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Trump Refutes Staffing Rumors in New Tweets; Sources: Kushner Fueling Trump "Infighting"; Source: Kushner May Get Top Security Clearance. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 16, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:04] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know. I've got Jason Miller. I'm going to ask him in just a second, so our question will be answered. Right, Jason?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good save, you. Good save, you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, exactly. NEWSROOM starts now. See you. And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Donald Trump on a tear this morning, pushing back against reports that his all-important transition team is in turmoil. Trump tweeting this attack on "The New York Times" just a couple of hours ago. He says the transition is going so smoothly, but his latest firing not likely to soothe the nerves of establishment Republicans.

Mike Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee was booted from Trump's transition team. Rogers telling CNN he was among several recent dismissals all with ties to recently fired Chris Christie. And sources say Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is at the center of this infighting. All of this unfolding just 65 days away from Trump's inauguration.

Jason Miller, the communications director of the Trump transition team, is standing by live right beside me in the studio. I have a lot to talk to him about in just about a minute. Jason, thank you.

But, first, Mr. Trump is back at work today at his transition headquarters inside the Trump Tower. And that's where CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is this morning. Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. A lot of pushback this morning from top transition officials disputing the notion that their transition has been at all turbulent. Including this morning, joining into the chorus of pushbacks, President-elect Donald Trump who took to Twitter to say, quote, "Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are."

Trump also taking issue over Twitter with some reporting that he was potentially looking into getting secret clearance for some of his kids. Trump tweeting, quote, "I am not trying to get 'top level security clearance' for my children. This was a typically false news story." And we know that that story stemmed from a transition staffer with ties to the Department of Defense who apparently made this ask without being authorized. And we now know, according to CNN's Jim Acosta, that that transition official has been let go as of this morning.

Now, meantime, other departures, as you noted, higher level departures within the transition team, former Congressman and CNN Commentator Mike Rogers, who had been, for months, just a leading national security voice within the transition team. He has parted ways. And many people, you know, really chiming in that it was because he was closely aligned with Chris Christie at a time where there is this so- called purge of Christie officials within the transition team.

Mike Rogers speaking to Anderson Cooper about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS, FORMER MEMBER OF TRUMP'S TRANSITION TEAM: And sometimes in politics, you know, in the palace intrigue, there are people who are in and people who are out. And the people who have been asked to move on have some relationship with Chris Christie. In my case, I was hired by him. And so there's a whole series of about five of them that fit that criteria that were asked to leave in the last few days.

And you know what? That's absolutely the campaign's prerogative. I think there is some confusion going on about a chain of command coming out of New York. Hopefully, they'll get that settled pretty soon. I think they're going to need to do it because, as this clock ticks, all of these decisions become more important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEFRATY: And that word "confusion" really struck me, Carol, especially coming from someone who had, for months, worked on this transition. But certainly, again, top transition officials pushing back on the notion that it has been rocky for them in the last weeks. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Sunlen Serfaty reporting live from Trump Tower in New York City this morning. Jason Miller joins ne now. He's the senior communications adviser to President-elect Trump. Good morning.

JASON MILLER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DONALD TRUMP TRANSITION TEAM: Good morning. Thank you for having me on.

COSTELLO: You must be exhausted.

MILLER: A lot of energy. It's exciting to have the women. It's honor to serve with the President-elect.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. We have to talk about his tweeting this morning, though, because he was on sort of a tear. He tweeted four times this morning. The first tweet, "I'm not trying to get 'top level security clearance' for my children. This was a typically false news story." Another tweet, "The failing 'New York Times' story is so totally wrong

on transition. It is going so smoothly. Also, I've spoken to many foreign leaders."

A few minutes the later, this tweet, "I have received and taken calls from many foreign leaders despite what the failing 'New York Times' said. Russia, U.K., China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and more. I am always available to them. 'New York Times' is just upset that they look like fools in their coverage of me."

So, you know, Congressman Chris Collins was on "NEW DAY" earlier, and he said this is just Trump's way of relaxing. Is that it?

