[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] We're going to continue to watch this very disturbing story. In the meantime, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
[Erin Burnett, Cnn:] OUTFRONT next, Trump puts his second meeting with Putin on ICE, just to save face? This as his Secretary of State is grilled on Capitol Hill today. Plus, the White House banning a CNN reporter from a Rose Garden event. What were they afraid of? And our special series on drilling and mining in Alaska. How President Trump's election is giving new hope to one of the most controversial projects in the nation. Let's go OUTFRONT. And good evening, I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, saving face. President Trump responding to a snub from Vladimir Putin today by postponing his highly touted summit in Washington. National Security Adviser John Bolton releasing a statement, saying, "The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over. So we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year." Now, we don't know whether the Russians have agreed to that or not, they haven't said. But after the first of the year is a big change from this fall, which is what the White House announced on Twitter. So why is this meeting suddenly on ICE? Well, our Jeff Zeleny asked.
[Jeff Zeleny, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Mr. President, why did you cancel the meeting with Vladimir Putin, sir?
[Burnett:] Silence. And maybe the reason for Trump's reticence is this. When Putin got the invitation, the original one, a Russian aide replied with a frankly dismissive RSVP, saying of the second summit, quote, not now. That was an embarrassing slap at President Trump.
[Unidentified Female:] Why is Vladimir Putin not accepting your invitation?
[Unidentified Male:] Come on. Thank you, everybody.
[Unidentified Female:] Let's go.
[Unidentified Male:] Let's go. Come on, guys.
[Unidentified Female:] We're done. We're done. Let's go. Why is Vladimir Putin not accepting your invitation, Mr. President? We're done.
[Burnett:] OK. You saw President Trump. He didn't look happy with those questions. He moved quickly once Putin dissed him. Because he want to be the first about the summit on ICE, that's what it seems like. That, frankly, is par for the course for Trump. Remember North Korea, in that summit, the President originally canceling that meeting with Kim Jong-un when he reportedly feared that Kim might be a no show. And then do you remember the Philadelphia Eagles White House visit? Well, if you don't, here's what happened. The President pulled the plug on that meet and greet after a number of players turned down the President's invite. And remember Trump's economic council? We do. He disbanded it last year, because, you guessed it, so many members were quitting over the President's response to the white nationalist attack in Charlottesville but he said he was disbanding the whole thing. Oh, but the reason Trump is giving for putting the summit with Putin on ICE until, quote, after the first of the year, according to John Bolton, you heard it, they're going to wait until after the Russia witch hunt is over. Look, the use of the words witch hunt we all know at this point, that is just the way it is from the Trump White House. Even though his own top intelligence officials say it's a completely false thing to say. But it is interesting that team Trump is yet again putting a hard deadline on Mueller. It sure seems to be wishful thinking, because it was last August when Trump's former Attorney, Ty Cobb said, "I'd be embarrassed if this is still haunting the White House by Thanksgiving, and worse if it's still haunting him by year-end." Well now he is truly haunted. Because when the investigation was still hanging over the White House after Thanksgiving and after Christmas and in January came this prediction.
[Unidentified Male:] When do you believe this investigation will reach its conclusion? There's no reason for not to conclude it soon. What is soon? Well, and soon to me would be within the next, you know, four to six weeks.
[Burnett:] Wouldn't have even been spring by the time that happened. OK. Well, safe to say their predictions have been pretty bad. And today the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, faced hostile questions about what even happened in the first summit with Putin. Never mind putting this whole second one on ICE. Michelle Kosinski is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill for us tonight. And Michelle, Secretary of State Pompeo coming under a lot of fire today. He did, though, sound defiant.
[Michelle Kosinski, Cnn White House Correspondent:] He did, Erin. This was contentious from minute one. And in fact, the Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee started out with criticism, saying he feels like the Trump White House wakes up every morning and makes up foreign policy as they go. This was a chance for senators to finally get their questions answered over what exactly was said between Trump and Putin in Helsinki, but Pompeo, often with a snarky attitude for many of these questions, simply refused to give a clear answer.
