one left the tarmac this afternoon new explosive headlines about the russia investigation continued to break as they have for the last week or so. the "new york times" now reporting that according to a white house document president trump in the oval office told russian officials ten days ago that james comey, the fbi director, was a, quote, nut job. the paper, quoting the document, based on notes taken during the meeting in the oval office with president trump had the president saying, quote, i just fired the head of the fbi. he was crazy, a real nult job. i faced great pressure because of russia. that's taken off. as the president heads overseas sources tell cnn some officials in the national security council are hoping upon hope that president trump will not cause any international or diplomatic incidents. the responsibility for that lies wit

>> you mean me, jake? >> yes, steve moore. >> i think -- look the republicans have to pass obamacare repeal. if they don't they will get wiped out in the 2018 election. so, both choices may not be very good but failure to act here after the republicans for seven years promised to their voters and conservatives around the country they were going to repeal this they have to do it. it was barack obama who said eight years ago elections have consequences and let's face it. this election that we just had in november was if nothing else a referendum by the american voters about whether they wanted to keep obamacare and they voted on it and they said no they wanted to get rid of it. one last thing, jake it's so interesting that the title of this law is the affordable care act and that's where it has broken down where i live in virginia. we are losing our insurance companies, our costs are going through the roof and that's something that's been left out of the discussion is people are going to lose their insurance

. >> i will not give you credit of jake tapper. eric: jake tapper is an amazing journalist and not a pro trump voice. >> he's not supposed to be he's supposed to be a journalist. >>,. eric: i'm asking you to give me a pro trump voice. >> journalists aren't supposed to be pro or anti-trump supposed to report the facts as they have it and look at any jake tapper-- >> how about john lennon-- >> richard, they've been out to get donald trump and they have made it a point to not even give like a honeymoon period to president trump, and instead, goes straight to-- >> what richard said, the american people weighed in anyway. eric: i have a lot more, this is going to be a hot show. we have a lot more. more of my sit-down interview with president trump, what he says about building the border wall and how somebody's going to pay for it. [vo] when it comes to investing, looking from a fresh perspective can make all the difference. it can provide what we call an unlock: a realization that often reveals a better path forward. at wells fargo, it'

>>> good morning, i'm jake tapper in washington. we are waiting a major speech by president trump on his very first overseas visit as president. he was of course elected after calling for a temporary ban on muslims coming into the united states. he's now hoping to reset relations with the muslim world. in his speech in saudi arabia this morning the president will ask arab nations for their help in battling extremism and he casts the fight against terrorism a battle between good and evil. president trump has so far been greeted warmly in saudi arabia. here he is joining in a ceremonial sword damage. the saudis projected hadis image onto the hotel he's staying at and the flattery did not stop there. egyptian president al sisi. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the president expresses our appreciation and respect and let me say that you have a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible. >> thank you. i agree. >> certainly friendlier confines than washington, d.c., where the president left behind the most devastating w

. >> jake tapper has information as well. jake, what are you learning? >> a source close to former fbi director comey who confirms the details of the new york times report and adds more information. this is a source who has a copy of this memo in question, the source says that director comey was in the oval office on february 14 briefing president trump, briefing vice president pence and also there was attorney general sessions after the briefing of over the president asked the vice president and attorney general to leave the room. and then according to comey writing in this memo, the president said quote i hope you can see your way -- letting this go, to letting flynn go. referring to the investigation of flynn. he is a good guy, i hope can you let this go. he also told me flynn had not done anything wrong. comey was concerned about what the president was saying, about the impression the president was trying to stop an fbi investigation. the source tells cnn and the source says that comey wrote a number of memos. a great many, if not all contacts with t

hopefully that can change now. >> we salute jake and that class.cer: now from abc7 news, live breaking news. >> you can see the bullet holes in the side of a car. two people were hurt after a freeway shooting in sonoma county. this is a live picture now of highway 101 which just reopened after being shut down since just after noon. good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. i'm alma daetz. >> i'm larry beil. the highway was closed for several hours as the california highway patrol tried to figure out exactly what happened and why. chp tells us they received a report of the shooting approaching west side road on 101 just after noon. abc7 news reporter wayne freedman live with more. wayne? >> reporter: good afternoon. as you said, the highway opened less than one minute ago. until that point it was balkd up for an estimated three quarters of a mile north from here. all those cars just sitting still. but this point, the california highway patrol is trying to figure out what happened several hours ago, what happened and why. the chp tells us t

