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Trump Blasts Retired Admiral and Navy SEAL Critical of Him; Trump Not Aware of Whitaker's Criticism of Mueller Probe; Recount in Florida is Done; California Fire, 79 people dead, 1,300 Still Missing; Saudi Crown Prince Ordered the Killing CIA Says; Judge Orders Acosta's Pass Reinstated; Week Two of El Chapo Trial Begins Tomorrow; Grand Prix High Speed Crash in China; Black Security Guard Gunned Down by White Officer. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired November 18, 2018 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00] (JOINED IN PROGRESS)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: -- thanks so much for being with me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The news continues with Ana Cabrera right now.
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with me on this Sunday. We begin tonight with the president of the United States ridiculing retired Admiral William McRaven, a commander who oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
President Trump not only dismisses McRaven as a, "Hillary Clinton backer," but says it would have been nice if bin Laden had been taken out sooner. Here's the president talking to Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: McRaven, retired admiral, Navy SEAL, 37 years, former head of U.S. Special operations --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: Special operations --
TRUMP: Excuse me, Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: -- who led the operations, command of the operations that took down Saddam Hussein and killed Osama bin Laden. He says that your sentiment is the greatest threat to democracy in his lifetime.
TRUMP: OK. He's a Hillary Clinton backer and an Obama backer. And frankly --
WALLACE: He was a Navy SEAL.
TRUMP: Wouldn't it be nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: McRaven has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He wrote a stunning rebuke of the president in August, saying Trump had embarrassed and humiliated the U.S. He said back in February of last year. He called Trump's attacks against the media, "the greatest threat to democracy."
McRaven is now responding to the president's latest comments. He tells CNN, says, "I did not back Hillary Clinton or anyone else. I'm a fan of President Obama and President George W. Bush, both of whom I worked for. I admire all presidents regardless of their political party who uphold the dignity of the office and who use that office to bring the nation together in challenging times.
I stand by my comment that the President's attack on the media is the greatest threat to our democracy in my lifetime. When you undermine the people's right to a free press and freedom of speech and expression, then you threaten the constitution and all for which it stands."
CNN White House correspondent Boris Sanchez is outside the White House for us tonight. Boris, this was a wide-ranging interview with Fox News, but these comments about McRaven have quickly become the headline. How is the White House handling this?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Ana. Yes, I reached out to Press Secretary Sarah Sanders a short while ago to see if they would have any response to McRaven's latest comments. They had nothing so far. I should point out this isn't the first time, as you noted, that the Admiral has been critical of this president and it's not the first time that President Trump has pushed back on those who have been critical of him.
President Trump, well known for fighting back even when those criticizing him are members of the military or military families. In fact, here's a list of awkward moments the president has had with members of the military or their families. Notably, back in the 2016 campaign, President Trump said that Senator John McCain was not a war hero after he was captured by the Vietnamese.
The president also dismissive of the Khan family during the 2016 campaign after they spoke out against him at the Democratic National Convention. Let's also not forget the spat that the president had with the family of Sergeant La David Johnsons who passed away during a military operation in Niger. That family disputing a call that they had with President Trump and what was said on that call.
Notably, two other points on that list that came up in light of Veterans Day in the past few days. The president has never paid a visit to troops in war zones, something that he has recently promised he would do and something that is one of the basic requirements of being commander-in-chief.
Also, the president did not visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, something that he now says he regrets. Listen to this, also in that Chris Wallace interview on Fox News. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I should have done that. I was extremely busy on calls for the country. We did a lot of calling, as you know.
WALLACE: But this is Veterans Day.
TRUMP: I probably, you know, in retrospect, I should have, and I did last year, and I will virtually every year. But we had come in very late at night and I had just left literally the American cemetery in Paris, and I really probably assumed that was fine. And I was extremely busy because of affairs of state, doing other things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, Ana, on the other side of the criticism the president has received over this, defenders of the president argue that few presidents have done more to help arm those on the line of duty or to help those military members coming back from war zones, Ana.
