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Three Dead In Historic Louisiana Flooding; Milwaukee Looks To Restore Calm After Looting, Fires; U.S. Swimmer Ryan Lochte, 3 others, Robbed At Gunpoint; Trump Says He's Running Against "Crooked Media"; Hate Crimes Task Force Investigating After Imam Killed; Trump Says He's Running Against "Crooked Media". Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 14, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:23] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news on the catastrophic flooding in Louisiana. Three people have died in Louisiana. A fourth person is unaccountable for, and more than 7,000 people have been rescued from the rising floodwaters there. Another two to four inches of rainfall is expected in the Baton Rouge area today. Governor John Bel Edwards has requested help from FEMA, and has declared a State of Emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: I think we're going to see more and more areas inundated with water. There will be road closures, where today they may be open or at the moment, they may be open. So, I'm advising all motorists to be very, very careful as you travel. And just because there's no road closure sign, doesn't mean it's safe to proceed if you see water in front of you. As we said yesterday, it's much better to turn around than it is to drown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent Boris Sanchez and the CNN photographer Mark Biello are covering this story from Louisiana. I want to begin with Boris, and your perspective of what you have been seeing.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred, right now, we're actually on the road headed Bayou Manchac. It's an area that didn't get that much rain, but the real danger, the danger that Governor John Bel Edwards was alluding to, is that a lot of these wetlands, and rivers and tributaries that have been connected to other areas where there's been flooding are now going to get swamped with a ton of floodwater. I spoke to one woman who said that there was very little rain in her neighborhood, but going late into last night and early this morning, all that water came into her home. About a foot of water went into her home, and now she's standing outside with her sons trying to get stuff out of there.

In another area, not far from here, Galvez-Lake, there were families, volunteers, gathering, bringing in boats to try to get to family members. I spoke to one woman who said that she had not spoken to her sister for half an hour. Her sister had to flee her home with her young children. And her home caught fire. Ultimately, she was able to get on a boat, but she hadn't had contact with her sister in quite a while. So, she was down there with the help of her husband, and an airboat down the process of trying to rescue them. We've seen that over and over again across the state. As you mentioned, the governor talking about more than 7,000 rescues as people that had to be taken out of their homes, people had to be taken out of their cars. Some people were clinging to trees trying to get to safety.

It's very easy to get yourself caught in a precarious situation. The governor also talked about that. I can tell you, as we left closer to the eastern part of the state, moving toward Baton Rouge, we got in a bit of trouble ourselves, because it was dark out, and you can't really tell how high the water is on some of the roads. We ended up getting into water and having to back out very quickly as we watched several other people go through the same process. So, it's a very, still dangerous situation out there. A lot of people are just being asked to stay put, stay home, if you don't have to be out on the street. Because even though the rain has stopped across much of Louisiana, the danger is still out there, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Boris, it's extraordinary, I mean, the information you're giving us on top of the kind of images that we're seeing. And when you started your live shot, we were seeing this extraordinary rescue unfolding. It looked like a red convertible that was sinking, you saw a man trying desperately to get to it. You didn't really know, you know, what the situation was as that boat kind of rolled up to it. But then you see him get into the water, he tears the rooftop, and then miraculously, he pulls out a woman alive, now gasping for air, and then pulling out a dog. Do you know anything more about that situation that just unfolded and all caught on camera that we're now replaying as I speak to you?

SANCHEZ: As far as we know, that was actually a group of volunteers that were out doing that. We saw the whole thing unfold, as you mentioned, a very emotional scene. The woman was really taken aback emotionally. She was somewhat stubborn, she didn't want to go without her dog. She was extremely unbelievably fortunate that those volunteers were there at that moment. And it's a scene that's been replaying over and over. People from across the state have come together. Everyone that has either a boat or any other resource, they've been offering it up to those in need. Again, it's -- you know, I talked to a man yesterday who was in a similar situation, he was in a neighborhood where there was sunshine yesterday, there was - there wasn't even much rain, but in matter of hours, just a few hours, he said, he looked outside and suddenly his entire neighborhood was underwater. It's the nature of flash flooding. It's extremely dangerous, and that's why we keep hearing official ask that they stay home.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And then, to see simply heroic rescues like that, just words can't describe. Boris, thank you so much. I know you're also working with an extraordinary team, you know, of CNN and also comprised of photographer Mark Biello who was in another area of Louisiana.

