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Trump's Two-Hour Speech; Sanders' Family Story; Cohen On SDNY Communication; Outrage After Trump Believes Kim on Otto Warmbier's Medical Condition; San Francisco Giants Owner Larry Baer Apologizing & Police Investigating Video of Altercation with Wife; "The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power" Premiers Sunday at 9:00 P.M.; State Department Offers Reward for Information to Capture New Al Qaeda Leader. Aired 5- 6p ET
Aired March 02, 2019 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Great to have you with us.
Sounding off and breaking his own record. After a week marred by defeat and controversary, President Trump just delivered the longest speech of his presidency. And it was scathing. Ditching his prepared remarks at the CPAC, he went on the attack, attacking the Robert Mueller investigation, attacking James Comey, Rod Rosenstein, Jeff Session, even mocking his own infamous calls for Russia to find Hillary Clinton's e-mails.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately, you put the wrong people in a couple of positions and they leave people for a long time that shouldn't be there. And, all of a sudden, they're trying to take you out with bullshit. OK? Robert Mueller never received a vote and he is just a person that appointed him.
And, as you know, the attorney general says, I'm going to recuse (INAUDIBLE.) And I said, why the hell didn't he tell me that before I put him in? If you tell a joke, if you be sarcastic, if you have any fun with the audience, if you're on live television with millions of people and 25,000 in an arena. And if you say something, Russia, please, if you can, get us Hillary Clinton's e-mails. Please, Russia, please. Please get us the e-mails. Please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: And that wraps up a week that includes President Trump's former attorney naming names and handing over financial documents on Capitol Hill. New explosive reporting that the president forced the approval of his son-in-law's security clearance and walking away empty handed at that summit with North Korea's leader in Vietnam.
I'm joined now by CNN White House Correspondent Boris Sanchez. Boris, the president's audience today filled with his strongest supporters, clearly. This is, arguably, a reelection rally. What kind of case did he make?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, the president covered a lot of ground. As you said, the longest speech of his presidency, going well over two hours. President Trump, at one point, used an expletive to describe the Russia probe, dismissing it in the investigation all together.
He also gave us a preview of what we're like to hear from him going into 2020. The president saying that the Democrats' agenda is radical, attacking the green new deal, suggesting that Democrats want a government takeover of healthcare and massive tax increases.
That's a taste of what the president said. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democrat lawmakers are now embracing socialism. They want to replace individual rights with total government domination. This is the new Democrat platform for the -- I don't want to talk them out of it. I don't. I don't. I swear, I don't. This is a killer. I've got to off this subject. I want them to embrace this plan. I want them to go and sell this plan. I just want to be the Republican that runs against them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, Ana, and the president also repeated something we heard during the State of the Union, saying that he believes the United States will never be a socialist country. That is likely something we will hear again.
At one point during the speech, he even said he wished it was 2020 already. He's clearly eager for an election -- Ana.
CABRERA: Boris Sanchez at the White House, thanks.
As the president was talking, so was Senator Bernie Sanders, rallying his supporters today with his first major event of the 2020 campaign. And he spoke today not in Vermont, where he serves as U.S. Senator, but in New York City. In fact, it was in Brooklyn, a few miles from where he was born and raised.
A lot of his speech today was dedicated to his upbringing and how it was nothing like President Trump's.
CNN'S Ryan Nobles joins us in Brooklyn. Ryan, Bernie Sanders kind of broke the mold today, revealing so much personal information. Could he have made that speech anywhere besides his old neighborhood?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, he could have. But it certainly struck a different cord by being here in Brooklyn, where he could talk about how he was born a few miles from Brooklyn College where the speech was held. And how he was raised in a rent-controlled apartment just around the corner.
But, you know, the -- there's no doubt that the Sanders' campaign was keenly aware of the fact that this speech was taking place right around the same time that President Trump was speaking this morning. And they wanted to make it clear that that personal story of Bernie Sanders is much different than the personal story of Donald Trump.
[17:05:07] And when you compare those two things, voters will have an obvious choice. So, that's why they made the decision to give him that opportunity to talk on a personal level. And he really drove that point home. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENT CANDIDATE: I did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers, you're fired. I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over everyday workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: And it's important to point out, Ana, while Senator Sanders devoted a lot of his speech here today, to talking about Donald Trump, to attacking Donald Trump, to compare himself to Donald Trump, he didn't talk at all about the other Democrats that are in this race for the Democratic nomination. And, of course, he needs to get past all of them before he even has a shot at Donald Trump. And that was something he was unsuccessful in doing four years ago -- Ana.