CABRERA: Boris Sanchez at the White House, thank you. Earlier, I asked Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York about the president's comments on McRaven and here's his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: Again, you know, it's sort of a shameful statement made by the president of the United States who always sees things through the lens of his own personal ego as opposed to what's good for the United States of America. Clearly, we have a system of government separate and co-equal branches of government, checks and balances, the free and fair press, the independent judiciary.
[17:05:06] At given moments in time, the president has attacked all of those values and all of those institutions. And in this particular instance, the fact that he's willing to criticize a decorated veteran, a military hero, someone who has made America a much safer place, is quite unfortunate.
CABRERA: In that same interview, here's what the president said about the Mueller investigation and his new acting attorney general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Did you know before you appointed him that he had that record and was so critical of Robert Mueller?
TRUMP: I did not know that. I did not know he took views on the Mueller investigation as such.
WALLACE: He says you can starve the investigation --
TRUMP: What do you do when a person is right? There is no collusion. He happened to be right.
WALLACE: If Whitaker decides in any way to limit or curtail the Mueller investigation, are you OK with that?
TRUMP: Look, it's going to be up to him. I think he's very well aware politically. I think he's astute politically. He's a very smart person, a very respected person. He's going to do what's right. I really believe he's going to do what's right.
WALLACE: But you won't overrule him if he decides to curtail --
TRUMP: I would not get involved. And all these people that say I'm going to end the investigation, you know, they've been saying that now for how long has this witch hunt gone on? It has gone on for what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So let's just take the first part. The president says he didn't know Whitaker was a critic of the Mueller investigation. Do you believe that's possible?
JEFFRIES: That's hard to believe that that would be possible since the president has spent much of the first two years of his presidency obsessing about the investigation into whether his campaign collaborated with Russian spies to attack our democracy. That is a very legitimate investigation, and it should be allowed to proceed.
And Democrats in the House of Representatives are going to do everything that we can to protect the Mueller investigation while at the same time focusing on our for the people agenda to lower health care costs, increase pay, do a real infrastructure plan, and cleaning up corruption and the mess in Washington, D.C.
CABRERA: You're talking about what your priorities are as you take over in the mouse majority, but before we get there, you're on the House Judiciary Committee and we're hearing this week that some of your Republican colleagues on that same judiciary committee are planning to subpoena former FBI director James Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch before handing the reins over to you in the majority. What do you think they're trying to accomplish and will they have any Democratic support?
JEFFRIES: I think what they're trying to do is put the lame in lame duck session. The cover-up caucus never ceases to amaze me in terms of their willingness to do everything possible to distract the American people. Now, it didn't work during the campaign and I don't think it's going to work right now.
They've lost control of the House of Representatives. What they should be focused on is doing the business of the people. We have a spending bill that we need to negotiate to make sure that we can keep the government open and do the things that the government needs to do to improve the quality of life for the American people, as opposed to chasing down the ghosts of prior administrations. Let's work on an agenda that lifts up the American people.
CABRERA: You talk about the agenda, but I know as Democrats have been critical of Republicans in the House and have believed in some cases that perhaps the House took a credibility hit with them in power, because that Republicans were being more of a political tool of the president versus a check on his power, what do you say or think about those Democrats who now say they're ready to impeach this president? Is there risk of overreach?
JEFFRIES: Well, I think the only folks that are largely talking about impeachment of the president continue to be Republicans who want to gin up excitement amongst the right wing. We've been clear that Democrats fought for Jeff Sessions to recuse himself. He recused himself.
We then fought for the appointment of a special counsel. Bob Mueller was appointed. He's a great American. Let's let Mueller be Mueller, complete the investigation, and then report to the American people and then we can figure out what we should do thereafter.
CABRERA: Let's talk about leadership. You've said you plan to run for Democratic caucus chair. Some of our colleagues on Capitol Hill tell us some of your colleagues were hoping you would run for speaker.
JEFFRIES: Well, I'm all in on the race for caucus chair. Joe Crowley has done a phenomenal job. He'll be leaving Congress at the end of the year. It would be a privilege to stand on his shoulders. It's an important job. We need to make sure that as Democrats we can maintain our operational unity as we have the power to legislate, that we can continue to message with discipline.
