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Multiple Explosions Hit Sri Lanka Churches and Hotels; The Effects of the Russia Probe; FBI Arrests Militia Member Who Allegedly Detained Migrants; Pope Francis Gives Traditional Easter Address; Democratic Presidential Candidates Weigh In; Doctors Develop Cure for "Bubble Boy" Disease. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 21, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): 4:00 am on the U.S. East Coast and we're following breaking news out of Sri Lanka. At least 137 people have been killed in six explosions according to officials there. More than 500 people have been wounded.

I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Welcome to viewers here in the United States and around the world.

State media in Sri Lanka report three explosions were at hotels, three others were at churches. And keep this in mind, the background important. All of this seems to be a coordinated set of attacks on a day where Christians celebrate Easter Sunday.

CNN's Nikhil Kumar is live in New Delhi.

What more are you learning, given the aftermath of these bombings?

NIKHIL KUMAR, CNN NEW DELHI BUREAU CHIEF: George, the information is still coming through. The information that we have points to a devastating series of what looks like a series of coordinated attacks. Six bombings, three of them at churches on this very important day for Christians around the world and in Sri Lanka.

Hundreds have been injured, at least 137 killed, among them at least nine foreigners. This is a country in the past has seen a lot of violence. There was a decades-long civil war. For many people today, this will be a reminder of that.

I cannot stress enough, in this case, we don't know all the details who may be behind this. The government has not pointed the finger of anyone and we don't know of any claim of responsibility so far.

All the details we do have points to a devastating set of attacks that, for this country, is a tragic reminder of a part it thought it had left behind. The last few years have been relatively peaceful. Now a targeted set of attacks on at least this minority today. HOWELL: Nikhil, stand by with us if we could. If we can take the video full, I want our viewers to get a sense exactly what's happening here, these sites that have been attacked. Again, we're talking about hotels that have been attacked. These hotels with foreigners there.

We're talking about churches where people, of course, were there for Easter Sunday.

These are soft targets, Nikhil. This video shows the chaos that has ensued afterward. Certainly rescue efforts are underway.

KUMAR: That's absolutely right, George. Soft targets I think is correct. Today as you said, it's Easter Sunday. These churches, from what we understand, were full. We're trying to get a full picture of the number of people in there. That's why the emphasis right now is very much on rescue efforts, both at the three churches we know about and the hotels.

This is a popular tourist destination, Sri Lanka. So the efforts right now are focused on making sure those injured, hundreds we know about, that they are brought to hospitals around the country as quickly as possible.

Of course, alongside that, investigating what happened, how it happened and who may be behind this. The authorities there held an emergency meeting earlier today, headed by the prime minister. We know from state media that the -- all the police leave has been cancelled.

The entire country really coming together to, as I say, make sure those who have been hurt already are brought medical attention and to get to the bottom of this, how did this happen, who did this and get a fuller picture of what's unfolded on this very holy day, very important day for so many Christians around the world and in that country, as well.

HOWELL: Nikhil Kumar has been following the story for the last several hours.

Nikhil, stand by, of course. You need to take a moment to touch base with your sources. We're going to come right back to you in a moment.

I'd like to bring on with us by phone father Edmond Tillekeratne. Again, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo there.

Father Edmond, again, you were at one of these sites that was hit, that was bombed. Tell us about what happened, please.

We should have on the line Father Edmond Tillekeratne. If we have him --

Father, if you're able to speak to us, can you -- OK, we don't have him now. We'll try to reconnect with him in a moment. Let's bring back in our correspondent.

Nikhil, are you still with us?

KUMAR: I'm right here, yes.

HOWELL: So let's get a sense, of course, you laid out some of the background here and also pointed out, at this point, we don't have any indication of who might have been behind this. But again, give viewers --

[04:05:00]

HOWELL: -- a sense of the history there in Sri Lanka. Again, that is a place that has not seen this type of violence in some time.

