Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Congress Punts Government Shutdown To New Year; Graphic Details Emerge In Kevin Spacey Sex Assault Case; Biggest Weather Stories Of 2018. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 28, 2018 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:42] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The government shutdown will continue until 2019 -- that much is certain. Congress, effectively, punting to end the stalemate to the new Democratic-led House when it takes over next week.

Joining me now is Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us and early Happy New Year to you.

REP. BRAD WENSTRUP (R-OH), MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you. Same to you, John. I appreciate that.

BERMAN: So, Mark Meadows, who is in your caucus -- Republican member -- said that he believes we are in for a long shutdown.

My question to you is why is a long shutdown worth it for Republicans?

WENSTRUP: Well, I don't know that it's worth it for America, in and of itself, and I would hope that it could be ended soon. But I think that what we're seeing is a lot of political posturing rather than people sitting down and really negotiating out what the problem is.

You know, it seems to me that it comes down to the wall, right, or border security -- however you want -- may want to call it. And if you sit down and talk about that, why is that such a hard thing to do?

And I can't understand because I don't see from the Senate side, in particular, where they're blocking this -- their reasons for not wanting to enhance our border security.

I recently wrote a 4-piece op-ed on four reasons.

BERMAN: Yes.

WENSTRUP: Not only for our national security, not only for a robust legal immigration system, not only for our health care. You don't want Ebola and every -- any other disease just coming into our country -- but also the drug problem that we face today.

[07:35:08] In my district, the second district of Ohio, it was ground zero for the drug problem in America. Heroin flowing freely across the southern border. This is well-documented and well-known with no reprisal and no hint

that there's any problem getting these drugs across our border. It's not the only way to fight the problem that we have, but we have so many people dying.

I would invite these senators -- Sen. Brown from Ohio, Sen. Schumer -- come to my district.

BERMAN: Yes.

WENSTRUP: Talk to the addicts. Talk to those treated the addicts. Talk to the families that have lost members to this problem and tell me you think there's nothing we need to do about that when it is coming across our borders from China, through the southern border, through our ports.

Our national security is at stake and we as a nation -- this is a health care crisis and border security is a big part of it.

BERMAN: And everyone should go read your op-ed. I think it is heartfelt. Your concern for the opioid epidemic and the drug problem in your region, I think is dead on and heartfelt.

The question is what's the right way to address that? And you said something very interesting. You said, well, whether it's a wall or border security -- whatever you want to call it.

The problem is, in this discussion, there is a distinction. There is a distinction, isn't there, because Democrats want border security without the wall -- the cement wall that the president has called for that he said Mexico would pay for.

And, Republican House members now are siding with the president, saying there has to be $5 billion for the wall, right? I mean, there is a distinction there.

WENSTRUP: Yes, I think that that's -- I think that -- well, there is a physical distinction. And I think depending upon the geography you can decide what you need and what works best.

You know, the president says a wall works. A wall does work better than technology and a lot of other ways. We see that when people do that around their businesses and everything else. A wall does work better but regardless, that can be -- that can be discussed.

But the idea is let's sit down and reasonably put together what will work to stop this flow of a problem that we face, whether it's terrorism, drugs, health or -- I want a robust legal immigration system. Let's not muddle this.

BERMAN: Right.

WENSTRUP: I want that to happen but we can't do unless we really know who and what are coming in and out of our country.

BERMAN: I will say -- and again, I want to move on to other subjects now -- will not muddle it and that's a key part of the op-ed --

WENSTRUP: Sure.

BERMAN: -- you wrote there.

There are those that suggest the focus -- the president's focus on the wall -- the wall, as a political issue, has muddled that discussion. Even you say this discussion has been muddled with some of the terminology in there.

Congressman, you're on the Intelligence Committee -- the House Intelligence Committee --

WENSTRUP: Yes.

BERMAN: -- and that's going to change. I mean, it's going to change because Democrats are going to take over.

What do you think will be the biggest difference that we see immediately in this committee which has been so much in the news the last year and a half?

WENSTRUP: Well, I'm afraid that it's going to be driven more politically.

