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Lawyer Who Helped Vet Trump Judge Speaks Out; Trump Lawyer Last Month: Judge "Doing His Job"; Clinton's 2008 Strategist Talks Historic Moment; Clinton Becomes First Woman To Be Presumed Nominee; Congressman To Trump: Take Your Wall And Shove It. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired June 07, 2016 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Donald Trump is directing the staff and the supporters to double down on his attacks against Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel who is presiding over the Trump University lawsuit, this case.
Trump has said that Curiel should recuse himself because Trump says he's Mexican. He is a Mexican-American. He was born in Indiana. This is something that House Speaker Paul Ryan today actually referred to as textbook racism. The textbook definition of a racist comment.
Former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, he has now weighed in tweeting his support for this judge who he once named to the state judiciary. So coming from Governor Schwarzenegger, "Judge Curiel is an American hero, who stood up to the Mexican cartels. I was proud to appoint him when I was governor."
My next guest was in charge of a screening committee that reviewed and recommended the applicants for federal judges for Senator Barbara Boxer. San Diego Attorney Candace Carroll joins me now live from San Diego where she practices law. Candace, welcome.
CANDACE CARROLL, HELPED VET TRUMP UNIVERSITY CASE JUDGE FOR FEDERAL BENCH: Thank you.
BALDWIN: All right. So take me back to the process. What did you learn about Gonzalo Curiel?
CARROLL: Well, we had the advantage that he was a sitting state court judge. When you appoint an attorney who's been in practice, you always have to hope for the best and just guess about the person's judicial demeanor and what they'll be like as a judge.
But in his case, what it mean we have to guess, because he had been on the bench for several years and all the reports we got of him and we talked to, probably 60 people who appeared in front of him or known him as a lawyer, said that he had wonderful judicial temperament.
He was very humble. He was very fair minded, didn't have any ego, was quick to learn new areas of the law, and everything about him just sounded wonderful.
BALDWIN: Anything, any alarm bells? So familiar with his background that caused you any kind of concern?
CARROLL: No, I don't think there were any.
BALDWIN: OK. You know, obviously, Donald Trump has an issue with this judge. But when you listen to what his own attorney said about him a month ago, you wouldn't actually know it. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL PETROCELLI, TRUMP'S ATTORNEY IN TRUMP UNIVERSITY CASE: You know, the judge is doing his job and, you know, we are not seeking to recuse the judge. We're trying to assert our rights. And I think the court today did a job of trying to balance out competing interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So again, just underscoring Trump's own attorney saying the judge is doing his job. When you hear Donald Trump, you know, tripling down on this man's Mexican heritage as he points out. He says there is a conflict of interest in the case, Candace, as a lawyer, can you explain conflict of interest. You know, and give me an example in this context.
CARROLL: Well, an obvious conflict of interest would be if a judge was ruling on a dispute between one company and another and he owned stock in one of the companies. But, you know, to say that someone of Mexican heritage cannot be fair to Donald Trump because Donald Trump has insulted all Mexicans is a silly argument.
And almost everybody would be recused because he insulted women. We have a lot of women judges. He's insulted Muslims. We probably have some Muslim judges. There would be very few people left to judge any case of his. And, you know --
BALDWIN: Go ahead.
CARROLL: -- "The New York Times" points out this morning that this is not the first time he's tried to bully a judge who is ruling on one of his cases. It's happened in the past.
BALDWIN: Well, even when you look into the past of Judge Curiel, when he was working as a federal prosecutor in Southern California, you know, there was a huge focus for a number of years from what I've read on drug cases and specifically, this one Mexican drug cartel, which has been actually one of Trump's biggest criticisms of Mexico.
And so this is actually something that this judge was fighting. He had around the clock security and death threats because of his work at the time. Yes?
CARROLL: Absolutely true. It was one of the things that so impressed us about him when he interviewed him and looked at his record.
BALDWIN: Tell me what he did. Last question with that.
CARROLL: What Judge Curiel did? BALDWIN: Yes, ma'am.
CARROLL: He was in the federal prosecutor's office and he was in the drug enforcement area, I mean, a section of the prosecutor's office and he was prosecuting people from the cartel and he got death threats had around the security with him.
And I think that I recall, though I could be wrong, he had to move out of the house and live elsewhere for a while until they felt that the threat has passed.
[15:35:04]BALDWIN: Just important for people who are learning about this judge they never heard of, to know more a bit more about his work and background. Candace Carroll, thank you so much.
CARROLL: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Next, he was the architect of Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign. Eight years later, he's watching her dream become a reality. We'll talk live with Clinton's former chief strategist about what has gone so right for her this go-around.
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BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton has made story as the first woman to be the presumed presidential nominee of a major political party eight years ago today. Almost like it's scripted here, June 7th, 2008, she conceded at a chance of making history then suspending the campaign against then-Senator Barack Obama.
