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Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer Of Blackmail And Extortion; Senators Elizabeth Warren And Amy Klobuchar Expected To Kick Off 2020 Presidential Bids; CNN Reality Check: The History Of Blackface Controversies; Facebook Insiders And Former Employees On Disconnect Within. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 08, 2019 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] JOE LOCKHART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

There's a piece of this -- and, you know, it goes to Jeffrey's "but wait". It's what I call the Whitewater effect. Once you get people digging into something, a lot of the times they find it.

And I think one of the things Bezos was trying to do here was to say hey, everybody, look at Saudi Arabia. Look at Pecker and Trump, look at Jared Kushner, look at the financing. And people are now going to look at that and they will unearth some interesting things, I predict.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. This only scratches the surface of a story which is connected to everything --

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Pretty much.

BERMAN: -- in 17 different layers.

Thank you all --

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Thanks.

BERMAN: -- for being a part of this.

Two big names set to make it official this weekend. Could, perhaps, headlines hurt their presidential ambitions? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: It's a really big weekend ahead in the presidential race. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar will both hold rallies in their home states this weekend. Why? Probably not coincidental that they're both about to get into the 2020 campaign -- at least we think.

[07:35:02] Joining us now, MJ Lee, CNN national political correspondent, and Harry Enten. He's a "CNN POLITICS" senior writer and analyst. MJ, first, these announcements this weekend. Elizabeth Warren has had an exploratory committee. It will be exploring, I think, no longer as of tomorrow. And then, Amy Klobuchar has this big announcement planned in a cold place where they're handing out hand warmers, hot chocolate, and warming stations.

So what's going on here?

MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, we expect both of these candidates to get in and especially, with Elizabeth Warren this is definitely expected to be the official beginning of her presidential campaign. She's already been campaigning, essentially, for more than a month.

Interesting for both of these candidates -- obviously, we've been talking about some of the headlines that have played them, even though they're not even officially in the race. As each of the candidates know, John, we're looking for sort of a silver lining in all of this.

It is the timing of these headlines. The fortunate thing for them is that we are so, so early on in the cycle and, in fact, neither of them are even declared candidates yet. And so, if they were looking for sort of the positive spin on this is that this would be the time to get the negative headlines out of the way.

And you hope that there aren't going to be more negative headlines to sort of follow you as the 2020 cycle deepens and you get further down the road because obviously, the more time that you're spending sort of refuting these kinds of negative headlines, the less time you have to define your candidacy and to talk about your message.

BERMAN: So, Harry Enten, when you look at the polling numbers in each of these cases, Elizabeth Warren -- the negative headlines that MJ's talking about here. The story this week that she identified as an American Indian when she was registering for the Texas Bar Association in the 1980s.

You look at the numbers there and you don't see that people are necessarily judging her on that, but it could have a secondary effect, you think, that could be something that holds her back.

HARRY ENTEN, SENIOR WRITER AND ANALYST, CNN POLITICS: Yes. I mean, look, more people this year on the Democratic side are saying electability is more important than issue agreement than in any past primary going back since at least 2004.

And we know the President of the United States has been attacking Elizabeth Warren over and over and over again.

So if Democratic voters start getting a little bit of cold feet and start believing that hey, maybe Elizabeth Warren isn't as electable as some of these other Democratic candidates, it could get her into some very hot water quickly.

BERMAN: And the flipside of that -- and you've written extensively about this -- is Amy Klobuchar. Now, the senator from Minnesota may be a name that some people don't know, but the numbers tell you that she has a path.

ENTEN: Yes. I mean, look, if this primary ends up being more about electability than pretty much any past prior year, at least in recent history, Amy Klobuchar has won her Senate seat in Minnesota the last three times by over 20 points. She has vastly outrun the political leaning of that state of Minnesota.

And let me also point out Hillary Clinton -- her major problem in 2016 was that she lost key Midwestern states. And you know where Minnesota is? It's in the Midwest and she has a proven history of winning there.

BERMAN: Important geography lesson there, Harry.

Beto O'Rourke, MJ, the former congressman from Texas. We don't know if he's getting in the race. He told Oprah Winfrey this week I think that he likes the idea of it or something along those lines. But all of a sudden, he's giving more on-the-record interviews.

