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Serena's Spat With Umpire Overshadows Tennis Final; Naomi Osaka Beats Serena Williams; Obama Campaigns In California; Trump Predicts Midterm Wins Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 09, 2018 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolute chaos breaking out at the U.S. Open women's final.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to go down as one of the most controversial matches in tennis history.

SERENA WILLIAMS, AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER: It made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He's never took a game from a man because they said "thief."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A potential strike from a cat-4 is in the cards for U.S. next week. That has not happened in decades across the east coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are preparing for the worst and of course, hoping for the best.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the chance to flip the House of Representatives and make sure for real checks and balances in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And a good Sunday morning to you. We hope everything is going well for you this morning. A 20-year-old upset to tennis legend to win her first Grand Slam title but that may be the last thing anyone will remember about this U.S. Open match.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Rather it will be likely about Serena Williams clashing with this chair umpire demanding an apology, getting docked a game instead. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: You need to make an announcement that I didn't get coaching. I don't cheat. I didn't get coaching.

How can you say that? You need to -- you need -- you owe me an apology. You owe me an apology.

I have never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and I stand what is right for her and I have never cheated and you owe me an apology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You can hear everyone there is behind Serena there, but at home, millions of viewers joined the crowd of a-list stars at Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch this historic match. Williams was aiming for her 24th Grand Slam to take the all time, I guess, tie the major wins.

PAUL: Talk about what happened. We want to be joined by CNN's sports analyst Christine Brennan and CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes.

All right. So, thank you both so much for being here. Christine, first of all, your take away from this?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Well, obviously no one is for arguments or screaming or any kind of altercation on the court. However, when we consider the history of tennis, Christi, with the number of men who have yelled, screamed, what have you and gotten away with it, that is the point that Serena has been making after the match and, obviously, all through the night on Twitter. The conversation is there, that Serena was treated differently.

I don't think we can ever, ever doubt that that is the case. And I think it's an important point to make. Many people, voices from Billie Jean King to Chris Evert to Andy Roddick to James Blake. James Blake saying if he had done that, he has done worse and he's never penalized so why did that chair umpire at that moment decide to insert himself and take over and really potentially alter the match, and the outcome of a very important Grand Slam final that could have been the 24th Grand Slam title for Serena if she had won.

Naomi Osaka winning of course dramatically and it was a great win for her, but you cannot ignore what appears to be an incredible double standard between how men are treated, as Billie Jean said for being outspoken, and women then are called hysterical for doing the same thing.

BLACKWELL: So, Andy, you were there. Walk us through it.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what was that? Sorry. Someone was talking in my ear at the same time.

BLACKWELL: OK. Sorry about that. Sorry about that. Andy, you were there.

SCHOLES: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Tell us what happened. Walk us through it.

SCHOLES: Yes. I mean, it was quite the scene, Christi and Victor. I mean, the fans there, they were hoping to sit there and watch Serena make some history. Instead, they got to see what is probably down as one of the most controversial tennis matches of all time. Serena had already dropped the frustrating first set to Naomi Osaka. She was really struggling with her serve. And the second set chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, then issued her a warning for receiving coaching from her coach Patrick Mouratoglou from the stands and that is when Serena first approached Ramos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: We don't have any code, and I know you don't know that, and I understand why you may have thought that was coaching, but I'm telling you it's not. I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose. I'm just letting you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. The match continued and after Osaka then broke Serena she was upset. She smashed her racket into the ground. Serena was then hit with a point penalty for abuse of equipment and that is pretty much guaranteed to happen if you do that.

Then during a changeover, Serena decided to go at Ramos again. Ramos then penalized Serena again this time for verbal abuse for calling him a thief, for taking away that point and since this was her third offense, she was penalized a game.

[06:05:05]

And when Serena realized the penalty she asked for the referee and supervisor saying in tears that men do far worse and are not penalized for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: That's not right. That is not right. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calling you a thief? OK.

