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Trump Fires Back at GOP Congressman's Talk of Impeachment; Sanders Marches against Anti-Abortion Laws; NYT: Deutsche Bank Employees Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump, Kushner Accounts. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 19, 2019 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:17] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. So glad you're with us this weekend.

President Trump taking to Twitter today to call an elected member of Congress from his own party a loser.

I'm talking about Michigan Congressman Justin Amash who, this weekend, broke with the GOP pack on Capitol Hill. He declared that the President should be impeached, and he laid out a precise argument explaining why.

The President's response? He called Amash a loser. Never a fan of Justin Amash, he tweeted today, a total lightweight. And then, Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents' hands.

These tweets are really our best insight into the President's thinking and how the White House is handling the various controversies it's facing. There's been no formal press briefing in at least 69 days now.

But back to this weekend, the Justice -- the Congressman, I should say, Justin Amash, who is calling for the President's impeachment, he is the only Republican in the House to do that so far. A Republican senator told CNN today that it's not time to talk impeachment on his side of Capitol Hill.

CNN's Boris Sanchez is at the White House right now. Boris, the President accusing this Congressman of just trying to, quote, get his name out there through controversy. Any other Republicans weighing in on this back and forth?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. Yes, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Rhonda McDaniel, weighed in on a statement last night, essentially saying that she believed that this statement coming from Justin Amash is sad and that, in her words, he's parroting Democratic talking points.

We also saw a tweet from a state representative in Michigan, Jim Lower. He's a Trump supporter, and his tweets seem to suggest that he would challenge Justin Amash's seat in the 2020 election, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Notably, the most prominent Republican to speak out on this, Mitt Romney, spoke to Jake Tapper this morning on "State Of The Union." And he says that while he respects Justin Amash and his decision to, essentially, stick to his guns and his perspective on this, he does not believe the President committed impeachable offenses. Listen to what he told Jake this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R), UTAH: My own view is that Justin Amash has reached a different conclusion than I have. I respect him. I think it's a courageous statement. But I -- I believe that to make a case for obstruction of justice, you just don't have the elements that are evidenced in this document.

And I also believe that an impeachment call is not only something that relates to the law but also considers practicality and politics. And the American people just aren't there.

And I think those that are considering impeachment have to look also at the jury which would be the Senate. The Senate is certainly not there, either.

Everyone reaches their own conclusion. As I read the report, I was troubled by it. It was very disappointing for a number of reasons, but it did not suggest to me that this was time to call for impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Meantime, Democrats are pretty divided. On one hand, you have Senator Elizabeth Warren who, as you know, Ana, is running for president. She supports impeachment. She had kind words for someone who she frequently disagrees with in Justin Amash today at a campaign event.

And then you have House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who, essentially, is saying that she doesn't want to waste time on impeachment when he could be voted out of office in just about two years. Beyond that, though, she has made the case that President Trump commits impeachable acts every day, Ana.

CABRERA: O.K. Boris Sanchez, at the White House, thanks for the latest on that.

Earlier in the show, I talked to Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California. He is one of 23 Democrats now running for president.

And I asked him about Congressman Amash calling Trump's actions impeachable and whether he is ready to begin impeachment proceedings. Here's our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're on a road to impeachment. It's not a road, I think, any of us want to go on, but now it's a bipartisan road, it looks like. And I will tell you, Ana, that Mr. Amash is someone that, from the day

the Russians did this, he and I worked together to put forward legislation to have an independent commission. I believe that we should put what the Russians did and to study it out of Congress and into the hands of experts and scholars and statespersons.

Every Democrat joined me when I wrote that legislation. Only two Republicans, Justin Amash was one of them. So he's shown courage very early on. And so I'm not surprised that he's standing up for what's right today.

CABRERA: Just to clarify, when you say, we're on the road to impeachment, are you ready to call for impeachment at this time?

SWALWELL: Well, I'm on the Judiciary Committee. You know, I'm actually one of the only -- I am the only presidential candidate who would actually have to try the case on that committee.

