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Filing of Manafort's Alleged Lies; May Faces No-Confidence Vote; Damage on U.S. Economy. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired January 16, 2019 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00] JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: He found himself in legal jeopardy. Was he seeking a pardon? What was happening? There was a footnote that said that what's in that filing isn't all they know. So we'll wait and see what that happens to be.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Behind the black pear (ph).
CAMPBELL: Behind the black --
BERMAN: It's all they know.
CAMPBELL: That's right.
BERMAN: And we don't know.
Right, Josh, Jennifer, Laura, thank you very, very much.
New, political chaos in the United Kingdom after the prime minister suffered a historic defeat of her Brexit deal. Will she survive a no confidence vote today? We have a live report coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We are following some breaking news right now.
Fourteen people are dead, including one American, after a group of terrorists launched an attack at a hotel complex in Nairobi. That American identified in media reports as 40-year-old Jason Spindler (ph). Kenya's president now says all the terrorists have been eliminated and he says rescue teams safely evacuated more than 700 people from the complex. The siege lasted nearly 24 hours. Our CNN crew continued to hear sporadic gunfire coming from inside the complex even after the site was declared secure. The Somali Islamist militant group, Al Shabaab, claimed responsibility for this attack.
[06:35:17] BERMAN: Horrifying for the people in the middle of it.
Now, political turmoil in the United Kingdom. In just a few hours, British Prime Minister Theresa May will face a no-confidence vote. This after the historic defeat of her Brexit plan.
CNN's Bianca Nobilo live outside Parliament in London.
This was so much worse than people thought it might be going in.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, John, without question. Nobody was expecting the plan to do that well because it's deeply unpopular. But she fought for it and she lost in a devastating blow by 230 votes. Now that's the worst loss in British parliamentary history. So she's breaking all the wrong records.
And today the prime minister is back fighting for something else, that's her position. The opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn responded to that loss last night in the House of Commons by take a vote of no confidence. Let's hear what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR LEADER: I have now tabled a motion of no confidence in this -- and I'm pleased -- I am pleased that motion will be debated tomorrow so this house can give its verdict on the sheer incompetence of this government and pass that motion of no confidence in the government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Now, even though lawmakers in the prime minister's own party won't support her Brexit plan at the moment, they're likely to back her in this confidence deal. So that leaves us with the question that all lawmakers are asking themselves this morning, where do we go from here with Brexit? And part of the problem is unlike the United States where you have a codified written Constitution, in Britain we don't have one. We don't have a written Constitution to help us guide our way through this Brexit process. So we're starring into the abyss 72 days out from when Britain is supposed to be leaving the European Union with no idea what shape that exit will take or even if it will happen at all.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Bianca, it is remarkable always to watch all of the raucousness inside Parliament and we will be monitoring that and showing our viewers in our 7:00 hour.
Thank you very much.
So lawmakers will be at the White House again today to try to find shutdown solutions. Up next, we talk to a Republican who was at the meeting yesterday. What solution does he propose? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:41:43] CAMEROTA: A partial government shutdown is now in day 26. The White House now acknowledges that the damage being done to the economy is worse than they predicted. The White House sent invitations for a bipartisan group of lawmakers to attend a shutdown meeting at the White House yesterday but no Democrats showed up.
Joining us now is Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup. He attended yesterday's meeting. Congressman, thanks so much for being here.
REP. BRAD WENSTRUP (R), OHIO: Sure.
CAMEROTA: So it's not just -- we've heard from so many people whose own personal finances are being devastated by this, by not getting a paycheck. But now the U.S. as a whole we know more about how it's being devastated. Here's the lead in "The New York Times" today. This has been confirmed by the White House. The paper government shutdown is inflicting far greater damage on the United States economy than previously estimated. The White House acknowledged on Tuesday as President Trump's economists doubled their projections of how much economic growth is being lost each week the standoff with Democrats continues.
What is the solution today?
WENSTRUP: Well, I certainly can appreciate that. You know, when I was in my medical practice before coming here, there was a time when the government didn't pay us for seeing Medicare patients for three months and we had to go to the bank to borrow money to keep our practice open. So I can appreciate what's taking place today.
One of the things that I've been in favor of is allowing people to go to their retirement funds, without any penalty or tax, and be able to borrow from it until we -- until we pay them back.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: But that being said, the real bottom line is, we've got to sit down at the table. Yesterday the president, I felt, was very amicable. He wanted to have Democrats sitting around the table. We do much better when we sit there and speak face-to-face and discuss what our priorities are.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: And I will tell you, he listed proposals. This is a humanitarian crisis. He's talking about adding more medical care, more personnel to take care of others.
