and i couldn't ask for a better partner. good morning. i'm erica hill in for kate bolduan. right now, the house intelligence committee is questioning another member of president trump's inner circle. questioning as part of the russia investigation. white house communications director hope hicks testifying before the panel, behind closed doors. she arrived a short time ago. do lawmakers have any hope of getting ansers from hicks? her scheduled appearance last month was postponed over questions about the scope of her testimony. and other top trump officials who have faced the committee have refused to answer certain questions. cnn's manu raju is on capitol hill. what are you hearing? >> well, the expectation going into this hearing from both republicans and democrats alike that they did expect her to

answer questions, or they wanted her to answer questions about any topics that occurred after the campaign season, that includes the transition period and the white house. those are two periods in which steve bannon, the former white house chief strategist, did not answer questions over those two periods during the transition and his time at the white house when he said that the white house instructed him to invoke executive privilege over those communications, over those -- any questions during those time periods, saying that he would not answer authorized -- unauthorized questions. what is uncertain today is whether or not hope hicks will do the same thing before this committee. members were not sure, even mike conway, the republicans running the russia investigation, said he was not aware of any agreement that the committee had reached with the white house on limiting the scope of her testimony. the questions behind closed doors right now, whether she's doing that, saying that she will not answer certain key

questions, would not answer our questions going into this closed door session. she's been in there for over an hour. we'll get a sense soon of whether or not she has decided not to answer certain questions. and as we know, both bannon is not the only person to not answer questions before this committee, erica. also corey lewandowski would not answer questions about the period after he left the campaign in june of 2016 and refused to come back to the committee to answer further questions. we'll see if hope hicks does the same thing here. >> the big question. but remind us too, just put it in context for us what is the significance of her testimony at this point? >> reporter: she's perhaps president trump's closest confidante, she's been with the campaign, with donald trump since the beginning of his campaign. but even before that, she's aware of a number of key episodes, all the major controversies, she has some level of awareness or involvement. not just during the campaign season, and any russia context

she may be aware of, but also remember during the -- her time in the white house, she was involved with that initial misleading statement that was put out to the press when donald trump jr.'s meeting in trump tower with russians was first revealed, they initially suggested it was a meeting about adoptions. we're understand she was involved in drafting that statement. those are questions that members want her to answer but, again, will she answer those questions or invoke executive privilege, we just don't know quite yet. >> manu, appreciate it, thank you. in terms of the russia probe, it is front and center on the president's mind this morning. let's go to the white house now with cnn's abby phillip. >> reporter: good morning, erica. it has been an all caps morning for president trump today. as he returns to twitter from more than two day hiatus. he last tweeted on saturday night, just before an appearance on fox news, about russia, of course. and then again this morning he returned to social media to tweet some quotes that

interestingly enough are old, shows that aired two days ago. some of these quotes are from sunday morning, from appearances by guests who repeated talking points that the president has made on fox news and then he -- and in a final tweet this morning, he sent out a two-word tweet, all caps, exclamation mark, saying witch-hunt. the president fixated on this russia probe, possibly because of what you were just discussing with manu a few minutes ago. hope hicks, a top trump aide, someone close to both the president and his family, testifying before the house intelligence committee this morning, the president is clearly still very focused on this russia issue and upset about it. just based on the tone of the tweets this morning. >> that's for sure. we're also hearing -- or seeing insight perhaps into the president's future political plans. tell us more about that. >> it is no surprise that president trump is planning on running for re-election. he has been doing campaign rallies and has been building up

campaign stop for months now. but today, as cnn's dana bash confirmed, that brad parscale, a former digital director for trump's 2016 campaign, will be named as campaign manager. now, parscale is a long time associate of the trump family. he had not had any political experience before his 2016 campaign experience. but he was sort of an lesser seen and lesser known trump campaign aide who worked on that digital strategy, facebook and social media, pushing the president's message. now he's tapped with running the whole thing in 2020. we're already talking about it. >> all right. talking about 2020, yes, we are. abby, thank you. haven't gotten through the midterms yet. the senate armed services committee asking the head of the national security agency if president trump or defense secretary james mattis had ordered him to, quote, disrupt russian cyberthreats where they originate. here is his answer. >> basically to be directed by the president through the

