-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ good evening. i'm catlin collins. and tonight we begin with exclusive cnn reporting. we have learned that prosecutors in the classified documents case are now zeroing in on a flood that happened on the grounds of mar-a-lago. this was last october, when an employee there drained the club's swimming pool and as a result, a room that stores computer servers, which contain surveillance video logs, flooded. the big question now, was it an accident or was it intentional? this is reporting that katelyn polantz and i broke on the special counsel's investigation. here's what we've learned about the situation. federal prosecutors who are investigating trump's handling of classified documents are now asking about this incident that happened at mar-a-lago last october. a maintenance worker at the club drained a pool, which ended up

flooding a nearby room with a computer room storing computer servers are kept. two months before the fbi searched the club and found hundreds of classified documents. to be clear, we don't know if the room was flooded on purpose or if it was a general mistake that happened. we know that prosecutors are looking into whether there were any efforts to obstruct the justice department's investigation, and we also know that surveillance footage from mar-a-lago shows the same maintenance worker who drained the pool moving boxes around the club with another trump aide. that same maintenance worker later had his phone seized by investigators and also recently talked to them. my colleague katelyn polantz joins us now. katelyn, the big question is the time line. walk us through how this went down. >> kaitlan, this is in october of last year. that's when the pool was drained by this maintenance worker, and

it flooded that i.t. room at mar-a-lago, not damaging any of the video tape that we know of, but clearly something that was quite suspicious that has happened. at that point in time last year, kaitlan, that was when this was the heart of the obstruction investigation. the justice department was not trusting at that time donald trump and his attorneys that they had turned over all of the classified records in his possession at mar-a-lago. they were headed toward a contempt fight in court in the fall. we also know this happened after the fbi search of mar-a-lago. so, a point in time after that fbi search where the justice department, we now know, went back to the trump organization and either asked for them to preserve surveillance footage or they demanded for them to turn over surveillance footage a couple of different times to the grand jury as part of this investigation. so, this is really a moment in time where the investigators are bearing down on obstruction. they're asking a lot of questions about what might be on these surveillance tapes about the surveillance tapes

themselves, about people who are moving boxes, and of course that maintenance worker that is central to this story about this flood. that is a person who was captured on some of those tapes moving boxes, at least at one crucial moment. kaitlan? >> yeah. we see how crucial this surveillance footage could potentially be here. this also comes as jack smith, the special counsel who is heading this investigation, actually was in the room with trump attorneys today at the justice department. what do we know about what happened for those 90 minutes or so that they were in the same room? >> right. well, as far as we know, jack smith was there. we don't have a full understanding of what exactly happened at that meeting. we know donald trump's lawyers were meeting with a top official at the justice department. not the deputy attorney general or the attorney general himself but a deputy below those political appointees. but kaitlan, this is quite a significant meeting at a really significant time where donald trump and his defense team clearly are gaining the understanding that we are in a

final stage of this probe. there's been a lot of grand jury activity. they have scoured mar-a-lago and the people working around donald trump, and there's been a bit of a lull. now, it might not be the very last act in this investigation because we do believe there is a witness coming into a grand jury in south florida this week. but this is the sort of meeting that doesn't happen unless you're at the end and you are a defense team that wants to either get a sense of the investigation or make a case or make a complaint about how the investigation in its full arc has gone. >> yeah. absolutely. and the trump team seems to think there could be movement soon. katelyn polantz, thank you. joining me here in studio in norc norc times maggie haperman. maggie, you've done extensive reporting on the employees at mar-a-lago that have been the center of the investigation. what do you make of this other

saga jack smith is asking about? >> the pool saga? >> yeah. >> there is this aide to trump and this maintenance worker/odd jobs handler who were involved in a couple of episodes, related to putting a lock on the door. and i think it is suspicious, and they're looking for more information. what they end up doing with that or concluding with that, i think it's unclear. but they don't believe they are getting a full picture. >> ellie, you're a former federal prosecutor. when you look at something like this and you hear they've seized the phone of a maintenance worker here, what questions would you have? >> the big question here is, was this on purpose or was this an accident? i completely understand why prosecutors were charmed to this, right? especially when you consider the timing. there's already been a subpoena at this point. you've already had the search warrant. and doj is trying to collect the surveillance and now the room where the surveillance is stored