And that we can be a big tent in bringing together progressives and new Dems and blue dogs to get things done on behalf of the American people. Ands a candidate for caucus chair, hopefully one that prevails, I look forward to being able to do that.
CABRERA: Does Nancy Pelosi have your full support to be the next speaker of the House?
JEFFRIRES: Absolutely. She has my full support. And I believe she will --
CABRERA: She also has the president's full support. He's been doubling and tripling down in his support for her in the past couple of days. Why do you think he is pushing so hard for her?
[17:10:06] JEFFRIES: Yes, It's not clear what kind of games the president is playing. I do know that Nancy Pelosi over the last two years has managed to consistently out-negotiate the president, and as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, will do the same thing.
CABRERA: Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, thank you so much for being here.
JEFFRIES: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Devastation in California where the number of dead is just shocking after the wildfires scorched that state. We'll go live to the wildfire zone, next.
Plus, the recount is done in Florida, and now Democratic Senator Bill Nelson has conceded to Rick Scott. What about those allegations of fraud from the governor and President Trump? We'll discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: In California right now, firefighters just can't catch a break. It is bone dry and the winds are whipping, the worst possible conditions for working to contain wildfires that have roared over nearly a quarter million acres.
[17:15:06] Nearly 10,000 family homes are gone in just one of the fires, the one raging north of Sacramento. It's also the fire that has claimed a shocking number of human lives, 76 people killed in that northern California fire. More than a thousand others are reported missing. Their whereabouts are unknown today. Officials predict it will be December before they can call this fire under control.
President Trump inspecting the devastation for himself this weekend. The president has been critical of the way forests are managed, saying this disaster would have been less severe if certain measures were taken. California's governor says that's only partly right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRY BROWN, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: There's an atmospheric element, which is part of the natural cycle. And then there is an increasing effect of climate change. In fact, I have read specifically peer- reviewed scientific articles that say that the amount of land burnt in California over the last 15 years has doubled because of climate change.
MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS HOST: Did you make that case to President Trump?
BROWN: I certainly raised it, but I didn't feel that that was where we needed to go. We need the money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Let's go live now to CNN's Paul Vercammen. He is in Chico, California. Paul, when will those people behind you be allowed to go back and see what's left of their homes?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No word on that yet. We've driven through Paradise. It is just absolutely so dangerous. So many people, Ana, came here to this makeshift shelter, if you will. You can see in the background people reaching out to their neighbor, cooking for them. They set up a tent city behind me.
There was some talk that these people would be forced out and it was mandatory. That's not true. There's a grassy area behind me. They will be allowed to keep their tents there. Many others are going to a nearby shelter. So, it's going to take quite some time, Ana. CABRERA: All right. I thought we were going to have a little bit of
sound there. So, I was waiting for it, Paul, but I also want to ask you about the high number of people unaccounted for right now. More than a thousand who are missing? What are officials doing to try to locate them?
VERCAMMEN: A number of different things. They've put out that list and I want to make sure you're clear that the sheriff, Ana, was telling us to give this context. He was saying this is not necessarily a list of missing and presumed dead. This is raw data. There could be duplicate names on it. There could be all sorts of reports that were very auspicious -- just someone calling in saying, I think this guy down the street it gone.
So, they have got the list. They're working from it. They're talking to relatives, they're talking to friends. The grim part of that, though, is they've asked people to give DNA samples. And that means that they believe their loved ones might be dead, and their remains have not yet been identified.
You were talking about that sound real quick. I want to show to you some survivors, who people feared might not make it. They were on a bus out of Paradise, an elementary school, 22 school children, two teachers, and a bus driver. They drove through what might best be described as hell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY LUDWIG, SURVIVOR: It was very scary. It was like -- felt like Armageddon. I don't know another word to say.
CHARLOTTE MERZ, SURVIVOR: I was like seeing smoke everywhere. I couldn't see hardly anything. I saw like houses burning and animals and cars whining, and I love animals. It was so crazy. There were like fires left and right, everywhere you look. There was like smoke everywhere and people trying to get out and it was really hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: And Ana, we will share more of their terrifying, yet heartwarming odyssey, that's a little bit later.
