white house correspondent joe johns is at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, john.you said, presidential

let's begin with joe johns live at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, poppy. plenty of doubt and skepticism this morning, the department of justice is going to be able to come up with anything responsive to the house of representatives request. that is in part because past and current government officials who should know, who should have access to information have already denied the president's assertions. still, it's an important moment because of how it could affect the president's ability to be credible going forward. >> the president has one of two choices, either retract or provide the information that the american people deserve. >> reporter: pressure mounting for president trump to provide proof of his unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wiretapped phones at trump tower during last year's election. >> i have no reason to believe that the charge is true, but i also believe that the president of the united states could clear this up in a minute. >> >> reporter: one of the president's top advisers referring to alleged monitoring that she says

day 46 of donald trump's presidency begins with senior washington correspondent joe johns live at the white house. joe. >> reporter: good morning, chris. the white house this morning is not backing away from the president's wiretapping claim. the takeaway from here is the president firmly believes it happened and that it needs to be tested and investigated, despite the fact it's been contradicted by a former director of national intelligence and the fbi. >> president trump's unfounded claim that former president obama ordered his phones to be wire tapped in the midst of last year's election coming under fire. sources say the fbi is now asking the justice department to publicly refuse the allegations. so far the justice department has remained silent. such wiretapping of a u.s. citizen's phones would be illegal or require a court order under the intelligence surveillance act. former director of intelligence james clapper who spearheaded the investigation of russia meddling into the election gave a firm no. >> for the part of the national security apparatus i oversaw as dni, i was there

senior washington correspondent joe johns at the white house for us now with the latest. are we going to hear from the fbi? is the house and the administration going to turn over the evidence it says it has that president trump was wiretapped. >> based on what we're hearing from capitol hill, don't bet on it. senator lindsey graham kind of poured cold water on the notion that we're going to get some type of affirmative assurance from the fbi director as to whether or not there is any investigation into a possibility connection between russia and the trump campaign. that seems to contradict or at least conflict a bit with something that was said just yesterday by democratic senator whitehouse from rhode island. he suggested there would be an assurance of some time and he told a number of reporters including manu raju he thought there would be some assurance. anybody's guess as to what's going to happen. but what is clear is senator graham is going to continue pressing on the issue of russia as well as pressing on the issue of wiretaps and the president's allegations. let's

joe johns at the white house. thanks so much. the odd link between a russian bank and the trump organization. two reporters who broke that story, there's an investigation under way on this still. what's going on? >> it's been going on for months now, john. we learned this fbi probe remains open. to this possible computer connection between the trump organization and a russian bank called alfa bank according to several sources familiar with the investigation. this is the same server mentioned in that breitbart article that a white house official says sparked president trump's series of tweets last saturday accusing investigators of tapping his phone. cnn is told there was no fisa warrant on this server. questions about the connection between the server and the russian bank were widely dismissed four months ago as an attempt by alfa bank to block spam. we have learned the fbi's counterintelligence team, the same one looking into russia's suspected interference in the 2016 election is still looking into this. one official i spoke wi

let's begin this hour with joe johns at the white house. he is tweeting already this morning. >> reporter: that's right, poppy. it's so interesting here in washington. james comey continues to be in the spotlight of american politics, when you think about it. he is probably the one person who can speak with some conclusiveness about what happened with russia and the election as well as the president's wiretapping. the question is, how far can comey go? >> the bizarre saga of president trump's explosive claim that he was wiretapped by president obama last year comes to a head today. fbi director james comey expected to publicly debunk the president's unproven allegations. lawmakers investigating the claim repeatedly saying there is no evidence. >> was there a physical wiretap of trump tower? no, but there never was. >> i hope we can put an end to this wild goose chase. what the president said was patently false. >> straining diplomatic relations with two of the nation's strongest allies, the president even joking about it friday during a sta

white house correspondent joe johns is at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, john. as you said, presidential counselor kellyanne conway essentially creating a firestorm in her comments where she essentially said there are a variety of different ways to conduct electronic surveillance. first let's listen to what she had to say to "the bergen county record" newspaper over the weekend. >> there are many ways to surveil each other, unfortunately. >> do you believe -- >> there was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, through their -- certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways. microwaves that turn into cameras, et cetera. so we know that that is just a fact of modern life. >> sure. >> reporter: and so this morning on "new day," in an interview with chris cuomo, ankle ankle made it clear she was speaking in general terms about electronic surveillance and not trying to link it to president trump's assertion that he was wiretapped by president obama. listen. >> i was answering a question about su

