mr. mcmaster saying it was totally appropriate and he had every right to share this information. you look at what happened, how serious is for -- is this for america and the president? president should not have any apprehension of discussing it with the american people. if it was classified, it has been declassified. it is completely declassified. there is no reason there should be a concern on the part of the administration of having "the washington post" or any member of the press print what was there. i think they are worried about that. i think they are worried because the russians and others may be able to determine sources and methods by looking exactly at what was said. i think it is serious. i remember in the beginning i used to worry that the president wasn't reading the president's daily brief. now i'm worried that he is, and we have to be concerned about how much information he has and whether he understands what the appropriate line is to cost or -- to cross or not cross. when i was these briefings with the president, we had very strict talking points, and the notion,

mr. mcmaster: i think it's incumbent on all of us to bring in the right authorities and mandate to take a look at how this leak occurred and how other breaches may have occurred as well. reporter: general mcmaster, a finer point on this, is there now an active investigation into how this information was leaked and can you tell us about who is running that investigation? and i'd also like to ask you, given that president trump is now going to be meeting face to face with literally dozens of foreign leaders, is there sensitivities to his discretion and what sort of information you decide to classify, how is that something you're advising him ahead of these trips? general mcmaster: there are no sensitivities in terms of me or anybody who has been with the president in many of these engagements. he shares information in a way that's wholly appropriate. i should just make maybe president wasn't even aware of where this information came from. he wasn't briefed on the source or method of the information either. so i'm sorry this has got to be he last question because we do have the president com

mr. mcmaster, general mcmaster, may have walked into the office and said mr.ident, have you -- i want to give you your intelligence briefing and he throws a few lines out here and there and the president holds on to that and so then the president uses it. it's not that this man is used to sitting down and disciplining himself to go through a regular intelligence briefing every morning. >> charlie, the president's relationship with the intelligence community, it can be described as contentious to say the least. there was this tweet from last february, here's a tweet from last february, quote, information is being illegally given to the failing "new york times" and "washington post" by the intelligence community. just like russia. one media outlet friendly to the president today attributed this latest kub latest controversy to the, quote, dark state. in december a month before his inauguration this is what he said to fox news. >> you are getting the presidential daily brief. >> yes. >> only once a week? >> well, i get it when i need it. i say if something should

mr. mcmaster also saying donald trump did not know any informational sources himself, said he could not haven the person to have spilled the beans. the israel, according to the new york times, is that source. that is citing current and former u.s. official. we have to look forward to later this week because donald trump is going to be headed to the middle east. it is a big trip that people have been talking about. is trying to build this out. he will be going to israel to .eet with benjamin netanyahu whatever their conversation is, we might not be privy to it. what is it doing for his approval ratings? ramy: i wonder if we have the bloomberg terminal chart. it is #8552. we do have it. look at the blue line. you would like that to be his approval rating, but that is his disapproval rating, 53.9%. his approval rating is going the wrong way, 40.7%. you can see the differentiation in terms of percentage points. at its biggest, those of the yellow ball -- bars falling downward. the biggest was late march. it seems the trend is getting even bigger. thanks very much. here is what is coming up. numb

mr. mcmaster says they would not answer questions about jared kushner.in this meeting but it did it a few times. that's not clear. the dissatisfaction expressed by the german chancellor and the french president by the fact that the united states, president trump, has not agreed to sign up to the paris climate accord of 2015, the climate part of the summit communicate which by recent g-7 standards is very short. president trump is still deciding whether or not to agree to the paris accord. disappointing is now the german chancellor is calling it. >> nick robertson right there. nick, thank you. thank you all so much for being with us. we'll get to the g-7 in a minute. i want to get information that we are learning here that the trump campaign, they have been forced they say we are giving this information to cancel the rally that they had scheduled in iowa on thursday. it is unusual that the president would cancel a rally, ron. do you think this is in direct proportion to what he's dealing with, not just right now over seas and this whole week or nine days

