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McCabe Says "It Is Possible" President Trump Is A Russian Asset; House Democrats Probe Plan To Sell Nuclear Tech To Saudis; Detectives Want To Speak With Actor Jussie Smollett About Alleged Attack; Study Shows Heart Attacks On The Rise Among Young Women; 2020 Presidential Contenders Goes To The Dogs. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 20, 2019 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:33:49] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A stunning statement from former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. Listen to what he said when asked whether he thinks President Trump could be a Russian asset.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, FBI: It's possible. I think that's why we started our investigation. And I'm really anxious to see where Dir. Mueller concludes that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now is James Clapper. He's the former director of National Intelligence under President Obama. He is now a CNN national security analyst. Director Clapper, great to have you.

When you hear the former acting FBI director say it is possible that the President of the United States is a Russian asset, what is your reaction?

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, the first reaction, Alisyn, is -- at least for me, is I would and have added the caveat, whether witting or unwitting. And I think that's an important distinction, which I think would somewhat, at least in my mind, soften that a bit.

But I do think that it is sort of an institutional obligation and the responsibility of the FBI to at least consider that possibility given the track record and the behavior of -- through the campaign and into the -- into the early part of the administration, culminating in the firing of Jim Comey.

[07:35:05] CAMEROTA: Well, let's look at the scenarios that you've laid out. Let's look at unwitting, OK? So you do see evidence of some kind that President Trump is an unwitting asset of Russia?

CLAPPER: Well, the strange thing I think that's bothered a lot of people, both in and out of the Intelligence Community, is this strange personal deference to Putin by the president. And I've speculated in the past that the way Putin behaves is to treat President Trump as an asset and --

CAMEROTA: Like, how so?

CLAPPER: -- I'd put that in air quotes.

CAMEROTA: How so?

CLAPPER: Well, because of -- you know, you consider Putin's background as a -- as a trained experienced KGB agent and how he would approach somebody that he is trying to co-opt or influence or gain leverage over. And in this case, appeal to ego.

And so, in that -- in that sense -- in that context is what I think of when I mean a potential unwitting asset.

CAMEROTA: OK. So then, a witting asset. What would that look like?

CLAPPER: Well, that, to me, would be -- which, frankly, I rather doubt -- is a recruited asset who is responding to a direction of a -- of a case officer. Again, I'll put that phrase in quotes. And I really don't think that's the situation here.

So I think it's -- if that is the case it would be more unwitting than witting.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

And so, is the Robert Mueller investigation enough to -- if that's -- if that's the possible scenario that you're looking at and you think that what Andrew McCabe said is a possible scenario, is the Robert Mueller investigation and what's happening in Congress enough?

CLAPPER: Well, I don't know. I mean, that's the big -- the big question. I think that the hope is that the Mueller investigation will clear the air on this issue once and for all. I'm really not sure it will and the investigation, when completed, could turn out to be quite anticlimactic and not draw a conclusion about that. Again, I don't know.

Now, the unknown here, at least for me, is what might the Congress do on its own, particularly the House Intelligence Committee or the House Judiciary Committee. It would take the Mueller investigation's results and go on from there, and I have no idea where that would lead.

CAMEROTA: While I have you I want to ask you about something that's happening in Russia. As we speak, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is giving his State of the Nation address and he just said something that has gotten a lot of attention.

He was talking about the deployment of intermediate-range nuclear weapons and the connection that the U.S. would have in terms of those in Europe.

And he says, "If the missiles really are delivered to the European continent, and the United States has such plans -- we haven't heard statements to the opposite -- this will sharply aggravate the situation in the sphere of international security. It will create serious threats to Russia because some classes of these missiles can take up to 10 to 12 minutes to reach Moscow.

This is a very serious threat for us. In this case, we will be forced -- I want to emphasize this -- to consider tit-for-tat and asymmetrical actions."

How do you analyze that?

