margaret brennan, margaret, all of this controversy is happening while there are still several things going on in the world, of course, and one of them has to do with the middle eastern emirate of qatar. report exactly, where there are more than 1,000 u.s. troops key to that campaign against isis based in that emirate. the president just said something that really in many ways contradicted his own secretary of state who is sitting right here while he said it, because moments ago you had secretary tillerson say he was very concerned about the humanitarian effect, food shortage, people being separated, families separated, and the impact on u.s. military operations and business of that blockade. but the president seemed to double down on it. he just said from here that, again, qatar has historically funded terrorism up to the very highest levels of its government, really doubling down on those controversial tweets he sent just earlier this week where he seemed in many ways to take credit for this diplomatic crisis that has seen many u.s. allies, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, an

heather nauert has tried to soften it. >> more work needs to be done. >> margaret brennan, cbs news, the state department. >>> the man who attacked police with a hammer had declared allegiance to isis. it appears he acted alone. at least 600 people were blocked inside the popular tourist site as police secured the area. one officer was slightly wounded. >>> police investigating the suicide bombing attack in manchester last month arrested a 38-year-old man at london's heathrow airport tuesday. he was charged under the terrorism act and remains in custody. >>> and a man was arrested this morning in east london in connection with the attack at london bridge. police identified the third attacker, a man known by italian officials who passed their concerns on to the british officials last year. seven people were killed in saturday's attack. two were australians. prince harry remembered them during a visit to sydney. >>> australians form an important and vibrant part of the attack in london and we're reminded of that in good times and in bad and our hearts go out to the victims, their frien

here's margaret brennan. >> reporter: secretary rex tillerson today showed signs of frustration at the slow pace of hiring at the state department. the white house has torpedoed several of his picks for senior positions. that led to what one aide called a spirited exchange at a meeting last friday involving tillerson, chief of staff reince preibus, and the president's son-in-law, jared kushner, who plays an unusually prominent role in foreign affairs. out of 188 state department posts requiring senate confirmation, only 23 ambassadors have been nominated and six confirmed. spokesperson heather nauert: >> sure, we'd like to be able to fill those positions and that is happening, and anticipate that it will happen at a faster pace. >> reporter: tillerson has also been publicly undercut by the president who plunged into a middle east crisis by supporting a saudi-led boycott of qatar. >> the nation of qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level. >> reporter: that dispute threatens to disrupt the u.s.-led fight against isis, which is command out of

margaret brennan has the reaction at the white house. >> reporter: an often-polarizing president delivered a message of unity. >> everyone on that field is a public servant, our courageous police, our congressional aides who work so tirelessly behind the scenes with enormous devotion, and our dedicated members of congress who represent our people. >> reporter: the attack is the most high-profile act of domestic political violence on his watch. mass shootings have become an unfortunate but repeated tragedy for recent american presidents. known for his often direct, off-the-cuff style, today the president chose his words carefully after speaking with the wife of wounded congressman steve scalise. his speechwriter edited the remarks until moments before the president delivered them with his daughter and son-in-law standing nearby. >> we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good. >> reporter: a white house official said the president was very aware of the delicate nature of what was unfolding this morning, and he worked on his remarks with vice president p

a number of arab nations cut diplomat and i can commercial ties, and here's margaret brennan. >> reporter: president trump appeared to take credit for spark the diplomatic crisis. in a series of tweets, the president said his recent visit to saudi arabia was "paying off," as the kingdom and nine other countries severed relations with qatar for allegedly funding radical ideology. but president made no mention of that last month when he met with the qatari emir. instead, offering to sell him weapons. >> lots of beautiful military equipment. >> reporter: during that trip, the president vowed to unify the muslim world against terrorism and iran. but tensions spiked in the past 24 hours, with countries in the region closing their air space to qatari planes, block trade, and cutting diplomatic ties, sparking qataris to stockpile food. the u.s. launches air strikes against isis and syria in iraq from a base in qatar, the tiny gulf emirate hosts around 10,000 that's one reason secretary of state rex tillerson has tried to de-escalate the crisis. >> we certainly would encourage the parties to sit

