[Tapper:] I turn you over to Wolf Blitzer. He's in THE SITUATION ROOM next door. Thanks for watching.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Happening now, breaking news. Reduced clearance. President Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law 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 the authority to go after Russia's election hackers at the source. And warns the Russians have not paid enough of a price to change their behavior. Refusing to answer. Another top Trump aide stonewalls a congressional Russia probe as communications director Hope Hicks refuses to answer questions about her time at the White House. And sniper's nest? A law enforcement source says the Florida high school gunman left behind 180 rounds when he fled and may have tried to set up a sniper's nest in a school window, perhaps to shoot at people outside. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in
[The Situation Room. Announcer:] This is CNN breaking news.
[Blitzer:] Breaking news, presidential son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner is among the White House aides whose interim security clearances have been downgraded, according to sources who say the move will keep Kushner from seeing top-secret material. Plus, the Russia investigations are in full swing up on Capitol Hill. In stunning Senate testimony, the National Security Agency chief says President Trump has not given him the authority to go after Russian cyber-attackers. And House members question one of the president's closest aides, communications director Hope Hicks, without getting many answers. I'll speak with Congressman Eric Swalwell of the Intelligence Committee. And our correspondents and specialists, they are all standing by with full coverage. But let's begin with the breaking news. As presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner gets a downgrade from his top-secret security clearance. Let's go straight to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. Jim, what are you learning?
[Jim Acosta, Cnn Chief White House Correspondent:] Wolf, the president ignored questions about his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, losing his top- secret security clearance here at the White House. The questions are coming in response to a change made here by the chief of staff, John Kelly. That will affect White House staffers who are operating on interim top-secret clearances. As a result, those employees, including Kushner, will have their access to sensitive materials limited over here. The White House is attempting to clear up its security clearance process, just as it's also doing damage control on two big issues: Russia and gun control.
[Acosta:] It was a stunning admission from the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Mike Rogers, revealing that the president has not issued a directive to put a stop to Russian cyber operations designed to disrupt U.S. elections.
[Unidentified Male:] Have you been directed to do so?
[Admiral Mike Rogers, Nsa Director:] No, I have not, but if I could flesh this out...
[Acosta:] That admission left lawmakers exasperated.
[Unidentified Male:] We have not taken on the Russians yet. We're watching them intrude in our elections, spread misinformation, and we're just essentially sitting back and waiting.
[Rogers:] It's probably fair to say that we have not opted to engage in some of the same behaviors that we are seeing.
[Acosta:] Rogers went on to say Russia has yet to really for what they did in 2016.
[Rogers:] I believe that President Putin has clearly come to the conclusion, there's little price to pay here.
[Sen. Clair Mccaskill , Missouri:] The notion that you have not been given this mission to stop this from happening this year is outrageous.
[Rogers:] Thrown once again into Russia damage control mode, the White House tried to push back on the notion that the president even needs to direct NSA to take action.
[Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary:] Nobody is denying him the authority. We're looking at a number of different ways that we can put pressure. Look, this president, as I told you last week, has been much tougher on Russia than his predecessor.
[Acosta:] Russia was on the president's mind in the morning as he tweeted that he's the victim of a witch hunt. A new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans don't approve of the president's handling of the Russia probe.
[Sanders:] Let's not forget that this happened under Obama. It didn't happen under President Trump. If you want to blame somebody on past problems, then you need to look at the Obama administration. The president is looking at all of the different causes and all of the different ways that we can prevent it.
[Acosta:] The White House is also on its heels on the issue of gun control...
[Unidentified Male:] Enough is enough! Enough is enough! Enough is enough!... insisting the president does support the idea of raising the age limit to 21 for buying some weapons.
[Sanders:] The president still supports raising the age limit to 21 for the purchase of certain firearms.
[Acosta:] That clarification came after sources told CNN the president was backing away from the proposal. Mr. Trump didn't even mention the idea when he met with the nation's governors.
[Donald Trump , President Of The United States:] We're really going to, I think, have the support of the NRA having to do with background checks. Very strong background checks and a very heavy section on mental health.
[Acosta:] That was just before press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters the president liked the idea of raising the age limit but as a concept.
[Sanders:] In terms of the concept, there's still support for that, but how it would be implemented and what that might look like is still part very much part of the discussion.
[Acosta:] But a key GOP congressional source tells CNN there does not appear to be a path forward for the age limit proposal, which is fiercely opposed by the National Rifle Association. House Speaker Paul Ryan sounded more supportive of strengthening the nation's background check information.
[Rep. Paul Ryan , Speaker Of The House:] We shouldn't be banning guns for law-abiding citizens. We should be focusing on making sure that citizens who should not get guns in the first place don't get those guns.
