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The Situation Room
Interview with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL); Swalwell Drops Out of 2020 Presidential Race, Will Seek Re-election to House Seat; Trump: Won't Deal With U.K. Ambassador After Leaked Cables Show Envoy Calling Trump Administration "Clumsy" and "Inept"; Facial Recognition Technology on Driver's License Photos; Victorious U.S. Team Returns After Winning World Cup. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired July 08, 2019 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: At Jake Tapper and tweet the show. At the lead, CNN, our coverage on CNN continues right now. Thanks for watching.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, up if the air. Attorney General William Barr said The Trump Administration will decide in the next day or two how to proceed with adding a citizenship question to the census. A senior official said the president may issue an executive order but stresses everything is up in the air.
No longer deal. President Trump says he will no longer deal with Britain's ambassador to the United States after leaked diplomatic cables show the envoy called the president and his administration insecure and inept. What will this mean for America's ties to the close ally?
Millionaire indicted. Federal prosecutors charge multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein with running a sex trafficking ring and preying on underage girls in a case raising serious questions about the role of money and politics in the U.S. justice system.
And coming home. The U.S. women's soccer team returns home as World Cup champions. Can they score another victory in their fight for equal pay? I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in "The Situation Room."
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BLITZER: Breaking news, the Trump Administration is determined to move ahead with adding a citizenship question to the U.S. census. Attorney General William Barr said the decision on how to proceed will come in the next day or two, stressing the approach will provide a pathway for the citizenship question. A senior official said the White House is still weighing an executive order. Also breaking, President Trump said he will no longer deal with Britain's ambassador to Washington after leaked diplomatic cables reveal the envoy called the Trump Administration inept and clumsy.
And multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein has pleaded not guilty after federal prosecutors charged him with having operated a sex trafficking ring and abusing dozens of underage girls. Epstein avoided similar charges a decade ago in a deal with federal prosecutors. I'll speak with Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the Intelligence and Oversight Committees and our correspondents and analysts will have full coverage of the day's top stories. Let's begin with our senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown. Pamela, the Trump Administration is still looking for a way to ask that citizenship question in the census.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Wolf. Tonight the White House is digging in its heels over the census after reversing course and administration official tells me everything is up in the air right now. But the White House is still pushing ahead to add the citizenship question and in a way that would pass muster with the Supreme Court. Tonight sources tell CNN the administration is scrambling to figure
out if they could use a presidential memorandum or an executive order to add the controversial citizenship question to the census. Options put on the table only in recent days after the president said he wanted to fight the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're thinking about doing that. It is one of the ways. We have four or five ways we can do it.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: As the justice department replaces the legal team overseeing the census case. A justice official said the administration didn't want the same lawyers who made one argument to the court on the census contradict themselves with a new argument and sources say the White House did not intervene on the matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been in constant discussions with the president every since the Supreme Court decision came down and I think over the next day or two you'll see what approach we're taking.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: Speaker Pelosi weighing in on Trump not backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: This is about keeping -- you know, make America -- his hat, make America white again. They want to make sure that people -- certain people are counted.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: Also tonight British officials doing damage control and reaching out to U.S. counterparts after what was revealed the U.K. ambassador sent cables back to London describing Trump as inept and insecure and incompetent. Trump fired back with a tweet a short while ago saying, "I do not know the ambassador, but he is not well liked or well thought of within the U.S." and he now said he will no longer deal with the ambassador. What will happen to him moving forward remains unclear.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
TRUMP: The ambassador has not served the U.K. well. I can tell you that. We're not big fans of that man and he has not served the U.K. well.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: President Trump also directing his ire at "The New York Times" after it reported on squalid conditions at a Texas border facility. Trump on one hand calling the report phony while also placing the blame once again on democrats for the overcrowding. Now he's claiming the media will be invited to see the facilities for themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
TRUMP: And we're going to have some of the press go in because they're crowded and we're the ones that are complaining about the crowding.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: But democrats claim the administration is hiding from the truth.
[17:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO)
SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D) HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: It's now because of the massive embarrassment, because of the outright declaration of incompetence by the Department of Homeland Security own inspector general, we now have an official cover-up by the Department of Homeland Security.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: Vice President Pence said he will visit a detention facility later this week and bring bipartisan members of the Senate Judicial Committee. Pence today went after democratic Congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, for saying the U.S. is running concentration camps on the border.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To compare the humane work of the dedicated men and women of Customs and Border Protection with the horrors of the Holocaust is an outrage.
