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Supreme Court Blocks Abortion Law; Trump Gets Annual Physical; Mueller Investigation Looms Large; National Enquirer Accused of Blackmail. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 08, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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


[08:30:00] ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Before we dig too much into what we saw in terms of that decision and try to read those tea leaves, just walk us through what this actually means and why this stays in place. Why is it important in terms of this law?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right, well, what happened is, the abortion rights supporters, they said to the Supreme Court, look, put this on hold for now and then we're going to come back and we're going to ask you to look at it. They said that the law, which, as you said, requires these providers to have admitting privileges in local hospitals, they said, look, there's no medical justification for that. This is just a veiled attempt to block abortion.

And on the other side, you have Louisiana, who said, look, really what this law was meant to do was for -- to show that the physicians are competent to do this, to help women's health. But on the other said they said, no, this is a veiled attempt. We're seeing these kind of laws all over the country.

But what's key here is this is temporary, right? They said, put it on hold and then we're going to ask the Supreme Court to take up the legality of it probably sometime next term. So that's what we're playing -- that's what we're looking at right now, Erica.

HILL: Then there's a lot being made of the fact that Chief Justice John Roberts, Jeff, did, in fact, side with the liberals here. But the case is also being made that that is not really about the merits of this law. That, in fact, it's more about procedure and precedent for Chief Justice Roberts, Jeff.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. I'm sorry, I was -- I was listening to Ariane so carefully that I sort of lost my concentration.

What happened is Roberts said, let's just wait to hear this case on the merits. We're not going to over -- we're not going to change abortion law just on this procedural ruling.

The other four justice, the more conservative justices, said, no, let's let this law go into effect. And I think what's most interesting about the four dissenters here, the four conservatives, is it includes Brett Kavanaugh. And Brett Kavanaugh, during his confirmation hearings, Susan Collins put a lot of weight on this in deciding to vote for him, said he respected precedent and the implication was he also respected Roe v. Wade. The vote yesterday is a strong indication, I think, that Kavanaugh will vote against Roe v. Wade, against abortion rights. And so the replacement of Kavanaugh for Anthony Kennedy will mean the end of abortion rights.

HILL: Which you -- which you -- which you pegged from the beginning from those hearings.

TOOBIN: I have been saying, yes.

HILL: In reading his dissent, is there anything in particular that stood out to you?

TOOBIN: Well, it just -- it was mostly about the facts of this Louisiana law.

HILL: Right.

TOOBIN: But what's important to remember is that the court considered an almost identical law in Texas.

DE VOGUE: Yes.

HILL: Right.

TOOBIN: Just three years ago, in 2016. If that law is still good law, this law would be thrown out overnight. But I think what we are seeing is the court shifting on abortion. And the fact that there were four votes to let this law go into effect with Roberts who voted to uphold the Texas law. I think there are five votes that are going to uphold it when it -- when the court hears it on the merits.

HILL: And, listen, Donald Trump, from the beginning, had promised, right, I am going to get you a conservative justice. I am going to -- this is a major voting point for a number of Americans when it comes to the Supreme Court, when it comes to abortion rights. And the president, even just in the State of the Union, talking about how he wants to see legislation dealing with late-term abortions. Take a quick listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Justice Roberts could have killed --

To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother's womb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: That has gotten a lot of attention, not only for what we're seeing in terms of perhaps following the president's desire there, but also we're seeing other states step up to try to protect existing rights for women. Ariane, how much more of this do you expect to see coming down the

pike?

DE VOGUE: Well, there are several cases coming down the pike already at the Supreme Court. But I think what's key here is how Roberts acted. He acted as an institutionalist, right? Because what Jeff said about that Texas law is key. Roberts was in dissent there. And if he had voted here and this -- had allowed this law to go into effect, it would have looked like whiplash, right, and it would have looked like the court was moving in a political way. They hadn't had a chance to hear it.

