Trump Warns Mueller Not To Probe His Family's Finances.
BOLDUAN: More from that remarkable interview now President Trump gave "The New York Times" laying down a warning in it for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, "Don't reach beyond Russia or he'll -- well, he doesn't exactly say. Here's that part.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mueller was looking at your finances and your family's finances unrelated to Russia. Is that a red line?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would that be a breach of what his actual charge is?</s>PRESIDENT TRUMP: I would say yes. I would say yes.</s>BOLDUAN: The panel is back with me. So Jeffrey, how would the president know if this council is reaching beyond and what could he do about it?</s>TOOBIN: Well, he could know because witnesses could come forward and say I was subpoenaed to talk about the family finances. Witnesses are free to talk about their interactions with a criminal investigation, even if Mueller, himself, does not disclose it. He could fire Mueller. I mean, he would have to tell the Justice Department, which would mean telling Rod Rosenstein because Sessions has recused. If Rosenstein refused, he would move down the chain of command to get someone to fire him. But presumably, he would get someone to fire him. He is in charge of the Justice Department, and I don't think we could rule that out. I don't think it is out of the question that Robert Mueller will wind up fired from this investigation. Donald Trump fired the FBI director, why wouldn't he fire Robert Mueller?</s>BOLDUAN: Well, Gloria, on this point, though, kind of the premise of what he is talking about, he says don't go beyond -- don't get out of your lane. Isn't that by definition what happens as we've seen just ask Bill Clinton, you know, where these investigations go. Folks around the president, they know that.</s>BORGER: Absolutely. You know, I think Mueller and Ken Star are two very different people, but it's very clear to me and I agree with Jeffrey that what the president was doing was essentially, you know, what we call in politics a pre-buttle. It was sort of putting him on notice here and saying this isn't what you are supposed to do. You are supposed to cover the Russian hack, you are not supposed to delve into my family's finances and he drew a line there. And then, at some point in the interview, he started talking about, yes, maybe I sold a condo to a Russian at one point. He went off on this tangent, but it's very clear to me that that's on his mind right now and he was -- he was telling Mueller to be careful.</s>BOLDUAN: And Michael, CNN's reporting is that the investigators are looking into Donald Trump Jr.'s finances as part of their investigation. One Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, a critic of the president, especially on all things Russia, he says that the president after this interview, the president here is offering more evidence of obstruction of justice. Do you see that, Michael?</s>ZELDIN: Two things about this. First is whether Mueller is investigating financial matters related to the Trump ecosystem. I think the answer to that is most likely yes and that is already within his mandate. The mandate that Rosenstein gave him on May 17th says all matters related to Russia and anything that may arise out of it and whether or not the financial dealings provide motive why the Russia/Trump team met is perfectly within his purview. He is not going to see that as a limitation on his swim lane. Secondly, whether or not this is an obstruction of justice, I don't think it's obstruction of justice. I think were Mueller to be fired, it would be an abuse of office, an abuse of power that would lead to consideration of Article of Impeachment. But I don't think legal indictment before a grand jury says you are going to get obstruction of justice out of that, but those things sort of conflate what is the difference between obstruction of justice or abusing your power of office, it's really much the same.</s>TOOBIN: But just as a matter of how criminal investigations work, if someone you are looking at, investigating says, don't look at my finances, they are absolutely fine --</s>BOLDUAN: Don't look under this rock.</s>TOOBIN: There's no problem. What rational investigator wouldn't start looking at their finances? I mean, you know, the thing about the president, is that like all the emotions are out there in front. You know, it can be a problem.</s>BOLDUAN: Ken, what is your take on this one?</s>CUCCINELLI: Well, first of all, the president didn't, you know, make a threat as you characterized it. He answered a question, and in and of itself, on paper, the question, the answer to the question were correct, accurate and appropriate. You remember that we don't have an independent council law because on a bipartisan basis, Republicans and Democrats thought that these independent operating prosecutors went too far afield. That is the main concern that continues to exist, setting aside the constitutional concerns. And that continues to this day, even though this is under a special counsel regulation of the Department of Justice. The same concern continues to exist. History has proven it a legitimate oncern. Robert Mueller will, you know, essentially define for himself by his performance whether he falls into that category or stays focused on the target and that is Russian involvement in the election.</s>BOLDUAN: Michael, you were --</s>ZELDIN: Yes, I was going to say, the president said this would be a red line if he crossed it to look into family finances. Jeffrey is right --</s>CUCCINELLI: No, "The New York Times" said it -- "The New York Times" said it, not the president. Red line is a serious phrase. "The New York Times" said that, not the president.</s>BOLDUAN: They asked it as a question.</s>ZELDIN: Yes, they did. They asked him that question and he seemed to imply, yes, it would be a red line. That would be something -- that would be a bridge too far for him. But it is part of the mandate, as I read the mandate. The mandate says all matters that arise out of this investigation. It's hard to understand how the investigation of financial dealings with the same people that may be those involved in the conspiracy or the collusion wouldn't be part of this mandate. So I just see it as something that is a misunderstanding on the president's part about what Mueller's mandate is. Mueller didn't pay much attention to it.</s>BOLDUAN: He said -- no, Ken --</s>CUCCINELLI: I'm going to step up here and defend the president very much, but he said family finances. I completely agree with what Michael said that --</s>BOLDUAN: The question was, Mueller was looking at your finances, your family finances unrelated to Russia, is that a red line? Would that be a breach of what his actual charges --</s>CUCCINELLI: Unrelated to Russia.</s>BOLDUAN: -- I would say yes. I said unrelated to Russia when I was talking about it.</s>ZELDIN: Mueller will decide -- Mueller will decide within his prosecutorial discretion whether this is or isn't related. But in order to determine whether it is unrelated, you have to look in it. You cannot determine it's not related. You have to look into it and say this is unrelated and then he can make a referral to the Justice Department to investigate any criminal activities that may arise in that investigation that are unrelated to his mandate. It's all appropriate for Mueller to do this. It's inappropriate I think for the president to threaten Mueller, if you go there, you may be fired. That is abusive to me.</s>BOLDUAN: We'll see. The president asked several times, not saying what would happen if he did go that route. We will see. Thank you all. I really appreciate it. A parole board getting ready to decide whether O.J. Simpson walks free in a televised hearing. Hear what to expect and his (inaudible) that's ahead. Plus, support right now is pouring in for Senator John McCain after the shocking news of his diagnosis of an aggressive form of brain cancer. We're going to speak with one of his friends and former campaign adviser.