robert mueller was taking over the investigation. since then special counsel mueller has been methodically going about business, hiring a team of experienced lawyers, 16 and counting, with extensive knowledge of corruption and money laundering, and criminal fraud cases. occasionally details have spilled out into the open. in june we learned that the special counsel had essentially swallowed up ongoing federal investigations into the activities of trump campaign chair paul manafort and of michael flynn. nbc news and other outlets reported that subpoenas were issued to business associates of both manafort and flynn by a federal grand jury in the eastern district of virginia. which made sense. the eastern district of virginia sits right outside washington, d.c. it handles lots of national security cases and prosecutions with an intelligence component to them. indeed, for months while grand jury details have been scarce, it seems that the the federal investigation was being run out of the eastern district of virginia that is until today,

it was a major advance in the special counsel robert mueller's investigation of russian meddling in the 2016 election. a source familiar with the matter telling cnn a grand jury has issued subpoenas relating to donald trump jr.'s meeting with the russian lawyer at trump tower. cnn has learned the subpoenas seek both documents and testimony from people involved in that meeting. mueller's team continuing to probe whether the president or any of his campaign associates colluded with russia during the presidential campaign. a probe that the president has repeatedly slammed as a witch-hunt. >> a spokesman for mueller's office declined to comment on the reports which were first reported by the "wall street journal" and reuters. the white house response coming from the special counsel to the president, ty cobb, noting in a statement that "grand jury matters are typically secret," but adding "the white house favors anything that accelerates conclusion of mueller's work fairly." and the president's outside lawyer, jay sekulow, is downplaying the importance of the subpoenas. >> this is not a surp

now, it's robert mueller who is doing this. so the "they" is robert mueller. it's not the democratic party. there's no democrats involved. that's not what this is. it's a special prosecutor. he is saying that robert mueller is trying to cheat you out of the leadership that you want. >> absolutely. he's painting this as an affront to their will, to the democratic constitutional will of the american people, which it very much isn't. this is the u.s. government, its powers divided, executing a check on the president, who may be guilty of some very serious crimes or those close to him. that's what's happening. but he is doing something that is, again, potentially very dangerous in which he's inspiring and motivating his base to think of this investigation as an affront to them rather than a protection of their most basic rights. >> i think there might have been one hint in the speech tonight about him reaching for his power to pardon when the time comes in this matter. let's listen to what he said about the final determination. >> i just hope the final determinati

robert mueller was taking over the investigation. since then special counsel mueller has been methodically going about business, hiring a team of experienced lawyers, 16 and counting with extensive knowledge of corruption and criminal fraud cases. occasionally details have spilled out into the open. in june we learned that the special counsel has essentially swallowed up ongoing federal investigations into the activities of trump campaign chair paul manafort and of michael flynn. nbc news and other outlets reported that subpoenas were issued to business associates of both manafort and flynn by a federal grand jury in the eastern district of virginia. which made sense. the eastern district of virginia sits right outside washington, d.c. it handles lots of national security cases and prosecutions with an intelligence component to them. bhiel the grand jury details have been scarce, it seems that the federal investigation was being run out of the eastern district of virginia that is until today, when it was reported that the special cou

passed along to robert mueller. seems the first thing he communicated to robert mueller is clearly a lie. as he attacked the investigation has a witch hunt. >> he attacked it as a witch hunt. and attorney, especially jay sec u la, who has the attorney and mueller and a lot of attorneys who mueller hire ford this investigation. so a different tone into those overtures that were reported about today. you can sort of view them -- i think is right they seem innocuous on the surface. you go back to what he was cultivating when comey was fbi director. he made a lot of overtures, overtures that even comey felt were appropriate and the went too far. inviting him to dinner. making phone calls to him. asking about the status of the investigation. i think most people who know robert mueller would be very surprised if mueller was sending any messages other than perhaps cursory very quick statements. yes, i got the message thanks. anything more than that i think would surprise folks if special counsel muler is in an actual con v

presumably it's closer to robert mueller's office, wherever that is. i'm not sure where that office is. everybody stand by, we have a lot more reaction to all of today's breaking news, and special counsel robert mueller's clearly expanding investigation of the trump team and russia. >>> plus, the former money man for kim jong-un takes us inside the spider web of smugging that provides the case to prop up the north korean regime. done.rs. super-cool notebooks. done. that's mom taking care of business. but who takes care of mom? office depot/office max. this week, filler paper just one cent with five dollar minimum purchase. ♪taking care of business. a trip back to the dthe doctor's office, mean just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home... ...with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%... ...a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, s