[Acosta:] Now as for security clearances for Jared Kushner and others here at the White House and those clearances being reduced, sources close to the White House are bluntly telling CNN that Kelly's move that is chief of staff John Kelly's move directly undercuts the president's son-in-law that's Jared Kushner in his role as an envoy to the Middle East. As you know, Wolf, the president on down, they've been saying that they had confidence in Jared Kushner to be able to broker some kind of Middle East peace deal. This one source I talked to close to the White House earlier today, who said this move from General Kelly really undercuts Jared Kushner's ability to be involved in those kinds of negotiations. Another source told us that this will keep Jared Kushner out of a lot of important meetings here at the White House. And Wolf, as you know, at the White House, access equals influence. So it's difficult on see how Jared Kushner can go on in his current role as a very important senior, close adviser to the president while having his security clearance limited. Wolf, we were reporting just a couple of weeks ago that Kushner, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, that they were a member of some 100 staffers over here at the White House who were working off of interim security clearances. Now we understand our sources are telling us that the FBI, as well as the White House, they're trying to work through all those security clearances and get these issues resolved. But it seems in the meantime, Jared Kushner's going to have his role greatly reduced over here as a result of this change implemented by General Kelly, the chief of staff.
[Blitzer:] Yes. There's a significant, very significant huge difference between top-secret, SCI, what they call sensitive compartmentalized information, as opposed to secret information. It's going to be really difficult for him to continue in those roles without that top-secret security clearance. Jim Acosta at the White House, thanks very much. Another top Trump aide, meanwhile, is stonewalling the House Intelligence Committee. The White House communications director, Hope Hicks, is refusing to answer questions about her time in the White House over these past 13 months. Let's to go our senior congressional correspondent, Manu Raju. Manu, is she still in that room behind you?
[Manu Raju, Cnn Senior Congressional Correspondent:] Yes, that's right. For more than seven hours, Wolf, she has been behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee. For most of the day, she was not answering questions about the transition period and for about her time during the White House, only saying that the White House has authorized her to speak about the campaign period but not any talk about any topics after the campaign. Very much in line with what Steve Bannon did when he came before the committee on two separate occasions and would not answer questions about his time after the campaign. Well, there's been a bit of a shift in the last several moments here, Wolf. One Republican member of the committee, Tom Rooney, just emerged and said that Hope is starting to answer questions about the transition period, in large part because she had answered questions about the transition when she met previously before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and House Intelligence Committee was saying that they should also be afforded the same right to get those their questions answered about the transition. Still, she is not answering questions about her time at the White House, and Democrats are not happy. They're saying that she should be subpoenaed to answer some of these questions. That's a concern that was raised earlier today by Congressman Mike Quigley.
[Rep. Mike Quigley , Intelligence Committee:] I have less hope we'll get to all the answers.
[Raju:] Has there been a subpoena issued for her?
[Quigley:] No.
[Raju:] Should there be?
[Quigley:] Yes.
[Raju:] Why is that?
[Quigley:] With anyone who doesn't answer questions, they ought to be subpoenaed.
[Raju:] But so far we're not seeing as much concern from Republicans about her refusal to answer some key questions as they had with Steve Bannon, of course, threatening on hold him in contempt of Congress for not answering questions about the transition and during the White House. And you'll recall that there was those threats about contempt for Bannon. But we're told today by several of the members, Republican members of that committee that they have not made a decision yet about whether or not to move forward with a contempt citation for Steve Bannon and certainly not clear that they would go anywhere near there with Hope Hicks, because she appears to be leaving some Republican concerns even of Democrats are not happy. We'll see what they have to say when she they emerge in probably a matter of moments. This hearing going on all day. Democrats want a lot more answers about what she knew during the White House, the firing of Jim Comey, that infamous statement that was drafted about that Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr., and the Russians and other topics. She's shed any light on that. She hadn't earlier in the day, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Yes. Seven hours and counting. We'll see when she finally emerges. Manu, we'll get back to you. Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill. Let's bring in our reporters and analysts. We're standing by to speak with Congressman Eric Swalwell, Gloria. He's a member of the committee. As soon as he walks out from the Intelligence Committee hearing this is all happening behind closed doors we'll talk to him, as well. But let's get back to the breaking news: Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, senior adviser, no longer has top-secret security clearances. He's not secret security clearance. There's a big different, and questions now remain. Will he be able to continue his work in the Middle East, continue his work on China, continue his work on Mexico? You really need top-secret SCI clearances for all of that.
[Gloria Borger, Cnn Chief Political Analyst:] Right. I don't see how, really, he can continue to do his job at the level that that he was doing it. You need that kind of clearance. I know what General Kelly has said. I know what his attorney has said. But the truth of the matter is that his clearance will be very limited right now. And when you're dealing with, let's say, a place like the Middle East, and you want to you want to deal with intelligence that comes from the Middle East, it's useful to know sources and methods, for example. It's useful to see some sensitive intercepts. But you might see, and you wouldn't see that under under the clearance that he now has. And, you know, our reporting from the last week has shown that, so long as the Mueller investigation is going on, that Jared is very unlikely to get that clearance upgrade that he really needs. And so I would think that's a real problem for him in doing his work.
