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Lawmakers Divided on Trump Threat to North Korea; FBI Raid on Manafort Home; Trump Meets with National Security Team over North Korea Approach; Mystery Symptoms Strike U.S. Embassy Personnel in Cuba. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 10, 2017 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:37] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Many lawmakers here in the United States are deeply divided over President Trump's "fire and fury" threat against North Korea. Case in point, just this morning, Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted this, " Attacks on POTUS for statement on North Korean nukes are ridiculous. They act as if North Korea would act different if he used nicer words."

But Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro, of Texas, has a very different view, that "President Trump needs to stop acting like he's in a playground fight." He writes, "Start behaving like the president of the United States."

Joining us now, Congressman Joaquin Castro, a member of both the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

JOAQUIN CASTRO, (D), TEXAS: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: What's the bottom line? You think the president's posture and public statements so far as North Korea is concerned could be dangerous?

CASTRO: They could be. And most of all are not helpful. We want to solve a situation and a crisis with North Korea and try to denuclearize them by getting into either a shouting match with them, by mouthing off to them, or by getting into a Twitter war with Kim Jong-Un. So the president I think needs to approach this in a more responsible, less inflammatory way. It doesn't mean you can't be strong behind the scenes but I don't think the inflammatory comments about fury and so forth are helpful in this situation.

BLITZER: How do you think the U.S. should counter the threats to the U.S., particularly the U.S. territory of Guam?

CASTRO: First, the administration can be very proud that they helped usher through the U.N. the strongest sanctions on North Korea ever. Not just by the U.S., but by the world. The administration should be proud of it and also should build upon that and use it as leverage to bring North Korea to the table to talk about denuclearization. Instead of taking time to do that, the president, it looks like without consulting his generals, military, certainly Congress and allies in the region, instead, has taken upon himself to make inflammatory remarks. He needs to settle down, consult with those groups, with our allies, and take advantage of the sanctions just passed.

BLITZER: What happens if the North Koreans do as they are threating to do, launch these four intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan, towards Guam and actually land, as they say they can achieve 20 or 25 miles off the coast of Guam, what does the U.S. do then?

CASTRO: The first thing is I think some of these threats have been made because the president also made his own threats. That's why I'm saying we need to allow diplomacy a chance to work instead of going tit for tat with a 32-year-old dictator in North Korea.

BLITZER: The point about diplomacy, I keep hearing that, Congressman, and the critics argue this, diplomacy was tried for eight years of the Bill Clinton administration. Diplomacy was tried for the eight years of the H.W. Bush administration. It was tried for eight years of the Obama administration. Now by the U.S. intelligence estimate, North Korea not only has intercontinental ballistic missiles but are capable of miniaturizing nuclear warheads and put those warheads on those missiles. Diplomacy over all of these years clearly has failed.

CASTRO: Well, you're right, Wolf. If the reports are true, then you're dealing with a nuclear state. And the only question is, when they press that button, how far can those missiles go and will they hit their targets? Because of that, we have to approach this in a sane and sober way. And remember, Kim Jong-Un and North Korea have never existed under the kinds of sanctions and the kinds of society that they will have because of those sanctions that were passed by the United Nations. So we have to allow ourselves a chance to leverage those sanctions, to bring them to the table. I understand that diplomacy has failed before. I understand that the six-party talks, for example, didn't work. But they're also facing something they've never faced before in those sanctions.

[13:35:44] BLITZER: Let me get you -- while I have you, Congressman, you're on the Intelligence Committee, investigating Russia's meddling in of Russia in the 2016 election. We learned yesterday FBI agents raided former Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort's home in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of washington, D.C., did it last month. The FBI agents went in with a search warrant. Do you think that he actually committed a crime? Because in order to get a federal judge to give that search warrant, there has to be probable cause that a crime may have been committed.

CASTRO: Well, ultimately, that determination will be left up to a grand jury to bring charges, and then, ultimately, to a judge or jury. But it certainly is remarkable that the special counsel was able to obtain a warrant, especially at that time of day, to go collect the information, whatever information they did. And so it shows you that this investigation has gotten very close to President Trump. Remember, this was his campaign manager for a time. And also that the special counsel is not pulling any punches. He's not playing favorites or backing off any particular person. And it's good to see he's running a thorough and fair investigation.

