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New Mueller Indictment Charges Manafort With Obstruction; President Trump Cast A Darker Cloud Over The G7 Summit; Trump on G7: "They Should Let Russia Come Back In"; CNN's Anthony Bourdain Dies by Suicide at 61. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 08, 2018 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Robert Mueller files stunningly charges against one time Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort as well as one his time business associate, the prosecutors say has ties to Russian intelligence. Tonight, what Mueller is alleging Manafort has been doing while under house arrest.
Pandering to Russia. President Trump bewilders and antagonizes his top allies at the G7 summit by saying the world's largest democracies should readmit Russia into their alliance four years after kicking Vladimir Putin out. Why is the President once again backing the controversial Russian leader?
Positive about pardons. Calling his power to grant clemency, a very positive thing for a president. Mr. Trump says he is ready to sign lots of new pardons. He is even asking NFL players to suggest people they know. And why is he offering to pardon the famous dead athlete who had his conviction overturned years ago.
And honoring an icon. Tonight we remember chef, author and adventure, Anthony Bourdain who took his own life today. We will also honor his memory by talking candidly about suicide. What are the warning signs and where can you turn for help?
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You are in the SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
We are following multiple breaking stories. President Trump is meeting tonight with the allies he just antagonized by opposing new tariffs and saying that Russia should be readmitted to the group of economic followers.
At the same time, special counsel Robert Mueller had filed a new indictment containing extra charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and one of his close colleagues, a man with ties allegedly to Russian intelligence. We will discuss all of this. And much more with Democratic congressman David Cicilline of the House foreign affairs and Judiciary Committees.
And our correspondents, experts and analysts are all standing by.
Let's begin with CNN's Sara Murray in the new indictment from Mueller. Sara, these are very serious new charges.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: That's right, Wolf. And we got an inkling that something like this might be coming earlier this week. But tonight special counsel Robert Mueller's team is making it official bringing two new charges against Paul Manafort and alleging that he tried to convinced witnesses to lie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY (voice-over): Tonight, Paul Manafort and his business associate, a man with alleged ties to Russian intelligence are facing new criminal charges after allegedly tampering with witnesses.
According to court filings the special counsel team is charging Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Meaning, they allegedly worked together to try to convince witnesses to commit perjury. It's first time Mueller is naming and bringing charges against Kilimnik.
Kilimnik lives in Moscow and assisted Manafort in his lobbying work for Ukrainian politician. He is the 20th person to face charges in the Mueller investigation. Special counsel Robert Mueller's team firs raid the allegation of witness tampering in a court filing earlier this week. But Friday's move to bring charges ramps up the pressure on President Trump's former campaign chairman to cooperate in Mueller's probe.
Under House arrest for more than seven months, Manafort recently got a glimmer of hope that Mueller's team might be amenable to allowing him to be released on bail. But in a sudden shift, prosecutors unveiled the alleged witness tampering and requested he be sent back to jail to wait trial.
SHAN WU, RICK GATES' FORMER ATTORNEY: There's a bit of dangling the carrot saying, OK, we are finally in agreement on bail and now they may yank it back from me. So that adds to the pressure.
MURRAY: Earlier this year, Manafort was slapped with additional charges by Mueller's team in February. And his longtime business partner Rick Gates struck a plea deal and agreed to cooperate with Mueller's team. After that prosecutors say Manafort and Kilimnik began reaching out to witness to try to influence their testimony. The obstruction of justice charges come on top of charges Manafort faces for failing to disclose his lobbying work for a foreign government and other financial crime. He is currently awaiting two trials and has maintained his innocence. But if he is found guilty, the 69-year-old could be sent to prison for the rest of his life.
Today, President Trump (INAUDIBLE) about whether he would be willing to issue a presidential pardon if a former associate like Manafort is convicted.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I haven't thought about any of it. It's far too early to be thinking about that. They haven't been convicted of anything. There's nothing to pardon. It's far too early to be thinking about it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MURRAY: Now, we are still awaiting more news tonight. Today, with the deadline for Paul Manafort's legal team to respond to the allegations initially from earlier this week that Manafort tried to witness tamper and to respond to the Mueller's team request that Manafort return the jail awaiting trial -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Sara, thank you. Sara Murray reporting for us.
Also, breaking, world leaders are reacting with astonishment and anger both over President Trump's newly opposed tariffs on top U.S. allies as well as his suggestion that they once again give Russia a seat at the table with the world's top economic powers.
Our chief White House correspondent is following these developments. He is in Canada at the summit for us right now.
Jim, the President touched off multiple controversies even before he flew to Canada.
