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Donald Trump Expected to Speak in Tampa; Investigation of the Murder of Christina Grimmie; Court Documents Shed New Light on Brock Turner; Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren Exchanging Taunting Blows. Aired 12-1p ET.

Aired June 11, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:01] SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, thanks for joining me. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Fredericka Whitfield.

Well, any moment, we're expecting to hear from Donald Trump, trying to fire up the supporters that is out of Tampa, Florida. The presumptive Republican nominee expected to take the podium soon, as he is pivoting now to the attention of the general election. The crowd is really not what we've seen in the past. Not the big numbers here. Only partially filling the convention center there.

Our CNN Politics reporter Jeremy Diamond joining us live from the rally. So Jeremy, address that first. We saw out of Richmond, Virginia, that the venue was not filled, by far. We're seeing thousands and thousands of fewer people attending his rallies. Why is that?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, today is a little bit of a smaller venue. You know, it's still a convention center, still one of those big venues that can probably fit you know , 8,000 to 10,000 people. Today, it's about half full right now. You know, and we don't have a line outside, as we typically see at these events. You know, you have the lines sometimes winding you know, for blocks and blocks outside of the venue. That's not the case today.

But Donald Trump today is going to be working to kind of unify the Republican Party, to also pivot to the general election. Speaking here in Florida, which is of course, a crucial battleground state and he's going to get a little bit of help from Florida Governor Rick Scott, who's speaking right now just over my shoulder here.

Governor Scott touting his accomplishments in Florida, pointing to the fact that he was elected in 2010 as an outsider, and that the country now, as a whole needs the same thing and can find that in Donald Trump.

MALVEAUX: And Jeremy, we've already heard some different kinds of language from Donald Trump. Maybe he's trying to adjust his message, maybe he is just flat-out responding to the fact that people are now calling him racist certainly, his remarks racist. He is saying "Let's make America great again," for everyone. That is something that we had not heard before.

And earlier, we also heard him saying he's the least racist guy that he knows. Let's listen in let's see what he has got to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We love Tampa. Hello, Tampa. Great. Unbelievable. Well, I want to start by thanking, you know, Rick. He's done an amazing job as your governor. He's done an amazing job but he's a great guy and I want to thank Rick and I want to thank Pam. She has been an incredible source of inspiration for everybody in this room. So I want to thank Pam and Rick and everybody else that's been here and the support that we've had in Florida has been incredible. Very important state.

Number one, I'm here. I'm always here. You know, I have a lot of places in Florida. We have a lot of employees. We pay a lot of money out to the employees. They have great health care. They have great education for their families. And I'm very happy. So, I love being with you this morning. Very special. Thank you. Thank you.

You know, it's a little bit different world. I'm just watching the television, the news, and in France, they have all sorts of problems. They have this massive soccer tournament. They don't know whether or not they can even hold it. They're absolutely petrified about radical Islamic terrorism coming up and they don't know what to do. Should we hold it, should we not hold it? The police are afraid.

We've got to get tough folks. We've got to get tough. We've got to get smart. We've got to be vigilant. We've got to take care of people. We don't want division. But we've got to be smart. I mean, you can have this happening. This is all over the world right now. And our country, right now, we're allowing thousands of people, thousands upon thousands of people to come into our country and we have no idea who the hell they are. We have no idea.

They're coming in from the migration. And you look at the migration and I look at the migration, and I say, how come there are so many young, strong men? Why don't they have so many women? Why don't they have so many children? And I look and I say, what's going on? What's going on? And we're allowing people to come in. There's no documentation. There's no paperwork. We don't know who they are, where they come from. We don't know, is it Syria? Is it something else? Is it ISIS, maybe?

You know the story of the Trojan horse. This could be the ultimate Trojan horse, folks. These are smart people. They know what they're doing. We have no leadership. We have a president that's, as far as I'm concerned, he's incompetent.

[12:05:12] And now he's going to be campaigning for crooked Hillary Clinton, OK? He's going to be campaigning.

