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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

AIPAC Convention; Trump Goes to Washington; Obama in Cuba. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired March 21, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The three-hour event starts at 8:00 tonight only on CNN.

Thank you all so much for joining us "AT THIS HOUR."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: LEGAL VIEW with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

The presidential race goes west this week, but not before almost all of the surviving major candidates tend to some very important business in the nation's capital. That's where the American-Israel Public Affairs Commitment, also known as AIPAC, is holding its annual conference, which in an election year is a must stop for would-be United States presidents. Hillary Clinton addressing the group this morning. We're going to get to that in just a moment.

Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, they all get their turns later on this evening. Bernie Sanders, not attending. He is instead campaigning in Utah and Arizona today, which along with Idaho, are going to hold Democratic contests tomorrow with 131 delegates at stake. Republicans will fight over 98 delegates in Arizona and Utah.

Mr. Trump goes into these states more than 260 delegates ahead of Ted Cruz by our count. And with Kasich really trailing a long way behind. Secretary Clinton's lead over Senator Sanders now stands at almost 800 delegates super and not so super, but very, very good.

In her speech to the nation's premier pro-Israel lobby, Mrs. Clinton depicted herself as everything a president should be and an unnamed Republican opponent as everything AIPAC and the rest of the world should reject.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, we need steady hands, not a president who says he's neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday and who knows what on Wednesday because everything's negotiable. Well, my friends, Israel's security is nonnegotiable.

If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: You know that whole "him" part of her speech, if you want to just take a wild guess, I think you probably know who the "him" is.

I want to bring in CNN's senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar at the AIPAC convention in Washington, D.C. And she's joined by global affairs correspondent Elise Labott, who is live in our D.C. bureau.

So, first to you, Brianna.

Donald Trump seemed to loom large, even though his name was not mentioned.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely. This was the - these were the big applause lines that she got when she took on Donald Trump. And, you know, she was doing this in a very - or doing this before a very friendly audience because Donald Trump last month said that he would remain neutral in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. He went on to clarify his remarks, saying he's pro-Israel but he would try to remain neutral to Palestinians so that he could negotiate a deal. That's why you heard Hillary Clinton saying Israeli security is not negotiable, that you cannot remain neutral when it comes to Israel, which is the U.S.'s biggest ally in the Middle East. She also, though, Ashleigh, seemed to really counter his tone with that - those comments about bigotry, really trying to lay out a case that his temperament is disqualifying when it comes to managing foreign policy.

BANFIELD: So the other question I have for you is, as the secretary was going into this conference, she brings with her all of that work as secretary of state to put together a deal with Iran, which can't have been too comfortable for her to dance around. I'm trying to figure out how she walked the line, because she seemed to be in a very friendly crowd.

KEILAR: That's right, overall very friendly. And what she did was she laid out her case on the Iran deal. This isn't something that generally the folks here would support her on and she didn't get any cheers when she was talking about the Iran deal. She tried to make her case by saying, I believe Israel is safer because of this Iran deal.

And this was something that she really initiated and laid the ground work for as secretary of state and last year came out in supported and laid out why she was going ahead and supporting this deal, which she tried to emphasize to this crowd was that this deal is not enough. Tat this isn't the end of dealing with Iran. That there are consequences if Iran violates the deal and that they would happen very quickly with the smallest move that Iran would make violating the deal. Maybe that isn't something I think that a lot of people here - that that certainly isn't going to comfort them or make them support the Iran deal, but they were polite to say the least, not clapping, but they listened to her.

[12:05:10] BANFIELD: Yes. Well, Elise, let me get you in on this because you have qualified this as her comfort zone. This is really where she hits her stride. You know, as secretary of state and as a former senator from New York, this is a very friendly crowd, very friendly territory and she knows her stuff.

That said, she was able to get to a very critical talking point with this crowd in which she did not have to name Donald Trump, but she was able to bring up the Muslim ban, the ramifications of World War II, the crises that Jews found themselves in being turned away from America's shores, all while never having to mention the word "Hitler."