was damaged. you're looking for communications. you're looking for a text. you're looking for an email. somebody gives an order. why? sometimes people think they've deleted their phones, deleted their texts if you swipe and hit delete. that doesn't delete them. you can raise those up in the fbi lab. i guarantee they're doing forensics on those phones and looking for that kind of communication. >> pretty extraordinary to see trump's attorneys going into the department justice department sitting down with jack smith? what is your response to how trump responded to this. he posted on truth social asking why he should be charged when other presidents have not been charged. >> we know although the indications seem that it's likely or not, we know that the doj just said they're not charging anyone in connection with mike pence, for instance, for documents he had. i think that's a comparison point. i have been hearing before this meeting took place that trump expected he is going to be charged. it's not that they have said this to him. it's just that he believes it.

now, these meetings -- and you would know this better than me. doj officials, typically prosecutors at any level keep their cards close to the vest. i don't think this was different in this meeting. but i also don't think they came away thinking, oh, we've solved this. for somebody like donald trump who treats everything like a deal and exchange and transaction, i don't think this is the meeting he wanted. >> what is the thinking behind why he thinks he's going to be charged? just because of how he's seeing this investigation progress? >> yeah because they keep coming and coming and coming and because they have subpoenaed almost everybody around him, because they have pierced attorney/client privilege in the case of one of his lawyers. and because all indications are that they don't believe what they're being told. >> maggie's right. in these meetings, prosecutors do and say as little as humanly possible. when i would have these meetings, i would say, thanks for coming, the floor is yours. at the end of the meeting, thank you very much. we will take it under advisement. it's great for prosecutors because you get a preview for what the defense is likely to be.

the trump team went in there and just aired grievances, this is unfair, how about biden, that kind of thing. then it's a complete waste of an opportunity by the trump team. it's a tactical mistake because what good defense lawyers do is go in and tell prosecutors, here's some holes in your case. you may have a problem with intent. you may not be able to prove some other element. that can make a difference. i take that into account in these types of scenarios. >> i will say, jim trusty, one of the lawyers there, was pretty well regarded at the doj when he was there. >> he knows jack smith. >> yeah, he knows jack smith. i would be surprised if he didn't walk in and handle that professionally. i just don't know that it matters at this point. >> the one attorney who wasn't there today who is on the trump team but not on this case anymore is evan corcoran. you had a fascinating story over the weekend about his detailed notes, about his interactions with trump talking about this very case. >> he recorded them into a voice app on his phone the morning after he met with trump about the may subpoena. and they were very detailed, almost narrative in form, as if

he was a character in this. and those notes are now something that the doj has access to. it goes, again, to mindset, to questions trump was asking. he was asking questions about, you know, do we have to comply with the subpoena? i think trump's team would say, that's just a guy talking to his lawyer. that's not saying that he's not going to. we'll see how the doj views it. >> how would the doj view something like that, especially -- and how much could that potentially help them that there are such detailed notes? >> it is virtually unheard of to get a copy of or a voice recording of notes between a defense lawyer and a client. i never thought about doing that. maggie's right. it is not a crime for a client to say to a lawyer, can we fight this? do we have to comply? but, remember, doj went to a court and won a ruling where a judge said, this is what we call the crime fraud exception, meaning the communications here had something to do with some ongoing crime. that's an indicator to me it's something more than normal attorney/client was happening.

>> you raised an important point too. there's so much we can't see. we are getting basically a key hole view of so much of this. i have had many, many people connected to this case say to me, there's a lot you guys don't know. i wish they would then just share it with us. we're doing our best here. but there's a ton we don't know yet. >> but a lot has come out in reporting. >> absolutely. >> a lot of it has come from reporting. >> yes, we're just doing our jobs. >> thank you both for joining me here tonight. up next, there's a new development in other reporting that cnn first broke. former president on tape talking about a classified document that he still had allegedly concerning a potential attack on iran. at the time, he tried to link it to the joint chiefs chairman, mark milley, that you see here. tonight you'll hear directly from general milley himself on that and perspective from the former trump national security adviser john bolton. humpty dumpty does it with a great t fall. wonderful pistachios. get crackin'

