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Trump to Disclose Fundraising for Veterans; California Governor Endorses Clinton; Judge Releases Trump University Documents Today; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 31, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:01] COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: Five points, seven rebounds against a relatively low NBA salary. Barnes was money. You can follow that feature throughout the NBA Finals, too. Next up for the Warriors, LeBron James and the Cavs. A rematch of last year's finals. Tip-off is Thursday night at 9:00 Eastern -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I can't wait. LeBron James is going to do it this time, I know it, for Cleveland.

Coy Wire, thanks so much.

WIRE: You bet.

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, after months of delay, Donald Trump will tell the nation exactly how much he's raised for veterans. And just one hour later, internal Trump University documents unsealed. What will they reveal?

Plus, pardon the interruption.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step right there. Right there.

COSTELLO: Secret Service agents jump in after animal rights activists rush the stage at a Sanders event.

And a change in plans. Hillary Clinton launching a last-minute campaign blitz in California one week before the primary.

Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Donald Trump facing big questions this morning, promising complete answers. Very soon now Trump has scheduled a news conference. He promises a full accounting for a January fundraiser fir military veterans. The campaign has given conflicting numbers and spotty updates in the four months since Trump shared this boast. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We just cracked $6 million, right? $6 million. And we have outside a list of the organizations and folks that are going to be getting this money we were very careful in selecting because we want to make sure that the costs are down, that the people are really doing it with the heart. The heart is so important and we have picked out some really amazing, amazing veterans organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also today new developments in the fraud lawsuits against Trump University. Some students say they got virtually nothing after paying as much as $35,000. In a couple of hours the judge unseals internal documents from the defunct school and how is his business and and exactly what it delivered.

We're covering all of the angels this morning. CNN's Jim Acosta is awaiting the news conference at the Trump Tower. Drew Griffin is here with his investigative reporting.

Let's begin with you, Jim. Set the stage.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Carol, that's right. Donald Trump has no shortage of questions to answer this morning, but he's going to try to answer some of them, at least about this initiative that he launched back in January. You'll remember he did not want to participate in that GOP debate just before the Iowa caucuses. He said instead he was going to hold this veterans event and had a couple of presidential candidates with him.

You'll remember Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum were also at that event where he announced he had raced $6 million including a contribution from himself for those veterans groups. But over the course of the last several months, we've been getting conflicting stories as to how much money was being raised, who was getting the money. There were veterans groups saying we haven't gotten the money and in just the last few weeks, Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager for Donald Trump, said well, no, that number was somewhere around $4.5 million, $5 million. And then Donald Trump himself said, no, no, no, it's between $5.5 million and $6 million.

And so we hope to find out here in the next hour when Donald Trump holds his news conference inside Trump Tower exactly how much money was raised, where did it come from, who is getting the money, and so on. And so we expect to have those details. Donald Trump himself has said he will give us those details here in the coming minutes.

But, Carol, as you mentioned at the top of the hour, there are other questions for Donald Trump to answer this morning. Hopefully we'll get those answers.

Over the weekend Bill Kristol, the noted neoconservative in Washington, he floated out the idea that he's going to have details and there will be more details coming shortly about a third-party bid. Potentially a top name Republican might be announcing in the coming days that he's running for president or she's running for president. And Bill Kristol floated that idea and then Donald Trump went after Bill Kristol after that occurred. And so perhaps we'll hear Donald Trump talk about that.

And then this other matter of Trump University. You're right, those documents are scheduled to be released, and Donald Trump just in the last few days has been hitting the judge and his surrogates have been hitting the judge handling that Trump University fraud case in San Diego. Trump saying at a rally just recently that he questions the motives of the judge handling the case and then mentioned the judge's ethnicity.

The judge is Mexican-American from Chicago, from Illinois, but Donald Trump felt compelled to mention the judge's ethnicity and so that is something that may be asked about as well, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Jim Acosta reporting live from Trump Tower this morning. Thank you.

Want to go now to Drew Griffin because you're one of the reporters who's been posing questions to Donald Trump over the last four months about where is the money, where is it going, et cetera, et cetera. What have you found out?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this is a controversy of his own making really because these are easy questions to answer.

[10:05:04] Money in, money out, no problem. And what we've seen over the last four months now is all this confusion. If you take a look on the night of the event, $6 million pledged. Very soon after that the campaign came out and said, no, it's $5 million. And then Trump said he added an additional $1 million.