MILLER: Well, no, I would describe it as this is the President-elect setting the record straight. And I think this is part of the reason why he received such great support last week and why he won the election. It's because he's not this typical politician. He's not going to be confined by the media norms. When he sees something that's incorrect, he's not afraid to stand up and set the record straight. And to the point that the --

[09:05:01] COSTELLO: Why wouldn't he give an interview, right? I'm sure "The New York Times" called him or his transition team?

MILLER: Well, I think it's --

COSTELLO: Or you.

MILLER: Well, I think it's important to keep in mind that he's actually putting this team together. And he's working with the Vice President-elect, with our executive director of the transition team. They have a very structured plan, and they're going through this methodically to make sure they get it right.

And that's the important thing, I think, that people need to know, is they have the plan in place. They're going to go through. They're going to do due diligence to make sure they check people's backgrounds and make sure that they're on the up and up, and that we have a very good team put together.

And then, once he's inaugurated, we're going to do some very exciting things. But there's a clear structure in place. And I think some of this palace intrigue really where I think this comes from, usually --

COSTELLO: OK. So --

MILLER: -- is folks who either aren't up for jobs, who might be maybe a little bit bitter, or some people who are just maybe bitter that the election didn't go their way last week. But the President-elect has --

COSTELLO: Yes. Because the way it's being described by sources within the transition team is that it's blood bath. It's a knife fight. And Jared Kushner is the one spearheading this knife fight because his father was put into prison on tax evasion charges. He's bitter at Chris Christie, so he's getting rid of anyone that was even associated with Chris Christie. Is that true?

MILLER: Not in the slightest. In fact, Jared and I were chuckling about it this morning, this whole description of the knife fight or this internal fighting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jared is helping to put this together, but, ultimately, these decisions are being made by the President-elect. And he's the one who will have the final say on all of these.

And I think it's also important to remind people that it's his judgment. He's going to make sure that we have the absolute best people. Some won't be coming from politics. Some will be coming from outside the politics, who've had success in business or in education or all different fields.

COSTELLO: Well, on that note, I want to go back to Jared Kushner for just a second and this security clearance, and this inquiry about security clearances for Trump's children. And we know it didn't come from the President-elect, right? It came from a low level staffer who has been dismissed. Is that right?

MILLER: Well, the President-elect has not made any request for security clearance for any of his children.

COSTELLO: Even for Jared Kushner?

MILLER: Correct, not for any of his family members. And further, I would say no paperwork has been completed or sent in or submitted to this effect.

I think what a lot of this is, again, it's certain folks who maybe are on the outside looking in, who want to go in and try to cause chaos and do their bit, you know, to try to make some negative headlines. But that's not going to distract us. Internally, there's a very calm presence. It's structured. I think we have a clear plan of what we need to go and do.

COSTELLO: So will we expect announcements soon? Because, you know, things are happening in the world that that are causing anxiety for people and they want to know that the transition team is running smoothly and that there will soon be announcements for Secretary of State, for Department of Defense or for Defense Secretary, for positions like that because, you know, we have active American military at work in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

MILLER: Well, the President-elect and the Vice President-elect know exactly how serious this is, of the magnitude of which we have to go and get this right. And that's part of the reason why they're making sure we get it right before we rush to judgment. And it's also important to keep in mind that President Obama didn't have his entire Cabinet named within that first week after he was elected in 2008.

COSTELLO: So we shouldn't expect announcements from the transition team on any more appointments today?

MILLER: Well, I'm not going to go and qualify it as far as today, but I'm going to say, when they're going to announce is when the President-elect --

COSTELLO: And I ask you that because Eric Trump just came out and said that more appointments are expected to be announced today.

MILLER: Well, it's when the President-elect is ready to pull the trigger and to make these people formal and finalize it, and he's not going to do it until he's ready with that decision. And he's going through a process and I spoke with him this morning. We were walking through some of the different names and where things were going. And he's going to make sure that he gets this right. And quite frankly, I think he will and I think that's part of the reason why he got such overwhelming support last week.