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tonight, the top u.s. general, mark milley, is giving his take on another chapter in the trump classified documents investigation. this was reporting that cnn broke last week that the former president was recorded in july 2021 indicating that he had a classified pentagon document pertaining to a potential attack on iran, and implying that it would counter what his top general, mark maililley, was saying. those comments were in response to a "new yorker" article,

reportedly telling trump, quote, you're going to have a fing war. oren le oren liebermann spoke exclusively with general mark milley who was only willing to say this about that investigation. >> the former president decided you were deciding to attack iran and that he said no. >> it would be entirely inappropriate for me to comment on that ongoing federal investigation. and i'm not going to do that now. >> not even to clarify what happened there? >> no. i think it's inappropriate. there's an ongoing federal investigation, and i'm not going to comment one way or another on any of the issues concerning that. >> let's get more insight tonight from former trump national security adviser john bolton. thank you, ambassador, for being here. you heard from general milley weighing in. we do know from our reporting that he has spoken to investigators in this case. but when it comes to this document that trump allegedly had on plans to potentially

strike iran, do you know which document trump could have been holding in his hands during this recording? >> well, i don't think there's any way of knowing. and given trump's propensity to over overstate things, it's entirely possible he was holding in his hands something like the lunch menu from the bedminster grill that day and that he was embellishing on what a document that mark milley might have prepared would say. so, this goes to a pretty fundamental point. i don't have any doubt there are very sensitive documents involved here. but until you actually see them, i think it's important not to kind of overhype what may be at stake here, particularly with trump, whose propensity to bluster -- there's actually a better word for that i won't use on tv. but his propensity to bluster is unending. >> i think there's concern from prosecutors though because they clearly want to know more about

this. they brought the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to talk about it. of course we don't actually know which document trump was holding at that time, if he was simply referencing this document. but what our reporting did show is that the justice department wanted this document and they sent a subpoena, they made clear to trump's attorneys, i was told, that they wanted this document specifically that he was talking about on tape. trump's attorneys could not locate the document to produce it. so, if he was holding that document and they were unable to find it and there is a document related to iran out there, how much does that concern you about how it could compromise the u.s. national security? >> well, if it were an actual document that the pentagon produced as a war plan, that would be one thing. if it's simply trump making it up as he goes along, that could explain why they can't find it because it never existed. i mean, the other explanation is he destroyed it. and that would be a very serious

matter because it would show, i think, clearly guilty intent that he had a highly classified document. the idea that you can take, though, the real official documents the pentagon works on and kind of spread them around, even to the president, i would be very surprised that they are understandably kept very tightly held, infrequently taken away from the pentagon, and usually removed from the situation room or the oval office with great care when the people who brought them over leave. >> and i should note that you also have a level of concern. the justice department charged suspects iranian operative last year for allegedly plotting to assassinate you. but on this front of when it comes to the relationship that trump had with general milley, what were your observations about trump's views toward chairman milley? >> well, when i was at the white house, this was in the period

where the successor to general joe dunford, who was the chairman of the joint chiefs at the beginning of the administration, was going on. and my own personal view was that mark milley should be chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. it happened that trump agreed with that and appointed him. and i think that at the beginning, he was enthusiastic that it was a good choice. and i certainly believed that at the time. i was gone, i think, when a lot of this interesting material happened. but it's obvious that relationship between milley and trump soured, as trump's relationship with so many other people soured. >> as we see these investigations ramp up, we're going to wait to see what the special counsel does on this documents investigation, trump is still the front runner for the republican nomination for president. you've said you're considering a 2024 run. have you made a decision on that yet? >> no, i haven't. i want to see what happens with some of the other announcements. i would not do this frivolously

or merely to criticize trump's performance in office, although that would be, i think, an extensive job to do. it would be with the serious intent to win. i think it's critical for the republican party, absolutely critical, and for the country as well, that trump not get our nomination. i think in a race against biden, as unpopular as biden is, trump might well win. so, i think this is a serious matter that republicans are going to have to deal with. i wouldn't count on an indictment in the classified documents case to save us on this. knowing trump, he may well turn it into an asset. >> how soon do you think you need to make a decision on the like of this since we're seeing how big the field is getting? >> well, frankly, that's another consideration. if there's a small army of people wandering around seeking the nomination, i don't think there would be a case that i would be adding anything. but i think it's still early. i think this is a very strange

