Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Fans Gather for Muhammad Ali Service; Outrage Building Over Stanford Sex Assault Case; Cleveland Bounces Back in Game 3 of NBA Finals; Hillary Clinton's History-Making Moment. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 09, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:05] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He has two men who were in charge of his campaign, Paul Manafort and Corey Lewandowski, and sometimes Mr. Trump listens to one of them and sometimes he listens to the other. Mr. Trump has one PR person. He chooses to market his campaign himself. Is that a wise move going forward?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Again, very unusual. Very unorthodox. Actually, Carol, I would say often, he doesn't listen to either one or to anybody else at the senior level of his campaign. He makes his own gut decisions. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don't. But you know, he is facing now not 16 other Republicans, many of whom were not well-funded and didn't have big staffs. He is facing Hillary Clinton, who is a juggernaut.

Trump has 70 staff members, Clinton has approximately 700, 10 times as many. She has dozens of communications professionals operating on her behalf nationally and in the key states. As far as I can tell, Trump has three. Three. You know, there is a tremendous gap here and is it impossible for him to win, given this? No, it's not impossible, but I don't think it helps him particularly.

COSTELLO: Well -- but here is the thing. You know, remember when Mr. Trump said he -- well, actually his campaign people said he needed to raise $1 billion for his campaign, and he is now saying no, I don't need to raise that much money, because I get free publicity from all the networks any way. So why is he really saying that?

(LAUGHTER)

SABATO: Carol, he answers every question he's asked, I'll give him that much. But I think often he is simply answering with numbers that have not been vetted through his campaign organization. He is not going to raise $1 billion. It's already obvious that many of the key financers in the Republican Party are not going to give to him at all. They're going to transfer their money to Republican Senate candidates and House candidates and gubernatorial candidates.

So I think he's going to have a lot of problems. Again, Clinton will probably raise that $1 billion, just like Barack Obama did. I don't think Donald Trump will come anywhere near that number, and again doesn't prevent him from winning, but makes it more difficult.

COSTELLO: Donald Trump and some of his staff members or his campaign people are meeting with Republican fundraisers today. What do you suppose that meeting will be like?

SABATO: I would love to be a fly on the wall. I'd love to hear some of the comments because, you know, many of these big donors are billionaires just like Trump. So in a sense, they're speaking as equals and they're just as blunt as Trump is.

I suspect that if they offer contributions, it's going to be with strings attached. He needs do this, he needs to do that, he needs to stop doing this, he needs to stop doing that. And some of it will leak out. I'm sure your good reporters will find out what's really being said.

COSTELLO: I'm sure you're right about that.

Larry Sabato, a pleasure, as always.

SABATO: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, crowds starting to gather in Louisville, Kentucky. Fans of Muhammad Ali gathering to celebrate his life, his faith and his legacy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:37:39] COSTELLO: Muhammad Ali was a champion, an activist and for millions of Muslims around the world, he was a hero. Right now thousands are gathering in Louisville, Kentucky, to witness firsthand the religion, the man known as the greatest, dedicated his life to.

Martin Savidge is live there this morning. Hi, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, as you point out, for Muslims Muhammad Ali has a very special significance, remembering of course that he converted at a relatively young age, went from being Cassius Clay to the name we all know now. And that was right at the start of what was an incredible career.

The doors opened just a short while ago. This is going to be a very traditional Muslim funeral service. Relatively short. It is a prayer, but Muslims from all across the country, in fact all around the world are coming here. It's participated that there could be 15,000 people that will attend this service.

It's open to everyone. And that's in keeping with the theme of Muhammad Ali and his life. Inclusion was so important to him. So all faiths can come. But it's focused predominately on his own faith. And this is of course just the first of what are going to be a number of ways that his life will be memorialized. Tomorrow you've got the procession that will wind through Louisville, and it's expected thousands of people, more, will be able to see that.

And then at 2:00, there is going to be that very public memorial service. Tickets are already gone for that one. They disappeared, 14,000 of them, in less than an hour -- Carol. COSTELLO: Wow. I hear there's been talk about ticket scalping?

SAVIDGE: There has. I mean, it's unimaginable, actually given the celebration that this is. The tickets are free. Free to any and all, and they continue to be free for those who want to attend this service. But apparently for that memorial service, authorities said that they have been tracking online and that there are those trying to sell them, an act that they say is deplorable and despicable and they will find out who these people are, and they are warning them, that the law is going to come down against them -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Martin Savidge, reporting live from Louisville this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, binge drinking, sexual promiscuity, the college lifestyle. Outrage continues to build over the ex-Stanford student who was charged with sexual assault -- convicted of sexual assault and what he says contributed to that night.