let's tornado now to cnn's senior washington correspondent joe johns at the white house for us. joe, you have been covering this white house. you have been talking to aides inside that building. how much do you think all of this is a distraction? and how much do you think that this is trump just trying to take matters into his own hands? >> as you know, dana. on the other side there are people who argue that the whole point is ace subtraction. an attempt by the president, the administration, to try to change the sub from people looking -- the subject from people looking into contacts between the staff and russia. but on another level they also admit here inside the administration people like kellyanne conway, that covering this story and having to deal with this story, especially the president's tweets over the we can also create a distraction. today they were rolling out their travel ban. and the first question and the second question to members of the administration was always about the tweets. the president's assertions against president obama. and when you ask and try to take

back to you. >> joe johns for us at the white house. of course we'll have the new developments this morning, a report from cnn as to an investigation into what's called odd links between a russian bank and the trump organization. one of the reporters who broke that story, cnnmoney investigator jose paglieri. >> reporter: this investigation extends to looking at potential investigation into a computer server in russia belonging to a russian bank and a computer server in the united states used by the trump organization. what's so odd is that this russian bank repeatedly looked up the internet address of a computer server in the u.s. used by the trump organization. in tech terms, that's the equivalent of looking up someone's phone number over and over again. while there isn't necessarily the phone call that usually indicates an intention to communicate. that's the information we got from several computer scientists we spoke to. a group of these scientists who obtained these computer records were puzzled as to why in the world was the russi

cnn's senior washington correspondent joe johns, joe, dina powell is widely respected across differentreporter: that's exactly right. put this under the heading of h.r. mcmaster trying to bolster the national security team. dina powell does have that role now as economic adviser. also closely associated with the president's daughter, ivanka trump. and dina also is a former goldman sachs executive. but she also has chops right here in washington, dc, going all the way back to the george w. bush administration, where at the state department for a period, she's an arabic speaker, an egyptian-american well-known in washington. and the administration sort of rolled her out in public just last week when the deputy crown prince of saudi arabia was here visiting with the president, she was in the room also. so they are hoping she can help h.r. mcmaster. he is being positioned as very on board with dina powell coming in and making this move on the national security team, john. >> all right, joe johns for us at the white house, thanks for the update, joe, appreciate it. >>> the fbi director brie

cnn's joe johns live at the white house with more on this. what do we know now, joe?ll, chris, this appears to be just the beginning of an attempt to walk back that sensational claim made by the president on twitter. this morning, we're learning that when the president wrote he was wiretapped, he didn't necessarily mean wiretapped. and when he said president obama did it, he didn't mean that, eithe either. >> any comments on the wiretapping? >> reporter: the trump administration looking to buy time, failing to meet a congressional deadline to present evidence to back up the president's unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wiretapped the phones at trump tower during the campaign. the house intelligence committee agreeing to give the justice department until next monday's hearing to provide proof, suggesting that they may subpoena the administration if their questions go unanswered. this as the white house is now offering a new explanation for the president's baseless claim. >> he doesn't really think that president obama went up and tapped his phone, perso

let's begin our coverage with joe johns live at the white house, joe. >> good morning, allison. he was using the language and rhetoric and tone that the country has become accustomed to from its presidents. mr. trump certainly reaching for the reset button last night on capitol hill and a speech very well received by one critical audience, those congressional republicans that will have to try to push through his agenda. >> president trump striking a more presidential and optimistic tone. >> i'm here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength. >> in his hour long speech to a joint session of congress. >> it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. >> off the top the president condemning the surge in hate crimes since he took office. >> recent threats targeting jewish community centers and vandalism of jewish cemeteries as well as last week's shooting in kansas city remind us that while we may be a nation divided in policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of it's very ugly forms. >> spending much of his speech laying out a very

