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Sen. Angus King Discusses President Trump's Purge of Key Homeland Security Officials; Israelis To Decide Benjamin Netanyahu's Fate Today; Women Sue Uber After Alleged Assaults By Fake Drivers. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired April 09, 2019 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00] SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): There are thousands of good people who are going to get up this morning working for Homeland Security, whether it's in the Coast Guard or Customs and Border Patrol -- all of those people. They're going to go to work, they're going to do their jobs.
But when you don't have leadership at the top -- when you have -- when you see people being fired for essentially doing their jobs, it's got to be corrosive of the morale and the effectiveness of the agency. So that's a concern in itself.
But as I said, what really concerns me is the deeper issue of a guy who can't stand to have people around him who tell him what he doesn't want to hear. That's a -- that's a looming disaster for a president or for any leader because you're shutting out diverse voices and that's what you need. And particularly, when you're shutting out people for telling you that you have to follow the law.
The problem Alisyn, I think -- a friend of mine said a while ago, this guy thinks he's CEO of America and it's a family-owned company. He doesn't have to answer to anybody.
I was listening to some of his quotes this morning. He wants to get rid of the judges. He says we don't need the judges. And tell the judges what -- you know, don't worry about them. Don't worry about Congress.
That's not the way our system works. You've got to learn to work to make changes, to get the policies enacted that you want. You can't just bull through these things.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Senate, that's not the way democracy works. I mean, I hear you loud and clear.
And so, the reporting that Jake Tapper has from two sources that on Friday, the president told border agents to ban asylum seekers, ban all migrants -- ban asylum seekers at the border and tell the judges that you're going to do it. Tell the judges that they don't -- what they say doesn't matter.
Do you think that that is breaking -- was he telling border agents to break the law? KING: Well, it was pretty damn close. I don't know. I don't know how you define it any other way that he's telling people to ignore the law.
Let me back up one step further, Alisyn.
I used to be the governor in the state of Maine and would get frustrated with the Legislature. I'd get mad and I'd say why aren't they doing what I want? They're not listening. They're not -- you know, they're not doing the policies that I think are important for the state.
And then I had a kind of moment where I realized, wait a minute. If they're not doing what I think is important, that's on me. It's my responsibility to find a way to work with them to get those policies enacted.
He hasn't reached that point yet. He thinks he can just run over everybody and if he doesn't like the law that Congress passed years ago he can just ignore it or tell his people to ignore it.
He's got to figure out -- if he wants to get something done he's got to figure out how to sit down with Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi -- McCarthy -- all of those people -- and try to persuade them to get the policies that he wants.
The wall thing is a perfect example. He didn't get the money that he wanted from a bipartisan Congress -- bipartisan appropriations process -- so he says well, the heck with you. I'm going to just end-run you and do this national emergency. That shreds our Constitution and the democratic system, as you said.
CAMEROTA: Senator, what do you think of the president bringing back -- wanting to bring back the family separation policy?
KING: I think it's terrible. Ironically, he's the one who said a couple of months ago we have a humanitarian crisis. Well, we do, so he wants to make it worse.
It's -- it hasn't worked. I think they thought it was going to be some kind of deterrent.
People leaving these terribly violent, unstable countries are having to make a judgment. I have a chance at a decent life in Mexico or in the United States versus virtually no chance in my neighborhood in Guatemala or Honduras. And they're going to make that call and they're going to go and take their chances.
And the idea that you're going to use a family separation policy, which is inhumane under any definition as a deterrent, is shocking. It didn't work before; it's not going to work now. It's just going to cause more problems and again, it's a defiance of the law.
CAMEROTA: Senator Chuck Grassley is speaking out, actually, and criticizing one of President Trump's top advisers, Stephen Miller, who is apparently the architect of the family separation policy. And here's what Chuck Grassley told "The Washington Post." "'I think
it would be hard for him to demonstrate he's accomplished anything for the president,' Grassley said. When asked to elaborate, the senator chucked and added: 'It's pretty hard to elaborate on it when there hasn't been any accomplishments.'"
Do you think politically, it is significant that these Republican senators who have been reluctant to speak out in the past against President Trump or his policies are doing so now about this?
KING: I think it is significant and I think they're doing what their job is, which is to try to defend the country and work on behalf of their constituents.
And everybody -- by the way, I should have said at the very beginning, nobody here that I've ever met wants open borders. And the idea that the president and the vice president keep throwing out that you're either for the wall and these harsh inhumane policies or you're for open borders is nonsense.
What the people around here want that I'm talking to on both sides of the aisle is a sensible policy that deals with some of these issues.
[07:35:02] For example, the asylum issue. By the way, asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants. They are coming in under the law. They have an opportunity to request asylum, then they have to be processed through the immigration court, which is grossly understaffed.
