Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Cuba Gooding Jr. Turns Himself In Amid Groping Allegation; Riots In Memphis After Marshals Shoot, Kill Man During Arrest; Federal Watchdog Recommends Kellyanne Conway Be Fired Over Hatch Act Violations; Trump: "I Like The Truth, I'm Actually A Very Honest Guy"; House Intel Issues Subpoenas For Michael Flynn, Rick Gates. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired June 13, 2019 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:33:50] PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Breaking news, Oscar-winning actor, Cuba Gooding Jr, has turned himself in to police in New York for questioning. He's accused of inappropriately groping a woman at a Manhattan nightclub on Sunday.
I want to bring in CNN Entertainment Reporter, Chloe Melas, in New York.
So tell us more about the incident, Chloe.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes, a 29-year-old woman, who is unnamed, she went to the police, Pamela, on Sunday after she claims that Cuba Gooding Jr allegedly groped her breasts and then an argument ensued shortly after. And then she called 911 and filed a police report. This took place at the Magic Hour Rooftop in New York City.
Cuba Gooding Jr has denied any wrongdoing. And he told TMZ that surveillance footage from that night will vindicate him.
And I have spoken to Cuba Gooding's attorneys. Both tell me their client did nothing wrong.
But as you saw just right there, moments ago, he voluntarily surrendered to the NYPD for questioning.
BROWN: Chloe, keep us updated on that. Thank you so much.
I want to turn now to Memphis. City and community leaders calling for calm following violent protests erupted after a U.S. Marshals shot and killed a man they were trying to arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:35:07] (SHOUTING)
(EXPLETED DELETED)
(SHOUTING) (EXPLETED DELETED)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(SHOUTING)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So the violence there ignited around 7:00 last night in the historically African-American Frayser neighborhood in north Memphis. Officials say more than 100 protesters began to throw rocks and bricks at police.
City police, we should mention, were not involved in the shooting but then were called in for back-up. Twenty-four officers were injured. Two local reporters covering the melee were also hurt.
I want to bring in Ryan Young now, CNN national correspondent.
Ryan, you've been following the aftermath from Memphis. How did this attempted arrest turn so violent so fast, and what is the atmosphere there now?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Honestly, look, we've been talking to people for the last few hours and what you could tell is people are very upset about policing in general. They feel, in this neighborhood in particular, they've been picked on by police. And that sort of boiled over last night as they didn't get the information they wanted.
The police department had nothing to do with this warrant. In fact, it was the Marshal Service who tried to box this young man in and, apparently, they said, he tried to use his car as a weapon. And then he got out of his car and had it -- a weapon in his hand and that is when they opened fire, killing him.
Well, through the neighborhood, rumors started to spread about exactly what happened.
Here is what makes it worse here in terms of the situation with the Marshal Service. They do not have body cameras, so people here are saying, show us the video, show us exactly what happened, and they don't have that video to show at this point. So there's a lot of confusion about what details the Marshal Service actually has.
On top of all that, as people started to get upset, they wanted to have some answers, and then the police department stepped in. People started picking bricks off the side of a building and throwing at officers. More officers moved in and, at some point, tear gas was used.
And according to some people who live in this neighborhood, they were incited even more because there were children out here.
In fact, listen to investigators talk about how this case will move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELI MCALISTER, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: While attempting to stop the individual, he reportedly rammed his vehicle into the officer's vehicles multiple times before exiting with a weapon. The officers fired, striking and killing the individual. No officers were injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Pamela, I want to show you something else. Right now, you can see the two police department vehicles in front of the fire station because we're at the intersection where everything jumped off last night. They are here because people started throwing rocks into the fire station.
Now even in the last 20 minutes or so, there's a large group of people who are gathering down the street. There has been talk of a candlelight vigil that will happen later on. So people are worried about whether or not there will be another jump-off point in terms of this argument between police and the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see.
One thing to bring up, this is an economically challenged area because they've been dealing with so much. They feel like their voices are not heard, especially downtown -- Pamela?
BROWN: Ryan Young, thank you for bringing us the latest from Memphis, Tennessee.
Well, a federal watch dog has just recommended White House aide, Kellyanne Conway, be removed from office. Why? That's next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:42:43] BROWN: Well, a federal watch dog has just recommended White House aide, Kellyanne Conway, be removed from office. The Office of Special Counsel accused Conway of repeatedly violating the Hatch Act in her official capacity.
