Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Report: Pence Says His Private Email Use No Comparison to Clinton; Trump Attends Orlando School Parent-Teacher Conference; Man Arrested in Threats Against Jewish Centers. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 03, 2017 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] ROBBY MOOK, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR HILLARY CLINTON: It absolutely was the same thing, but, Brianna, what is important here is not the comparison of the emails, they are going to do that to just try to confuse everybody. What's deeply distressing to me is in contrast to the fake controversy around Hillary Clinton's e-mails and I think Mike Pence's own behavior proved it was a fake controversy, they'll never investigate Mike Pence. What is a true controversy is that the Russian government hacked into the DNC stole information and strategically leaked it. Every day we're told about more and more meetings, we were told there were no meetings then Carter Page one of Trump's aides said he never met with the Russians now we find out he did. We have got to get to the bottom of this. We need and independent bipartisan commission. People need to testify under oath. Not lie the way our attorney general did to the Senate and make sure this never happens again.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Robbie, I hear what you're saying about when it comes to Russia contacts and there are a lot of valid questions, but don't you undercut Some of your argument when you talk about Hillary Clinton and e-mails

not being a true controversy -- it's not mutually exclusive to have been a true controversy and for Republicans making hay over it, it was very much a real issue and even she though it took her a long time admitted she shouldn't have done it. I don't know anyone that said yes, she should have done that and wouldn't it be if it were a fake controversy?

MOOK: And I'm not going to relitigate what Hillary said or whether it was right or wrong. All that got litigated on the campaign. What was proved today is that the Republican hysteria over it was manufactured. If the really care that much about private email accounts, they should be investigating Mike Pence, they should have repeated congressional investigations. They should be investigating the gentleman who was just confirmed to be director of the EPA who also was using private e- mail and wouldn't turn those e-mails over. But again, my point is we have a real national security issue.

KEILAR: But he wasn't a public servant while he was doing.

MOOK: Well, but --

KEILAR: And I think we are expecting to get his e-mails. I want to put that out there, there's a difference between a governor and being in the private sector. I want to get your sense on this because obviously, your campaign I don't want to -- not interaction but certainly had impact because of the FBI and how they handled their investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mail. Adam Schiff top house intel committee member is saying when it comes to this investigation and ties between Russia and the Trump administration that the FBI is not cooperating, not being forthcoming, how much of this is about maybe a little bit of sweet revenge when it comes to our former boss? How much of this is valid and how much is making hey about this because of politics?

MOOK: I don't think this is political. In fact, that's why it's so important that this matter be referred to an independent bipartisan commission, let's get the politicians out of this and let's just get the facts. We know the Russians hacked the DNC, we know they put out materials specifically with the intent of influencing the election, and we now this got an enormous amount of media coverage. It shouldn't happen again and the mistake I think some people are making is they are looking at this as a Democratic, Republican issue and it's not at all. That's why everybody needs to step up out of the partisan fray and get it out. When director Comey was so eager to release information during the campaign, actively told reporters not to talk about this issue during the campaign and Congressman Schiff says he believe it is FBI has been withholding information, I believe the director of the FBI should step away from the issue the way that the attorney general has. I don't see there's trust there of the director's motivation, he should get out of it and get it to an independent commission.

[15:35:00] KEILAR: That's special counsel. If I were to put Hillary Clinton in the shoes of Donald Trump, Robby, you have to admit she would never agree to an independent commission when there was special counsel for her husband bill Clinton she was opposed to it and in retrospect you can see why because it was supposed to look into white water and ended up leading to perjury about Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment. There's no way she would agree to independent counsel.

MOOK: I don't think Hillary Clinton is germane in this situation, Donald Trump is the President and the leadership in Congress is the leadership, and they have got to step up and recognize unless there's a structure independent above the partisan fray questions are going to remain, and the attorney general what was revealed and the fact that he committed perjury in front of the Senate panel on this exact issue, I just think has put way too much doubt in the air. Look, I think it would be great if it could be dealt with in a simpler way but the Republicans have refuse today investigate this and it's gotten so bad and so many people are entangled the only real option here is an independent commission.

