let's start with correspondent pamela brown and the latest on the intelligence. >> reporter: good morning, miguel and christine. we learn more about what is in the review that was presented to president obama and will be presented to president-elect trump. we learned it contains the identities of the people that russia used to hand over the stolen documents to wikileaks. you recall julian assange said wikileaks did not hand over the documents. the russian government used a third party and identity of those people are now in that report. also, we learned about the intercepted communications after the election of russian government officials celebrating and congratulating each other on donald trump's win. we are told there is no smoking gun, but this is one piece of the puzzle of many pieces that built the picture of russia behind the hack and the why included in the report. we know the leader he of tof th will lead the meeting with donald trump in new york and other leaders of the intelligence community. back to you. christine and miguel. >>> thank you. who are the go betweens that the int

i want to go to cnn's pamela brown who has the report. pamela, reading these pages here, first of all they make clear at the top, you know, that this is intelligence, it's classified, we can't lift the veil on everything, but we will in effect tell you as much as we can. that stood out to me. we assess that putin and the russian government aspired to help president-elect donald trump's election chances here. what other headlines come out at you from this report? >> well, it talks about the range of motivations here and as you point out, this report does not mince words. it comes out and says we believe vladimir putin med led in the election process and tried to hurt hillary clinton and help donald trump. it listed a few reasons why. one of which putin publicly pointed to the panama papers disclosure and the olympic doping scandals as ways that the united states was trying to undermine russia and so in the view of the u.s. intelligence, putin wanted to do this to get back at the united states. it says, he sought to use disclosures to discre

our justice correspondent pamela brown is joining us right now. pretty startling development, pamela. tell our viewers what's you've learned. >> this is the watchdog of the justice department releasing the statement today saying that he will investigate pre-election actions taken by the fbi, as well as the department of justice involving the investigation into hillary clinton's private e-mail server and some of the allegations of misconduct. this request came from both democratic and republican lawmakers on capitol hill. we were expecting this to happen given all of these lawmakers who have come out and asked for this investigation to take place. and i'm just going to run through some of the allegations the inspector general says that he will be looking into. one of the allegations is that the department or fbi policies or procedures were not followed in connection with or in actions leading up to or related to the fbi director's public announcement in july that you'll recall when he said there was not probable cause to prosecute hillary clinton. a

let's hand it to pamela brown. tell me about this investigation from scratch. >> reporter: the department of justice's internal watchdog announced it's launching this probe in how it handled the hillary clinton probe before the election, the allegations surrounding them particularly how it comes to how the fbi handled the public disclosure and the statement from the watchdog goes and lists all of these allegations and focuses one of the first ones on the list is james comey with his july press conference when he came out and said the investigation was closed that there was not probable cause to prosecute her but she was extremely careless how she handled the information. this is unprecedented normally if they don't find any wrong doing to prosecute they don't publicly go out and talk about the person and then right before the election with that letter that the fbi would be in essence reopening the investigation into hillary clinton's e-mail server that's something else that it's going to look into and whether it wa

pamela brown is back with the breaking news. what's the latest evidence that has investigators once again pointing to russians? >> reporter: there is newly identified digital fingerprints pointing the finger once again to moscow according to u.s. intelligence officials. they were able to tie the hacks to specific keyboards with cyrillic text with the russian alphabet and able to do this by looking at the metadata and certain documents. they believe these keyboards made up the malware code used in the russian hacks. one official said this is just one piece of evidence in the overall puz. there are many factors at play leading the u.s. intelligence community to point the finger at russia. >> the president-elect has a different view whether or not the russians were involved, right? >> reporter: that's right. he continues to cast doubt on russia's involvement as recently as this is past weekend. he says part of the reason why he is steppical is because of the failed intelligence leading up to the iraq war. he says he knows what othe

pamela brown has more. >> reporter: fbi director james comey is facing renewed scrutiny on both sides of the aisle. house democrats left a confidential briefing with russia on hacking fuming. >> it's classified and all i can tell you is the fbi director has no credibility. >> reporter: the republican leaning "wall street journal" editorial board said, quote, the best service mr. comey could render his country is to resign, calling him too political for a position that's supposed to be apolitical. this while investigating before the election and holding a press conference last july closing the investigation to hillary clinton's e-mails and then breaking with doj policy by sending a letter just before the election, alerting congress he was renewing a probe into her private server. democrats mad about his decision not to sign on to an october letter from the intelligence community saying russia was behind the election hacks. and refusal to speak abopublicl about the trump campaign and russia. >> he didn't say one way whether there's an investigation under way. >> correct. i don't. especi