So I look at what's going on, I see what's happening, and I've had a lot of vision. I've had some pretty good vision. I said, don't go into Iraq. You're going to destabilize the Middle East. They went into Iraq. And I said it right from the beginning. Remember that. They said, well, maybe in 19 whatever. Let me tell you, I was early, and I was really -- I was from the beginning, because it was going to destabilize the Middle East.

And then they say, oh, Donald Trump is very tough, he's got a tough temperament a tough tone. We need a tough tone now, folks. We need a tough tone. We need it. We've got a bunch of lightweights. You know, Hillary Clinton was saying the other day, temperament that's her holding temperament, you know.

Number one, I built an unbelievable company, a great company, I filed papers with federal election. You don't build companies like that unless you have the right temperament, believe me. But Hillary Clinton, they just came out with a book, a secret service agent was with her for a long time. Said she's a total mess. A mess.

She's not qualified to be president. You know who said that? Bernie Sanders said that Hillary Clinton is not qualified to be president. And he said it because she has bad judgment. She does have bad judgment. Look at the mess that she's got us into with Syria. Everything she touches. And you're going to have four more years of that? We won't have a country left, folks. Believe me. We will not have a country left. Not to mention the Supreme Court. You've got to remember, the Supreme Court -- hello. Thank you. Thank you.

Is there any place better than a Trump rally? Is there any place better? Right? Even on a Saturday morning, look at these crowds. I mean, we have crowds. You know, folks, I'll tell you what. Look, here's a Saturday morning in Tampa. We could be doing other things, right? There are other things to be doing. And you look at the crowd.

By the way, I was just informed, we're two points up in Florida and we haven't even started yet, OK? We haven't even started.

And after this, I'm going to Pittsburgh. We'll be in Pittsburgh this afternoon and we're going to do great in Pennsylvania. You know, the interesting thing is a lot of these states we're not really states where the Republican was supposed to do well. And your traditional. I guess I'm not traditional.

You know, one of the reasons I'm not. Remember Jeb Bush, he used to say, "He is not a conservative.", "He is not a conservative." I am actually a conservative. But you know what, you know what I am? I'm for what works.

Like on trade, they said, on trade. They said we want free trade, so do I. But to have free trade, we need smart leaders. We don't have smart leaders. We have dumb leaders, OK? So, he has to do it. So, here's the story on trade. They said, do you like free trade? I said, yes. Well, what's your policy on trade? You know what I said? I want to make good deals for the United States. That's my policy on trade, it's very simple. I don't care if it's free. I don't care if it's totally unfree. I want to make good deals for the United States, because the United States is getting ripped off by every single country virtually in the world.

Every country is taking our money and taking our jobs. And we have people who that are political hacks and negotiating the biggest deals in the world and they don't know what the hell they're doing. And we have the greatest business people in the world, many of whom have endorsed me.

Carl Icahn, all these guys. They're all endorsing me. And they don't want to get paid money for them it's a game of poker its game of chess. They want to go against China. They've done great against China. I've done great against China. And I do really well - I like the Chinese people. I love the Mexican people. I have so many Mexicans working for me. I love all these countries. I don't hold anything against people. I hold it against our leaders for being so totally, grossly incompetent, because they don't know what they're doing.

And you look at these trade deals and you look where China, as an example. Hey, look. The biggest bank in the world is a tenant of mine in a building in Manhattan from China. I sell condos to people from China, for a tremendous amount of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:10:05] MALVEAUX: All right, we've been listening to Donald Trump here in Tampa, Florida.

I want to bring in our panel here, CNN Political commentator Republican, Tara Setmayer, Republican Strategist, Ford McConnell rather, and Donald Trump supporter, Scottie Nell Hughes.

So Tara, want to start off with you here. We first heard Trump say that he loves the Mexican people. It's not about the Mexican people. He says loves the Mexican people, he hasn't hold against them, the people but the leadership there. Is that convincing to you that indeed, he's not a racist as some people have charged?

TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. I mean just because now after several weeks of really very bad press and getting hammered by just about everyone, universal condemnation for his inappropriate and as Paul Ryan said, racist comments about a federal judge, because his parents are Mexican, that he has an inability to do his job fairly.

