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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Tearful Girl Lectures City Leaders After Shooting; Violence Documented In Scott's Record; More Than 20 Killed In Aleppo Airstrikes; Aleppo Shelled More Than 200 Times Over Weekend; Hundreds of Thousands of Syrians Trapped. Aired 4:30-5pm ET

Aired September 27, 2016 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:33:17]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE LEAD.

The mentions last night of Miss Universe, Sidney Blumenthal, Wolf Blitzer, Sean Hannity and Miss Piggy notwithstanding, voters constantly tell pollsters that the number one issue for them is the economy.

Last night, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did spend some time talking about jobs and trade. But what they said may have some Americans wondering whether either candidate really personally understands the economic hardships currently being felt coast to coast.

CNN money correspondent Cristina Alesci has been digging in on this.

And, Cristina, both candidates said things last night that seemed a bit disconnected from the economic reality of a lot of voters.

Let's start with Donald Trump.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Trump responding to Hillary, saying that his father, Trump's father, lent him about $14 million in the 1970s and '80s. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, for one thing -- and before we start on that -- my father gave me a very small loan in 1975, and I built it into a company that's worth many, many billions of dollars, with some of the greatest assets in the world, and I say that only because that's the kind of thinking that our country needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: All right, so, Jake, take a look at this screen.

It shows you that the median household income in the U.S. is $56,516. So, $14 million is a lot of money. And, if you adjust for inflation, that $14 million back in 1970, 1980 is worth actually $60 million today.

And most people would kill for even a million dollars when they retire, because one in four Americans has zero saved for retirement.

Also, another point where Trump seemed a bit disconnected is when he was -- when Hillary brought up the housing crisis, and how he said that he was sort of like wishing for the housing market to collapse, because he said that's business, by the way.

[16:35:05]

Well, eight million people who lost their jobs because of the housing crisis probably didn't appreciate hearing that, not to mention the fact that we're still dealing with ramifications of the housing collapse, because income inequality, part of the reason that it's gotten to the point where it is now is because lower- to middle-income people have not seen their incomes recover fully from it.

And the wealthy, for the most part, they have.

TAPPER: What about Hillary Clinton? The beginning of the debate talked a lot about trade.

ALESCI: Yes.

And you hit this last night, and you have been hitting it today too. Her biggest stumble was on trade. Basically, she doesn't acknowledge that there are people who are losing out on trade. We can look at all of the macroeconomic studies we want to say, 100,000 jobs, 200,000 jobs lost on NAFTA, but there are people who feel really like they have lost out because of NAFTA, which is the free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and the U.S.

Take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think my husband did a pretty good job in the 1990s. I think a lot about what worked and how we can make it work again...

TRUMP: Well, he approved NAFTA...

(CROSSTALK)

CLINTON: ... million new jobs, a balanced budget...

TRUMP: He approved NAFTA, which is the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country.

CLINTON: Incomes went up for everybody. Manufacturing jobs went up also in the 1990s, if we're actually going to look at the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALESCI: So, let's take a look at the facts.

The trade deals, according to a recent analysis, cost -- NAFTA, specifically, cost the U.S. about 800,000 jobs. But, Jake, that's between 1997 and 2013. So, that's really a drop in the bucket.

And some analysts are saying, some economists are saying that NAFTA actually helped economic growth. But, as you know, perception is reality. And in a recent CNN poll, people across the board believe these trade deals are causing Americans to lose their jobs.

They're not thinking about improvements in technology. They're not thinking about globalization, which is a train that's left the station, and no matter how the trade deals go, that's going to happen. So the reality is, she is not playing into the average person's view of trade deals.

TAPPER: Interesting.

Cristina Alesci, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

Growing fear of a cyber-attack on Election Day, several states now asking the Department of Homeland Security for help protecting their voting systems -- that story next.

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[16:41:43]

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

At last night's debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had very different answers to one big question: Who exactly hacked into the Democratic National Committee this past summer?

Like several intelligence officials, Clinton seemed certain that Russia was behind it. But Trump says he's not buying it. Trump last night said it could have been anyone from Russia, from China or even, in his words -- quote -- "somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds," possibly infiltrating the DNC from that room.