The Hatch Act limits political activity by government employees. Conway has openly defied the significance of the rule and been quoted as saying, "If you're trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it's not going to work."
I'm going to bring in Sarah Westwood, CNN White House reporter.
So, Sarah, what are the specific violations that the special counsel points to here?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, OSC right now is accusing Kellyanne Conway of disparaging Democratic presidential candidates on TV in her media interviews and on social media.
The Office of Special Counsel is noting that Kellyanne Conway has run afoul of the Hatch Act before. The OSC describing her as a repeat offender.
And you recall, back in 2017, Conway got in trouble for promoting Ivanka Trump's clothing line while standing in the briefing room.
And then, in 2018, she violated the Hatch Act again when she waded into the special Senate race in Alabama.
So this is her third go-around with the OSC.
And the Office of Special Counsel is arguing that a failure to punish Kellyanne Conway this time around would undermine confidence among federal employees that the Hatch Act is even an operable law.
But the White House is responding by calling the OSC's actions here unprecedented, unfair.
We should note that it is quite a big deal for the OSC to recommend removal of a senior White House official. They don't often, if ever, do that.
White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, argued in a letter to the OSC that the interpretation of the Hatch Act is, in the White House's eyes, too broad, that they are chilling free speech rights among White House officials and federal government employees.
Now President Trump, though, is the only one who can discipline Kellyanne Conway for her Hatch Act violation. And the OSC doesn't have that power. And right now, Pam, there's no indication that the president is going to follow OSC's recommendations to remove Conway.
BROWN: I guess that is not a surprise.
Sarah Westwood, thank you very much.
President Trump said he's just an honest guy who likes to tell the truth. The president's comments on truth coming during his new interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. The two men were bickering about a recent poll showing Trump trailing 2020 frontrunner, Joe Biden, in Texas when, suddenly, their conversation took an unexpected twist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:45:13] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I don't believe those polls. There's no way he beats me in Texas.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ANCHOR, ABC NEWS: But even your own polls show you're behind right now, don't they?
TRUMP: No. My polls show that I'm winning everywhere.
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: We're all seen these reports that, 15 out of 17 states, you spent $2 million on a poll and you're behind.
TRUMP: On "Good Morning, America," they had the phony polling information. And I explained it was phony, but you didn't do anything about it. You should have. But it was late in the evening and perhaps you didn't --
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: But why does it bother you so much?
TRUMP: Because it is untrue. I like the truth. You know, I'm actually a very honest guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: CNN Editor-At-Large and Politics Reporter, Chris Cillizza, joins me.
Chris, you once wrote that President Trump lies daily, more often than most Americans wash their hands.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER & CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yes.
BROWN: Which comments stood out from the president's new interview?
CILLIZZA: All, Pam, we'll take the hour. Here we go. No, shorter than that. But there's a lot.
Let's first start with Donald Trump in general. The "Washington Post" fact checker, 10,796 false or misleading statements in the first 869 days. And 12 untrue claims every day he's been president of the United States. And the average person in the majority of the country washes their hands 10 times a day.
OK. Let's go to the specifics here. You played a clip from the Stephanopoulos interview.
Let's play another one from the ABC interview. This is him talking about not calling the FBI. Let's play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: OK, let's put yourself in a position, you're a congressman and somebody comes up and says, hey, I have information on your opponent. Do you call the FBI? I don't think so --
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: If it is coming from Russia you do. TRUMP: I'll tell you what, I've seen a lot of things over my life. I
don't think, in my whole life, I've ever called the FBI. In my whole life. You don't call the FBI.
(CROSSTALK)
STEPHANOPOULOS: The FBI director said that is what should happen.
TRUMP: The FBI director is wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CILLIZZA: Well, he has called the FBI. We know "Buzzfeed" reported, about in 2017, in relationship to an Atlantic City development, Pam. He called an FBI informant and met with the FBI. So, again, I didn't meet with the FBI, I've never called them, actually, he did.
Let's go to the next one. There's a lot of these. Trump on Meghan Markle. This is his exact quote to "The Sun" newspaper in Britain, "I didn't know she was nasty." OK, that's June 1st. All the way on June 2nd, Trump tweets, "I never called Meghan Markle nasty".