We kept asking, Carol, where, where, where is the money going. Then in May Corey Lewandowski says, no, it's going to be closer to $4.5 million, then tells CNN, Corey did, that no, that's incorrect what I just said. And then on Sunday Trump says now he raised almost $6 million.

We have been asking, OK, where? Where is the money? It would be easy to find out. We did track down at least half of it and half of it did go to 27 different organizations. Some of them have confirmed this. Many of them will not talk to CNN or will not disclose the amount of money, but this is the money that we believe has already gone out. It's the $3.1 million. Another $1 million went to a very good charity from Donald Trump himself last week and now we're expecting a full accounting and perhaps putting this minor but very distracting issue to rest.

COSTELLO: Well, Donald Trump also said that the reason it's been taking so long is because he had to vet all of these organizations. So is he giving money to organizations that are not established that would take a long period of time to vet? GRIFFIN: Well, what he did, he did everything very fast. And he got

a list of organizations, and then he learned as we have learned doing our own charity investigations, some are better than others. Now he realizes the scrutiny he's going to get so he needs to scrutinize who he's going to give the money to.

The other thing is he was having trouble getting the pledges in. He told me that last week. He said some people need to be reminded of their donation. So I imagine he was on the phone strong arming some of these people who said they were going to donate money and they didn't.

But he does need to vet where the money is going because if he sends it to a bad charity, we're going to be all over that.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. Drew Griffin, thanks so much.

My next two guests say their organizations have both received contributions from Mr. Trump. With me now on the phone is James Kallstrom. He's a former FBI assistant director and currently serves as chairman of the board for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. I'm also joined by Dick Traum. He's the founder from Achilles International, an organization that helps people with disabilities participate in running events.

Thanks to both of you for being with me this morning.

JAMES KALLSTROM, MARINE CORPS LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDATION: Hi, Carol. How are you doing?

COSTELLO: Hi. I'm good. Well, James, I'm start with you. Mr. Trump pledged $1 million of his own money to one organization. Is it your organization?

KALLSTROM: Yes. We did get $1 million from Donald. He's been a big supporter of veterans groups for close to four decades now, Carol.

COSTELLO: When did you find out?

KALLSTROM: Well, I knew for some time that we were going to be the recipient. I didn't know the actual amount, but I guess it was about a week ago. Don't hold me to that, some week ago, 10 days ago when we actually received the money.

COSTELLO: OK. So I was just wondering if you found out in January shortly after the event if your organization would be a beneficiary.

KALLSTROM: Well, there were hints in that direction and he's always been a big supporter of us. We give 98 percent of the money donated, which is a very high number that we're very proud of. We have one part-time employee and basically all the money goes to the children of those who have lost their life in the line of duty.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's just terrific. Tell me how difficult it is for donors to vet organizations. Is that a lengthy process? KALLSTROM: Well, it's pretty easy with ours because we're, you know,

we're a 501(c)(3) and everything is laying out there for the public to look at and we put a lot of information on our Web site.

There are some charities that you cannot find a whole lot of information easily, so it's a mixed bag, Carol.

COSTELLO: And just, you know, before you sign off, tell me what that million dollars will be used for.

KALLSTROM: That million dollars is going to be used for children that have lost a parent. We have -- since January of this year we've granted $1.1 million and we have a number of tragic cases in the pipeline where that money will satisfy.

COSTELLO: James Kallstrom, thanks for joining me.

Now I'll move on to you, Dick. And welcome and thanks so much for being here. You got several checks from Mr. Trump. Can you tell us how much?

DICK TRAUM, FOUNDER, ACHILLES INTERNATIONAL: Yes, recently, since February, we received $200,000.

COSTELLO: Since February. So you knew shortly after that January event that your organization was going to get some money.

TRAUM: Yes, but I want you to understand that we have been receiving money from the Trump Foundation for several years.

[10:10:03] COSTELLO: So your organization didn't need to be vetted then.

TRAUM: That's correct.

COSTELLO: Because it was vetted previously by the Trump Foundation, correct?

TRAUM: Yes. Going back to 2011 the foundation has contributed to Achilles.

COSTELLO: Will you appear at Mr. Trump's news conference later this morning?

TRAUM: No.

COSTELLO: No. Did he ask you to appear?

TRAUM: He did not.

COSTELLO: And tell us what the money will be used for and a little about your organization.