mr. mcmaster denied it yesterday. president coming along and tweeting this morning, seem to go suggest that he did, in fact, share information with important in the fight against terrorism with regard to isis. let's take you back to the briefing. again, we're waiting for him to begin speaking specifically about what the president said. >> by establishing and operating the center our muslim friends, including saudi arabia, are taking a firm stand against extremism. and those who use a perverted interpretation of religion to advance their political agendas. he will participate in a twitter forum with young people who can live tweet his remarks to people all over the world. the president will then continue on to skwrer redujerusalem. where he will lay a wreath. he will celebrate the unique history of israel and of the unshakeable bond with our closest ally in the middle east. later that day, he will meet with prime minister netanyahu. that night the president and the first lady will join the prime minister and mrs. netan

mr. mcmaster pointed out is not whether classified information was discussed.ther sources and methods were divulged. i cannot tell from what's available publicly about the conversation whether that happened. i doubt it did. you know, europol needs to know about this as much as america. >> is this how you divulge classified information? in this setting with photographers in the sit down with this russian ambassador who as you know, some in washington says doubles as a spy. is that how you divulge classified information or is there a process by which it happens? >> when a president gets together with ambassador and discuss a sensitive matter. we can talk about the situation in syria or the situation with regard to terrorism. what is he going to do? almost entire conversation with international leaders involve some classified information or another. what do you think they will talk about in israel and saudi arabia? they will talk about the fight against isis. >> just one second. i'm interested because you dealt with sergei lavrov, the ambassad ambassador, who is c

mr. mcmaster suggesting it was possibly out of an abundance of caution.e. >> barbara starr at the pentagon. joining us it is lisa monaco, the former homeland security and counterterrorism advisers to president obama. lisa, thanks for joining us. appreciate it. >> glad to be with you. >> i know you want to stay out of the politics of this and just talk about the facts. based on your experience, might this revelation stop israel and other allies from providing the u.s. with intelligence? >> well, look, i don't know what information was shared, and i don't know the origin of that information and which partner was the one to provide it to us, but i think we've got to be very concerned about what an episode like this does with respect to the relationships that we've built up over many, many years. let's step back a minute, jake. since 9/11 over the course of the bush administration, the obama administration and through work from the cia, fbi, across our national security community, tremendous relationships have been built up with what we call lei san partners.

mr. mcmaster. i believe what he said is true.i think it's something that's way blown out of proportion. >> and wolf, i can tell you over the course of the morning talking to dozens of senators, one-on-one and with groups of reporters, senator orrin hatch said -- he was really the only one who was willing to stake out that position. others appearing to join him in the wake of mcmaster taking questions. what was notable of the marco rubio. he said last night they reached out and he did not answer the questions. he's planned on getting more answers today. that's what you hear from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, wolf. the house intelligence committee will meet today. they will be briefed and classified setting by cia director mike pompeo. it is a long scheduled briefing. i'm told that briefing will focus on what the russian intelligence meeting. wolf, again, a lot of questions. a lot of serious concern. everybody around here is pretty much just trying to get their head around something that appears to once again be a dramatic

mr. mcmaster, what he said is true. i think it's something that way blown out of proportion. >> we have a saying in the navy blue slips. it's not do i say. it's do as i do. he needs to lead by example. jonathan: c.i.a. director mike pompeo spending members briefing the members of the house intelligence committee on what the president said and the potential impacts. you can go to wjla.com/votenow to track the vote. also, we'll check back in with the instapoll at 4:30 asking what you think about what the president released. you can see the reporting on president trump. we have all of it for you. wjla.com. nancy:pd massive ransomware attacks. reporting that north korea was behind the global attack that hit a hundred countries hijacking computers and holding cyber services hostage. since the attack which hit the microsoft operating system the hardest, microsoft offered up new patches to secure vital systems. taking a look outside. last week's chill a distant memory. no it a cloud in sight. tomorrow we could be approaching r

mr. mcmaster, general mcmaster mentioned the anonymous sources.mentioned, brian, after the meeting, senior white house official called the nsa and they called the cia and said hey, just want you to know this happened. that's probably where the leaks happened. nsa, cia. the "new york post," rather the "new york times," "the washington post, they both say that the information came from current and former administration officials. brian: they are feeling they will do some reverse forensics with the russians because they cannot be trust weed know that for sure around figure out how we got that information through a middle east country which name was not expod the middle eastern country who helped us out. however, thhowever the city thet was hatched is the concern. how do we know that in the cia asked "the washington post not to publish the name of the city for national security. ainsley: talking about espionage etiquette, that's -- they are saying it didn't happen. general mcmaster was saying i was in the room. it didn't happen. even if it did, it's n

