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Attorney General William Barr Has The Robert Mueller Report; House Democrats Ramping Up Their Fight To See The Full Robert Mueller Report; White House Celebrates End of Mueller Probe but Democrats, SNDY Continue Investigations; Trump Silent on Mueller Report During Mar-a-Lago Weekend; Robert Kraft Speaks Out for 1st Time Following Charges in Prostitution Sting; New Details on How Boeing Promoted the 737 MAX Jet. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 23, 2019 - 16:00   ET

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


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ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: To nominate someone you think should be our next CNN hero, go to CNN heroes.com.

I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with us.

Our breaking news this hour. Attorney general William Barr right now crafting a summary of the Robert Mueller report and its principle conclusions to deliver to Congress possibly as soon as this weekend.

Six hundred seventy five days, that's how long we have been waiting for Mueller's report to drop. Special counsel investigation into Russia's election interference and questions about collusion with the Trump campaign ended without any new indictments and without the President ever sitting down for an interview with the special counsel.

So what is the President doing at this pivotal moment? He has been in Florida golfing. His lawyers and aids nearby gaming out responses once the headlines from Mueller's probe have been revealed. But there are already seems a celebration. Trump campaign advisor declaring we won. And from a White House official quote "the fat lady has sung."

Our analyst and reporters are standing by covering all angles of the story as we await to learn any new details of this investigation that is hung over Trump's presidency.

Let's get right to CNN senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown.

Pamela, what is William Barr weighing right now, as he pours over this report to decide what to tell Congress?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is weighing a lot, Ana. He arrived at the department of justice this morning, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general also arrived to work with him, to scrutinize and analyze this confidential report that Robert Mueller handed to the attorney general yesterday.

A source familiar says the report is comprehensive. We don't know how lengthy it is. But what we do know is that the attorney general wants to provide Congress with the principal conclusions this weekend. Sources familiar say it is not going to happen today. And so, we could expect tomorrow to be the day that Bill Barr provides Congress with a document detailing what the principle conclusions are.

We don't know how lengthy they are going to be or how in depth they are going to be. That's sort of an open question right now. But certainly Bill Barr is at the department of justice right now, very busy pouring over this confidential report and trying to figure out what he can share with Congress and to the public.

And also keeping in mind the other equities and that would be the White House, executive privilege concerns. One of the questions we have is whether he will share the findings with the White House before releasing it to the Congress and the public. Something Democrats have warned against saying, look, we don't want to give a sneak preview to the White House beforehand. But the White House would certainly want to exert executive privilege if need be.

So there is a lot unfolding this hour even though as we await to learn what is in the report, Ana.

CABRERA: And the President's silence right now is speaking volumes, because he is so quick to take to twitter. He has, you know, tweeted about which hunt in this investigation, 170 plus times since Robert Mueller's probe began. Do we know why he is being so quiet? What are you hearing?

BROWN: Yes. You know, his response has been pretty muted since the report was delivered yesterday. And in talking to sources close to the President and White House officials, basically, I'm told that they are taking a wait and see approach. And as one official said, look, there's plenty of time to spike the football. Let's be cautious. Let's wait and see what's in that report before celebrating.

And so, the President is down in Mar-a-Lago with his top advisers, with his lawyers from the White House. And you can expect them to -- that they are telling him, look, let's just wait. Let's hold off on claiming victory or tweeting. Let's wait and see what Bill Barr provides to Congress before doing anything.

But clearly, the President was trying to send this message today that he is relaxed, that he is comfortable, that he is calm, cool and collected by going out golfing, by reading the newspapers. He is trying to send a signal that he is not concerned. However, White House aids really don't know what's in this report. That's still an open question. CABRERA: OK, Pamela Brown in Washington for us. Thank you.

Let's head to CNN's Boris Sanchez now who is in West Palm Beach where the President spending his weekend.

