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Rick Perry, John Bolton Among Key Witnesses On Democrats' Wish List For Impeachment Hearings; WaPo: Growing Number Of GOP Senators Consider Acknowledging Trump's Quid Pro Quo On Ukraine; 2020 Race: Presidential Contenders Flood Iowa In Critical Weekend Push; October Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations Despite GM Strike; New Fire Threatens Ventura County, But Conditions Improving; CNN Investigation: Facebook Soft On Bullying, Harassment; Trump Ditches New York To Become A Florida Resident. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 02, 2019 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hi. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. In Washington, the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is set to move from behind closed doors to the public arena. But before it does, there's still a slew of witnesses Democrats want to talk to in private.

One of them, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who has met with Ukraine President Zelensky at least three times while in office and who encouraged President Trump to discuss energy matters with Zelensky. Says one key condition - Perry says he has one key condition before he is to even consider coming to Congress.

CNN White House Producer, Kevin Liptak joining me right now. So, Kevin, what is the Secretary saying?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Rick Perry, who has, as he's mentioned, found himself in the middle of this Ukraine controversy, has been asked to testify next week on Wednesday.

A Department of Energy spokesman says that's not happening, at least in their current conditions. They say the Secretary will not partake in secret star chamber inquisition where agency council is forbidden to be present.

Now, this spokesman goes on to say that Perry would consider an open hearing where the Democrat - the department's council can be present. That may happen sooner rather than later. Under the ground rules that the House voted on this week, this impeachment inquiry is entering a more public phase.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says open hearings of impeachment witnesses could occur this month that may include Perry if Democrats decide to go in that direction. As you said, he's met with President Zelensky three times. He is one of - one key person in all of this who's described as one of the three amigos in the President's Ukraine policy. He met with Rudy Giuliani, the President's personal attorney, at Trump's request to discuss Ukraine matters.

So he certainly has a lot that the Democrats want to hear from as this goes forward. He's one of a long roster of former and current administration officials who Democrats want to hear from next week. Among them, Robert Blair, he is a senior advisor to Mick Mulvaney, the Acting Chief of Staff. There are a number of Office of Management and Budget officials who are on their request list.

And finally, they want to hear from John Bolton next week. That's a very highly anticipated testimony. At this point, it does not look like he is going to appear. His lawyer was in court this week on behalf of another former administration official. They want a judge to rule on whether he can go before the committee.

WHITFIELD: But Bolton says he might consider it if he is subpoenaed. So let's talk about this stunning revelation during this week's depositions. White House Ukraine expert and decorated war veteran Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman telling lawmakers that he was instructed to keep quiet about the call that he was on between the President and the Ukrainian counterpart, that call that sparked the whistleblower complaint. What more can you tell us about that testimony and how it really is having a ripple effect?

LIPTAK: Yes. What Vindman was telling lawmakers really helps fill out this picture of what happened behind the scenes in the White House after this July call between President Trump and President Zelensky. He said he raised concerns about the call to the top National Security Council lawyer John Eisenberg.

Eisenberg later told him not to mention the call to anyone else. And this is significant because it helps flush out the scramble that took place behind the scenes. And it also places more interest in Eisenberg, who Democrats subpoenaed to appear next week. It's unlikely that he'll appear.

And now, Vindman's testimony was crucial because he talked about raiding concerns about the President's dealings with Ukraine. He said he believed the decision to withhold aid to Ukraine. Was the President's - he said he had some changes to the call transcript that didn't get added ultimately. He's a decorated Iraq war veteran. Among the witnesses that Democrats may bring in for public hearings, he is top of the list. They feel he really bolstered the case as this impeachment inquiry moves forward.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. We'll check back with you throughout the day.

So, while the White House may be struggling internally with a strategy on impeachment, some Senate Republicans appear to be ready to give President Trump cover on the issue of a quid pro quo offer to Ukraine. That's according to "The Washington Post" reporting, which says a growing number of lawmakers are ready to defend Trump's actions, claiming they don't warrant impeachment - the actions.

