[Erin Burnett, Cnn Anchor:] OUTFRONT next, the President's Supreme Court pick. He has made his decision and the nominee is about to be revealed Trump style. Senator Bernie Sanders is OUTFRONT. Plus, Trump reportedly tells Putin that his aides are, quote, "stupid people." Trump said that to Putin about Trump's people. And Michael Cohen vowing to speak the, quote, "real truth", how worry should President Trump be? Let's go OUTFRONT. Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, President Trump about to announce his pick for the Supreme Court live on national television in prime time. The person close to the process telling CNN, the President has made his decision and the nominee and the nominee's family are readying for the cameras as we speak there at the White House. This is one of the most significant announcements of President Trump's presidency, one that, frankly, will cement his legacy and define the Supreme Court for more than a generation. That's a monumental moment and the president, of course, has turned it into a reality show. There's the big reveal coming up on live prime time, 9:00 Eastern, and the tease. Trump has been playing this up to get people to watch. Even people who may not care anything about the Supreme Court, they want to watch this whole pomp and circumstance. He's been doing this for ten days.
[Donald Trump, President Of United States:] I'll be announcing it the Monday after July 4th. What is the Monday after July 4th?
[Unidentified Male:] The 9th.
[Trump:] The 9th? I'll be announcing on the 9th. We're going to give you a great one. We're going to announce it on Monday. If you tune in Monday at 9:00, I think you're going to be extremely happy with the selection.
[Burnett:] Even a little tune in announcement. And here's the thing, he hasn't linked, he's played it very close to the vest. Trump said to have made his decision by 3:00 p.m. today. You have to, you know, either have them all there or fly them in. I mean, you know, it's a pretty incredible feat to pull off. We're told the finalists include three men and one woman. The final four include Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Judge Thomas Hardiman, who, of course, was the runner-up to replace Antonin Scalia last year, Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Judge Raymond Kethledge. The big reveal will have the lights, the camera, all of the drama. I mean, do you remember when Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch last year? I mean, this was sort of channeling of Trump's inter apprentice. He walked alone to the mike. He said a few words, then built up to the great reveal.
[Trump:] I would like to ask Judge Gorsuch and his wonderful wife Louise to please step forward. Here they come. Here they come.
[Burnett:] And no one knew until that minute. So tonight, Donald Trump, the man who made a name for himself by saying "you're fired" knows that when it comes to tonight and to leaving his mark on American history, it is not the fired part that counts. But the actual final few words that he used to say in all of his "Apprentice" finales.
[Trump:] Randall, you're hired.
[Burnett:] And Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT live at the White House. I don't know if we'll get the screams and the applause that came in "The Apprentice" finales, but that is certainly the mood and the pomp the President is building towards. What are you learning right now, Jeff?
[Jeff Zeleny, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Erin, good evening. If it was only that easy to put someone on the Supreme Court saying you're hired, the President I think would be in much better shape. The reality here is, this is the beginning of a summer-long intense confirmation fight. All ready battles playing out. It's coinciding with a midterm election year, which in some ways helps fire up his base. In other ways it complicates it because the Democrats are fired up as well. But, Erin, the finalists as you were just laying out there. I am told that the President throughout the day today taking phone calls from people essentially soliciting pros and cons from Brett Kavanaugh and Thomas Hardiman. Those are believed to be the two top contenders of those four but no one is making any bets on that. The President, I'm told, still intrigued with the idea of having a woman on the Supreme Court, a conservative woman in his view. The reality is we're going to have to wait. And, Erin, I can tell you, top officials here do not know. They're planning for three possibilities. They've been briefing conservative activists. They are getting their team ready for a confirmation fight for three of them. Of course, in two hours we will know. But, Erin, interestingly tonight in the room there will be a lot of Senate Republicans. Senate Democrats were invited, particularly those red state Democrats whose votes they're looking for. They've all declined. That does not mean they will not vote for the confirmation at the end of the day, but those red state Democrats will not be there tonight. As of now, the White House believes that secret will hold, two more hours to go, Erin.
[Burnett:] All right. Thank you very much. In a White House that leaks like a sieve, the best thing to do is not tell around you who you picked. And then, it can't leak. OUTFRONT now, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders, I appreciate your time. But we understand the President made his choice. When you talk about just the logistics of getting someone there and informing them, making it at 3:00 Eastern is pretty darn late for a 9:00 p.m. announcement that's what we understand. Senator, Is there anyone this President could realistically pick that would be acceptable to you?
[Sen. Bernie Sanders , Vermont:] Well, there are many people he could realistically pick, people who respected the rights of workers, people who respected women's rights, people who are concerned about the environment and climate change, people who believed in justice. If President Trump were to nominate somebody who held those beliefs, of course, I could support that person. Do I realistically think that that is going to be the nominee? No, I don't. As you know, Trump has indicated that he is working off a list of 25 right-wing legal people. And that during the campaign he said, pretty publicly, that his nominee would be somebody to overturn Roe versus Wade. If that's one of his nominees, no, I certainly will not support him or her.
[Burnett:] All right. So, on the list of 25 that you're not amenable to, one of the judges that we understand, I don't know if you just heard our Jeff Zeleny, but he's saying it could obviously be anyone on that list of 25. But we believe at this point, he had whittled it down possibly to Judge Thomas Hardiman and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I want to ask you about Thomas Hardiman. Obviously, he's on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals right now. And part of the reason he's there is because of you, you voted to confirm him as a Circuit court judge. So
[Sanders:] Well, wait a minute. Let's who else voted for him on that one? In fact, everybody voted for him, right?
[Burnett:] Right. Well, Democrats did.
[Sanders:] Yes, that was unanimous.