See, it is right -- my finger isn't magic, but if it was, I would circle that nasty, nasty. So again, he said he didn't say it but he did.
Let's to another one from the 2016 election. I think we have that. Yes. OK, Donald Trump, November 27th, 19 days after the last election, "In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you don't count the millions that voted illegally."
Except there's no evidence that millions of people voted illegally, Pam. There's not even evidence that thousands or even hundreds of people voted illegally. He has repeatedly made that claim.
And then one last one about his heritage. Let's play what he said about his father and where he was born.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My father is German, right, was German. And born in a very wonderful place in Germany. So I have a great feeling for Germany.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CILLIZZA: Yes, the Bronx, Germany is a beautiful place. I've been there many times over.
OK. Donald Trump's father, Fred, was born in the Bronx. Now his grandfather was born in Germany.
But the point here is you're talking about Donald Trump doesn't tell the truth about things big and things small. But the consistent pattern here is he is not someone, Pam, who cares a whole heck of a lot about whether he's adhering to capital "T" truth and objective fact.
Back to you.
BROWN: And in covering the White House, they rarely, if ever, correct an untruth, like the fact his dad was born in Germany.
All right, Chris Cillizza, thank you very much.
[14:49:11] New subpoenas announced today for two former Trump officials. Rick Gates and Michael Flynn both pleaded guilty in the Robert Mueller investigation. What the House Intelligence Committee wants to know now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Two more subpoenas handed out today for former Trump officials and these subpoenas could signal a whole new phase in how the House Democrats frame their investigation into the president.
The recipients of today's subpoenas, former Trump national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and the president's former campaign deputy, Rick Gates. Now both already pleaded guilty and cooperated in the Mueller investigation. But the House Intelligence Committee wants to hear more.
Now keep this in mind, investigations in the House are on two different tracks. House Judiciary is looking into obstruction and House Intel, which subpoenaed Gates and Flynn, is investigating Russia's interference in U.S. elections.
And with that in mind let's bring in former federal prosecutor and CNN Legal Analyst, Jennifer Rodgers.
Jennifer, thanks for coming on.
What does today's subpoenas tell you about the House Intel and it's Chairman Adam Schiff are after?
JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They're clearly looking more deeply into the interference in 2016, which is really important. We've been focused on obstruction but, of course, the interference is a much bigger deal and something that can reoccur.
So it is good news that the committee is subpoenaing people and working towards digging into what actually happened here. And hopefully, we'll learn about it publicly.
The issue is, are these two witnesses going to appear and, of course, what will they have to say.
BROWN: Well, on that note, what would you say to someone saying, hold on, didn't Robert Mueller do all of that, what is the need for this?
RODGERS: Well, the Mueller report didn't go into the counter-intel side. He was looking for potential criminal conduct. So that is what the report was all about. Even on the Russia interference side, he was looking for criminal
conduct. He wasn't really digging into, how did they manage to make this happen, who might have been complicit in that, if it wasn't criminal, and how can we stop this from happening again.
So there's a whole separate intelligence side of this. And that is what Mueller really didn't do and what the House is trying to explore now.
[14:55:04] BROWN: So President Trump tweeted today about Michael Flynn's new lawyer, Sydney Powell. Powell has appeared on FOX numerous times. She's been highly critical of Mueller. Who does this mean for Flynn, who is cooperating with investigators? Do you see this as a pardon play? What do you think?
RODGERS: It is interesting, because he had been heading in that direction with the sentencing submissions that his prior lawyers put in for him suggesting that he had been entrapped by the FBI and that the case against him was somehow unfair. So this just pushes it even further now with a lawyer who, frankly, doesn't have a lot of credibility, given her outrageous conspiracy theorist-type statements.
So I think that is right. He'll be sentenced. He'll get between zero and six months. And then I think he's probably looking for a pardon from the president. We'll have to see if the president grants that. But that sounds right to me.
BROWN: Jennifer Rodgers, thank you very much.
RODGERS: Thanks.
BROWN: And breaking news, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is blaming Iran for that attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. So what does it mean for the U.S.? Up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:02] BROWN: And we begin this hour with breaking news. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not mincing words moments ago and blaming Iran for attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