WILLIAMS: That is not right. This is not fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. You can see Serena in tears. She was would go on to lose the match 6-2, 6-4 to Osaka. The fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium they were booing throughout all of these exchanges. After the match Serena said she was proud of the way she handled things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: I'm here fighting for women's right and women's equality and for all kinds of stuff. And for me to say, thief and for him to take a game? It made me feel like it was a sexist remark.

I mean, he has never took a game from a man because they said thief. For me, it blows my mind. But I'm going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal.

A girl should be able to take her shirt off without getting a fine. Like this is outrageous. You know?

And I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and that want to express themselves and they want to be a strong woman and they are going to be allowed to that because of today. Maybe it didn't work out for me but it's going to work out for the next person.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: It's worth noting that after the match, Serena's coach was interviewed and he admitted to trying to coach Serena. He says everyone does it. He does it all the time and, guys, this is the first time he has ever been penalized for it during a match.

PAUL: All right. So I want to ask you, Christine, this tweet from John Ziegler. He says, "A question for all of the female media types breathlessly retweeting Sally Jenkins' column accusing U.S. Open Final umpire to being a chauvinist.

How exactly is advancing the idea that to hold a woman to the rules is inherently chauvinistic at all helpful to cause of equal rights?"

Your reaction to that?

BRENNAN: Well, again let's hold all the men to that same rule. You know, every sport has its idiosyncrasies, the phantom tag in baseball, all kinds of different thing. You could call holding on every play in football. Cheating a little, faking it a little. We wouldn't even call it cheating, right? It's gamesmanship.

And it is well known in tennis that -- as everyone has been saying over the last 12 hours, everyone coaches. So the question then is why was Serena penalized if everyone is receiving coaching?

Billie Jean King, everyone. Take my word for it.

And then, again, in terms of language, folks just look at history. John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ilie Nastase. As James Blake tweeted out in support of Serena Williams, he has said worse and never been penalized.

So, again, why, if that is -- if we are saying that everyone is bad, then there should be a uniform penalty for everyone in a game. A game penalty is an extraordinary penalty, especially at that moment at that match. And I again would make the case, Christi, that the chair umpire literally took over the match.

The number one job of any chair umpire or any referee is to let the players play and as so many have said, why not give Serena just a warning saying, hey, cool it, I'm about to give you a game penalty if you say another word. That would have been the logical thing to do and again that is what is apparently all of the men have been saying has been done over and over again. So why do you single out this one person who happens to be a woman, happens to be African-American, therein lies the question.

And I raise it as a question. Why was she singled out and all the others were not penalized for basically doing the same thing or, in many cases, worse than what Serena did last night?

BLACKWELL: Andy let me come to you as we wrap this up. Naomi Osaka she actually apologized after winning saying that I'm sorry it had to end this way.

This was her first Grand Slam. This was supposed to be a great moment for her. Serena had to stop the crowd from booing.

What does this mean for her this now asterisk that's going to be next to the 2018 U.S. Open win?

SCHOLES: There is no asterisk per se, Victor. But everyone really did feel bad for Osaka.

I spoke to a lot of fans afterwards just to get their reaction to what happened. Many of them said they felt like Serena was getting cheated out on the court but they were quick to acknowledge -- you know, Osaka was going to win this match probably regardless of the game penalty that Serena was given. But everyone did feel bad because the crowd was 95 percent pro Serena but it's not because anyone was against Osaka, it was just everyone wanted to see history and Serena winning her 24th Grand Slam title.

[06:10:02]

And I feel like everyone leaving that stadium they were mad at what happened to Serena but they also kind of felt bad that Osaka didn't get to be celebrate the way she should have being a 20-year-old Grand Slam champion beating her childhood idol at the U.S. Open.

I spoke to Osaka after the match. And she did have that feeling. She even was almost in tears in her post press conference because she is a Serena fan herself.