KEILAR: There are certainly a lot of valid questions as you do say, Robby Mook, thank you for being with us and take time.

Police make an arrest of ongoing investigation of Jewish bomb threats across the country, but the motivation at least in this case may have been a bad breakup. Stay with us.

[15:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: We are getting new pictures of President Trump in Orlando stopping at a catholic school and took part in a parent/teacher conference vent. Of President Trump in Orlando stopping at a catholic school and took part in a parent/teacher conference event.

((BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm grateful to have everybody here today, I am also very pleased and where is Rick Scott? Right over here, Governor Scott. And Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary DeVos, approved a couple weeks ago, and

she's the one we all report to when it comes to education. And I know you're going to have a fantastic relationship with the secretary and is going to be a lot of good things for your school. St. Andrews Catholic School represents one of the many parochial schools dedicated the education of some of our nation's most disadvantaged, but they are becoming the opposite through education and with the help of school choice programs.

This month we commemorate the thousands of peaceful activists for justice who joined Martin Luther King on the march from Selma to Montgomery. On that Day Reverend King hoped that inferior education would become as he said quote a thing of the past, and we're going to work very much toward the future and what he predicted to be the future. As I have said in my address to Congress and just about any place else I can speak education is the civil rights issue of our time.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: This is a fourth-grade class.

TRUMP: What are you studying?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Today, we are learning about Florida.

TRUMP: Why are you learning about Florida?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Because today is Florida's birthday.

RICK SCOTT, GOVERNOR, FLORIDA: So, this the best fourth-grade class in the state?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Yes, it is.

SCOTT: And do you have the best teachers in the state?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Yes, we do.

SCOTT: And that's why the President wanted to come and see your class because he heard how smart each student here was.

UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: What are we all?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: We're scholars.

UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: And where are we going?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: The college I want to go to is Boston University.

TRUMP: That's a good school.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I want to go to Johns Hopkins.

TRUMP: That's good. Do you want to be a doctor? Is that why Johns Hopkins? That's good. What do you all want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be? Good. Well, that's exciting, right? You're all going to be very success. You're going to work very hard, because you have to work very hard and you're going to be very, very success. OK. Good luck everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: Thank you so much.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: From Orlando, the President goes to the winter white house, his Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach resort for the fourth weekend since taking office. But as President Trump spends his weekends in Florida it's still costing millions to maintain the Presidential get the away at Camp David. CNN investigates that ahead.

[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A former reporter accused of threatening some Jewish community centers has been arrested. Juan Thompson is charged with one count of cyber stalking. Investigators said he made at least eight threats against Jewish community centers all because he was reeling from the end of a romantic relationship. This is part of disturbing trend of anti-Semitism in cities like New York and Philadelphia where this week vandals toppled dozens of headstones at Jewish cemeteries. CNN's Brynn Gingras has more. Tell us about the suspect and the targeting and this weird reason behind it.

[15:50:00] BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's definitely weird. Juan Thompson is believed to be behind eight, remember just eight bomb threats against Jewish institutions, of reports of 100, he did it allegedly to harass a woman he had a relationship with. And he e-mailed the anti-defamation headquarters in New York and said he was behind it and was making more bomb threats tomorrow. The FBI says Thompson continued with similar pattern of trying to frame his ex by making threats to JCC centers and schools in four states and in some cases, he even tried to make it seem like his ex-was framing him. The threats that he made against Jewish centers was really a culmination of all that, he's expected to be charged with cyber stalking, a former journalist, fired from an online news site Intercept last year for fabricating quotes and sources according to their managing editor and he has previously denied that reason for firing to CNN.

KEILAR: So, moments ago, the Anti-Defamation League held a news conference addressing this. Here is what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OREN SEGAL, ADL CENTER ON EXTREMISM DIRECTOR: We've never seen ever the volume of bomb threats that we've seen. When you add the anti- Semitic vandalism Evan described at cemeteries and synagogues, the public arena around the country, when you multiply that by the anti- Semitism that we're seeing online where more people are likely to engage and see anti-Semitism on their phone than they are in their neighborhood, and when white supremacists in this country feel more emboldened than they ever have before because of the public discussion and the divisive rhetoric that includes within the Presidential campaign, I would say you can't separate an incident like this from the broader context.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And we know that the JCC Association of North America met with FBI director James Comey. What came of that?

