Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

NYT: Leaked Documents Reveal Part of Trump's Tax History; Gary Johnson Weighs In on Trump's Taxes; "SNL" Returns With Alec Baldwin As Trump; Clinton Visits Charlotte In Wake Of Racial Unrest; Hurricane Matthew Gains Strength, First Effects To Be Felt Tonight. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 02, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:02] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We're just two days in to the month and we already have what could be the first October surprise of the presidential campaign. "The New York Times" saying it received some of Donald Trump's decades old tax documents in the mail. CNN has not been able to independently corroborate the document's authenticity but here are takeaways from "The New York Times" report. The report shows Trump declared a nearly $1 billion loss in 1995. Tax experts who "The New York Times" talked to say that kind of loss could allow him to legally avoid paying taxes for almost two decades. Both campaigns are responding and we will get to that in a moment.

But first, I want to breakdown what is in the report by way of our CNN Money correspondent, Cristina Alesci, and CNN correspondent, Chris Frates. So Cristina, you first, what exactly do the document say according to "The New York Times" reporting?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the document gave us was a really big number, a headline grabbing one. And what it does is raise all sorts of questions about Donald Trump's business dealings. And I just got off the phone with the tax expert who told me that raises, the sheer size of the loss raises questions about how aggressive Donald Trump may have gotten on his tax return. But for now, here's some insight on that $916 million.

Here's what "The New York Times" is reporting. Trump declared a loss of $916 million in 1995. And that loss could be used to cancel taxable income for potentially up to 18 years according to tax experts the paper hired. Key details are still missing because "The New York Times" doesn't have Trump's complete tax returns. And CNN can't confirm the authenticity of the documents the paper does have. But the report means even if Trump made $916 million in the years after '95, he could potentially have paid little or no taxes on that income.

How is that possible? It all comes down to something called net operating loss according to he "Times". When a business has more tax deductible expenses than income, you end up with what the IRS calls a net operating loss. Now, people might be asking, if Trump could write off such a large loss over so many years, why can't I do this? Most people are familiar with a different type of deduction, capital losses.

Typically, these are tied to stocks, bonds and other investments. And there are different rules for those and limits on how you could use them. With Trump, we're most likely talking about a loss from operating a business, which according to the IRS is the most common reason for a net operating loss. If Trump had much of his wealth tied up in businesses, any losses in those businesses might flow directly to him so he could use them to reduce his own tax bill in future years. It's important to keep in mind that the tax code allows you to do this.

The Trump campaign responded saying the candidate paid hundreds of millions of dollars in other taxes, including property and real estate taxes. But it didn't directly deny the "Times" reporting on the federal income tax. And Trump himself responded to the report with this tweet. I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president. And I'm the only one who can fix them. #failing@newyorktimes.

I spoke to the account cited in the "Time" story. He took issue with the story because Trump's income in subsequent years isn't public. So does this tell us that Trump lost all of this money only in 1995? The answer is no. Almost a billion dollars is a lot of money to lose. We don't know exactly what happened and when it happened. We do know that his businesses were hurting in the early 1990s, Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, The Plaza Hotel in New York for example.

Operating losses from those businesses could have been listed on his tax returns earlier than 1990s. And then, he could've carried them over to 1995. But we actually don't even know if he used these losses to offset income in later years. The tax law says he could have but without the returns from those later years, we can't know for sure. The big question is, do these documents help us understand how much Donald Trump is really worth? Again, the answer is no.

On that point about how much Donald Trump is really worth, you know, the campaign puts out this $10 billion number, which has been countered by independent experts and analysts at Forbes who put it closer to 3.7 billion and Bloomberg puts it closer to 3 billion. So even if we had, by the way, his tax returns, it would be really tough to glean how much he was really worth. All they really tell you is what he did, how much money he made in one year and we would need the specific schedules or the specific documentation that goes along with those documents to know what he deducted and why and whether those were in fact legitimate deductions.

