Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller Dies At Age 81; Trump Reacts To Robert Mueller's Death; Interview With Hawaii Governor Josh Green; Iran Fires Missiles At U.S., U.K. Military Base In Indian Ocean; Trump Weighing Whether To Send U.S. Troops Into Iran; Trump Proposes Sending ICE Agents To Airports Amid Partial Shutdown; New Series On Relationships Between FBI Directors And Presidents. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired March 21, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:56]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We continue with our breaking news this afternoon. Former FBI director Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81. He was the FBI chief for 12 years and later led the historic probe into alleged collusion between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russian government.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer looks back at Mueller's attempts to stay above the fray in Washington and how hard that became especially at the end of his career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT MUELLER, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: If you are not honest, your reputation will suffer. And once lost, a good reputation can never, ever be regained.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Attorney Robert Mueller's reputation in government was virtually unquestioned until he got the most controversial assignment of his career.

We have major breaking news right now. The U.S. Justice Department has just named a special counsel in the Russia investigation.

(Voice-over): The job, investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race. The race Donald Trump won. Mueller was a Princeton grad, a decorated U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam. After law school, he became a litigator, a federal prosecutor who worked his way up the ranks. And in 2001, President George W. Bush tapped him to be the sixth director of the FBI.

MUELLER: To enforce our nations laws fairly and with respect to the rights of all Americans.

BLITZER (voice-over): Mueller was confirmed unanimously by the Senate and sworn in on September 4th, 2001, seven days before the event that defined much of his tenure. After the 9/11 attacks, Mueller led the bureau into the war on terror.

MUELLER: We will leave no stone unturned.

BLITZER: Mueller was respected by both Republicans and Democrats, and continued to serve through the first term of the Obama administration, turning over the reins of the FBI to James Comey in 2013.

MUELLER: I have found him to be a man of honesty, dedication, and integrity.

BLITZER: But President Trump fired Comey in 2017, and eight days later, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced that Mueller would investigate the Trump administration as special counsel. It set off a flurry of unprecedented criticism of Mueller, starting from the commander-in-chief.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Mueller is highly conflicted. In fact, Comey is like his best friend.

BLITZER (voice-over): A message driven home by right-wing media messages and the president's own tweets. All the while, Mueller kept quiet, letting a series of indictments do the talking instead. Two months later, Mueller completed his report. He finally broke two years of silence.

MUELLER: The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.

BLITZER (voice-over): The lack of a direct conclusion on obstruction frustrated Democrats. Mueller reluctantly appeared before a House committee and declined to go further than his report.

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D-NY): Did you actually totally exonerate the president?

MUELLER: No.

BLITZER (voice-over): Without producing a smoking gun? Mueller retreated back to private life. A public servant who survived wounds in Vietnam but found the partisanship of the Trump era especially bruising.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now to talk more about the life and legacy of Robert Mueller is Andrew McCabe. He's a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and a former FBI deputy director himself.

And, Andrew, I wonder what it's like for you knowing Bob Mueller to watch that kind of compilation of his life.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Fred, I should start by saying it's incredibly sad day for anyone who knew Director Mueller. And my heart goes out to his family and particularly his wonderful wife, Ann, who is just a wonderful, wonderful person. And, sorry for what they're going through now. [15:05:06]

You know, watching that piece, it really reminds you of the majesty of a life in public service. This is a guy who spent literally every day of his life serving his nation in one way or another. He went into the Marine Corps because a friend at Princeton who had graduated a year or two ahead of him had died in Vietnam. And when he saw that happen, he felt like he had to go to Vietnam to honor that friend's service.

And that started him on a course. He has -- he had said publicly many times that it was serving as a Marine, leading other men in the Marine Corps, and being able to survive that tough experience, led him to think that he needed to spend the rest of his life serving his country. And he did that with expertise, with incredibly high standards. He was just an absolute American hero and an incredible patriot.

