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Trump And Cuba Relations; Trump Being Investigated; Rosenstein Says He Could Recuse Himself; Interview with Sen. Mazie Hirono; Interview with Rep. Mark Sanford; Rollback of Cuba Ties; Cuba Policy Could Hurt Trump Competitors; Trump Tweets About Investigation. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 16, 2017 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Raqqah, Syria. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Today marks the anniversary of a political announcement that changed the course of the United States. It was two years and two hours ago that the billionaire Donald Trump came down that escalator at Trump Tower together with his wife, Melania, to announce he was getting in the presidential race. The rest, of course, is history. History that is still being written and we're getting a new chapter today.

You're looking at live pictures coming in from Miami. In just a few minutes, President Trump is scheduled to take the stage to layout his new plans for U.S. relations with Cuba, making changes to President Obama's attempt to normalize relations with the island nation.

But before leaving Washington, the president dropped this bombshell on the Russia investigation. This tweet, quote, "I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt." Close quote.

A White House source says the president was talking about deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein who wrote a memo advocating the firing of Director Comey. He also named Special Counsel Robert Mueller to launch his own Russia investigation.

That investigation is clearly getting under the president's skin. He lobbed out this tweet as well today, quote, "After seven months of investigations and committee hearings about my, quote, "collusion with the Russians," nobody has been able to show any proof. Sad." Close quote.

I want to bring in our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. He's traveling with the president in Miami right now.

Jim, first of all, what are you hearing from White House officials? Are they trying to explain these tweets? Because both were very significant. JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Wolf.

But, no. I talked to a White House official earlier this morning and the words -- before I even finished the question, the words coming out of the mouth of that White House official was please call Marc Kasowitz, the president's outside counsel.

We talked to sources with the outside counsel earlier this morning who said that the president in those tweets was referring to "The Washington Post" story the other night that talked about the president being under investigation for obstruction of justice. And this source saying that story was based on, quote, "illegal anonymous leaks."

And so, the president's outside counsel still very much focused on what they believe is the real story here, that the president is being tarnished by leaking coming out of the Justice Department and perhaps even outside of the special counsel, Robert Mueller's, office.

Now, Wolf, I can tell you, in just the last few minutes, me -- myself and Gloria Borger, we have both confirmed that the president's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, not Marc Kasowitz but Michael Cohen, who was, of course, a fixture during the campaign, a key surrogate for then Candidate Trump, has hired his own personal outside counsel for dealing with the Russia probe. That person goes by the name of Steven Ryan.

And so, you see in the president's inner circle and even his close associates, close associates, outside the White House, a lot of people are lawyering up in this investigation.

Now, Wolf, as you mentioned, the president's going to be out here in just a short couple of moments to talk about his new policy, when it comes to Cuba. We understand he's going to be introduced by the vice president, Mike Pence, also by Senator Marco Rubio who traveled down on Air Force One with President Trump to make this appearance here in little Havana.

And from what we understand from talking to sources in the White House has essentially confirmed most of this. Is this is not a total rollback, a total reversal, of the Obama administration policy.

When it comes to Cuba, the embassies are still going to stay in Havana, in Washington. People are still going to be able to travel from the United States to Cuba to do educational and cultural and religious missions. There are going to be -- there are going to be some restrictions on individual travel into Cuba.

And the -- and the Treasury Department, Wolf, is going to be making sure that people are following the law, when it comes to the embargo and not just doing pure tourist travel when they go down there. But it is not a complete reversal of this policy.

And I was talking to a Cuban American conservative here at this event earlier this morning who said that they are looking at this as the initial steps, in terms of the president's policy when it comes to Cuba. But make no mistake, President Trump is keeping very much most of what President Trump Obama did in his reopening with Cuba a couple of years ago -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Full normalized relations between the United States and Cuba with embassies in Havana and Washington. Ambassadors in both countries. That will all continue.

Jim Acosta is on the scene for us in Miami. A bunch of people will be introducing, speaking before the president, including Governor Scott, Representative Diaz-Balart, and you pointed out Marco Rubio and the Vice President. So, it'll be a while, a little bit of a while, before we hear directly from the president.

[13:05:04] In the meantime, the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, is in charge of the Russia investigation. Since the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself.