our justice correspondent pamela brown has been looking into that. pamela, i take it not much congressional enthusiasm for this kind of investigation? >> not at all. in fact, they're coming out and saying they don't want to investigate this and, wolf, the executive order may be signed soon, but how to proceed from here is unclear. for officials within the department of justice because there is simply no precedent for this. >>> president trump is expected to soon sign an executive order authorizing a voter fraud investigation. the president declaring the investigation is needed to keep the ballot box safe. as he addressed republican congressional leaders today at a retreat in philadelphia. >> we are going to protect the integrity of the ballot box and we are going to defend the votes of the american citizens. >> reporter: but some republican lawmakers tell cnn they believe any investigation would only serve as a distraction. since the claim of widespread voter fraud which he says cost him the popular vote is baseless. >> i think it's dangerous ground b

we begin with our justice correspondent pamela brown. pamela, i understand you are getting new information. >> that's right, wolf. we are learning more tonight about the digital foot print in the election hack that has giving the intelligence community growing confidence russia is to blame. this as the president-elect continues to publicly disagree with the assessment. president-elect donald trump rang in the new year still casting doubt on the u.s. intelligence community's assessment that russia was behind the unprecedented attack of the u.s. election system. >> i know a lot about hacking, and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. so it could be somebody else. and i also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation. >> asked to describe what undisclosed information he had access to, trump promised to reveal it soon. >> you'll find out on tuesday or wednesday. >> and he said the failed intelligence leading up to the iraq war makes his skeptical. >> i just want them to be sure, because it's a prett

pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> cnn has assessed that more.e want to bring in cnn investigative reporter tom low bianca. tom, how difficult to decipher? >> well, you know, it's interesting, looking back into why last year, were had he talked about not pursuing charges against clinton after their investigation, a lot of republicans were going after him. you know, it seemed kind of interesting, the comments they put out there. democrats blasted him for that. it almost looked like a course correction in october when he sent that letter saying they're not reopening an investigation per se, but looking at the e-mails again. in the meeting yesterday, the briefing inside the house, you had democrats and republicans there. it was supposed to be about the russian hacking. much of it was. but you had that very dramatic confrontation where debbie wasserman schultz who lost her job as democratic party chairwoman because of that hack, confront him and said why didn't you come to me about this. it was. >> reporter: stunning. >> do you think they went to her

election, justice correspondent pamela brown is joining us. pamela, what did we learn from today's senate hearing? >> well, wolf, we learned that intelligence leaders are more resolute than ever in their assessment about the russian hack. and they said today russians continue to hack and push out fake news just as they did during the election. >> trade craft that the russians have long, long used. >> today the nation's top spy, not mincing words in his defense of the u.s. intelligence assessment that russia is to blame for the unprecedented hacks during the 2016 election. >> i don't think that we've ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process than we've seen in this case. >> and insisting their confidence has only increased. >> we stand actually more resolutely on the strength of that statement that we made on the seventh of october. >> james clapper, along with both democrat and republican lawmakers, sending a strong message in the wake of donald trump's repeated public statements doubting the int

pamela brown, cnn. >>> one shooting survivor says his laptop and backpack may have saved his life. he spoke to my colleague, anderson cooper about his terrifying experience inside that terminal. >> caller: i dropped to the ground, heard more of the popping sound. while i'm on the floor, i'm seeing people in front of me get hit. >> you actually saw that. >> caller: i saw that. there was a man, probably ten feet away from me that was shot in the head. and his wife. you know, collapsed on top of him. and -- >> was he shot when he was standing up? or was he on the floor as well? >> caller: we were all in the floor. >> so the shooter went over and shot somebody who was laying down on the floor. >> caller: it was from a certain distance. the shooter was not necessarily walking around the whole baggage claim area. he was still several feet away from many of us. but he, but he of of of of of of kind of shot into the crowd. >> was he saying anything before or during the shooting? >> caller: he said absolutely nothing. he said absolutely nothing. so there was a point where the entire termina