TRAUM: Well, it's called the Freedom Team, and what I have had the honor of doing since 2004 is going to Walter Reed and meeting veterans who were recently disabled and inviting them to join Achilles and to prepare for a marathon, and, you know, if you've been hurt, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing to think that at some point in the near future you're going to be getting into shape and you're going to be running marathons.

And what we're doing is we're introducing many of these athletes to achievement, getting them back to doing things that they were great at before they were wounded.

COSTELLO: Some local veterans plan to hold this -- their own news conference right after Mr. Trump's, and they're going to complain that veterans organizations are being used as political props. Would you -- I mean, how would you characterize this?

TRAUM: As far as we're concerned, it's absolutely totally untrue. Donald has met with our soldiers long before he started thinking about running for president, and what he's done is he's inspired these soldiers. They are -- it's like the greatest days of their life to meet him and to talk with him and they bond.

COSTELLO: Do you hope he'll stop by soon?

TRAUM: I'm sure he will.

COSTELLO: Dick Traum, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

TRAUM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, as Donald Trump looks to put a veteran controversy behind him, Hillary Clinton's team hopes to keep it alive. We'll give you the details of her campaign's next move next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:12] COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton in a battle for next week's California primary getting the endorsement of Governor Jerry Brown this morning. Brown says Clinton is the only way to stop Donald Trump and urges the party to come together saying, quote, "This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun."

Joining me now with more on this is CNN's Joe Johns. Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Jerry Brown of California widely seen as one of the country's progressive minded governors which might suggest to some he's more in line with the thinking of Bernie Sanders in the presidential race but apparently that's not the case.

This morning Brown threw his support behind Hillary Clinton, citing the fact that she mathematically so close to sewing up the delegates needed to get the Democratic nomination. Brown also cited his concern that the stakes are so high because Donald Trump is the Republican standard bearer. Worth watching today, the back and forth between the Clinton and Trump

campaigns on the issue of support for veterans. The Hillary Clinton campaign now starting to test methods to challenge Donald Trump's domination of what is known as earned or free media, the kind of attention a candidate gets through things like public appearances, interviews, press conferences as opposed to advertising.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting this morning that the Clinton campaign is going after Trump on multiple fronts on veterans affairs today in an attempt to subvert the message Trump is expected to push at that highly anticipated news conference on fundraising today at Trump Tower in New York.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, as we've been reporting, Bernie Sanders continues his push to get a big win in California after that security scare last night in Oakland -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Joe Johns reporting live. Thank you.

And by the way Hillary Clinton will be on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper. That airs today 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Jerry Brown's full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president is -- for president is interesting in part because Bernie Sanders' -- Bernie Sanders' run today has been compared to Brown's presidential bid in 1992. One of Brown's opponents in 1992? Bill Clinton. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY BROWN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is funneling money to his wife's law firm for state business. That's number one.

BILL CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't care what you say about me, but you ought to be ashamed of yourself for jumping on my wife. You're not worth being on the same platform as my wife.

BROWN: I'll tell you something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, how times have changed, CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: I got to tell you what, Carol. You know, that feud from 1992, which some would say was probably the ugliest when it came to the Democratic primary between Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown, both governors at the time, both seeking the Democratic nomination, both trying to claim that liberal- progressive mantle back at that time.

Of course Bill Clinton went on to win the nomination. He actually defeated Jerry Brown in his home state of California by seven points but you know that feud went all the way to 2010. That's when Gavin Newsom was running against Jerry Brown when Brown was trying to run to reclaim his seat as the governor of California. Brown would go on to win it, but Bill Clinton again had endorsed Brown's opponent.

Now we do know that Bill Clinton had met with Jerry Brown just a few weeks ago to talk politics. They had met in the mansion up in Sacramento. They discussed politics. Of course they discussed domestic policy. And of course, as we have seen today Jerry Brown has decided to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, says he's going to vote for her.

In many ways you would have to say that this might be because he thinks that she has the best chance of defeating Donald Trump. He describes Trump's run for the Republican nomination as a dangerous candidacy. So there you have it. I guess what is old is not always new and enemies can become friends, at least in be politics -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, I guess that often happens. Just I don't know, every time you hear it, it kind of like makes you step back and say, wow.

[10:20:02] Can you believe anything anybody says? Right? How much will -- how much will Governor Brown's endorsement mean? He's a very popular governor in California.