[12:05:00]

With me now, one of "The Washington Post" reporters behind that story, Rachael Bade. She is also a CNN Political Analyst. Also with me Melissa Murray, a law professor at the NYU School of Law. Good to see both of you ladies.

RACHAEL BADE, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST & CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi.

MELISSA MURRAY, PROFESSOR OF LAW, NYU SCHOOL OF LAW: Great to--

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So, Rachael, you first, about what you were reporting on what you learned. So these GOP senators willing to acknowledge that Trump used military aid as leverage to force Ukraine into investigating the Bidens. This is a shift in strategy. So it's acknowledging it. But what is the gain for Republicans to do that?

BADE: Yes. I mean, the President's top line throughout this whole impeachment inquiry has been, quote, "No quid pro quo." We've heard it over and over again. But now, there's been a whole parade of witnesses that have come through the impeachment inquiry and have testified point blank that Trump used military aide as well as the promise of a Head of State meeting with Ukraine to try to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

And what I'm hearing from some Senate Republicans is that there is so much out there, so much proof, that they feel like they can't deny a quid pro quo any more. And that's saying "no quid pro quo" is not a strategy that is going to convince the American public.

So there was a luncheon that happened on Wednesday where a number of Senate Republicans, including Ted Cruz of Texas who ran against Trump in 2016, talked about just acknowledging a quid pro quo happened but saying there was no criminal intent behind Trump's - in Trump's mind. So therefore it's not impeachable. And they've also talked about arguing that quid pro quo has happened all the time in foreign policy that we always put sort of conditions on our foreign aid to other countries. And so therefore there was nothing wrong here.

The problem, of course, is that Trump specifically did this to go after Joe Biden and a political adversary. This wasn't to root out corruption in Ukraine. It was specifically aimed at his political allies - or political adversaries. So it just shows that there is a bunch of evidence that Republicans feel they can't refute, and so they're just trying to figure out how do we defend the President.

WHITFIELD: So, Melissa, will that strategy work? I mean, the Republicans will say, OK, so there was a little this for that, but it's not illegal because it was lacking the intent, and tried to say that it was about national security even though the President and his personal attorney did admit that the Bidens getting to - getting Ukraine to investigate the Bidens had something to do with it.

MURRAY: So I think the key thing to remember here is that this is not an ordinary criminal trial where the defendant's mental state is actually necessary for the government to prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The Constitution doesn't say what standard of proof has to be established in order for the charters of impeachment to actually then be voted on and then remove the President. That's ultimately up to jurors.

WHITFIELD: So there's discretion--

MURRAY: But we also have to remember that impeachment is a process for the people. So the senators will ultimately vote, but the people have to believe that this is actually not impeachable conduct and in the end, will be going to the ballot box in November 2020 to decide that.

So it kind of doesn't matter whether or not he had the mental state. That's a strategy the Republicans can pursue, but ultimately the people will decide if, regardless of what he intended, this was conduct that a sitting President should not have engaged in.

WHITFIELD: And Rachael, you've been very busy because yesterday you also wrote about Trump intimidating witnesses, calling them never- Trumpers and then ordering the White House to withhold documents, block testimony requested by Congress. Democrats see this as obstruction. The President is seeing this as protection.

BADE: Yes, that's exactly right. This is a strategy that the President has employed since Democrats took over the House and started investigating Trump. So they have stonewalled, ignored subpoenas for documents, subpoenas for witness testimony throughout a number of investigations that have nothing to do with Ukraine for the past few months.

But Democrats are saying now that the President not only ignoring these subpoenas and telling people that they cannot appear, he is employing another tactic, which is going after witnesses and calling them, quote, "never-Trumpers." I mean, he did that this week with a witness who earned a Purple Heart, served in our military, worked for both Republican and Democratic presidents.

And Democrats see this as a form of trying to scare people off from talking to these investigators. So this is likely to be part of the articles of impeachment that the Democrats will ultimately put together in the next couple of weeks and vote on to impeach him.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Melissa, we're talking about blocking subpoenas and documents that have been subpoenaed. People subpoenaed by a coequal branch of government. How is that not going to be the Democrats' best argument of obstruction? These things exemplify an abuse of power.