let's bring in cnn's joe johns. joe? >> chris, an unsubstantiated charge by the president and the president's aides, who have been working hard to try to either defend it or call for it to be investigated. but the focus this morning is on the swrus department, under increasing pressure to say something about it. fbi director james comey was, quote, incredulous, after president trump's weekend twitter tirade, accusing former president obama of wiretapping his phones during the 2016 election. a person familiar with the matter told cnn. comey, concerned that the president's unfounded allegation would make the fbi look bad directed staff members to reach out to the justice department, asking them to publicly knock down the president's story. the silence on the matter now frustrating comey. >> i don't think director comey has actually commented. >> reporter: press secretary sean spicer doubling down president trump's allegation, but he, like the president, offering no proof. >> there's no question that something happened. the

let's begin with joe johns at the white house. joe? >> reporter: under investigation is one of the headlines you don't want to wake up with here at the white house and for a while it looked like there would be real pushback, but when the president appears before the cameras last night in kentucky, he didn't have anything to say about it. president donald trump at a campaign rally monday night. >> the fbi as part of the counter intelligence is investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russia's efforts. >> the fbi director comey and nsa director, mike rogers, facing five hours of questioning before the house intelligence committee. >> president obama could not unilaterally order a wiretap? >> nobody could. i have no information that supports those tweets. the answer is the same for the department of justice and all of its components. >> the white house dismissing much of comey's testimony. >> ther

let's begin our coverage with senior washington correspondent joe johns live at the white house. good morning, joe. >> reporter: good morning, alisyn. it was the most important speech of this president's new administration, and he's gotten rave reviews for it so far. it was a different side of the president that called on america to put away the trivial fights. but his call for democrats and republicans to come together, easier said than done. president trump striking a more presidential and optimistic tone. >> i am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength. >> reporter: in his hour-long speech to a joint session of congress -- >> it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. >> reporter: off the top the president condemning the surge in hate crimes since he took office. >> recent threats targeting jewish community centers and vandalism of jewish cemeteries as well as last week's shooting in kansas city remind us that, while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms. >> repo

john fredericks is here. joe madison as well. president trump tweeted a video today with the words "make america great again." let's watch part of this video. ♪ >> a new chapter of american greatness is now beginning. a new national pride is sweeping across our nation. and a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. what we are witnessing today is the renewal of the american spirit. >> so now private citizen trump has always been about branding. what did you make of that video, john? >> it's like i said at the beginning of the show. it's about renewing a revival of jobs in america. as i've said over and over and over, jobs, a growing economy, economic prosperity makes everybody happy, and if is the great equalizer that's really what he needs to be focusing on is bringing jobs back to the united states, getting people back to work, keeping them working, raising wages, creating opportunity, expanding the economy for everybody. if he can do that, he's going to get reelected in 2020 by a bigger margi

cnn's joe johns live at the white house with more. the big question, joe, is this a distraction play by the president in light of the fact he could answer it himself? >> certainly a big question there, chris. the preliminaries on capitol hill are just about over now. it's pretty clear that members of congress are about to get down to the evidence and the testimony in their big russia investigation, and as part of that, extremely likely members of congress will also be spending at least some of their time and attention on the president's unsubstantiated wiretapping claim. >> white house press secretary sean spicer making clear the president doesn't plan on back heading his unsubstance eighted plan that former president obama wiretapped his phones during the election. >> will the president withdraw the accusation? >> why would he withdraw it until it's adjudicated? that's what we're asking. >> reporter: still offering no evidence. >> it's not a question of new proof or less proof. the answer is the same. >> reporter: despite denials of w

joe johns, thank you. fbi director comey will face these questions and answer these questions in hours. what is he going to say? is there an on going investigation to anyone in russia and the third part of sit interference in the election is that what you're going to listen to most closely? >> right. one of the first questions we do expect the fbi director james comey to answer today is tun proven claim that president barrack obama wiretapped trump at trump tower. we expect that the president's claim is not true. after that his answers are likely to get much trickier so is the senate intelligence committee and the fbi. it's one of the agencies that helped produce that report saying that russia mettled to try to help get donald trump elected. he's likely to talk in general terms he's worried about what his agents are doing and getting dragged into another partisan controversy after the up roar over the private e-mail server. they want to talk about repeated contacts between trump associates and people expec