mr. mcmaster and mr. cohen?iven how the russian investigation is heating up, i think it's very hard to push ahead with any kind of domestic agenda let alone foreign policy switch. this russia investigation keeps engulfing trumps son-in-law, jared kushner, and ways that every day we wake up with a different headline. i think it shows that there are real splits within the white house and there are certain corners of the white house that are feeling very much under the gun. francine: talk to me about the russian investigation. we now understand that mr. flynn , who was really at the start of this, is now going to hand documents over. stephanie: that's right. remember -- he at first had refused to cooperate and then he was issued a subpoena, which he refused to comply with, citing his fifth amendment right. doing is finally somehow some sort of deal and he has agreed to hand over some documents for his business lobbying firm, as well as personal documents. that has led to some speculation that he has flipped and is

mr. mcmaster has to say, but that's why you're seeing an empty podium on the other side of the screen. night is like something out of a strange dream. except that the next morning it all makes sense. to power global e-commerce fedex networks are massive, far-reaching and, yes... a little magical. fedex.com slash dream hidden in every swing, every chip, and every putt, is data that can make the difference between winning and losing. the microsoft cloud helps the pga tour turn countless points of data into insights that transform their business and will enhance the game for players and fans. the microsoft cloud turns information into insight. >> i'm definitely going to say it's a privilege. i see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs. therefore, we need to continue to cultivate this environment that we're given the opportunity to have health care as well as jobs for all the american citizens worldwide. ashley: well, controversy surrounding the newly-crowned miss usa. some on the left not happy about her conservative view of health care. boy, you could say that

mr. mcmaster is saying it was appropriate.er thing to he also said he wanted to make clear that president trump wasn't going to reveal any sources, because he in fact did not know what those sources were. we know, according to a "new york times" reports that the country of origin was from israel, and israel is being cited by current and former u.s. officials. israel itself not confirming or denying anything, but the ambassador -- the israeli and asked her to the u.s. did come out with a statement saying that israel has full confidence in the intelligence sharing relationship and looks forward to deepening its relationship with the trump administration. but there could potentially be some blowback. abc news is now reporting that president trump's disclosure could have endangered a spy that was placed inside an isis so in the middle east -- and isis cell in the middle east, placed there by israel. we are going to watch what happens later next week when donald trump goes to the middle east and israel, on may 22, next monday, pote

mr. mcmaster characterized the meeting accurately as one focused on the fight against terrorism. that was a formal statement by turkish pred erdogan who was granted very substantial powers in that country in the wake of a coup roughly ten weeks ago that nearly toppled him. eamon javers is at the white house covering it all. >> reporter: tyler, that's right. a bit of a surprise there that the president took that question. he said he had a great meeting with the foreign minister of russia and quoted h.r. mcmaster, his national security adviser, who spoke to reporters here at the white house and said that anything that the president revealed to the russians was wholly appropriate to reveal. interesting bi-play between the two leaders. on the one hand you had the president of the united states with a very short statement. offering something in his comments you might think he would appreciate, a negative mention of the pkk. that's something that might be appreciated by his turkish audience and the president of turkey with a much more lengthy statement, although there were pauses for t

mr. mcmaster out there as its face right now, but what do you make of his responses?lly speaks for itself, doesn't it? if you look at where donald trump has been during the election cycle and then as president, he ran anti-establishment, but my fear is that he's running and he's actually ruling anti-american. let's look at what he did with the russians, let's look at what he did with highly classified information where he pentially burned assets, let's look at his approach. and the fear right now is that we're getting very little information and cooperation, and what we get is usually undermined by the president within a couple of hours of some statement that's being released by somebody. so a lot of people have a lot of questions. there are a lot of notes that need to be received. >> jonathan, also of concern is the one person with real credibility among not just members of the media but the public is h.r. mcmaster and little by little they're colin powelling him, like the bush administration did saying colin powell has the highest ratings. we're going to put him out

