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District Attorney Says Would've Prosecuted Weinstein "If We Had a Case"; Much of Puerto Rico Suffers Despite What Trump Says; Eminem Says We Love Military and Nation but We Hate Trump. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 11, 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] MICHAEL DALY, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, THE DAILY BEAST: -- she's panicking. A female detective speaks to her and says, listen, it's not for nothing, it's OK we'll be watching if you go upstairs nothing will happen. She went upstairs with him scared. Then when she got up to the room she kink of lost her nerve and backed away. But in that recording, I mean, I talked to someone last night who is about -- is experience with sex crime prosecutors there is in the word and she listened to that tape and said, you know, I don't know what more you need to establish criminal intent.

So, they have this case. They have her. She's willing. If you listen to her on that -- I don't know how you listen to that and not want to lock this guy up. She is not some gold digger. She's not doing some blackmail thing. She's not scheming. That's a young woman who is legitimately upset. And that's a guy who admits. When you say I won't do it again that means you did it before. That's called a confession. So, they have this case. But they had a problem. Because in 2011 they had another strong case involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn. That was a rape case in ha hotel. They completely messed that case up. Very embarrassing. And all of a sudden, every detective who works for them will tell you, since then that office has been afraid to prosecute celebrities. Which would explain SPU they didn't go to the D.A.'s office in the first place.

BALDWIN: Let me bring two more voices who have been listening to us talk. Sara Azari and Mark Geragos. So, let's finish this conversation before we get onto Harvey Weinstein. Mark, you hear he's saying -- intent was there on the tape. How was it that he wasn't locked up then? And criticism against the D.A.'s office that kid gloves with celebrities.

MARK GERAGOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I don't know if it's kid gloves but they know it's high profile. And it's a misdemeanor basically, what they are alleging here. If I were the cops I would have gone to the D.A., their liaison, which they normally would done in a high-profile case, preempted and you let them give them advice. I normally am not shy about criticizing prosecutors, but on this case, I think they aired on the side of caution. And they didn't have the level of other people coming out and saying it. They can use some of this stuff if they are within the statute of limitations even if some of these accusations are outside of it. They can use some of the others like we saw with Cosby in that prosecution.

SARA AZARI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Irrelevant conduct, essentially. DALY: Right.

AZARI: You know, one of the things we have to also keep in mind and it happens in these cases, is that this particular accuser has had a history, and I'm not saying that that sort of absolves his liability.

BALDWIN: But this was part of the issue.

AZARI: Exactly. She's made these allegations against other high- profile --

GERAGOS: She was supposedly at the "bunga bunga" party.

AZARI: Exactly. And that discredits her. Because this is he said, she said case. There is no physical evidence. So many years later. So, it turns on her credibility.

DALY: This is he said, she said. What's that is.

AZARI: OK.

DALY: If I was a subway perv right now, I would be pretty upset sitting on Ryker's Island. Because they will keenly lock those guys up on --

(CROSSTALK)

GERAGOS: That's the story of the criminal justice system.

DALY: But It shouldn't be the story of the criminal justice system.

GERAGOS: We can say that until the cows come home.

BALDWIN: Yes, the criminal justice system, what's that?

DALY: Well, let's let the cows come home in this case. That guy should have been locked up. I'm sorry.

BALDWIN: Is it he in legal jeopardy now?

GERAGOS: Yes. Absolutely. He's got -- New York has got very expansive statute of limitations. Basically, in certain cases there is none. It's different in California. California has a more expansive statute, but the problem with California pursuing anything there is you can't go backwards. You can't extend the statute which they did on January 1th of this year and then make it ex post facto. The Supreme Court said you can't do it.

BALDWIN: So, last big question to you. There are reports -- again reportedly -- he is going or has gotten this private plane to be able to take him overseas.

AZARI: Right. Not a good idea.