[18:05:18] JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As he usually does Wolf. President Trump met with two U.S. allies turned adversaries today, French president Emanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau. He met with both of those leaders this afternoon.
And even before he arrived at the summit, as you said, the President made jaws drop here in Canada when he declared that Russia should be welcomed back in the G7. But that was hardly the only alarming comment of the day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Rocking critical relationships with major U.S. allies, President Trump has turned this summit into the OMG-7. The world's top economic powers gathered in Canada already rattled by the President's trade threats cringed again when Mr. Trump suggested welcoming Russia back into what was once known as the G8.
TRUMP: I have been Russia's worst nightmare. If Hillary got in, I think Putin is probably going, man, I wish Hillary won because you see what I do. But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?
ACOSTA: That left other foreign leaders and members of Congress to remind the President that Russia was kicked out of the G8 for its invasion of Ukraine, not to mention his meddling in the 2016 election and the recent poison attack in the U.K., all blamed on the Kremlin.
DONALD TUSK, EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Naturally, we cannot fault (ph) the U.S. if change their mind. At the same time we will not stop trying to convince our American friends and President Trump that undermining this order makes no sense at all. ACOSTA: Senator John McCain said in a statement, the President has
inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies. Leaving the White House, the President also tried to clean up this comment when he down played the idea preparing for his upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un.
TRUMP: I don't think I have to prepare very much. It is about attitude. It is about what it is to get things done.
ACOSTA: The President attempted to make the case that his career in real estate are now prepared him for next week's nuclear talks.
TRUMP: No, I didn't say that. I said I have been preparing all of my life. I always believe in preparation. But I have been preparing all of my life. You know, these one week preparations, they don't work. Just ask Hillary what happened to her in the debates.
ACOSTA: The President is still defending his plan to slap tariffs on key U.S. trading partners.
TRUMP: We have massive trade deficit with almost every country.
ACOSTA: But that has other leaders at the summit referring to this as the G-6 plus one with Mr. Trump being the odd man out.
TRUMP: The relationship is probably better as good or better than it has ever been.
ACOSTA: French president Emanuel Macron tweeted, the American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a six-county agreement if need be.
Back in the U.S., the President is also talking about granting more pardons with other celebrities on his mind like the late boxing icon Muhammad Ali who once convicted for evading the U.S. draft.
TRUMP: You have to get it right. You have to get the right people. I am looking at Muhammad Ali.
ACOSTA: The problem is the pardon isn't necessary as Ali's attorney said in a statement, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Muhammad Ali in a unanimous decision in 1971. There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed. Still the President has another pardon he can't stop talking about or himself.
TRUMP: No, I'm not above the law. I never want anybody to be above the law. And yes, I do have an absolute right to pardon myself but I will never to do it because I didn't do anything wrong. And everybody knows it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, the President plans to leave the summit earlier than expected. He will miss out on meetings here on climate change and state of the world oceans. But Mr. Trump has some oceans of his own across over the next couple of days to sit down for what maybe the most important negotiations of his life of the nuclear talks with Kim Jong-un that are set to begin next week in Singapore.
Wolf, as you notice, there was a big contrast between some of the bluster we hear from the President earlier this week and all the smiles and waiving and so on with the world leaders gathered here at the G7 summit. He may not be able to try that. Smiles won't work when it comes to negotiating a nuclear deal with Kim Jong-un -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jim Acosta in Quebec City for us. Jim, thank you.
Joining us now Democratic congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island. He is the member of the foreign affairs and judiciary committees.
Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. And I want to get to the discussion on the two big summits, the G7 summit Canada, the summit in Singapore with the North Korean leader coming up on Tuesday. But first, how significant do you believe this new indictment against Paul Manafort and his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik are?
[18:10:01] REP. DAVID CICILLINE (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Well, I think it's very significant. When these allegations first surfaced and the filings were made that these presented the threat to Paul Manafort that he would lose his liberty, that's obviously very significant.
But now, they are -- indictments have been returned by a grand jury which they found probable cause to believe Mr. Manafort and his associate attempted or obstructed justice interfering with witnesses which the court will take very seriously. It's obviously an important business partner of Mr. Manafort. I think now the court is going to be faced with a very clear question about whether or not he can safely or she can safely keep Mr. Manafort at liberty and not compromise the integrity of this investigation and this case. I think the expectation is he will lose his freedom pending trial because of these new charges.
BLITZER: And he could wind up in jail in the coming days. Let's see. Kilimnik appears to be the person the Mueller team had previously described as having ties to a Russian intelligence service. How concerning would that be?
CICILLINE: Well, I think that's very concerning. We should remember this is the 20th person, the third entity now and five guilty pleas. This is an ongoing and very serious investigation. But now, this is a Russian national that's been indicted with Mr. Manafort who was part of his lobbying practice apparently. I think it should be very concerning to Mr. Manafort.
