Mike Pompeo's Confirmation as CIA Director Delayed in Senate
BALDWIN: We're back with the breaking news. So glad you're with me on this Saturday. There's so much to talk about here in Washington. You're watching CNN special live coverage as demonstrations erupt across America for a myriad of reasons. This is not just about Donald Trump. This is not just about Hillary Clinton. This is about issues. This is about the White House listening to what these women and men have to say. Let's talk, though, now about how the White House ordered a stop to the tweeting at the National Park Service. Let's go to Manu Raju, our CNN senior congressional reporter who has the scoop on this. Manu, set up the story. What's happened?</s>MANU RAJU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A "New York Time" reporter tweeted images of the 2009 President Obama's first inauguration in which roughly, estimates were about 1.8 million people came to celebrate and to experience that inauguration. And "The Times" report included an image of that with an image of yesterday's inauguration. And it appeared according to those images that a lot fewer people were at Trump's inauguration compared with Obama's inauguration. Well, it turns out that was not very popular for the Park Service. After that tweet came out the Park Service actually re-tweeted that "Times" reporter's tweet and that didn't go over very well with the White House. And there was an instruction that came down from the National Park Service that there will be no more tweeting or re- tweeting until further guidance comes out on Monday. We all know, we heard Donald Trump on the campaign trail time and again talk about the size of his crowds, really pointing to the size of his crowds as a sign of major enthusiasm behind his campaign, his candidacy, and now his presidency. And so this obviously rubbed Donald Trump and his team the wrong way. The Park Service later issuing an apology of sorts for that re-tweet. And it's also a sign, Brooke, that Donald Trump will be running the White House, a lot of career folks in these different bureaucracies, the federal agencies maybe have different views than the White House and they do things that are not very popular with the White House. So as Trump comes in he's trying to make sure that people are all on the same page, but with so many federal officials out there who may have different views and may try to do things to undermine him. Brooke?</s>BALDWIN: Manu, thank you. We've got the panel first to just react to this. And Kate, we were actually talking about this earlier, because not only have the comparisons been made of course yesterday to the Obama inauguration. I'm sure they'll be the pictures of today compared to yesterday. And of course, Mr. Trump says, it's not fair, it's not OK.</s>BENNETT: I'm actually struck today by this picture behind us on the set of the capital where he was just sworn in yesterday. It feels very sort of deserted and desolate. And just to the right down the mall, it's packed with people. Obviously, it's not the optics, I think, that we wanted -- the Trump administration would want to kick off his big weekend with. However this march has been planned, and it's a march so big they can't march. So there's something to be said on that. But there's definitely --</s>BASH: Can I just add something to that? When I saw the reporting on the fact that the Trump administration asked the Park Service to pull that tweet back, let me just say, to start with, the National Park Service, their job is to -- part of their job is to estimate crowd size. So if they didn't know the numbers, then they should be careful about what they re-tweet, particularly since that's their job. Having said that, the fact that on day one of a full Trump administration, the White House is saying, please don't tweet something that clearly would upset the president who is, admits, obsessed with his own crowd size is a little bit alarming because it is a slippery slope. And you know what, there are going to be things his agencies are going to report that he's not going to like. And you know what, it's what happens when you're not running your own organization or your campaign. You have got to get used to it. You're now the leader of the government.</s>BALDWIN: Let me come back in a second because I've been told in my ear, Jim Sciutto, as we've been talking about crowd size, you've got some news on the</s>CIA. SCIUTTO: It is just 20 minutes away from when the new president goes to address the CIA. It's that Mike Pompeo, who is his choice, not yet confirmed choice to lead the CIA, that he in written answers to question from Congress said that he's open to reinstating water boarding, a form of torture. We talk a lot in panels about how elections matter, and of course, they do, but appointments matter, because this has been really, excuse the phrase, a tortured issue for the CIA in recent years because when the CIA allowed torture to be used in the wake of 9/11 against terror suspects, just in the wake of that, first of all, there were legal issues, but there was enormous regret inside, worry about damage to the organization, damage to American values. The CIA on this issue has only really just begun to recover from. So now you have the incoming director saying he might reinstate it. And keep in mind, that's in defiance of other senior military officers in the Trump administration, Defense Secretary Mattis among them, who sat down with Trump.</s>URBAN: If I could weigh? I went to school with Mike Pompeo. I went to West Point with Mike Pompeo. I've known Mike Pompeo since July of 1982.</s>BALDWIN: Wow.</s>URBAN: And I can state unequivocally he's an unbelievable patriot, a great individual of sterling character, and what he said in his testimony, during his testimony was he would ask the general counsel's office to reexamine all of those types of issues. He didn't say he was open to reinstating water boarding or he was going to water board anybody. He said he would ask the general counsel's office.</s>SCIUTTO: Why don't I read exactly what he said in his written answers?</s>BALDWIN: Please do.</s>SCIUTTO: "If confirmed, I will consult with experts of the agency and other organizations of the U.S. government on whether the Army Field Manual which sets standard for interrogation, uniform application is an impediment to gathering vital intelligence to protect the country."</s>URBAN: It doesn't say he's going to reinstate water boarding.</s>SCIUTTO: I didn't say that. I said that he was open to it. And here he's making a judgment here. He's making a statement saying if it's an impediment, then I might reconsider. I'm fairly certain I'm not reading into those comments.</s>URBAN: It wasn't that the CIA director is going to reinstate water boarding.</s>SCIUTTO: I didn't say that. I said that he's open to considering it.</s>PRESTON: Where this puts us, though, in Monday with a nomination that's been delayed could now be delayed even further down the road because you do have the likes of John McCain and Lindsey Graham and those types who are Republicans who would 100 percent b behind Mike Pompeo that might say, let us take a step back and learn about this a little bit further.</s>BASH: This is the reason why Mike Pompeo wasn't confirmed yesterday. Ron Wyden, the senator from Oregon, because he's on the committee, he saw this testimony and he said, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm going to use my right as a senator to hold this up, and there was a big blow-up on the Senate floor about it, and they agreed to hold the vote.</s>ROSEN: This is part of a bigger issue that the Trump administration is facing in terms of their nominees. First of all, they've gotten a very slow start in confirmations. As of this time with George Bush and Barack Obama, they each had seven or eight of their cabinet already confirmed. Donald Trump only has two of them. And what, you know, I found over the last couple of days is that the number of appointments that they have made in these agencies, and goes to the interior department, where they ready for what was happening? No, they're not ready for what's happening anywhere because they hardly have any people in place to fill these jobs.</s>BALDWIN: David, I want you to quickly respond to that, because I've got to go to break.</s>HAM: One problem they're not dealing with is the filibuster because the Democrats took it away from themselves.</s>URBAN: Back to Mike Pompeo.</s>ROSEN: That's exactly right. They can do whatever they want.</s>URBAN: On cloture it was 89-11 to put Miami Pompeo forward. So there's no doubt Mike Pompeo is going to confirmed as the CIA director.</s>ROSEN: But they're not getting their paperwork in on time.</s>URBAN: The Democrats are simply slow walking him.</s>BALDWIN: Speaking on Pompeo, the CIA, again, just a reminder to all of you watching and following along on this very busy Saturday with me, we will be seeing President Trump from the CIA giving remarks. Of course, we'll take it live at the top of the hour, but we're also watching these throngs of men and women, younger and older out today in full force marching for what they believe in. Different issues they want Mr. Trump to listen to. We'll hear from some of these women coming up.