Now, Donald Trump has had to make an adjustment. This is as close as you're going to come to Donald Trump admitting that he was wrong. You see, he's now going out of his way to say, "Oh no I'm not racist, I have Mexicans who work for me". I mean that's just like saying, I'm not racist, I have black friends. I mean you know, that's not really a convincing argument. He's also going out of his way now to change his make America great again to make America great for everyone.

That kind of an adjustment is a tacit acknowledgment that he has made a significant blunder in this campaign and it's hurting him. And the polls show that as well.

MALVEAUX: So, Scottie, your fellow Republican is not buying what Trump is selling here. I want you to just listen here to some the things that Trump has said that is making people like Tara question whether or not he is, in fact, racist. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

So, I've been treated very unfairly by this judge. Now, this judge is of Mexican heritage. I'm building a wall.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you are saying he can't do his job because of his race, is that not the definition of racism?

TRUMP: I don't think so at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: OK, So Scottie, weigh in here. Because these are the things that people are saying. They're pointing to him and saying, look, you know, this is the proof here, that he is, in fact, saying racist things. We don't know what's in his heart, but we certainly are judging by what he's saying here. Now, he's coming to people and in these rallies now saying people should not be judged by the color of their skin.

What kind of work does he need to do here to convince fellow Republicans, people he's going to need to support him to win the general election that he's not a racist?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, POLITICAL EDITOR, RIGHTALERT.COM: I think he has to continue to tout his actions and his record and how they back up that he's not. And also, tout the polls. I mean let's remember, the latest u.gov. poll said that 65 percent of Republicans actually believe that Trump's statements were not racist. That he was talking about the activism of this judge, it wasn't necessarily about his heritage. And then you look at just in his track record of supporting the rainbow coalition, and helping them, giving them the building back on 40th and wall back in 1988, because he believes so strongly in having that type of urban development in order to help the minorities.

He has a long track record of helping the Hispanics of helping the African-American community and he's actually presenting plans for the future. Just like Paul Ryan this weekend, he went into the inner city and talked about his plan with the House Republicans.

This is one area I think the two of them get along very well and they agree the only way to help these minorities is to bring economic development incentivize businesses, and to going into the areas. I think those -- I think it's actually just about the plans for the future. They're going to help to reintegrate and calm any fears that Republicans might have.

MALVEAUX: Just two things, because Ford, I want to bring you in here. But when you call people, "these minorities," that generalization is real that in and of itself is offensive but also

SETMAYER: Thank you Suzanne. I was about to jump on that also. MALVEAUX: That also later poll Paul Ryan -- yes, I mean we have to address that first and foremost and if the language is inappropriate ...

SETMAYER: Yes. These minorities, some minorities our African American.

HUGHES: I'm a female, last time you check, you count me as a minority, as well. So, why I've -- I mean ...

MALVEAUX: Well, that doesn't sit well as an African-American woman, right? I just have to clarify that. But we heard from Paul Ryan, as well, who said that the remarks he felt were racist. So for jumping in here, we have heard from Mitt Romney, we've heard from Paul Ryan, of what -- how do you make sense of what is taking place here in your own party, that Trump is now having to say that he's not a racist and people have to -- people are supporting him. Republican majorities are supporting him here.

FORD O'CONNELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think racist is a term that's thrown around a little bit too much. I do think that Trump's comments were in poor taste and completely uneloquent. That said, how does he change this around?

Two ways. He stays on message. What does being on message mean? Only confining himself basically to two things. One, how is he going to make America better? And two, why Hillary Clinton's crooked. He should not go down rabbit holes he should not ere grievances that are not related to those two things. If he does that, he'll be in good shape.

[12:15:06] Understand right now, in the next seven weeks, we're in what's known as the definition period. These is where Donald Trump could win or lose its election and if he stays on message, he can be as colorful and entertaining as he wants and he can still win in November if he does this right.

MALVEAUX: Tara, jump in. How does that happen? What is the path?

SETMAYER: Yeah, I mean Ford is right about that from a political strategist perspective, that's correct. From now until the convention, there are no more primaries. This is the time where he can be defined or not. This happens to Mitt Romney. It was at this point in the election last time around that Mitt Romney really lost the election before it really got underway, because he allowed Barack Obama's campaign to define him, as a cold-hearted rich guy, who, you know, people lost jobs when he had being capital and all of this. And it started from there and they were never able to recover from being defined that way. So this is crucial.