joe johns is live at the white house with more. no proof, no regrets. they only go together with this administration. >> that's a fact and look the white house staff has been doing what it can to sell a message which such shaky evidence but it's starting to look extremely likely as you said that members of congress will now use their time and resources to investigate the conclusion about wiretapping that the president announced over the weekend on twitter. >> white house press secretary making clear the president doesn't plan on back pedaling his unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wiretapped his phones during the election. >> will he with draw the accusation? why would he with draw it until it's ajude kated. >> still offering no evidence. >> it's not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever. the answer is the same. >> despite denials of wiretapping from former top intelligence officials. >> there was no such wiretap activity. >> spicer continuing to insist on an investigation. >> there is a concern about what happened in the 2016

president's new >> 46 days into donald trump's presidency cnn has it all covered for you starting with joe johnsty and justice in the oval office this morning. the former director of national intelligence and the current director of the fbi contradicting the sitting president of the united states who made a claim without providing evidence that the last president wiretapped him. >> the claim that former president obama ordered his phones to be

. >>> trump finally unveiling his new travel ban, and joe johns is live at the white house with the latest for us. hi, joe. >> reporter: hi, alisyn. some call the charge unsubstantiated and some call it evidence free, and what is clear the aides for the president of the united states have been working very hard to try and defend it, or to at least call for it to be investigated, which brings us to the justice department which is under increasing pressure to speak out. the fbi director, james comey, was, quote, incredulous after the weekend tirade accusing former president obama of wiretapping his phones during the 2016 election, and comey concerned the president's unfounded allegation will make the fbi look bad, and then the justice department silence on the matter now frustrating comey. >> we have only heard unsubstantiated anonymous sources make those claims and i don't think director comey commented. >> sean spicer doubling down trump's accusation, but he, like the president, offering no proof. >> there's no question that something happened, and the question is, is it surveillance or a

president's new >> 46 days into donald trump's presidency cnn has it all covered for you starting with joe johns at the white house. >>> good morning, questions of credibility and justice in the oval office this morning. the former director of national intelligence and the current director of the fbi contradicting the sitting president of the united states who made a claim without providing evidence that the last president wiretapped him. >> the claim that former president obama ordered his phones to be wiretapped coming under fire. sources say the fbi is now asking the justice department to refute the allegations. such wiretapping of a u.s. citizen's phone would be illegal or require a court order. former director of national intelligence james clapper that spear headed the investigation into russia's meddling in the investigation giving a firm no to any such claim of wiretapping. >> for the part of the national security apparatus that i oversaw as dni there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign. >> multiple former se

joe johns thank you very much. fbi director james comey hours away from appearing before the house intelligence committee. what is he going to say? evan perez live in woug with more. we were speculating this morning, imagine if comey went up there and said i can't talk about on going investigation. unlikely but what a day of possibilities. >> one of the first questions we do expect him to be able to answer today is about the unsubstantiated claim that obama wiretapped trump tower. we expect him to say it's not true and after that the answers are likely to get a lot more tricky. they're doing a wide ranging investigation of russia's attempted influence on the 2016 election and so is the senate intelligence committee and the fbi and comey today is testifying with mike rogers that's a director of the national security agency that helped produce the report saying that russia used hacked e-mails from democrats to help donald trump get elected. he's likely to talk in general terms about the bureaus investigation. he is w

let's begin with joe johns at the white house. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the president got high marks for tone, for rhetoric and even threw in a little policy guidance for congressional republicans on repealing and replacing obamacare. he did tip his hat to congressional republicans on the issue of tax credits to help pay for insurance as well as expanding health savings accounts. for the most part he didn't give republicans a lot of ideas how to get there. keeping it mostly big picture. listen. >> action is not a choice. it is a necessity. >> action is not a choice, it is a necessity. so i am calling on all democrats and republicans in congress to work with us to save americans from this imploding obamacare disaster. at the same time providing better health care. >> the way to make health insurance available to everyone is the lower the cost of health insurance and that is what we are going to do. >> reporter: but what will likely be remembered as one of the emotional high points, perhaps the emotional high point of the speech was when the president paid

let's begin our coverage with joe johns live at the white house, joe. >> good morning, allison.ustomed to from its presidents. mr. trump certainly reaching for the reset button last night on capitol hill and a speech very well received by one critical audience, those congressional republicans that will have to try to push through his agenda. >> president trump striking a more presidential and optimistic tone. >> i'm here tonight to deliver a meag