KUMAR: That's right, George. The civil war there ended in 2009. And since then, we've seen a few years of relative peace, compared to what happened in past decades in the '80s and '90s and early 2000s. And there was a massive military offensive that brought that civil war to an end.

Since then, people have been celebrating and grateful that it's been peaceful around Sri Lanka. You can travel around and you can go to the north, which was a focus of the civil war back in those decades. And so as the sense of normalcy, people have become used to, now this crushing series of attacks, which will, as I say, bring back very tragic memories for the country.

But again, I should stress the reasons for that war were, of course, very, very specific and we don't know what's happened here. We don't knows who behind this, what the motivations were, we don't know what happened really.

The authorities are still trying to get to the bottom of that. As we wait for that, it's certainly true this country, that has only just recently been enjoying a period of peace, it's been plunged back into the most devastating of tragedies all over again.

HOWELL: Nikhil Kumar, following this for us live in New Delhi. You're staying in touch with your sources there.

If we're able to bring back in Father Edmond Tillekeratne we will do so. But again, 138 people killed in these blasts there, more than 560 people injured. This is breaking news. We'll continue to follow it for you over the next several hours on CNN.

Now to France, where Catholics are also getting ready to hold an Easter mass at Saint-Eustache Church in Paris. That church a replacement venue for the Notre Dame cathedral after it was damaged by a fire last week.

So far, about $1 billion in donations have been pledged to rebuild Notre Dame. And a benefit concert was held on Saturday to raise even more money.

But those donations have angered Yellow Vest protesters. They feel their own needs are being ignored. Let's get more on this live with Melissa Bell live in the French capital for us this hour outside the church.

Melissa, the service there starts in about an hour's time, a little less at this point. Usually held at Notre Dame, given the fire there, certainly a change in venue.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, George. As you can imagine, it will have a special poignance (sic), a special significance for the faithful gathered here. They're already queueing. The line stretches quite far back already, as they hope to get into the church where that service that would have been held at Notre Dame is to be held and you're right.

More emotion last night in a concert that was very well attended, watched by 2 million people in the country at Les Invalides. What it involved was singing but also one of the firemen who had been involved in the initial part of the operation, who spoke to the crowd very movingly and told them about those, the first sight the firemen had of the flames.

Each of them had shed a tear before they could even go about trying to put it out. He finished, George, very movingly by talking about Notre Dame, saying that the old lady might have the lost her hat, referring to her roof, but that she kept her smile.

HOWELL: Melissa, stand by. We're going to go back to our breaking news in Sri Lanka.

I want to make sure, though, Melissa Bell pointing out, of course, the service that was usually held at Notre Dame held at a different cathedral this hour in less than an hour's time. Of course, Yellow Vest protesters are upset by the money raised for that cathedral. We'll continue to follow that story.

I want to get back to breaking news. I do believe we have with us now Father Edmond Tillekeratne. We tried to bring him on earlier. We have him connected now. We want to get a sense of what's happening in this developing situations in Colombo.

You're looking at images there.

Father Edmond, are you able to tell us what happened as you were at one of those sites that saw an explosion?

And again, I don't think we have Father Edmond Tillekeratne.

You get a sense there were so many people involved in this, 138 people who were killed in this, more than 560 injured. We understand Father Tillekeratne was one of the people at one of those explosions. These explosions at several different sites, coordinated set of explosions during a short amount of time. We will continue to try to connect with people there.

Of course, try to get back in touch with Father Tillekeratne to get a sense --

[04:10:00] HOWELL: -- of what he survived from the explosion there.

Moving on to U.S. politics and the Mueller report. Many Republicans say that it is time to move on. But President Trump is again blasting that report on Twitter, saying this, "Despite the fact that the Mueller report should not have been authorized in the first place and was written as nastily as possible by 13 or 18 angry Democrats who were true Trump haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is no collusion, no obstruction," says the president of the United States.