If you -- if you look at how we conducted ourselves and the notion of Russian collusion, Republicans -- we put forward a path of what we want to try and do to stop Russia and other countries from being able to try and influence our elections. But at the same time, we were looking for any wrongdoing that took place.

And along the way, we happened to find out that Christopher Steele had worked supposedly with Russians to come up with a dossier that was used in a FISA court application that was never verified, that was paid for by the Clinton campaign.

And I'm all about trying to find the truth. I grew up watching Superman that started with fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. I want to find the truth of whatever took place and be transparent with the American people.

And what I'm afraid is going to happen is we're going to ignore some of the other wrongdoings that took place within our FBI and DOJ. And if we don't have oversight over them then we're no longer a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

BERMAN: And I do understand some of the points you made there. Some of the points we've heard from the president, himself, Devin Nunes, and others over time.

Democrats say now is the time that they will have oversight on some of the issues that slipped under the cracks.

Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, over the last week, including last night, has an interesting new way of talking about the possibility that there were Trump campaign associates or officials in discussions with WikiLeaks, perhaps coordinating with WikiLeaks on the release of stolen e-mails. He is now openly asking well, even if there were discussions there, what law was broken?

Do you agree with that assessment?

WENSTRUP: Well, I'm not a lawyer and all that and I think that that's open to debate, certainly. And the question does come down, were laws broken?

BERMAN: Right, but --

WENSTRUP: We're people doing things wrong or was this just politics?

BERMAN: But, as you said, you're not a lawyer there but are you comfortable if there were Trump campaign -- if there were Trump campaign associates in contacts with WikiLeaks -- which is a group that Mike Pompeo has called a non-state hostile actor -- are you comfortable with that?

[07:40:05] WENSTRUP: Well, I don't know that I'd be comfortable with that any more than I'm comfortable with the Clinton campaign paying for this dossier that was used then in a FISA court. I'm not comfortable with that, either. And I guess the question is, were laws broken there?

And certainly, we want to talk about the protocols that should exist within the FISA court where you have people that are defenseless and having something used as evidence against them in the court that was never verified. And the rules of how that court is supposed to operate, seemingly, were quite broken.

So we've got a lot of things to take a look at. But if you want to have that discussion, that's fine, but open it up to the entire thing, not just look at one side of the equation.

BERMAN: All right. Congressman Brad Wenstrup, thanks so much for being with us.

Again, have a happy new year. Come back in the new year. We'll talk much more about some of these issues.

WENSTRUP: You bet, John, thanks. You have a happy new year, too.

BERMAN: Thanks -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Graphic new details emerging in the Kevin Spacey sexual assault case. The video evidence that prosecutors now have.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Graphic new details coming to light about the alleged sexual assault of an 18-year-old at a Nantucket bar by actor Kevin Spacey. And I do want to warn you this story contains sexually-explicit language.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now with more.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are learning a lot more.

[07:45:00] There was a hearing on December 20th where we learned some details from Spacey's lawyer, in addition to this only lasting 70 minutes -- the incident lasting 70 minutes.

They had about eight to 10 drinks during that time and the 18-year-old approached Stacey, says a lawyer -- that he identified himself not only as a 23-year-old but as a business student at Wake Forest University. He misidentified the shirt he was wearing that night. And the video that is claimed to exist of the incident is only about one second long.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN SPACEY, ACTOR: You trusted me even though you knew you shouldn't.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The video titled "Let Me Be Frank" posted to Kevin Spacey's verified Twitter account shortly after indecent assault and battery charges brought a then-18-year-old accuser whose mother spoke out on his behalf last year.

HEATHER UNRUH, MOTHER OF ALLEGED VICTIM: In July 2016, actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted my son.

MARQUEZ: Spacey, in his video, doesn't address the charges. He performs the video in a kitchen, Santa Claus apron on, and in Frank Underwood character from the Netflix show "HOUSE OF CARDS" that Spacey starred in for five seasons until he was fired after several allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

SPACEY: You wouldn't believe the worst without evidence, would you? You wouldn't rush to judgments with facts, would you? Did you?

MARQUEZ: Netflix had no comment about the video whose timing, tone, and substance were jarring, given the charges the actor knew were coming. There was a hearing in the case four days before Spacey posted the video.