CAMEROTA: Right.
WENSTRUP: He's talking about increasing our abilities not only at the southern border but at the ports to catch drugs. If you know my district in Ohio --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: The drug problem is huge.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: So I think the president's willing to sit down --
CAMEROTA: And those are the things everybody agrees on. See, there's the problem, congressman, those are the things that Democrats and Republicans agree on. You know the sticking point is the wall. And there's this horrible catch 22 where Democrats say, we're not going to negotiate until you reopen the government. There's no need for government to be closed down. Let's stop this madness. And the president says, I'm not going to reopen the government until you agree to a wall. That is where we are stuck right now.
WENSTRUP: Well, and that isn't going to change if we're doing it through you and other media outlets as opposed to sitting down at the table.
Look, the number that the president wants for the wall is coming as a recommendation from the subject matter experts, the border security experts down there. Which, by the way, I think the leader was appointed under the Obama administration.
This is not a partisan issue. It's trying to find what's actually going to work best to keep Americans safe and secure. And I just don't mean from terrorism. I mean so that we have a robust legal immigration system and we can stop the flow of any diseases coming into our country, we can stop the flow of drugs coming into our country.
CAMEROTA: Congressman, hold on one second. Hold on one second there.
WENSTRUP: Sure.
CAMEROTA: Because I just want to fact check you on that. Diseases are not pouring into the country. That's not what this border wall situation is about. That's just not a crisis.
WENSTRUP: No, no --
CAMEROTA: And hold -- and one more thing about what you keep saying about drugs. As you know, the DEA says that the heroin that is coming into our country and creating this scourge comes through legal ports of entry through private passenger cars and through tractor trailers. A wall won't solve that.
[06:45:15] WENSTRUP: Well, I think it will. And if you read the book "Dreamland," you will understand that no one had any trouble getting in and out of our country no matter which way they choose go.
But let's sit down and have that conversation then if that's the point you want to make or someone wants to make.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: They can't keep doing it through you. It helps to sit down at the table and talk about it.
CAMEROTA: Understood.
WENSTRUP: But I would -- but I would -- but I would invite people to come to my district, ground zero for the heroin problem in our country, and talk to the addicts. Talk to the providers. Talk to law enforcement. And talk to the families that have lost someone. This is a humanitarian crisis, not only at the border, but in our districts as well.
CAMEROTA: Congressman, it's horrible.
WENSTRUP: And we are -- we are not -- it is absolutely horrible.
CAMEROTA: Congressman, it's horrible. My fear is that the drug addicts and their families in your district will be sorely disappointed when you build 234 more miles of a wall and the drug problem isn't solved --
WENSTRUP: Well, you can -- you --
CAMEROTA: Because heroin will still come in through the legal ports. And, by the way, the fentanyl crisis, which is gripping so much of the country, comes via China through the mail. So I just am afraid that you're promising that a drug problem is going to be fixed with 234 miles of new wall when that's not how it's coming in.
WENSTRUP: Well, I wouldn't be afraid of that, Alisyn, because what we are talking about in the president's proposal, and I can show it to you right here, he's talking about using -- because of border security, making the recommendations, talking about using all types of things, increased technology to detect drugs coming across.
Look, I have a staffer whose father owns a car wash and he could not get the little air fresheners for the car because they were coming in from China and included fentanyl.
CAMEROTA: There you go.
WENSTRUP: Yes, that's a problem. I --
CAMEROTA: There you go. And a wall -- how's a wall going to fix that?
WENSTRUP: But do you see -- but do you see what I'm -- but do you see what I'm telling you? This is multi-facet and we're willing to address this.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: But you talk to the communities along our southern border that have a wall --
CAMEROTA: Yes.
WENSTRUP: And their crime has gone way down. So it is effective. You can't say it's not effective.
CAMEROTA: I'm -- listen, all I'm telling you is that if fentanyl is coming in via the mail from China, a wall is not going to fix that and we're stuck on the wall. And as you know --
WENSTRUP: I agree with you. No --
CAMEROTA: Look, as you know, congressman --
WENSTRUP: Who's stuck on the wall?
CAMEROTA: The president.
WENSTRUP: The president is not talking about a wall along all our ports. The president is not talking about a wall across the entire border, OK, he's talking about doing this logically.