(END VIDEO) BROWN: Also tonight, President Trump is sending a renewed warning to Iran after the regime said it is surpassed the Iranian enrichment levels agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
TRUMP: Iran better be careful because you enrich for one reason and I won't tell you what that reason is. But it is no good. They better be careful.
(END VIDEO)
BROWN: And, Wolf, on a lighter note, the U.S. women's soccer team, the new World Cup champs have just landed in Newark, of course celebrating their big victory. Now the big question tonight is whether the White House will be formally inviting the soccer team to come here. Of course there was a very public feud between President Trump and Megan Rapinoe, the team's MVP. She had said she would never visit the White House. So at this point it is unclear if that invitation will be extended. The president basically said he hadn't really thought about it. We'll have to wait and see although he did congratulate the team on twitter. We should note that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did extend an invitation to the team to come visit the U.S. capitol. Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, it looks like they're taking a photo at the stairs there on the tarmac at the Newark International Airport. There you see on the end there, Megan Rapinoe. You see some of the other stars - all the stars of the women's national team as well, congratulations to them. They'll be going from the airport at Newark, they'll be heading to New York City to a hotel. We expect to hear from them directly later here in "The Situation Room." so stand by for that. Pamela Brown, thank you very much.
There is more breaking news. President Trump said he will no longer deal with the British Ambassador to the United States after leaked diplomatic cables reveal the envoy described the Trump Administration as inept and clumsy. Our senior national correspondent Alex Marquardt is here in "The Situation Room." serious implications potentially. What is the latest?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is hugely significant. It is not some marginal country that we don't deal with and this is the U.K. We have extremely important connections with them. Our closest ally, the other half of the special relationship, incredibly important military and intelligence sharing relationship and here we have the president of the United States simply saying he will not deal with the representative of that country. Now the president was very specific to single out Ambassador Kim Darroch in his tweets. He was not talking about the United Kingdom. He praised the United Kingdom. He praised the queen. He singled out the ambassador as someone that we don't -- that he does not want to deal with.
So what does that mean, Wolf? How does the U.S. go forward and maintain its relationship with the United Kingdom? Does the president himself no longer deal with the ambassador? Does the president's team no longer deal with the ambassador? We know, in fact, the two teams -- the two sides have very close ties. So where do they go from here? The president insinuating in his tweet that he would like to see a new ambassador.
We have reached out for some sort of clarification to the foreign office in London, to the state department here in D.C. And the embassy here in D.C. but so far, Wolf, no answers as to how this relationship is going to work on a day to day basis going forward.
BLITZER: Because specifically in his tweet, which is an official presidential statement, the president said, "I do not know the ambassador but he is not liked or well thought of within the United States. We will no longer deal with him." Which raises the -- the British government needs an ambassador in Washington who can deal with the White House, deal with the state department and deal with other elements of the government including Congress, so what are the Brits going to do.
MARQUARDT: This is an interesting time because Theresa May, the British Prime Minister is about to step down, the British Conservative Party is about to have an election to elect their head of the party and that head of that party will become -- become the prime minister. The reaction in Britain has been quite interesting because you have both the Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt the foreign minister saying they stand by Ambassador Darroch because that is what his -- his job is, as ambassador, to offer these unvarnished opinions. But at the same time they're saying they don't agree with those opinions. President Trump in his tweet making clear that he would like to see a new ambassador. That election in the Conservative Party between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt coming at the end of the month which means we will have a new British prime minister over there and it could mean a new British ambassador over here in Washington.
BLITZER: We'll see what happens on that front. Alex, thank you very much.
Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He's a member of both the Intelligence and Oversight Committees. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us and as you know we have a lot to discuss.
[17:10:00]
But let me get your reaction to the president's statement this afternoon that his administration will no longer deal with the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States after the leaks of those messages, those cables to London in which the ambassador called the Trump Administration inept and clumsy.
CONGRESSMAN RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI, (D) ILLINOIS: Well, you know, as a member of the Intelligence Committee, it is become clear to me that we need to be close with our allies and we need to hold our adversaries at bay and one of the most troubling aspects of the Trump Administration's foreign policy is that we push away our allies and sometimes we cozy up to our adversaries like Russia and so forth. In this particular instance, I do think that it is troubling to say the least that the U.K. ambassador would have these views of the Trump Administration.