We should point out the report does not exonerate President Trump on obstruction. Our Boris Sanchez is traveling with the president in Florida and has this report for you.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler filing a subpoena, demanding to see the full, unredacted Mueller report. Democrats are demanding to see all the underlying evidence, including information that was redacted because it includes sensitive grand jury information.

Nadler set a deadline of May 1st but it does not appear the Department of Justice is ready to comply with his request. They put out a statement, in part, calling his requests unnecessary. Here's the full statement.

They write, quote, "In the interest of transparency, the attorney general released the special counsel's confidential report with only minimal redactions. The Department of Justice has also made arrangements for Chairman Nadler and other congressional leaders to review the report with even fewer redactions.

"In light of this, Congressman Nadler's subpoena is premature and unnecessary. The department will continue to work with Congress to accommodate its legitimate requests consistent with the law and long- recognized executive branch interests."

Because of this dispute between House Democrats and the Department of Justice, it appears that this fight will likely wind up in court.

Meantime, President Trump spent Saturday at his national golf club here in Palm Beach, Florida. The president driving by a crowd of supporters, giving an enthusiastic double thumbs up.

We have heard from sources at the White House that the president is fuming over details in the Mueller report. He's apparently angry at mostly former aides, who gave details to Mueller that depict a White House in chaos and a president who is angry and paranoid over the Russia investigation and also aides that either completely ignored or refused to follow the president's orders -- Boris Sanchez, traveling with the president in West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOWELL: Let's talk about all of this now with Scott Lucas, a

professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, also the founder and editor of "EA WorldView," joining us this hour from England.

Good to have you.

SCOTT LUCAS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM: Good morning, George.

HOWELL: Democrats obviously want to see more of this report. The Department of Justice calling their recent subpoena, though, premature and unnecessary. Keeping in mind that much of the redacted material -- and Scott, it's about 10 percent -- is linked to 14 investigations that the special counsel handed off to other prosecutors.

The question to you, why do you think lawmakers find it so critical, so necessary to see that information that has been blacked out?

LUCAS: Because the Mueller report raises serious incidents of, contrary to the spin from attorney general William Barr, collusion and obstruction.

Just to give you a couple examples, there is a lot of material which is redacted on the Trump campaign's encouragement of WikiLeaks to release material obtained from Russian intelligence to damage Hillary Clinton.

Now we do know that one of the Trump campaign's informal advisers, Roger Stone, was -- is claimed to be the liaison with WikiLeaks and he is facing trial. You could say, well, this could prejudice the trial but, on the other hand, you could say to release the full material could expose extent of the involvement of the Trump campaign with Russia and its intermediaries.

If you talk about obstruction, remember Mueller effectively found Trump either guilty or a basis for his guilt on obstruction of justice or possible obstruction of justice in eight of 10 cases.

So to get more detail on how far he intervened, for example, over the cases of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn or indeed on his efforts to fire Robert Mueller, that information is critical to establish, did indeed, even if Robert Mueller said he could not indict the president because he's a sitting president, does the obstruction of justice, is it tantamount what would be a criminal charge if Trump wasn't sitting in the White House?

HOWELL: You explain the reason Democrats are champing at the bit. They do want to see more of that information. They are saying there could be more investigations, possibly even impeachment. Republicans warn that approach, Scott, could backfire on them in the leadup to the election if they don't focus in on those issues that --

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HOWELL: -- matter at the end of the day on Main Street. By your standards, do Republicans have a point here?

LUCAS: Democrats are -- at least the Democratic candidates for president and Democratic legislators are focusing on issues that matter. We could talk about the Green New Deal, the connection of the environment to the economy.

We could talk about the issues regarding health care that have been raised by many Democrats and by many activists. We can talk about issues regarding education.

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HOWELL: But, Scott, you know, with respect, wouldn't you say the focus right now is on this report and the possible investigations, the possibility of impeachment?

LUCAS: I mean, given in the past 72 hours, it's inevitable the focus would be on the report because the immediate reaction of the White House and attorney general Barr before the report came out was to immediately try to bury it, to try to push it away.

