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Dems Want FBI to Investigate Spa Owner's Ties to Trump; While Running Country, Trump Defends Fox Hosts to Made Offensive Remarks; GOP's Steve King Shares Meme of Modern-Day Civil War; New York Times Reports Saudi Crown Prince Ran Secret Drive to Crush Dissenters; Nebraska Town Succumb to Record River Levels. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 18, 2019 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: We should note that she is not the current owner and is not facing any charges in the case. Let's go to Manu Raju, who's our senior congressional correspondent up on Capitol Hill. And so, Manu, she does have ties to the President as we've been reporting. And it actually has to do with whether she was illegally -- does it has to do with leveraging the President in some way?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Leveraging the relationship with the President to access Chinese clients. That's what the Democrats are questioning whether or not there was any improper or illegal activities by this woman, Cindy Yang. As part of her efforts to try and reach out to the President. Tell clients that she could actually provide access to the President.

Those four Democrats, Adam Schiff, the chairman of Intelligence Committee, the top Democrat. Senate intelligence committee, Mark Warner and the Democrats who are in the Senate and House Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein, Jerry Nadler, all seeking an FBI counterintelligence and criminal investigation into Yang's activities. Suggesting perhaps there could not have only been foreign lobbying but also what they say is potential finance violations. And of course, there's allegations of human trafficking.

Now the letter points out that Yang was the guest of President Trump's on some occasions. Reportedly including at Mar-a-Largo. They say that -- they point out to language on her website that since has been taken down that offer clients to opportunity to interact with the President and other top political leaders. She has been a Republican fundraiser in the past. And one thing that they point out -- the Democrats do in their letter, is that perhaps this is just all for her own personal business activities, but they say her activities also could permit adversary governments or their agents access to these same politicians to acquire potential material for blackmail or even other more nefarious purposes.

So, they lay out a number of questions they have for the FBI Director, Christopher Wray as well as other top officials asking for answers by this Thursday. At the very least these Democrats are asking the FBI to investigate this going forward. But as you point out, Yang has not been charged with anything. Kraft himself has denied any wrongdoing. He's tied to the Democrats' request, but they want to look into the relationship. They want to look into these ties with the President and whether she's done anything illegal and what the President knows about any of this -- Brook?

BALDWIN: All right, Manu Raju, thank you very much on what the Democrats want to do their investigation wise.

But let's get to President Trump, turning in to the TV programmer in chief with this tidal wave of tweets over the weekend. While he avoided any mention of the deadly mosque attacks in New Zealand, he did send out a blistering defense of a Fox News host suspended for her controversy will comments about a Muslim Congresswoman.

Sources say Fox News pulled Jeanine Pirro's show off the air suspending the outspoken personality of the President and supporter of the President. For a segment on her show where she questioned the patriotism of Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANINE PIRRO, FOX NEWS: Think about it. Omar wears a hijab, which according to the Koran 33:59 tells women to cover so they won't get molested. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law which in itself is antithetical to the United States constitution?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Fox News publicly condemned Pirro's comments. The President instead denouncing Fox for bowing to political correctness. Demanding the conservative news outlet bring Pirro back. In a scathing three- part tweet tirade, the President said this in part.

The losers all want what you have, don't give it to them. Be strong and prosper, be weak and die, stay true.

Frank Sesno is the director of School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. And Bill Carter is a former long-time "New York Times" media reporter, and CNN media columnist. So gentlemen, welcome to both of you. And, Bill, let me just turn to you as this President seems to be more concerned with the lineup of hosts and personalities over at Fox than he appears to be about what's going on in the world.

BILL CARTER, CNN MEDIA COLUMNIST: Well he pays so much attention to Fox, it really is sort of his connection to the world. He watches it habitually and he parrots their mind usually. So when they don't approve of him in any way or a host in this case that he approves of, he's offended. He wants to something even against Fox News who has been as pro-Trump as you could possibly hope for. It's not enough for him. It's just not enough.

BALDWIN: Isn't, Frank, all part of this the fact that it's the content. Again, we played the clip of what Jeanine Pirro said. Right? He is defending the content, the racism, everything that Jeanine Pirro embodied in that moment. How alarming is that? FRANK SESNO, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, GEORGE

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Very alarming. He is defending the content, he's defending the tone. He's defending the messaging. And by defending it, he's echoing it.

[15:35:00] Then he sends a tweet, as he has recently, saying, the fake news is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand. Which is flat out wrong.

BALDWIN: He's blaming the media.