mcmaster denied that mr. trump had done anything wrong. >> he shares information that is wholly appropriate. i should make maybe the statement here that the president wasn't even aware, you know, where this information came from. he wasn't brief ed on the sourc or method of the information. >> reporter: is unclear why the president wasn't aware of where the intelligence came from. but some officials fear that the disclosure could jeopardize lives. a former official warned, not only could a person be killed. but isis could speed up plots. the u.s. intelligence community has been focussed on the laptop threat for over a year. in february of 2016, a laptop bomb caused extensive damage to this plane in somalia. even though the pie hot managed to land. the white house says aviation security is a concern for both the u.s. and russia. in 2015, a russian passenger jet blew apart after an explosive hidden in a soda can exploded. and investigators blamed isis. mcmasters cited that bombing today. >> the president was em

[applause] general mcmaster: that is the toughest act to follow. and the vicea president and mrs. pence, it is a privilege to be with you. how great our military families? [cheering] mcmaster: and they are great because your parents are heroes. they protect us at a time that is critical for our nation, and for all civilized people's. they protect us on these modern-day printed -- run tears between barbara and several -- between barbarism and civilization. they are courageous people. and they are selfless people. them to make sacrifices to be away from you sometimes, to do important things to protect us. but guess what? it is also rewarding and fun. do you know why? because they are part of teams that grow together like a family. the man or woman next to you is willing to give everything. inilies that take pride protecting our nation and all civilized people. who else is the greatest between soldiers, heroes, and families? how about their spouses? how about their husbands and wiveshow about their whose suppo serve their country? let's give your moms and dads around of applause. [app

mr. mcmaster had denied that yesterday, denying essentially points that hadn't been reported.et's take you back to the briefing. we're waiting for him to begin speaking specifically about what the president said.establishingg this center, our friends, including saudi arabia, are taking a firm stand against extremism. and those who use a perverted interpretation of religion to advance their political agendas. the president looks forward to participating in a twitter fo t forum, with young people, who will live tweet his remarks to people all over the world. the president will continue on to jerusalem, where he will meet with lay a wreath. and then, the president will deliver remarks at the israel museum. and celebrate the unique history of israel and of the jewish people. while reaffirming america's unshakable bond with our closest allies in the middle east. later that day, he will meet with prime minister netanyahu. that night, the president and the first lady will join the prime minister and mrs. netanyahu for a private dinner. the following morning, the president will meet p

mr. comey wrote shortly after that meeting. more about that in a minute. let's echo back to the russian information story during the white house briefing today, president donald trump's national security advisor, lieutenant general hr mcmaster said that counterterrorism information that mr. trump shared an immediate with russian officials in the oval office last week was quote wholly appropriate". >> general, when you came out after the story broke, is that the president do not disclose sources from that or reveal anything about military operations. why were you to nine things that were not even reported? weather report said was the president revealed classified information that have been shared by one of our allies in the middle east. the question is simply a yes or no question here. did the president share classified information with the russians in that meeting? >> as i mentioned already, we do not say was classified or what's not classified. what i will tell you again is that what the president shared is wholly appropriate. the story combined what was leaks with other information. then it insinuated about sources and methods. i wanted to make clear to everybody that the president no way compromised any sources or method

mcmaster, denied that mr. trump had done anything wrong. >> he shares information in a way that is wholly appropriate, and i should just make maybe the statement here that the president wasn't even aware, you know, where this information came from. he wasn't briefed on the source and health of the information either. >> reporter: it is unclear why the president was not aware of where the intelligence came buom, but some former and current intelligence officials fear the disclosure could jeopardize lives. n former official warned, "not p ly could a person be killed, but isis could speed up plots." n e u.s. intelligence community has been focused on the laptop threat for over a year. e february of 2016, a laptop bomb caused extensive damage to this plane in somalia, even ilough the pilot managed to land. the white house says aviation nd rrity is a concern for both the u.s. and russia. in 2015, a russian passenger jet blew apart after a bomb hidden ki a soda can exploded. 224 people were killed, and investigators

