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Senators Call for Russian Hacking Probe; ExxonMobile CEO Leading Pick for Secretary of State; Dozens Dead After Bombings in Turkey and Egypt; Kremlin: No Proof of CIA's Claims that Russia Swayed Vote; New Details Emerge Six Months After Orlando Massacre; 10th Annual All Star Tribute Tonight. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 11, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:08] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN "Newsroom". I'm Boris Sanchez in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We start today with a bipartisan group of high-profile senators calling for an investigation into Russia's role in the U.S. election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: The fact the CIA and FBI disagree shows the need for a bipartisan investigation that gets to the bottom of this. The investigation should be tough, strong and bipartisan and should have access to all materials, classified and not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In a joint statement released this morning, Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer, Jack -- and Jack Reid, and Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said quote, recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American. President- elect Donald Trump is dismissing the hacking claims blaming them on Democrats that are still bitter over the outcome of the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it. I don't know why. And I think it's just -- you know, they talk about all sorts of things. Every week it's another excuse. We had a massive landslide victory as you know in the Electoral College. I guess the final numbers are now 306 and she, you know, down to a very low number. No, I don't believe that at all.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY ANCHOR: You say, you don't know why. Do you think the CIA is trying to overturn the results of the election ...

TRUMP: No I don't think ...

WALLACE: -- to weaken you in office? TRUMP: Well, if you look at the story and you take a look at what they said, there's great confusion. Nobody really knows. And hacking is very interesting. Once they hacked, if you don't catch them in the act you're not going to catch them. They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. I mean they have no idea.

WALLACE: So why would the CIA put out the story that the Russians wanted you to run?

TRUMP: Well, I'm not sure they put it out. I think the Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country and frankly I think they're putting it out. And it's ridiculous, we need to get back to making America great again which is what we're going to do and we've already started the process.

WALLACE: You said repeatedly you don't believe the intelligence community's analysis that the Russians were involved?

TRUMP: You take a look. They're not sure. They're fighting among themselves. They're not sure.

WALLACE: But the question is, these are the folks you're going to have to rely on.

TRUMP: Sure.

WALLACE: To know what's going on in the world.

TRUMP: Unless they make changes, you know, at the top. I mean, we're going to have different people coming in because we have our people, they have their people. And I have great respect to them. But if you read the stories, the various stories, there is disputing. I mean they're disputing and certain groups don't necessarily agree. Personally, it could be Russia, it, it -- I don't really think it is but who knows. I don't know either. They don't know and I don't know.

WALLACE: I just want to ask you about your skepticism about the intelligence community. You are getting the presidential daily brief ...

TRUMP: Yes.

WALLACE: ...only once a week.

TRUMP: Well, I get it when I need it.

WALLACE: But is that -- is there's some skepticism?

TRUMP: First of all, these are very good people that are giving me the briefings. And I say, if something should change from this point, immediately call me. I'm available on one minute's notice. I don't have to be told, you know, I'm like a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing and the same words every single day for the next eight years, could be eight years, eight years. I don't need that. But I do say, if something should change, let us know.

Now in the meantime, my generals are great, are being briefed and Mike Pence is being briefed who is, by the way, one of my very good decisions. He's terrific. And they are being briefed. And I'm being briefed also. But if they are going to come and tell me the exact same things that they told me that, you know, it doesn't change necessarily. Now there'll be times where it might change. I mean there be some very fluid situations, I'll be there not everyday but more than that. But I don't need to be told Chris the same thing everyday, every morning, same words. Sir, nothing has changed, let's go over it again. I don't need that.

WALLACE: President Obama just ordered a full review of Russia's involvement hacking in the election. And Democrats are now calling for hearings. Do you think this is part of an effort to undercut you?

TRUMP: Well it could be. I think President Obama has been terrific. He's been, you know, very respectful of the process and everything else. So I saw that. But -- and I want it too. I think it's great. I think -- I don't want anyone hacking us. And I'm not only talking about countries. I'm talking about anyone, period. But if you're going to do that, I think you should not just say Russia, you should say other countries also and maybe other individuals.

WALLACE: If you say there's political effort here.