She felt bad for what's happening. She knows Serena wants to win that 24th Grand Slam title to tie Margaret Court. So it was an interesting dynamic beating her childhood idol but also kind of feeling bad about it at the same time.

But it was unfortunate that there were so many boos raining down when Osaka should have been being celebrated out there on the court.

PAUL: All right. Andy Scholes and Christine Brennan, thank you both so much for spending some time with us this morning.

BRENNAN: Sure.

PAUL: OK. Moving into something else here.

President Obama back on the campaign trail. Coming up, his message to Democrats and why critics say, this could backfire. BLACKWELL: Plus, tropical storm Florence is now expected to become a major hurricane. Where it's heading and how some states are preparing.

PAUL: Also North Korea held its military parade this morning to mark its 70th anniversary. CNN Will Ripley says there was something missing from this event this year and it was significant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One dramatic difference that I've seen, this parade versus the previous parade that I've seen in this very square, the nuclear program was not included.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:46]

BLACKWELL: Fifteen minutes after the hour now.

Former President Barack Obama continues to stump for Democratic candidates ahead of the midterm elections.

PAUL: Yes. Saturday, yesterday, of course, Obama campaigned for seven California Democrats running in House districts currently held by Republicans. All seven districts were won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

BLACKWELL: Meanwhile President Trump took to Twitter setting a positive spin to his chances of reelection in 2020 predicting Republican wins in the Senate races this year.

CNN's Sarah Westwood joins us now from Washington. Sarah, how is the White House reacting to the now second appearance of President Obama on the campaign trail?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Victor now that president Trump is not alone on the campaign trail, he is touting what might be his favorite numbers in the world and that is his electoral college victory in 2016. And tweets this weekend Trump blames Democrats for going -- quote -- "crazy," trying to beat him even though he is not technically on the ballot this year. And he touted what he believes will be Republican success in the Senate midterms.

But he made no mention of the House where Republicans are, obviously, the most vulnerable heading into November and that is where former President Obama seems to be focusing his fire power. On Saturday during that second campaign appearance, he implored Democrats to get out and vote, flip the House. And he didn't attack Trump directly but he argued about the broader consequences of allowing the GOP to maintain its congressional majority.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Where is there a vacuum in our democracy, when we are not participating, we are not paying attention, when we are not stepping up, other voices fill the void. The good news is in two months, we have a chance to restore some sanity in our politics. We have the chance to flip the House of Representatives and make sure the real checks and balances are in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now on Friday, when President Trump appeared in North Dakota to campaign on behalf of a Republican Senate, a Senate candidate there, he said that he -- quote -- "fell asleep" during President Obama's political reemergence that also occurred on Friday. It's interesting because critics are arguing that potentially this move could backfire for Democrats because Trump performs well when he has a foil to rail against. Sometimes that's the media. It used to be Hillary Clinton.

Obama could provide that once again. And Trump is not someone who enjoys sharing the spotlight. It will be interesting to see how he reacts if Obama keeps up this public schedule -- Victor and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Sarah Westwood, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk now about this means to have President Obama back on the campaign trail.

I'm bringing CNN political analyst, historian and professor at Princeton University, Julian Zelizer. And Siraj Hashmi, commentary writer and editor of "The Washington Examiner." Gentlemen, welcome back.

And, Siraj, let me start with you. So scatter shot strategies rarely work so what is president Obama's mission? Is it to bring back those Democrats who voted for him in '08 and 2012 but voted for Trump in 2016? Is it to motivate the base who didn't really show up to the levels as expected in 2016? What is singular -- at least primary focus?

SIRAJ HASHMI, COMMENTARY WRITER AND EDITOR, "WASHINGTON EXAMINER": You know, Victor, the one strategy in electoral politics is also to turn out your base. You know, some politicians try to get those independent voters, those voters on the fences but that's not what really wins elections.