joe johns is at the white house. good morning, joe. >> reporter: good morning, allison. the president's aides have been working hard to defend it. the focus is really on the justice department, which has remained silent in the face of pressure to speak out. fbi director james comey was, quote, incredulous, after president trump's weekend twitter tirade, accusing former president obama of wiretapping his phones during the 2016 election. a person familiar with the matter told cnn. comey, concerned that the president's unfounded allegation would make the fbi look bad, directed staff members to reach out to the justice department, asking them to publicly knock down the president's story. the justice department's silence on the matter now frustrating to comey. >> we've only heard unsubstantiated sources make those comments. i don't think director comey has commented. >> reporter: sean spicer doubling down the president's statement but he, like the president, offering no proof. >> there's no question something happened. the question is, is it surveillance, a wiretap or whateve

let's start coverage with senior washington correspondent joe johns at the white house. >> reporter:he campaign trail who later became attorney general. the chief law enforcement officer in the federal government and apparently with a credibility problem >>> jeff sessions was sworn in three weeks ago today and now the latest administration official answers questions about contact with russia. >> the justice department revealing attorney general jeff sessions met with russian ambassador twice during president trump's campaign in 2016. contacts sessions did not disclose under oath at his senate confirmation hearing. >> i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign an i did not have communications with the russians. i would say to you that have i no information about this matter. >>

. >> insurance for everybody is what he said, joe johns. on another front the house intelligence committee asked for evidence from the justice department by yesterday to back up the president's claims that he was wiretapped by president obama, and now the justice department said we need more time. what is going on here? >> reporter: number one, they say they need to look at the underlying law and number two they need more time to try and assemble any documents that would be responsive to the request on capitol hill. difficult problem for them, of course, because there are a lot of people including a former director of national intelligence saying it didn't happen, this wiretapping claim, as the president suggested. all of this could be resolved next week when top officials from the justice department and fbi appear on capitol hill and get hit with the same questions. >> and james comey will be asked flat out, and we will see if he answers yes or no. thank you so much. great to have you with us. >>> this health care bill proposed by the repu

let's begin with joe johns live at the white house. joe? >> reporter: good morning, chris. i think you can take what's going on on capitol hill as a sign that lawmakers have picked up the pace of their investigation into russia's interference in the last election. the question is the extent to which the fbi director is willing to share all he knows with members of congress. >> reporter: fbi director james comey heading to thrill as tension builds between the justice department and lawmakers over president trump's unsubstantiated wiretapping claims. the justice department under pressure to deny or provide evidence of the president's allegation. comey meeting with the gang of eight, the bipartisan group of lawmakers clear to receive access to the nation's most highly classified intelligence. >> as part of the gang of eight, we want to be informed on a periodic basis. >> reporter: this intelligence set to be extended to all members of the house intelligence committee. prior to the meeting, taking issue with comey saying he hasn't been forthcoming with intelligence regarding ru

joe johns is live at the white house with more. >> it's been very tough because of the lack of evidence and now it's starting to look extremely likely that members of congress are going to use their time and resources to investigate the president's wiretapping claim made on twitter over the weekend. >> the president doesn't plan on back pedaling his unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wiretapped his phones during the election. >> will the president with draw the accusation? does he have any -- >> why would he with draw it until it's ajudicated. that's what we're asking. still offering no evidence. >> it's not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever the answer is the same. >> despite denials of wiretapping from former top intelligence officials. >> spicer continuing to insist on an investigation. >> there's a concern about what happened in the 2016 election. the house and senate intelligence committee have the staff and capabilities and processes in place to look at this in a way that's objective and that's where it should be done. >> now the house intelligence co

joe johns is live at the white house with more. what have you learned joe? >> well, think about it. you have the federal investigation, evan perez was just talking about. that's on going. the eyes of the nation focused on how the republican congress is handling the investigation on it's own and then the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee essentially doing an end run around established procedures. raising questions about the ability of this committee to be fair and impartial. >> house intelligence committee chairman stunning washington. >> i thought it was important for the president to know this. >> rushing to the white house to warn president trump that communication involving members of his transition team may have been picked up through normal incidental surveillance. all conducted. >> it does appear like his name and others ended up into intelligence reports. most people would say that's surveillance. >> nunes himself under fire for going to the media before briefing democratic members of the house intelligence committee. >> we can't have a presidential whis