The president is headed to El Paso next week and Beto O'Rourke, who is from El Paso, weighed in on that visit. Let me read it to.

"Some people have used code words -- have come at it obliquely. He's just full on," O'Rourke was saying of the president, "in the most racist terms, completely divorced from the truth or facts or reality or our experience here in El Paso, uses this to incite fear and paranoia and turn that into political gain."

He's talking about the president's arguments for a wall there.

But when I look at this, what I see is Beto O'Rourke trying to become a more public figure day-by-day, perhaps as he gears up for an announcement.

LEE: Absolutely. And actually, really fortunate for Beto O'Rourke that the president is coming to his backyard to do his campaign -- reelection campaign rally for 2020 and actually talking about issues that are really politically salient. I mean, we almost start seeing an early preview of what a Trump versus O'Rourke race might look like.

We have the president going out there to the border and saying things that are sort of racially-charged and making his case about immigrants coming across the border. And then, someone like O'Rourke saying actually, Mr. President, what you're saying is absolutely not true and I am from here.

In terms of O'Rourke and just the timing of whether he's going to get in and his deliberations, one way that you get a boost in support is to actually jump in. And he has not done that officially and we have no idea if he is definitely going to do that.

But for the past couple of weeks, we've seen him on sort of this eat, pray, love journey, traveling across the country and doing some sort of public soul-searching. But what we don't know is whether the momentum that he had -- and he had a great deal of momentum, even a couple of weeks ago -- [07:40:01] BERMAN: Right.

LEE: Whether that is still there and whether he still has that opportunity to sort of capitalize on that.

BERMAN: Very quickly, Harry, what are the numbers? What story have they told about Beto O'Rourke the last two months?

ENTEN: They have shown that his polling numbers have dropped.

I'll give you one more quick history lesson. Texas is right on the border with Mexico and so, Beto O'Rourke could, in fact, bring this issue right to the president's front door. And that could be a big thing for him if he's able to get in.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, MJ Lee, thank you all very, very much.

We do want to note former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will join Poppy Harlow for a 2020 town hall. That's Tuesday night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN -- Erica.

HILL: It is a scandal that's turned Virginia politics upside down. It's not the first time, though, an offensive blackface picture has created turmoil. A CNN reality check is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Another blackface scandal turning Virginia politics into a crisis. So, just where did blackface come from and why after nearly 200 years is this still an issue?

John Avlon has your reality check.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I get that William Faulkner warned us that the past is never dead -- it's not even past -- but why in the world are we still bedeviled by something as stupid and cruel as blackface in 2019?

In the past, we've seen Virginia -- we've seen Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam resisting, basically, universal calls for his resignation after his medical school yearbook page was discovered showing someone in blackface next to a guy dressed as a member of the KKK.

[07:45:08] Then, in one of the worst press conferences in modern political history, the governor said he'd won a dance contest as Michael Jackson after applying shoe polish to his face.

Not only that. This week, Virginia's Democratic A.G. Mark Herring copped to wearing blackface at a college party in 1980 while trying to apparently look like Kurtis Blow.

And then, we found out that Virginia's Republican Senate Majority Leader Tom Norment, headed a 1968 Virginia Military Institute yearbook loaded with blackface, Confederate flags, and other racist tropes.

It's been a big few months for belated blackface awareness. After all, Megyn Kelly torched her NBC gig after a cringeworthy conversation in which she couldn't quite get why blackface was bad. And just yesterday, Gucci was forced to pull a $900 sweater off the shelves because -- well, just look at it.

So, let's do a racism 101 reality check on blackface.

You know the phrase Jim Crow? It was a common term for segregation laws that tried to roll back the results of the Civil War and resist civil rights for almost a century.

But you might not know that Jim Crow was the name of a popular minstrel act in the 1800s, which was performed in blackface. And that's just an indication of the foundational pain -- the institutional racism that's beneath what some people apparently think is a party trick.

In these past few days, a clip from the Spike Lee film "Bamboozled" has been circulating online and it shows some of the legacy of blackface in American culture, from the KKK celebrating the birth of a nation to black and white comedies, cartoon icons, and even musicals starring celebrities like Judy Garland and Bing Crosby.