TRUMP: It could be. I mean, it could be. Hey look, we had -- many people are saying, one of the great victories of all time. They're very embarrassed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:05:04] SANCHEZ: To go deeper, end of the story now, we're joined by CNN's Ryan Nobles, he's live outside of Trump Tower in New York. Ryan, the Trump campaign -- camp rather pushing back hard against this issue so is the RNC. Some lawmakers though including Republicans don't seem to want to let this go.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You know, it's a very interesting showdown that's being set up here Boris, between President-elect Trump, as you mentioned the RNC and even some Republican senators. It's clear that the president-elect doesn't even want to open the door to the idea that perhaps the Russians were involved in this election in a way that impacted the outcome. But there are this group of bipartisan senators that at least want this looked into more because of problems that it could lead to down the road.

Listen to what John McCain said this morning on CBS. Essentially saying that it was -- it could -- with Democrats this time around but it could easily be Republicans the next time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It's clear the Russians interfered. Now, whether they intended to interfere to the degree that they were trying to elect a certain candidate. I think that's a subject of investigation. But the facts are stubborn things. They did hack in to this campaign. And they did it, I think with some -- at least what seemed to be effective of a sort of every week or so there was new information. And were they hacking Republicans the same way? The Republican National Committee and if so, why didn't they -- there's a whole lot of issues out there. It requires an investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: But the RNC has said very clearly that they don't believe they were ever hacked. They pushed back on those illusions that perhaps the RNC was hacked as well. But Boris this does bring up a whole another conversation about the United States relationship with the Russia going forward. The president-elect seems to reject any notion that Russia was even behind the hack. He claims the intelligence community doesn't even know, but there are leading Republicans like John McCain, who you've just heard that feel pretty confident that was Russia that was behind this hack. So, it's going to be an interesting conversation for the president-elect, his intelligence officials and those leading senate Republicans when he takes office here in the next few weeks. Boris?

SANCHEZ: And Ryan, another interesting angle to this, is the fact we're waiting on the announcement of secretary of state. And Rex Tillerson according to our sources appears to be the frontrunner. Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil who has pretty warm relations with Russia.

NOBLES: Yeah. I mean that's absolutely right. And, and that also leads into this conversation about this group of moderate Republican senators who certainly represent the establishment wing of the Republican Party who have already voiced concerns about Tillerson as potential secretary of state.

I talked to Senator McCain yesterday and he said he's very concerned about Tillerson. He wants answers to his -- to questions that he has about his relationship with Russia. And that could lead to a very difficult confirmation fight if that's the direction the president- elect intends to go in. We believe that Tillerson is the leading candidate right now but the transition has told us, no official announcement is coming at least not until sometime next week.

SANCHEZ: All right, Ryan Nobles reporting live from New York. Thank you.

Let's keep this conversation going to find out what it means for a Trump White House going forward. I'm joined now by CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona and CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Alice Stewart.

Alice, let's start with you. Trump has argued that this information from the CIA is coming from Democrats that are unhappy, that are bitter with the outcome of the election. First off, do you agree and second off, do you think we should move forward then?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think that's a large part of it Boris. And look, there's a couple of things that come out of what we just heard from Senator McCain. There clear is evidence of that there was some hacking done. But there's no evidence whatsoever to indicate that it was the Russian government. It may have originated in Russia but not the Russian government. And that's an important distinction.

And he raises the question, the influence this had on the election. Look, the reality is Hillary Clinton lost this election because she didn't have a message that connected with the people. The American people wanted to drain the swamp and Donald Trump connected with them. So, pushing this narrative about hacking, influencing the election is coming is simply from Democrats who are having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact they lost this election.

SANCHEZ: And Maria, do you agree?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Absolutely not. I think that Trump and his supporters have got to understand and learn the difference between the DNC and the CIA. The DNC did not come up with this investigation. They did not come up with the findings that the CIA has now said, pretty definitively that Russia was behind these hacks, that Russia did interfere into this election, and that Russia did go in there wanting to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. That is not something that the DNC came out with.

[15:10:24] So, you know, there's a difference between these two organizations. And Trump needs to understand what they are. It is very, very concerning and should be very -- a scary moving forward to the American people that this is a president-elect, frankly, that has no interest in really understanding what the situation is globally with the United States when he rejects what the CIA is saying and supports Russia and their strong man leader, Vladimir Putin.