CABRERA: Ryan Nobles for us. Thank you. Joining me now to talk more about Bernie Sanders and the already crowded field of 2020 candidates, S.E. Cupp, Host of "S.E. CUPP UNFILTERED;" and CNN Commentator Keith Boykin. He's former White House aid for President Clinton.
So, Keith, I'll start with you. Sanders, again, delivering his speech today. This rally in Brooklyn, not Vermont. He also coming out in a very personal way, sharing some of his background, you know, giving a nod to his immigrant heritage. His father, where he was from, and his family. And I just -- I am curious if he's taking this direction because this is what he would need to get beyond his base. That, obviously, didn't land him in the White House in 2016.
KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it's important to distinguish himself first against Donald Trump, who inherited $413 billion from his father, and himself, who had a working class upbringing. And, secondly, it is important for him to pivot beyond where he was in the 2016 campaign. In 2016, he was an insurgent. He wasn't the front runner. Hillary Clinton was, sort of, the established candidate.
Now, Bernie Sanders is the front runner. He is the one who is -- he is the one who has the experience, who ran before. He is the one who is expected to do really well. He is doing really well in the polls that came out in New Hampshire.
CABRERA: Yes.
BOYKIN: And so, he has got to position himself in a way he's going to be ready for all the attacks that are going to be coming against him from the left and the right. And he's got to tell a little bit more about his story, who he is so people understand him not just as a charicature. So, I think it was an important -- an important statement for him today.
CABRERA: You mentioned the New Hampshire poll and I want to bring it up for our viewers, too. Because that stood out, to me, earlier this week, where you have Bernie Sanders on top of Joe Biden even, who has been leading a lot of these polls. Sanders with 26 percent.
The other note noteworthy thing there is Elizabeth Warren at seven percent. Her numbers are going the wrong direction. In fact, that number is down from where it was in the past polling. S.E., what do you think that's about? And what does she need to do if she wants to turn that around?
S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's particularly a problem because it's in, you know, a neighboring state, --
CABRERA: Exactly.
CUPP: -- New Hampshire. And she has not polled particularly well in her home state among Democrats. Now, you can say, well, you know, she's now running a national election so that doesn't really matter. But the optics of not doing well where your service record is, among your own likely constituents, is a problem for her. She's going to have to get around that.
You know, Donald Trump, of course, didn't win New York, his home state. But she's a Democrat. From a reliably blue state. She has to explain why her progressive record isn't real popular where she's from. And then, among Democrats, in general, why she's still not managing to catch on. She's got a lot of name I.D.
CABRERA: Right.
CUPP: So, that's not the problem here. She's got to convince people, look, no, take a look at me. I am the choice here.
CABRERA: And I just wonder, too, because, after all, in 2016, she had so many people urging her to run. What's --
CUPP: But she might have missed her moment.
CABRERA: -- different? I mean, did she miss her moment?
CUPP: That might have been her moment.
BOYKIN: Well, I mean, look back at 2012, when Hillary Clinton left the State Department. Her popularity was 60-something percent. Everybody was urging her to run. She was a shoe in to win the nomination. And she was the guarantee to be the president, people were saying. And then, she became the victim of excruciating attacks, many of which were unfair. And I think what's happened with Elizabeth Warren is that she has been attacked for this whole native-American story. She hasn't been able to escape it. She's trying to move aware from --
CABRERA: You think that's really the key that hurt her?
BOYKIN: Honestly, I think that is, really, the big issue that has hurt her. Because her views haven't changed. Her issues on her progressive record hasn't changed.
CABRERA: So, similar to Bernie Sanders which seems to be working for him.
CUPP: Well, he has the authenticity that she is criticized for not having. And the native-American debacle really, really hit her hard. I mean, I've called her candidacy DOA because that really negatively defined her. Fairly or not, you know, whatever side you come down on, it really has defined her. And she has not yet been able to get around that as a major, major issue. I'm not sure she can.
[17:10:08] BOYKEN: I just want to push back on that. I don't think it's fair to say Her candidacy is DOA because of this. This is so early. We haven't a --
CUPP: (INAUDIBLE.)
BOYKEN: -- we haven't had any elections yet. There's not a single primary caucus. We won't have one for another year. There hasn't even been a -- there hasn't been a debate.