Now, having -- making sure that Donald Trump stays on message for the next six or seven weeks is something that we have yet to see happen. He's been all over the place. He had an opportunity, he have 37 days, a 37-day head start on Hillary Clinton, when he became the presumptive nominee for Republicans. And look how he squandered that opportunity.

So, you know, that -- whether Donald Trump was capable of doing that or not, that remains to be seen, and just something else quickly about his history. We can say, oh, he did something for the rainbow push coalition or whatever, but he was also sued for housing discrimination by the department of justice, for not renting to black renters and having colored codes for people for black renters that wanted to rent in his buildings. He's also been fined by the gaming commission in Atlantic city for removing black dealers on -- from the floor when high rollers came into Atlantic city.

These are things that have been well documented. He's also said how much he, "loves the black," and he doesn't want blacks counting his money. That was in the book that he did dispute the facts up. So he's got some issues with his history of racial potential problems or complications.

HUGHES: Listen, if you want to see Donald Trump as racist, you're going to find a way, you're going to find that excuse either way. If you actually -- want to actually listen to his policy examples

SETMAYER: I'm just kindly confuse like give policy example Scottie.

HUGHES: If they are not. All of those who disputable actually, you want to sit there and say you're Mr. Trump?

SETMAYER: No, they're not.

HUGHES: Yes, they are disputable ...

SETMAYER: So, the department of justice ...

HUGHES: I did go along with this ...

SETMAYER: And never (inaudible) fine.

HUGHES: Yeah, govern yeah. Because you go back and actually read his version of it, his side of that story was the fact he was being targeted for other reasons, because he didn't contribute to certain people's campaigns.

(CROSSTALK)

SETMAYER: I suggest you go with ...

HUGHES: And that's New York. And I think what you need. If you want to see ...

SETMAYER: I read it.

HUGHES: Because they find a way, I did too. You're going to find a way to do it. Unfortunately, that did not move our party or our country forward. Let's actually start, as Ford pointed, to helping our candidate instead of continue to be the biggest daggers that tear him apart and guarantee Hillary Clinton the White House. You're either a Republican or a Democrat at this point. Hillary versus Trump.

SETMAYER: That's not true.

HUGHES: Yes, it is. There's no other options right now Tara. SETMAYER: No, that's not the only ...

(CROSSTALK)

O'CONNELL: Can I jump in one second?

SETMAYER: The principle here -- the things that Donald Trump who decided to become a Republican a couple years ago who's donated to Democrats and supported Democratic causes. You're not going to ...

NELL HUGHES: And Republicans.

SETMAYER: ...Conservatives like us who have been consistent conservatives our entire lives because you happen to be on the side right now ...

O'CONNELL: Tara.

MALVEAUX: All right, Ford, I want to button this up, if we can. I want to button this up, if we can. Ford, is there any way? Because clearly, we're looking at Tara and Scottie, they couldn't be more polar opposite in their opinions here. Is there a way for this party to get behind this candidate? And to answer that question and we'll leave it there.

O'CONNELL: Absolutely. If he stays on message, has a strong convention and continues to be competitive in the polls. I do want to say one thing to Tara. When you want to correct the nominee, there's a certain way to do it. The way Paul Ryan did it is wrong. The way Mitch McConnell did it is right. That is bring attention to the situation, but do not give ammo to Hillary Clinton. Because that's all Democrats survive on, which is identity politics.

MALVEAUX: All right, we've got to leave it there.

HUGHES: Something principled was right ...

MALVEAUX: OK.

SETMAYER: But before Ryan called a spade a spade. And that's Donald Trump's fault for making comments like that consistently.

MALVEAUX: We're going to leave it there, guys. I know we're not going to resolve this right now, but clearly there is a lot of work that needs to be done. If, in fact, this party is capable of getting behind their candidate, the candidate they have chosen.

Tara Setmayer's, Scottie Nell Hughes, Ford O'Connel, thank you so much.

