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Trump's Donation to Florida AG Back in Spotlight. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired September 07, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... photo shopped surgical masks on the press. But there's no question whose plane is bigger, the president's Air Force One. Trump's is bigger than Hillary's and the Donald told "Rolling Stone," it's bigger than Air Force One. But "The Washington Post" got the specs to prove Donald wrong, pants on fire, better pants than an engine. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of "Newsroom" starts now. And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. Two months until the election. And while both candidates are focusing on foreign policy today, their dueling scandals are dominating the political headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We recently learned that his Trump foundation has been fined for illegal activity when it made a political contribution to the attorney general of Florida at the time she was being asked by her constituents to investigate Trump University.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But Hillary Clinton and her top aides knowingly destroyed evidence and covered up their actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The big question now. Are these attacks true? Did Hillary Clinton really destroy evidence? Did Donald Trump really pay off Florida's AG? CNN's Drew Griffin did some digging on Clinton's claim. He's live in Atlanta with his investigation this morning. Hi, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. And this story couldn't come at a better time for the Clinton campaign which is trying to push back against all those pay to play allegations. Why it's come up again is a fairly old story. I did this back in June. Is Trump did have to pay a $2,500 fine to the IRS for a $25,000 donation. The reason is, Carol, it came from Trump's Foundation. And that's against the IRS rules. Foundations can't give to political action committees. But it's allowed the story to rekindle the allegations that Trump essentially paid off the attorney general of Florida back in 2013 to avoid a Florida state investigation of Trump University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF FLORIDA: It is my great honor to introduce to you -

GRIFFIN: Florida's attorney general Pam Bondi is a huge supporter of Donald Trump.

BONDI: The next president of the United States of America, Donald Trump.

GRIFFIN: Bondi is also the Florida attorney general. Whose office decided not to pursue a case against Donald Trump and the decision was made almost exactly at the same time Trump made a $25,000 donation to Pam Bondi's political PAC.

TRUMP: I've just known Pam Bondi for years. I have a lot respect for her. Never spoke to her about that at all.

GRIFFIN: Trump on his plane this weekend denies any connection. Pam Bondi also forcefully denies any connection, calling it bullying by the Clinton campaign.

BONDI: I will not be collateral damage in a presidential campaign, nor will I be a woman bullied by Hillary Clinton.

GRIFFIN: So what did happen? Here are the facts. Pam Bondi took office in 2011. Trump University was already out of business. Prior to her taking office, Florida's attorney general's office received 20 complaints against Trump Institute, a business affiliated with Trump, but it too was out of business. Since Pam Bondi took office, up until the decision was made, Florida received just one complaint against Trump University. According to a spokesman for Florida's attorney general, it wasn't enough to justify Florida filing suit. Instead, staff doing due diligent, reviewed the complaints and the New York litigation and made the proper determination that the New York litigation would provide relief to aggrieved consumers nationwide.

In other words, Floridians could join New York's lawsuit. The spokesman also told CNN Pam Bondi had nothing to do with it. The decision was made by staff. In fact, the spokesman says Pam Bondi didn't even know there were complaints against Trump. But around the same time, the Florida attorney general's office was deciding to not pursue a case against Trump. Pam Bondi was pursuing Donald Trump himself for a political donation. It was September of 2013. Trump's Foundation donated $25,000 to Bondi's Political Action Committee. Bondi's attorney general's office never pursued the case. Did one follow the other? Pam Bondi, again today on "Fox Business News," says no.

BONDI: Of course I asked Donald Trump for a contribution. That's not what this is about. She was saying he was under investigation by my office at the time and I knew about it. None of which is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Carol it's important to keep in mind that several other states had complaints against Trump University and the attorneys general in those states all decided against filing a suit as well. In 2013 at the time this decision was made in Florida, there was exactly one complaint against Trump University and the university itself had been closed for three years. Carol.

[10:05:16] COSTELLO: So -- explain to us why the IRS fined Trump for this Florida case.

GRIFFIN: The Trump Organization says it was an error. They basically wrote a campaign donation check out of Trump Foundation funds. Trump Foundation is a 501(c) (3), a charitable organization. You can't use that money for political purposes. So that was indeed an error, if not illegal. They paid a fine, 10 percent of the value, and then rewrote the check, out of the private funds of -- Donald Trump. So the Trump people say it was a clerical error. They just made a mistake in this donation. They got caught. They had to pay the fine. But that is why there was that IRS fine involved, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So it was a clerical error and there's no real evidence then of any pay to play?