And Mark, I'm talking to you particularly about some of the boat rescues and what you've seen. This would almost seem like a repeat of sorts for you back in 2005, you did something similar, where you were on a boat during hurricane Katrina, and not only were you taking pictures of what was happening, you were actively participating in some of the rescues. What have you been experiencing there outside of the Baton Rouge area?

MARK BIELLO, CNN PHOTOGRAPHER: Yes, Fredricka. Well, I'm apparently about 12 miles east downtown Baton Rouge in a neighborhood called Sherwood Forest, up Highway 190 on Florida Boulevard. And when I got here, there were dozens and dozens of flat-bottom boats and airboats that were going out rescuing people. Now, there's an area of Sherwood Forest called Flannery Road, where these dozens of boats and airboats were. And so, I jumped on one of the boats, and we went out there. And unlike where people were trapped during like Katrina, hundreds of people were kind of brought to a staging point in the middle of the road, where there was a dry patch. And these boats that were coming in, and these were - they're anything from National Guard, to private citizens, and first responders, were picking up these people, shuttling them back here to Highway 190 to load them up on National Guard trucks and get them out of that area.

I talked with one of the residents there, and he said, the water - there was no water, there was no flooding at 10:00 p.m. last night. So, he wasn't patient, just, you know, everyone was staying home. And at 4:30 in the morning, water started coming into the house, and just overnight, the rivers, or whatever, crested here. It's almost up to the shingles, now, all the way up to the rooftops which is very similar what we saw in Katrina and Rita. And - but as far as everything I saw on the boat, rescue operation, there was no one trapped so there was no chomping through rooftops or having to pull people out like that. It was very organized, and they did have time to get some of their belongings rendezvous at this point to be brought out by these boats.

WHITFIELD: Wow, these images are just hard to believe. Mark Biello, Boris Sanchez, thank you so much to both of you. We'll check back with you.

And you can see the water there rising, and in some parts, almost at the roof line. But as we heard Mark say, the hope is many people have already been rescued or were able to get notice enough in order to heed evacuation orders for some of those communities. But again, this is a deadly flooding situation there in Louisiana. We'll check back with you, Boris and Mark. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Also ahead, a violent protest in Milwaukee, several stores burned down, all as it relates to a police-involved shooting. More on what sparked the outrage. And breaking news from Rio, U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and three teammates robbed at gunpoint. Details on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Appeals for calm in Milwaukee after a night of looting and fires. Protesters burning several buildings and also throwing rocks at police, and one officer was injured. The governor activating the National Guard, all of this following the fatal shooting of an armed man by police. Community leader, Khalif Rainey expressed his frustration at a news conference. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALDERMAN KHALIF RAINEY, COMMUNITY LEADER: Something has to be done here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to address these issues. The black people of Milwaukee are tired. They're tired of leaving under this oppression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN national correspondent Ryan Young is live for us now in Milwaukee. So, Ryan, what is the situation now, and take us back to how all of this unfolded?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first things first, I can tell you people are sort of tense right now because they're not sure what's going to happen later on tonight. And we have to show you the scene here, because if you look at it, it looks like you're almost in a different place. I mean, look at the burned-out cars that are left behind. That used to be a Honda Accord. You can barely tell what that car used to be. And as we push our camera in the other direction, that was a BP Gas Station. You can see it is basically crumbled upon itself, because of the intense flames. A lot of people say it's lucky that the gas tanks didn't catch on fire.

