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Barr Taps Prosecutor to Review Russia Probe; AOC Takes Aim at Biden; White House Reviews Plans for Troop Deployment. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 14, 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] JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Apparently to the president's whims on this, allegations of spying in the congressional hearings, contradicted by the FBI director. So, look, this is -- this is happening. It is political. But it's not a little sinister.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This discussion is so important. David Gregory --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Has just parachuted in.

BERMAN: Rushed in from home to join in midstream here.

David, you've been listening. You know, it is interesting, to me, that this is going on, that the attorney general -- this is after he dropped the spying bomb in the middle of a congressional hearing -- is now launching this investigation. Your view?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Some things do require an air lift. Some topics require an air lift in the morning.

I mean, I think -- I agree. But what I think is so significant is, I don't think there's any question that President Trump has gotten in this attorney general exactly what he has wanted, which is someone who would execute on his political agenda, who would protect him in a way that could lead to the results of this internal investigation, investigating the investigators, to push back on the notion this was counter surveillance and counter intelligence in time of the 2020 election so that there would be some result that President Trump could then claim as more vindication.

And let's remember something else. I thought this was significant in the last couple of days, how the president has even launched against his own FBI director, Chris Wray, who succeeded Jim Comey, who was his choice, who has stood up to this notion that there was an improper investigation. That's not good enough for the president either. He wants people who will go out of his way and their way to protect him.

CAMEROTA: OK. On the James Comey topic, Rod Rosenstein, deputy AG, until a minute ago, is talking about him publicly. So last night here is what Rod Rosenstein said about him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROD ROSENSTEIN, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: But now the former director seems to be acting as a partisan pundit, selling books and earning speaking fees while speculating about the strength of my character and the fate of my immortal soul. I kid you not. That is disappointing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Rod Rosenstein unplugged, MJ.

MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just amazing seeing these folks going after one another. What they do not want is for someone like James Comey, who is no longer serving in government, to speculate about any part of the Russian investigation. They don't want somebody who is now a civilian sort of having the luxury to really reflect candidly on what they thought went on in the various departments and various law enforcement agencies. They'd rather those people keep those thoughts to themselves and not speculate because then you sort of muddy the waters on the origins of the investigation and sort of the different, you know, reasons that people wanted to have this investigation.

BERMAN: And one point of fact here is that James Comey wasn't speculating on what he thought about Rod Rosenstein's character. He flat out said he thought Rod Rosenstein had weak character.

CAMEROTA: And, yes, and Rod Rosenstein is returning the favor.

BERMAN: It is -- yes. I mean, to me --

AVLON: Umbrage.

BERMAN: Yes, well, I mean, wouldn't you take umbrage if someone said you had weak character?

AVLON: You know, the moment we start speculating about each other's immortal souls I think is the point where the off-ramp at the Justice Department needs to --

BERMAN: There was speculation about the soul, but, again, not about the character.

GREGORY: But let's also --

BERMAN: Go ahead, David.

GREGORY: Yes. But remember, I mean the point about Rosenstein that's interesting is he -- he's obviously pushing back on -- on his job on the Mueller investigation.

AVLON: Yes.

GREGORY: Remember, he writes the memo that gets Comey fired. And -- and we know from the Mueller report and other sources that he thought he was -- he was being used in that regard. I don't think that changes the fact that he probably has pretty strong

views as a career prosecutor about how Comey handled the results of the e-mail investigation into Hillary Clinton and the fact that Comey went out of his way to opine about her behavior when there were no charges brought. I think that -- that disagreement is probably real and has only escalated.

CAMEROTA: All right, let's talk about Joe Biden and about the middle ground for climate change, if there is any such thing.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not believe there is, of course. She wants to see bold moves. So here is what she said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I will be damned if the same politicians who refuse to act then are going to try to come back today and say we need a middle of the road approach to save our lives. That is too much for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: John.

AVLON: Yes, look, this is about the divisions inside the Democratic Party. That comment's about a heck of a lot more than climate change plans. It's about really castigating Joe Biden and trying to take aim at the center.

Reality check, the center of the Democratic electorate in the center left is alive and well. It may be underrepresented among the progressive left and the Twitter-oti (ph), but it's one of the reasons why he's been surging in the polls.

And don't forget that voices like that are used as a negative partisanship bait to further polarize the national conversation. And it's centrist politicians, Republicans in blue states and Democrats -- some Democrats in red states, who actually are among our most popular politicians. So this is not about a plan. This is about -- about sort of naming heretics and trying to further divide our political politics.

[06:35:16] BERMAN: This was in response to an aide to Joe Biden talking about -- Joe Biden is going to come out with a -- with a -- with a speech to discussing climate change. And there was an aide who suggested that he would find a middle ground. They've since backtracked from that because they saw how combustible those words were.

