Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Prince Harry Acknowledges Tension with Prince William; Three Soldiers Killed in Georgia; Four Parents Flip in College Admissions Scandal; Romney Has Secret Twitter Account. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 21, 2019 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:32:50]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Prince Harry getting candid about his relationship with his brother Prince William. In a new documentary, Harry opens up about this rumored rift and the pressure of their jobs in the royal family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Part of this role and part of this job, and this family being under the pressure that it's under, inevitably, you know, stuff -- stuff happens. But, look, we're brothers. We'll always be brothers. And we're certainly at different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him and as I know he will always be there for me. You know, we don't see each other as much as we -- as much as we used to because we're so busy, but, you know, I love him dearly and, you know, the majority of the stuff is probably -- well, the majority of stuff is created out of nothing. But, you know, it's just, as I said, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN royal correspondent Max Foster joins us live from London.

Max, this is really, I think, significant. I mean you tell us. You've covered them for so long. But hearing Harry say, we're on different paths at the moment and there are good days and bad days, I mean that sounds -- that's candid.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. I think there are two interpretations that people are coming away from this. There's one interpretation, which is, this is Prince Harry at his best. He's being open and honest and authentic and he's just talking like any other brother would be talking.

But, of course, he's not any other brother. He's part of an institution and the unwritten rule as part of that family is not to talk about internal family dynamics because it weakens the institution which is the monarchy and effectively leads right up to the head of state. So you're representing the U.K. So he is break some rules here. Whether or not you think that's a good thing or a bad thing is your judgment really, but certainly it's caused a lot of concern within the palace because it does then prompt the question, how does William feel about this and William's side absolutely tight-lipped on this. They're not going there. This is not the sort of thing that they should be doing. I think that's probably what we can read into that.

I think what we can certainly take away from this documentary is that Meghan and Harry are struggling, not only are they struggling, but they're not always coping. So Harry, being quite open about his mental health issues again.

[08:35:02]

Every time he hears a camera clicking, he thinks of the death of his mother and he's really struggling with that. And the duchess, too, struggling with the tabloid pressure. She expected it, but she also expected it to be fair to her as well.

So have a listen to how she speaks to that. It's quite emotional in places.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGHAN MARKEL, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: It's not enough to just survive something, right? Like, that's not the point of life. You've got to thrive. You've got to feel happy. And I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has its -- you know, it has its advantages, I guess.

MARKEL: I've tried. I've really tried. But I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging. And the biggest thing that I know is that I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So she said she's surviving, but she's not thriving. She's effectively not happy. And I was called up yesterday by a palace source informing me that the couple, at the end of this run of engagements, roughly about November, mid-November, they're going to stop taking on any more engagements. They're going to take some time out for some family time. They're going to spread their time between the U.K. and U.S. But they're effectively going dark for a few weeks.

And if you bring all of this together, it does show a couple really struggling in that environment right now, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: But what is it, Max, exactly? What -- I mean when -- when she says it's harder -- basically it sounds as though it's harder than the rest of us knew. And what is she referring to? Is it just that the paparazzi is hounding them or are there rifts in the family? What has been so hard?

FOSTER: They don't have the same paparazzi pressure I would say as Diana. They've got a lot more security. They don't have photographers chasing them in the same way.

We were also told that the duchess doesn't read the tabloid media, but she clearly does. And I think that she feels that there's lies out there. She's particularly worried about the letter, for example, from her father, to her father, that was published in "The Mail on Sunday" and stories that are just made up and upsetting. And it's a fairness issue. So the pair of them, they're all about fairness right now and they feel bullied by the media saying things. And the tradition is, when she talks there about, you know, the stiff upper lip, the tradition in the family is not to respond to negative stories in the media. But she's saying, I don't accept that. I think it's unfair. So I'm going to speak up against it. And that is causing ruptions (ph) in the British establishment. But she feels she's fighting something bigger than that.

CAMEROTA: That's really interesting. I mean this couple said that they were going to break with convention. They were doing things their own way and maybe this is another example of it.

Max, thank you for all of your reporting and bringing that to us.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the first photo of Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman behind bars with more charges possible for other defendants in the college admissions scandal. We have a live report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:59]

BERMAN: Three U.S. soldiers were killed and three others injured in a training accident in Georgia. This happened over the weekend. The names of the victims are expected to be released today.