WHITFIELD: All right, Cristina, thank you so much. And again, underscoring on this "New York Times" reporting is based in large part the reporters have said they received these documents in the mail and they have since verified but CNN has not independently verified. All right. Thanks so much.

So Chris Frates, laboring you into the equation now. So have we heard anything more from the Trump campaign? Yes, we have that tweet that Cristina was showcasing there but what more if anything? CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, well, we have heard from the Trump campaign. In fact, they haven't disputed any facts in the story. In fact they put out a statement where Trump blamed "The New York Times" and the media at large for being an extension of a Clinton campaign. He then went on to attack Clinton before finally arguing that he had a fiduciary responsibility as a businessman to pay no more tax than he was legally required to.

Now remember, during the debate last week, Trump argued that not paying taxes made him smart and today Trump took to Twitter. And here's what he said. He said "I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president. And I am the only one who can fix them," before he took a shot at the "Times" by calling them #failingnewyorktimes.

And, Fred, you know, this is really another version of an answer we've heard from Trump before namely, that he knows how to work the system so well that only he can fix it. Remember, he used that same explanation back during the primaries when people asked him, well, why did you give money to Democratic politicians? He said, hey, I'm just playing the game and I'm the only one who can fix what he liked to call a rigged system. So very similar answer here on the taxes, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And what about the feedback or response coming from the Clinton campaign?

FRATES: Yes. Well, not surprisingly here, the Clinton campaign which, of course, has been pressuring Trump for months to release his tax return, jumped all over the story. In a statement, the Clinton campaign manager, Robby Mook said, "There it is. This bombshell report reveals the colossal nature of Donald Trump's past business failures and just how long he may have avoided paying any federal income taxes whatsoever. In one year, Donald Trump lost nearly a billion dollars. A billion. He stiffed small businesses laid off workers, and walked away from hardworking communities. He apparently got to avoid paying taxes for nearly two decades while tens of millions of working families paid theirs. He calls that smart. Now that the gig is up, why doesn't he go ahead and release his returns to show us all how smart he really is."

So a very long statement there from the Clinton campaign, Fred. And I don't expect that they're going to let this story line go, namely, calling on Donald Trump to release his tax returns any time soon particularly with this new revelations, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. And now just seven days away from the next presidential debate and now just two days away from the vice presidential debate. And one would expect it all if this is going to come up in both arenas. All right. Thank you so much, Chris as well Cristina.

All right. I want to bring in CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter, John Phillips on this and CNN political commentator, Bill Press, he's a Hillary Clinton supporter and also Libertarian commentator Ron Hart. All right, good to see all of you.

BILL PRESS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So John, let me begin with you. Because, you know, the Clintons along with many media publications have indeed pounced on this report, this after Trump himself said during the debate in response to Hillary Clinton, I call it smart. So does this report help? It all seemed that this is smart business on his part or does it also underscore some questioning about whether he is indeed a good businessman?

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the headline in my mind is how politicized and partisan the IRS has become if these confidential documents were leaked to "The New York Times". It's easy to see why there are class action lawsuits by conservative groups against the IRS, against the organization.

WHITFIELD: We still don't know how these documents were mailed to "The New York Times". We don't know if it was someone within, you know, someone who is close to Donald Trump, his organization and had their hands on or potentially their hands on these documents.

PHILLIPS: Well, we do know that Hillary was tipped off before the debate because she referenced information that was similar to what we saw in "The New York Times". Now that being said if you go to --

WHITFIELD: Well all that was reported on before. I mean, I don't know if that's true either really, but let's just stick with what does this mean to your candidate when some material like this is published in "The New York Times" and it is getting a lot of traction and it comes on the heels of Donald Trump himself saying I call it smart when indeed the issue at hand was about whether he had paid little or no taxes.

PHILLIPS: Yes. This isn't a Wesley Snipes situation. Even the analyst that were quoted in "The New York Times" said that he paid the taxes that he was legally entitled to pay which is what all of us do. I don't sit down with my tax (preparance) say, you know, I could use my house as a write off but if I don't, maybe they can spring for an open bar at the Christmas party at the EPA.