SESNO: No one is blaming the President for what happened in New Zealand, but the suggestion is that his rhetoric, the kind of rhetoric that he then defends lends an atmosphere that then feeds sick people who do the kinds of things that are done here. It's not about blame, but it's about setting a tone. And the tone that he is essentially endorsing from Fox is exclusionary and bigoted. It's why Fox itself took the actions under pressure from some of their own Muslim employees. So I'm afraid the President is confused here, by trying to play programmer in chief, he's mixing his own messages.

BALDWIN: But how about -- frank, just staying with you -- do you give Fox the credit that they actually suspended her? I mean, there were actual consequences for what one of its hosts said and pulled her show at least we think temporarily.

SESNO: Well perhaps here is that Fox actually is operating in the real world. And in the real world there are consequences for your words. There are consequences for your actions and there are pressures. Pressures from viewer, pressures from advertisers, and pressures from fellow employees. And if that's what drove this action, which is certainly what it looks like, that's a good thing. You know, you can't have it both ways. The President wants to scream about fake news from other organizations, including CNN, and saying hold people to account. Hold people to account for their words. And then not hold people to account because they're your friends. It doesn't work that way.

BALDWIN: It seems to me that your kind of saying -- you would agree, but -- yes, but it was this quiet polling of Jeanine Pirro, it was a public --

CARTER: No. They did it as quietly as they could do it. They didn't announce the suspension. We don't even know that it's official suspension.

BALDWIN: Why does that matter to you?

CARTER: While because they're trying to have it both ways. They're trying to say, yes, we want to show that we're doing something but we don't want to really upset the base too much. They support her and we don't want to give a wrong signal. We don't want to say she did actually something terribly bad here.

BALDWIN: Do you think they were afraid that they'd be giving their viewers some signals that we're taking her away. CARTER: Yes, were taking her away. And imagine the signal to Trump if they took her. That's one of his favorites. And by the way, taking her off is not like taking off a regular weekly person. This person is only on once a week. It's not that big a move by them, but at least they're doing something. I don't want to take that away from them. I think they did at least do something correct here and announced there are consequences to the things you say. Maybe there will be more consequences for people in the future. We'll have to see, but --

BALDWIN: You say that chuckling.

CARTER: I say that with some skepticism, yes.

BALDWIN: Frank Sesno, final thought from you? Close this out.

SESNO: Well I would just agree with what Bill is saying. I think it's very important when a network, an organization take action like this that they are transparent about it and explain why and toward what end. Is this to punish? And then carry on as usual? Is there a change of policy? How does this affect Hannity or anyone else who's similarly outspoken? I think what we've seen here in the last several terrible tragic days, is that words, actions, all of these things, have consequences and sometimes terrible consequences. And social media is an amplifier for anything. And so, words really, really, really do matter and I hope there's more thoughtful process that goes into this going forward, Fox and everywhere else.

BALDWIN: Jonathan Greenblatt, you know, is CEO of the ADL, talking about the rise of white nationalism globally, words matter. Bill Carter, Frank Sesno, gentlemen, thank you both very much.

Coming up -- speaking of words mattering -- he is the Republican who was rebuked over his most recent racist comments. Now Congressman Steve King sharing a meme that depicts a modern-day civil war.

[15:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Are you ready for this? Congressman Steve King shared a now deleted meme touting red states in potential modern-day civil war. So, let me show this to you. You see two figures here, made up of red and blue states fighting. And it says ,folks keep talking about a civil war. So, on one side it has about 8 trillion bullets, while the other side, it says, doesn't know which bathroom to use. And Republican congressmen asked who would win. It is notable that among the blue states King's home state of Iowa. So after he was stripped of committee assignments and widely condemned, he's clearly learned his lesson and everything is totally fine now. Michael Warren is following this for me. So, Michael, what's going on?

MICHAEL WARREN, CNN REPORTER: Well Steve King uses this personal verified Facebook page quite a bit, Brooke, to share mostly images and memes that you can find throughout right-wing Facebook and then the broader right-wing internet. A lot of these images are mostly harmless, poking fun at Democrats and Hollywood liberals. And quite a few of them are probably tasteless for a member of Congress to be sharing. And then a few like the one you showed. Really start endorsing and celebrating political violence. And I think that's a big part of why the Congressman ended up deleting that. There's another image he shared just last week of a man wearing a bikers for Trump t-shirt sort of looking menacing, perhaps even threatening violence toward a Bernie Sanders supporter. That's still on Steve King's Facebook page.

[15:45:00] BALDWIN: And obviously, Michael, a lot of this stuff exists. You know, in all kinds of corners of the web, the more conservative outlets. But what does it say to you that this is a member of Congress spreading this kind of thing?