pamela brown reporting. let's talk about this and more. a key republican senator is a member of the intelligence and foreign relations committees. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> do you believe, senator, that 3 to 5 million people voted -- >> over the last couple of days things have been happening in a dizzying speed in government and washington, d.c. the national media has been spinning around on both number of people at the inauguration and on this voter fraud thing. i can tell you that is not high on our list. we are meeting right now and mapping a path forward on obama care and tax reform and immigration reform. these things are not on our radar right now. it's not being discussed. >> let me interrupt for a moment. i totally agree. there are a lot more important issues. president trump is the one who keeps bringing these issues up. how many people have showed up at the inauguration and now allegations of voter fraud, 3 to 5 million illegal votes cast and why he didn't in the popular vote against hillary clinton. do you ag

let's get more on this with pamela brown and bob baer. pamela, first to you. this exclusive reporting on cnn that these digital fingerprints. what does this mean? >> this is another piece of evidence, new evidence, that is bolstering confidence among u.s. intelligence officials that russia is to blame for the election hack. essentially through an analysis of data of documents, officials were able to trace the hack to specific keyboards with text. the russian alphabet on the keyboard. they believe these keyboards were used to make the malware code that was used in the hacks during the election. and as one official said, though, this is just one piece of evidence. there are many pieces of the puzzle that the u.s. intelligence community has looked at in making the determination and giving them the high level of confidence that russia is to blame, and this is part of that. >> the kremlin responded to that. a spokesman told cnn, i don't understand what this means but cyrila characters can be used anywhere. i reject that russia can be involved in any way. so, bob, w

. >>> top of the hour, pamela brown in washington in for poppy harlow. you are live in the "cnn newsroom" on this saturday. we begin with the desperate search following the mass shooting at the florida airport. investigators try to figure out why did a 26-year-old former national guards man pack a single handgun, fly across the country to fort lauderdale and allegedly open fire sending hundreds of people running for their lives? five people are dead, six are wounded. at least two of those injured reportedly shot in the head. we'll have more on the victims in a moment, but first, the latest on the investigation. the police tell us they're chasing every possible lead and exploring all motives and so far, haven't ruled out terrorism. >> we've conducted roughly 175 witness interviews. recovered video, physical evidence and we continue to pursue every investigative lead. we have not ruled out anything. we continue to look at all avenues and all motives for this horrific attack and at this point, we continue to look at the terrorism angle. >> cnn's boris sanch

cnn justice correspondent pamela brown has the latest information. pamela, trump's disdain appears to be growing. >> that's right. and because of that, wolf, u.s. intelligence officials say there's growing dismay and distress in the wake of donald trump's latest tweets against the intelligence community, this it growing divide comes just two days before trump comes face-to-face for the first time with the leaders of the agencies he's been challenging. tonight president-elect trump escalating his ongoing battle with the u.s. intelligence community tweeting just days before the high-profile briefing the, quote, intelligence briefing on so-called, quote, russian hacking was delayed until friday. perhaps more time needed to build a case. very strange. >> we had a meeting. >> reporter: intelligence officials are pushing back denying there was ever a delay in the briefing and that it was always scheduled for friday. trump also siding with wikileaks julian assange, wanted for leaking information, who in an interview with fox news denied russia had anything t

thanks very much, pamela brown.ack with congressman adam schiff of california, the senior democrat of the house intelligence committee. congressman, as you just heard the intelligence committee wrapping up this new review of the ee lks hacks it will soon brief as early as this friday, president-elect trump, what are you hearing about this review. is there more concrete evidence in it proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the russian government is behind the hacking? >> i think it's been known, wolf, for quite sometime that the russians were behind the hacking and there was very high confidence in that assessment. over the weeks and months, i think we've continued to gather further intelligence that cements that assessment, and i imagine what the intelligence community is doing among other things is trying to figure out how much of this can they make public without compromising sources and methods. how should they conduct that briefing of the president-elect to convince him to stop saying they don't know what they'

pamela brown, cnn, washington. >>> still to come just days before donald trump's inauguration, thousands troops arriving in poland. how this could impact u.s./russia u.s./ you cbest not to spend your life seekentire bank account.is. find a lower price and we'll match it. plus 50 bucks off your next trip. travelocity® wander wisely™ the so how can you canyed refget up to $1300?ry, at jackson hewitt, you can get an express refund advance - a 0% apr loan. can't get that online! visit jackson hewitt, and you could get up to $1300. . >>> russia calling it a threat to its security and interest. some 4,000 u.s. troops arriving in poland as part of a nato build up in the region. the deployment coming as president-elect says he is hoping to improve u.s./russian relations and happening days before he's sworn in. more now from poland. >> reporter: this is the official opening ceremony for those u.s. troops. poland's prime minister is here and she made a point in her speech to say that this is an integral part of poland's national security. that every polish citizen has a right to feel safe and secu