[12:10:00]

MURRAY: So obstruction of justice will surely be one of the articles that comes out of the Judiciary Committee for the House to vote on. But I think one of the things the Democrats are really focused on is it can't be these adjacent cover-up or process-related charges that will ultimately win the hearts and minds of the people. They really do have to establish and prove that the President was

abusing his power, using his office to bribe a foreign power in exchange for help in the next election. And I think that's the thing they're really going to be focused on that will surely have to be one of the articles of impeachment, whether or not this quid pro quo happened.

And then, all of the other things are sort of adjacent that show that the President was trying to shield this particular allegation from coming to light. But it has to be focused on that, I think.

WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa Murray, Rachael Bade, good to see you both. Thank you so much.

BADE: Thanks for having me.

MURRAY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So we've got now 13 candidates who are in Iowa right now, making their cases about why they should be the Democratic nominee. So, how will the field try to sway Beto O'Rourke's supporters now that he is out? Plus, wild fire scorched thousands of acres across California. There is hope for firefighters as weather conditions are beginning to improve.

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WHITFIELD: OK. Welcome back. Today, all eyes on Iowa. 2020 Democratic hopefuls are flooding the critical first-in-the-nation caucus state, but the field is now getting smaller.

[12:15:00]

Beto O'Rourke officially dropping out of the race for the White House telling supporters last night that he couldn't raise enough money to stay competitive.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on the campaign trail in Iowa. So, Arlette, how does Beto's announcement change the dynamics for the other candidates?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, I think it still remains to be seen how critical this is going to be or impactful this is going to be for other people's campaigns. Beto O'Rourke was polling pretty low, but he does appeal to - he finds himself in that moderate more centrist lane. So you could have Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg try to scoop up some of those supporters.

But that announcement yesterday came as a huge surprise. There were a lot of his supporters who were here assembling for a dinner. I remember seeing lawn signs outside, even actually as the event was going on last night, seen an advertisement for Beto O'Rourke after he made that surprise announcement that he was going to drop out of the race.

Now - right now, we are in Des Moines at an office opening for Joe Biden and his wife. Jill Biden is speaking right now. He will be taking the stage shortly as he's trying to convince Iowa voters that he should be their choice to be the nominee.

WHITFIELD: And Arlette, we've also learning - almost feel like we're on the Gulf Coast right now because I know people are listening to Jill Biden. But Senator Kamala Harris, she apparently is refocusing her campaign. She's closing offices in New Hampshire. Staff in Baltimore, I guess, is being thinned. Right? All of this to kind of hone in on Iowa. Is - how confident are they about that strategy?

SAENZ: Yes. Kamala Harris is really betting big on Iowa to kind of turn around the scene of her campaign. A poll that was released yesterday by "The New York Times" found that she only had 3 percent support here in the state. But by moving staff from Baltimore headquarters here by re-diverting resources to the state shows just how critical this state is going to be to her campaign. And she's hoping that she can make it beyond Iowa. So right now, the Harris campaign is certainly betting big here in the Hawkeye State.

WHITFIELD: OK. And now, what about remaining candidates attending a fish fry? It's really not about what they're eating, but it's about how they're going to dish about their policy, their plan, their vision for America.

SAENZ: Yes. So Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, who's from the Cedar Rapids area, she is hosting this event for the Democratic contenders. Joe Biden, who actually just took the stage here, he will be attending later; Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren. There is going to be a focus on unions and labor leaders who are going to be at that event. But right now, you really have these candidates who are 93 days out from the Iowa caucuses. And so they're really starting to drill in to make sure that they can get their best shot at winning in these caucuses.

Now, one thing to note, there was a poll that was released yesterday that showed two-thirds of Iowa Democrats could still change their minds about who they are supporting. Still a long ways to go, but certainly these candidates are ramping up their efforts here in the state. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you.

SAENZ: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: OK. As the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates now to stimulate the economy, President Trump is touting rising job numbers. But, is the economy as good as the President suggests?

