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New Day Saturday

Second Intel Official Weighing Formal Whistleblower Complaint; Congress Subpoenas White House For Ukraine Documents; Sanders Leaves Hospital, Campaign Says He Had A Heart Attack; Joe Biden Calls Trump "Unhinged" In New Ad; Religious Foundation Files Complaint Against Guyger Case Judge For "Overstepping Judicial Authority"; Chicago Jury Finds 2nd Man Guilty In Murder Of 9-Year-Old Boy; Sen Rubio: "I Don't Think It's A Real Request". Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 05, 2019 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're seeing as House Democrats escalate this impeachment fight with the White House by sending out these subpoenas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not fooling around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo missed the deadline for a House Democrat subpoena for documents and testimony.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congress also requesting documents from Vice President Mike pence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To report of a second possible whistleblower on Ukraine.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a hoax. This is the greatest hoax.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Some people say why are you doing this, he's not worth it. I said, he may not be, but our Constitution is worth it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's pretty good at getting everyone fired up, and he's been doing that for a while.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bernie Sanders left at Las Vegas hospital after spending 2-1/2 days there being treated for a heart attack.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, everybody. I just got out of the hospital, and I'm feeling so much better. See you soon on the campaign trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning to you on this Saturday morning. Take a nice deep breath. Made it to the weekend. I know, I know. I'm Christi Paul with -- BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Boris Sanchez in for Victor Blackwell.

Great to see you this morning, Christi.

PAUL: So, good to have you here, Boris, thank you. So, listen, and what a weekend that he's joining us here because we have a lot of updates for you. First of all, on the impeachment inquiry into the president. We want to start with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He did not meet yesterday's subpoena deadline from three separate house committees to hand over documents related to Ukraine. On top of that, they've issued a new subpoena, this for the White House to hand over their documents.

SANCHEZ: Meantime there could be a second whistleblower getting ready to file a separate formal complaint about the president. The New York Times reporting that another intelligence official with even more direct knowledge of the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine's president has concerns that Trump may have committed some misdeeds while speaking with that leader.

PAUL: And finally, the Washington Post reporting this morning that the president's phone calls with foreign leaders are "an anxiety- ridden set event for his staff who are worried that he'll make promises he shouldn't keep. CNN's Kristen Holmes is with us now from Washington. Kristen, good to see you. What are we hearing from the White House this morning regarding these subpoenas?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christi and Boris. Well, I thought that was never going to end. There is so much news coming out of the White House. In terms of what we're hearing right now, all we've seen is a statement from the press secretary that essentially says that these subpoenas have changed nothing and, of course, attacking Democrats.

But it should be noted here that even before these formal subpoenas were issued, the White House was contemplating sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi that essentially said that they didn't have to turn over any documents to this investigation because it wasn't a formal investigation, citing the fact there hadn't been a formal house vote.

So right now, big question as to whether or not they'll comply. But what the subpoena shows is that this investigation is really ramping up here. It came after those three committees that are doing this impeachment investigation sending a letter to Vice President Pence essentially asking him for more documents.

Now, this is all around that trip to Poland last month when Vice President Pence stepped in for the president and met with the Ukrainian president. This letter says that they're looking for any kind of indication. They're interested in any role that the vice president might have played in conveying this message or the president's views to the Ukraine.

But with all of this going on, President Trump, he is doubling down. He is blaming Democrats and saying this is purely political.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: And you know better than anybody for the last three years

Democrat lawmakers, their deep-state cronies, the fake news media, they've been colluding in their effort to overturn the presidential election. 63 million people voted and did nullify the votes of the American people, and many African-American people voted for Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, we know that this is a talking point of Republicans, that they will say the Democrats have been obsessed with this since 2016. But last night, we heard from Speaker Pelosi who says that this is not political. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: Some people say why are you doing this, he's not worth it, to divide the country this way. I say, he may not be, but our Constitution is worth it, our democracy is worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So, Christi and Boris, there you have it. Two sides clearly not backing down, and it is clear right now that we are in for a long road ahead of us.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Kristen. Now, can we say that the White House is effectively taunting the House Speaker by putting out this letter saying it won't provide any documents unless she brings this to a full vote in the house? Are they just daring her to bring it on?