That is something that we all have to realize is not where we want to be going in to a new administration. And that's why you have many Republicans even, voicing concerns about the findings that the CIA put out there, and that there shouldn't be a bipartisan investigation in this, it should not be politicized whatsoever. It's Republicans who are doing this, because frankly they are probably afraid of what the investigation might find.

SANCHEZ: Well Alice, we have to ask about something Maria just mentioned. This is a bipartisan effort and there is a split between Republicans like John McCain and Lindsey Graham about how he should approach Russia compared to the Trump campaign. How do you see that split playing itself out moving forward?

STEWART: Well, I think, look, I think everyone clearly understands that Russia is a serious concern. Look, we are all frustrated that years ago Barack Obama shunned Mitt Romney for pointing out the concerns we had with Putin. We're all frustrated with Hillary Clinton's failed reset with Russia. We understand the serious nature of Russia and I think it's important moving forward. I think Donald Trump will set the right tone. I think he understands the threat of Russia, and I think moving forward, looking at the potential, the potential I say, for Russian influence the election is important, but there's no credible evidence that the Russian government influenced this election or whatsoever.

CARDONA: You know, it's kind of laughable when Republicans say that they are concerned that Obama brushed what Mitt Romney said aside, and so concerned about Hillary's failed quote, reset. And they show absolutely no concern whatsoever with Trump's affinity and love for Russia and Vladimir Putin at the expense of believing his own intelligence community agencies. That should put the fear in all of us. Frankly, even more so when we have no idea what Putin or -- I'm sorry, what Trump's connections are business wise with Russia and with entrepreneurs and business people in Russia.

His advisers were clearly connected with Russia. Some of them had to leave the campaign because of those connections. There is so much here that we have to understand and investigate. It would be smart if Trump comes out and say, yes, let's put everything out on the table. Let's investigate everything. The fact that he doesn't want that, I think underscores that he absolutely has something to hide.

SANCHEZ: It's interesting -- some of the things you said Maria because a lot of the reporting that come out of this indicates that there was a reluctance from the Obama administration to go after Russia aggressively. They have this information for months and decided ultimately to try to publicly shame Vladimir Putin instead of going at him with perhaps sanctions or covert operations.

CARDONA: I wish ...

SANCHEZ: Why do you think they didn't?

CARDONA: I wish they would have. But can you imagine Boris, if Obama had come out before the election and announced this kind of investigation? He would have been eviscerated about politicizing our CIA or intelligence communities when in fact, you know, what he's doing now is absolutely the right thing to do. And if Republicans were smart, if Trump were smart, if he really wanted to legitimately prove that he wants to be the president for everybody instead of continuing to try to divide this country, he would say, yes, let's put everything out in the open.

Let's remember, this president, the president-elect did not win with a mandate. He won in three states with less than 100,000 votes from an electoral standpoint. Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton is now about to get to the 3 million mark of more po -- of more votes in the popular vote than President-elect Trump. Trump has an obligation to bring this country together. I think it's exactly the opposite.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

STEWART: The popular vote is irrelevant at this point. The election results are in. Donald Trump won and I think it's absolutely improper for anyone to speculate on how Donald Trump will respond to Russia when we have eight years of the Obama administration placating to them. Now, they suddenly lost this election and now they say, oh Russia is not our friend. I think that's -- that is a hypocritical of Democrats to do so. And I think we'll see moving forward, Donald Trump will be extremely firm when it comes to Russia and speculating otherwise is inaccurate.

CARDONA: In fact, he has proven the opposite. That he's going to coddle Russia, that he's going to reach out to Russia, that he's going to do everything that he can to keep the United States from understanding what kind of involvement Russia had in our elections. It's shameful.

STEWART: I think to speculate that he's going to be placated to what Russia when we have eight years ...

CARDONA: He already has.

STEWART: ... of Obama's administration ...

CARDONA: He already has.

SANCHEZ: Ladies, ladies, it's a heated conversation.

CARDONA: He has proven that exactly what he's going to do.