[12:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Some good news for the economy this week, as U.S. employers added 128,000 jobs in October. The numbers beat the far more gloomy forecast that economists had predicted due to the GM strike. And while the report is good, the President tweeted these were "blowout job numbers," and talked about the "303,000" jobs. Again, 128,000 jobs were added last month. The President adding in revisions from last month and temporary jobs to get that larger number.

CNN Economics Commentator Kevin Hassett once served as President Trump's top economists.

So, Kevin, good to see you.

KEVIN HASSETT: FORMER CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS IN TRUMP WHITE HOUSE: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: 128,000 jobs in October, and not counting I guess the temporary jobs--

HASSETT: Sure.

WHITFIELD: --that the President wants to incorporate. So how significant are those numbers?

HASSETT: Well, the way the President added the numbers up to get 300, that's kind of what Wall Street economists do. And so if you think about it, we thought that we had a lot fewer jobs in the months of the past, and they revised them up. And that's why the market went up so much.

And I've got to say the economists who follow it closely at the White House and me and on Wall Street, we really did breathe a sigh of relief because there's been a lot of other data that's not nearly this good. But to have that strong a job market, it really bodes well for the economy going forward because people have jobs, people see their wages going up and so on. And that's generally pretty good for the outlook.

WHITFIELD: So - it's good news. But for your average American--

HASSETT: That's right.

WHITFIELD: --there have been significant weaknesses in, say, manufacturing. Right? U.S. manufacturers lost 36,000 jobs--

HASSETT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: --last month. Should the President be--

HASSETT: And that was weak in this report. You're right that the manufacturers still lost.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Should the President be concerned about all of that? His economic team as well.

HASSETT: Yes. Well, the manufacturing part of it is a concern. And it's something the Fed put out a study that said that all of the trade policy uncertainty that's been created by the showdown with China has caused people to sort of hold off and say, well, let's wait a little bit before we build a factory. And it could be that that's what's causing it. But if that gets resolved, then that means there's a big upside for the outlook. And the other thing is that in manufacturing, don't forget the - we've

got the GM strike, but we also have the problem with Boeing. And Boeing is a really big part of manufacturing production. And I think that if the Boeing problems with the safety of their aircraft were suddenly resolved, it would add in the quarter that it happens almost a percent to GDP growth - to give you an idea of the scale of it.

So I think that the jobs report suggests that we're definitely not growing at the 3 percent that we were growing last year. We're probably growing 2, 2.5, but it's still like a very, very strong economy, and much stronger than the sort of 1.6 percent growth that happened in 2016 before President Trump took office.

WHITFIELD: Well, you're smiling. So you're very optimistic about all of this.

HASSETT: I am always that way, Fred.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I like it.

HASSETT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So this GDP growth really slowing to 1.9 percent. We're talking about clothing, footwear, in particular.

HASSETT: Sure.

[12:25:00]

WHITFIELD: There were some, I guess, slowing of consumer spending there, but heavily tariffed in this summer. December 15 tariffs are coming. Those may slow consumer spending as well if there is no deal?

HASSETT: Right. Well, I think that - my guess is that those will get delayed and that - we've got part one of the deal with China and it's a complicated negotiation. But I think that that one to affect Christmas. Those will almost surely be delayed, I would guess, from what I'm hearing about how well the negotiations are going.

And so - I think that - the really the big message, though, for the jobs report for me yesterday is that because of the great recession, do you remember how terrible it was, right when President Obama was taking office, that we had a pretty slow recovery. And a lot of people, especially sort of in their 50s, lost their jobs and then never got back in.

And the point is that what we're seeing now is about 70 percent of the new hirers in the jobs report yesterday are people who are out of the labor forces. So a message for listeners is, if you got frustrated because you looked for a job and you couldn't get one, you should get up and you should go apply because the employers are going to be thrilled to see you and so you can get back in the game. That's what we're seeing in the report. WHITFIELD: Meantime, the President continues to criticize Fed Chairman

Jay Powell, even though Powell lowered interest rates for the third time this year, in a tweet, saying this. Just a few days ago, the President said, "China is not our problem, the Federal Reserve is." How does that impact the markets?