What's more disturbing to me is that you have a career politician like Hillary Clinton that's worked for the government her entire life and she's a millionaire. How are you a millionaire if you worked for the government virtually your entire adult life without trading favors for cash?

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm not supposed for the Clinton campaign but we do know they were incredible speaking engagement fees as well as a couple of book deals which speak to money. But let's stick with what is being reported today with $1 billion loss, 1995 and according to tax experts that "New York Times" turned to, it would mean the equivalency of no taxes paid in 18 years possibly.

So, Bill, you know, what does this mean in terms of whether this would inspire, urge, the Trump campaign to now release more information that would either substantiate or tear down this claim? PRESS: Well, one thing we know for sure. We now know why Donald Trump has not released his tax returns, thanks to "The New York Times" and thanks to whoever sent those three pages to "The New York Times". Look, I think this is very, very serious problem for Donald Trump. Number one, what do most Americans do?

Look, we may differ politically. But the one thing we do, we pay our bills and we pay our taxes. Donald Trump clearly did neither. And I think it's serious because it undermines his entire campaign message. Number one, that he's a successful businessman. oh, yes? I mean three failed casinos, a failed hotel, a failed university, a failed airline, losing a billion dollars in one year, hardly a successful businessman.

And the second point he goes around saying, telling people the system is rigged against you. Well, now we know, yes, it's rigged against us by people like him who live like a king and then while stiffing his contractors, stiffing his employees and stiffing us, stiffing Uncle Sam so --

WHITFIELD: Although on the issue of taxes though, I mean, this is a loophole. I mean this is a legitimate net operating loss provision that makes it allowable if someone loses in the name of business, loses a lot of money and then there is this. So there is an allegation that it's illegal.

PRESS: No, no. No. I never said it was illegal. I know this is legal. But I thought Cristina showed that this net operating loss is a scam that huge businesses and very wealthy people are able to take advantage of with average Americans are not. And Donald Trump took full advantage of it up to $45 million a year for 18 years. What kind of a message does that send as a president? Don't pay our taxes, I never paid mine. Hey, you're a fool for paying your taxes. I think it's bad.

WHITFIELD: So Ron, I know you're chomping at a bit on this one but I also want to play this sound because this was following the Monday night debate in the spin room with our Dana Bash when Dana Bash seized on that moment about, you know, makes me smart. She asked him about paying federal taxes after the debate and this is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like you admitted that you hadn't paid federal taxes and that was smart. Is that what you meant to say?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I didn't say that at all. I mean if they say I didn't, I mean it doesn't matter. I will say this, I hate the way our government spends our taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So Ron, how do you put all of this into context, in terms of the reporting what Donald Trump has been on record is saying and even there where he said it's not necessarily. Well he's run off for some clarification. But what does this do in terms of the campaign, the attention, the demands that the voting public would make on getting a better understanding of this.

RON HART, LIBERTARIAN POPLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's been audited for 15 years. So he's paid all he owes. And that's the tax system, is a convoluted system, it permeates in Washington D.C. where the loopholes come from, lobbyist get loopholes for business people, smart people take advantage of it. It's a big nothing sandwich as far as I'm concern. If you have NOLs, Net Operating Losses, every business in America (cares and ford) some companies buy other companies for their losses so they can shield their income. It speaks to the reason we need a flat tax.

It is ironic that a man like Trump wants us to go to a flatter tax where everyone pays the same amount at the same rates without all these deductions. It becomes like twister. After a while, you're so contorted doing taxes that the smart people who can align themselves with accountants and lawyers can avoid taxes.

WHITFIELD: Does it make him a hypocrite in your view that he would take advantage of this loophole at the same time while he's campaigning, say I know this tax law better than anyone else and he vows to fix it because he has used the words crooked, rigged, you know, that people are not able to enjoy certain benefits that he and other wealthy people are.