let's begin this morning with joe johns at the white house. good morning. >> good morning. this administration appears to be in crisis mode on multiple fronts with members of the president's own party flatly contradicting his wiretapping claims. some other members of the president's own party approaching open revolt on the issue of health care. so far the response from the white house has been digging in. >>> hold on. hold on. let me -- i am trying to answer your question jonathan if you can calm down. >> white house secretary sean spicer defiant and combative. >> he stands by it but you're mischaracterizing what happened today. >> defending the president's claim former president obama wiretapped trump tower despite leaders from both parties saying there's no proof. >> we see no evidence of that. >> spicer continuing to justify the president's baseless accusation. >> there's widespread reporting that throughout the 2016 election there was surveillance done on a variety of people. >> the leader of the senate intelligence committee rejecting spicer's claim in the statement sa

let's begin with joe johns, live at the white house. joe. >> good morning, chris.hat the president was wrong on his wiretapping claims and that his campaign activities are under investigation, it appeared the white house was going to mount a defense from the briefing room, but by the time the president stepped in front of the microphones in kentucky, he didn't have anything to say about it last night. president donald trump dodging the

washington correspondent joe johns at the white house. >> reporter: good morning, chris. one of the president's early supporters from the campaign trail who later became attorney general. the chief law enforcement officer in the federal government and apparently with a credibility problem >>> jeff sessions was sworn in three weeks ago today and now the latest administration official answers questions about contact with russia. >> the justice department revealing attorney general jeff sessions met with russian ambassador twice during president trump's campaign in 2016. contacts sessions did not disclose under oath at his senate confirmation hearing. >> i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign an i did not have communications with the russians. i would say to you that have i no information about this matter. >> releasing a new statement saying quote i never met with any russian officials to discuss issue with the campaign. i have no idea what this allegation is about. it's false. but the justice department revealing that sessions met with them last j

joe johns is live at the white house with more. this was a big move. it was a big gamble for nunez. >> that's right, chris. with a federal investigation underway and the eyes of the nation focused on how the congress is handling this, the republican chairman of the house intelligence committee appearing to do an end run around established committee procedures raising new questions about the ability of this committee to conduct a fair and impartial investigation. >> house intelligence committee chairman stunning washington. >> it was important for the president to know this. >> rushing to the white house to warn president trump that communication involving members of his transition team may have been picked up through normal incidental surveillance. apparently all legally conducted. >> his name and people and others ended up into intelligence reports. most people would say that is surveillance. >> nunez himself a member of the president's transition team underfire for going to the media before briefing democratic members of the house intelligence commit

first to joe johns at the white house, a surprise meeting, joe, set the scene. >> reporter: it's certainlyear from the surprise meeting, wolf, that the white house is worried and is hoping that they can change some minds in this freedom caucus about 27 members, we're not clear how many members of the freedom caucus are expected to show up here. our jeff zeleny reported several hours ago that they are expected here. the white house is using a variety of methods, just about everything at play here in washington, as it always is when there's a tough vote and it's very close. there's a certain degree of cajoling going on, also a certain degree of threatening. also the president giving clear indications to conservatives and moderates who are not so sure about this bill that he's got their backs if they're republicans. the problem for the white house is they're running out of time, and it's not clear at all that members of that freedom caucus are going to back down. in fact, there was some reporting earlier today that the freedom caucus might even hold a news conference on capitol hill to talk a

let's begin with joe johns, live at the white house. joe. >> good morning, chris. after those big reveals from the fbi director that the president was wrong on his wiretapping claims and that his campaign activities are under investigation, it appeared the white house was going to mount a defense from the briefing room, but by the time the president stepped in front of the microphones in kentucky, he didn't have anything to say about it last night. president donald trump dodging the biggest challenge to rock his administration at a campaign rally monday night. >> the fbi, as part of our counterintelligence mission is investigating the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the trump campaign and the russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and russia's efforts. >> reporter: fbi director james comey and nsa director mike rogers facing five hours of questioning before the house intelligence committee.

