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Monica Lewinsky Gets Emotional and Candid in New Interview; Investigation into High School Students Appearing to Make Nazi Salute; 44 Dead in California Wildfires, Worst in State History; Boeing Withheld in Full on New 737 Max Planes According to Pilot Group. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 13, 2018 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Monica Lewinsky is breaking her relative silence and sat down for 20 hours of candid interviews for a new documentary called "The Clinton Affair". For the first time she shares private details about how her relationship with President Bill Clinton began and ended and reveals emotional trauma of wearing a wire during that investigation 20 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA LEWINSKY, INTERVIEW IN DOCUMENTARY, THE CLINTON AFFAIR: I don't talk about this very often and I still feel uncomfortable talking about it. Because I think it's one of those things where it's not as if it didn't register with me that he was the President. Obviously, it did. But I think in one way, the moment we were actually in the back office for the first time, the truth is that I think it meant more to me that someone who other people desired, desired me. However wrong it was, however misguided, for who I was in that very moment at 22 years old, that was how it felt.

In order to cooperate and to avoid charges, I would have to make phone calls, monitored phone calls, which they would listen into and record. And I might have to wear a wire and go see people actually in person. The ground completely crumbled in that moment. I felt so much guilt. And I was terrified. They imagined that I would have flipped really easily. They had no plan in place for what would happen if I said no.

There was a point for me somewhere in this sort of first several hours where I would be hysterically crying and then I would just shut down. And in the shutdown period, I remember looking out the window and thinking that the only way to fix this was to kill myself, was to jump out the window. And I just -- I felt terrible. I was scared and I just -- I was mortified and afraid of what this was going to do to my family and, you know, I still was in love with Bill at the time. So, I just -- I felt really responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow. Let's talk about that moment there. Maeve Reston is with me, our CNN national political reporter. I mean, how open she is, it's a wow moment. I know this documentary isn't all about her. But we've seen her walk off the stage, Maeve, when she's been asked about that time. Why do you think she agreed to do this?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, I mean, Brooke, as you have done so much reporting on this year, this is the year of me-too, this is the year of the woman. This a moment when a lot of people are coming forward and kind of sharing their truth. And clearly, she's trying to reclaim her story here. For so many years the Clintons were kind of try to frame the narrative. Hillary Clinton obviously had a big role in that. And now this is her moment to tell her story, and she did speak to "Vanity Fair" about this, wrote a piece about why she did it. And she said that the process of filming has been exceedingly painful but I hope that by participating, by telling the truth about a time in my life, a time in our history, I can help ensure that what happened to me never happens to another young person in our country again.

And you know, clearly being inspired by the many other people who have come forward over the last year and a half, it's a really amazing thing after she was such the center of the campaign for so long against the Clintons.

BALDWIN: She talks a lot about apologies, the one she's given, the one she's yet to receive. Tell me about that.

RESTON: So, it's interesting also that she was asked, you know, she has been asked many times about whether she's wanted Bill Clinton to apologize. And she said what feels more important to me than whether I am owed or deserving of a personal apology is my belief that Bill Clinton should want to apologize. I'm less disappointed by him and more disappointed for him. He would be a better man for it and he in turn a better society. Which is just a really striking statement and it will be fascinating to see how Bill Clinton respond to that -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: How he responds, if he responds. Maeve Reston, thank you for bringing us that bit of sound. That was incredible.

[15:35:00] RESTON: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, the story behind this absolutely despicable photo. American high school students posing while making what appears to be a Nazi salute. Only one teenager in the whole photo wasn't making the gesture. And now he's telling CNN why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Police are now investigating a school photo showing a group of Wisconsin high school students right before spring prom with their arms raised in what appears to be Nazi salutes.

[15:40:02] Baraboo school officials say they are working with authorities to track down how and why this photo was taken. CNN talked to one student who was in the photo who decided not to raise his arm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JORDAN BLUE, STUDENT AT BARABOO HIGH SCHOOL: The way the students had taken it was out of control. The photographer said to raise your hand, but he didn't say a specific way. And it appears it should have not raised it in this specifically way. That was the offensive way and hurtful way. I did see them out of intent that was in some of my peers' arms. And then at that moment I was uncomfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, the Wisconsin State Senator, Jon Erpenbach district includes Baraboo. So, Senator, thank you for being with me.

JON ERPENBACH (D), WISCONSIN STATE SENATE: Sure.