Boris, take us inside the atmosphere there since this news dropped.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Ana. Yes, as Pamela mentioned, President Trump is surrounded by a number of aids, more than usual here in Mar-a-Lago. The President with two press secretaries, as well as at least two of his attorneys, both Emmett Flood and Patrick Maloney, the White House council.

According to sources inside Mar-a-Lago, the President was in a spirited mood last night, when he was speaking to Emmett Flood in getting these updates about the news that we were learning from the department of justice.

Sources indicate that the President took park in the Lincoln day dinner, this fund-raising event at Mar-a-Lago. That he gave a short three minute speech in which he talked about the first lady's approval ratings. He made jokes about one of the special guests there, the senator form South Carolina, Lindsey Graham. And then he introduced Graham but he made no mention of the Mueller report. Though I should point out, during Graham's speech, he made mentioned of the FBI potentially launching an investigation into that dossier, the President continues to reference in many of his public statements about the Russia investigation. And that led the crowd into lock her up chants, which the President didn't partake in. He just sort of sat back and absorbed it. But it kind of gives you an idea of the sentiment behind the scenes, two sources close to the President say that he is happy the investigation is over. And he is essentially just waiting to see what's in the report filed by Robert Mueller -- Ana.

[16:01:58] CABRERA: Quickly, if you will, Boris, are we planning to or expecting to hear from the White House at all tonight?

SANCHEZ: Well, there was a full photo, essentially meaning that the White House press team does not expect us to see the President again until potentially tomorrow, if perhaps he goes golfing again. There are no other public events on the schedule tonight. Of course, we are all waiting to see what he might say on twitter. But as Pamela suggested, there is a sense of caution around the President's team, suggesting that they should wait and see what's actually in this report before they go spiking the football -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. We watch and we wait.

Boris Sanchez in West Palm Beach near the President's Mar-a-Lago resorts, thanks.

We have a lot to dig into. Special counsel Robert Mueller has turned in his final report, leaving a lot of mystery for now about what his Trump Russia investigation actually uncovered. What did he find? I want to bring in David Gergen, former adviser to four Presidents,

Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Patrick Healy Is also with us from the "New York Times". He is the politics editor. And Garrett Graff, he is the author of the "Threat Matrix inside Robert Mueller's FBI and the war on global terror."

David, you and I were talking just last week about what it was like to be in the White House when Watergate happened. And the report dropped and you were there, alongside Nixon. You talked about sort of like a bunker, a military bunker mentality, and feel. What do you think is going on behind the scenes within the White House and with the President's circle right now?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's vastly different in one sense, and that is in 1974, the big day was the day we found the smoking gun. That's at the tape. The President was guilty. He knew he had to go. It was a momentum time. And here, there is no smoking gun that we know of.

CABRERA: And no new indictments.

GERGEN: There's no smoking gun so far nobody's been indicted. And the case is now closed. Nobody has been indicted for collusion or conspiring with the Russians which is important, very important.

So I think that the White House I observed bound to be very different, very quiet. I'm sure they want to go public. But I must tell you. If you - if we could stand with back from this one, if we woke up one day and were told there's been an investigation you haven't heard anything about, three dozen people have been indicted, you know. There have been 100 contacts with the Russians on the campaign. The President was proved wrong when he said the Russians didn't try to sabotage our elections. If you heard all of that, you say, wow, that is terrible.

CABRERA: That would hit you.

GERGEN: That would hit you really hard. But the way this has played out, you know, and his working. We are all numb to it. And we are looking for new revelations.

CABRERA: Yes.

GERGEN: Not for sure of pulling together what this report looks like.

CABRERA: And so, as we have been waiting, Patrick, there's sort of a drum beat coming from the Democrats, wait for the report. And the suggestion that there was going to be a bombshell, just wait for that report. And that it was going to be damning to this President. What if it's not?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know it is a great question. I mean, Democrats are trying to say, you know, we want to beat Donald Trump at the ballot box in 2020. And we have seen a very sharp pivot from 2018 during the midterms when he had people like Tom Steyer, even Beto O'Rourke saying he would vote for impeachment. There was a fair amount of talk coming up certainly from voters and a lot of excitement.