And just over to the side there, you can see the two officers that remained in this area. There's still hundreds of people who are out here. Look, I want to show you this video from last night. What we do know is an officer pulled over a car, tried to tell two people that they needed to stop. One man had a gun according to the officer. When he told him to put that gun down, he opened fire, shooting that man in the chest, and also in the arm, and that sent this place going crazy, because so many people heard rumors about what happened. But what everyone was talking about was the idea that this officer also had a body camera, so people are waiting to see what happens next. But this community is still on edge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN CHISOLM, MILWAUKEE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Our responsibility is to make sure the proper resources are in place to conduct a thorough and independent investigation, because obviously, this is going to result in additional investigations and prosecutions, and again, making sure that we have sufficient resources to address any additional arrests that commenced throughout the evening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: So, there's a mixed bag from the community, because we've talked with several people who are upset that buildings were burned down. They said the idea that this young man may have had a weapon and pointed it to the officer may make this a justified shooting. So, there's still a lot of questions here. But people want proof. They want to see that body cam video. But we had to show you this scene. Look at the community gathering. There are several pockets just like this one, where more than a dozen people are gathering to have a conversation about what's going on. People believe that tonight will be another night of protests. They're hoping for not another night of unrest. And as you can see the damage that's been left behind, this community obviously has lot of questions that they're still going to have to answer.

WHITFIELD: And then the gathering of people there, is that a meeting that is the same or different from a meeting where church and community leaders are planning to get together?

YOUNG: Yeah, that's one of the things that we talked about, churches and community members apparently are going to come together and have a conversation about what can happen next. But talking to people who are community leaders here, they said last night was really run by young people who weren't a part of the movement. So, the idea, you just had pure angry. And they upset about how they felt that they've been treated by officers for years that sort of just exploded on the sidewalks here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ryan Young, thank you so much, from Milwaukee. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

Meantime, police are investigating a string of violent attacks on officers in New York and Georgia this weekend. We begin in Central Georgia, where police are searching for the person who shot and killed Officer Tim Smith. Smith was responding to a call of a suspicious person when he was shot after coming upon the subject, and then getting out of his car.

And then an officer in a separate incident in Marietta, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, well, that officer was shot and is expected to survive. He and two other officers were responding to a car break-in, when one of the two suspects opened fire. Officers wounded one suspect who was expected to survive. And then in Long Island, New York, an officer is recovering from surgery after being stabbed in the face while responding to 911 call. Police say the suspect, Mark Caraway, was armed with knives when he slashed the officer. Another officer shot the suspect who is in critical condition.

All right, straight ahead. U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and three teammates robbed at gunpoint in Rio. Their reaction and the latest on of this breaking story in a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. There's breaking news out of Rio, gold medalist Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers robbed at gunpoint as they headed to the Olympic village. CNN sports anchor, Don Riddell joining us now from Rio. So, what do we know about how this happened, what were the circumstances, Don?

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, we've been hearing bits and pieces all day, but within the last few minutes, we are getting more clarity on what exactly did unfold. And to put this into context, this was a brilliant night for the U.S. swim team in the pool last night, ending the swimming section of this Olympics by taking gold in both the women's and men's relays. But it has ended on a very sour note. What we know is that Ryan Lochte, the most decorated Olympic swimmer of all-time, behind only Michael Phelps, and three of his teammates, Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz, and Jimmy Feigen were making their way back home to the Olympic village in a taxi.

They had been at an event at France House, which is one of the hospitality venues here in Rio, when they were pulled over by what looked like a policeman. Lochte has actually been speaking to NBC today, and he said there was a police badge, but there were no lights, and they were asked to get out of the taxi and onto the ground. Lochte told NBC that he refused, that three of his teammates did actually get onto the ground, and when Lochte refused, he said that a gun was aimed at him, and it was cocked, at which point he said, "Whatever." And hand it over their belongings.

They actually didn't take his phone or his credentials, but they did hand over their money and wallets. And the good news is that they got away unharmed. They returned back to the village safe and well, but no doubt, very, very shaken up. It's taken us a few hours to piece this together because initially, the International Olympic Committee this morning said, these reports were false. The civil police, the military police and the U.S. Consulate all denied it. But within the last hour, a very different picture is immerging, and the civil police has now opened an investigation into what exactly went on.

WHITFIELD: So, I wonder, Don. Now, that there's an acknowledgment or an agreement from the IOC, you know, down to civil police is you mentioned after those, you know, discrepancies about whether it happened or not or was, you know, reportable, does this mean that any new warnings are being issued to athletes or even the general, you know, populace people who are going to the Olympic events?