BALDWIN: We've got to begin with the picture. When you first saw it, you instantly felt what?

ERPENBACH: Disgust. Absolutely discussed with what I saw. It certainly doesn't reflect Baraboo as a whole, Brooke. By the way, Baraboo is a town of about 12, 13,000 people, strong, hardworking, great quality of life there. And it doesn't even come close to what I see in Baraboo. But absolutely disgusted with what I saw in the photo.

BALDWIN: You heard the student say a second ago there was the photographer who said, "raise your arms." What more have you heard? How are they explaining this?

ERPENBACH: Well, it depends on who you listen to. People are saying they were raising their arm to say hi or say -- wave to people or whatever. But that's not --

BALDWIN: No.

ERPENBACH: -- I guess that's not the point. The bigger point is the fact that what some students actually chose to do. And what they chose to do was wrong. And there are adults -- grant it their young adults. They watch, they learn, they mimic.

And I think it's really frustrating to see that being played out even at the high school level. It's very, very frustrating.

BALDWIN: You say they watch, they learn, they mimic. You have actually cited the White House in this story. Are you blaming these students doing a Nazi salute on the President?

ERPENBACH: Not blaming it on the President, but I got to tell you whether it's a President or a governor, the tone of the tenor of the debate starts at the top, always has and always will. And when you have someone in office, whether it's the president, or a governor or even a state senator who chooses to use words that are combative, that are offensive, that are borderline racist, you're going to see that played out across the country and obviously in some of our high schools.

BALDWIN: Do you feel that the President does that? ERPENBACH: I'm sorry, what was that?

BALDWIN: Do you feel that the President does that? I had read something where you were talking about the President's use of language.

ERPENBACH: Well I tell you what, when I watch a President heckle reporters for doing their job or pick on a nationality who is trying to seek a better life in our country and calling them names and pointing out how bad they are. When I see a President mimic and make fun of someone who's disabled, yes, I have a problem with that. And I think the majority of the country has a problem with that. But again, when you're dealing with these kids, I can't stress this enough. I don't know if you have kids or not, I've had kids they watch, they learn and they're going to mimic what they see. And they might think it OK because they see somebody else or an adult in their life doing it and it's really wrong.

BALDWIN: You know, what really struck me -- I was reading what the Auschwitz Memorial had tweeted. They saw this photo and they said, if Baraboo wishes to know more about what can be the extreme result of normalization of hatred and hatred is enrolled in this symbol, please see some online learning dedicated to the history of Auschwitz. Senator Erpenbach, what should a proper punishment involving these young people look like?

ERPENBACH: I'm not sure what the what the punishment would look like. I know what I would do with my kids if that were ever the case that they were in the photo or did something like that.

BALDWIN: What would you do?

ERPENBACH: That's going to be up -- what would I do? I would sit them down. I would make them do research. I would make them learn what in a symbol is all about and what it means to a lot of people not only in this country but around this world. And how offensive that actually is. But at the same time, what Baraboo is doing right now -- hopefully and they started last night -- they're going to use this as a moment to teach and reach out to those who either don't get it or do get it. But try and reach out and educate them even more that that particular symbol is offensive, it's wrong and it needs to stop.

BALDWIN: Hopefully the young people will listen. State Senator Jon Erpenbach, I appreciate your voice through all of this. Thank you for coming on.

ERPENBACH: All right, thanks.

BALDWIN: Coming up, we will take you California live pictures. Look at this. This is the camp fire in California, now the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. We'll talk to someone who has been trying to save animals, all of these horses left behind because the fire came raging through so quickly.

Also, more on that stunning statement that we reported at the top of the hour from the first lady, Melania Trump. [15:45:00] Why she is saying a top adviser no longer, quote, deserves

the honor of working in her husband's administration next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Calmer winds around California's now deadliest wildfire are giving exhausted firefighters just the littlest bit of respite. The camp fire -- it's what it's called in the northern part of the state. It's already claimed 42 lives. It is only 30 percent contained, and the Woolsey fire circling the Malibu area only 35 percent under control. Two people have died there.

The flames in Malibu swept the area so fast, many families were forced to abandon pets, including animals like horses, a lot of horses in the Malibu area.

[15:50:00] So, a local group of loners and breeders rallied over the weekend to save these left behind. So, with me now on the phone, one of those who saved a lot of horses. He is Ardeshir Radpour. He's with me now. Ardeshir, thank you for jumping on the phone with me. Obviously, in these instances, you know, human lives are priority number one. But we love our animals too, and there are so many horses in the Malibu area. How many do you think you've helped save?