CLAPPER: Well, I think it's threatening rhetoric and it is very reminiscent of the same analogous speech that Putin gave last year -- last March first.

And you may recall he outlined five very threatening weapons in various stages of development. And he included a graphic showing, presumably, reentry vehicles headed towards Southern Florida. So, to me, this is -- it's very threatening rhetoric.

The United States, Washington specifically, has long been targeted going back to the Soviet era, and I'm quite -- I'm sure already is.

I don't know if he means attempting to deploy missiles, for example, back to Cuba or something like that -- if that's what he means by asymmetrical --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CLAPPER: -- threat. But I think it's more rhetorical than substantive, frankly. That's the way it struck me.

CAMEROTA: Well, if the Trump administration were a conventional administration how should the White House respond to this?

CLAPPER: Well, I think there should be a -- if there is one, a measured response. I don't think it should go tit-for-tat or try to see Putin's threat and raise one or something of that nature.

[07:40:00] The United States is going to do all it can and will continue to do -- reference the recent military buildup and the additional funding for the Pentagon -- to defend the interests of this country and kind of let it go at that.

I don't think they ought to get into a response that would be of direct proportion to what Putin said because again, I think much of this is for Putin's domestic audience as well.

CAMEROTA: All right. Director James Clapper, thank you very much for sharing your expertise with us.

CLAPPER: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: John --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: House Democrats now investigating a plan by U.S. officials to sell nuclear power to Saudi Arabia. What we know and why some lawmakers are worried. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: A plan to sell nuclear power to the Saudis is under investigation by House Democrats. The proposal was backed by former National Security adviser Michael Flynn, and a new report says Trump administration officials kept pushing for it through early 2017 despite warnings that the technology could be used to develop weapons.

Kara Scannell is live for us from Washington with all of the latest developments. What is the latest, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Alisyn.

So, this new report from the House Oversight Committee shows that despite multiple warnings, White House officials continued to push forward with this plan that would potentially give nuclear power and build nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia.

[07:45:05] Now, according to the report that was -- that the House Democrats had filed, they found that "Multiple whistleblowers came forward to warn about efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of highly-sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia.

They've warned about political appointees ignoring directives from top ethics advisers at the White House who have repeatedly and unsuccessfully ordered senior Trump administration officials to halt their efforts."

So, Alisyn, this report finds in the first three months of the administration that the staff of the National Security Council were warning that the plans to produce this power plant could violate the law in two ways.

One, it could violate the conflicts of interest because the plan was being pushed by a private company that had ties to Michael Flynn, the then-National Security adviser. He had worked as an adviser to them before he joined the administration, pushing this same plan.

And they were also worried it could violate the Atomic Energy Act, which really limits the transfer of nuclear technology outside the U.S. to a foreign country without the approval of Congress.

So the staffers were really concerned that this was bypassing the normal protocols in order to get this plan through. They raised this internally to ethics and legal officials. The top lawyer on the National Security Council told them to stop working on this plan.

The White House officials, including Michael Flynn and some of his allies, continued to push for it. They were trying to get a proposal in the hands of President Trump before he had key meetings with Saudi leaders. And this continued -- despite these multiple warnings, they were continuing to do this.

Now, Cummings' committee -- the House Oversight Committee is saying that they're going to investigate this. They want to know whether the U.S. was acting in the best interest of U.S. national security or to line the pockets of those close to the administration, John.

BERMAN: Part of the new oversight you will see from the Democratic- controlled House.

Kara Scannell, thank you very much for that report -- appreciate it.

An alarming trend among young women. More of them are having heart attacks. Why? We're going to speak to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about it, next.

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[07:51:03] BERMAN: Chicago detectives want to speak to actor Jussie Smollett, but it's not clear when or if that will happen. Meanwhile, the brothers who were arrested in the alleged attack and then released -- they have met with police and prosecutors.

CNN's Ryan Young is live in Chicago with the very latest -- Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, the story's not going away. There's a lot of talking going on but no one seems to be able to talk to the actor.