really no precedent to prejudge its outcome. >> pelley: margaret brennan at the white house.nks. today anyone can book an event at a trump golf club or hotel with the profits going to president trump through his trust. so who is doing this? here's julianna goldman. >> reporter: turkish airline, half owned by the turkish government, paid for its annual tournament at the president's miami golf course in april. >> is far everything has been picture-perfect. >> reporter: a member of the ruling family of the united arab emirates and turkish airlines were among the sponsors last month of this turkish-american conference at trump international hotel, just a few blocks from the white house. and the government of kuwait financed their national day celebration just a month after the inauguration. the site: that same trump organization-owned hotel in washington. the president still owns his company, so he still benefits from business generated at his property, but some legal experts say that money from foreign governments like turkey and kuwait spent here might run afoul of the constitu

well, today, margaret brennan tells us a number of top officials had to come to mueller's defense. >> i have a lot of confidence in bob mueller. i think it was a good choice. >> i think best advice would be to let robert mueller do his job. >> reporter: republican leaders mitch mcconnell and paul ryan expressed support today for robert mueller, the special counsel investigating russian election meddling and allegations of trump campaign collusion. it was prompted by this comment from trump confidant and newsmax c.e.o. chris ruddy yesterday on pbs. >> well, i think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. i think he's-- he's weighing weg that option. >> reporter: on "cbs this morning" former house speaker newt gingrich, who had initially said he was a fan of mueller, accused him of picking politically biased investigators. >> his first four attorneys are all democrats. one of them worked for the clinton foundation. he, apparently, couldn't find a single pro-trump attorney to hire and i just think that's a rigged game. >> reporter: mueller, a former f.b.i. director, wil

our coverage begins with margaret brennan. >> would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of the events? >> 100%. >> reporter: president trump said he would be happy to speak with special counsel robert mueller about his conversations with james comey. >> i would be glad to tell him ldactly what i just told you, jim. >> reporter: it would be a significant moment in an investigation that has gone from examining the trump campaign's ties to russia to possibly whether the president committed obstruction of justice. >> no collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker. >> reporter: the president denied comey's accusation that i. pressured the then-f.b.i. director to drop the investigation of the national security adviser michael flynn. >> he did say under oath that you told him to let the flynn-- you said you hoped the flynn investigation, you would let-- >> i didn't say that. >> so he lied about that. >> well. >> didn't say that. i mean, i will tell you, i didn't say that. >> reporter: the president also said he did not ask for comey's loyalty. ay and there would be nothing wrong i

a number of arab nations have cut diplomatic and commercial ties, and here's margaret brennan. >> reporter: president trump appeared to take credit for sparking the diplomatic crisis. in a series of tweets, the president said his recent visit to saudi arabia was "paying off," as the kingdom and nine other countries severed relations with qatar for allegedly funding radical ideology. but president made no mention of that last month when he met with the qatari emir, instead, offering to sell him weapons. >> lots of beautiful military equipment. >> reporter: during that trip, the president vowed to unify the muslim world against terrorism and iran. but tensions spiked in the past 24 hours, with countries in the region closing their air space to qatari planes, blocking trade, and cutting diplomatic ties, sparking qataris to stockpile food. the u.s. launches air strikes against isis and syria in iraq from a base in qatar. the tiny gulf emirate hosts around 10,000 u.s. troops. that's one reason secretary of state rex tillerson has tried to de-escalate the crisis. >> we certainly would encourage

margaret brennan is at the white house. >> never in the history of this country have we had a president with these kinds of extensive business entanglements. >> reporter: the democratic attorneys generals of d.c. and maryland accused president trump of breaking a promise to separate his private business interests from private duties. >> it puts democracy at risk when the president is corruptible. >> reporter: president trump retained ownership of the trump organization through a trust, managed by his sons. the lawsuit alleges the president is in violation of two anticorruption provisions of the constitution known as the emoluments clauses. because his position has enabled him to benefit personally from payments made to the company. >> i deal with the chinese all the time. the largest banks in the world is in one of my buildings. >> reporter: one example cited is that the president's company still receives lease payments from a chinese bank. to address such conflicts the trump organization says it will donate those profits from foreign entities to the u.s. treasury. why is that not good

fired 59 cruise missiles at a syrian government air base and margaret brennan is at the white house withgood morning. >> reporter: good morning. this ominous white house statement was issued late last night after u.s. intelligence detected activity around shayrat airfield. now that is the same location from which that deadly april chemical weapons attack was launched. according to what a u.s. official tells our own cbs news' david martin there is activity around that same chemical weapons bunker that was not destroyed due to fear it would spread the toxic material. the u.s. has also picked up increased communications by the syrian unit responsible for chemical weapons. however, it is not clear whether that is preparation for an attack or simply movement for another reason such as an inspection. u.s. dip the mas tell me that they were caught off guard by the strong language that was used in this white house statement. however, this did come just hours after a tense phone call between russia's top diplomat and secretary of state rex tillerson. that extraordinary warning came following the

