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At This Hour
Trump Asserts Executive Privilege Over Census Documents as House Committee Preps Vote on Contempt for Barr, Ross; Donald Trump Jr. Now Testifying Before Senate Panel; Source: Kim Jong-Un Letter to Trump Had No Details on Way Forward; Trump Claims He Wouldn't Let CIA Recruit Kim Jong-Un's Half-Brother; Soon Bernie Sanders to Make the Case for Democratic Socialism; Soon Biden Will Attend Campaign Event in Iowa; Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) Discusses Biden & Trump Rivalry, Sanders Defending Socialism, Biden on Curing Cancer. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired June 12, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[11:00:10] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining me.
This morning, a new escalation in the fight between President Trump and Democrats on Capitol Hill. Today, the House Oversight Committee is due to vote on whether to hold two top administration officials, two members of the president's cabinet, in contempt of Congress, Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. This is a fight for documents over how a citizenship question ended up on the upcoming 2020 Census.
This is a big deal. When Obama's Attorney General Holder was held in contempt of Congress back in 2012, that was the first time such an extreme action was taken against a sitting cabinet official.
If this contempt move ends up before the full House and passes, Attorney General Barr would be only the second A.G. then to be held in contempt. And this isn't even the first committee, this Congress to vote to hold him in contempt. Then, of course, add the second cabinet official, Wilbur Ross, on top of that.
CNN's Lauren Fox has been following all of this on Capitol Hill. It has been ongoing. Let's get over to here.
Lauren, even before this vote takes place in the House Oversight Committee, President Trump is trying to step in with another assertion of executive privilege. What is going on here?
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Kate, there was quite a bit of drama just minutes before this hearing actually got under way. That's when the Department of Justice and the Commerce Department sent letters to Elijah Cummings, the chairman of this committee, saying that the president planned to assert executive privilege over the documents. I want to read just a little bit of that letter from the Department of
Justice. It said, "This letter is to advise you the president has asserted executive privilege over subpoenaed documents identified by the committee. In addition the president has made a protective assertion of executive privilege over the remainder of the subpoenaed documents."
So that was the fireworks that begun this hearing. And a few minutes into it, Elijah Cummings basically argued, you had months to make this assertion of executive privilege. Instead, you wait until just a couple of minutes before my hearing begins and then you assert it.
So, he advised members to go ahead, read through the letters, then he would come back later this afternoon for the actual vote to hold these officials in contempt. He wants to give members of Congress a bit of time to look over the materials, specifically to look over these letters that were just sent moments before this committee hearing began -- Kate?
BOLDUAN: Lauren, thank you so much. A lot to watch there.
Also, though, happening on Capitol Hill right now, Donald Trump Jr is back behind closed doors. A source telling CNN that the president's eldest son is appearing before a Senate Intelligence Committee in a deal struck last month after the panel issued a subpoena for his testimony. This, we'll show you, was his arrival just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you here to correct your testimony?
DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No. Nothing to correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: "Nothing to correct," but that may be what the committee wants to find out. This is the second time that the president's son has testified before that Senate committee. But it's the fourth time that lawmakers have demanded or requested that he appear since his father took office.
CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill, following this side of things.
Manu, we know there are real questions about Donald Trump Jr's past testimony and squaring that up against what the Mueller report says. What do you know about what's happening behind closed doors right now?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He has been in there since about 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. We expect him to go for roughly four hours or so on a deal that was struck by this committee after he was hit by a subpoena by the bipartisan subpoena he fought and tried to resist. But, ultimately, he agreed to come, assuming the topics would be limited, assuming his time would be limited.
That will get us a better sense, perhaps, of what happens. This is a classified hearing. Details could be hard to come by.
What we do know is that there are questions about what he had testified before on Capitol Hill, compared to what it said in the Mueller report, specifically on two specific aspects. One, that infamous Trump Tower meeting he took with Russians in 2016, in which he was promised dirt on the Clinton campaign.
He initially testified to Capitol Hill that he had only informed Jared Kushner, his brother-in-law, as well as Paul Manafort, then campaign chairman, about this meeting.
But the Mueller report said that the deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, recalled Donald Trump Jr telling a larger gathering of advisers and family members that he had a lead about dirt on the Clinton Foundation just before that Trump Tower meeting.
