joining me now, cnn legal analyst paul callan and phil mudd. these questions all deal directly with the president, which is interesting. >> it is very interesting, john. it suggests that the mueller investigation is now narrowing its focus to the oval office or at least its investigation to the oval office. but i think although it sounds like this is a limited area of questioning, let me tell you one thing about prosecutors, when they say we're going to question you about the trump tower meeting, okay, limited, right? but think of all of the things that emanate from that, the prosecutors can do dozens, hundreds of questions that emanate off one of those three topics that you mentioned. so it is still a broad thing that mueller's looking at. >> and phil mudd, i know from talking to you about things like this in the past, you've been involved in investigations before, if you were telling the legal team that you're going to ask questions about these subjects, you already have a pretty good idea about what went on in these areas, correct? >> that's

. >>> want to bring in cnn counterterrorism analyst phil mudd. this is the fifth explosive found in the austin area in a very short period of time. this one seems to be different, at least in its composition than the others. this one apparently shipped through fedex, which is different than the others, and this one also with shrapnel. so a third type of explosive. what does it tell you, if these are all connected, about the person behind this? >> it tells me this person's multiplying risk. you've got to believe if this goes on, the life span of a bomber like this, if he chooses to stage operations with this rapidity, is not going to be around for long. every time he does this, he's leaving a trail. are there forensics in the device, serial numbers, fingerprints on the device. did he send it from a facility that has footage. i know there's a lot of concern in austin, i would say looking at this, every time he goes out there, he's taking more risk that somebody saw him, that there's a material in the device that the investigators can identify. one

there will be pushback on this point, phil mudd.hey'll say we're very tough on russia, we passed these sanction, put them into effect. we're giving the ukraine resistance, fighting for their country. we're giving them weapons that obama wouldn't. we bombed in syria. we know russia is playing there. obama wouldn't. we or very tough on russia. you guys are giving us a bad deal. >> give me a break. we have our closest alliance post world war ii in this case embodied by theresa may, the british prime minister, you've got to call her up and say, we kissed the bottom of the russian president for winning a flawed election and we couldn't mention that he tried to murder somebody on the soil of our closest ally. u.s. intelligence agencies not only talking about interference in the last election but saying it's continuing now as we go into midterms. and somebody is going to sit in front of me and pretend like we're tough on the russians. you got to be kidding. that's ridiculous. >> to add to phil's point, i think it's important context becaus

. >>> ambassador romer still with me, along with phil mudd.ead all the tea leaves. i certainly don't have all the answers. when it comes to the timing, here you have yesterday rex tillerson, the sole voice who broke with the white house, made it clear he believed it was russia behind that nerve gas attack with that former russian spy and his daughter over in the uk. do you have any idea if -- do you think that that was out of, at all, frustration with the white house and the refusal to ever criticize russia? will we ever know? >> i don't think we'll ever know, brooke. i do think you saw in secretary tillerson's farewell statement there that the one area on policy that he picked out was russia and if russia continues to do the kind of things they're doing, threaten iing our democry directly and our elections, targeting states and their software programs, having zombie bot farms coming off our elections, poisoning people in london, looks like their fingerprints are all over that. that trajectory will get more difficult. those were wise words com

. >>> i want to bring in cnn counterterrorism expert phil mudd. you're a pretty no-nonsense guy., being told not to put out a statement from the state department, this sits well with you? >> this is a humorous moment and a difficult week in washington. we know what's going on. how many times do you show up in a dinner party and a couple shows up and continues their fight at the table. you don't air your dirty laundry in public. if i got this guidance in government -- one reason i'm not in government anymore, the first thing i would have done is retweet it. the white house and state department are trying to say, overseas, please don't air our dirty laundry. in the era of social media, too late now. it was out. >> in this case dirty laundry is the official state department department. and these people overseas work for the state department. granted they work for the american government, but it is interesting and they're getting mixed signals. i'm sure they're flat out confused right now. let's bring it back home. the new nominee to lead the cia, mike pompeo. rand paul says he's goi

joining me now, ryan lizza, phil mudd, and gloria borger. phil, i heard you earlier describing what you would do with this or what value you think this piece of paper had. explain what you think of the republican closing the committee essentially. >> look it, we have a responsibility when we look to our congress whether they're democrats or republicans. they're looking at the same issue that mueller is looking at, looking in the past and saying whether someone did something wrong. how many times in the past two hours since this story broke, anderson, have we heard conversations about the primary responsibility of the congressman you just spoke with in the last ten minutes? that responsibility, i can capture in one sentence. what are you doing to ensure that we're safe in the next election? they're legislating the exact same thing that robert mueller is doing with one significant difference. they acknowledge, including the republican congressman you just spoke with, that they can't speak to some witnesses. you mean to tell me an investigation

