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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Gold Star Mother Defends Trump; Zika Virus Update; Third Party Candidates in Recent Years; Transgender Bathroom Use Ruling by Supreme Court. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 04, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:04] KAREN VAUGHN, GOLD STAR MOTHER: Let me just tell you my perspective. Words don't mean as much to me as actions. That's just me.

You know, when my son was killed, he was killed in the largest loss of life in the history of naval special warfare. And we had 30 families, 30 families at Dover Air Base waiting for our sons to be -- our sons' bodies to be returned from Afghanistan. And, you know, what we experienced there was -- and I'm not just trying to -- I'm just trying to draw a contrast. I'm not trying to bring up old news but, you know, what we experienced there is the families unanimously asked Barack Obama to not bring any media, to not make this a media event, and he was welcome to be with us but no media.

And, you know, he showed up with cameras, and the next day our pictures, or his picture saluting the caskets of our boys was plastered over every outlet in America, I guess. And, you know, I'm just saying, you know, if you're going to just be outraged that one person says something that could be construed as a flippant remark without a lot of thought put behind it, you know, what about the outrage over things people do, what about the outrage over, you know, Hillary Clinton still today insinuating that those grieving parents who say she said one thing must be mistaken. You know, it's just actions mean a lot more to me than words. That's just kind of the angle I come from on it.

And I have full respect for the Khan family. I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful to God for their son and his willingness to fight and die for our country. I admire their family, you know, so it's not personal about them. I just think a lot of us come at these things from different angles and see it differently.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, tell us about your son, before we let you go today.

VAUGHN: Thank you. You know, Aaron was an amazing human being. The most important thing I ever tell anybody about him is that he loved God, he loved his family, and he loved his country. And, you know, by the time he was eight years old, he knew exactly what he was created to be, overcame unimaginable odds to get there, made it all the way to the tip of the spear with SEAL Team 6. And he was just a phenomenal human being, was married, had two little babies. A boy that was not quite two and a daughter that was nine weeks old the day he left us and left this earth. And, you know, he was the kind of person that seriously just exemplified America, everything that's good about this country. He loved it, and right now, what I want to do is I just want to have a voice to keep fighting for the principles and the causes that he gave his life for, Ana, that's all.

CABRERA: And he lives on in his children. How are they?

VAUGHN: They do -- they're doing well. It's been -- this Saturday will be the five year anniversary, actually, and they're doing well. They're, you know, they have a wonderful mother, and a wonderful family support system. And they're amazing children, and they look just like their daddy, which is wonderful.

CABRERA: Well, Karen Vaughn, thanks for being here. I'm so sorry for your loss. Again, we really appreciate your son's sacrifice, your family's sacrifice. Thanks again.

Coming up, the battle against Zika has begun now in Miami. Planes started spraying to kill mosquitoes just this morning. And the CDC director is in now Miami, he will speak there in a few hours.

Next, how pregnant women who are living in Miami are reacting. And what the virus does to people who aren't pregnant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:38] CABRERA: The CDC makes it official, South Florida is a hot spot for the Zika virus.

CABRERA: These are the mosquito busters targeting neighborhoods around Miami where Zika is actively circulating right now and reported infections are spiking. The heaviest work though is happening by air targeting one particular neighborhood, Wynwood. Health officials says, so far the virus seems to be confined to that small neighborhood, where they want to keep it, and kill it.

The Zika virus is also now hitting the U.S. military all around the world. Forty-one military men and women are infected, one of them is pregnant. This is where Zika worries are highest in the world right, Rio de Janeiro where the Summer Olympic Games officially open in a matter of hours.

CNN's Dan Simon joins us from Miami and our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Rio. First, Dan, Florida has already had a deal with some other scary mosquito transmitted viruses like dengue fever. So, really this is nothing new, they've had this pest in the past. Tell us more about their plan of action to squash Zika before it really becomes a widespread problem.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hey Ana. It's sort of a full battle of mentality if you will. You saw those airplanes this morning dousing this region with insecticide. Hopefully, that will make a difference. You see trucks on the street trying to collect some of the excess water, of course mosquitos are attracted to water, that's where they lay their eggs, they're hoping to rid that problem. You also have tons of people, everywhere you go, dousing themselves with bug spray. I was just at a Walgreens and the shelf is empty in the bug spray aisle. And of course the people who are most affected by this are pregnant women. I had the chance to visit a doctor's office yesterday. They're getting flooded with calls and e-mails from anxious and nervous patients. This is what one woman had to say. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAREY FULLILOVE, EXPECTANT MOTHER: It's scary. I mean, we're always at risk out walking. And then to find out it's just one mile north of where I live currently and we frequented the area often. I mean, it's definitely scary. I'm the most at risk right now of anybody.

REGULO PACHANO, EXPECTANT FATHER: We were told since we're in the last trimester of pregnancy, the risks are considerably lower. With that said -- I mean, you never know. We're just hoping for the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:40:05] SIMON: Yeah, it's a pretty incredible situation. I am in Wynwood, as you said, this is sort of ground zero for Zika in Miami. And like I said, you know, people are dousing themselves with bug spray. You look at the outdoor patios which was normally be packed with tourists and they're completely empty.