WHITFIELD: I mean, he was a platoon leader in Vietnam. He would win a brown or be honored with a Bronze Star as well as a Purple Heart medal. I mean, incredibly decorated. And then in his pursuit of law, he would build that legacy as well. Ultimately, he was selected as FBI director by President George W. Bush, you know, just days before September 11th, 2001 terror attacks.

In your view, how did he handle all of these responsibilities?

MCCABE: You know, Fred, he was an incredible dichotomy because on the one hand, Director Mueller represented everything good in the FBI. We saw him as the embodiment of who we were supposed to be. He had incredibly high standards. His work ethic was flawless. His comportment, the way he presented himself, the way he represented the organization. He was kind of the living embodiment of the best of the FBI history.

But at the same time, he is the person who we can credit with bringing the FBI into the future. We had become, prior to 9/11, a somewhat calcified organization really built around kind of the opportunistic approach to criminal cases. And Robert Mueller came in seven days before 9/11. And over the course of the next 10 years turned us into an intelligence driven organization, a full-fledged essential member of the intelligence community, a place where we make decisions based on strategy, based on intelligence and information, rather than just, you know, taking one case from the last one that you made.

Just to be able to unite the best of who we were and to take us to where we needed to be to protect the American public, it's just an amazing thing he did for this country.

WHITFIELD: Andrew McCabe, thanks so much for being with us and helping to honor the life and legacy of Robert Mueller. Appreciate it.

Well, President Trump reacted a short time ago, just under two hours after the public announcement of Mueller's death.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is live for us in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Julia, walk us through what is being expressed by the president.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as the news broke that former special counsel for the Department of Justice and former FBI director Robert Mueller had died at the age of 81, there was a lot of interest in how President Donald Trump would respond to this, and we'll get into that in detail. But stepping back, Mueller had a reputation for years of being respected on both sides of the aisle. That's been a bit overshadowed recently, though, because he has been a frequent target of Trump's attacks.

Now he was appointed back in 2017 to lead an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which included looking into any links or coordination between the Russian government and those associated with Trump's campaign. That investigation did not lead to any charges for the sitting president. But as he frequently does get frustrated with those in charge of investigations into him, Trump's attacks have been quite personal, and today is no exception.

I want to pull up exactly what the president posted today and just read that for you verbatim. He said, quote, "Robert Mueller just died. Good. I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people." And then he signed that with his name, President Donald J. Trump.

As they confirmed that he had died today, Mueller's family is asking for privacy and respect during this time.

[15:10:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.

Straight ahead, catastrophic flooding in Hawaii and the threat of a dam failing, forcing more evacuations there. We'll speak with Governor Josh Green next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news out of Hawaii, where catastrophic flooding is hitting Oahu.

[15:15:01]

Crews there have rescued more than 200 people from the treacherous conditions, and so far there have been no reports of deaths or anyone unaccounted for. It's good news, but look at these conditions. It's horrible. And you can see people are in some cases doing what officials say never do. Don't drive into a flooded street. In fact, that black car getting sucked in and stuck in the raging waters.

Forecasters say an additional three to eight inches of rain is possible this weekend, with even higher amounts in some areas. And people living near this dam have been ordered to evacuate because officials fear it could collapse or breach at any time. This drone video still showing the 120-year-old dam functioning properly despite water pouring out of the reservoir.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green is joining me now from Honolulu. Aloha, not just reserved for when days are great, but even though you

said, you know, the weather is kind of breaking, you do still have in the North Shore area horrible conditions of a lot of standing water?

GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): Yes, we do. Thank you for your comments and your support. Thank you to everyone across the country who's flooding us with support, forgive the pun. You know, we've had 40 to 50 inches of rain, it's the largest flood that we've had in 20 years. But we've had no loss of life. People have pitched in incredible work by our, you know, our first responders. We have the National Guard called up. Over 200 people have helped us on that side. Active military from one of our bases.

But you can see that the flood levels are significant. We'll have over $1 billion of damage, it appears, and we are still, you know, in the throes of this storm. This storm will go on for another two days at least, though, it's starting to move off of Oahu. So those are the pictures that people actually dealt with. Look at that.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's incredible.