CUPP: That's true. It's true. But these early moments from these early polls, the early dollars, that matters. That builds momentum.
BOYKIN: I agree but I completely -- I completely disagree with her campaign is DOA.
CABRERA: I don't want to get too hung up on Elizabeth Warren because there's so many more candidates that we can discuss, --
CUPP: Right.
CABRERA: -- including the governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, who is the latest to join the race. He is going all in on climate change. He says that is going to be the focus of his campaign. Keith, I'll bring this one to you. Do you think a single-issue candidate can compete effectively in such a diverse crowd? And at this point in time, in this point in time in the map?
BOYKIN: Yes and no. I think it's important to be able to distinguish yourself in this race, when there's going to be so many different candidates in there. How does he stand out? By being a single-issue candidate. Amy Klobuchar who stood out by being a little bit more conservative than other candidates. Bernie Sanders stand out by being the candidate who talks about economic inequality. You know, Kamala Harris trying to stand out being an African-American candidate.
So, how do you stand out as a candidate is really important. This is a -- this is a -- this is a -- it's a good idea for him. Whether it's enough to win, I'm not sure. But it does make him distinguishable from 17, 20 other candidates who might be running.
CABRERA: Democrats were, obviously, a big target of the president today in his big big CPAC speech. We heard Boris just how long it was, two plus hours. The longest speech of his presidency. He spent a lot of it railing against the Mueller probe. Do you think he understands just how serious this investigation is? Not just Mueller's investigation, but the other ones?
CUPP: I think -- I think intuitively and inherently he does. But I also think he's a performer and he knows he needs to perform like everything's fine. And everything is not fine. But what I saw today, and I watched almost all of the two-hour speech --
BOYKIN: I'm sorry for you.
CUPP: I know. I know. He needed this. This was a week that really, I think, hit him hard, both on foreign policy and domestic. And he was reveling in this. And, a couple times, you thought he was done. And he just coming back for more. Because he needed this rally, the adoration. He was in a very friendly room.
And so, I think putting on this performance, I'm fine. We're great. Aren't we in a love affair? I think he need that, like, for his soul. So, I think -- I think it wasn't, so much, an indication of where things really are but what he needs right now.
BOYKIN: He was rearranging the deck -- the deck chairs on the Titanic. I mean, we had the Michael Cohen story this week. We had the Jared Kushner story about the security clearance. We had the story about Alex Acosta, his labor secretary. We had the failed summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un. We had the whole issue about the national emergency declaration as Congress rebuked him on that.
CABRERA: Jared Kushner's security clearance story.
BOYKIN: Security clearance, Cohen. It's just been a week of disasters for his presidency. And the only thing you can do is get out there and talk to a favorable crowd and let them revel in whatever it is that they want to say.
But this lock her up chant that was going on today, unbecoming of the president of the United States. And in addition of the whole thing, he used a curse words repeatedly, I think more than once, at least in his remarks today. What hypocrisy. The GOP was screaming bloody murder when Rashida Tlaib used a curse word a few weeks ago. But when the president of the United States goes and does it, it's OK. This is the kind of inconsistency that people are sick of in politics. They don't like it when people have double standards. And that's exactly what we saw with the president of the United States today.
CABRERA: I've got to leave it there. Both of you, thank you so much. S.E., Keith, good to see you. As always, make sure you don't miss "S.E. CUPP UNFILTERED" at the top of the hour, right here on CNN.
The president, today, launching off, laughing, in fact, even, about the special counsel's Russia investigation. But does the real threat lie somewhere else?
Plus, a strange twist, a key Republican Congressman is calling for the final Mueller report to be made public. Actually, he's calling for much more than the Mueller report to be made public. What's behind that new push.
And after a stinging review, the president now says he was misinterpreted over his remarks where he sided with Kim Jong-Un, when it came to the death of American Otto Warmbier.
You're live in the CNN Newsroom.
[17:14:50]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: President Trump today going after Special Counsel Robert Mueller with fresh attacks. As we all wait for Mueller's final report into Russia election interference and any potential collusion with the Trump campaign, here is what the president had to say this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're waiting for a report. And we'll find out whether or not -- and who we're dealing with. We're waiting for a report by people that weren't elected. Now, we have people that lost. And, unfortunately, you put the wrong people in a couple of positions. And they leave people for a long time that shouldn't be there. And, all of a sudden, they're trying to take out with bullshit, OK? Now, Robert Mueller never received a vote and neither did the person that appointed him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: OK, but think about this. Robert Mueller might not be the president's biggest legal problem right now. Trump is facing numerous investigations, looking into nearly every aspect of his political and business operations. One, in particular, might pose a bigger problem than Mueller. That is the southern district of New York. This week, we heard Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, say he's in constant contact with SDNY investigators.
