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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Says He Thinks Putin Will "Make A Deal" On Ukraine; Russia Seeks To Add Trade And Arms Control Into Trump-Putin Talks; Outraged D.C. Locals Protest Against Federal Agents; NFL Can Be Put On Trial Over Discrimination Claims; Trump-Putin Summit A Reminder Of Alaska's Past As Russian Colony. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 14, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:14]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: All right. Jim Sciutto is standing by for The Lead. He is in Anchorage, Alaska, of course, the site of tomorrow's summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. Jim, of course you are in for Jake, who is making his way to Anchorage as well.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Listen, Kasie, the big leading summit certainly for President Trump, but even more so for the people of Ukraine, for the people of Europe who are deeply worried about the Russian threat. We're going to look for more next time in the arena, of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

SCIUTTO: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Jake Tapper. We are live from Anchorage, Alaska, where just about 24 hours from now, the highly anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to be underway. This afternoon in the Oval Office expecting -- expressing some optimism, President Trump laid out those expectations for the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think that President Putin would like to see a deal. I think if I weren't president, he would take over all of Ukraine. Tomorrow all I want to do is set the table for the next meeting, which should happen shortly.

I'd like to see it actually happen maybe in Alaska where we just stay because it's so much easier. We're going to find out where everybody stands and I'll know within the first 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes or 5 minutes. Like we tend to find out whether or not we're going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Already discussing a second meeting. The president said this potential second meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with Trump, could also possibly involve leaders from Europe. Trump has threatened, quote, very severe consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine. We should note that tomorrow's meeting between Trump and Putin will be one on one.

During their first two meetings in Trump's first term, you may remember, even senior officials said they were sometimes left in the dark about what exactly was discussed when aides left the room. The one on one will be followed by a bilateral lunch with delegations for both the U.S. and Russia and then, if all goes well, a joint news conference. Although President Trump followed up in the Oval Office saying today he could fly solo in that news conference if the meeting, quote, doesn't end well.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is here with me now in Anchorage. And Kristen, listening to the president this afternoon at the White House. While he did say there was a 25 percent chance things may not go well. In general, his comments were positive. It seemed he's optimistic about this meeting.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I talked to a number of White House officials today because yesterday they were hedging a lot more. It was all about a listening session. It was all about seeing if they should take Putin seriously. Today, it was more about trying to actually get to a deal. And they do say that they feel more optimistic today.

Now, President Trump, he was asked about his relationship with Putin, what he's seen for the past several months, and he admitted that it's been much harder to negotiate with Putin, to deal with Putin, to deal with the war in Ukraine than he ever thought it would be. And I want to take a listen to that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelenskyy will make peace. We'll see if they can get along, and if they can, it'll be great. You know, I've solved six wars in the last six months, little more than six months now, and I'm very proud of it. I thought the easiest one would be this one. It's actually the most difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And that is actually what's shaping all of the way. President Trump is viewing this going into this summit, he felt like it was going to be easy that he had this relationship with Vladimir Putin, which we heard from so many officials who have dealt with the Russian president for years who said, don't trust him, but he felt like they had some sort of connection.

Obviously, as we have seen, he has been almost embarrassed by Putin time and time again. These phone calls in which they get off the phone, Putin tells him one thing, Trump announces what they talked about. The next thing you know, he's bombing Ukraine again. So that's why you saw them being a little bit more tentative, a little

bit more hesitant, Trump caging or caveating everything with this idea that, well, it has to go well for us to get to that next meeting. But today they are sounding more optimistic that they might be able to get something on the table to at least bring to that second meeting.

SCIUTTO: It's interesting. It's a succession of US Presidents going back through Bush and Obama, all of whom were disappointed by their relationships with. They all thought when they came in, they all thought, we're going to reset the relationship and find a way forward. And they've run into the same brick wall. We'll see if that brick wall breaks tomorrow. Kristen Holmes, thanks so much.