pamela brown reporting. joining us now the senior democrat in the house oversight government reform committee congressman elijah cummings of maryland. congressman, thanks for joining you. i know you had a chance to speak with trump on the phone this morning. tell us a little bit about that conversation. >> well, the other day at the inaugural luncheon he and i met for the first time and he suggested that we get together with regard to the issue of the high price of prescription drugs. that's been a big issue for him and it's been a very big issue for me over the last five or six years and bernie sanders and i have done a lot in that area. he basically said he wanted to meet with me on that. he invited me to the white house. and he said that the pharmaceutical companies are, quote, getting away with murder, enld of quote. and he went on to talk about how nobody seems to be really talking about this issue which is affecting so many american family. so, certainly i welcomed the opportunity to try to address som

pamela brown, you cover the justice department for us. your immediate thoughts? >> first, when it comes to torture, he was asked about waterboarding, which, of course, we heard trump talk about on the trail saying he wanted to bring that back, and sessions did not mince words. he said it's illegal. it is improper. that is the way the congress has voted. that presents an interesting situation there depending on what trump wants to do when he takes the white house and his top law enforcement officer views it that way. we talked about the muslim ban. again, something that trump talked about on the trail. he says that he opposes that, and it's clear that he is taking a very pro-law enforcement approach. i think that's notable when you look at the civil rights division under president obama. it has investigated more than two dozen police departments across the country. i wouldn't be surprised if you see a shift with that when sessions takes over. if he is confirmed. >> i want to play this other clip. this is sessions discussing what derailed his confirmation back in 1

pamela brown, cnn, washington. >>> a lot of political topics certainly to cover. we'll get more insight just after the break from cnn politics reporter eugene scott. >>> still ahead here, president obama leaves a parting vowed of confidence to his nato allies. how russia is responding to the biggest u.s. deployment to europe since the cold war. plus, poland's neighbors are also getting some backup from american troops. their mission, to protect the baltic states from russian aggression. stay with us. so if ydead battery,t tire, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. the so how can you canyed refget up to $1300?ry, at jackson hewitt, you can get an express refund advance - a 0% apr loan. can't get

i want to bring in cnn justice correspondent pamela brown.d of new information does the fbi have now? because they've been considering these charges for some time. >> that's right. part of the charge is obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband. her story not fully standing up. we know she has told investigators she did not know about her husband's specific plans, though he threatened her and that he was very aggressive and she was worried he might do something bad but that she didn't know her specific plans. now the fbi believes it has enough evidence, through the course of the seven-month investigation, to prove that she was complicit in her husband's actions, the worst shooting in u.s. history that killed 49 people at pulse nightclub in orlando. and as you may recall, jim, we previously reported that the wife went with omar mateen to some of the places, some of the potential targets, early on, weeks before the shooting happened, she went with him to buy the weapons that were used in the shooting. we know that just before h

let's bring in cnn justice correspondent pamela brown. had an exclusive interview with the head of the u.s. secret service. are they ready for friday? >> well, the secret service director says his agency is prepared and has been doing actual training with law enforcement partners for various scenarios that could happen along the parade route. he says what makes this year's inauguration unique from years past is the expanded perimeter and evolving security threats like drones. it's a monumental event that washington, d.c. and the nation's top security officials have been preparing for relentlessly. >> i think i should start with it's a national special security event. he secret service clancy sat down with cnn to explain how he and his team plan to protect and serve. >> everyone from the secret service who is involved in the parade will come out to our training facility and will go through scenarios of what may or may not happen during that parade route or at the capital. we also bring in our tactical teams so there is this joint effort. >

you heard pamela brown, the u.s.el says they know the identities of the very russians who leaked the information to julian assange at wick laegs. donald trump does not admit to any of this. is part of your leaving because you're frustrated with him? >> no. that latter point about the in betweens, the the middlemen for the russians, is a new find i think within the last day or so. to me that's extremely important. and i think that, once they've got the identity of some of these people, i think that makes it clearer that it was more or less centrally orchestrated rather than somewhat more dishevelled as i was characterizing it up until a couple of days ago. i think the russians have been involved in one way or another, but it looks now from this most recent announcement as if it was more in a control mode than just a participation mode. >> so it time for trump to say okay, enough on this, uncle? >> when i was advising him i didn't tell anyone what i communicated, and i've worked for four presidents, two republicans, tw

