Republican and Democratic Nominees Will Receive Intelligence Briefings
BERMAN: Our breaking news tonight, Donald Trump says he doesn't have to earn house speaker Paul Ryan's support because he has the voters. In an interview with ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, the presumptive nominee said quote "this is what the people want." Meanwhile, Trump is in all likelihood about to get a major education on the state of the world and possibly get his hands on classified information. As is tradition, the White House says it expects intelligence officials to brief Trump after he is the official nominee. Trump's foreign policy plan such as they are have included bombing the hell out of ISIS and making America great again. His information about foreign policy, remember back in August, Trump said on "Meet the Press" most of it comes from watching TV.</s>CHUCK TODD, NBC HOST, MEET THE PRESS: Who do you talk to for military advice right now?</s>TRUMP: Well, I watch the shows. I mean, I really see a lot of great -- when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals and certain people that --</s>TODD: But is there a go-to for you?</s>TRUMP: Probably there are two or three.</s>TODD: Every presidential candidate has a go-to.</s>TRUMP: Probably two or three. I like Bolton. He knows what he is talking. Jacobs.</s>TODD: You mean Ambassador John Bolton?</s>TRUMP: Yes.</s>TODD: You mean Colonel Jack Jacobs?</s>TRUMP: Yes. Colonel Jack Jacobs is a good guy and I see him on occasion.</s>BERMAN: All right. Joining me now chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. So, Jim, exactly when is Donald Trump going to be briefed, and what type of information is he expected to receive?</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These briefings, they take place after the nominating convention for both the Republican and Democratic nominee once it's clear that they are the nominee. And generally they'll get information about threats to national security. They'll get the information, but they don't get what the intelligence community calls sources and methods in effect how that information was gathered. That tends to be the most secret intelligence reserved for the highest level security clearances. And at least at that point neither nominee will have that level of security clearance.</s>BERMAN: It is interesting. So they won't name names. Who will do the briefings?</s>SCIUTTO: Director of national intelligence James Clapper. He doesn't do it himself but he has said he's already appointed a nonpolitical intelligence agent to do this. Of course, the most senior intelligence directors, they are appointed by the president. In this case, of course, a Democratic president. So he has chosen someone in the service, a civil servant who is not a political appointee.</s>BERMAN: You mentioned politics there. Are politics at play? Will both candidates receive exactly the same information?</s>SCIUTTO: They say they have a commitment. Clapper said this publicly. A commitment to getting both a Democratic and Republican nominee the same. Now what will happen so they both get it after the nominating convention at a certain level once the election happens and you have a president elect, then they get a more intensive briefing. That's what happens because it's clear that person is going to be the next president.</s>BERMAN: That's a whole different ball game. All right. Jim Sciutto, thanks so much.</s>SCIUTTO: Thank you.</s>BERMAN: All right. Back now with New York City councilman and co- chair of Trump's New York campaign Joseph Borelli and Tara Setmayer and Michael Smerconish. Tara, you worked on Capitol Hill. You know what these intelligence briefing are like. Do you think Donald Trump is prepare, for what's coming next?</s>SETMAYER: Absolutely not. Honestly, I don't think Donald Trump would pass a security clearance if he were trying to get a top secret clearance given his history and reckless things he's said and a lot of his questionable financial dealings. I question whether he would even pass a security clearance. But, you know, this is a guy who repeats conspiracy theories. He talks about national enquirer stories as if they are fact. And so we are going to trust him with the secrecy and importance of intelligence briefings? This is something people need to consider. So this is one of many concerns of people like me about Donald Trump in this position.</s>BORELLI: How are we -- how is she questioning the fitness of Donald Trump to receive classified information in a briefing given to every presumptive nominee since 1952 when the presumptive Democratic nominee is under federal investigation for not being responsible with classified information.</s>SETMAYER: He just repeated a conspiracy theory about John F. Kennedy's assassination and a --</s>BORELLI: And she potentially leaked actual classified email which is far more worse.</s>SETMAYER: We're not -- we're talking about Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton. And I agree with you on her.</s>BERMAN: First of all on the Hillary Clinton thing, CNN has been talking to officials who say right now there's no evidence that Hillary Clinton willfully violated any law. But they will question her and that could change. But right now that's where that situation stands. Councilman, you know Donald Trump's son, you know. Is he capable of discretion? You hear the snickers out there saying he can't keep a secret. Do you think he would be able to?</s>BORELLI: Yes. I think so. I mean, I think the weight of the office is really taking hold in him. He realizes that he is in a position now that he has never been in before. He can't speak off the cuff as much as he probably like to as much as probably has been beneficial to him in the primary season. Look. The weight of the office is great. And we can't just assume that all these nominees can digest the weight of national intelligence on the day they sworn in. This</s>BERMAN: Michael, the quiet man speak over here. The commander in chief test for any presidential candidate is a big deal, right? Is it different for Donald Trump?</s>SMERCONISH: This is what the peaceful transference of power looks like. And so, if this is what the protocol demands, then Donald Trump ought to get the briefing. And frankly, it will probably make him a more intelligent candidate. So perhaps we'll all benefit from the conversation that will result.</s>SETMAYER: Well, he can definitely use the briefing. If anyone read the editorial interviews he did with "the Washington Post," it was scary how completely incoherent his understanding of the world is and foreign policy. You know, he was asked questions about how he would defeat ISIS or different questions about nuclear weapons in Europe, he deflected and started telling one of the editorial board members about how nice you look today. I mean, these are things that he has up to this point demonstrated absolutely no ability to retain that information. And so, yes, I question whether he takes this seriously or not. The weight of the office is very serious. And he has done nothing to demonstrate that thus far.</s>BERMAN: Michael, quick. Ten seconds, any last word.</s>SMERCONISH: Bottom line, he's got to get briefing. It's in everybody's best interest he be equipped because he could win this thing.</s>BERMAN: All right. Guys, I appreciate it. A very spirited discussion on a Friday night. Thank you guys. An intelligence mission carried out by President Obama and his team that happened five years ago now this week. The mission that killed Osama bin Laden. In just ten minutes, we are going to take you behind the scenes to hear details, really</s>PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Once the SEAL team arrived in Abbottabad, the president and his advisers crowded into a smaller room across the hall where they could watch a live drone feed of the raid. Why did you come into this room, sir?</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, this is where we actually had a live view of what was happening. And so as you can see, it's a pretty small conference room. We were all jammed up in here. One of our key guys was sitting here. I was sitting here in my windbreaker. Gates was there and Hillary. And we were essentially watching what was happening in real-time.</s>BERMAN: All right. Stay tuned for the AC 360 special "we, got him -- President Obama, bin Laden and the war on terror. That's coming up at 8:30 eastern time. And just ahead, we are going to straight to the belly of the beast, the monster wildfire that has burning out of control in Canada. The blaze is growing. Thousands of people have fled their homes this week. They're now being forced farther south by these flames.