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Trump Heads to Japan to Start High Stakes Trip; Interview with Representative Jerrold Nadler; Heightened Security for NYC Marathon; Secret MLK Report Among New Release of JFK Files; Latest Weinstein Allegation Could Lead to Arrest While Netflix Drops Kevin Spacey; Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 04, 2017 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: This trip comes as the president struggles to escape the problems facing his administration back home, including a Russia investigation that is making its way closer to the West Wing.

We're covering this story now from just about every angle. Our correspondents and our contributors. We're going to start, though, with CNN's Ryan Nobles, who is traveling with the president.

Ryan, a packed schedule ahead for the president.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Martin. And his trip has already been busy up until this point. He touched down here in Hawaii yesterday and had two different military briefings, one with the leader of the Pacific Command and then with other military leaders. He then had a very solemn moment at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, where he paid respect to the victims of that World War II attack, and then he went to a more jovial function, an event with members of the military on the base there where he was received very warmly by members of the military, hugging many of them, taking pictures with them, along with his wife Melania.

Now there were some protesters here in Hawaii yesterday out in front of his hotel and out in front of city hall, near where we are here in Honolulu, but overall the president's first day was busy. He spent the night here in Hawaii. We should point out not at one of the Trump branded properties here in Honolulu, and he will take off this morning for Tokyo, where his schedule will begin in earnest, meeting with the leader of Japan, Shinzo Abe. He'll also play golf with him, as they discuss the important matters facing the Asia Pacific region in this what will end up being the longest trip of the Trump administration to date -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Yes. There's a lot riding on this one.

Ryan Nobles, thanks very much for summarizing -- Christi.

PAUL: Now one of the most important meetings of this entire trip happens tomorrow when President Trump sits down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A top U.S. ally in that region, he and the president seem to have some close ties.

CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott live for us in Washington.

So, Elise, talk to us about how both of these leaders, they do have some parallel interests when it comes to North Korea, certainly.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Definitely, Christi, and I think this is one of the key relationships of President Trump, you know, Prime Minister Abe was one of the first people to visit President Trump here in the U.S. and they certainly have bonded over, you know, not only the threat of North Korea, but their love of golf, and I think this is going to be, you know, one of the ways that President Trump kind of eases into the trip with someone he feels very comfortable with.

Take a listen to President Trump kind of setting up the trip before he was leaving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Successful. We'll be talking about trade. We'll be talking about, obviously, North Korea. We'll be enlisting the help of a lot of people and countries. We'll see what happens, but I think we're going to have a very successful trip. There's a lot of goodwill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: So I think not only North Korea, obviously, which is the key issue on this trip, but also as President Trump said, trade. You know, President Trump has said that he doesn't feel that the U.S. has gotten a good deal on trade with other countries, that the U.S. has been kind of at a disadvantage, and so he wants to talk about a stronger trade relationship with some of these countries, and then there's countering China.

You know, while everybody is talking about the threat posed by North Korea and that's certainly the most imminent threat, China's military rise, its aggressiveness in the region is certainly something that these other countries are concerned about.

PAUL: No doubt.

Elise Labott, thank you so much.

SAVIDGE: Here now is CNN presidential historian and history professor at Rice University, Douglas Brinkley, and CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at the "Atlantic," Ron Brownstein.

Good morning to you both.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Morning. SAVIDGE: Douglas, I'll throw this one to you first. I was going to

ask just, you know, how does the president have a successful trip, but really maybe I'll word it this way. What would be the measure of a successful trip for this president in that region?

BRINKLEY: I think the measure of success would be if he could get -- stay focused on Asian affairs, meaning not do a Twitter about what's going on back home with the Russia probe, or not get involved with NFL football or the like, but really hone down on what's important to the people of Japan and South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines. These are our allies.

China is a high stakes diplomatic meeting to negotiate North Korea with China, but seem to be part and parcel of the moment. And meet with as many troops as he can. I know when he's in -- he just did in Hawaii, when he's in Japan he's going to meet with U.S. troops there.

I don't -- what I hope he doesn't do is try to have this sort of overwhelming big media moment where he tries to go to the DMZ or something to kind of grab headlines to throw the entire trip topsy- turvy.

[10:05:01] SAVIDGE: Ron, do you think, just as Douglas outlined, if he could stay away from some of his old habits, it might lend him greater success? Do you think he'll be able to do that? He's got a lot of distraction with the Russia investigation and certainly shown no proclivity to give up on Twitter.

