i want to go to our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. jim, what are you learning?two provocative step, wolf, both mill staitary steps, one, is crucial, deployment of a new type, more advanced cruise missile, this is a cruise missile the u.s. believes violates an existing arms reduction treaty between the u.s. and russia. it was tested during the obama administration, but this is the first time it's actually been deployed. at the same time, russia deploying a spy ship close to the u.s. coast, both of these signals being read as challenges to the trump administration. tonight, national security adviser michael flynn's resignation is raising new questions about the trump administration's ties to moscow. in particular, when flynn spoke with the russian ambassador about u.s. sanctions, was he acting on orders from higher up? >> did general flynn do this by himself? if he didn't do it by himself, who directed him to engage the russians? >> reporter: and did any direction go as high as the president, himself? >> it certainly begs the question of whether flynn was doing ex

let's begin with our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto and the latest on contacts between the trump campaign and russian intelligence officials. jim, what are you learning from your sources? >> that's right, we have just learned, wolf, cnn, my colleague dana bash and i, that general michael flynn, retired general michael flynn's security clearance has been suspended. we are told this is normal procedure when questions are raised about a person's compliance with security clearance standards. this, of course, follows his resignation as national security advisor after the revelation that he lied about conversations he had with russian diplomats, possibly about u.s. sanctions against russia. at the same time, we're learning new information that during the campaign the most senior trump advisors including flynn and others were having repeated constant communication with officials of the russian government and other russian nationals known to u.s. intelligence. cnn has learned that high-level advisors to donald trump were in constant contact during the campaign with russian offi

intelligence, former and current officials, talking to myself and colleague jim sciutto. and the frequency of the communications and proximity to mr. trump during the campaign raised a red flag with u.s. intelligence and law enforcement according to individuals and communications intercepted in routine intelligence collection targeting russians known to u.s. intelligence. among them trump -- regularly communicating with russians. caught the attention. emphasized that the communications between the campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments are not unusual but these particular communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency, volume and level of the trump advisers involved. as we have been told by sources, investigators have not reached judgment on the intent of those conversations, adding to concerns were intercepted communications between russian officials before and after the election discussing their belief they had special access to mr. trump. according to officials we've been speaking with. all of this during a time when u.s. intelligence

jim sciutto, i want to start with you. after a week and a half of abrupt changes coming from this administration today, they moved closer to embracing positions long held by the obama administration on israeli settlements, on sanctions for iran, and even towards russia. put this into some perspective for us. >> well, i think we should temper that thought, at least for now. yes, you had for instance his u.n. ambassador today at the u.n. security council nikki haley her first comments before the u.n. security council criticizing russia for its military aggression in eastern ukraine. that is news, there's no question. but we have to balance that against really weeks and months of public statements by president trump. is it a real change? we'll have to see. it still remains to be seen. on israeli policy yes, a mild statement of criticism against settlement building but in the midst of a promise still not realized on moving the u.s. embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. central to that debate, what will happen there. similar on t

jim sciutto, where do i begin? this is seemingly the president of the united states standing up for vladimir putin. how do you read this? >> listen, you know, the word, unprecedented, has been overused, right? including cnn. look, this is unprecedented by u.s. president speaking about his own country, that kind of moral relativism with not just a u.s. adversary but an authoritarian state that is well known, documented, for enormous examples of mistreatment of its own people at home and abroad. you can certainly say unpresidential. at least if you're talking about being president of the united states to describe your country in that way. and let's -- listen, i've traveled a lot in countries like russia, china, elsewhere, that will often use this moral relativism as a propaganda talking point that, well, the u.s. has done just as bad as we have. listen, you and i know, poppy, jill knows, the u.s. has made many mistakes, but the question is, putting it on a par with a historic authoritarian state such as russia is, on

let's get right to cnn accosta and jim sciutto with the very latest. jim is here this evening. good evening to both of you. jim sciutto, you first. 48 hours after michael flynn resigns the fbi is now saying they aren't expected to file charges against him. what's the latest on flynn? ands also on your reporting that trump's campaign aides were in constant contact with russian officials? >> well, first on flynn, fbi saying barring new information, they're not going to pursue charges against him. they add that in their conversations with him that he was forthcoming. he did not hide the truth. they say if he forgot to -- certain details of things he was not intentionally misleading. so, if they don't learn anything new, they're not going to pursue charges. we did learn today that his clearance -- rather, hisz access to classified intelligence was suspended pending further review. i'm told this is in response to those conversations with the russian ambassador and could later be reinstated but as of now he has no access to classified information. that's on the flynn side of things.