CABRERA: And we have seen video of scenes like those they are describing. It is terrifying. It is unreal. Paul Vercammen, thank you for bringing us their stories. We appreciate it. Now from the West Coast to the East Coast, Florida's recount has ended and so has Democrat Bill Nelson's fight to keep his Senate seat. The state's Republican governor, Rick Scott will now take nelson's place in Washington.
Here is the latest. He won the race by a little more than 10,000 votes when it was all said and done. Senator Nelson conceded a short time ago. And in a recorded statement, he spoke out against the hyperpartisanship that has become the norm all around the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: We have to move beyond a politics that
aims not just to defeat but to destroy where truth is treated as disposable, where falsehoods abound and that the free press is assaulted as the enemy of the people. There's been a gathering darkness in our politics in recent years. My hope today can be found in the words of John F. Kennedy, who said, civility can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.
[17:20:09] CNN's Ryan Nobles joins us now from Tallahassee. And Ryan, after all of the drama, Rick Scott really never lost his lead, even though it was always razor thin.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Ana. And of course, on election night that, lead was more than 50,000 votes. And we slowly started to see it chip away between election night and when those first returns were due the Saturday after the election. But once it got around to that 12,000, 13,000-vote margin, there really wasn't too many places for Bill Nelson to go in search of votes.
His team aggressively tried the legal angle, but they were turned back at almost every opportunity. And then they were hoping that something would break for them in the manual recount, which just wrapped up today and it simply wasn't there. So when his concession came late this afternoon, it didn't really come as that big of a surprise.
The only real question we had, would he keep the legal fight up? And it appears at this point they've come to the realization that that is just not going to happen. Nelson offered up his concession via a video message. We also know that he did phone Rick Scott, who will end up being his successor. They had a very pleasant phone call.
And Rick Scott did put out a statement later, thanking Bill Nelson for his lengthy career in public service here in Florida. Ana, the question now is how does this impact Florida going forward? This was a very contentious recount. There were accusations thrown back and forth from both sides. But right now the people of Florida finally know who their governor and U.S. senator will be.
CABRERA: I want to ask you more about that later, a point you make, because there were so many questions about the integrity of this election in Florida from both parties. How confident should Floridians feel about these results?
NOBLES: You know, Ana, I know you were here on election night. I've been here since election night. I've been tracking this process exhaustively and I think it is pretty clear that more Floridians voted for Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott than they did for Andrew Gillum and for Bill Nelson.
That doesn't mean there weren't problems with the tabulation process. That doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to fix this situation, but the rhetoric here from both Republicans and Democrats -- Republicans accusing some of the election supervisors of perhaps fraudulent activity. There's no evidence of that.
And then Democrats insisting that perhaps there were lawful ballots that were never counted. I think there were a number of legal challenges that were turned back that argue exactly the opposite. You know, this was a very contentious few weeks here in Florida, but at the end of the day, it seems as though this tabulation process got the right answer.
And Floridians can be confident about who the people of this state selected as their next governor and U.S. senator. No doubt it was very close, Ana. There is no doubt about that. But at the end of the day, we know who won these elections.
CABRERA: Every vote counts. That's what we always say, another example of that. Ryan nobles, you've done a great job giving us the play by play day after day there in Florida. And now your family can welcome you home with open arms. I know they miss you. Thank you, my friend.
NOBLES: All right. Thank you Ana.
CABRERA: President Trump says the U.S. has the tape that captures the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. We'll tell you why he says he won't listen to it. That's next, live in the "CNN Newsroom."
[17:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: President Trump today revealing what he knows and what he doesn't know about Saudi Arabia's killing of "Washington Post" contributor Jamal Khashoggi. I want to remind you Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi was tied up, injected with a deadly sedative and dismembered with a bone saw.