And you have seen the Democratic leadership on the Hill, Nancy Pelosi particularly, and the party generally trying to really shift the attention toward running against Trump on -- basically on the merits, on his record, making a referendum on Trump and start getting away from things like collusion, obstruction of justice, impeachment, the Mueller report. They certainly want it to come out now. They want to see.

As David said, you know, we don't whether there's a smoking gun or not, or something that -- at least like a lot of smoke, if not like clear fire, we don't know that yet. But you are already seeing from the Democrats on the campaign trail, and generally in the party, really trying to steer this and put the pressure on Trump with regard to the election, whether he should be re-elected.

[16:10:05] CABRERA: Garrett, I have been dying to ask you specifically this next question because you know Mueller so well, given all the research you have done in your own writing and reporting. I'm wondering, we have seen a lot of Mueller's indictment how he crafted his narratives that he is allowed to make public, right. So would he had taken care to really craft a report in this case around exposing classified or national security information, around the threat of executive privilege being invoked so that it could largely be made public?

GARRETT GRAFF, AUTHOR, THE THREAT MATRIX INSIDE ROBERT MUELLER'S FBI: That's been part of this entire process, is working through with the intelligence agencies, their equities and the sources and method that they use to collect various intelligence.

However, the underlying information in the internet research agency indictment and the GRU indictment for the active cyber-attacks on the DNC and state level voting machines. That was actually some of the most significant signals intelligence that we have ever seen the U.S. government publish. And so, incredible amounts of information came out in those court filings about the U.S. ability to watch other networks, to understand what is taking place within Russian command and control systems. So we have already seen him deploy a lot of intelligence collection through his court indictments. And I'm sure that's part of whatever this narrative is as comprehensive as the attorney general's office is saying.

It will -- and remember, while I think it is genuinely surprising that we did not see a final round of indictments, if Mueller was operating under the justice department guidelines that the President himself could not be indicted while in office, then this report was going to be the only place that we ever actually saw charges or information targeting the actions of the President itself.

And so, I think it's worth sort of taking the pause and realizing that there's a big question particularly around obstruction of justice that were only ever going to be answered in this final report. So before we sort of declare this huge win for the President, I think we do need to wait and see what's actually in the report. CABRERA: And David, I wonder, also if you are William Barr, how do

you sort of thread the needle? Because it's sort of like, everybody is going to be looking for something in your conclusions and how much he is able, you know, provide in transparency. What does he do to ensure the American people that he was completely independent of any political persuasion?

GERGEN: I think he has to play this completely by the book. He has to be very, very careful. And I imagine that's what he is going to do. When he goes up and -- goes up and talks to the Congress about the main principles coming out - main conclusions coming out of the report, it's going to be a piece of paper plus, I believe a verbal conversation. But the justice department's spokeswoman said today that that piece of paper would be made public. So he has got to make sure that that piece of paper coincide. It does not twist or it doesn't tilt the facts. It's not very selective in the facts. Because eventually this report is likely to come out, one way or the other. And if he has seen now as tilting it, I think it would totally undermine his attorney general.

CABRERA: We talked about how this has come out in drifts and drives. And so, there's not like a big moment that could provide some kind of (INAUDIBLE) to American people.

But Patrick, I wonder how much the American people are really interested in this report. Because I know as you oversee your own political coverage, you say people aren't even asking the candidates about this?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. We have had reporters out today with Beto O'Rourke, John Hickenlooperer, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, and right now, voters are asking about health care, you know, gun shootings, climate change, the national debt. They are not bringing up the Mueller. But what they are also saying is, look, as sit here in New Hampshire and I live my sort of day to day life, I have much more immediate concerns that if I have access to potential president or presidential candidate, I want to talk about those issues, not sort of arm chair quarterback on the Mueller report.