. >> let me get to new reporting in from our jim sciutto and get your reaction. the white house, jim is reporting, is considering tapping stephen feinberg to conduct an are view of all the u.s. intelligence agencies. this is accord to officials with knowledge of the plan. this would essentially take away that authority from the director of national intelligence. that's something the white house denied during the early days, that they wanted to revamp the dni. this is someone who sits on the economic advisory council and he would do a full review of all the intelligence agencies that the president has been so critical of. is that a good idea? >> that's up to the president. this is new breaking news, as you've told it to me. >> "the new york times" reported it this morning. overall as a concept -- i understand if you haven't read it all, but is it a good idea? does the u.s. need this? >> it's not a question of does the u.s. need this? it's a question of does the president feel he needs this? remember we have two branches of government. what you've described this per

our chief national correspondent jim sciutto is with us. he's got details. u had a chance to speak exclusively to james clapper about the ban. what was his take? >> that's right, wolf. i've spoken with director clapper a number of times. he certainly does not shy away from sharing his honest judgments and today he very directly criticized the travel ban as both unnecessary to his knowledge, and damaging, and he also raised genuine concerns about the effects of president trump's public criticism of the u.s. intelligence community. >> almost 16 years -- >> in his first interview since stepping down, the nation's top spy until just three weeks ago told us he is aware of no intelligence necessitating the president's travel ban. and, in fact, finds the bandaging. >> does the terror threat necessitate the ban from these seven countries? >> well, i don't believe -- we in the ic, were aware of any extraordinary threats we weren't already dealing with, and we're using, i think, some very rigorous vetting processes which we constantly improved on. >> does a ban like th

cnn's jim sciutto has been working sources all day, all night on this story. jim, bring us up to speed on where we are right now at 9:01 eastern time. >> i should knnote calling it fe news without the president or the white house responding to the substance of the reporting which we've asked them to do. let's get to what the reporting is. one, two things caused alarm, raised red flags in u.s. law enforcement and intelligence. first, the volume and frequency of the communications between trump advisers and the russians. communications happen during campaigns, typically at a much lower level and much less frequent than what they saw here. the sect thing is seniority of the advisers involved. i'm told the senior most advisers with great proximity to the president including paul manafort who was then the campaign chairman and mike flynn who was then a national security adviser to the campaign as well as others. those two things raise red flags. one more thing i would note is these communications considered significant enough that they were included in the briefings

i'm jim sciutto in washington. fareed zakaria "gps" is next. like that. [ all sounds come to a crashing halt ] ah. when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. awww. try this. for minor arthritis pain, only aleve is fda approved to work for up to 12 straight hours with just one pill. thank you. come on everybody. aleve. live whole. not part. across new york state, from long island to buffalo, from rochester to the hudson valley, from albany to utica, creative business incentives, infrastructure investment, university partnerships, and the lowest taxes in decades are creating a stronger economy and the right environment in new york state for business to thrive. let us help grow your company's tomorrow - today at esd.ny.gov this year, chevy received more j.d. power initial quality awards than any other car brand. i'm very, very impressed. did i mention they received more of them last year too? look at that. oh wow! and the year before that... more doors. oh my god! what?! and the year before that... oh man! it keeps going! in fact

let's begin with cnn's jim sciutto live in washington. what have you learned, jim? >> reporter: alisyn, two things sparked alarm. one, the repeated contact between trump campaign advisers and russian officials, described as constant contacts. but also the level of officials, senior most advisers very close to the president who were in this communication. these communications considered significant enough that then president-elect trump and president obama were briefed on it by the nation's senior most spy leaders. multiple sources tell cnn senior advisers to donald trump were in constant communication with russian officials during the 2016 campaign. u.s. intelligence intercepting repeated calls since last summer raising red flags due to the frequency of communications and the high level campaign advisers involved. those advisers include former campaign chairman paul manafort and recently resigned national security adviser michael flynn. president-elect trump and then president barack obama were briefed on details of these extensive communications according to u.s. o