GRIFFIN: Well, the -- pay to play is all allegations. And it doesn't involve whether or not where the money came from. It involves did Donald Trump have some kind of agreement or a wink and nod agreement to give the Florida attorney general's PAC, $25,000 in 2013 and then she, wink and nod would not file any case against Trump University. That's the allegation. We're just laying out the facts of the case. And you know, it's going to be a judgment call. There is no pay to play stamp on this. It all just looks a little fishy.

COSTELLO: All right. Drew Griffin thanks for the great reporting. I do appreciate it. It is not the first time Mr. Trump has been under fire for violating campaign finance laws though. "The New York Times" is reporting a long history of donation violations dating back decades. Among them, evading donation limits in the '80s, exceeding donation limits in the '90s and failure to disclose the extent of lobbying activities. So let's talk about this. With me now, Bakari Sellers, CNN commentator and former South Carolina Representative and Clinton supporter. Andre Bauer, former Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and a Trump supporter. And Ryan Lizza, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker." Thanks to all of you for being with me this morning.

ANDRE BAUER, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND A TRUMP SUPPORTER: Thanks Carol.

COSTELLO: You're welcome. Andre I'd like to start with you. This is why this Bondi donation makes Mr. Trump look as if he may be paid to play, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've given to Hillary. I've given to everybody because that was my job. I got to give to them. Because when I want something, I get it. When I call, they kiss my ass, OK. It's true, they kiss my ass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Andre, what should voters make of that?

BAUER: Well, a couple of quick points. Number one, this sat on the previous Florida attorney general's desk for over three years before Pam ever became the attorney general. So it had time to fester and actually develop if there had been a case there. Secondly, there's over 20 million people in the State of Florida and they had one complaint. That's an unbelievable number. And then again, all the other states in the country had the opportunity to pursue this case. All of them thought it was fictitious. There was nothing there. One political person in New York decided to make this a case. The other 49 states didn't. So there's really nothing there. Except politics as usual instead of really talking about the real issue of pay to play, which is Secretary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.-

COSTELLO: OK. So Bakari, before we get to that, Bakari, do you have a different take on this?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE AND CLINTON SUPPORTER: Well, I think so. I mean for a very long period of time, we've been chasing this smoke at the Clinton Foundation and now we have a clear example of pay to play and it's not just based on his statement that he made but it's actually based on the actions of Pam Bondi, the attorney general in Florida. A donation was requested, was solicited directly from Donald Trump. The donation was given from Donald Trump to Pam Bondi. And the case was dropped. That in itself is the definition of pay to play that is not any smoke being chased or anything else. That is the true definition. And at the very least, the Donald Trump Foundation has violated its nonprofit or not for profit status by donating to a political entity at the very least and to Andre's point, about 49 other states not pursuing this case, well that's not quite accurate because 49 other states didn't have Trump University acting within it. But -- this is a clearest case you can have of pay to play. Well for the past three weeks, we've been chasing smoke at the Clinton Foundation.

COSTELLO: So Andre brought up the Clinton Global Foundation and Mr. Trump has accused the foundation of pay to play, right, so he is urging the attorney general in New York to investigate the Clinton Global Foundation and Ryan, I just want to read you the statement from the director of communications at the AG's office in New York.

"We do not take advice on who to investigate from Donald Trump, who has already been sued by this office for his long-running and wide- ranging scam known as Trump University that defrauded thousands of ordinary Americans just so Mr. Trump could make another quick buck. The Clinton Foundation's disclosures regarding funding from foreign governments

[10:10:16] are in compliance with New York law. As the story correctly noted, our office will issue additional guidance for all non-profits regarding disclosures of domestic and foreign government funding in the future."