I think, of course, the expectation is at some point he is going to feel compelled to come forward and tell everything that he knows that plays the special counsel is interested in learning. And this is just going to be additional pressure on him to do that.
BLITZER: President Trump today didn't rule out an eventual pardon on Paul Manafort or Michael, his long-time layer in New York either. Does that influence the level of cooperation Mueller is getting in his investigation? CICILLINE: Well, I don't think there is any question that President
has been engaged in the sort of pardon carnival where he is just kind of throwing them out and asking people to send names to him. And as you know, there's a process that usually followed and a vetting process that is undertaken by the department.
I think the President is clearly trying to make it clear to all of the people who are being investigated, look what I'm capable of doing. In fact, he said again today I had the absolute power to pardon myself which, of course, is not true. There's a very real question of whether or not he has that ability.
But I think he is trying to remind everyone, you know, I can do this. There is a lot of ways that I can protect you. And I think he is trying to send the message to people who are part of this investigation that they shouldn't forget that ultimately he holds the key to their liberty.
BLITZER: As you know, congressman, the President right now is at the G7 summit in Canada chastising American allies, the closest allies. He is actually standing up for Russia at the same time. What's your reaction to that? And what do you think the long term impact could be?
CICILLINE: I think the long term impact of this action is very, very damaging to our country. I think senator McCain said it very eloquently. We are treating our longest standing and most important allies very badly and we are treating some of our worst adversaries like the longtime friends.
Part of our ability to have national security for our country and promote good policies that protect the United States goes in terms of terrorism and national defense and economic activity is because of our strong alliances and our partnership. People need to be able to rely on the United States and our leadership in the world and to have the seven most advanced economists meet and to be starting fights with so many of our key allies and at the same they -- by the way, I don't understand why Russia is not at this meeting as if he is completely forgotten that they invaded another country that they interfered with our elections and are inferring with democratic elections all around the world. And they have engage in really nefarious behavior, very aggressive behavior in Syria and the list goes on and on. And to suggest they should be invited in like the UK and France.
Evidence is a fundamental misunderstanding or just ignorance of how dangerous Russia is and what a threat they pose in United States. And it is very confusing to our allies and friends around the world who are watching this and saying what is going on with the American President and his constant willingness to fight with important allies and proper up and be endearing to some of our worst adversaries.
BLITZER: What are your expectations for the President's upcoming summit? Actually, I want to just hold off on that. The President of the United States now meeting with Emanuel Macron. I want to listen in. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States has
had a very big trade deficit for many years with the European Union and we are working out. And Emanuel has been very helpful in that regard. And something is going to happen. I think it will be going to be very positive. We also have a very positive meeting a while ago on NAFTA. So this is turning out be an interesting day. But we had a very, very good meeting on NAFTA with Justin and his representatives.
But I want to thank you. You are really helpful today. I also want to congratulate you because I'm reading what's going on in France. You have great courage. You are doing the right thing. Nothing is easy but what you are doing is the right thing. And it's a wonderful country. It's a special country. And you have a special President that I can tell you. Thank you very much.
[18:15:16] EMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Thank you.
BLITZER: All right. So there you saw a nice handshake between the President of France and the President of the United States.
Jim Acosta has been watching all of this unfold.
So Jim, what are you hearing from behind the scenes?
ACOSTA: Well, one thing that we heard behind the scenes earlier this afternoon was a senior administration official told us that it wasn't really anything that they planned inside the White House for the President really roll out this idea earlier today that perhaps Russia should be welcomed back in the G7, make it the G8 again. That is obviously something that is quite surprising because you would think when the President of the United States goes out in front of cameras and proposes something like that, like bringing Russia back into the G7 after everything that's happened with Russian meddling in 2016 and Ukraine and so on, that that would be something that they would talk about in a normal White House.
You would have that kind of discussion behind the scenes. But according to the senior administration official it did not happen. Also, we want to point, Wolf, as that spray was just ending, that meeting was just ending in front of the cameras with Emanuel Macron, the French president. The President acknowledged to reporters that he did not discuss bringing Russia back into the G7 with Emanuel Macron. So it just raises this question why on earth did the President, you know, create this fire storm earlier today, upset the allies.
That UK Prime Minister Theresa May was wondering what was going on as she was over here at the summit because the President raised this idea of bringing Russia back when it seems all of his allies in this gathering of world powers just has no appetite for bringing Russia back into the fold. So it's odd that the President would raise that with reporters as he is leaving the White House but not raise it behind the scenes with these other world leaders, Wolf.