BROWNSTEIN: No. I think the short answer is, it would be surprising if he did, at least it would be out of character for the first 10 months of the presidency.

Look, there's a paradox at the heart of this trip, which is that he is hoping to build a diplomatic consensus against North Korea and try to find more of the unified front and how to handle that, at the same time he's already rattled economically the relationships with the nations in Asia. I mean, he's already walked away from the 12-nation free trade deal, the Transpacific Partnership that President Obama negotiated as really the central way of kind of constraining Chinese economic power in the region.

And the other 11 nations involved in that are still hoping to complete it now without the U.S. and at the same time as these -- you know, as these high profile and highly significant meetings in South Korea, he's threatening to abrogate our free trade agreement with South Korea. They've been threatening to abrogate that for months, so there's a certain question of, can we have diplomatic engagement while we have had, in effect, economic disengagement and whether it is possible for the president to convince these nations to do the kind of bilateral deals which he says he prefers, but which no one really has shown any life in yet?

So there is kind of an economic diplomatic divergence underpinning this trip.

SAVIDGE: Douglas, back to your point, you were mentioning you hope the president doesn't have some sort, you know, major media moment, but North Korea may see this as an opportunity to have their major media moment. Are you worried that North Korea may try to do something to upstage the president's trip?

BRINKLEY: Absolutely. I mean, this entire trip in a way is about North Korea.

SAVIDGE: True.

BRINKLEY: You can't have a rogue nation threatening the United States with nuclear annihilation and, you know, constantly just in a Twitter -- feverish Twitter war with President Trump and not worry about something bad happening on this trip, meaning North Korea using language about Trump being a dog or -- you know, what is it, a dotard they called him before? And Trump wanting then to take to Twitter and insult them back.

That's why I think he needs to be presidential, stay cool. I wouldn't focus so much on North Korea. I would try to say how can I enhance the United States, enhance the security of our allies? Japan's living in terror of North Korean missiles. I know at the White House they've been reading Albert (INAUDIBLE)'s famous books on sea power, which Japan is celebrated as being able traditionally in history to protect itself.

Should Japan be able to develop nuclear weapons? Should there be a kind of defensive shield around Japan? You know, how do you keep Japan tied to the United States diplomatically, militarily, politically and not drift off to try to cut separate deals with China? There is a lot on the table, but it's not the time for rogue showmanship. It's time for real statesmanship and I hope President Trump's able to succeed.

SAVIDGE: Ron, can you do me a favor and explain what is the relationship between Abe and the president? They seem to get along well and I'm wondering is this just a forced arrangement by the Japanese, or do you believe these two leaders really see eye to eye, really get along on a friendship basis?

BROWNSTEIN: They do seem to connect personally. I mean, Abe, you know, has emerged out of a Japanese political system that usually encourages conformity and even mediocrity. I mean, the saying is the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. I mean, that's kind of the Japanese saying in society and certainly in politics. And he's been a departure from that. He has been more vivid individual charismatic figure who has tried to shake things up in the political system there, and so maybe he feels some affinity with President Trump.

But there are limits to that. I mean, I think the -- you know, the question of the economic relationship, as I said, is one that kind of underpins this trip because on the one hand you have many of the administration who believe that we need to constrain the growth, as Doug was saying, of Chinese power in the region. On the other by walking away from the Transpacific Partnership, in effect, we have ceded economic leadership in Asia to China, and there is kind of a magnetic pull of all these economies, including Japan, towards a Chinese-led economic order with China writing the rules rather than, you know, a kind of multinational open system.

So there is that fundamental contradiction in the administration approach to Asia and we will see how it plays out. I think they do like each other. Whether that -- historically that's not necessarily translated into full-scale agreements between countries who have abiding interests more than personalities.

SAVIDGE: Right, and they both have to deal in some way with North Korea, and that's going to be top of the agenda, as well as the economy.

Thanks very much, Douglas Brinkley and Ron Brownstein. Always good to see you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

BRINKLEY: Thank you.

[10:10:01] PAUL: So while the president is overseas, the Russia investigation is moving even closer to the West Wing it seems. A former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign says he met with a high-ranking Russian official and claims he told the campaign about that meeting. A member of the House Judiciary Committee is weighing in on these revelations next.