And so what I want to do is make sure that, as we go down this road, that we get the full Mueller report, that we hear from Bob Mueller, that we hear from Don McGahn, and that we are not doing Donald Trump justice. Which if we did Donald Trump justice, we would just already reach the conclusion and not rely on the facts.

[19:05:05] I still believe in the rule of law. I think the rule of law, responsibly, would dictate us to start having, you know, the full Mueller report and these hearings immediately. But I think that's where we ultimately end up.

CABRERA: Well, we did have hundreds of prosecutors, former federal prosecutors, who came out in recent weeks saying that they see with their own eyes in the Mueller report, the redacted portion of it, that the President obstructed justice.

Again, you have a law degree yourself. If he obstructed justice, what's your hesitation to say it's time to impeach?

SWALWELL: Well, I was a prosecutor as well, and he's a double-digit obstructer by Bob Mueller's standards. And again, Ana, to me, it's just -- I don't want to do Donald Trump justice. When this president is impeached, I want it to have the weight of the process and the order that respectfully gave him a fairer trial than he deserves.

So I'm certainly not taking it off the table. I'm just saying I think the best thing we could do is get Bob Mueller in and see the full report, which, right now, the President could just order it to be released to us.

He said he's a hundred percent exonerated. Well, if that's the case, he should give us a hundred percent of the report.

CABRERA: I want to ask you more about your oversight responsibilities and all these different probes into the President because, right now, CNN is aware of at least 21 subpoenas relating to the President.

What do you say to those who argue you are overreaching, not conducting oversight?

SWALWELL: Well, we can walk and chew gum because this Congress has also passed background checks. We just passed the Equality Act last week that gives the LGBTQ community more rights, certainly, at their workplace.

We passed the For the People Act, which updates the Voting Rights Act and has independent redistricting commissions in every single state, so our elections are no longer rigged through gerrymandering.

And so that means we also have a responsibility to put a balance of power on all of these abuses of power. We can't look the other way just because there are other priorities.

It's a lot of work. It's certainly more than I think you would ever see any Congress have to do with any president, but we're up for the job. And making sure that this is still a country of free ideas, free markets, and a free press, that is our top responsibility.

CABRERA: You're a father. You're a husband. Over the last few weeks, multiple states have passed incredibly restrictive abortion laws.

And you've said you will only nominate Supreme Court justices who promise to uphold Roe versus Wade. Do you think 2020 is going to be a battle over the Supreme Court?

SWALWELL: Yes and it must be. And I would only appoint justices that uphold the law. And also, I would fight to make sure that we put into law more protections in Congress that cement the Roe v. Wade ruling, including repealing the Hyde Amendment which essentially only allows women of wealth and means to have abortion services while any other woman who receives government health care is prohibited from doing so.

And that's, I think, a benefit from having a young family in the White House. We get these issues that are facing young people from student debt, which I have, to having our kids safe in our schools, to a woman being able to make her own health care decisions.

CABRERA: When you talk about, yes, you believe the Supreme Court is going to be a major issue for 2020, I talked to a lot of people on the campaign back in 2016 who voted for Donald Trump because the Supreme Court was such a big issue for them.

What makes you think Democrats would have the upper hand this time around?

SWALWELL: Well, it's the cost of us not recognizing how big of an issue it was in 2016. Now that we have, you know, two judges -- two justices on the bench who probably will not uphold the ruling in Roe v. Wade and also, I -- we've seen the devastating effects of money in politics because the Supreme Court said that money is speech and that corporations are people.

And so being a president who would do all I could to get rid of the dirty money and the dirty maps that pollute our government, that is a priority for so many people because, structurally, it's really poisoning our democracy.

CABRERA: Congressman Eric Swalwell, really appreciate your time, thank you.

SWALWELL: Thank you. My pleasure, Ana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Now, let's bring in CNN's senior political analyst, David Gergen. He served as an adviser to four U.S. presidents, including Nixon and Clinton. And I mention Nixon and Clinton, specifically, because they both faced the threat of impeachment.