Yes, we're going to see a few days of basically trying to keep this report to establish what indeed it did say rather than having it be subjected to spin to distort it. But that doesn't mean you can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

You can talk about the Mueller report and you can talk about education and you can talk about health care and you can talk about foreign policy. And all of that will be significant in the next 20 months, rather than the Republicans saying oh, oh, oh, oh, the only issue on the table is those naughty Democrats trying to impeach Donald Trump.

HOWELL: Mr. Trump has pointed the finger back at his predecessor, Barack Obama. Mr. Trump saying that he did nothing to stop Russian interference in the election though the former president did speak directly with Vladimir Putin, telling him, according to former President Obama, to cut it out.

Some former Obama staffers have indicated a personal disappointment that they didn't do more in that situation.

What do you make of President Trump's criticism here?

LUCAS: Well, let's frame it, first of all, for what it is. This is like the thief, saying, oh, why didn't stop me breaking into that house? The arsonist saying, why didn't someone stop me from lighting the match?

For someone accused of obstruction of justice saying somebody should have stopped me from doing this, not exactly a strong defense. Let's explain why Obama. I disagree with this. I wish Obama had been firmer.

But the reason why they did not bring out the extent of possible Russian interference as it was being investigated in the run-up to November 2016 was that Obama and his staff made the decision that, if they highlighted the possible interference by Russians, they might be seen as trying to politically tilt the scales against Trump.

So they stood back. Remember, they stood back for that reason, even if I disagree with it, even though FBI director James Comey, later fired by Trump, did arguably tilt the scales by coming in and talking about not the Russia investigation but, of course, the investigation of Hillary Clinton's e mails.

HOWELL: Scott Lucas, giving us perspective, live in Birmingham, England, always a pleasure to have you on. Thank you.

LUCAS: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: As NEWSROOM pushes ahead, an American militia group appears to be taking the law into its own hands at the U.S.-Mexico border. We'll explain ahead. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: We continue following breaking news out of Sri Lanka. Hospital sources now say at least 138 people have been killed in at least six different explosions.

Take a look at the video we've brought in here at CNN and you get a sense exactly what happened there. We're talking about six different locations, some of them hotels, some of them churches.

The Sri Lankan president has expressed shock and dismay over these explosions on Sunday. He instructed law enforcement and defense to take every possible step to maintain law and order.

Again, keeping in mind, all of this happening on Easter Sunday, foreigners in hotels certainly were targeted. You have people who were in church this Easter Sunday, who were targeted. All of this a coordinated set of attacks during a short amount of time. We'll bring you the latest as we learn more.

We are getting some reaction now from the British foreign secretary. Jeremy Hunt, he said he is, quote, "shocked and saddened," by the horrific attacks on hotels and churches in Sri Lanka, adding, "to target those gathered for worship on Easter Sunday is particularly wicked. My prayers are with the victims and their families and with those assisting in the response."

And the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tweeted this, "Strongly condemn the horrific blast in Sri Lanka. There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured."

Now to Egypt, where polling stations are open as voters are set to decide on a controversial change to that constitution there. Sunday is the second of three days of voting for these amendments. The change could keep the president of the nation Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in office till 2030 and give him sweeping new powers over the judicial and legislative branches.

Voting also underway in Ukraine, where the man playing the president on a TV show may actually become the real president. Going into Sunday's election, comedian turned politician Volodymyr Zelensky is leading the presidential race. He's taking on the incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, who has held office since 2014.

The FBI has arrested a member of an armed militia that reportedly detained hundreds of Central American migrants at the U.S.-Mexican border this week. The FBI says the man in this photo belongs to a militia group called United Constitutional Patriots and he now faces felony charges of possessing firearms and ammunition.

CNN's Nick Valencia has this report.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

U.S. Border Patrol, what are you guys doing?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man speaking in the video is not a Border Patrol agent but he appears to be acting like one. Here, he gives commands to the migrant group, some of them children, which he has just intercepted.