[15:15:00] SANCHEZ: Maria Cardona, Alice Stewart, we thank you so much for sharing your time with us this Sunday.

STEWART: Thank you, Boris.

CARDONA: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Next, some deadly terror attacks. Two countries are hit and dozens are dead. We have details on what happened to Mid East, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're following two major international stories this hour. Explosions devastating parts of Turkey and Egypt. First in Turkey where a militant Kurdish group has claimed responsibility for twin bombings in Istanbul. The terror attack killed at least 38 people, most of them were police officers.

A surveillance camera captured the moment when the first blast detonated. It's a car bomb going off outside a soccer arena. Shortly after, a suicide bomber blew himself of less than a mile away. 13 people have been arrested in connection with this terror attacks.

Meantime in Cairo, local media there reporting at least 25 people dead, and dozens more injured after an explosion in a small church that was attached to a Coptic Christian cathedral. It's still unclear who was behind that blast.

Joining me now is CNN Military Analyst Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona. Colonel, what are your thoughts on the chaos surrounding the attack on Istanbul that killed 30 police officers? LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, the group that's taking the credit for this is the TAK. Now the church believes them to be nothing more than an affiliate of the PKK, the outlawed and designated terrorist group, Kurdish separatist group. However, we're not sure of the exact connection there but we do know that they are responsible for a series, a litany of violence against the Turkish government over the past few years. So it's not surprising that they're involved. And the choice of target, you know, a crowded, a crowded area.

But as you said, the target was police officers. And this is a tactic we've seen with the PKK in the past as well. They primarily go after military and police targets rather than the population as a whole. So, I, I think it's just yet another in these series of violence that we're going to see in Turkey.

[15:20:02] SANCHEZ: Yes. Colonel, we heard Turkish President Erdogan say that he was going to take every measure, the exact revenge on this group. What would that look like?

FRANCONA: Oh, it's going to be a crackdown of course in Southern Turkey. But of course, you know, the Turks are involved in Northern Syria. They've got quiet a few troops there, armor, artillery, special forces, air power. They're supporting the Free Syrian Army trying to move on the ISIS capital of Raqqah.

But while they are there as well, they are also conducting strikes against the Kurds in Northern Syria. The Kurds that we are allied with, they're called the YPG. I know these initials get confusing. But they -- the Tuks regard all of these, these Kurds to be either affiliates of, or sympathetic to the PKK. So we're going to see a lot more Turkish action directed at the Kurds, both in Turkey and Northern Syria.

SANCHEZ: Switching to Egypt now. Colonel, you've spent sometime there, you actually met the Egyptian Coptic pope. Why would someone target them? What could be the motive here?

FRANCONA: Well, this is been going on for years since, since the fall of the Mubarak government in 2011. We seen taking violence directed against the Christian. And this was exasperated when the democratically elected government of Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood was removed from power by the current President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

And -- so, this violence increase even through that. And when I talked to the Pope last right after the removal of Morsi, he was very concerned that the violence would no longer be directed against the Egyptian government, but against the Christians because the Egyptian government under Sisi will be crack down on any violence directed against the government but not so against the Christians. So, he was very concerned about it. And I think his, I think his fears were realized. This strike today was at the heart of the Coptic Church. This is the seat of power. This is towards his home seat.

SANCHEZ: Lt. Col. Rick Francona, thank you so much for giving us your perspective on these two attacks. Thank you.

Up next, Monday brings another day of testimony in the Charleston Church shooting trial. We went to Sunday services at the historic mother Emanuel AME Church. The pastor told us his congregation is still trying to heal. More on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:06] SANCHEZ: The trial of the Dylann Roof, the gunman behind the Charleston church massacre will continue tomorrow. And some chilling interrogation video played in his murder trial, he tells the FBI that he quote, had to do it. Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty in the case. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now from Charleston.