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is working this part of the story for us. jim, it was, i guess, worrisome to a certain degree that the two leaders were having sensitive conversations, reviewing documents while having dinner at mar-a-lago. the president's estate -- the resort in palm beach. >> at a minimum it's curious and unnecessary. they set up at mar-a-lago. secure rooms for the president to have secure communications and discussions. it would have been very easy for him and his team to go there. it was unnecessary to be there. then you get to the next level. were those documents sensitive? we don't have a direct answer from the white house. if they were, that would be frankly a gross violation. i mean, even behind closed doors, there are very strict rules. i had a security clearance. they used to have marines walk around the office to make sure they weren't left on your desk let alone reviewed in the midst of a crowd lit up by unsecured phones. they're basically traveling cameras with the possibility, which is very possible that they could be hacked. all

but our own reporting on this is solid and cnn's jim sciutto has more. >> reporter: on capitol hill today, a tale of two realities. the chairman of the house intelligence committee, a republican, denying evidence of communications between trump advisers and russians during the campaign. >> as of right now, i don't have any evidence that would -- of any phone calls. it doesn't mean they don't exist, but i don't have that. >> reporter: just hours later, the ranking member of the same committee, a democrat, who has seen much of the same intelligence, contradicting that assessment. >> we have, i think, reached no conclusion nor could we in terms of issues of collusion because we haven't reviewed a single document on that issue as of yet. >> reporter: recent reporting from cnn and "the new york times" that investigators are examining communications between trump associations and russians known to u.s. intelligence. the administration pushing backward as being part of russian intelligence. the bipartisan hill investigation is just beginning its work. gathering documents, and agreeing just this

our chief national correspondent jim sciutto has more on this development. re getting some new information, jim. what are you learning? >> wolf, that's right. the startling new intelligence that really was president, today sin come releasing what it said was a new bomb making video captured during that raid in yemen against an al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula compound. but it turns out that the video wasn't new or secret. here is that video. you see an instructor in a mask, black mask, a white lab coat saying, quote, we would like as many people to graduate with this knowledge and expertise as possible. now, the military said it was releasing the video to illustrate, quote, the sort of intelligence that was obtained during this operation. but just hours later, sin come admitted that the video was actually nine years old and had been circulating widely on the internet before. military spokesman admitted that the video was not properly analyzed before being released to the public. here's white house press secretary sean spicer yesterday touting the raid succes

they say he was, erin, truthful in his communications with the fbi. >> all right, jim sciutto, thank you very much. and "outfront" now, the republican senator, james rich, who sits on the foreign relations and ethics committees. good to have you with us. we just know high-level trump advisers were in constant contact with suspected russian operatives throughout the campaign. how worried are you about this? >> well, obviously, there's going to be an investigation on this. and what we've reviewed all the administrative reports and really, there's a lot more that needs to be known about this. we -- all of us, are very interested to hear what the details of the communications were. i don't know what constant means, i want to see exactly a timeline on that. we'll get to that, i'm sure. >> is there any contact with suspected russian operatives that would be okay in your book? if the word constant is removed, are you okay with it? was it sporadic? >> it depends what it was about. if we have transcripts of this, we want to look at the transcripts and see what they contain. i'm, you know, whe

cnn has reported. >> jim sciutto joins us now from washington.eince priebus was saying it's a formality when the senate intelligence committee asks you to preserve all documents. he's right, it is a formality but it's a formality with a very renal behind it. the idea is preserving documents so they can -- investigators can go over them and see if there is something significant there. >> reporter: exactly. it's a formality when you have an investigation. this is a serious investigation with multiple luns of inquiry. one, general flynn's communications with the russian ambassador. another, the campaign's communications with russians during the election as well as the larger issue of russian interference in the election. the fbi director comey had a classified briefing for senators on that committee friday and we know several of those who were there, they left that meeting more, not less, committed to the need for investigation after hearing what he had to say. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. >>> up next, melania trump joined her husband at the ca

cnn's jim sciutto has that. >> it's all fake news.s all fake news. >> reporter: it was the first time the president answered questions on cnn's reporting that during his presidential campaign, senior advisers were in constant communication with russia. >> it's a joke. and the people mentioned the story. i noticed they were on television today, saying they never even spoke to russia. >> reporter: trump said he was not aware of any campaign advisers or staffers speaking with russia. >> no, not -- nobody that i know of. >> reporter: but cnn is told by u.s. officials that then president-elect trump and then president obama were briefed on extensive communications between russian officials and other russians known to u.s. intelligence and people associated with the trump campaign. when pressed, the president said, only that he, himself, had nothing to do with it. >> well, i had nothing to do with it. mr. trump also denied any commercial ties to russia. >> i own nothing in russia. i have no loans in russia. i don't have any deals in russia.

