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Black Lives Matter Voice, Activist Really White; Iran Nuclear Agreement Side Deal Discovery as Majority of Americans Say Reject Deal; Hurricane Danny Gaining Steam in Atlantic; Dow Jones Tumbles; Jimmy Carter Talks Cancer Diagnosis. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 20, 2015 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:32:08] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Poppy Harlow, in for Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me.

An activist for racial justice now accused of lying about his own race. You may not who Shaun King is, but you're likely to have heard his voice. After all of the debates about police brutality, King, a social media activist, has been on this program and many others as a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN KING, SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVIST: This movement doesn't really have one key central leader that everybody is waiting on. People are acting on their own frustrations, their own feelings about what they see as a great injustice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: But recently, a blogger posted a birth certificate in which he's shown to be white.

Let's talk about it with CNN's anchor, Don Lemon, for "CNN Tonight."

Don, not only have your show producers spoken with Shaun King's family, you've been messaging back and forth. What is he saying about all of this?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN TONIGHT: It's really tough for him, as it would be for everyone, because he's under the spotlight and has now thrust himself into the spotlight by becoming a leader and activist. Now people are wondering when he'll say something, why has he not been speaking out. But he has been talking.

Poppy, I have to preface this. I have tremendous respect for the work that he's done. But if you hold yourself up to something that is not what you claim to be, that's a problem if you're a leader. I'm not saying that is what he's doing but that's what is in question.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Here's what he said to me. There are all of these claims about him, whether he's black, white, biracial. I said, what would you like to convey? He said, "This attack isn't about me so much but derailing Black Lives Matter and police brutality. The reports are all lies. I tried hard to debunk them and others have said that they are lies as well." I asked him specifically, are you legally black, are you legally white? Are you black or what? He said, "I am biracial." I said, is that what it is on the birth certificate. He did not answer.

So he -- that's the tough part because he -- no one can defend you like you can defend yourself. It's not our role to defend him. People are saying, why does it matter? It matters for Rachel Dolezol, who was excoriated in the media because people said --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Who had to leave her post at the NAACP.

LEMON: But she did great work. Raised thousands of dollars. Shaun King has done the same thing. And it's a little bit odd to many people because the reaction is different among some because maybe he's a part of the Black Lives Matter movement but also women are saying it's sexist because you didn't accept Rachel Dolezol, but you're accepting Shaun King.

[14:35:14] HARLOW: I think this is also just blowing up. We'll see where it goes.

LEMON: Right.

HARLOW: I want to read this. This is what Shaun King's wife, Raye, posted on Facebook today. She wrote, "Regarding his race, he has never lied. Not once. His story is beautifully difficult and painful and I've actually encouraged him to tell it publicly because it is unique expression of this country's sordid and ridiculous history with race. But it's his story to tell on his own terms when he is ready to tell it, out of respect for his mother."

There could be so much more at play here.

LEMON: OK, this is -- from the very beginning, I've thought this was the case. I can't tell the story for him. Only report the facts. And as I said to him -- and I won't tell you his response -- but I sent him a text this morning and this is a very honest moment that I didn't practice. I said, "I say that because I told him I appreciate him considering what's going on and giving the statement from last night. And I say that because I empathize with you, I said. I don't care what color you are. My mom is mixed. I grew up in a small racist town. My mom had an affair with my dad, who is not her husband, and I'm a product of that relationship. People called me a bastard, they called me the "N" word, half white, blah, blah, blah. So peace to you. I understand that. So it doesn't mean that the person who is on your birth certificate is necessarily your father."

HARLOW: Your father.

LEMON: But I can't tell that story for him. It's up to him to tell that story. Whatever the case may be.

HARLOW: Right. We don't know.

LEMON: It's nothing to be ashamed of. I wrote about it in a book and it was very liberating for not only me but my family.

HARLOW: Take us back to 1997. He's 15 years old and in school. He's talked about this multiple times. And he said he was attacked, whether it was by a group or a single person. His wife was there for the surgeries that he had to endure after he was beaten. Another person reportedly saw the assault. The fact is, does it matter if he's black or not.

LEMON: It doesn't matter.

HARLOW: If he was attacked for being perceived to be?

LEMON: No. That's not the point. The point is, he said it was a hate crime, one of Kentucky's first hate crimes. The detective who investigated it said that's not so. The police report doesn't show it as a hate crime. So I think that's why people are so concerned about it.

Now, his family did tell us "CNN Tonight" that it was racially motivated, they believe, because he was white and dating a black woman, who is now his wife. So was it a racist attack, according to them? Yes. Was it a hate crime? The evidence doesn't seem to point that way. And that's a discrepancy.

So -- and I think people are concerned because of Black Lives Matter is now a legitimate movement.

HARLOW: Huge.

LEMON: They are talking to all of the candidates. Right? And potentially will have influence in the White House and so if anything distracts from that, it's a problem. So that's why this is so -- no one cares what color Shaun King is. I don't care. You don't care.