Polo, you attended a church service where the shooting took place and you talked with the pastor about how the congregation and survivors were coping. How are they watching this unfolding court? How are they feeling?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have been in court every day Boris since. And as you mentioned, we had an opportunity to sit down with Reverend Eric Manning who has been leading this congregation now for about six months and he had told members of this church that he was going to stay quiet and not speak publicly during the trial of Dylann Roof. However recently, he talked to me to speak out. And turns to CNN to able to tell the people here in Charleston, the people on the world really that they are still hurting but they're doing OK. And I can tell you that what's we saw firsthand when walk in to the church and watched today's service from the room where that bible study took place on that horrible day, and we heard that message of hope that the Reverend was sharing with the rest of the congregation. Because he has had to hit the ground running six months ago preparing some of the survivors, some of the families of the victim. He has been their spiritual leader as they head to court and listen to this testimony. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. ERIC S.C. MANNING, PASTOR, EMANUEL AME CHURCH: Part of how they feel is important to be heard because they are hurting. A lot of us still are hurting. And that's why once again I was come right back to, you know, the fact that we will continue to pray our way through it. But when the victims begin to speak, when the families begin to speak, I pray that people pay attention because as I said before, everyone's reading about it, everyone's talking about it. The way we have lived it and the families are still living it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Pastor Manning there saying that some of the hardest days could still be ahead when we hear from even more those victims in open court during victim impact statements. And finally Boris, members of the church are hoping to remember the victims handing out some of these calendars each month with the story and the face of some of the victims, of those nine victims who were killed here about a year and a half ago. That is the focus that they want to be on the victims here and of course now the man who is standing trial right now in federal court.

SANCHEZ: A small token to help them remember amid some very painful testimony to listen to. Polo Sandoval, thank you.

Up next, Donald Trump doesn't believe that Russia hacked the presidential election to help him beat Hillary Clinton. His response to the CIA's assessment of Russian hacking and its potential influence on the election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:05] SANCHEZ: The bipartisan group of senators delivered a pointed message today on evidence that the Russia interfered in the US elections. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: A lot of this is now it seems is done by government, it's foreign governments, and that raises things to a much higher level. And the fact that they hacked and may have tried to influence an election is even more serious still. Our election process should be sacrosanct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Some Democratic and Republican senators said that all Americans should be alarmed over the hacking evidence. And they're calling for a congressional investigation. But, President-elect Donald Trump says that he doesn't trust the reporting on Russia's involvement or the sources that are providing that intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You read the stories, the various stories, there's disputing. I mean they're disputing and certain groups don't necessarily agree. Personally, it could be Russia, it, it -- I don't really think it is but who knows. I don't know either. They don't know and I don't know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Now if an investigation in to the hacking revealed that Russia did indeed attempt to sway the vote, the implications could be very serious. Let's go now to CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance. He's live in Moscow. Matthew, how are your sources within the Russian Government reacting to these accusations?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's fair to say they're on the same page as Donald Trump on this issue, the -- rejecting that they had anything to do with the hacking allegations or the hacking affair. They, they first rejected it back in October of course at the height of the Presidential campaign when these allegations were first made. But again, they're saying look, you know, there's nothing new in this. We've seen no evidence of this. This is simply an attempt to discredit Russia and to show Russia in a negative right and light at to the incoming U.S. President. And so there's been a categorical denial.

But, you know, the whole idea of the incoming Trump administration being unduly close to the Kremlin is not an issue that appears to be going away. It's in fact being fueled by the apparent choice of the favorite candidate at the moment to become Trump's Secretary of State. Rex Tillerson is the CEO of ExxonMobil, the oil company at the moment. He's got a long standing relationship with Russia and he's been given the, the Medal of Friendship, the Order of Friendship as called, as one of the Russia's a highest civilian honors and he say he spoke out about against sanctions against Russia et cetera. And so his perspective appointment has already been praised for instance in Russia.

SANCHEZ: And certainly, a quick question for you. There's some debate about how close he is with Vladimir Putin. Do you have any indication?

[15:35:09] CHANCE: Well, I think he's got a relationship that stretches back some decades with Russia and some years with Vladimir Putin. Putin was there when Tillerson signed that $500 billion deal to explore for oil and gas in various parts of Russia including in its arctic and some was (inaudible). As they said, Putin pinned that Medal of Friendship on his chest.