Also coming up, inside the investigation of the murder of Christina Grimmie. The Orlando police department now saying it was intentional. Of course, we'll have the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [12:20:33] CHIEF JOHN MINA, ORLANDO POLICE: What our detectives are doing right now is we're going through the suspect's cell phone and computer to see if they can find a motive for this crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Police say the gunman who shot and killed singer Christina Grimmie in Florida last night traveled to her concert, specifically to carry out the cold-blooded crime. The shooting happened just hours after Grimmie sent out this video to her fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA GRIMMIE, SINGER: Hey, guys, what's up? We're, in Orlando today. Please come to the show if you live near Orlando, Florida. We are at the plaza live. Please come out. Bye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: She was just 22 years old and now police know that she was targeted, they actually want to find out, and part of this investigation is why.

Our own Nick Valencia is following the investigation and is joining us now with the latest. And Nick, you and I have been following this throughout the day. I mean just amazing. You see someone so full of life and vitality and being celebrated and this guy comes specifically travels to go after her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it's the nature in which this was conducted. The targeted nature seems to be premeditated, deliberate. At least that's what we heard at the press conference from the police chief there in Orlando, saying they first got the 911 calls at about 10:30 p.m. last night. Reports of two people who had been shot. Of course we now know that it was Christina Grimmie who was fatally shot by a 21 year old white male. No other details given. No specifics.

[12:25:04] They did however say that there was no indication that the two knew each other. Here's what the police chief had to say at a press conference earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINA: The suspect in this case is not from Orlando. The suspect traveled to Orlando apparently to commit this crime and then had plans to travel back to where he came from. What our detectives are doing right now is we're going through the suspect's cellphone and computer, to see if they can find a motive for this crime.

The suspect had two handguns on his person. He had two additional loaded magazines for those handguns and a large hunting knife. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Motive is still a mystery. You heard the police chief there say they're still looking into that. They've also seized the suspect's computer, his cellphone. They're trying to figure out if there's any social media presence that the two had any relationship that the two had. If he perhaps was a deranged fan. Somebody who was obsessed with Christina Grimmie.

This is an incredibly talented young woman. A woman that was just 22 years old. She built a following on YouTube, became a YouTube sensation, a YouTube star. 3 million fans on YouTube and she had just this beautiful voice, that cover of "Wrecking ball" she did at the blind auditions for "The Voice" had all four judges' chairs turn around.

A lot of judges say are saying that they're incredibly sorry. She was working with Adam Levine on projects, she had opened up for Selena Gomez before. This is of someone who's just a big, big presence in the millennial community, someone who the world is getting to know now, posthumously. And it's unfortunate what happened to her.

MALVEAUX: She really was quite an amazing talent. And her brother, who actually tackled the shooter, it seems, his really a hero today, because he potentially saved a lot of lives.

VALENCIA: To see what he saw, Suzanne, you notice to see his sister be killed and also to see somebody take their own life. I mean he's got to be haunted by that for the rest of his life.

MALVEAUX: Yeah. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

VALENCIA: You got it.

MALVEAUX: Coming up, new details in the Stanford rape case. We are now learning more about what happened the night that Brock Turner sexually assaulted an unconscious woman.

Sara Sidner is following that story. Sara, what do we have?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to tell you about what a witness says he saw Brock Turner was doing with his phone during or right after the attack, and also whether or not Brock Turner lied to the judge about his prior alcohol use. We'll have that, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:31:24] MALVEAUX: Newly obtained court documents in the Stanford rape trial are shedding new light now on Brock Turner, the 20-year-old former athlete convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The documents revealed new details on Turner's history of alcohol and drug abuse.

Prosecutors say he lied to probation officers about smoking marijuana and using other drugs. Turner also said he was an inexperienced drinker and party goer.

Our own Sara Sidner, is following the story, joining us live from Palo Alto, California. And Sara, what are we now learning about Brock Turner? Was he truthful in the statement to the judge?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does not appear so, when you start lacking through these documents that have come out from the court, from the prosecution, sent a sentencing memo to the judge, trying to get the judge to give Brock Turner the six years of prison time that they asked for.

And in it they talk about, hey, wait a minute, there are these other examples of him, before he ever got to Stanford campus, talking about acid in text messages to friends and also using marijuana and doing something called dabs, a very highly potent form of marijuana.