and this week, jake arrived at the school for his new arm. >> morning, guys.o that, especially for someone they actually had never met until today. oh, that's nice. >> when i saw him screw on the arm and saw him clench the fingers, it was just one of the best moments i've ever had in my life. >> reporter: and of all the things he will do with his new arm, he held his children first. >> what you doing, bud? it's pretty tough to chase two little kids around with one hand. hopefully that can change now. >> we salute jake and that class. i hope to see you tomorrow. good night. >>> millions of dollars were discovered in a hidden fund. an allegation that's proven to be even more damaging. >> you don't see that in sonoma county. >> shots fired and the search still going on with the people involved. >> lying to cash in on affordable housing, what the city of san francisco is making against two women. >> you know, there were some changes made that made us look better, some made us look worse. >> she's under fire and some lawmakers are now calling for her resignation. b

jake, stand by for a moment. we're getting new information right now on the huge suicide bomb attack that 90 people killed in kabul and at least 100 oo u.s. citizens have been injured. barbara starr is following the story for us. what are you hearing? what's the latest? >> wolf, tonight, given this terrible attack in kabul, there are new questions about what is next for afghanistan and the u.s. military troops that are there. the moment the suicide attack struck at the heart of kabul. sirens and security forces piercing the morning rush hour. >> translator: i saw bodies lying everywhere. damaged cars and dust. >> reporter: killing at least 90 and wounding 400. >> translator: everywhere was full of black smoke. and i saw many burned cars. >> reporter: a water tanker truck filled with explosives detonated by a suicide bomber at an afghan police checkpoint near where the embassies are located, including the american embassy. up to 11 citizens assigned to the embassy were hurt. they were contractors. nine afghans wor

go the "i'm jim sciuto in for jake tapper. president trump joined americans in paying respects to the military men and women who gave their lives for this country at a ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns in arlington national cemetery. it was the president's first public event since returning from his first foreign trip but behind the scenes and naturally on twitter the president has been busing, tempting some trump-style damage control. cnn correspondent jeff zeleny joins us now. tell us what's happening inside the white house. >> reporter: the white house was hoping the president would return back from his trip abroad with the wind at his back and finally the chance to change the subject. that frankly has not happened. the russia investigation remains at the center of everything here in the west wing, even as the president had a commander in chief moment at arlington national cemetery cemetery. >> present. >> reporter: president trump paying respects today at arlington national cemetery. on his first memorial day as command

jake? >> good evening everyone. you're watching cnn special live coverage of breaking news. in fact, stunning news. even for president trump who has been known to shock people, president trump fired fbi director james comey just hours ago. first the official version of what happened according to the white house is that fundamentally this was done on the recommendation of deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. he was just confirmed by the senate 94-6 at the end of april. he was in charge of the investigation into russian interference in the u.s. election because attorney general jeff sessions was not forthcoming about his meetings with the russian ambassador and recused himself. so rosenstein came into the job. he looked at comey's behavior relating to the clinton e-mail investigation last year. he found it wrong, he found it deeply troubling and he recommended that since comey has refused to admit his errors he should be fired. he recommended that to jeff sessions and passed it on to president trump. end of story according to the white house. here are the problems according

had. >> look, jake.he winners under obamacare were the federal government and insurance companies. the winners under the program that we provide and that we believe is the most appropriate whether patients and families and doctors. the reduction in spending that the congressional budget office cites is, again, off the current law baseline. that means if we did nothing at all, if we just continued this broken program for the next ten years, how much money would the federal government spend? i would suggest to you that the american people are sick and tired of business as usual in washington and they're sick and tired of their tax dollars going to programs that actually don't work. we want a medicaid system that works for those patients. we wants a medicaid system that doesn't just provide them a card that says they have coverage but doesn't provide them the kind of care that they need. that's the distinction that i would ask them to draw. >> president trump in the rose garden ceremony for the house passin

