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Fighting Intensifies Between Israel And Militants in Gaza; Presidential 2020 Candidate Sen. Cory Booker Takes The Stage Tonight on CNN For a Town Hall. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired March 27, 2019 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
RACHAEL BADE, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Sort of being up on the Hill the past 48 hours, it's interesting to see this sort of split. You have people like Adam Schiff who is the Democratic chairman, of the intelligence committee, who've sort of doubled down on this collusion.
And maybe there was collusion and sort of pointing to this technicality that even though it didn't rise to the level of the Prime, perhaps there is some damaging information on the President that could meet the threshold for impeachment proceedings to begin.
But I will say Democratic leaders, starting with Nancy Pelosi, are very much sending the signal to the rank and file, that we need to stop talking about this.
There was a meeting in Pelosi's office the day after this report came out, where members from very much both sides of the caucus, both progressives who had supported impeachment before, and Conservatives from Trump districts including one who actually leads the Democratic campaign re-election effort, agreed that we need to stop talking about this, we need to move on from the Trump-Russia collusion sort of angle.
And I think that's a divide in the party and right now Pelosi seems to be winning but again you look at comments Adam Schiff has made and you see them doubling down.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Right, it's hard for some Democrats to stop talking about it when they haven't seen it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
CAMEROTA: So, the timing is just really vital here and we're told it'll be in a few weeks.
BADE: Right.
CAMEROTA: With in a few weeks. All right, Rachel, Toluse, John, thank you very much. So, despite reports of a cease fire, Israel and Gaza are still exchanging gunfire. The latest in a live report for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the fighting is intensifying between Israel and militants in Gaza. Israeli fighter jets responded to an overnight rocket attack by pound Hamas targets in Gaza. Phil Black live in Jerusalem with the very latest, Phil give us an update.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, so, it was another night of weapons being fired into and out of Gaza. A small number of rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israeli territory. They either fell harmlessly or were shot from the sky and as you touched on Israel bombed two military targets connected to the militant group Hamas there.
Even before this in the previous 24 hours Israel said it had unleashed, the greatest fire power against Hamas targets since Israel and Hamas fought a war and that was back in 2014. Israel is also boosting the number of troops, tanks, and other armored vehicles along its border with Gaza.
Now this major escalation all started Monday morning when a single rocket was fired from Gaza and it flew a long way into central Israel; where it struck a family home injuring seven people including children. And Israel says Hamas was responsible for that.
There is important political context here; there are Parliamentary elections in two weeks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting to stay in power and security as always is the number one political issue.
So he must now walk a delicate line showing that he is in control of security. Punishing Hamas, defending Israeli lives but at the same time not taking steps that could see this develop very quickly into a more intense conflict. Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Okay, Phil, thank you very much for the update from there. Now, to 2020 one 2020 candidate is going to be very happy with his mid-week grade, Chris Cillizza's going to tell us who it is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:40:00]
BERMAN: Democratic Senator Cory Booker takes center stage tonight at a CNN town hall tonight. This really could be the most important yet for his campaign. Scene has Rebecca Buck live in South Carolina with a preview, Rebecca.
REBECCA BUCK,CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right John, Cory Booker will be taking behind me tonight here in Orangeburg, South Carolina, with our very own John Lemon. And this is, as you mentioned, a very important night for Booker, for a couple of reasons. First of all, we're just a few days away from the first fundraising deadline in this presidential campaign.
A very important show of strength for these candidates and so we'll see if Cory Booker, like other candidates, Pete Buttigieg, for example, will be able to use this CNN town hall to boost his fundraising number. Especially, among those key small dollar donors.
The second big question for Booker, can he introduce himself to a bigger, broader national audience. If you look at our recent CNN poling, which, at this stage, really reflects name recognition nationally, Cory Booker standing strong but in the single digits.
And so the big question for him is can he tell his story; can he introduce himself to a national audience tonight. To try to start building support and building momentum in this race.
So, these are a few of the things we'll be watching tonight. Tune in at 10 o'clock, John.
CAMEROTA: I'll take it Rebecca, thank you very much. So, lets look big picture at the 2020 race. Which of the candidates made the grade this week? Lets ask our evil teacher. It's Wednesday so lets get the mid- week grades with Chris Cillizza CNN politics reporter and editor at large.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER AND EDITOR: Here we go.
CAMEROTA: Great to see you.
CILLIZZA: It's so nice to see you in person.
CAMEROTA: You're a tough grader, that's all I can say. But somebody...