RIDDELL: Well, I mean, I think most people coming to Rio were already aware of the situation here, and in the build-up to these games, that was one of the many concerns. I mean, we were talking for months in the (INAUDIBLE) about the economy, the collapse of the government, Zika, the pollution, and of course, the crime and the violence. So, you can be pretty sure that a major team like the U.S. Olympic team would be well-briefed on the situation here. Whether the IOC offers any new guidance now that these events have been confirmed remains to be scene but you can be sure they will be asked about it. And it is a concern given that we're only halfway through the Olympics. We still have a week to go and thousands and thousands and thousands of athletes and half a million tourists here following the events here. But, I mean, this is by far in a way the most serious incident we've had so far. And I guess it is a great relief that these guys are OK. Perhaps a bit shaken up, but OK.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right. Great relief, but yes, very frightening. All right. Thank you so much, Don Riddell, there in Rio. We'll check back with you.

All right. Still ahead, Donald Trump's campaign today intensely pushing back against the media. Donald Trump himself blasting stories like this one in today's New York Times, detailing unrest within the campaign. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're learning the details about the shooting of a New York Imam and his assistant in broad daylight. Police in Queens are now telling CNN that the shooter knew what he was doing and was precise and target - in the targeting of the two men. The way the shooting was carried out is also leading some investigators to believe these suspects had some prior military or shooting experience. Sara Ganim is following the story for us from Queens. So, Sara, where is the investigation now? What's unfolding?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this morning, investigators released a sketch of the man wanted in connection of the shooting, death of these two men, the Imam and his assistant who were leaving this mosque here behind me. You can see that a crowd has gathered. People in this community are gathering not just to commemorate but also call for justice. This is quite a shocking thing that happened here in this community, and many people are scared, are nervous about it. You could see that they have posted from - of the sketches nearby the mosque as they gather here today. We also know investigators are continuing to look into what happened, they've been in this area all day long.

Investigators now saying that they are looking at surveillance footage, that they believe they have the shooter on surveillance video - surveillance video. They also believed that these two men were precisely targeted based on the shot that was fired, one shot each to the back of the head. They're also saying that they won't characterize this as necessarily a hit, but do believe that the men may have been targeted. As we continue to report, the Hate Crimes Unit for the NYPD is also part of the investigation as they always are when a religious leader is the target of a crime, is the victim of a crime. And as an extra precaution, all New York City mosques today have stepped up security to give people that extra sense of security as they worship today.

And that's what we're also seeing here at this mosque where this Imam was the community leader. We were just learning from a press conference that the members here held that the two who were killed were Bangladeshi nationals, but they were very well-beloved in this community. They were neighbors, the Imam and his assistant, they worked together, they were walking home. We also know that the Imam had about a $1,000 cash on him, Fred, leading police to believe that robbery may not have been the motive of this crime as they continue to investigate, of course, there are still many unanswered questions - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very disturbing. Thank you so much, Sara Ganim, on the killing of two there in Queens, an Imam and his assistant. When you get more information, please let us know.

All right. Meantime, Donald Trump's campaign today intensely pushing back against the media. Trump himself blasting stories like this one in today's New York Times detailing unrest within the campaign. The Times reporting the campaign's effort to "Save Trump from himself has plainly failed." Trump tweeting it is, "dishonest in his view." He tweeted this morning, "If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn't put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20 percent."

[14:30:02] During a rally last night in Connecticut, Trump again raised the possibility that he may not win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You better elect me, folks, I'll never speak to you. Can you imagine how badly I'll feel if I spent all of that money, all of this energy, all of this time, and lost? I will never ever forgive the people of Connecticut.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, addressed Trump's war with the media and the controversial decision to not release his tax returns in this exclusive interview on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Joining me from New York is Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. Mr. Manafort, thanks so much for joining us today.

PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: So Republicans in Washington and throughout the country are starting to get very worried that Mr. Trump doesn't have the discipline to stay on message and win the election. You see the polling showing him behind in battle ground states. I know he did an economic speech Monday and he'll do a speech on terrorism tomorrow. In between, he does seem to go off-message. Last night, he was talking about Monica Lewinsky's blue dress. What do you say to Republicans when they call you up and say, please, get Mr. Trump to focus?

MANAFORT: Well, First of all, the piece that you just did as example of why he said last night that besides running against Hillary Clinton, he's running against the media. The point he was making is this week was a substantive week.