COSTELLO: Now, Ryan, Mr. Trump might say, well, there were Democrats in the AG's office, what else would they say.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR "THE NEW YORKER": Yes, one of the things that is an undercurrent of this story is, you know, how politicized a lot of the AG's - the AG offices are -- in the states. You know, Carol, I think the issue for Trump is what you pointed out in the beginning, if you're going to brag about your political donations getting you stuff from politicians, that's going to give you a little bit of difficulty explaining when someone accuses you of getting something from a politician after giving them a donation, right? So, you know, a lot of Trump's arguments about his years as an outsider giving money is, well, I knew how to work the system, I was a businessman, it made business sense to basically buy politicians off. But when an example comes up and someone says, it worked, you did buy this politician off, he said wait a second, no, no, no, I didn't do that. I think that contradiction is what's giving him some difficulty here. And you know look -

COSTELLO: On the other hand -

LIZZA: Yes, go ahead.

COSTELLO: No, go ahead.

LIZZA: I was just going to say, in New York, he actually accused the attorney general of trying to get donations from him at the same time the attorney general was looking into this case. In other words, Trump himself said, hey, the attorney general wants me to buy him off, and of course, -- in Florida, he's saying no, no, no, those donations had no link. This is the problem with money and politics. We never know if there's a direct link -

COSTELLO: --I was just going to bring that up with Andre because Mr. Trump says, hey, if anyone knows the system, I do. Mr. Trump said it is a rigged system. I know how to fix it because I participated in it.

BAUER: Carol, the biggest thing to me though is you've got one complaint out of -- a state that has over 20 million people in it. One complaint. Do we really think the AG even -- again, there were three years before she was even the attorney general, when the previous -

COSTELLO: But we also know how Donald Trump feels about lawsuits.

BAUER: Well, I mean, if I were Donald Trump, I would fight them if didn't think there was merit to it. Just like I don't think Representative Sellers would, being an attorney. If there's no merit to it you'll clearly, would fight it. But when the attorney generals only had one case in the entire state, doesn't seem like there's much of a complaint factor there.

COSTELLO: Well, the other thing -- go ahead, Ryan.

LIZZA: I was just going to say, the only wrinkle with that, Andre, -- I thought Drew's report was very careful and fair. The one thing that "The New York Times" did note today is that the "Orlando Sentinel," big paper in Florida, reported on New York opening this investigation against Trump right before the donation to the Florida attorney general happened, so it was an issue in the Florida press right before the donation, so that means that everyone at least, you know, if you read the "Orlando Sentinel," I assume most politicians in Florida do, knew that this was going on, and that piece said that the attorney general in Florida was looking into Trump University. That article happens. Then boom, the donation happens. And then the attorney general says, no, there's nothing here, folks can join the New York lawsuit.

COSTELLO: I will say -- I will say -- and I'd like to address this to Bakari, because there is -- I think that voters hold politicians to a higher standard when it comes to these kinds of things. Because politicians, you know, they use taxpayer money. They're beholden to the people in a way that business people are not.

SELLERS: Well, I mean, listen, Donald Trump doesn't get a participation trophy for just acting or being somewhat presidential here or there. And I'm really tired of the double standard that we've been using with Donald Trump and playing with kid gloves. Donald Trump committed an act of pay to play. It's clear. I mean, I don't think too many people can debate that. Ryan pointed out the fact that there was an "Orlando Sentinel" piece. The donation appeared. The case got dropped. That is very clear. When one action, it results in another and so to say somehow he gets a chance to skirt the law simply because he was a businessman is not just. And it's not just on the scale because he's running for president of the United States of America. He's not running for city council. He's not running for the Statehouse or Lieutenant Governor. He's running for president of the United States of America. But the next question to this. Is that the Trump Foundation is a -- sham in itself because we need to start looking at prior to him running for president of the United States. How many donations that this Trump Foundation make? Not many. It does not deserve to be in the same breath in terms of giving and

[10:15:16] its charitable giving as the Clinton Foundation.

COSTELLO: OK. And -- I have to allow Andre to respond to that, Andre, your response.

BAUER: Well, first off, Carol, when Donald Trump, my understanding is, when he made this donation, he thought it was going to a charitable group. The names are almost identical. So he didn't even realize it was going to that. He actually notified the IRS, said I made a mistake, paid a fine and then out of his pocket-

COSTELLO: He notified the IRS himself so that he could pay a fine?