. >> joe johns, appreciate it very much. >> we have the perfect guest for this conversation, house majority whip steve scalise, we'll talk about the gop health care bill and what the whip thinks about the vote count right now. i want your take on this breaking news on what the secretary of state just said out of north korea. did you know that this policy would be apparently changed in terms of their rhetoric coming out of the united states representative on this issue? >> obviously it's all developing quickly. you see secretary of state tillerson going over there and frankly confronting somebody who has been saber rattling and confronting not only our enemies but provoking the united states as well with the nuclear tests and stated whether or not their intentions -- their move towards having the ability to send intercontinental ballistic missile in the united states. i'm glad they are focusing on it. >> do you think we can get the votes to take military action against north korea, how fact sensitive do you think that would be? what kind of appetite do you think there would be for something

that's where we got to cnn's joe johns live at the white house with more. can't think of another occasion when someone running a committee went to the subject of the committee before vetting information with his own investigators? >> reporter: it's pretty interesting. nunes said he had a duty to alert the president because this information had nothing to do with russia and everything to do with surveillance. look, you have an fbi investigation going on that evan was just talking about, you have the whole country watching to see how congressional republicans are going to handle their own investigation and then the chairman of the house intel committee does this. it certainly raises questions about the ability of this house intel committee to conduct a fair and impartial investigation. >> reporter: house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes stunning washington. >> i thought it was important for the president to know this. >> reporter: rushing to the white house to warn president trump that communication involving members of his transition team may have

joe johns live at the white house with more. now two judges but the same problem. >> that's right, chris and the president making it clear he plans to fight this out in court even expressing regrets that he didn't press harder for it during the first go around. last night when all we had was the hawaii ruling the president was also making it quite clear he plans to take this all the way to the supreme court if necessary. >> a new blow to a key federal policy holder. a federal judge in maryland becoming the second judge to rule against president trump's revised travel ban. >> you don't think this was done by a judge for political reasons do you? no. this ruling makes us look weak. >> the president talking tough after the ruling last night. >> this is the opinion of many. an unprecedented judicial overreach. >> a hawaii judge blocking the ban nationwide just hours after it was scheduled to take effect. ruling the state had reasonable grounds to challenge the order as religious discrimination and pointing to the presidents own word

let's begin our coverage with joe johns live at the white house. good morning. >> good morning, allison. the confirmation hearing of jeff sessions was must see tv as his then colleagues in the senate got to grill him. he was sworn in three weeks ago today as the federal governments top law enforcement officer and now there are questions about whether he may have made a misleading statement during the hearing about contact with russia that could at least potentially have far reaching consequences. the justice department revealing that he met with him twice. contacts sessions did not disclose under oath at his senate confirmation hearing. >> i have been called a surrogate a time or two during that campaign and i did not have communication with the russians. i have no information about this matter. >> denying any impropriety. now saying i never met to discuss issues of the campaign. have no idea what this allegation is about. it is false. but the justice department revealing that sessions met with him last july on the sidelines of the republican natio

cnn has all the angles covered for you starting with joe johns live at the white house. good morning. >> the white house facing an extremely tough sell on this story this morning. questions of credibility, questions of judgment, swirling around the white house and the oval office. among other things a former director of national intelligence and the sitting director of the fbi both contradicting the assertions of the president of the united states. >> president trump's unfounded claim that former president obama ordered his phones to be wiretapped coming under fire. sources say the fbi is now asking the justice department to publicly refute the allegations but so far the justice department remained silent. such wiretapping would be illegal or require a court order under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. >> the former director of national intelligence that spear headed the investigation into russia's mettling in the he ex-giving a firm no to any such claim of wiretapping. >> for the national security apparatus that i oversaw there was no such wiretap activity mou

joe johns is at the white house with that this morning. >> good morning, poppy. one thing seems clear this morning. this new administration is entering a very challenging period right now and it's certainly not clear the extent to which the white house is going to be able to control any of it. >> president donald trump facing mounting pressure and his unsubstantiated claim that president obama wiretapped phones at trump tower. >> a lot of americans need to know. >> amid this turmoil fbi director james comey could confirm today whether the bureau is investigating ties between trump's campaign and russia. leaders of a senate judiciary subcommittee also hopeful that comey will respond to their request to provide evidence regarding the wiretapping accusation. >> they're about to screw up big time if they keep running to the intel committee and not answer that letter. >> earlier this week, sean spicer qualified trump's accusation but now he is sounding defiant. >> he feels very confident that we'll ultimately come to this. we'll vindicate him. >> lawmakers on both sid