And when you think about this, there are even people in the city who have stepped forward to say they want more attention put to their cases besides this one. So you can understand how this is twisting attorney.

First of all, let's look at these two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo. They're known as bodybuilders who also -- one of them was at least an actor on the set of "EMPIRE" at one point, as an extra.

They've been talking to police. They've been telling them the details to the story about that night.

And police have financial records that actually ties one of them to the noose that was found around Jussie Smollett's neck. That's why detectives want to bring him in and have a conversation with him.

On top of that, we've reached out to the representatives for the actor. So far, they've haven't indicated what the timetable may be for him to come in.

All this going back to more conversations about the actor's past. In 2007, in L.A., apparently he was pulled over for DUI and gave police false name. He was charged with that and served two years' probation.

So there's a lot of questions still swirling about this, John. The story keeps twisting and turning.

CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh, it just doesn't end. Ryan, thank you very much.

YOUNG: No, it doesn't.

CAMEROTA: All right, so keep us posted, please, because so many people are interested in that.

Now, here's to your health this morning. A disturbing trend revealed in a new study. The risk of having a heart attack is rising among young women.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details. I couldn't believe the trend line here, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I couldn't either. I mean, this is a pretty fascinating study when you look at what has been happening with people who -- what are the ages of people who are getting admitted to the hospital after having had a heart attack -- had some sort of heart problem.

Overall -- look, back in 1995, if you had 100 people who were admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, 30 percent of them were going to be under the age of 54 if they were men; 21 percent if they were women. Obviously, much lower.

But look what's happened now in 2014, the last year this data was collected. Women had this significant rise. So out of 100 people now admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, nearly a third of those people, if they're women, are going to be under the age of 54.

Alisyn, you don't -- you don't think about people between the ages of 35 and 54 -- young people, as they're called in the study -- as having a heart attack and being admitted to the hospital with a heart attack. So, it's not really clear what's driving those trend lines but it is fascinating to see what has happened over these 20 years or so.

CAMEROTA: But, Sanjay, why do you think this is happening?

GUPTA: You know, we really dug into the study. I think there's a couple of things, some that are maybe more obvious, some less obvious.

One of the things is that -- and I thought this was interesting -- women were more likely to have health care insurance. Why does that matter? Because if you show up at the hospital and you're having chest pains -- signs of a heart attack -- and you have health insurance, you may be more likely to get admitted. That could be one of the things driving it.

But, Alisyn, all the discussions we've had on your show about the obesity epidemic, about lifestyle in the United States, the increasing rate of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol -- you're starting to see the end consequences of these things. Significant heart disease, heart attacks in an increasingly younger population.

You didn't use to worry about this -- you know, heart disease and heart attacks -- until you got into your 60s or 70s. That was something that was typically reserved for older people. Now, the idea of people in their 30s and 40s not only having heart problems, but having heart attacks and being admitted for that is becoming increasingly clear.

Again, a third of people admitted to the hospital, typically, are going to be young people with heart disease.

CAMEROTA: Wow. And so, I think it's important to remind people that cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer in the U.S.

So, now that you've read this study, what are you suggesting to everyone listening? What can they do to reduce the risk?

[07:55:02] GUPTA: Yes, and one thing about that number one killer -- you know, several hundred thousand -- 500,000-600,000 people die of heart disease. It's the number one killer of men and women in this country.

So when it comes to women specifically, a lot of times the symptoms they may have may be a little bit different than sort of the classic Hollywood heart attack where someone's clutching their chest. They may have symptoms of unusual nausea and vomiting that come out of nowhere, sweating. It could be back pain.

So I think just until they're recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack very important. Something that's unusual, something that doesn't go away after a few minutes. You've got to call 911.

Another piece of advice at that point is to take an aspirin and chew it and swallow it. You chew it because that gets the aspirin, which is a blood thinner, into your bloodstream quickly and that's what a lot of cardiologists will recommend.