HASSETT: Well, I think the Fed did increase rates. So now they're reducing rates. And so they themselves must be wondering would it have been better to just sort of leave them where they were a little bit a while ago.

And so I think the - in retrospect, what the President was saying critically was correct. The Fed has reversed those moves. But I wouldn't have said it the way he said it. And I think though the President's brand is that you never really wonder what he thinks, right? He tells you on Twitter and other places.

And when I was CEH here, I think you saw that I never would criticize the Fed because the independence of the Fed is a really important factor. And I've spoken within Jay Powell about - I mean, he's totally fine with this. He understands that that's part of his job, is to take criticism from politicians.

WHITFIELD: All right. A smiling Kevin Hassett all throughout.

HASSETT: Thanks. Well, have a great Saturday. And--

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much--

HASSETT: And there's a great Nats parade today in Washington. So it's a happy day.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I heard about that.

HASSETT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I wish I was there. OK? Thank you so much.

HASSETT: Thanks. Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, in Southern California, not a smiling matter at all. Several hundreds - several firefighters, I should say, are struggling to contain this wildfire, which has already burned nearly 10,000 acres. Now the power company there says the blaze erupted just after it reenergized a circuit.

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[12:31:58]

WHITFIELD: As crews battle wildfires across California, some much needed relief is on the way. Right now, improving weather conditions, helping firefighters fend off of the flames of at least a dozen wildfires that continue to threaten people and homes.

Meantime, officials are keeping a close eye on a relatively new file burning north of Los Angeles in Ventura County. The Maria fire has scorched nearly 10,000 acres since it broke out Thursday last night.

CNN National Correspondent, Athena Jones, joining me now from Ventura County. So Athena, what can you tell us about how this Maria is being, you know, fought?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Fredricka. Well, we're reporting here from Somis, California. This is mostly agricultural area of about 3,000 people, about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. We're in an area that had been being used as a staging run for firefighters who have been fighting this day and night coming down the hill. They were refilling their tanks going back up.

You can see behind me one of the hillsides that's been burned, scorched black there. And we know that they have at least made some progress. As of about last night there were only -- this fire was only zero percent contained. It is now 20 percent contained. And that's partly been helped by the changing weather conditions as you mentioned.

Over night, there were breezes coming in from the sea that helped with the extremely low humidity levels. But that still the concern here. The latest update we have is that, the fire behavior overnight lessened a bit which is what allowed the firefighters to get more of a handle on things. But the dry conditions continue. And this is just one example.

We can look at how dry the brush and the leaves are in this area. And that is a major factor. You have not only the high winds that can pick up the embers and help spread these fires. But you have incredibly dry conditions that is why this area is still under a red flag warning until 6:00 p.m. tonight because of these continuing dry conditions.

Now, firefighters have been working hard to protect not only people and homes, but also agriculture. We're in the middle of an agricultural area with citrus orchards and avocado orchards around us. Our latest update is that right now, there are about 2,500 structures that under sort of immediate threat. Three have burned there have been no deaths so that is good news as well. But we're waiting to see if these firefighters can get more of a handle on this huge fire here, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Athena, then there is the Kincade fire in Northern California. What can you tell us about that?

JONES: Well, there's even better news on that fire. That is the biggest fire raging in the state. We were covering that fire just in the last couple of days. It's burned about 77,000 acres. But as of right now as of the latest update, it's a little over 70 percent contained. So that's a big deal. It means firefighters are beginning to get a handle on that.

And so this is the fire. This fire over here right now, the Maria fire is the one the least contained of the major fires going on around here. But that Kincade fire is a big one. And they're making real progress there, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, that's good news, slivers of good news. Athena Jones, thank you so much.

[12:35:00]

All right New York City police are responding after a major protest in Brooklyn last night. Hundreds of people jumping subway turn stills and marching through the streets protesting what they say is police brutality in the NYPD. The demonstration came days after this video went viral, showing a police officer punching a teenager at a subway station as officers tried to break up a fight they say a group of teens.