[Mike Pompeo, Secretary Of State:] Senator, I understand the game that you're playing.
[Sen. Bob Menendez , New Jersey:] My question is to get to the truth. We don't know what the truth is.
[Kosinski:] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo still vague, at best, on Trump's summit with Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
[Menendez:] Has the President told you what he and President Putin discussed in their two-hour closed-door meeting in Helsinki?
[Pompeo:] The President have a prerogative to choose who's in meetings
[Menendez:] I asked you a simple question.
[Pompeo:] I have had a number of conversations with President Trump and I think I have a pretty complete understanding of what took place in that meeting.
[Menendez:] Good. Did you speak to the translator who was at that meeting?
[Pompeo:] No, I haven't.
[Kosinski:] And on sanctions
[Menendez:] Did the President discuss relaxing U.S. sanctions on Russia?
[Pompeo:] Senator, the U.S. policy with respect to sanctions remains completely unchanged.
[Menendez:] I asked a very specific question.
[Pompeo:] Yes, Senator, and I gave you a very specific answer.
[Menendez:] Did the President tell you that he discussed relaxing Russia's sanctions or not? Yes or no?
[Pompeo:] Senator, the President is entitled to have private meetings.
[Kosinski:] No answer. Same on whether Trump called on Putin privately to withdraw from Ukraine. And on whether there were agreements on Syria.
[Unidentified Female:] Do you know if there was any sort of downgrading of our U.S. presence in Israel? I mean, in Syria, that was discussed?
[Pompeo:] Senator, there's been no change in U.S. policy with respect to our activities in Syria.
[I -- Unidentified Female:] I understand. But that's not exactly the question.
[Pompeo:] Senator, it's what matters.
[Kosinski:] The Republican Chairman of the Committee, Senator Bob Corker, had striking criticism for the President and his administration as a whole.
[Sen. Bob Corker, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee:] It's the President's actions that create tremendous distrust in our nation, among our allies. It's palpable. We meet and talk with them. Is there a strategy to this? Or is it what is it that causes the President to purposefully, purposefully create distrust in these institutions? And what we're doing?
[Pompeo:] Senator, I just I disagree with most of what you just said there.
[Kosinski:] Pompeo said he wasn't answering these questions because these were private conversations. But one thing he did state clearly, he said President Trump does accept the intelligence community's assessment that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, that he has a complete understanding of that. Although that is something that Trump himself refused to say when he was standing side by side with Putin. Erin?
[Burnett:] All right. Thank you very much, Michelle Kosinski. And Michelle, really giving us a sense of what happened there. Contentious. And OUTFRONT now, let's get to Democratic Congressman Denny Heck who sits on the Intelligence Committee. And Congressman, obviously, you saw heard everything that went down today. Did you find Secretary Pompeo's answers, the way he chose to answer these questions or not answer these questions, right? Well, the policy is unchanged. It's sort of, who cares what the President may or may not have said and I'm not going to tell you that. Did you find that helpful?
[Rep. Denny Heck , Washington:] So I'm not at all convinced, Erin, that Secretary of State Pompeo knows what was said there. And I think you could infer that from the basis of his vagueness. I think, however, that Americans should look at that hearing and at least insofar as what I know about it, and actually take some encouragement, if not inspiration from it. Because what you saw was members of the United States Senate on that committee, Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, and everybody in between, asking hard questions of the Secretary of State, about this very important matter. In other words, they were attempting to fulfill their constitutional responsibility for oversight and to hold the President accountable for this virtually unprecedented action on this part
[Burnett:] Well, as you point out, it was Democrats and Republicans that we just saw there, even in those clips, which Michelle just played. Look, to all of us, what happened in that meeting between Putin and Trump is a complete mystery, right, because he didn't let anybody in. Secretary Pompeo, though, you know, you're saying you're not sure he knows what happened. But today he said, oh, I'm confident, I know. And here's how he put it.
