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Trump Center Subject in Mueller Probe; Comey on Subpoena; New Migrant Shelter Opens; Uncovered by Russia Probe; Trump Begins G-20- Summit. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired November 30, 2018 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President, his business was in negotiations with the Kremlin during the campaign and the American people didn't know about it.

REP. BOB GOODLATTE (R), VIRGINIA: Well, first of all, I want to make it very clear that the investigation that Chairman Gowdy and I, chairman of the Oversight Committee and I, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee launched, has nothing to do with Mr. Mueller's investigation, which we have meticulously steered clear of. And we think that Mr. Mueller should complete his investigation and follow the truth where it leads.

So I don't know what the president or anyone in his administration or in his former campaign's response are to the claims made by Mr. Cohen, but I'm interested in hearing both sides of it.

BERMAN: I will tell you what their response has been.

Rudy Giuliani yesterday said that the president's comments, the written responses to Robert Mueller, are in line with what Michael Cohen said. Michael Cohen says that he was negotiating with Dmitry Peskov via e-mail and then an assistant to Peskov to do his Trump Tower deal. This was during the presidential campaign and candidate Trump didn't tell us.

Do you feel that's appropriate?

GOODLATTE: I don't know whether that's appropriate or not because I haven't heard more details about this. I will just say, though, that what Mr. Cohen was doing and Mr. Trump was doing are two different thing. We need to find out about it. As you know, those interrogatories that were submitted to the president and that he's answered, we have not seen. And maybe some day we will see, but --

BERMAN: I don't -- I don't -- I don't quite get what you're saying you don't know if it's appropriate or not. Is it appropriate for a business associated with a candidate for president to be negotiating with the Kremlin full stop?

GOODLATTE: Well, look, a company like Trump Corporation builds hotels all over the world. So I don't know the circumstances behind that and whether there's anything nefarious or any connection between that and anything else that was going on during the campaign. So it's important to get to all of the facts and we'll await the report from Mr. Mueller.

BERMAN: So, just to be clear, you do have questions about it? You have concerns that have not been answered yet?

GOODLATTE: Oh, we -- we -- we've been very clear from the outset, from the time that Rod Rosenstein appointed Mr. Mueller, that we were not going to interfere with that investigation. And we have not.

BERMAN: Did -- did the Intelligence Committee, under Devon Nunez and Mike Conaway, did they miss something here? I know that they can't control what witnesses lie to them, but, but they didn't have Felix Sater in and he could have told them that, you know, that this negotiation was going on until June. They didn't have the documents that are now apparently in the special counsel's hands. Did they press far enough on this?

GOODLATTE: Just as I do not know what the White House's version of these events are, I also do not know what the Intelligence Committee chairman and other members of that committee did with regard to that investigation because we've steered clear of that in our investigation.

BERMAN: OK. Do --

GOODLATTE: We're interested in what happened in 2016 vis-a-vis the FBI. Our investigation is not into Hillary Clinton. It's not into Donald Trump. It's into the actions taken and not taken by the FBI with regard to investigations going on during both of their campaigns.

BERMAN: And I intend -- and I will ask you about James Comey in just a second. I'm not asking about your role as chairman of the Judiciary Committee here. I'm asking you as your role as an elected official --

GOODLATTE: I don't know --

BERMAN: As a member of Congress.

GOODLATTE: Well --

BERMAN: So let me ask one more question on this fact. Again, I'm not asking you as chairman of the committee and what your committee has done or not done, I'm asking you as someone who represents the people of Virginia, why do you think that so many people connected to the president have lied about the campaign's connections to Russia over time? Do you have any thoughts about what that might be?

GOODLATTE: I do not. And if you lie to the FBI, that's a serious offense. And as you know, Mr. Mueller has taken steps now on at least three different occasions that I know of to indict people who have lied to the FBI.

BERMAN: You want Mueller to continue his investigation until he says he's done?

GOODLATTE: I think Mr. Mueller, if he has -- here's -- here's the issue with that. If he has evidence of involvement by the president of the United States, it's important that he bring that forward, because this is a serious cloud over any presidency for something going on as long as it has. He's indicted people for serious offenses, but with regard to most of those offenses, they do not directly relate to evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to interfere with the election in 2016. We need to see that or they need to turn it over for prosecution to U.S. attorneys, like most crimes are handled.

BERMAN: All right, it's clear -- it's clear he is working on some of those things and we could see more in the coming days based on the court documents we've seen.

James Comey -- attorneys for James Comey have filed with a federal judge to quash a subpoena from your committee. This is what he says, Mr. Comey asked this court's intervention not to avoid giving testimony, but to prevent the joint committee from using the pretext of a closed interview to pedal a distorted, partisan, political narrative about the Clinton and Russian negotiations through selective leaks.

[08:35:13] Your response to this?