But the reality of all this is, of course, once the report comes out, once the details are known, and if there is really damning information that's going to the southern district of New York or elsewhere, you know, that can change the equation.

CABRERA: On that note, that means that may not be the end. And we just word, in fact, Garrett, that Mueller moved Rick Gates case to the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. It's a reminder of some of the other investigations that are ongoing, so is the Mueller report going to be the end all be all of this legal saga? Or do you see Mueller's final report as just the end of the beginning?

[16:15:08] GRAFF: Absolutely. I think it very much is the end of the beginning. I mean, this was the original the investigation that was launched around President Trump and his campaign behavior. What we have seen since is this sort of this spiraling sense of investigations around the inauguration, the transition, the behavior in the White House, the back business - sort of the business work of the Trump organization itself.

You know, I counted it up in December. There were 17 active investigations by seven different prosecutors. And states and federal officials, targeting Trump and his orbit. And by now, by my count we're up to 21 or 22 such investigations. And Mueller really only represented, you know, five, six, or seven of those, depending on exactly how you count.

And so, there's a lot of stuff continuing to percolate out there, even before you get into anything that the Democrats are doing on Capitol Hill.

GERGEN: I take some issue with that. Look, I think the Mueller investigation and the question of the Russians has been central to his presidency for the last two years. And it's been a real test of whether he was a crook or not a crook or whatever. And if he comes out of this as it appears could well happen looking like, well, it didn't amount to all that much, there was no real serious conspiracy, that some people renegade within his group and so forth, that may change the atmosphere with regard to all of these investigations. The American people, going back to Patrick's point, may want to move on and may not want to spend the next two years hearing about things because that they don't think as important as what the Russia investigation. It may change the dynamic.

HEALY: And if the Democrats on the Hill start overreaching and launching new investigations when it seems like there is not a ton of there there, it is sort of like how much - how much did the voters really want to deal with it.

GERGEN: Do you think impeachment is now off the table?

HEALY: I think Nancy Pelosi I think, you know, took it so clearly took it off the table. That she wanted to start this movement toward the 2020. I think they are going to have a hard time saying well, Robert Mueller didn't recommend indictments or there isn't clear evidence, new evidence, right, new, you know, new beyond connecting dots, new evidence that supports articles of impeachment. It's going to be very hard. Because Pelosi has drawn a red line where basically she is saying, we need Republicans who support impeachment before we really do anything. So --

CABRERA: And Republicans have been very quiet now as we wait this report. We have heard a lot from democrats saying we need to see the whole thing. How should Republicans play this?

GERGEN: Well, They have to be careful too, I think that they -- I think that they -- I don't think they want to do a dance on the grave. I don't think they want to do -- like the football kind of stuff. They have to do it in a much more restrained way, let's say, we're the party, let's move on. Let's move on and deal with some of the issues that the country hasn't face up to in the last two years. I think they would be well advised to do that, if they come out and just jam everybody and try to stick it to people, we told you so, and so forth and so on. This has all been for you in the liberal press, and all the rest of you. You know, you are just hope from the beginning. I think that could backfire too. I think both sides ought to play this carefully now.

HEALY: Well, briefly, (INAUDIBLE) to that. I mean, if President Trump comes out of this and wants some kind of vengeance, that lock her up chant was very strange.

GERGEN: I agree.

HEALY: And if they decide to somehow try to get the attorney general to go deeper into this dossier and let alone go after Hillary Clinton, you know, the Democratic voters, the Democrats out there are going to, you know, they will be very upset, and you are just going to get that sort of resistance at the barricades, just that much more intense.

CABRERA: All right, gentlemen, thank you both for being here. Garrett Graff, again, thank you, again, for being part of our coverage.