The clips were posted to the Facebook page of Jim Benvie, a member of the United Constitutional Patriots, a militia group --

[04:25:00]

VALENCIA (voice-over): -- based along the New Mexico border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, we don't work well with Border Patrol, by the way, just so you guys know that. That's the media.

VALENCIA (voice-over): They describe themselves as concerned citizens, helping to keep America safe, plugging the holes, they say, for the U.S. Border Patrol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That Border Patrol is tied up. So if we weren't here right now, they could be bringing in busloads, dropping them over here and running up the hill.

VALENCIA (voice-over): The group's actions have drawn swift condemnation from the American Civil Liberties Union and others who have equated the group's actions to kidnapping.

PETER SIMONSON, ACLU: This is exactly why we don't let private citizens enforce the laws of our country. This is an act of vigilantism and we need federal, local and state authorities stepping in as quickly as possible.

VALENCIA (voice-over): In a statement to CNN, a spokesman from the New Mexico governor's office said this about the militia group.

"They have absolutely not been authorized by our office or any other. That migrant families might be menaced or threatened in any way, shape or form, is completely unacceptable."

CNN has been unable to independently verify when and where the clips were shot. We made several attempts to reach the United Constitutional Patriots and Jim Benvie. They did not rely. A spokesman for the group defended their actions to "The New York Times," saying what they do is legal.

But in one of the nighttime videos posted by the group, a man can be heard alluding to another tactic he wishes the militia could use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only problem is, if we shoot on the hill it will be an international crisis. We're too close to the border. It would save some time though, wouldn't it?

VALENCIA (voice-over): Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

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HOWELL: A Christian holiday celebrating peace is shattered by violence and bloodshed in Sri Lanka. Breaking news we're following. We'll go live to Rome to listen to what Pope Francis may have to say about the Easter Sunday church attacks.

Plus, arrests have been made after the killing of a Northern Ireland journalist. Why police say this is a terrorism case. Stay with us.

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HOWELL: In the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta. I'm George Howell.

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HOWELL: We're awaiting reaction from the Vatican about the bombings in Sri Lanka. Our senior Vatican analyst John Allen is following the story in Rome and joins us live this hour.

We understand holy mass is underway right now at the Vatican.

Has the pope said anything yet about these blasts, these explosions in Sri Lanka? JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, George. Happy Easter to you.

No, we don't yet have a comment from Pope Francis. He is moments away from delivering his homily. That's the sermon that he will deliver for Easter Sunday mass. The Vatican sent out an advisory this morning, saying he would be speaking impromptu, without a prepared text.

And so it is -- we would expect that he will have something to say about the bombings in Sri Lanka. Later today, of course, at around noon in Rome, so in about an hour and a half, the pope will be delivering his traditional Urbi et Orbi address, To the City and the World, usually a review of the global situation.

We would also expect he will have something to say on Sri Lanka at that time.

HOWELL: Just to the point of Sri Lanka, it was just four years ago that the pope visited Sri Lanka. He preached peace and reconciliation after the country's long civil war there.

ALLEN: Yes, it is of course, deeply ironic. But we should say, George, this is, while tragic, not surprising. Both Christmas and Easter, the most sacred moments on the Christian calendar, are also moments when churches around the world are full.

That makes them ripe targets for people who have an objection to Christians to Christianity or to what they perceive as a foreign presence on their soil.

In 2015, there was an attack on Christians on Easter in Kenya. 2016, you had bombings at a Christian park right after Easter services in Lahore, Pakistan, that left 75 people dead and 300 injured. Last year, there were attacks on Christian churches on Easter in India. So this is part of a global pattern that is not simply localized to Sri Lanka, George.

HOWELL: Of course, we'll continue to follow events there in Sri Lanka. Let's look again as these live images coming from the Vatican.

