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Trump Feuds with Civil Rights Icon John Lewis; Backlash with Attack on Civil Rights Icon; Pulse Nightclub Shooter's Wife Arrested. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 16, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington. Wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Right now, we're keeping our eyes on one -- two event that are happening here in Washington D.C. We're watching the White House where President Obama will welcome the world champion, Chicago Cubs. The team moved up by their planned visit so they could be there before the president leaves office later this week.

We're also watching the lobby over at Trump Tower where the president- elect is expected to meet at this hour with Martin Luther King III. We could hear -- we could hear from both the president-elect and the seven right -- civil rights leader's son after their meeting.

President-elect Trump was originally expected to be in Washington today, but instead he's staying in New York City.

And just four days in -- in just four days in Washington, we will see Donald Trump taking the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States. But there will be a bit of a void in the inauguration. A void of congressional Democrats.

More than two dozen now say they'll skip the inaugural, and it would be no surprise to see that number grow before Friday. Donald Trump, meanwhile, tweeted this. For many years, our country has been divided, angry, and untrusting. Many say it will never change. The hatred is too deep. It will change.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, laid flowers at Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's memorial here in Washington. Earlier this morning, he was there with his wife and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

On this Martin Luther King Day here in the United States, Georgia Congressman John Lewis called on Americans to stand up and speak up against injustice. Lewis wrapped up a speech just can a little while ago. He didn't directly mention his feud with President-elect Trump, but he told the audience they have a moral obligation to keep up the fight for equal rights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: And I said to you, as young men, the future leaders of this state, the future leader of this nation, the future leader of the world, you must never ever hate. The way of love is a better way. The way of peace is a better way.

So, I say to you as role models, never give up, never give in, stand up, speak up. When you see something that is not right and not fair and not just, you have a moral obligation to do something, to say something, and not be quiet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's bring in our panel. We have David Catanese, Senior Political Writer for "US News and World Report," CNN Political Analyst, "Washington Post" reporter, Abby Phillip. Our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and our Political Director David Chalian.

David, what's at stake for the president-elect in his meeting that's happening right now at Trump Tower in New York City with Martin Luther King III?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Wolf, it is clear that Donald Trump feels that he has to repair a breach with African-Americans through the course of the campaign. Not getting the level of support he predicted he would get.

And I think that he -- I don't think it escapes him that there is work to be done there for him. Obviously, he's never going to have the kind of level of support that Barack Obama has from the African- American community and (INAUDIBLE.)

The stakes are high, in the sense that if he doesn't begin that work soon, it could be crippling to him to sort of get out of the gate clear of distraction and move forward with his agenda.

And so, I do think that the stakes are high for that reason. That he needs to -- he needs to move beyond what is a really distracting controversy for him if he's going to have a clear path to getting a smooth start to the first 100 days' agenda.

BLITZER: Dana, how unusual is it for so many of these Democratic lawmakers to boycott the inauguration behind us on Friday?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This kind of organized boycott is unusual. For members of Congress, of both parties, depending on who is being inaugurated, to not attend the inauguration is not unusual.

But this is not just not attending. This is a protest. This is a silent protest. You know, a protest in absentia. And that clearly is, whether he intended it or not, I'm fascinated to try to get to the answer to that question. But that has ended up to be John Lewis's -- what John Lewis said the impact of it to be a civil rights leader for this moment. And, I don't know, maybe it was, you know, semi-intentional, given the fact that we heard what we heard from him today, talking about the fact that you need to rise up. He knows his power. He knows he is an iconic person.

And that when he makes his statement as clearly as he did, our friend Chuck Todd at NBC asked him over and over again, are you sure you understand what you are doing? Yes, I'm sure.

[13:05:02] He wanted people to -- he wanted to get people together and protest and motivate people in a way that, perhaps, the African- American community hasn't been able to do thus far.

BLITZER: And, Abby, it's -- you know, the timing of all of this happening, in effect, right now, today, on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, on this national day here in the United States. That this feud between Donald Trump and Congressman Lewis is taking place. It's extremely, extremely awkward, only a few days before the inauguration but also on this special day.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, there's the feeling of disappointment, I think, on both sides of the aisle that everyone is coming into this weekend that's normally about service, that's normally about reflection, about sacrifice. That everybody is coming into this in the middle of what has become this moral battle between Donald Trump and John Lewis.

