starts right now. >> thanks. the president's son-in-law just lost his top secret security clearance. "the lead" starts now. breaking news. jared kushner's security clearance was just significantly downgraded. what happens if a senior adviser to the president cannot see the most sensitive material? shocking testimony from the nsa about how the president has not yet given them authority to do everything he can to stop russia from messing around in our democratic process. this is as one of the close ess could n comfort dantes. >> public money for a private hole security system and family meddling at a federal agency. a whistle blower speaks exclusively to cnn about a cabinet member under fire.

>> jared kushner has had his security clearance significantly downgraded. the downgrade will prevent kushner from viewing the nation's most sensitive secrets and it comes of a new rules were implemented by john kelly in the wake of the botched handling of the rob port he spousal abuses scandal. jeff, what is the news and what is the white house saying about it? >> we are learning this afternoon, our team is reporting that the threat, the new packs white house chief of staff john kelly said he would take indeed has been taking effect now. and that of course applies to a variety of officials here at the white house who have had temporary security access. that's now being changed. leading among them, first among them is jared kushner. of course, a senior adviser to

the president as well as the president's son-in-law. he's been operating under a top secret security clearance since under the first days of the administration. he's flernld recent beaks his permanent clearance is not coming any time soon because of questions about his background. he's been at the center of some of the inquiry that robert mueller has been leading. so this is going to be delaying that. it is unclear how this will impact his job. he is he needs top secret access to go through all of this if he is going to be effective here. so i am told by another person familiar with this has not asked the president to intervene in this. he's not asked for a special dispensation if you will. we saw the president on friday here at the white house.

he said this would be left up to the white house chief of staff john kelly. he said that jared kushner is doing a great job but it is left up to john kelly. as it looks line right now, jared kushner is losing his top secret security clearance. it certainly changes his role here in the white house. even though people close to him as well as his lawyer have said, he'll still be able to do his work, the same work. it is entirely different not having that top secret security clearance. >> thanks. let's discuss with my political panel. kate liitly kaitlyn, as you've been reporting, jared kushner was one of the most avid consumers of the top, top secret. the compartmentalized information. >> that's true. he was one of the top officials and had access to more classified information than anyone in the white house. not only will this affect his portfolio as jeff just laid out

dealing with the middle east but also his daily life in the west wing. he was someone who often read the presidential daily briefings. something the president doesn't always read. but he did have access to what is referred to as the pdb and did read it often. in light of this memo john kelly sent out a few weeks ago going into effect, clearly now, starting today, affecting jared kushner. we are going to see the day to day life with him changing the west wing. he is very frustrated. those close to kushner believe he is seeing this as john kelly taking this out. his frustration for jared kushner. specifically by using this clearance pelosi. but those on the other hand, john kelly sees this as he has to implement the rules for everyone. no one is an exception. and we do not expect jared kushner to appeal to the president for an exception to allow him to see the daily classified information but it is hard to see how he continues living his west wing life the

way he has been the last 13 months. >> phil mudd, former fbi, explain to us the difference between having top secret sci clearance, which is what he had until friday. and now he has secret clearance. >> it looks odd from the outside but it is huge. if we're intercepting communications there a foreign power, from iran, syria, north korea, he can't see them. the most sensitive, what we call human source access. many of those might be classified secret. the most significant ones will be classified top secret. the best intercepts, the best human source informants, he can't see them. let me give you one final piece he can't see. when the secretary of state walks in, when the national security adviser fwhauks and says mr. president, i want to have a kors about north korea about, iran, about syria, is he

supposed to say them at the secret level because jared is in the room? this is more significant than it looks. it is a huge difference between secret and top secret. >> the portfolio that jared has had, basically everything. with a focus on u.s./mexico relations, the middle east, israel and the zpins jordan and saudi arabia and egypt. there's a lot there that none the of people watching right now will ever know because it is top secret. and now he won't know either. >> and he won't know it. kaitlyn talked about the way his life change in the white house. what his access is. it is also important to think of how the president's life will change. i'm sure he talked about the highly classified information. his circle of advisers and