mr. woolsey, general mcmaster said the president didn't know where this information came from. you're experienced at briefing presidents, and also, quite frankly, briefing this president-- you worked with him in the campaign. how much information do you give a president about a piece of intelligence? >> well, i think in a circumstance in which he has to make a decision to disclose it to some government or individual that would be a serious potential problem, such as to russia. i think you owe him a very thorough understanding, and you ought not to just send the paper in as part of a document. you ought to have enough leverage over his schedule to have the time to say, "mr. president, i hope you haven't decided to turn anything loose, but should you be thinking about that the way you were a few weeks ago, here are the problems of turning anything loose on this subject or this subject or this subject." he deserves a really thorough scrubbing. >> yang: andrew exum, what is the potential threat to intelligence gathering in the future? >> yell u.a.e., well, first off, i think direct

mr. mcmaster. >> i love your presidency. i call it disgrace the nation.. pete: wow. with here with reaction is the chuck woolery. those numbers are staggering. 1,000 in the first 100 days verses 900, 400 in the first year. i mean, can the derangement go any farther? >> well, yes, it could by the blunt force truth i'm the moderator on. my podcast. such hate and fear involved with this presidency for some reason. had i said about barack obama on television what stephen colbert said about trump, i would have been running a bingo game at a has lodge outside of el sagundo. i would pay price for that the reason they don't pay a price for it number one they have no conscience so they have no regrets. the other is there is absolutely no, no push back on them at all. they don't have to pay any kind of price. other than that. clayton: meanwhile celebrities are suffering right now under president trump. they are really hurting. abby: crippling. clayton: the wife of john will heend tweeted this today i had a tooth shaved down because of crippling anxiety. makes me gr

mr. clean's disappointed dad, h.r. mcmaster. >> the story that came out tonight as reported is false. at no time, were intelligence sources or methods discussed. i was in the room. it didn't happen. >> stephen: okay, so a complete denial by the most respected member of the trump administration. smart strategy. and following that, donald trump did the right thing by giving someone else the final word and not contradicting it on twitter. i'm just kidding. he said: "as president, i wanted to share with russia-- at an openly scheduled white house meeting-- which i have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining"-- dot, dot, dot, dot. blah blah blah blah. it doesn't really matter what he said from there. because he just confessed. automatic. this explains why he doesn't write murder mysteries. chapter one, "i did it." ( cheers and applause ) >> jon: he did it. >> stephen: and the timing, the timing of this could not possibly be worse. trump met with these russians in the oval office one day after he fired f.b.i., head jim comey. that's like starting a tinder account on the way home from yo

mrs. pence, what a privilege to be with you. how great are our military families? [applause] lt gen mcmaster: and you know why they are great? because your moms and dads are heroes. they protect us. they protect us at a time that is critical for our nation, and all civilized peoples. they protect us on these modern -day frontiers between barbarism and civilization. and they are courageous, aren't they, your moms and dads, soldiers, sailmen, marines, coast guard. and we call them to sacrifice sometimes to protect us. but guess what, it is also rewarding and fun. you know why? because they are part of teams that grow together like a family . like a family where the man or woman next to you is willing to give everything for you. you knowteams that take great pn protecting our nation and protecting all civilized people. who else is the greatest besides soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guard, and families? how about their spouses? how about their husbands and wives, whose support they need to be able to serve their country? at's give your mom and dad big round of applause. [applause] lt gen mcmaster: who else is great? >

mcmaster said mr.rump didn't mean it the way it sounds. >> it's very difficult to take a few lines, a paragraph out of what appear to be notes of that meeting and to be able to see the full context of the conversation. >> but some lawmakers weren't swayed by that explanation. >> the fact is he has been terminateding but the reason for the termination has really not been fehr itted out. >> congressional probes are broadening. the house intelligence committee is asking for documents and more from michael caputo who worked in russia in the 1990s and with the "washington post" reporting that a top person is now of personal interest to the fbi, some are suggesting a >> there have been so many lies, so many contradictions. >> the white house is trying to focus on the task at hand and will be sending a budget to congress tomorrow. cbs has confirmed that budget will include $800 billion worth of cuts to medicaid over the next ten years. we also learned that several top white house officials like reince priebus