So the prosecution says, wait, this person has come out in his own letter to the judge saying, I am from a small town in Ohio, I knew nothing about the alcohol-fueled parties here. It's not the lifestyle that I led before. And I got caught up in all of this, and blaming some of his actions on sort of alcohol a the party scene here at Stanford. And yet, they find these text messages that show that he was actually doing and taking alcohol and drug, long before he arrived here, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And Sara, I know there are other details, disturbing details that you are learning as you were combing through all of those documents about a picture that might have been taken. What can you tell us about that?

SIDNER: Yeah, this one has a lot of people talking. And it is extremely disturbing. In that same sentencing memorandum from the prosecution said that detectives also talked to another witness and that witness saw Brock Turner or a man, as he said, standing over a woman who was unconscious, the victim, with his cell phone, and a light on. He didn't know if it was a flashlight app or if it was a flash from taking a picture. And later on, in text messages that they found on Brock Turner's phone, there is a message from one of his friends to Brock Turner saying, "Who's breasts is that?" But he uses another word, a slang word for breasts.

And so there is an inference that he potentially took a picture of this victim with his phone and then sent it to his friends here in Stanford. That was thought given to the judge as well, but we do not have corroboration as to whether or not that picture coincides with the victim or if it was someone else. But it's certainly it is disturbing details that the prosecution wanted the judge to see. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Yeah, it's absolutely, right. Well, Sara, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Well, since the survivor's letter was released, there has been massive public outcry, demand for change, including a new PSA. This is making rounds on social media.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the CDC, one in five women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And in 80 percent of those cases, those attacks are perpetrated by someone they already know. And one in four girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't a secret. It's reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It's a case that is grabbing the attention of so many people, including the vice president. In an open letter to the survivor, Joe Biden wrote, "Your story has already changed lives. You have helped change the culture, and so I believe you will save lives. I do not know your name, but I will never forget you. For the millions who have been touched by your story, will never forget you."

[12:35:05] The woman in this case who has chosen to remain anonymous has said she was very moved by the vice president's letter and that's good for her.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: What the anger surrounding this case has been focused on the judge. Judge Aaron Persky handed down a six-month sentence, and since then, more than a million people have signed online petitions calling for him to be recalled.

Well, one of those is sponsored by the group called ultraviolet. They delivered 1.2 million signatures to the California commission on judicial performance demanding Persky's removal.

Karin Roland is the organizing director of Ultra Violet. She joins us now. Thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

[12:39:58] I want to first of all talk about what you guys posted on your website. Let's take this here. That this sentence is a horrifying example of rape culture, when a judge is more concerned with the well- being of a rapist than with justice or public safety. This judge has no business staying on the bench. So you have delivered the signatures. What is the next step here?

KARIN ROLAND, CHIEF CAMPAIGN OFFICER, ULTRA VIOLET: Well, you know, as you said, more than 1.2 outraged Americans have stood up to demand that the California Commission on judicial performance take a look at this decision. And act swiftly to remove Judge Persky from the bench. They need to send a clear signal that rape apologists are not tolerated in our justice system and that it's the job of the justice system to get justice not look out for the well-being of the rapist. MALVEAUX: There are some who believe this is going to be obviously a very difficult thing to do to get this judge recalled, because it's such a rare case that actually happens. If it doesn't happen, if this does not end up in his removal, what is your next step?

ROLAND: You know, Ultra Violet members up a over the country are fired up about this, as there are hundreds of thousands of other people. On Sunday, the Stanford graduation will be flying a plane overhead with a banner demanding that Judge Persky must go. And students on campus are organizing and activating on the ground. And Ultra Violet is just going to keep the pressure on, until justice is served in this case.

MALVEAUX: And let's talk about that, what's happening at Stanford, the commencement that's happening tomorrow. But this is really something that goes way beyond Stanford. We have seen this time and time again on college campuses. Sexual assault happens and there is very little recourse, if any, from the survivors of these sexual assaults. What needs to happen to really have people wake up and change the culture on these campuses throughout the country?