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, but certainly, you know, behind the scenes some of her aides and also some of these super PACs are talking about those comparisons. And, Ashleigh, I think what she did, and Brianna laid it out very well, is, she was able to make this stark contrast between someone who doesn't have the temperament to be president. She - when she was talking about the idea of being neutral, she said if he - if he doesn't -anybody that doesn't understand that does not deserve to be president. And so she's really speaking to Israelis and American Jews' anxiety about Israel. You know, she's very popular there and she's certainly seen as someone who knows the issues. And she was trying to paint Donald Trump as someone who does not.

This was a very policy heavy speech. It was a little wonky for people that cover foreign affairs, but it was very specific on some of the issues that these - this crowd really wanted to hear, on Iran, on various specific weapon systems that, as president, she would help Israel get, talking about a military aid agreement. And also there was, you know, very policy specific things that maybe don't - you know, regular Americans might not notice, but the administration is talking about getting a U.N. Security Council resolution to lay out a peace plan before President Obama leaves office. Very unpopular among Israelis and American Jews. She came out and said she would oppose that idea.

So giving very hard specifics of what she would do to protect Israel as president and portraying Donald Trump as someone who would be dangerous for Israelis, would alienate allies and embolden adversaries. I think it's a very stark contrast. We'll have to see how Donald Trump comes out tonight. But certainly I think this has a lot more specifics than we're going to hear from Donald Trump later tonight.

BANFIELD: OK, Elise, if you could stand by for just a moment. The RNC has come out with a statement regarding Hillary Clinton's speech. I just want to read part of it, if I can. Ladies, indulge me for a moment.

"Hillary Clinton's speech was an attempt to whitewash a record of undermining Israel's interests when she was secretary of state. As the chief architect of the Obama administration's foreign policy, her support for policies like the disastrous Iran nuclear deal and her boasting of being called the Obama administration's designated (INAUDIBLE) for Israel called into question her commitment to our closest ally in the world's most tumultuous region."

Again, this statement that just came out from the RNC. I wanted to be able to put that in there as well because after 5:00 today you're going to hear Donald Trump. The rest of the Republican candidates will have their say before AIPAC as well.

Thank you to the both of you. I appreciate it. Both Elise Labott for us, as well as Brianna Keilar.

And before he gets to AIPAC, Donald Trump will hold a news conference at a D.C. landmark that is soon to become a Trump hotel. He also has a much more private meeting on his calendar, very private, and it could be the most important of the week, if not Trump's whole campaign.

My CNN colleague, Sara Murray, joins me live now from Washington, D.C.'s old post office and newish Trump Hotel. You can almost - you can just see the t-r-u behind you, over your left shoulder, Sara. Tell me a little bit about these hush-hush high level meeting on Capitol Hill. Who are they with and why are they critical?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, today it's sort of a D.C. outsider comes to Washington day for Donald Trump. He's going to be holding this closed door meeting that we expect will get underway any minute now. And what he's doing is he's meeting with a number of sort of rank and file members of Congress.

A couple of these are people who have already endorsed his presidential bid. But Tom Cotton is also going to be there, which is notable because he has been neutral in this race. We're hearing Senator Jeff Sessions, who has, of course, endorsed Donald Trump, was sort of integral in setting this up. And what it does is it's going to try to help Donald Trump make some inroads here in Washington where people are still deeply divided on his candidacy. There are a number of members who are still unwilling to support him and I think this is a way for him to sort of try to rally his troops and figure out, how are we going to start doing more outreach on The Hill, how do we get the party to coalesce behind me? I think that's going to be the goal in this meeting today.

[12:10:03] BANFIELD: OK, so you mentioned two names, Jeff Sessions, Tom Cotton, but there is now concerted effort by the anti-Trump PAC to start zeroing in and targeting anybody on Capitol Hill who takes a meeting with Donald Trump or who in their opinion, God forbid, supports him. Almost like a public shaming effort. And so I - I mean it's a fascinating tactic.

MURRAY: (INAUDIBLE).

BANFIELD: I just - it just shocks many of us because it feels like they - there's a civil war within the Republican Party and it's happening in earnest with video cameras today it seems. But can you just explain to me why the public shaming would matter because it doesn't seem like Donald Trump supporters care one iota about the people on Capitol Hill?

MURRAY: Well, I think what today's meeting tells you, who is going and who is not going, it just shows you how divisive Trump still is within the Republican Party. And it's true, his supporters might not care about this public shaming. I think it might be more of an effort to keep more members from not attending this meeting. But you'll have to look at the people who are going. I mean when I say

it's rank and file members, what I also mean is that the leaders of the House and Senate, the Republican leaders, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, are not going to be in this meeting today. Donald Trump's not going to be meeting with them. He's not going to be meeting with the RNC when he's in town today.