HART: Yes, you can't conflate him not paying taxes with what he owes. He owes what he owes. He's been all the 15 years he owes what he owes. It speaks to broader system of, you know, he gives the Democrats, Republicans -- just like owning a restaurant in New York City in a mafia controlled area. You got to pay protection money. And politicians have become protection money who better to design the system to keep banks from being rob than Bonnie and Clyde. I mean, he knows it better than anyone else. If you want to change the system, he's your man to do it because he knows how it works.

WHITFIELD: All right. So John, earlier today, you know, Rudy Giuliani on our network as well as on another morning talk show said that Donald Trump would be a fool, any businessman would be a fool not to take advantage of that provision. So John, are you with me?

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. I thought you're going to play a clip.

WHITFIELD: No, no. I was paraphrasing for you.

PHILLIPS: OK. Is what he did as he paid everything but he's legally entitled to pay? Businessmen have good years, they had bad years. Clearly in that year, he had a bad year but he bounced back. And his critics can go ahead and call him a bad businessman but guess what, the guy is billionaire. So he can go ahead and fill up his guitar- shaped swimming pool with tears from hearing all of those insults being leveled at him.

I think people understand that Donald Trump is a guy that when you take a look at the good and the bad, he's made a lot of money over a long period of time and they're not surprised. WHITFIELD: So, Bill, so he is a businessman. He's made millions of

dollars. He's lost millions of dollars. And is it so bad that you have great losses like this? Does it mean that overall Donald Trump is not good businessman or he has losses and the loophole allows him to build back from it, gives him an opportunity?

(CROSSTALK)

PRESS: First off, this is what --

PHILLIPS: (Inaudible) high stakes game --

PRESS: Whoa, whoa, whoa.

WHITFIELD: Yes, go ahead, John.

PRESS: Yes. This is what (crept up) Mitt Romney. I mean, I think the American people who pay their taxes dutifully don't appreciate somebody who skates, don't appreciate somebody who scams no matter how rich they are, number one. Number two, there's only one way to clear up all of the these questions that we have. And that's for him to release his tax returns. Is he going to do it? Hell no, he's not going to do it.

WHITFIELD: So Ron, would this inspire (inaudible) --

PRESS: And now we know why.

HART: It may not matter to him anymore. You know, 1994, there was a real estate recession. There were a lot of losses, he probably loss money, maybe going through a divorce or maybe want to tap down his income at that time.

You know, the Hillary Clinton foundation, they're worth $200 million doing charity work. You know, Imagine that they weren't share the wealth -- Democrats how wealthy they'd be.

WHITFIELD: All right. So John --

PRESS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's no evidence that any money from the Clinton foundation went into the pockets of the Clintons. And to bring that out is just absolutely outrageous and untrue and you know it.

HART: No. What's the net worth of the Clintons right now?

PRESS: I don't know what their net worth is but it did not come from --

HART: And how did it come -- I mean did it (inaudible)

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Well, we already know this from their financial disclosures as well as the released of tax returns we know that by way of speaking this engagement, post presidency, many presidents enjoy huge speaking fees as well as several books.

PRESS: And the book deals that they've done. And the public knowledge. It's public knowledge. Where is Donald Trump's tax returns, we don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. John, you know, you are advocating for this camp for Donald Trump. So, is it your feeling that this kind of report now revealing of, you know, a billion dollars in losses and possibly not paying taxes over an 18-year period will mean it will inspire, provoke him to release more information to either set the record straight or to reveal that he has paid taxes?

PHILLIPS: No, look. I mean, look at the feeding frenzy that's going on out of three pages that were leaked. By the way, the three pages that are supposed to be confidential documents and you may think that the IRS didn't do it. I have other suspicions --

WHITFIELD: We don't know. we just don't know. But to answer the question --

PHILLIPS: Yes. I mean they --

WHITFIELD: -- will he have to be more transparent to reveal whether he indeed paid taxes in other years or he just --

PHILLIPS: He's being audited. He says he's not going to release his taxes until the audit is done. And given what we've learned from whoever --

WHITFIELD: But of the years that he's not being audited --

PHILLIPS: -- leaked this information, I don't blame him. He has been audited.