people he relies on for information all of a sudden is very different. kushner coming in was sort of the secretary of everything. right? he had this huge unwieldy portfolio. the president at one point said if anybody can solve the crisis in the middle east and move toward middle east peace, it would be kushner. and now i think in so many ways, his portfolio is diminished. >> you've been reporting on the white house chief of staff john kelly. he's been telling people according the your reporting that he is frustrated with jared and his wife ivanka. >> he's been very frustrated with them. and this goes from them pushing for them to come into the white house, becoming the chief of staff. they thought he would stop people from leaking. they didn't necessarily realize how far that restraint would go. he's since grown very frustrated with the two of them.

we've seen it down grade since john kelly came into the west wing. he isn't handling as many matters as he was tasked with. and as well as ivanka. he's told people privately that he feels ivanka is just playing government because she often blurs the line between being the first daughter and part of the white house. certainly a lot of frustration between these zple the president is very aware of the tension between jared kushner and john kelly based on my reporting. especially in light of him being down graded from top secret to just secret. but the read that did ultimately leave in it john kelly's hands. he said he would leave it up to him. during that press conference, he made it very clear that he thought jared was very important to the west wing and that he was very valuable. he was sending a message to john kelly but john kelly has laid down the law here. >> and we need underline, john

kelly is not the one who decides the status. the fbi decides whether or not you get clearance level that you want. >> the fbi is giving information with the background information i'm not saying this happened. let's say he had a shop the living incident when he was 17. i presume john kelly would say, by the way, when i went through my security clearance, and i still have a top secret clearance, i had shoplifting when i was 13. i stole a football. they said that's fine. the significance here, and this is why john kelly had no option, is that the deputy attorney general said we cannot certify we closed the investigation. that's code for after 13 months of investigation into jared kushner's background, there's something really significant the fbi can't reveal. john kelly has the option to reveal but he said i can't do

that. i can't give him top secret clearance of the until and this comes with the report that cnn broke a few days ago, one of the things bob mueller's team is looking into are conversation that's jared kushner had with foreign leaders during the transition about financing for his projects, in his business life, while at the same time he was the point of contact for foreign governments as the aid to the presidential act. >> we don't know what mueller has. we don't know what will come down the line in terms of revelations. we've already seen these indictments. you have kelly in a position and whether or not he wants to give a top secret clearance, or keep interim clearance for someone who is clearly the target of investigations. we don't know what it will be. you imagine that he had some of that in mind too. the entanglement that's kushner seems to have. >> and in context, why this is shaping because john kelly was

so heavily criticized for the way he handled the resignation of john porter, the staff secretary, who also had a very high interim security clearance, who handled the paper flow over the president's desk, who obviously has spousal abuse allegations in his past. john kelly got in a lot of trouble for the way he handled that. especially in the media. he was the center fire snowstorm that's why john kelly decided to overhaul the way they were handling the security clearance in the white house of the. >> one of the things was that rob porter was very blackmailable while he had access. stick around. we have lots more to talk about. plus, what happened behind closed doors when hope hicks, one of the president's closest senior aides, went before the house intelligence committee? -looks great, honey. -right?

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literally. jared kushner getting his security clearance downgraded. now to a stunning statement from the director of the national security agent, rogers disclose that had the president has not be given him the authority to stop cyber threats and that russia has not changed its behavior after interfering in the presidential election. to underline this, it is not at all common for the head of the u.s. intelligence agency to openly acknowledge that his boss, the commander in chief, has yet to give him the authority to protect the united states from what he, rogers, clearly believes is a threat to the united states. why has the president not given