BLITZER: Interesting point. Stand by.
Congressman Cicilline is still with us. What does it make to you? When he leaves the White House, he say, you know, what, I would like to see Russia brought into the G7 make it the G8 once again. Now, he is meeting with these European leaders allies. He is not even raising the proposal.
CICILLINE: Well, it shows how dangerous this practice is of just sort of shooting from the hip and saying things that you might not mean or maybe he is trying to communicate something to the Russians. I mean, who knows? He may constantly trying the flatter Vladimir Putin. It is very curious, he is always praising him. Always seems to be advocating for him when he makes those public statements. You have to wonder why. Why is it that he so interested in flattering one of the most brutal dictators in the world, Vladimir Putin? Why is he so interesting in pleasing him? And yet when he meets with our allies who would understand how unacceptable in bringing Russia back into the G7 would be. They never bother to raise it.
And it makes people wonder how reliable and how serious the United States is in terms of his leadership on the world stage. So it is very damaging. I think it is causing a lot of chaos. That is very important to people to understand what our objectives are. That we mean what we say. That there be clarity and that they can rely on.
The Germans, it has been revealed this today, are beginning to develop an American plan to actually anticipate that they may not be allies of the United States one day and starting to prepare for that. This is very, very alarming and very damage to the long term interests of our country.
BLITZER: Congressman Cicilline, thanks so much for joining us.
CICILLINE: Thanks for having me.
BLITZER: Just ahead, the fallout from today's new indictment of Paul Manafort. Will a judge send him to jail in the coming days even before his trial?
Plus, world leaders pushing back against President Trump's new tariffs and suggestion that Russia should get a seat at the table with them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:23:18] BLITZER: We are following multiple breaking stories including the special counsel Robert Mueller is filing new charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort as well as Manafort business associate who prosecutors say has ties to Russian intelligence.
Let's bring in our political and legal experts.
And Susan Hennessey, what does this new indictment tell you as someone who used to work in the national security agency?
SUSAN HENNESSEY, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY ATTORNEY: All right. This is a superseding indictment and included -- includes charges related to that witness tampering that we first heard about earlier this week. This is now an in a bail hearing. This is now Mueller following up with actual criminal charges. Not huge of surprising but it does show, you know, the sort of playing hard ball.
You know, I think demonstrates the degree of trouble that Paul Manafort is in. Notably, under the federal sentencing guidelines, witness tampering is a sentence that run concurrently or sorry consecutively, not concurrently. Meaning that this adds to the total amount of time that Paul Manafort might be in jail. He already faces really astonishing charges or astonishing a potential liability on that.
The other thing that's interesting is these charges against his co- conspirator, Konstantin Kilimnik. You know, this is an individual who reportedly has tied to Russian intelligence. Acts as a go between during the campaign when Paul Manafort offered to brief or allegedly offered to brief a Russian oligarch of what was happening during the campaign. So he is someone who might have a lot of potentially really interesting information to offer. You know, that really hinges on where he is. He is rumored to potentially be in Moscow. If U.S. authorities aren't actually able to have custody of him, then these charges at the end of the day are mostly symbolic.
BLITZER: Has indicted other Russians too, all in Russia right now. The pressure though on Manafort clearly intensifying to flip.
Phil Mudd, this guy Konstantin Kilimnik, he appears to be the person that the Mueller team has previously described as having ties to some Russian intelligence service. What stands out to you about this guy Kilimnik?
[18:25:11] PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Access. One word that is gold in the intelligence business. Go back to that famous meeting where you had lawyer nobody knew who try to gain access and did gain access to one meeting, one meeting with the President's son. And that was explosive.
Now you have someone who has years of access to a business associate, that is Paul Manafort and then Manafort become a campaign manager with tremendous influence over the campaign's policies on things like Russia and Ukraine.
What's the background of this intelligence individual identified today in this indictment? Russian and Ukrainian. You can't pay for this kind of access in the intelligence business. This is gold. I looked at this and my reaction wasn't the indictment. My reaction was Moscow and Ukraine had access to a senior campaign official who could change campaign policy. Unbelievable.
BLITZER: Yes. Kilimnik, I got to say, he denies any connection to Russian intelligence. But clearly, U.S. officials are very, very access on that.
Joey Jackson, earlier today, the President pointed was asked about whether he would pardon Paul Manafort or Michael Cohen who hasn't been charged with anything, his longtime lawyer in New York. Listen to how the President responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I haven't even thought about it. I haven't even thought about any of it. It's far too early to be thinking about that. They haven't been convicted of anything. There is nothing to pardon. It's far too early to be thinking about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right. So Joey, what's the impact of a comment like that?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, clearly, the impact would be that he hasn't ruled it out, right. And so, he didn't say no. But this is what confounds me about everything here, Wolf, just in total objectivity.