He talked about an economic plan and Hillary Clinton presented her economic plan. They were two different plans. Our plan very clearly laid out how he was going to cut taxes, lower the tax rates for small businesses, how that would create more jobs.

He talked about his trade and energy policies in making America energy independent. She laid out a program which frankly is exactly what this administration is doing, raising taxes, raising spending, increasing the national debt.

And there was a debate that could have been had there, instead the media decided to take the Clinton campaign narrative and go on attack of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump in the course of this week was very substantive, when he visited a number of battleground states. You didn't cover it.

Frankly the local media is covering it. From our standpoint, we're pleased that we're getting the coverage that we need in the battleground states where this campaign is going to be fought.

Additionally, we think that contrary to your report and the "The New York Times," nameless sources story, the campaign is moving forward and is very strong.

We have raised over $132 million in the last two months. We're organized in all 50 states. We have been in the battleground states every day this month including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida multiple times this month.

And we're starting to get traction in the states. So, we're convinced that contrary to the stories of "The New York Times" that are not correct and contrary to the lead-in of this interview Trump unplugged. That Trump is very plugged in. He's very connected.

You're seeing crowds attending these appearances that are end of October numbers, not August numbers in August. Look at the crowds Hillary Clinton is getting, she's appearing before 30, 40, 100 people.

He's appearing before 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 people that shows the campaigns were being contrary to what the media is saying.

TAPPER: So one of the reasons that Mr. Trump's message about the economy on Monday was sidetracked was, of course, when he raised the possibility of second amendment people taking matters into their own hands to stop Clinton from appointing pro-gun control judges.

That's a controversy that you reject, Trump said afterwards that no one thought that he was suggesting violence, but I want you to take a listen, here's Mr. Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Nobody in that room thought anything other than what you just said. There can be no other interpretation even reporters have told me, I mean, give me a break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: But here's the thing, it wasn't just reporters, it was Republicans, it was people in Washington, D.C., who want Mr. Trump to win and then if you look at the speech when he made those remarks the man with the white beard, who was sitting right behind Mr. Trump at that event, CNN tracked him down, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRELL VICKERS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I was just absolutely taken aback. Down here in the south, we -- we don't curse in front of women, we don't drink liquor in front of the preacher and we don't make jokes like that in public. We would have taken Mr. Trump to the shed and don't say thinks like because people will misconstrue it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So that's Darrell Vickers. That's a man who will vote for Trump and he interpreted it the same way a lot of other people do. Now does Mr. Trump need to listen to what Mr. Vickers had to say, which is be more careful with your words.

[14:35:05]MANAFORT: Look, I'm not going to say that he didn't interpret that. The point is, most people did not interpret it that way. It's not meant to be a threat.

But the point, again, is you could have covered what he was saying or you could take a side and take the Clinton narrative and play it out.

I mean, there's plenty of news to cover this week, but I haven't seen covered. You had information coming out about pay for play out of e- mails of Hillary Clinton's that weren't turned over by the way to the Justice Department for her investigation. That's a major news story.

You had -- you had the NATO base in Turkey under attack by terrorists. A number of things that weren't appropriate to this campaign. We are part of what Mr. Trump has been talking about.

You had economic numbers coming out this week that showed productivity is down, housing ownership is down, unemployment is at over 102 million. These are all things that could have been covered this week.

Instead you took in aside that the Clinton narrative told you was something Mr. Trump told me he didn't mean and you played it out for two days.

TAPPER: OK, first of all, just as a factual matter, on Monday, my show covered Mr. Trump's speech, OK, we did. We covered Mr. Trump's speech and we did cover those Hillary Clinton's e-mails. These things just because you say them they're not true. I mean, we have been covering the substance. We have been covering the things that are bad to Hillary Clinton.

MANAFORT: Jake -- Jake, we have been talking about these messages all day. You covered it one day and you covered this aside about the second amendment for three days.

You had a chance to have a serious discussion about the two economic programs that were presented this past week, this very week, by the two candidates. There was no discussion. There was no comparison -- instead you took these aside.

TAPPER: And Mr. Trump bears no responsibility for his campaign being off-message. His comments about the second amendment had nothing to do with why we weren't covering the economic message.