GREEN: I mean, halfway up stop sign. Yes, it's amazing.

WHITFIELD: I mean, we're talking about, you know, in some places, four feet of water in a very short amount of time. I can't believe that truck is still trying to make its way through that kind of standing water. I mean, there had to be a lot of, you know, evacuations. I see people on a paddle board right there. And now, what about the area near that dam? I mean, how potentially dangerous is it that that dam might be compromised?

GREEN: It's very -- its very seriously disconcerting. You know, when the dam gets like that. So we're right now at 81.83 feet on that dam, 85 feet was our threshold for, you know, kind of moving people out and evacuating the area. We evacuated 5500 people and their pets out of the area. You know, it got really dangerous late night two days ago when we've just got over that 85 foot threshold. The dam actually is 90 feet high and at 88 feet that's when we have severe concerns.

So we seem to be OK. It's been trending downward now these last few hours. And so we seem to be in a good place. But it's an older dam. If the water goes over the top of the dam, then it can erode the other side, and then you'd have a catastrophic break of the dam, and it would wipe out all the houses on the other side.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

GREEN: So this is the kind of thing that happens in the tropics. And we, again, are grateful that people listened. Because people cooperated we didn't see any loss of life.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Thank goodness. You've had evacuations. You have people who have been flooded out. They feel like they've lost everything. Are you in a situation where you're also having to do or carry out any rescue missions right now? GREEN: Yes, we've had 236 people get rescued. We had a whole camp that

had to be rescued. This is spring break for the public schools, and people were isolated and trapped in certain areas. There were people that were on rooftops. You've seen footage of that kind of thing. We had to bring in helicopters to pull people out in a couple cases.

Again, no fatalities in the first phase of the storm last week, this has been going on for about 11 days, we did have two terrible injuries that resulted in spinal cord injuries. I'm an ER doc otherwise and so that's the kind of thing I worry about. We also had difficult times like flying people from island to island when the storm winds were up. The storm winds are down now and we're caught up again.

One hospital went down and has been wiped out on Maui. So, yes, there's a lot of this going on. But again, people have been rescued. And again, we thank people. The Hawaii Community Foundation is raising money that gives resources to nonprofits. And that's what you guys did for us during the Maui wildfire three years ago. We raised $250 million to help people. And the Hawaii Community Foundation would like to do that again if people love Hawaii because that money will go to, you know, help people rebuild their lives.

So take a look at that. If you're interested in helping Hawaii, but we're thankful to all of you across the country for your support.

WHITFIELD: Well, everyone is pulling together as best they can, wishing everyone there the best.

Governor Josh Green of Hawaii, thank you so much. All the best.

GREEN: Hey, thank you very much. Aloha.

WHITFIELD: Aloha. Mahalo.

All right. Straight ahead, the White House weighs options in its war with Iran, including possibly sending ground forces into Iran.

[15:20:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Today, President Trump is contemplating a major military escalation in the war on Iran. According to new CNN reporting, Trump has reviewed options that include putting American troops on the ground inside the country. That comes as two U.S. officials say the Pentagon is deploying thousands of U.S. Marines and sailors to the Middle East as both Iran and Israel show no sign of letting up on their attacks.

[15:25:02]

A source says Iran on Friday launched two ballistic missiles at the joint U.S.-U.K. base of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. And Israel says its strikes on Iran will, quote, "increase significantly," end quote. Just this weekend, the IDF says it struck more than 200 targets in Iran and Lebanon.

CNN chief national security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is live for us in Beirut, Lebanon.

Nick, a lot happening today. Tell us more.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, a remarkable moment where for all you were saying there, it sounds as though the conflict is widening. But at the same time, President Trump is saying he's contemplating winding it down. Very hard to navigate exactly where we're heading on the escalation ladder here.

Here certainly in Lebanon, in the south, where we were earlier on today, a sense of continued Israeli airstrikes certainly. Perhaps a drop slightly in the intensity over the last two or three days or so, perhaps related to either the appalling weather we've been seeing. But as you said, Israel saying it's hit 200 targets in Lebanon and indeed Iran as well.

