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FBI Raided Paul Manafort's Home; Interview with Evan McMullin; Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 09, 2017 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00] JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- special counsel investigation. So yes, in fact, we do know at this point that FBI agents raided Paul Manafort's home two weeks ago. Paul Manafort's spokesman confirming the fact that this raid has happened.

But again, Poppy, framing it in the light that Paul Manafort is willing and able and has been consistently cooperating with authorities. But unclear exactly why this raid had to happen if he, in fact, has been cooperating -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: OK. OK. Stay with us. We're going to break this down because as Jim Sciutto rightly points out just now on Twitter, in order for them to even have gotten the warrant for this raid, the FBI would have had to show probable cause that a crime was committed to even be able to carry this out.

Jessica Schneider, stay here. We'll have our legal experts with us as well.

Back with more of the breaking news after this.

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[10:35:13] HARLOW: We are following this breaking news just in on the Russia investigation. CNN is learning of a raid by the FBI at the home of Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. And "The Washington Post" has some additional reporting this morning. This took place in the early morning hours, late last month, about two weeks ago.

This is one day, as our Jessica Schneider reported, right after Manafort met with that staff for the Senate Intelligence Committee and apparently voluntarily produced some documents to them.

Let's go back to our CNN correspondent Jessica Schneider who is following this and also CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos joins us as well.

And, Danny, as we noted before the break, it is notable that you can't just execute a search. You need to get a search warrant. And in order to get a search warrant from a judge, you have to show probable cause that a crime was committed.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Exactly. It's constitutional law 101. It's in the Constitution. A warrant of search is presumptively invalid, unreasonable, a search like this requires a warrant. That means that the FBI had to go to a neutral detached magistrate, a judge, and describe with particularity what he wanted to search and what he might find there and connect them, create a nexus to a crime.

Now FBI agents are very, very good at describing these items and getting search warrants. But at their core, they have to convince a judge, ex parte, that means with no other side there, that there is probable cause more likely than not that a crime has been committed and that the things that will be found there will relate to that crime.

HARLOW: Jessica, it's notable that "the Washington Post" says that it was FBI agents working -- specifically working with of course the special counsel on the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller, that carried out -- that executed this raid and that they left with documents.

SCHNEIDER: Right. So, you know, it's important to note that there are several different investigations here operating on several different tracks. You have the congressional investigation, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House and Senate Intelligence Committee. But then of course you do have the special counsel's probe as well that's ongoing.

And, you know, of most focus or perhaps most focus at this point is the fact that just a few weeks ago it was disclosed that Paul Manafort did in fact meet with that Russian lawyer in that meeting that was initiated in part by Donald Trump Junior. So of course, that has become a focus. We know that Paul Manafort did take some handwritten notes. I believe that they've been handed over to at least the congressional committees.

So again there's a renewed focus on Paul Manafort, his role in that meeting and what else he may have known about that meeting or what he might be able to disclose about that meeting. And of course, also the timeline is interesting here.

This raid, according to the "Washington Post," happened on July 26th. This was right as those congressional probes and the hearings were ramping up. It was expected that Paul Manafort might be meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 26th. Of course we know that didn't happen. They decided not to issue a subpoena for Paul Manafort because he agreed to more fully cooperate with them.

HARLOW: Right.

SCHNEIDER: So, yes, Paul Manafort we know according to his spokesman has been cooperating with these congressional committees. But the question is, Special Counsel Mueller's probe, that is a completely different track. Perhaps different focuses. So they might not be getting exactly what they want and that's why this raid was necessary.

HARLOW: It's an important note. Look, I mean, you even had the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chuck Grassley, Jessica, you know, saying, we're going to compel him to testify in public, subpoena him if he does not cooperate more. And then of course they got some agreement and he came behind closed door and then this raid happens just 24 hours later.

Thank you, Jessica.

SCHNEIDER: Right.

HARLOW: Danny Cevallos, appreciate the legal expertise as always.

Ahead for us, the president's strong language against North Korea facing some backlash from some on both sides of the aisle.

But do comments like his help him win over his base even more?

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[10:43:19] HARLOW: A statement from President Trump this morning with familiar rhetoric. Quote, "My first order as president was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now more stronger and more powerful than before. Hopefully, we will never have to use this power, but there will never be a time that we are not the most powerful nation in the world."

Those stance echoes a lot of what we've heard from the president on the campaign trail. Someone who was on the campaign trail but not exactly beside the president is Evan McMullin, former CIA agent who ran of course against the president as an independent candidate in the 2016 election.

It's nice to have you here. And first order of business, your response to the rhetoric from the president on North Korea and then that tweet this morning?

EVAN MCMULLIN, LAUNCHED THIRD PARTY RUN AGAINST TRUMP IN 2016: Well., great to be with you. I support a tougher line with North Korea. I think we've been at this with the Kim regime over time, over a couple of decades. I think we've got to be very, very careful with the rhetoric here.

And the question I have is, how much did the Trump factor factor into the president's statement yesterday, into his statements today? And what I mean by that is this. Did the president consult with intelligence and other national security officials before crafting this statement? Was it part of a strategy? How much of it was related to his ego? The defense of his ego?

We know that he responded -- he gave this statement in response to a "Washington Post" article. It wasn't some new development that was breaking that day or the day before. It was a "Washington Post" article that he was responding to. Now that creates some concern.

HARLOW: Well, just to be fair -- hold on, Evan.

MCMULLIN: Yes.

HARLOW: Just to be fair, it's "Washington Post" reporting and CNN reporting that is about new -- at least new production, not necessarily new nuclear capability but the miniaturization of the warheads. So he was responding to an increased threat, no?