[09:39:58]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Growing outrage after a college student convicted of raping a young woman behind a dumpster blames the assault on, quote, "binge drinking and sexual promiscuity expected from college lifestyle." He lamented the effects of that night on his life.

In a letter read in open court, Brock Turner said, quote, "I've lost two jobs solely based on the reporting of my case. I wish I never was good at swimming or had the opportunity to attend Stanford. So maybe the newspapers wouldn't want to write stories about me. I've lost my chance to swim in the Olympics."

CNN's Dan Simon live in San Jose with more on this. Hi, Dan.

[09:45:01] DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A story, this has really become and this letter, man, it's really going to heat things up even more. You know, despite being found guilty, it seems pretty clear that when you read it that Brock Turner, you know, he is not acknowledging that he assaulted this victim. He says whatever happened was consensual. At the same time, though, he does seem to express a little remorse, but says his actions were the result of too much alcohol and the party culture on college campuses.

One of the things he says is, quote, "I would give anything to change what happened that night, I made a mistake. I drank too much. My decisions hurt someone. I've been shattered by the party culture and risk taking behaviors that I briefly experienced in my four months at school."

Now, Carol, in that same letter, Turner also prevents somebody as I guess someone's who is kind of naive, somebody from a small town, from Ohio, who was inexperienced when it comes to alcohol and drugs, but according to a source close to the investigation, this is really important, we've learned that text messages and photos on Turner's cell phone indicate that he did in fact use alcohol, drugs in high school. There's even a reference to acid.

Now, as you can imagine, the story has become really the dominant topic of conversation on the Stanford campus. I've talked to several students and they all felt that the sentence was ridiculous. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really disgusted because there is a unanimous jury, there are witnesses, and we are so proud as a campus that we were able to, like, actually witness an event and stop it. And yet there wasn't really enough justice. And we think he got an easier sentence because he is a white male of a privileged background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is a human being who was violated in the most disgusting possible way. He has shown no remorse. Has admitted to no crime and is now paying a considerably shorter sentence than he should be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, it is a bit ironic that this judge, Aaron Persky, who sentence decisions sparked this national outrage, he just got a new six-year term on the bench. He would have faced voters on Tuesday, but his election was canceled because, Carol, there were no challenges. As you know, there's this effort to recall him. It's going to take 70,000 signatures from Santa Clara voters to get his name on the ballot. We'll see what happens with that.

Obviously on social media, everyone is bashing this judge and we haven't really heard anyone defend him until now. I spoke to a guy name Gary Goodman. He's a public defender in Santa Clara County. He says he knows Judge Persky well and thinks the outrage is entirely misplaced and that a recall is not appropriate. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY GOODMAN, PALO ALTO PUBLIC DEFENDER: I think it's absurd. I think it's absolutely absurd. The man is an excellent jurist. He does things the proper and the correct way. And I hope it doesn't have a quelling effect on other judges around the country that -- you know, that are voted for, that, you know, if you make a wrong decision people are going to come after and try to make you change your decision. When those people have no idea of what happened at that trial.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Carol, two things to really keep in mind here. We should point out that the Santa Clara County Probation Department, they issued this sentence recommendation to the judge, and the judge agreed with it. Another thing to point out is that Brock Turner, he'll also have to be a registered sex offender for life. So what some people pointed out to me is that if Turner has children some day, he won't even be able to drop them off at school. They say that itself is a very harsh punishment, but obviously so much criticism for this six- month jail term, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, so help us understand exactly why this judge sentenced this kid to such a light sentence. Like what was his rationale? Because if you read this kid's letter, he is not sorry at all. He is just sorry that he lost his swimming career.

SIMON: Well, the judge points out that there was alcohol involved. That's one thing.

COSTELLO: But that would assume that all drunk men rape women.

SIMON: I'm just telling you what the judge said.

COSTELLO: OK, it's OK. I'm sorry.

SIMON: And -- and the fact that this student, Brock Turner, had no prior criminal activity. Also comes from a good family. So would he have family support. So these are the things that the judge mentioned. And also, as I mentioned before, he did get this recommendation from the probation department that, you know, they got dozens of letters from friends and family of Brock Turner, and so the judge felt he made the appropriate decision. Now he is facing the consequences from -- possibly from voters.

COSTELLO: All right, Dan Simon, reporting live for us from Palo Alto, California. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, King James rules the court. And I mean rules. We've got details on the big game.

And tennis star Maria Sharapova tries to stay on court herself after being dealt a two-year ban.

[09:50:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Cleveland is not going down without a fight. With the season on the line, the Cavs came through and in a big way to get back in the NBA Finals.