[07:05:13]

HOLMES: Absolutely. They want this vote. Right now, the administration is saying behind closed doors that they actually don't think that Democrats have the vote to launch this impeachment investigation. Now, Democrats have publicly -- we've heard from many of them saying that they do have the numbers there. But again, the administration is saying we don't have to comply, so we dare you to actually launch this vote and we'll see there. And keep in mind, we're coming into an election year. Part of what they want here, they want those Democrats in those swing districts to be on-the-record saying one way or the other because that is going to impact the 2018 election.

SANCHEZ: All right. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for the time this morning.

PAUL: Listen right now, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Greece. We have some live pictures showing you here. This is hours afternoon he defied that House subpoena to produce Ukraine documents. Now, this is the third time the secretary has failed to meet deadlines to produce Ukraine-related documents. And earlier this week, he accused lawmakers of intimidating and bullying State Department officials. Political Writer and Spectator USA Contributor Kelly Jane Torrance. So, Kelly, I want to ask you regarding Secretary Pompeo, this is a man who served in the house for six years. He knows and understands the role of Congressional Oversight. What are committees prepared to do to try to obtain these documents, and why do you think he's not cooperating?

KELLY JANE TORRANCE, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Good morning, Christi. He certainly does know and if he were in Congress and it were a Democratic president, he would be speaking a very different tune. So, it's very interesting to see what people do when they're in power as opposed to when they're part of the oversight, which, of course, is one of Congress' roles. I do think he's going to have to do something eventually. He's going to have to hand over these documents, but he's certainly stalling for time, and that is one of the strategies. Nancy Pelosi would like to get the impeachment inquiry finished and over before the end of the year. She doesn't want to drag it out into 2020, the election year. And so, I think part of the Republican strategy is let's drag it out. Let's make it difficult for Democrats to get what they want.

PAUL: All right. And by the way, we're going to monitor that press conference that we see Secretary Pompeo participating in right now. If he says anything, we'll certainly bring that to you. But Kelly, I do want to talk to you as well about this. Take on the New York Times report that a second intelligence official is debating whether he or he should file -- he or she should a formal whistleblower complaint. What do we know about this person and what he or she may be able to add to the conversation that's already being had by this first whistleblower?

TORRANCE: Well, one of the things we know and of course, we don't know too much that's one of the reasons that you use the whistleblower laws is that you don't want to be publicly be identified. But one thing we do know is that this person actually has direct knowledge apparently of the discussions that President Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

That of course is one of the things Republicans have been able to hit the first whistleblower on. That whistleblower, and we know he's a man. We don't know much beyond that, and that he's a CIA agent. But we do know that he was relying on things that officials told him; he was not on the call himself, he was relying on second hand information. And of course, Republicans were hitting this as mere hearsay. Well, this new whistleblower apparently has direct knowledge. So, that would make those Republican arguments basically moot. The fact, though, that the transcript of the call has already been released, I'm not sure what more this whistleblower can offer. Of course, I don't know what else this person knows but we have the call and we have President Trump now in public asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to investigate Joe Biden.

So, this president is not worried about telling in public that he wants his political rivals investigated. It was, to me, kind of a little bit of a surprise that he's facing an impeachment inquiry over his calls with the Ukrainian president and here he is in public asking the Chinese president to do the same thing. But that's Donald Trump and he thinks he can get away with it. It's certainly -- we're going to find out; it's a political issue, impeachment, obviously not a legal question of specifically did he break the law. But impeachment has always been a political thing, and it's up to Congress to decide whether he committed those high crimes and misdemeanors that are mentioned in the constitution.

PAUL: Right, and again, let's remember the White House is issuing on Monday to urge the impeachment vote there. Kelly Jane Torrance, always good to have you here. Thank you, ma'am.