[17:05:00]

In Moscow, CNN's Fred Pleitgen now. And Fred, when you speak to people close to Putin inside the Kremlin, what are their expectations? Are they expressing a similar optimism about the outcome from tomorrow's summit?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I think, Jim, that the Russians believe there's a lot of opportunities for them in that meeting between Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. They believe that not only could there be a way forward as far as Ukraine is concerned, certainly one could be favorable for Russia, but also a possible reset of U.S.-Russia relations, which is really what the Russians say quite openly that they're gunning for.

One of the interesting developments that we've been seeing here in Moscow over the past couple of days is that Vladimir Putin has been all but silent for an extended period of time. However, today he finally came out and made his first public remarks, and we're seeing that setting there on our screens right now.

And it was very important because Vladimir Putin really projecting how seriously he's taking the summit with President Trump. He had some of his senior cabinet officials there in that room, including the defense minister, who, of course, right now plays an important role as this conflict with Ukraine keeps going on.

And I actually was able, Jim, today to speak to one of the members of the Russian delegation who has been at all the meetings, for instance, between the U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. And I asked him how he feels about the way things are going forward, is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: President Trump has threatened severe consequences if there's no movement towards a ceasefire. What's Russia hoping to get out of this meeting?

KIRILL DMITRIEV, CEO OF THE RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: Well, I think dialogue is very important, and I think it's a very positive meeting for the world because during Biden administration, no dialogue was happening.

So I think it's very important to hear Russian position directly. And there are lots of misunderstandings, misinformation about the Russian position. And it's also a chance to sort of reset if the meeting goes well U.S.-Russia relations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: That was Kirill Dmitriev speaking to me earlier today as he was actually walking to his plane to fly over to you guys there in Alaska, should be landing fairly soon. And one of the things, of course, that stood out there is the fact that he kept talking about a reset of U.S.-Russia relations. And I think that for the Russians is something that really is very high on their agenda.

They have said that they believe obviously this meeting is going to be about Ukraine and trying to find a way forward as far as Ukraine is concerned, but for them, it's about more than that. It is about trying to get sanctions relief. It's also about trying to build economic relations, especially with the Trump administration for the years going forward as well.

One other thing that I think is important, Jim, to point out is that what the Russians have been doing as far as their messaging is concerned over the past couple of days is really touting what they call some significant battlefield gains on the Eastern Front in Ukraine, obviously trying to project that Vladimir Putin is going into this meeting with a very strong hand as far as the situation on the battlefield is concerned. Jim.

SCIUTTO: This is an open question. What is Putin willing to give up, if anything? And what pressure is Trump willing to apply to get Russian concessions? Fred Pleitgen in Moscow, thanks so much.

Joining me now is Oleksandr Merezhko. He is Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman for the Parliament of Ukraine. Oleks, thanks so much for joining.

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN, PARLIAMENT OF UKRAINE: Thank you for inviting me.

SCIUTTO: President Trump in the Oval Office today, he was asked if he thought this summit and the incentives that he's putting on the table could end up rewarding Putin for the invasion of Ukraine. I want to play part of his answer and get your reaction on the other side. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: No, I don't think it's a reward. I think that what we have is a situation that should never have started. Should have never started. It didn't start under me. Everything that was done was wrong. Everybody's to blame, Putin's to blame, they're all to blame.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCIUTTO: When he says everyone's to blame, they're all to blame, does that signal to you that he's saying that Ukraine shares the blame for being invaded by Russia?

MEREZHKO: Well, honestly speaking, to me, it sounds absolutely outrageous because the situation is crystal clear. We have the aggressor, the perpetrator of the crime of aggression, which is a serious, grave crime under international law, and we have the victim of the aggression. So the situation from legal perspective, from moral and political perspective, is absolutely clear.

And I think it's absolutely unfair towards Ukraine, towards our people who suffer because Russian aggression, who are getting killed, especially civilian population, to try to put the blame on Ukrainians. I think it's immoral.

And I don't know why President Trump or who recommended him to present this kind of picture, but it's totally distorted and it's totally unfair.

[17:10:08]

SCIUTTO: You've told me when we've spoken before that Putin only responds to strengths. In your view, is Trump now showing strength to Russia, for instance, what signal does it send that he delayed another sanctions deadline?