CNN chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto looked into this and has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, state election authorities across the country asking Washington for urgent protection from cyber-attacks from abroad.

JEH JOHNSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We have been working with state election officials, local election officials.

SCIUTTO: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson telling lawmakers today, ahead of the November election, no fewer than 18 states have come forward for help. The call comes after hackers successfully penetrated voting systems in Illinois and Arizona.

JOHNSON: What we are seeing are efforts to get into voter registration rolls, the identity of registered voters.

SCIUTTO: Asked where the cyber-attacks are coming from, Secretary Johnson demurred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this coming from one particular country?

JOHNSON: I don't believe that we have reached a determination.

SCIUTTO: That same question, along with questions about other election-related hacks, sparked a sharp difference of opinion on the debate stage Monday night, Hillary Clinton pointing at Russia.

CLINTON: There is no doubt now that Russia has used cyber-attacks against all kinds of organizations in our country. And I am deeply concerned about this. I know Donald is very praiseworthy of Vladimir Putin, but Putin is playing a really tough, long game here.

SCIUTTO: Donald Trump offering entirely different theories.

TRUMP: She's saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don't -- maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?

SCIUTTO: Fact is, multiple intelligence officials and lawmakers briefed on the intelligence tell CNN that Russia or hackers working for Russia are the most likely culprits, a point first the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, first acknowledged in public to CNN weeks ago.

(on camera): Is it your view that Russia has the intention of, if not influencing this election, undermining confidence in the U.S. political process?

JAMES CLAPPER, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR: They see a U.S. conspiracy behind every bush. They believe that we are trying to influence political developments in Russia. And so their natural response is to retaliate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: The FBI is still investigating the scope of this alleged hack of the DNC allegedly by Russia. The fact is, they don't know yet how far it went.

And, as you know, Jake, the Democratic Party is still concerned as to what might be released from that attack, e-mails, documents, et cetera, whether authentic or even this possibility, Jake, faked documents as well.

TAPPER: Jim Sciutto, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Our world lead now: Syria under siege. Government forces are accused of dropping more barrel bombs today on the rebel-held part of Aleppo, the country's largest city. More than 20 people are believed dead, including at least six children, in this latest round of violence, according to a Syrian human rights group.

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[16:45:00] JAKE TAPPER: Now, Syria under sieged. Government forces are accused of dropping more barrel bombs today on the rebel-held part of Aleppo, the country's largest city. More than 20 people are believed dead including at least six children in this latest round of violence according to a Syrian human rights group. This comes, of course, after two more - after more than 200 airstrikes hit Aleppo over the weekend, killing more than 100, mostly civilians. At least a quarter of a million innocent and desperate Syrians remain trapped and starving in Aleppo. CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is in the Capital Damascus. Fred, what is the latest right now in the fighting between rebel forces and those loyal to Assad on the ground in Aleppo?

[16:45:42] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the offensive that the government has acknowledged is certainly still going on. But some of the things that we've heard today, is that apparently, the government was trying to enter some rebel-held districts in the eastern part of Aleppo from various different locations. One of the main ones is actually in the north of that rebel-held district, is a place called Handarat camp, which was the scene of some very heavy fighting over the weekend. It was actually government forces that managed to take part of that area. They were then pushed back by a rebel counter-offensive. And since then there have just been these massive airstrikes that you've been talking about that just killed many, many people and wounded many more. And you know, one of the things that the rescue workers that are on the ground say is they don't even want to put a real death toll on this right now, because they simply can't reach many of the places where they still believe that people might be buried under the rubble. At the same time, the big problem is and remains that because of this heavy fighting that's going on and, of course, also, because of the siege itself, very difficult and not impossible to get humanitarian aid into those rebel-held districts. The U.N. telling us it's certainly isn't possible. Food is in short supply. Water is a big problem. The main pumping station is taken out by an airstrike. And then, also, of course, you have the problem that there's no electricity in the eastern part of Aleppo as well. Very dire circumstances, people there certainly suffering a great deal, Jake.

TAPPER: And Frederik is there any hope at this point of restoring that ceasefire that crumbled last week?