MANAFORT: His point about the second amendment was that people who care about the second amendment should be concerned about Hillary Clinton's candidacy. And that those who are concerned that probably would take up the cause.

Now, you can interpret it which I certainly didn't, as a threat. If you want to go back and look at threats, go back to 2008 when Hillary Clinton was running against Obama.

And in May of that year when she was clearly the loser and asked why are still in the race, remember, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, that's a much more direct reference. And it laid at the feet of Hillary Clinton.

TAPPER: I did cover that in 2008. Hillary Clinton, you know what she did? She issued an apology. She said I'm sorry, my comments were that way -- construed that way, that's not how I meant it.

But let's move on. I want to ask you about Governor Mike Pence, Donald Trump's running mate, yesterday told an interviewer that he would soon release his tax returns.

Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have already released their tax returns. That puts him at odds with Mr. Trump. Back in 2012, Trump pushed then nominee, Mitt Romney, to release his take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You didn't see the tax returns, you think there's something wrong. What's wrong?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So that's Donald Trump saying you need to see the tax returns, otherwise, you think what's wrong. You could put this whole tax return issue to the rest.

Right now, if you release Donald Trump's 2008 tax returns. That's no longer under audit according to Mr. Trump lawyers. You've obviously made the calculation it's better to take the hit. Mr. Trump said in 2012 as he said, what's wrong in these tax returns? What do you not what the public to see?

MANAFORT: There's nothing that doesn't want the public to see. Mr. Trump's position has been clear from the beginning. He's under audit. When the audit is completed, he'll release the returns.

By the way, in Mrs. Clinton's returns, you saw lot of income coming from donors to the Clinton Foundation and people who benefit from her State Department term as well. I haven't seen any stories on that yet.

TAPPER: Mr. Trump unveiled his economic plan this week, I want to ask you about if we can, he proposed across the board tax cuts with the biggest monetary benefit going to the top 1 percent, compare to the rhetoric that Mr. Trump offered back in September, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It reduces or eliminates most of the deductions and loopholes available to special interests and to the very rich. In other words, it's going to cost me a fortune.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now listen to what Mr. Trump had to say to the "Today" show in March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe in raising taxes on the wealthy?

TRUMP: I do, I do including myself. I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It does seem that the plan he unveiled Monday walks away from what he said in March and last September when he talked about how it was going to really hurt the very wealthy?

MANAFORT: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear the last sentence.

TAPPER: My question, his tax plan as unveiled Monday seems to walk away what he said in September and March when he said the very wealthy would pay much more.

MANAFORT: Not at all. He lays out three rates, 12, 25 and 35 percent. In those rates what he's talking about is increasing the -- taking away a number of deductions that are used by the very wealthy -- I'm sorry it's 33 percent, taking away deductions that are only used by the wealthy.

So, that -- but more importantly, he removes from the tax rules a significant percentage of the American people. Taxes will go down. There'll be more real spending income for middle income working families.

And as a result of this tax plan, and all of the components of the tax plan, the trade elements, the investment elements you'll have a situation where jobs are going to come back to America.

Manufacturing is going to benefit again. The coal industry is going to benefit again. The oil and gas industry is going to benefit again, which means jobs, good-paying jobs, and as a result the economy will grow again unlike what it has under Obama where you've had the slowest growth since World War II.

The Clinton plan announced this week would simply be more of the same. The kind of growth you have experienced over the last eight years you'll experience for more four more years. Whereas the Trump plan similar to the Reagan plan and frankly similar to the John F. Kennedy plan in 1961, which spur growth, create jobs, and lower taxes for most Americans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's Paul Manafort on with Jake Tapper. I want to bring in Trump campaign national spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson. Good to see you. So is Trump starting to sound like less confident about winning from his comments to the Connecticut audience that he would be so upset if he doesn't win? The other day, he said he loves the title of secretary of defense or secretary of state.

KATRINA PIERSON, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN: No, not at all. Fredricka, look, Mr. Trump has said this from the beginning, even in the primaries. When he's out there at those rallies, he will talk to those voters and say you better get to the polls, we've got to win.

He's always talked this way. I'm not quite sure why the media makes this so new, and you know, some of the media even covered it back when he was in the primaries. But he's just having fun with this crowd.