. >> margaret brennan at the state department. >>> president trump's partial travel ban goes into effect tonight, restricting many visitors from six mostly muslim countries for 90 days. visa holders will be allowed in, but other visitors from those countries must have a family or business tie to enter it's a journey. and every step along the way, the uso is there. it's an experience that soldier will never forget that's what the uso does. more today at uso.org. >> announcer: this is the "cbs overnight news." >>> cardinal george pell, the third highest-ranking vatican official, was charged with child sex abuse today in his home country, australia. the alleged assaults happened decades ago. seth doane is following this. >> i'm looking forward finally to having my day in court. >> reporter: this morning cardinal george pell was defiant as he faced reporters. >> i'm innocent of these charges. they are false. the whole idea of sexual abuse is abhorrent to me. >> reporter: australian police did not provide specifics, only referring to the charges as historical sexual assau offenses. in the pas

margaret brennan reports. >> i have a lot of confidence in bob mueller.t was a good choice. >> i think the best choice would be to let job. >> reporter: paul ryan and mitch mcconnell announced support for robert mueller, investigating allegation of russian and trump collusion. it was suggested by chris ruddy yesterday on pbs. >> i think he's considering, perhaps terminating the special counsel. i think he's weighing that option. >> reporter: on cbs this morning, former house speaker newt gingrich who initially said he was a fan of mueller accused him of picking politically biased investigators. >> his first four attorneys are all democrats. one worked for the clinton foundation. he apparently couldn't find a single pro-trump attorney to hire, and i think that's a rigged game. >> reporter: mueller will also explore whether the abrupt firing of comey in may was an attempt to disrupt the fbi's russia inquiry. in order to dismiss mueller, the president would have to get consent from deputy attorney general rod rosenstein. good cause for firing of special coun

. >> margaret brennan at the state department. >>> president trump's partial travel ban goes into effectostly muslim countries for 90 days. visa holders will be allowed in, but other visitors from those countries must have a

let's now go to margaret brennan at the white house. >> reporter: the white house wanted to change the narrative with this tweet the president has now changed the focus towards the new fbi director who will be filling that slot left vacant when the president fired director comey back on may 9. now, as you heard from jeff pegues, this was a name that wasn't at the top of the initial list but that is because many of those who were initially being considered by the president before he went on that foreign trip withdrew their name including former senator joe lieberman. so there were a lot of people who were concerned about the level of scrutiny that will be on this new fbi director. um, and today, you will actually hear from the acting director andrew mccabe as he speaks to the senate intelligence committee about this ongoing russia probe. but the white house today very much trying to change the narrative. [ laughter ] >> to what's going forward here and putting support behind christopher wray who is a litigation partner here in dc also done some work down in atlanta. so we will be now ho

. >> pelley: margaret brennan, thanks. short time ago we spoke with two congressmen who survived the attack, chuck fleishmann of tennessee and mike bishop of michigan. they described how the two u.s. capitol police officers responded to the gunfire. >> it was chaos at that point, l d i can't tell you that i know exactly what happened. the problem is that he's got a rifle and they've got handguns and it's not a fair fight at that point in time. it's too far away with that weapon to precisely hit a target. tey knew they weren't going to probably hit him. they were just trying to give us cover. that's the heroics of these two that i can't... i have never seen that before. i have never personally witnessed that. >> pelley: they charged at the gunman? >> absolutely. >> and they were wounded in the line of duty, which is tremendous. mike is absolutely right. but for their actions, a lot nsre people would have been eople would have bee >> pelley: what did you see of congressman scalise after he was wounded? >> before i could get