details now about what officials have confirmed from our chief national security correspondent jim sciuttom? >> reporter: the first time, investigators corroborated some of the communications detailed in the 35 page dossier compiled by a former british intelligence agent. cnn was the first to report that president-elect donald trump and president barack obama were briefed on the existence of the memos prior to the inauguration. until now, u.s. officials said none of the content or allegations have been verified but now multiple current and local law enforcement and intelligence officials tell cnn that intelligence intercept of foreign nationals confirm some took place with the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier. that corroboration based on intercepted communications has given u.s. intelligence and law enforcement, quote, greater confidence in the credibility of some aspects of the dossier. this as they continue to actively investigate its contents, these sources say. we should be clear that cnn has not confirmed the content of the calls

get to dana bash, david gergen, jim acosta and jim sciutto. after a welcome and a half of abrupt changes from the administration today moved closer to embracing positions long held by the obama administration on israeli settlements, sanctions towards iran and even towards russia. put it into perspective. >> temper that thought at least for now. yes the u.n. ambassador, nikki haley first comments criticizing russia for military aggression in eastern ukraine, it's news but balance against weeks and months of public statements by president trump. is it a real change? have to see. remains to be seen. on israeli policy yes, a mild statement of criticism against settlement building but in the midst of a promise still not yet realized on moving the u.s. embassy from teleavif to jerusalem. and we've seen president trump back off that promise over time. power centers in the administration might want to be more aggressive. seeing a move to the center or different power centers in the administration expressing themselves with the result of the battles un

jim sciutto joins me on the phone. this is not good news for the white house.arward had that thought long and hard about this, had extensive negotiations with the president, and decided no. >> i'm told by people close to him this was a difficult decision for him. duty is supreme for u.s. service members, current and former s.e.a.l.s, navy s.e.a.l.s included, duty to the president. to say no to a president is significant. and i'm told and there's some colorful expressions that were used to describe the situation in the white house, this is a family program, i'm going to settle on the word chaotic in the white house. that was a factor. also lines of command and lines of communication also a factor. but a difficult decision for him. i'm told that he was torn, torn between duty and his impression of chaos in the white house, but that the latter won out in effect and because of that, that's a problem. if as a president you can't attract that kind of top talent, duty-bound talent to an extremely important position in the white house, it's a problem for the white hous

jim sciutto is right about that. j jim acosta talk about what jim sciutto set. what is the president saying about cnn's reporting about the trump aides in constant contact with the russian officials in the 2016 campaign? >> so far he's not saying anything about this. i tried to ask him that question at news conference with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu earlier. let's look at that. >> questions about your ksh contacts with russians in the campaign -- >> comment on reports that there was contact with senior advisers in your campaign with russian officials? president trump, no comment on that? >> there you have it. not only i but sara murray tried a few minutes later in the oval office. you can't really say that the president couldn't hear those questions. certainly heard mine in the east room of the white house, stopped in his tracks, looked around as to had a was going on and decided to move on. and sara murray asked in the oval office and he chose not to answer it. this is a question i tried to ask then president-elect trump during the news conferenc

get to jim sciutto, kirsten powers and carl bern stein and ryan lizza. jim break it down. investigation on the links between trump advisers and russian officials is fast moving. catch us up on the latest. >> two big headlines, u.s. intelligence and law enforcement found frequent -- constant it was described to us -- communications between senior-most officials in the trump campaign, during his campaign after his nomination as republican nominee, contacts between campaigns and representatives of foreign governments not unusual but what stood out to u.s. intelligence and law enforcement was the frequency of the communications and also the senior level of the officials involved. closest leaders to donald trump during that time period. of course the context being this is happening while russia is hacking u.s. political organizations in a u.s. presidential election year. all these questions still being investigated by u.s. p intelligence and law enforcement. what happened in the conversations and what was the intent and why did they happen? we don't have answers to those questi

. >>> we're getting some breaking news, jim sciutto is in the newsroom for us right now. >> a senior u.s. military official confirming to cnn the u.s. navy s.e.a.l. raid in yemen a week ago sunday that left a navy s.e.a.l. dead, the target of that raid not just intelligence collection, but in fact the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. he was a target of the raid, he was not killed in the raid, and since that attack last sunday, he's gone and put out an audio recording mocking president donald trump in part for his surviving this attempt to kill him, the key information there, wolf, is that there was a significant target in this raid, it helped explain the enormous allocation of resources, all those special forces, the u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s, the special forces for the united arab emirates as well, the great risk taken in this operation. the main target was not taken out. wolf? >> jim sciutto with the breaking news, thanks very much, we're going to get more on this late breaking development, we'll take a quick break and be right back. mom, i just saved a lot of money on my car