And I will say that Trump had an opportunity here. It's Martin Luther King Day. There were reports he was planning on coming to Washington.

He had an opportunity to step out and say, you know what? I'm going to go to the MLK memorial like Mike Pence did today. I'm going to the African-American history museum today. I'm going to step out and I'm going to do something that is outside of this political conflict. I recognize the history of this day.

He didn't do that and I think that that tells you a lot about where he is right now. He does not feel like he needs to make those kinds of gestures.

BASH: But the fact that he's going to be with MLK III is -- I mean, I guess we'll see what he says.

PHILLIP: I -- we'll see what -- we'll see what he says. But there was an invitation by MLK III to have Trump come to Washington to go to the MLK memorial. And he -- they chose to go a different path.

So, I think their approach to this is, you come to me. I'm not coming to you. And that's how -- that's how Trump has approached this entire --

BLITZER: We'll see if the president-elect emerges in the lobby with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's son, Martin Luther King III. There's some video that we just saw moments ago. He's there now at Trump Tower. We'll see if they both make a statement to the news media following their meeting. I assume they will but let's wait and see. David, he's not -- Congressman John Lewis isn't the only person that Donald Trump is having a feud with right now. John Brennan, the outgoing CIA director, was on Fox News yesterday. I want -- I want you to listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, CIA: What I think Mr. Trump has to understand is that this is more than being about him. And it's about the United States and the national security.

And he has to make sure that now that he's going to have the opportunity to do something for national security as opposed to talking and tweeting. He is going to have tremendous responsibility to make sure that U.S. national security interests are protected and are advanced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And he suggested he's not sure that the president-elect fully appreciates, understands the threat, for example, from Russia.

DAVID CATANESE, SENIOR POLITICS WRITER, "US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": Right. And this is another -- this is probably a bigger problem that he has going in for -- when you're at war with intelligence agencies, that is -- can be very, very scary, just based on national security threats.

Look, Donald Trump said, all during the campaign, he was asked over and over, when he would, sort of, participate in his more unorthodoxed antics, can you be presidential? He said, of course I can be presidential. But this is the campaign. Once I take office, I will be presidential.

Well, one characteristic of most presidents is restraint. And that is something we have not seen, anything, about Donald Trump that he is -- he is able to restrain himself.

Every day, it's morning tweets going at -- whether it be John Brennan, John Lewis, Meryl Streep or Arnold Schwarzenegger. And that is going to, sort of, change the way, I think, he is covered. The way he can, sort of, rattle the news every day.

On the national security question, though, the question I have is, he doesn't trust the intelligence reports that are coming out, based around the election. Is he going to entrust the intelligence that he is getting every day, based on North Korea, based on Iran? That is, I think, a bigger question, going forward, that he is going to have to address.

BLITZER: David, and he tweeted this, Donald Trump, reacting to John Brennan of the CIA, outgoing CIA chief John Brennan blasts President- elect Trump on Russia threat. Does not fully understand. Oh really? Couldn't do much worse. Just look at Syria, red line, Crimea, Ukraine, the buildup of Russian nukes. Not good. Was this the leaker of fake news? Basically, suggesting Brennan may have been responsible for leaking

that unsubstantiated dossier.

CHALIAN: I mean, that's classic Trump right there, suggesting that, without a shred of evidence or any information whatsoever, that --

BASH: People are saying.

CHALIAN: -- people are saying. I mean, it's just like he just throws it out there for us to chew over then and focus on something other than he want -- to make sure that the focus is elsewhere than where it should be, perhaps, where he would not like it to be.

But to just throw out that that John Brennan, the head of the CIA, is a leaker, without any evidence whatsoever, to me, gets to the very heart of what David was just saying. I would not define that as presidential behavior.

[13:10:06] PHILLIP: For Mike Pompeo coming into that job, this must be a real, sort of, like, take a -- take stock moment. There will be leaks that happen. This is Washington. Leaks are a part of life here.

Trump has demonstrated that he's willing to blame the CIA director directly for anything that happens underneath him. That level of distrust is --

BLITZER: All right.

BASH: And the key question is when he has his people in there, if he's going to do this, if that happens, it's a totally different game.