Separately, he had also told Capitol Hill he was only partially aware of the Trump Tower Moscow Project in the run-up to the 2016 election. But Michael Cohen, the president's former attorney, his former fixer, now in jail, testified before Robert Mueller, saying something different, that Donald Trump Jr was more extensively aware, that he told him about the efforts to get that project on a number of occasions.
[11:05:10] So now we have Donald Trump Jr behind closed doors, going to be asked those questions about squaring his past testimony.
But as you just heard, I asked him specifically, are you going to change your testimony. He said no. Then he said, "Nothing to correct." So he clearly is saying that he has said nothing wrong, his testimony is consistent. But we'll see what lawmakers think when they emerge in a matter of hours -- Kate?
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
Good to see you, Manu. Thank you.
We're learning new details about the letter that President Trump said he received from the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, this week.
Here is how the president put it. Listen to this first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just received a beautiful letter from Kim Jong-Un. I can't show you the letter, obviously, but it was a very personal, very warm, very nice letter. I appreciate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: That was just yesterday. Now let's get to today.
CNN's Kylie Atwood is joining me now. She has new details on this.
Kylie, you have new information about what really is in this letter. What are you learning?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, as these letters have always been in the past, it celebrated President Trump and showered praise on him.
What it didn't do was present a way forward. There was no substance to the letter, a source who saw the letter explained to me.
And that is the real key here because we are today marking the one- year anniversary of the Singapore summit, during which President Trump and Kim Jong-Un met for the first time and talked about great progress going forward. They signed a document, committing to denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
But thus far, we've not seen any actual, tangible steps towards that. And since the second summit, which happened almost four months ago now, there has been stalled negotiations between the two sides.
So, President Trump is touting the letter as beautiful. He's calling it one of another love letters that he has received from Kim Jong-Un. But there's no plan for the U.S. and North Korea to continue their progress forward, to meet again.
BOLDUAN: Also, I have to ask you, Kylie, President Trump yesterday weighed in on the reporting that Kim Jong-Un's half-brother, who was murdered, may have been working with the CIA.
Let me play for our viewers what the president said about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I saw the information about the CIA with respect to his brother or half-brother. And I would tell him that would not happen under my auspices, that's for sure.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I wouldn't let that happen under my auspices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Kylie, that is a -- add that to the list of pretty astonishing statements, I guess, when it comes to Kim Jong-Un and the president. The president is taking the side of Kim Jong-Un over the Intelligence Community once again.
ATWOOD: Right.
BOLDUAN: Are you hearing anything about this?
ATWOOD: President Trump there is not confirming or denying that Kim Jong-Un's half-brother was used as an asset for the CIA. Sources I've talked to say that they don't talk about the assets that the CIA uses. That's just not something that they're going to do.
But this reporting does shine light on how the CIA is able to gain information about the hermit kingdom, North Korea, this closed society.
It's shocking for many to see President Trump saying that the CIA would no longer use tactics like that again, inviting Kim Jong-Un back to the table, trying to lure him back into negotiations.
But I did talk to some sources who were shocked to see it was mentioned, said it wasn't helpful going forward with CIA operations but, at this point, it wouldn't be an impediment to their intelligence collection.
BOLDUAN: That's at least an important point to make.
Kylie, thank you so much.
In the midst of all of this, the 2020 campaign trail is heating up even more today. One focus, Socialism, Democratic Socialism. Is it becoming the defining term of the 2020 Democratic primary?
Today, Bernie Sanders is laying out what he thinks Democratic Socialism means and what he thinks is at stake in this election. But this could also be the exact debate that President Trump is hoping the Democrats will have right now.
Just listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: More than 100 Democrats in Congress that were signed up for the Bernie Sanders' government takeover of health care.
Democrats also support the $100 trillion Green New Deal. How about that beauty? The Green New Deal.
(BOOING)
TRUMP: The Democrat Party is really now the Socialist Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And that was just yesterday.
Let me bring in CNN's Ryan Nobles, following Sanders ahead of the speech today.
Sanders has made, Ryan, a big speech defending his position, defending his Democratic Socialism during the 2016 campaign. What's this big speech about this time around? What are you hearing?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big thing he's going to do, Kate, is lean into this idea that Democratic Socialism is better for America and is actually a winning strategy when it comes to taking on Donald Trump. The argument he's going to make is that Americans do appreciate Socialism on some level, depending on how it benefits you specifically.
[11:10:17] And he's even going to go as far as to label Donald Trump what he's calling a Corporate Socialist. He's going to harken back to the financial bailouts from the financial crisis from a few years ago.