But Rosenstein admits that he could be next because of his role in the firing of the FBI director, James Comey. A statement today from the Department of Justice says, quote, "If there comes a point where he needs to recuse, he will. However, nothing has changed."

Joining us now, Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which has oversight over the FBI.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: Aloha, good to be here with you.

BLITZER: Aloha to you too. Let me put the latest tweet from the president up on the screen and we'll get your reaction. I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt. What was -- what's your initial reaction when you see that latest tweet?

HIRONO: I think it's, again, an example of the president taking no responsibility for anything he does. When somebody doesn't agree with him, he lashes out. And again, he's the one who fired Comey. It wasn't Rosenstein.

And the memo that Rosenstein wrote was, the president said, not the basis for his firing. And now, he's saying that Rosenstein is to blame.

I think it's bizarre. It's the kind of behavior from the president that leads us to conclude that he just tweets at random and in contradictory ways. This is not what we want from the president.

But the investigation needs to continue. And Mueller has put together, from all our understanding, a really great team of people who mean business. They are not engaged in a witch hunt.

These are professional people who are going to do the job to get to the bottom of the Russian interference with our election, with our democracy and Trump team, any kind of relationship or collusion that may have occurred there.

BLITZER: Earlier in the week, Senator Rosenstein said that he wouldn't be -- he wouldn't fire the special counsel, Robert Mueller. But if Rosenstein recuses himself could his replacement fire Mueller? Senator Dianne Feinstein, a colleague of yours, said she is concerned that could happen.

HIRONO: I hope that that wouldn't happen because that would just be yet another factor in an effort by this administration to engage in obstruction of justice. So, I would think many times before I'd go down that path.

Because one of the reasons that Rosenstein might become a witness is because he had something to do with the firing of Comey and that's part of the allegations relating to obstruction of justice.

BLITZER: The Trump transition team has been ordered to preserve memos, as part of the entire Russia investigation. What can you tell us about this -- about this preservation of memos? Are you surprised this order didn't come earlier?

HIRONO: Well, I'm glad that it did come. I think that this investigation has been going on and anyone who wants to make sure that they are not caught up in an obstruction of justice kind of an investigation would know that documents should be preserved. But this makes it very official.

BLITZER: The special counsel, Robert Mueller, who, as you know, spent 12 years as FBI the director, met this week with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

You used to be on that committee. You're on the Judiciary Committee now. Has your Judiciary Committee heard from him as well to make sure there's no overlap, there's nothing that you guys do that could undermine his criminal investigation?

HIRONO: Oh, we're certainly going to be on the same page because we want the criminal investigation with Mueller going forward and we also have oversight responsibilities in the Judiciary Committee. So, we will make sure that there's not any kind of stepping on each other's foot going forward.

I just want to add one more thing. You know, the continuing efforts by the president to distract us from the Russian investigation, continuing to call it a witch hunt, lashing out at Mueller now and lashing out at Rod Rosenstein is very distracting.

And I think that this may be one of the reasons that Mitch McConnell is so intent on pushing out the health care bill, or the Senate version of the health care bill while all this confusion and chaos is surrounding the Russian investigation.

And so, this may be an opportune time for him to push out a health care bill that will hurt millions and millions of seniors and will be very bad for so many -- for all of our communities, especially our rural communities without any hearings, with very little, if any, debate.

BLITZER: But whatever emerges from the Senate, you're not suggesting, are you, Senator, that as far as health care legislation is concerned, what already passed the House of Representatives can get through the Senate? It would be a very different kind of Senate legislation, right?

[13:10:02] HIRONO: It wouldn't be a very different kind of Senate bill. I don't know what they can do to make sure that 23 million people are not kicked off of health care. Maybe they'll decrease that to 13 million. It's still bad.

And they're still going to make major changes to Medicaid and it will still have a huge tax break for the richest people in our country and that's not what --

BLITZER: Well, do you think some of the -- some of the more moderate Republicans in the Senate -- remember, the Republicans only have a 52- 48 majority. Some of the more moderate Republicans, let's say like Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski, among others, will go along with that?