WARREN: That's right. This talk of civil war, a sort of armed resistance against the state for at least of your political opponents not that uncommon and have been around for decades really. The difference here is that Steve King, of course, is a prominent member of Congress. He's got a lot of followers on Facebook who like all these sort of things. And he like the President is sort of giving a bit more oxygen to this kind of discussion. It's just a different environment.

BALDWIN: Yes, it is. Michael Warren, thank you very much.

Five months after the murder of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, President Trump still refuses say whether the Saudi Crown Prince ordered the killing. But a "New York Times" report out today has discovered Khashoggi's murder was actually part of a broader brutal campaign to squash dissent inside the Saudi kingdom. The reporter who broke the story joins me live.

[15:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Long before "Washington Post" journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, was savagely murdered inside the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul, reportedly there was a secret campaign underway to silence Saudi dissenters. U.S. officials who have read classified intelligence about this campaign tell "The New York Times" that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had authorized these brutal attacks by a team that's been called the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group. "The Times" reports the campaign included surveillance, kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudi citizens.

And Mark Mazzetti, who is a CNN national security analyst in Washington, investigative correspondent for "The Times" as part of this whole piece, uncovering all of this information. And so, Mark, thank you so much for jumping on with me today. I mean reading all of this, and this was all this broader effort. Who was this Saudi Rapid Intervention Group and what was their mission?

MARK MAZZETTI, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: This group was a team of intelligence operatives that in the end answered to Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince. He authorized this group and what they did was carry out a number of operations to try to track down to centers outside of Saudi Arabia. Repatriate them, bring them back to the kingdom. Go after not only online but also physically go after dissenters inside the kingdom, put them in prison, detain them and torture them.

This went on for more than a year before Khashoggi's killing. And so, what this shows is that actually the Khashoggi killing of a piece of this wider operation was going on far before he entered the consulate in Istanbul. And perhaps really only ratcheted back because they got caught.

BALDWIN: Can you tell me about other operations? I remember in the piece you mentioned this Saudi linguistic lecturer who try taking her own life because of the torture she received.

MAZZETTI: Yes, there was a group of female activists campaigning for women's rights, including the right to drive. And one of the women who was very vocal, an activist who was a professor, was detained, tortured, psychological torture in one of the secret facilities and did try to kill herself.

One of the things that we've noticed in recent weeks is family members of some of the detained Saudi citizens have become to come forward courageously to discuss the treatment of their loved ones. And for some of these details are also emerging because of associates and family members of the victims.

BALDWIN: And meantime, the Saudi government, the Saudi kingdom, maintains what?

MAZZETTI: Well they maintain that primarily that the Khashoggi operation was this kind of one off. The people who did it exceeded their orders. Those people are now on trial in Riyadh. All the details of the trial remain a secret. And of course, President Trump has said, well we don't know definitively whether Mohammed bin Salman was behind this. Well, we may never know. It's time to move on.

There's been this active effort in Riyadh and even in the Trump administration to turn the page, not belabor this. And yet the details and the evidence keep mounting of this far more expansive operation.

Mark Mazzetti, thank you so much with the "New York Times". Good to have you on.

Coming up next, more than 8 million people are still under threat in the Midwest as life-threatening flood waters continue to creep higher. CNN is there in Nebraska. We have more from you on that.

Also Megan McCain responds to the President's new attacks on her late father. Part of the torrent of tweets unleashed over the weekend as the rest of the world mourned the terror attacks in New Zealand.

[15:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The historic flooding along the Missouri River has now killed three people and completely submerged several Nebraska towns. Higher temperatures after record breaking winter snowfall lead to these rising waters that people are referring to as biblical. Highways are now fast flowing streams and more flooding is in the forecast. CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Winslow, Nebraska for us. Stephanie, show me what you're seeing.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is the first time that the people of this small town, a town of less than 200 people are actually getting to see what their homes look like after the flooding here. This is Winslow, Nebraska. And just take a look here. You can see picnic tables that have been pushed out in people's backyards and toys. And if you look out there over all that water you see these homes. This small town where everybody knows everyone and none of them can get to their homes right now because of all the water.

And this is just a small picture of what's happening throughout this state. In fact, according to officials here, they're saying that every single river system within the state is experiencing some type of flooding. They are also saying that more than half of the counties in Nebraska are in a state of emergency right now because of the flooding being so horrific. And while some of the rivers have crested, not all of them have. And so this flooding could continue to get worse here in Nebraska -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Stephanie Elam, thank you so much.

And thank you for being with me. "THE LEAD" starts right now.