So one solution would be more immigration judges. The other solution, it seems to me, is to work with those countries in Central America to try to stabilize them so that you don't have these refugee flows to start with.
Instead, the administration is cutting funding to those countries. And I know there are corruption problems. We've got to work with those.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
KING: But to cut funding and make it worse down there is just self- defeating.
CAMEROTA: Senator, very quickly, I know that you're not on the committee that will be hearing from Attorney General Bill Barr today, but if you were or perhaps you've told your colleagues for tomorrow in the Senate, what do you most want to hear from him?
KING: I want to say, "Mr. Barr, turn over that report." I think that's the simple -- you want a short answer, that's the short answer. We need to see the report.
The committees of Congress can handle classified material. We ought to have it and ultimately, the American people ought to see it.
CAMEROTA: Senator Angus King, thank you very much for weighing in on all of this for us. KING: Sure.
CAMEROTA: John --
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's always disorientating when you get a short answer --
CAMEROTA: No, I know.
BERMAN: -- to a basic question.
CAMEROTA: I should have just sat there and stared at him -- dead air for a while.
BERMAN: Really? That's the answer?
All right, a huge day in Israel -- a pivotal election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces his toughest test yet. What impact will it have on Middle East peace? We'll discuss, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:13] CAMEROTA: We do have some breaking news.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemning an attack that has killed three U.S. service members and one contractor in Afghanistan. This happened when an improvised explosive device detonated near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. Three other U.S. service members were injured.
The Taliban is claiming credit for the attack without any evidence.
Seven U.S. service members have been killed in Afghanistan this year.
BERMAN: The Chinese national who is accused of breaching security at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort had several electronic devices in her hotel room, along with thousands of dollars in cash. The woman appeared at a detention hearing in Florida on Monday.
Investigators analyzing a thumb drive the woman had carried into Mar- a-Lago, say the drive immediately began downloading malicious malware on an agent's computer.
Prosecutors suggest the woman was trying to spy on the United States and warned the judge she is a flight risk. The judge will decide next week whether she's to stay in jail until her trial.
CAMEROTA: A Maryland man is expected to appear in court today. He is charged with attempting to carry out an ISIS-inspired plot.
The Justice Department says Rondell Henry stole a U-Haul van and planned to drive into a crowd at a shopping area outside of Washington, D.C. Authorities say the 28-year-old drove to National Harbor last month in hopes of recreating the 2016 truck attack in France.
He was arrested after authorities found the stolen van. BERMAN: Israelis are heading to the polls this morning to elect a new government. Will they give the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a fifth term despite several corruption probes?
Joining me now is Aaron David Miller. He is a vice president and distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, as well as a CNN global affairs analyst. Aaron, thanks for being with us.
What's at stake in this election? You get the sense -- you know, every Israeli election determines, to some extent, the future of the Middle East, but there's a lot on the line today.
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, VICE PRESIDENT AND DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Well, I mean, I think there's an important inflection point.
First of all, John and Alisyn, you've got a historic consequence of a first sitting Israeli prime minister running for reelection under indictment. It's a preliminary indictment, to be sure, but the formal indictment may come after the prime minister gets a hearing.
So that's a serious issue and raises all kinds of questions about the Netanyahu years style of governance, values, liberal tendencies, corruption -- a variety of issues.
And if, in fact, Benny Gantz, his challenger, a former Israeli chief of staff -- he reminds me of Yitzhak Rabin -- really authentic -- ends up beating him, I think that perhaps -- maybe -- the tone and character of the Israeli political discourse will begin to change.
On the national security front, I think that the differences between Gantz and Netanyahu on issues relating to Iran, Gaza, there probably is some difference with respect to the Palestinian issues. But, Gantz has naturally avoided any reference whatsoever to anything remotely resembling a Palestinian state during the campaign.
BERMAN: On the other hand, Netanyahu tends to use shock and awe in the waning days of his campaign. And in this go-round, it was suggesting that Israel should annex West Bank Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Now, I know there's some question about if he will follow through with it if he does win the election but wouldn't that mean an effective end to the two-state solution, albeit a two-state solution that is teetering at best and completed failed at worst, but still the nominal goal in the Middle East and for the world.
MILLER: I think what it would do essentially is eliminate any political space whatsoever even though prospects for a meaningful two- state solution strike me right now as being slim to none.
If, in fact, the Israelis are claiming that the West Bank and Israel are to be one and there'll be -- there'll be no separation -- political separation unilaterally or through a negotiation -- it really binds the Israelis and Palestinians to a much different and, I would argue, much less hopeful future.
The first time I met Mr. Kushner I said to him, I wish my father-in- law had as much confidence in me as your father-in-law appears to have in you because he's given you "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE."