mcmaster addressed the press this afternoon saying the information mr. trump shared was wholly appropriate and in no way compromised sources. in a series of tweets, the president shared details about terrorism and airline safety and said it is his right to do so. the administration is now focused o who is leaking the information. the national security has been put at risk by those violating confidentiality and those releasing information to the press that could be used connected with other information available to make american citizens and others more vulnerable. >> mack faster would not confirm whether the information the president shared was classified. >> the field is growing in the race for governor of virginia despite rumors that he was bowing corey stuart says he's stay in the race. stuart last night on facebook denounced a list of things, including bigots, sanctuary cities and several virginia lawmakers. earlier today we spoke with sturt to become the next governing virginia. i can't buy the election like ed is trying to do. he's raised $3.8 mill

mcmaster says mr.n't mean it the way it sounds. >> it's very difficult to take a few lines, to take a paragraph out of what appear to be notes of that meeting, and to be able to see the full context of the conversation. >> reporter: but some lawmakers weren't swayed by that explanation. >> the fact is, he has been terminated, but the reason for the termination has really not been vetted out. >> reporter: congressional probes are broadening. the house intelligence committee is asking for documents and interview from former trump campaign communications adviser michael ka putto who worked in russia in the 1990s and with "the washington post" reporting a current top trump adviser is considered a person of interest to the fbi some democrats have begun to suggest a white house coverup. >> so many lies, so many contradictions. >> reporter: the white house is trying to focus on the fantastic at hand and will be sending congress a budget tomorrow. cbs news has confirmed that that budget will include $800 billi

>> general mcmaster: i would say -- i have not talked to mr. ert about that, about why he reached out. >> reporter: you would understand why they would reach out. >> general mcmaster: i was in the room. the deputy advisor was in the room and none of us felt that that conversation was inappropriate. >> reporter: one was the decision made to share that information with the russians? was there a process or some formal process? >> general mcmaster: as you know, the president can share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the american people. that's what he did. as to your question on how that information ventured previously, i'm not sure about that. did he make the decision? report michael when did he make the decision? >> general mcmaster: is worth recapping one thing here. the president was meeting with the foreign minister about the terrorist threat. he also raised some difficult issues about what we expected in different behavior from russia and key areas like ukraine and syria. then the president was emphasizin

mr. trump's team. his national security adviser hr mcmaster said the united states would stick to its agreement with southhe thadd antimissile defense system but suggested paying for it could be renegotiated, that's not exactly what president trump and there are now concerns this issue has created nervousness and so how might this be resolved, do you think. >> this is a problem because one of the best allies that we've had in this situation is south korea. there sknt be acan't be any sig more provocative or to take more military actions in the coming months and so i think that can be clarified. this is not a place where you can send mixed signals because those mixed signals can have disastrous consequences. so we'll see in the next few days if the administration starts to clarify what its positions are and to take certain comments that he has made, meaning president trump off the table. >> on to a completely different issue, what did you make of the issue, they'll likely leave his national security adviser, what do you think is behind that decision and, of course, the timing of it. >> part of this is an e

mr. muller's. he doesn't trust the people he doesn't know including hr mcmaster. how concerned are you. that continues. i'm a democrat, but i pray priebus doesn't leave. it will be disastrous for the white house. we will see the white house and that's not good for any american especially low with the troubles brewing overseas. i am rooting for this white house and i'm a democrat. >> it does feel like it comes down to does donald trump have the ability to compartmentalize it or not. >> as a rr79 who covered him for more than a year now, there is no way he will stop tweeting and talking about russia and stop feeling the siege. he will take it super personal. they are out to get me and they are treating me unfairly and look at how terrible washington is treating me. that is the narrative coming out of the white house. that's not how presidents are supposed to act. i talked to so many people who want to pass legislation. the republicans for years had a laundry list of things they want to get done. people need jobs and don't like obamacare and i was just out in rural mississippi riding aroun