SPACEY: Conclusions can be so deceiving.

MARQUEZ: One piece of evidence Spacey's accuser has against the 59- year-old actor, says the complaint, is video of the assault itself. The accuser's girlfriend, when interviewed by the police, says she received a Snapchat video from her boyfriend showing Spacey touching the front of the accuser's pants by his crotch.

UNRUH: Kevin Spacey bought him drink after drink after drink and when my son was drunk, Spacey made his move.

MARQUEZ: Her son, the accuser, admitted to police he told Spacey that night he was 23, not his real age of 18, according to the complaint. He says the assault happened late night after his shift as a busboy at Nantucket's Club Car restaurant.

UNRUH: The victim, my son, was a starstruck, straight, 18-year-old young man.

MARQUEZ: The accuser claims after several drinks, Spacey asked sexual questions, exchanged phone numbers, then tried to get him to his house. Then, in a packed bar, the accuser claims Spacey used his left hand and started rubbing his thigh and eventually, sexually assaulting him for about three minutes.

UNRUH: Nothing could have prepared my son for how that sexual assault would make him feel as a man. It harmed him and it cannot be undone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ (on camera): Now, CNN has reached out to Spacey's representatives for comments, not only on the charges but on the release of his own video. So far, we've had no response. And, Spacey's arraignment, in this case, is due January seventh in Nantucket.

HILL: That is the next big day for our calendars --

MARQUEZ: Yes.

HILL: -- January seventh.

Miguel, thank you.

MARQUEZ: You got it.

BERMAN: Thanks for following that for us.

Hurricanes and wildfires leaving behind death and destruction in 2018, but they're not the only major weather stories of the past year. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Two thousand eighteen brought another year of extreme weather and natural disasters to the U.S. Impacts of manmade climate change evident in every region of the country, even as the U.S. takes a step backward in fighting this global crisis.

Here are the top eight stories for 2018.

Number eight, the Hawaii volcano. Kilauea, the most active volcano in the world, lived up to its reputation. In early May, it came to life once again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This really does look like hell on earth.

MARQUEZ: This is as impressive, as mesmerizing, and as terrifying as it gets.

MYERS: The lava, which reached temperatures topping 2,100 degrees, destroyed 700 homes.

Number seven, the Alaska earthquake. On November 30th, a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Alaska. It hit very near Alaska's most populated city of Anchorage causing roads to buckle, knocking out power to 10,000 people.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": This was the worst, most violent quake they had ever felt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

MYERS: The quake was considered the most significant for Anchorage since 1964. Fortunately, no serious injuries or deaths were reported.

[07:50:00] Number six, Florida red tide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This an epic event of biblical proportion.

HILL: It is the worst toxic algae bloom in recent memory, wiping out dolphins, sea turtles, other marine life by the thousands.

MYERS: While the process that creates Florida's red tide and green slime are natural, many scientists say the increased agricultural runoff and pollution from the early season subtropical storm Alberto made the problem even worse.

Number five, the Maryland flood. On May 27th, storms pounded the Baltimore area.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Flash flooding has turned this Maryland town's main street into a raging river. Cars have been swept up by the roaring muddy water rushing through Ellicott City, Maryland.

MYERS: Many there were still rebuilding from their flash flood of 2016. It was considered a once-in-a-thousand-year event. It took only two years for history to repeat itself.

Number four, it's a term known to meteorologists but this year, two storms had everyone talking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bomb cyclone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bomb cyclone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bomb cyclone.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN "AC 360": Bomb cyclone.

MYERS: So what is a bomb cyclone? It's not just a Nor'easter. It's a big storm that develops rapidly.

There's warm air over the ocean, there's very cold air over the land, and there's a jet stream in between. That allows the storm to rapidly intensify, develop into a Nor'easter, but a big one -- a one that loses 24 millibars of pressure in 24 hours. That's the technical term. So certainly, not every Nor'easter is a bomb cyclone.

Two of these Nor'easters struck this year, the first in early January. It left 19 dead and caused over $1 billion in damage.