But then after that Alisyn, it's the basics. It's the stuff that we've been talking about for 20-30 years. Eat right, exercise, lower the cholesterol, reduce your risk factors.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, thank you very much for bringing us this pretty disturbing report. Great to see you.

GUPTA: Yes, thank you -- you, too. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. So today is National Love Your Pet Day.

CAMEROTA: My goldfish is in for quite a celebration today.

BERMAN: And the pets and politics are stealing the show as the 2020 campaign kicks off. The candidates who don't have any pets -- well, they're making up for it.

CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's something about a candidate having a dog that seems to scratch an itch. Whether you're a longshot candidate -- Pete Buttigieg with two shelter dogs or well-known Sen. Elizabeth Warren --

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Say hello, Bailey. Say hello. Yes, yes.

MOOS: -- more than happy to talk baby talk to her Golden Retriever --

WARREN: That's our baby.

MOOS: -- who she's been introducing along with her husband.

WARREN: I thought I'd bring the two guys in my life, Bruce and Bailey.

MOOS: Supporters can't keep their hands off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you, sweetheart?

MOOS: Candidate and spouse stroll off hold hands and a leash.

Some candidates put their dogs in commercials --

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And that's why we approve this message.

MOOS: -- and even campaign merchandise.

But there are perils to promoting pets. When Kirsten Gillibrand posted her Labradoodle Maple, someone tweeted, "But if Maple isn't a rescue I take issue." Someone else suggested a new collar -- "Trump, Take A Walk".

Beto O'Rourke has two dogs, Artemis and Rosie.

Among the dogless contenders, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris, though she tries to make up for it by posting canine supporters.

Cory Booker got put on the spot by a kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever have a dog?

MOOS: No dog, but Booker made a quick save.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I should become President of the United States would you help me get a dog? Would you help me?

MOOS: President Trump says he doesn't have time for a dog.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn? Would that be -- it feels a little phony.

MOOS: He prefers to call his opponents dogs, while would-be opponent Joe Biden posed recently with a shelter dog, Major, that he adopted to keep his old German Shepherd, Champ, company.

JOSEPH BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a talker, watch this. Hey, Champ, you want to play golf?

CHAMP: Barking. MOOS: Even President Trump might like a dog that doubles as a golf partner.

BIDEN: Well, where's the golf cart?

CHAMP: Barking.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

BIDEN: Go get the golf cart.

CHAMP: Barking.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I want to hear more about your goldfish.

CAMEROTA: Well, he's named Ollie, Jr.

BERMAN: Is there an Ollie, Sr.?

CAMEROTA: Yes, my daughter -- my daughter. And we got this at a fair. You know --

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- one of the ones you get at a carnival --

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- that lasts generally 12 hours. Seven years later we're feeding this goldfish. We have the hardiest goldfish ever known to mankind.

BERMAN: It's National Love Your Pet Day. How do you intend to love this goldfish today?

CAMEROTA: Just lots of cake. He loves it. Just lots of delicious cake.

BERMAN: I'm sure PETA has a real problem with feeding cake to a goldfish.

New questions about President Trump and obstruction of justice. NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The President of the United States tried to influence an investigation that involved himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president denies it. We're living in the world of maybes and sources.

JOHN DICKERSON, HOST, "CBS THIS MORNING": Do you still believe the president could be a Russian asset?

MCCABE: I think it's possible. I'm really anxious to see where Dir. Mueller concludes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He lied under oath. Do we believe what he says now?

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We would look for somebody who can take the progressive banner and help us to rally the American people.

TRUMP: I think he missed his time, but I wish Bernie well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more voices that are in the process the better. We're the defenders of a system that has to change.

BIDEN: It's time to restore America's soul and remind ourselves we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, February 20th, 8:00 in the East.

And this morning there is a huge report in "The New York Times" that raises new questions about whether President Trump tried --