margaret brennan is at the white house with the administration's efforts to try to close the deal. margaret, good morning. >> good morning. president trump considers himself a closer, but his deal making has been ineffective in the senate where republican within their own party andalk a see what we can do. >> president trump summoned all republican senators to the white house for an emergency meeting tuesday after party leaders postponed the health care vote due to lack of support. >> this will be great if we get it done. and if we don't get it done, it's just going to be something we're not going to like and that's okay and i understand that very well. >> some senators arrived back to capitol hill optimiss tim they will find a path to passage. others are less competent. >> this president is the first president in our history who has had neither political or military experience, and that's -- it has been a challenge to him to learn how to interact with congress. >> mr. trump downplayed their dissent in a twitter post that republicans are working hard and really want to getmer white

margaret brennan is at the white house. margaret, good morning. >> reporter: good morning.g a new fbi director changes the story, but it keeps the spotlight on that russia investigation, which is making it more difficult for president trump to accomplish his legislative goals. >> i wish him luck. >> reporter: president trump made no mention of acrimony toward fired fbi director james comey, who is set to testify to even joking with republican lawmakers about the rising profile of his son-in-law, jared kushner. >> jared, jared has actually become much more famous than me. i'm a little bit upset about that. >> reporter: the ribbing drew comparisons to president trump singling out of then fbi director comey just two days after his inauguration. >> he's become more famous than me. >> reporter: a source close to comey tells cbs news that the president's outreach amid an ongoing fbi investigation made the former fbi director so uncomfortable that he asked attorney general jeff sessions not to leave him alone in a room with mr. trump. in comey's view, the president's request for h

margaret brennan is at the white house. itter, but he's been silent so far. >> norahing you're tempting fate, but we have seen some of the suggested tweets reporters have been asked to post. there's a rap ud response team of former trump administration and campaign-affiliated supporters who will be live responding on twitter and elsewhere, really on the effects of james comey's testimony. we've seen talk distributed to reporters to give an idea. the spin is the following. they're going to claim comey proves there's no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia but that's a conclusion the fbi has not reached because the probe into the russian meddling is still ongoing. they're also going to claim the president never obstructed the fbi probe. however, comey will go to pains not to judgment. what you're looking at is an ad put together by the great american alliance. it's airing on cable news stations and it really attacks comey's own character and his handling of the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. this

margaret brennan isuse th all t morning. margaret, good morning. >> good morning.tlight that russian investigation is making it harder for preside his legislats and it serves as a distraction for an white house. acrimony od director. even joking about the rise of his son-in-law jared kushner. >> jared's become much more famous than me. i'm a little bit upset about that. >> the ribbings drew comparisons of president trump singling out former director fbi director james comey before his inauguration. the president's outreach amid an ongoing fbi investigation made the former fbi director so uncomfortable that he asked attorney jeff sessions not to leave him alone in the room with president trump. his request to drop the proeb into michael flynn's contacts with russia was inappropriate, but a source says comey will stick to the facts and will not accuse the president of trying to obstruct justice. >> you can say. >> tensions developed between president trump and his attorney general after sessions recused himself from the russia investigation, a decision that paved the

. >> margaret brennan has the white house. >> everyone on that field is a public servant. our courageous police, our congressional aides. who worked so tirelessly behind the scenes with enormous devotion and our dedicated members of congress who represent our people. >> reporter: the attack is the most high-profile act of domestic political violence on his watch. mass shootings have become an unfortunate, but repeated, tragedy for recent american presidents. known for his often direct, off the cuff style, today the president chose his words carefully, after speaking with the wife of wounded congressman steve scalise. his speechwriter edited the remarks until moments before the president delivered them with his daughter and son-in-law standing nearby. >> we are strong els when we are unified and when we work together for the common good. >> reporter: a white house official said the president was very aware of the delicate nature of what was unfolding this morning. and he worked on his remarks with vice president pence. someone who served in congress himself, to craft a spee

here is margaret brennan. >> so we are going to talk. >> president trump summoned all republican senatorse house. for an emergency meeting tuesday after party leaders postponed the health care vote due to a lack of support. >> this will be great if we get it done. and if we don't get it done it is something that we are not going to like. that's okay. i understand that very well. >> reporter: some senators arrived become to capitol hill optimistic they will find a path to passage. >> we are not there yet. we don't have consensus. >> others are less confident. >> this president is the first president. in our history. who has had neither political nor military experience. and thus it has been a challenge to him to learn how to interact with congress. >> mr. trump downplayed their di center in a twitter post. saying that republicans are working hard and really want to get it right. but his aides worked to turn the tide. vice president pence, lobbied the entire republican caucus at their weekly lunch. while white house chief of staff, and press secretary worked capitol hill. >> think we have g