Andy Scholes is in Atlanta with more. Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. You know, the Cavs at home versus on the road, I mean, it's like night and day. The Cavs unbeaten during the playoffs when playing in Cleveland and once again they were great at home, jumping on the Warriors from the start. Opening up a 17-point lead after the first quarter. Kyrie Irving had his best game of the Finals scoring 30 points.

And you know, LeBron said this was a must-win game for the Cavs and he certainly played like it. Signature play in the game was right there. LeBron diving on the floor for the steal and getting back up. Look how high he gets on this alley-hoop dunk. Just incredible. He had a game high 32 points. For the third straight game in the finals, we saw another blowout,

this time it was the Cavs coming out on top by 30, 120-90 was the final.

[09:55:08] JAMES LEBRON, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: It was just good basketball, a good flow, and everyone felt like they were a part of tonight's win. So it was just a collective team win.

STEVE KERR, WARRIORS HEAD COACH: We weren't ready to play. Obviously they just punched us right in the mouth right in the beginning.

STEPHEN CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: For me to do what I need to do to help my team, I have to play a hundred times better than I did, especially in the first quarter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Series will pretty much come down to game four tomorrow night. Let's just hope we finally get to see a close game.

All right. Elsewhere in the sports world, Maria Sharapova says she is determined to fight a two-year ban she received for doping. The International Tennis Federation is suspending Sharapova for testing positive not once but twice in 2016 for the banned substance meldonium. Now the drug is used to increase endurance and energy levels. And Sharapova claims she had actually used the drug for medical reasons since 2006 and she was unaware that it was put on the ban list of January 1st of this year even though she received multiple e-mails telling her that it had been.

Now many sponsors suspended their deals with Sharapova when she announced the positive test about a month ago but yesterday Nike said, Carol, that they were going to re-engage their partnership with her since the International Tennis Federation said that they found that she did not intentionally cheat. That was the key phrase there. That since she did not intentionally cheat, they were going to resume the sponsorship of her.

COSTELLO: Andy Scholes reporting live for us. Thanks so much.

Checking some other top stories for you at 56 minutes past. The $617 million bailout planned for the Detroit public school system is now heading to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's desk. Detroit schools are more than $500 million in debt. Classes this year are operating in facilities that are decrepit and moldy. The conditions so bad mass teacher sickouts were held earlier this year in protest.

A second ship will join in the hunt for search for the Egypt airplane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea last month killing all 60 aboard. Officials say the vessel which is operated by Deep Ocean Search is equipped with devices that will allow it to retrieve objects from under the way. The ship already in the search zone only has the ability to detect pings from the plane's black boxes.

Medical marijuana is now legal in the state of Ohio. Governor John Kasich signing a measure into law that allows people with a variety of conditions including glaucoma, cancer, and Alzheimer's to use the drug as long as they have a doctor's recommendation. It is still illegal to smoke marijuana, though. Only vaporizers, edibles, or oils are allowed. The plan which was approved by the Ohio state legislature last month will go into effect in September.

It's been just about 100 years since women got the right to vote in the United States, and Hillary Clinton has now broken through the glass ceiling that she cracked the first time, you know, when she ran for the White House.

Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember when she was standing by Bill's side, playing second fiddle? Well, now she's the power in the power couple and he's tweeting, "I couldn't be more proud. History made."

As the cheers washed over her, you'd think she was having palpitations from the number of times she clutched her heart. At one point opening her arms as if to embrace everyone.

The first woman to claim the nomination inspired sober headlines and exuberant ones, and there were some sweet tweets, "Mood at 1:45 am," tweeted one supporter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless America.

MOOS: Actress Jamie King held up her son to the TV.

The glass ceiling was invoked by the sign, "Caution, Shattered Glass." Up until now we've seen mostly men breaking through glass ceilings in movies. And they tend to be going the wrong way.

On Hillary's way to making history, she got mad.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am so sick of the Sanders campaign lying about me. I'm sick of it.

MOOS: She got blase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Evaluating her e-mails but my interest.

MOOS: She got laughs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I wish you could be president.

CLINTON: Me, too.

MOOS: And now Val the bartender is drinking in the cheers.

(On camera): Back when 21-year-old Hillary gave a commencement speech as she graduated from Wellesley College, she mentioned her mom.

CLINTON: My mother used to say, you know, I'll always love you but there are times when I certainly won't like you.

MOOS: When she graduated to presumptive nominee, she was still mentioning Mom.

CLINTON: I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic Party's nominee.

MOOS: Right after college, Hillary worked briefly at an Alaskan fish cannery.

CLINTON: My first job was to gut the salmon.

MOOS: Now her job is to gut Donald Trump.

CLINTON: Reminding us daily just how great he is.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.