cycle. and i think honestly in the next 90 days, it's a two-man race between governor desantis and trump. i think knowing trump as i do, that he will unload on desantis unceasingly. he's already started. and i think governor desantis has got to come back with his case as to why trump's not qualified to be president. and that's really a marker for everybody else who might get in. you're not going to get the republican nomination by picking away at the other opponents. you're going to win the nomination by taking trump on directly and beating him. >> well, they're not really taking trump on directly. we saw eight of the candidates -- trump is the ninth -- in iowa over the weekend. none of them would really directly say his name on stage. do you think it's a mistake for governor desantis to not directly criticize trump in this race? >> 100%. this is not an issue about philosophy because trump has no philosophy. and it's not really an issue about his personality or his

temperament. it's about his competence to be president, which he does not have. and i think unless you make that point effectively to voters and ignore the 800-pound gorilla, it's impossible to make that case. so, i think the person who ultimately wins the republican nomination is the person who beats trump. and as you say, and i agree, i don't think anybody has stepped up to that role. maybe chris christie will. god bless him if he does. if he doesn't, somebody needs to. in my case though, it would be not just to do that, but to win the nomination. >> we'll see what you decide ultimately. i know you were listening to the top of the show, as we were talking about this new cnn reporting, on investigators looking into a pool that was drained at mar-a-lago and then flooded a room that has the computer servers that store the surveillance footage that we know prosecutors have subpoenaed. still a lot of questions about that. what was your reaction to hearing that? >> well, i think the prosecutors are right to be suspicious of

trump and his capacity to obstruct justice. this particular episode, frankly, struck me as a little rude goldberg like, but not beyond the realm of the impossible. i don't remember the geography or the architecture enough to understand how draining the pool would flood this room. but you've got to pursue every lead in a case this important. it may turn out not to represent anything or it may. there's a lot we don't know, and that may be part of it. >> a lot of questions remain. ambassador john bolton. thank you for your time tonight. >> thank you. also today, speaking of that growing field, trump's former vice president filed the paperwork to run against him, begging the question, what does trump think about mike pence's 2024 bid? we know because he's talking about it. we'll tell you what he said. that's next. also, late new information on the plane crash in virginia, which took four lives.

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pence, former new jersey governor chris christie, and current north dakota governor doug burgum, all expected to announce their 2024 presidential campaigns this week, meaning the already-crowded gop field is getting much more crowded. joining me now to talk about that is former rnc communications director, doug heye. cnn political commentator and white house communications director, alyssa farah griffin, and chief of staff and chief spokesman for the south carolina nov governor nikki haley. you used to work for the former vice president mike pence. he seems to be making this bet that there are enough remnants of of the old version of the republican party. what's your sense of it? >> i think mike pence is going to make a strong case. i think it's going to be a similar lane to what we're seeing tim scott run in and

nikki haley. and with vice president pence, he goes into the race saying, on day one, i'm ready to be president. he's held head of state meetings, he's been a governor, he's travelled all over the world. the credentialing is all there. what's going to be -- he's got a number of challenges that stand out to me. how do you differentiate yourself from the other conservatives in the race, nikki haley and tim scott? and how do you navigate the trump of it? you know there's the 30% that you've got to pull a little bit of that are die hard with trump. it's uniquely hard for mike pence post-january 6th to get those folks. the other theory of the case is you try to activate some registered primary voter who is didn't turn out in the trump years with a hopeful leading message. i don't sleep on mike pence as someone who may rise in the polls. he's politically astute, he's travelled all over the country boosting other candidates before. >> i totally agree with that. he's done well since he left

office. he's made visits to south carolina a number of times. he's cultivated evangelical voters in those visits to south carolina, particularly places like the palmetto family council. so he's done work already to lay the groundwork. >> but who is voting for mike pence in the republican primary? what kind of voter is that? >> someone who's got evangelical christianity as one of their top -- as one of their priorities, as something that's important to them. and you know, we'll watch him make his case, just like we'll watch all of these folks make the case. as we said last night, i think people are just starting to focus on this stuff. they're just starting to see people in town halls. >> yeah, it's still seen as a long shot that he's not polling out of the single digits. chris christie, also about 24 hours from now will officially be in this race, we are told. what's that candidacy going to look like? obviously he is one of the biggest trump critics, even though he's someone who once helped trump prepare for his