David, this weekend we have Republican Congressman Justin Amash speaking out, saying Trump's actions are impeachable. But so far, Democrats -- Democrats, in fact -- are still divided on this issue of impeachment. And more Republicans, we aren't seeing exactly rushing forward to side with Congressman Amash. So does Amash weighing in change anything?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Not very much. It -- we do know now that he's not only the -- one of the most conservative members of Congress, but he's also one of the bravest because he's surely inviting a possibility of a challenge the next time out when he runs. And he's been there now for -- he's in his fifth term now, so he knows what he's getting into.

[19:10:03] He has not been afraid -- it's important to understand, he has -- he has been a lone voice often in the wilderness in the Republican Party when it comes to Donald Trump now for a couple of years.

You go all the way back to 2017 when he was talking about the possible impeachment of the President, what various -- how he might meet the threshold, and now he's called for it.

I think, in some ways, more significant with what he had to say today was what Mitt Romney had to say. Because Amash was an expected, you know, gunner, but Romney was -- is someone, you know, who has been unclear which way he was going to come out on the big issues.

CABRERA: Yes.

GERGEN: And for him to try to put a quash on impeachment, I think, speaks a lot about how little appetite there is among Republicans in the Senate to support impeachment proceedings.

CABRERA: Is there anything that you think could break the dam or sort of flip the switch as you put it, perhaps, hearing from Mueller himself?

GERGEN: I think the -- I think the next big chapter, opening, for this whole effort is going to be Mueller's -- unless something else breaks, but Mueller serving as a witness.

Because I do think we haven't -- you know, he sort of has a voice of god quality about him, doesn't he? Because he'd been so silent and he has so many things to clarify. That will be -- that will be must watch for anybody who cares about politics and about the presidency.

CABRERA: It's also still up in the air if Don McGahn, the President's former White House Counsel, will testify before the House Judiciary, which is supposed to happen on Tuesday.

GERGEN: Yes.

CABRERA: The White House, we know, ordered him not to comply with the subpoena for documents last week, and he apparently listened to them. What do you make of the White House's intervention, and will it extend to his scheduled public testimony?

GERGEN: Well, I think the White House is taking a risk. They clearly want to prevent any more news stories coming out and sort of close this whole thing down as Mitch McConnell is trying to do in the Senate.

I do -- and I do think -- going with one of your questions to Congressman Swalwell, with 21 different subpoenas out there, at least a dozen investigations underway, I do think that that is -- it's so many. It's hard for anybody to keep up with it, much less people who are paying a sort of a modest amount of attention.

And I think the Democrats would be so much better off if they collected themselves under one committee and did sort of a systemic run-through as opposed to this scatter-gun approach, which I think is leaving everyone confused. And, you know, frankly, make it boring after a while if -- unless they come up with some stuff pretty quickly.

CABRERA: I want to talk more about 2020 because we have 23 Democrats --

GERGEN: Please.

CABRERA: -- running.

GERGEN: Yes.

CABRERA: And as of right now, we have Joe Biden leading the field. He held his first official rally yesterday. He didn't shy away from attacking President Trump. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While he's lashing out at his political opponents, obsessing over his personal grievances, look, the rest -- here's the most important thing to remember.

The rest of the world isn't waiting. Isn't waiting. China isn't waiting. They're building 5G, mastering A.I. They're rewriting the rules of the internet. They're moving into areas that should not be abandoned by us.

The rest of the world hasn't given up on the Paris Climate Accord. They're pushing it. They know it's essential to human existence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: It seems like there's been some disagreements between Democrats over whether to attack Trump personally or on policy. Do you think Joe Biden did a good job there of finding a way to do both?

GERGEN: Yes, I do and I -- you know, so far, it's working for him better than anybody could have expected. Nobody thought that by this time in a race, he would essentially have twice as much support as Bernie Sanders who's second to him only.

It's sort of like an 18 percent for Sanders versus 36 or so for Biden. So he's opened up this lead, and I think it's because he has understood from the start that the one thing Democrats agree on is the need to get Trump out of there.