secretary of defense. >> yes, sir, i mentioned that in my -- >> have you been directed to do so given the strategic threat that faces the united states and the significant consequences you recognize already? >> no, i have not. >> joining me now, cnn national security analyst samantha vinaigrette who served as senior adviser and paul callan. we're learning more here from rogers staying that -- telling lawmakers that russia had, quote, not paid a price that is sufficient to change their behavior when it comes to cyberattacks. based on that, and the comment we just played as well, what do you make of all of this in terms of how seriously the white house is taking this? >> i think we know they're not taking it very seriously, not only from president trump's tweets this morning, he's clearly not working very hard if he's spending all of that time tweeting. but also from testimony that we have heard previously. we had six out of six intelligence chiefs testify

before the senate a week or two ago saying they have seen no significant decrease in russian attacks and they have every expectation that russia is going to attack us again. so the proof is in the pudding. russia is continuing their attack, they are not deterred and whatever we're doing, just isn't working. and this testimony today from rogers indicates we have not been authorized to conduct offensive cyberattacks against russia. now, we could be doing a lot defensively and it is different intelligence authorizations that are needed. but russia is offensively targeting us on our soil and we're not doing the same thing back. >> that has a lot of people scratching their head. i can see it in your face. i want to talk about what else is happening on capitol hill as well. it is all part of the same equation, hope hicks. there is some question not only about the questions that will be asked, but what they will hear in terms of answers, paul. speculation about whether she could pull a steve bannon here,

whether there will be an executive privilege invoked. what can she do? >> it is not just a steve bannon, it is a corey lewandowski also. when anybody really close to president trump gets called, executive privilege is pauled out of the pocket to try to block testimony. in truth, executive privilege is very rarely upheld by the courts. occasionally in a criminal investigation it will be asserted and almost always it is taken away from the president in that specter. national security matters, yes, you can exert executive privilege, but for the rest, pretty much every president who has ever been confronted in court on this loses. in the end, she will be compelled to testify, but it would cause a battle between congress and the president and you have a republican-controlled congress, so how hard are they going to push. >> and if you're in that room, there is obviously -- there are a number of questions about as manu was pointing out about this response that was crafted in terms of donald trump jr.

is that your number one question if you're in that room for hope hicks or do you want to know something more? >> i would have a lot. this could be a major counterintelligence opportunity. we know from open source documents that russia targeted campaign officials. donald trump takes that personally. but russia has actively targeted campaign officials and members of the government for years, hope hicks knows who was targeted and how russia did it. so if i was in that room, i with want to know about any other undisclosed or misreported contacts, we know that wikileaks tried to get to don jr., we know papadopoulos was courted. who else? how did russia do it? if hope hicks is forth coming, it could be an opportunity to get information on russian sources and methods. >> she is one of the closest aides to the president. she reaches back into the early days of the trump organization, she worked for ivanka there. at age 26, the president made her head of his campaign press communications office. and then he elevated her to the

white house where she is by his side all the time, she's the gatekeeper. she's got a wealth of information that could be helpful or very harmful to the president. so she's going to be a key witness with mueller. i'm not so sure how far congress will push it, as i said, it is a republican congress. but certainly mueller, she must be somebody he questions very carefully. >> in terms of this investigation, i want to bring up this with you because it is fascinating. it is impossible to ignore how politicized this investigation has become. a lot of that narrative is being pushed by the president and the white house and the house intel committee on both sides and by russia. so if we look at this new cnn polling, the numbers here, is the russia investigation seen as a serious matter or as an effort to discredit the trump presidency? talk about being split along party lines. when we're looking at numbers like this, does the outcome at this point, does it even matter? >> i think what it shows is that russia is doing their job really

well. we have as you mentioned republicans think this investigation is a witch-hunt, republicans, recent polling that showed that they thought that the fbi was actively trying to undercut president trump. that's no accident. russia is trying to sow divisions, create confusion, demoralize us. the outcome of the investigation matters because it may have legal implications. there is a whole other side of it, are we combatting russia's attack that sowing these divisions and they should be complementary. >> i think there is a bigger question too. that is we have never seen a division in american politics like the one we have today. if you -- the poll numbers reflected with republicans thinking there is nothing there, democrats thinking there is something there. there use to be a place in the middle of the tent where moderates met and people kind of agreed on things that generally worked for the country. those days are gone now. and i think you're just seeing this divide and it just gets worse and worse as the trump presidency continues. >> well, we'll continue to follow it, won't we?