passed along to robert mueller. seems the first thing he communicated to robert mueller is clearly a lie. as he attacked the investigation has a witch hunt. >> he attacked it as a witch hunt. and attorney, especially jay sekulow, who has the attorney and mueller and a lot of attorneys who mueller hired for this investigation. so a different tone into those overtures that were reported about today. you can sort of view them -- i think is right they seem innocuous on the surface. you go back to what he was cultivating when comey was fbi director. he made a lot of overtures, overtures that even comey felt were appropriate and the went too far. inviting him to dinner. making phone calls to him. asking about the status of the investigation. i think most people who know robert mueller would be very surprised if mueller was sending any messages other than perhaps cursory very quick statements. yes, i got the message thanks. anything more than that i think would surprise folks if special counsel mueller is in an actual conv

robert mueller doesn't. let's not put the two together. >> in fairness, though, to ken starr, he possibly learned his lesson, phil, in that, yes, he engaged in a fishing expedition himself, but now he says be careful, don't do that. >> you want me to let him off the hook, no. what he should have said there is i made a mistake. what robert mueller is doing is the core of any investigation. that is following the money. it is not fishing. >> let me talk about that for a moment because some have suggested his critics, robert mueller, that he's going too far. president has suggested there is a red line. susan, that you can't go and start looking at all of his financial dealings over the years. we went back and we looked at the instructions that robert mueller received from the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein when he was appointed back in may. and it said that he should investigate any links and/or coordination between the russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of president donald

i'm sure robert mueller is having some high decibel conversations. it is a federal crime for prosecutors to discuss what goes on in the grand jury. but fwhs the presidency. we won't have radio silence. there will be people who talk about and it a huge amount of public interest in finding out as much as possible. >> prosecutors are known to be strong, they like the win. why is this such a good tool? >> first of all, it is intimidating. once a grand jury word is getting out, everybody will lawyer up. the witnesses, the possible subjects. and it starts to be every man and every woman for themselves. their lawyers are telling them, don't worry about protecting somebody. worry about protecting yourself. and as we know, the tools of the grand jury very, very one-sided. it is not a two-way street where there is a pursuit of an even handed both sides to the story. it is a one-way street. the prosecutors drive the bus as to what documents are subpoenas and what witnesses are called. >> we keep hearing about undisclosed meetings with russians. we've seen them

no commitment from the president not to fire robert mueller. she says you're going to have to go to his lawyer for that, although she says it's not being discussed. your legislation would give a judge the ability to review any decision by the president to fire robert mueller. why do you think it's necessary? >> i think it's a necessary part of just continuing to improve the reputation of independence for the department of justice. this is something that lives beyond the special counsel. it provides the president with the opportunity to consult with the ag and the department of justice, potentially have one removed but have that subject a judicial review. so that we make sure it's done for proper cause. >> the president is calling and you heard kellyanne conway repeat it, the entire russia story, a fabrication, a witch hunt and hoax. do you agree? >> i'm not sure i agree with the witch hunt and we'll let the facts lead us to whether or not it was a hoax or distraction. we are where we are and i want to see this investigation concluded so that we

so how significant is this, that now special counsel robert mueller is utilizing a grand jury? what's it mean? >> well, what it means is that what mueller's trying to do is expands the investigation -- expand the investigation and look into various areas that could have somehow influenced the election or the relationship between russia and the trump campaign. and this is very important because now we're looking at financial ties which is something that critics have wanted to pay close attention to throughout the campaign, considering that trump campaigned mostly on being this effective businessman. he brought in people who also were in the business world. and what this investigation is hoping to reveal is whether or not some of those dealings were inappropriate. >> and the financial dealings is what the president pointed out is going too far, that mueller would be going too far delving into his financial matters with family members. and "the new york times" called this crossing a red line -- >> mueller is finding your finances and family's finances unrelated to russia, is that