And I do think, if I may add, Ana, this Alabama statute, it's now leading the charge in trying to bring down Roe v. Wade. I think that's going to have -- I think that's going to change the race a lot. It's going to mobilize women again.

You know, the Me Too movement and women -- the marches have fallen off some here in the last 12 months or so. And I think that the whole issue of abortion is going to re-energize a lot of women.

The whole notion that we could have five men on the Supreme Court tell four people in the minority, three of whom are women, what men -- what women ought to do with their bodies is going to be important to a lot of people.

CABRERA: So do you think that this abortion issue, should it become a defining issue of 2020, could backfire on Republicans and Democrats would stand to benefit most?

[19:15:02] GERGEN: Yes, I do. When you start with a proposition that 58 percent of Americans today believe that most or all abortions should be legal -- and that's 20 percent more than the conservative side -- you already can feel where the weight of the public is on this.

But it's also true as -- when the Republicans try to carve out exceptions for rape, incest, as well as the health of the mother, which is where, you know, President Trump has come out in tweets this weekend and others like McCarthy are supporting those exceptions, that is such a small part of what is objectionable to most women.

It does not deal with the fact, in this Alabama law, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, all abortions -- all abortions, no matter where you are in your term, all abortions would be banned, unless you had rape, incest, or the health of the mother.

So that is a very draconian view. And in addition, the people who talk about exceptions and trying to lighten up on the Alabama law, they haven't said a word about criminalizing abortion and the doctors in Alabama. If this is -- if Roe v. Wade is struck down, doctors in Alabama could spend up to 99 years in prison. And of course, this is --

CABRERA: It's a life sentence.

GERGEN: And that's a life sentence. So where's a woman going to get an abortion like this? So I think this issue hasn't been fully unpacked before the country to think it through.

And I think that -- I do think that there are a lot of women who are going to respond angrily if they think a bunch of old White guys is going to cram this down their throats.

CABRERA: All right. David Gergen, I always appreciate your insight. Thank you for being here.

GERGEN: Thank you, Ana. Oh, thank you.

CABRERA: Just in, we have this, President Trump tweeting a veiled threat to Iran, warning, never threaten the United States again. What he says will happen if it does.

And Senator Bernie Sanders in Alabama marching against one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. But as a common message emerges among 2020 candidates on the debate, will it win over voters?

Plus, an alert coach doubling as a security guard is now a hero after he prevented a school shooting in Oregon. Hear what he says made him tackle a student armed with a gun. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:54] CABRERA: The 2020 race heating up tonight for Democratic hopefuls. Senator Bernie Sanders right now marching alongside activists in a so-called March for Reproductive Freedom in Alabama.

And he just wrapped up a campaign rally in Birmingham. The Vermont senator had plenty to say about Alabama's new law concerning abortion and women.

Let's get right out to CNN correspondent Ryan Nobles there in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ryan, what are you hearing from Sanders today on the abortion rights issue?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no doubt, Ana, that the Sanders campaign is trying to capitalize on the fact that this abortion law was passed in Alabama.

And that is something of great concern to Democratic voters across the country. And you can see here behind me, this is a March for Reproductive Freedom. This is directly in response to the law that was passed at Alabama.

And the message here from Bernie Sanders is he is with this group of protesters, that he believes that they are on the right side of this law, and he wants to make sure that they understand that he has been with them on this issue from the very beginning.

And in fact, Sanders kind of broke away from his normal stump speech at his rally earlier today in Birmingham to specifically address this abortion law. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now, all across the United States, there is a well-funded attack coordinated by right-wing extremists to deny women the right to control their own bodies and their own futures.

Apparently, the Alabama legislature and Governor actually believe that it is appropriate to force a woman to have the baby of her rapist.

And we will fight them in every way possible. Because if they are implemented, the consequences will be absolutely disastrous and threaten the very lives of women. We're talking about life and death issues here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And we should point out that Sanders originally was not intending on making abortion a big part of this southern campaign swing. This rally in this event was planned a long time ago, but they've adjusted because of what's happened here in Alabama over the past month.