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[15:40:08]HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories. Unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee. Unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States and that is truly remarkable, my friends!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Twenty days later, Hillary Clinton threw her support behind the presumed Democratic nominee, the man who would become President Obama, later appointed her as secretary of state.
So joining me now, the Democratic strategist who is instrumental in Clinton's 2008 campaign, had been with the Clintons. He worked in the '96 campaign. He is Mark Penn, former pollster, strategist for Bill Clinton's presidential run. It is so nice to have you on.
MARK PENN, FORMER STRATEGIST FOR BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON: Thank you.
BALDWIN: I just have wanted to pick your brain. So here goes. You back in 2008, take me inside that room when the decision had to be made for her ultimately to give that famous 18 million cracks in the ceiling speech to pull out.
PENN: Well, look, I think it was a long, hard-fought campaign and decision could have been made to keep going, but ultimately the rest of the party was coming in with a message, look, you have had a fair shot at it.
We didn't win, although we won the primaries, we didn't win the majority of pledge delegates. You have to bring the party together. She took everybody's opinions and pros and cons.
BALDWIN: Were you sitting on a circle? Do you have post-its of pro- con list?
PENN: We were around a table and she asked everyone to give an argument. It was clear that she was going to have to go out and call it the end of the show, and she did it. She did it I think with great humility and underscoring a theme.
I think we knew then that she would be back and in fact America knew she would be back. So that's why this is a really historic day. There is nothing America admires more than someone who has a defeat and then comes back from that defeat. It's the classic American story.
BALDWIN: How heartbreaking was that for you, blood, sweat and tears into a campaign like that?
PENN: I think it was heartbreaking for everybody and for me, look, it was our fondest dream to have this day. It is great. Today she has this day and sometimes that is the way it works in politics.
You know, they're very few political figures who can take a defeat and come back from it. President Clinton did. He took a defeat in Arkansas. He took a defeat in '94 and I think it's in the Clintons' genes just push forward until they win.
BALDWIN: You know, back in 2008 before she ultimately decided to bow out, her supporters I know at the time were saying, no, keep fighting the good fight as Bernie Sanders' supporters doing the same thing.
And I'm wondering, you know, I talked to Bernie Sanders surrogates on the show yesterday saying, Brooke, this is not the same thing. He is leading a revolution. He's leading a movement. This is unlike 2008. He has every right to keep fighting. Don't count those superdelegates. He will be there in Philadelphia.
PENN: Well, look, some voters will vote today, but after today's vote, I think the result likely is going to be very clear. I expect she is going to win California and then Sanders I think is going to have a real decision to make.
Look, no one but Sanders can make that decision. I think for the good of the party, the same folks will come to him saying, look, it is time. You had a good run.
Just as we had a good run and even if the arguments are strong for staying in, the arguments are stronger for getting out and letting the Democratic Party unite itself.
BALDWIN: A huge piece of that is President Obama's endorsement and according to our reporting that is happening this week. And if you were on the inside of that roll-out, what would that look like? How would you orchestrate that?
PENN: Well, look, I think that's going to be pretty simple, but it's going to be a big event. I think the big event is really going to be tonight's speech. I think --
BALDWIN: In Brooklyn.
PENN: -- there's going to be a big moment here. I think it's been a rising tide last week's speech, the announcement by the AP, the speech tonight and then Obama's endorsement. I think they all come together as a set of events.
BALDWIN: Does he appear with her or by himself?
PENN: I hope he appears with her. I think that would be the ideal event.
BALDWIN: Does he speak specifically to Sanders himself or Sanders supporters? We know they had a chat on the phone although Senator Sanders won't tell us what was said.
PENN: No, look, I think he -- I think what he's going to do is compliment Senator Sanders for an excellent race, for raising important issues as he did. But saying, look. Now's the time to unite behind a leader who should go forward based on the votes that have taken place in the party.
BALDWIN: Two more questions for you. One, we remember back to the 3:00 a.m. phone call ad, which you had a bit to deal with. Let's remind everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): It's 30 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing, something's happening in the world.
[15:45:04]Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military, someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Mark Penn, you wrote that ad. You orchestrated that whole thing. You could -- I mean, could you if you're at a Clinton campaign right now, cut, copy and paste and drop it into 2016? Think you'll see more of what?
PENN: Absolutely. I think last week's was really a 3:00 a.m. speech. I think somebody is going to have come up with a new, creative version. That ad could run tomorrow and the message would be as true today as it was then.
BALDWIN: Final question just as a strategist, I'm sure you've read and heard about this conference call Donald Trump had with his supporters and there was frustrations. It sounds to me according to reports belittling of staff, miscommunication.
You know, ignore that stupid letter or disregard a memo. What does that tell you about the inner workings of his campaign, the nucleus?
PENN: Well, I don't know. We'll see what happens. Look, I think Donald Trump has to learn the political apology and now is the time when members of his own party call him a racist.