Khashoggi was a frequent critic of the Saudi monarchy. A senior official briefed on the matter tells CNN the CIA has determined the Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi's murder, though the State Department says no definitive conclusion has been reached. Here's the president on Fox News this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have the tape. I don't want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape, but I've been fully --
WALLACE: Why don't you want to hear it, sir?
TRUMP: Because it's a suffering tape. It's a terrible tape. I've been fully briefed on it. There's no reason for me to hear it. In fact, I said to the people, should I? They said, you really shouldn't. There's no reason. I know exactly -- I know everything that went on in the tape without having to --
WALLACE: And what happened?
TRUMP: It was very violent, very vicious, and terrible.
WALLACE: We now know that some of the people closest to him, some of his closest advisers were part of this. Question, did MBS lie to you, sir? TRUMP: I don't know. You know, who can really know? But I can say
this, he's got many people now that say he had no knowledge.
WALLACE: What if the crown prince speaking to you, the president of the United States, directly lied to you about --
TRUMP: Well, he told me that he had nothing to do with it. He told me that, I would say, maybe five times, at different points --
WALLACE: But what if he's lying?
TRUMP: --as recently as a few days ago.
WALLACE: Do you just live with it because you need him?
TRUMP: Well, well anybody really know? All right? Will anybody really know? But he did have certainly people that were reasonably close to him and close to him that were probably involved. You saw we put on very heavy sanctions, massive sanctions on a large group of people from Saudi Arabia. But at the same time, we do have an ally, and I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Joining us now, Phil Mudd, CNN counterterrorism analyst and former FBI senior intelligence adviser. Phil, always good to have you. Should President Trump, as commander-in-chief, should he have listened to the tape?
[17:30:00] PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: No, I don't think he should have. I think he made the right decision. By listening to the tape, Ana, you're suggesting that that is the primary and maybe even the sole significant piece of intelligence that you should use to make a judgment about what happened in Turkey. That's a slice of the pie, but there are a lot of other slices.
Do you have other intercepted communications about what people were talking about, including after the operation? Did the Turks intercept communications? What about video from around that facility, the diplomatic facility before and after the murder? I'd like to know whether there are informants that is secret sources who are talking about what people in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, were saying after the event.
Let me take you farther afield for jus a second, Ana. I'd like to know who paid for the airplanes, the transport of those officers from Saudi Arabia to Turkey. Were those paid from official Saudi funds? My point is, there's a whole picture and a bunch of pieces of intelligence that will lead to a conclusion and the tape is only one of them. He shouldn't have listened.
CABRERA: And the sound we just heard, the president skirted the question on whether the crown prince lied to him about his alleged involvement in Khashoggi's killing. In fact, he reiterated that Mohammed bin Salman denied it repeatedly. It sounds like he believes him. MUDD: It's the same story we had when the Russian President Vladimir
Putin talked to President Trump repeatedly about intervention in the election by Russia. What's the president supposed to say? Yeah, he lied to me. This is the same president who's saying this is a key ally that we have to maintain. Look, I think the story is going to be whether there's information, not that says we have, for example, an intercepted phone call where the crown prince says, do this.
I think that's too much to ask for. There's information I would expect to see from the intelligence community that says, Mr. President, whether or not the crown prince said he did this, whether or not he denied it, we have conclusive information that suggests he at least knew about it. That's what we have to wait for. But the problem is, in the past, as with Russia, the president has ignored that kind of stuff.
CABRERA: There's another part of the president's interview this morning I want you to hear. This time they're talking about the man who helped take down Osama bin Laden and who recently criticized Trump's attacks on the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: McRaven, retired admiral, Navy SEAL, 37 years, former head of U.S. Special Operations --
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: Special Operations --
TRUMP: Excuse me, Hillary Clinton fan.
WALLACE: -- who led the operations, command of the operations that took down Saddam Hussein and killed Osama bin Laden. He says that your sentiment is the greatest threat to democracy in his lifetime.
TRUMP: OK. He's a Hillary Clinton backer and an Obama backer. And frankly --
WALLACE: He was a Navy SEAL.
TRUMP: Wouldn't it be nice if we got Osama bin Laden a lot sooner than that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Phil, what's your reaction to that?