[17:20:00] CNN National Correspondent Brynn Gingras has more on what the SDNY might be investigating.
(BEGIN VIDETAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise your right hand.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When President Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress this week, he suggested more investigations into the president are in the works.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I am in constant contact with the southern district of New York. Unfortunately, this topic is actually something that's being investigated right now by the southern district of New York.
GINGRAS: The southern district of New York, a U.S. Attorney's office with a rich history of tenaciously taking on high profile cases, like Wallstreet execs and mobsters. It also operates independently from the Oval Office.
PREET BHARARA, FORMERY SDNY ATTORNEY: Michael Cohen said a lot of things about a lot of matters and some new information. But the one thing that he wouldn't talk about was the ways in which he's cooperating with southern district of New York, my former office, with respect to all sort of investigations that we might not know anything about. I think that's an ominous sign.
GINGRAS: Cohen pleaded guilty last year in the southern district to tax fraud, bank fraud and federal campaign finance violations. And Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's CFO, has made a deal with SDNY attorneys for limited immunity in exchange for information in the Cohen case.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So help me God.
GINGRAS: Federal prosecutors in New York are already investigating the president's inaugural committee, subpoenaing a wide range of documents. And, earlier this month, CNN reported the SDNY is seeking to interview Trump Organization executives, though the exact focus of the interviews is not clear.
BHARARA: The motto, I think, of any good U.S. Attorney's Office is, if you see a serious federal crime being committed, you investigate it. And if there's enough evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, then you charge it.
GINGRAS: The southern district doesn't have the same restrictions as the special counsel's investigation which the Department of Justice set up to strictly look into one thing, Russian influence in the 2016 election.
The investigation led by Robert Mueller spans nearly two years. Attorneys have interviewed a wide range of people currently or formerly in Trump's orbit. The president repeatedly refers to the probe.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a disgraceful situation. It's a witch hunt. The entire thing has been a witch hunt.
GINGRAS: But to date, 37 people and entities have been indicted or pleaded guilty, including Trump advisors and Russian nationals. Most recently added to the list, Roger Stone, a long-time Trump associate who Cohen says told Trump that he had inside knowledge of the WikiLeaks posting of Democratic e-mails during the 2016 campaign.
COHEN: Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had gotten off the phone with Julien Assange. And then, Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of e-mails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. GINGRAS: A claim the president and WikiLeaks deny. The special
counsel's investigation has uncovered and referred cases to the southern district. That's how a probe into Cohen started. But it remains to be seen what else Mueller's team may have forwarded to U.S. attorneys. And that could be what, ultimately, deals a blow to the president.
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: Bob Mueller is not what should concern the president or the White House. That's the southern district of New York.
GINGRAS: Brynn Gingras of CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: Now, I want to bring in CNN Legal Analyst Michael Zeldin, a financial crimes' expert and former special assistant to Robert Mueller at the Justice Department. Michael, we just heard former Trump ally, Chris Christie, who led the president's transition team, say Mueller is not President Trump's biggest legal threat. And that's pretty much what you've been saying for months now. How did you react there week when you heard Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, tell Congress that he's in constant contact with southern district of New York investigators?
MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It led me to believe that the southern district of New York was engaged in a full-throated financial crimes' investigation against the Trump Organization. Not the president, as president. But President Trump as prior businessman. In there, I think, lies a lot of danger for the president.
If you look at Michael Cohen's testimony, for example, where he said the president inflated financial statements, in order to acquire a loan, and deflated them, when it came to paying taxes on the value of those assets. That's wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud. Serious stuff. And the statute of limitations is 10 years, so these are still actively pursuable by the southern district of New York.
CABRERA: So, do you think that's where these investigations are headed?
ZELDIN: It would make the most sense that that's what they are looking at. Remember, Cohen was asked why he was in constant contact with the southern district? And he said, because it's ongoing investigations that I cannot speak to you about.
It would seem, to me, if these were investigations that involved the president's time as president, that would be Mueller-like more than southern district-like. And so, that leads to the deduction that, most likely, it is financial in its orientation. We're speculating. But that would be my speculation.