paul, sam, appreciate it, thank you, both. up next, paul ryan speaks out on the parkland shooting and the prospects for passing gun control legislation in this congress. why the house speaker and other republicans say the current conversation about guns needs a rethink. plus, ivanka trump's olympic expedition causing drama in the west wing. the growing frustrations with the first daughter from john kelly. series of smart choices. and when you replace one meal... ...or snack a day with glucerna... ...made with carbsteady... ...to help minimize blood sugar spikes... ...you can really feel it. now with 30% less carbs and sugars. glucerna. liberty mutual saved us almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. liberty did what? yeah, they saved us a ton, which gave us a little wiggle room in our budget. i wish our insurance did that. then we could get a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey, welcome back. this guy, right? (laughs) yes. ellen. that's my robe.

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weeks after the florida school massacre reignited the national debate on gun reform. even modest proposals have already been watered down. let's join sunlen serfaty. >> reporter: a lot of roadblocks on capitol hill, roadblocks for the most narrow plans out there, which underscores the political reality of the moment, now that the conversation is about what capitol hill can and will do going forward. we just heard from the house republican leadership including speaker of the house paul ryan, he essentially said he's going to take a wait and see approach here, wait and see if the senate can pass that cornyn, senator murphy fix nics background bill. but a reminder, just that bill that does have some bipartisan support, that doesn't expand background checks. that just enforces the existing law. that's where the conversation is

at this very narrow measure at the moment. but speaker of the house paul ryan today, choosing instead to really broaden it out and really talk about the culture at hand and how that discussion needs to take place. >> there is bigger questions here than a narrow law. what about law enforcement? what about school resource officers? what about the fbi? what about background checks? those are all things that we have to get lots of answers to. at end of the day or beginning of the day, we also have to ask ourselves about the kind of culture creating these kinds of people. >> reporter: we will hear from the senate republican leadership later today. both parties over here in the senate will be huddling with their caucuses and, of course, many lawmakers will be heading over to the white house tomorrow to talk about a lot of these measures. added to this mix, of course, we have the parkland students from stoneman douglas up here on capitol hill, met with house democratic leadership this morning. and they are lobbying lawmakers one on one. so interesting to see what sort of impact if any that will have

up here during this debate. >> sunlen serfaty with the latest for us, thank you. our next guest says background checks are the first line of defense in curbing gun violence. congressman leonard lansing of new jersey joins us now. we heard the speaker mention background checks and in terms of things that we need to know more about. you and 18 of your fellow house republicans sent a letter to the speaker asking for a vote on stronger background checks. has he responded to you? >> the speaker indicated this morning that he will wit to see what the senate does. i hope, erica, at the very least, the senate passes fix nics. i think that's an important first step. it is not the only step. and that has bipartisan support in the senate. senator cornyn and senator murphy. if that can come back to the house, i hope we will consider it and then we can put that on the president's desk. >> that could be one part of the equation, which that endorses existing law. it doesn't really move the ball forward down the road.

