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House Intel Members: Yates Will Testify on Russia; Gorsuch Confirmation Vote Set for April 7; Police Fire Shots During Attempt to Arrest Driver. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired March 29, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:31:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to get an update on Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation into the U.S. presidential election from the chairman and the ranking member. That's coming up next hour. Live coverage here on CNN.

Meanwhile, a member of the House Intelligence Committee now says its Russia investigation will move forward and a former deputy attorney general will eventually testify.

Here's what Congressman Trey Gowdy said on CNN's "New Day."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TREY GOWDY, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We're going to talk to Sally Yates. The fact we didn't do it this Tuesday doesn't mean we won't do it next Tuesday.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CO-ANCHOR: But why didn't you do it last Tuesday?

GOWDY: We're about a week behind. We're about a week behind. But if we start next week, we can catch up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's bring in our panel, our CNN political commentator, Ryan Lizza, the Washington correspondent for the "New Yorker" magazine; CNN political director, David Chalian; and senior Washington correspondent, Brianna Keilar.

Brianna, how is this all going to play out now? The Senate side seems pretty smooth. House side seems pretty ugly.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: At some point, -- and that is the perfect characterization of it. It seems as if the Senate side on the Intel Committees has been doing a better job of trying to project this sense of being objective. So the expectation now is we're going to be hearing from Sally Yates. We don't know when but expect we're going to hear from her. And what she is going to say, we would expect, is not going to be something that the Trump White House is going to feel is friendly to them. Remember, she is the one who alerted the Trump White House that Michael Flynn, the now ousted NSA director, was someone who could be open to blackmail. Why? Because we know he told Mike Pence, the vice president, and told administration officials had he not talked to the Russian ambassador about sanctions. Turned out he did and that led to him being fired.

BLITZER: Can they get their act together on the House side? You've heard the ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, say he thinks the chairman should at least recuse himself from this entire investigation.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Right. So once you have the top Democrats saying that the chairman should recuse himself and he doesn't, I don't understand where a functioning committee comes after that. It doesn't make sense. Sure, they could try to get their act together. Trey Gowdy is right, they could get back on track. I just think the it is the House side is done with this. From trust among the American public that they're getting a full, thorough, fair, nonpartisan investigation, I think that's done on the House side. I think we need to start looking at the Senate.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Devin Nunes shows no sign of accepting that recommendation for him to recuse himself. He says he's not going anywhere.

CHALIAN: That's right. To me, that's an irreconcilable position between the ranking member and the chairman.

BLITZER: You wrote an article, Ryan, in the "New Yorker" magazine, "How the White House and Republicans Blew Up the House Russia Investigation." That's the title. Let me read the opening instance: "The evidence is now clear that the White House and Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, have worked together to halt what was previously billed as a sweeping investigation of Russian interference in last year's election."

So what led you to that conclusion?

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, a couple things. The Monday hearing, there was obvious evidence that the White House new that Nunes would change the focus of that hearing to this, in my view, somewhat preferential issue of incidental collection --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: You're talking about the hearing where James Comey, the FBI director, and Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, testified?

LIZZA: Exactly. They knew, at least some folks knew that the headline would be the Comey announcing there was an FBI investigation. I talked to a senior White House official that morning who previewed what Nunes was going to say. Then, of course, you had Nunes going to the White House, briefing the president on this allegedly secret information he has, and the canceling of meetings, and behind the scenes, "The Washington Post" reporting yesterday that Sally Yates was, if not blocked at the very least discouraged from testifying and then Nunes cancelled her testimony. So two things happening. One, White House and Nunes, some evidence that they were coordinating the messaging of the hearings. And two, there's evidence that they were -- at the very least did not want Yates to testify. Now, having said all that --

(CROSSTALK)

[13:35:18] BLITZER: You heard Sean Spicer flatly deny that "Washington Post" story, saying they want her to testify, they want to hear what she has to say. You heard him say that at the briefing.

LIZZA: They've now given up all claims of executive privilege. If perhaps once this became public -- because it's clear Yates made this public. I don't know that for a fact but I don't know who else would have had those letters that became public in the "Washington Post." Once it became public, they said this is a political problem, OK, let's drop any objections whatsoever and have her testify. At the end of this week and a half, as David pointed out, the committee seems broken, dead.

But having said all that, I actually have a little bit more optimistic than you that it could get back on track. It's interesting Gowdy, who is a pretty conservative partisan Republican, said we're a week behind, let's move forward. There's a lot of public pressure now for that public hearing that didn't happen yesterday to actually happen. The White House has said Yates can testify. So it seems like there's a good chance that might happen.