ARDESHIR RADPOUR, SAVED HORSES FROM DEADLY FIRE (via phone): Thanks for having me on, Brooke. This trip, I have to say, was maybe about a dozen. But normally, the number is quite larger, unfortunately, like the last fires we got anywhere around 300 horses. But this one, because of the nature of the fires, and where they're at in the canyons, it was just impossible to get in and out, especially if you have larger rigs. And that made it very tough. And people who were trying to call us, we couldn't get hold of, we couldn't return their calls. The highways were closed, the canyons were closed. So, if you were in there, you were able to get horses in and out. And then we would come out and hear the unfortunate news that, well, they got their horses out but their properties have burned down. So, this has been the unfortunate circumstance of what we're dealing with out here.

BALDWIN: Isn't the challenge -- and I think you hit on this a second ago. But because this fire became so fierce and so fast, a lot of these horse owners actually -- they had to fend for themselves. And leave these beautiful creatures behind.

RADPOUR: Yes, absolutely. I mean, you know, normally, you know, you can -- you have a little bit of advanced notice. You see it and some people can prep and some people have done that. But unfortunately, the way this fire was moving, we -- you couldn't see the size of it. And couldn't see how fast it was moving. So, when we got into hidden hills, for example, I thought we had plenty of time. And all of a sudden, I mean, within five minutes, there were sheriffs and there saying this is mandatory evacuation. And you also when you move, you load the horses in and then when you're moving out, you realize, wow, what I saw was black sky is now red sky. And you're seeing the flames right there. So, you hustle to get the fires out -- I'm sorry, the horses out and you get them to a safety spot. And then phone calls come in, we need you to come over here and you call and see the roads are closed. Roads that were open five minutes before now completely engulfed.

And so, it's a really, really bad situation, because if you're in that area and you can't get out, your best and sometimes only saving grace is to turn your horses loose and hope they'll, you know, move to better grounds that we can't get them to. Sometimes that works, and unfortunately, sometimes that doesn't work.

But in this case, I think there was a lot of heroic people who were in that area, and they got a lot of horses out fast. And I will tell you something, Brooke. I mean, it's just something that will shake anybody who hasn't seen it. But you can look at a road and see 20, 30, maybe sometimes 40 horse trailers backed up like a caravan. It will move you. I don't care who you are. You just look, and you just love humanity when you see that. And it's inspiring to see that. There's a lot of people out there working hard. And the first responders are beyond words incredibly heroic people.

BALDWIN: Beyond words, the first responders, the firefighters. I was talking to this one incredible nurse yesterday, and just people like you, you know, saving horses, dogs, I read about cats and pigs and everything that they possibly can in the midst of this madness. Ardeshir, thank you so much for all you're doing. Bless you for that. And good to talk to you. Thank you.

RADPOUR: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: A stunning new twist in the deadly Lion Air plane crash. CNN has learned that pilots were reportedly kept in the dark by Boeing about potential hazards. We'll have that for you.

And the first lady of the United States publicly calling for the firing of a top national security official. Why Melania Trump wants her gone.

[15:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A pilot's group tells CNN that Boeing withheld information about potential hazards on the model of plane involved in last month's deadly Lion Air crash. The "Wall Street Journal" first reported that Boeing was aware of problems with new flight control features. The flight crashed off the waters of Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board. So, Rene Marsh has been reporting on this. She is our CNN aviation and government regulation correspondent. And Rene, why would Boeing let them fly the plane?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Right. Brooke, I spoke with the pilots at the Allied Pilots Association. They are the labor union representing airline pilots. And they told me that Boeing failed to warn pilots about a potentially dangerous feature in this new Boeing 737, specifically the MAX 8 and MAX 9. That there is this flight control system which is supposed to help pilots avoid raising the nose of the plane too much and stalling. What pilots say is that they didn't know was that this plane system automatically pushes the plane's nose down in the event of a stall, in a very sudden and dramatic way. And the point they're making is that, you know, the plane is safe, but by not communicating all the information about how the plane systems work, that is what creates the danger -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Glad they're talking about it now. But how incredibly tragic for 189 people and their families. I know we'll hear so much more on this from you, I'm sure, in the coming days and weeks ahead. Rene Marsh, thank you very much from Washington. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me for the last two hours. Let's send it to Jake. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.