details on all of that from our justice correspondent pamela brown. >> reporter: tonight in a shocking move president obama is allowing chelsea manning, the army private convicted of stealing and leaking hundreds of thousands of documents and videos, to be a free woman in may. >> for the president especially the president who's made so much recently about the danger that wikileaks has posed to our national security, to commute private manning's sentence is disappointing. >> reporter: in 2009, then known as bradley manning, the 22-year-old stole hundreds of thousands of classified and sensitive military files as an army intelligence analyst. manning then gave them to the website wikileaks, which published them, causing a mass ive ripple effect in the united states and around the world and putting wikileaks on the map for future leakers such as edward snowden. manning's disclosures included videos of usair strikes in baghdad that launched worldwide discussions about their morality. the stolen files also included embarrassing diplomatic cables. manning confided in an online associate abou

our justice correspondent pamela brown reports. >> fbi director james comey is facing renewed scrutinyaisle. house democrats left a confidential briefing with comey on russia hacking fuming. >> it's classified and we can't tell you anything. all i can tell you is the fbi director has no credibility. >> the republican-leaning "wall street journal" editorial board says quote the best service mr. comey can render his country now is to resign. calling him two political for a position that's supposed to be apolitical. this while the department of justice inspector general investigate comey's actions before the election. his decision to hold an unprecedented press conference last july closing the investigation into hillary clinton's emails and then breaking with doj policy by sending a letter just before the election alerting congress he was renewing a probe into her private server. democrats mad about his decision not to sign on to an october letter from the intelligence community saying russia was behind the election hacks. and refusal to speak publicly about ongoing investigations, into p

thanks very much for that, pamela brown reporting. with us now is the vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee, democratic senator mark warner of virginia. senator warner, thanks very much for joining us and congratulations. you're the new vice chair of the senate intelligence committee. you tweeted that you wished donald trump showed, in your words, more respect to intelligence professionals. what's the risk of not accepting the intelligence community's findings? what kind of impact could that have? >> well, wolf, i mean just when you think it can't get any stranger, the president-elect does things that are frankly you couldn't even imagine. the notion that he is in effect celebrating julian assange who not only leaked classified information, but is actually under indictment in his home country in sweden and has been a fleeing from justice, hiding out in an embassy for years, that they're going to take this guy's word over the thousands of people who every day put their life on the line to protect our country? maybe not in

. >>> up first, our cnn supreme court correspondent pamela brown with more on the president's announcement tonight. pamela, what are you learning. >> well, wolf, we learned the white house is taking extraordinary measures to conceal the top pick, even summoning the two top finalists for the supreme court to washington, d.c., adding to the building suspense before tonight's announcement. just hours before the president's big primetime announcement, cnn caught up with one of his two top contenders, judge thomas hardiman on his way to washington stopping to gas up in bedford, pennsylvania. >> can i ask about your trip to d.c.? or are you the potential supreme court pick? >> reporter: while judge hardiman was heading to the capitol -- >> it's lovely to be here. >> reporter: -- sources tell cnn increasing indications is trump's big is judge neil gorsuch of colorado and he's already in d.c. his judicial philosophy aligns with the conservative icon he could replace, justice antonin scalia and believes in scalia did in the literal interpretation of the constitution, the two men seen her fly fishin

our justice correspondent pamela brown has the latest for us. >> reporter: and we've learned that the widow of the pulse night club attacker into custody this morning after the 7 month investigation based in part on her statements to investigators not standing up to the facts. tonight noor salman the widowed wife of omar mateen, the man responsible for the deadly rampage at pulse night club, is in federal custody facing charges of obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband's attempted material support to isis. salman's family in this san francisco area home withdrawn curtains and closed doors refused to comment. >> you can tell me if this is where it happened? >> no comment. >> reporter: a law enforcement official tells cnn authorities believe salman knowingly and willingly be obstructed the investigation into the shooting. >> we said from the beginning we were going to look at every aspect of this case, every aspect of the shooter's life to determine not the just why did he take these actions, but who else knew about them, was anyone else involved. is there any other