But at the same time just because he's got a working knowledge of Russia, just because he's done business in Russia, it doesn't necessarily exclude you from holding the high office of secretary of state. In fact, Trump thinks it is an advantage that he's got his personal relationships, not just with the Russians but with others as well. But certainly I think the attitude in the Kremlin at the moment is that they're rubbing their hands with glee when they think of a Donald Trump presidency and a Tillerson, Rex Tillerson as the potential secretary of state.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, we already saw them pop champagne the day after the election. Matthew Chance, reporting live from Moscow, thank you.

All right, let's talk about this more with Republican Strategist Brian Morgenstern and Political Analyst Ellis Henican. Ellis, some our experts have said that this is a constitutional crisis that we should redo the entire election. Do you think this is that big of a deal, that level of a crisis?

ELLIS HENICAN, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't hear that many serious people saying in that yet Boris. But, here's what we (inaudible), let's investigate, let's find out. I mean to me, where the Trump argument is the weakest, just the -- to the extent that he and those around him are doing what they can to throw cold water on a serious investigation, the kind of thing that John McCain is talking about today. You know what, let's go dig into it, let's find out where the facts lead, wherever they lead and then we'll judge what it means.

SANCHEZ: All right. I want you both to listen to some sound from Trump's soon-to-be chief of staff, Reince Priebus earlier today. listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, "MEET THE DAILY PRESS" HOST: Do you believe -- let's just clear this up. Do you believe that the president-elect believe that Russia was trying to muddy up and get involved in the election in 2016?

REINCE PRIEBUS, (R) INCOMING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Number one, you don't know it, I don't know it. And there's been no conclusive or specific report to say otherwise. So that's the first thing. The second thing I would tell is that, you don't have any proof that the outcome of the election was changed, just forget about who did the hacking ...

TODD: Do you want to know?

PRIEBUS: ... even if someone did the hacking.

TODD: No, you don't have any -- tell me how do you know that? Does he want to know?

PRIEBUS: Of course we want to know.

TODD: So there's going to an investigation. He wants an investigation on Capitol Hill?

PRIEBUS: Of course. Listen, I don't know what investigation he wants but we yes, we do want to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The RNC between today and yesterday very, very strong in their responses. Him and Sean Spicer getting agitated with Michael Smerconish yesterday. Regardless of the results of the investigation, ultimately this could be a really black eye on the start of Trump's presidency. Right Brian?

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Oh, I don't think it'll be a black eye on the Trump's presidency. I think it would be more on the Obama presidency because that's when this happened. I mean, this is -- and I think the positions here between the members of the Foreign Relations Committee, John McCain and others and the Trump transition actually can be reconciled. That might seem a little weird but, look, Trump doesn't want the legitimacy of his election challenged. And I think he's right that results are in. There's no -- and at this point we have no evidence to suggest that, you know, Russia was the reason he won. It wasn't, he won the election, it's done.

But, at the same time, we don't want foreign governments hacking our leaders and, you know, reading confidential e-mails and information and so it is fair for Capitol Hill, for the members of the Senate committees to want to investigate this. But having Trump push back on, on his own legitimacy at the same time, I think they are not irreconcilable ideas. SANCHEZ: Ellis, Brian brings up a good point. There's a lot of anger from Clinton's supporters especially over President Obama essentially being reluctant to go after Russia more aggressively. They had this information that Russia was meddling in the election allegedly for months. Why do you think they didn't act more aggressively for the Russia sooner?

HENICAN: You know, Boris I wish they had. But -- I mean, I think there was sensitivity about not wanting to seem like the current president was getting engaged in the politics of it but about what we learn, right? We just don't know Brian. All right -- I mean, it could've throw the results of the election out. I mean, this was a very close election as you know. I mean, a few votes could make a difference. All of those e-mails that came up through Wikileaks which now seem almost certainly to be, to have Russian sources to them. I mean, let's just go dig it out. I don't think we can say the answer to that. And I got it hate -- I hate when this Trump folks keep acting like we don't really want to know.

MORGENSTERN: No, that's not what they're acting like though Eliis.

HENICAN: It is kind of.

MORGENSTERN: The point, the point is, of course we want to know what capabilities this foreign government have to, you know, infiltrate high level leaders' e-mails. I think that is a very important obviously.

HENICAN: What did they do?