dishonest press doesn't want to report it, end quote, cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto tweets this statement is false and in making it, trump cites attacks in boston, orlando, paris, and nice cnn covered wall-to-wall with enormous resources. mean why, the president's cabinet nominees are the focus of the senate this week. that's senator stabenow sneeng senate floor about betsy devos. final vote on her nomination is expected on tuesday. we expect a quorroum vote at 6:00 p.m. eastern for the path ahead on the nomination. you can follow that on c-span2. live coverage now on c-span2. the house is in today, members on both sides of the house and senate are talking about the nomination of betsy devos. maxine waters, quote, i want her to be denied confirmation, a weet from daniella diaz. maxine waters earlier today held a news conference with nancy pelosi looking at the order, the executive order, issued by president trump rolling back some of the dodd-frank financial law. we'll show you as much of this news conference as we can until the house gavels in at about 4:45 eastern.

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto broke the story for us. jim, there are significant new developments tonight. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. in the midst of all the media criticism in the white house, the white house confirmed the essence of the story, that they did speak to the fbi for the communications and did ask the fbi in knocking down the stories describing them. the white house has not categorically denied the existence of communications between trump advisers and russians known to u.s. officials during the campaign, which cnn reported last week. >> reporter: tonight the white house developmentally defending, denying communications between trump campaign officials and russians known to u.s. intelligence. the intense pushback follows cnn's exclusive reporting of the white house request. cnn officials insisting it only asked for the denial after the top fbi official himself volunteered that the "new york times" story on those communications was inaccurate. white house officials who asked not to be named today outlined their time of e

but let's get straight to cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto, kirsten powers, and carl bernstein and ryan lizza. so glad to have all of you here. jim, your investigation on the links between trump advisers and russian officials is fast-moving. can you catch us up on the latest? >> absolutely. the two big headlines here are, u.s. intelligence and law enforcement found frequent constant. it was described to us as communications between -- this is the second crucial point -- senior-most officials in the trump campaign during the campaign season, after his nomination as the republican nominee. contacts between campaigns and representatives of foreign governments, not unusual, but what stood out to u.s. intelligence and law enforcement was the frequency of these communications, but also the senior level of the officials involved. the closest leaders to donald trump during that time period. of course the context being, this is happening while russia is hacking u.s. political organizations in a presidential election year. all those questions still being investigated by u.

jim sciutto, evan perez they broke the story and others. evan and jim join us now. what did you find out. >> wolf, we're learning. cnn was told that the fbi rejected a recent white house request to publicly knock down media reports about communications during the 2016 campaign between donald trump's associates and russians known to u.s. intelligence. the white house south the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the russian matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts these officials tell cnn. you will recall that cnn and the "new york times" first reported on this just over a week ago. and wolf, so far we've reached out to the white house but it has not yet commented on the record. >> evan, this typically is not a typical request. how did this start? >> u.s. officials tell us this began with the fbi director andrew mckab and reince priebus on the sidelines of a separate meeting. white house official disputes that account saying that mc-abe called priebus that morning stating that a report vastly misstated about the ru

. >> jim sciutto and evan perez broke the story with shim money brown and manu raju. here's jim with more on what they learned. >> reporter: cnn has learned that the fbi rejected a recent white house request to publicly knock down media reports about communications during the 2016 presidential campaign between donald trump's associates and russians known to u.s. intelligence. multiple u.s. officials tell cnn the white house sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contact, these officials said. you may recall that cnn and "the new york times" first reported on this just over a week ago, and so far the white house has not commented on the record. i should say that the fbi is still investigating these alleged communications. several members of the house and senate intelligence cumulative committees say congress is still investigating them as well. that investigation has gubegun. they're starting to collect records, documents and they will call witnesses. the communicatio

>> day before 65th birthday. >> thank you very much, jim sciutto. turn back to the president's security adviser. chris coons joining us. thank you for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> what do you think lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster, security adviser, good selection by the president? >> i think he is a good selection, wolf. everything i have heard about his background. i have not met general mcmaster, but what i've been able to read and hear about him is all positive. training, education, his courage to disagree with those who he doesn't agree with. >> he's the author of a widely popular book, entitled "dereliction of duty" the general's failure to stand up to political leadership during the vietnam war, which, of course, turned out to be a disaster. is that a sign that he knows what he's doing that he's the right guy to stand up to potential pressure to do the wrong thing from the political leadership? >> the fact he's been critical of leadership in iraq and the historic leadership in vietnam and been promoted and successful in the military sug