So what Roberts said is, OK, let's take things slowly. Let's allow it to go. Let's block it now and then we can look at the bigger question.

Roberts is playing a very key role here. He wants to keep the court out of the political fray for right now. He wants to keep it under the radar. But make no mistake about it, Roberts is a conservative. And when this case comes to the Supreme Court and the other ones that are percolating and making their way up there, we may see something very different than what we saw last night.

[08:35:14] TOOBIN: And, remember, the state legislators in these conservative states, they know who's on the Supreme Court. So they are being more aggressive in passing laws that limit abortion more and more in the hope that these laws will be upheld and ultimately Roe will be overturned and abortion will be allowed, in some states, certainly not all states, be banned altogether.

HILL: Jeffrey Toobin, Ariane de Vogue, appreciate it. Thank you.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Just hours from now, President Trump, he will receive his annual physical. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us what we know about the president's health. There have been some really interesting statements the last few weeks from people inside the White House on this.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: In just a few hours, President Trump will receive his annual physical at Walter Reed Military Hospital. This is the second of his presidency. You'll remember that last year's health assessment left lots of questions about the true state of the president's health.

[08:40:06] Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was there last year to receive that report, is back in D.C. today.

Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, we learned a lot last year. I mean it was a -- it was a long physical exam that the president had last year. It took about four hours. There were 12 consultants involved. Lots of blood work. Lots of tests of his heart, other diagnostic tests. The question they're trying to answer, is the president fit to lead? And Dr. Ronny Jackson, his doctor at the time, gave an enthusiastic yes to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. RONNY JACKSON, EXAMINED PRESIDENT TRUMP: In summary, the president's overall health is excellent.

GUPTA (voice over): A remarkable scene last January in the White House Briefing Room. Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor at the time, enthusiastically endorsing the health of President Trump.

JACKSON: All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency.

GUPTA: Here's what Jackson told us. The president was 6'3" and 239 pounds. Just one pound shy of being clinically obese. Resting heart rate, 68. Blood pressure, 122 over 74. Total cholesterol, 223, a little high. Triglycerides, 129. Good cholesterol, 67. Bad cholesterol, 143.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you explain to me how a guy who eats McDonalds and fried chicken and all those Diet Cokes and never exercises is in as good of shape as you say he's in?

JACKSON: It's called genetics. I don't know. It's -- some people have, you know, just great genes. You know, I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old. I don't know.

GUPTA (on camera): And he doesn't have heart disease? Is that what you said?

JACKSON: He does not have heart disease, no.

GUPTA: Because he had a CT scan before that showed calcium in the coronary blood vessels.

JACKSON: He does -- he did. He had a -- so I think -- so technically he has non-clinical athroscrotic (ph) coronary atherosclerosis.

GUPTA (voice over): That's heart disease.

President Trump's coronary calcium score last year was 133. According to the Mayo Clinic, a score of 100 to 300 is associated with a relatively high risk of a heart attack over the next three to five years.

President Trump doesn't smoke or drink. As of last year, he was taking five medications daily. Ten milligrams of Crestor to lower his cholesterol, 81 milligrams of aspirin for heart health, 1 milligram of Propecia for hair loss, a daily multivitamin and Soolantra cream, as needed, for rosacea.

Dr. Jackson also said he administered a cognitive exam to the president.

JACKSON: The reason that we did the cognitive assessment is, plain and simple, because the president asked me to do it. He came to me and he said, is there something we can do, a test or some type of screen that we can do to assess my, you know, my cognitive ability.

GUPTA: And this is what the Montreal Cognitive Assessment looks like. Jackson said the president got a 30 out of 30. A perfect score.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Sanjay, this is where it gets interesting. What goals were set after last year's physical?