This was a reflection of the segregated times they lived in and the culture they inherited. But even with generous discounts for youthful idiocy, there's really no excuse for perpetuating blackface in 1984.

What we're seeing now is how much the scars of our history persist, often perpetuating hate under the more comforting labels of heritage or even humor. This is a teachable moment, but it is absurd that this lesson still needs to be taught.

And while conservatives delight in pointing out that Democrats are to blame in two of these cases, they'd like to ignore the fact that their last Senate nominee in Virginia, Corey Stewart, was a full-on neo- Confederate aficionado.

Or the GOP Florida Secretary of State who just resigned after photos of him in blackface as a Hurricane Katrina victim surfaced. Or that Congressman Steve King has been spouting white nationalist nonsense for years, and why the president still sees very fine people on both sides after Charlottesville. The toxic legacy of slavery and segregation flows downstream from our culture into our politics.

While projecting current values on the past can be tricky business, just as demanding zero tolerance for long past mistakes can eliminate the virtues of learning and forgiveness. But we need to agree on this. It is long past time to leave the legacy of slavery, hate, and segregation that is blackface on the ash heap of history.

And that's your reality check.

BERMAN: An important one, too, John. Thank you all very, very much.

I'm going to make a transition now to something that marks, I think, a more positive moment in racial evolution here.

Major League Baseball has lost one of its greatest players, Frank Robinson. He died on Thursday.

He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the only player to have won an MVP award in both leagues. He was also the first black manager in the Major Leagues in 1975 with the Cleveland Indians. It was one of four teams that he managed.

Frank Robinson is a legend -- was a towering figure in baseball in the Pantheon -- Mount Rushmore of baseball players, and it is a major, major loss. Our heart goes out to his family.

HILL: Yes, he was 83. A remarkable man.

The greatest rivalry in the NBA had an ending fit for a Hollywood script.

BERMAN: Coy Wire with more in the "Bleacher Report". Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Especially, a great ending for Lakers' Rajon Rondo, back where it all began in Boston where he helped the Celtics win a title in 2008.

It started with this great moment before the game, playing on the court there that he knows so well with his 7-year-old son Pierre, teaching him how to dribble, how to shoot a jumper. And I want you to watch the spot right there. Mark that down.

Lakers were down 18 at one point in this game but they fight back. Less than a minute left, LeBron's incredible save bouncing it to a teammate who gets it right back to LeBron for the game-tying three.

Celtics score again so it would come down to the last play and who would be in the right place at the right time catching the loose ball? It's Rondo, nailing the jumper in the exact same spot from the shoot- around with his son.

It was the first game-winning buzzer-beater of Rajon's 13-year career. Can you believe it? It was special moments for Rondo and his son.

LeBron led the way with 28 points. Lakers win 129-128 with a franchise record 22 threes. What a game, except for Boston fans -- John.

BERMAN: Why can't we ever get a win as Boston fans?

HILL: Oh.

[07:50:00] BERMAN: Why can't we ever get one of these close games?

HILL: Can you hear my tiny little violin here for poor John Berman and his Boston teams?

WIRE: Yes, the world's tiniest violin.

HILL: Yes.

WIRE: I'm playing it with you, Erica.

BERMAN: I'm actually a big Rondo fan. He brought the Celtics the title more than 10 years ago. So, our thanks to him. I'm happy for him.

Thanks, Coy.

HILL: CNN has an inside look at Facebook as it turns 15 this week. Why some say the social network that the world -- the social network, itself, that's connected so many has a serious disconnect, especially among its workers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:00] HILL: In just 15 years, Facebook has connected billions of people. Inside the company itself, however, former employees describe a major disconnect.

CNN's Laurie Segall is here with a preview of her special report "Facebook at 15: It's Complicated". That's a status update?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is, and today's clip is going to show that. But, you know, I spent a lot of time in and out of Facebook's campus. I've interviewed Mark Zuckerberg four times over the last couple of years.