cnn's jim sciutto joins me now. jim, the white house's push back is interesting because it actually ends up confirming the reporting. >> between all the push back and the normal insults and the object fa skags, this essential fact. the white house confirms it did speak to the fbi about these communications and did ask for help knocking down stories describing those communications. and more broadly, the white house is not denied the existence of these communications between trump advisors and russians known to u.s. intelligence during the campaign as cnn reported last week. tonight the white house vehemently defending, asking the fbi to deny reports of communications between trump campaign associates and russians known to u.s. intelligence. the administration's intense push back follows cnn's exclusive reporting of the white house request. senior administration official insisting it only asks for the denial after a top fbi official himself volunteered that the new york times story on those communications was inaccurat

it's hard to second guess. >> jim sciutto there. >>> on a related note, president trump will visit u.sntral command in florida on monday. we'll take a short break. but when we come back, the u.s. west coast is preparing for yet another series of major winter storms. in fact let's go to derek van dam now at the cnn international weather center. >> i think that is a fantastic idea. you're right about that because it's either feast or famine when we're talking about the west coast of the united states. if we reverse time, we go back six years, we started that drought that we talk about so frequently in california. well, that has come to an abrupt he said and it's all because the storms are lining up one after another after another across the pacific ocean. i mean, this is an active weather pattern for the we wep parts of united states and helping carve out a major dent in that advertised drought take we have talked about for too long. this is amazing. in january alone, we saw almost too much rain. that's what i'm talking about when we sea feast or famine. a lot of the rainfall or the h2o

jim sciutto, cnn, washington. >>> mr. trump took his war with the media to the conservative political action conference promising a crowd of right wing activists that he would be taking action against a critical news media. >> mihis words have some concerd that picking and choosing among media outlets could just be the beginning. let's listen. >> as you saw throughout the entire campaign and even now, the fake news doesn't tell the truth. doesn't tell the truth. so just in finishing, i say it doesn't represent the people. it never will represent the people. and we're going to do something about it. >> which is just not correct. >> exactly. journalists in the country haven't always been sure how to reach act to the president's attacks. >> but our colleague jake tapper responded with some very direct truthful words to the white house. let's listen. >> let's not make any mistake about what is happening here. a white house that has had some difficulty telling the truth and that has seemed to have trouble getting up to speed o

. >> jim sciutto, we appreciate it. thank you. >>> joining us, eric bradner cnn politics reporter and jack kingsston, former commentator and former adviser to the donald trump campaign. gentlemen, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> jack, let me start with you, your level or discomfort, if you let me know, about the communications between the fbi and white house, should these specific players -- because there are times that the fbi can communicate with the white house. but in this 2009 memo, we know there are specific players who should be involved. what do you think about we're seeing here? >> you know, i'm comfortable with it, the way it's been described that andrew mccabe came up to reince priebus after another meeting and said, by the way, this is all b.s. and priebus says, what can we do on it? he says, i don't know, we can't comment on every story, we can't call the balls and the strikes, and he said comey called and said he can't do anything about it. but you can imagine the white house' frustration, here th

cnn national security correspondent jim sciutto and justice correspondent evan perez and pamela brown working the story. >> why is the court details contained in this dossier important? >> well, jim, until now, u.s. officials have said that none of the current allegations have been verified but local law enforcement and intelligence officials tell cnn that intelligence of foreign nationals confirm some of the conversations described in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier. the corroboration is based on, quote, greater confidence in the dossier as they continue to actively investigate its contents. we should be clear that cnn has not confirmed the content of the calls or whether the content actually relates to then candidate trump. and none you the newly learned information relates to the salacious information in the dossier. when reached for comment, white house spokesman sean spicer said, quote, we continue to be by cnn's fake news reporting. >>ed fbi, cia, and director of national intelligence all

cnn's jim sciutto is working on this story and spoke to erin burnett earlier. let's listen. >> what have you learned tonight? >> well, erin, new details. for the first time u.s. investigators say they have corroborated some of the communications detailed in that 35 page doccier compiled by a former british agent. cnn first reported that then president-elect donald trump and barack obama were briefed on the existence of the memos. until now they've said none of the content or allegations have been verified but we have learned multiple and current law enforcement and intelligence officials but they say intelligence intercept of foreign nationals confirmed some of the conversations in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days as detailed in the dossier. this has given u.s. intelligence and law enforcement, quote, greater confidence as they continue to actively investigate its contents these sources say. we should be clear that cnn has not confirmed the content of the calls or whether any of the content relates to then candidate trump and