What really matters and I know this is very cliche, it's turnout. But it's really turnout within your base and so focusing on some of these contested battle ground districts like in California or in Illinois or what have you, you know, Barack Obama really energizes the Democratic Party. And despite the fact that he had it pretty, you know, sketchy track record with getting Democrats down the ballot elected to office or keeping a majority in Congress, you know, he has a pretty good shot of at least reinvigorating that sort of enthusiasm that Democrats so desperately needed. BLACKWELL: Let's talk about that sketchy track record as Siraj refers to. Julian, let's listen to -- this is President Obama in 2016 just a month and a half before the election.

[06:20:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And after we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Black voters didn't, in some really important states, and specific districts and thinking (ph) around Wayne County in Michigan and Ohio didn't show up for Hillary Clinton in the way that they did for him in '08 and 2012. There was this shellacking in 2010. There was the midterm in 2014 where Democrats lost more seats in the House and the Senate.

So why are Democrats convinced that President Obama will have an impact this time? He is not on the ballot and that is when he performs -- at least gets his voters to come out.

JULIAN E. ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This is a different moment. I mean, most importantly, President Trump is the focus in many ways of the midterm.

So as a post-president he is playing a very different role when he goes out on the campaign trail and speaks about the problems that the nation faces and urges this kind of enthusiasm. And also Hillary Clinton is not on the ticket.

So I think it's just a different moment and he also now is engaging in the political fight. In a way he didn't even in 2010 and 2014, in the way that he is framing the problem. So I think they are different moments and I think he can have a very beneficial effect for Democrats.

BLACKWELL: So we have seen, Siraj, tweets from Lindsey Graham, from Marco Rubio and others now focusing on former President Obama. We know that -- that the playbook typically is to motivate base voters in the Republican Party by going after Nancy Pelosi and now Chuck Schumer.

Does this change fundamentally their playbook?

HASHMI: A little bit, because, you know, Republicans see Obama in the national spotlight as someone that, as a gift because it can also invigorate their voters and possibly turn them out to go vote in November. At the same time though they have to realize that Barack Obama, despite the fact that he has a lot of power in the Democratic Party, he doesn't have the same level of power as President Trump at the moment. And so, you know, making this a referendum about Trump on both sides, you know, Trump has made a referendum about him this midterm election and so has Obama. So it's really, you know, Democrats seem more energized now to go anti-Trump than it is for Republicans to go very pro Trump because they are very sketchy on things like -- or I should say they are very cautious about things like the trade war.

I mean, there are a lot of conservatives who are against imposing tariffs in other nations and getting into a trade war and, you know, you can see the impact that's having on, you know, agriculture. You know the tax cuts that the Republicans passed last year, it's kind of being offset by the trade wars that we are having right now.

And I think with Obama, if he hones in on this restore sanity, I think that is actually a winning message without, you know, without getting into identity politics.

BLACKWELL: Quickly to you, Julian. I want to read something that Mick Mulvaney, the director of the White House budget office, said. This was about the president. Let's go to the one about the president, guys, the next full screen.

He said, the candidates could fair better if they find a way to encourage people to ignore their hate for the president. Here is the quote from "The New York Times." They obtained a recording. "You may hate the president and there's a lot of people who do, but they certainly like the way the country is going. If you figure out a way to" -- subtract from that equation -- or "subtract that from the equation how they feel about the president, the numbers go up dramatically."

I mean, maybe that is true, but that is an interesting case to come from someone who is working there in the White House. Just forget how much you hate the president.

ZELIZER: Right, absolutely. That is a very interesting case and you almost need a magician to pull off that trick.

Obviously, many people are happy with the way the economy is going, but many people are not happy with the president of the United States. And it's very hard for voters to somehow subtract who the president is from the state of our politics. And many Republicans, right now, especially in these House contests, that could be a big issue that flips the chamber to the Democrats.

So it's interesting to hear Mulvaney say that, but I don't think it's going to be possible to make that separation. That is exactly what Republicans are hoping for. That is the only way in which there is no blue wave if somehow you can have people vote Republican without voting for Trump isn't but the two are one and the same.