SAVIDGE: Plus, the release of confidential files of one American icon reveals some very tawdry and unfounded details on another. Martin Luther King Jr. is accused of communism and much more as part of the release of JFK assassination documents. How did it all happen?

The details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Fourteen minutes past the hour and new developments this morning in the Russia investigation. Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser for Donald Trump's campaign tells CNN he told multiple members of the campaign about his trip to Russia where he met with a high-ranking Russian government official while he was in Moscow last year.

[10:15:11] And according to "The New York Times," he even e-mailed details of that meeting to at least one Trump campaign aide, which does not match some of the testimony from Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Joining me to discuss, Democratic Congressman Jerrold Nadler. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and represents New York's 10th congressional district.

Congressman, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Good morning.

PAUL: We'd like to listen together with you to something that Carter Page told our Jake Tapper just yesterday. Let's listen here. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER: It was the only time I've ever met him. We had one dinner together and I said --

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sessions?

PAGE: Yes, it was great to -- great to meet you. I'm glad I was able to meet this in before I head to Moscow. I mean, it's totally in passing.

TAPPER: Is he the only one on the campaign who knew about the trip?

PAGE: I mentioned it to a few people.

TAPPER: Who else?

PAGE: You know, it will come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: What is your reaction to what he was saying there yesterday?

NADLER: Well, it fits a pattern. You've got seven or eight people -- Papadopoulos, Carter Page, Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn, among others, all of whom initially said we never met with any Russians, we never talked to any Russians, then they said, oh well, maybe a few. And then it turns out they met with Russians, they talked to them, some of them about how the Russian government could help the Trump campaign against Hillary's campaign.

But they all lied about it initially. And it all comes out gradually and it's the same pattern for all these different people, including apparently perjury by Attorney General Sessions in front of the Senate.

PAUL: Congressman Mike Quigley on the House Intel Committee, as well, said yesterday that he thinks Sessions deserves some more time in the chair again, that there are some questions to be asked. If that happens, what would you ask Attorney General Sessions about this?

NADLER: Well, I would certainly ask him about the discrepancy between his testimony in front of the Senate earlier and when Senator Franken asked him if he knew of contacts with the Russians and he point blank denied it, and what we now know that he met with Russians, that he -- that other people talked to Russians, met with Russians, and that he knew about it. That discrepancy and apparent false testimony to the Senate is -- he has to be asked about, obviously.

PAUL: So how far up the chain do you think this information may have traveled?

NADLER: Well, some of the information obviously went to Paul Manafort, who was at that -- I think he was at that June 16th meeting. He was the campaign chairman. It certainly went to Jared Kushner, went to Donald Trump Jr. I remember Donald Trump Jr. was at that meeting in June and said he was eager to receive negative information, dirt as they put it, on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government. So it went way up the chain.

PAUL: OK. I want to switch gears here real quickly because you have a lot to say, as well, about the tax reform, the proposal that came out on Thursday, and I just want to read something from one of your statements. You said, "I will support a tax reform plan that makes billionaires and corporations pay their fair share, eliminates loopholes that encourage companies to move jobs overseas, and invest in working families. The Republican tax scam is not that plan, and I will not support it."

I know that you take issue with the mortgage interest deduction limits, the extraction of student loans and medical expenses deductions and the elimination of the state and local tax. Your district obviously heavily affected by that.

Will you propose modifications to this plan or are you an outright no?

NADLER: I'm an outright no. This plan is so bad in so many ways. It has to be rewritten and I think you have to look at something else. When the tax code was last rewritten in the mid '80s, there were hundreds of hours of hearings, months of consideration. This plan comes out, we still haven't -- we see the text of it just the other day, they're going to try to ram it through before people can understand the implications, and see these -- you know, all of these things, and all of this was done behind closed doors and only by Republicans.

Democrats were not even permitted to see this. That's the wrong way to rewrite the nation's tax code. Now one of the problems is that a huge percentage of the benefits goes to the top 1 percent. Many middle income people will have their taxes increased, not decreased because of these deductions. No more deductions for student loans, no more deductions for medical expenses if you have large medical expenses.

No more deductions or very few deductions for state and local taxes. The first time since the civil war when we had an income tax, always said, well, it's unfair to double tax. To tax the same income twice, once by the state and once by the federal government.

PAUL: Right, so --

NADLER: So -- and the getting rid of the alternative minimum tax. Look at Donald Trump. The one tax return of Donald Trump we've seen is from 2005.