And like you said, there are going to be anti-Trump forces out there actively trying to take photos of these participants and essentially discourage other members from even going to the meeting. That tells you that these anti-Trump forces still want to put it out there that, look, we're still fighting against him. We still believe there's a way to defeat him at the convention. So let's just take another breath and be careful about rallying behind him at this point. We'll see I think in the coming weeks about whether their strategy is still effective.

BANFIELD: All right, Sara Murray, thank you for that live reporting from D.C. And as I mentioned earlier, about 5:00, Donald Trump's going to speak to AIPAC, as well. So there's lots of reporting coming from his camp today.

Also coming up, I'm going to speak live with the controversial Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who is supporting Donald Trump. We'll ask him about what's happening in that state today. They go to the vote today - tomorrow, sorry.

While Trump and Cruz race towards that magic number of 1,237 delegates, John Kasich knows that his only hope is to win over a majority of delegates at a brokered convention. But appearing on CNN's "New Day," the Ohio governor insisted that he is not a spoiler and that he is not going away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the only one that can beat Hillary in the fall. Why would - why would anybody say I should leave? I mean that's just - that's nuts. OK. I'm not going anywhere, Alisyn. In fact, we're rising. We're raising more money. We're getting more political support. What we're looking forward to is an extension of this primary process, which ultimately will be a convention and their delegates will make a choice. And I believe I will be selected because of electability and because of that other thing that we seem to lose sight of, who could be a good president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Governor John Kasich speaking with our Alisyn Camerota this morning.

And you can hear more from him, as well as all of the presidential candidates, all five of them on an absolutely huge night tonight for the candidates ahead of western Tuesday. The final five candidates joining CNN for a special primetime forum. The three-hour event starts at 8:00 tonight. That's only here on CNN.

And our other big story today, a historic day in Cuba. Did you ever think you'd see a picture like this? Right now President Obama and President Castro, albeit Raul not Fidel, face to face in Cuba, this hour, opening a new era in U.S.-Cuban relations. We are live in Havana coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:17:43] BANFIELD: This is a moment that many thought was unthinkable, a sitting U.S. president is holding discussions in Cuba with one of the Castro brothers. Look at that. Just let that sink in. Just last hour in Havana bilateral talks right now underway between President Obama and President Raul Castro. The president is pressing Mr. Castro on economic and democratic reforms.

And joining us now from Havana is CNN's Ed Lavandera.

Ed, it's been a jam-packed schedule almost with an event every 10 to 20 minutes, but there's a - there's a headline that's sort of getting out there today. Donald Trump is pushing it a lot. President Castro did not meet President Obama at the airport, and it seemed to be quite a slight. He met the pope. He's met other big foreign dignitaries, but not our president. Do we know why?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, everything is by design here in Cuba, especially when it comes to the communist government here. So whether or not that was Raul Castro trying to send a message to President Obama, there are a lot of subtleties that kind of go unsaid here and that is part of the diplomatic dance that is going on between the United States and the country of Cuba at this point, at least at its leadership level. So that is rather fascinating to watch that Raul Castro was not there when President Obama stepped off the plane.

But the two men are together, meeting as we speak, privately. And then afterward, after this meeting, they're supposed to come out and give statements. It's unclear whether or not they will be taking questions. Obviously, President Obama used to being in a room full of reporters taking questions that could be about any range of topics. That's not something you see routinely here, that Raul Castro does with Cuban news media that is obviously controlled by the government. So that will be a fascinating moment to watch here in the next couple of hours as those two men emerge from that bilateral meeting.

And then later on in the day, President Obama will be meeting with a group of entrepreneurs here in Havana. You know, this is one of the areas where we have seen some reforms here in the country of Cuba, where people have been opening up businesses, mainly restaurants and things catering to the large amount of tourists that are swamping the city - especially the city of Havana and the rest of the country. And then there will be a formal state dinner later today. So it is - it is one of a very busy day here for the president and it is quite a scene to see here in Havana today.