BLACKWELL: Fewer than 60 days until Election Day. Julian Zelizer, Siraj Hashmi, thank you both.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

HASHMI: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And do not miss Senators Ben Sasse and Mark Warner this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JAKE TAPPER." That's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern only on CNN.

PAUL: All right. And still to come, (INAUDIBLE) top news here. Tropical storm Florence is gaining strength and slowing down. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking it for us.

[06:25:02]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And it's expected to be a hurricane by the end of the day today but this is only one of three systems. We will take a look all of them coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Coming close now to the bottom of the hour. And tropical storm Florence is getting stronger as it gets closer to the United States.

[06:30:02]

It is expected to become a major hurricane by tomorrow.

PAUL: We have got South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia already declaring state of emergency in preparation for all of this.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar in the weather center tracking the storm for us right now. One of the things we were talking about earlier, Allison, is the fact that this thing is slowing down and how much that means to these states.

CHINCHAR: Yes. It does. Especially in terms of rainfall.

The slower the systems move, the more rain they are to likely to dump in the same location that is already been getting the rain. And unfortunately, that seems to be the trend that the models are taking with this particular storm.

Right now 70 miles per hour, just about five miles per hour off from hurricane strength. So we are about as close as we could possibly get which is why we expect it to get back to hurricane strength by the end of the day today. And then by Monday, making that quick jump to likely a Category 3 making it a major hurricane.

It continues to strengthen over these open, warm waters before it finally gets close enough to land. Now if the model still pretty much have pretty good agreement. Somewhere between, say, Virginia, and South Carolina.

That may seem like a pretty widespread but you have to understand there is a lot of models that come into play and this is actually, believe it or not, pretty good agreement to have all of them in this very narrow path right here. That is what you're seeing right here. The one big distinction is the time line for this. OK? The European model has it making landfall on Thursday. The American model has it making landfall on Friday.

Part of that is the slowing nature of it. If it waits until Friday, it's more likely to kind of hover over the coastline which is why you'll end up getting some very tremendous amounts of rain out of this. In fact, for portions of North Carolina and Virginia, it is not out of the question that we could get well over a foot of rain out of this system.

So here is the basic take away from this. It is expected to become a hurricane today. A major hurricane by tomorrow.

The potential U.S. landfall is still five days away and that would be in the earlier end of it. But also as we mentioned, this is one of three systems that we have been watching across portions of the Atlantic. All three of them now actually have names.

As of yesterday, as you recall, only Florence and Helene had names. We now have newly named Isaac to add to the list. Isaac of the two of those ones near Africa is going to be the bigger story of concern there because that's likely to head towards the Caribbean and then perhaps, Victor and Christ, then make its way towards the gulf. Although that would be at least 10 days out from now and a lot could change.

BLACKWELL: A lot to watch. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.

PAUL: So synchronized soldiers, colorful flags. This is all part of North Korea's 70th anniversary celebration.

BLACKWELL: But this time, there were no ballistic missiles on display and that is important. CNN's Will Ripley has details from Pyongyang.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: North Korea's military parades to celebrate its 70th founding anniversary left no doubt that this is still a military state. It has a standing army of more than 1 million and there were thousands of soldiers marching here along Kim Il-sung Square

But one dramatic difference that I've seen, this parade versus the previous parades that I've seen in this very square, the nuclear program was not included.

You didn't see the nuclear symbol and you certainly did not see the intercontinental ballistic missiles that are believed to pose a threat to the mainland United States. Those were kept away. The focus was on the soldiers themselves.

Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, did not give a speech. But his right-hand man, Kim Yong-nam, did speak. One thing he said that I thought was particularly striking, he told soldiers they needed to be prepared to fight a war but they also needed to be prepared, simultaneously, to fight an economic battle, to build things like roads and bridges and buildings, to grow this country's economy, something that Kim Jong-un has said is his priority moving forward, something that he hopes that the United States will be able to help with as he continues to work towards diplomacy with President Trump.