this week we learned robert mueller is zoe rowing in. documents demanded from the white house and just this morning president trump wakes up to this headline in the new york city times. presidents aside, gop stars move toward 2020 bids. ke of political events that republicans are acting more like a second term vice president hoping to clear the field than a number two sworn in a little more than six months ago. can you believe it's been just six months? the economy, another strong jobs report on friday and trump's most loyal followers in west virginia showed him lots of love the night before. >> since our election, not mine, since our election we have added more than 1 million new jobs. and the good news keeps pouring in. >> and with that, let's bring in the president's counselor kellyanne conway. kellyanne thanks for joining us this morning. >> hi, george. >> i talked about the economy right there. you see another good jobs report friday. solid growth through this year. the stock market as the president pointed out at record highs yet t

the dow -- that is what i meant to say about robert mueller's title. the dow is also lower. 10-year yield also coming to shenzhen look -- session lows as well. joe: not huge moves. we are looking at an s&p down .3% -- not massive, but it does appear there was a tick down on this "wall street journal" headline. scarlet: continue to monitor. julia: we have seen this reaction before as far as the russian investigation is concerned. the headlines matter to investors, if only briefly. carson, go back to what you were talking about and the concerns with the freedom caucus. we did hear from mark meadows yesterday, the chairman of the party, saying the community a clean bill with no strings attached will have to be passed. seller, you are used to understanding the logic, the game theory here. do you think in the end pragmatism comes into play because no one on either side of the idol wants to be blamed for causing or creating a default -- of the aisle wants to be blamed for causing or creating a default environment? carson: it is unclear to me what post wouldm

protecting robert mueller. preventing the president from firing the special counsel. >> they will have to decide. they can continue their opposition with the russian hopes or they can serve the interests of the american people. these days families want to be connected 24/7. that's why at comcast we're continuing to make our services more reliable than ever. like technology that can update itself. an advanced fiber-network infrustructure. new, more reliable equipment for your home. and a new culture built around customer service. it all adds up to our most reliable network ever. one that keeps you connected to what matters most. obsession with the russian hoax, or they can serve the interests of the american people. >> about this continuing independence. we're serious about being held to a higher standard. and the department of justice is unique among cabinet positions. on the one hand, the president nol natures the fbi director or the a.g. just after they're confirmed, i want they will to be independent. >> thi

liz: what do you think of the grand jury impanelled by robert mueller? >> the next phase of the witch-hunt. i think it's quite clear this is not about russia collusion as they've been saying, pretty much all we've heard about is really that russia was saying negative things on the internet, which is not different than any other previous election, so suddenly there's this obsession with getting down to the bottom of other interference in our elections. this particular incident is what i think going to make even bigger news simply because, a, there was no russia collusion, and the way they're going about it, as the judge mentioned, mueller and those he hired are definitely not supporters of the president by any means, some have donated to hillary clinton. we should take pause with that. but more importantly, looking forward, we have to have a national discussion because lots and lots of tax dollars are being spent on this witch-hunt for someone who whole handedly won this election, as i've said before, with his plane and his cell phone, and it's really goi

>> special counsel robert mueller is following the money. cnn learned new details about what investigators are digging into. that includes the president's finances and his family. in a clear sign that the russia investigation is advancing, cnn learned that special counsel robert mueller issued grand jury subpoenas related to the june 16 meeting between a russian lawyer and trump campaign officials, seeking documents and testimony from the people involved according to a source familiar with the matter. this as the probe widens with federal investigators exploring the potential financial ties of president trump and associates to russia. investigators are looking into possible financial crimes including some uncon nexted to the election. for the president that's going too far. he's warned that delving into his businesses is a, quote, violati violation. trump maintained there's no collusion and he has no financial ties to russia. >> speaking for myself. i own nothing in russia i have no loans in russia. i don't have any deals in russia. >> repor

could that lead to him firing robert mueller? >> i think that is why you see a bipartisan effort to prevent that thing from taking place. what we are seeing is democracy at work. one could say that president trump is perhaps envious of vladimir putin because you see even in the tweet today that he sent out he still seems to blame congress and fake media as opposed to russians. if this were happening in russia yes vladimir putin could put an end to this. we see from republicans now in the senate and in congress speaking loudly saying the reason we are here is not because of us or the media but because of vladimir putin. and so for the president to continue down this road he is only digging himself into a deeper hole. what i will say and interesting observation focussed on the deterioration of the u.s./russia relationship we saw statements yesterday saying the president has been humiliating and weak. i think we are seeing vladimir putin throwing president trump a life line. these comments are not coming from vladimir putin. they ar