[10:20:04] He paid $36 million in income taxes. $31 million of that was the alternative minimum tax. Without that he would have paid only $5 million and they are going to repeal the alternative minimum tax.

The alternative minimum tax is paid by high income people. They want to get rid of the estate tax which is paid by .2 of 1 percent of estates. This is just a huge gift to multimillionaires. PAUL: Let me ask you this, though. There are people who say it is

too cumbersome of a process, it needs to be simplified. Do you agree that tax reform is indeed necessary and do you believe it can get done?

NADLER: The proper tax reform would be a very good idea. We can certainly simplify the system. This makes it more complicated because you're adding loopholes. This also gives a greater incentive to corporations to move jobs offshore by saying that they'll pay a permanent tax rate of only 12 percent for earnings abroad and 5 percent --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: So you don't believe that will create jobs, as Republicans say?

NADLER: It will create jobs in other countries. It will take jobs from the United States because the companies will pay a 20 percent income tax rate here and a 12 percent income tax rate if they move the jobs abroad. And a 5 percent income tax rate under some circumstances if they move it abroad. This makes no sense whatsoever.

PAUL: Congressman Jerrold Nadler, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us this morning. Thank you.

NADLER: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: And there's this, the National Archives just released another batch of documents about John F. Kennedy's assassination. That includes a nearly 50-year-old FBI report on Martin Luther King Jr.'s personal life. Why is that secret file being revealed now?

Also, the mayor of New York City says tomorrow's marathon will go forward as planned. Ahead, his plan to keep everybody safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:26:18] PAUL: Welcome back. So good to have you here. I'm Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge, in for Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: So President Trump is waking up in Hawaii this morning to begin high stakes Asia tour. He's leaving for Japan in fact in a few hours. This is the first stop or will be on his 12-day, five-nation trip. And that's where he'll meet with the Japanese prime minister. Most likely on the agenda first is North Korea.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely. The president's travels come amid, though, an ever widening Russia probe and his mounting public criticisms of the Justice Department, but yesterday he and the first lady paid their respects to Pearl Harbor and they laid a wreath inside the USS Arizona memorial. They also tossed flower petals in the water and then took a tour of the site.

PAUL: Now listen, we're talking about 50,000 runners, more than half a million people cheering them on on the sideline. Lining the route for the New York City marathon. That's happening tomorrow. The city's police chief says a record number of sand trucks, police department blocker vehicles are going to be parked strategically along that course, all part of the heightened security steps being taken in the wake of this week's terror attack that killed eight people.

I want to bring in Bob Baer to talk about this kind of security, as well as a couple of other things. CNN intelligence and security analyst is Mr. Baer.

Thank you so much for being with us, sir. So first of all, "Forbes" says last year's race actually set a record for the largest marathon in the world, more than 51,000 runners, finishers, that is. How confident are you that New York can keep that perimeter safe?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: I think New York City's probably got the best security in the world, possibly. Intelligence, police presence, and the rest of it. But again, it's the problem of terrorists being able to attack large crowds at random and it's very difficult to close down a city like New York City. Either trucks like we had this recent attack or even bombs.

I mean, the subways are impossible to protect. You can't put metal detectors, you can't check everybody, so while they are doing the best they can, that race is not -- won't be entirely safe.

PAUL: Let's talk about the New York attack. You were just mentioning here the suspect we understand had been in New York since 2010. Reports are that he was radicalized while he was here in the U.S.

How prevalent is that scenario, Bob, that people are entering the country perhaps with no ill intent and they become radicalized against the country once they are here?

BAER: Well, that's really the problem. They get to the United States, they are outcasts, they don't have very good jobs, they have no future, you know, bewildered by American culture and they turn to Quran, the Hadid, or the Internet, and this is an alternate reality for them. And it's just true that the people that hate us the most are the ones that know us the best, so when they come here, they do become radicalized. Orlando, San Bernardino, the Muslim Brotherhood, Zawahiri, I could go on and on and on.

So this young man comes here, like I said, he's an outcast, he doesn't know what to do and he turns to this radical version of Islam, and it's very dangerous and it's very difficult to predict who is going to make that turn. You don't always see it on the Internet. You don't always see it in searches, so for the FBI this is pretty much a nightmare.