MEREZHKO: Well, the thing is that, at least from my perspective, even though President Trump prides himself on being a good, excellent negotiator or genius in terms of deal making, but negotiations haven't started yet. But he has already made at least three serious mistakes.

One of them is that he has rewarded Putin, who is a war criminal. There is an arrest warrant from the ICC, and he has rewarded him with this summit. It's political gift to Putin, absolutely undeserved and absolutely unnecessary. President Trump, unfortunately, has broken isolation, political isolation of Putin.

Second mistake is when President Trump is trying to solve the matter over the head of Ukraine to decide the fate of our country and our people with Russian war criminal behind our back, it reminds Munich 1938.

And finally, the final big mistake. One of the biggest mistakes already made by President Trump is about, I would like to remind the words of President Kennedy in the middle of the Berlin crisis. He said, we cannot negotiate with people who say, what is ours is hours, what is mine is mine, and what is yours is negotiable.

A good negotiator will never start negotiations and negotiating about, for example, territorial swaps. This is what President Trump is talking about. It's absolutely unacceptable, because by territorial swaps, he means territory of Ukraine. How can we make these swaps with the aggressor, our territory? It's not territorial swaps. It's not fair. It's a typical appeasement of the aggressor at the expense of the victim of the aggression. SCIUTTO: Well, listen, it's a fair point, because any territory that

would be swapped at this point, it's all. Any territory occupied by Russia was taken by force. So I wonder, though, as a practical matter, because the Ukrainian President, Zelenskyy has said again in the last 24 hours, Ukraine will not give up any of its territory.

But when you speak -- when I speak to European negotiators, even those who are most steadfast in their support of Ukraine, they say quietly that everybody knows Ukraine will have to give up some land, perhaps Crimea, among that land.

Is that your view, or do you believe that Ukraine can win it all back?

MEREZHKO: I am absolutely positive. I'm absolutely sure that it's a matter of time when we manage to return all our territories currently illegally occupied by Russia. It's a matter of time. And it's also a question of which methods, which tools will be used by Ukraine, either by military force or by political and diplomatic means.

But I think it's inevitable because sooner or later, international law will prevail and justice will prevail. But of course, at the moment, we need survive and we need to get substantial military assistance from our allies, including the United States. If we have enough weaponry situation on the battlefield will be different, more in favor of Ukraine. What we have right now Russia, Russian troops have bogged down in Ukraine, in our territory, and they don't make substantial progress.

We can win this war, but we can win this war only when we are provided with military assistance and support of our one of the closest ally, the United States.

SCIUTTO: Oleksandr Merezhko, thanks so much for joining. And as I always say to you, given that you're in Kyiv, which continues to be a target of Russia, I wish you safety as well.

Well, please do look for CNN special coverage of the summit tomorrow. Jake Tapper will join me here in Alaska. Anderson Cooper will help lead coverage from Washington, DC. Again, that is tomorrow here on CNN.

So what are aides telling Trump ahead of the summit? We're going to get some insight from my next guest who used to give intelligence briefings to presidents, including Trump himself.

[17:15:00]

And later, the ruling today that clears the way for a black NFL coach to move forward with his lawsuit alleging the league is, quote, rife with racism. That coach's attorney will be here live on The Lead. That's coming up.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome back. And back in our World Lead today, both President Trump and Russian President Putin are setting expectations ahead of tomorrow's consequential face to face meeting here in Anchorage, Alaska, as President Trump tries to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

For expert analysis on what to expect, joining me now, CNN National Security analyst Beth Sanner, who's a former deputy director of national intelligence. Also joining Andrea Kendall-Taylor, former deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia. Great to have you both here.

Beth, I wonder if I could begin with you because you've given intelligence briefings to presidents, including Trump himself back in his first term. If you were briefing him right now in advance of this meeting tomorrow with Putin, what caution might you be expressing to him?

[17:20:00]

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: That's a really great question. And I think it's so important, and I have confidence that this is happening. I think the main issue is to understand clearly what Putin is trying to get out of this meeting from President Trump. That is exactly what intelligence officers would be warning the president about, is that, you know, Putin is going to try to use this meeting to make sure that the United States is not supporting Zelenskyy, to divide the United States and Ukraine, to divide the United States and Europe, and to really push this bilateral relationship and to try to use this meeting to get President Trump to believe that Russia is winning and that it's Zelenskyy's fault and that everything in the future relies on the U.S.-Russia relationship.