mr. president. >> well, first of all, no, i agree with this one. he's very discipline. i'm pretty sure mcmaster, powell, you to stick to the script. i'm looking forward to a speech in saudi arabia. i think it's be an interesting one about uniting the muslim world against extremism. trish: this is policy shift. look, barack obama is the one that did the deal with iran. >> right. trish: there were some concern that the saudis, which saudi arabia is a complicated place and i know that there are obviously real concerns about the extremism that is even getting bred right there in saudi arabia, but there's a sense that maybe we can work with them whereas iran, it makes it very difficult or challenging, ned, for us to have a relationship with saudi arabia if we have this other relationship with iran. >> no, exactly. i think what you're going to see from trump is reinforcing relationships. i have my own questions. but i think in this whole situation saudi arabia versus iran, i think you're going see the arms deal, the arms package that's taking place. i think you'll see that he's going to talk about th

mr. trump called former fbi director comey a, quote, nut job quote quote. here's what h.r. mcmasterm had to say about that report. >> i don't remember exactly what the president said and the notes that they apparently have i do not think are a direct transcript, but the gist of the conversation was that the president feels as if he's ham strung in his ability to work with russia, to find areas of cooperation because this has been obviously so much in the news. and that was the intention of that portion of the conversation. >> joining us right now, cnn correspondent ryan noble, and investigative reporter ron kessler. he's the author of the book the secrets of the fbi. ryan, what is the latest on the investigation and was that a complete denial that those words were used? >> it seems that the white house is in the business of these nondenial/denials where they don't specifically address the issue at hand. even though we have robert mueller in place who's going to take over as special counsel, this doesn't mean he's starting from scratch. he's building on what the department of justice

was president trump's first oncamera response following national security adviser mcmaster's briefing earlier today. >> mr. president tell us about the intelligence that you spoke directly with the turkies president about. >> we had a very successful meeting. our fight is against isis haz as general mcmast every said i know he saidnd he feels that we had fully a great meeting with the foreign minister, so we're going have a lot of great success over the next coming years and we want to get as many to help fight terrorism as possible. and that's one of the beautiful things that's happening with turk i can, the relationship that we have together will be unbeatable. so thank you saul all very much, i appreciate if the we're going to meeting now. thank you. >>> c-span, where are history unfolds daily. in tine teen 79, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up wednesday morning, south carolina republican congress

channel at all, and i know that secretary kelly and general mcmaster were very careful in their language. they were talking in general, just the way mr this if not a back channel? what's the word you would use, general? >> a back channel actually has a legitimate place in diplomacy. back channels are not conducted by nongovernments, and the trump transition team wasn't a government, so i would not give it that label, which gives it some sense of legitimacy. >> so sources tell cnn that russian government officials discussed having what they say could have been derogatory information. those are their words, on trump. one source saying it could be financial in nature. what do you make of this? do you think they have it or not? >> well, a couple of observations. this former director of cia and nsa is uncomfortable when stories begin with according to intercepted communications between two russian officials, so that's actually quite destructive and a sadness. now, with regard to the intercept, the alleged intercept, former head of nsa, erin, even i know one has to be careful with intercepts. they're a great source of intelligence, but the

mr. john sopko, from his perspective, put context the way you look at what the general had to say? guest: first of all, general nicholson is doing review with general mattis, general mcmaster now.t we fully support that review, we called the report high-risk list, which i think we which u a copy of, highlights some problems. i defer to that review going on, a policy decision and i have to defer to them on what are or er of troops whatever. but no matter what the number do a better job nd when general nicholson refers to the number, talking about advisors to advise the and the afghan police n. addition to advisors, guardian angels, so the 3000 or 5000 include not advisors who can improve the situation, but also guardian people, protect those something to keep in mind. i'll defer to them at the policy decision. i think it is a good time to do it. we recommend it in our latest report, while you're doing that, rack and stack the don't s that worked and work. it was three years ago, we sent a letter to the then secretary and the then head of usa id, in the state department your most t successful programs and least successful, because in times of construct, you can't fund everyt

mcmaster offered a brief statement emphatically denying the story by "the washington post," which reported that mrump supposedly revealed classified information about the internal plotting of the islamic state to those russian officials who were in the oval office. obviously, this would be problematic if it is true. however, those in the room say that that is absolutely not what happened. we'll be back. >> martha: here now, senator brenna sass. the author of "the vanishing american adults." good to have you here. first, descent of this news and then some questions about your very interesting book that is getting a lot of attention. are you concerned about this meeting of this report and "the washington post"? >> lots we don't know. i have been on the phone with the national security team but i haven't been in a bunker, haven't gotten a classified briefing. lots to qualify about that i can validate about this report. i think three topline things. one, sources and methods are the lifeblood of the intelligence community and we need our spies. the world is broken and there's a lot of americans who ser