PAUL: Bob, I know in talking with you earlier you said you were part of vetting with the visa lottery and President Trump tweeted after the attack on Tuesday, "I've just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already extreme vetting program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this." [10:30:09] If I'm hearing you correctly, vetting isn't necessarily the

answer it seems, but is it a change of attitude toward people coming into this country? Is it inclusiveness, or is that too simplified?

BAER: Well, it's a little bit simple. The problem is the State Department. You know, they get a visa applicant and what do they really know about them? Nothing. I mean, they can go to his local village, they send a local employee from the embassy out, but to really get inside his mind you don't know.

I mean, it takes years and years to vet people, so when he talks about radical vetting, he doesn't really know what he's talking about. You know, it's very difficult -- and especially in parts of the world where we don't have a good presence like Uzbekistan. Big parts of Uzbekistan are sort of off limits to it, the embassy or Yemen or Saudi Arabia, in fact, so extreme vetting is not going to necessarily make us 100 percent safe. It may improve things, but not all that much.

PAUL: All right. Bob Baer, always appreciate your insight. Thank you for taking the time to be with us today.

BAER: Thanks.

SAVIDGE: And getting back to the New York marathon, our MJ Lee joins us now to talk about how New York is preparing for what is going to be a huge day, a good one, but also one that they have to worry about security -- MJ.

MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: That's right. And this marathon poses such a big security challenge because of its sheer size. Tomorrow some 50,000 runners are expected to participate in this marathon, this very iconic marathon, and some 2.5 million extra people are expected to be on the sideline cheering on these runners who are participating in this race. This race that will go through each of the five boroughs of New York city.

Now of course the important context right now is the fact that this terror attack in Lower Manhattan only happened four days ago. However, city officials have been insistent all along this week that they intend to have the marathon continue as usual tomorrow, but they are taking some precautionary measures as they believe that this marathon is an important symbol of showing the resilience of the New York City people, but they also want to make sure that safety is first and that nothing goes wrong tomorrow.

Here is what New York Police Department chief Carlos Gomez said yesterday about the extra security measures that the city is taking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CARLOS GOMEZ, NEW YORK POLICE: We've added more sand trucks and more blocker vehicles. The most that we have ever used in any detail in this city. We've also increased the number of observation teams and counter sniper teams, and it's not just in Manhattan. They will be placed strategically at locations throughout the five boroughs. We will have hundreds of counterterrorism trained officers on the

route. They'll have radiation detection devices on their person. There will be a substantial number of explosive detecting canines on the route.

We will utilize our aviation unit to monitor the crowds, the event, the race, the rooftops from above. Harbor, our harbor vessels will also be involved. They'll be anchored at the river crossings and certainly they'll be patrolling our waterways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now officials are stressing that these extra security measures are only precautionary at this point in time there are no credible threats to either the city or the marathon itself.

Back to you.

SAVIDGE: All right. And we expect nothing but a wonderful day for the people of New York.

MJ Lee, thank you very much.

PAUL: So the National Archives just released another batch of documents about John F. Kennedy's assassination and it includes a nearly 50-year-old FBI report on Martin Luther King Jr.'s personal life. Why is the secret file revealed now?

We're hearing from Cornell Brooks, former NAACP president and an MLK scholar, somebody who studied under the same professor as MLK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:38:07] SAVIDGE: Martin Luther King Jr. is accused of communist ties and much more in a secret FBI report that has just been made public. It was within a much larger release of nearly 600 documents on the assassination of President Kennedy.

The 1968 report says that King was involved in sexual activities that if true and revealed publicly would have been devastating. The FBI also alleged financial impropriety inside the SCLC.

This 20-page document adds more proof of the FBI's intent to dig up dirt on the civil rights leader, and it's not clear whether any of the information was ever verified.

Joining me now, CNN contributor Cornell Brooks, the former president and CEO of the NAACP.

And, Cornell, John F. Kennedy is mentioned nowhere and we're all scratching our heads going, why did this secret file come out now?

CORNELL BROOKS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's a good question, and it is a troubling question. We have to be clear about what this story is about. The story is about -- not about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but rather the duel assassination, twice assassination, of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 in body, but he was also assassinated in character by the director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, so the release of this scurrilous, rumor-filled document in 2017 by the administration of Donald J. Trump aids and abets the character assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

There's no rationale, no reason for this. Historians agree as a matter of course that the FBI director engaged in a sustained campaign to take down, if you will, the character of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

[10:40:02] And for us -- for this administration to release these documents, rather this document, having nothing to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is unconscionable.