Take the image in full, you get a sense of the crowd there. So many people who have come together this Easter Sunday as they usually do for their very important day for Christians, Catholics around the world.

John, looking ahead at the pope's remarks, the pope's plans for this day, tell us more about services planned for this Easter Sunday.

ALLEN: Well, this of course, is the single most sacred day on the Catholic calendar. It's the day that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after three days in the tomb. So the pope is going to lead the Easter Sunday mass. It's intended to be a kind of joyous celebration of life and hope although, obviously, with the somber --

[04:35:00]

ALLEN: -- undertone today, not merely because of today's bombings in Sri Lanka but also the images of the Notre Dame fire. At noontime today, the pope will consider what is considered one of his most important addresses of the year. It's his Urbi et Orbi address, meaning to the City of Rome and to the World.

It's sort of a 360 degree review of the global situation. We would imagine that Pope Francis would talk about the holy land, as he typically does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the broader problem of violence in the Middle East, particularly Syria and Iraq, probably talk about Africa and Asia, both objects of his concern, and also some of the social issues he cares about the most, the plight of migrants and refugees, the fate of the poor, victims of human trafficking, victims of war and the arms trade.

This is an opportunity for Pope Francis to sort of try to rouse the conscience of the world and we are expecting him to do that again today at noon Rome time.

HOWELL: John Allen, giving us context there live in Rome. We'll stay in touch with you throughout the day.

Now to Northern Ireland. Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a journalist, Lyra McKee. Police say the killing may be terrorism and a group referred to as the New IRA, they say, is responsible.

CNN's International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson following the story live this hour in Londonderry.

The New IRA, help our viewers to understand the background of that group and this new connection that investigators have linked to McKee's killing.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's a dissident Republican group and the police say they believe that the gunmen, the two men they arrested, are members of that group. This is a group that has its roots in sort of violent Republicanism, that they follow in the traditions of what they believe, you know, what people might call the old IRA, that this group, the police say that they fear is what they call a new breed of terrorist.

Now I think it's lost on no one that Lyra McKee's killing really highlights the opportunities, if you will, that were left after the Good Friday peace agreement 21 years ago, that a new generation was given the opportunity to shine. She absolutely shone. She was a star and rising journalist.

Then there are other people -- and you would point to these two young men potentially, the two young men the police arrested one 18, one 19 -- who also grew up after the peace agreement, grew up in what was a more peaceful environment here. Yet, they chose to turn to terrorism.

That, of course, is what concerns the police. That helps us understand, when the police say they're dealing with a new breed of terrorism, it has its roots in the past, perhaps takes some of its ideology, its language from what we've heard in the past.

This morning you can see behind me a police bomb disposal team. You may hear shortly a controlled explosion. There are two suspect explosive devices left at locations in the city in the early hours of this morning and police right now are on scene.

One of them, the one behind me, has been left outside the doors of a local counselor. Where I'm standing here is barely less than half a mile from where Lyra McKee was killed.

So these are difficult times for the police and the police have appealed to the community around Lyra McKee's killing for people with any mobile phone video footage of around the incident at that time to come forward with it.

Easter Sunday, a sunny day here. Not the way many people in this community hoped to start their Easter Sunday with security alerts in the city.

ALLEN: Certainly not. Nic Robertson live, thank you for the reporting.

Twenty years ago, a terrible, tragic shooting took place at a school in the United States here in the state of Colorado. Two students stormed Columbine High School in 1999, those students killing 13 people before taking their own lives.

Now the community is remembering this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL (voice-over): The town of Littleton is marking the grim anniversary with a memorial service of its own to honor victims and survivors of the mass shooting. Several speakers praised the school for its strength and resilience after the attack.

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HOWELL: Still ahead here on NEWSROOM, the question among Democrats, to seek impeachment or focus on other issues. Democratic presidential candidates make their positions known in the wake of the Mueller report.