BALDWIN: Not a good idea. AZARI: Right. He would be essentially Roman Polanski of sorts. I

mean, if there is an arrest warrant for him, he's wanted. He's a fugitive. That would not be a good idea I think. What he needs to do is just stay put. Be in the hands of really great lawyers who can defend these claims, both civilly and criminally. I agree with Mark, he got a lot of issues to deal with. More and more women are going to come forward. There are at least three women saying they were raped, not just assaulted. And although one of them I think has a questionable claim because for five years she had a sexual relationship with him. There is actually one who claims he forced oral copulation. And that she -- I think her claims sound a little more credible. So, he's got a lot of legal issues to deal with. And to escape is not going to be a good plan for him.

BALDWIN: OK. Sara and Michael and Mark, thank you.

AZARI: Thank you.

[15:35:31] BALDWIN: Thank you. Coming up next, we are staying on top of the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. Where most of the island is still without power with more than 40 percent with running water and potential for disease is growing. A homeland security official is going to join me live in moments to discuss. We'll be write back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:00] BALDWIN: Nearly three weeks after hurricane Maria hit, Puerto Rico has just announced more people have died from the storm. The number now is at 45, 110 people are still missing. Officials say at least two fatalities from a disease known to come from dirty water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARMEN YULIN CRUZ, MAYOR, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO: We are not out of the woods yet. We are now starting to see a lot of health issues, conjunctivitis, scabies. There have been two reported deaths -- and I I'm sorry if I said it wrong in English -- leptospirosis, which is something that you get usually from not only from the rats urine but from animals dying in creeks where people are drinking water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Others who need dialysis or insulin are in major distress because of this continued lack of power. The Puerto Rican government says 89 percent of the island is still without electricity.

The President tweeted, nobody could have done what I've done for Puerto Rico with so little appreciation, so much work.

So, with me now, Christopher Krebs. He is assistant Secretary of infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security, DHS. Christopher Krebs a pleasure to have you on, welcome.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION, HOMELAND SECURITY: Good afternoon, Brooke. Thanks. BALDWIN: All right. So, you know these numbers. But for everyone watching, you know, three weeks later, 89 percent of Puerto Rico is still without power, 47 percent no phone service, 43 percent of the island bank branches is still closed. How is this a success story as the president is painting it?

KREBS: So, the way it actually characterizes the situation in Puerto Rico has been said time and time again. Challenging logistical situation. But there is a plan in place both for temporary stabilization and restoration of key services. And then the longer- term plan. Let me give you kind of a snapshot of what that means. So, you mentioned the communication number, that's probably closer to about 64 percent of the island with cell coverage. Not a great number. It can get better. But the carriers are surging capabilities like cell on wheels and cell on light trucks. In fact, over the weekend you may have seen that Google is using one of their kind of innovative technologies to help increase that percentage.

That's a way to restore some semblance of normalcy, some services that will help the Puerto Ricans get back up and running. Longer term plan, there are over 300 of these cell towers that are off-line. So, you've got to get in there. You've got to do the long-term infrastructure repairs and rebuild. But again, short term plan, interim measures, and l then long-term plan. And in the meantime, we are making progress, we are seeing progress. There is progress on the power side. But we can do more. We can push more resources down into the island.

BALDWIN: So, it sounds to me you've your hands on this. But again, I go back to the President who has been painting more of a rosy picture and the fact that he should be appreciated because all the federal government is doing. Do you agree with the way he's been painting the picture?

KREBS: So, Brooke, I'm going to put it this way, I'm not quite at the point in my career where I grade the president. He grades me. What I'm focused on is ensuring that key sources --

BALDWIN: I'm not asking you to grade the president, I just want to see if you agree with the way he described the island.

KREBS: I think we're pushing everything we can down into Puerto Rico. There are over 17,000 responders, whether it's military or civilian assets. Over 100 helicopters down there doing air drops in the remote communities, providing water. There is tank truck provided to -- each of the 78 municipalities has dedicated water truck. That's to get focused water down there. There is another 72 trucks that are dedicated to the hospitals and other critical services. So again, putting everything we can into it. We are seeing some progress day- to-day. But it's going to take time. It's going to take time. The scale of this disaster, I think we are still coming to truly appreciate how large this event was.