Now, we're expecting Sanders to join up with these protesters and take part in this march right now. It's proving to be a little logistically difficult for the senator to join the group right now, but we do expect that to happen at some point.

Ana, obviously, a large number of protesters here out protesting this law. Sanders wants to show them that he's with them -- Ana.

CABRERA: And I got your back, Ryan. I've been watching behind me and make sure he isn't passing you by as you're talking to me. I haven't seen him yet. Keep us posted on any new developments from there. Thank you, sir.

We have new reports that bank employees flagged suspicious activity in President Trump's and Jared Kushner's accounts. So why did Deutsche Bank executives apparently reject their calls to investigate? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[19:24:11] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: We have this just in from the "New York Times." The paper reporting that Deutsche Bank's anti-money laundering specialists once recommended that transactions involving entities controlled by President Trump and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, be reported to a U.S. agency that investigates financial crimes.

The transactions in question were flagged in 2016 and 2017, so while Trump was running for president and during his first year in office. Executives at Deutsche Bank, however, never did anything with them,

the "Times" says. It quotes former and current employees as saying the bank rejected the advice of its specialists and never filed reports with the government.

The "Times" points out that the transactions being flagged weren't necessarily improper. Still, the story is significant because Deutsche Bank has been one of the very few banks willing to lend money to the Trump Organization in recent years.

And I want to bring in the man behind this reporting. David Enrich is the finance editor at "The New York Times."

David, really interesting article. Thank you for sharing your reporting with us. What can you tell us about these transactions? Why did they raise red flags with anti-money laundering specialists?

DAVID ENRICH, FINANCE EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, that's a good question. And at the outset, I should say we don't really know.

What we do know is that the -- a number of Trump-related entities, including the Trump Foundation and Kushner Companies, which is Jared Kushner's big real estate company, both were doing business -- doing transactions outside of the United States that sparked concerns among anti-money laundering experts.

We know that the Kushner transactions involved the Kushner Companies sending money to people -- to Russian individuals, and that -- the way these systems work is that the bank has a computer system that automatically screens thousands and thousands of transactions. And then those transactions go to human beings for further review and investigation.

And in all of these cases, after being screened by the computer system, the humans, who were investigating this and who were experts in looking for problematic transactions, all raised serious concerns about the money that was moving between Trump entities and Kushner Companies and folks outside of the United States.

[19:29:59] CABRERA: Now, you point out in your reporting that not all transactions that are red flagged are necessarily inappropriate. But these employees that you spoke with say that Deutsche Bank has a generally lax approach to money laundering laws?

DAVID ENRICH, FINANCE EDITOR, NEW YORK TIMES: Well, that's certainly the view of not only employees, but also of U.S. and European prosecutors and regulators. Deutsche Bank had repeatedly run into trouble all over the world for laundering money, in particular for Russians, I might add. And also for violating U.S. sanctions, evading taxes, manipulating markets, things like that. And so Deutsche Bank runs a lot of its anti-money laundering programs out of Jacksonville, Florida.

And I went down to Jacksonville a couple of weeks ago and started talking to employees there. And one after the other told me that it was just a very lackadaisical approach and a number of them had experienced looking at Trump and Kushner transactions and said that there was an enormous amount of pressure on them to just essentially move the transactions along, not get in the way of what was a very lucrative business for the bank.

CABRERA: So these employees, these specialists, they flag some transactions to the higher-ups. Why did executives ultimately decide not to report these transactions to the government?

ENRICH: It depends whom you ask. If you ask people at a senior level of the bank, they say because when they look further into these transactions, there's nothing there. There was nothing problematic. And they note that it's not that uncommon for managers to overrule their employees and conclude that sometimes their concerns are unfounded. However, if you talk to the employees, a lot of the employees at a slightly lower level in the organization, the ones who actually did the investigations into these transactions, they suspect that something else is going on which is that Deutsche Bank is the only bank that has consistently done business with Donald Trump the past two decades.