CAMEROTA: But -- well, first of all, he was. As you know, he's changed -- he's been a moving target in terms of how much wall he wants. As you know, first it was a thousand miles of --
WENSTRUP: Well, thank you for -- thank you for -- thank you for saying that, Alisyn, which tells you --
CAMEROTA: And now it's 234.
WENSTRUP: Which tells you, you said he's changed his mind, which tells you he's willing to negotiating.
CAMEROTA: Look --
WENSTRUP: But he can't negotiate if people don't come to the table.
Did you negotiate a contract with CNN or did you just take a contract? Did you sit down or did you have someone sit down for you to negotiate your contract?
CAMEROTA: Look, I can tell you, congressman, that what the Democrats we've had on our program say is that they feel as though they showed up with 25 billion was the very first bipartisan effort, the president backed away from it. Last month it was 1.6 billion. As you ,know the president then decided, after hearing from Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, that that wasn't going to work. So they feel as though they have been available to negotiate.
WENSTRUP: Well, they're not available now, and that's where we are now.
And, you know, I would tell you, less than a year ago the president was criticized dramatically for -- and Democrats said that we have a full-on national emergency, and I'm quoting that, a full-on national emergency when it comes to the opioid crisis. OK. Well, where are they now? Do they not consider it a full-on national emergency now?
CAMEROTA: Well, I mean --
WENSTRUP: They said he wasn't doing enough now.
CAMEROTA: Look --
WENSTRUP: And this is in the proposal.
CAMEROTA: You know that you -- I understand that, but you know that they think that just a wall is not going to fix the opioid crisis.
But one last thing, congressman, because I know that we're both running out of time. Do you think that your fellow Republican Congressman Steve King should resign?
WENSTRUP: Well, I think the people from his district -- I mean I'm pleased with what we did yesterday and I'm pleased with what we did as a conference where we took him off of our committees. I think there needs to be some soul searching on what needs to be next. And I'm surprised that the people of his district haven't called for him to resign.
CAMEROTA: Is there room in Congress still for him?
WENSTRUP: I don't know. I wouldn't feel very fulfilled if I was stripped of my committees, because that's what you're here do is have a voice. And he's been -- that's been taken away from him. So I think we'll see further fallout from all of this.
CAMEROTA: Congressman Brad Wenstrup, we appreciate you coming on and we'll be watch veg closely what happens today.
WENSTRUP: Good to chat with you. I appreciate it, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.
WENSTRUP: You bet.
CAMEROTA: John.
BERMAN: All right, thanks, Alisyn.
[06:49:35] From the attorney general's hearing to fast food at the White House, the late night comics tackle it all, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: If it is a question of fast food and a future of the republic, it must be your late night laughs. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": After the president fired James Comey, the FBI began a counterintelligence investigation of Trump, which makes sense. Everything Trump does is counter to intelligence.
SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": Attorney General Nominee William Barr said today that it would be a crime for the president to offer someone a pardon in exchange for a promise not to incriminate him. And then Rudy Giuliani went on CNN to say, crime isn't even illegal.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": The Oscar nominations don't come out until next week, but as far as I'm concerned, we already have the winner for best picture. This, to me, is the best picture of the year. It looks like he's a super villain who set up a trap to capture himself.
JAMES CORDEN, HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": Trump bought food from McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Domino's, or as he calls them, his four most trusted adviser. This doesn't look like a White House celebration. It looks like a divorced dad who had to figure out Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: That is so funny. And as you or John Avlon has pointed out, the Abraham Lincoln watching over the scene like this is the best sign (ph).
BERMAN: Only because he didn't have fast food. If Lincoln had tried McDonald's, he would have felt much differently about it.
CAMEROTA: Oh, for sure.
BERMAN: Absolutely.
CAMEROTA: That's great.
[06:55:02] All right, meanwhile, there is turmoil in the U.K. this morning after British Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered an historic defeat of her Brexit deal. There's a big no-confidence vote today. So what now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: I will not be bullied into doing anything I think is wrong, by anybody.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D) , CONNECTICUT: He's written a memo that basically would put the president above the law.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: I was broadly encouraged by his tone. I was not encouraged by his very careful wording around specific topics.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: Trump seems impervious to people's pain, which is just disgusting.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Clearly the Democrats' priorities are way out of whack.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I pretty well can guarantee you we're going nowhere quick doing what we're doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ayes to the right, 202. The nos to the left, 432.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The results of tonight's vote is the greatest defeat for a government since the 1920s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they don't want this deal, what deal will work for them?
(END VIDEO CLIP) [07:00:06] ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