BALDWIN: No, and I know you have taken multiple trips to Puerto Rico. So, since you have eye balled this yourself, let me ask you about the distribution areas. These are the places where Puerto Ricans can get in line for basic necessities, food, water, toilet paper, what have you. So, all of our dozens of people who have been on the ground in Puerto Rico, our reporters in the field say 30 miles from the convention center they are reporting back saying, they are not seeing these distribution centers. My question to you is, where are they?

KREBS: So, my area of focus is infrastructure. I can speak briefly to the distribution. There are about 11 of the mega distribution centers across the center that are FEMA or U.S. government support. And then those mega distribution centers essentially are then broken out into the local communities. You've got to keep in mind that in terms of federal disaster response and emergency management, the federal government is always in support of the state or commonwealth municipality response efforts. So, we are there supporting Governor Rossello and the mayors. And our job is to ensure that the mayors in the municipalities get the commodities they need to get out to their residents.

[15:45:00] BALDWIN: One of tour reporters who has been down there is it our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and being a M.D., he assessed the whole situation in his warning back when the death toll then was 16. Based on what he saw on the ground. He said any death beyond that number would have been preventable. I mean, what about the issues with dialysis? What's your reaction to that?

KREBS: So I actually had the opportunity to speak on the phone with Dr. Gupta last week. So, in terms of health care in hospitals, I think there is about 69 on the island, 36 of those are back on the grid power, another 29 or so are on emergency generator power. The Army Corps of Engineers is down there supporting the power authority, PREPA. And what they are doing is ensuring every single critical health care facility has a generator, has dedicated maintenance, and has dedicated fuel distribution. There are over 50 generators that have been installed in these critical facilities, not just healthcare but also now moving into some of the other facilities like schools. They have 200 plus on hand and another 300 on the way to the island. Again, that's that interim measure, stabilize the system down there, and ensure that key services are restored.

In addition, talking about water. About 75 percent I think is almost where we are in terms of potable water. That's out of the tap. There is a boiled water order across the island. But to fill that other gap of 25 percent of folks that don't have tap water, there is, again, there is dedicated trucks, tanker trucks to all 78 municipalities and bottled water services. So, we're trying to identify the challenges, fill the gaps as best we can in that near-term plan, while we continue to restore the longer-term infrastructure problems.

BALDWIN: We just all need to keep a focus on our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico. I know you know that, Chris Krebs with the DHS. Thank you for the time today. I really appreciate it.

KREBS: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Coming up next here on CNN. A provocative free style rap from Eminem calling out President Trump for a lot. Asking his fans essentially to take a side between him and the President. We'll discuss the message with a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, Che "Rhymefest" Smith.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are waiting to see if, at all, President Trump would respond to this new war of words, not launched by a politician or a football player, but a rapper. Eminem lashed out against President Trump during the BET hip-hop awards last night. There was this 4 1/2- minute freestyle performance. And after he unleashed he left his fans with ultimatum, you are either with Eminem or you're with President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:50:06] EMINEM, HIP HOP ARTIST: Any fan of mine who is a supporter of his, I'm drawing in the sand a line. You're either for or against. And if you can't decide who you like more in your split on who you should stand beside, I'll do it for you with this. The rest of America stand up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, Grammy an Oscar award-winning hip-hop artist Che "Rhymefest" Smith. It is nice to have you back on the show. I hope you are well, sir. Let's just begin, I know you watched that whole thing. What's the attack line that stood out most to you?

CHE "RHYMEFEST" SMITH, GRAMMY AND OSCAR-WINNING HIP-HOP ARTIST: Well, you know, I think Eminem put his career, not his career, but put his own finances on the line. When he said look if you are my fan, if you're my constituency, this is how I want to appeal to my base, and this is the way that were moving. This is our values. He spoke about Puerto Rico. He spoke about the tragic shooting in Vegas. He spoke about the disparity between wealth in those that can fly in a plane when there is a nuclear attack and land when it's over -- like Trump and hide in mansions. In the disparity of what the rest of us have to do.