BLITZER: All right. Everybody stand by. There's a lot more going on. We're waiting and we're watching. Take a look at this. Some live pictures from President Obama. He's getting ready to welcome the White House -- to the White House, the world champion, the Chicago Cubs. We're going to bring that to you live as soon as it happens. They're getting ready for that. Much more going on. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: President-elect Trump meets this hour. He's meeting right now, in fact, in New York City with the son of the civil rights' leader, Martin Luther King Junior. At the same time, the president- elect is feuding with another hero of the civil rights' movement, Congressman John Lewis.

Let's discuss that and more with our CNN Political Commentators Van Jones and Paris Dennard. Paris is a member of the president- elect's national diversity coalition.

[13:15:04] Van, this all started with Congressman Lewis saying he doesn't consider Donald Trump to be a, quote, "legitimate president." Did that remark go too far? VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, people love

Donald Trump because he speaks his mind. He's authentic. He says what he's feeling. He's also speaking for millions of people when he talks. And people - his supporters say, listen, you may not like what he said, but he's telling you what he thinks.

Well, I think his supporters need to give John Lewis that same space. Here you have another national icon, a major name in the American life, he's speaking for millions of people who are still not digested yet this election and are still trying to come to terms with some of these disturbing revelations about the Russian's engagement. Listen, is this how you want to spend MLK day talking about this type of stuff? I think probably not. But I think if you're going to give Donald Trump a pass for saying what's on his mind, you've got to do the same thing for John Lewis, who's, frankly, done a lot more for the United States than Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Do you believe, Van, that Donald Trump is going to be the legitimate president?

JONES: Well, listen, I believe that Donald Trump has been certified by the electors. He is the president of the United States, or he will be in a few days. And at the same time, I think you don't respect the office holder, you don't respect the office, you respect the Constitution. And the Constitution is what should be bringing us all together.

I think that the challenge that we have right now is, we don't have a way, and I'm interested in hearing how Paris - and he may be smarter than me on this - we don't have a way to reassure Americans who are concerned that a foreign power has come in and disrupted our election. And I don't know how we get to reassurance when Donald Trump's attitude seems to be fairly cavalier. Other people seem to be very alarmist. I don't know how we get to a place where we feel that the Constitution is being respected.

BLITZER: Paris, as you know, Congressman Lewis said he doesn't think Donald Trump is the legitimate president because of Russian interference in the election. Go ahead and react to all of that.

PARIS DENNARD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's - first of all, thank you, Wolf, for having me on the program today on Martin Luther King Day. I think it's important for us to remember that Congressman John Lewis is a respected leader in the civil rights movement, and as a respected person for our country, we should all stop and give him the credit that he deserves for what he has done to give myself, to give me this platform, to give Van this platform today, but that does not excuse the fact that he, as Senator Manchin said, who's a Democrat, his comments about Donald Trump, the president-elect, being uncalled for when he said he was illegitimate.

The - the supreme - it's not about the - the spirit of the law. It's not about how Russia may or may not or, in fact, did play a role in interfering. What it's about is the American people came together and voted. Their votes matter. They voted. The Electoral College has been sealed, signed, and delivered. Donald J. Trump will be the president, fact, period, end of story. So all of this conversation about him being illegitimate is not even worth talking about.

What I would hope is that Congressman Lewis would use his platform and to be a beacon of light for, not only President-elect Donald Trump, but for all Americans, to say, you know what, I may not like some of the things that I think you stand for, but I respect the office, I respect the voice of the American people, and the voice of the people in my state who voted for him, and I want to work together with him.

JONES: Hey, Paris - Paris, can I have a question - I have a question. I just lost audio. I don't know if you can hear me or not. I think I may have lost -

DENNARD: I can hear you.

JONES: OK. Good. So my only question is, it seems to me that there's an irony here that others have mentioned, which is that Donald Trump seemed to have opened the door for this kind of disrespect for the president. In other words, he seems to be - Donald Trump seems to be asking for a respect of the office and a respect of the office holder, that he did not himself grant to President Obama. I think it's hard sometimes for people who are liberals, who are Democrats, to hear Trump supporters saying that we should now govern ourselves in a way that Donald Trump did not. How does that land when you guys hear that?

DENNARD: At the end of the day, President-elect Donald Trump said that he is moving forward and believes that President Obama was, if you're talking about the birther issue, he believes that he was born at -

JONES: Yes, I am.