And the Democrats importantly have not given up on the committee. They still think they can get something out of it. Nunes has been a little weakened, maybe a little chastened that he's been seen as a tool of the White House instead of running a credible investigation. Maybe they can get back on track.

BLITZER: Stand by. Everybody stand by.

There's more coming up. We're standing by to hear from the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. You're looking at live pictures. We'll have live coverage of that. Lots of news happening. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:06] BLITZER: Let's get back to our panel.

I want to shift gears. The vote on the Neil Gorsuch, U.S. Supreme Court nomination, set for next Friday. Democratic leaders are vowing to filibuster the nomination. Can Republicans get the eight Democratic votes they'll need to break the filibuster?

It's an important question, lots at stake. When a president nominates someone for the Supreme Court, the president can stay in office for four years or even eight years, s Supreme Court justice stays for the rest of his or her life. In his particular case, he's only 49 years old. He could be there at least 30 or 40 years.

KEILAR: Yeah, and the Trump influence on the court, on the law could last decades and decades. Right now, it looks like Democrats are prepared to move forward and force Republicans into this nuclear option. So it looks like they're committed to a filibuster at this point. It seems like Republicans haven't given up because you have a little bit of time. The final vote won't be till next Friday. The key test vote is likely next Wednesday or Tuesday.

LIZZA: Wednesday or Thursday.

KEILAR: Wednesday or Thursday. Middle of the week.

BLITZER: A procedural vote.

KEILAR: A procedural vote, but the one that really matters that would be the 60-vote threshold. They're looking at Democrats in Trump states who are going to be up for re-election, Senators, in two years. They're hoping that they can kind of increase the pressure. And it's not just what you're hearing Sean Spicer -- call them out really from the podium every day, but there's a ton of money. If you go to any of these states and turn on the television, you're seeing Neil Gorsuch ads where he is being talked about in glowing terms by Democrats, by former Obama administration officials. And they're hoping that they can prevail in that way. At this point, though, it doesn't look like Democrats will go along with it.

CHALIAN: Two of the 10 Democrats running for re-election in states Trump won --

BLITZER: Next year.

CHALIAN: Next year -- Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Bill Nelson of Florida, already said they're voting "no." Now you're down to eight remaining Trump state Democrats up for re-election next year. We've got to run the table.

KEILAR: And Joe Manchin.

CHALIAN: Right. Now, only two, Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, have indicated they don't support Chuck Schumer in that filibuster, and they would potentially, on that procedural vote, vote to end the filibuster, vote to cut off debate and let an up-or-down vote on the floor.

What i think is so interesting, we've seen this all the time in this town. A Supreme Court nomination is like one of the most partisan events in Washington. All the outside groups come in, everyone plays their role in sort of the kabuki dance that goes on. Even something like there, which is a guy who will clearly end up on the Supreme Court, and yet, everybody is playing their role. Democrats, as you discovered in your interview earlier with Senator Merkley, are making this the fight, the be-all-and-end-all fight, when this is a conservative for a conservative. The be-all-and-end-all fight, if you're an ideological warrior in this Supreme Court battle, is the next fight.

LIZZA: That's right. This would just restore the court to the 5-4 or the status -- the ideological status quo of most of the Obama era. It's just replacing Scalia with another conservative. I think the Democrats for two reasons are being pushed hard on this. One, obviously, there is mass opposition to anything Trump does within the Democratic Party, not just the base, but the whole party. So you have to be seen to be fighting as far as you can go, and that includes being willing to support a filibuster against him. And then, two, obviously, are the very bad feelings over what happened to Barack Obama's last Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland. You know, the Democrats view of this is the seat was stolen and there's got to be some consequences for that.

Then just the bigger picture here is the filibuster is like a domino, is we're just losing the filibuster for various Senate procedures. So we've already lost the filibuster for lower-court nominees.

BLITZER: Thanks to Harry Reid.

LIZZA: And thanks to Harry Reid. It looks like we'll lose it for Supreme Court justices, if not this time, you can be sure the next one. Then the question is, will the filibuster remain for legislation.

[11:45:16] BLITZER: Yeah, it's a major change if, in fact, it happens.

Thanks very much for that conversation, Brianna, David and Ryan.

Coming up, the Pentagon taking some blame now in announcing an official investigation into an incident this month that killed hundreds of civilians in Mosul. We have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The Pentagon now says it's moved into the investigation phase of an incident this month in Mosul, in Iraq, and allegations that the U.S. is responsible for dozens of civilian deaths there.

General Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. military's Central Command, spoke about it at a hearing earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:49:49] GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We are doing everything humanly possible to prevent these types of events and incidents from occurring as a result of our operations. I do agree with Lieutenant General Townsend's comments yesterday -- he is our commander on the ground in Iraq -- when he said that there is a fair chance that our operations may have contributed to civilian casualties.