. >>> top of the hour, pamela brown in washington in for poppy harlow.e in the "cnn newsroom" on this saturday. we begin with the desperate search following the mass shooting at the florida airport. investigators try to figure out why did a 26-year-old former national guards man pack a single handgun, fly across the country to fort lauderdale and allegedly open fire sending hundreds of people running for their lives? five people are dead, six are wounded. at least two of those injured reportedly shot in the head. we'll have more on the victims in a me

pamela brown, very, very interesting. >> joseph and cathy, thanks for being with us.to the breaking news right now. we're going to be following all of this. back after a break. choose. choose. but at bedtime... ...why settle for this? enter sleep number and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how you slept and what adjustments you can make. she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, right now save $600 on our best selling i8 mattress, plus 36 month special financing. learn more at sleepnumber.com. know better sleep with sleep number. >> that could become reality for the press corps. the press being no longer having offices in the west wing under the president-elect. the magazine says according to three senior officials a plan to evict the press corps from the white house is under serious consideration by the incoming trump administration. >> incoming press secretary sean spicer, he is downplaying kind of the idea of the contours of this story right now. let's discuss

pamela brown joins me now. how is the justice department reacting to this call for investigation even though there is no evidence of any wrongdoing? >> so, officially, jake, no comment from the justice department. but i've spoken to officials within the department and simply they're perplexed here. they're looking for more clarity. there is no evidence. voter fraud investigations are triggered when the fbi discover credible evidence to suggest fraud not because of an order from the president. d.o.j. after all is an independent agency that is supposed to be a political. how will the attorney general respond to this? but today president trump is expected to sign this executive order at 4:30 to launch this voter fraud investigation and he declared to republican congressional leadership today it's necessary to protect the ballot box to back up his claim. he also points to the pew research study once again from 2012 that concluded millions of voters registrations across the u.s. are inaccurate and no longer valid bu

pamela brown reporting. let's get some more now on all of this from our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto who is with us. jim, joe biden has now confirmed what you and our team reported a couple days or so ago that the president and the president-elect were both briefed on these unsubstantiated allegations. >> you know, i think we should highlight the rarity of these. these are highly classified briefings, the most classified because you're talking about the brieftions delivered to the intelligence community by the post powerful people in the land. our reporting was based on officials who did not comment on the record in light of the classified nature of the material involved. but as questions had been raised about our reporting, you now have the rare fact where several people or at least two people who were in the room on these briefings have now said what was contained in them. one was the vice-president, with president obama, the other james clapper saying these, though unsubstantiated all

pamela brown, thanks very much. trump's apparent warming to julian assange seems diametrically opposed to his feelings about the wikileaks leader this just back in 2010. >> he's going to talk about wikileaks. you had nothing to do with wikileaks. you think it's disgraceful? >> he should get the death penalty or something. >> death penalty, you heard it right. sara marie is outside trump tower. to be clear, it is many republicans who have come out critical of russia, the hacking, wikileaks as well. >> reporter: that's right, jim. everyone in the republican party is not seeing eye to eye when it comes to this. we've seen a number of republican leaders today. senator tom cot ton, house speaker paul ryan, all aware of what julian assange is claiming and much more skeptical of russia's role in meddling. take a list tone what lyndsay graham had to say. >> this was done by the russians and i hope by friday president-elect trump will come to that relatialization and ign julian assange. condemn him, putting our soldiers at r

>>> top of the hour, i'm pamela brown in washington. in for poppy harlow. we're following two major developments on this saturday afternoon. yesterday's deadly mass shooting at a florida airport as two investigations play out on opposite sides of the country. one in the alleged gunman's state of alaska. we're waiting to hear from the field office in anchorage. a source says esteban santiago told authorities during the visit to the fbi office, that an intelligence agency was instructing him to watch isis videos and he was hearing lots of voices in his head. this new detail emerging as police records shed light on the suspect's violent past. >>> meanwhile in florida police are trying to get answers from santiago himself. and they tell us so far, no motive has been ruled out, including terrorism. >>> and we're learning more about the victims. five people dead, six injured. let me begin with my colleague on the justice beat, cnn crime and justice producer simon. what are you learning? >> well now that we're into about 24 hours since the attack, the fbi has lear

pamela brown is back with the latest. this tracks with your reporting about the informs but another indication of his secret schism. >> right. not only is he challenging the assessments that russia was behind this but the intelligence agencies that he will be working with hand in glove when he is president of the united states. so it's fascinating to see this play out, anderson. i just got off the phone with an intelligence official who is perplexed by the notion and by the claim by the president-elect in this tweet that the briefing was delayed. we know at least one of the intelligence leaders, james clapper, who's supposed to be there at that briefing about the russian hack was never scheduled to go up to new york before friday to brief the president-elect and so there is some confusion in terms of what he is talking about. in fact, the comprehensive review about the hack and the fact they believe russia is to blame hasn't even been presented to the president and that would happen before the president-elect was briefed.