One part of the excerpts of the cables that I read that caught my attention is that the ambassador from the U.K. said the worst cannot be ruled out with regard to the Trump Administration's possible collusion with the Russians or Donald Trump's collusion with the Russians which really bothered me. And so I think at this point we should probably return to diplomacy 101 and try to repair the bridge and try to bring the government of the United Kingdom closer to us rather than pushing them away.
BLITZER: I know the ambassador -- the enormous - has enormous national security foreign policy experience and that is why the British government sent him to Washington to begin with. Let's move on to discuss the president's continued efforts now to include this very sensitive citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. census despite a significant setback from the U.S. Supreme Court which rejected the administration's rationale last month. At this point, do you believe there is any legal pathway that would allow the administration to include this question on the census which is going forward right now?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: No. Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Cummings on the oversight committee, we got to the bottom of why they actually added the citizenship question to the census which is that they wanted to suppress the count of minorities. And the offered reason, namely that they quote, unquote, "wanted to enforce the Voting Rights Act provision by adding the citizenship question" was clearly shown to be protextual and that is what the Supreme Court found.
At this point any move to issue an executive order or something along those lines to put that citizenship question back on the census in my opinion would be unconstitutional and in any case we should remember there is a trial that is about to unfold in Maryland if the Trump Administration continues with the litigation and I'm convinced that that trial will show the true discriminatory intent behind putting this citizenship question on the census, if that is the way they want to proceed.
BLITZER: As you heard in our report, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the push for the citizenship question is an attempt in her words, "To make America white again." Do you agree with the speaker's suggestion that this is all racially motivated?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I would actually go back to the information that the republican gerrymandering specialist was -- he conceived of in recommending to the Trump Administration in adding the citizenship question to the census which is that he thought it would help with republican gerrymandering efforts for as far as the eye could see and I think that that is potentially a reason for adding the citizenship question.
In any case, suppressing the count of minorities and others is illegal, unconstitutional and I think that it goes against the spirit of what the constitution commands which is that every person has to be counted, regardless of whether they're a citizen and regardless of whether they vote, for instance children and others.
BLITZER: Speaker Pelosi reiterated her threat to hold a contempt vote on the House floor against members of the Trump Administration over the issue. You sit, as we know on the Oversight Committee which already voted to hold the attorney general and commerce secretary in contempt for not complying with subpoenas. Should Speaker Pelosi make good on her most recent threat?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Potentially, yes. I think that we'll have to see in the next day or two what the Trump Administration does with regard to the census. But at this point, I think that any attempt to put the citizenship question on the census even at the time that -- by the way, millions of the forms are being printed without the citizenship question, would be illegal and unconstitutional, Wolf.
BLITZER: You also sit on the Intelligence Committee and as you know the former Special Counsel Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify publicly in front of your committee next week in front of the Judiciary Committee next week as well.
[17:15:00]
This afternoon the Attorney General Bill Barr called the subpoena for Mueller an attempt to create some kind of public spectacle. How do you respond to that criticism from the attorney general?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I definitely think there is going to be tremendous interest in what Mr. Mueller has to say. I think there is a Super Bowl-sized audience for what Mr. Mueller testifies to with regard to his report. I think this is our first chance to hear from him directly what is -- what is the contents of the report and to answer a number of questions about it. I think there will be intense public interest.
BLITZER: Let me get your reaction also to the latest developments involving Iran and its claim that they -- they're going to breach the uranium enrichment limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal that the Obama Administration put together with the European allies among others. How worried should we all be about this latest escalation and tensions between the U.S. and Iran?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: We should be -- we should absolutely be worried. I think at this point the Iranians should not go beyond the limits that were set in the agreement. I don't see how that could possibly help them with the economic misery they find themselves in. That being said, at this point we should work with our allies and others in the region who want to see Iran basically abandon a nuclear weapon and we have to get away from that children's game of operator where we talk to Iran through intermediaries and thereby send potentially confusing signals to them and potentially signals that could lead to miscalculation by them or us.
I think we should speak directly to them, make it clear what our demands are, and we should come back to the table and we should hash out another agreement ASAP. There is no appetite for war, Wolf, among my constituents or anybody else that I talk to and yet if we go down the path of escalating rhetoric and other actions, then we're going to potentially go to armed conflict.