As the storm worked its way up the coast, it brought the first snow since 1989 to Tallahassee, Florida, and ice and snow to Charleston, South Carolina. The storm hit the northeast very hard with nearly nine inches of snow in New York City and a tide over 15 feet in Boston Harbor, big enough to break the record from the benchmark blizzard of 1978.

In March, another coastal bomb left nine dead and did $2.2 billion in damage, knocking out power to over a million at the peak of the storm.

Number three on our list is Hurricane Michael. Michael made landfall on October 10th as the strongest storm to hit the continental U.S. since Hurricane Andrew. That category four hurricane was just one mile per hour short of being a cat five.

The storm claimed 46 lives. Most of those killed were in Florida where the Florida Panhandle was devastated. The small town of Mexico Beach was ground zero.

BALDWIN: We have just now flown over Mexico Beach and it's gone -- it's obliterated. It's awful to look at. I've never seen anything like this.

MYERS: Number two is Hurricane Florence. This storm made landfall on September 14th along the North Carolina coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we noticed that inner eye wall -- there it goes. There goes the lights.

MYERS: And much like Harvey, in Houston the year before, the hurricane stalled for days, bringing historic rains. Nearly three feet of rain impacted some areas of North Carolina.

The storm dumped as much as 10 trillion gallons of water. As much as eight months' worth of rain fell in just a few days. Many rivers in both North and South Carolina saw their all-time record crests.

More than 50 people perished in the storm.

Increasingly, scientists are concerned that hurricanes like Michael and Florence could be the new normal. Increased heat, especially in the oceans, can potentially lead to stronger and wetter storms.

Perhaps no place in the U.S. has begun to see the consequences of climate change more than California. Years of record drought were replaced suddenly by historic flooding in late 2017. That yo-yo effect laid the perfect foundation for large and destructive wildfires and deadly mudslides.

California is number one on our list with floods and fires.

In January of this year, heavy rains fell over the Thomas Fire burn scar, bringing a wall of debris and mud to communities below. Areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties were the hardest hit.

This year's fires were the most destructive and devastating in California history --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys, turn left.

MYERS: -- and they burned in almost every month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The term -- we hear it's new normal. It's not new anymore. This is the normal and it's not a season, it's year round.

MYERS: The Mendocino Complex Fire that started in July became the largest ever recorded for the state.

But the worst came in November when strong winds pushed the Camp Fire into the town of Paradise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (bleep) town is on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't nothing like what we've had before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was such panic, some drivers abandoned their cars as they tried to flee on foot.

MYERS: Some 40,000 people resided in the path of that fire. In the end, 85 died and nearly the entire town of 14,000 homes burned to the ground.

[07:55:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our whole town was wiped off the face of the earth.

MYERS: Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: A tough year weather-wise. Thanks to Chad for putting that together.

Lawmakers, they punted the idea of the government shutdown. It will not be fixed until next year when Democrats take over Congress. We have the very latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARK MEADOWS (R), NORTH CAROLINA: The Democrats are dug in. It looks like we could be in for a very long-term shutdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump's in the middle of another temper tantrum. He's fed misinformation to his base and now he's trying to save face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they want to give Trump a victory. This is going to go past the State of the Union. SYMONE SANDERS, FORMER NATIONAL PRESS SECRETARY, BERNIE SANDERS CAMPAIGN: The ball is in the president's court. He's the only person here not moving.

JIM MURPHY, WITNESSED TRANSFORMER EXPLOSION: Oh my God. Look at the sky.

HILL: A transformer explosion in New York lighting up the sky and forcing a ground stop at LaGuardia Airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The workers started seeing that everybody needed to evacuate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You looked in the sky and it was bright blue. It was insane. I was like, aliens are here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, December 28th, 8:00 in the east.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me. And you did bring the good news that there is no alien invasion.

HILL: Yes, and I'm here because I wasn't abducted by aliens, so there's that.

BERMAN: Which is always good on a Friday morning.

HILL: Yes.

BERMAN: So, the message from the New York City Police Department, honestly, was that there is no alien invasion. This, after these images you're seeing right now. That was the sky over the city, lit up after a transformer explosion in Queens.

But, man oh man, people on social media -- they were going nuts as this was going on.