I believe that they have Manafort dead to right. If you look at the indictment, which is an allegation, I would the first to tell you as a defense attorney, an indictment means 23 members of a grand jury found reasonable cause to believe a crime was committed and that he committed it. I get it. Only a majority. Nothing about reasonable doubt.
Now stepping back, here is what confounds me. The indictments are very detailed. These are cases where they are largely documentary in nature. They are talking about financial transactions. The feds have them. They have Gates now cooperating. He is going to tell them all as to what they were doing. They have chapter and verse. Everything that he was doing. He did register.
So in that event, the charges are compelling and you know what he is facing. And let's be clear about this. The feds charge you with multiple counts. All you need is one. And we know he faces them in multiple jurisdictions, right, in terms of D.C. and Virginia.
So in my mind I'm saying the only reason he is not playing ball is because he is holding out for the President to pardon him clearly. That's his ace in the hole. But the, Wolf, is we often founded (ph). If you know the President is going to pardon you, why are you allegedly working with a co-conspirator to influence testimony to make it seem like you did nothing wrong.
And so, it makes me step back and say, wait a second. I originally thought the reason he is not playing ball with his liberty, go to jail forever, forfeit your provisions which can forfeit and bankrupt him. He is saying (INAUDIBLE), I'm thinking the reason the President is going to pardon him. But clearly, if you are trying to get people to say, hey, I wasn't really lobbying there, right. We were only lobbying here and not here. That means he is not so sure. So regardless of what the President says, it's clear to me that no commitments have been made because why would he be trying to influence testimony.
BLITZER: Interesting point.
Rebecca Berg, even admits all of this. The President once again saying he is not above the law but he does have the absolute right, he says, to pardon himself down the road. He doesn't think that will be necessary because he says he has done nothing wrong. But what's your reaction?
REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the President, Wolf, I think this tells us a lot. So we already know about Donald Trump. He likes to flex his muscles. He relishes the role of the executive. And the pardon power is a part of that.
If you look at the way he approached the travel ban, which the court ultimately said he overstep on that. When you look at the way he has approached tariffs which his critics will say only Congress should be able to impose tariffs, not the President. Although he has said it is for national security, then he look at pardon power as extension of that.
He loves the executive role. And so I think by talking about even pardoning himself he is flexing his executive muscles. But in way potentially from a messaging and political standpoint. It could really hurt him. It makes people think that he is contemplating his potential guilt in this case.
BLITZER: You know, and it is interesting, Phil Mudd, even before the President left the White House to head over to Canada for the G7 summit, he had some rather provocative words to say about Russia and Russia's coming back to the G7. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Russia should be in this meeting. Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting? I would recommend and it's up to them but Russia should be in the meeting. It should be part of it. You know, whether you like it or not and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run.
And in the G7 which used to be the G8, they throw Russia out, they should let Russia come back in, because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:30:00] BLITZER: I don't think that's going to play among the ally as well.
MUDD: Well, let's try a few facts here. In mid-March of this year, the British authorities, our closest ally on the planet along with people like the Canadians had to convene an emergency meeting because Russian backed individuals attempted a murder to people on Russian soil.
BLITZER: On British soil.
MUDD: And that's politically correct? Pardon me, on British soil. So I mean, the President can't even meet one-on-one with Teresa May evidently in Canada, but he call for the inclusion, the reinclusion of Russia, it's not just about economic cooperation with the other countries, it's about shared values. I would say one other thing about American leadership and the President's inability to lead. You would think going into a midterm election the President would propose to the people in this room that is people like the French, the Germans, and the Canadians, the British, et cetera, many of whom have been subject to Russian participation, illegal participation in their elections, stealing data, for example about how America will provide leadership going into future elections.
How could we have a conversation like that with Vladimir Putin in the room? You tell me that. Well, I don't think so. I think he have some good answers though.
BLITZER: You know, Senator John McCain, Rebecca, he got a very strong statement reacting to President's proposal to bring Russia back in. This was Senator McCain, the President has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies. Those nations that share our values and have sacrificed alongside us for decades are being treated with contempt. This is antithesis of so-called principled realism and a sure path to diminishing America's leadership in the world.
And there are other Republicans who are expressing the same point of view Ben Sasse for example.
BERG: That's right. Rob Portman as well, pushed back against the President today. But many Republicans, Wolf, also staying silent, even though privately, I think if you were to survey Republican lawyer makers in Congress, you would find most of them probably agree with John McCain on this, but you're not seeing them push back against the President on mass.