GOODLATTE: Well, that -- first of all, that is not the purpose of our investigation and we have interviewed now over 15 key witnesses in this matter, in closed interviews, under oath, that have been transcribed. We are now near the end of that investigation. Mr. Comey is one of just a very few people we still need to talk to. We've been trying to talk to him for months. He's been avoiding us for months. In a public that hear asked for, where we can ask questions for five minutes, does not suit the need of the public because we'll release all these transcripts. We'll certainly -- we've told Mr. Comey we'd release this transcript the day after the hearing. It's not about transparency, it's about getting in-depth into the questions about what his involvement was in these two very important investigations going on in 2016 and into early 2017.

BERMAN: Chairman Goodlatte, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Appreciation the decision.

GOODLATTE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Alisyn.

BERMAN: I think you won the bet.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants waiting in Tijuana are on the move to a new shelter as the humanitarian crisis on the border grows more dire. A live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Hundreds of migrants are in a new shelter this morning in Tijuana, further away from the U.S. border, as the humanitarian crisis worsens.

[08:40:00] CNN's Leyla Santiago is live from Mexico with more.

What's the latest, Leyla?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, there are hundreds that have moved to that new shelter about half an hour from where we are right at the border with the U.S., but a good chunk of them, it looks like probably the majority of them, are still in the original shelter that was created to have sort of a camp for the caravan.

Now, this was under water yesterday as rain came in and we saw a lot of families trying to sort of salvage wet blankets and trying to get under some sort of tarp and keep their children warm and dry. Something that did not prove to be very easy. That's why some of them actually did end up agreeing to go to this new shelter.

But, again, it is very -- it is about half an hour from where we are right now, and that's why some of the migrants now are saying they don't want to leave this area. They don't want to get far from the port of entry where they want to seek asylum. Some are already protesting, saying that they want the process to be sped up.

But, really, what you're starting to see is not just the impatience in terms of asylum, but just the despair for the parents who are -- are trying to comfort their children as children are walking through water that is unsanitary, near port-a-johns. They're cold. It's -- conditions are not improving by any means.

John. Alisyn.

BERMAN: Leyla, thank you so much for being there to tell that story. It is so important for everyone to see.

In the meantime, as the Russia investigation heats up, President Trump keeps trying to claim it is a witch hunt. He says it has not turned up anything.

CNN's senior political analyst John Avlon here with a "Reality Check."

John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

So, quote, this is an illegal hoax that should be ended immediately. That was Trump's late night tweet about the Mueller investigation. Seven people so far have pleaded guilty, including Trump's former campaign chairman and national security adviser. And yesterday, Trump's long time fixer, Michael Cohen, pled guilty to a new charge of lying to Congress on Trump's behalf. Now, here's the total tale of the tape to date, 192 charges from the

Mueller investigation against 36 people or entities. That's a record that doesn't remotely resemble the president's rhetoric in recent days. Even re-tweeting a picture of prominent Democrats and members of the Justice Department behind bars, saying that Russian collusion is, quote, a proven lie, and asking when the treason trials will begin.

It's clear the president is threatening the Mueller investigation. Remember, the day after the midterm elections, attorney general Jeff Sessions was immediately fired and his replacement isn't Rod Rosenstein, which should be the case given the chain of command, but Sessions' chief of staff Matt Whitaker.

Now, keep in mind, that the only time someone not confirmed by the Senate served as acting A.G. was a guy named J. Hubley Ashton, way back in 1866. And that was only for a week. Whitaker's primary qualification seems to be that he's a political loyalist to the president who auditioned for his current job saying things like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT WHITAKER, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replace with a recessed appointment, and that attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget so low that his investigation grinds to an absolutely -- almost a halt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: That's not all. Whitaker suggested that going after Trump's business or family would be a red line Mueller shouldn't cross. And that's just what happened. All this would suggest that the Mueller investigation is in danger, and that's why a bipartisan group of senators proposed a bill this spring to protect the investigation and even passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 14-7. But now that the need is greatest, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL (R), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The president's not going to fire Robert Mueller. We have a lot of things to do without taking votes on things that are completely irrelevant to outcomes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: This is willful blindness and it could enable a constitutional crisis. What's especially shameful is that according to Senator Chris Coons, there are more than 60 votes in the Senate to pass the so- called Mueller protection bill. McConnell's blocking a vote because he knows it might pass. And some Republicans who initially supported the bill, like co-sponsor Tom Tillis, seen as suddenly weakening of the spine and are backing away from a sense of urgency to pass the bill. Look, even if it's vetoed by the president, which would be clarifying, a vote would send a strong messaging about checks and balances.

And that's your "Reality Check."

BERMAN: Thank you so much, John.

We heard from Chris Coons earlier. He wants to see this passed by the end of December. Unlikely to say the least.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for spelling that all out.

BERMAN: So when this week's CNN Hero found out that kids in his close- knit community were sleeping on floors, he gave up his high-paying job to make sure kids across the country have beds to sleep on. Meet 2018 top ten CNN Hero Luke Mickelson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUKE MICKELSON: Mattresses, sheets.

I'm just a farm kid from Idaho. I grew up here. What I didn't know was there's kids next door who are struggling.

[08:45:02] They had kids sleeping on the floor.

I was making a six-figure salary, but I fell into this need that I discovered wasn't being fulfilled by anybody.

Are these bottoms or tops?