And, you know, you -- I've looked at the culture of Facebook and you hear some employees saying that there's a disconnect with the top ranks and that it's hard to speak out because the company's so powerful.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth is that there is a bit of "Game of Thrones" culture among the executives. And one of the problems about having a really tightknit set of people making all these decisions, if you keep the same people in the same places it's just very difficult to admit you are wrong, right?

SEGALL (voice-over): The company is powerful and after spending time behind Facebook's walls, there was another theme that emerged. Folks who had something to say but were afraid to say it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Working at Facebook can feel a little bit like being part of a cult.

SEGALL: This former employee asked us to protect their identity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speaking out against the company is not welcomed. There is a career impact where you might get blacklisted and you're not going to get hired.

SEGALL: Ironically, in a place that's connected billions, this former employee cites a disconnect within. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People aren't really encouraged to bring bad news to Mark because generally, Mark doesn't handle bad news well. In a public setting, he politely argues against it. In a private setting, he's more likely to really aggressively go against that information or challenge the source, to challenge the assumptions, to honestly not believe the bad news.

SEGALL: Facebook is in transition. Many executives have left over rumored disputes about the company's direction, including the founders of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Amidst all the controversy there's been speculation. Should Zuckerberg, who is CEO, chairman, and the majority shareholder in Facebook, step aside?

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FOUNDER AND CEO, FACEBOOK: That's not the plan.

SEGALL (on camera): That's not the plan. Would anything change that?

ZUCKERBERG: I mean, like eventually, over time. I mean, I'm not going to -- I'm not going to be doing this forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I wonder if he really means that.

All right, Laurie. So having spent months on this documentary and years focused on Facebook, what do you think their biggest challenges are going forward?

SEGALL: Ironically, I think bursting their own filter bubble a little bit. You talk about that disconnect with the top leadership.

You know, I think Facebook for so long had this very Silicon Valley attitude of we know what's best -- trust us -- and this was an arrogance that led to quite a bit of innovation throughout the years. And I think it's also been a hubris that's come and caught up with the company.

And I think, you know, bursting that filter bubble and being able to get help from the outside, whether it's fact-checkers -- folks to help with these massive, massive problems that were created by connecting two billion people. And to Facebook's credit, it is doing quite a bit of that and not all employees feel the same way as the employees you saw.

But it's certainly a transitional time within the company and I think the next couple of years are going to be very important for this company's next 15 years and its future.

HILL: It will be fascinating to see where they're at in a couple of years. What Facebook looks like not only as a platform -- as a social media platform --

SEGALL: Yes.

HILL: -- but what it looks like as a company.

SEGALL: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Laurie.

SEGALL: Yes.

HILL: Be sure to catch Laurie's special report "Facebook at 15: It's Complicated". It airs Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. only right here on CNN.

BERMAN: And a great title, by the way.

All right, there is a lot of breaking news this morning, so let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's an outstanding person and he'd do very well.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: The question is, what is Whitaker hiding? What is he seeking to conceal?

VAN JONES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, CNN HOST, "THE VAN JONES SHOW": Whitaker is no shrinking violet. He can defend himself. Let him come and make that point to the American people.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He feels there was political motivation for what the Enquirer was doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder whether Bezos' investigators are getting close to discovering the Trump-Pecker connection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The techniques they used are nothing short of extortion. This looks like a crime.

HILL: The Supreme Court voting to block a restrictive Louisiana abortion law.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is the chief justice. I think he does feel that he has a higher responsibility for fairness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Conservatives have already had it out for him. This is something to watch and see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

BERMAN: All right, good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, February eighth, 8:00 in the East.

Alisyn is off. Erica Hill joins me this morning.

HILL: It's kind of a busy Friday.

BERMAN: It is such a busy Friday.

HILL: Well, it's never really quiet around here. Let's be honest.

BERMAN: It's a good point.

We've got breaking news on several fronts this morning -- the Supreme Court, Capitol Hill, the White House, the world's richest man, and I'm sure I'm leaving some stuff out.

We're going to start with the Supreme Court blocking a Louisiana law that would have restricted abortions. They blocked that law from going into effect for now. The vote was five to four.

And this is the interesting part. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the high court's four liberal justices voting for the stay. What does that mean going forward?

END