SAVIDGE: All right. I get your point. But wouldn't -- these aren't historic documents. They are part of a public record. At some point they would have had to have come forward. Is it -- you're saying it should have just been withheld by the government then?

BROOKS: Well, let's be clear. The National Archives recommended back in 1984 or decided in 1984 that the document should not be released at all. It doesn't contribute in any way to our historical understanding of the assassination of President Kennedy. It certainly does not add anything to our understanding of the contribution, the service, the sacrifice of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King. Why? Because most historians agree that Director J. Edgar Hoover really engaged in a campaign to not only undermine Dr. King, but to actually encourage his demise and his death.

The FBI director, this is accepted as a matter of history, sent a letter to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King encouraging him to kill himself, to commit suicide. The point being here is, where you have government subsidized rumor, innuendo, a sustained character assassination campaign, this document being released now is just unconscionable.

SAVIDGE: We're going to run out of time real quick, and I do want to get to this point, and that is, all right, so making Martin Luther King look bad was, obviously, part of this investigation. Coming out now also makes the FBI look very bad at a time that the FBI's involved in a very critical investigation of the current president.

Do you think that also weighs into this?

BROOKS: It absolutely weighs into it, but it not only makes the FBI look bad, I believe it makes this administration, as in the White House, look bad. While we are at a moment where we are concerned about Russian collusion, the Russian hijacking of an American election, why are we talking about scurrilous, innuendo, and rumors in terms of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King?

So let's not be diverted or distracted by the president concerns facing this democracy, and those would not be the outstanding contribution and service of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

SAVIDGE: Cornell Brooks, thank you very much for coming by and talking to us this morning.

BROOKS: Thank you.

PAUL: Well, disgraced mega movie producer Harvey Weinstein could face charges in a new assault allegation. What New York authorities say they have that may lead them to file charges. And actor Kevin Spacey assault allegations against him just cost him big time.

CNN is proud to announce the Top Ten CNN Heroes of 2017. Now each honoree will receive a cash prize and a shot at the top honor, CNN Hero of the Year. Of course, which will earn one of them an additional $100,000 for their cause. And you get to help decide who that person's going to be.

Here's Anderson Cooper to show you how.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Now that we've announced the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2017 it's time to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to help them continue their work. Just go to CNNheroes.com where you can learn more about each hero and when you're ready, just click on vote.

Log in using either your e-mail address or Facebook account and choose your favorite. Then confirm your selection and you're all set. And this year you can also vote through Facebook Messenger. You can vote up to 10 times a day per method every day through December 12th.

Then rally your friends by sharing your vote on social media. My friend and co-host Kelly Ripa joins me to reveal the 2017 Hero of the Year live during our 11th annual "CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" Sunday, December 17th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can meet all this year's top 10 heroes and vote every day at CNNheroes.com to help decide who should be our CNN Hero of the Year. All 10, by the way, will be honored at the "11TH ANNUAL CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE."

Only one will be named CNN Hero of the Year, though, so join Anderson Cooper and special guest co-host Kelly Ripa live Sunday, December 17th. It's going to be an extraordinary night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:48:52] SAVIDGE: There are new troubles for two Hollywood power houses, both faced with mounting allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Movie producer Harvey Weinstein could face criminal charges involving allegations from yet another actress. The woman Paz de la Huerta claims that Weinstein raped her on two separate occasions in 2010. Now the New York Police Department's involved. Investigators say they have received credible information and they are actively pursuing the case.

PAUL: In the meantime, actor Kevin Spacey has been dropped by Netflix over multiple claims that he sexually harassed or assaulted staff from "The House of Cards." He's been cut from the show's final season. The release of his film "Gore" has been cancelled.

I spoke earlier with CNN legal analyst Page Pate about both of these cases. In Spacey's case he said, yes, he could be legally at risk. In terms of Weinstein without any physical evidence, Pate says New York prosecutors are going to have to lean heavily on the alleged victim's testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAGE PATE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: A lot of people don't realize this, but in most rape prosecutions, sexual harassment prosecutions, there usually isn't any physical corroborating evidence. I mean, if it's something that happened within the last 12, 24 hours they may be able to do a rape kit at the hospital, they may be able to collect physical evidence to corroborate the victim's testimony.

[10:50:10] But especially when we're talking about a historical case, a case that goes back several years, you're usually just going to have the victim's testimony, so it's going to be a she said/he said type of situation.