[Burnett:] My point is, you're saying you're now putting him as a conservative you couldn't support. But obviously a decade ago you didn't feel the same way.
[Sanders:] Well, yes, but there is a difference between voting for somebody in a lower court and voting for somebody in the highest court of the land. There is a fundamental difference. And if he is the nominee
[Burnett:] Which is what? I mean, that principles would matter in either case, right?
[Sanders:] Well, the principle is that the Supreme Court makes the law of the land, and determines what happens in our country in virtually every area. So, yes, there is a fundamental difference. Look, what we are talking about here is in a moment in American history where we have right-wing extremists controlling the House, the Senate and the White House. If we appoint another right-wing extremist to the Supreme Court, I have very serious concerns about justice in this country and what will happen to the men, women and children and the future of our nation. So
[Burnett:] Just to be clear, would Thomas Hardiman be a right-wing extremist now as you define it?
[Sanders:] Yes, if he is on a list of the 25 that were presented to the President, yes, he would be somebody that I would feel impossible to support.
[Burnett:] Your colleague, the Democratic Senator Bob Casey from Pennsylvania, he said he would oppose anybody on the list, which I believe is similar to what you're saying to me now, right?
[Sanders:] Yes, yes.
[Burnett:] OK. The White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah responded, and his response was unfortunate though not surprising even before his or her qualifications can be evaluated, Senator Casey is refusing to consider the President's SCOTUS nominee. Doesn't he have a point? I mean, that it would be
[Sanders:] Not really, it depends. I think what Bob said is that, if it were part of that list of 25. And that list of 25 is not just an arbitrary list. These are people who have been assembled by right- wing jurists and they have views on Roe versus Wade, they have views on workers' rights, they have views on the environment which in many cases are well known. So this is not just any old person. I would not say that, you know, any person should be summarily rejected. But if they're a member of that list, they should look. This is
[Burnett:] Do you regret then voting for Thomas Hardiman on that lower court? Because I know you're saying it's different, but the reality is he wouldn't be up for this if he hadn't gotten that.
[Sanders:] Look I voted look, when you vote for lower court judges, sometimes we get blue slips and there's a process that goes by. I think that vote was 95 to nothing, is that correct?
[Burnett:] Yes.
[Sanders:] 95-nothing. And there are a number of votes like that. But let's be clear, voting for a Supreme Court justice is very different than voting for anybody in a lower court. Look, what we're talking about is a right-wing agenda which not only wants to end Roe versus Wade, despite the fact that 70 percent of the American people support the maintenance of Roe versus Wade. Not only wants to overturn decisions regarding gay marriage and gay rights despite strong support from the American people. The right-wing agenda goes so far as to really side time and time again with large corporations who are attacking workers' rights. Even the concept of the minimum wage, which now is a starvation wage of $7.25 an hour. There are people, right-wing people saying, no, no, that's unconstitutional. We're talking about healthcare. We're talking about
[Burnett:] OK.
[Sanders:] issues of women's health in general.
[Burnett:] Senator.
[Sanders:] Yes?
[Burnett:] I want to ask you before we go, but while I have your time about the deadline tomorrow which you know, of course, is the government's deadline to reunite children under 5 who were separated at the border from their parents. Half of the children are going to be reunited by that deadline. And the Trump administration isn't sure about the rest. The federal judge though who set this deadline for reunification said he's, quote, "very encouraged thus far." Again, I've said half of those children will be reunited by the deadline, half will not. Are you encouraged?
[Sanders:] Am I encouraged by a President who ripped children out of the arms of their mother? In a situation in which the authorities did not even know where these kids were, am I encouraged? No, I am outraged by what Trump and his administration have done. Obviously, I would hope and expect that every person in this country, every person in the world believes and expects that these children should be united with their parents. We will see what happens. But I have if you want to know what I've been impressed by, it's the incompetence of the Trump administration, even the simplest things in this area.
[Burnett:] ICE has become a lightning rod in this. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was followed out of a restaurant this weekend. Protesters were yelling personal insults at him, chanting "abolish ICE" and vote him out. I want to play a clip for you, Senator Sanders.
[Unidentified Male:] Where are the children?
[Unidentified Female:] Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out. Vote you out.
[Unidentified Male:] Abolish
[Ice. Unidentified Speaker:] Abolish
[Ice. Unidentified Male:] Abolish ICE.
[Burnett:] Senator, among the protesters were members of a local chapter of the Democrat Socialists of America. Do you think their behavior was acceptable?
[Sanders:] Look, getting back to this very issue of immigration, there are people all over this country that are outraged that little kids have been separated from their parents, which no doubt will cause, I guess, permanent psychological damage when you separate a kid from his or her parents. So people are outraged and I understand that. I happen to believe that if we want to deal with real immigration reform, if we want to deal with real criminal justice reform, if we want to deal with the environment, the area that we should be focussing on energy on is ending Republican control over the House and over the Senate. And I am going to do everything I can and millions of people are going to do everything they can, putting together a grassroots movement which demands that we have a government that represents all of us and not just wealthy campaign contributors. So I think our focus of energy should be on bringing change to the House and the Senate and supporting a progressive agenda.
[Burnett:] Senator Sanders, thank you for your time tonight.
[Sanders:] Thank you.
[Burnett:] Next, breaking news on one of the President's Supreme Court finalists. We now know where that judge is right now and it could tell us something pretty huge about this announcement. Plus, the President's fixer, Michael Cohen, sending a signal to his former boss.
[Unidentified Female:] Do you have any comments on you trying to distance yourself from the President?
[Burnett:] An exclusive new details tonight from one of the divers who risked his life to save some of the young boys trapped in the cave.