BLITZER: But very quickly, Congressman, the president said he's willing to speak directly to the Iranian leadership, it is the Iranian leadership who said as long as these sanctions continue they're not going to speak to the U.S.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think that there might be ways to communicate with them in a way that doesn't involve tweets which is kind of the extent of what I've seen at this point and I've seen some ridiculous tweets on that score. I think at this point, our diplomats, our seasoned professionals should be brought back to the forefront of leading our discussions and actually talking to the Iranians and others and trying to hash out an agreement. We cannot go to war. That is absolutely clear. I and others have included language in the appropriation process making that clear. That we're not going to allow funds for offensive hostilities we can't allow that to happen.
BLITZER: Congressman Krishnamoorthi, thanks so much for joining us.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Up next, multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein faces new sex trafficking charges involving underage girls in a case raising lots of questions about the influence of wealth and politics in the U.S. justice system.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:20:00]
BLITZER: We're following breaking news in New York where prominent businessman Jeffrey Epstein this afternoon pled not guilty to new sex trafficking charges. This case not only involves troubling allegations about Epstein's treatment of young women and it also raises very serious and important questions about the influence of wealth and politics in the U.S. legal system. Our national correspondent Miguel Marquez is covering the story for us. Miguel, tell us more.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes disturbing questions from the top of our government, from the president to the labor secretary, Alex Acosta and his handling of the Epstein case when he was U.S. attorney in Florida back in the 2000s. One senior administration official saying this is a significant event noting there is already an internal review about Acosta's handling of the Epstein case underway. Lurid sexual allegations again against multimillionaire investment banker Jeffrey Epstein; New York prosecutors looking for more.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
GEOFFREY BERMAN, U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF N.Y.: If you believe you are a victim of this man, Jeffrey Epstein, or you have evidence or information leading to the conflict alleged in the indictment unsealed today we want to hear from you.
(END VIDEO) MARQUEZ: The allegations over four years, Epstein lured under-aged
women and some as young as 14 years old, to massage him and -- and engage in sexual acts in his Palm Beach, Florida, and New York homes. Epstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Epstein arrested Saturday on his private jet upon returning from Paris. Shortly after, investigators forced their way into his Manhattan mansion. In addition to finding hundreds, possibly thousands of photos of nude and partially nude young women, some of them locked in a safe.
[17:25:00]
Investigators found, quote, "compact disks with handwritten labels including the following: young name plus name, miscellaneous nudes one and girl picks nude."
(BEGIN VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alleged behavior shocks the conscious.
(END VIDEO)
MARQUEZ: Epstein already a registered sex offender after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors in Florida in 2008 related to sexual crime alleged by dozens of young and underage women. The man who headed the Florida case, Alex Acosta, now Secretary of Labor in the Trump Administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ALEX ACOSTA, LABOR SECRETARY: At the end of the day, Mr. Epstein went to jail. Epstein was incarcerated; he registered as a sex offender.
(END VIDEO)
MARQUEZ: The "Miami-Herald" in an investigative report helping prompt today's charges found that Acosta signed off on a deal essentially shutting down an FBI investigation giving immunity to any potential co-conspirators allowing the multi-millionaire to pay restitution to his victims, register as a sex offender and plead guilty to two state charges. He spent 13 months in Palm Beach County jail where he was allowed to leave, six days a week, 12 hours at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ACOSTA: The world was put on notice that he was a sex offender and the victims received restitution.
(END VIDEO)
MARQUEZ: Epstein's connections go beyond Acosta photographed here with Donald Trump in 1997 and 2000 at the president's Mar-A-Lago estate also in Palm Beach, Florida. In February this year, the president had this to say about his labor secretary in the plea deal given to his long-time friend. (BEGIN VIDEO)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know too much about it. I know he's done a great job as labor secretary and that seems like a long time ago.
(END VIDEO)
MARQUEZ: In a 2002 "New York" magazine Epstein profile, Trump said, "I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He is a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do and many of them are on the younger side." Just yesterday the president had this to say about Jeffrey Epstein.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
TRUMP: No, I don't know anything about (inaudible).
(END VIDEO)
MARQUEZ: Now in court today Epstein's attorney said basically this is a do-over of all of the stuff that happened in Florida back in the 2000s and there is no there - there. But the U.S. prosecutors here in New York saying they are already hearing from new victims and new lawyers. They also want him held in jail until his trial, that will be sorted out next Monday or begin to. Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Miguel, thank you. Miguel Marquez in New York.