The officer involved in the altercation has been placed a non- enforcement duty while the incident remains under investigation. The police department issued a statement about last night's protest saying in part, the NYPD does not interfere with constitutionally protected activities. And works to ensure public safety as New Yorkers exercise their first amendment rights.

All right social media giant Facebook says, they don't tolerate online bullying and harassment. But a CNN investigation found otherwise, the full report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Facebook, no stranger to controversy as it battles critics over its policy on political ads. And now another policy is under fire. A six months CNN investigation raises concerns that the social media platform is also too soft when it comes to online bullying and harassment.

[12:40:12]

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen has been working on this. She's joining me now live. And wow, lots of intervention might be needed because kids are spending a lot of time, right, on social sites like Facebook.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And what manages to live and thrive on Facebook is really quite disturbing. Facebook says that they don't tolerate bullying. But what we found is that well, they -- it gets tolerated and it really lives and thrives.

So I want to introduce you to one of the women in our story. Her name is Aisha Odom. And Aisha's brother has immune issues. And so Aisha has gone on Facebook to say, hey, everybody get vaccinated to protect people like my brother. And she went into her Facebook messenger inbox, that's the direct private messaging tool that Facebook has in April and she got this message.

The message calls her the N word. It calls her an obscene name. It says kill yourself, kill your parents, kill your kids, and then we're not showing this obviously but it gives explicit instructions on how to slit her wrists. WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

COHEN: Aisha reported this. She did the right thing. She reported it. Facebook found that this person had done other bad things before, had officially violated Facebook's standards before.

WHITFIELD: OK.

COHEN: Their punishment for this person is repeat offender.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: For 30-day she couldn't send private messages. That was the punishment. And when we said, really you don't kick people off like this. They said, OK, yes, we'll kick her off. But they only kick the person off the platform after we got involved and asked about it?

WHITFIELD: So does that mean that there isn't a policy, I mean or it's too loose, the kind of policy that it likes to advocate? Or I mean, or are they thinking it through?

COHEN: Facebook says that for bullying you need more than one offense. And we said, well, this woman had more than one offense. She sent this horrific, I mean, racist, violent, and telling you how to kill yourself, like that as a send, whatever as a multiple offense, you know, that wasn't the first time. That's not enough to get you kicked off. And that's when they said, yes, we're going to kick her off.

But we did ask Facebook about their policy. And I want to read you what their official statement is. They said, we want members of our community to feel safe and respected on Facebook and will remove material that appears to purposefully target private individuals with the intention of degrading or shaming them. We try to empower our users with controls such as blocking other users and moderating comments so they can limit their exposure to unwanted, offensive, or hurtful content. We also encourage people to report bullying behavior on our platform so we can review the content and take proper action.

WHITFIELD: So it almost sounds like there is discretion. I mean Facebook has particularly those last couple of lines, so we can review it and then take action as suppose to saying, you know, here are the parameters. Whenever XYZ happens, then here is the penalty. Is that, you know, and Mark Zuckerberg has seemed to struggle sometimes about allowing people creating a platform where people can interact freely versus sensorship.

COHEN: Exactly. And that's the balance that they're trying to get. And I will say that the people that I talked to, the experts who look at this, they feel like he is not getting that balance right.

So the first part of this is that, Facebook does not do a great job by Zuckerberg's own admission does not do a great job with detecting bullying. Most of the time they don't detect it, they need you to report it. But Fred, I will tell you the people we talked to for this investigation -- WHITFIELD: So you have to be hit by first to let them know in some cases --

COHEN: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- is what that is saying.

COHEN: And, you know, Aisha wasn't but many of the people we talked to were mothers who had lost their children. Their children had died of vaccine preventable diseases. So they went out and told people to get vaccinated. They got attacked by messages like that in the hundreds or even thousands.

WHITFIELD: Right.

COHEN: And they said, first of all, even if we were emotionally up to reporting, which we were mourning of a lost of a child, how could we possibly report thousands of messages. But Facebook really does put the own as they say, you need to report because we can't detect.

WHITFIELD: Right, yeah.

COHEN: And some experts I talked to said, why can't they detect?