Hezbollah have been firing back as well. We've been hearing of Israeli airstrikes in the south and hearing jets over our heads as well. And clearly signs inside of northern Israel that Hezbollah has been returning fire, too.

But as you say, more broadly across the region here, so many separate strands to deal with the remarkable sign of Iran's ballistic missile potency from the failed strike against the U.S.-U.K. base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Over 2,000 miles distance there, attempted by two Iranian intermediate range ballistic missiles, one falling into the sea, one intercepted. A sign that perhaps Iran was further ahead than many felt they were without missile program, according to what the U.S. officials have been saying, these missiles were attempting to do.

Israel hitting nuclear research facilities inside of Iran. And then it seems an Iranian missile attempting to hit Dimona, the town where there is also a nuclear research facility inside of Israel with over 20 people injured in that particular impact as well.

And of course, the broader decision by the United States to try and ease the panic in the oil markets, the energy markets, by allowing 140 million barrels of Iranian oil currently under sanctions to now be free for sale, a move some critics may say of desperation that U.S. officials insist will not generate revenue that Iran can actually get its hands upon. But we're in a remarkable moment here, really, because we're seeing so many separate strands of this conflict now spilling out.

So many simple solutions so far away from it seems the U.S.'s grasp at this moment, particularly here where Israel has been saying it will disarm Hezbollah. We've been seeing in the south what an enormous task that is. Out of Israel's reach, frankly, at the moment. And it just adds to the series of exceptionally complex problems that this conflict has inflamed, and that if Donald Trump is wishing to wind the war down as he said, a matter of 24 hours or so ago, that will need to find magical solutions, frankly, where it just seems to be getting increasingly complex -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, for us in Beirut, Lebanon, thanks so much.

All right. Let's continue the conversation now. With us is retired Air Force Lieutenant General Mark Wetherington. He's a former deputy commander at the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command.

Great to see you. So the president of the United States is saying the U.S. has won, yet he won't call for a ceasefire because he says you don't do that when you are winning. Plus, he is sending more U.S. Marines and sailors to the region. So how do you see -- let's zero in on the Marines. How do you see the Marines being utilized?

LT. GEN. MARK WEATHERINGTON (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, good afternoon. I think that's a great question. I think it's important to remember that Iran, when you look at it, is much larger than Iraq and Afghanistan put together. A giant population. This is not the scale of ground deployment that we saw in either of those operations. I think what the Marines offer here is a ton of flexibility, the ability to accomplish a wide range of missions, whether that's a noncombatant evacuation, whether that's a small scale, shorter duration ground operation on one of the islands overseeing the Straits of Hormuz, or perhaps farther north in the Gulf. But I don't see this as a large scale, long duration option to put troops on the ground.

WHITFIELD: The Trump administration is weighing options on also removing Iran's uranium, which the Iranian foreign minister, you know, has said is under rubble. So how might the U.S. Military be instrumental on potentially removing such highly sensitive material?

WEATHERINGTON: Well, that's an incredibly difficult operation. If you're talking about the sites that were previously attacked in Operation Midnight Hammer or in subsequent Israeli and American action.

[15:30:02]

And I think when we're looking at some of those very sensitive sites, the deeply buried sites that were attacked, a lot of that uranium that was enriched now is contaminated. It's intermixed with the rubble. And so it's not really useful to the Iranians in the extent. It's a very scientific, technical and dangerous operation to remove that.

My sense is we would not do that unless we could secure that site, bring in the industrial capabilities to do that. It would be a massive operation and one which we would have to have a pretty good control of that area.

WHITFIELD: And then is it viable to have U.S. Navy ship escorts or any other countries' naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz at this juncture?