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: Somebody has to be.
CAMEROTA: But somebody did get an A. So, you are giving Mayor Pete Buttigieg an A for this mid-week grade...
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: Yeah.
CAMEROTA: ... why?
CILLIZZA: Look, he's having a moment. New York Times profile, Vanity Fare profile, it raised 500,000 in a day last week, as Rebecca mention, after his town hall with CNN. He is the hot thing in the race right now. Now, it March 2019 not March 2020, you'd rather be a hot thing in March 2020 but still he's the Mayor of South Bend Indiana.
I guarantee you Cory Booker would like to have the last 10 days that Pete Buttigieg had.
CAMEROTA: We're going to get to Cory Booker in a moment, but you give Beto O'Rouke a B. (CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: Yeah...
CAMEROTA: What's that about?
CILLIZZA: I think in most normal weeks Beto probably gets an A, I just think in reflection to Pete Buttigieg, he's a little lower than that. Look, bad start to the campaign, I think. Kinda struggled, weird mistakes, apologizing for comments he made anout his wife, never really want that. But he spent the whole week going to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and then states in the Midwest. He ends in El Paso, he'll be there this weekend to sort of formally kick things off.
Raised a ton of money, I just think, he's proven that he's going to be an energy guy. He's got charisma. He's going to be in this mix.
CAMEROTA: Okay, I see you're grading on a curve. So, because Pete Buttigieg got an A you're giving Beto a...
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: That's right, all relations, there toe, I'm not going to give out 10 As, not how this world works, Alisyn.
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: I can see, I see (INAUDIBLE). All right on the side President Trump, you're giving him a C this week, why?
CILLIZZA: Okay, if I did this-if we did this segment Tuesday morning...
CAMEROTA: It would've been an A.
CILLIZZA: A plus, look, its William Barr's assessment of the Mueller report, I get it. We've not seen the Mueller report yet, that said, William Barr's letter in assessment of the Mueller report says that there was no established collusion or coordination. That's a win, win, win, win, win, for Donald Trump.
But then his administration announces that they're going to push for the repeal of Obamacare. Terrible issue for them, they got swamped on the issue in 2018 and his response is Republicans are going win and be the party of healthcare. How?
[06:45:00]
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: I don't know.
CILLIZZA: There's no plan. It just makes no sense.
(CROSSTALK) CAMEROTA: Maybe they have something up their sleeve.
CILLIZA: So, C, F, for that A for Mueller.
CAMEROTA: Got it. Joe Biden, he's not in the race but you give him a C.
CILLIZZA: Man, I feel like ever week we say Joe Biden's not in the race. So part of the problem is Joe Biden's not in the race. The race is happening around Joe Biden, he's not in yet and last night we talked about. Last night, he's speaking and he's talking about Anita hill.
And I wish I could have done more, the guy-it's a reminder. Joe Biden spent decades in the senate and did lots of things that are going to come back around and look a lot worse in 2019 than they were-looked in 1989.
So, he's still the front runner in the polls that's why he doesn't go any lower than C, but every week that goes by it feels like there's another story or a few that he's either apologizing or that it just doesn't look all that great in the modern Democratic Party.
CAMEROTA: All right, what did poor Governor Hickenlooper ever do to you?
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: Okay,...
CAMEROTA: To get a D.
CILLIZZA: He didn't do anything to me but I will say this. I didn't, because of my past economic performance, I'm loathed to give people Fs, let's leave it at that. So, I gave him a D and here's why. He was actively terrible in our town hall. His answer on why don't men get asked if there going to have a woman V.P. Like, I get where he was heading, or why don't women get asked why they have a man V.P. I get where he was heading, I get it but he didn't do well.
He also came across as sort of whatever the opposite of charismatic is.
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: Oh my gosh...
CILLIZZA: And his op-ed yesterday on the Green New Deal, he's coming out in opposition to it. I get it, he's trying to position himself as a moderate. Here's the problem, Joe Biden is in that kind of pragmatic establishment space, John Hickenlooper ain't beating Joe Biden to that space.
I just don't see the lane the he's running in. you got to have some theory of the case and I don't see a theory of the case.
CAMEROTA: Okay, we're going to look forward to your grade on Cory Booker, cause tonight's the town hall.
CILLIZZA: Yes, I'm not going to, this is the thing it would be an incomplete. I didn't put Booker on our list because this is the big event of his week. Rebecca's right. He's got to-got to show a little something, cause we think he has that capability.
He is charismatic; he's shown that in the past. Can he demonstrate it on a national stage.
