joining me now CNN national security analyst James clapper the former
Director of National Intelligence so good to have you on sir good evening to
you director clapper there have been so many developments in this Russian
investigation and I want to ask you first about new information it was first
reported in the New York Times tonight that special counsel Muller is asking
the White House for documents directly related to the president's actions and
behavior while in office how do you read what Muller is asking for well first on
I don't have any inside baseball in a this so I'm just drawing inferences like
everyone else is and some extent this reminds me that metaphor about lots of
blind people touching the elephant and trying to describe the elephant I would
say though that it appears to me that the the scope of the investigation is
broadening and deepening as the requests for information as they have been
reflected in the media reporting seems to be getting more and more pointed and
more and more specific so I don't you know I don't know where this is all
going to lead I don't know if you know this is implicating the president or not
but well that's going to ask you does this mean the president could be the
central focus of Muller's probe well it's again the inference you could draw
is that he is but you know I don't know that I would say and I've said this some
time ago when former director Muller was first appointed to the position of
Special Counsel that if there is in his estimation there was no there there he'd
say so it appears at least from what's going on there is there there and I
don't exactly know where this is going to lead but I'll also repeat something
I've said on more than one occasion is that it is so critical that that this
whole process whether in the Congress or certainly the investigation of Special
Counsel come to a conclusion is then transparently explained to the
American people CNN also has some exclusive reporting
involving Paul Manafort president Trump's former campaign chairman
specifically that investigators got a FISA warrant to wiretap manna port
before and Manta Ford before and after the election what's your reaction to
that well I can't comment on specific fire order I said some things about this
on Meet the Press on the 5th of March and I stand on on that statement I can't
I can't confirm or deny I just sir let me play it and then get
your just to remind people of what you said and this is what you said to Chuck
Todd this was back in March and as you said on Meet the Press and then we'll
finish up let me start with the president's tweets yesterday this idea
that maybe President Obama ordered in illegal wiretap of his office's if
something like that happened would this be something you would be aware of I
would certainly hope so I can't say obviously I'm not I can't speak
officially anymore but I will say that for the part of the national security
apparatus that I oversaw as DNI there was no such wiretap activity mounted
against the president the president-elect at the time or as a
candidate or against his campaign I can't speak for other title 3 authorized
entities in the government or a state or local and I was just gonna say if the
FBI for instance had it fights a court order of some sort first surveillance
would that be information you would know or not now yes you would be told that I
would know that if there was a FISA Court order on something like this
something like this or absolutely and at this point you can't confirm or deny
whether that exists or I can deny it there is no FISA Court order not not to
my knowledge of anything at Trump Tower no okay so the the president's allies
say that the fact that man afford was wiretap proves that the president was
right to accuse a former president of wiretapping him and you were wrong
what's your response well I again I I stand on that statement that you just
replayed and I cannot comment on the media reporting which is all we have
about a FISA warrant allegedly lodged against mr. manna for I I can't comment
on that I will simply reiterate what I said in March and I stand on that yeah
and that there is as far as Trump Tower being wiretapped according to the
president you're you say what I stand on what I said on the 5th of March on Meet
the Press as you just replayed it okay so did you know and I had to keep just
wanting just for clarity because there's been a lot of reporting on this right
and people on on on you know especially those supporters of the president saying
oh here's proof here's proof so did you know about a FISA warrant against Paul
Manafort at the time I did not you did not okay you know I and again I have to
say that what we have is media reporting only and actually commenting on you know
faces are classified and so you know even if I knew something about it I
couldn't and I don't and I again I will just conclude by saying I stand on what
I said on the 5th of March is it possible the president was picked up in
a conversation with Paul Manafort it's it's certainly conceivable yeah is that
likely I can't say I I wouldn't want to go there but it I will say it's it's
it's possible okay the Washington Post is also reporting tonight that that
while Paul Manafort was working for Donald Trump
he offered to privately brief a Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska on the campaign
how would the Russians interpret that mr. clapper well obviously a you know
perhaps a they would regard it perhaps as a winning accomplice again as part of
their overall campaign to interfere with the election so if they had a a way
witting and willing participant who would engage with them
talk to them who in their mind had some inside access or influence in the
campaign which at one point mr. man afford certainly did I think they would
view that as a a favorable line of exploitation I have to ask you about the
meeting the President had with the in the Oval Office with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and the former ambassador circuitously act where a
president Trump bragged about firing Comey to the Russians saying it relieved
great pressure on him people on both sides of the aisle grasped at these
pictures or gasp I should say that these pictures do you think that that moment
will come back to haunt President Trump well it could it's not to say that that
such meetings are not are inappropriate I I personally was somewhat taken aback
by that from from if no other point of view there's just the security
standpoint in light of the fact that only Russian media media were permitted
in the Oval and only Russian photographers were allowed to take
pictures so I just they were closely screened and just the the notion of this
solicit solicitousness with the Russians has been for me at least bothersome
particularly in light of the
demonstrated interference in in our in our election and it's appearing more and
more to me that the intelligence community assessment that we published
in the 6th of January may have only been perhaps the tip of the iceberg
can I ask I just want to go back to and get your response to something because
in September 2nd this president's own Justice Department said that there was
no evidence to support the president's claim that President Barack Obama
offered wiretapping of trump tower during the 2016 presidential campaign
again as his Justice Department said in a new court filing wouldn't the Justice
Department his Justice Department know about if there was a fire suffice a
warrant if there was any sort of wiretapping
on Trump Tower yes absolutely and I believe director Comey said much the
same thing in his testimony on March 16th before the House Select Committee
for intelligence so the president's own Justice Department came to the
conclusion after investigating that there was no wiretapping of Trump Tower
but that's that's what that's that's what I draw from that yes
Thank You mr. Clapp I appreciate it thanks Don