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Trump Denies Posing As His Own Publicist; Clintons Deny Allegations of Wrongdoing; South Africa Allows Class Action against Gold Industry; Philippines Elects Transgender Person; Aired 12-12:30a ET
Aired May 14, 2016 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): So whose voice is it anyway?
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump denies he once masqueraded as his own PR rep. But experts and opponents aren't buying it.
What does Hillary do now as Trump takes his attacks to the Democratic favorite?
We examine why she's limiting her counter attack.
And as U.S. politicians bicker over a presidential dictate on transgender rights, the Philippines takes a significant step towards equality.
We will explain it all in the next 30 minutes. We're live in Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Natalie Allen.
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ALLEN: Our top story, the campaign trail. Donald Trump suddenly doesn't want to talk about himself. And that's a headline you probably didn't expect about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Here is what's behind it. An audio recording from 1991 has just surfaced.
And on it a man calling himself John Miller and claiming to be Trump's publicist brags about Donald Trump and Trump's sex life. Trump says it's not him. Here you go. Judge for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you this.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can tell you this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's probably doing as well as anybody. TRUMP: I know politics as well as anybody.
I hold up the Bible as well as anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand that.
TRUMP: You understand that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's starting to do tremendously well.
TRUMP: She did tremendously well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He paid his wife a great deal of money.
TRUMP: You will see a great deal of cooperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: So what do you think?
That was just a sample of what the John Miller audio sounds like. CNN's Drew Griffin has more plus some expert voice analysis.
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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The real amazing story of Donald Trump's old spokesman, as "The Washington Post" headline writes, may be that it's been such an open secret for so long, it's hard to believe that anyone is still questioning it.
QUESTION: What is your name again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Miller.
QUESTION: And you work with Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's correct.
GRIFFIN: It was back in the 1980s when the flashy New York real estate mogul needed to get a bit of news out.
The newspaper reports it was common knowledge among New York reporters that Trump just assumed a different name and handled the media calls himself, like this call from reporter Sue Carswell at "People" magazine concerning Trump's breakup with girlfriend Marla Maples.
QUESTION: What kind of comment is coming from your agency or from Donald?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it is just that he really decided that he wasn't -- you know, he didn't want to make any commitment. He didn't want to make a commitment.
He really thought it was too soon. He was coming out of a -- you know, a marriage and he's starting to do tremendously well financially.
He just thought it was too soon to make any commitment to anybody.
QUESTION: So, what is going to happen to -- is she being asked to leave or is she going to be allowed to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, she can -- he treats everybody well. And you don't know him, but he's a...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: No, I have met him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you met him?
QUESTION: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a good guy and he's not going to hurt anybody. He treated his wife well. And he treated -- and he will treat Marla well.
And he's somebody that has a lot of options. And, frankly, he gets called by everybody. He gets called by everybody in the book in terms of women.
GRIFFIN: If that John Miller sounds like Trump, it's because audio forensic expert Tom Owen says, in his opinion, it is.
TOM OWEN, FORENSIC EXPERT: I can conclude with a fair degree of scientific certainty that it is Donald Trump's voice.
GRIFFIN: This afternoon, Owen compared the John Miller on that phone call with "People" magazine to the real Donald Trump interviewed on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" in the 1990s.
Due to the quality of the old recordings, he couldn't use his biometric analysis that he says would be absolutely certain, but, based on pitch, tone, cadence and his expertise, John Miller and Donald Trump are one in the same.
OWEN: Yes, it's my opinion that it's Donald Trump's voice.
GRIFFIN: Reportedly, Trump even tacitly admitted under oath to using one of his false PR names in a 1990 court testimony, when he said: "I believe, on occasion, I used that name."
Trump was confronted with the taped phone call and "The Washington Post" story on Friday's "Today" show.
TRUMP: No. I don't think it -- I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all.
I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and you can imagine that. And this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams. Doesn't sound like me. GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
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ALLEN: Whether it is a fake person pretending to be real or real people with their own unfortunate baggage, the Trump campaign is dealing with some troubling issues right now. Jessica Schneider has more.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a lineup of controversial characters and their comments are casting a cloud over --
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SCHNEIDER (voice-over): -- Donald Trump.