But, MJ, at this event last night, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders was there, also. I have to say, I had read the words from Ocasio-Cortez. I had not heard them. They were much more direct and much less subtle in their dig at Joe Biden. If she is going to be a force campaigning as actively as that against Joe Biden over the next few months, that will be interesting. LEE: Yes, I think in a -- in a lot of ways we are already seeing the

AOC primary play out. John is absolutely right, this was not -- these were not comments just made about climate change. It was not just about ideology. It was even more jarring because it was also about generational change. She didn't just say one of the 2020 candidates out there that's running is wrong on the issue of climate change. She went further than that and drew a distinction, clearly pointing to his age, clearly sort of painting a picture of Joe Biden as being somebody, a politician from a previous generation. This is -- this was a politician who didn't take action for a long time and now he is coming in here and saying that he wants to take a middle of the road approach, and that is not acceptable. I think she is going to be a player in the 2020 race. No doubt. And she already is.

CAMEROTA: David, quickly, final thoughts?

GREGORY: I just think it's interesting. Right now, Biden's positioning himself to great effect in the polls as being the inevitable nominee against Trump and having a general election strategy. That's not going to hold, obviously. AOC represents the progressive left that will try to pull him on issues like climate change. The question is whether and how much this attack is going to resonate in the primaries. Maybe less than we thought at the beginning.

BERMAN: Yes. It's also, how much does this rhetoric hold up after a convention if someone like Joe Biden ends up as the nominee?

All right, David, John, MJ, thank you very much.

Tensions rising between the U.S. and Iran. "The New York Times" reviewing military plans to send more than 100,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks U.S. forces. What is the Iran threat leading to all of this? We're joined by the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:34] BERMAN: "The New York Times" reports that the White House is reviewing an updated Pentagon plan that could send more than 100,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks U.S. forces. President Trump had a clear message to Iran from the Oval Office yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hearing little stories about Iran. If they do anything, they will suffer greatly. We'll see what happens with Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Joining us now is James Clapper, former director of national intelligence in the Obama administration. He's now a CNN national security analyst.

First off, what does it mean that the national security team was presented with new Pentagon plans, a contingency plan, for 120,000 troops to deploy to the Middle East? What are these types of plans, general?

JAMES CLAPPER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I'm surmising. I don't know that -- this may have been the top end of perhaps a series of options from a lesser deployment to a greater deployment. One hundred and twenty thousand troops, obviously, is a massive deployment.

BERMAN: That's Iraq War troop levels.

CLAPPER: Exactly. And I -- I was serving as the chief of Air Force intelligence in 1990/1991 and I had -- I couldn't help but recall that era when then the Bush administration did a lot of public preparation for a massive deployment to restore Kuwait's sovereignty. And there's been none of that for a deployment of that size. You're going to send our sons and daughters off to a potential broad Mideast war, you would think there'd be more preparation publicly to educate the public about why this is necessary. And I hope that they're not contemplating a ground invasion or any of that -- anything of that sort. But 120,000 additional, presumably, air-enabled forces, over and above what's already there, which is quite substantial, is massive.

BERMAN: Does the presentation of that type of plan indicate any increased likelihood that it will actually happen?

CLAPPER: Well, there is always the likelihood, if you have, you know, our forces and Iranian forces in proximity to one another, there's always the opportunity for an accidental encounter that could be -- become incendiary.

BERMAN: Do you think that's more likely now given the heightened rhetoric between the two countries?

CLAPPER: Well, it could be. I mean depending on where these forces are deployed, and particularly if -- if we bolster our presence in the Strait of Hormuz, that heightens the probability for an inadvertent encounter between Iranian and U.S. forces. So, just because of the numbers, the probability goes up.

BERMAN: That's what the Europeans have actually been warning over the last 24 hours. Their fear is, with this heightened rhetoric from the White House and the Iranians, and the increased naval presence now of the U.S. in the straits and in the gulf, that maybe something could go wrong.

CLAPPER: Well, not to magnify this or be hyperbolic about it, but clearly, if there is a deployment of this, it won't all occur in one day. It will be gradual. And I'm quite sure the Pentagon will be very attentive to the rules of engagement on how to avoid such inadvertent encounters. But I think the European concerns are well-taken.

BERMAN: So, one development over the last 12 hours is we learned that the U.S. attorney general, William Barr, has appointed the U.S. attorney from Connecticut to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation. You, of course, were the director of National Intelligence at the beginning of the investigation. Do you think this kind of investigation is warranted?

[06:45:09] CLAPPER: Well, I guess you're going to have to stay on the line and take a number to do an investigation of the investigators. There's already one substantial investigation, which as I understand is nearing completion, being conducted, led by the Department of Justice inspector general. So if it were me, I'd wait for the outcome of that to determine if there need to be yet more investigations. But now we're starting other investigations before that one is completed.

And, John, a point I have to make here is, we're kind of losing sight of what was the cause of all this, the predicate for all this, was the Russians and the Russian engagement. Now we know, apparently dozens of cases where Russian operatives, some of whom were known to be of intelligence connections, were trying to engage with the Trump campaign. That's what the concern was and was a predicate for any of these -- this investigation.

BERMAN: The Russians were attacking the U.S. election system.