Denuclearization talks have been very difficult. Just because North Korea's not displaying its nuclear weapons doesn't mean it's getting rid of them. In fact, U.S. intelligence has stated that they don't believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un intends to fully denuclearize anytime soon.

He was standing here alongside a special enjoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and in less than two weeks he'll be meeting with the South Korean, President Moon Jae-in. There was a letter exchanged from Kim to Trump, indicating that the two leaders, of the U.S. and North Korea, want to keep the denuclearization process moving forward.

And this parade, certainly the imagery here suggests that North Korea is making a change when it comes to its nuclear program.

I'm Will Ripley, reporting at Kim Il-sung Square, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Will, thank you so much.

The U.S. is walking back claims that accused Russian agent Maria Butina traded sex for political access. Is this going to change the case against her? We're going to talk to our legal analyst. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:39:15]

PAUL: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour right now.

New developments in the Maria Butina case. Prosecutors acknowledge that they made a mistake in claiming the accused Russian agent traded sex for political access. In a court filing, the government said they misunderstood text messages it used as the basis of that claim. Butina is charged with conspiracy to act and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government. She pleaded not guilty.

Joey Jackson, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney with us now. This was a late night court filing on Friday. Joey, what does this walk-back do to the government's case?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: You know -- good morning, Christi. It's problematic and let's start here.

When the government charges you, particularly the FBI, it's a very credible entity, right? The FBI works in conjunction with the Department of Justice and they present allegations and those allegations are used not only to draft a criminal complainant but for your detention status.

[06:40:07]

Remember that she is detained without bail. And the judge relies in large measure when making decisions about the case on the factual allegations that are contained. And so now to have a walk-back of she wasn't trading, you know, sex for any type of influence and we misunderstood a text message, well, what else did you misunderstand about this case?

She is charged with significant crimes at the federal level both with her work with the Russian government, the conspiring with the Russian government and so it's a problem. And, you know, it makes one wonder with regard to the strength of the case what other errors there might be in here. So it's a -- it's a huge disappointment particularly when you're dealing with an agency as credible as the FBI and U.S. attorney's office.

PAUL: All right. Let's move to Stormy Daniels here because in another court filing President Trump says he will not seek to enforce that 2016 agreement that we have talked about that settlement agreement between Daniels and Michael Cohen.

Daniels sued President Trump, remember, asserting that the agreement wasn't binding because he, himself, did not sign it. He is essentially agreeing to that now, Joey.

Here is the thing. Michael Avenatti, her attorney tweeted out, "I've been practicing law for nearly 20 years. Never before have I seen a defendant so frightened to be deposed as Donald Trump, especially for a guy that talks so tough. He is desperate and doing all he can to avoid having to answer my questions. He is all hat and no cattle."

So I think the point is President Trump's focus it is believed is he wants to be dissolved of the potential to be deposed. Does the president's decision to align himself with Daniels and that 2016 agreement, does it absolve him of the ability for him to be deposed?

JACKSON: It's an excellent question, Christi, and here is why it's an excellent question before I get to the answer.

I think that this deposition presents such a grave danger to the president in light of the fact that when he is deposed -- remember the evolving stories. He knows about the money, he doesn't know about the money, yes, I do know about the money. The stories have evolved over time.

It's fine when you -- not fine but not unlawful when lie to the press and you just say things at the back of Air Force One et cetera. When you sit for a deposition and have to swear under oath you could get yourself into problems. Ask Bill Clinton about that, right?

As it relates to his false testimony that he had given previously. And so the fact of the matter is sitting for a deposition becomes problematic. Now, how does he extricate himself from it? He has attempted to do that by saying, OK, you know what? I want out of this deal. And in light of me saying that I'll get out of the deal, we should just dismiss the case.