Eighty-four-year-old Anthony Senecal served as Trump's butler at his Mar-a-lago estate for almost 30 years.
The Secret Service is now investigating him after he posted this on Facebook, saying President Obama should have been taken by our military and shot as an enemy agent in his first term.
CNN called Senecal and he confirmed he wrote the post which has since been taken down but then he said, "I'd prefer he be hung from the portico of the White House or as I call it, the white mosque."
Trump's campaign disavowed the comments and said Senecal hasn't worked there for many years. It's not the first time Trump has been forced to distance himself from controversial individuals.
TRUMP: Nothing in this country shocks me. I'd disavow it, but nothing in this country shocks me.
SCHNEIDER: That's Trump responding to Erin Burnett about a white nationalist super PAC that made robocalls for Trump in January, saying, "We don't need Muslims. We need smart, well educated white people who will assimilate to our culture. Vote Trump."
Trump's team was also forced to disavow a white supremacist who ended up on their delegates list in California. The campaign later saying it was a database error. The campaign fired political adviser Sam Numberg back in August for posting racial slurs on Facebook. And then there was an endorsement from the KKK's former Grand Wizard, David Duke.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Will you unequivocally condemn David Duke and say that you don't want his vote or that of other white supremacists in this election?
TRUMP: Well, just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?
SCHNEIDER: Trump later blamed a bad earpiece for misunderstanding the question and took to Twitter to disavow Duke.
MIKE TYSON, FORMER BOXING CHAMP: He should be President of the United States. That's what he should. He should be President of the United States.
SCHNEIDER: Former heavyweight champ and convicted rapist Mike Tyson threw Trump his support.
TRUMP: Mike Tyson endorsed me. I love him. He sent out a tweet. Mike, Iron Mike. You know, all the tough guys endorse me. I like that, OK?
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I don't think rapists are tough guys. I think rapists are weak, they're bullies and they're cowards.
JULIAN ZELTZER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, part of it is he's made his persona around being the irreverent candidate and saying what he wants, associating with whoever he wants. He might not do as well when facing Hillary Clinton in a general election.
And that's when a lot of these comments and a lot of these connections come back to bite.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Jessica Schneider, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: From the ban on Muslims to taking campaign donations, Donald Trump is definitely changing his tune.
But will he hit sour notes with voters?
Join Jonathan Mann for "POLITICAL MANN" just over three hours from now at 8:30 in London, that's 3:30 in Hong Kong.
The Clinton Global Initiative has been a consistent target for both Bill's and now Hillary's political opponents. New allegations from "The Wall Street Journal" are pulling it into the limelight once again.
The report comes just as Donald Trump turns his full attention to his likely opponent in the general election. Here is CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
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BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is just a replay of the same old '92 playbook.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SR. WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Bill Clinton warning about a barge of attacks he believes are coming their way.
CLINTON: Believe it or not, I went through the same thing we're doing today. Heck, some of those right wingers were sending videos out, accusing me of murder. ZELENY: But there are 24 years of new material since he ran for president and the battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will surely find room for much of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: William Jefferson Clinton.
ZELENY: One target is the Clinton Global Initiative. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting the non-profit charity helped a for-profit energy company partially owned by people close to the Clintons. On the campaign trail, the former president had three words when asked whether he denied any laws were broken.
CLINTON: Oh, God, yes.
ZELENY: The "Journal" says a $2 million commitment arranged by the Clintons group helped start Energy Pioneer Solution in 2009 to help insulate people's homes. The energy company also received an $800,000 federal grant.
It was founded by a former Democratic congressional candidate in Nebraska and two close friends of the Clintons, including Julie Tauber McMahon, who lives near the Clintons in Chappaqua, New York.
A spokesman for the Clinton Foundation said no laws were broken adding, "President Clinton has established many friendships and professional connections. It is not surprising many of the same people make a difference and improve the world with the Clinton Global Initiative."
The Clinton Foundation has long been the subject of questions about donations it received from foreign governments and corporations, including while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. Trump seized on the story today.
TRUMP: Well, it is a bombshell, there's no doubt about it.
ZELENY: Bombshell or not, he is suggesting that Clinton charity is almost certainly future political fodder.