CLAPPER: Exactly. And on a -- on a rather massive scale, through social media, through RT. So -- and we saw -- I say we as part of the prior administration -- all these encounters between members of the Trump camp and -- and the Russians. And the focus was, what is going on here with the Russians? I mean the message I almost take away from this is, well, we should have ignored that. Well, that was a profound threat and still is to our electoral system. And I wish people would pay more attention to volume one of the Mueller report, the exhaustive detail about what the Russians did. And we're losing sight of that.

BERMAN: Director James Clapper, it's always a pleasure to have you here, especially in studio. Thanks so much for being with us.

CLAPPER: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, John, it is the middle of May, supposedly, so why is it snowing? Chad Myers has our forecast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:08] CAMEROTA: Winter is making a mid-May comeback in the northeast. Some spots even seeing snow.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the forecast.

Someone did not get the memo. It is May, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. Where's Punxsutawney Phil when you need him, right?

CAMEROTA: Honestly.

MYERS: It's snowing in Vermont and New Hampshire. I'll tell you what, this is a cold forecast for the northeast for the next couple of days.

This weather is brought to you by Allegra-D, the 24 hour relief of your worst allergy and congestion symptoms. Please use as directed.

So why is it snowing in the northeast? Why is it so cold? The temperature right now in New York City is 44. In Anchorage, Alaska, it is 44. Why cold? Because Billings is going to be 83 today. Eighty- three degrees. The warm is in the west. The cold is in the east. Boston gets to 46. You should be 65. Twenty degrees below normal.

But there it goes. Let's not use the word "polar vortex," but there it goes, the cold air, the dip in the jet stream. We finally get a warmup for the weekend. So all of the northeast warms up, except for you, Boston. I can't warm up New England. There's this back door cold front that keeps coming down to get you. For even Boston for Friday, 64. That's about where you should be. But by the weekend, even colder than that. But look at Atlanta and D.C., even New York, warming up all the way towards the 70s by the end of the week into the weekend.

Guys, back to you. (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Chad, I like how you blamed a groundhog when everyone knows it's your fault.

MYERS: Just a little guy.

CAMEROTA: He's not getting it wrong, it's just bad weather. He's not getting it wrong.

BERMAN: No, I'm saying it -- no, no, he's getting it absolutely right, for which I hold him completely responsible.

CAMEROTA: Yes. All right. Fair enough.

BERMAN: All right, thank you, Chad. Appreciate it.

We now have 22 Democratic candidates in the presidential race. Does the newest hopeful -- or, let me rephrase that, what is the path that Steve Bullock, the governor of Montana, hopes to thread in order to win the nomination? Harry Enten crunches the numbers for us, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:04] BERMAN: What's funnier than a trade war between the U.S. and China? Well, it gave the late night comics plenty of fodder. Here are your "Late Night Laughs."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Trump imposed his tariffs, and he's warning China to cave soon. Would be wise for them to act now, but love collecting big tariffs. I like big tariffs and I can't lie, the

other (INAUDIBLE) can't deny, when Xi walks in with an itty-bitty trade, and the soybeans in your face you get sprung, sprung.

JAMES CORDEN, HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": After Trump increased tariffs on Chinese goods last Friday, China retaliated today by announcing that they will do the same on American-made goods. Now, I don't like this, right? I feel like this trade war is going to end with Trump riding on the back of a dragon, torching the entire economy.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": It's U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers who pay, correct?

LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Yes, to some extent. And I don't disagree with that. Again, both sides -- both sides will suffer on this.

COLBERT: Yes, technically, one side pays the price, but both sides suffer. It's a -- it's a bold marketing strategy. It reminds me of the ad campaign, Taco Bell, everyone will suffer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: But now I'm hungry.

CAMEROTA: That did look good.

BERMAN: Now -- now I'm hungry.

CAMEROTA: Actually that backfired. That actually looked good.

BERMAN: Seven layer. I want the seven layer.

CAMEROTA: I totally agree.

All right, thank you to our international viewers for watching. For you, CNN "TALK" is next. For our U.S. viewers, President Trump, guess what he wants, investigating the investigators, again. NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Attorney General Barr tapped a top federal prosecutor to help determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was lawful and appropriate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are pandering to Trump and his administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're on much better footing with Durham (ph). Some of the tactics used are going to be very difficult for them to defend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will see these tariffs start to hurt the U.S. consumer. This is all Trump's doing.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love the position we're in. There can be some retaliation, but it can't be very substantial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be an administrative nightmare. A deal has to be made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY.

We begin with Attorney General William Barr appointing a federal prosecutor to investigate the Russia investigation. A source tells CNN that Barr has tapped a new person. He wants to examine the origins of the Mueller probe and determine if the election -- the intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was lawful. That makes sense. The confusing part is that it's the third investigation into this. So this move comes a month after Barr said this to a congressional committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think there's -- spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Also new this morning, international brinksmanship. The president is now threatening to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports, and he's putting Iran on notice.

[07:00:09] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hearing little.

END