>> jake, i am concerned about it.e fbis, i was mayor and governor and worked with law enforcement agencies including the fbi i think this is a effort by the president himself to thwart the investigation i know folks in law enforcement feel the pressure they really redouble their efforts but if there's leadership at the top trying to under mine them that leadership can do a lot of damage. obviously the nominee to be the nest director of the fbi is of critical importance and i think what you will see in the senate is that nominee will probably get the most searching examination that any nominee in this body has ever gotten with the possible exception of supreme court justices because we'll have to make sure the fbi director is someone who will independently get to the bottom of this story and the democrats and republicans need to assure ourselves of that. >> senator tim kaine of virginia thank you so much for your time. >> thanks, good to be with you. >>> sources telling cnn president trump felt former fbi director come

>> jake, first, good to be with you. think the big news here is that we do have an independent special counsel that's been appointed, mr. mueller, that he has the jurisdiction he needs to pursue all of this investigation concerning russia, any criminal involvements, including the most recent events and conversations with the president between mr. comb ae and t comey and the president. so i think we are assured that this investigation will go without any political involvement and we'll have the resources it needs in order to do a thorough investigation. i think it was well-received by both democrats and republicans. >> claire mccaskill, your democratic colleague from missouri, said rosenstein knew comey would be fired on may 8th, and that's before he drafted the memo justifying the firing on may 9th. what did you make of that when he said that? >> well, i think they have released his exact words. i think what was clear is that mr. rosenstein understood that the president had come to a preliminary decision that he was goin

i'm jake tap ter. a source close to former fbi director james comey tells me that there are two reasons why president trump fired comey. one, comey's refusal to provide the president with any sort of assurance of personal loyalty, and, two, the fact that the fbi's investigation into possible trump team collusion with russia in the 2016 election, that's still not an active investigation but it's actually accelerating. federal prosecutors reese represent thely issued grand jury subpoenas to associates of former national security advisers michael flynn. now, the white house officially disagrees with this theory of what happened, but mounting evidence suggests that comey was fired because of the president's irritation with the fbi's russia investigation. now the white house officially points to deputy attorney general rod rosenstein fresh on the job writing a memo expressing concern about the way comey had handled the hillary clinton e-mail investigation last year faulting comey for being unfair to clinton

mack master, to talk about it and that's why they did. >> jake, thank you so much. we'll see you tonight for this debate between bernie sanders and john kasich. thank you. >>> also, this morning the president tweeted that he has, quote, the absolute right to share information with the russians and minutes after his national security adviser briefed reporters, the president said this. >> we had a very, very successful meeting with the for rin minister of russia. i thought he said and i know he feels that we had a great meeting with the foreign minister. >> so i have with me here, richard nephew under president obama. he also also coordinator at the state department. also, graham brookie, also in the obama white house. gentlemen, thank you. rich arksd the fact that it was israel as the course for this classified information, you are not surprised? >> i am not surprised. it's no surprise that israel is the source. >> do you think this is one of the countries that president trump will be visiting in the upcoming days in addition to other foreign leaders despite the fact

back with jake sullivan.e was vice president biden's national security advisor, former policy adviceor to hillary clinton as well. they're citing the justice department, the fact that the new special council robert mueller, a former fbi director, has an ongoing investigation. that's why they're declining the release to congress of these memorandum, memorandum of these conversations. do you believe the mem ranorand should be sent to congress? >> i believe they shut sit down and work it out so congress can get them and perform the oversight function. threes there's a way for the investigation to proceed and the congress to get the memos and they should work it out. >> comey hhat that is, if not about the separate investigation? >> look, i don't want to weigh in on whether he should be fired or not. i will say what rod rosenstein wrote in his letter, he wrote about how comey handled this last year. i thought it was right and fair that comey took stems in this investigation that were unprecedented and, frankly, a

jake againstal with pittsburg's first shot in 37 minutes and it beats peca hin nay. 5-3 the final, the pence take a 1-0 series lead. steve kerr subbing for the substitute today. mike brown had the flu. kerr med the media as the warriors continue their preps for the finals thursday on abc. kerr still not ready to re-sioux coaching. >> i would like to tell you i'm ready but i'm still feeling a lot of effects what i've got going on. the team's really healthy. the bad news is the coaching staff is dropping like supplies hopefully he'll be back soon and feeling better. abc7 sports

tapes, look if they exist, can examine everything in an independent way, and i want to say one thing, jake. these silence of my republican colleagues is choosing party over country at a time where we