[17:25:04] CABRERA: Trump's taxes came up, time and again, at Cohen's hearing. Do you think investigators already have Trump's tax returns?
ZELDIN: I think they have probable aspect -- probably aspects of his financial records. Remember, Michael Cohen said, in preparation for his testimony, he remembered that the southern district of New York returned some boxes to him. He went down to welcome at those boxes and that's where he found the Trump financial disclosures -- the financial statements for 2011 through 2013.
So, the southern district had already returned them to Cohen, having, you know, copied and reviewed them. So, yes, it seems to me that they probably have that and more. And we know that the Congressional Committees are going to be subpoenaing the full tax records.
CABRERA: Everyone's waiting for Mueller's report to drop. And one of the president's most ardent defenders, Congressman Devin Nunes, had this to say on Friday. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEVIN NUNES (R), CALIFORNIA: If he does put out a report, you're going to -- you're going to see people claiming, oh, we have to have this public. It's got to be made public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
NUNES: That's fine. But I want everything that Mueller did made public. I want every e-mail. I want everything that -- everybody that they wiretapped. Every warrant that they got. Every single thing that Mueller used needs to be made public for all of America to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Michael, is Nunes' request even remotely realistic?
ZELDIN: Well, you know, I would expect that the Democrats who run the Congressional Oversight Committees would love that. And that the people who would like that least are the private counsel who are representing the president.
These regulations were drafted to ensure that the limited -- that there was a limited amount of information that went forward. They did not want a full star-like (ph) or Zeldin-like, because I issued the same type of report, report to the public. They wanted to protect all that underlying information. That's why the regulations are so narrowly crafted.
Devin Nunes, in some sense, is playing right into the hands of the Democratic Oversight Committees. And I can't imagine that Trump lawyers are happy with that statement.
CABRERA: Michael Zeldin, there's so many more questions I have for you always. I find this conversation fascinating. And I look forward to talking to you again another day. Out of time for now. Thanks so much, sir.
ZELDIN: Thank you.
CABRERA: The president today, again, attempting to calm the fallout over his comments accepting the North Korean president's or leader's denial of wrongdoing in the death of Otto Warmbier. This comes after the Warmbier family's stunning rebuke to the president after he took the word of yet another dictator.
[17:27:30]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:32:11] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: We have new information about the failed nuclear summit between President Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un. Two officials familiar with the talks tell CNN the North Korean delegation came in fully expecting to leave with a deal. One source adding, there was, quote, "a huge need for Kim to get a signed agreement after billing this as a success even before it began."
In this country, the collapse isn't what is driving outrage. It's President Trump suggesting Kim didn't know about the brutal treatment of Otto Warmbier. Warmbier's parents called out the president comments.
And again today, he tried to explain himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm in such a horrible position. Because in one way, I have to negotiate. In the other way, I love Mr. and Mrs. Warmbier and I love Otto. It's a very, very delicate balance. He was a special young man. To see what happened was so bad. Was so bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Brian Todd with the emotional fallout from the president's attempt at diplomacy with a dictator.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Analysts called it a low point in an already dismal news conference.
TRUMP: He tells me that he didn't know about it and I will take him at his word.
TODD: The president saying he supported North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un's stance that Kim didn't know of American college student Otto Warmbier's deteriorating condition in a North Korean prison.
TRUMP: I don't believe that he would have allowed that to happen.
TODD: Now that statement is receiving a stinging rebuke from Warmbier's parents. Fred and Cindy Warmbier saying they have not spoken out of respect but could hold back no longer. In a statement saying, quote, "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son, Otto. No excuses or lavish praise can change that." ROBERT KING, FORMER U.S. ENVOY TO NORTH KOREA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: For
them, this is a horrible situation to go through. I can understand their concern about what was said.
TODD Otto Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was arrested for allegedly stealing a political sign during his tour of Pyongyang in 2016. During what was seen as a show trial, he wept.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TODD: Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. A year and a half later, North Korean diplomats abruptly asked for a meeting with their U.S. counterparts and told them the young American was in a coma. Warmbier was quickly evacuated and died a couple of days after returning home.
Trump initially attacked Kim and his regime for the death.
TRUMP: We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime.
TODD: He embraced Warmbier's parents, inviting them to the State of the Union address.
[17:35:01] TRUMP: You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatened our world. Your strength truly inspires us all.