It has an enormous amount of loans outstanding to him. It's a very lucrative relationship. And the employees' perception is that the bank did not want to do anything that could possibly jeopardize that relationship or once Trump became president and was running the Treasury Department which is the agency that investigates these transactions, didn't want to cause a political problem for itself.

And so there's a real dichotomy between the way the employees on the ground feel and what people a little bit higher up in the bank insist was something pretty innocuous.

CABRERA: Now CNN has obtained the statement from a Deutsche Bank spokeswoman who said in part, this, "At no time was an investigator prevented from escalating activity identified as politically or potentially suspicious. Furthermore, the suggestion that anyone was reassigned or fired in an effort to quash concerns relating to any client is categorically false."

David, Tammy McFadden is a former Deutsche Bank specialist that you spoke to, you cite in this reporting. She said she was fired last year after she raised concerns about the bank's practices. Do you know if she or others you interviewed have spoken to members of Congress or state authorities looking into the president's finances?

ENRICH: To my knowledge, none of them have spoken as of yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they get some inbound phone calls after the story. And -- but the interesting thing about Tammy McFadden is that she is actually standing up and doing what a lot of other Deutsche Bank people privately say they want to do but don't have the depths to do it. And so I have a tremendous amount of respect for her courage in actually putting her name behind this.

CABRERA: David Enrich, thank you, again, for being here and sharing that with us.

ENRICH: My pleasure. CABRERA: CNN also received a statement from a spokesperson for Jared

Kushner's companies, and I quote, "The' New York Times' tries to create scandalous stories which are totally false when they run out of things to write about."

Coach, security guard, and now hero. How this man stopped a student armed with a shotgun at an Oregon high school.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:24] CABRERA: An Oregon high school football coach is being hailed a hero tonight for a life-saving tackle. Keanon Lowe successfully wrestled a gun-wielding student to the ground before anyone at the school was hurt.

And Polo Sandoval has been following the story for us. He's here with me in New York. What is the coach saying about what happened?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These dramatic descriptions of what took place on Friday that we keep hearing from witnesses, he basically says it's simply instinct kicked in and important to point out that so far police have not confirmed these versions but we have heard it from many witnesses that it was this coach who basically sprang into action when it really mattered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Keanon Lowe wears several titles at a high school in Northeast Portland, Oregon. On Friday, hero was added to the list. It was just before noon when a Parkrose High School student now identified by police as 18-year-old Angel Granados Dias walked on to his campus with a shotgun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're being told there's no one injured in the school. And that includes the shooter.

SANDOVAL: According to witnesses, Granados made his way into a classroom where Lowe who doubles as both security guard and coach at the school sprang into action. He forced the gun-wielding student to the ground, wrestling away the weapon. No shots fired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Copy. Security guard, we have the shooter.

SANDOVAL: The former star wide receiver for the University of Oregon appeared on "Good Morning America" on Sunday describing what was one of the most important tackles of his life.

KEANON LOWE, HERO SECURITY GUARD: I feel like I was put in that room, in that very moment for a reason, to protect those kids. I end up getting the gun from him, you know, getting the gun with my right hand and holding him off with my left hand and calling for a teacher to come grab the gun from me.

SANDOVAL: Lowe recalls how his actions allowed students to flee and police to arrive, quickly taking control of the situation. Police say nobody was hurt and are yet to establish a motive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By the grace of God, nobody was hurt in this one, so I'm very thankful for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're really relieved that there's no injuries.

SANDOVAL: Before speaking out publicly the hero coach tweeted, "When I signed up to be a security guard, football and track and field coach for Parkrose High School, I did so to guide and coach young people whose shoes I had once been in. I had no idea that I would one day have to put my life on the line."