HIRONO: I hope not. That is -- that is our hope. And for people like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, a few others who really care about what's going to happen to the people in their own state and to rural hospitals in their states, I hope that they'll step forward and be very clear on what they will find acceptable in the Senate version.

BLITZER: Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

HIRONO: Thank you. Aloha.

BLITZER: All right. Let's get some -- let's get some reaction to all these developments from the Republican side. Republican Congressman Mark Sanford is joining us live from South Carolina.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA, BUDGET COMMITTEE: My pleasure.

BLITZER: The president tweeted this today. I'll put it up on the screen one more time. I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has just released a blistering statement about the president's tweets in which she says, among other things, quote, "The message the president is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn't apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired. That's un-Democratic on its face and a blatant violation of the president's oath of office."

Where do you stand on this? Do you agree with Senator Feinstein?

SANFORD: I wouldn't say that we are voting pals. I think we see the world a bit differently. But what I'd say is, you know, what I've said consistently which is let the process work.

And whether that's from the standpoint of a special investigator, whether it's from the standpoint of the select committees in the House and Senate doing their work. Let them do their work.

I think that there is an accord, that everybody wants to get to the bottom of it. Everybody wants to move on. I think it has proved to be a stumbling block, in terms of the legislative agenda.

I think it's vital that we move things forward, whether that's on tax reform, whether that's on the budget, a whole host of different issues that are facing this Congress.

But let the process work. We have, sort of breathless day-to-day reporting on this front. The process is at work. Let's let it takes its course.

BLITZER: Yes, there's nonstop tweeting coming in from the president. Remember, he is the president. Those are statement by a president of the United States, raising all sorts of questions.

Congressman, do you have confidence, first of all, in the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein?

SANFORD: I do. I do. I mean, I don't know him well on a personal level, but I think he's a competent fellow.

BLITZER: Do you have confidence in the special counsel, Robert Mueller?

SANFORD: I do. I think he is awfully well regarded within Washington and in national circles, given what he did with the FBI, given a very solid track record, if you will, of accomplishing results and doing as he said he'd do.

BLITZER: So, when the president tweets, that tweet, I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt. He called this whole investigation that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, is now deeply engaged in the acting -- the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, is deeply involved as well. He calls it a witch hunt. Is that appropriate?

SANFORD: I would say no. But I'd -- what I was trying to beg off in the first go around is that I don't want to get into all that.

I'm saying, let the investigations take their toll. I don't want to respond to the latest tweet which is what we always get sucked into, as members of the Congress, from the president.

And I join you talk to about the Cuba issue which I think is an awfully big issue as it relates to American liberties.

BLITZER: It certainly is and let's talk a little bit about the Cuba issue. As you know, any minute now, the president is expected to announce some new restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba. You're one of several Republicans against this kind of rollback, I take it.

Tell our viewers why you disagree with the president. SANFORD: I have a bill that would allow Americans to travel freely to

Cuba. One of my compatriots, who I met with this week up in Washington, has a bill that would allow ag experts to Cuba. Another one has a bill in the full embargo of Cuba. These are all Republican measures. These are all Republican bills.

And what we've seen is we've tried one approach for 50 years and it didn't work. We didn't bring down the Castro regime. Everybody wants the same objective which is how do you end totalitarian and the communist rule in Cuba?

[13:15:02] But we've tried one approach. It hadn't worked. And it's the opposite of what we've tried in every other country around the world, our approach. Even Ronald Reagan was the one who was saying, you know, send a kid with a backpack to Eastern Europe. Let's engage with these countries as a way of bringing them down.

And we believe very strongly that it's important we engage. If you flooded the place with American tourists, they would see an outside world where they don't see it presently and it would empower the individuals as opposed to the government. Too often by - in essence shutting down the spicket, the only person in power, the only people with money are government figures as opposed to the rank and file who are out there I mean really struggling at a very, very basic level of subsistence.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: He's not going to end severed diplomatic relations, full diplomatic relations, with Cuba. He's going to continue to have full diplomatic relations. But he is going to make it more difficult for Americans to go there to engage in business there. And you strongly disagree, as we're - we're just hearing you from now.

CNN has found, congressman, that certain of the financial restrictions in the president's new Cuba policy could adversely impact Trump hotel competitors like Marriott, and Sheridan, who want to do business in Havana, elsewhere in Cuba. You're a member of the House Oversight Committee. Is this something you would consider looking into?