TODD: Analysts said that seemed to be a far cry from his comments this week.
TRUMP: He felt badly about it.
TODD: Now facing backlash from the family, the president took to Twitter, saying he had been misinterpreted on Thursday. Quote, "Of course, I hold North Korea responsible for Otto's mistreatment and death. Most important, Otto Warmbier will not have died in vein. I love Otto and think of him often."
KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: What the president is saying is there's no indication Chairman Kim knew what happened to Otto when it happened.
TODD: But that seems improbable experts say because, after his death, doctors who examined Otto Warmbier said they believed he had been in a vegetative state for 14 months before being sent home.
(on camera): If he's in a vegetative state for 14 months, does Kim Jong-Un not know about it at all during that time?
KING: Kim would have known as soon as they had determined that this was something that wasn't reversible. He would have known immediately.
TODD (voice-over): Why would President Trump have said he believed Kim? Analysts say it could have been for pure political expediency. MARCUS NOLAND, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Human
rights groups have not been given much access to the administration, which is clearly prioritizing the nuclear negotiations and thinking that human rights issues might get in the way.
TODD: In the end, will Kim Jong-Un face any accountability in the case of Otto Warmbier? Analysts day probably not. The Warmbier family was recently awarded more than $500 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the North Korean regime. But experts say it's unlikely the family will collect much, if any, of that.
What could happen, they say, is the Americans could use the Warmbier case as possible leverage in negotiating any sanctions relief for North Korea.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: The CEO of the San Francisco Giants is under fire after a physical altercation with his wife was caught on camera. Now he's apologizing. We have the video and the fallout, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:42:05] CABRERA: San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer and his wife are apologizing after a physical and public altercation between them was caught on tape. A bystander captured the heated argument in a San Francisco park that ended with Pam Baer on the ground.
CNN's Kaylee Hartung is following the details.
Kaylee, Baer and his wife have released a statement. What are they saying?
KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, not long after this public physical and verbal argument between the couple, they seemed to join in lockstep. They released a joint statement where they said they were embarrassed by their public argument. They said they resolved the issue. Separate, more personal statements followed from each of them. One from Larry Baer in which he apologized and said he will do whatever it takes to make sure he never behaves in an inappropriate manner again. And then Pam Baer defending her husband, even saying that she lost her balance in the midst of this.
Watch the video to see for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAM BAER, WIFE OF LARRY BAER: Oh, my god! Help!
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAM BAER, WIFE OF LARRY BAER: Oh my god! Help.
HARTUNG (voice-over): "Oh, my god, help," Pam Baer screams as her husband, San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer, tries to grab what appears to be a cell phone out of her hand. Caught in a struggle, she falls to the ground in the chair she is sitting in. This video captured by a bystander, and first released by TMZ, shows just a few seconds of the scuffle. After a cut in the video, you can see Larry Baer, the cell phone, and cup of coffee in his hand saying, "Stop, Pam, stop," and walking away. Bystanders are heard yelling for her to stay away from him.
The couple, married for nearly 30 years, say they're embarrassed in a heated argument over a family matter. And in a joint statement, they say they resolved the issue.
But this video is now an issue for authorities.
(SCREAMING)
HARTUNG: The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the incident. And so is Major League Baseball. A statement from the league says, "Just like any other situation like this, they will immediately begin to gather the facts. Major League Baseball's strict domestic violence policy applies to executives as well as players."
Baer is part owner of the Giants and is seen as a major part of the success enjoyed by the organization, which won the World Series three times in the last 10 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARTUNG: Larry Baer is the public face of the Giants' management, a guy with a squeaky-clean image, who is known for cleaning up public relations challenges that the team faced.
As I mentioned, Ana, he apologized. But I have spoken to a couple of players in Major League Baseball who say they believe, if that was a player in that video, conversations would have already begun about his termination. We will see how this situation evolves as police, Major League Baseball and the Giants investigate.
CABRERA: We know you will keep us posted.
Kaylee Hartung, thank you.
[17:44:46] The president just ended his longest speech since entering the White House. He hit topics like the 2016 election, Democrats, the media, in front of an adoring base. How are Republicans reacting to a week that saw bombshell after bombshell revealed?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: This family has given America a Senator, two governors, two first ladies, and two presidents. The all new CNN original series, "THE BUSH YEARS: FAMILY, DUTY, POWER," will take us inside the iconic Bush family to explore how they've influenced American politics and culture at some of the most pivotal points in U.S. history.