we heard from chuck schumer who said, i'm quoting here, it would be an abject failure and dereliction of duty if the only thing congress does is fix nics. do you agree if that's all that happens, will congress have failed the american people? >> i want to do more than fix nics. but we haven't passed legislation in this regard in quite a few years. and i think that's a good start. but, erica, i do want to do more and i hope that is possible. >> in terms of doing more, the president said yesterday that shouldn't be afraid of the nra. he said sometimes you have to be willing to fight with the nra. you have an a-rating but you're pushing for a discussion about stronger background checks with speaker ryan, you rs theare als talking about getting the federal research back, that could be tussling with the nra. are you willing to take on that fight? >> yes. i view this issue by issue. i think we should bring all into the conversation including the nra. i don't want to demonize anybody, but where i disagree

with any group, i will support the views that i think are important for the american people, that includes bump stocks. i think they should be banned. it includes fix nics. and it certainly includes making sure that the federal government can study this issue and as you know that has not happened for a very long time. >> that research, even if it were to come back today, obviously we would not have the findings for some time, there has been talk about more immediate action, one of them being raising the age limit which the president brought up and the white house back tracking a bit on it. is that something you support, raising the age limit? >> i would look at that. i point out that young people can serve in the military at age 18, but perhaps it would be appropriate to raise the age, but we have to make sure that weed arow cate legislation that can pass in both houses and, of course, in the senate, erica, there is the 60 vote rule. i don't favor that. that is the way the senate works. and so i want to make sure that

legislation can reach the president's desk. fix nics seems to be the first part of that. i agree with you that there should be more. but let's get the ball rolling to make sure that legislation can reach the president's desk. >> in terms of getting the ball rolling, we have seen in our polling here in the last week, the american public wants to see something done in the wake of florida. 7 in 10 americans want to see stricter gun laws. that's a sharp jump after what we saw even just after las vegas. so what is your message to the american people when we're hearing from the speaker of the house that there is no new legislation, that we have to start with simply endorsing -- or enforcing something that is basically already on the books. is there something stricter that will likely come down the line or is this it again? >> no, i hope that we will pass legislation and there was a tremendous failure regarding fix nics in the texas massacre. horrific event and if that information had been known about

the court-martial, that officer, then i think that that horrific massacre could have been avoided. and we want to make sure that as much information as possible can move forward to all levels of government and i certainly support other matters as well, research in this issue, background checks, and i hope that congress can address all of these and let's make sure that we move forward as one nation, bringing everybody into the conversation. >> as we just heard from our sunlen serfaty, some students from parkland, they're in washington today, they have been very vocal in the nearly two weeks since that massacre happened at their school. how are they changing the conversation both with the american public and within the halls of congress? >> i commend the young people for being with us and i met with young people in my own district in new jersey last week. in an auditorium filled with

young people who were concerned about this issue and other issues. and i think it is important for those of us here on capitol hill, in positions of responsibility, to meet with young people, to address their concerns, because after all, erica, they are the future of our country. >> congressman leonard ance, appreciate the time. thank you. >> thank you. georgia republicans taking aim at delta, one of the largest employers in the state, over its decision to cut ties with the nra. lawmakers now threatening to kill a tax break that could end up costing the company millions. patrick woke up with back pain.

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the atlanta-based airline joining more than a dozen brands pulling their support from the nra after the parkland school shooting. keagle now threatening to remove a jet fuel tax bill that could save delta tens of millions of dollars. >> i'm tired of conservatives being kicked around on our values. it is time we stand up and fight and show corporations that conservative values are important. >> joining me now, rob astorino and matt bennett. good to have both of you with us. when this came out, republicans prefer less government involvement, especially when talking about businesses here. in georgia, they're diving in head first. >> well, they're reacting to what has been done by corporations and by public pensions and attorneys general and comptrollers whose activists

have led to companies having to change because elected officials told them to. this is a case where if they want to use that power, they don't have to, they don't need to take -- delta doesn't need to take that $40 million break if they don't want to but there is so much precedent for it having to happen. i find it disturbing in a way where blaming the nra for everything. okay. where there clearly is a mad man and multiple madmen that have killed people, they are the object of our hate or should be. but going on, some students have done, marco rubio, likening him to cruz, or to go after specifically the nra, it is misguided. i think it is taking it away from what we should be having a discussion on, mental health and other issues. >> mental health has become an umbrella. >> not really. >> yes, it has. i had this discussion with a psychiatrist, who said if you