. >>> pwrets bring in special agent james gagliano and phil mudd. motive matters. certainly it would determination the classification of this investigation. we haven't heard terrorism or terror raids because investigators didn't have any understanding of a political motive or objective here. but why he was doing it matters in terms of their determination of continuing threat, right? >> sure, it does. in this case, i have a i couple questions i'm not sure we're going to answer. one rule of thumb. when you get one individual, if we determine that there are not other people involved in this, the likelihood of mental in stability is a lot higher. you get two, three, four five people you get conspiracies like i used to see that had some sort of political motivation. here clearly he is not targeting someone based on race, ethnicity because we have trip wire and packages where he doesn't know who will each the package or whether it might explode in the fedex facility. let's go back to the unabomber, one we can draw connections to. ted kaczynski, purposely put things insid

let's get perspective from robert beaer and phil mudd.r there, theresa may. a very different message coming out of the white house, let's wait and see, sarah sanders wouldn't mention russia. rex tillerson did. now he's out. the president seemed to fas late saying when we have the facts we'll accept the facts but they don't have the facts. they do have the facts. they say it was russia. what are the implications for the u.s.? >> well, first of all, we had the facts right from the beginning. this nerve agent is unique to russia. the cia found out about it in uzbekistan. horrified by the lethality of this thing. only one place it could have come from was russia. the way i understand it, the only person who could have authorized this is vladimir putin himself. so the facts are not in dispute here. i would just say may has president gone far enough expelling russian diplomats. it's got to go way beyond them because vladimir putin knew he would be caught in his attempt on this russian colonel. something has to be done about russia. we simply ca

phil mudd, we know president trump and secretary tillerson strongly disagreed on the path forward on north korea, on the iran nuclear deal. but the still came right after secretary tillerson spoke out forcefully against russia and what the russians are up to. so what message does that send? >> pretty straightforward. just within the last week or so you've heard the president say in response to questions about chaos at the white house that he likes conflict. well, in this case, he's had conflict with the secretary of state on issues like iran and north korea where the secretary appears to have been and has been openly more sort of cautious than the president. obviously secretary of state in the past day or so has been -- and in the past before that has been more aggressive on russia. so while the president is talking about conflict with cabinet advisers -- which happens in every cabinet, you want differences of opinion around the table -- the message to people, including secretary mike pompeo, assuming he gets confirmed for the secretary of state position, the president can talk about

i want to as jim and will stand by, bring in phil mudd, former cia counter terrorism official joins me now along with sam, former senior adviser to the national security adviser during the obama administration. also with us, retired general james spider marks, military and pa li analyst, and spent a lot of time in north korea. and show down takes on the world. also here in new york global correspondent elise that spends time at the u.n. special meeting on monday. let me start with you, sam, next to me, big question letter comes in. how unprecedented is this moment, letter from the leader to the president of the united states requesting in-person meeting? >> this is historic. we did not a letter from the north koreans. >> they are going to start talking. let's listen in. >> on my resent visit to pyeongchang. i would like to thank president, the vice president and his national security team, including my close friend, general mcmaster. i explained to president trump that his leadership and his maximum pressure policy together with international solidarity brought us to this juncture. i e

back with me carl bernstein and philip mudd. philhe court documents, muler devolved rick gates had direct contact with a russian military asset in 2016. so how does he go about finding out what they did with that information? >> look the conversation isn't just about rick gates. if i talk to rick gates, i have questions, number 1, who directed you? number two? who did you talk about, speak about with this in the campaign. i want to see your laptop, your cell phone, if you tell me in terms of your contact with the russians, i want to know whether it is reflected in your calendar to your laptop. there is a bigger question, it's not only what contact rick gates had with the russians. i want to know in conversations with him. clearly, he is cooperating. who else was aware of these conversations? who else was in contact? was there a tone around the campaign that said it's appropriate to talk to russians before we get into office about some sort of trade in exchange for relieving sanctions with them? he could be a goal mine of information