Lowe says he heads back on campus on Monday back alongside those students he helped protect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: We do expect it to be business as usual on Monday. A quick little anecdotal story here, turns out that back in 2013, Mr. Lowe, Ana, actually faked an injury on the field solely so that one of his fellow teammates could finally get in there and get some play action. So this was a real-life Rudy situation here. I actually tracked down that teammate, spoke to Dane Ibanez over the phone and he remembered that day very well.

[19:40:07] It was 2013, Oregon Ducks were facing off during the Fiesta Bowl and he remembers it very well, so this news is coming to no surprise. According to Dane, he said that his teammate was the kind of guy that will take action immediately and how he's put people before himself.

CABRERA: We need more people like him in this world.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely.

CABRERA: What a great story. Thank you, Polo, for that reporting.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: President Trump just tweeted an explosive threat to an adversary overseas that references the end of the Iran just days after the president said he doesn't want a war. So why the sudden warning? Some analysis next.

Oh, and see what happens when victims of violent crimes and their offenders meet face-to-face on the new CNN original series, "THE REDEMPTION PROJECT" with Van Jones. That's tonight at 9:00, followed by the "UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA" with W. Kamau Bell at 10:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: A tale of two tweets. Let's start with the one from just a couple of hours ago from the president. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again." [19:45:04] Now let's flash back to last July when the president warned

Iranian President Rouhani, quote, "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer the consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

What a perfect time for your weekend presidential brief. With us now, CNN national security analyst Sam Vinograd. She helped prepare the presidential daily brief for President Obama.

And Sam, what a difference a year doesn't make. Do you think the president is taking his cues from the National Security adviser, John Bolton?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think John Bolton is just a prop in this play. This is the Trump show and it kind of feels like we're seeing reruns because rather than learn from past mistakes, President Trump is doubling down on them. Since his tweet last July threatening war with Iran, historic consequences, the threat environment has gone from bad to worse. We've had to evacuate diplomats from Iraq because of threats. We have increased threats in the air, on land, and at sea, and despite all of this, President Trump is still recklessly tweeting.

He did briefly act presidential and opened the door to diplomacy, maybe Iran didn't return his calls quickly enough, and he's reverted back to escalatory tweets that are really putting lives in danger. Typically in tense situations such as this the intel community reviews all the president's public statements to avoid unintended consequences. The regime can use a president's threats to inspire direct attacks against American interests all over the region.

Instead of clearing his tweets with the IC, President Trump is tweeting with people's lives here while he's watching FOX News. That could have potentially fatal consequences.

CABRERA: So now Iran is saying they have been forced to resume some activities that were banned under the Iran nuclear deal the president has removed America from. Is a nuclear-armed Iran a real threat?

VINOGRAD: It's certainly more of a threat today than it was a year ago when President Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal. We violated the agreement. And now Iran is saying that they're going to violate some of their commitments, like, for example, they're going to keep some material that could be used for a weapon in country.

But, Ana, it's not just Iran that's more of a nuclear threat. Because President Trump has engaged in diplomacy with North Korea without requiring a freeze on their nuclear program, they probably have more nuclear weapons today than they did a year ago. At the same time, President Trump has withdrawn from arms control agreements with Russia which means they can probably produce and pre-position previously banned weapons more readily than before.

We know China is continuing to modernize their nuclear forces. And as Iran moves closer to a nuclear weapon, it is very likely that Saudi Arabia is going to pursue a matching nuclear capability. CABRERA: Now it's not exactly an armed conflict but the president has

a lot on his plate with the trade issue. Right?

VINOGRAD: He does. Not all trade wars are created equal, but President Trump is fighting them on multiple fronts. He's fighting one with rival power, China, based on very real concerns about the illegal mechanisms they use to achieve their economic goals, which is nominally to lead in the high-tech industries. At the same time, all isn't quiet on the Western front. He picked a fight with our friends, China and Mexico, for example, by imposing steel and aluminum tariffs.

Internally, he's waging a war with Congress as he tries to get a successor deal to NAFTA passed. Now he did say last week that he was lifting steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which could be a sign, Ana, that finally, maybe, just maybe, he's realizing you have to pick your battles.