want to get more funding for mental health, bring it my way. we're not hearing specifics. >> i think there is obstacles we have to overcome. that would be hipaa laws and other issues that we need to tackle that go with mental health. i agree. mental health, i don't think anybody would say that nikolas cruz or others who have performed these heinous acts are not mentally unstable or were not mentally unstable. clearly they were. but i think, you know, we're looking at in this case the gun or the nra, that really isn't where i think the ire should be. it should be on changing where we can make the changes. >> the question, too, can you have both things? can you be, if you want to be as a person, upset? with whether it is the gun or the nra and the person. >> of course. any rational person would be horrified and disgusted with what cruz did. but the question is what can policymakers do about it now. and the mental health debate is

kind of the rope a dope that the gun community always engages in. in the wake of the mass shootings that are talked about on television and the press, they say, look, well, this person was mentally ill, we have to do something about that, but they never, to your point, they never tell you what. the problem is that it is very difficult to define mental illness in a way that can be used in ways with gun purchases. expanding that is extraordinarily difficult and no one has any proposal to do it right. what we can do is take action to expand background checks to include all gun sales to make the nics system better, to make sure the government can study things. there is a whole range of things we can do, but this is the diversion that the nra community

wants to engage in. >> there are members of the nra who tend to be politically active. this is very important. there are oftentimes fears that any movement that would make gun restrictions stronger in any way is somehow coming after their legally obtained firearms. majority of people are using them legally here. so, matt, how do you alleviate those fears to start the conversation? >> i've been in this gun debate for 17 years. it is vitally important to emphasize, the overwhelming majority of gun owners are responsible about how they possess their guns in every way. there are some guns that end up getting into the stream of commerce as illegal weapons, or into the hans of people that shouldn't have them and what we're trying to avoid with public policy is exactly that. the supreme court made clear you have, if you're a law abiding adult, a right to own a gun. rights, every right in the entire constitution come with

responsibilities. and as does the second amendment. and that means as the court made clear, we need gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and kids and people and mentally unstable people. so -- >> that's okay. i was going to say, one more in for rob there, we're getting a little tight on time, but finish your point, i'm sorry. >> all that means is that we can do things that we already know are constitutionally permissible, expanding background checks to all gun sales and other things that will keep guns out of hands of criminals. >> in our most recent cnn polling, done in the wake of florida, and so much stronger response than in the wake of vegas, 7 in 10 americans say they want stricter gun laws. so where do you begin that conversation? >> needs to be some compromise on both sides here in a conversation. where do you start it? >> matt brought up a good point. we have a lot of gun laws already on the books. and there was a massive failure in what happened in florida. massive failure. and i don't think no matter how many laws you have on the books,

quite frankly it is going to prevent somebody as sick and deranged and hateful as a nikolas cruz and others from destroying or killing when they want to do it. and i know that might sound like, wow, how could you say that? we have to think that through. we have so many laws on the books now, and you said majority, i will say, and i think matt said it too, the super majority, 99.99% of gun owners understand respect the power of that weapon and teach their children if they have children or understand the laws and obey them. but those who will never are never going to do it. >> rob, matt, appreciate it. appreciate the discussion. it is one we will need to continue to have. thank you. >> thank you. still to come, john kelly versus ivanka trump. sources telling cnn the first's daughter trip to the olympics now fueling tension in the west wing. those details next. deyou were persecuted,, and forced to flee the country of your birth. but you started a new life in a brand new world.

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is she the first daughter or senior adviser to the president? ivanka trump's recent visit to south korea blurg the lines between the two roles and reportedly not sitting well with some inside the west wing. for more now, to cnn white house report kaitlan collins. what more are you hearing about the growing tension surrounding ivanka trump and her role at the white house? >> reporter: evauivanka trump j returned from south korea. very much a high stakes trip because while she was over there, the president announced the latest round of sanctions against north korea, something that ivanka trump was briefed on and she also had dinner with south korea's president, president moon, while there. but we're learning that the decision to send ivanka to lead the delegation did not sit well with some senior officials in the west wing, one of those