TRUMP: I assume you put the word charity in quotes.
ZELENY: As other controversies rise to the surface, Trump and Clinton already taking constant aim at one another.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to tell you --
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CLINTON: -- how concerned I am with what I hear Trump saying. I have said that he is a loose cannon.
TRUMP: Crooked Hillary, bad judgment.
ZELENY: In a new chapter of the campaign that's just beginning.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ALLEN: The Obama administration is telling U.S. public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity. The new guidelines are reigniting a transgender battle already brewing in some states as we learn from Martin Savidge.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The joint letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice went to 13,500 public school districts across the country, directing them to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.
Schools have a responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students, the letter says, including transgender students. Though the guidance has no legal weight, it contains an implicit threat -- districts could lose federal funds or face lawsuits if they don't comply.
LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R), TEXAS: This goes against the values of so many people. It has nothing to do with anyone being against a transgender child.
SAVIDGE: In a number of states, the order is triggering outrage. The lieutenant governor of Texas accusing the Obama administration of social engineering and telling Texas superintendents not to implement the guidelines.
PATRICK: He can keep his 30 pieces of silver. We will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States.
SAVIDGE: The administration is already involved in a legal standoff with North Carolina over its so-called bathroom law, requiring transgender individuals to use the bathroom according to their sex listed on their birth certificate.
GOV. PAT MCCRORY (R), NORTH CAROLINA: We believe a court rather than a federal agency should tell our state, our nation and employers across the country what the law requires.
SAVIDGE: Refusing to back down, North Carolina's government is suing the federal government, which turned around and sued right back, calling the state's law discriminatory.
LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was not so very long ago that states, including North Carolina, had other signs above restrooms, water fountains and on public accommodations, keeping people out based on a distinction without a difference.
SAVIDGE: For many school districts, the transgender guidelines come just as the school year is ending, but they appear to be triggering a battle that is just beginning -- Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Voters in the Philippines have made history by electing a transgender person to Congress. We will introduce you to the winner later this half hour.
Plus, new allegations against Russia for a doping program at the 2014 Winter Olympics. We will tell you what is in a new report when we come back.
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ALLEN: Welcome back. Real Madrid says no form of barbaric terrorism can defeat the unity of sport. The 16 people you see here were killed in an attack on a hangout popular with the football club's fans in Iraq.
Gunmen opened fire at a coffee shop north of Baghdad. ISIS claims responsibility. On Saturday, Real Madrid players will wear black armbands to honor the victims.
Russia denies new allegations it ran a doping program for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. A former official claims at least 15 medalists participated in a state-backed doping ring.
The ex-director of Russia's anti-doping lab made the allegations to "The New York Times." He said government agents replaced tainted urine samples. The Kremlin calls the charges defamation by a defector. Here is more from Matthew Chance in Moscow.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it just keeps getting worse for Russian athletics. The latest allegations detailing a complex doping conspiracy at the 2014 Sochi Olympics involving dozens of Russian athletes, including at least 15 medal winners.
In a "New York Times" report, the former head of Russia's anti-doping agency described a massive, highly organized doping operation involving the Russian security services, the sports ministry as well, in which the urine of athletes was replaced before it could be tested.
Now the allegations have cast a further shadow over the Sochi Games, at which Russia was the biggest medal winner.
Denials at this point have been coming in thick and fast. The Russian sports minister called the allegations a "major shock" and questioned their source. The former anti-doping head, Grigory Rodchenkov, left his job shortly after the allegations of doping first emerged and he fled to the United States.
The Kremlin says the allegations sound like ungrounded statements and look like slander from a defector.
There's also been a news conference here with two of the athletes named in the scandal, rejecting the allegations as "nonsense" and "slanderous."
But in fact these are only the latest in a series of doping allegations against Russia. The World Anti-Doping Agency accuses the country of running a state-sponsored doping program and Russian athletes are already banned from international competition.
Latest revelations may further damage this country's sporting image -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
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ALLEN: An unprecedented victory for miners in South Africa. Thousands have suffered for years and are slowly dying from a deadly lung disease. But now a judge has given them the green light to sue. And it could become the biggest class action lawsuit ever in the country. Our David McKenzie is in South Africa.