let's bring in our justice correspondent pamela brown. this report describes russia's motivations, actually shifting a bit over the course of the election campaign. >> that's right. it says when it became clear to moscow that the election favored hillary clinton, that the russians ramped up their efforts to undermine her campaign through the disclosure of those hacked e-mails as well as the fake news campaign that apparently russia was behind according to the u.s. intelligence community. here's what the report says. it says, when it became clear to moscows the election favored hillary clinton, the report says, further assessed putin and the russian government developed a clear preference for president-elect trump when it appeared to moscow that secretary clinton was likely to win the election the russian influence campaign then focused on undermining her expected presidency. wolf? >> so there were multiple objectives, at least two objectives, or three objectives, one objective to undermine the faith in the u.s. democratic process, a secon

our justice correspondent pamela brown has details. >> oh, my god. >> tonight, the widowed wife of the for the deadly rampage at orlando's pulse nightclub is in federal custody. facing charges of obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband's support to isis. >> can you tell me if this is where it hatched? >> one moment. >> a law enforcement official tells cnn authorities believe solomon knowingly and willingly obstructed the investigation into the shooting. >> we said we were going to look at every aspect of this case, of every aspect of this shooter's life, to determine not just why did he take these actions, but who else knew about them? was anyone else involved, is there any other accountability that needs to be had here in this case. >> they allege weeks before the attack, the shooter made sure his wife had access to their bank account. his life insurance policy, he also bought his wife an expensive piece of jewelry. according to officials in the middle of the three hour massacre, the deadliest shooting in u.s. history that took the lives of 49 people, the two exchan

justice correspondent pamela brown has been covering all of it for us. pamela, familiar turf for senator jeff sessions. among other things, he happens to be a member of the judiciary committee, himself. >> that's right. right off the bat, wolf, he aimed to take right on and confront the racism allegations that sunk his confirmation in 1986 and in his opening statements he went through each charge one by one and said they were all false. >> do you swear that the testimony you're -- >> reporter: attorney general nominee jeff sessions facing down allegations he's a racist while testifying in front of the judiciary committee. >> i abhor the klan, what it represents and its hateful ideology. >> reporter: repeatedly interrupted by protesters, sessions took head-on the race accusations that derailed his confirmation hearing for a judgeship before the same committee in 1986. >> i didn't know how to respond and didn't respond very well. i hope my tenure in this body has shown you that the caricature that was created of me was not accurate. >> reporter: in a day-lo

i want to bring in gloria borger as well as pamela brown. you heard there, gloria, that there was this defense very much of this travel ban. also i should say we do have breaking news. president obama has put out his first public statement since leaving office. i want to start with that, gloria. we have this here. this is about the travel ban and some of the protests that we have seen. he said -- his spokesman says president obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. in his final official speech as president he spoke about the important role of citizens and how all americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy, not just during an election, but every day. citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organize, and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when american values are at stake. with regard to president obama's foreign policy decisions as we've heard before, the president fundamentally disagrees with the

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pamela brown has the story. president elect donald trump rang in the new year still casting doubt--- on the u-s intelligence community's assessment that russia was behind the unprecedented attack of the u-s election system donald trump: "i know a lot about hacking. and hacking is a very hard thing to prove. so it could be somebody else. and i also know things that other people don't know, so they cannot be sure of the situation." asked to describe what undisclosed information he had access to, trump promised to reveal it soon: donald trump: "you'll find out on tuesday or wednesday." and he said the failed intelligence leading up to the iraq war makes him skeptical donald trump: "i just want them to be sure, because it's a pretty serious charge, and i want them to be sure. and if you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong." today, trump's incoming press secretary, sean spicer defended the president elect's stance. sean spicer: "the idea that we're jumping to conclusions