TORRANCE: Great to be here, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Turns out that it was more than just heart stents. Bernie Sanders had a heart attack this week, but his campaign says it will not keep him off the campaign trail.

PAUL: And Vice President Biden is firing back now, telling reporters, focus on the president's actions when it comes to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Focus on this man, what he's doing, that no president has ever done, no president!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Also, a remarkable act of kindness after the brother of Botham Jean hug and forgave his sibling's murder. He says he didn't want to live his life hating Amber Guyger.

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[07:10:30]

BRANDT JEAN, BROTHER OF BOTHAM JEAN: I didn't really plan on living the rest of my life, you know, hating this woman. I know that there's something called peace of mind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Senator Bernie Sanders is promising he will return to the campaign trail despite doctors confirming that he did, in fact, have a heart attack earlier this week.

PAUL: He left the Las Vegas hospital yesterday. Take a look here. In the video posted online, he reassured all of you who are supporting saying he's not going anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDERS: Hello, everybody. We're in Las Vegas. I just got out of the hospital a few hours ago and I'm feeling so much better. I just want to thank all of you for the love and warm wishes that you sent to me. See you soon on the campaign trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Joining us now to discuss is Dr. Steven Nissen, he's a Cardiologist with the Cleveland Clinic. Doctor, first we have to ask, what does a myocardial infarction mean and how does it relate to what Senator Sanders is dealing with now?

DR. STEVEN NISSEN, CARDIOLOGIST, CLEVELAND CLINIC (via Skype): Well, he had a heart attack. It does sound like it was a limited heart attack, meaning that there wasn't, you know, a lot of damage to the heart muscle, but a heart attack simply when there's a blockage in the coronary that deprives the heart muscle a blood flow and there's damage to the heart. In his case, it sounds like it was not a lot of damage, which is good.

PAUL: OK. So, I know that he says he's going to rest awhile before he gets back on the campaign trail. If you were his doctor, how would you advise him at this stage?

[07:15:11]

NISSEN: Well, first of all, the whole purpose of modern medicine is to get people back to work quickly. We do this all the time. We often tell people to take a little bit of time off and maybe take it easy for a few days, but, frankly, I've had people that have gone back to work the next day after they get out of the hospital, maybe not working 16 hours a day. But there's no reason why he can't fairly quickly get back to what he's doing. We know something about his disease, we know it was relatively limited. We know he got treatment very early and the right treatment is to reopen the artery. And so, in the modern era, a heart attack, you know, is something you recover from fairly quickly.

SANCHEZ: Despite that, you know, optimistic outlook we have to keep in mind, Bernie Sanders, the Senator, is in the grind of the campaign and he's doing more than 16-hour days consecutively. What does recovery look like when you're facing that kind of grueling schedule and grueling travel too?

NISSEN: Well, I think it would be prudent for him maybe not to work quite as hard as he has. But, look, this is an energetic guy. I mean, you watch him on the campaign trail. And I don't think his doctors even -- if I were his doctor, I don't think I'd probably be able to hold him back very much. Having said that, he's very unlikely to do himself any damage if he just gets back to work. Frankly, the earlier people get back to work often the better they do. We don't want people sitting around becoming a couch potato after a heart attack. So, you know, I don't think this is a big deal for him to get back to work.

PAUL: And you don't think that he is -- there's no indication that he would be vulnerable to something happening again?

NISSEN: Well, it turns out we know something about his disease. I know this from the media, not from his physicians, that he had one vessel that was blocked, it was treated very quickly. He got two stents. The vessel's open. That means he's not at a high risk of having another event. And so, I do think the prognosis for, you know, long term is very good. And you know, his age is not a big impediment. We see people a lot older than this that have heart attacks and we get them out of the hospital relatively quickly and we get them back to whatever it is they were doing. PAUL: All right, Dr. Steven Nissen, so appreciate your expertise.

Thank you for sharing your perspective with us today.