Up next, breaking political news. We just saw the first dropout from the crowded field of democratic candidates seeking the 2020 presidential nomination since the campaign began in earnest.
[17:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, some breaking news in the 2020 presidential race. Congressman Eric Swalwell of California is, today, again, the first Democrat to drop out of the race for the nomination since the campaign began in earnest. Let's bring in our political experts.
And, Gloria Borger, do you think that we're going to see a narrowing of the field --
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You think? We have, what, 23 candidates?
BLITZER: -- as a result of this and other developments?
BORGER: Yes, I think we are. And I think that, you know, Eric Swalwell, a member of Congress, just didn't get any traction, ran largely on gun control, and had a hard time raising money. When you have a field this large, you either have to break through, or you end up just saying, you know, I can't make it happen. And no one is going to contribute to a campaign that they don't feel is really going to go anywhere. And if you don't get in these debates -- Swalwell did get in the
debates, but in my humble opinion, he did not do very well in these debates. Remember, he was the one who was -- kept on telling Joe Biden to pass the torch to a new generation. And that generation, there were a lot of people from that generation on the stage. So, you know, as it gets more difficult to get on that debate stage, I think it's going to be difficult for those other candidates to really punch through.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: And it may have gotten more difficult for him in the second debates because only -- you know, the DNC has capped the debate stage at 20. And he was in a battle in the polling.
BLITZER: Yes.
CHALIAN: We're still a week away from the qualification window closing. Looked like Steve Bullock, the governor of Montana, was going to knock Swalwell out of these debates, also.
BORGER: Right.
CHALIAN: So he wasn't even assured a debate spot all the way to September.
BLITZER: And as Gloria says, you know, David, money talks in politics. Look at these numbers, second quarter fundraising totals for the leading Democratic presidential candidates. And they're pretty impressive if you take a look at those numbers.
CHALIAN: They are indeed. I mean, look at that -- I want to zero in on the third number there, Elizabeth Warren, because that's the newest number to enter the conversation, that $19.1 million. Buttigieg, obviously, had a huge quarter. Biden, this was his first quarter.
But Elizabeth Warren made a big gamble, and it's paying off for her. And that is that she has shunned high-dollar fundraising. Her two competitors who are ahead of her do high-dollar fundraising, and she's doing it all grassroots.
And what is so interesting, she did that, of course, by necessity because that was sort of what she was able to raise. But it has turned out to be a really -- not only very successful strategy for her, but it's a key message component for her too.
[17:34:59] Every day on the trail, she reminds Democratic voters she's not spending time behind closed doors in ballrooms with high-dollar donors. That's a very attractive message. And she now is showing, in addition to her momentum in the polls, in addition to her policies giving her a foothold in this race, she's going to be well funded in this race as well.
CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: And it speaks -- just to add to David's point, her numbers speak to how momentum, whether it's real or perceived, momentum matters in the money chase, right? Gloria mentioned nobody is going to give to a candidate who is trying to get the 20th spot in the --
BORGER: Right.
CILLIZZA: -- on the debate stage. Warren had this --
BORGER: Well, maybe his wife.
CILLIZZA: Right, right.
(LAUGHTER)
CILLIZZA: Outside of your -- people who are blood-related to you.
BORGER: Right.
CILLIZZA: Warren had a very good three months in which her policy proposals, the idea that she had a policy for every issue, the idea that she was sort of recovering from a tough start. Polling started to reflect that. She did very well in the debates, albeit that was at the end of the quarter.
But that -- same thing with Buttigieg. I would -- he had a great quarter because in the early part of the quarter was when his big momentum in Boston. I would suggest Kamala Harris is going to have likely a big third quarter because of, at the very end of the second quarter, she became the buzziest candidate with, you know, that -- with the showing in the debates and then polling afterward.
CHALIAN: Especially if the performance in the second debate continues.
CILLIZZA: If it continues.
BORGER: If it continues, yes.
BLITZER: You know, April, the front-runner -- and Biden is still the front-runner. Almost all of the polls say that. But he is also doing something unusual, pretty unusual for a front-runner. He's trying to clean up some awkward comments he made about working decades ago with segregationist senators on various issues. Listen to what he said over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again? Yes, I was. I regret it. And I'm sorry for any of the pain or misconception that I may have caused anybody.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you think he struck the right tone? APRIL RYAN, WASHINGTON, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO
NETWORKS: Yes, Wolf. It was one thing out of a series of things he has to do, particularly if he wants to shore up the Black vote. You have to remember Joe Biden is not coasting right now on his, I guess, time as Vice President with Barack Obama. He has got to earn this.