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HOWELL: Now that the Mueller report has been released and its many details are being considered and parsed, Democrats who are looking to replace President Trump in 2020 are weighing in. Some of those Democrats are pushing for impeachment. Others are not. Here's Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's my responsibility to speak out. I took an oath to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution makes clear that the accountability for the president is -- lies through Congress and that's the impeachment process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: New jersey senator Cory Booker spoke to supporters in Nevada. Here's what he had to say.

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SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not think it's time to move towards impeachment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

BOOKER: I'll tell you why. Because Congress hasn't seen the report without redactions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once you see it.

BOOKER: I want to go through the processes and see the unredacted report. I want to have Robert Mueller come and testify before the Judiciary Committee and I want to make sure we see the underlying evidence. I know a lot of people are like, impeach. I believe this is not a partisan issue. This is a process to come to that conclusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That's Cory Booker there.

Also on the campaign trail, this weekend, Senator Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential hopeful, swung through South Carolina. While she had some tough words for the president, she stopped short of calling for impeachment and made little mention of the Mueller report. Our Kyung Lah has this report.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Senator Kamala Harris, in a three-day swing through South Carolina after the Mueller report dropped, it's notable she didn't weave in the Mueller report in her prepared remarks and in multiple Q&As with audience members in three separate town halls, only one person in the audience asked her a question about the Mueller report.

In answering that audience member, she did say that she felt that Bob Mueller needed to --

[04:45:00] LAH (voice-over): -- come before Congress and testify. And in a Q&A with reporters Senator Harris said the report also made one thing clear.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no question that there is good reason to believe that there was an obstruction of justice by this president. There's no question.

LAH (voice-over): Senator Harris said she was not prepared at this point to call for impeachment, that she's a former prosecutor. She wants to look at all of the evidence. She wants to see the underlying evidence.

She wants to see the full unredacted report. And until she sees it all, she's not ready to make that judgment -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Orangeburg, South Carolina.

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HOWELL: Kyung, thank you.

The Mueller report made one thing clear. There were numerous times when President Trump may have obstructed justice. It laid out 10 specific instances, from firing the FBI director to trying to remove Robert Mueller, to telling White House counsel Don McGahn to lie about attempts to remove Mueller.

Some experts say McGahn actually saved the president by not following orders but the president is railing against him. Our Tom Foreman has this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Total B.S."

As the president rages against the Mueller report, he appears to be singling out one particular person who spoke to investigators, former White House counsel Don McGahn.

"Watch out for people that take so-called notes," Trump tweeted, "when the notes never existed until needed."

DON MCGAHN, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: It's been a privilege to be part of the presidential campaign that was successful.

FOREMAN (voice-over): It is a big turnout considering McGahn's role during the Russia probe. It was McGahn who refused to fire the special counsel when Trump said Mueller has to go. McGahn refused to lie about it later. The Mueller report indicates both actions protected Trump from obstruction charges.

But Jack O'Donnell, a former executive in the Trump Organization, says Trump's anger is typical.

JACK O'DONNELL, FORMER TRUMP CASINO EXECUTIVE: In this case where Don McGahn really saved him, it's not relevant because the bigger picture makes Donald look bad.

MCGAHN: I don't have a list of enumerated powers. I can't look to and advise the president on what he can or can't do. It's more general.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The Mueller report suggests Trump was always suspicious of McGahn potential power.

"Why do you take notes?" Trump reportedly said in a meeting. "Lawyers don't take notes."

When McGahn said he was a real lawyer, Trump shot back.

"I've had a lot of great lawyers like Roy Cohn. He did not take notes."

Cohn served Senator Joe McCarthy during his infamous campaign to root out communists and he worked for Trump in the 1970s when Trump's company was accused of discriminating against African Americans. Cohn had to settle in that legal battle and eventually lost his license for unethical conduct.

Still, before McGahn left the White House last fall, Trump said he would not be a rat.

TRUMP: He has done an excellent job.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Are you certain about what he said to the Mueller --

TRUMP: No, not at all. Not at all.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Perhaps the president had reason to think that. After all, when he was trying to get his casinos up and running years ago, battling politicians, regulators and more, who helped manage every detail no matter how small?