While we consider and establish accountability over our actions in this incident, I think it is also important to clearly recognize that the enemy does use human shields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is joining us. Barbara, the Pentagon has been accused of changing the rules of

engagement in Iraq when it comes to military operations where civilians may be impacted. What more is the Pentagon now saying about this formal investigation and the rules of engagement?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, right now, military officials across the board are insisting there is no change in the rules that would permit greater tolerance for civilian casualties. But, consider this. They are also acknowledging -- a good example, Mosul, in the month of March, they are dropping about 500 precision- guided bombs every week now during March in Mosul, 500 bombs a week, in very crowded areas where civilians may be. There is precision guidance, but it just tells you what is happening to the people on the ground who are, you know, stuck between ISIS -- they're holding them as human shields -- and the military action on the ground, as the U.S. tries to support Iraqi forces moving forward. So it's becoming an increasingly difficult situation. The attack in Mosul underscoring all of this. More than 100 bodies now pulled from the rubble. And indeed, that formal investigation underway. Top commanders know they owe answers about exactly what happened -- Wolf?

BLITZER: At a reception at the White House last night with Democratic and Republican Senators, the president said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing very well in Iraq. Our soldiers are fighting and fighting like never before. And the results are very, very good. So I just wanted to let everyone know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: While, U.S. troops have been fighting in Iraq now for a long time, what's the reaction there to what he said?

STARR: Well, I think, you know, people generally feel maybe he was trying to boost morale. But he didn't mention 500 bombs a week in Mosul. And in fact, Wolf, it's just what you said. I mean, let's remember, more than 30,000 U.S. troops wounded, more than 3,000 killed in all of those years of very heavy combat on the ground in Iraq. Right now, U.S. troops mainly are advising, assisting, and trying to help train Iraqi forces -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Yeah, he said the results are very, very good and U.S. troops are fighting like never before.

All right, Barbara, thank you very much.

Coming up, a terrifying incident near the U.S. capitol today. Shots were fired as a woman nearly runs over police officers. We have late- breaking details. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:05] BLITZER: Welcome back. You're looking a lot live pictures coming in from Capitol Hill right now. The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee are set to hold a news conference just a little while from now on their investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election here in the United States. Live coverage of that coming up. Stand by.

Meantime, there was some pretty tense moments up on Capitol Hill today here in Washington. Police tell us a car hit a police cruiser, nearly ran over capitol police officers. In the midst of all of this, shots were fired.

Let's go to CNN's Brian Todd, on the scene for us.

Brian, tell our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world what happened.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, at this hour, the suspect is in police custody, being questioned by the U.S. capitol police. We are told the suspect is a woman. Police have not released her identity and have not been forthcoming with information on a possible motive in this situation.

But we can tell you right now the scene is cleared. This is Independence Avenue southwest. And the incident happened just behind me on Washington Street and Independence Avenue, about a block down that way. You can see it's a very heavily congested area, a lot of foot traffic and vehicle traffic.

And we can tell you about 9:22 a.m., the police observed a vehicle on this street driving very erratically, very aggressively. When they tried to stop that vehicle, they say, the vehicle made an abrupt U- turn, almost struck some police officers on the street. It did strike a vehicle, and then shots were fired, and the suspect was taken into custody.

Now, we've pressed police on whether shots were fired to disable the vehicle or for any other reason. They didn't give us that information. But we did get some visuals of the scene, and our photo journalist, Peter Cavanaugh, who took some visuals, said he saw some bullet holes on the windshield and glass on the ground. It does appear they fired to disable that vehicle. No one was injured in the incident.

And the important thing to note here, Wolf, is that police are now treating this as a criminal matter and they say it has no nexus to terrorism. But of course, given what happened to London last week, and the heightened security around Capitol Hill all the time, and the fact that this was really at the fool of Capitol Hill a few feet from the capitol building, it was a very tense situation here earlier today.

BLITZER: Just to be precise, Brian, the shots were fired by police, not by the driver?

TODD: That is correct, Wolf. The shots were fired by police and it appears that they disabled the vehicle in the process of doing that, but thankfully, no one was injured in this. BLITZER: And this is the height of the tourist season in Washington,

D.C. Cherry blossoms are out right now. Lots of tourists. Fortunately, that incident is over.

Brian, thanks very much for that report.

That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room." I'll be joined by the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Adam Schiff. He'll be among my guests.

But first, leaders from the Senate Intelligence Committee getting ready to brief reporters any minute now. We'll have live coverage.

In the meantime, the news continues right now on CNN.

[12:00:11] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go. How are you? I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for watching CNN.