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: We shall s...
CILLIZZA: With Don.
CAMEROTA: Well, Don sometimes...
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: Talk about a tough grader.
CAMEROTA: ... is a very bright light. All right, thank you, very much...
CILLIZZA: Thank you, thank you.
CAMEROTA: Chris Cillizza, and you can watch CNN's town hall with Senator Cory Booker tonight, hosted by one Don Lemon at 10 pm Eastern. John.
BERMAN: I'm taking Chris' class, pass, fail. That's the only way...
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE)
BERMAN: ...near him, because...
(CROSSTALK)
CILLIZZA: You're really just auditing it.
BERMAN: that's right, totally, totally auditing it. All right, Patriots owner Robert Craft pleads not guilty to his prostitution solicitation case. We'll tell you why he is fighting the charges next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:00]
BERMAN: New England Patriots owner, Robert Craft, pleading not guilty to soliciting prostitutes and he's now asking the court for a jury trial. On the scene is Martin Savage with the very latest, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning John, yes, this is really not a surprise at least from the legal perspective here. That his team would enter a plea of not guilty. They've also waved any arraignment and they're essentially asking for a jury trial here.
It's pretty clear that his defense team now is going to fight all of these allegations that have been made against him every step of the way. Some have said, well, that's a little bit different because the charges against him are not that severe. He's got basically two misdemeanor charges of soliciting for prostitution. They date back to a probe that was underway of sex trafficking and human trafficking in south Florida.
He allegedly is captured on video, according to authorities, paying for a sexual act at an illicit massage parlor in early January. So the most he would face if he were found guilty is potentially some community service time. He'd have to pay a fine probably $1000. Maybe a year in jail, although nobody expects he would get that.
He was offered a plea deal reportedly but his defense team turn that down. That would've drop the charges against, in return he would have had to pay a fine, do the community service, and attend courses that would educate about prostitution and problems of human trafficking.
It also had something in there where he would have to sign a document saying had he gone to trial he would've been found guilty. And that's the problem. The NFL has its personal conduct policy, it's still on hold, they're waiting to see how this plays out legally but that's where he could face the most sever punishment, John.
BERMAN: All right, Bob Craft making a bet, Martin Savidge, thank you very much. The President wants the Republican to try again. No, he is asking a court to basically invalidate all of Obama care immediately. Democrats see an opening here but why is the president deciding to do this now, coming up.
[06:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: All right, the comics taking some jabs, John, at President Trump and Jussie Smollett. Here are your late night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS: He's been going on what everyone is calling his victory lap, although he's a 72 year old man it's less a victory lap and more of a winning shamble. And I've got to say being told you've not be indicted for betraying your country is a pretty low bar for a victory lap.
If I don't run anyone over in my car tomorrow I expect to celebrate with an ice cream cake.
(LAUGHTER)
JAMES CORDEN, THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN, CBS: Earlier today, prosecutors in Chicago dropped all 16 felony charges against the actor, Jussie Smollett, for filing a false police report about being attacked. Smollett isn't being charged with a crime, but he hasn't been
officially exonerated, so if nothing else he is now qualified to be the President of the United States.
(LAUGHTER)
TREVOR NOAH, THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH, COMEDY CENTRAL: So Jussie was set free, but he's not innocent, but he's also not guilty? What, like we need someone to figure this out?
Mono (ph) we got a new case for you and this time just tell us what happened.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: You know, exoneration in this 2019 world it's a totally new thing I have to say.
CAMEROTA: Well, at least it's a punch line and it gives them ample material to work with this week.
BERMAN: All right. Thank you to our international viewers for watching. You for, CNN TALK is next for our U.S. viewers and Washington's focus shifts from the Mueller report to a new battle over health care.
NEW DAY continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY PELOSI: The GOP will never stop trying to destroy the affordable health care of America's families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the courts overturn Obama care you're going to see Republicans and Democrats come together.
KAMALA HARRIS: The idea that people are playing politics, yet again, is the height of irresponsibility.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: I'd like to take the law off the books (ph) and replace it with a better law, not going to work - it will never work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He agreed to do community service. He agreed to forfeit his bail.
We agreed to dismiss the indictment.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT: I would not be my mother's son if I was capable of one drop of what I am accused of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he wanted to clear his name the way to do that was in a court of law. Mr. Smollett committed this hoax, period.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: All right. Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. John Berman here in New York, Alisyn is in Washington where I miss her terribly.
[07:00:00]