WHITFIELD: All right, so, is it the media -- he's simply revealing that there are some openings, he's less about I'm winning and more about, well, here's the contingency, here's the possibility?

PIERSON: Well, yes, when he's being asked a question, I mean, one thing goes to show that Mr. Trump isn't a politician that's given talking points, he tells you what he thinks and feels. If he's asked the question, what happens if, he'll tell you what he is thinking.

But I will say that there is lot of excitement out there as Paul Manafort alluded to, the simple fact that Mr. Trump is still drawing record number crowds.

And I'll remind you, look, the media has been riding the Trump campaign obituary for 424 days. Even the polling isn't even correct because we know now that a lot of them were oversampling Democrats and leaving out certain demographics.

We are very confident that Mr. Trump is still in it to win this race and looking good in November.

WHITFIELD: So you're doubting the polling because now we're looking at eight to ten points between him and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton being up. Messaging is really the focal point of today's "The New York Times" story, talking about it seems to be a real issue both for the campaign and for Mr. Trump.

And I'll reiterate, you know, a portion of that article saying, the campaign's effort, quote, "To save Trump from himself plainly failed." Are you as a surrogate or members of the campaign frustrated with having to explain, his language, his actions, you know, his gaffs?

PIERSON: No, not at all. The only thing that what we get frustrated as a campaign is to constantly come to the media and explain why it isn't true what the media is saying about what Mr. Trump said. Everyone else doesn't have this problem. There are a lot of people out there again --

WHITFIELD: But his comments are on tape. He's probably one of the most documented presidential candidates, you know, in modern time. It's you and other surrogates who are saying, no, that's not what you heard. PIERSON: Well, and to the point if you play the tape you will hear the crowd go wild and they're cheering.

WHITFIELD: No one is disputing that he has a fan base. No one is disputing. But you're disputing the messaging, his remarks whether it's about the founder of ISIS is that of the president of the United States and the former secretary of state. He says it.

PIERSON: That's part of the point. I'm glad you brought that up because he was not speaking literally, he was speaking figuratively and most people outside the media understood that.

But to the other point, just the other day, the CNN Chryon (ph) says Trump uses heritage to vet judges, I mean, what is that? Are you saying the Heritage Foundation is all of a sudden inherently racist? No.

The Trump campaign has to constantly come on, specifically CNN, to explain what he's saying because the media is portraying something he didn't.

WHITFIELD: Except on the issue of, you know, the founder of ISIS being that of the president, I mean, he doubled down on his comments. He was asked for clarification. He was asked are you talking about the vacuum, he said no, he is talking about them being the founder. He said it was sarcasm and then not really.

Now Trump's running mate, Mike Pence on "Fox News Sunday" addressed it this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You and he spent a day defending his remarks saying that they were serious, now Trump says that he was being sarcastic. So, Governor, which one is it?

GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he's very serious. He was making a point that needs to be made. That there is no question that the failed policies of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the whiter Middle East created a vacuum within Iraq in which ISIS was able to arise. There is simply no question --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then why he was saying he was sarcastic.

PENCE: Well, he was making a very serious point. Donald Trump has a way of talking to get people's attention. It's drawing attention to a very important issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so between there lies the confusion, you said sarcasm, Trump said sarcasm, Mike Pence, his running mate, says he's serious.

PIERSON: Well, actually everyone is saying the same thing because if you are talking about finding ISIS literally, as in filing documentation and people work in articles of incorporation, the answer is no. That was sarcastic. If you're talking about the founding of ISIS based on the policies that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton pushed in the Middle East --

WHITFIELD: Yes, except Donald Trump was asked all of that. I mean, Katrina, really, Donald Trump was asked all of that --

(CROSSTALK)

PIERSON: Fredricka, you pulled one sentence and you don't play the rest. It's very misleading to the public. Mr. Trump talks about the policies of the Middle East after the quote you just played from the rally. Play the whole thing and we wouldn't have this problem.

WHITFIELD: Except everyone has heard all of it (inaudible)?

PIERSON: No, they haven't. They just heard the clip about Mr. Trump saying Obama and Hillary founded ISIS and became the MVP. He let that clip play out at the rally, you will hear him talk about those policies.