SANFORD: Yes, I think all of it needs to be looked into. But, again, there's a bigger premise that we've got to get to, which is what today's announcement is all about, which is, do we go forward or backward with regard to Cuba policy. And what's interesting, as you just mentioned from the standpoint of travel, think about this, you or I could travel to any country on the globe. It may not work out well for us, but you could go to Syria, you could go to North Korea, you could go to - I mean a whole host of different hot spots around the world. There's not a federal government prohibition from us doing so.

The only exception to that rule is Cuba. And so, ultimately, as important as it is to help the 11 million people that are, I think, enchained in a system of government that doesn't work for them in Cuba, this issue ultimately is an American issue about not only a farmer's ability to trade and to sell his products to those 11 million consumers, but more importantly it's about the American notion of liberty, which is, you know, we're not the Soviet Union. You don't have to have your travel papers for the government to decide where you can or can't travel. We've always said, no, you get to pick.

And so this is about upholding an American liberty when there's not an overwhelming security reason to do otherwise to say that if an American wants to travel to Havana or to Beijing or to the Soviet Union, it ought to be their choice as opposed to being driven by government and Washington, D.C.

BLITZER: To Russia, you mean, not the Soviet Union.

Very quickly -

SANFORD: Russia, correct. The former Soviet Union. Thank you for correcting me.

BLITZER: Right. Right. The former Soviet Union.

Let's talk a little bit very quickly about what has changed since President Obama opened up full diplomatic relations, opened up commerce, travel, tourism with Cuba. As far as the Cuban people are concerned, congressman, has there been any improvement in their day- to-day lives?

STANFORD: Well, what's begun to happen is, people used to be allowed to have a little restaurant in their home and now those have been expanded and you have a - the start of what could be a middle class. You know, Airbnb was in the process of sitting up operations down there so that people could rent out their homes. That's not money that goes to government. That's money that actually goes to the individual and economic power ultimately yields and leads to political power. So some things were beginning to happen that would empower people to have more voice. If they're simply struggling with subsistence, they're not going to have a lot of political voice. If all of a sudden they have some of those basic needs meet, they may well have more political voice.

And, again, what's being proposed in Cuba is at complete odds with what we propose in Russia, as you correctly point out, or in China or Vietnam or a whole host of other communists regimes around the country where they don't have the kind of human rights records that we would like to see but what we have believed is that by being engaged with those places we can bring about more change than isolating ourselves and isolating them.

BLITZER: Congressman Mark Sanford, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

SANFORD: Yes, sir. A pleasure.

BLITZER: Coming up, take a look at these live pictures coming from in Miami. The president expected to speak any moment now. There's Governor Scott of Florida. He, among others, introducing the president. Will he address part of the speech, his early morning Twitter storm? We're going to have live coverage once the president starts talking.

And this, was ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed in an air strike? Why the U.S. might be one step closer to trying to verify that report. The Russians are suggesting the answer is yes. We'll find out.

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[13:23:47] BLITZER: Any moment now, President Trump expected to announce a new policy restricting travel and trade with Cuba. He's in Miami right now. There you see Governor Rick Scott of Florida. He's among those introducing the president at this event. We'll have live coverage once the president starts talking.

But what should be a major event is clearly being overshadows by another announcement from the president today. The president confirming that he is being investigated for firing the former FBI Director James Comey.

Our panel is with us to discuss that as we await the president. Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is with us, our CNN military and diplomatic analyst, retired Rear Admiral John Kirby is with us, our CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott, and our legal affairs - our legal analyst Laura Coats is with us as well.

Gloria, caused quite a stir today, the president's tweet, quote, "I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director. Witch hunt." He is confirming that he is now under investigation.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Or that he's read that he's under investigation. It seems to me that he thinks he's under investigation one way or another. Whether he's been told directly or not we don't know.