margaret brennan is at the white house. nancy cordes is in the hearing room. john, what are you looking for? >> well, last week attorney general sessions was a supporting actor in the narrative of james comey throughout, particularly with that february 14th meeting in the oval office. he was asked to leave the room. then director comey said he had a conversation with the attorney general about not leaving him alone with the president. we're now going to hear from attorney general sessions about his role, how he remembers those interrogations. >> pelley: jan? >> that's incredibly important. while you're going to see senators press the attorney general on his contacts with the russians, really this is a hearing that's less about jeff sessions than donald trump. and so he's going to be pressed on his conversations with his f.b.i. director and what light that might shed on the president's intent, why he fired james comey and whether or not he believes there was any effort to obstruct justice. you'll see a lot of questions tryin

our coverage begins with margaret brennan. >> president trump said he would be happy to speak with specialounsel robert mueller about his conversations with james comey. momentd be a significant in an investigation that has gone from examining the trump campaign's ties to russia to whether the president -- he denied the accusation he f.b.i.ed the do them -- director. he also said he did not ask for his loyalty. president trump: there would be nothing wrong if i did say that, but i did not say that. >> the president attacked comey for leaking details of their conversation to the press. comey testified yesterday shortly after he was fired he gave memos documenting his conversations with the president to a friend who gave them to a reporter. >> i thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. >> now the president's lawyer plans to file a complaint with the justice department inspector general and senate judiciary committee. he argues comey released sensitive information. threatening legal action is a tactic often used by mr. trump. mr. trump hamas to file at least 24 lawsuits

our coverage begins with margaret brennan. >> president trump said he would be happy to speak with special counsel robert mueller about his conversations with james comey. >> i would be glad to tell him exactly what i just told you. >> it would be a significant moment in an investigation that has gone from examining the trump campaign's ties to russia to whether the president possibly committed obstruction of justice. the president denied comey's accusation e pressured the then f.b.i. director to drop the investigation of michael flynn. the president also said he did not ask for comey's loyalty. >> and there would be nothing wrong if i did say it according to everybody i've read today but i did not say that. >> the president attacked comey for leaking details about their conversations to the press. >> i was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting. >> comey testified yesterday that shortly after he was fired he gave memos documenting his conversations with the president to a friend who in turn gave them to a reporter. >> because i thought that might prompt the appoin

margaret brennan is at the white house with a message to his supporters. margaret, good morning. >> good morning. well, with an approval rating below 40% and his agenda challenged in washington, prime minister returned to campaign-style rhetoric in iowa, a state he won by ten points, and spent much more than the hour-long speech to upend the establishment. >> it's always trifing to leave that washington swamp. >> cheered on by more than 5,000 iowa supporters, president trump unveiled two proposals, barring new immigrants from receiving welfare and turning his breaux posed border wall in mexico into a solar panel. >> the higher it goes, the more it's like pretty good imagination, right? good? my idea hopefully our nation emerges from this ordeal. it was an ordeal. terrible. more unified and more determined than ever before. >> minutes later dismissed democrats. >> they're obstructionists. >> slammed journalists and downplayed the ongoing fbi probe into trump campaign associates. >> they have phony witch hunts going against me. >> he relished republican resil

margaret brennan is at the margaret, good morning. >> good morning. the president will no doubt be asked about the fired fbi direct press later today. the political calculation from the reporters seems to be that the president can overcome any damage by lumping comey in with the same washington establishment that he was elected disrupt. president trump was notably restrained from tweeting or commentinghe testimony of the fired fbi director james comey. >> i think the president was worried. >> the president is new at this. he's new to government. >> the trump team's s a politic while changing the focus from the ongoing into collusion and russian election meddling. the president yesterday characterized it to evangelical support as battle. >> au we're under siege. you understand that. t come out bigger and better and stronger than ever.w. >> any response to comey's accusations isn't coming from the white house. that assignment has been outsourced to the president's personal lawyer marc kasowitz. >> mr. comey has now he is one of these leakers. >> kasowit