let's begin our coverage with cnn's jim sciutto live in washington with all of the breaking details. high-level advisers then close to nominee donald trump were in constant communication with those thrown to russian intelligence. this is according to intelligence and law enforcement officials. president-elect trump and then president obama were both briefed on suspected discussions of operatives and those people associated with the campaign and the trump business. >>> both the frequency of these communications and the proximity to trump of those involved raised a red flag with u.s. intelligence and law enforcement. i should say the communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection targeting. other russian nationals that are known to u.s. intelligence. officials emphasize communications between campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments are not unusual. however these are different. they stood out due to the frequency and the level of the trump advise sors involved. i should say investigators

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is working the story. what are you learning?ni officials are upset with the result of the raid, two dozen casualties, many of them children, the images broadcast broadly in yemen and beyond. we are told by the u.s. military and yemeni officials there was no change resulting from this in military cooperation. perhaps, though, a reminder from yemen to the u.s. that they need to be consulted on operations. tonight yemen condemning the deadly u.s. raid on an compound last month. yemeni officials telling cnn it is requesting all future u.s. operations come only with the approval of a yemeni government. >> it has a government that's cooperated with us in the sharing of intelligence, allowing missions to come in, drone strikes by the united states in their country so that we could help them and help us minimize the terror threat. that is a cooperation that is now at risk. >> reporter: a u.s. defense official tells cnn, quote, nothing has changed in the relationship and that yemen officials were notified ahead of the january 29th raid.

jim sciutto and evan perez have been working the story. jim, let's start with you.ave investigators learned? >> well, jake, for the first time u.s. investigators say they have corroborated some of the communications detailed in a 35-page dossier compiled by a former british intelligence agent. cnn was first to report last month that then president-elect donald trump and president barack obama were briefed on the existence of the memos prior to the inauguration. until to you now, u.s. officials have said none of the content or allegations have been verified. but now multiple current and former u.s. law enforcement and intelligence officials tell cnn that an intelligence intercept of foreign nationals confirmed some of the conversations described in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier. we should be clear, that cnn has not confirmed the content of the calls or whether any of the content relates to then candidate trump. and none of the newly learned information relates, i should say,

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto has more. the president has some differences with his top appointees when it comes to such issues as nato, russia, the term radical islamic terror. will he clear up any of those issues tonight? >> it appears he's going to attempt to clear some of them up, or at least lessen the distance between him and his advisers on core issues, a message america first does not mean there will be robust engagement with the world. he's going to say a commitment to nato, but at the same time say that nato members have to pay. that's already movement for donald trump, because you'll remember he's called nato obsolete, questioned the usefulness of nato today. that's one issue. there's a line in the speech about forging new partnerships, where there are mutual interests. not clear he's going to mention russia specifically, but that's a country he said many times in public wouldn't be the worst thing if we got along. trouble is many of his closest advisers list russia as the number one threat to the u.s. unclear ho

jim sciutto, and also new tonight.mp claiming that the media is refusing to report on terror attacks. here's what he said during a visit earlier today to u.s. central command. >> you have seen what happened in paris and nice. all over europe, it's happening. it's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. and in many cases, the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. they have their reasons, and you understand that. >> senior white house correspondent jim acosta is outside the white house at this hour. the white house standing by those comments? >> they are. as a matter of fact, sean spicer was asked about this claim that the president made earlier today, and he said that while the president believes that these events are not covered enough, here's more of what he had to say. >> look, i think the president's comments were very clear at the time. he felt as though members of the media don't always cover some of those events that other events will get covered. a protest will get blown out of the

jim sciutto is outfront. hat are you hearing from members of the obama administration now about this raid, they're pushing back? >> erin, i've spoken to members who were involved in national security in the obama administration, and they say this is simply not true that this raid was okayed, approved by president obama, before he left office. one, and two, they're saying, it just wouldn't be that far in advance, weeks or months in advance of an operation that has so many moving parts on the ground, that's just not how far in advance operations like this are okayed. we're hearing this, as we're hearing, as well, new information of just how central president trump himself was to the decision making. tonight, new information that president trump was actively involved in the decision making on the yemen raid up until the final hours. on january 25th, four days before the mission, the president was briefed by national security adviser, michael flynn, and then again during a ten-person white house dinner later that

joining us for that is chief national security correspondent jim sciutto and evan perez. jim, what did you find out? >> cnn has told cnn that the fbi rejected a white house request to publicly knock down media reports, including a report by cnn about communications during the 2016 presidential campaign between donald trump associates and russians known to u.s. intelligence. multiple u.s. officials tell cnn the white house sought the help not only of the bureau, but other agencies investigating the russian matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts. these officials tell cnn. you'll recall that cnn and the "new york times" first reported on this just over a week ago. so far the white house has not commented on the record to cnn. >> and evan, this is not a typical request. how did this start? >> anderson, a u.s. law enforcement official said this began with the fbi deputy director andrew mccabe and white house chief of staff reince priebus on the sidelines of a separate white house meeting on the day that these stories were published. a whit