ROLAND: Yeah. It's a major problem. One in four women will be sexually assaulted while she's in college, and time and time again, we see school administrations looking the other way and sweeping survivors under the rug, instead of taking swift action to stop this problem on their campus and remove predators from their campuses.

We need a major change in our culture. We need a change in how schools handle this. And we need judges like Judge Persky, who even when given a conviction with overwhelming evidence of a horrific crime would rather give a slap on the wrist than get justice. We need judges like that gone.

MALVEAUX: And we've seen the vice president jump into this. This is something he's been very vocal about in the past, but he certainly has elevated the conversation as well. But he really does put the credit to the survivor of this sexual assault. And there's some people who have turned and looked at, you know, she was so brave in her statement, her open letter and the detail that she has given, but there's some that are concerned that there might be an expectation for other survivors of sexual assault to provide this, or this kind of level of detail or to be expected to do this, to raise awareness. So what do you think of that conversation?

ROLAND: You know, this survivor is clearly very brave. And the fact that she has come forward and obviously, the way that she has, to tell her story has started a huge tipping point in this, in our culture where more than 1 million people are outraged, and want to take action. But, you know, it's true that survivors should not have to tell the story in order to get justice.

Our courts are there to get justice for crimes and they should be able to -- judges like Judge Persky should be able to emphasize justice over the well-being of a rapist, no matter how much fame and notoriety a story gets.

MALVEAUX: Karin Roland, thank you so much. I appreciate that. [12:43:52] Be sure to watch CNN Tuesday night at 9:00 eastern. And this is Ashleigh Banfield and Alisyn Camerota, my colleagues here. They're hosting a town hall on sexual assault, very, very important town hall. Don't want to miss it. We'll be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Pocahontas, I'm doing such a disservice to Pocahontas. It's so unfair to poke. But this Elizabeth Warren, I call her goofy, Elizabeth Warren, she's one of the worst senators in the entire United States senate. She's gotten practically nothing done. Practically nothing passed. If it was up to her, you'd have taxes at 95 percent. And I hope she's going to be chosen by Hillary. Oh, would that be great? I would love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren exchanging taunting blows this week, hot off her endorsement of Hillary Clinton, the Massachusetts senator delivered a searing critique of the Republican presumptive nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH WARREN, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: What kind of a man is Donald Trump?

Donald Trump says, Judge Curiel should be ashamed of himself. No, Donald, you should be ashamed of yourself. Ashamed. Ashamed for using the megaphone of a presidential campaign to attack a judge's character and integrity, simply because you think you have some god-given right to steal people's money and get away with it. You shame yourself and you shame this great country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. Let's talk about that a little bit more. Bernie Sanders' Washington Director of MoveOn.org, Ben Wikler, and CNN Political Commentator, Ryan Lizza.

So Ryan, I want to start off with you. Thank you both here. As we're entering the general election, Elizabeth Warren obviously playing a very significant role here for Hillary Clinton in the endorsement and going after Trump, how useful is she going to be in really playing the attack dog role in here?

[12:50:12] RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Looks like she's going to be pretty useful. She's been one of the most adept, you know, elected officials in sort of making a case against Trump. Even, you know, arguably better than Clinton

And let's not forget, the big problem or big issue that Hillary Clinton still has is bringing her party together. And before Bernie Sanders was the flavor of the month on the left, it was Elizabeth Warren. Remember, a lot of people wanted Elizabeth Warren to run against Hillary Clinton, and when she declined, Bernie Sanders filled that space.

So having Warren endorse Clinton and go of after Trump is a big step for the Democrats in terms of, you know, the party coalescing around Clinton. And I think, you know, whether she's actually would make a good vice presidential running mate for Clinton is a separate question. But it's an important person to have out there for Hillary.

MALVEAUX: And boy, is there a lot of speculation around that. We saw the two of them meeting at Clinton's home earlier in the week, so a lot of talk about whether or not that's going to happen.

Ben, I have to ask you this here, there was news that was made, because we did see Sanders at the White House this week, and he said he's going to be talking with Clinton soon and discussing ways to support her. So do you have any sense at all of when that might develop? When that might happen? Is that after the D.C. primary? Before the DNC convention? How do you see this playing out?