And in the middle of all of this, as if Israeli politics were not complicated enough, the Trump administration is seriously contemplating putting out this 50-60-page initiative. So you have to wonder exactly what the objective, what the intentions, and what are the options here given the fraught nature of Israeli politics?
BERMAN: You bring up "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE." The truth is in "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" Ethan Hunt actually goes through with the mission.
The "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" here for Jared Kushner is to find Middle East Peace. Where's the plan?
[07:45:01] We're two years in and he doesn't necessarily have a plan yet, and it's been promised for some time now, which gets to the whole relationship between President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. We have never seen a relationship between an Israeli prime minister and U.S. president like this one.
MILLER: There's no question about that. I mean, I've worked for a half a dozen administrations since the Reagan administration. I've never seen an administration that appears to be more acquiesce and more determined not just to support Israel but to support the policies and sensibilities of a particular Israeli prime minister.
I mean, there's so many historic firsts here.
First president to visit Israel on his first foreign foray. First president to recognize Jerusalem as the capital state of Israel. First president to open the embassy. First president to wage a pretty consistent tough war, politically and economically, against the Palestinians.
And he has interceded and is trying, I think, to put his thumb on the scale in order to sway the election to a guy with whom he has tremendous sympathy. And I think they see, in many respects, the thought of twinning going on here. I think they see the world in much the same way.
It would be a much different relationship between Benny Gantz and a Donald Trump. That's for sure, even though Benny Gantz will want a very close relationship with the United States.
BERMAN: Let me ask you one more question in the region.
Yesterday, the United States declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. What's the practical impact of that?
MILLER: I mean, my concern is that this is a nasty organization. It's orchestrated Iranian policies, helped crack down on the Green Revolution, spread terror discreetly and not so discreetly throughout the region. My real concern is what will this change on the ground? American forces in Syria and Iraq are now going to be operating in close proximity to Iranian Revolutionary Guard units. They've just been declared like ISIS and like al Qaeda, a foreign terrorist organization.
So does that mean that the administration is going to start going kinetic with respect to these units? And that could trigger, intentionally or otherwise, an escalation, frankly, that I don't even think the administration wants given the uncertainties of where it might go.
BERMAN: Aaron David Miller, great to have you with us.
We are watching the election results in Israel very closely over the next several hours. I am sure we'll have a lot to talk about in the coming days.
Thanks, Aaron.
MILLER: Thanks, John.
BERMAN: Alisyn --
CAMEROTA: Audit Schmaudit. The truth about President Trump's tax returns in a must-see reality check, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:51:41] CAMEROTA: President Trump said that he really wanted to release his tax returns if only he wasn't under that audit. Now that the Democrats are trying to get their hands on his taxes through the IRS, Mr. Trump's story has changed dramatically.
John Avlon has our reality check. John, what have you found?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Pretty fascinating stuff if you look at the tale of the tape.
Look, it's a tradition that started with Richard Nixon, which is why people have been asking Donald Trump about his tax returns since he started even thinking about running for president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll produce my tax returns, absolutely, and I would love to do that.
I will absolutely give my return but I'm being audited now.
I can't release tax returns when there's an audit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: In fact, we counted at 16 times that Donald Trump said he wanted to release this taxes. And an audit isn't the only reason he's pumped the brakes. He also found a way to weaponized his returns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Maybe I'm going to do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: And, of course, at Hillary Clinton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I will release my tax returns against my lawyers' wishes when she releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Get this. Trump even played the God card to explain his game of hide the taxes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm a strong Christian and I feel strongly about it, and maybe there's a bias.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Spoiler alert. If Donald Trump is still being audited, God's got nothing to do with it. In fact, there is no legal reason an audit would prevent him from releasing his taxes.
Nixon released his taxes precisely because he was under audit, not in spite of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People have got know whether or not their president's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Not only that, former IRS chief, as well as Trump's own pick for the post both, said the IRS doesn't chase after any filer year after year after year, as Trump has claimed.
So it should be clear by now that the audit excuse isn't worth the 1040 it's printed on, so other excuses have to take its place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Nobody cares. The only one who cares is, you know, you and a few people that ask that question.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We litigated this all through the election. People didn't care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: So, actually, people do care. Around 74 percent of Americans said Trump should release his taxes when Kellyanne said that.
Now, team Trump is giving up any pretense of an excuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": You believe Democrats will never see the president's tax returns?
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Oh, no, never -- nor should they.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: So we're left asking what's the president trying to hide? Now, there are a few possibilities.
First, President Trump isn't as rich as he says he is. We know he's inflated his wealth for years and seems really insecure about the size of his bank account.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm rich. I'm much richer than people think. I'm much richer, right? You see -- much richer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Second, he could be paying far less tax than any normal working American. For example, when you're scrambling to pay your taxes next week, some of the superrich pay nothing thanks to loopholes. Take Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, for example, who paid almost no federal income taxes for years despite being worth a cool $300 million.