When he goes into the debate stages, with Kamala Harris and everyone else, they could pull up more information that he's going to have to learn how to clap back even more and have it on the ready to talk about his record or what he did to explain so people can fully understand, so these things don't hang.
He also has to stop speaking -- whatever comes up, comes out. He's going to have -- he's learned a hard lesson, and he's cleaning up that piece. So Joe Biden still has a long way to go when it comes to Black America, but this is one of the first steps. And, Wolf, especially this weekend as he missed the largest gathering of African-Americans in one setting at the Essence Festival, this was what he needed to do.
CILLIZZA: And just to add to April's point, no mistake that this speech came in -- in South Carolina where a majority of pastors prologue.
RYAN: Yes.
CILLIZZA: And it will be a majority of the Democratic primary votes in 2020 will be cast by African-Americans.
BORGER: But why did it take so long? This is my --
CILLIZZA: Because he didn't like to --
BORGER: This is my question.
CILLIZZA: Why did it take so long on the stuff about women, the smelling of the hair? I mean, it took like three apologies to get there.
BORGER: He doesn't like to say sorry.
CILLIZZA: He doesn't like to do it, yes.
BORGER: Yes.
BLITZER: Everybody, stick around. There is a lot more we need to discuss and --
RYAN: Busing was overhead, yes.
BLITZER: We'll do that -- hold on, April -- right after this.
[17:38:34] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're back with our political experts in an unusual story on the British ambassador, Gloria, to the United States. He was supposed to be at a dinner. The President had invited him to a dinner tonight for the Emir of Qatar, with the Secretary of the Treasury, among others. He just was disinvited because of these cables he was sending back --
BORGER: I hate when that happens.
BLITZER: -- in which he described the Trump administration as inept and clumsy. The President then put out a statement saying, I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the United States. We will no longer deal with him.
BORGER: Well, that was predictable, of course. I mean, here you have the Ambassador who, by the way, I would argue, is paid for his candor in these private cables. This is what ambassadors do. They try and give you their best judgments about an administration, and these were his judgments.
Now, obviously, Trump is not going to like these judgments, but this is an ambassador who is pretty plugged in, who met with John Kelly, who -- you know, who met with Bolton, who met -- I mean, this is somebody who is not standing on the outside looking in. He is really somebody who has contacts, and this was his judgment.
BLITZER: Well, let me ask, David Chalian --
BORGER: And not surprising that Trump would react that way.
BLITZER: The President says that the Ambassador was not well liked or well thought of in the United States. So why did he invite him to the dinner with the Emir of Qatar tonight?
CHALIAN: That's a question for the President, Wolf. I don't know that I can answer that.
(LAUGHTER)
CHALIAN: But I mean, I don't think that's true, that he is not --
BORGER: Right.
BLITZER: Of course.
CHALIAN: -- well liked or respected. But what Gloria is saying is true here. First of all, there is nothing in these cables that anybody following the Trump administration would be like, oh, my God, where did the British ambassador come up with this notion --
BLITZER: Yes.
BORGER: Of inept.
CHALIAN: -- that there is chaos or that things aren't going well. And to Gloria's point, it would kind of be professional malpractice for the Ambassador of the U.K. not to send those impressions back home. That is a key role that he has to fill. So, yes, this is going to create a discomfort now in the U.S./U.K. relationship because the President is totally -- (CROSSTALK)
[17:45:02] BLITZER: Let me get April to weigh in. Go ahead, April.
RYAN: Yes. Wolf, bottom line, this President has to choose between thin skin -- being thin-skinned or diplomacy, and he chose being thin- skinned. I mean, we've seen when the President doesn't like what someone has to say, those people are gone. Let's talk about former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Let's talk about former Chief of Staff John Kelly. But in this case, one of the tools in the President's toolbox is diplomacy, and he chose to throw away this U.K. diplomat.
And peace is diplomacy. This is not good. So this president has to learn or figure out that he needs to say, OK, they say this about me, but I'm still the President of the United States and I want to keep peace and diplomacy. This does not bode well for relations with our -- one of our best partners.