BAUER: My understanding, -- that he notified there was an error. He didn't say I want to pay a fine. He said there was an error made. And again, I go back to this sat on the previous attorney general's desk for three years. A low-level person in the new attorney general's office looked at it. They decided there was no merit to it. I don't even think it ever even rose to -- attorney general Bondi's desk. And so this was an old case. Probably trying to get it off her desk because it didn't have any merit, again 20 million plus people in the state, one complaint, there wasn't anything there to pursue, and so they moved on. They shuffled it off their desk because it wasn't any reason to do that. As did many of the other states that did have Trump University, again, none of them saw reason to pure this case either.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Bakari Sellers, Andre Bauer, Ryan Lizza, thanks to all of you. Still to come in the "Newsroom," Donald Trump says he'll release his taxes. But don't hold your breath, what he wants to see from Hillary Clinton first.

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[10:20:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Donald Trump now facing increased pressure to release his tax return. Hillary Clinton is on the offensive accusing Trump of trying to hide something from voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: He clearly has something to hide. We don't know exactly what it is but we're getting better guesses about what it probably is. And if he's going to pursue this campaign, he owes it to the American people to come clean and release those tax returns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, is here with more on this. Good morning.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning Carol. We are back to tax returns once again and the question of why Donald Trump still has not released his. This is back in the conversation because Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, is set to release his tax returns in the next two days or so. As we heard, Hillary Clinton is also trying to draw attention to it. Now he has listed a string of reasons for not releasing these returns. He's saying he's under audit and he'll release it when it's over. But his own lawyers actually have said his audit is finished. His audit, his tax returns from '02 to '08 are no longer under audit. He still has not released those returns. In an interview last night on "Fox News," this is what Donald Trump said about this controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She has 33,000 e-mails that she deleted. When is she going to release her e-mails? She probably knows how to find it. Let her release her e-mails and I'll release my tax returns immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now if you think it sounds familiar, you're right. In 2011 when he was thinking about running for president, to challenge President Obama, he raised it as well. That's back when he was questioning the president's citizenship. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have a great company. I've done a great job. Which if I run you'll see what a great job because I'll do a full disclosure of finances.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC ANCHOR: Including tax returns?

TRUMP: We'll look at that. Maybe I'm going to do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So the president of course did release his birth certificate. No tax returns yet. But Trump is breaking a long-running tradition going back to Richard Nixon for presidential nominees to release their tax returns. He said this week Americans don't care about it. But actually, Carol, "The Washington Post," ABC News poll showed that 64% of Americans do believe he should release his taxes.

COSTELLO: I wouldn't look for then any time soon. We'll see though. He could surprise us because he does often, right? Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much. One of the country's most politically outspoken CEO's is endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. Starbucks boss, Howard Schultz, calling himself a lifelong Democrat. And he backed President Obama in both 2008 and 2012. But until now, he had not taken sides in the 2016 race. Here's what he told Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD SCHULTZ, STARBUCKS CEO: I think this election cycle has unfortunately created such divisiveness and vitriolic behavior. The likes of which we have probably have never seen before. I'm hopeful that after the election and hopefully Hillary Clinton will be elected president, that we will begin to see a level of unity and people coming together.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you officially endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, Howard?

SCHULTZ: I guess I just did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Shultz also opened the door for his own run for the White House one day. So to come in the "Newsroom," Donald Trump, heads back to Philadelphia for the second time in a week, ready to lay out his plans for keeping the nation safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Donald Trump minutes away from delivering a national security speech. You're looking at live pictures from The Union League in Philadelphia. Mr. Trump expected to lay out his plan to defeat ISIS, part of which he's previewed in recent weeks and drawn fire from the Clinton campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I'm going to convene my top generals and give them a simple instruction. They will have 30 days to submit to the Oval Office a plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS. We have no choice.

CLINTON: When it companies to fighting ISIS, he has been "all over the map." You would have to literally map it out. He's talked about letting Syria become a free zone for ISIS. Look at the map, Donald. He's talked about sending in American ground troops. Not on my watch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: For more on Trump's speech, I'm joined by CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta, he's live in Philadelphia this morning. Hi, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, a few bumps up here on the press riser, but let me just fill you in what we're going to be hearing from Donald Trump once -- he gets to the podium here in about half an hour from now. We do expect him to do a couple of things. You just mentioned one of them, and that is to restate this proposal that he laid out last night at an event in Greenville, North Carolina. Where he says after he takes the Oath of Office, and steps into the White House, he's going to give an order to the commanding generals of the US Armed Services to report back to him in 30 -