Our breaking news continues next. All eyes are on attorney general William Barr. He is still reviewing the Mueller report right now. And could give details to Congress as soon as this weekend. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:23:26] CABRERA: Breaking news. House Democrats ramping up their fight to see the full Robert Mueller report threatening to use subpoena power to get it and insisting the public will is overwhelmingly on their side for full transparency.

CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill.

Manu, tell us more about what Democrats are saying?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, they are demanding full release of the report and the underlying evidence that led Robert Mueller to make decisions about who to prosecute and who not to prosecute. And their warning, that subpoenas could come if they don't get what they want, if they don't get briefings as they have been asking.

Now, in talking points that were distributed to members of the House Democratic caucus before they had what they call in emergency commons call (ph) this afternoon. One line stuck out. It said if necessary Democrats will be prepared to use its subpoena authority to obtain the full report and underlying evidence as well as to obtain briefing and testimony from the special counsel, the attorney general, deputy attorney general and other necessary officials.

Now, in this call, I'm told several Democratic chairman spoke here. Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, House judiciary committee chairman, but others as well chairing key committees of foreign affairs, financial services, weighs and means and the like, to discuss how they all believe that they need to see the full report. And they are going to use the full weight of that power in the House majority to get what they believe - what they call full transparency. They try to make the case that there is president underside citing

past examples once the justice department has provided information, including underlying evidence about decisions about who to prosecute, whom not to prosecute including that in 2018 when Republicans in the House got information from the justice department over its decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton in its investigation back in 2016. They are saying that's one precedent, for example. That's some of the decided on this call.

And also, Ana, I'm learning on this call, Jerry Nadler, the chairman on the judiciary committee talked about timing, when to expect those principle conclusions to come to Capitol Hill. Mueller's principle conclusion that we have been all waiting for. He said he did not know. He said it's all up to Bill Barr, the attorney general. He said we are waiting for him. It could be tomorrow. It could be Monday.

But even the House judiciary committee chairman, the one committee that has been in contact with the justice department still in the dark about the exact timing of when they will see these initial recommendations.

But one thing is clear from this call today, Ana. That's not going to be enough for Democrats. They want to see much more than just a distillation or summary of the Mueller's conclusions. They want to see everything. Will the justice department agree? We still don't know -- Ana.

[16:25:04] CABRERA: We will see. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill for us. Thanks for the update.

Right now, President Trump is back at his Mar-a-Lago resort, surrounded by his lawyers as they wait with the rest of us to learn what Mueller found. But are claims of vindication by some members of the Trump team premature?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:48] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: The news that the Mueller report included no new indictments is being met with relief and celebration inside the Trump administration. Today, President Trump golfed. Last night, he partied at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller made be finished but Democrats in Congress are not, neither are prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

I want to bring in our CNN political commentators, former senior spokesperson for Hillary for America, Karen Finney, and Scott Jennings, former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

Karen, after 675 days and with no more indictments from Mueller's team, if Dems keep hammering away at their own investigation, do you think that will help or hurt them politically?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think what Democrats are thinking about now is not so much the politics, but rather what is the right thing, which is transparency. And as you have been reporting, ensuring that the 90 percent of the American people who want to see this report have the opportunity to do so. You know, I've served in the Clinton administration. And the Starr report, can you still download it online. It was available in book stores. I think that was an important moment for our country. This is an historic moment in our history. We've never had something like this happen, where we know a hostile foreign government interfered in an election. This counterintelligence investigation that Mueller has been undergoing, it's important that we understand and we know the truth about what happened.

CABRERA: Scott, do you agree with that?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think transparency is important. The American people deserve to see what Robert Mueller has been working on. I think this was obviously a well-run investigation. No leaks over two years. He submitted his report without interference. We heard time and again Trump was going to fire Mueller, Trump was going to interfere, none of that happened. So yes, let's get the information out, let's have Robert Mueller come and answer questions if that's necessary. And by the way, let's not just talk about collusion. And if it's true, Mueller hasn't found any, let's also talk about how we failed at the end of the Obama administration to stop, as Karen said, a hostile foreign government from interfering in our election. This happened on Obama's watch, not Trump's. And I want to know what the Russians did and I want to know how to stop them in the future.