PRESS: Fred, there's one other thing I'd like to show. Fred, one other fact here is Donald Trump on the campaign trail, he bemoans 50 percent, he criticizes 50 percent. He says of Americans who don't pay their taxes and therefore, he says, there's not enough money for roads, not enough for schools, not enough for our troops. For all of these things we need and he criticizes people and now we find out that he is the number one person on that list, a total free loader. Again, I think politically, this is very damaging.

HART: Well, he's been on for 15 years, about the time he declare he's Republican. That's far the bigger issue.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ron, John, Bill, thank you, gentlemen, appreciate it.

HART: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So after we take a short break, we're going to invite this man, third party presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. He will be weighing in on Trump's taxes and his own candidacy. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're now less than 37 days away from election day and with me now is the man who is on the ballot in all 50 states, Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. Mr. Johnson, thanks so much for being with us.

GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Thirty-seven days, oh, my gosh.

WHITFIELD: I know, check the calendar. Where's the time going?

JOHNSON: Tick of the clock. Tick of the clock.

WHITFIELD: All right. Are you excited about that or nervous about that?

JOHNSON: Well, excited, nervous. Look, we are on the ballot in all 50 states. I think if people in this country knew who we were, myself and Bill Weld, fiscally conservative, socially inclusive, skeptical about our military wars, supporting free trade, I think if 70 percent of Americans that don't know who we are, knew who we were, maybe we'd be taking office 37 days or at least win the election 37 days from now. But I realize there are probably -- and you might be one of them, those that don't think that's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Well, maybe this opportunity helps offer some clarity or helps you be reintroduced to a lot of audiences. So this is good that you're with me today.

JOHNSON: That's true. Yes, thank you.

WHITFIELD: OK. So then, you probably picked up "The New York Times" today and you read that article perhaps about Donald Trump and this nearly $1 billion in losses and possibly according to tax experts of "New York Times" I talked to claiming that he may have been able to avoid paying federal taxes for nearly two decades. So what's your response to that?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, I do talk about tax reform and the fact that we should be looking to simplify taxes. So hey, flat taxes, simplified, do away with these deductions, real estate.

Look, historically, you get to buy appreciating assets that you then get to depreciate and at some point you actually sell the asset and at that point, you don't necessarily have to pay any gains on it at all because you can do a real estate trade at the end of all of it. That's the tax system with regard --

WHITFIELD: Did you read the article? Do you have an understanding of it fully? Like the rest of us.

JOHNSON: No, I did not read the article in "The New York Times", no, I did not. WHITFIELD: OK. So I will try to paraphrase it for you then. You

know, if we're talking about in this article, a reporter for "The New York Times" says she received a piece of mail. And in that piece of mail were three documents of Donald Trump's 1995 taxes. And after them verifying with tax experts, tax experts believed that it was authentic, had Marla Maples' social security on it, had Donald Trump's signature on it. And through their assessment, it would appear as though he was able to make up for the nearly $1 billion in losses by enjoying some tax breaks because of a loophole and possibly over nearly two decades could have possibly avoided paying federal taxes. So knowing that me paraphrasing the article for you --

JOHNSON: Yes. No. Fredricka --

WHITFIELD: -- what's your thought to that?

JOHNSON: Well, I've understood that much about the article. But what I don't understand is the loophole. He would have paid taxes on that billion dollar loss before he declared that billion dollar loss. So I am not aware of what loophole would be spoken of.

WHITFIELD: Well, this provision is called the Net Operating Loss and Donald Trump and his camp have implied during this statement that this was legally allowable because he is a business person. And, you know, while on the campaign trail and even during the debate, he has said that he knows this tax code better than anybody else and would feel like he would be better at anybody else to change it or modifying it. And if this report is right, he's also benefiting from incredible tax breaks. So as a candidate yourself, how do you further either distinguish yourself from a Donald Trump or do you have any real criticism about how he was able to benefit from this?