HARLOW: But it's what you say you are.

LEMON: It is, if you've misrepresented yourself in some way. That's --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: He will come on your show maybe tomorrow night?

LEMON: I would love that. I've invited him to come on the show and tell his story, whatever it may be. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Every family has secrets. You are who you are. I said to him, if you're going to be a soldier, be a soldier. If you're going to be a warrior, be a warrior.

HARLOW: We'll be watching.

LEMON: Own your own story.

HARLOW: Don Lemon, thank you so much.

LEMON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Appreciate it.

Watch Don Lemon, "CNN Tonight" at 10:00 p.m., tomorrow night.

LEMON: "Evocateur."

HARLOW: "Evocateur," a very special, fantastic movie tonight.

Up next, reports of a side deal between the United States and Iran which would allow Iran to inspect its own nuclear sites. How could that be? We'll talk about those details ahead.

Also, at any moment, we're expecting to see history made. We'll meet the two women who just became the first in the country ever to complete Army Ranger School. They are expected to speak at any moment. We'll bring it to you live as soon as they do. Straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:50] HARLOW: New trouble for the Iran nuclear deal. Congress in an uproar about a newly revealed side deal. It would allow Iran to have a hand in inspecting the nuclear sites in its own country but the State Department is downplaying this. Spokesman John Kirby saying the nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, would still very much be involved with total oversight.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I won't talk about the details of these leaked documents or these draft documents from the IAEA but I'll tell you that we are very comfortable, Secretary Kerry is very comfortable that the IAEA will have the access and the information that it needs to make a proper accounting of possible military dimensions for Iran's program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Also a new CNN poll out shows as Congress gets closer to vote on the nuclear deal, the poll shows the majority of Americans, 56 percent, now think Congress should oppose, reject the deal.

Let's talk about it further with CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto; and Philip Mudd, CNN's counterterrorism analyst and a former counterterrorism with the CIA.

Jim, to you first.

Let's break this down. You have your own reporting on this and the fact is that, yes, Iran would be able to inspect its own site but, by no means, alone. [14:45:01] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONALS SECURITY CORRESPONDENT:

Exactly. Iranian staff might take the soil samples from the site. Just to be clear, it's a military site. It's a site where it's suspected that Iran did past weaponization work. That's a big deal. That's been part of the negotiations that Iran has to reveal what it did in the past. That's why it's important. But Iran won't be doing the inspection on their own and shipping the samples back to the IAEA in Switzerland and say deal with them. What the State Department says is yeah they might be able to take the soil samples but this will be under the IAEA supervision and watch perhaps via video camera. They have to take the sample in a certain way and collected in a certain way and tested in a certain way. They are saying it's under complete oversight of the IAEA. They are not doing it on their own.

HARLOW: Still, I think many Americans would say why let them have a hand in inspection?

SCIUTTO: It's a fair question. You would think you're giving up so much in terms of sanctions relief that you could write the ticket. If I had to guess, and I was not in the negotiating room, I would assume this site is so sensitive to the Iranians, what do you compare it to the U.S., not quite the Pentagon but a matter of national sovereignty, we have to play a part here and a concession in a negotiating room, that apparently the IAEA was comfortable.

HARLOW: Philip, given what Jim has talked about, frankly, a lot of people were shocked at the headline yesterday that Iran is going to do this themselves. Now that you know the role of the IAEA, how troubling is this to you?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: There's two parts. There's the IAEA out today saying this report is false as Jim was rightly reporting. The IAEA has long inspections like this and is not going to turn over inspections of Iranian facility to the Iranians. They might give them some supervision. That makes sense to me.

Here's the bottom line problem over the coming years. When you look at agreements like this, the devil is in the implementation. Iran says it will take another couple days for us to give access to this facility. You fly in a team and they say there's sensitive military activity at that site today, you can have access in four days. The implementation of this, I agree, will irritate people as time because the Iranians will nickel and dime us to death.

HARLOW: There's been just drip, drip of this. And Americans are turning against this. When you look at this poll, what it also shows us is that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling the relationship with Iran. Only 38 percent agree with it.

Senator Menendez has a long explanation as to why he opposes the deal. How nervous is the White House?

SCIUTTO: These polls are going to influence all of those lawmakers that have to make a decision on this vote next month.

HARLOW: Yeah. SCIUTTO: The White House is confident it has the vote so the

president's veto would not be overwritten but there's a lot of time between now and then. A month ago, two months ago, a majority of the public voted so they've been listening to the details and that's been changing their minds.

HARLOW: Phil, a lawmaker said last week the more he read about the deal and we saw the drip, drip revelations, the less he liked it. How much does this hurt the president's case when you have information like this coming out little by little?

MUDD: I think it hurts moderately. We're missing a huge part of this story. The cat is out of the bag. If the Senate decides they don't want to confirm this deal, let's be clear, the Brits, the Germans, the French, Chinese, the Russians, they are going to come back and say, excuse me, we've already got a deal and you're not the only game in town. And the Iranians are going to say we negotiated --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: But what happens though? How much can they force their hand if there is a rejection or we say we're not going do it?