WEATHERINGTON: Well, I think as you've seen from CENTCOM in the last week, their campaign has really pivoted from early on. It was about command and control, air defense capabilities, and then going after Iran's ability to reach out and touch its neighbors with either ballistic missiles or drones. That will continue. But we've seen in the last week really a concerted effort to impact their ability to cause havoc in the Straits of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

Their naval and maritime capabilities, coastal defense, cruise missiles and other capabilities there. It's a difficult problem because the straits are so narrow, the shipping lanes are so confined. It's a 20-mile wide point, you know, in both Omani and Iranian waters. So it's a tough challenge. But by eliminating those maritime capabilities and providing, you know, the incredible capability of our Marines and our Navy, certainly we could for a period of time provide some additional safety and escort some tankers through that area as we continue this campaign.

WHITFIELD: And then what is your understanding of the goal here in this continued conflict? And how do you see the U.S. Military as being instrumental in reaching that goal?

WEATHERINGTON: Well, I think my interpretation of what the U.S. has tried to do with Israel and with our other partners is to reduce the Iranian regime's capability to cause havoc in the Persian Gulf region, to reach out and strike its neighbors. And they continue to go after those ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drone capabilities, and the production of them, and reduce that significantly.

Will it go to zero? I don't think so. But it's causing significant damage to the regime and their capabilities and their ability to influence the region. And I think that's our primary goal.

WHITFIELD: All right. Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Mark Weatherington, thank you so much for being with us.

WEATHERINGTON: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, President Trump now offering a new but controversial way to clear up airline wait times at the airports. Use ICE agents in airports if a funding bill is not passed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:41]

WHITFIELD: Another weekend of airport chaos has President Trump saying he would deploy ICE agents on Monday if Congress doesn't end the partial U.S. government shutdown. His post on social media reads in part, quote, "If the radical left Democrats don't immediately sign an agreement to let our country, in particular our airports, be free and safe again, I will move our brilliant and patriotic ICE agents to the airports where they will do security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all illegal immigrants who have come into our country," end quote.

Lawmakers are eager to reach a deal after Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned their upcoming spring recess could be on the line. Unpaid TSA workers, meantime, are struggling to stay afloat during the partial U.S. government shutdown with spring break travel underway. This prompted an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to pay the salaries of agency personnel as this funding impasse plays out.

I want to note that it's unclear if there is a legal pathway for the Tesla CEO to pay government salaries.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Gloria, what are you hearing from travelers today?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Fred, you know, we're in terminal A at Newark Airport, which is the largest terminal at this airport. And for the past few hours, things have been moving somewhat smoothly. There's a real ebb and flow to the lines. And I want to show you behind me the regular check in is hovering around less than 20 minutes, but you can see that there is a significant line building behind the checkpoint.

There are also several spots that are not currently staffed by TSA. And so you can see why the line builds as time goes on and more people arrive here at the airport. Now 20 minutes is not so bad compared to what we are seeing at many of the other nations' airports. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, is seeing wait times of over an hour. J.F. Kennedy Airport in New York City also seeing significant delays. And as I said, there's a real ebb and flow to this depending on the time that you're coming in.

[15:40:05]

And we've been speaking to passengers, many who came prepared to wait, others who kind of, you know, arrived at their regular time and they had TSA precheck or were able to get into the line a lot quicker. And so they did not experience as many delays. But there were also several passengers we spoke with who told us they were very frustrated with the way Congress and the White House has so far handled this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE FLETCHER, TRAVELING TO WYOMING: We have to help the people who live paycheck to paycheck. A lot of people are hurting and the government is not being responsible. I'm very angry with the situation.

EYAD YEHYAWI, TRAVELING TO CHICAGO: I mean, I think anybody -- someone doesn't get paid for their time and services, it's frustrating and definitely want to get them, you know, paid. We appreciate all they're doing. They're working hard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, Fred, you know, it's not just passengers that are being affected, not just people who are traveling, but of course the thousands of TSA workers who are not being paid as a result of this government shutdown. This is the third funding lapse that we are seeing in the last six months. So this is a reality that's become very familiar to TSA workers, many of them who are calling in sick. That's part of what leading -- what is leading to these long lines because they don't have as much staff as usual manning these checkpoints.