BEN WIKLER, WASHINGTON DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: Well, one thing is there is still people going to vote on Tuesday, including myself. The D.C. primary is still coming up. And Sanders has made clear that he wants to make his case everywhere across the country.

I think, at this point, after earning 45 percent of the vote, winning 22 states, he's earned the right to determine the timeline to wrap up his campaign, when he chooses to do that. He's also made clear he's going to do everything in his power to keep Donald Trump away from the nuclear codes and out of the White House.

And so, you know, I think there's a strategic calculus that goes into the exact timing, but what's pretty clear is that we're going to have an incredibly united and energized party, fighting for a progressive vision and also doing everything we can to stop Donald Trump from ever putting the world at risk, in the world's most powerful office.

MALVEAUX: And we know that those conversations have already started between team Clinton and, as well a Sanders' team.

Ryan, I want you to ask you about this all-female ticket because a lot of people were looking at that. We've heard Elizabeth Warren over the week. I mean it was the strongest, toughest language. It was just scathing. And lot of people were very excited about that, who are supporting the Democrats here. But, you know, how do you maneuver that? How do you make that work, where you have Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren, not particular close, not buds, but bringing them together, to bring potentially those Sanders supporters, who she desperately needs.

LIZZA: Look, I think maybe the two of them have a better relationship, but there are people around Warren and people around Clinton that truly do not see eye-to-eye on some pretty big, important issues.

Let's not forget when -- excuse me, when Elizabeth Warren first was getting into politics, her big crusade was to kill a bankruptcy bill that was going through Congress, that she thought favored Wall Street and the big banks. And she thought she had Hillary Clinton on her side, when Hillary was the first lady. And then when Hillary Clinton was a senator, she supported another version of bankruptcy bill. That was the beginning of their relationship. And Warren has written in scathing terms about that turn.

Now, that was a number of years ago. Things have changed. Warren's project now is to sort of police the Democratic Party's relationship with Wall Street. That's what she's been doing as a senator. I think if Hillary Clinton were president and she were in the senate, that's what she would continue to do. Make sure that Wall Street folks don't get key jobs in the administration. If she can do that as vice president, I think she would probably take that job.

The question is, does Hillary Clinton want someone who has such strong views on some of these issues, as her vice president? I think that's -- and that's going to be a big hurdle for Clinton to get over.

MALVEAUX: And Ben, let's talk about this. There's a new hash tag out that's gaining a lot of popularity here. This is for Hillary Clinton, but the hash tag says, "Girl, I guess I'm with her." I mean, there's still some folks who are kind of reluctant to throw their support behind her. How does she get over that? How do the voters get over that reluctance? Or does that -- do they just live with it?

WIKLER: You know, the first thing to recognize is that millions of people, more than 10 million people have voted for Bernie Sanders. There's this incredible upsurge of energy on the progressive side of the Democratic Party. And that's something that people didn't use to think existed. So it's natural that a lot of people who have been working their hearts out and, you know, fighting for change, want to make sure that the political revolution doesn't end here.

I think that the opportunity going forward is to demonstrate that the Democratic Party is not going to pivot towards timidity, but rather, recognize that the country has shifted. You know, there's kind of a new politics in the land, where people want bold proposals for ambitious progressive change, on everything from social security to the minimum wage. People want a bigger vision.

[12:55:15] So I think the nominee's opportunity is to demonstrate that that message has been heard, and there are opportunities to do that everywhere from the vice presidential selection, through the convention acceptance speech, through the issues that are campaigned on, on the stump. And I think that's how we bring the party together and move forward to victory this fall.

MALVEAUX: All right, we'll leave it there. Ben Wikler, Ryan Lizza, thank you so much.

LIZZA: Thanks Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: I appreciate it.

WIKLER: Thank you. MALVEAUX: Tomorrow, don't miss Senator Bernie Sanders on CNN sitting down with our own Jake Tapper that is 9:00 a.m. eastern on "State of the Union.

And coming up, fresh attacks from Mitt Romney today on the GOP, we're going to talk about all of that, up next.

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[13:00:13] MALVEAUX: Hello. Thanks for joining me.