MUDD: I don't think they can force much. The Iranians are going to say we've already got a deal, and if they want sanctions relief, the Chinese will usher it out the back door. The Russians and Chinese want Iran pumping oil and I think this is already moving down the road.

HARLOW: Also, increasingly, the declining price of oil right now, when you've got oil at 40 bucks, I wonder, Phil, how you think this plays into it strategically when you look at all of the Reserves that Iran sits on and the plan to be able to sell those on the open market yet oil prices are so depressed. What does that do?

[14:50:09] MUDD: Getting Iranian oil back on the market, keeping the pressure on to keep prices low is huge. Let me give you a simple scenario. The IAEA says we have compliance, but not sure. It's a gray area report. We have people on the Hill who say that means we have to reapply sanctions. Let's take a wild guess what the Russians and Chinese and others in Europe say about that. Their word is going to be no.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

HARLOW: Jim Sciutto, thank you so much.

Thank you both.

Jim, see you at 7:00 p.m. tonight, filling in for Erin Burnett on "Outfront."

SCIUTTO: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Thank you, gentlemen.

Coming up next, breaking now, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season is forming. We'll tell you where it's heading.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:03] HARLOW: The first hurricane of the 2015 season has arrived. Hurricane Danny is gaining steam.

Let's go to Meteorologist Jennifer Gray.

What do we know? How strong is this one?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is a very weak storm, barely a hurricane. It's 75 mile-per-hour winds. It has a lot going against it, such as wind shear and very dry air. It will be lucky to survive its march across the Atlantic Ocean. It will definitely impact the Leeward Islands and Haiti and Dominican Republic needs to watch out for this. It's too early to say whether it will have impact on the United States. Gusts up to 90 miles per hour. This is the tract. Category 1 storm through Monday and then it's going to enter dry air. A lot of wind shear, as we mentioned, could possibly dip back down to a tropical storm by the time it reaches Puerto Rico. Still, a lot of uncertainty in this as far as we get out from day five to seven because a lot of factors influencing the storm. High pressure is up to the north and that's going to be the driving force to keep it on the Westward track and it continues to head that way in the coming days, like we mentioned, Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. And then after day five, there will be a better day of where it's going to head from there.

HARLOW: We'll be watching Hurricane Danny.

Thank you. Appreciate it.

Also, breaking news from Wall Street, the Dow down nearly 300 points.

Cristina Alesci is here with me to break it down.

What are we looking at?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're looking at ugly numbers right now and it's driven by two things. On the macro front, it's oil and commodities taking a hit, raising concerns about global health and the demand for commodities. Also on the macro front, the fed is realizing, hey, this rate hike is just around the corner. And on the micro side of things, you had industries, like the media industry, really taking a big hit today. Netflix was down more than 7 percent. That wasn't spared. That's because analyst reports came in saying, look, this transition from ad-based to a more fee-pay model is going to happen.

HARLOW: Sort of the perfect compliment of events. Global macro issues down to earnings here. Oil, we were just talking about the other segment to do with Iran, 40 bucks. When you look at approaching numbers, we couldn't talk about a year ago, there's two sides to it. Great for consumers, more money in your pocket. Your gas is a lot cheaper. But that's not winning out here. ALESCI: No. Because the market doesn't really focus. That is a

really long-term impact and the market is focused on what is happening right now. Poppy, you know this better than anyone else. We haven't had a correction since 2011.

HARLOW: Right.

ALESCI: So we are way overdue. Historically, we've had a correction, which is a sustained drop of 10 percent or more, about every year and a half, historically speaking. We're overdue for one.

HARLOW: And look at the U.K. right now.

ALESCI: Exactly. And other parts of the world. Investors are seeing these signs and saying, you know what, maybe the bull market has gone on too far.

HARLOW: It felt like it for a little while. We'll see if this is a correction or just a little blip.

Cristina, thank you. You'll join us again if we see this fall further before the market closes at 4:00. Thank you. Appreciate it.

All right. Right near the top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow, in for my good friend, Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

We begin with this. A president, who has lived a long eye in the public eye, sees no need to change that. Jimmy Carter says his future is in God's hands, holding a news conference unlike one you have ever seen before, laying before the audience his diagnosis as he takes on the cancer that has taken over his brain. Treatments beginning today.

Also, in this press conference, President Carter recalling his greatest achievement and greatest regret. The 39th president of the United States, candid, funny, emotional all at the same time. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They did a biopsy and found that -- they did an MRI and found that there were four spots of melanoma on my brain. They are very small spots, about two millimeters, if you can imagine what a millimeter is. I get my first radiation treatment in my brain this afternoon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:00:05] HARLOW: An extraordinary announcement from a man who is about to undergo one of the biggest challenges of his life. He wasn't always so hopeful about his survival though. Listen to this.