Dems Call for Translator to Testify.
BLITZER: It's very hard to believe, but the White House isn't ruling out the idea of allowing the Russians to question two Americans, Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, and Bill Browder, a Putin critic. The proposal is something Putin brought up during his private two-hour meeting with the president earlier this week in Helsinki. The president later referred to it as, quote, an incredible offer, though not everyone sees it that way. I want to bring in our CNN military and diplomatic analyst, retired Admiral John Kirby. John, tell us a little bit about these two men and why Putin would want to question them.</s>REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.), CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Thanks, Wolf. You bet. Let's start with Mr. Browder. He is the CEO of a company called Hermitage Capital Management, which at one time was the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia. Now, in 2009, one of his lawyers, a man named Sergei Magnitsky mysteriously died in prison, which led Mr. Browder to successfully lobby Congress for the passage of what is now known, The Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. government to sanction Russian human rights violators. A year after the passage of that act now in 2013, Putin's government convicted him of tax fraud and sentenced him to absentia to nine years in prison. And he is still considered under investigation. The second individual is our well-known -- well, former well-known ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, also the author of a new book on Putin's government that's very critical. And while he was in office, he met with opposition members, which angered Putin's government. He now is considered a person of interest in the Browder investigation. Now, Wolf, we have sound from both men reacting to this idea that they could be actually called back to Russia to answer to investigators in Putin's government. Let's give that a listen.</s>BILL BROWDER, PUTIN CRITIC WANTED BY KREMLIN: Hand me over to Putin is basically to hand me over to my death. And I've been fighting for human rights. I've been fighting for justice for my lawyer, my murdered lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky. And to hand over a human rights campaigner from -- to a murderer, to his death, would be the most insane thing that this president could do.</s>MICHAEL MCFAUL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: This is yet another tactic to intimidate me, like he has done with other people. And I wish -- I just hope my own president, my commander in chief, would understand it for what it is and push back, both in public and in private.</s>KIRBY: Obviously both men clearly, you can hear from that sound, are not interested in talking to Russian investigators and with good reason.</s>BLITZER: You know, the White House, John, and the State Department, they were both asked about the possibility of allowing these two American citizens to be questioned by the Russians. And listen to this, very, very different answer to that question.</s>HEATHER NAUERT, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: The overall assertions that have come out of the Russian government are absolutely absurd.</s>SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There was some conversation about it, but there wasn't a commitment made on behalf of the United States. And the president will work with his team and we'll let you know if there's an announcement on that front.</s>BLITZER: And while -- obviously 180 degrees difference between what Heather Nauert over at the State Department is saying and Sarah Sanders over at the White House is saying. How is it possible that they get such different analysis, and different reactions to this extremely sensitive question?</s>KIRBY: Well, Wolf, it's either a huge disconnect between the White House and the State Department, not that that doesn't happen. It does happen on occasion. But it could be also a calculated PR strategy to allow the State Department to push back on this ridiculous notion of sending these two men back to Russia to talk to investigators, and allowing Sarah Sanders not to get crosswise with her boss, President Trump, who clearly wasn't interested in entertaining much pushback to this idea itself. Either way, it speaks to an administration that once again cannot get on the same page to explain what happened in Helsinki.</s>BLITZER: Yes. My own since is Healthier Nauert over at the State Department was speaking for Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state --</s>KIRBY: Right.</s>BLITZER: Who recognizes this is a disaster if this were ever to happen. That's why she rejected it immediately. John Kirby, thank you very much.</s>KIRBY: You bet.</s>BLITZER: Let's get some more on this and other related issues. I want to bring in the Hawaii senator, Mazie Hirono. She's a Democrat. She serves on both the Armed Services and Judiciary Committees. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.</s>SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D), HAWAII: Aloha again.</s>BLITZER: Let me get your quick reaction to what we just heard from John Kirby. Very different responses from the State Department and the White House to this truly shocking proposal to let a former U.S. ambassador, another American citizen actually be questioned by the Russians. What do you think?