If he's going to continue to do this position and be strident with the campaign, the question is whether or not he has someone in the campaign who can tell him, it's time to take this back.
BALDWIN: And that he listens.
PENN: Or he is not going to listen and I think she's going to open up a significant lead in the next week or two in the polls.
BALDWIN: OK. Mark Penn, come back. Come back.
PENN: OK.
WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
Coming up next, the sitting congressman that wrote Donald Trump telling him to shove his border wall where the sun don't shine. We'll talk to him about that live, next.
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[15:50:40]
BALDWIN: Political correctness, that is so four years ago. Now yet another politician not at all mincing words when it comes to the presumptive Republican nominee.
Texas Democrat writing this scathing open letter, quote, "Mr. Trump, you're a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass. I would like to end this letter in a more diplomatic fashion."
He goes on, "But I think you of all people understand why I cannot." Joining me now the man who wrote the letter, Congressman Filemon Vela of Texas. Congressman, welcome.
REPRESENTATIVE FILEMON VELA JR. (D), TEXAS: Good afternoon, Brooke.
BALDWIN: My goodness, the language, Congressman.
VELA: Yes, like I said, I usually am much calmer and prefer to be much more diplomatic, but in this case I felt like I really had to speak in a way that Mr. Trump understood. And that's why I used that language. BALDWIN: What was your message?
VELA: Well, you know, the fact of the matter is that over the course of the past several months we have witnessed these outrageous statements coming from Donald Trump. And back in my home district, I run into constituents who express their concerns and frustrations about what he is saying with respect to Hispanic-Americans across the United States.
But last week when he made those comments about Judge Curiel in California, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just felt like it was important to speak out those comments were racist.
Judge Curiel is a distinguished jurist, first generation American born in Indiana. He served as United States prosecutor, was appointed to the state bench by Governor Schwarzenegger and has served this country well as a federal judge. To make those comments about Judge Curiel is just wrong.
BALDWIN: On that, and you're not the only one to call the comments racist, Trump advisor has said to CNN what he's saying, he being Donald Trump, is what a good amount of people are thinking in this country and don't want to say. What's your response to that?
VELA: Well, let me tell you, I don't view this issue as being a Republican versus Democratic issue or one ethnicity versus another. This is an American issue. The fact of the matter is, is that since I became a voting age, the presidents that have served our country have all been presidents both Republican and Democratic who have celebrated diversity.
We do not need presidential candidates or president who are going to demonize diversity because what this country -- we are a melting pot. All of us who are American citizens either have grandparents or great- grandparents or great-grandparents way before then that came from other countries to use this incendiary language about Judge Curiel is just not right. Go ahead.
BALDWIN: I was just going to say. I wanted to move onto this "The Wall Street Journal" opinion piece. This is Bret Stevens writing this today. It's an op-ed, in it took the time to actually fact check a number of Trump's anti-Mexico sentiments.
Let me just read this, quote, "Mexico's 2014 homicide rate of about 16 murders per 100,000 means that it is about as dangerous as Philadelphia and considerably safer than Miami or Atlanta."
Quote, "Mr. Trump is appealing to constituents who have stuffed themselves on a diet of bad statistics and misleading anecdotes, people who fancy themselves victims but behave like bigots."
I mean, this is arguably the biggest platform here really -- a piece of his campaign. Do you think he has influenced supporters in a misleading way?
VELA: Let me tell you, I read that editorial this morning, and for sure Mexico has its challenges. We do as well, but I really think that we need to redirect that dialogue with respect to relationship with Mexico.
United States Chamber of Commerce statistics show that over 6 million jobs in the United States depend upon trade with Mexico. The trade figures between the United States and Mexico are in the billions.
[15:55:00]So I think moving forward that whoever becomes president, but those of us on both sides of the aisle here in Congress really need to redirect this conversation and respect our relationship with Mexico.
BALDWIN: Sure, sure, Congressman Filemon Vela from the state of Texas. Thank you so much, Sir.
Let me pivot because we just got some breaking news, Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois just sent a tweet saying he cannot support Donald Trump as the nominee of his party based upon his military experience.
He suggests Trump does not have the temperament for some context. Kirk is in the middle of a tough re-election race and has said in the past he would support Trump if he were the nominee and now has reversed and says he cannot. Our special coverage continues on this Super Tuesday.
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BALDWIN: This week's CNN Hero, Becka Stephens (ph), survivor of childhood abuse offering other victims a place to heal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's in every community, trafficking, abuse, addiction. What we created is a movement for women's healing. I was almost like a slave to the drugs. I lost everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just turn a trick wherever as long as I could get one more hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can remember thinking that I'm going to die out here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was a small child I experienced sexual molestation for years. It gave me a lot of compassion. Those scars are deep, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Learn more about her go to CNN heroes.com. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me today. Special live coverage of the final Super Tuesday of the 2016 election season starts right now on THE LEAD.