. >> let's go to pamela brown.what officials are calling a digital fingerprint. >> we learned there was new information uncovered the specific keyboard relating to the keyboard that had russian text with the malware code used this the hacks, so this is just one piece of the puzzle of many different digital fingerprints and footprints that the intelligence community has gathered and learned that russia was behind it. russia has one again today come out saying the text can be used everywhere and that the russian government had nothing to do with it but we do know the comprehensive review ordered by president obama the expectation is that it will be handed other the president and president elect trump will be briefed by leer lee leaders in the intelligence community and why they believe russia is to blame. >> that was quite the sound bite by james wool ssewoolsey. >> new york could be the first state to offer free college tuition to families who earn less than $125,000 a year. governor cuomo proposed such a plan, as m

. >> let's go to pamela brown first near washington. our justice correspondent. we listen to this testimony for hours today, pamela. we know that clapper said he'll be declassifying some of the reports that should come out for the public early next week. what did we learn about that report from today's hearing? >> he gave some hints, brooke, about what we can expect in this report coming out to the public monday, as you said. he said it will lay out some of the motivations they believe why russia hacked into the democratic party's e-mails and tried to tilt the election in donald trump's favor. what we understand from officials that will talk about how the intelligence community believes that russia was trying to sow chaos but also tilt the election in one direction. so this is new because the expectation, brooke, was this would be a comprehensive report about why the u.s. government believes that russia is to blame. but this is taking it a step further laying out the motivations. as we heard james clapper say today, the leader of the dni, he said it was a combinat

we get the latest from pamela brown. >> reporter: good morning. we learned investigators pressed charges after the seven-month investigation. obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband based on what noor salman told investigators and her story not standing up to the facts. we learned she told investigators that her husband, omar mateen, the man responsible for the rampage at pulse nightclub was abusive to her and times feared for her life. officials say she was complicit in other actions based on free will. officials tell us she accompanied mateen to targets in the weeks before the attacks. she went with him to buy the guns. she told investigators that she did not know of her husband's plans. officials tell us mateen put documents, including his life insurance policy in her name before the attack and bought her expensive jewelry before the shooting. the night before the shooting, she saw him leave the house upset with guns in his bag, but did not call authorities. during the three-hour massacre, the two allegedly exchanged text mes

here is what he told pamela brown in an exclusive interview. >> there have been reports out there basically donald trump kept his private security even after he was elected. is that true? >> well, first of all, let me just say that the secret service has the seoole responsibility o protecting the president, the vice-president, under u.s. code 1830566 we have the authority and mannen dadate to protect th individuals. this group you are referring to, they are not in any of our meetings or advance meetings. they are not armed. they are more of a staff function than a security function. see we don't interact with them. >> if nair wthere was a threat president-elect, they wouldn't interfere? >> we have our own plan for protecting the president-elect and there is no interaction in there. >> there is no concern there might be friction. >> no, no friction at all. >> he went on to say that protecting trump's large family requires no personnel but it is no different than guarding any other first family. >>> still to come this hour on ""c "cnn newsroom," pope francis has just baptized newborn babies a

let's bring in cnn's justice correspondent pamela brown live in washington with the latest. pamela. >> we learned this executive order was so closely held that the policy team at the white house largely avoided the traditional inner agency process that could have allowed homeland security agencies to provide the operational guidance ahead of time and according to numerous officials we spoke with homeland security secretary john kerry and others didn't see it before the order was signed on friday sending the officials in charge of enforcing it scrambling to figure out what the executive order meant. especially for the passengers on u.s. bound planes at the time it was signed as well as the green card holders from the 7 countries and friday night dhs arrived at the interpretation that the executive order restrictions a ply to the 7 countries. iran, iraq, libya, somalia, syria and yemen and the white house overruled that guidance overnight. their decision held that on a case by case basis dhs would allow green card holders to enter the u.s. now administration officials defended

let's go to our justice correspondent pamela brown and, pamela, do we know why mateen's wife has nowarrested by the fbi. >> we know, wolf, that the fbi believes she was complicity in her husband's actions at pulse nightclub launching the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history, and she has now been officially charged by the department of justice with aiding and abetting mateen's provision and material support to isis as well as of obstruction of justice. she will have her first court appearance in oakland, california, tomorrow morning. the charges are coming out of florida. authorities we've spoken with say the evidence is clear through the course of the seven-month investigation that she knowingly did something to obstruct the investigation and she acted of her own free will. she had been telling authorities in the interview that her husband was abusive to her, she felt threatened and was coerced into certain behaviors, but authorities believe that through the course of this investigation that she acted on her own free will and just a reminder to our viewers about what we have alrea