BLITZER: Yes. Everybody, stick around.
RYAN: Biggest allies.
BLITZER: Stick around. There is more news we're following including some alarming new questions about your privacy in the wake of revelations about the extent immigration officials may be using facial recognition technology on drivers' license photos.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:50:54] BLITZER: There are some stunning new details tonight about the extent to which federal agencies are able to turn your driver's license into an investigative tool. Brian Todd has been looking into this for us.
Brian, what are you learning?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we've got some sobering new information tonight on this. CNN has obtained documents showing that the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, can actually access and scan your driver's license picture and get other information about you using technology that's the stuff of Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): It's the kind of sophisticated technology that people love to see in movies and cop shows. Facial recognition searches used to catch criminals and terrorists.
ERIC SZMANDA, ACTOR: Well, hello, Harry.
TODD (voice-over): But tonight, there's new information that law enforcement, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, can use facial recognition technology on our driver's license photos to match them up with photos being used in criminal or immigration cases. The FBI's use of driver's license pictures has been previously
reported. But Harrison Rudolph of the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law School, which obtained documents on the searches, says ICE's use of the photos wasn't previously known. And drivers generally don't know that ICE can use their pictures sometimes by simply contacting their state's DMV.
HARRISON RUDOLPH, LAW ASSOCIATE, GEORGETOWN LAW'S CENTER ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY: In no state has a state gone and actually voted on giving ICE access to these driver's license photos. And when drivers go to get a driver's license, they're never told that they're also handing over their face to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
TODD (voice-over): The "Washington Post" first reported this story. Rudolph says, so far, there's no evidence that ICE has used facial recognition technology to conduct mass searches for undocumented immigrants to target them for deportation, but he's worried about what could happen.
RUDOLPH: I'm seriously concerned about Immigration and Customs Enforcement using state driver's license databases to hunt down immigrants.
TODD (voice-over): Twenty states plus the District of Columbia now cooperate with FBI requests for facial recognition scans of driver's license photos.
Critics say facial recognition isn't limited to finding criminal suspects. That it can be used to find witnesses, victims, and others who haven't committed crimes. But law enforcement advocates say no one, including undocumented immigrants, should expect that their driver's license photos can't be used to track them.
JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: In this instance, because a driver's license is a privilege and because it's administered by the state, to then stop and say the state is not allowed to compare those photo images in the instance that one person out of a million might be a murderer, in that instance, I side on the side of law enforcement with this. 33
TODD (voice-over): But Rudolph says one potential problem is the flaws in the technology.
TODD (on camera): Regarding lighting and pigmentation, facial recognition is not always accurate, right?
RUDOLPH: That's right. Low-quality photographs can really combine with serious problems with racial bias to amplify the risk for false identification. Face recognition technology tends to perform worse on folks with darker skin color, women, and young people.
TODD (voice-over): An FBI official recently told Congress the Bureau does not use facial recognition for massive dragnets.
KIMBERLY DEL GRECO, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: The FACE Services Unit only searches probe photos that have been collected pursuant to the Attorney General guidelines as part of an authorized FBI investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: That FBI official says that, so far, they have no indication that facial recognition searches have resulted in any mistaken arrests or convictions. An ICE spokesman told CNN today that agency does not comment on investigation techniques, but he did say this is an established procedure that is consistent with other law enforcement agencies -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting for us. Thank you very much.
I want to go to New York right now. Megan Rapinoe, the star of the women's soccer team, is speaking to CNN right now. I want you to listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGAN RAPINOE, MIDFIELDER/WINGER AND TEAM CAPTAIN OF THE U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: -- aware of the power of winning and performing and doing so in the style that we always do. So we always kind of knew that. We knew that this would be a huge summer for us in many different ways. And this is just the first step in a very big summer that we look to have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were getting chants of equal pay after winning the World Cup. I don't know if you guys could hear that. How cool was that like for you guys?
[17:55:02] RAPINOE: Yes. Yes, it was pretty cool, you know, to have a stadium obviously there to watch the game, but I think the fans said it all. You know, they're with us wanting more. I think everybody is ready for it, as I was alluding to before.
But it's pretty special to have that sort of transcendent moment outside of sport, outside of soccer, outside of anything. It's like this is so much bigger than just what's happening on the field, and the fans were right there lockstep with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see that Nike and Budweiser did a big sponsor thing to push to get more eyeballs on women's soccer in the years between World 333cups just since yesterday. Your reaction to getting that much immediately from big brands like that?