[12:20:13] BANFIELD: So, Ed, I - I was so curious about what your job was going to be like. This is not the same as any other kind of trip that you or any reporter from America has taken. I'm assuming that you have some free range to be able to walk among the citizens I see behind you and talk freely to them, as well. So correct me if I'm wrong, are you able to talk freely with them? Are they able to talk freely with you? And if so, what have they been saying about this president arriving in their country?

LAVANDERA: You know, look, the reality here in Cuba is that, yes, we've been credentialed to work here as journalists. When you speak with people, you can walk up - you know, we haven't had any problems walking up to people. The question really is, how comfortable do they feel being seen speaking with us? And that runs - that changes between person to person. You know, we've had - we have had some issues in doing our job over the last couple of days here. There's all - in the back of people's minds, they're always very worried about what it is that they're telling you. Many people reluctant to go on camera, to speak and criticize the government here. So that is a stark reality.

But once they feel comfortable with you and they're talking privately with you, you know, they can - they - they're much more open. People here are extremely friendly. Very anxious to talk about their experiences. And, you know, the fact of the matter is, they don't really have to openly come out and criticize the Castro regime to kind of understand their point. Just - when you listen to the stories of their daily lives, you learn a lot just by that, just telling them the struggles that they go through just for basic necessities and work and the lack of pay and the lack of - and what they're worried about on a day-to-day basis. That speaks volumes. It's not like they have to speak out directly against the dictatorship here in Cuba.

BANFIELD: Sure.

LAVANDERA: You can learn a lot just from listening to the very small details of their daily lives.

BANFIELD: Yes. If I had a dime for every private conversation I had in an oppressive nation, it was completely different from any public conversation on camera, boy, oh, boy.

Ed Lavandera, great work. Thank you for that. Ed's going to continue his work live in Havana.

And coming up next, President Obama's historic visit there getting some mixed reaction. In fact, our next guest says this is one tricky trip. He'll explain that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:26:56] BANFIELD: Underway in Havana, history in the making. President Obama meeting with Cuba's leader Raul Castro. The president hoping that this trip is going to help build the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. And joining us now to discuss this, Jose Vivanco. He is the executive director for Human Rights Watch's America's division.

And just this weekend, the Ladies in White dissident group in Cuba held a demonstration. Some of the protesters were arrested. It was shown on television. And it highlighted, Jose, how difficult the visit is for the president. The video is being shown now. It looked very peaceful, but the arrests were fast and furious.

So walk me through where you stand given the fact that perhaps this opening up could lead to an end of this kind of behavior. But at the same time it's very offensive to those Cuban-Americans who see that this is still an oppressive regime.

JOSE MIGUEL VIVANCO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH'S AMERICA DIVISION: That's right. I mean Cuba is ruled by military dictatorship for over 50 years. There are no political riots, no labor riots, no free speech, no freedom of association. Everything is controlled by the government. And over more than 50 years, the prescription, the policy that Washington has tried to improve, or change human rights conditions and to create some space for freedom in Cuba has been the policy of isolation, the embargo, sanctions against Cuba.

But this unilateral sanctions has been completely ineffective. (INAUDIBLE) impact. These military dictatorship is still the same kind of government, same kind of regime over 50 years. No major improvements on human rights. So when President Obama, over a year ago, decided to change the policy dramatically from isolation to engagement with Cuba, I think he - he made the right choice. And this is the right approach. I think he - the trip of President Obama is an extraordinary opportunity to change the dynamic and to create better conditions for Cubans to exercise their freedom. But -

BANFIELD: So -

VIVANCO: But engagement on itself is not going to bring change. You still need to -

BANFIELD: Ah, that's where I want to ask you - yes, that's where I want to go with it. It doesn't necessarily - because a lot of critics are saying, despite the polls, and there is a fairly recent "New York Times"/CBS poll that shows how Americans generally feel about normalizing relationships with Cuba and the majority, by far, are in support of this. Just look at these numbers, 58 percent of those support restoring U.S.-Cuba relations. And this was just taken recently, you know, March 11-15, you know, in advance of this - of this meeting.

But there are those critics who say you just don't go stepping onto the shores and having a state dinner with a president who's still arresting those lovely ladies in white who were just out marching saying they - they just oppose politically what this president is about. Do you understand where they're coming from?

[12:30:10] I'll bet he does. Oh, unfortunate for us, we just lost Jose Miguel Vivanco. Sometimes