It may not be that simple. Remember that there are counterclaims, at least as to Cohen for defamation. There's a separate lawsuit for the president as it relates to defamation. There's another lawsuit talking about the conspiring of the attorneys.

And so while it does render moot the president is saying I won't look to enforce the agreement. I think there is still peril for the president and so, you know, it makes it less probable that he'll have to sit for a deposition by saying, I don't want to enforce the case but I think that the pressure is still on him, ala Michael Avenatti with the separate matters that are linked to this case.

And so the president has to find a way out because if he is deposed, I think it represents a problem for his presidency.

PAUL: All right. Joey Jackson, always appreciate your insight, my friend. Thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: Dallas police have identified the officer who shot and killed her neighbor. Her name is Amber Guyger. She's a four-year veteran of the department.

Police also say that the Texas Rangers have postponed seeking a warrant on manslaughter charges against her. They're following up on information they received from an interview with the officer.

PAUL: Guyger claimed she tried to enter Botham Shem Jean's home allegedly mistaking it for her own. The police chief said it is not clear what happened between Guyger and Jean before Guyger opened fire. She is calling for patience though while the investigation is conducted.

BLACKWELL: Still to come, journalist Bob Woodward will be talking for the first time since his excerpt from his upcoming book about the distrust and chaos inside the White House made headlines. What can we expect? We will talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:30]

PAUL: So later this morning, journalist Bob Woodward's first interview about his new book is going to air. "Fear: Trump in the White House," the title. Takes a behind the scenes look at the distrust and the chaos inside the White House allegedly.

An excerpt already released from his book and it details how senior administration officials have swiped papers off the president's desk so he wouldn't sign them in order protect the country and they are stunning accusations.

BLACKWELL: They are. President Trump has criticized the way he has been depicted in the book and calls it a scam. He has called Woodward an idiot.

Woodward tells CNN that he still stands by all of his reporting.

Joining us now is CNN's senior media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" Brian Stelter. Brian, good morning to you.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: Of course, we are looking forward to this interview this morning but it's important to put this into context when it was taped. Our producers tell us that this was recorded before the senior --

STELTER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- administration official op-ed was published.

STELTER: And before all of Trump's criticism as well. So this is just the beginning of Woodward's rollout. We're going to see him here on CNN and pretty much everyone else in the days to come and that is why I think for President Trump, this is only just begun.

This news cycle, these questions about his fitness have been revived in recent days. This is only just begun to play out. There is actually a lot in the Woodward book we haven't heard yet even though the excerpts were incendiary the other day and really kind of concerning.

You've got White House aides believing the president is a danger to national security. But there is even more we will hear from Woodward and I think in today's interview we're also going to hear about how he was able to pull this off, where he was able to get this information.

[06:50:09]

Because in some cases, he has notes from meetings. He has copies of the memos that were made in these meetings. So it's not just Woodward relying on anonymous sources it's also Woodward sharing the words of Trump administration officials and I think that is going to be a shock as we hear more about that in the next couple of days.

PAUL: The one thing that he did not do as I understand is he didn't talk to the president directly about that. Is that right?

STELTER: That's right. And in Woodward's tape recordings from the president from last month, Trump basically calls up saying I wished we could have talked, why didn't you call me? Woodward catches him in a couple of contradictions and says, hey, I tried six different ways to get a hold of you. I was turned down, I was rebuffed.

I think that is -- that is to be expected. The White House turns down lots of interview requests. But in this case Woodward was doing this project for over a year. It might have been in the White House's best interests to give him an interview and it sounds like Trump regretted not having a chance to talk to him.

BLACKWELL: The reporting is is that President Trump is disappointed with his communications director Bill Shine in the way that the White House has responded to this new book. He -- a source tells us shouted out, bring back Hope Hicks. Apparently he preferred her response to Michael Wolff but -- and this is no -- I'm looking for a word other than shade. No shade on Michael Wolfe.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: You can't find another word.