being the chief of staff john kelly, who we're told was not initially enthusiastic about sending ivanka because it was such a high stakes trip with everything going on with north korea, just next door. now, the white house is pushing back on this, saying in a statement from the press secretary, sarah sanders, general kelly and general mcmaster were supportive of the trip since the planning process began, we all thought it was a great success and ivanka was a great representative for the administration. but, erica, what this really exposes here is this widening rift between the chief of staff and ivanka trump. because we know he's grown frustrated with her, he often feels she straddles and blurs the line. one moment highlighted when doing an interview with nbc while over in south korea and was asked about the sexual assault allegations made against her father and she said she thought it was inappropriate for her as a daughter to be asked that, even though she was very much there as a senior adviser.

so john kelly often thinks that ivanka trump is essentially playing government, that's something -- a private remark ed meszar he's made to others in the white house. >> interesting to see how it all plays out. kaitlan collins, thank you. joining me now, cnn politics reporter and editor at large chris cillizza. this is more, we want to point out here, this is more than just the palace intrigue of am i the first daughter today, a senior adviser the next. she does not have permit security clearance. she's there in south korea and she's talking about, and i'm quoting here, the maximum pressure campaign to ensure the korean peninsula is denuclearized. does any of this matter anymore? >> gosh, that's an existential question. let me try to answer. it should matter. i think. whether it does or not, i'm less

able to answer. it should matter in that it is important for both people who work in the government, people who work outside of the government, people from other countries, to know what hat ivanka trump has on. that's why you don't get to wear two hats or shouldn't. that's why we have anti-nepotism laws. these laws hold for cabinet jobs, they hold for agency jobs. there is a legal understanding they do not yet hold for white house jobs which means ivanka trump and jared kushner with work in the white house. this is a perfect example, both her trip and the question she was asked about her father's conduct are a perfect example of why these anti-nepotism laws do exist. you can't be the president's daughter when it is easier for you, and an adviser other times. you're either one or the other. you can't have your cake even eat it too. that's what ivanka trump is doing. that's why there are laws in place, though not governing the

white house, to avoid just these sorts of relationships. >> and there is also this legitimate rift we're seeing and hearing more about involving john kelly and last week too there was more talk about jared kushner, talking more about ivanka. it is what is fascinating, though, is we know how the president typically responds when a member of his immediate family is attacked. and it usually does not bode well for the president who may feel frustrated with a member of the trump family. so it begs the question, i know a lot of people are trying to figure out is there an endgame for john kelly in all of this? >> it is interesting that he, as kaitlan reported, he was a leading voice as a critic of evaufr ivan ivanka's trip. you're right, if donald trump has loyalty, it is to his family. that is -- he always sort of stood by them, even as friends have come and gone, business acquaintances have come and gone, political rivals have come and gone. that inner core of family stated he brings them with him wherever

he goes, the business world or the political world, which is why gerald and ivanka are in the white house. my experience with trump in light is you very rarely as a staff member win a fight with a member of the president or principal's family. i don't know if john kelly figures either he makes his point here and stays on or makes his point here and that is his entree to leave. it is certainly not a strategy you would pursue if you wanted to blend into the wallpaper for a little while to keep your job. >> chris cillizza, always appreciate it. sorry for putting you on the spot with the existential question. >> is life meaningful? thank you, erica. >> that will be tomorrow's discussion. start thinking about it now, okay? >> thank you. still to come, on a much more serious note, the neighbor of a gunman in the florida school massacre speaking out to cnn. what tpolice told her when she called 911 to warn them about

nikolas cruz and the ominous warning signs she said she saw growing up as this man grew up alongside her own children. >> he was pure evil. i was actually going to move when he turned 18. almost $800 when we switched our auto and home insurance. with liberty, we could afford a real babysitter instead of your brother. hey! oh, that's my robe. is it? when you switch to liberty mutual, you could save $782 on auto and home insurance. and still get great coverage for you and your family. call for a free quote today. you could save $782 when liberty stands with you. liberty mutual insurance. dial your binge-watching up to eleven. join the un-carrier right now, and get four unlimited lines for only thirty-five bucks each. woah. plus, netflix for the whole family. on us. prrrrrrr... so, they get their shows... let's go, girl! you're gonna love this bit!