NISSEN: Thanks much.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, Joe Biden fires back after the president's false attacks on his family's dealings with the Ukrainian gas company. He's launching a new campaign ad calling the president unhinged.

PAUL: And some Hong Kong residents, really light candles outside a mass transit station as other people are in the streets. This is the 18th straight weekend of pro-democracy protests.

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[07:21:46]

PAUL: 21 minutes past the hour, and Joe Biden is launching this renewed attack on President Trump, calling him unhinged, accusing him of trying to choose his opponent in the 2020 race.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Biden trying to take advantage of this controversy circling President Trump. Take a look at this new ad just released by the Biden campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is spending millions in negative T.V. ads, lying about the one Democrat he doesn't want to face.

BIDEN: Now fearful about his re-election, he's becoming more unhinged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Washington Correspondent Jessica Dean has been following the story. What do you think of this ad, Jessica?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you both. This ad is actually being released in response to a Trump campaign ad that is full of false claims against Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. The Biden ad is really targeted at the merge we continue to hear from the Biden campaign which is if Donald Trump is going after Joe Biden this hard, if he's spreading these false lies, and if he's calling on foreign leaders for dirt on Joe Biden, that Joe Biden is the most electable, he's the one that Donald Trump is the most afraid to go up against in 2020.

And this ad that's being released in these early states comes after a week where heard the strongest rebuke of President Trump yet from Joe Biden. I was with him in Reno, Nevada, earlier this week when he was talking to a group there. He stood in front of flags, he looked very presidential, and he really took the case against Donald Trump and continued to call him unhinged and corrupt and that he's lying. And then yesterday in Los Angeles he spoke to reporters after a union event there. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: He calls the impeachment proceeding a coup, a coup. He talks about how we should handle whistleblowers. He talks about there will be a civil war. This is a guy that's unhinged. He is unhinged. I worry about what he's going to do, not about me and my family, I worry about he'll do in the next year in presidency as this thing continues to rot on his watch. The fact of the matter is: you know you wonder what this guy's going to do. Have you ever seen a rhetorical question; a president ever so unhinged as this guy is? That's what worries me. Let the House focus on what they're focusing on in the Senate, and I'm going to go out and I'm going to beat him on the merits.

DEAN: And, again, in that room in Los Angeles yesterday, typically, you have the candidates come in, the reporters will start to ask questions. Vice President Biden came in and he had something to say. He launched right into that, he knew exactly the message he wanted to get across to everyone, Boris and Christi, and he really went back and he said I'm very concerned about what happens in the next year of the presidency. He says he's concerned that President Trump is going to do something -- and I'm quoting here -- really, really stupid as it pertains to our international interests. So, more to come on this, Boris and Christi.

PAUL: All right. Jessica Dean, thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, the controversial act of kindness from Botham Jean's brother during the Amber Guyger trial that is sparking debate about forgiveness and race. Our legal brief is next.

[07:24:57]

PAUL: Also 12 men have been arrested in connection with alleged rapes of two underage girls on the campus of Jacksonville State University. We have details for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: 12 men have been arrested in connection with a statutory rape case at an Alabama college. 11 people have been charged with rape in the second degree; one has been charged with sodomy in the second degree. The investigators in the case had some of the crimes happened at or near Jacksonville State University at some point between January and September of this year. Two of the victims are between the ages of 12 and 16. All 12 suspects have a court appearance on Monday.

PAUL: You know, this week we saw a remarkable and what seems to be becoming a controversial act of kindness inside a courtroom during the sentencing phase for Amber Guyger who's convicted of killing Botham Jean. The victim's 18-year-old brother, Brandt, asked the judge if he could hug the woman who killed his brother, and he said he forgave her. He talked about why he did it.