MORGENSTERN: But nobody, nobody told Hillary to skip Wisconsin and Michigan and pull out their ads out and not do rallies there and not speak to working class voters. Nobody told her to run a poor campaign. That wasn't Russia's fault. That was Hillary's fault.

[15:40:04] SANCHEZ: All right Brian, Ellis, I wish we had more time, unfortunately gentlemen we are out of it, but we thank you for being with us on Sunday. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's hard to believe but tomorrow is the sixth month anniversary of the deadly shooting in U.S. history. The massacre inside Orlando's Pulse Nightclub left 49 people dead and 53 wounded. And now, for the first time we're hearing more about what happened that night from SWAT officers who responded to the 911 call. Here is CNN's Deb Feyerick.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

911 CALLER: Please come to Pulse. P-U-L-S-E in Orlando. And he's shooting and everybody is bleeding everywhere.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where was the concentration of people who didn't make it?

JOHN MINA, ORLANDO POLICE CHIEF: The main dance floor was the greatest concentration of dead bodies. He did most of his killing within the first two minutes in the video and audio that I've heard. You know, multiple, multiple gunshots, multiple magazine changes all within the first minute or two.

FEYERICK: Do you have any sense of how many rounds he fired?

MINA: Hundreds of rounds. I don't know the exact count.

FEYERICK: The first Orlando police officers arrived on scene while the gunman was still shooting. Sergeant Ira Morris and his team entering through the open patio and onto the dance floor.

[15:45:04] SGT. IRA MORRIS, ORLANDO POLICE: We were stating things like, if anyone can hear us just raise your hand. Some of the folks that were, of course, they were obviously deceased but they were still trying to hold on to each other to protect each other.

FEYERICK: On the opposite side near the main door, Officer James Hyland was preparing to main entry with a second team.

JAMES HYLAND, ORLANDO POLICE: Once I was up to the south doors, a female came out and she just dropped to the ground. So, while there's gunfire still going on, I tapped one of the officers in front of me and said, hey, you know, give me some cover. I went and grabbed the female.

FEYERICK: Shattering a picture window, Hyland and SWAT Officer Ben Chisari moved quickly towards the back of the club.

BEN CHISARI, ORLANDO SWAT: We got five other -- five or six other officers with us and we made entry into the club where, where the gunfire was coming from. We -- you know, we had an idea that the gunman was in the bathroom. We just didn't know where at the time, so we held our positions.

FEYERICK: Is it fair to say that you had your firearm up and ready?

CHISARI: Absolutely.

FEYERICK: The whole time?

CHISARI: The whole time.

FEYERICK: The shooter briefly appears. Police fire but miss. The gunman is barricaded with hostages.

HYLAND: The shooter was sort of in the bathroom and they were holding cover on him which allowed me and a bunch of officers to go in there and just start extracting the wounded out in there.

FEYERICK: Ambulances were blocks away outside the safety perimeter. HYLAND: I remember shouting, "Use my truck, get them out of here." And then another officer came and he actually jumped in the driver's seat of my truck so people that we're pulling out, they would take them from behind the cars that I pulled them. And then they load them on the back of the truck, and then they take them down to the hospital down the street.

FEYERICK: Fifteen trips in all, as frantic phone calls come steadily from inside the night club.

911 CALLER: He's loading up. He's loading up. Hurry up.

911 DISPATCHER: Caller is advising he's reloading in the bathroom.

FEYERICK: Thirty minutes into the attack, the self-proclaimed ISIS gunman exchanges three phone calls with police.

OMAR MATEEN, ORLANDO SHOOTER: There's some vehicles outside that have some bombs just to let you know. Your people are going to get it and I'm going to ignite it if, they try to do anything stupid.

FEYERICK: A new threat as a bomb dog identifies the scent of explosives in the gunman's car. Dozens of police and deputies worked quickly to rescue survivors hiding throughout the club. Some two dozen hostages remain trapped in the south bathroom and in the north, the gunman is pointing his assault rifle towards the door, ready for police. It is more than two hours into the standoff.

911 CALLER: Why isn't anyone coming to get us in the bathroom? There's two people in here that are about to die. There's four already dead. Someone needs to come in here now.

MINA: If our officers who were feet away had heard him start shooting, they obviously would have went right through that bathroom door and engaged him.