"the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. >>> thanks, brooke. it is cinco de mayo today which

. >> colonel jake jacobs, i'd like to get your reactions and comments on the president's speech as we see them there. i think he's meeting there with both the family of chris horton, i believe that's his wife as well as others that may have been gold star families. we know that as i was mentioning the parents of andrew buyers, david and rose, were also in attendance. >> i think the most notable comment was not from trump but instead was from general joe dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff when he said that the best way that we can to remember the people who have fallen whose sacrifices gave us the opportunity to live in freedom was not just to think about them but to think about the ways in which we can serve. you know, we live in an environment in which a very small number of young american men and women are out there defending a very large number of us. we have an all volunteer force,

jake? >> barbara starr, thank you so much. >>> turning to our pop culture lead. she promised her fans show would return and almost two weeks to the day since terror struck, she will. ariana grande has officially announced the date of her benefit concert in manchester, england. the pop singer tweeted this picture earlier today announcing one love manchester will be held this sunday, june 4th and will also feature artists such as katy perry and usher, pharrell and more. all of the proceeds will be donated to families and victims to last monday's terrorist attack in manchester, one that stole the lives of 22 innocent people and injuring dozens more. ariana grande said that the victims will be on her mind and in her heart every day. >>> brand new information coming in minutes ago about the tiger woods dui arrest. police say he could not even stay awake while talking to them. plus, more details about how they found the golfer and the condition of his car. stay with us. the average family's new, but old, home: it stood up to 2 rookies, 3 terrible two's, and a one-coat

that is quite a drop, jake. that is a big dramatic move.an, just to put this into context though, we're still up on the year. if you look at the dow, the s&p and nasdaq, major indices, we're up on the s&p and dow about 4% to 5% and on the nasdaq we're up about 13%. i haven't done the math on these numbers that just happened, but that's the general context, so we're not in freak-out mode yet, but there is a general nervousness around the fact that president trump may not be able to execute on this very aggressive legislative agenda that he put forth including tax cuts. tax reform has been top of mind with all of the ceos that i speak to on a daily basis. they want to get their tax bill

jonathan swan, national political reporter at axios and jake sherman, politico senior writer. have all of you on as thursday afternoon. jake the story everyone of course in the political world continues to talk about the allegeassault of ben jacobs "the guardian" reporter by publican congressional candidate greg gianforte on the eve of today's special election there in montana. what's your take? is this going to have any measurable impact on the vote in mon tan in. >> as glen's colleague noted in today's "new york times" 37% of the vote was in before today. people have voted and made their determination in a very red state one way or the other. now i mean, listen it's impossible to know whether this will impact things. i can tell you in the capitol paul ryan just spoke about this and said, it's unfortunate, it's not appropriate behavior, but the people of montana have to decide. i asked him after that if he would accept gianforte into the house republican conference and he said it's up to the people of montana to decide. so republican leadership, they're distancing themselves

i think jake tapper made an important point about the context. there was a meeting in the oval office about national security. trump asked sessions and pence the attorney general and the vice president to leave. >> right. >> that's -- >> according to comey. >> right. that suggests consciousness of guilt. you don't want to ask for something improper in front of other people. we need to see the memos and of course the great question is are there tapes because president trump suggested there were white house tapes. that could certainly -- congress has to ask for all the underlying documentation. >> so chris, you know jim comey. does this sound like something he would do, to keep this sort of a memo and what would you say about its accuracy are from what you know of him? >> well, it's definitely something that agents do, it's something that lawyers do. i was trained on it. if you don't document it, it didn't happen. i can definitely see former director comey documenting con tem rain yusly as possible, probably right after the meeting and it would be