[07:30:07] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN: This is what you have to do to set yourself free, you know. I didn't really plan on living the rest of my life -- you know, hating this woman. I know that there's something called peace of mind and that's it -- that's the type of stuff you need to do to have peace of mind. That is why I wake up happy in the morning. That is why I want to live happy later on in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: So, what you're seeing there, that hug had a lot of people talking about forgiveness, about race, a big debate going on. Remember, Guyger is a former Dallas police officer, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting his brother, Botham Jean, inside Jean's own home. Guyger said she mistook his apartment for her.

Its criminal defense and constitutional attorney Page Pate with us now. Why do you think -- we know that Brandt, Brandt Jean, by the way, was on Dr. Phil yesterday? And said that he thought the cameras were off of him when he asked for that hug.

His mother who's called for a renewed focus on police training said she was shocked by what he did. And there's a religious group that filed a complaint against the judge in the case after she gave Guyger a Bible in the courtroom and hugged her.

We're going to get to that in a minute but I want to ask you why you think this hug has -- it's actually, its upset people?

PAGE PATE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's certainly unusual. I mean, I can't count the number of times I've been in a courtroom when juries come back with a verdict, the judge is going to send us a defendant, the judge allows the victim's family to testify for sentencing purposes. Sometimes you'll hear from the defendant.

It tends to be a cold methodical process. Somebody will get up and read a statement, well, this is how this crime has impacted my family. The victim will say, well, maybe I -- you know, things would be different, how I wish -- you know, I could have my brother back, my wife back -- whatever the case may be.

What we saw in this courtroom was pure raw human emotion. And that is frankly missing from courtrooms too much in my opinion. That we do a great job of processing people through the system, but a very poor job of trying to rebuild lives, of trying to put redemption back into a victim's family.

So, if he was motivated at that moment to do something out of the ordinary, I think it's great that he did it. I understand that it's unusual, I can see the controversy, but that is exactly the type of thing that's missing in courtrooms. That healing, that the starting of the process -- send her to prison, that's fine, that's where she's going. But how is that going to help him or his family? It's really not.

So, I applaud him for doing it.

PAUL: Yes, yes.

PATE: I know it was unusual. And I applaud the judge for allowing him to do it even though it was out of the order.

PAUL: Yes, no doubt. And speaking of the judge, here's the complaint that we were talking about. A part of the complaint that we were talking about that says, "We too believe our criminal justice system needs more compassion in judges and prosecutors. But here, compassion crossed the line into coercion. And there can be few relationships more coercive than a sentencing judge in a criminal trial and a citizen accused and convicted of a crime."

Is it a violation out of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct here?

PATE: Not that I'm aware of. No. You know, a judge is not supposed to hand anything to a defendant in that situation. I know it wasn't planned. I guess the judge who appeared to be emotional, as well, as we were listening to the brother's testimony, just felt compelled to do this.

PAUL: Yes.

PATE: And it wasn't like the judge interrupted the proceedings and said, now, let's all pray together. I don't think she brought religion into the courtroom. It was a simple act of what the judge thought was kindness by giving her a Bible and wishing her well.

PAUL: All right. There's another trial underway right now that we need to talk about. This is a case of a former police officer charged with murder for killing an unarmed black man. This happened here in Georgia.

PATE: Right.

PAUL: Robert Chip Olsen is accused of murder for killing 26-year-old Air Force veteran Anthony Hill. Hill was -- he was naked, he was unarmed at the time when Olsen shot him in the chest and the neck. Jury deliberations resume on Monday, they've already been deliberating, I think, for about five hours yesterday.

But, I wanted to ask you about whether this was excessive force? I mean, the 911 call stated that people were calling because they saw an erratic man.

PATE: Right.

PAUL: Who had no clothes on, knocking on doors, running around. He was running toward the officer, should the officer have done something other than shoot him?

PATE: Well, that's what the jury is trying to determine. This officer apparently had no prior disciplinary issues like this. He had never been accused of excessive force. He is, I think, six, seven- year veteran of the -- PAUL: Seven, yes.

[07:34:51]

PATE: Seven-year veteran in DeKalb County Police Department. He arrives on the scene having heard that somebody there is acting erratically. He sees the person who appears to be acting erratically. Apparently, there were some mental health issues.