So, I think Eminem really made a sacrifice here and said, look, either you're going to be on the side that is America and democracy or you're not. And I think that was a very brave thing for an artist to do. In fact, Brooke, I would like to see more artists doing that. I mean, if all entertainment is about is money and entertaining and that's all we want to do as artists. And I'll put it that way, if all artistry is about is making money and entertaining, then it really has no value. I'm a part of a delegation that does abolition work against slavery, and I just left a country where when artists speak out, they get held up on charges as enemies of the state. And the beautiful thing about America is that artists can take a stand. I wouldn't only say artists, I would say athletes, too. I mean, Eminem has sold over 49 million albums in America, over 100 million around the world. These athletes sell jerseys. They have a constituency. If it's oh OK for Trump to appeal to his constituency, then Eminem has to have the same right.

BALDWIN: Then why Rhymefest, why do you think -- it's not like he's the first rapper -- first of all, I remember back in the day when everyone was rapping about Donald Trump like gold chains and he exemplified success and affluence and we want that and now how that's changed. But it's not like he's the first rapper to criticize the president. But why is it that this freestyle feels different? Do you know what I'm saying?

SMITH: It feels different -- I'm going to tell you why I believe it feels different. This freestyle is different because it's white people talking to white people about racism. It's white people talking two white people about democracy and right and wrong and art and the influence of art. You know, it's a different conversation when people from Chicago say, hey, which I am from the south side of Chicago. Hey, this is where the violence is and this is why the violence is happening. It's another conversation when, for example, Rahm Emanuel says, hey, we've got to do something about the violence in Chicago. Eminem is, number one, he's a rapper, but he's a rock star. Number two, he's speaking to Trump's base in many ways.

BALDWIN: Which is also his fan base. Trump country, blue collar workers.

SMITH: Which is also his fanbase. Yes, Yes, and I think that this conversation is important for all of us to have. And I think Eminem is doing his part and I think he's brave and he's something that we have to say, you know, good job.

BALDWIN: I think you hit the nail on the head on why this does feel different. Before we go, Rhymefest, I have to play this for you. This is from 2004 from MTV. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP: Of course, I'm right. I'm always right. I'm Donald Trump. I'm always right. And Donald Trump is telling you right now, Slim Shady is a winner. He's got brains, he's got guts, and he's got Donald Trump's vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Tweets for everything. There is a tape for everything. I'm going to leave it there. I'm going to leave it there. That was a fun one to dig up from 2004. Rhymefest, thank you so much.

[15:55:00] SMITH: I would love to see a rap battle between Donald Trump and Eminem. It would be close.

BALDWIN: Well, let's see if the president -- the president watches a lot of TV, Rhymefest.

SMITH: Donald Trump's words are worse than Eminem's in many ways.

BALDWIN: Rhymefest, thank you.

Coming up here on CNN, I've got a little bit longer. We're going to talk North Korea. North Korea says president Trump has, quote, lit the wick of war. This as we learn that Pyongyang hackers may have gotten their hands-on U.S. war plans. We're back in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In this week's "FUTURE TENSE," Facebook has just unveiled a standalone virtual reality head set that doesn't require a smart phone or a computer. Mark Zuckerberg announced the Oculus Go during a conference in California today. The headsets ship early next year and will cost about $200.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: Now, some people say that VR is isolating and anti-social. I actually think it's the opposite. The reality is, we all have limits to our reality. Places we can't go, people we can't see, things we can't do. And opening up more of those experiences to all of us, that's not isolating, that's freeing. Look, if you can't think of any way that your reality can be better, then you're not thinking hard enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Zuckerberg did have to apologize for one demonstration of Facebook's virtual reality technology this week. He tried to show how VR could generate empathy by demonstrating in Puerto Rico, but use of the 360 video of the flooded island playing behind his cartoon avatar was largely panned as insensitive. There you have it, the latest there, in this week "FUTURE TENSE," straight out of Facebook and the CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you very much for being with me here today in New York. We're going to send it to Washington now. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.