CNN's Natasha Chen is live in Fort Stewart, Georgia, with the latest here.

Natasha, what have you learned?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the Army tells us that this happened at 3:20 in the morning on Sunday, so very early yesterday. They say it involved a Bradley fighting vehicle and that it rolled over into water. They said three soldiers were pronounced dead on-site and three others were injured, as you said. They were brought to the Wynn (ph) Army Community Hospital. Two of those three were treated and released. The third soldier was transferred to Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, with non-life-threatening injuries.

These are from the First Armored Brigade combat team and the Army says that they are still trying to notify next of kin. So, as you said, we might start learning those names today, but that usually happens about 24 hours after their families have been notified.

Yesterday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp tweeted his condolences. He said, three American heroes died, and three more were injured during a training exercise at Fort Stewart. Our hearts are broken and our prayers are with those impacted by this terrible tragedy.

Now, we don't know a lot of details about exactly what happened beyond the fact that this vehicle rolled over into water, but we are expecting another press release at least today and the Army says that there is grief counseling being offered to the Third Infantry Division, that religious and behavioral health services personnel are on-site for their needs.

Alisyn, back to you.

CAMEROTA: This is so tragic, Natasha. Thank you very much for reporting from the ground there.

CHEN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: A new photo shows Oscar nominated actress Felicity Huffman in a prison uniform as she serves her 13-day jail sentence for the college admissions scandal. This comes as other parents accused in this scheme change their pleas to guilty.

CNN's Alexandra Field joins us now with more.

How did they get that photo?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That photo was snapped while she was in this low security prison. Of course, people had been hungry to get that photo. You see her there now.

[08:45:06]

But the big breaking news this morning is the latest development we're just learning minutes ago that a fourth parent will now change her plea from not guilty to guilty. That follows a flip from three other parents just last week. All four will appear in court later today. Among them, two former CEOs, one former food executive.

Why the big change? Well, they could be fearing more charges still to come. That's because CNN has learned that federal prosecutors could be lodging additional charges against parents who are still fighting the charges as early as tomorrow. Those new charges could include bribery, among others.

And, don't forget that 30 parents involved in the college scam were given charges and then those who decided to plead not guilty faced additional charges. So we could be seeing this happen all over again as soon as tomorrow. Parents include Lori Loughlin, who now faces as much as 40 years in prison.

Ten parents so far have pleaded guilty. They have all been sentenced, including Felicity Huffman, you saw her there for the first time in her jumpsuit over the weekend. Alisyn. John.

CAMEROTA: Yes. When you're looking at 40 years possibly, it does change your thinking sometimes. Alexandra, thank you.

Here's what else to watch today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: 9:30 a.m. ET, Supreme Court issues orders.

11:30 a.m. ET, Trump cabinet meeting.

12:00 p.m. ET, NASA all-female briefing from space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It might very well be the most intriguing story of the day. Senator Mitt Romney in his top secret Twitter account. We will give you "The Bottom Line" on Pierre Delecto.

CAMEROTA: Sounds delicious.

BERMAN: Pierre Delecto, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:07]

BERMAN: This might be the best story of the day. It started when "The Atlantic" reported that Senator Mitt Romney was keeping a secret Twitter account. Romney told McKay Coppins that he had this secret Twitter account to monitor things that were going on, monitor things in politics and sports. So a reporter from Slate set out to find this secret Twitter account. Ashley Feinberg did. It goes under the name of Pierre Delecto.

So Mitt Romney had been masquerading as Pierre Delecto on Twitter, liking negative comments about President Trump and also liking positive comments about Mitt Romney.

What does this all mean? Let's get "The Bottom Line" with CNN global affairs -- senior global affairs analyst Bianna Golodryga.

What's "The Bottom Line," Bianna, on Pierre Delecto?

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, first of all, what a surprise, right? I mean who would have -- who would have thought that Mitt Romney, as square and poised as he is, has this --

CAMEROTA: Alter ego.

GOLODRYGA: And lurker account, which is what he described it as.

CAMEROTA: Lurker account.

GOLODRYGA: And he's had it since 2011.