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DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once a gold miner in South Africa, Joseph Mutabele (ph) thrived on physical labor, had big dreams for his future.
JOSEPH MUTABELE (PH), GOLD MINER: (Speaking foreign language).
MCKENZIE (voice-over): But for Joseph, the simplest of tasks now a struggle. Decades underground is slowly killing him, he says, a victim of terminal silicosis.
MUTABELE (PH): (Speaking foreign language).
MCKENZIE: Many miners when they retire or get sick can only afford to live in shacks like these. The wealth of South Africa was built on the backs of these men.
Now thousands of miners are suing gold companies as part of a historic class action. During apartheid and more than two decades since, the alleged companies have been negligent and could have stopped the harm to their workers. They want a massive payout.
Dr. Rhett Khan (ph) has been treating silicosis-affected miners for decades. It's his life's work. Miners develop the incurable disease by inhaling silica dust in gold mines.
DR. RHETT KHAN (PH), PULMONARY DOCTOR: These multiple little white dots is the dust.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Over the years the fine dust gets lodged in their lungs. It can cause reduced lung function, weight loss and severe weakness.
KHAN (PH): This degree of dust will affect his life expectancy.
MCKENZIE: This could kill someone.
KHAN (PH): This can kill somebody. MCKENZIE (voice-over): The scale of the problem is staggering. Scientific studies estimate that at least 200,000 miners could be suffering from the disease here.
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MCKENZIE: Researchers call it a pandemic.
Is it still as bad as it was?
KHAN (PH): It's as bad as it was under apartheid. The silica dust disease problem has not got better.
MCKENZIE (voice-over): The Chamber of Mines admits that silicosis is a significant legacy issue but they say companies have been working to eliminate the risks and are offering to set up a medical fund.
MUTABELE (PH): (Speaking foreign language).
MCKENZIE (voice-over): Money won't bring Joseph's health back but he says someone has to pay -- David McKenzie, CNN, South Africa.
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ALLEN: A big victory for the LBGT community. Coming up, we will introduce you to the transgender politician just elected to the Philippine parliament.
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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm going to end on this. We have had a volcano that erupted Thursday morning in Central Costa Rica.
What's new, you say?
Well, this is new. Take a look at this footage, astounding stuff. This is thermal imaging camera work that's also known as a FLIR camera, F-L-I-R. And this is the Turrialba volcano. That's in Central Costa Rica.
The bright colors you are seeing there are as hot as 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, Natalie, 537 degrees Celsius. The volcano spewed lava and stones as large as 6 feet or 2 meters wide. No one was hurt. But, wow, making for some interesting video to see.
ALLEN: Yes. I like that. Thank you, Derek.
All right. Moving ahead to the Philippines now. Voters there have made history by electing a transgender person to their federal parliament. Geraldine Roman says her victory proves voters can look past gender in a country where LGBT people are often ridiculed. Lynda Kinkade reports.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a largely conservative Christian country, the voters have spoken. For the first time in history, Filipinos have elected their first transgender person to the house of representatives, also known as congress.
Geraldine Roman is 49 years old. After years working as a news editor in Spain, she returned to the northern province of Bataan to look after her aging parents and to carry on their political legacy. The newly elected congresswoman will take up a seat previously held by her mother.
GERALDINE ROMAN, TRANSGENDER CONGRESS PERSON: At the start, my opponents were trying to convert my gender into an issue. And it turns out that the people don't mind and people look beyond the gender. And they look at what you have to offer, what's in your heart. That is what is the most important thing.
KINKADE (voice-over): Roman has been living openly as a woman for two decades. She officially changed her name and underwent gender reassignment surgery in the 1990s, long before the Philippines passed a law in 2001, making doing so impossible for transgender people.
There are no openly gay politicians and LGBT people have restricted access to health care and rights as couples.
In a country where 86 percent identify as Catholic, divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage are also banned.
To be elected to Congress in a country where such laws are in place is remarkable. Roman plans to support an anti-discrimination bill currently before parliament and aims to push for equal rights for LGBT people in the workplace, at school and in hotels -- Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
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ALLEN: And that is CNN NEWSROOM. I'll be right back with our top stories.