And there are just tens of thousands of people who are having a hard time now making ends meet because they're not getting paid. At least 366 workers have quit the TSA. That's according to the Department of Homeland Security. And more than 60,000 employees are being affected by this shutdown. So, again, the wait times, they come and go, they go up and down. For now, things here at Newark Airport, mostly under control.

Passengers are very aware of the situation. So they've come in, they're patient. They're prepared to wait. But again, a lot of frustration about what's going on on Capitol Hill -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, lots of frustration and a pretty significant numbers there as well.

All right. Gloria Pazmino at Newark Liberty International, thanks so much.

So let's discuss further now with "New York Times" congressional correspondent Michael Gold.

Michael, great to see you. So, you know, as security wait times remain high across the country at so many airports, the president posted to social media today that he will send ICE agents to airports on Monday if a funding deal to reopen Homeland Security is not reached over the weekend. So how do you expect that might potentially influence these ongoing negotiations?

MICHAEL GOLD, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, that's a great question. We know that senators are expected to meet while they're here over the weekend to try to find a way out of the shutdown and see if there's a path forward. But we already saw Senator Patty Murray, who's the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, say that she opposes the president's plan and that she would be happy to find a way that would fund the TSA if the president would simply agree to reforms on ICE.

So right now, it doesn't seem like this comment from the president is shaking their faith in their negotiating position.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then, I mean, even though it may not happen since, you know, those you've spoken to said no to that, you know, if Trump were to get what he wants by having, you know, ICE agents at airports if a funding bill isn't passed, I mean, how would that potentially happen? I mean, don't they receive different kind of training than TSA agents, ICE agents versus TSA agents?

GOLD: Yes. And I think there's been a lot of objections by Democrats when you have these immigration agents or agents, any officers from other agencies being deployed to do immigration enforcement work, or even in D.C., having people from the DEA suddenly be responsible for operations here. I think Democrats feel that this might actually highlight the issue that they put at the center of the shutdown, which is the way that ICE is behaving and this idea that ICE is a bit out of control and that ICE needs to have the reins tightened a little bit. And I think Democrats feel that the president is essentially reminding

the American people what this shutdown is about.

WHITFIELD: OK. TSA agents just want, you know, they want their jobs, right? And they want to get paid. So I wonder, are there any options that lawmakers are even considering right now to figure out how do you pay the TSA workers? How do you get them back on the job? Even if there's a funding bill that, you know, can be agreed upon or one that won't ultimately completely end this U.S. partial shutdown, but at least get TSA workers going.

GOLD: Yes, this has been tricky. Democrats, including in the House, have been pushing legislation that would just fund the TSA as well as the Coast Guard and agencies that are not involved in immigration operations. But Republicans have argued that the way they want to see this done is to fund everything. They say we don't want to chip away all these parts of the department. We need one funding bill. And if you all are really serious about funding the TSA, the Republicans say to Democrats, then let's fund everything and figure out a way to make it happen.

WHITFIELD: And then what about bypassing the spring break for even members on the hill? Is that a serious consideration that they got to stay put until they can work something out?

[15:45:07]

GOLD: Yes. Reporters, including me, asked Senator John Thune about this today. He's the majority leader, and he said that he doesn't think it makes sense, essentially, to have the senators leave Washington until they have a deal, which might add some extra pressure. They are scheduled to go on a two-week recess at the end of next week. They have a lot they want to do in their districts, and I think that's why we're seeing meetings here.

I think that's why we've seen Tom Homan come to talk to them and figure out a way forward because now there's a deadline that would affect their ability to go back to their states and talk to their constituents.

WHITFIELD: Or maybe it's impactful, too, if members of Congress end up having to stand in some of those lines like regular travelers, to kind of feel that pain, so to speak, or maybe even some of those TSA workers who are on the job would want to have a word or two with some of these lawmakers traveling?