GUPTA: Well, you know, there were some specific goals Dr. Jackson laid out around diet. He said that the president needed to be eating fewer carbs, fewer fat. In terms of weight loss, Dr. Jackson said about a 10 to 15-pound weight loss. As I mentioned in the piece, his cholesterol was a little high, so they wanted to increase that cholesterol lowering medication as well to try and bring the cholesterol down.

So that was what was recommended. The question has been obviously over the last year is, has he been a good patient? Has he followed the doctor's recommendations?

BERMAN: And there have actually been some leaks -- I think deliberate leaks from the White House over the last few days that perhaps he hasn't exercised nearly as much, if at all, as he was told to do one year ago.

What about follow-up tests, Sanjay? What do you expect to be done today?

GUPTA: I think the heart is an area they've got to zero in on for some of the things I just mentioned with regard to the concerns about heart disease. He's also scheduled for a colonoscopy at some point. He had one back in 2013. Dr. Jackson said he'd have another one this year. Interestingly, John, just to put on the back burner, if he has that, will he need to be sedated? And, if so, will he invoke the 25th Amendment? George W. Bush did that back when he was president.

BERMAN: Be interesting to watch. An answer we don't know just yet.

Thank, Sanjay. Really appreciate it.

GUPTA: You bet. Thank you.

BERMAN: Here is what to watch today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: 9:30 a.m., acting AG Matt Whitaker testifies.

10:15 a.m., Cory Booker campaigns in Iowa.

12:45 p.m., President Trump's annual physical. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:44:49] HILL: Just ahead is the blog post that has I think pretty much everyone talking this morning, not just about what was in that, but about the tabloid tactics and everything we're learning. We dive a little deeper, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and a growing list of congressional probes looming large over the Trump presidency. Let's get "The Bottom Line" now with John Dean, former Nixon White House council and a CNN contributor.

There's a lot going on, to put it mildly, at this point and even just this week in terms of what we've seen in terms of oversight and hearings in the House. But as you look at everything that the Trump White House is facing right now, if you were in that White House, what do you see as the biggest threat? What's your biggest concern?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think they are in bunker mode, by the way, and watching the incoming.

And one of the things I would be watching for is what's happening in the House, two committees, the House Intelligence Committee and Adam Schiff, and the government operations committee with Elijah Cummings. They're both very experienced chairs and they're going to go so to agree -- well (ph), Nadler, at the House Judiciary Committee.

[08:50:02] HILL: We'll be watching, of course, to see what happens this morning in terms of Nadler and Matt Whitaker.

BERMAN: The fact that Adam Schiff this week puts out this list of five items he's going to look into, it makes crystal clear that one of them is the president's financial dealings and trying to find out if other countries have sort of a financial interest and leverage over him.

What's the significance there?

DEAN: Well, he's not recognizing Trump's read line, for one thing, and he's about to go right across it. And, obviously, given Trump's reaction, that's a very sensitive area for him. But it's also one of the most telling. And, you know, with Watergate, for example, we had public hearings before we had grand juries. Everything behind a grand jury is secret. We've now had grand juries but no public hearings. So this is going to educate the public as to what really is going on.

HILL: You talk about that red line that the president put out there, which seems like a lifetime ago, in terms of finances. There's also a very fine political line for lawmakers in terms of the investigations that they're calling for and the oversight that they're doing.

How do you think that calculation is going so far?

DEAN: I think that slowly but surely some Republicans in the Senate are starting to have second thoughts. The House really believes it was put into office because they wanted oversight, they wanted investigations. So Mr. Trump is about to have a whole different experience, which is called oversight. And I don't think he's going to like it at all.

Politically, I think it's very important that we get an understanding of what's happening with this presidency. It will make it more comprehensible.

BERMAN: You brought up public hearings, and I think that's really interesting because in like 20 minutes we're going to see the acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, appear before the House Judiciary Committee, and he will face questions from House Democrats. He may not provide many answers, but this is a first. This is the first time an administration official will appear before a Democratic-controlled chamber and face questions that they can't control.