This is what Sanders is going to say today. He's going to say, quote, "Let's be clear. President Trump and his fellow oligarchs attack us for our support of Democratic Socialism. They don't really oppose all forms of Socialism. They may hate Democratic Socialism because it benefits working people but they absolutely love Corporate Socialism that enriches Trump and other billionaires."
What he's going to try to make the case for, Kate, is that what he wants to do is empower the average American and have them buy into this system where the basic needs of all Americans are taken care of.
The problem he has, though, Kate, is that Socialism itself, that overarching umbrella term, is something that a lot of Americans are uncomfortable with. Can he make that case in a two-hour speech, especially when Donald Trump is somebody that speaks in one or two- sentence sound bites?
BOLDUAN: Or just one-word nicknames and labels that worked very effectively in the 2016 campaign. We'll see if sentences are more required in the 2020 campaign. Let us see. First and foremost, it will be interesting to hear what Bernie Sanders -- the case he makes today.
Good to see you, Ryan. Thanks.
NOBLES: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: And any moment, also back on the campaign trail, former Vice President Joe Biden in Iowa after a day after trading insults with President Trump. Could his focus on the president so much, could it backfire on Biden?
Plus, they look and sound like the real thing, but are anything but. The real danger of deep fake videos and the race to stop them before they can have a real impact in 2020.
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[11:16:53] BOLDUAN: Joe Biden will be speaking this hour in Iowa, therefore, a second day. CNN got this video of him a short time ago, glad-handing, doing the definition of retail politicking at the Tasty Cafe. The infamous -- no, no, not infamous at all -- the famous Tasty Cafe in Iowa before one of his main events.
If yesterday is any indication about what the former vice president is going to say today, he is going to go straight back at President Trump as his number-one target.
The president, of course, returning in kind. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, I believe that the president is literally an existential threat to America.
TRUMP: I would rather run against, I think, Biden than anybody. I think he's the weakest mentally.
BIDEN: Four years of Donald Trump will go down in history as an aberration.
TRUMP: Joe never got more than 1 percent. Except Obama took him off the trash heap. Now it looks like he's failing.
BIDEN: I don't think the president really gets the basics. He thinks these tariffs are being paid by China.
TRUMP: Joe Biden thought that China was not a competitor of ours. Joe Biden is a dummy.
BIDEN: Apparently, he had my speech on, on Air Force One. I guess he's really fascinated with me.
TRUMP: When a man has to mention my name 76 times in his speech, that means he's in trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Joining me right now, the national co-chair of the Biden campaign, Democratic Congressman Richmond.
Congressman, thanks for being here.
REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA): Thanks for having me, Kate.
BOLDUAN: You heard right there Donald Trump noting yesterday Biden mentioned him in his speech 76 times in one of his speeches. Do you fear that the former vice president is making this campaign more about Donald Trump than he is about making it about what Biden can actually do for the country?
RICHMOND: No, I don't at all. First of all, I would never quote Trump in terms of the 76 times. I don't believe much that he has to say.
But Vice President Biden is running against Donald Trump because Donald Trump is a threat to the future of America. And I think if you're running against someone, you should contrast who you are with who they are and your policies with their policies.
So the fact that he mentions his name or policies, or the fact that he's an existential threat to the future of America, I think that's what you should do when you're running against some person, is to point out the differences.
BOLDUAN: Differences is one thing, but there's also name calling. We saw name calling in 2016 and saw where that got folks. He has called Trump an existential threat. You talked about it, childish, embarrassing, and more. Yes, Donald Trump calls people names all the time. We saw him calling Joe Biden names.
But I asked Democratic Congressman Debbie Dingell, of Michigan, about what the message is that she thinks is going to win over voters like her constituents in Michigan who voted for Trump in 2016, and she had a very important message on this point. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): I think people are tired of people taking shots at each other. And there are some that are dug in, in both sides. But what they really want is to know that somebody cares about them.
That's what I think will be the winning message and we'll see where we are next year.
But I think the American people are tired of all this name calling. I think there's name calling on both sides. I think they want to see us talk about things that matter to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:20:17] BOLDUAN: She's making an important point. What do you say to that?
RICHMOND: Well --
BOLDUAN: Can Biden do better?