debate with president biden. >> one of the things that chris christie does so well is he pops balloons. he popped marco rubio's balloon. he's going to pop donald trump's balloon if he can, if that's possible. he's too talented not to have that moment. then can he ride that wave where he's not just popping balloons but he's doing more as a candidate and a potential nominee. that's where chris christie is trying to position himself. if i can say about mike pence, it's not a coincidence that that town hall coming up with dana bash is going to be in iowa. we saw bob vander platt last week on cnn saying we need anybody about donald trump. iowa is the heart and soul of the evangelical community. it's why mike pence rode his motorcycle this weekend. it's why he's going back. it's not just the voters he's competing for but where he competes. >> what happens with trump and christie's efforts here if trump doesn't show up to the debates? so chris christie is on the

debate stage going after trump, who is not there? >> that's a big problem for these candidates. we know donald trump skipped a debate in iowa and it should have hurt him and he didn't. >> he didn't win iowa though. >> that's partially because he didn't have a professional campaign and ted cruz was massively organized and active in iowa in a way that trump wasn't. it gives them more time. but donald trump brings viewers, and all of these candidates need viewers. >> keep in mind something with the current governor saununu, will not be seeking -- i'm more effective taking on trump from the outside. i think you may be seeing the beginnings of an emerging republican governor or formers who are sick of the trump wing of the party, and they want to get the gop back on course, the chris chris cities, the asa hutchinsons, the governor sanu news. i would keep an why on that. they all have fairly big

platforms. >> what they're saying, sununu said this explicitly, if your campaign in december is on rocky ground, you have to get out. >> he said it's not just knowing when to get out, but knowing when to get out. another candidate, tim scott, you are a host of "the view." many of his fundraising emails have caught my eye because a lot of his fundraising emails were about criticisms that hosts of "the view" had. he came on. this is what happened. >> frankly, my side of the aisle i think is doing a fabulous job in making progress. the question is how do we measure that progress. >> how in fact? >> let me give you a couple of examples. this is good news. i thought y'all had a question. i'll give you the answer. >> that was me talking to you. i love that. >> i'm going to -- come over here, come over here. let's have a conversation. >> come on, ladies. >> sit, sit, sit, sit, sit.

>> so -- let me give a couple of short answers. >> yeah, your back looks good from here. it's about fixing the structure of systemic racism embedded. >> we don't have to agree on the fact -- >> go tell him. >> tell it on the mountain. >> we have to go to commercial. >> i think y'all have to work -- >> you think disney is the radical left? >> i'm talking about -- >> do you think disney is the radical left? >> i think disney and ron being in a combat zone for a number of months over what i thought was the right issue as it relates to our young kids and what they're being indoctrinated with. i thought he started off on the right foot with that issue. >> no, no, no, no, not here. i'm sorry, sir. do not boo. this is "the view." we accept. we don't have to believe

everything people say, but you cannot boo people here, please. you cannot do it. please continue. >> alyssa, what was it like to be at that table today? >> listen, getting booed by "the view" audience as a republican in a primary is a badge of honor. i said that to governor sununu who also got booed. i've been booed. tim scott held his own. i'm the only republican primary voter at that table. my cohosts, their hearts and minds weren't going to be changed on if they were going to support tim scott. what i think it showed them, the audience, and the viewers at home, this is a man with substance with incredible command of the facts. and i would note on behalf of "the view," nobody has gone on to win the presidency in 15 years without appearing before our audience and coming on our show. so, it's a powerful place. >> you're from south carolina. what did you think? >> look, irrespective of whether you agree with what tim scott and nikki haley had to say about

whether america is racist, i think we all can agree they both deserve to be heard, as both of whom are members of minorities, of communities of color. they grew up and had unique experiences. and their voices deserve to be heard. they don't deserve to be cancelled. they don't deserve to be ignored on issues like this. and i hope this is only the beginning of the kind of conversation we can have surrounding the primary. >> a lot of conversations we'll be having about that in this primary. rob, doug, alyssa, thank you all for joining me tonight. another 2024 contender, republican critic of trump making an announcement right here on cnn today, ending all the speculations. that's next. also, sully sullenberger on new reporting that we just have in, new details of what might have led to a private jet going down over the weekend, that took four lives, including that of a 2-year-old child. just like i stole kekelly cartr in high school. you got no game dude, that's's a foul!