And that bug spray that you saw coming from the airplane, that's going to go on for the next four weeks. They don't know -- authorities don't know how much of a difference that will make. Certainly something we want to ask the CDC director when he's in town this afternoon for a press conference. But they're just hoping collectively all of these efforts, Ana, will begin to make a difference.

CABRERA: Well Dan, you should go get indoors, get out of that heat and away from the mosquitos.

Sanjay, we know the Olympic ceremonies are just hours away now, there's been such a fear over Zika there in Brazil with the Olympics. Some athletes not even coming to participate this year. Are the fears warranted? Is the country doing enough to keep it from becoming an epidemic?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, two separate questions. I don't know if the fears are warranted right now because primarily because of the weather, you know, as you well know Ana, it is the winter season down here and the weather's gotten a lot cooler. Even you can see the breeze is here, all of these does a lot to keep the mosquitos away.

There was a study that came out of the University of Cambridge that said look, even if you look at all the hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists that are coming into Rio for these games, the number of infections that are likely are one or two infections. So, it is not a big concern certainly for people. I don't know that it's so much because of the country doing enough as it is because of the weather.

And that's important because if the weather gets warmer again, mosquitos start to come back. You're going to see maybe these problems arise like what Dan is describing in Florida as the weather patterns change.

CABRERA: We've seen the images of the babies affected by microcephaly. And you talked a lot about birth defects that are connected and that's why pregnant women are at such high risk. What are the affects to people who aren't pregnant?

GUPTA: Well, you know, for the vast majority of people and that means, you know, four out of five people, it really seems to have very mild or no symptoms at all. Let me just preface this by saying that this is still a relatively new virus. We're still learning a lot about this, a new virus in this part of the world.

So, what are some of the longer term impacts, probably not much for most people. but we're going to learn more. I mean, they've been learning more about this over the last year than in the United States, for example, helping other countries prepare. But for the vast majority of people, I think that they're not going to have symptoms. They probably wouldn't even know that they've had this Zika infection.

CABRERA: So, is it one of those illnesses that might come back to haunt people later in life? For example, if somebody were to get, you know, infected with Zika now but have a baby three years down the road, could that child still be at risk?

GUPTA: I really don't think that it's going to have that sort of long-term impact. I think that if a woman gets an infection now, there's pretty good evidence that the virus will clear itself from her system within a certain number of days, and that won't have any impact on a future pregnancy. She may even have protection against that virus, you know, because you develop antibodies that can help fight off a future infection.

But we don't know how long the virus can stay in other parts of the body. I don't think it's going to be a sort of situation for pregnant women who get infected now -- I'm sorry, for women who get infected now and have a pregnancy later. But the virus could last longer in the body than we realize and scientists are still trying to figure that out.

CABRERA: All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. Also, our thanks to Dan Simon a little earlier.

Up next, if you can't stand Hillary Clinton, you can't tolerate Donald Trump. Well, you're not alone, which is precisely why third party candidates are getting extra attention this year. And more voters are asking who else is out there? We'll explore third party candidates, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:47:52] CABRERA: Even if this year's presidential race weren't between two major party candidates eager to fight in both. Well this year's Libertarian ticket took the stage last night at a CNN town hall and made their case for, brace yourself, bipartisanship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY JOHNSON, (L) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If either Trump or Clinton are elected that things will be more polarized than ever. Neither side is going to get along with the other, and what if you elect a couple of former Republican Governors two-term reelected running as libertarians, what if you elect them as president, vice president, calling out both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Well, if you think so-called French candidates don't make a difference, perhaps you don't know your history but Randi Kaye does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No third party candidate has ever reached the Oval Office, but that doesn't mean they didn't have a hand in who did.

Back in 1912, Former President Teddy Roosevelt left the Republican Party and ran on the progressive party or Bull Moose ticket. Roosevelt essentially split the Republican vote with incumbent William Howard Taft. It likely cost Taft the presidency, handing the Oval Office to Democrat Woodrow Wilson instead.

Fast forward to 1968, and another third party candidate shook things up, this time it was George Wallace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wallace has the courage to stand up for America. Give him your support.

KAYE: The former governor of Alabama was considered a segregationist Democrat, opposing civil rights and fueling fear in America.

GEORGE WALLACE, AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY CANDIDATE: It's a sad day in our country that you cannot walk even in your neighborhoods at night or even in the daytime ...

KAYE: Wallace ran on the ticket for the American Independent Party. By pulling conservative Democratic votes, he cost Democrat Hubert Humphrey the election. Republican Richard Nixon walked away with the win.

In 1992 it was Ross Perot's turn to shake up the race.

ROSS PEROT, (I) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good afternoon. The volunteers in all 50 states have asked me to run as a candidate for president of the United States.

[12:50:02] KAYE: The Texas billionaire ran as an independent and focused his presidential campaign on the national debt. PEROT: Decide who you think will do the job, pick that person in November, because believe me, as I've said before, the party's over, and it's time for the cleanup crew.