I have to say, what I was most impressed by was Ashley Feinberg's brilliant investigative reporting and what she went back through was looking through his grandkids account and his children's account and realized they had one commonalty, and that was this Pierre Delecto account, who now is a private account. It was public then. So she put the two together. I think the first follower was one of Mitt Romney's sons. And so she tweeted last night, I think I may have found his lurker account. And lo and behold, it's his.

And you get to see a side of him, given that he has this covert account, where you see the replies that he's had to certain tweets. You see who he's following. You see how he likes.

CAMEROTA: And what does that tell us about Pierre Delecto?

GOLODRYGA: It tells us that --

CAMEROTA: What does he follow? What does he like?

GOLODRYGA: It tells us, I believe, that he's a bit more open to criticism against this president in private than he is in public.

BERMAN: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: And it's something that you hear time and time again from members of Congress and you hear reporters say, listen, behind closed doors, here's what people are telling me, but they won't say it publically.

Now, he's been one of the most outspoken. I won't say he's been nearly as outspoken as many people had hoped that he would be this early in. But he, over the weekend, even in this interview with McKay, I think, was more forthcoming in his views on the president and why he's not fit for office in many aspects and more open to the possibility of impeachment, though he said I've got to be impartial as a jurist.

CAMEROTA: I just --

BERMAN: Pierre Delecto is now an open book, right?

GOLODRYGA: And, by the way --

CAMEROTA: Sort of, except that (INAUDIBLE).

GOLODRYGA: The biggest headline is that he follows you, John Berman.

BERMAN: He does follow me.

GOLODRYGA: So he has excellent taste.

CAMEROTA: Pierre Delecto has been following you?

BERMAN: Pierre -- he does. He follows a lot of Boston sports people. So Tom Brady and me.

CAMEROTA: Ah.

BERMAN: He also follows everyone who covered him in 2011 and 2012, which is -- which is how, I think, he began to follow me.

GOLODRYGA: Well, he could have unfollowed you.

BERMAN: He could have. And he didn't. Which shows good judgment.

I think what we've seen over the last three days is Mitt Romney really going much more public with his gripes about the president. He's always been cleared about it, but only when asked. And, you know, he would run from people in the halls of Congress. He did the interview with McKay. He did this interview with Axios, which aired last night, which I think is significant, where he suggested the president broke the law.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): Going on TV on the White House lawn and saying, China, will you investigate my political opponent is wrong. It's a mistake. It was shocking for the -- in my opinion, for the president to do so. We certainly can't have presidents asking foreign countries to provide something of political value. That is, after all, against the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That is Mitt Romney playing Mitt Romney, not Pierre Delecto, saying that what President Trump did is against the law.

GOLODRYGA: And juxtapose that from what Sean Duffy told you earlier in the hour, right, where his focus was solely on here's what he's done as president, everything else is outside noise. I see that it's Christmas in October. The economy is doing well.

Mitt Romney is playing the other side of this, saying, listen, the president has clearly shown that he is capable of breaking the law and he questions his character and whether he's fit to be president of the United States.

[08:55:09]

Now, whether he can be that party elder, the statesman that others turn to and finally see as an example set for them to follow in the Republican Party, is yet to be seen. But I think you do see, within this hour on the show, two different arguments made within one party.

CAMEROTA: I can't get past the name, Pierre Delecto.

GOLODRYGA: I know.

CAMEROTA: It's hard for me to get past that to see the substance of the Twitter feed, like was that -- was "Peter Delicious" taken? Was "Pepe Lapew" (ph) taken? Like how did we get to Pierre -- BERMAN: How did you get to "Peter Delicious"?

CAMEROTA: That's the American version of Pierre Delecto, isn't it?

GOLODRYGA: There could be a "Peter Delicious" out there, you know?

CAMEROTA: I'll be looking.

BERMAN: Who wins a fight between Pierre Delecto and John Baron (ph), that's what -- that's what I want to know. The alter egos.

CAMEROTA: And, oh, don't forget, Carlos Danger (ph).

BERMAN: Right. That's a three-way primary right there like we've never seen before.

GOLODRYGA: And Esperanzo (ph).

CAMEROTA: Esperanto (ph).

GOLODRYGA: Esperanto (ph), right.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much for all of the analysis.

All right, it's a busy week beginning on Capitol Hill as the impeachment inquiry. We'll hear from more key witnesses. So CNN NEWSROOM continues our coverage, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:00]