This mano a mano between the great men and that President Trump going in, understanding that is really important.

SCIUTTO: Andrea, have you seen any evidence, either in public confident comments or movements on the ground, that Vladimir Putin has softened what have been consistently his maximalist positions on the war in Ukraine, which is he wants his territory, in fact, he wants more territory?

ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER FOR RUSSIA AND EURASIA: No, there hasn't been any indication so far, and if anything, we're hearing from military analysts that Russia has, in fact, increased its offensive operations in Ukraine's east ahead of the negotiation, in part to increase its leverage, but also to use that narrative, I think, to manipulate President Trump, to try to convince him of this narrative that Russia will inevitably win this war and Ukraine will lose.

But I also think it's important to recognize, you know, that the Russia's -- the Russian narrative in going into this meeting is also to try to shift the discourse away from Ukraine. And looking at the composition of the Russian delegation that's coming, we see that it's the finance minister, the head of Russia's direct Investment Fund.

So my hunch going into this is that the Russian delegation and Putin himself is going to try to talk about many things other than Ukraine, to try to sweeten the deal, do the mano a mano relationship that Beth was talking about, to talk about all the ways that the United States and Russia can cooperate to make it much harder for Trump to move forward with any new sanctions or imposing any of the costs that he's threatened so far.

SCIUTTO: Yes, that narrative of two great men controlling the fate of the world, I imagine that might come across as appealing.

Beth, another new inject into these talks in the last 24 hours is the Russian president raising the prospect of a nuclear negotiation as being part of these talks. And I know from speaking to former advisers to Trump, going back to the first administration that this has long been an ambition of President Trump's.

Do you see -- listen, no one would begrudge any leader from looking for a nuclear negotiation. But should there be some concern that Putin might use that prospect as a distraction from the war in Ukraine?

SANNER: I think it is about trying to make it clear that this is a negotiation between two great powers that have nuclear weapons. Russia has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and the New START Treaty, which is the last remaining treaty we have on nuclear arms, expires in February.

And so they also understand that President Trump is highly motivated and fearful of World War III and a nuclear war. And so I think it is another way of putting this negotiation into, as Andrea was saying, the U.S.-Russia construct and making it clear, well, this is what's at stake here.

Would that be a bad thing? No. But President Trump also wants that to be a trilateral thing. Russia, United States and China, because leaving China out would be a problem, making this all probably a nonstarter, more about talking points.

SCIUTTO: Andrea, President Trump has spoken publicly about the likely need for what he calls land swaps. I mean, we should be clear that all the land we're talking about here was taken by force by Russia. But you also heard just prior to our conversation now, a Ukrainian parliament member saying Ukraine cannot give up its territory for peace.

Is that likely? Because when I speak to some Ukrainians privately, many European negotiators and certainly U.S. Officials, they will say, everyone knows, in effect, Ukraine's going to have to give up some territory. Is that true? Is that acceptable?

[17:25:05]

KENDALL-TAYLOR: Oh, it's such a difficult question and I think much harder for Americans and Europeans to talk about because ultimately, I think, as you've indicated, that is a decision that the Ukrainians will ultimately have to make.

I think in my kind of analytic perspective, looking at the conditions on the battlefield and the kind of stuff, state of U.S. and European support for Ukraine, that I think some sort of territorial concessions will have to be part of a larger peace agreement.

But it's really important how that happens. So the Ukrainians and the Europeans have been adamant that any discussion about land or territorial concessions has to come after any -- after a comprehensive ceasefire, and they have to be accompanied by a robust security guarantee from the United States and Europe.

Because in order for Ukraine to make concessions, and we have to say that those concessions would be for now. I agree with your previous guest. It's for now. But the Ukrainians would have to have confidence then that if they do concede territory for now, that President Putin doesn't use that as a springboard for future operations into the future.