PAUL: Of course, we're hearing this morning that Netflix is not going to be involved with any further production of "House of Cards" that includes Kevin Spacey as all the news has come out about sexual harassment and assault allegations against him in the last week. He is seeking unspecified treatment. I don't know what that means.

Do you have any idea what that means? And does it make him vulnerable to lawsuits in some degree? Because he did get on Instagram and essentially apologize to one alleged victim this week.

PATE: Well, he's already vulnerable to lawsuits. The one protection that people like Kevin Spacey have is that most states have statutes of limitations for civil cases that are different from criminal cases, so I believe in California the time period is, like, five years, so if you don't file suit after the incident happens within that five-year period, you can't ever sue him, but some people still proceed with those cases thinking, well, he's a, you know, high profile guy, maybe he'll give me some money just to avoid having this play out in the media.

A lot of times we'll see people who are in that position who think a civil suit's coming or maybe even a criminal charge trying to seek the treatment, the unspecified treatment, which maybe he needs it, maybe it's beneficial, but I think it's more geared towards, look, if I had a problem, I'm addressing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: So Weinstein was fired from his company, remember. Spacey has also been dropped by his publicist and his talent agency now. SAVIDGE: And when we come back, game day in Athens. Our Coy Wire is

live there for us and going to bring it all to us -- Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Athens, Georgia, Martin, with the newly ranked number one football team in the nation, the Georgia Bulldogs. We even have a Gamecocks fan here. But it's going to be a great game day here in Athens. It must be great to be a Georgia Bulldog. And it's great --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:56:54] SAVIDGE: The University of Georgia is on top of the college football playoff rankings, which around here is a big deal.

PAUL: Big deal. Coy Wire is there where it's a big deal, as well. Hey, Coy.

WIRE: In the middle of the heartland of college football, baby, here at Athens, University of Georgia, the newly crowned number one team in all of America.

Yesterday I got to walk around campus with two-time Super Bowl champ and former UGA Dog Hines Ward, and he said that he had never played on a number one ranked team in the country, he can only imagine how they feel.

You can feel the excitement here in Athens. 92,000 fans in the Sanford Stadium today, then they going to go crazy against the SEC rival South Carolina Gamecocks. It's going to be a good one.

Now Hines and I even got a chance to go talk to the team ahead of their big game. We talked to them about staying focused, staying humble and hungry. They are going to have a big matchup. Should be a great atmosphere here today.

I want to talk with some of these fine young fellas here. They're from UGA Accidentals, the oldest, all-male a cappella group at the University of Georgia.

What is this like, Aaron? What's the game day experience like here on campus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just an electric atmosphere. There's just a hum in the air and we're just excited to try and clinch the --

WIRE: Did you sleep last night?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did not. No one did.

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: Didn't sleep. All right, this is King, he's the director here. And King, why don't you introduce your man and take it away?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. I'm King, I'm the director. This is Grant.

WIRE: All right. Do it.

(MUSIC)

WIRE: Oh, yes. UGA's got one more chance today to show that they are the number one ranked team in the nation. They are undefeated. Big SEC rivals South Carolina's going on at 3:30 today. It's a doggone good day.

Martin, Christi, back to you.

SAVIDGE: "Doggone good day." I like that, Coy, thanks.

PAUL: Those singers win if nobody else does is all I'm saying.

SAVIDGE: Absolutely.

PAUL: They were pretty fantastic.

Thank you so much for making us part of your morning. We appreciate it. We hope you make some good memories today.

SAVIDGE: There's a whole lot more ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM and we're going to turn it over to our colleague Fredricka Whitfield.

Hi, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right Very good. Good to see you, guys, Thanks so much. Have a great day.

SAVIDGE: You too.

WHITFIELD: We got so much straight ahead. It's 11:00 on the East Coast right now. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. NEWSROOM starts right now.

It's 5:00 a.m. in Hawaii, and the first full day of President Trump's most important foreign trip yet. He awakens in Honolulu after visiting with U.S. military leaders last night. He and the first lady also laying a wreath at the U.S. Arizona memorial to honor the Americans killed at Pearl Harbor.

In just a couple of hours he leaves for Tokyo. He will have a hopscotching of five countries and meet with world leaders during his tour of Asia and across much of the region anxiety grows over a nuclear armed North Korea and it's bellicose exchanges with President Trump.

Also threatening to overshadow the trip, the Russia investigation and a new development.