CABRERA: All right. Sam Vinograd, as always, learn a lot. Thank you.

VINOGRAD: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:08] CABRERA: Places of worship are supposed to be safe spaces. But in the U.S., that is no longer the case. Security concerns are now part of their new reality.

CNN's Sara Sidner explains in part two of our CNN Special Report, "HATE IN AMERICA."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOYA DAHAN, CHABAD OF POWAY SYNAGOGUE CONGREGANT: The synagogue is always a safe place to be. We're not supposed to be worried about anything. It's bruised up.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But Noya Dahan will always worry now. She was a victim in a deadly attack at her California synagogue. Her father, who witnessed the attack, wanted to send this message to the president.

ISRAEL DAHAN, FATHER OF NOYA DAHAN: I know Donald Trump, he's supporting Israel, but there is more problem in the U.S. than anywhere in the world. Instead of looking for a problem outside of the country, it's better to look inside the country.

SIDNER: Over the past seven years, deadly attacks by mass shooters on places of worship have been a reoccurring nightmare in the U.S. In 2012, six people are gunned down at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. That same year, a prayer leader is killed at a church in College Park, Georgia. In 2015, nine worshippers are slaughtered at a predominantly black church in Charleston. In 2017, 26 killed in Sutherland Springs, Texas. And in Antioch,

Tennessee, another person is gunned down in church. In 2018, 11 are murdered in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Six months later, one person is killed at a synagogue in Poway, California.

Police say four of the attacks were perpetrated by men with white supremacist or Neo-Nazi ideals, targeting their victims because of their skin color or their religion. This pattern of deadly extremism is forcing religious leaders, like Poway's Rabbi Goldstein to confront their new reality.

YISROEL GOLDSTEIN, RABBI, CHABAD OF POWAY SYNAGOGUE: After the Pittsburgh event, the Poway Sheriff Department hosted an active shooting workshop, which we attended.

SIDNER: In his synagogue, everyone but one congregant survived the shooting. He was injured. But he said, if it wasn't for the shooter's gun jamming, a congregant who charged him and an armed off- duty Border Patrol agent who fired at the suspect, it could have been a bloodbath.

GOLDSTEIN: If we would have had an armed security guard at the door, there's a very good chance the shooter would have been neutralized. Why didn't we? The answer is simple.

SIDNER (on camera): You couldn't afford security.

GOLDSTEIN: There's no budget for it.

SIDNER (voice-over): After that shooting, California's governor pledged $15 million in grants to help religious and community-based nonprofits to strengthen security.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER (voice-over): A total of eight down. One rescued at this time.

SIDNER: After the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, Pennsylvania's governor is working with the legislature to increase funding for security, for more than $3.6 million in grants, the state secured from DHS since 2014 for Jewish groups.

[19:55:05] In 2019, the federal government set aside $60 million in security grants for nonprofit organizations. But they must be able to demonstrate they're at high risk of a terror attack.

CARLY PILDIS, WRITER, TABLET MAGAZINE & CHABAD OF POWAY SYNAGOGUE CONGREGANT: I cried so hard that day. I cried so hard.

SIDNER: Carly Pildis writes for "Tablet" magazine, which concentrates on Jewish news and culture.

PILDIS: You know, I feel a sense of loss for what it used to be like for Jews here.

SIDNER: As hate crimes rise, the sense of safety is being stripped away. PILDIS: Anti-Semitism is a real threat. It is a threat to you, even

if you're not Jewish. Anti-Semitism has a history of breaking democracy.

SIDNER: Pildis and experts who track anti-Semitism say we probably have not reached the pinnacle of the hatred yet.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: A commencement to remember. Seriously. This one is big. Graduates of Atlanta's Morehouse College got their degrees and a surprise gift that will change their lives. We'll talk to this man, one of the students who has a big smile. We'll explain why next hour live here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. So glad you could join us this weekend. Thanks for being here. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

President Trump today taking the time and effort to make sure everyone knows that he regards a sitting member of the U.S. Congress as a loser.