And I think there are couple of reasons for that. First of all, they might doubt that the President is actually serious about this. Maybe this was an off the cuff remark and he doesn't actually plan to follow through on this or push hard on this issue.
But the other part of it is that Republican voters still support the President. And so, for as long as that is the case, you're not going to see Republicans going after him on every single issue. They're still picking and choosing their battle.
BLITZER: When you see this level of tension, Susan, that the United States now has with France, with the U.K., with Canada, arguably our closest ally, certainly the number one trading partner that the United States has with other European allies, certainly with Mexico, whole bunch of other countries, you wonder what is going on. So, from your perspective, what do you see?
HENNESSEY: Well, I think it's important to know that these aren't just trade relationships. These are security relationships. These are close allies with whom we have really critical intelligence cooperation and partnership. And so as we see the erosion of this relationship and the erosion of this relationship over time, we are paying costs in terms of American security. And we're paying costs in ways that aren't necessarily visible to the public. What's unclear is whether or not President Trump doesn't appreciate that himself or if he just doesn't care.
BLITZER: Well, let me ask Phil, because he used to work at the CIA and the FBI, you have these kind tensions let's say over trade and other issue, Russia coming back to the G7 or G8, does that affect the day-to-day cooperation that the U.S. has with foreign intelligence services of friendly allies?
MUDD: It will not. When you see joint threat between countries like the United States, Canada and U.K. joint trade including things like terrorism, including things like the threat from North Korea, if your citizens are threatened, you are push to provide information at the intelligence level regardless of diplomatic differences.
There was one additional piece though and that is going into conversations about things like the Iran nuclear deal when there are tremendous diplomatic differences, you've got to wonder where it will be a trickle down effect on that when the alliance gets together.
BLITZER: Joey, how do you see all this unfolding?
JACKSON: You know, look, here is the reality. We have to understand then I'm sure the President has the right, that we're part of an interconnected world. And I think that an interconnected world, you need to, of course, build allies and foster those relationships as supposed to antagonizing them particularly now, right?
What's going to follow this? There's something and there's another country called North Korea, you know, as it relates to world peace. And so -- and we're talking about issues of tariffs and, you know, imposing perhaps protectionism and perhaps having people retaliate back. And we've seen retaliation back.
[18:35:05] And so at the end of the day, yes, America is powerful, America is beautiful, America has a lot of might, but we need get our allies and keep our allies as supposed to thumbing our noses at them and giving them reason to disdain us.
BLITZER: There is more news we're following guys. I just want to note that the President is preparing to wrap up his time at the G7 summit and fly off to Singapore for the first ever meeting between leaders of the United States and North Korea. Can Kim Jong-un be trusted? We'll have a special report on that.
Also, the extraordinary life and legacy of our CNN colleague and friend Anthony Bourdain. We're going to talk frankly about suicide and where to turn if you or someone you know needs help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:30] BLITZER: Today we received truly shocking and heartbreaking news that our friend and colleague Anthony Bourdain is dead. He was 61 years old, the renowned chef as well ash host of CNN's award winning program, "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown." His death is a suicide.
We're joined by our CNN Senior Media Correspondent, Bryan Stelter and Forensic Psychiatrist, Lise Van Susteren.
Bryan, first of all, what do we know about the circumstances of his death?
BRYAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: We do know very little, Wolf. But we know that he was found in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France early this morning. He was found unresponsive and the cause of death was suicide.
We also know he was found by one of his best friends, Eric Ripert, the famed French chef and I can show you what part of what Eric shared on Twitter later in the day. He spoke about his friend say call him with an exceptional human being, so inspiring and generous, one of the great story tellers who connected with so many. I pray he is at peace from the bottom of my heart.
Many messages like that have been coming in all day today. You know, Wolf, I think in death as in life, Bourdain has brought the world closer together. He tried through his television shows and books, to show us we all we all have in common. He used the simple act of sharing a meal to bring people together and make us all think about our common humanity. And tragically today he has done that as well.
We see such an out pouring here at CNN, all across the United States and all around the world from viewers who essentially feel they have lost a friend. You didn't have to ever meet Bourdain in person, although he was incredible and charming in person. Just watching him on television and reading his work, you could feel his presence. You can learn from him. You could be inspired by him. And that's why it's such a heartbreaking loss today.
BLITZER: Certainly is. He was so, so very special to all of us. He made the world a little bit smaller and certainly we missed him.
Lise, how do you explain the suicide or any suicide for that matter? You spent some time studying this?
SUSTEREN: Any suicide, Wolf, is a result of complex forces. And what we see often is that person will have dark thoughts that may or may not be apparent to other people. And sometimes they are even suppressed by the individual. And what happens is it's like an ember that's just glowing there hot.