RICHMOND: I can tell you what he has been doing. He has been talking about the fact that he wants to restore the soul of America. He wants to bring back a middle class and that he create a better future for everybody. In the process, he articulates his vision of America with Trump's current America.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
RICHMOND: And he finds a country that -- he wants to change the climate in the country. So him contrasting is OK. I think that what Debbie was talking about is not only about the presidential race, but Congress, too. I mean, in Washington, there's a little bit --
BOLDUAN: Yes.
RICHMOND: -- too much animosity.
But I think that the vice president is a little bit different from everybody because, remember, he's the one saying that we need to work together to provide a better future for people in America. We need to restore the soul of America. And he actually calls decent people decent people, which he's caught flack for.
I think the vice president is not who she's probably talking about, because I actually think he's very consistent with why he's running and what the future holds for us.
BOLDUAN: So, let's talk about something that's going to be happening today. Bernie Sanders is giving a speech today, defending Democratic Socialism, a big speech defending, doubling down on his support of Socialism.
He's going to say, according to experts -- and let me read this for our viewers, once again. He's going to say: "While President Trump and his fellow oligarchs attack us for our support of Democratic Socialism, they don't really oppose all forms of Socialism. They may hate Democratic Socialism because it benefits working people but they absolutely love Corporate Socialism that enriches Trump and other billionaires."
Do you think the vice president agrees with that sentiment?
RICHMOND: Well, I think the sentiment, and I don't know how you phrase it, but the real sentiment is that the deck is stacked toward corporations in this country right now. And it's stacked toward the very wealthy. What Vice President Biden wants to do is even the playing field, restore the middle class and create values.
BOLDUAN: Could you call that Corporate Socialism?
RICHMOND: I wouldn't necessarily call it Socialism. I don't get hung up on the names. I don't think the American people do.
What the American people really get hung up on is the fact that they're working harder, their wages buy less today than it did before, so that Americans workers at an all-time high in productivity, earnings are at an all-time low. That's what people care about.
So to the extent that Bernie Sanders is talking about that, then I think he's talking about the right thing.
But when you hear Vice President Biden talk, he talks about how labor built this country and that the people who work the hardest should share in the rewards of the corporate gains. And I think that that's what everyone should be talking about.
BOLDUAN: Vice President Biden said something yesterday in Iowa that caught our ear about the fight against cancer. Let me play this for everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I promise you, if I'm elected president, you're going to see the single most important thing that changes America is we're going to cure cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Congressman, we know, I know how personal this is to Joe Biden. We know how much energy and time he has put into fighting cancer with the Biden Cancer Initiative. With that phrase, we're going to cure cancer, how can he promise that, though?
RICHMOND: We're America. We made a commitment to go to the moon, people didn't think we could do it. And that's part of what's inspiring about Vice President Biden is the fact that he knows, as America, we can accomplish big things.
I'll tell you, in this race, he is absolutely the expert on cancer, where we are in our progress on the fight, where we are on our progress for finding a cure. And I think you're going to see him lay out a policy on how --
(CROSSTALK)
BOLDUAN: Everyone would love it if he could make good on that campaign -- I mean, there's no one that would not support his -- if he can make good on that campaign promise.
But that is one thing -- curing cancer is something that has been out of reach for scientists, for the medical community. They're making progress. But curing cancer? That is a very, very bold campaign promise to be making. Not just that he's going to fight it tooth and nail with everything he has got to make progress in the fight but that he's going to cure cancer.
Are you sure you want to hang your campaign on that promise?
RICHMOND: Look, if you can't imagine America how you want it -- and, look, we have to remember that he's a subject matter expert in that area. He know the progress we've made. So if he believes we can do it, I believe him.
[11:25:05] Look, let's give it 120 percent. If we come up a little bit short, that means we've made great breakthroughs. So I don't think, as Americans, we think or dream small. We should continue to dream big. And that's what he's doing. And I think you'll see his entire health care platform and others concentrate on what we should be doing, what we can do.
But, remember, as Americans, we do some really, really great things. And I think curing cancer is one of those things that we have to strive to do.
BOLDUAN: And it would be great to see progress and to see that one campaign promise. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, make good on that one campaign promise, that's for sure. It's just a really high bar.
Congressman, thank you, though, for coming in. I really appreciate the time.
RICHMOND: Thanks for having me.
BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, thousands of pro-democracy protesters take to the streets in Hong Kong. Police firing rubber bullets now, firing tear gas in the crowd. What is going to happen here? The crowds there have been massive. We'll take you live to the scene. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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