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stoneman douglas high school are preparing to return to campus. classes will resume tomorrow, two weeks after a shooter killed 14 students and three staff members. today there are new questions about how the entire situation was handled, from the police response to the shooting to warnings about the gunman to

just how many times broward county deputies were actually called to the shooter's home. joining me now, senior correspondent rosa who is in parkland. there are questions about how many times the broward sheriffs visited the shooter's home. what did you find? >> reporter: this is tremendous work from the investigative unit, erica. they pulled the records and compared them to the log that we received from broward county authorities here, and they don't jive. broward county says there's 23. cnn has come up with about more than twice as much as that, so we're trying to figure out why that is. now, we've contacted broward county multiple times via e-mail, text message, phone calls and we haven't received a response yet. so it's very troubling because this is information that they gave us, so why does it not

jive? >> that is a very important question. i know you're still trying to get that answer, and you'll let us know when you do. meantime, you've been talking to so many people in the community, including a neighbor who said she knew the shooter was a troubled child. what did she tell you? >> reporter: she lived across the street. she saw cruz grow up. and she said she saw a lot of warning signs as he was growing up, but it was one moment, erica, that she describes cruz standing over her dog max as max was con vuvulsing and foaming a mouth, that she saw cruz had this menacing, wild look about him. and she knew that it meant trouble. take a listen. >> he was pure evil. i was actually going to move when he turned 18. i did not want to live down the street from him knowing he was going to own a gun. my husband and i both knew that

it was not over, that we would eventually see him one day on the news wearing an orange jumpsuit, being charged with murder. >> you begged this officer to please do something. >> i did. i begged him and he basically told me that it was not an immediate threat. he couldn't do anything, is what he told me. i remember him leaving and just thinking, my god, he's going to kill someone and i can do nothing about it. >> reporter: now, here's the back story about that phone call, erica. she said that her son walked into her kitchen with a post on instagram from cruz that had a photograph of an ar-15 style rifle, and it said he couldn't wait to turn 18 to purchase one. later another post saying that he wanted to shoot up a school. erica, that's when this woman

says enough is enough. i have to call 911 and tell an officer about this. she says, as you just heard, that she begged the officer to do something and he told her that he couldn't do anything about it until he did something. erica? >> rosa flores with the latest for us there. rosa, thank you. texas, it turns out, may not be quite as ruby red as once thought. raising the question, is ted cruz's reelection bid in trouble? stay with us. you always pay

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is texas changing to a lighter shade of red? and if so, what does that mean for a very important senate seat? cnn political director david chal chalian joining us with a k key alert. >> we're moving the state from a solid republican state to a likely republican state, so it just downgrades it one category, downgrades it if you're a republican. it is now in the light red category, which is just that, erica. it's likely it ends up in republicans' hands, it is still a republican state, but ben o'rourke is on a fundraising

fire right now. has outraised ted cruz in the first 45 days of this year by 3-1 according to fcc reports. obviously ted cruz has a wide fundraising network, he can make up that money gap, but the overall picture we're seeing in 2018, democratic enthusiasm. the enthusiasm is advantage to democrats backed up by that fundraising number. take a look at this gallup map. it averaged ted cruz's approval rating across all 50 states. look at texas. it is below the donald trump average for 2017. it looks like minnesota, new york, california than it looks like some of the deep red ruby states that are part of trump aid. could it be losi loosening the football for democrats? could ted cruz have a tougher

race than he expected? the answer is he might. >> certainly gives us something to watch. thank you, david. thanks all of you for joining me. "inside politics" with john king starts right now. thank you, erica. and welcome to "inside politics." i'm john king. thank you for sharing your day with us. one of president trump's most trusted aides testifying this hour on capitol hill. he was the bridge of his son after word was leaked about trump jr.'s meeting with russians. archbishop alex rogers says the president has not given him authority to counter russian meddling in cyberspace. congressional action on any new significant gun controls is unlikely. top republicans in the house, including shooting survivor