I quit my job because I wanted to do this full time. The need I have isn't financial. The need I have is seeing the joy on kids' faces knowing that, you know, I can make a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So far Luke's nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Peace has built and delivered more than 1,500 free beds. To vote for him or any of your favorite top ten heroes, go to cnnheroes.com.

CAMEROTA: OK, President Trump is on the world stage in Buenos Aries. (INAUDIBLE) affecting that trip, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:08] BERMAN: All right, a big morning for the president. (INAUDIBLE). He was signing a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada. This as the G-20 Summit kicks off.

But the latest revelations in the Russia investigation are rattling the president as he is there on the world stage. The president abruptly canceled his meeting with Vladimir Putin, which was supposed to happen tomorrow. Now, I should tell you, Reuters is reports the Russians are saying that meeting is back on, or some meeting is back on.

Joining me now is CNN analyst David Sanger. He's the national security correspondent for "The New York Times."

David, thanks so much for being with us.

Do you think it's possible this meeting still does happen between President Trump and President Putin?

DAVID E. SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, I think it's possible. And, you know, from a diplomatic viewpoint, John, you might make the argument that it should happen. I mean look what's happening in the world right now. The Russians have just moved in on Ukraine again. They've seized three small ships. They've got their crew members. There's got to be a message sent to the Russians in pretty clear terms that the United States and the rest of the west is not going to tolerate this kind of activity. And if the president's going to deliver that, he's probably going to have to deliver it in person.

He also needs to be meeting with the other European nations that are most concerned about Russian interference, Russian military activity and make a similar case. And that's what makes it all the stranger here because of course the reason the president appears not to be meeting him is, no as punishment for what they're doing in Ukraine, you talk to your adversaries about what bothers you, it's because of the optics of him meeting Vladimir Putin in the midst of these revelations about a continuing real estate deal he had going during the campaign makes it all the more difficult.

BERMAN: You used the words "in the midst of."

Speaking of in the midst of, you, David Sanger, held a remarkable interview with then candidate Donald Trump in March of 2016, which we now know was in the middle of this period when Michael Cohen and the Trump Organization was trying to reach a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Negotiations that were taking place with Kremlin officials.

By the way, we have live pictures right now, I do want to show you, of Vladimir Putin walking onto the stage in Buenos Aires. He is meeting the president of Argentina there, Mauricio Macri. There is Vladimir Putin. Will he meet with President Trump? We don't know.

In your interview, in March of 2016, the president discussed his policy and attitude towards Russia in a way that's very different from the Republican orthodoxy. Explain.

SANGER: It sure was.

So I did this interview with my "New York Times" and CNN colleague Maggie Haberman. And Maggie and I were talking to him really in his first detailed foreign policy interview. And I was pressing him on his views on Russia, because they were completely different from those of the traditional Republican orthodoxy, and different from those of the other Republican candidates. And, remember, this is March, so the president is doing well at that moment in the primaries, but it wasn't assured that he was going to get the nomination.

He made, John, in the course of that interview, the most detailed case for why punishing Russia with sanctions for its annexation of Crimea, previously a part of Ukraine, was a mistake. That we had -- it wasn't our problem. That we were more upset about it than the European nations that were nearby. That it's always falling on the United States to -- to do these sanctions and we're always the one who's ending up suffering from it economically.

So what do we now know? That at that time, March of 2016, he, or at least his aides, through Michael Cohen, were still busily in negotiation for this tower they wanted to build in Moscow and that they were contacting people around Putin. And what did Putin want more than anything else at that time, John? He wanted the sanctions to go away. So this was the signaling to President Putin that, if elected, those sanctions might go away.

BERMAN: And I think that's an important distinction there. We know he was going soft on Russia. Historically soft on Russia. And conducting business with Russia. What Mueller is trying to find out if he was going soft on Russia because he was conducting business with Russia.

SANGER: And that's what we don't have. We don't have the connective tissue right now that says that it was the business deal that caused him to take that policy position.

BERMAN: I've got to say, that interview that you did in March, and another one in July, they will be looked at for some time to come at this investigation.

David Sanger, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

SANGER: Thank you, John. Great to be with you.

BERMAN: All right, we've been watching the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires very, very carefully. The question is, will the president take questions about the Mueller investigation? Will he speak more about his role in trying to reach a deal with Russia, a business deal? That is coming up.

[08:55:13] But first, here's what to watch this morning.

ON SCREEN TEXT: 9:30 a.m. ET, hearing on Manafort's sentencing.

10:00 a.m. ET, G-20 official welcome.

10:45 a.m. ET, Rep. Pelosi holds presser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Top of the hour. Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow. Jim Sciutto has a well-deserved day off.

President Trump is already well into a full day of diplomacy in his first trip to Latin America since taking office. He signed the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, met with the Argentine president. But his first comments of the day were not about the G-20 or trade deals or meetings with world leaders, but about the latest shoe to drop in the Russia probe. [08:59:56] His former lawyer's guilty plea to lying to Congress about

business contacts with Russia. Michael Cohen told a federal judge he lied to avoid contradicting the president's, quote, political messaging. He further admitted having