major step by robert mueller in his investigation. cnn has learned how mueller and his team are following the money trail, perhaps crossing what president trump agreed was a red line he didn't think mueller should cross. and transcripts of trump's phone conversations with mexico's president are leaked. we begin with breaking news on robert mueller's investigation, the major new step today. we learned grand jury subpoenas have been issued. subpoenas related to donald trump jr.'s meeting with the russian lawyer at the trump tower during the campaign. what have you learned about the grand jury? >> the special counsel has issued grand jury subpoenas related to the donald trump jr. meeting at trump tower last june. this is according to a person i spoke with familiar with the matter. the subpoenas seek both documents and testimony from people involved in this meeting. though it's not clear exactly who involved in the meeting has been asked to testify. but given the wide ranging investigation, it is expected that special counsel subpoenas ha

and, of course, robert mueller absorbed the big one. the big russia inquiry that the fbi started last summer into the russian attack, and the trump campaign's possible collusion with that attack. well, that inquiry, that russia part, right, the nut of the investigation, that was reportedly being run by peter stozok. at least he was the head of the counterintelligence section of the fbi. abc news reports today that speert strozok only is not running the russia part of the investigation anymore, abc is reporting that he is no longer part of the mueller inquiry at all. and according to abc, while mr. strozok might have previously run the counterespionage section at the fbi, now they report he's working in human resources. and nothing against human resources, but what happened there? i mean, that was like you were the principal, and now all of a sudden you're working in the cafeteria. what happened there? i mean, this is a single report from abc news. other news outlets today have echoed this reporting. but nobody's independently confirmed

presumably with what robert mueller is up to her. like if they are finding leverage on michael flynn to flip him to tell what he may know about russia. >> then there was as we discussed with the deputy attorney general the barrage of leaks this past week. and in your effort to find leakers. this is the director of national security. >> understand this.if you improperly disclose classified information, we will find you. >> jason, we have been through this before. what is the likelihood that they can find the leakers and really stop and i have to say, there has been a torrent of leaks since this president took office. >> was also distillers between the types of leaks he appeared there is leaking about what's going on in the west wing in terms of personnel and then there is the leak that we had this week with regard to conversations that donald trump has been having with other leaders. which are much more serious. the president of the states not speaking confidence to world leaders. >> there has also been about michael flynn the intel p

robert mueller was director of the fbi. jim cavanaugh, i want to go straight to you. on the nature of this kind of raid, people are calling it pre-dawn. we don't know what that is. is that 3:00 a.m.? is that 4:00 a.m.? it's certainly in the fbi's judgment before anyone in the paul manafort household would be awake. tell us what that kind of raid is like when you're inside the home. what do you hear? does the doorbell ring? is the door just knocked in? what happens in that home? >> right, lawrence. well, most likely it's a 6:00 a.m. raid. the federal rules of criminal procedure only allow search warrants to be served -- forbid search warrants to be served between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. it's extremely unusual in the federal service to get a warrant before 6:00 a.m. or in the night. we only got them on very violent offenders, and we have to convince the judge there's a reason. now, what happens on a case like this, once it's 6:00 a.m., the warrant can be served. it's a white-collar case. there's no real danger o

like the grand jury robert mueller has impaneled. how congress deals with the president's once they return from the august recess, next. garfunkel (instrumental) is that good? yeah it's perfect. bees! bees! go! go! go! [ girl catching her breath } [ bees buzzing inside vehicle ] the all-new volkswagen atlas. with easy-access 3rd row. life's as big as you make it. nit's softer than ever. new charmin ultra soft is softer than ever so it's harder to resist. okay, this is getting a little weird enjoy the go with charmin we rbut we are not victims.ack. we are survivors. we are survivors. we are survivors. and now we take brilinta. for people who've been hospitalized for a heart attack. we take brilinta with a baby aspirin. no more than one hundred milligrams... ...as it affects how well brilinta works. brilinta helps keep platelets from sticking together and forming a clot. in a clinical study brilinta worked better than plavix®. brilinta reduced the chance of another heart attack. or dying from one. don't stop taking brilinta without ta