And some triggering event it could be some traumatic loss or some traumatic change in a person's life can cause that ember to burst into flame. And what happens is at that moment, the stress of the combination of having those dark thoughts and that triggering event keeps them or prevents them from using the good judgment that would otherwise allow them to see that they can get through this. They can make changes in their life. They are resilient people, certainly in this case and that they can then retrieve the kind of help that we know we can assure them of having if they work for it.
BLITZER: What are the conditions, Lise, that may lead to this?
SUSTEREN: Well, it's always important to look below the surface, because what you see is someone who has seems successful. He has prestige and he's been spoken out and superlatives, everyone is raving about him. But underneath, it might be that this was somewhat depleting for him.
And I'm saying -- I'm speculating. I don't know him. I didn't examine him. But many times, when you find people that are larger than life, there's sort of an outer self that people are impressed with and then there's this inner self that might be full of self- doubts or might have ambivalent feelings about what's happening.
And when you look at the gap between what the world expects and wants and what you're actually feeling, that is where the trouble starts. And that stress, here's what happens when you get stressed and anxious and depressed. Your prefrontal cortex, that's the part of your brain that's rational, is taken offline. It's essentially left out of picture.
So you're no longer really reasoning and you're telling yourself all the world might be better off without me. Sometimes it's just grievous pain that causes so much stress.
[18:45:01] But you can tell yourself that if I'm around, I'm only going to make people unhappy or disappoint them in the end.
[18:45:05] The reasonableness, the rational aspect of a person's mental capacity can be lost, and then they do something stupid that is obviously will cause the people around them, some of them to suffer for the rest of their lives.
BLITZER: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, we've got the number up on the screen. Lisa, if anyone has any questions at all, 24 hours a day, 1-800-273-8255. There you see the number.
Brian, Anthony Bourdain, he overcame plenty of challenges in his life, didn't he?
STELTER: He did. And that's important to recognize, I think. He's talked openly about his heroin addiction back in the 1980s. He was able to break away from that. He was able to gain work in various kitchens, you know, first scrubbing the dishes and working his way up.
He tried for several years to write fiction. Then he broke through with an article in "The New Yorker" in 1999 about his experiences behind the scenes in a restaurant. That's what led to his book "Kitchen Confidential" and that's what led to all the television shows.
So, he was working his way up, up, up. You know, he has said, he was quoted in the past saying he didn't think he'd make it this far. He didn't think he would make it to be alive this long. He alluded to those challenges in his 20s, in his earlier years and described the later years as a gift.
He's such a gift to all of us, someone who was so generous and was teaching so much through his program. We may never know exactly why he decided to end his life and that the partly what's so heartbreaking here. But we do have so much we can look back on and learn from thanks to him.
You know, think about his program. He was fearless. He was endlessly curious and that's what he was working on this week. He was in France working on an upcoming episode of "PARTS UNKNOWN". So, he died this week while on a shoot, while working on a future episode.
BLITZER: Lisa, what trends are we seeing in suicides nationally right now? What can be done about it?
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, we know the CDC recently produced a report and the American Psychiatric Association has issued a report. We know that suicide rates are up.
In the last two decades, they've gone up between 25 and 30 percent, depending upon who's counting. And since 2006, they've gone up more doubled each year compared to the first decade.
So, this is what's happening, and this is obviously something of great concern. And I often -- it's very important to prevent obviously a suicide and the suicide prevention hot lines are very important. But we have to also look, Wolf, at the conditions that contribute to these suicides. So, why do we have an opioid epidemic? Why do we have people committing suicide?
And there are people who are talking about the impact of technology and how we're alienated even though we're linked more. Are we more connected? Well, people will say no. There's a sense of alienation.
And one of the other things I'd like to stress is we can't say it enough, and psychiatrist and other mental health professionals are increasingly noting the importance of our restoring our relationship to the natural world. We live in an artificial world. We weren't evolved to live in an artificial world.
We know all of the impacts of living in a green environment have on reducing stress even and this is an astounding one, when we have certain visuals, for example in nature, when we see the ratio and a mountain ratio of, for example, waves coming in or leaves in front of the wind blowing along with tall grasses and things like that. When we see that, there are nerves that go directly, incredibly not only to dopamine centers which are reward centers, but opioid centers.
So, we have that feeling of being almost mesmerized. And this is where we find a de-stressing experience that takes us out of ourselves. And this is really critical thing and colleagues are increasingly and others in the medical profession are looking at this.
BLITZER: And I want to read the number one more time, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. There you see it right now. If you have any issue at call or a loved one or yourself, call this number, 1-800- 273-8255.