PLEITGEN: Well, you know what, it seems as though at this point in time it's all but impossible. I mean, what we've seen over the weekend is you have these meetings in the U.N. Security council with the U.S. and Russia going at it, accusing each other. Basically, reaching the ceasefire and fueling the conflict, the U.S., of course, accusing the Russians of barbarism for their support of the Assad regime. Whereas the Assad regime itself went forward and said, "Look, we want to take back every single inch of Syria, and that includes all of Aleppo." Since then it seems though diplomatically, things have gone pretty quiet. And that's certainly is very bad news for the people on the ground there in Syria and especially in eastern Aleppo who at this point in time, seems like their only choice right now is to hunker down and hope that diplomacy makes some sort of comeback, Jake.

TAPPER: Alright. Frederik Pleitgen in Damascus, Syria. Thanks so much, Fred, and please stay safe. The video is horrifying. A wife pleading with police not to shoot her husband saying he's not dangerous.

RAKEYIA SCOTT, WIFE OF KEITH LAMONT SCOTT: Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him. He has no weapon. He has no weapon.

TAPPER: Months earlier, we're now learning, Keith Lamont Scott's wife was telling police a very different story.

SCOTT: Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him. He didn't do anything.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[16:52:23] TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. "THE NATIONAL LEAD" now, as the candidates broadly addressed community policing in America last night, the issue continues to strike a nerve in Charlotte, North Carolina. I want you to listen to a tearful little girl who spoke at last night's city council meaning there, she sums up the pain felt in communities across the country right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are black people and we shouldn't have to feel like this. We shouldn't have to protest because you all are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to have rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That little girl's comments come after the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott last Tuesday. A week later, we are learning of reported violence in his past. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now. Polo, are there any hints as to what his now widow was referring to when she kept yelling, "Don't do it" during the confrontation?

[16:53:12] POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, I spoke to Justin Bamberg, he's one of the Scott family attorneys. And he tells me that Mrs. Scott was simply pleading with her husband to be still during those moments leading up to that fateful shooting. So that obviously answers the questions - that lingering question of what she was referring to when saying, "Don't do it". Bamberg also responding to new information that's surfacing this afternoon about Scott's history with guns and domestic violence. The attorney arguing it should not be pertinent to this investigation.

SCOTT: He has no weapon. He has no weapon. SANDOVAL: Less than a year before Rakeyia Scott pleaded with police

officers not to shoot her husband. She was asking the state to keep him away from her and her children, citing incidents of domestic violence. Documents filed by Rakeyia Scott last October show she asked the state to impose a protective order against her husband saying he hurt one of her children. In her initial complaint, Mrs. Scott wrote, "He hit my eight-year-old son in the head a total of three times with his fist, and kicked me on October 2nd, 2015." The same court record suggests Scott did have a gun last year. Mrs. Scott makes reference to a weapon in her complaint, writing, "He kicked me and threatened to kill us last night with his gun." He said he is a killer and we should know that." She adds, "He does not have a permit. He is a felon." Justin Bamberg, the Scott Family Attorney, argues this new information does not change their case, not only did Mrs. Scott lift the order a month after filing it, they have no record of her husband owning a gun after a traffic accident last November that left him with a traumatic brain injury. Bamberg tells CNN, quote, "At the end of the day, regardless of what salacious facts come out about his past, none of that affects whether or not he deserved to be shot." This new information may not calm the concerns of the community still reeling with the shooting. Even the youngest of Charlotte's residents called for change at a city council meaning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a shame that our fathers and mothers are killed, and we can't even see them anymore.

SANDOVA: Emotions still raw and high there in North Carolina. Now, Mrs. Scott also filed for a protective order after an earlier domestic violence incident that she described back in 2004. But again, Scott Family attorneys maintain even the Charlotte Police Chief's account of what happen, includes absolutely no indication that officers knew about Mr. Scott's criminal past or that he even had previous access to a weapon. Jake, what they argue is what should matter is what took place in that parking lot a week ago when a black officer shot and killed Keith Scott an African-American man.

TAPPER: Alright. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much. He is one of Donald Trump's top campaign advisors, so what does Senator Jeff Sessions think of Trump's debate performance last night and his post- debate response? That's next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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