MUDDD: Boy, this is painful. I mean, those of us who spent our careers -- I spent 25 years in the service. I know admiral McRaven. He's a good guy and an honorable patriot. We fought regimes, including the Soviet regime before the fall of the wall. And we fought them because we wanted to support American freedoms which mean the right to speak.
The president has a right to say he doesn't like those who criticize him. But to denigrate the Department of Justice, the FBI, to denigrate the CIA, to attack sitting generals and say, I know more than the generals about Syria, you sit there and say, I wonder if the president wants to muzzle opponents.
He's right to say I don't like critics, but to suggest that people who left the service don't have the right to speak, I do have the right to speak and so does Admiral McRaven. We will never stop. That's our right.
CABRERA: Phil Mudd, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and perspective with us.
MUDD: Thank you.
CABRERA: A win for the free press in the wake of a judge's decision, forcing the White House to reinstate the credentials of our Jim Acosta. The president suggests he'd still punish reporters who don't follow decorum. We'll talk to the former head of the White House Correspondents' Association and get her take, next.
[17:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: It's a win for press freedom and for democracy. A Trump appointed federal judge ruling the Trump White House behaved inappropriately in stripping CNN reporter Jim Acosta of his press credentials. Acosta's press badge was restored Friday, but for how long?
The judge did not weigh in on whether the White House violated Acosta's First Amendment rights. More court arguments are expected this week. Here's what the White House Correspondents' Association had to say about Friday's ruling. "A federal judge made it clear that the White House cannot arbitrarily revoke a White House press pass. We thank all of the news outlets and individual reporters who stood up in recent days for the vital role of a free and independent news media, and it plays in our republic."
I want to bring in senior White House correspondent for Bloomberg News, Margaret Talev. She was the president of the White House Correspondents' Association for the president's first year in office. And Margaret, I'm glad to have your perspective on this issue tonight. Judge Kelly, a Trump appointee, ruled against the White House. Do you think the president got the message?
MARGARET TALEV, BLOOMBERG NEWS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, thanks, Ana. This is an important issue not just because of what happens to one individual journalist or even all journalists. This really is an issue that affects the American public very broadly because journalists are of course representatives of the public when we go into the White House and ask sometimes difficult questions.
So, obviously I don't want to get ahead of any continuing legal action. And as you mentioned, this case goes forward. We also have a long tradition at the WHCA of the current president being the one who speaks for all of us. I think Olivia Knox has done a great job so far and I stand with our association's statements. [17:39:59] But I will say that from what I understand, the White House
is looking now at drawing up these guidelines. And I think before the WHCA reacts, it's going to be important to know how the White House intends to proceed and I think many Americans will also be curious to know what the president's definition of decorum looks like.
CABRERA: You know, several other networks including Fox News filed amicus briefs since support of CNN's lawsuit against Trump and the White House. And in Trump's interview with Chris Wallace this morning, Wallace reiterated that Fox News stands in solidarity with CNN and other organizations the president has attacked as fake news. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: I don't know but he idea that you call us the enemy of the people --
TRUMP: I'm not calling you that.
WALLACE: I'm talking about --
TRUMP: I'm not calling you --
WALLACE: They're all together.
TRUMP: You don't understand it.
WALLACE: We're all together.
TRUMP: No, no, no. I'm not calling you the enemy of the people.
WALLACE: Doesn't matter what you call -- when you call CNN and "The New York Times" -- we're in solidarity, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Do you think this incident was a real wake-up call?
TALEV: Well, I think it was. I hope, an important guide post, I hope something that helping to shape the president's understanding of the path forward here. And I would just say two things. One, obviously it is broadly in the public's interest to have journalists be able to ask tough questions including inside the White House.
But also, it's very important to know that the White House will be careful about any altered video it would use or any statements that are misleading about the nature of these sort of events that go to the definition of decorum.
The other is that the White House and the U.S. is in a difficult -- is understanding how important it is. In some cases, we just saw with the vice president's trip overseas, talking to countries like China and Myanmar about their behavior toward the press, dealing with this terrible situation with Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi Arabians.