or i should say robert mueller. republican senator tom tillis of north carolina and democratic senator chris koonce of delaware say their bill would let special counsels challenge their removal in court. sponsors of the other bill, the republican lindsey graham of south carolina and the democrat corey booker of new jersey say they bill would require a court to sign off on firing a special counsel. for now, what happens if the president does decide to fire him? now that the wall treat journal reports a grand jury is empanelled and has been working in recent weeks. let's turn to elisa collins from "usa today." what happens if the president says "you're fired?" >> lindsey graham has said this would be the beginning of the end of trump's presidency. this is a strange topic where you see republicans and democrats and a hyper partisan congress coming together and say do not fire him. republicans are saying don't fire him, don't make it harder for us. let's let this special -- if there's nothing there, let him find that. t

we have to wait for robert mueller's report. but if there is is evidence of some sort of obstruction that's certainly that will be very high on robert mueller's interest list. >> phillip rucker, your newspaper broke a story about business dealings of the trump organization. in moscow. >> yes. >> and the president has shone -- shown great disdain for any part of this investigation, including that part which may involve russian interference in the election. but he's said very clearly, that robert mueller looking into his private financial dealings would be crossing some sort of red line. looks like that's what robert mueller is doing. >> that's exactly right. look there were clearly business dealings between the trump organization and russia during the course of the campaign. that's almost certainly going to drive the interest of robert mueller. i imagine it will give the mueller team an excuse to dig deeper into the trump organization, to scrutinize the finances, find out if there were any other meetings, perhaps even go back ear

>>> robert mueller understands and i understand the specific scope of the investigation. no, it's not a fishing expedition. >> special counsel robert mueller can investigate any crime he uncovers in his russia probe. that clarity from the justice department after the president himself said his finances should be offer limits. >>> and the vice president with a harsh rebuke to "the new york times" suggesting that he's preparing for a white house run. he slams it as offensive and object surrender. >> i think it's -- absurd. >> i think it's quite clear in terms of there being no daylight among the international community as to the expectation that north korea will take steps. >>> and global pressure grows on north korea to curb its nuclear program after sanctions are slapped on unanimously by the u.n. security council. >>> good morning and welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> good morning to you. >> nice to see you. >> i'm miguel marquez in for dave briggs this morning. monday, august 7th, 5:00 a.m. on the east coast. the second in command at the justice departm

we talk to the republican and democratic senators joining forces to protect robert mueller. >>> and our powerhouse round table. we'll break down the politics, smoke out the spin. the facts that matter, this week. >>> from abc news, it's "this week." here now, chief anchor, george stephanopoulos. >> good morning. when august arrives, presidents escape. and president trump kept up that tradition this week, decamping to his club in rural new jersey for a welcome break from a bruising debut in washington. his big-ticket promises, to repeal obamacare, build a border wall paid for by mexico, dead in the water. his approval rating, the lowest of any president ever so early in his term. this week, we learn that special counsel, be robert mueller, is zeroing in on the president's inner circle with a grand jury meeting in washington, documents demanded from the white house. and just this morning, president trump wakes up to this headline in the "new york times." "president aside, gop stars move toward 2020 bids." mike pence's schedule is so full of political events, that republicans joke he is ac

the latest special counsel robert mueller picking a grand jury. news comes as president trump fires up a big crowd in coal country and dismisses the investigation as a waste of time. good morning. ifm owe shannon bream live in "america's newsroom" from washington, d.c. hello to you, leland. >> i'm sure they miss you. i'm leland vit ar. new leaks releasing robert mueller will subpoena documents as he investigates russia's involvement in the election. president trump blasted the investigation calling it a fake excuse from democrats. >> most people know there were no russians in our campaign. there never were. we didn't win because of russia, we won because of you. that i can tell you. [cheering and applause] we won because we totally out worked the other side. we won because millions of patriotic americans voted to take back their country. >> we're awaiting a big announcement from attorney general jeff sessions who will hold a news conference two hours from now about a crackdown on leaks within the trump administration. john roberts on the north law

and, of course, robert mueller absorbed the big one. the big russia inquiry that the fbi started last summer into the russian attack, and the trump campaign's possible collusion with that attack. well, that inquiry, that russia part, right, the nut of the investigation, that was reportedly being run by peter strzok. head of the counterespionage section of the fbi. abc news reports today that peter strzok only is not running the russia part of the investigation anymore, abc is reporting that he is no longer part of the mueller inquiry at all. and according to abc, while mr. strzok might have previously run the counterespionage section at the fbi, now they report he's working in human resources. and nothing against human resources, but what happened there? i mean, that was like you were the principal, and now all of a sudden you're working in the cafeteria. what happened there? i mean, this is a single report from abc news. other news outlets today have echoed this reporting. but nobody's independently confirmed it. we contacted the speci