CABRERA: Scott, the president tweeted witch hunt 170 times during the Mueller investigation. I've noticed he's been very, very quiet since this report dropped. Why?

JENNINGS: Well, I think he's waiting to find out what's in there, just like the rest of us. And there's no reason to speculate about things until we actually know the content. And so this is one of those moments where I think the president is being measured. I hope he keeps that up. I hope his White House team is working with him to make sure that the White House has the proper response.

Look, there's a way out of this, where Donald Trump and his children and the senior people in the campaign, nothing bad happens to them. We ultimately find out what the Russians did. And it's the Trump administration that implements whatever we have to implement to stop them in the future. That will be a good outcome for the American people. But to look at it through the lens of raw politics, that would be a great outcome for Trump politically.

CABRERA: Karen, if you are advising one of the many Democrats running for 2020, how should they treat the Mueller report?

FINNEY: I think they should treat it the way I think we're all treating it. Number one, transparency. There's a duty and obligation to make sure and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure there's a full accounting, a public accounting. There are national security concerns here that are important. But also to -- Scott makes an important point. Part of the reason we need to make sure we know what's in this report is so we can make sure it doesn't happen again. And certainly, what we know thus far is that -- there's also still -- remember, there's a lot we don't know. If I were advising someone, I would remind them that how you talk about this report - remember, this report is just one piece of this larger -- we know that a number of other cases have actually been referred by Robert Mueller to different places. There are a number of investigations that continue to be ongoing. And we know that the standard for what Congress is looking at is going to be different than what Robert Mueller was looking at. We know that, in plain sight, this president has willfully lied to the American people from the beginning and he's obstructed justice. I think that it would be -- it's important that we make honesty and transparency and the integrity of the office an issue in this campaign. I think, by that standard, Trump doesn't measure up. And how he handles the release of this report will speak volumes as to whether or not he's someone who can be -- the public deserves the public trust, which I don't think he does.

[16:35:23] CABRERA: We don't know if the president obstructed justice. I just want to make that point.

FINNEY: I think firing --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: We'll see if Robert Mueller's report --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- gives us any more indication --

(CROSSTALK)

FINNEY: Comey pretty much did, though.

CABRERA: Maybe, maybe not. According to Robert Mueller, he was looking into that. We'll see as we get conclusions --

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: -- from Robert Mueller's report.

Scott, a Trump campaign adviser has been celebrating, telling CNN, quote, "It's a great day for America. We won." But again, we don't know yet what Mueller concluded. And two, the Mueller investigation isn't the only investigation that touches Trump's orbit, as Karen mentioned. Is the celebration a bit premature?

SCOTT: Yes, I wouldn't be too quick to gloat if I were the Trump folks today. I wouldn't be too quick to fret if I were the Democrats. I think one of the risks the Democrats run here by fretting too much, if this Mueller report finds that the president of the United States, as a candidate, did not collude with a hostile foreign power, if it finds out that he did nothing wrong, there's nothing to be mad about. I mean, if you're sort of gauging your own personal happiness based on the idea that someone didn't do something, it would be horrible for the country. You know, take a step back, take a deep breath, and maybe reassess your political barometer. I don't think anyone should gloat or fret. We haven't seen what Robert Mueller has to say yet. And I certainly, if I were the Trump people, I wouldn't overlook everything that's sitting out there. Of course, the Southern District of New York is investigating. I'm sure the Democrats are going to continue to harass the administration. But, look, if the metric is, is the president getting indicted, is Donald Trump Jr getting indicted, is Jared Kushner getting indicted? They're not by Robert Mueller. Yes, that's a win for them to escape that.

CABRERA: Karen, you're thoughts?