let's begin this morning with joe johns at the white house. good morning. >> good morning.s to be in crisis mode on multiple fronts with members of the president's own party flatly contradicting his wiretapping claims. some other members of

let's begin with cnn's joe johns live at the white house. it certainly has legs this story, that's for sure. >> reporter: certainly seems that way, chris. jeff sessions was one of the president's earliest supporters in the united states senate, now attorney general, now on the defensive about statements he made before a senate committee during his confirmation hearing. the justice department revealing attorney general jeff sessions met with russian ambassador sergei kits love twice during president trump's campaign in 2016. contact sessions did not disclose under oath at his senate confirmation hearing. >> i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. i would just say to you that i have no mfgs about this matter. >> reporter: sessions denying any impropriety, releasing a new statement saying, quote, i never met with any russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. i have no idea what this allegation is about. it is false. but the justice department revealing tha

our joe johns is live at the white house with that in a moment. >> good morning, poppy. the president appears to have a serious and growing credibility problem on this wiretapping issue and it's creating the situation on capitol hill where members of his own party have to challenge him and contradict him but the reaction in the briefing room so far has been to continue digging in. >> hold on. hold on. and i am trying to answer your question jonathan if you can calm down. >> white house press secretary sean spicer defiant and comb combative. >> he stands by it but you're mischaracterizing what happened today. >> angry defending the president's unsubstantiated claim that former president obama wire tapd phones at trump tower despite leaders from both parties saying there's no proof. >> we cleared that up. we've seen no evidence of that. >> spicer continuing to cite media reports to try to justify the president's baseless accusation. >> there's widespread reporting that throughout the 2016 election there was surveillance that was done on a variety of people. >> the leaders

let's begin this house with joe johns at the white house. good morning. >> good morning. it's coming to a head this morning all the doubt and skepticism that the department of justice is going to be able to come up to anything responsive to this request especially when you have people like former director of national intelligence on the record denying the president's assertion. still this moment is important because of how it could effect president trump's credibility going down the road. >> there's one of two choices. either retract or provide the information that the american people deserve. >> measure mounting to provide proof of his claim that former president obama wiretapped phones at trump tower during last year's election. >> i believe the charge is true and i also believe the president of the united states can clear this up in a minute. >> fwhoun of the president's top advisers illuding to alleged monitoring that she said may have involved more than wiretapping. >> all of this as the house intelligence committee is calling on the justice department to present evi

joe john is at the white house. a rare apology from the trump white house, not on the wiretapping claims, but on a, quote, supposedly unintentional slip by the white house press secretary sean spicer while defending the president's comments on trump tower surveillance. take a listen to what sean spicer said yesterday. >> on fox news, on march 14, judge andrew napolitano made the statement, three officials toed fox news the president obama went outside the chain of command and didn't use the nsa, fbi and the department of justice, he used gc hq. it's the initials for the british intelligence spying agency, president obama said he needs transcripts and there is no american fingerprints on this. >> let me bring in our cnn diplomatic editor, nic robertson joining us from 10 downing street. it was pretty shocking to hear sean spicer quote from a report on fox news by a legal contributor, a legal analyst, judge andrew napolitano, alleging that the british intelligence was actually spying on donald trump during the campaig

cnn's joe johns at the white house with more. >> reporter: think about what you're saying there, you've got health care, you have the russia investigation, you have wiretaps, an extremely challenging period right now for this white house on multiple fronts, and not clear at all the extent to which the administration is going to have control over any of it. president trump facing pressure from members of his own party confronting internal revolt over the house health care bill and his unsubstantiated claim that president obama wiretapped phones at trump tower. >> a lot of americans need to know. >> reporter: amid this turmoil, fbi director james comey could confirm today whether the bureau is investigating ties between trump's campaign and russia. leaders of a senate judiciary subcommittee also hopeful comey will also respond to their request to provide evidence regarding the wiretapping acquisition. >> they're about to screw up big time if they keep running to the intel committee and not answer that letter. >> reporter: earlier this week sean spicer qualified trump's accusation, but now