JOHNSON: Well, I do advocate eliminating income tax and corporate tax and replacing all of it with one federal consumption tax. And because you would do that, you could do away with the IRS, one federal consumption tax. I put out their the fair tax as a template for how you can dot the Is and cross the Ts so accomplish one federal consumption tax.

I'm very aware of taxes and real estate investment and accounting and all of this surrounding situation. But this is a situation where he did lose this amount of money. It does speak to the fact that he's declaring himself as very --

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. I'm so, so sorry. We have lost that signal. We're going to try and reestablish that because I certainly want to continue this conversation with Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. So stay with us, we're going to take a short break and hope that we can get him back on the air with me again. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:22] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back, I'm Fredericka Whitfield. And back with us is Libertarian Presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. So sorry, our signal -- something happened there and we're glad we could bring you back here.

All right, so let's talk about --

JOHNSON: Yes, thank you, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Good. Let's talk about your candidacy. You will not be in the presidential debate because, according to polling, you didn't meet the 15 percent requirement. And while at first when you threw your hat into the ring perhaps, you felt a real viability, that you could potentially win the White House.

Do you still feel that way or do you also feel that potentially your continued candidacy will better assure either a Clinton or a Trump in the White House?

JOHNSON: Well, I'm really proud of the fact that I am giving people their first alternative to vote for. I think a wasted vote is voting for somebody that you don't believe in.

And speaking philosophically, I do think that myself and Bill Weld as the Libertarian nominees for president and vice president are representing 60 percent of Americans -- fiscally conservative, socially inclusive, and skeptical about the military inventions supporting regime change, and supporting free markets. Believing that ultimately that's all about more U.S. jobs, not less U.S. jobs.

So being able to provide a voice, given that the polarity of both Clinton and Trump, you know, I'm really proud of this. And I think it's interesting that I'm polling higher than Ross Perot was polling when he was allowed into the presidential debates.

And Presidential Debate Commission, made up of Democrats and Republicans that absolutely have no interest whatsoever in seeing anyone other than a Democrat or a Republican on stage. And right now, 50 percent of Americans, when they are going to register to vote, are registering as independent.

So it's great to give independents a voice. Right now, I'm leading among independents. Right now, I'm tied with Hillary Clinton among young people, but I'm coming up on that. So it looks like I'll actually at some point lead among young people, millennials, the largest demographic group in the country right now.

And I'm also leading among active military personnel, which I think just speaks volumes to the fact that, hey, what I'm saying is resonating with those mostly -- you know, the issue mostly that they are involved in every single day, our military.

WHITFIELD: And even in spite of those great accolades, you know, your vice presidential running mate, Bill Weld, actually had some complimentary words for one of your competitors, Hillary Clinton. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WELD, LIBERTARIAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm not sure anybody is more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:35:06]WHITFIELD: OK, so he's talking about qualifications. No one is more qualified than Hillary Clinton. I know you just said you're very proud of how far you and your candidacy has gone, probably the closest to the White House than any other third party candidate historically. We're still looking for, you know, direct fact checking on that one.

But do you feel you are qualified to be in the White House even though your running mate says Hillary Clinton is the most qualified?

JOHNSON: Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, we're the most qualified -- two former Republican governors, served two terms each in states that were heavily Democrats, getting re-elected. Really, I think it just speaks volumes to the fact that people really do appreciate good stewardship of tax dollars.

Bill Weld went on to say, you know, that taxes are going to go up under Hillary. There's nothing that government can't do in our lives when it comes to Hillary Clinton. And Bill Weld is the first one that raises questions, I think -- the whole country is raising questions about pay to play, these e-mails.

Look, I think her stint as Secretary of State was directly related to the Clinton Foundation and those speaking fees -- originally I thought it was speaking fees paid to Bill Clinton for him having been president. More power to him.