WHITFIELD: So discrepancy of serious versus sarcasm, does this even demonstrate there's some distance between Donald Trump and even Mike Pence. That, you know, Donald Trump is now talking about he may be not winning if the outcome is not good then at least he stuck to his word.

Whereas, you know, Mike Pence is saying and willing to depart from what Donald Trump is saying whether it be about Paul Ryan or the willingness to release his taxes. Mike Pence willing to release his taxes even though Donald Trump won't.

What is going on here? It's very strange because it's very incongruent message and we're talking about running mates. Katrina, are we having an audio problem?

So, Katrina, you're unable to hear me. OK, we're going to try to establish to see if we're having an audio problem with Katrina Pierson. We'll take a short break and try to resume this conversation on the other end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:26]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I think we've worked out audio problems here. National campaign spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Katrina Pierson back with us now. Katrina, you can hear me OK?

PIERSON: I can.

WHITFIELD: OK, good. I was asking about the mix message, the incongruent message coming from Donald Trump saying he's not going to release his tax returns yet Mike Pence says he will. That's very strange for running mates to be going in different directions on the issue, isn't not?

PIERSON: Well, no, it's not a mixed message. Mike Pence doesn't run an international business and his tax returns are I'm sure less complicated and Pence is not under an audit. So it's really not the same thing. Mr. Trump has been very forward and up front from the beginning and says that he'll release his tax returns after the audit is complete.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about a message that Donald Trump is hoping to drive home starting tomorrow, he'll be releasing his plan on how this country were to battle ISIS if he's president of the United States. What should we expect?

PIERSON: I think you should expect the details that everyone has been asking for with regards to the way the Mr. Trump wants to handle terrorism as commander-in-chief. We have been at war, this is longest war we have had in U.S. history and it's not doing the country any favor.

As we have seen the vacuums created in Middle East by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the Middle East to give a hot bed to terrorism to flourish.

Mr. Trump wants to get out there and tell the country what he wants to do about it. It's definitely going to be more of the same, which is exactly what you would get with Hillary Clinton.

WHITFIELD: All right, Katrina Pierson, thanks for your time today. Appreciate it.

PIERSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll have much more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:46]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. So members of Congress will soon learn what Hillary Clinton had to say to the FBI about her private e-mail server. Sources tell our own Jake Tapper the information won't be a transcript but rather notes from the FBI interview.

CNN's Chris Frates joins me now with more on this. So Chris, what do we know about these notes and how it will be delivered to Congress?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we know that these notes that were taken last month during Clinton's three- hour interview with the FBI about her private e-mail server and her handling of classified information as secretary of state.

We also know that the FBI could send those notes to members of Congress as earlier as tomorrow. Now, you asked why now, why are they doing it right now?

Well, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he asked the FBI to turn over its entire file on its investigation into Clinton's e-mail use.

During a committee hearing last month, FBI Director James Comey promised to cooperate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: I'll commit to giving you everything I can possibly give you under the law and to doing it as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOODY: Now once those notes hit Capitol Hill, they'll almost sure to reignite another round of political battles over whether Clinton should have faced criminal charges of her handling of classified information.

Homey criticized her e-mail use, but said there was no precedent to bring criminal charges. All of this comes on the heels of a new separate batch e-mails released last week between then State Department and Clinton Foundation officials, those raised questions about the Clinton Foundation's influence on the State Department during Clinton's tenure as secretary.

Now the Clinton campaign said there was nothing in those e-mails that suggested wrong doing where it couldn't have anything to do with those messages -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, meantime, let's switch gears a little bit. Donald Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, said he'll do something that Trump isn't doing.

Just a moment ago, I spoke with Trump national spokesperson, Katrina Pierson about that. You know, her explanation was in large part because Donald Trump is the business person and so he's being audited and simple as that.

That's why he's not releasing his taxes. What more are learning?

MOODY: Well, that's exactly right, Fred. We heard from Mike Pence said yesterday he's releasing his tax returns. He defended Donald Trump's decision not to release repeating Trump's assertion that he's not releasing his taxes because he's being audited.

Now it's important to remember here. The IRS has said an audit does not prevent anyone releasing their returns. In fact other politicians have released their returns during an audit and Trump himself has said his taxes between '02 and 2008 are no longer being audited.