FINNEY: He says harass. I say accountability. I know that's not something that Donald Trump is used to appreciates. But let's remember, Congress does have a constitutional responsibility to get to the bottom of some of these very big questions. I don't think -- it's not a matter of about fretting. It is a matter of making sure that we have the transparency that 90 percent of the American people have said they want. I certainly agree, though, that I would not be popping the champagne in this moment. I mean, let's also remember we've learned a lot during the course of this investigation in terms of, think about the people who have been indicted, think about the crimes that were committed. I don't think there's anything to celebrate in terms of wins and losses over that. I think, again, this is an historic moment for our country. This was an historic interference in our election. And I think it's a stain that so many individuals so close to the president have been indicted for a range of crimes.

CABRERA: At least six --

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: They have nothing to do with the campaign. They have nothing to do with Russian collusion.

FINNEY: As far as we know. As far as we know at this moment.

(CROSSTALK)

CABRERA: Karen Finney, Scott Jennings, come back once we know all those answers.

FINNEY: All right.

CABRERA: Hopefully, we'll get it soon. Thank you.

A desperate rescue at sea this hour, and high winds and cold temperatures. Hundreds of people being plucked off the deck one at a time by helicopters. Their massive cruise ship is in big trouble. We're following that story.

Also, breaking his silence. New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, issues his first public statement since being charged in a prostitution sting.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:49] CABRERA: It's now late in the evening in Norway where hundreds of people are still stranded on a cruise ship that lost power in rough weather earlier today. Look at this video taken from inside the "Viking Sky." The ship starts to tilt back and forth. And 1,300 passengers on board along with crew members are now being rescued by helicopter. We just got an update that 115 people have made it off so far. Again 1,300 on board. This one-by-one evacuation taking place amid cold and rainy conditions off the Norwegian coast with waves six to eight meters high. As can you see, water on board the ship flooding the decks in some places. Officials say at least a few people have suffered minor injuries. Efforts to get them off are expected to last through the night. Norwegian Emergency Services says the crew sent a mayday distress signal reporting engine problems in bad weather. The "Viking Sky" made its maiden voyage in 2017. We'll keep you posted on that one.

New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, is apologizing today. For the first time, we're hearing directly from Kraft since he was charged with soliciting prostitution at a Florida day spa last month. Now, this morning he said, in part, "I'm truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard."

CNN's Polo Sandoval is joining us now.

Polo, what else did he say?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, it's certainly significant because we hadn't heard from him publicly since those charges were announced by Florida prosecutors. Now we have the statement essentially of an apology.

I'm going to read you more of what Mr. Kraft in his statement issued earlier today here. Mr. Kraft going on to write, "Throughout my life, I've always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women. My morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years." Kraft referring to his late wife.

The statement does go on to mention, too, Ana, he says he wants to use his platform to make a difference, which is certainly an interesting thing to include here.

[16:45:04] Since this is happening the same week that his -- according to his source, his attorneys essentially chose not to take prosecutors on their offer to drop these misdemeanor charges if they would admit he would have been convicted. Also community service and a fine.

It's also happening in the same week that his attorneys filed for a protective order to block the release of the surveillance video that police say shows Kraft, according to them, caught in the act. So far, he continues to deny these kinds of allegations. And finally, we should note the timing here. This was released on a

Saturday afternoon, on what we all know has been a very busy news weekend. Again, a statement of apology now from Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, the first time we hear from publicly -- Ana?

CABRERA: Which is so interesting because they didn't accept the plea deal. He's denied all the charges. But he's apologizing. What are we hearing from the NFL? What's next for Kraft when it comes to his day talk?

SANDOVAL: We have to question the reporting from Florida after these charges were made public. In Florida, remember, there's a code of conduct that the NFL holds players, too. However, the owners of these teams are also subjected to this code of conduct. If anything, perhaps even more so than some of the players. Now a lot of the attention may shift to the NFL to see how they will handle this, especially if we see a change, perhaps, in the reporting we have heard from some of our colleagues. According to a source close to the investigation, they were not planning on taking prosecutors up on their deal.