So it is plausible that land will have to be part of it, but it has to be anchored in this larger agreement with a cease fire and with exceptionally robust security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe.

SCIUTTO: The Ukrainian official told me some time ago that the political pressure on Zelenskyy when it comes to land is tens of thousands of Ukrainian mothers who lost sons and daughters trying to defend that land. I mean, that's an enormous political pressure for him.

Beth Sanner, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, thanks so much to both of you.

And just ahead, the big announcement today from California Governor Gavin Newsom, unveiling a plan to redraw the state's congressional maps and setting up a standoff against Republicans.

Plus, what a CNN team saw firsthand as a crowd in D.C. tried to confront President Trump's federal take of D.C. police.

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[17:31:33]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to The Lead. I'm Jim Sciutto, live from Anchorage, Alaska, where President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin are set to meet tomorrow at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which is just over the tree line you see there in the distance. We're going to have more on that crucial summit in just a moment.

In our National Lead today, more National Guard troops are seen in Washington, D.C. today as part of President Trump's crackdown on crime, which he claims is out of control. Frustration is growing in the D.C. community. Visibly outraged residents confronted local police and federal agents who set up a traffic checkpoint in a popular and busy part of the city on Wednesday night. CNN's Brian Todd, who witnessed that intense yet peaceful protest, takes a look at the federal presence in the nation's capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Open tension on the street between D.C. residents and local and federal officers as President Trump's law enforcement surge in Washington ramps up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at me. I'm looking at you. What is your badge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How that work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What -- for what part of the government you work for?

TODD (voice-over): Metropolitan D.C. police and federal agents, some wearing masks, set up a checkpoint in an area popular for bars and restaurants. Stopping motorists, handcuffing and detaining at least one that we saw as furious local residents screamed at the officers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you guys go (inaudible) what the (inaudible) are you doing out here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An evening for a check, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go home (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go home.

TODD (voice-over): The spur of the moment protest was nonviolent, but residents got angry when we relayed that one of the commanders told us this was a routine operation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hell no. I've lived here for 17 years off of this street, and this has never happened.

TODD (voice-over): The president's law enforcement surge clearly getting more aggressive last night and today. Late at night, we saw six FBI vehicles pull a motorist over and question him in the Anacostia section of D.C., one of the area's hardest hit by crime.

We tailed a caravan of metro police and federal vehicles as they snaked through the area looking for criminal activity. The President and his team today applauding the daily arrests and getting criminals off D.C. streets.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are so happy to see our military going into D.C. and getting these thugs out.

TODD (voice-over): Today, near the Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Center, where President Trump's motorcade and a lot of tourists often pass by, bulldozers uprooted a homeless encampment, its occupants forced to move out.

DAVID BEATTY, REMOVED FROM DC HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT: And the idea that he's targeting us and persecuting us feels wrong to me.

TODD (voice-over): The President said he wants to move the homeless out of the city and give them places to stay far away from the capital. One homeless person we spoke to doesn't hate the idea.

LONDYN STEVENS, HOMELESS DC RESIDENT: It'd be a place to live, for one. I won't be outside. If it takes me having to move to get a place, I'm all for it.

TODD (voice-over): D.C. National Guard troops also out in greater numbers today. A National Guard official telling CNN, for now, these troops will be stationed near the monuments at metro train stops and have not been asked to deploy to high crime areas.

The guardsmen could help with crowd control and could detain people if needed, the official says, but won't make arrests or carry firearms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Law enforcement sources now tell CNN that some rank and file FBI agents are now worried that the deployment of FBI agents on the streets of D.C. will pull those agents away from investigations into terrorism and other high priority cases.

[17:35:12]

But President Trump is downplaying those concerns, saying those agents are not being pulled away from anything. The President again claiming that the streets of D.C. are now safer. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Brian Todd there alongside that quite remarkable show of force. Thank you.

Well, turning now to our Politics Lead, California Governor Gavin Newsom has just announced plans to redraw the state's congressional maps. This in response to what Texas Republicans are currently attempting to do there. CNN Steve Contorno joins us now.