Don McGahn's uncle, Pat.

O'DONNELL: Because literally, Donald could ask Pat McGahn to do anything and he would do it for him. Obviously, Don McGahn had his limits with Donald Trump.

FOREMAN: So Trump fans are facing something of a puzzle right now. What should they think of Don McGahn?

Sure, the president is putting McGahn down, but he's also the very man who appears to have saved the Trump presidency -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: Tom, thank you.

Still ahead, a medical breakthrough to tell you about. Hollywood compared this genetic disorder to living in a plastic bubble. And it now appears doctors may have found the cure.

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HOWELL: You may have heard of bubble boy disease. It's a rare genetic disorder that prevents infants from developing an immune system. Now doctors say they have found a new treatment for that condition and some are calling it a cure. CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this for us.

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SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Two-year-old Ja'Ceon Golden is a pretty typical toddler. Likes to play ball, plays peek-a- boo with the door. But when he was born, his aunt who takes care of him, Dannie Hawkins, thought moments like this might never be possible.

DANNIE HAWKINS, JA'CEON'S AUNT: What kind of life would that be, him not being able, you know, nobody touch him, he can't have friends. He can't go to the birthday parties, he can't swim, you know, how am I going to tell him as he gets older that he can't go outside?

GUPTA: You see, when Ja'Ceon was born he screened positive for a genetic condition known as X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disorder. It basically means he has no functioning immune system. You probably know it as bubble boy syndrome. The condition became a part of pop culture after John Travolta play a boy with the same diagnosis in the 1976 movie, "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble."

Now, while kids didn't actually live in hermetically sealed rooms, it was critical to keep patients as best protected from germs and pathogens as possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This babies are prone to severe infections, opportunistic infections. If they are not treated properly on time or early on.

GUPTA: Current treatment requires children with the diagnoses to undergo a bone marrow transplant and a lifetime of immune boosting maintenance with antibiotics and other drugs. But just this week, there's new hope for children like Ja'Ceon, because of a new experimental gene therapy treatment development at St. Jude's Children Research Hospital in Memphis.

Here's how it works, researchers harvest the stem cells of kids like Ja'Ceon and insert those cells with healthy genes. Those cells are then infused back into the children. Where they repopulates and boost the immune system. Dr. Mort Cowan -- [04:55:00]

GUPTA (voice-over): -- oversaw Ja'Ceon's treatment at the University of California San Francisco.

DR. MORT COWAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO: Three to four months post the infusion, not only was he able to go home and you know, start to live a relatively normal life, but we were able to take him off all complete isolation and all proactive medications.

GUPTA: Ja'Ceon is one of eight children who were treated with this experimental therapy. It's been about a year and half up to two years now since they were treated and all are doing well. The groundbreaking results were published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" this week.

COWAN: I don't use the cure word very often for these patients, but I have to tell you that I truly believe that we have cured Ja'Ceon of his severe combine immunodeficiency disease.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.

GUPTA: For Ja'Ceon, it's the chance to truly live the life he was meant to live -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

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HOWELL: We continue to follow the breaking news out of Sri Lanka. Authorities there say at least 138 people have been killed in six different explosions, those explosions hitting three hotels and hitting three churches.

This as Christians celebrate Easter Sunday on this day, keeping in mind more than 560 people have been wounded in what is being described as a coordinated set of attacks.

Witnesses and survivors are describing the scenes of horror. The nation's prime minister has condemned the attacks as cowardly and urged Sri Lankan to remain united and strong.

Reaction is coming in from around the world as we continue to monitor events at the Vatican this Easter Sunday. The pope has not yet spoken about the tragedy in Sri Lanka. These live images from the Vatican this hour. But we are told he may make some remarks at noon during his homily.

That's this hour of NEWSROOM. More news after the break. Stay with us.

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