So talk to me about the impact of public hearings over time. If this is just the first of what will be many, what is the impact on the political discourse?

DEAN: A couple things. First of all, there will be a handful of members who are good questioners. Most of them are not. Those who have prior experience as prosecutors and what have you, they'll be good and they'll pin him down. Whether he'll answer anything or try to stonewall it as the term is used, we'll find out this morning.

But I think it's important for the public. We'll learn a lot just by the questions. Where they're thinking, where they're going, and he'll have to deal with this.

HILL: You mentioned you think the White House right now is in bunker mode watching everything come in.

DEAN: Yes.

HILL: You also told one of our producers earlier you wish you hadn't used the title "Worse Than Watergate" already because -- are you saying it would that apply here?

DEAN: I think it would. In fact, I am working on a book, but I -- I said that title's gone. Maybe "far worse" is a better title.

What drove me to "Worse Than Watergate" was using torture, which was contrary to international and domestic law. That's why that title came out for Bush.

BERMAN: There is another story out today. And we'd love to lean on your legal expertise here. It has to do with Jeff Bezos and the publisher of "The National Enquirer." Bezos wrote this remarkable blog post yesterday where he asserted that he was trying to be extorted and blackmailed by AMI. He was told, according to Bezos, and we've seen the e-mails here that support this, either you say that AMI isn't going after him politically or they will publish naked photos of him.

What kind of legal jeopardy do you think AMI is under? DEAN: I think they have some real problems. First of all, I think it's

wonderful that Bezos did what he did. He's the second richest American not to be shaken down. John Paul Getty (ph), if you recall, same situation.

BERMAN: Kidnapping, yes.

DEAN: Kidnapping through -- you know, right at the heart of the family. His 16-year-old grandson. But, you know, the fact that he just said, OK, here's what's going on, and the fact -- what we have is AMI is under a cooperation prosecution agreement in the Southern District that's very delicate. They can -- they're playing a very dangerous game. Whether this is extortion is a close question. But who knows what conspiracies might have been involved in getting this initial information that hurt Bezos' marriage. So this is going to -- this is just the opening shot of this story.

HILL: And remarkable, again, that they wanted him, according to Bezos and these e-mails, to say that this was not politically motivated.

DEAN: Yes.

HILL: As you say, really just the tip of the iceberg here. Just the beginning.

DEAN: That's not going to sell.

BERMAN: All right, John Dean, appreciate it.

DEAN: Thank you.

HILL: Thank you.

[08:54:52] BERMAN: "The Good Stuff" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, it's time now for "The Good Stuff."

A heartwarming reunion in Florida between these two women. Keisha Oliver (ph) suddenly went into birth at her home. So, the family immediately called 911 for help and dispatcher Amber Melendez Sanchez (ph) calmly walked them through the birth step by step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: Can you see any part of the baby, sir?

CALLER: Uh, hang on, I'm about to look.

MOTHER: Oh, my God!

DISPATCHER: OK. Make sure you don't drop it.

Is the -- is the baby completely out yet?

CALLER: He's out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Keisha says her pregnancy was high risk and she is grateful for Amber's help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My miracle baby because I was not supposed to have this child. One of us was not supposed to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Awe, that's a great reunion and a great ending there and a sweet little baby.

BERMAN: You needed a calm voice at the other end of the line I think in that situation.

HILL: Yes, you do. Yes, you do.

BERMAN: Because, it's not necessarily a calm moment.

HILL: Based on experience, a calm voice helps.

BERMAN: Yes. We've had different views of the situation, but calm was not how I would describe it.

HILL: That's not how you would describe yourself in those moments?

BERMAN: No. No. One of the least calm moments of my entire life.

All right, thank you all for being with us.

Thank you so much for being here this morning.

[09:00:01] HILL: Always a pleasure.

BERMAN: Have a great weekend.

HILL: You, too.

BERMAN: "NEWSROOM" begins right now.

END