GINGRAS: Brianna, they wanted to say we have your back. But remember law enforcement says there is possibly a person or a group of people possibly from overseas that are behind these bomb threats specifically. So, they also sort of reassured members of the Jewish religious community that, you know, what we're going to continue this investigation and we're going to hopefully make more arrests in the future. Brianna?

KEILAR: Thank you so much for that. Two New Orleans police officers who happened to be brothers are using their love of music to help young people in their community. Officer James Caire and sergeant Gregory Johnson are going beyond the call of duty by enforcing the law by day and volunteering at night as marching band instructors. CNN's Nick Valencia has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The beginning of the day usually starts the same way. Both say being police officers in New Orleans has been a lifelong passion. But over the last few years, it's something else that's really brought them closer together. When they're not on the job, both volunteer teaching band students in New Orleans. Officer Kerr leads the percussionists. While detective Johnson is over the color guards.

We know what the kids get out of it, incredible mentors. What do you get out of it?

OFFICER JAMES CAIRE, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: My joy is to see a kid go to college on a scholarship, partial scholarship, anything that will help him or her and their family.

DETECTIVE GREGORY JOHNSON, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: Just seeing them here and not in the street and not having to deal with them on the other side of the law, that's, you know, what I get out of it.

CAIRE: Always a plus.

VALENICA: Officer Caire says his life has become intertwined with the lives of the students he mentors. Two years ago, he recruited his brother to come along for the ride. Everyone seems to have benefited.

JOSEPH THEOURE, MCDONOUGH 35 HIGH SCHOOL COLOR GUARD: Come do this after school, put in work with this, stay out of trouble, off the streets with everything going on in New Orleans.

CYDNEY NEAL, MCDONOUGH 35 HIGH SCHOOL COLOR GUARD: It's just like meaningful because he's just like nice and treats you with so much respect. And the fact that people are saying things about police, it's not true.

VALENCIA: It makes you think differently about cops?

NEAL: Yes.

JOHNSON: I can remember plenty of days I was beat on the porch right here in this same spot.

VALENCIA: Ever since they were little kids, the two brothers have loved music. Standing outside of the inner city New Orleans home where they grew up, officer Caire says it's right here where it all started.

CAIRE: The local high school is right around the corner. Some days they'd be out practicing trying to play what they were playing.

VALENCIA: It's the discipline music taught him he now tries to impart on his students.

[15:55:00] CAIRE: A lot of times they say I want to be great. You have to put the work in.

JOHNSON: They're saying it's beyond the call, but it's just something natural.

VALENICA: Nick Valencia, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Nice to see a story of them giving back to the community. Fantastic. I do want to let you know that just now, Donald Trump, President Trump heading to Palm Beach, arriving there for his weekend trip at the winter white house Mar-a-Lago, his resort there. This is the fourth time that he has come to Florida for a weekend since he became President. You just saw Senator Marco Rubio there as well, as he just left air force one, and here we have coming down, we have Jared Kushner, his wife is Ivanka Trump, the son and law and top advisor to President Trump. And Ivanka Trump herself carrying little baby Theodore there as they are getting into the limousine. One of the limousines there in palm beach at the palm beach airport. And we are awaiting President Trump. I guess President Trump has already -- has he already departed -- de planed? He has already de-planed and they are on their way. Theodore needs a seat belt, I think. They're heading there to ma Mar-a-Lago for the weekend which is going to be a working weekend, of course, we'll have more after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: In just two weeks we are going to introduce the first CNN hero of 2017, and here's how to nominate someone. Every year CNN heroes honor people doing extraordinary work to change lives. We've crossed the globe to tell the stories of these amazing heroes. But we can't do it without you. We need you to tell us who you think should be a CNN hero. Look how far we've come. Fantastic.

You can nominate someone in just a few simple steps. Go to cnnheroes.com, fill in the forms and tell us about your hero. It's that easy. You could help make your hero a CNN hero. Shine some light on their amazing work.