But it's also clear that the person is not armed. And so, the question for the jury is was it appropriate, was it reasonable for the officer to pull his firearm and shoot this individual who was clearly not armed when he had his baton when he had other ways perhaps to deal with the situation.

The defense is saying, look, maybe so in hindsight, but he had six to seven seconds to make that decision. And you got to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now, as we know, it is very difficult to convict police officers in cases of excessive force.

But this is a closed case. Now the officer did not testify. That surprised me. He didn't speak to the jury and say, this is what I was thinking at the time, this is why I did what I did, and that may come back to hurt him at the end of the day because the jury never heard his side of the story from him directly.

PAUL: All right. I want to talk about to this gang-related murder case in Chicago. This is stomach-turning Corey Morgan and Dwright Doty were found guilty of first-degree murder for planning the killing of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee. That little boy right there.

This murder was in retaliation for the killing of Morgan's brother, one of the suspect's brothers. The two suspected that the gang that Tyshawn's father belonged to was behind the killing.

So, here is what is part of so disturbing -- is so disturbing. There are recordings of Boone-Doty who pill the -- who pulled the trigger here, allegedly confessing, he boasted about the killing. He is described as laughing as he shot him, he wrote a rap song about it.

When he was asked if he ever thinks he shouldn't have done it, Boone- Doty responds, no I don't, I don't got that in my head. Not even a little bit, ain't no age, period. Age eight to 80.

Essentially, saying, you know what, I'd kill them all.

PATE: Yes.

PAUL: So, he gets first-degree murder because he's the one that pulled the trigger.

PATE: Pulled the trigger, right.

PAUL: Morgan sat in a car the whole time.

PATE: Yes. PAUL: He got first-degree murder as well.

PATE: Yes. And potentially facing the same punishment because you --

(CROSSTALK)

PAUL: Punishment. So, people -- is that because he planned at the killing?

PATE: He was involved in the killing in some material way. I mean, there have been people, even here in Georgia who've been executed, who never pulled the trigger, never actually killed anyone but were involved in the planning. Were involved in allowing it to go forward.

And so, first-degree murder, although people may think what's got to be more serious if you're the actual person who pulls the trigger for the gunman?

PAUL: Right.

PATE: Not necessarily, not under the law. And I will tell you, Illinois state cases, there's no death penalty anymore there. If that case were tried here, it almost certainly would have been a death penalty case.

PAUL: For both of them.

PATE: I think so, yes.

PAUL: Wow! All right. Page Pate, we appreciate it so much.

PATE: Thank you, Christi.

PAUL: Thank you, always good to have you here.

PATE: Good to be here.

PAUL: Absolutely. Boris?

SANCHEZ: President Trump calling on China to investigate Joe Biden. As we learn, he reportedly promised China's president that he would stay quiet on Hong Kong protests while trade talks continued.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:07]

PAUL: 41 minutes past the hour right now and we are in the 18th straight weekend of pro-democracy protesters who are in the streets in Hong Kong. Some residents lighting candles outside a mass transit station at a vigil, and that's something that's been growing for weeks. Take a look at it there.

SANCHEZ: Yes, meantime, two sources tell CNN that President Trump promised Chinese President Xi Jinping but the U.S. would stay silent on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as their trade talks continued. Yesterday, President Trump said all his conversations with foreign leaders are appropriate repeating that line. It came just hours after calling on China to investigate Joe Biden.

PAUL: Yes, and Senator Marco Rubio is responding now. Saying, he doesn't believe the president's request was genuine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think it's OK for President Trump to ask China to launch an investigation of Joe Biden and Hunter Biden?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I don't know, but that's a real request or him just needling the press knowing that you guys were going to get outraged by it. And he's gotten -- he's pretty good at getting everybody fired up and he's been doing that for a while, and the media responded right on -- right on -- right on task.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're one of the loudest critics of China and its human rights abuses. I mean, is it OK for him to ask to say that?