But, boy, you can really connect the dots between those speaking fees and an agreement signed the next day with the State Department with Hillary's signature on it.

WHITFIELD: Mr. Johnson, I hate to put salt in the wound, but, you know, many people started questioning your qualifications especially after that Aleppo moment and then you being unable to mention a foreign leader. So you've had time to sleep on it, think it over.

JOHNSON: A foreign leader -- a foreign leader that I admired.

WHITFIELD: That you admire.

JOHNSON: What is this, four --

WHITFIELD: So you've had time to think about.

JOHNSON: It's four day -- yes.

WHITFIELD: Can you answer on --

JOHNSON: And I still can't come up with one.

WHITFIELD: You cannot.

JOHNSON: I still can't come up with one. Well, that I admire? That I'm going to have to defend a foreign leader?

Look, one of the surprises I had, having been governor is, is, you know, I held a lot of people up in this country on pedestals that were elected politicians. I came to meet them up front and personal.

And you know what, they didn't have the best interest of the country in mind. What they were is they were concerned more with getting re- elected.

WHITFIELD: So --

JOHNSON: And I came to find that out. So I'm really a skeptical when it comes to elected leaders, and that isn't to say there aren't a lot of them that I really do like. And certainly as governor I could tell you governors that I admire, but foreign leaders --

WHITFIELD: But it doesn't necessarily --

JOHNSON: (Inaudible) going be involved in having to defend foreign leaders.

WHITFIELD: So you're saying -- got it. So it says you're not -- this does not necessarily say your -- this exemplifies that foreign policies, international affairs, is not important to you?

JOHNSON: It's very important. But what really angers me is that because you can dot the "I's" and cross the "T's" on geographic locations an names of foreign leaders that we put our military in harm's way.

That we have men and women that are dying. They are getting hurt. They're getting maimed. They're getting psychologically ruined for the rest of their lives.

We have hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in these countries that we get involved in, in civil wars, intervening from regime change standpoint. They are getting caught in the crossfire. We're putting our military in harm's way.

Look, that's what angers me beyond belief -- that angers me is that that qualifies a person like Hillary Clinton to put our military in that crossfire. Have at it.

WHITFIELD: All right.

JOHNSON: Have at it!

WHITFIELD: Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson. Thank you so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: We'll have much more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:11]

WHITFIELD: All right, live from New York "SNL" is back. In case you missed last night's big premiere, here now is CNN's Jessica Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My microphone is broken.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alec Baldwin posing with a pout and planting on a toupee to channel Trump.

ALEC BALDWIN, SNL, "DONALD TRUMP": Somebody is sniffing here. I think it's her sniffs, she's been sniffing all night. Testing, testing.

SCHNEIDER: The 16-time record holding SNL host taking on Trump for the new season. Baldwin bringing up Trump's Twitter tirades.

BALDWIN: I'm going to set my alarm for 3:20 a.m. and go sit on my golden toilet bowl and tweet about it until completion.

SCHNEIDER: And it's off-collar remarks from last week's debate.

TRUMP: We should be talking about the important issues like Rosie O'Donnell and how she's a fat loser --

SCHNEIDER: The election cycle long providing SNL with plenty of fodder for its comedy from Tina Fay's Sarah Palin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can see Russia from my house.

SCHNEIDER: To Will Ferrell as George W. Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bartender, keep them coming.

SCHNEIDER: This season, Kate McKinnon will reprise her role as Hillary Clinton to battle Baldwin as Trump.

KATE MCKINNON, SNL, "HILLARY CLINTON": He hasn't released his tax returns which means he's either not that rich.

BALDWIN: Wrong.

MCKINNON: Not that charitable.

BALDWIN: Wrong.

MCKINNON: Never paid taxes in his life.

BALDWIN: Warmer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Clinton, what do you think about that?

MCKINNON: I think I'm going to be president.

SCHNEIDER: But it wasn't just Baldwin bearing the brunt of the ridicule, McKinnon mocks Clinton's relentless debate prep and ruthless presidential ambition.