</s>HIRONO: I think it's one of the most ridiculous and dangerous ideas from the president yet in a series of these kinds of horrendous ideas. The thought that we should be turning over our people to Putin for interrogation is, to put it simply, crazy and nuts. This is why a little bit later today I'm going to be on the floor of the Senate to vote on our Chuck Schumer</s>BLITZER: Yes, it says a lot. And it's truly shocking. I assume the White House, at some point, is going to try to clean this up, but we'll see. How do you think the inconsistent messages on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election is now being received by U.S. allies around the world?</s>HIRONO: I think that it should be expected that the fact that our president cannot seem to be consistent. One thing he is consistent on is his really inexplicable affinity toward Putin. But I don't blame our allies at all for questioning our willingness to stand up against Putin and to come to their defense, much less to come to the defense of our own democracy, which the president did not.</s>BLITZER: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as you well know, senator, they have no idea what was really discussed between President Putin and President Trump during that two-hour-plus private meeting with only their interpreters present. Now there's some growing calls among Democrats who want President Trump's State Department translator, Maria Gross, to appear before Congress. Do you support that idea?</s>HIRONO: I support the idea of finding out what the heck was discussed between Putin and the president. Some people are calling it the appeasement summit. And so it's also very untoward that we actually have to have the translator come and tell us what happened as opposed to the president of our own country telling us what he discussed, what he promised. But if it's going to take the translator to come and tell us because we can't trust the president not to lie to us, then that's what we should do.</s>BLITZER: You think that's at all realistic that they would allow her to go and appear before, let's say, your committee or other committees, even behind closed doors?</s>HIRONO: Well, for an administration to say that this is not how we should do things, you know, this is the same administration that is actually contemplating sending our people to be interrogated by Putin. So, you know, in the absence of information that we can rely upon as the truth from our own president, then we have to take some extraordinary kinds of steps. And these are extraordinary times. And we have a president that we can't trust. He obviously promised something to Russia and the American people and we need to know what that was.</s>BLITZER: I want to quickly get your reaction to this tweet, this sentence the president tweeted earlier today because it is really shocking. The summit with Russia, he says, was a great success, except with the real enemy of the people, the fake news media. So he says Russia's not the real enemy of the American people, it's the fake news media which is the real enemy of the American people. When you hear that from the president of the United States, what goes through your mind?</s>HIRONO: Totalitarianism. This is what totalitarian and dictators do, they go after the free press. That's what Erdogan does. You jail the media people. Or that's what Putin does in Russia. And I'm sure that if the president thought that he could get away with it, he would probably want to jail what he calls the fake media. So, you know, but for the First Amendment freedom of the press. But this just, once again, reinforces this inexplicable affinity that the president has toward basically totalitarian dictators, but in particular to Putin. And this is why there are so many questions as to really what kind of relationship does the president have with Putin that causes him to be so much for Putin. And, you know, I served on the intelligence committee for two years and countries develop assets that will help them get news, et cetera. In intel language and parlance, it's -- the president is acting like he is the asset for Russia.</s>BLITZER: Well, what's your suspicion, because some have suggested maybe the Russians have some compromising details, compromising information on the president? What's your suspicion?</s>HIRONO: There have been all kinds of information about the president's sexual proclivities -- I can hardly say the word. But really I think there are some major economic ties. And that is why the Mueller investigation must continue. It must run its course. And they need to do their jobs. That's another issue that I would like to have the Senate bring to the floor the resolution or the bill that was passed unanimously -- not unanimously, I wish it had been -- in a bipartisan way that protects the Mueller investigation. That has never come to the floor of the Senate for a vote, although it emerged in a bipartisan way out of the Judiciary Committee.</s>BLITZER: Senator Hirono, thanks so much for joining us.</s>HIRONO: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: Still to come, bipartisan efforts to express support for the intelligence community's findings on Russia, but rejected on the Senate floor just moments ago. We'll tell you what happened.