major step by robert mueller in his investigation. cnn has learned how mueller and his team are following the money trail, perhaps crossing what president trump agreed was a red line he didn't think mueller should cross. and transcripts of trump's phone conversations with mexico's president are leaked. we begin with breaking news on robert mueller's investigation, the major new step today. we learned grand jury subpoenas have been issued. subpoenas related to donald trump jr.'s meeting with the russian lawyer at the trump tower during the campaign. what have you

again, all you're doing is baiting robert mueller to do that. >> everybody stand by. there is a lot more going on, including right now on the senate floor. senators are voting on the confirmation of christopher wray to become the next fbi director succeeding james comey who was fired. we'll have that. we should get the result momentarily. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. there's nothing more important so when i need to book a hotel, i want someone who makes it easy. booking.com gets it. and with their price match, i know i'm getting the best price every time. visit booking.com. booking.yeah! today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the ri

that's almost certainly going to drive the interest of robert mueller. i imagine it will give the mueller team an excuse to dig deeper into the trump organization, to scrutinize the finances, find out if there were any other meetings, perhaps even go back earlier in the calendar before the campaign to look at earlier efforts to do business in russia. this is all going to become part of the investigation and that makes the president very nervous. but the importance of the new reporting out today is that it actually documents the first time senior level trump adviser, michael cohen an executive at the trump organization, a lawyer there, but also a dwikt l political adviser to the president for many years for many years before the campaign. it details him reaching out directly to putin's adviser to his spokesperson in the government. >> nick, put your prosecutor hat on here. michael cohen like all of donald trump's lawyers tend to dismiss and pao pao these things. in fact i think he said something along the lines of it shouldn't surprise anyone that the tru

robert mueller has to make a case. you are coming out with an indictment, that's a long way from a conviction in our system of jurisprudence. especially in a case that's going to be so heavily scrutinized and really has the potential to cause long-standing damage to our democratic institutions. they've got to make the case. >> ed: i want to fact-check something. former democrat who worked in the obama justice department immediately started tweeting "the fact that this is a grand jury in d.c. as opposed to being in northern virginia, as we see sometimes in corruption cases, southern district of new york, that it's in d.c. is a towel to us, clue they are looking at potential obstruction of justice charges against the president. >> i think that's a reach. it's much easier logistically for them and their office to walk down the street. >> ed: on the substance, cnn has a report saying this is expanded and that they are looking at potential financial crimes. what does that mean, and does not suggest robert mueller is already

special counsel robert mueller impaneled a grand jury in d.c. to rest gate russia's interference in the 2016 elections. >> this is a sign the growing russia probe is entering a new phase. this is what we're talking about tonight at 6:30. so let's get right to it. the "wall street journal" broke the news late this afternoon. the special counsel robert mueller is ramping up efforts to investigate russia's influence in the 2016 election and whether the trump campaign colluded with the kremlin. it's reported the grand jury is all right started its work and the probe could continue for mo months. russia has denied any involvement has called it a witch hunt. >> let's bring in jessie from the hill. it surprised some people this grand jury was impaneled here in washington, d.c. when there's word there's another grand jury in northern virginia looking into michael flynn. what are you hearing about all of this? >> yeah, that's right. well we understand that federal prosecutors have been using grand jury in arlington going back awhile now in relationship t

what power does this give robert mueller now? >> i don't think we're quite there yet, meaning that i think we're still at the preliminary stages. they're still gathering the rudiments of an investigation, the phone records, the text messages, the e-mails, anything that would corroborate what happens immediately before meetings, during meetings, immediately after meetings. i think the rubber meets the road that we start seeing subpoenas for testimony before a grand jury. at that stage then you're really starting to talk about beginning to put tok an investigation to the point of drawing conclusions and making judgments about whether or not people should be charged. >> phil just said i guarantee this is not a fishing expedition, robert mueller doesn't have time for those sorts of things. kellyanne conway last night told chris cuomo this does feel like a fishing expedition. how can it not feel like a fishing expedition to donald trump when word comes out now that they are looking into his finances even unrelated to russia? they're l