him the authority to do so? white house press secretary sarah sanders was asked that question a few minutes ago. >> nobody has denied him the authority. we're looking at a number of ways that we can put pressure -- >> actually, technically, if the white house doesn't give admiral rogers the authority, that is effectively denying them authority and the question remains. why would the white house deny admiral rogerers the authority to stop it? it may have something to do with the past relationship with russia and straight answers are hard to come by on that subject from sarah sanders and on capitol hill today. as one the of the white house's closest confidantes, hope hicks is testifying on capitol hill today. two lawmakers say shiks refusing to answer time about her time in

the white house and during transition. not all the questions but some of them. what is the justification behind hope hicks refusing to answer questions? >> reporter: well, today, white house communications director hope hicks' attorney has instructed the house intelligence. now this is in line with what steve bannon did when he came aboard the committee on multiple occasions. he would not answer questions about what happened after the campaign season, including the transition in his time at the white house. when bannon did that, there were bipartisan concerns and threats to hold him in contempt of congress. but today concerns are coming from the democrats. >> reporter: tonight, white house communications direct or hope hicks refusing to anxious key questions in the russia probe, frustrating democrats on

the house intelligence committee. >> with anyone who doesn't answer questions, they haute to be subpoenaed. >> they have repeatedly called on donald trump's closest advise or to answer all questions about the time in the white house. but lawmakers from both parties said she wouldn't answer key questions that topics after the 2016 campaign. the unwillingness follows the chief strategist steve bannon saying he was instructed by the white house to invoke executive privilege on behalf of president trump over matters that occurred after the campaign. and former trump campaign manager corey lewandowski who wouldn't discuss topics after he left the campaign in june 2016. the house intelligence committee has been fighting over the surveillance of the former campaign foreign policy adviser carter page, leading to a war of memos over why he was targeted.

the memo from adam schiff released over the weekend states the fbi was concerned page was being recruited by the russians. a claim page denied in an interview with chris cuomo. >> no one in russia has ever tried to work me. all the evidence i've seen so far indicates there was much more interference by the u.s. government compared to the russian government. >> reporter: the president tweeting again, calling the russia investigation on witch hunt. but mike rogers warned congress that he has not been granted the authority by president trump to disrupt russian election hacking operations where they originate. >> we have not taken on the russians yet. we're watching them intrude on our elections, spread misinformation, become more sophisticated, try to achieve objectives, and we're essentially sitting back and waiting. >> i don't know if i would

characterize it as sitting back and waiting. it is probably fair to say that we have not opted to engage in some of the same behaviors that we are seeing, if could i keep it -- >> a new cnn poll shows about six in ten americans stay president is not taking the investigation into russian efforts to influence the u.s. elections seriously enough and they also lack confidence the president is doing enough to promote foreign interference in future elections. >> now, jake, that same poll showed a really sharp divide over how democrats and republicans view the russia investigation. roughly 89% of democrats believe it is a serious matter. about 71% of republicans believe the russia investigation is meant to discredit the trump presidency. still, jake about, 55% of americans do not believe the president is doing enough to prevent the country from seeing another attack against this

democracy during the upcoming elections. >> all right. admiral rogers appears to be one of them. just how concerning are the nsa director's comments?

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me that the russians have in no way been deterred? >> yes, sir. >> they're doing with it impugnity. they're continuing to attack us. >> yes, sir. >> i do find it surprising. you normally don't have in the trump administration, even if the facts don't line up, with loyalty. loyalty is so rewarded and here you have admiral rogers making it very clear, i'm not saying inappropriately so, the president has not given him the authority to do what he needs to do. >> the story is bigger than that. in a real world, here's how this works. you're the director of the national security agency, you're the secretary of state. you walk in the situation room in the west wing the president, the vice president, the national security adviser, the national security agency says we're taking down some systems. the cia says we'll cooperate and the secretary of state says we'll take some heat from the russians because we're going on engage in covert action tft

