Trump Tells NYT He 'Will Not Pursue' Investigation Into Clinton Emails, Will Keep Open Mind On Climate Change
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President-elect Donald Trump held a meeting with the New York Times Tuesday, but it almost did not happen at all.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, Trump called off the meeting Tuesday morning, taking to Twitter to say he would not meet with the Times' publisher, editors and reporters after a dispute over ground rules.
Trump also denounced the publication, saying the New York Times "continues to cover me inaccurately and with a nasty tone."
Hours later, a spokesperson for the Trump team said the meeting was back on.
There were cheers and boos as Trump left the New York Times Building Tuesday. He covered a number of subjects with the newspaper's editorial staffers, including climate change.
He told the New York Times on Tuesday that "clean air is vitally important" and he's keeping an open mind about whether to pull the United States out of a multinational agreement on climate change. He appeared to break dramatically with his own previous remarks that climate change was a hoax. The Times reported that he said Tuesday, "I think there is some connectivity. Some, something. It depends on how much."
He also said he would not purse an investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, strongly signaling to fellow Republicans they should abandon years of probes into the Clintons after a bitter campaign in which he repeatedly branded his Democratic rival as crooked.
A big part of Trump's presidential campaign involved crowds chanting, "Lock her up!" at his rallies over the email scandal.
At the second presidential debate, Trump said to Clinton, "If I win, I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."
But on Tuesday, Trump told the Times reporters, "She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways." And when pressed about definitely ruling out prosecuting Clinton, he said, "It's just not something that I feel very strongly about."
Hours prior, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway had an announced the change of heart.
"He doesn't wish to pursue these charges," Conway said. :I think he's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the President Of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them."
Trump also switched positions on waterboarding.
In February, he said, "I would bring back waterboarding and I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding." But on Tuesday, Trump told the New York Times he changed his mind after talking with General James Mattis, who opposes waterboarding.
Mattis is a strong candidate for Secretary of State.
Trump also told New York Times reporters that while a formal position for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is unlikely, Kushner could help make peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Reporters from the New York Times live tweeted Tuesday's meeting, as they questioned Trump on issues like the future of his business as he takes on the presidency, climate change, and the Hillary Clinton email probe.
More: Read The Tweets
Trump met with leaders of other news organizations, including CBS, NBC and CNN, for an off-the-record discussion on Monday. Both CNN and the New York Post reported that sources from the off-the-record meeting said Trump openly criticized the media's coverage of him, while taking questions on media access and improvements.
The president-elect heralded "more great meetings'' in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue as he continued shaping his administration before he headed to Florida for Thanksgiving late in the day. He tweeted Tuesday that he was "seriously considering'' former Republican presidential rival Ben Carson to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
During the 2016 election, The New York Times editorial board openly endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, calling Trump "the worst nominee put forward by a major party in modern American history."
Trump also threatened to sue the Times after the publication reported claims that the then-candidate touched two women inappropriately and was was sexually aggressive with them. The report surfaced after The Washington Post released a tape from "Access Hollywood" that was recorded in 2005 of Trump bragging to then host Billy Bush on a hot mic that he kisses, gropes and tries to have sex with women who were not his wife.
The New York Times responded to Trump's tweets Tuesday morning, claiming they did not "change the ground" rules, as Trump had claimed.
"They tried yesterday -- asked for only a private meeting and no on-the-record segment, which we refused to agree to," the Times tweeted.
A spokesperson for the New York Times said in an article published on their website that the publication was not aware Trump had canceled their meeting until reading his tweets.
Meanwhile, new polls were released Tuesday. When it comes to public perception of a Trump presidency, a new CNN poll found that most Americans – 53 percent – believe Trump will ultimately do a good job as president. A total of 44 percent said he will do poorly.
When it comes to Trump's tweets, a new Quinnipiac poll found that 59 percent of voters say he should shut his personal account down.
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