COSTELLO: Well, some people say the controversial choice of Steve Bannon is one reason he's taking his time because he didn't really expect the backlash over that. That's only growing, right? In fact, because, you know, some people --

MILLER: I just --

COSTELLO: Some people say Steve Bannon embraces White nationalism. He provided a platform on Breitbart News, of which he used to be editor. He was editor for that website. Even Glenn Beck was on Anderson Cooper last night and he said Steve Bannon is someone to fear. And this is what he said. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: The alt-right is real. It is truly terrifying, in my opinion, that he has given a voice and power to that group of people. Why? I don't know. But it's important because you don't empower people like that. You just don't do that. It's not smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Glenn Beck and Harry Reid are on the same page, like the world has shifted. So do they have a point?

MILLER: Well, again, with regard to Senator Reid and Glenn Beck, I think they need to get over the fact that the election was last week and that President-elect Trump has won.

COSTELLO: So is it just sour grapes on Glenn Beck's part?

MILLER: Well, I want to talk a little bit about Steve Bannon because Steve is someone who I've really gotten to know the last several months as being on the campaign, working very closely with him on a daily basis. Here's what people should know about Steve Bannon.

[09:10:06] Number one, he's a very strong Zionist. He's someone who so strongly supports the state of Israel. He even founded Breitbart Jerusalem as one of his causes that he's a big supporter of. His former --

COSTELLO: So he's not anti-Jew in other words? MILLER: Oh, well, I'm going through the --

COSTELLO: Because people accused him of that. That's why I threw that in.

MILLER: Right. And it's silly. One thing, if you can see the internal workings of the campaign, you see that Steve Bannon is someone who's pushed for diversity at every turn in the campaign, that he was one of the driving forces in having the President-elect go to Mexico on that trip and to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Steve is someone who is, I think, put together is --

COSTELLO: But didn't Mr. Trump go to Mexico to talk about the wall which he didn't really talk about? I mean, isn't that why he --

MILLER: But it's also --

COSTELLO: -- he wanted to --

MILLER: But it's also to show that he's going to have strong relations, and he's going to be able to work with other foreign leaders and to show that he is able to reach out and step outside of the political norms to do different things. And Steve Bannon has been a big proponent of that.

Ultimately, Steve Bannon is going to implement the plans and the agenda of the President-elect. And he did a fantastic job of doing it during the campaign. I think that's why the President-elect is bringing Steve Bannon with him to the White House.

COSTELLO: But here's one more thing about Steve Bannon because it's not just Glenn Beck and Harry Reid that are concerned about Steve Bannon. You know, these protests are going on all across the country.

MILLER: Well, and a lot of those --

COSTELLO: Students of 34 universities today are going to protest and ask their universities to become sanctuary universities so that undocumented immigrants will have a safe place to go. This is becoming a bigger and bigger movement, whether President-elect Trump likes it or not. So shouldn't President-elect Trump come out and say something?

MILLER: Well, I completely disagree with your analysis of the folks out there expressing their First Amendment rights, which is great. That's why this country is so fantastic. But these protests are dying off. They're not growing, and I disagree with your analysis.

COSTELLO: They are growing. There's 34 planned today.

MILLER: No, I think the further we get away from the elections, people will realize that it's time to come together and start laying out our plans for what we're going to do to help move the country forward and create jobs. And we're going to see President-elect Trump bring the country together. And, again, that's -- COSTELLO: I think everybody wants President-elect Trump to create jobs, but they do have this underlying fear that he's not going to be fair to minority groups.

MILLER: Well, we --

COSTELLO: It is there and it is real.

MILLER: But what we've seen since the election is such a very measured and embracing tone from the President-elect, and I believe that's how he's going to lead. He has some very strong opinions. We know he's going to go in and repeal and replace Obamacare. We know he's going to secure the border. We know he's going to reform our tax code, so we can actually get out there and create jobs. But --

COSTELLO: But I think people want to know will he ban Muslims from coming into the country? Will he really deport 2 or 3 million people who are living in this country? Those are the things they want to know, too.