BLITZER: Joaquin Castro, of Texas. Thanks so much for joining us, Congressman.

CASTRO: Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, we'll get a different perspective. Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, of Wisconsin -- you see him live -- standing by to joins us. Lots to discuss with him.

We'll be right back.

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[13:41:35] BLITZER: In roughly 20 minutes, President Trump will receive a high-level briefing from members of his national security team. Among those meeting with the president, Vice President Mike Pence, the security adviser, General H.R. McMaster, and the new White House chief of staff, retired Marine Corps General John Kelly. They will all participating in this briefing. We're also told the president and the vice president, they may speak afterwards. There will be cameras there. We'll have live coverage of that.

The briefing comes as tensions between the United States and North Korea near an all-time high and as leaders around the world look for any sign as to what the president, President Trump, might do next.

Joining us now to discuss the president's approach, Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, of Wisconsin.

Congressman, thank so much for joining us.

REP. SEAN DUFFY, (R), WISCONSIN: It's good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: So Republican Congress -- Republican Senator lindsey Graham says he has spoken at length about North Korea with President Trump. He says the president is willing to abandon strategic patience and launch a preemptive strike against North Korea if necessary. Is that something you think would be a good idea?

DUFFY: Well, listen, I think that comes with a lot of risk, as you reported. What happens to Seoul, South Korea, if North Korea then responds. What I think is refreshing is we have some of the brightest military strategists in the world that work for the U.S. military and advise the U.S. president. I think the president now is going through every different situation to make sure we can stand down this North Korea threat. And one of them is a preemptive strike. We have to look at facts on the ground and advice from our military leaders.

BLITZER: Did President Trump draw a red line with North Korea when he stated earlier in the week that if North Korea made anymore, quote, "threats," they will be met with fire and fury, his words, like the world has never seen. North Korea, you know, responded last night with a threat of its own saying they will launch four intermediate- range ballistic missiles over Japan aimed towards the U.S. territory of Guam by mid-August. That would be next week. Unless they see some toning down of the U.S. threats.

DUFFY: It's interesting that North Korea wants us to tone down our rhetoric, who has for years made threats against the United States and our allies around the world. If you look at bullies on a playground, or in North Korea, they understand tough talk. They understand strength. That's what Donald Trump is projecting right now. I think it's important that, not just North Korea, but the rest of the world understand that Donald Trump is being crystal clear that he will protect Guam and American interests. And they will be met with fire and fury should they continue with their armaments, with their nuclear tests and their long-range missile tests, which can bring a payload to our shores. That clarity is refreshing.

You know this. It's been three presidents who have tried the passive approach that hasn't done anything to step back the aggression of North Korea. It's failed in Cuba. It failed in Iran. This passivity. In Iran, we gave them billions of dollars of unmarked cash in gold and that hasn't gotten that regime to come back into the global fold. They're emboldened by weakness. Strength is what gets them to stand back.

[13:45:04] BLITZER: As you know, the president by -- his advisors suggested he ad-libbed that threat of "fire and fury" the other day, not necessarily coordinating it. It wasn't scripted. He just spoke out about it. Does that concern you at all, Congressman?

DUFFY: Well, I know the words were unscripted but the tone and the strength of the message I know had been discussed. That's what the White House has put out.

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BLITZER: So what -- let me interrupt for a second. So if the North Koreans go ahead and launch these four intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards Guam and there's 160,000-plus U.S. citizens, people of Guam are U.S. citizens, who live there, even if it lands in the waters 20 miles, say, from the coast as they project they can do, what would you want the U.S. to do in response to that?

DUFFY: Listen, I don't want to put what my ideas are on your show. This is important for the president to continue to consult with his military advisors. But there might be swift and strong response and reaction from the United States government. They have to be aware of that.

I do think that the Kim regime has been used to playing American presidents and their passivity. And they could chart that up. They don't know how we'll respond with Donald Trump. I think there's a bit of uncertainty with how he's going to act, which is confusing the North Koreans, and that's a good thing.