CABRERA: Polo Sandoval, thank you.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Pressure mounting on Boeing after two deadly crashes within months. Now CNN is learning that the new safety training for the 737 MAX 8 was not done by instructors or in classrooms, but on an iPad.

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[16:51:34] CABRERA: We're following breaking news out of Syria where U.S.-backed forces say they have liberated the last ISIS stronghold in that country, marking a 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS and the so called Califate. At its peak, ISIS controlled vast swaths of land stretching from western Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad. But in a sustained campaign, Kurdish and air fighters, backed by U.S., British and French Special Forces, pushed ISIS troops back into a small town in eastern Syria, which fell today after a week-long assault. Experts warn that while ISIS has lost its territory, there are still thousands of ISIS fighters carrying on its ideology.

Stunning new information about Boeing and its troubled now-grounded 737 MAX, the type of plane at the center of two deadly crashes. It was pitched as a plane was so easy to fly, pilots could be completely trained in less than three hours. But now experts are taking a second look.

CNN senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, has been digging on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 737 MAX was promoted as a newer more efficient version of Boeing's popular plane, so similar to older versions of the 737 only minimal pilot training was required.

Boeing's chief test pilot described that training in this interview with flightglobal.com saying airlines could take their 737 pilots, give them 2.5 hours of ground training and they would be good to go.

CAPT. ED WILSON, 737 MAX CHIEF PILOT, BOEING: So a pilot can walk into here and will find everything he can, just like he can in the NG. And it's down to roughly, FAA approved this for 2.5 hours of computer- based training for the transition between the two aircraft.

GRIFFIN: Boeing's promotional material of the 737 MAX also mentions the low cost of the rollout. "As you build your 737 MAX fleet, millions of dollars will be saved because of its commonality with the next generation 737" -- referring to the previous version of the aircraft.

Pilots and industry unions have told CNN the training was all done, sometimes on an iPad, no instructors needed, no air time for practice, not even time in a 737 MAX simulator.

Captain Jason Goldberg, the Airline Pilots Association, says his training amounted to a 56-minute online course.

CAPT. JASON GOLDBERG, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: We received an online lesson, which is typical of our recurrent training or initial training that we get when we're transitioning to a new aircraft.

GRIFFIN: U.S.-based pilots tell CNN, as bad as that sounds to the layperson, the limited training should have been enough for experienced 737 pilots to make the transition. That was until the Lion Air crash and the aviation world learned Boeing had installed a new computer system on board and reportedly failed to tell anyone about it.

GOLDBERG: We were very concerned that this information wasn't made available to us initially. In the wake of the Lion Air crash, we felt strongly that there had been a certain amount of breach of trust between the manufacturer and the pilots.

GRIFFIN: It's called MCAS, a system designed to help prevent the plane from stalling in an ascent. It pushes the aircraft down. In both the Lion Air and the Ethiopian Airline crashes, pilots appeared to be fighting with the MCAS system perhaps not realizing it while without any training on how to turn it off. Flight training manuals reportedly do not mention the system.

[16:55:00] (on camera): Boeing is telling CNN it stands by its testing and certification and training manuals for the 737 MAX airline, including that MCAS system. Though MCAS is perhaps not mentioned by name in its flight crew manual, Boeing says the relative function is that Boeing routinely engages with its customers in how to operate its airplanes safety.

Drew Griffin, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CABRERA: Coming up, the breaking news, we're standing by for word on when the attorney general will brief Congress on the special counsel's Russia report.

Stay right there.

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[16:59:50] CABRERA: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York.

Right now, it's breaking news. Nearly two years coming, Mueller's special investigation into President Trump's election is now over. Mueller's report is complete, it's been handed in, and that's where nearly everything we know about it ends. It's in the hands right now of U.S. Attorney General William Barr.