MARCO: I don't think it's a real request. I think, again, I think he did it to gig you guys. I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it. I said, I mean, he plays it like a violin and every falls right into. That's not a real request.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And take a look at this. Meantime, the Washington Post genuinely horrified. That's the way The Post is describing the reaction of some White House officials to President Trump's calls with world leaders. And according to The Post, their concerns go back to the very beginning of the administration.

Joining us now to discuss is former deputy assistant secretary of state and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Michael Fuchs.

Michael, thank you so much for joining us today. First, I just want to get your response to that headline that White House officials were genuinely horrified at conversations that Trump had with world leaders.

MICHAEL FUCHS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS: Well, I think that that headline really sums up what we frankly known to be the case for the last 2-1/2 years. We've seeing reports repeatedly since President Trump became president of just how inappropriate he has been in conversations with world leaders really from day one.

And I think that what we're learning really over the last 10 days to two weeks or so, is just how bad those conversations really are. Now, the Ukraine scandal obviously being the best example of that in which he's trying to extort a foreign country -- a partner of ours, in order to dig up dirt and create dirt on his political opponent. But we're also learning of that obviously extends beyond that to China as well. We're seeing that he is very clearly willing to throw under the bus, the people of Hong Kong, in order to get some -- potentially trade concessions.

And also calling on China again to investigate and create dirt on his political opponents. And so, I think what we're seeing now is everyone sort of come out and express these concerns that frankly have been there for 2-1/2 years now.

[07:45:15]

SANCHEZ: You know recently, you wrote that President Trump is transforming the United States into a mafia state with him as the de facto godfather. And that for the sake of national security, he must be held accountable.

But I'm wondering, how you see that happening because even if Democrats impeach him, the Senate with a Republican majority, they're not likely to convict him.

FUCHS: Well, look, I mean, I'm not going to handicap, obviously, what would happen in the Senate right now if the House were to actually impeach the president. But, very clearly from my perspective as a national security professional and someone who spent years working in the State Department, this is a sad moment, frankly, for our democracy and frankly for our national security.

What we see the president doing right now is putting the interests of the United States and the American people at risk to advance his own personal interests. That clip you played of Senator Marco Rubio, there just a moment ago, I think, puts it in very stark terms for us right now.

That right there is a conservative U.S. Senator who is one of the foremost hawks as they call him on China. He thinks we need to get tough on China every which way. But then, when confronted with evidence on camera, of the president of the United States asking the leader of China to help him in his own reelection campaign here, the Senator has nothing to say but to try to dismiss it as a joke.

And so, again, I think what we're seeing here right now is a question that needs to be put to every single United States senator in a vote, which is do you believe that what the president is doing right now is in the best interests of the United States, our democracy, and our national security or not?

SANCHEZ: Yes, Rubio effectively suggested that Trump is just trolling the media. I'm also glad you mentioned your previous experience at the State Department because I wanted to get your perspective on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not only refusing to comply with these congressional subpoenas but also just accusing Democrats of intimidation.

FUCHS: Well, look, it's a little bit rich to hear Secretary Pompeo accused Democrats of intimidation when one when he was a House member, he did far, far worse in its bringing up conspiracy theories and going after professional diplomats when he was on the Benghazi committee.

Also, his own inspector general has leveled accusations against his State Department for intimidating career professionals at the State Department right now.

But I think what you see frankly is Secretary of State Pompeo running a little bit scared. He realizes how he is neck-deep mired in this scandal right now. Those text messages that came out the other day between the ambassadors dealing with Ukraine right now, very clearly said when the ambassador are charged in Ukraine raised concerns about what is happening, and trying to extort the Ukrainian government.

The E.U. -- our ambassador to the E.U., Mr. Ambassador Sondland, actually said, you know, if you have any problems with that, why don't you call Secretary Pompeo? S is the -- is the acronym that they used in that text message there.