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of folks that have traditionally not been heard whether they're parents, students, community groups. john: it's shared decision-making with parents. they're saying that these are the priorities that they want to see for their kids. wendy: it allows us to create the school that our students deserve. rafael: community schools are innovative, and they're working. narrator: california's community schools: reimagining public education. new hampshire governor chris sununu says he will not throw his hat in the 2024 presidential race for the gop nomination. this was in an exclusive interview with dana bash. the four-term governor said he is tired of republicans losing senate and governor's races and wants more independents and young voters to join his side of the aisle. dana bash joins us now. dana, you have interviewed

governor sununu many times. he has been speculating about this run. were you surprised about his decision in the end? >> not as much given where we have seen the field go and the dynamic in the race go in recent weeks, particularly, kaitlan, since the town hall that you did with former president donald trump in chris sununu's home state of new hampshire. and that's part of what i wanted to ask the governor, whether or not the popularity of that donald trump still has in the granite state factored into his decision not to run. >> governor, donald trump is still very popular here in new hampshire. was there any part of you that thought, if i run and i lose to donald trump, that would be embarrassing? >> oh no. no, no, not at all. my choice in terms of running and the strategy was really all based in iowa. i knew if i did well in iowa, we were going to do well here. >> you were going to play in iowa? >> that was it. that was the game.

there's so many folks in iowa that don't participate in that caucus, that you can go out, you can engage. you know how many votes you need to win iowa? 85,000, 90,000. that's it. so, there's a huge opportunity to actually engage them one on one in a retail politics style, which frankly i know how to do very well. >> so, if you did end up running, you are confident that you would have won the new hampshire primary? you would have beaten donald trump? >> if i had done well in iowa. if i hadn't done well in iowa, it's not going to happen. my supporters would have moved on. >> another part of the chatter, which i'm sure you heard, well, if chris sununu runs, it will potentially take the new hampshire primary off the table. and that's not something that most people in new hampshire who very much cherish the first in the nation primary status and all that comes with it, were excited about. how much did that factor in?

>> it didn't really factor into my decision, but it's a logical argument. that was a concern i definitely had, not so much that it factored into whether i should or shouldn't run or not. that was more about me and the party and where we should go. i think it would have been strong either way. but a e will jit mat concern. >> you have been saying for months that donald trump will not be the nominee. are you still concern of that the way you were, let's say, in march or even back in the fall? >> no. in fact that's one of the reasons why i'm not running because he could be the nominee if more folks don't start talking about what the republican party is about, not just what donald trump stands for. donald trump is about himself. that's obvious. that shouldn't be news to anybody. the republican party has to be bigger than ourselves. and it traditionally has been. and there's an argument that he's not even a real republican. he put an r after his name, but he doesn't carry fiscal discipline. he said he was going to drain the swamp. he didn't do it. he said he was going to secure

the border. he didn't do it. he said he was going to give us health care reform. he didn't do it. >> do you believe those candidates who are not donald trump should be more aggressive in calling out donald trump and differentiating themselves with him specifically by name, do it more directly? >> absolutely. because they're not just differentiating themselves with donald trump. they need to in concert differentiate the party from donald trump. right? if everyone is talking with the same voice -- and they all agree. just some of them are a little bit afraid or timid to say it. if they're all being very candid and talking with the same voice, i think america will realize, these 12 people over here, that's where the republican party is, not where yesterday's news of donald trump is. that's one of my frustrations. if i can be a little more candid about it, get other folks to be more candid. i get a lot of folks will get in the race, but we'll use the influence we have with our voice and otherwise to get them also out of the race. thanks for playing. you know, come november/december, we have to widdle this thing down. we're not going to wait until

super tuesday to winnow it down to a one or two-person race. nikki haley, mike pence, do you see a path for them to win? >> i think almost anybody has a path. the debates will be critical. >> you really wanted to get on the stage. >> i did. i love debate. i do. >> you're taking yourself out of it. >> i'm the one candidate who wants to know how to debate the right way. >> you really wanted to be on the debate stage with donald trump. >> in some ways, i'll still be debating him because he's not what the future of this party is about. i'm not going away. >> you'll be doing it from the audience? >> and a little more unleashed maybe. it's not about me. it's not that i'm doing this because it's in the self-interest of chris sununu. this is what the party needs. >> if he is the nominee, will the democrats win? >> oh, yeah, he can't win in november of '24. oh, the math has shown donald trump has no chance of winning in november of 2024.