[10:45:11] MCMULLIN: Well, yes, but that's information that he already had, presumably. I mean, it's hard to imagine that he didn't already know that. He probably knew that for some time. The difference was that it was then reported by the "Post" and by CNN. So the question is, what then -- what triggered then his making those remarks? Was it --

HARLOW: You took to Twitter last night. And you said that you are hoping and praying for wisdom and restraint from our leaders. What are you -- I mean, what is that about? What are you worried might happen?

MCMULLIN: What I'm worried about is we get into a situation where the president's desire to defend his pride, his ego, his strength, the strength of our country gets in the way of prudent judgment and action on this issue. And what I'm talking about here is the possibility that yesterday he drew a red line. Now did he -- again did he draw that red line in consultation with experts? Did he have a strategy there? Or did he draw that line as a knee jerk reaction to information that he already knew but that was made public?

And so do we have now a red line that he is going to have to defend and perhaps is he going to be motivated to defend that again by ego?

And I'll just point to this, Poppy. In the conversations that were released, the transcripts of President Trump's conversations with Prime Minister Turnbull of Australia and President Nieto of Mexico, you see there a theme in which he is trying to defend his ego, trying to defend how he appears to the public. He doesn't want to appear weak. And this --

HARLOW: Just to be clear, Evan.

MCMULLIN: Yes.

HARLOW: I want to get you on something else as well. And we're running out of time.

MCMULLIN: Yes.

HARLOW: Presidents have drawn red lines and then not acted. Namely President Obama on Syria. So I hear your point. Let me also get you on this. There are a lot of rumors right now that you're going to run for Senate against seven-term sitting senator Orin Hatch. I know you keep saying no comment. So I'm not going to waster our viewers' time on that, asking you that again.

However, this is what I want to know. Your party -- I mean, the Republican Party as a hole, is there a fracturing of the party and what do you make of the "New York Times" reporting over the weekend that Vice President Pence and some other big named Republicans, staff and others are looking at potential shadow campaigns in 2020 against the sitting president?

MCMULLIN: All right. You said a lot there, Poppy. But I do want to say on red lines, yes, presidents have drawn red lines. It's important that when you draw a red line that you're prepared to back it up. I would argue that threats are best delivered in private, not publically. So they don't close off options on either side. In this case on our side or the North Korean side. These things are best done in private, these kinds of statements.

As far as running again, I do believe that I will pursue public office again at some point. I haven't made a decision about whether I will do that in the near term or not. That's an honest answer. I just haven't made a decision.

I do think that there are different ideas within the Republican Party about the direction it would take. I would point out that I'm a registered independent but one that hopes that the Republican Party will re-embrace our fundamental principles. What I'm talking about specifically is liberty and equality and accountable government and free enterprise.

I'm hoping that this is what the Republican Party is in the future. But it's got a lot of work. And for now, I'm a registered independent.

HARLOW: Yes or no, will there be a Republican primarying this president in 2020?

MCMULLIN: I believe there will be.

HARLOW: Evan, thank you very much. Evan McMullin, we appreciate it.

MCMULLIN: Thank you.

HARLOW: Two and a half months after his DUI arrest, Tiger Woods makes a new deal with the court. We're going to have that for you next.

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[10:53:23] HARLOW: It's one news that Tiger Woods had entered into a first time offenders program for his DUI arrest.

Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Poppy. Tiger's arraignment was scheduled at 8:30 Eastern this morning at the Palm Beach Garden's courthouse but Tiger was not in attendance. Mike Edmonton, a spokesperson for the 15th Judicial Circuit, confirmed that Tiger was entering the first-time offenders' program.

Now Tiger was arrested early May 29th by Jupiter Police on suspicion of driving under the influence according to court documents. Last month Tiger said he had completed an intensive treatment program.

Golf sport major, the PGA Championship, tees off tomorrow. This is going to be the eighth straight major that Tiger has missed. All right. What do you do when you are the premiere franchise in the

NFL these days? Apparently you buy your own Boeing 767. The New England Patriots, the first NFL team to buy their own plane. And they bought two of them. According to ESPN, the team retrofitted them all with first class seats, some of which recline completely.

Must be nice to travel as a Patriot. This plane can cost upwards of $200 million each.

We had a bunch of awesome catches in Major League Baseball last night. Check the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig against the Diamondbacks. He leaps at the wall robbing J.D. Martinez of the homerun. Nice catch there.

But not to be outdone, Reds' fielder Billy Hamilton against the Padres, he runs on the center field wall before making the basket catch. And then finally check out Adam Engle of the White Sox. He's going to rob Brian McCann of the Astros from this homerun. And this catch is great not only because he robbed the homerun, he also robs the fan in center field from catching a homerun. It's a great catch.

[10:55:07] Finally it was a tough night for Braves rookie shortstop Johan Camargo. Watch him, he's behind the pitcher right here. He is jogging on the field before the game starts. He reaches down to grab some dirt. And his knee locks up awkwardly. He ended up going down. Camargo had to be helped off the field. He suffered a bone bruise in his right knee. Expected to miss a couple weeks, Poppy.

You know, we've all heard those athletes suffering freak injuries. Unfortunately for Camargo it happened to him in front of thousands of fans right before the start of the Braves game last night.

HARLOW: We're thinking about him. And by the way, how could you do the Patriots plane story with John Berman not here?

SCHOLES: I want to do it again when he gets back.

HARLOW: He must be so happy.

Andy Scholes, thank you very much.

SCHOLES: All right.

HARLOW: The home of President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort raided by FBI agents the day after he met with Senate Intelligent Committee staff just about two weeks ago.

This just in. We're following the breaking news for more. Stay with us.

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