RAPINOE: Yes, I think it's huge. You know, everyone always asks, what can we do? Put your money where your mouth is. Let's go. You can support us all year long. You can watch the games. You can support our leagues.
Obviously, Budweiser coming in with a big sponsorship for the NWSL is massive. Nike has always been a big sponsor -- obviously, a sponsor of the league, but a big supporter of women's sports. There's always more to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything that really stood out in terms of new supporters, new support in your corner?
RAPINOE: I think that's yet to come. Yet to see, at least. We didn't have Wi-Fi on the plane.
(LAUGHTER)
RAPINOE: We've been in the dark, crazily enough in this day and age in 2019. We've been in the dark for nine straight hours, so we're sort of catching up on everything. We've only been sort of in the light for about an hour.
But it seems absolutely massive. I mean, look at everyone here. We'll have tons of media. It seems like it's bigger than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, guys. I got to move her down. Thanks, guys.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Megan, show us the hardware.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Wolf, you've just been listening to Megan Rapinoe here making the -- making the way down there. We are expecting to hear from a couple of other players as well.
Just before you came to us, I asked her specifically after the win, of course, yesterday, she said this moves the conversation about equal pay to the next step. It's time to move that conversation, time for the next step. 333
We know that mediation is set to begin after the World Cup. I said, does this win change that conversation? And she said, essentially, yes. I think -- she said, I think it's looking like it's in our favor at this point.
So a lot of supporters. We heard those chants of equal pay, of course, after the game in the stadium, that sold-out stadium in Lyon yesterday, when the U.S. defeated the Netherlands, two to nothing.
And again, we're expecting to hear from a couple of other players, Wolf, as well. And as Megan Rapinoe pointed out, some folks here who are waiting for the buses as they made their way into New York City. From New York, some very excited fans on hand as well.
BLITZER: Well, walk us through what's going to happen over the next day or two or three for that matter, Erica. What do we know? There's going to be a big, like, parade in New York City.
HILL: So we do have a parade coming up in New York City -- hold on one second. We want to get a little bit more reaction, Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX MORGAN, STRIKER AND CO-CAPTAIN OF THE U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: -- but we had a long flight just to enjoy each other's company and kind of celebrate. And I think everyone's feeling just incredible right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How excited is everyone to have that ticker tape parade and march down the Canyon of Heroes?
MORGAN: Four years ago when we got the third star and we had the ticker tape parade, that was just my most memorable, like, time throughout the World Cup experience and winning that. So I'm so excited to share this experience with my teammates, especially the ones who haven't experienced something like that.
It's just such a great thing to have, just to rally the nation behind you. We feel like we've been in kind of a little bit of a bubble over in France, so now we get to feel just the magnitude of the impact that we've had here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Speaker Pelosi is inviting you to D.C. Has the team decided on whether they're going to go to D.C.?
MORGAN: We haven't. We haven't talked about it. Of course, it would be great -- be great to do something as a team together like that, but we haven't even had time to talk about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At what point did you realize that you guys had an opportunity to not only to make this point for equal pay in soccer but to kind of transcend that with (INAUDIBLE) like that something you guys could do?
MORGAN: I think just seeing, like, the rich success of the history of this program, we've kind of learned a lot. And we've kind of been able to translate what we've learned on the field to off the field, and that's also using our voice and be able to speak up for important issues.
And I think it's so evident more today than ever that we do need to use our voice for what we believe in and for the opinions that we have. And I think we've been able to do that in a great way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was like just hearing people chanting equal pay after you --
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- guys won the World Cup?
MORGAN: I actually wasn't able -- I didn't hear it until I watched video afterward, and it was pretty great. I heard a lot of boos as well when some particular people walked up onto the stage, but, you know, it's pretty great because it shows that people are really tuned in to the culture today and women's football and how there's attention. And there is specific investment, a certain amount of investment, but there always needs to be more. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard from Megan there was a --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last one, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a bit of a media blackout. You had no Wi-Fi on the plane.
MORGAN: Yes.
[17:59:59] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was it like, though, for you guys to have that break, to be together as a team for nine hours and to be able to walk through everything that's happened?
MORGAN: Yes. You know, we kind of went through stages. You know, initially, everyone was excited and --