MCKINNON: Listen America, I get it, you hate me. You hate my voice and you hate my face. Well, here's a tip, if you never want to see my face again, elect me president and I swear to God I will lock myself in the oval office and not come out for four years. But if you don't elect me, I will continue to run for president until the day I die and I will never die.

SCHNEIDER: And McKinnon showcased Clinton's now signature shimmy.

MCKINNON: Not a response, more of a request, can America vote right now?

SCHNEIDER: It wasn't just the candidates' lampoons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are just getting acquainted.

SCHNEIDER: Just about everyone in the political realm this season took a hit, including Trump's three oldest children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What an interesting and wonderful question, Steve. May I ask my brothers for help?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is this?

[14:45:07]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Donald Junior, the brains.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Ivanka, the beauty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm Eric.

SCHNEIDER: An unprecedented election cycle --

BALDWIN: It is over. Good night, Hofstra.

SCHNEIDER: Sure to continue providing plenty of comedy on Saturday nights. Jessica Schneider, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. So today Hillary Clinton is meeting with community leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, 12 days after the fatal police shooting of a black man, Keith Lamont Scott.

CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, is live for us now in Charlotte. So Joe, originally, Hillary Clinton wanted to go last weekend, but at the discouragement of city leaders there postponed it. What is this trip been like? JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right. They had planned to come here about a week ago. The mayor said timing is bad. So they rescheduled it and it's important to say that Hillary Clinton needed to connect with Charlotte, North Carolina for a variety of reasons.

It's the largest city in a battleground state. It's an issue that affects African-American voters as she's trying to get to the polls and she's also talked all over the country about police use of lethal force and related issues.

But it needed to have the right tone to it so as not to attract criticism. How did they accomplish that? Well, for one thing, they kept it very low key.

[14:50:09]They did not announce the church that she was coming to. Parishioners were surprised when she walked in the room. What was the message? It was emotional. In large part it was very personal. She did not even mention the name of Donald Trump.

But what she did talk about among other things was the need to view controversies like the one affecting Charlotte, North Carolina right now through the eyes of children who are watching that.

And she brought up to the pulpit a young girl, 9 years old named Ziana Olifant, who has spoken earlier to the city council about the need to protect the parents of African-American children so they come home at night.

An emotional moment here and now Hillary Clinton is on a plane on her way back to New York. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns in Charlotte, thank you so much. We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hurricane Matthew's winds have increased and it is barreling towards Jamaica and Cuba. The Category 4 storm is now clocking maximum sustained winds of 144 miles per hour.

CNN's Michael Holmes is awaiting Matthew's arrival live from Kingston, Jamaica. So Michael, is this the calm before the storm?

[14:55:05] MICHAEL HOLMES, ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT, CNNI: Yes, I think you could say that for sure. In fact, pretty much on cue. The rain started here about 5 minutes ago. It was pretty sunny and humid here until then.

But we have to expect to feel the effects of Matthew in the hours ahead. The main impact likely here Monday night going into Tuesday. That's when things are really going to start to spark up.

The last we're hearing is it could run right between Jamaica and Haiti. The way it circulates around, that could mean Haiti is going to get the worst of it in terms of high winds and rain. One of our weather guys was telling me, Haiti could get 40 inches of rain out of this storm. That's almost a year's worth of rain in the course of a day or two.

Let's remember, Haiti has been deforested. There's not a lot of trees holding the earth together so they could be in all sorts of trouble. Remember, the earthquake in 2010, there's people living in tents in Haiti, which seems extraordinary.

Lot of preparations going on here in Kingston and all around Jamaica. We were down at the fishing village called Port Royal, not that far from here.

The locals there are under evacuation order being urged to get out and saying no, 90 percent of the people we spoke to said they are staying put. We'll see how this unfolds in the hours ahead -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Holmes in Kingston, Jamaica, thank you so much.

Next, a bombshell from the "New York Times" over Donald Trump's taxes. Complete coverage in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM which returns right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)