>> let's ask phil mudd what he's thinking. >> first, i'm glad you referred to stormy daniels as a borns and not a porn star. what awards has she won? i would have said this is a problem for melania. if someone wants to sleep with a porn star, that has transitioned recently. wave judge in the past day or two has agreed that a suit should go forward. that includes allegations of assault by the president. so we're transitioning from a vaguely humorous story about what the president did ten years ago to an ongoing lawsuit, assault against a woman. i think we need to focus on that. the porn actress was funny a month ago. it's not funny noim. >> and the public seems to be shifting its attitude toward robert mueller. >> the president is in a punching mood. he believes that he was misled by his attorneys who told him this will be over, this is going to be over. it's not over. mueller has indicated to them that he wants to know a lot about things that trump really doesn't want to talk about. the trump organization, jeff sessions' role in the firing of comey, what trump knew about serge dli kisl

phil mudd puts it well. you all know him. you can't hold someone accountable for operating a program that was decided above their head. so that will be awe fair point of analysis as well. gentlemen, thank you. >>> he was widely regarded as the plan the et's preefpl tphepbt scientist. a look back at the remarkable life of stephen hawking next. ♪ for all the noses that stuff up around daisies. for all the eyes that get itchy and watery near pugs. for all the people who sneeze around dust. there's flonase sensimist allergy relief. it relieves all your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. most pills only block one. and 6 is greater than 1. flonase sensimist. i accept i don't i even accept i i used thave a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but no matter where i ride, i go for my best. so if th

david is back, and joining us is phil mudd and kersten powers.t make any sense that he's patting himself on the back and seems to be creating a new narrative? >> it doesn't add up at all. and david in the previous segment outlined what he was told so he was told about physical abuse unless he believes dragging your wife naked out of the shower isn't physical abuse. so it doesn't make sense. i also think if we look at the way they -- he let his statement stand about rob porter, having exemplary character and didn't revoke that, he's now said we didn't cover ourselves in glory but it raises questions about once the information was out why were you standing by him, and they were. that's the thing we have to remember without going into the inner workings of the white house, we know what was publically -- made public and we know how they reacted to that public information. it and took them a really long time to come around and ultimately it was because a picture came out and they acted like now we think something happened when, in fact, what the daily

. >> i'll bring in cnn political analyst ryan lizza and april ryan, phil mudd, and rick wilson. welcome to the thunder dome. ryan, i should say president trump is bringing in john bolten to replace h.r. mcmaster. the president also deciding to go his own way when he comes to his russia legal strategy, made clear with his departure of john dowd. is this part of the chaos, that the president is doing things his own way? >> we now have dejeneva, and bolten and you basically have a white house that now looks like the fox greenroom, right? but i think by far this bolten pick is the most consequential personnel pick donald trump has made by far. can't overstate this, don. this is someone whose main ideas are that we should bra from the iran deal and bomb that country to get rid of its nuclear weapons program. and similarly with north korea his main strategy, his main idea, he's been writing about it, talking about it for months is that we should launch a first strike on north korea. so i just -- i can't overstate how consequential someone like this is going to be the most important ad

and kirsten powers and phil mudd.ssage does it send that he is creating a whole new narrative. >> it doesn't add up at all and david just in the previous segment outlined what he was told. so he wasn't told about physical abuse unless he believes dragging your wife naked out of the shower isn't physical abuse. so it doesn't make sense. having exemplary character and didn't revoke that, he has now said we didn't cover ourselves in glory and raises questions about once all the information was out, why were you still standing by him and they were. and that is something that we have to remember without having to go into the inner workings of the white house, we know what was publicly made, i mean, made public and we know how they reacted to that information. and it took them a long time to come around and ultimately it was because a picture came out and they acted oh, well now, we think something happened. when the daily mail published it was clear that serious allegations were going on. >> and phil, just as a background