Bottom line, Wolf, is, how do you reduce this threat? Continue failed policies of the past or change our tone and rhetoric. And even that change in tone I think sends a message to China and to Russia to say, listen, you guys better get involved. We can make a difference with sanctions but we all have to be on the same page putting pressure on North Korea. You can't say one thing to the international community, China, but continue your trade with North Korea and support that rogue regime. If you don't want American boots on your soil or you don't want to see a nuclear armed conflict, get involved. This is escalating and we have a nuclear hermit regime making nuclear threats to the rest of the world. This is unacceptable and untenable and we need pushback here.

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DUFFY: And, Wolf, I want to make a point +IBM--

BLITZER: Under the leadership of Nikki Haley, U.S ambassador to the U.N., all 15 members of the security council unanimously approved a very tough sanctions solution against North Korea.

Quickly, do you agree, believe -- some of your Democratic and Republican colleagues in the House and Senate believe, that before the U.S. were to launch any pre-emptive strike against North Korea, Congress should approve a resolution authorizing the use of military force against North Korea?

DUFFY: I think that's pretty challenging. You lose your -- your surprise if you go to Congress and say we're going to strike North Korea. I want to put this within our generals and with our president, who are duly elected by the American people to take that action, by surprise, if they choose to do so.

But I want to make it clear, Wolf. This can explode. This could be a powder keg and be very bad for the world. A preemptive strike is the last resort of all the tools we have in our toolbox, because you don't know how it can play out. And it can be bad for everybody. So let's try to get other folks to the table and put pressure on North Korea and have a peaceful resolution. That's the best net outcome we can have.

BLITZER: Let's hope.

Congressman Sean Duffy, of Wisconsin. Thanks for joining us.

DUFFY: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, there's a huge mystery unfolding in Cuba right now. U.S. State Department employees injured in what is described as a possible acoustic attack. What happened? Is a third country involved? We're going live to Havana, right after this.

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[13:53:07] BLITZER: Sounds like a plot from a movie. Several U.S. State Department employees in Havana, Cuba, experiencing unexplained hearing loss, and other physical ailments. U.S. officials believe they may have been victims of what's described as an acoustic attack. And they have expelled two Cuban diplomats from the United States as a result.

Let's go to Havana. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is on the scene for us. Patrick, explain what we know. This is a very significant, serious

story, but complicated.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPODNENT: Very much so, Wolf. Let's just start off with what is an acoustic attack. U.S. government sources tell us that American diplomats at the residences here in Havana, their homes, started feeling unwell, perhaps they were suffering from a concussion, that one diplomat suffered hearing loss and now will need hearing aids. And U.S. officials believe that somebody -- they haven't identified who yet -- placed very sophisticated devices in and/or around these diplomat's homes that emit a signal you can't hear, a frequency that essentially causes these very serious kinds of health problems. The U.S. is investigating who could have been behind this. They believe perhaps a third country wanting to, quote, "drive a wedge between the U.S. and Cuba," may be involved. But there's still a lot of unanswered questions here.

The Cuban government has denied any involvement in this, say they're cooperating with U.S. And are even allowing FBI agents to come to Cuba to help investigate, U.S. government sources tell us. They believe some individuals in the Cuban government must have been involved to allow these attacks to go forward. And what we're told though, Wolf, is that for the time being, there does not appear to have been any further attacks.

BLITZER: So basically, what you're suggesting is some very high- pitched audio with was sent out to the homes of these U.S. diplomats, that they couldn't hear anything, but it would have an impact on their hearing, is that right?

[13:55:10] OPPMANN: That's correct. It's a sonic weapon. This is a new tool that countries use to disrupt and cause injuries. And it's very hard to track down. None of these devices, as far as we know, have been discovered. But, again, sources telling us that these devices were placed in diplomat's homes or around their homes to try to cause them great distress -- Wolf?

BLITZER: I'm sure it's an ongoing mystery that needs to be fixed.

Thanks so much. Patrick Oppmann, our man in Havana. Appreciate it very much.

That's it for me. To all of our viewers in the United States and around the world, thanks very much for watching. I'll be back, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Stay tuned. I'll have a special interview with former Obama national security advisor, Susan Rice. She'll joins us live during the 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

Meantime, the news continues, right after a quick break.

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