white house has to answer to that. this is complicated about what we do. the answer is no. >> and interestingly, 60% of respondents in our new cnn poll are not confident president trump is doing enough to prevent foreign influence in future elections. 60% also say congress isn't do enough either. >> yeah. a lot of governors are probably part of that 60%. they were at the white house talking about this in some ways. they feel like they feel their voting systems are quite vulnerable. you had congress move to get them some money to help them secure their data systems, their voting systems. that hasn't happened so there is a lot of frustration. one of the questions is is it too late? it is clear the russians never really left. they're still meddling. the primary season starts next month. can they do enough to start to ensure these voting systems across the country, that are

electronic, very vulnerable, that are outdated? you have had some meetings. the dhs has met with local officials as well as intelligence agencies. my goodness. the question is, is it too late and can something be done before voting starts? in november and even in march? >> and i know you hear a lot from when you're at the white house reporting from sarah sanders and others who work for the president that the american people don't care about russia. our cnn poll found 61% stay russian investigation is a serious matter. 34% view it as an effort to discredit president trump. that's a clear majority who disagree the white house. >> that's right. every american cares about the integrity of our elections and the white house continues from the obama administration. we saw it today when the press secretary was being pushed on why hasn't the president made it clear the mike rogerers that he should disrupt those efforts when they are originate, and it goes back to, hey, this goes

back to the obama administration and we weren't in office. but this is today. and the white house has yet to even hint that they're working something that would stop this from happening again. the white house did say today that they would be offering some steps later on that we would find out in the near future but that's something we've heard for weeks now. we have yet to see anything the white house is doing to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> so from russia cyber attacks to the russian investigation, let's go back to the issue of kushner's security clearance being downgraded. >> that tells me the kushner is in trouble of i'm going to assume in 30 days the fbi won't come back and do a u-turn and say we've finished this and he's clean. i think kelly will be put in a difficult situation to say we'll never close it out to the point where jared kushner could get a top secret clearance. is it work kushner or anyone else?

is it okay to keep somebody around when the fbi has enough concerns about your background, maybe financial irregularities, i don't know torsion say we can't certify you? i think the question will be dorgs we downgrade him entirely and say he can't have a clearance. >> and let me read a statement from his attorney, jared kushner's attorney. as to his security clearance, mr. kushner has done more than what is expected of him in this process. the new clearance policy lnl affect mr. kushner's ability to continue to do the very important work he's been assigned by the president. that's impossible to believe. he reads the presidential daily brief and he can't have access to the information he needs? >> pretty much only the people in the white house who see hit the way. obviously jared kushner doesn't see hit the way. that's why he's been so frustrated with john kelly and fees like this is a direct attack on him specifically. which it kind of is. we did note that people were

worried in the west wing to raise questions about the questions surrounding his, of rob porter's security clearance because they thought would it bring up the scrutiny on jared kushner's security. what will be interesting to watch is the dynamic of the west wing. not just how this affects jared kushner's day to day but essentially, this was a showdown between jared kushner and john kelly. the president technically gave the authority to john kelly in front of everyone at that press conference and he does not give jared kushner a waiver. this isn't something jared kushner has seen before when he's gone up against people. on the campaign trail, reince priebus, where he's come out on the lose go end. >> coming up, he met with the survivors of the florida shooting. what they want to do about guns and gun violence and what could be done. -looks great, honey. -right?

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classes tomorrow. we're learning the death toll could have been much higher. the shooter had 180 rounds left in his rifle when he stopped shooting, according to a law enforcement official. he had swastikas. the shooter tried on break a school window which they believe he wanted to use as a sniper's personal to shoot outside but the windows were hurricane proof and he could not break they will. wee learning more about the warnings to law enforcement about the shooter in the months prior to the incident. in contrast, the claims from the broward county sheriff's department, cnn has obtained records showing at least 45 calls for service relating to the shooter or his brother. he was throwing his mother against the wall for taking away his x-box and he was accused of shooting a chicken a a bb gun. rosa called 911 a year ago