KAYE: On Election Day, Perot snagged 19 percent of the popular vote, likely costing Republican George H.W. Bush a second term. Then Governor Bill Clinton got the win. Bush refused to discuss Perot years later in the HBO Documentary 41.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) Perot?

GEORGE W. BUSH, (R) 43RD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, can't talk about him. I think he cost me the election. I don't like him.

KAYE: Ralph Nader played the spoiler in 2000. He won just 2.7 percent of the vote nationwide, but pulled in more than 97,000 votes in Florida.

Republican George W. Bush beat Democrat Al Gore in Florida by just 537 votes. If most of Nader's supporters had voted for Gore instead, Gore would have won Florida, and been elected president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, (D) 45th VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States.

KAYE: When Nader was questioned about his campaign's role in Gore's loss, he brushed it off.

RALPH NADER: By the way, I do think that Al Gore cost me the election especially in Florida. And that's far greater concern than whether I was supposed to help elect Al Gore.

KAYE: In 2016, an election year where both major party candidates have a likeability problem, third party candidates see an opening, once again. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Up next the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on a transgender high school student's battle over which restroom he can use.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:51:01] CABRERA: A divided Supreme Court has intervened for the first time in the rights of transgender men and women. Now, the court made a ruling in the case of Gavin Grimm, a transgender teen who wants to use the bathroom at his high school that fits his gender identity, but now five justices have temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed Grimm to do just that.

Don't forget, the Obama administration took a stance on this issue earlier putting out a directive to schools nationwide to allow transgender students to use bathrooms based on gender identity. Let's discuss the bigger picture now with CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos and Joey Jackson.

Danny, what is the impact of this ruling?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYSYT: It's not so much the impact but it's the forecast of what we may see. Now, the Supreme Court hasn't indicated that it definitely will or will not grant certiorari. In other words, it may not necessarily hear this case. But the significance in the immediate future is that the changes that the school board would've had to make, it no longer has to make by the time school starts in September. And we know that day is fast approaching.

CABRERA: And it just puts everything on hold then.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It does. You know Ana, it's important to recognize and this isn't a ruling on the merits of the case. So in other words, the Supreme Court said, "OK, we're going to cool down for a moment because as we know, what ended up happening you have this Virginia school board" and the Virginia school board said "You know what, we want transgender, it's no problem but you get a separate bathroom."

There's a fight the child says I identify as a boy, I should be allowed to use the boy's bathroom. As a result there's all this that goes on, they go to the circuit court, the circuit court says you're allowed to use the boy's bathroom. Then the school board says well wait a second, they take it to the Supreme Court.

CEVALLOS: Right, we're not taking that for an answer.

JACKSON: Right. The Supreme Court says you know what, you may be allowed to. We'll rule on the merits if we take the case, but right now it's just important for the country to know it's not a ruling on the merits itself, we may get there. But this is just saying hold on, if and when we get the opportunity, we'll consider the case. They have not yet.

CABRERA: But why? Why hold on, Danny?

CEVALLOS: The school board's argument is number one, that we may suffer some irreparable harm if you don't prevent these changes from going into place. And part two, Supreme Court, it's highly likely that you'll take this case, because one of the classic hallmarks of a case that interests the Supreme Court is when you have what's called a circuit split. That means, you have all these federal courts of appeals that have different views on the issue, and the Supreme Court often prefers to take these cases because those are the cases that are ripe for some uniform decision that will settle what's called a circuit split.

JACKSON: And in a political year we should also talk about there are eight justices on that court.

CABRERA: That's where I was going, too. I mean, if do you think that came into play with this ruling?

JACKSON: Well here's the problem, Ana. It's significant in as much as, remember, if the eight justices split 4-4, what happens is the fourth circuit that says you can use the bathroom, that's the decision that sticks. And so politically, if they don't get another justice on that court to weigh one way or the other, so many cases that are really dividing the country, a 5-4 decision. And so if this Supreme Court does take the case and they end up being 4-4, the fourth circuit decision that says, "Use the bathroom that stands."

CEVALLOS: And the plot thickens because there's some who say there should be an additional justice already on that Supreme Court r because it's been 144 days since Merrick Garland was nominated. So his might be an entirely different landscape if we had the ninth justice on the Supreme Court.

CABRERA: All right.

JACKSON: The issue is that the Congress can always resolve it, doesn't have to go to the court. If the Congress enacts the law that talks about transgender identity, takes it out of the court's hands, its law it moves forward.

CABRERA: All right, good place to end it there. T hank you, guys. Good to see you.

CEVALLOS: And you.

CABRERA: And just a quick reminder, we are following a lot going on in the political world today. Donald Trump speaks this afternoon, at a town hall in Portland, Maine that's at 3:00 Eastern. Hillary Clinton has a rally in Las Vegas at 3:45 Eastern and President Obama also giving a press conference from the Pentagon at 4:15. We will be on top of all of that, we'll keep you up to date on those events throughout the day.

[12:55:01] Thanks for staying with us here on Legal View, great to have you with us this afternoon. Wolf starts now.