. >> reporter: but mcmaster's statement did not address allegations in "the washington post" that mr.rump went off script and began describing details of an islamic state terrorist threat related to the use ofap aircraft. that classified information reportedly came from a u.s. partner and was so sensitive that it had not been shared with u.s. allies and was even restricted within the u.s. government. according to an intelligence official, the information concerns an aviation threat from isis and the mixture of an explosive material to be used in a possible laptop bomb. the source says the russians did not have this information. >> i was in the room. it didn't happen. >> reporter: according to mcmaster, secretary of state rex tillerson and senior white house official dina powell were also present during the meeting, but american reporters were barred with the only pictures provided by russian state media. in paper statements, tillerson doubled down on mcmaster's denial, and powell said the story is false. >> the on the record account should outweigh those of anonymous sources. >> repor

mcmaster, who was laying out this range of options for doubling down in afghanistan. now, four years ago mr. trump said we should leave afghanistan immediately. of course, then it was hypothetical. now he's commander in chief, and that has touched off a fierce debate here at the white house. president trump out of sight again today at the white house. it's an unusual absence from the stage. five straight days without public events as he considers one of the biggest foreign policy decisions of his presidency, whether to sign off on a pentagon plan for a u.s. troop surge in afghanistan. >> one of the things that he has asked his national security team to do is to actually think -- rethink the strategy. >> reporter: president is weighing these options from his military advisers on afghanistan. strengthening the u.s. presence on the ground, sending up to 5,000 more troops, stepping up strikes against the taliban and increasing the u.s. financial investment. defense secretary james mattis today in copenhagen. >> in afghanistan we're up against a determined enemy. as i said, isis has been thrown

mr. mueller and i hope the president comes up with an fbi director quickly and moves forward expeditiously. as general mcmasterd earlier today, i don't think it's right for the white house to comment on this story. i do think it's right for commentators to be cautious. >> all right, hugh hewitt, i could talk to you all day, sir, unfortunately we've got to leave it there. >> thanks, jacob. >> host of "the hugh hewitt show" on the salem radio network. >>> coming up, a republican congressman cries after hearing what is in the health care bill that he supported. that is true, 100% true. hear from the reporter who spoke to him. >>> next hour, what can lawmakers do to prevent insurance companies from jacking up rates? i will ask congresswoman barbara lee. i love you, couch. you give us comfort. and we give you bare feet... ...backsweat and gordo's everything. i love you, but sometimes you stink. ♪ new febreze fabric refresher with odorclear technology... ...cleans away odors like never before. because the things you love the most can stink. and plug in febreze to keep your whole room fresh for up... ...to 45 days. b

- anthony, you can chime in, mcmaster said take that line out, tone it down a touch so you can captivate the audience. >> anthony: there is a famous thing in history where mr. gorbachev, tear down the wall. the state department, the embassy, the ambassador said take it out. he said i am good with it. i admire the presidents fortitude and not doing that. the problem in saudi arabia, running the fundamental sect in the islamic religion are teaching hate, teaching to hate america. in the private meetings, i wonder what the president was saying. how are we going to dial back the money that's going into the madrases. the unemployment rate for youth. teaching them not to hate america. >> eric: lawrence, even "the new york times" said they liked the foreign policies speech. >> lawrence: how do you hate it? he went straight into the country and gave them the business. kat may say it was more moderate but i saw the president saying we are giving you these weapons. as a result, we want you to fight with us. you are to take the lead. i think that's something we didn't really see in the past administration, that america has to be the leader. we are giving you the reso