And this evening, CNN will have a special report looking back on the life of our friend and colleague. Remember, tune in tonight, 10:00 p.m., Anthony Bourdain, remembering Anthony. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:54:35] BLITZER: This weekend, CNN's Fareed Zakaria, the host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS", presents a special report on North Korea's ruthless and unpredictable leader. We'll speak with Fareed in just a minute, but first, here's a quick preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" (voice-over): There is just one reason North Korea now stands at the center of the world's stage -- this penniless, isolated totalitarian state could start a nuclear war.
[18:55:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would explode quickly.
ZAKARIA: A deadly scenario haunts the greatest military minds. Two unpredictable nuclear armed leaders, just one terrible mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's just crazy enough for my perspective and unpredictable enough, that he might use those weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The scenarios I worry about are not where the leaders deliberately choose to start a nuclear war, but it's where they stumble into one through incompetence or through sheer miscalculation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And Fareed is joining us now.
Fareed, the alternative to this summit is the prospect of war. Tell us about the two faces of Kim Jong-un and the North Korean leader's mindset as he prepares to meet the president of the United States.
ZAKARIA: You know, presidents have often asked for psychological profiles of the leaders they are going to meet. It's not clear that Donald Trump has done this, but it would be well worth doing because this is a very interesting, shrewd man.
He comes to power and people doubt that he even has the talent and ability to do it. He's a kid. Pudgy face, doesn't seem to have background then ruthlessly consolidates power, eliminates all threats to himself, murders his uncle, I mean, assassinates him, assassin -- seems to have arranged the murder of his half brother. Really takes out anyone who has close ties to China because he's worried that the Chinese might try to do some kind of soft coup.
So, this is the guy who by some accounts has ordered the disappearance or assassination of 140 of his top officials. On the other hand, you have the guy who with his wife, have become quite a glam couple in North Korea. They've been opening up the economy. They have invited K pop, the South Korean pop music, and, of course, he's now reaching out to talk to Donald Trump, to talk to Xi Jinping of China, who he had never met with.
So you see these two sides. Ruthless repressive, determined to consolidate power and, of course, determined to build a nuclear arsenal, and yet somebody who's opening up, trying to create a more -- you know, greater degree of openness than North Korea's ever had and reaching out to meet with Donald Trump.
Will the real Kim stand up? That's what we're trying to figure out.
BLITZER: I'm sure we're going to learn a lot from this special. Fareed, thanks so much for doing this.
ZAKARIA: Pleasure, Wolf.
BLITZER: And please be sure to tune in Sunday evening, 8:00 p.m. Eastern for Fareed's "CNN SPECIAL REPORT: THE TWO FACES OF NORTH KOREA'S LEADER KIM JONG UN".
Also be sure to watch tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern for the newest edition of CNN's prime time lineup, "CUOMO PRIME TIME".
Chris is joining us right now.
Chris, Robert Mueller returned new indictment tonight against Paul Manafort for obstruction of justice. What does that signal to you about where this Russia investigation is going?
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "CUOMO PRIME TIME": Well, it tells us two things and raises a third question. What it tells us first is the gambit of letting Manafort know and his counsel that the investigators knew that they had been tampering with witnesses and using it as leverage didn't work, right, but this was an unusual scenario. They knew things. They went to Manafort and let him know that they knew and nothing happened.
Then, they put in that memo saying we're going to mess with your release terms because of what we know. And nothing happened, then they charged. And that seems to suggest that whatever leverage they wanted didn't come through.
The second thing it tells us is, Mueller is making connections between Russian actors and American actors. And that's what you see with Manafort and the Russian who was picked up as part of this Ukrainian witness tampering theory that the government has. Then, a question that it raises is, well, what does this mean about the utility of Manafort and giving information to any threads of more damming connections, between Trump's team and the Russia interference activities.
BLITZER: One of your guests tonight on "CUOMO PRIME TIME" is Michael Caputo. He's a former Trump campaign aide. He knows a lot about what it's like to talk to Robert Mueller.
CUOMO: You know, we have gotten lucky on the news this week, Wolf. You know, you can't always depend on it, but you have to embrace it when it happens.
Michael Caputo not only knows a lot about Russia, and worked there on the political side, but he knows Manafort well and has spoken to him recently and he can also give us insight into this beguiling question of why the president of the United States is once again trying to go soft on Russia, saying they need a seat at the table at a G-7, making it G-8 again. It just doesn't make sense. Hopefully he can help us understand.
BLITZER: Chris Cuomo, thanks very much.
And join Chris later tonight, "CUOMO PRIME TIME", 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
And that's it for me. Thanks for watching.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFROTN" starts right now.