joining us to talk about it, phil mudd, norm eisen, president obama's white house ethics czar. , phil, i mean, how big a deal is this? what does it tell you that the fbi, as far as we know, hasn't been able to finish up or, you know, that the first daughter has not been able to get a full-time security clearance? >> let's make sure we understand two questions. first, i didn't see anything in the reporting that suggested she did anything wrong. >> right. >> that said, there's some key questions here you've got to ask, if you are doing the security clearance. number one, did she declare it? we know we have a history with white house officials in this administration of not declaring their contacts. number two, does this company have dealings with the u.s. government, and is she involved in any of those dealings? number three, a simple question, anderson. what happens when they pick up the phone and they ask for a meeting at the white house? does she now feel compelled to offer that meeting? and the last question, i think, would be, does the intelligence community, including the fbi

admiral kirby, phil mudd, thank you for being with us. >>> every public school in west virginia closed again for the eighth straight school day. the teachers on strike, looking for a pay raise. what might get them back in the classroom if anything? you were pushed out of your homeland, but you could never be broken. you walked together. you built your home again. my dna showed that i'm native american, and connected me to cousins who taught me about our tribe. my name is joseph reece, and this is my ancestrydna story. now with 10 million new family connections made every day. order your kit at ancestrydna.com liberty mutual saved us almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. liberty did what? yeah, they saved us a ton, which gave us a little wiggle room in our budget. i wish our insurance did that. then we could get a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey, welcome back. this guy, right? (laughs) yes. ellen. that's my robe. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. my secret visitors. hallucinations and delusions. the unknown parts

phil mudd, what does it tell you about the direction right now of the special counsel's investigation>> i love this piece. look, i don't think the special counsel will use the word collusion with rick gates. let me give you a couple words he will use. number one, facts. tell me how the campaign was organized, who talked to whom, if there was a meeting organized with kislyak, how would that have been discussed. i want your laptop. i want to see if the facts you're describing are backed up about your laptop, your calendar, et cetera. there's a second issue that will come up, time lines. i want to know every date you remember, who was in that meeting so when you go into a conversation with someone like the president, his son-in-law and son and you say talk to me about the lead-up to the kislyak meeting and who might have been involved, you know 80% of the answer already. that's why people get wrapped up in lying to federal officers charges. they don't think the feds know the answer before the feds ask the question. >> and they know that gates met, according to kaitlyn perez's reporting,

. >> i'm going bring in cnn political analyst ryan lizza and april, cnn counterterrorist expert phil mudd and republican strategist rick wilson. welcome to the thunderdome, everyone. so rick, president trump -- ryan, i should say, president trump is bringing in former u.n. ambassador john bolton to replace h.r. mcmaster. the president is also deciding to go his own way when it comes to his russia legal strategy, made clear with the departure of his top lawyer john dowd. this all part of the same chaos the president is doing things his own way? >> well, absolutely. i mean a couple of thoughts on this. we now have digenova a major part of his legal team. larry kudlow running economic policy, and you have bolton running national security. you basically now have a white house that looks like the fox green room, right? but i think by far this bolton pick is the most consequential personnel pick that donald trump has made by far. can't overstate this, don. this is someone whose main ideas are that we should withdraw from the iran deal and bomb that country to get rid of its nuclear weapons prog

gloria borger joins us now as well as jeff tubin and phil mudd. jeff, just from a legal standpoint, what is he facing if he doesn't go to the grand jury, if he doesn't hand over the documents he's been asked to? >> legally this is a very simple situation. if he simply just doesn't comply, doesn't take the fifth, just doesn't show up, mueller goes to the judge who is supervising the grand jury, asks him to be held in contempt. they hold him in contempt because he didn't show up. then the marshals go get him, and he is held for up to 18 months, where he has the keys to the cell himself, just agreeing to testify. i don't think mueller wants to do that. i think mueller wants to dial down the controversy, talk to his lawyer, say just, you know, get him in here. we don't want this sort of drama. but he's not going to be defied, and this is a completely legitimate grand jury subpoena, and his arguments -- you know, nunberg's arguments that it's ridiculous, it's a waste of time, those are not legal arguments, and no judge is going to pay the slightest bit