he won't even win georgia. if you're a republican that can't win georgia, you have no shot and he's proven that. not only has he proven it, but the candidates he gets behind lose the race. his messaging doesn't translate. it does good with the hard core, 30%, 35% base. no one is undecided about the former president. there's no one going, i might consider voting. you know where you are. he's a known commodity. the math doesn't add up. if republicans nominate him, we're saying a vote for him in the primary is effect ively a vote for joe biden. that's ultimately the way the math will play out. >> so, kaitlan, not only does chris sununu want to be a big voice on a national level for how this race is going to go, he's obviously the first in the nation. he said he will endorse in the race. he hasn't even decided -- even begun to decide who's going to do. but as you can imagine, the

calls and the texts are coming in pretty fast. he's going to be one lobbied, one courted governor for the next, what, six months or more. >> yeah. and of course this week we're seeing there are even more candidates that will be likely texting and calling him. dana bash, great interview. thank you. up next, sonic booms, as fighter jets were scrambled over washington, d.c. after a private jet goes way off course. we have new information tonight about what might have gone wrong and when. captain sully sullenberger of "miracle on the hudson" fame joins us with his insights next.

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f a lost contact with the plane only 15 minutes after it took off from tennessee. ultimately, it went down in rural virginia which we are told ultimately kill the pilot at all three passengers who were on board. joining us now is solidly saw lindberg or, the former u.s. ambassador to the u.s. civil aviation association. and of course more well-known by many, he was at the helm of the u.s. airways flight 15 49 which safely landed on the hudson river in new york. so the person to be speaker tonight, ambassador when here this new information is coming out, including from the faa that they lost contact with this plane just 15 minutes after it took off. what does that tell you? >> well, it's good to be with you. we will find out, probably over a year in the future when the national transportation safety board is completed in their investigation of made public their findings. but this kind of accident, this accident has the remarks of a loss of cabin pressurization as

being a likely factor. >> if that is what happened here, there have been questions about hypoxia, and if there was explosive decompression as we were hearing from experts earlier. whether or not have been an indication before hand that something was wrong? >> well, one of the things the investigators will hope to find out, and this aircraft was probably not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, or digital flight data recorder, it'll be dependent on looking at the physical evidence. it is what did the pilot know? when did the pilot know it? what indications did he or she have? and what actions were they able to take? what actions did they take? i think it is going to be a long and vessel gagen. a lot of old-fashioned investigation. we have a lot of digital evidence for them to look at. >> one of the first steps they take in an investigation? because we heard from one investigator they thought it

was going to be very difficult because of what the scene looked like. they said it was a very fragmented scene where the plane actually went down. >> right. it is going to make it incredibly difficult. this, like one of the accidents i investigated with the airline back in the 80s, was a near vertical descent. a very high energy impact that just fragmented the airplane and everything in it. it is going to take -- it's going to be a complicated puzzle with lots of pieces that they will have to try to put back together and make sense of. old-fashioned detective work. >> our thoughts are obviously with the lives who were lost in that. we've learned only more about them in the coming hours. ambassador sullenberger, you are the best person to talk about this tonight, the most after birdies on. this thank you for joining us with that perspective. >> you are very welcome, our thoughts have to be with the families. >> absolutely.

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>> vice president mike pence has just filed papers with the federal election commission signaling that he is entering the race for president. so with that in vine, a quick programming note before we go tonight, make sure you join us here on cnn wednesday night as the former vice president is going to be taking questions, and taking the stage for an exclusive republican presidential town hall. you can catch that at nine pm eastern right here only on cnn, with my colleague dana bash. thank you so much for joining us tonight, cnn tonight, with alison camerota starts. now >> i ellison. >> welcome to cnn tonight. so what happened with the mar-a-lago pool? in a cnn exclusive, sources say an employee of donald trump trained at the swimming pool last october and ended up flooding a room and the resort