following a money trail and special counsel robert mueller issued grand jury subpoenas. the man who appointed mueller to lead the investigation, deputy attorney general rod rosenstein spoke out today insists it's not a fishing expedition and downplayed the subpoenas. >> in general, chris, it doesn't say anything about the likely indictments because we conduct investigations and make a determination as some point in the point of the investigation whether charges are appropriate. >> what's the advantage in terms of an investigation taking a case to a grand jury? >> many of our investigations, chris, involve the use of the grand jury. a way to gather documents. sometimes bring in witness witness for full testimony. a tool we use like any other tool in the course of our investigations. >> the subpoenas are widely seen in washington as a big step forward in the case. here's what a ranking member of the house intelligence committee said earlier today. >> instead, if these allegations are true, it's moving into a new phase with the impaneling of a grand jury so that special cou

this comes as we learned, again through leaks, robert mueller is to a grand jury. on friday, attorney general sessions announced research to try and stop leaks that he says endanger american security. joining me now for his first sunday show interview is rod rosenstein, the deputy attorney general and the men who appointed the special counsel after sessions recused himself. welcome to "fox news sunday." >> rod: thank you, chris, glad to be here. >> chris: attorney general sessions says there has been a surge in criminal referrals from intelligence agencies about leaks of classified information since president trump took office. he says there have been as many in just the six months as the work in the previous three years. my question is, do you see a concerted effort by people inside this government to hurt, or takedown, or try to take down, president trump? >> rod: we evaluate every referral we receive bay, taxonomic facts and circumstances. without a surge in referrals to the department and we are responding appropriately. we will devote more resources, reevaluat

then, as special counsel robert mueller takes evidence about russian interference in the election to a grand jury, the president keep saying there's nothing there. >> the russia story is a total fabrication. it's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics, that's all it is. >> chris: we will talk with republican senator thom tillis, who was just introduced a bill to protect the special counsel for being fired. plus, as congress leaves town for a long august recess, we will ask him sunday panel about all the unfinished business they will face when they come back after labor day. all right now on "fox news sunday" ." and hello again from fox news in washington. if you still had any doubt how serious the leaks problem is, all you had to do this week was open your newspaper or turn on your television and see transcripts of president trump's conversations with world leaders. this comes as we learned, again through leaks, robert mueller is taking his russia investigation to a grand jury. on friday, attorney general sessions announced research to try and stop l

and robert mueller expands the witch hunt in impanelling a grand jury. and the obama samantha how fastop and shredding your constitutional rights and the deep state targets president trump by leaking transcripts of phone calls he had with world leaders. that is all in tonight's breaking news. opening monologue. president trump got out of the dc sewer and swamp by holding a huge rally in west virginia where he slammed the democrats and the media's obsession with the media and special counsel. >> the reason why democrats only talk about the totally made up russia story, is because they have no message. no agenda and no vision. the russia story is a total fabrication. it is just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of american politics, that's all it is. what the prosecutors should be looking at are hillary clinton's 33,000 deleted email and should be looking at the paid russian speeches and the owned russian companies, or let them look at the uranium she sold that is now in the hands of very angry russians. most people know there were no russians

>>> robert mueller understands and i understand the specific scope of the investigation. so no, it's not a fishing expedition. >> robert mueller can investigate anything he discovers in the justice department probe, but finances should be off limits. >>> the vice president with a harsh rebuke to a "new york times" report that he's laying the groundwork for a white house run. he slams the suggestion as disgraceful, offensive, and absurd. >> i think it's quite clear in terms of there being no daylight among the international community as to the expectation that north korea will take steps. >> and global pressure is growing on north korea to curb its nuclear program after sanctions are slapped on unanimously by the u.n. security council. >>> welcome to "early start," i'm miguel marquez in for dave briggs. good morning. >> nice to see you, good morning. i'm christine romans. it is monday, august 7th. it is 4:00 a.m. in the east. good morning, everyone. the second in command at the justice department rejecting suggestions that robert mueller cannot dig into trump family financ

house. >> good morning to you, the president's legal team is playing down this news that robert mueller, the special counsel is now working with a grand jury and has issued at least some subpoenas under the authority of the grand jury to seek information and testimony. the president's legal team suggesting its routine, as part of the investigation. i've spoken with every member of the president's outside legal team and some from inside, and none has been able to independently confirm the fact that robert mueller is now working with a grand jury, but ty cobbs who is the newly appointed white house council member, who is looking into the russia investigation exclusively saying "grand jury matters are typically secret. the white house favors anyone that accelerates the conclusion. the white house is fully committed to working with mr. miller." the president did not mention the grand jury development and huntington, west virginia, attended by thousands. i do mean thousands of people, but he did take a shot at the overall russia investigation, listen here. speak out there trying to cheat you