FEYERICK: A text comes through at about 4:30 saying he's going to put suicide vests on us and blow the club up. That must have accelerated things pretty significantly?

MINA: It did. And negotiations had stopped and he wasn't answering our phone call.

CHISARI: It was relayed to us while we're in there that he had explosives and that he was going to blow the club up if we didn't back out. No one backed out.

MINA: And my SWAT team commander tells me what the plan is. I say get ready for the explosion breach. He comes back and says, "They're ready".

ROBERT WOODYARD, ORLANDO SWAT: It went off, hit the lights and kind of the dust settled and the wall was still there.

FEYERICK: SWAT Officer Robert Woodyard aims his armored vehicle with a battering ram at the rear wall. WOODYARD: I change it to four wheel drive just in case and just drove at the hole that was supposed to be breached.

FEYERICK: But it was the hallway, the hostages are feet away. So he rams a second hole.

WOODYARD: I remember backing out and just seeing hands. Just immediately. And a couple of the guys on the ground, grabbed the handheld ram, and they started to make the holes bigger. And once it got big enough, people started coming out.

MINA: The officers did start hearing shots coming from the north bathroom and we learned later from the survivors that, that was a shooter actually shooting out at the officers. So, that's when our officers, again, thinking out, we have to throw some diversionary devices in there, flash bangs, made some loud noise and some bright light. And somewhere during that, that time period, that's when the shooter came out of the big hole that was made in the hallway and immediately began firing at our officers. Several other officers also returned fire, killing him right there.

FEYERICK: The standoff is over three hours and 15 minutes after it began. 49 people are dead, 53 injured, with 101 people rescued from inside the club by dozens of police and sheriff's deputies.

Why not launch that rescue operation sooner?

[15:50:01] MINA: Going into that doorway within the first few minutes, basically would have been a suicide mission for the officers. But also, like I said more importantly, I believed many hostages would have lost their lives at that moment either from the gunman or from friendly fire from our officers if we had gone in right away through that bathroom.

FEYERICK: The survivors were interviewed that same day, only then did Chief Mina learn the gunman had been waiting to ambush his SWAT team.

MINA: I'm very, very proud of the way the Orlando Police Department responded.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Orlando, Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: An incredible report. We'll be right back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: In just a few hours, some heroes are going to be honored live on CNN. One of those being honored tonight is Harry Swimmer. After he retired from the insurance industry, he turned his poor profit horse farm into a nonprofit oasis for children with special needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [15:55:00] HARRY SWIMMER, ALL STAR HONOREE: (Inaudible) equine- assisted therapeutic riding program. And we work with special need children. And I'm a very lucky man to be able to do that. I met a little girl, non-verbal, deaf, wondered what she'd be like on a horse. So I said to the grandmother, I said, how about if we bring her out to the farm and let me see what she'd do on a horse. I brought her out in here and put her on a pony, and she just lit up like a candle. And I said, this is what I wanted to do.

These children come to me with all kinds of disabilities. Verbal and non-verbal. They gain so much from, from doing something that other children don't do that they can do. When the children are on the horse, you can't tell they're disabled, they ride like anybody else. These children come to me every day with open arms, and I love every one of them. This is their farm as much as it is mine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're the best.

SWIMMER: And I love you, too Graham (?).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are the kind and the caring. They are the strong and the brave. They are the ones who see a need, fill a void, make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm trying to give them all the opportunities that they deserve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has become my life. I don't ever want to do anything else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't do it for themselves. They do it for all the rest of us. They are a reminder of what's good in this world. And what it truly means to be a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We give them the foundation from which they can thrive. The feeling of family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have transformed the lives of thousands of children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, CNN presents a very special, live event, the Tenth Annual CNN Heroes All Star Tribute.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, we gather to celebrate extraordinary men and women who highlight the best of what humanity has to offer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Join host Anderson Cooper and special co-host Kelly Ripa, as we honor 10 extraordinary people. The "10th Annual CNN Heroes All Star Tribute", live tonight at 8:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:56:40] SANCHEZ: Some of the special people doing tremendous work. And you can learn all about the finalists at cnn.com/heroes. The next hour of the CNN Newsroom starts right after this short break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)