[Pompeo:] I have a number of conversations with President Trump about what transpired in the meeting. I was also present when he and President Putin both gave us a sense of what they discussed in the meeting that followed immediately after. I have also had the chance to speak with Sergey Lavrov twice about the Russian bureau and what take place. I think I have a pretty complete understanding of what took place in that meeting.
[Burnett:] Do you think he thinks he has a pretty complete understanding, Congressman Heck, or do you think he is really doesn't know and is he's just trying to put a good face on it?
[Heck:] Well, probably more the latter, Erin. But here's the deal. If, in fact, the President gave him a complete 100% readout on that meeting, then it really begs the question, why wasn't the Secretary of State in that meeting to begin with? Because the fact of the matter, throughout all of history, that is the norm, not the practice of this President, which is to meet privately. Meet privately with Vladimir Putin, shortly after having stood on foreign soil and actually taking the autocrat of a hostile foreign power, Mr. Putin, over the word of his own intelligence community. So if, in fact, the Secretary of State knows everything that went on there, then there would have been no reason for the President to keep him out, which would have been the usual practice.
[Burnett:] So the White House announced today, Congressman, you know, we're talking about what happened in the last meeting, but the proposed second meeting that was supposed to be this fall according to the President is not going to happen this year. They're saying it's being put on ICE until after the beginning of the year when the quote, Russian witch hunt is over. Do you buy that excuse?
[Heck:] So, I don't think the first meeting should have happened, given the context with where we are with Russia right now. But secondly, I'm not at all convinced that there was ever going to be a meeting second meeting. You know, the President has a continuing effort to engage in treating us all to a 3-D movie. Deception, deflection, and distraction. And it is the news of the day, and then soon thereafter, we move on to the next thing. So I'm not convinced that he ever really intended to have a second meeting, but we sure have been talking about it.
[Burnett:] So, before you go, I want to ask you about this. If this is important to the Russian investigation. 30 members of Congress, and I believe you're included in that, Congressman Heck, have reviewed what is largely unredacted copies of the Carter Page FISA materials, right, which are being hotly discussed. The Chairman of your committee, though, Devin Nunes, has not reviewed that, despite obviously having a strong opinion on it. Do you know why?
[Heck:] Do I know what?
[Burnett:] Do you know why he has not reviewed it?
[Heck:] I have absolutely no idea, Erin. But then again, I would be hard-pressed to explain an awful lot of his behavior in the last 18 months with respect to the Russian investigation. It is a mystery to me why it is that a member of the United States Congress, who raises his right-hand and swears to uphold the constitution of the United States isn't more concerned about what is now well-established Russian interference, not just in America's democracy, but on all western democracies, as a matter of fact. Look, the indictments that the Special Counsel, Director Mueller, issued for the 12 uniformed members of the Russian intelligence services is a master piece of criminal investigation. And I confidently predicted it will go down in the history books as such. To be able to trace their names, recreate the paper trail, as it were, is brilliant detective work. Nothing less. And you know what, Erin?
[Burnett:] What?
[Heck:] Tomorrow's the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And for the President to continue to wage war against this federal law enforcement office, it is a mystery to me.
[Burnett:] Congressman Heck, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.
[Heck:] You're welcome.
[Burnett:] And we have breaking news in just a moment. Prosecutors leading the criminal investigation of Michael Cohen, had no clue that that secret tape of President Trump was going public. And that could be causing big problems for Cohen tonight. A breaking development. And a CNN White House correspondent banned from the Rose Garden today from an event there, right. She was supposed to be the reporter there, the pool reporter. And the reason she was banned is this.
[Kaitlan Collins, Cnn White House Reporter:] Did Michael Cohen betray you? Are you worried about what is on the other tapes, Mr. President?
[Burnett:] Those questions. What is the White House afraid of? And winning streak. Two more women victorious in their runoff races for Congress last night. Should the President be worried?