saying she believed the boy would become a school shooter but she was told by a deputy, nothing could be done unless the boy carried out a threat. >> my husband and i both knew that it was not over. that we would eventually see him one day on the news wearing an orange jump suit, being charged with murder. we both knew it. i didn't know exactly how it would happen or how soon it would happen but noticed doubt in my mind that it would happen. >> a group of parkland students is on capitol hill trying to convince members of congress. congress does not seem any closer to agreeing on a plan at all, or anything from strengthening background checks to raising the age limits. senator flake, thanks for joining us. i understand that you just met with about five students from

marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida. i've heard a lot of conservatives say these kids aren't experts. why are they having an influence in this debate. you met with them. what do you think? >> i think this is a different kind of tragedy. it is high school kids. a sim that a athletpa thetympat articulate bunch of kids. they are obviously social media savvy, and that's why i think they're having the impact they're having. they're organized and they're here. so i'm glad they are. i hope they keep it up. >> the white house says president trump still supports raising the age limit for the purchase of certain semi-automatic weapons to 21. you have legislation to do. he hasn't mentioned that age limit idea in any of his most recent remarks on guns. there are reports on capitol hill that he seems to be walking

away from it. are you worried it will play out the same as immigration reform should. >> i will. that is a concern. i did just hear a few moments ago that he seems to have committed again to that particular item, the raising the minimum age. i hope he has. >> i guess the big question for people like you who are trying to get things done and trying to figure out what the president will sign. are you worried at all that you can't trust the president to stick by policy proposals, that he might change his mind about the next day? >> it has been an issue. you mentioned on immigration. the talk of the tuesday president or the thursday president. and he seems to have changed on a few of those items. it is difficult to negotiate. but i home that he sticks with this. he said it a number of times just after the tragedy. and i know that is where the kids are. that's what they want. a lot of parents across the country and others too. there's simply no justification for having the minimum age be 21

for a handgun but only 18 for an assault weapon. that makes no sense at all. >> our new cnn poll shows 70% in this country support tightening the nation's gun laws. it is up almost 20 points since october. i guess the question, i don't know if the kids asked you this or not but it is on the minds of our viewers. with such overwhelming support for an issue, why is it so unlike reply congress will do anything about it. >> well, this is an election year and people worry with how this will play. i think it is time we take some common sense americanures and also, no fly, no buy. i'll be introducing that today with senator collins and a few others. there are things we can do and should do this week. >> the students probably, i don't know, i wasn't in the

meeting and you haven't told me what they said. it sounds like one of the things they want to do is get rid of some kinds of semi-automatic weapons, otherwise known as assault weapons. did they push for that and what would your response be? >> they didn't and i don't want to caringize their positions. they talked about the age limit and a few other items. that's all they talked about. >> attorney general jeff sessions said that they can bump stocks through regulations alone. it doesn't need legislation. i've heard from an expert who said that's not true. the reason they're legal is because, if you go through it in the regulatory process, you're taking the bump zpok classifying it as machine gun and that will result in lawsuits. do you think it needs to be done with legislation? >> i hope they put in a temporary ban from atf.

that's why we're offering a bipartisan piece of legislation. not just bump stocks. a bump stock that increases the rate of fire to make a semi-automatic weapon act for all intents and purposes like an automatic weapon. i do hope that congress moves on that. i think we should put it in the statute. >> next month you're speaking at a politics and eggs breakfast in new hampshire. this was just announced, for those who don't know. that breakfast is a traditional testing ground for politicians considering running for president. do you have anything to tell us? >> no. i received an invitation and i accepted it. so i look forward to speaking there. >> is it possible that you might run for president in 2020? >> that's not in my plans. i never rule anything out but that's not in my plans. >> you can hear more from senator flake on cnn's the axe