[Blitzer:] Yes. They've been checking his security clearances, Sabrina, for 13 months now. Maybe even earlier during the transition. I assume they started, and he still hasn't qualified. That's a major setback.
[Sabrina Siddiqui, "the Guardian":] Absolutely. And this, in some ways, has been a long time coming. I think it's been notable that members of both parties on Capitol Hill have raised red flags about the status of Jared Kushner's security clearance. We know that he had omitted dozens of financial transactions on his security clearance forms, as well as contacts that he had with foreign officials and foreign leaders. That included, of course, a meeting during the transition with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. at the time, as well as the head of a bank, a Russian state bank that was sanctioned by the U.S. So these are some of the concerns, I think, that have been brimming to the surface. And really, the dam was broken during the Rob Porter scandal, which highlighted the security clearance process within the White House.
[Blitzer:] Only the other day, Sara, the president said he was going to leave it up to his White House chief of staff, General Kelly, to make this decision. He was going to step back. Well, General Kelly has now made his decision.
[Sara Murray, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Yes, General Kelly has made his decision. And look, for I guess, those people who are watching the White House and had concerns about nepotism, maybe this makes them feel better that the president didn't directly intervene. And I think Sabrina makes a good point that, you know, Jared Kushner's security clearance was going to be complicated for a lot of reasons. It was going to be complicated because he filed his forms incorrectly the first time. It was going to be complicated even if he filed his forms correctly because he has done so much business and has had so many different foreign contacts, and he was coming from a nonpolitical world. So this is a more complicated background than you would normally see for someone coming into the White House like this. And now you have the Mueller investigation still ongoing. And we know that there are questions being asked about, you know, some of the meetings Jared Kushner took and some of the financing for his business. Obviously, that adds another layer of complication and, as Gloria said, makes it more likely that he would get any kind of top- secret clearance while this investigation is still ongoing. You know, if you're John Kelly, you're really between a rock and a hard place. Do you do, you know, what you think is going to please the president and give this person top-secret security clearance, even though that's not necessarily what is warranted, or do you go with what the protocol calls for? And I think that's what we've seen him do.
[Blitzer:] The president did say that he expected John Kelly to make the right decision. He was fully confident he would make the right decision. What do you think?
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Chief Legal Analyst:] Well, you know, just to go back to what Gloria said, if you ask the CIA, if you ask the NSA. Like, why do we have the CIA? Why do we have the NSA? The reason is to give policy makers the information that they need to make decisions. He's allegedly in charge of Middle East negotiations. There is no more important or high-profile NSACIA information. How can he do his job? What is his job now if he doesn't have access to this material? And all of it goes back to the problem of nepotism. If he were treated like everyone else, he'd be gone.
[Borger:] He wouldn't be there. He wouldn't be there in the first place.
[Toobin:] He wouldn't be there you're right. He wouldn't be there in the first place, but he'd certainly be gone by this point. But because he's the president's son-in-law, they have to sort of jerry rig the system where he's sort of there and he can sort of do his job, but that's not what the American people asked for, and it's not what they deserve.
[Blitzer:] Because is he really qualified...
[Borger:] No.
[Blitzer:] ... to be Middle East negotiator, a special envoy dealing with some of the most sensitive, some of the most complex negotiations in the world of diplomacy.
[Borger:] Is that a rhetorical question? I think not. Look, Jared, as the president has pointed out many times, has a great deal of knowledge about the Middle East, I'm sure. A great deal of interest in the Middle East. But is he the person that a president you would think a president would pick to be the chief negotiator for the United States for peace in the Middle East? You know, I think not. I mean, this was something that the president felt, Jared could do, because he's a great negotiator or deal maker. I'm not quite sure why. Or married to his daughter? I don't know. But, you know, obviously not. I think that he's also involved in Mexico, a U.S.Mexico relationship.
[Toobin:] China.
[Borger:] China. And there are all kinds of issues there with Jared and his business and his business dealings. So I think that that this security clearance denial is one way of saying, "You know, you're not going to be able to do that job."
[Blitzer:] The president presumably could overrule his White House chief of staff and say, "You know what? I'm the president. I'm giving him the security clearances he needs."
[Siddiqui:] And this is a president who changes his mind on any given day. Now when he spoke to reporters on Friday, as we just noted, he said he was leaving the decision up to his chief of staff, John Kelly, but we know also that there are competing factions within this White Houses, and John Kelly, in particular, has often been at odds with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. You know, the extent to which this further exacerbates some of those internal fissures and where that leads the White House in the coming weeks and days and whether or not the president is going to, again, show this complexity with his personal relationships and these very influential positions, that remains to be seen.
[Blitzer:] All right. Everybody stand by. We're getting more information now just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM about Jared Kushner. We'll take a quick break. We'll update you right after this.