PRESTON: Very popular governor. And as Joe had just said earlier known as one of the leading progressive voices in the Democratic movement. Now he's had some issues up there where he's had to work on some tax issues, but the question is, Jerry Brown says he's going to vote for Hillary Clinton. Does that mean that he is going to campaign for Hillary Clinton? Does that mean that he is going to try to mobilize any of his supporters to go out and vote for Hillary Clinton?

And those are questions we don't have answered quite yet but we still got some time before the California primary and I think we'll see that unfold over the next 24 or 48 hours -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So after Hillary Clinton sits down with Jake Tapper she's going to fly to California to campaign for five days. That's a change in plans. So why isn't she doing as well in expected as California? What is Bernie Sanders doing that is so effective?

PRESTON: Well, I mean, and I think you discussed this earlier in the program. Bernie Sanders does very well with trying to excite the liberal base at this point. When you get to California and you get to some of these college towns, whether it's Berkeley or some of these other state universities, Bernie Sanders does a very good job of exciting the liberal base on issues that they feel the Democratic Party has moved away from.

Now Bernie Sanders, of course, is trailing Hillary Clinton not only in the popular vote but also in delegates, which is what really matters, and then when it becomes June 7th as we have a slew of states that will be holding contests, including California, Hillary Clinton will clinch the Democratic nomination when it comes to delegates, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Mark Preston, thanks so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, we are waiting on Donald Trump's announcement on veteran donations. But first, inside the Trump University lawsuit. The moment one student says he realized he was being ripped off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:26:21] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 26 minutes past. More than 800 migrants reported dead in the last week after a series of shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea. The United Nations says they saw more migrants crossing this past week than at any other time of the year and say 2016 has been, quote, "particularly deadly with at least 2500 deaths."

That's a big jump from this time last year. Migrants are leaving war- torn countries, oppression, and poverty. Since last week 14,000 were rescued.

North Korea makes another attempt at launching a missile. According to a U.S. Defense official, an intermediate missile was tested. It apparently flew for about two or three seconds before it exploded. It's not clear if the missile made it over water. This attempt by North Korea is the latest in a string of tests as the country tries to advance its weapons program.

A close call at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Travelers jump out of the way as a taxi hops the curb, then slams into a terminal door. It shattered the glass. The cab driver got a ticket and amazingly, no one was hurt.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

At the top of the hour Donald Trump promising a full accounting of his January fundraising for veterans. Then at noon Eastern a judge unseals internal documents on how Trump University did business. Students paid up to $35,000 for real estate secrets, but some have filed suit claiming fraud. The so-called playbooks will detail the operation and marketing of the program.

CNN's Drew Griffin talked to students who say they were bilked.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Felicisimo Limon loved Donald Trump. This retired Navy veteran of 40 years thought Trump was a great American success story.

TRUMP: At Trump University we teach success.

GRIFFIN: And attending a free introductory real estate seminar from the now shut down Trump University.

TRUMP: Success. It's going to happen to you.

GRIFFIN: Felicisimo bought into the that this billionaire, Donald Trump himself, really wanted to help make him a success, too.

(On camera): So this is what you signed.

FELICISIMO LIMON, TRUMP UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Yes, I signed.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Not only signed but allowed Trump University to swipe his credit cards.

LIMON: And the receipt for both of these $10,000, $10,000.

GRIFFIN: In total he paid more than $26,000 for a real estate course. Felicisimo and his wife Elaine would attend them, but what did he get? For the five days, he says, he got useless information and instructors constantly pressuring him to pay even more.

LIMON: What the heck are you talking about? More money? And I'm not learning anything?

GRIFFIN (on camera) You didn't learn anything in that class?

LIMON: No.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): There were no real estate secrets or techniques taught, he says, except for the one that finally made him realize he'd been had. An instructor detailed the benefits of paying off unpaid tax debts of elderly people, keeping them in their homes until they die but then taking ownership of the property.

LIMON: When I saw that, teaching you how to steal somebody's house, this is not right. That moment I said, Babes, let's go home.

ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN, NEW YORK'S ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thousands of people who were taken for millions of dollars.

GRIFFIN: New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, is leading one of three lawsuits against Donald Trump and his Trump University. The lawsuits all basically say the same thing. That almost everything about Trump University was a lie starting with the name.

TRUMP: Action is what Trump University is all about.

GRIFFIN: It wasn't a university. And its teachers didn't teach any Donald Trump secrets, according to New York's attorney general.

TRUMP: And these are all people that are handpicked by me.

GRIFFIN: And --