GOLD: I think that's right. I think that's right. I mean, I personally don't like waiting in a long TSA line. We saw Senator John Cornyn, he's a Texas Republican, try to pass a bill basically saying that senators, members of Congress shouldn't be exempt from having to wait in those lines while there's a shutdown. And every senator agreed that that seemed like a fair proposition. But they're here now. So I think faced with having to go to the airport, they might feel differently.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Michael Gold, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you. GOLD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, United Airlines is announcing plans to cut flights. CEO Scott Kirby said in a company memo on Friday the decision was a response to surging fuel prices triggered by the war with Iran. The company's fuel costs have more than doubled in the past three weeks, tacking on an extra $11 billion this year alone. Experts warned that companies will pass on increases in jet fuel prices on to customers in the coming weeks and months.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:29]

WHITFIELD: Former FBI director Robert Mueller, who passed away today at the age of 81, served across presidents of both political parties and avoided political influence. Well, a brand new CNN ORIGINAL SERIES explores the complex relationship between FBI directors and the presidents they serve.

Take a look at this preview of "STANDOFF: THE FBI, POWER AND PARANOIA."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DEAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Hoover was seen as an iron fist. He had infamous files that even most of the high-ranking officials in Washington feared.

BETTY MEDSGER, FORMER REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: The secrets were always powerful in that they could be given to somebody else to destroy someone.

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: That's why he's so feared. Richard Nixon, he says, you love this dirt on the people on my list. What kind of dirt do you have on me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining us right now to discuss is CNN political analyst and historian Leah Wright Rigueur.

We just saw you in that clip. So, J. Edgar Hoover, I mean, known for leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation with an iron fist, as we heard it described there, during his nearly five decades in position. So since Hoover, how has the balance of power or the relationships between the sitting president and their FBI director evolved over the years?

RIGUEUR: Well, I think one thing that Hoover does that really just comes to define the FBI is that he establishes that the FBI should be independent, that the FBI works for the American people, although sometimes, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, it's also working for itself. But above all, it's supposed to be independent. It's supposed to have agency. It's an agency that has agency that works oftentimes in sidestep with the president of the United States, but not for the president of the United States.

And that becomes very important because this is the government agency that has all the secrets, that has all the information. They have information on the president, on the president's Cabinet, and so on and so on. And that really, up until Kash Patel, has been a fixture of that position within the FBI.

WHITFIELD: So during major moments in, you know, this country's history, Civil Rights Movement, the Watergate scandal, or even, you know, post-9/11, do you believe that, you know, the FBI has been very independent from the White House in its actions?

RIGUEUR: Well, I think part of the reason, though, that the FBI has been so independent and directors have been really, you know, iron fisted about this is because of the kind of power that comes with that direction. And so we do see each -- with each subsequent director that comes in really this attempt to say, I'm going to wrest control of it from the prior director, but I'm also going to try and clean house.

We really see that with somebody like Robert Mueller when he comes in immediately before a week before 9/11, and he said, I am going to shut down any kind of corruption that's in this organization, and then bam, what happens? The Twin Towers. And so not only is he forced to deal with what's going on in the FBI and any lapses, perhaps, but now he has to deal with this global tragedy that has affected and devastated the United States.

We see this with James Comey, who said it's not just about the independence of the agency in terms of crime and corruption, but it's also about diversity and equity, and radically changes the organization during his tenure there.

WHITFIELD: And then we just happen to be showing the picture of, you know, Bob Mueller there because, you know, we know as a special, you know, 2016 presidential election, you know, allegations of Russian interference.

[15:55:09]

We're looking at him as people are also, you know, honoring his life and legacy today on the day of his death. We're also now taking another look by way of this special tonight of the FBI and -- and tomorrow night, the FBI and its relationship with this country and the White House.

Leah Wright Rigueur, thank you so much. Great to see you.

RIGUEUR: Always great to be here.

WHITFIELD: So tune in tomorrow night for back-to-back episodes of the new series "STANDOFF: THE FBI, POWER AND PARANOIA." That Sunday's night, 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN and the next day on the CNN app.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "THE ARENA SATURDAY" with Kasie Hunt is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)