DENNARD: He believes he was born in the country. He believes he is the legitimate president. And he's moved on. President Obama said he's going to work with President Trump to make everything a smooth transition and make sure that he's successful.

I would hope that Democrats, liberals would take the same tone that the president - our current president has taken on this issue. When John Lewis, the congressman, said that he would never invite President-elect Trump to Selma, I think that's a missed opportunity. I'm glad Martin Luther King III did not take the same attitude and say, you know what, I don't want to go and meet with Jimmy Kemp or the James Kemp Foundation and do that. I don't want to go to Trump Tower and meet with the next president of the United States. I think this is an important moment for us.

[13:20:10] JONES: I hear you. I agree with you. I just - this is what I think. I think that you have some missed opportunities on the Trump side as well. When there's no real acknowledgment - listen, it's not like, you know, a few days after the election, Donald Trump came to Jesus. It took him almost eight years. And then I think when the Trump people then tell the Democrats, you don't get eight weeks to digest this, you don't get eight months, when our guy took almost eight years to finally admit that President Obama was born here and to stand by that statement. I just think it just seems like hypocrisy on all sides. And I think that's why most people are getting very frustrated with the situation. BLITZER: All right.

DENNARD: You don't have to agree -

BLITZER: Van, we've got to leave it there. Paris, very quickly, give me your final thought, Paris, I've got to go.

DENNARD: Final thought is, you may not like Donald Trump as a person, but you have got to respect the office, and that's all I hope that people will do, especially today.

JONES: I wish he had done that.

BLITZER: Paris and Van, guys, thanks very, very much.

DENNARD: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Up next, breaking news in the case of the Pulse Orlando nightclub shooter. We've just learned, the wife of the attacker, Omar Mateen, has been arrested. You're going to find out why right after a quick break. Stand by.

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[13:25:44] BLITZER: You're looking at live picture coming in from Trump Tower in New York City. The president-elect, Donald Trump, is meeting with the son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. right now over at Trump Tower. After these meetings in New York, the president-elect tends to come down to the lobby to speak briefly with the press. Let's see if he comes down with Martin Luther King III. Of course, if it he does, we'll have live coverage of that.

Right now, though, I want to get to some breaking news.

The wife of the man who carried out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history has been taken into federal custody. She was married to Omar Mateen who killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, last year.

Let's go to our justice correspondent Pamela Brown.

Pamela, do we know why Mateen's wife has now been arrested by the FBI.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know, Wolf, that the FBI believes that she was complicity in her husband's actions at Pulse Nightclub, launching the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. And she has now been officially charged by the Department of Justice with aiding and abetting Mateen's attentive (ph) provision and provision of material support to ISIS, as well as obstruction of justice. She will have her first court appearance in Oakland, California, tomorrow morning. But the charges are coming out of Florida.

And authorities that we've spoken with say that the evidence is clear through the course of this seven-month investigation that she knowingly did something to obstruct the investigation and she acted of her own free will. She had been telling authorities in the interview that her husband was abusive to her. That she felt threatened. That she was coerced into certain behaviors. But authorities believe that through the course of this investigation that she acted on her own free will.

And just to reminder our viewers about what we have already reported, we know she told authorities that Mateen - Omar Mateen had spent thousands of dollars in the weeks leading up to the shooting. He bought her a very expensive piece of jewelry. We know that they went to several targets together. At that point it was unclear if she - how much she knew about her husband's intentions. But it's believed now by the FBI, by the Department of Justice, Wolf, that she knew her husband was going to do something bad.

In fact, we had previously reported that she told investigators that her husband made it clear he wanted to commit an act of jihad. She claimed all along, though, she didn't know about his specific plans. But she said on the day of the shooting, that night, that he left the house with a gun if his bag and that she feared that something bad was going to happen. In fact, during the shooting, there were calls exchanged. They had text messaged each other. But, again, she claimed that she didn't know about his specific plans. And we will learn more tomorrow about the evidence supporting these charges, Wolf, when that is revealed by the Florida authorities.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela Brown with the latest on that. Thanks, Pamela, very much.

Coming up, in four days, Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States. Today he's getting some harsh criticism from officials in Russia, China, and Germany. China says he's an amateur. Russia says some of his statements aren't based in reality. Germany insists European allies are astonished and agitated. Trump versus some of these world leaders, that's next.

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