Transcript for Deadline looms for reuniting families separated by Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy

A new report this morning saying the president's lawyers are setting tough. New conditions for interview with special counsel Robert Mueller that interview looking less and less likely this morning and this comes as the White House is dealing with a growing pressure. And another front a court imposed deadline for reuniting parents and children. Separated at the southern border ABC's David Wright is outside bed minster New Jersey where the president. Is spending the weekend David good morning. Good morning Dan and all of the drug administration is scrambling. To comply with a federal court order to reunite we without delay the thousands of children who were forcibly separated from their parents at the border children under five are supposed to be back with their parents by Tuesday. Tearful reunions like this one should be the norm. This mother last saw her daughter on Mother's Day nearly two months ago. After they crossed the Arizona border Seeking Asylum and are tearful reunion captured by CNN. But well who would who. But for more than a hundred separated children under age five the trump administration. Is now asking the federal courts for more time among them sixteen children who have not been matched to their parents and as many as nineteen others whose parents have been released from custody. Their current whereabouts unknown. The government's lawyer told a federal judge in some cases it needs more time to make sure it complies with protections. Against child trafficking. The court reconvenes Monday morning to consider the matter this issue has brought the department of immigration and customs enforcement under sharp scrutiny. Some Democrats accused ice of causing a humanitarian. Crisis. Deeply immoral action. And made it obvious we need to rebuild our immigration system from. The top to bottom of the administration is pushing back hard on that under president Donald Trump. We will never abolish ice. To protect I use we protect. The drug administration says every child under five whose parents are in custody have been put in contact by video chat but there are. Plenty of cases where the parents are no longer in custody they may even have been deported. And the government's lawyer raised some eyebrows in court yesterday. When he had said that he had to go out of town to fulfill some dog sitting responsibilities. That. Even as obese children remain in legal limbo then. Well that's a curious decision I ever took another Russian investigation just for a moment the near New York Times as we mentioned earlier is reporting that Rudy Giuliani. Has told a special counsel Robert went up the president will only speak smaller under certain circumstances and what you tell us about that David. Well according to that report in the times they're saying that they want probable cause they want Molly to show that he has some sort of evidence that trump. May have committed a crime before the president agrees to sit down for an interview now that's a condition that Giuliani himself admits that. Mueller is unlikely to agree to and this is a change the president has long said that he is perfectly willing to sit down with the special counsel and his investigators. However in recent months they've taken a harder line shifting from cooperation. The confrontation. Paula indeed they have lapses test this morning so let's bring in David thank you let's bring in ABC news political. Commentator Cokie Roberts is in Washington this morning Cokie good morning on the only on the Muller investigation here that doesn't look at the White House is. Is on track to just never agreeing to an interview and if that's the case what options does Muller hat. Well he can subpoena the president and the president can go to court to fight the subpoena can be and constitutional crisis. I think that what we're seeing here is of a public relations ploy. Which has been going on now for months the president almost daily tweak something about the witch hunt. And he is succeeding in driving down public opinion it's favorability toward Mueller. It's dropped by about fourteen points and in some polls of people saying that they. Now disapprove of the Mahler investigation rather than improve it and that's the president's whole point is suggest. Make people think that the whatever Mueller comes up with it's not true it's fake news all of that and and he's succeeding. That strategy seems to be working at let's about the Supreme Court Kate trump is reportedly meeting with vice president hence this weekend and bad mr. taking calls from top senators. As he finalize as his scotus pick which shall be announcing Monday night. Input Cokie is he taking going into this momentous decision. Well I think he's. Taking a lot of input from people that he likes and the one of the White House aides was quoted saying. It's going to be a heck of a weekend because the president's going to change his mind twenty times during the course of the weekend. And that's the that's really the the crux of it you know he's maiden. A statement that he's gonna make this announcement Monday night at nine and so whoever is in the last man standing at that moment is likely to be the Supreme Court nominee. And last man or woman standing order while another couple of women that are being considered Cokie thank you so much for your analysis adherence by an attack morning she could be with. The stakes are incredibly this is a consequential decision to say the least Cokie thank you.

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