so that was going on before robert mueller was even involved. before he was named as a special prosecutor. but we know today is he's now also using a grand jury in washington, d.c. and to be clear, this is not a special grand jury. this is not one that he has specifically, you know, come forward and asked for and put into place. this is one that is sitting and yesterday they may have heard information about a drug case. tomorrow they may hear information tied to the russia investigation. but they're a grand jury that is sitting and is available for prosecutors all of the time. >> so why, then, robert, would there be a d.c. calling in people from the d.c. grand jury and not just use the people in virginia? what does this signal to you? >> it may not be any more complicated than the fact that the sorts of things the special counsel is looking at could only be venued in the district of columbia. >> what does that mean? >> if an individual made false statements or allegedly made false statements to the fbi, and that individual was located in the dis

cheryl: also breaking, special counsel robert mueller tapping a grand jury, how far is mueller willing to go with this? lauren: how does this affect the markets? 16-year-old low on unemployment rate, is that telling the real job's story ahead of job's data, dow futures are up 26 points. could see another record close. cheryl: job's report could have big impact on the u.s. dollar, that's why global markets are focused on the labor data coming from trust. live report from london for you ahead of that news. right now european markets all trading slightly higher. lauren: new video of baggage handlers, sparking outrage among flyers everywhere. wait until you see the footage. fbn:am starts right now. cheryl: 5:01 a.m. in new york. friday august 4th. i'm cheryl casone. lauren: happy friday, i'm lauren simonetti. paychecks going up. cheryl: 4.3%. lauren: president trump talked up the economy. >> economic growth has surged to 2.6 nationwide. you have to understand what that means. nobody thought that number was going to happen and it's 3% growth in west virginia. i wonder how that happened. une

>> robert mueller? >> i think if you're waiting to be prosecuted, i would be more worried that the prosecutor than the fan base. >> this is all part -- >> by the way, a lot of the republican faithful with watergate said get off his back. until it got later on. >> until the day nixon resigned, he still had 50% approval rating among republicans. the support among set base should not be surprising. but it also shows you that trump is going to have a certain amount of durability going into 2018 and 2020 even. i just don't, their strategy protect the base, keep what you have, and attack your point mercilessly. >> i think you have a point. i think part of that is the loss of newspapers in many parts of the country. i was in the west with my wife. we were driving around in colorado and utah and wyoming. there is no local big serious newspaper. the denver papers, you don't pick it up in the morning when you go down the drive way. there's no newspaper telling you what's going to nationally. the local newspaper i

this weekend he defended robert mueller again. appearing on sunday's show he said mueller could investigate any crimes he encovuncovered. >> we don't engage in fishing expeditions. if he finds evidence that is the appropriate scope of the investigation, he can. if it's outside of the scope, he need to come to me for permission to expand his investigation. >> that is the deputy attorney general appearing to draw a line in the sand, say if robert mueller finds evidence of a crime within the scope of his information he would be allowed to investigate it without interference. that was yesterday. this morning the president's outside legal team appears to be adopting a conciliatory tone toward robert mueller in order to lower to temperature regarding the investigation. the new tone coming from his lawyers, quote, what will matter is what trump says, and he has shown he's willing to change course with any whim or tweet. and if right on cue, donald trump began tweeting disparaging about richen blumenthal today call the russian story a hoa

robert mueller has not been working for more than a few months. how do you know that he's not finding incriminating evidence? all i know is that the bubble, the media especially, has been obsessed. dossier this, collusion that. it's just absurd. have you ever heard of a news story that ten months is predicated on illegal action, but for almost a year has found none? i find it fascinating thatjust last week chuck schumer from the democrats have started to admit, you know what, hillary lost the election, and it really wasn't about russia, or about james comey. when the democrat party is starting to give press conferences that says we need to look at the mirror, finally, because we haven't... as far as i understand it, this is not about who won the election, but about what the links were between russian interference — which you know, the fbi and the intelligence agencies are 100% convinced happened — but the connections between that russian interference and senior people in the trump campaign. now, we know that because of revelations in the new y