That is important to send consistent signals and messages about how you believe in terms of press freedom. So, we're all watching this very carefully as we move forward. I think there is a genuine desire by all journalists to represent the American public well, but what happens next depends a lot on how the White House wants to proceed and we'll all continue to do our jobs in the meantime.
CABRERA: Let me ask you about something that they could do as they proceed. According to the president, he's talking about making some changes at the White House press conferences when it comes to the cameras that are allowed there. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think one of the things we'll do is maybe turn the camera off that faces them because then they don't have any air time. Although, I'll probably be sued for that and maybe, you know, win or lose, who knows. I mean, with this stuff, you never know what's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Margaret, what do you think about that idea?
TALEV: Yes, I'm not really sure what the president's talking about. I would just say that journalists and as part of that, the White House Correspondents' Association has for decades worked both publicly and behind the scenes with White Houses, with administrations of both political parties to ensure the best coverage possible for the American public and will continue to do that.
CABRERA: Margaret Talev, thank you so much for being here.
TALEV: Thank you.
CABRERA: Tales of greed and bloodshed during the first week of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's trial. What we learned and what to expect next.
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CABRERA: "El Chapo" on trial. He's back in court tomorrow, and if last week was any indication of what jurors could hear this week, it will be more tales of bloodshed and deep-rooted corruption. One ex- cartel chief who is due back in court tomorrow, delivered a shocking testimony claiming "El Chapo" liked nothing more than the thought of his cartel rivals dead. Our correspondent Polo Sandoval has been following this trial for us. Polo, what can we expect this week?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can expect even more extraordinary developments, Ana. And as you mentioned there, we have already heard these themes about money, drugs, murder. These are all reoccurring themes that the prosecution has presented during the first three days of testimony. And almost right off the bat, the high-stakes nature of these proceedings became evident in the court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SANDOVAL (voice-over): Testimony that's come out of federal court in Brooklyn is befitting of a narco novel. For three days, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman sat quietly as prosecutors painted him as a ruthless cartel kingpin. Among his charges, drug trafficking, conspiring to kill rivals, and money laundering.
During opening arguments on November 13th, the U.S. attorney described the Mexican drug lord as the hands-on boss of the Sinaloa Cartel, a ruthless killer who commanded armies of gunmen and responsible for pumping tons of cocaine into the U.S. Guzman's defense attorney on the other hand told jurors the case was a ploy to blame one man for the drugs that infiltrated the U.S.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Lichtman argued, "Guzman was either in prison or hiding out from 1993 to 2017. The flow of drugs never slowed down. Yet, he's blamed for being the leader. The truth is, he was the leader of nothing." Jurors have already been taken on a virtual tour of one of the Sinaloa Cartel's trademark smuggling tunnels. They were shown this video in court. You can see the pathway that connected Mexico with Arizona until it was discovered in the early '90s and shut down for good.
The most compelling testimony has come from this man, imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel chief Jesus Zambada Garcia, aka "El Rey" or the king. In court, the king pointed to Guzman as his brother's partner.
[17:50:00] Zambada recalled being asked by Guzman to bribe Mexican officials on several occasions. He also told the jury his fist face to face meeting with Guzman came in 2001 after helping the narco boss escape.
Guzman's beauty queen wife, Emma Coronel, remains "Chapo's" main supporter in the trial, expected to last at least four months where it too will be short because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but likely to provide jurors with more grizzly tales of bloodshed and deep rooted corruption.
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SANDOVAL (on-camera): And certainly it will be eventful as well. We should mention Zambada Garcia obviously worked out a deal with the federal government, is essentially a cooperating witness in this case. Come tomorrow when jurors return, they will continue to hear more of his testimony eventually cross examination.
But, Ana, this really is incredible because you have two jurors who were dismissed right before opening arguments. One of them was a woman who was afraid for her safety. I mean, she's going to be passing judgment on "El Chapo" Guzman.
CABRERA: I can't imagine being on this jury.