MILLER: But also what they know is that he's going to approach all of his policy proposals with a very humane and embracing approach. There are some things folks might disagree on. So as we talked about repealing and replacing Obamacare, not everybody is going to agree with that. What we're going to do is make sure that we take care of people, so we can actually bring health care costs down and make sure folks aren't getting kicked off their health insurance. They can actually see their doctor.

But all these approaches that he's taking, it's very much in mind of here is where the sentiment of where the people are, and finally, we're going to have a government that's responsive to what the people want.

COSTELLO: Final question for you, are you up for a Cabinet position?

MILLER: Definitely --

COSTELLO: Maybe press secretary?

MILLER: I'll serve in whatever capacity the President-elect would like me to, and in any way that --

COSTELLO: Have you been fighting for a position?

MILLER: No, whatever I can do to help out. And I'm just honored to be a part of the transition team right now.

COSTELLO: Is there one position that you'd love to have?

MILLER: Whatever he'd like me to do, I appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Jason Miller, thanks so much for stopping by.

MILLER: Thanks.

COSTELLO: I know you must be exhausted and excited at the same time. Thank you so much.

MILLER: Very excited. Thank you.

COSTELLO: All right. So joining me now, Lynn Sweet, who is the Washington bureau chief of "The Chicago Sun-Times," and David Swerdlick, assistant editor for "The Washington Post." Actually, why don't we take a break and come back with this after this? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:18:02] COSTELLO: All right. We just finished talking with Jason Miller. He is a top Trump aide. This morning he's actually the communications director for the Trump transition team and he denied there was any turmoil within the transition team so let's talk about that now with Lynn Sweet. She's the Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun-Times," and David Swerdlick is the assistant editor for the "Washington Post."

Welcome to both of you. So there are all these reports that the Trump transition team is in turmoil. There's a blood bath going on. You heard Jason Miller last block saying there is no turmoil, everything's proceeding smoothly. Your thoughts? Lynn.

SWEET: Well, Carol, you had Mike Rogers on the record saying that wasn't the case. So this isn't a situation where you have people without attribution. And, you know, Jason Miller talked about how they're not going to be confined by media norms, and OK, but then the story is, what you're not doing, if you don't know what they are doing, that's I think one of the situations.

The point of the Obama campaign back in '07 and '08 and as he started his administration wasn't so much that he took time as Trump is doing to put his administration in place. It's that there was no drama surrounding it. And that's what seems to be getting the Trump administration off on a little bit of a -- of an interesting footing. It's not a matter of norms. It's a matter of, do you see progress in putting together an administration. And that's all people want to see. And when you get stories that, you know, Chris Christie is out, Mike Rogers is out, of course you're going to report on that.

COSTELLO: So -- but the tweeting this morning, David, because that's really how Trump --

SWEET: Oh, boy.

COSTELLO: -- got the word out about it and you heard Jason Miller say that this -- it appears this will be normal procedure for Mr. Trump responding to the media, and he'll do it through tweets.

SWERDLICK: Yes, so, Carol, I mean, I think we're in this testing out period where President-elect Trump is trying to see if what he did during the campaign is going to be effective for him in the transition.

[09:20:07] And then I'm speculating, but possibly in the early stages of his administration. Can he go over the heads of the mainstream press and get his message out to his millions of social media followers? Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't. Maybe people will tire of it. But we're a week into the transition and clearly he's not ready to give up social media yet.

The thing that jumped out at me, Carol, from that one tweet that you mentioned in the previous segment about saying only he knew the finalists for his key appointments struck me as another instance where Trump likes the big reveal. But l think President-elect Trump and then future President Donald Trump will realize that governing is not all about the big reveal, it's not about saying come down to my Trump Hotel, and let me tell you what I think about the birther controversy.

He will, in a very short order, be expected to produce results not just headlines. And that's I think the difference. That he's getting to -- getting comfortable with right now.

SWEET: It's -- the problem with what David said, Carol, one other quick point. This isn't Miss Universe where you can just pick who you want to win.

SWERDLICK: Right.