Third, he might be concerned that his taxes reveal undisclosed income from foreign sources, which could raise questions of entanglements.
Fourth, releasing his returns would just complicate his life, as Michael Cohen told Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: What he didn't want was to have an entire group of think tanks that are tax experts run through his tax return and start ripping it to pieces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:55:00] AVLON: So for what it's worth, Cohen added he didn't think Trump was under audit at all in 2016. So, only Trump's tax returns can clear up these key questions.
Now, Democrats, using an obscure anti-corruption law to compel their release and the president is digging in. So buckle up for a court fight in the coming months that could be titled "Trump Versus Transparency."
And that's your reality check.
CAMEROTA: Very helpful to see it all in one place, John. Thank you for reminding us of how we got here.
BERMAN: It turns out that audit -- yes -- not so disqualifying. You can get your tax returns even if they're under audit.
CAMEROTA: Ask President Nixon.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: All right, thank you very much.
All right, so three California women are suing Uber. They say that Uber failed to warn customers about a string of assaults. The women say they were sexually assaulted by drivers posing as Uber drivers.
CNN's Drew Griffin joins us now with more of his investigation. What have you learned, Drew?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn and John, in total, the lawsuit claims nine women were sexually assaulted. This all took place within a 5-mile radius of West Hollywood and its clubs, all by fake Uber drivers. It took place between September 2016 and February of 2018.
What's different here Alisyn is this lawsuit is alleging Uber knew about these assaults, were warned by police that fake drivers were targeting Uber customers, and according to Jane Does one, two, and three, did nothing to warn them that sexual predators were luring victims into vehicles.
Five of the assaults took place before Jane Doe the first was assaulted. Police did make arrests in the cases. Two men were arrested for attacking women in separate cases. One has already been sentenced to eight years in prison.
The lawsuit claims Uber egregiously chose to hide and minimize its safety problems and it alleges that Uber makes it easy for predators to obtain print-at-home Uber labels to deceive passengers.
Uber says it hasn't seen this lawsuit yet but did tell CNN, "We have been working with local law enforcement, including the LAPD, to educate the public about how to avoid fake rideshare drivers for several years."
The suit, of course, comes after the University of South Carolina student, Samantha Josephson, was kidnapped and killed when she got into a vehicle she mistakenly thought was an Uber.
NEW DAY interviewed two women just yesterday who claimed they, too, were victims of fake rideshare drivers. Our own reporting, Alisyn and John, shows Uber has a sexual assault problem with its own real drivers targeting mostly women riding alone after being picked up from parties and bars.
Uber continues to refuse to release its own internal numbers on the problem. CNN has documented cases in the hundreds but our sources are telling us it is much, much higher -- John, Alisyn.
BERMAN: All right, Drew. Thank you very much for your reporting on that.
CAMEROTA: That's a really important cautionary note. I mean, everybody just -- this whole thing has just told us how much more careful we have to be with ridesharing, even with Uber. So I appreciate this.
BERMAN: Yes, it's on all of them. To an extent, it's on all of us.
All right, we're an hour away from Attorney General William Barr testifying before Congress for the first time since the Mueller report was released and for the first time since he put forth his 4-page summary, so let's get to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: All eyes on Bill Barr as he comes to Capitol Hill. Democratic members plan to ask about the Mueller report.
REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT (D-PA): What's on everybody's mind is how much is he going to redact?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barr can duck. He'll say we're still evaluating.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A full-scale purge. The president has fired the Secret Service director.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is removing people because they refuse to violate the law.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been undermined. It's not surprising loyalty would become verification.
CAMEROTA: Thirteen parents, including actress Felicity Huffman, will plead guilty to charges in the college admission scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The government plans on asking between six months and nearly two years in prison as punishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
BERMAN: Good morning and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, April 9th, 8:00 in the East, and what a day this could turn out to be. In about an hour, Attorney General William Barr will be on Capitol
Hill testifying before lawmakers. He will face questions -- tough questions about the release of the Mueller report and his summary that some of the special counsel's team say did not adequately portray their findings.
This is the first time he will speak out loud about any of this.
CAMEROTA: And, President Trump's purge at the Department of Homeland Security continues. A day after forcing the head of DHS to resign, more officials seem to be on the way out.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley tells "The Washington Post" that he is, quote, "very concerned" about the upheaval.
The president is pushing for hardline immigration policies. A senior administration official tells Jake Tapper that the president, quote, "Just wants to separate families." He ordered the closure of the border at El Paso and even told border agents to ignore the law.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is live for us in the hearing room where Bill Barr will testify soon. And much of all of this could come up today, Sunlen.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Alisyn. Such a big moment for the attorney general today.
END