Here's a preview. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would like to introduce you to my family. The fact is I am nothing without them.
(MUSIC)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Our four sons. Our daughter. My own Barbara Bush.
[17:50:06] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's hard to imagine any family that have been more significant to American politics.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can hear you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
(BUSH)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bush family, going back generations, believe in public service and helping their fellow man.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People refer to the Bush family as a dynasty. That's what it is and that's what it was.
(MUSIC)
GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm running for president of the United States. There's no turning back. And I intend to be the next president of the United States.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH: That's my boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Joining us now, presidential historian, Mark Updegrove, the author of "The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush."
Mark, great to have you with us.
As a presidential historian, you have a lot to work with, with the Bush family, with both father, George H.W. Bush, and son, George W. Bush serving as commander-in-chief. What does it mean to have two presidents come from the same family?
MARK UPDEGROVE, PERSIDENTIAL HISTORIAN & AUTHOR: It's remarkable. Happened only one other time for a father and son. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were one-term presidents, our first two one-term president. There were 24 years that lapsed between their presidencies, nearly a quarter of a century. John Adams was only alive for the first year and a quarter of his son's presidency and in a way in Quincy, Massachusetts, far away from Washington, D.C. The Bushes only had eight years between their presidencies and reigned at very consequential times in our history. George H.W. Bush, when the Iron Curtain fell, and we were entering into a brand-new post-Cold War period, and George W. Bush, of course, during 9/11. Enormously consequential and important periods and two men just eight years apart in the Oval Office.
CABRERA: Just eight years apart. That's nothing. Yet father, son, both presidents of the United States. You look at the relationship between the two Bush presidents in your book from both your professional and a personal perspective. When you look at their presidencies, what more do you see as key similarities and differences?
UPDEGROVE: Well, the similarities, somewhat similar styles. There's an ethos I know is explored in the original series that CNN is doing. It's really about civility and decency and the notion of service over self. I think that prevails in the Bush family. And you see it from both Bush presidents. As George H.W. Bush would say, times have changed dramatically from his time in office. They had similar nemesis in the sense they both battled against Saddam Hussein. The world was very different between the administrations of both Bush presidents.
CABRERA: I think it's really telling that the name of your book, "The Last Republicans," actually came from the Bushes themselves. Tell us more about that.
UPDEGROVE: Well, I originally thought to name the book "The Last Republicans," but it was clear, whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump won the election, that there was an end to a certain type of Republicanism. Republicanism that the Bushes stood for was about our engagement in the world. America as a force for good. Of course, the Republicanism of Donald Trump was very different. It was nativist, more xenophobic. Whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump won, there was an end to the kind of Republicanism that the Bushs stood for. George W. Bush said, "I may be the last Republican president." So that was an endorsement from the Bushs themselves.
CABRERA: Mark Updegrove, good to have you with us. Thank you.
UPDEGROVE: Thank you, Ana.
CABRERA: Be sure to tune in to "THE BUSH YEARS: FAMILY, DUTY, POWER." It premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 only on CNN.
Next week, we reveal our first "CNN Hero" of 2019. But before we do, an update on last year's Hero of the Year. Dr. Ricardo Pun-Chong, of Lima, Peru, where he was recognized for his work helping needy families to get access to medical care. His nonprofit provides them with a home and services so they can comfortably stay and receive treatment.
Here's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[17:55:49] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Ladies and gentlemen, the 2018 "CNN Hero" of the Year is -- Dr. Ricardo Pun-Chong. (APPLAUSE)
COOPER (voice-over): An incredible night. And when he returned to Peru --
(CHEERING)
COOPER: -- crowds gathered to greet Ricardo at the airport. He has been hailed a national hero.
(CHEERING)
COOPER: Ricardo plans to use the CNN prize money and viewer donations to build a new shelter.
DR. RICARDO PUN-CHONG, CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: This way.
These kids inspire me every day. Really, they are heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Nominate someone you think should be "CNN Hero" right now at CNNheroes.com.
I'm Ana Cabrera, in New York. I'm back just a couple of hours, right after "AXE FILES."
My colleague, S.E. Cupp, continues our coverage of today's news right after a quick break. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:00:06] S.E. CUPP, CNN HOST: Welcome to "UNFILTERED." Here's tonight's headlines. To impeach or not to impeach.