BLACKWELL: The way you respond to Michael Wolff is not the same way you would respond to Bob Woodward who has chronicled, you know, more than a half dozen of these presidencies over the last -- I think it's nine now.

STELTER: Yes, that's right. Woodward has written books about -- pretty much every presidency -- total he has written like 18 books in his career so he has an enormous amount of credibility. And when the president calls him an idiot and suggests he made up sources that actually says more about the president than it does about Woodward.

We know the president likes to make up stories so of course he accuses a lot of people of doing the same thing. But when it comes to Woodward, there's nobody in Washington that has more credibility or respect. That said nobody is perfect.

And certainly, you know, we're all going to read the book for ourselves and look for flaws and holes in it but he does bring a lot of credibility to the table. So with Wolfe, the strategy was threaten a lawsuit, say it's all fake news. I don't know if that playbook is nearly as effective this time with Woodward.

And to your point about Shine Shine's only on the job a couple of months. It's pretty common the president brings in someone new, gets really excited, and the sours on them relatively quickly. And it sounds like we're seeing that again this time with Bill Shine.

BLACKWELL: We have also seen the unhinged book. We've seen the op- ed.

STELTER: Right.

BLACKWELL: We've seen the reporting incrementally since "Fire and Fury" so this is a different beast now. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: Thank you, Brian.

BLACKWELL: And Michael Wolff if you're watching really no shade.

PAUL: Yes. No shade, yes. No shade.

BLACKWELL: All right. Be sure to catch "RELIABLE SOURCES." Brian will be back today at 11:00 Eastern right here on CNN. PAUL: With the next hour, a dramatic finish to one of the most controversial U.S. Open matches in recent memories. Serena Williams takes on a chair umpire calling him a thief, demanding an apology after what she said was a bad call and many agree. After the match, she said this was a fight worth fighting for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: The fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person. They are going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it didn't work out for me, but it's going to work out for the next person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And you heard some of the titles, professor, litigator, role model, dissenter. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has earned all of them during her groundbreaking career. Well, now the new original CNN film "RBG" takes a closer look at the life of Justice Ginsburg. Watch a portion here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am proud to nominate this path-breaking attorney, advocate and judge to be the 107th justice to the United States Supreme Court.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG, U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: We may be in trying times, but think how it was in those days. The judges didn't think sex discrimination existed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ruth knew what she was doing in laying the foundation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To put women on the same plane as men.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The goal was equality and civil rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ruth Bader Ginsburg quite literally changed the way the world is for American women.

GINSBURG: What has become of me could happen only in America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has become such a rock star.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is really the closest thing to a super hero I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is known to the world over as the notorious RBG.

GINSBURG: All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:58:56]

BLACKWELL: If you don't know the image you know that theme song (INAUDIBLE). Hollywood is mourning the loss the star from television's golden age "I Dream of Jeannie" star Bill Daily has died.

BLACKWELL: Yes. He played astronaut Roger Healey on the show for five seasons. This was in the early -- or in the 1960's and early 70's I should say.

But he was a staple at series to the 80's starring in the "Bob Newhart Show" and "ALF." Daily was a popular guest star in sitcoms too, had appearances on "Bewitched," "The Love Boat," "Mary Tyler Moore Show."

He died in New Mexico. He's 91 years old.

BLACKWELL: Tonight we will see a Miss America pageant that's trying to adapt to the modern era.

PAUL: Yes. No more swimsuit competition, no steering away from politics either. Case in point, Miss West Virginia in the preliminary competition when asked, what the biggest issue was facing our country? She said, "Donald Trump."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELINE COLLINS, MISS WEST VIRGINIA: Unfortunately, he has caused a lot of divide in our country, and until we can trust in him and the choices that he makes for our country, we cannot become united. Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:00]

BLACKWELL: Now this will be the first Miss America pageant since former Miss America and TV host Gretchen Carlson became chairwoman. She says she wants the pageant to represent a new generation of female leaders.