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a scary story in our world lead. north korea is sending supplies that could build kechemical weapons. in exchange, syria is paying north korea with cash that could be used for its nuclear program. it is the convergence of two countries on the brink with terrifying and dangerous implications. all of this revealed as the top

u.s. diplomat in charge has suddenly announced his retirement. i want to bring in barbara starr. what are national security officials saying? the potential dangers of them working together? >> reporter: the big worry is if these two regimes have really joined forces, it could mean a very dangerous new front for north korea to earn money for its weapons program. a frightening report by united nations investigators has concluded, north korea has been sending supplies to syria that could be used in the production of chemical weapons, possibly maintaining a cash flow for their nuclear program. "the new york times" who was first to report the story also says north korean missile experts have been seen working at chemical weapons and missile facilities inside years. i can't this while top u.s. posts that deal with north korea are dwindling.

joseph, the state department's top diplomat, abruptly stepping down saying it was completely my decision to retire at this time. president trump still talking tough. >> if the sanctions don't work, we'll have to go to phase ii. and that may be a very rough thing. maybe very, very unfortunate for the world. >> but the departure of the senior respected diplomat leaves the trump administration without key officials at a critical time. victor cha, the long rule orred candidate to become u.s. ambassador to north korea, was unlimited to support limited strikes. today white house offering no sense of urgency. >> i don't have a time line and i don't have any personal announcements on that specifically. >> reporter: the top military commander of u.s. forces in south korea, general vincent brooks, is expected to leave his post as part of routine changes.

the white house insists, there is no gap in decision making. but there may be real risk in not moving forward with concrete decisions on when and how to talk to north korea. >> the olympic lull is over. >> commercial satellite imagery now shows new activity at north korea's nuclear test site as well as an experimental reactor and at a satellite launch facility. what could the next steps be? the u.s. not ruling out boarding north korean shipments at sea to try to keep them from sanctions busting. >> thank you. if you want to redecorate a government office using taxpayer money, you want to find a decent chair for less than $5,000. next, we'll talk to the whistle blower who claims she was punished for refusing to allow an elaborate makeover of ben

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employee at h.u.d. is flagging a new concern in an exclusive interview. helen foster says she was demoted in part for refusing to break the law and go over budget to redecorate ben carson's office. she filed a whistle blower complaint claiming more than a month before he took office, she was told to find money beyond the $5,000 redecorating limit. and that $5,000 wouldn't even buy a decent chair. rene, who is urging her to, in her words, break the law? >> she said her superiors were. she said she was pressured on several occasions to essentially find money. as she says in this complaint. we're talking about essentially a cap for how much money can be used for redecorating expenses. she said the pressure came

before ben carson was sxikd the individuals have been in touch with the team. the allegations are that candy carson, ben carson's wife, had wanted to redecorate and it fell on helen foster to make it happen. she spoke exclusively with cnn a short time ago. >> it was a back and forth over a couple of weeks, culminating in a one-on-one meeting with my boss, the acting secretary at the time, and he told me again that $5,000 wasn't enough and said specifically, $5,000 is not enough to buy a decent chair. and that we needed to find more money for the project. and at that point i said, i can't do that. that's illegal. my sense is that it was coming from mrs. carson's desire to have the ability to redecorate the suite. and the feeling among the

appointee's staff, the chief of staff in particular, that the furniture was not adequate. it was not grand enough. suddenly i'm removed from that position into a position that didn't exist before and given nothing to do. >> cnn reached out to candy carson and we did not receive a response. h., d. denies the allegations. saying that they spent less than $5,000, which is the legal limit. this he provided receipts showing that they only intent $3,200 on blinds. when asked why she was demoted, they said it is not unusual for employees to be rotated out of her position. she disputes saying she had only been there about seven months so rotating her out seemed odd.

she said saw retaliation and the office of special counsel now has this case and she tells me they just interviewed her last week. remember when they kept chanting, drain the swamp. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com happening now, jared kushner loses his top secret security clearance. how can he keep working on sensitive issues like the middle east and china? no authority. america's cyber security chief says president trump has not given them authority to go after the election hackers at the source. and twarns russians have not paid enough of a price to change behavior. another authority stonewalled the russia probe as hope hicks refuses to he answer questions about her