Steve, I -- I wonder how the governor plans to do this in -- in California, given that there's an independent commission there which has been charged with drawing those districts. So how does he change that? And would it be in time for the midterm elections?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Jim, that is certainly the hope, if not the expectation of California Democrats, and they will meet back in Sacramento. The state legislature starting next week, where they hope to quickly pass Newsom's plan and give voters a chance to review it in November.

But look, there is a long road ahead. This is a popular constitutional amendment that passed in 2010 with more than 60 percent of -- of the vote. But Newsom's pitch is essentially, look, this is a temporary adjustment and one that is necessary to counteract what Trump is doing in Texas and potentially elsewhere. And Newsom also saying that California cannot be acting alone. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We can't stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across this country, not just in Texas, but in Missouri, where J.D. Vance went just a week ago in Indiana, in places like Ohio, in places like Florida. We need to stand up, not just California. Other blue states need to stand up. We need to be firm in our resolve. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: There's already some pretty high profile opposition to this in California, including former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the League of Women Voters, and Charles Munger Jr., the son of the late Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman. He put more than $12 million into getting this passed in 2010, and he said that he intends to fight what Newsom is trying to do here, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Steve Contorno, one of many redistricting fights around the country now. Thanks so much.

Coming up next, a coach getting the green light to move forward with his claims of discrimination, racial discrimination by the NFL. His attorney will join me next, live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:42:06]

SCIUTTO: In our Sports Lead, a federal appeals court says the NFL can be put on trial over civil rights claims that black coaches faced racial discrimination. Today's ruling allows former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores' 2022 lawsuit to go forward. Flores, who is now the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, is suing the NFL, the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and the New York Giants over allegations of racist hiring and promotion practices of black coaches.

Responding to today's ruling, an NFL spokesperson says, quote, we respectfully disagree with the panel's ruling and will be seeking further review. Joining me now is David Gottlieb. He's an attorney for Brian Flores. And -- and David, I wonder what Flores' reaction is today to this ruling.

DAVID E. GOTTLIEB, BRIAN FLORES' ATTORNEY: Well, the ruling is an unequivocal win for our clients, for Mr. Flores and his co-plaintiffs, but also for employees around the country because today's decision impacts not just our clients, not just NFL employees, but everybody who could be subjected to an unlawful arbitration agreement.

And so what happened here was the NFL has a policy which says it's in the NFL Constitution, which says that any employee who brings a dispute of discrimination or any other kind of this nature has to be arbitrated in a private forum behind closed doors before the commissioner.

The commissioner gets to decide the outcome of the case. And since this lawsuit was filed, we have been screaming from the rooftops, at least proverbially in our legal filings, that this is wildly unfair and it prevents Mr. Flores from getting reasonable and fair hearing on his rights. Today, the Second Circuit agreed with us, found that that policy offends basic principles of fairness and -- and -- and cannot proceed, that -- that Mr. Goodell cannot be both the judge and the jury here.

So the NFL will now have to do away with their policy. And again, this will impact not just the NFL, but employers across the country.

SCIUTTO: Given the NFL season, it's about to officially kick off next month, already in the preseason. Does Flores want this to go to trial?

GOTTLIEB: Yes. I mean, the -- Mr. Flores, a very principled person, felt that he had been wronged. He and many, not just him, he and many other black head coaches and head coaching candidates had been wronged, had not been getting an equal opportunity.

You know, when his -- when his lawsuit was filed, there was only one black head coach in the NFL. The NFL has recognized that black head coaches had not been getting an opportunity when they passed the Rooney Rule in 2002, because there were only two black head coaches in a league where 70 percent of the players were black.

[17:45:04]

Twenty years after the Rooney Rule, there's been no increase in the number of -- of black head coaches and the opportunities they were provided. Today, there's only four black head coaches out of 32 head coaches. So this is a problem that persists. And all Mr. Flores wants, he has two co-plaintiffs, Steve Wilks and Ray Horton. All -- any -- anybody wants is equal opportunity for black head coaches.

SCIUTTO: I wonder what Flores' experience has been in the NFL since he filed this lawsuit three years ago. At the time, he alleged the league's rife with racism. Are other people in the league supporting him in general or -- or are some of them shutting him out?