So, clearly. Pompeo is implicated in all of this and he's doing whatever he can to resist more information coming out.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Pompeo is actually in Greece this morning. And he, again, repeated the line that everything in the communications between President Trump and his administration and the Ukrainians was totally appropriate. We'll see what Congress has to say about that.

Michael Fuchs, thank you so much for the time.

FUCHS: Thank you.

PAUL: So, the home run derby that broke out in the Bronx. Coy, so, balls are flying all over the place. What's going on?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh my goodness. The show that a lot of people are waiting for, Christi. Yankees Twins to the most prolific home run hitting teams in baseball history. Wait until you see how many were hit. But were they the deciding factor? Coming up on NEW DAY

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[07:53:22]

PAUL: So, it's called sound healing or singing bull therapy. It's an ancient way to soothe stress and now it's being used to ease anxiety and depression. So, in this week's STAYING WELL, we look at the healing power of sound.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIELLE HALL, PRACTITIONER OF SOUND HEALING: The sounds and vibration kind of act like a butterfly net. It's really helpful in capturing all of that mind chatter that we're constantly bombarded with throughout the day.

Sound healing is the use of sound and vibration for supporting people in getting into it's called the relaxation response. The state in which we are able to go into deep rest and counteract the hormones of stress.

TAMARA GOLDSBY, RESEARCH PSYCHOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO: In the relaxation response, the body basically just chills. And it lowered blood pressure, lowered heart rates. Healing of the body can kick-in again. There is significant amount of reduce anxiety, reduce depressed mood, there is higher spiritual well-being and physical pain reduction.

HALL: In a sound bath session, close your eyes and be open to where you're hearing the sounds in the room and where you're feeling the sounds in your body because it feels like the sounds are washing over your body.

It's going from that fighter flight into I am resting, I am digesting, I am detoxing, I am repairing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came with a really bad headache, pretty achy. And I was blown away by how I feel now, it's like night and day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:55:01]

PAUL: And from that, to sports. Just cheering is the sound that we're hearing in sports, at least, for the Nationals, right?

WIRE: Yes, exactly right.

SANCHEZ: Yes, there's a big scare in L.A., some drama there.

WIRE: Yes, the Nationals had to go there. And you just felt like they had to get this win if they were going to hang with the mighty Dodgers, and it came down to some players making some big-time plays in crunch time.

Let's check out the highlights. Dodgers are at that, it's the final inning, down 4-2. Fans rallying after 1:00 a.m. Eastern. They have a runner on second, but Daniel Hudson gets MVP candidate, Cody Bellinger to pop up, and what a play by Anthony Rendon -- look at that stretching out, like stretchy pants on Boba Fett right there, look at that. Incredible catch that makes it two outs, but after two walks, bases are loaded.

Hudson, again coming up big, nasty slider sitting down Corey Seager for the strikeout. The Nats distinguish the comeback. The series now tied at one, moving to the nation's capital tomorrow.

Playoff baseball under the lights in the Bronx doesn't get much better. Game one of the American League Division Series and the Yanks lit the Twins up. D.J. LeMahieu, the bomber's first baseman blasts in a solo shot deep to center field in the sixth. He had a single and a double in this game too.

Remember, these are the two teams that hit more home runs this season than any other teams in league history. Twins win the home run battle, 3-2. But the Yanks get the win of the game 10-4. 96-degree heat in Atlanta, had their fans on their feet and sweating for the Braves. Yesterday, Mike Foltynewicz sent down to the minors this season when he was struggling, pitches seven scoreless innings against the Cards.

Atlanta then, they seal this thing with a two-run blast from Adam Duvall in the seventh. Braves winning 3-0 evening their series with St. Louis.

Yes, Christi, over here, raising the roof, Braves have to go to St. Louis tomorrow for Game 3 of that series that's on our sister channel TBS.

SANCHEZ: Got to love October baseball.

WIRE: Got to love it.

PAUL: Yes, it's (INAUDIBLE). Coy, thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Coy.

PAUL: All righty. And thank you for being with us. Just stay close.

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