SANDOVAL: She was dismissed. Another individual was also dismissed. He was self-employed. He said his ability to earn a living would be hampered by this. And then the jury pulled, there was one Michael Jackson impersonator. There was an individual who was dismissed because he happened to order a sandwich called "El Chapo." Just something to watch out for tomorrow. Obviously, very eventful.
CABRERA: Yes. Never a dull moment. Polo Sandoval, thank you very much.
SANDOVAL: Thanks, Ana.
CABRERA: A Chicago community is demanding answers after a security guard is fatally shot by police as he was preventing a shooting. The details, next. But first, a quick programming note for you. Make sure you don't miss this all new episode of "This is Life with Lisa Ling." Tonight, she is exploring the unique subculture known as furry nation. That's 10:00 p.m. eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
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CABRERAO: A horrifying crash during a grand prix race in China. At one point, one of the cars went flying into a corner at high speed catapulting off the course. The 17-year-old driver from Germany was one of five people taken to the hospital. She suffered a spinal fracture but tweeted from the hospital that she is fine and will have surgery on Monday.
There is mounting anger over how a security guard who had just prevented a shooting at a Chicago bar was shot and killed by a police officer. Jemel Roberson, who was African-American, was on duty when he intervened in an active shooter situation. He was killed by a white police officer responding to the scene. CNN's Ryan Young has more.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem with Jemel is he is black and this mystery officer needs to be fired.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Demands for more transparency and action in the case of an on-duty security guard shot and killed by a police officer around 4:00 a.m. last Sunday. Jemel Roberson was working at Manny's Blue Room in suburban Chicago when someone opened fire injuring several people. Roberson, was able to tackle and subdue the shooter, preventing more people from being shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a national hero because he saved lives on that night.
YOUNG (voice-over): While police from several departments responded, an officer from the neighboring town of Midlothian saw Roberson, who was black holding down the shooter. The officer, who was white, opened fire killing 26-year-old Roberson. There are conflicting accounts of whether Roberson was wearing clothing identifying him as security and whether or not he followed instructions to drop his gun when police arrived.
A preliminary police report claims Roberson was not wearing visible security markings and his family and friends paint a different picture, claiming that before Roberson was shot, people inside the bar yelled warnings at police that he was a security guard. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect is being apprehended right here.
Everything is under control. After everybody told you that including the 70 (ph) people that was out here, you intentionally fired one time. After you fired that one time, you shot my little brother four more times.
YOUNG (voice-over): Family and friends say Roberson had dreams of being a cop and was preparing to take a police exam in the spring. He played the organ for several churches and was working part time at the bar in order to support his nine month old son.
AVONTEA BOOSE, MOTHER OF ROBERSON'S SON: My baby isn't going to have his father for Christmas, his birthday, and any holidays anymore.
YOUNG (voice-over): The Midlothian Police Department would not speak on camera, instead offering written statements which in part read, "The Midlothian Police Department is completely saddened by this tragic incident and we give our heart felt condolences to Jemel, his family and his friends. We view this as the equivalent of blue on blue friendly fire incident."
The department says the still unnamed seven-year veteran who shot Roberson has been put on paid administrative leave. Illinois State Police are investigating the shooting and have released a statement which in part reads, "According to witness statements, the Midlothian officer gave the armed subject multiple verbal commands to drop the gun and get on the ground before ultimately discharging his weapon and striking the subject."
On Friday community leaders gathered to demand the officer be fired.
LEAUNDRE HILL, PASTOR, PURPOESE CHURCH: Jemel saved lives that night only to lose his life senselessly so we want answers, we want results, and we want them now.
YOUNG (voice-over): Ryan Young, CNN, Chicago.
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CABRERA: Our thanks to Ryan. And a quick uypday, singer Kanye West has donated $150,000 to the fund set up to cover funeral expenses for the family of Jemel Roberson. That fund has raised more than $300,000.
It is Sunday and you are in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Great to have you with me.
[18:00:00] We begin tonight with the president wading into yet another spat with a member of the U.S. military. This time it's retired Admiral William McRaven, the commander who oversaw --