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is joining us with the latest. jim, president raised a lot of eyebrows with his remarks. >> no question. in part because what he's using is an old soviet russian propaganda tactic, what aboutism. you would have russia when the u.s. criticized moves by the kremlin, to say what about and fill in the blank of a past american mistake. this is what's raising the ire not just of democrats but of many republicans on the hill, calling these comments unpatriotic. president donald trump defending russian president vladimir putin suggesting to fox news that the u.s. behaves no better than its adversary. >> putin is a killer. >> a lot of killers. we got a lot of killers. you think our country is innocent. >> president trump's startling criticism of his own country puts him at odds once again with his own party. >> i don't think there is any equivalency between the way russians conduct themselves and the way the united states does. putin is a former kgb agent, he is a thug. he was not elected in a way that most people would cons

let's bring in chief white house correspondent jim sciutto.are telling very different stories about what yemen knew ahead of time and what the u.s. can do now. who is giving accurate information here? >> reporter: well, clearly, jake, some yemenee officials and leaders were upset with the results of this raid. it is natural there were a number, perhaps as many as two dozen civilian casualties, some of them children. the images of the casualties circulating across the internet and their country and around the world. so, they have understandable political pressure at home to complain about this. but we're told that they have not suspended any operations or programs, counter terror programs with the u.s. though perhaps they are reminding their u.s. partners that they need to be consulted in advance. tonight yemen condemning the deadly u.s. raid on an aqap compound last month. yemenee officials telling cnn it is now requesting that all future u.s. operations come only with the approval of the yemenee government. >> it has a government that has coo

let's go to jim sciutto. this is the first time the president addressed some tough questions about the ouster of michael flynn and new reporting about his campaign's contacts with the russian ambassador. >> not answered. he contradicted himself in a single answer saying the leaks are real but the news is fake. he said that even if there were communications they didn't involve him. so more confusion. leaving many questions unanswered. >> it's all fake news. it's all fake news. >> reporter: it was the first time the president answered questions on cnn's reporting during his presidential campaign senior advisers were in contact communication with russia. >> it's a joke, and the people who mentioned the story i noticed they were on television today saying they never even spoke to russia. >> reporter: trump said he was not aware of any campaign advisers or staffers speaking with russia. >> nobody that i know of. >> reporter: but cnn is told by u.s. officials that then president-elect trump and then president obama

our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto, with new information. >> reporter: that's right. some i.d. facts about him, 29-year-old egyptian, his name has not been released. we also know that he was a resident of the united arab emirates, where dubai is. he traveled to france originally in november, a couple months before the attack, on a tourist visa. actually, it was later in france, he then bought his car, he bought the machetes that he used in the attack on a french soldier there. also, notable in his egyptian passport, there was a visa to saudi arabia, just clues because one of the first things we're going to look at with an attacker is they investigate for possible terrorism is where did he go before, did he meet with anybody in those countries when he went there, possible extremists, et cetera. again, it's not clear, it's not established definitively this was a terror attack. it is being investigated as a terror attack. in part because as he was carrying it out, he was shouting allahu akbar, god is great. i should note that donald trump tweeted about this this morning

i'm jim sciutto filling in for jake tapper.ittees are now investigating when president trump's campaign had ties to russia and the director of the fbi james comey gave its members a classified briefing on friday from which the senators emerged serious an tight-lipped. so what new information has the senate learned? i'm joined now by democratic senator of new jersey. he is robert menendez. senator, thanks very much for joining us this sunday. >> good to be with you, jim. after that meeting senator marco rubio tweeted the following. he said i am now very confident senate intel committee i serve on will conduct thorough bipartisan investigation of putin interference and influence. have you spoken to any members of the intelligence committee about what new they learned from director comey? >> no, i have not, but i think they are pursuing a vigorous effort to get to the bottom of it. the only question for me is the intelligence committee in and of itself alone the appropriate entity, particularly since much what have they will do wi