SWEET: One senator can hold up an appointment. So these are people who he selects for Cabinet positions have to be Senate confirmable. We know that Rand Paul already expressed a concern about a potential secretary of state pick. He's going to have voices within his own party in the Senate, as well as Democrats, who if he doesn't put people forth who are confirmable, then he can't get his administration started. So there's a few pieces here that will show running government is not like running your own family-held firm.

COSTELLO: Back to this -- this controversy surrounding Steve Bannon. You heard Jason Miller say Steve Bannon, he was actually for diversity within the transition team and talked about diversity all the time. He's -- he's a big proponent of Israel and -- what did you make of that, David?

SWERDLICK: So, look, I think we're still learning about Steve Bannon. You know, after I say this I expect maybe to hear from some people on Twitter, but look, I think more needs to be known about Steve Bannon. I think what is fair to say is that Breitbart, which he leads, has trafficked in some -- some stereotypes about Jewish Americans, about people of color. I think it's fair to say that Steve Bannon is a divisive figure.

But you know, are we at the point now where you can just lay a judgment out there and say that he's a card carrying white nationalist or card carrying anti-Semite? I don't think we know that yet. People inside the transition people are obviously saying no, look, this guy is for diversity. This guy wants to bring people together. He wants to have a positive transition, of course they're going to say that.

But because Donald Trump ran such an us-versus-them type of campaign I think the onus in some ways is on members of his team, including Bannon, to dispel people's worries about the idea that, you know, he seeks to divide people along these lines. We -- I think we're still finding out.

COSTELLO: So, Lynn, maybe Steve Bannon should come out and issue some sort of statement?

(CROSSTALK)

SWEET: Well, we're not going to --

COSTELLO: Opposed to him. So does he really have to?

SWEET: Well, again, as Miller said they don't feel compelled to do any media norm convention. So OK. That's their thing. But I do think there's -- let's not let what Breitbart the publication has been associated with and stories on their side. This isn't just about Bannon personally. It is about what he has -- you can't be blind to the type of statements, stories, whatever is associated with the -- the criticisms that we're talking about.

And when you talk about diversity, by the way, Carol and David, the first names we've seen surfacing from almost every Cabinet position is a white man.

SWERDLICK: That's right.

SWEET: There is some thought I suppose that it will be different when you see the whole thing. But that might be maybe sooner than later. Rather than later than sooner. So, yes, OK, if you want to give Steve Bannon the benefit of the doubt, do so but I don't think that means you erase where he's coming from and where the publication he led is coming from.

(CROSSTALK)

SWERDLICK: No, I think you're --

SWEET: Let's not contend -- yes, that that didn't happen.

COSTELLO: I got to leave it there --

SWERDLICK: No, I think, Lynn, you're -- sorry, Carol, because I think Lynn's right about that. Just as journalists I think we need to learn more.

COSTELLO: All right. Lynn Sweet, David Swerdlick, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a whole lot of firing but where is the hiring for key national security roles in Trump's Cabinet? Who is in the running and what's at stake? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:28:55] UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What are you expecting for today? What do you guys have planned? ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: Good day.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Good day? Are you guys planning on naming any more positions today?

TRUMP: Likely.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Likely. Anyone in particular? What are you going to be working on today, Eric?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You heard it. That was Eric Trump. He says an announcement about future Cabinet positions, well, it's likely to come at any time now. Maybe today. The Trump transition team is in a race against time to fill key positions in the administration just two months before Inauguration Day.

Keep in mind, U.S. troops are involved in active combat situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. There are still five people on Trump's short list, mostly current and former senators, for secretary of Defense, and even more under consideration for secretary of state. Among them Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and former Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson.

So let's talk about this. I'm joined by Jason Beardsley. He's a former master sergeant with Army Special Operations and CNN's military analyst and former military attache in Syria, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.

Welcome to both of you.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good morning.

Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thanks for being here. Jason, critics say it is imperative for Trump to put together a top notch experienced Defense team because this is what's happening this morning in Aleppo, Syria. A children's hospital was hit by bombs.