GOTTLIEB: Well, I think the answer to that is probably that there's a mixed bag, but I don't -- I don't want to speak for Mr. Flores on those specific things. I prefer to stick to the legal topics. But -- and thankfully, Mr. Flores has remained in the league and -- and some teams have given him opportunities. He's not a head coach, and he should be.

But, you know, the -- the issue really is how, going forward, can the league provide equal opportunities for black head coaches? And, you know, in our complaint, we laid out a number of things that the league can do to try to accomplish this and -- and to try to advance the ball.

The NFL hasn't been willing to sit down with us and have this discussion at all. One of the things that we wanted to do was do away with mandatory arbitration. Mandatory arbitration prevents internal decisions, such as hiring decisions, firing decisions, all sorts of decisions, from being shielded from public view.

And we felt that that only -- only encourages and fosters an environment where discrimination can exist. So today, at least, we've accomplished that goal, but there's still more work to be done.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, a lot of companies prefer arbitration because they don't want them to go to trial in these cases. David Gottlieb, thanks so much.

GOTTLIEB: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, a closer look at Russia's long history with Alaska as Vladimir Putin prepares to travel here tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:44]

SCIUTTO: We're back with a live look here in Anchorage, Alaska. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, right over my right shoulder in the distance. That is where President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet face-to-face in less than 24 hours. A crucial summit in a time of war.

Ahead of Friday's summit, many are taking note of the story passed between Alaska and Russia. Just 55 miles apart, some Russian nationalists believe the last frontier should still belong to their country, as it once did, until the U.S. purchased it in 1867. CNN's Tom Foreman explains.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not exactly a home- field advantage for Vladimir Putin, but Alaska might feel like home, a vast land with centuries-old cultural, political, business, and military ties to his country.

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Every Russian knows that Alaska used to be part of Russia. And when you get into kind of the far-right nationalists, they want it back.

TRUMP: I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday.

FOREMAN (voice-over): President Trump stumbled this week in calling Alaska, Russia. But some Russian commentators are speaking clearly.

Alaska is our wound that never heals, one said on Russian T.V. Why? In the 1700s, Alaska was claimed by the Russian Empire, a place where Russian fur traders violently pushed aside and enslaved native people.

And Russian missionaries established Orthodox churches, dozens of which still exist. When the United States bought Alaska in 1867 for just over $7 million, or 2 cents an acre, many Americans considered it a foolish deal, until vast reserves of natural resources proved otherwise.

Ever since, some Russians have persisted in their belief that they were swindled and Alaska remains as much Russian as American.

The descendants of Russian colonists, another commentator notes, for them, everything around is part of a common heritage.

The two nations are physically quite close. About two and a half miles separate islands belonging to Russia and Alaska, mainland to mainland, it's about 55 miles.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So while Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, was ridiculed for this comment in 2008.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can see Russia from my house.

FOREMAN (voice-over): She was also right.

In World War II, when the Soviet Union was an American ally, some downed Soviet pilots were buried in Alaska. The summit will take place near their graves. And even though the Cold War saw Alaska emerge as a powerful military position for keeping an eye on the Soviets, plenty of Russians still nostalgically eye Alaska.

DOUGHERTY: Land, territory, language, culture, history, that is really important to Russians. So when they look at Alaska, it's all there. And they remember it used to be ours.

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[17:54:58]

FOREMAN (on camera): And even if Russia does not make a bid to take Alaska back, this whole narrative fits into a theme that Putin has been pushing, the idea that just because some land belonged to one country once doesn't mean it can't owned -- be owned by another one now. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Seward's Folly. They called it back when the U.S. bought it. Tom Foreman in Washington, thanks so much.

FOREMAN: You're welcome.

SCIUTTO: CNN anchor, chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins just touched down here in Alaska. What she is hearing about President Trump's goals heading into tomorrow's crucial summit. We're going to ask her coming up next.

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SCIUTTO: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Jake Tapper live from Anchorage, Alaska.

[17:59:55]

In less than 24 hours, a major summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tonight, what exactly is at stake? President Trump believes he can deliver a deal in the ongoing Russia Ukraine war.