What we also know now is that he blames the deputy attorney general for this, which has got a lot of people thinking, instead of firing Mueller, is he going to fire Rod Rosenstein? And, in fact, Dianne Feinstein, today, said quite directly, "I'm growing increasingly concerned the president's going to attempt to fire not only Mueller but Rod Rosenstein." He blames them very much for - he blames Rosenstein for the appointment of the special counsel, Mueller. He was also angry at Jeff Sessions about that, if you'll recall. He didn't believe he should have recused himself from this investigation because he believed that Sessions could have at least stopped a special counsel from being appointed. So clearly this is a president who believes that this law enforcement community has somehow been out to get him.

[13:25:46] BLITZER: Yes, he doesn't blame himself for firing Comey and opening up an opportunity for a special counsel to be named.

BORGER: Right. Right. Right. Exactly.

BLITZER: The special counsel being Robert Mueller, the former FBI director.

You know, John, the president's tweet follows a rather strange statement coming in from the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein. I ask you this question because you're a former State Department and Pentagon spokesman. Here's part of the statement. "Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous officials. Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations." What's your reaction when you heard that?

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Yes. You know, Laura and I were talking about that earlier. That's a very, very curious statement, absent any contest whatsoever. Just kind of put it out there. And nobody from the Justice Department is trying to explain it. So you can only guess. And my guess is that in the wake of recent stories about what Mueller's doing, how he's building his team, what he's looking at, maybe Rosenstein felt a little bit of - a little bit of pressure and wanted to get something out there that said, look, this isn't coming from us officially. We're not trying to do this.

I suspect that Mueller, I'm guessing, is pretty angry about these leaks and none too happy about it and maybe it's a chance to do that. It may also be an opportunity to show that they're being apolitical, nonpartisan, not involved in any effort. I don't know.

BLITZER: Yes. You know, Laura, the senator, Dianne Feinstein, who's the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she released a blistering statement in part saying this. "I'm growing increasingly concerned that the president will attempt to fire not only Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible obstruction of justice, but also Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller." Do you think that's a possibility?

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's a possibility because, of course, Rosenstein is, in fact, an at will employee who serves at the pleasure of the president. But he would expend a great deal, if not all of his political capital to do so. And even if he were to fire Rod Rosenstein, there are protections in place for Robert Mueller. Namely, he can be fired for a good cause, and that's part of the enumerated points in the statute. And if he were to be fired, and if the good cause would even - even a little bit questionable, Congress has - can have a full hearing about whether or not it was good cause. It would be a big distraction. It would be a political mistake. But, legally, could he do it? Yes.

And to John's point, also, remember, imagine if Rosenstein, whose memo was very apparent and public to all of about all of the reasons he felt that Comey was insubordinate and had usurped the role of the prosecutors by going public about information and essentially tar and feathering in the public square, and imagine if he had the assumption that people believed that he and his team, even with Mueller, was actually doing the very same thing in a roundabout way. He's trying to avoid the hypocrisy claims that are against them and also the impression that the FBI and DOJ is one big sieve of leaks.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think that's why there's a lot of pressure now, whether Rosenstein will recuse himself because now that these charges of possible obstruction of justice, and he had this role in perhaps the firing of James Comey because President Trump said he did it on his recommendation, now there's a lot of questions about whether he would recuse himself and he said today, his spokesman said that he will recuse himself if and when it's deemed necessary. I think this is -

BLITZER: Yes. The president - the president also said that despite all the recommendations, he would have fired Comey under any circumstances. He wanted clearly to get rid of him.

Go ahead.

BORGER: Right. Well, and, don't forget, Rosenstein has also testified when he was asked about whether he saw any good cause to fire the special counsel Mueller he said no at this point.

LABOTT: Right.

BORGER: So that must be eating at the president's craw also because the president seems to think he has some good reasons to get rid of him and is brooding about it and stewing about it and now Rod Rosenstein is - is - he's brooding about him clearly. So I think that - even if he recuses himself, I'm not sure how that makes the president happy.

BLITZER: A legal question, a technical question. You're a former federal prosecutor, Laura. When the president tweeted, "I am being investigated for firing the FBI director," that sounded to all of us like he is now confirming that he has been told he is under investigation. And apparently some of his aides are now suggesting, well, he was basing that on what he read in "The Washington Post," not necessarily a formal statement. If someone is being investigated by the FBI, are they told?

[13:30:12] COATES: They would know and have different contextual clues --