WHITFIELD: So that's what sounds like, users are saying we're going to challenge you Facebook to have greater resources amounts of big money making enterprise --

COHEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- in order to --

COHEN: Detect this before it happens. That's what people want.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

COHEN: Is they want detection and Facebook says that's too difficult.

WHITFIELD: Quite the dilemma. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, good to see you as well.

COHEN: Thanks. Good to see you too.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right, when he was just 20 years old, Richard Miles was wrongfully convicted and locked up in a Texas prison for 15 years. After a full exoneration and starting his life over in his mid 30s, Richards is helping others transform their lives after leaving prison. Meet one of our top 10 heroes for 2019.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD MILES: My mom would always tell me when you look out the window, don't look at the bars, look at the sky. I could change my perception within the place of incarceration. At the end of the day, be confident in your change.

[12:45:05] The idea really started from inside. People get out, and they come right back in. I said, if I ever get out, man, we're going to start a program and we're going to help people. Acknowledgment, transparency, and forgiveness, these are the three essential things we need when we are coming back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Powerful, Richard's program, miles of freedom has helped proximately 1,000 people restart their lives. Go to CNNheroes.com to vote for your favorite CNN hero of the year.

And President Trump has long been known as a New York real estate tycoon. Well, now, he says when he leaves the White House, the family will move to Florida. What will that mean for the men and women charged with protecting him for the rest of his life?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As Mayor Pete Buttigieg picks up steam in Iowa, he's making a very bold prediction. The 2020 candidate told show time the circus that he thinks the race will come down to Elizabeth Warren and him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:50:04]

MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think this is getting to be a two way. It's early to say, I'm not saying it is a two way. But I think --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you see that, you see its coming into focus you and Warren?

BUTTIGIEG: Yeah, certainly in a world where we're getting somewhere is that world where it's coming down to the two of us. Obviously there's a lot of candidates and a lot of things going to happen. But I think that as that happens, the contrasts become clear. Look, the contrasts are real. There are substantive respectful policy contrasts but they're real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, it's interesting you say that, right? So you accept the notion right now that it's kind of Warren against the field, really?

BUTTIGIEG: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone is trying to become the alternative to Warren right now, right?

BUTTIGIEG: Yes. I think it's shaping up that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And so the former vice president of the United States is like in your mind at this point already like gone? BUTTIGIEG: I would say that's either he is the unstoppable front runner and we can all go home or he's not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

BUTTIGIEG: And any who's in this race is pure in the assumption that he's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the South Bend mayor back on the trail on Iowa today, speaking at three separate events holding at town hall tonight.

All right, President Donald J. Trump is ditching New York for the sunshine state. This week the president announced that he has changed his permanent resident from Trump Tower in New York City to his Mar-a- Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The move isn't all that surprising when you consider President Trump has visited the Florida Club he -- at nearly five times more than his New York residence since he took office.

Let's bring in now, Jonathan Wackrow who once served as a former secret service agent under President Obama. Jonathan, good to see you.

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Nice to see you Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, so a sitting president, and even post presidency you're always going to have your secret service detail, does it make a difference whether it's a New York City or whether it's Palm Beach, Florida?

WACKROW: Well, I think what right now what's important to the viewers to understand the two different constructs we have around security. Trump Tower is the permanent residence of the President outside of the White House. That is the only location that the secret service protects on an ongoing basic, starting back in 2017, the secret service built out a very long-term sustainable security operation at Trump Tower.

And there are some reports that that the costs exceeded $23 million in terms of manpower equipment and resources. By contrast, Mar-a-Lago and other locations that are frequented by the President, you know, are temporary in nature because of the episodic nature of -- in the frequency of travel, the secret service, you know, builds a model around temporary security structures, no different if he was to go to, you know, location in Iowa or in Washington state.

So both models are very successful, but it's important to understand that there is a contrast between the Trump Tower operations and Mar-a- Lago. Under either construct there is no, it doesn't matter to the President. The President is always safe and secure no matter where he goes. So the impact is really to secure the operations.

And that impact is today is actually is twofold, first, what do we do with Trump Tower? Every single day there are hundreds of NYPD officers, secret service agent, and secret service officers protecting that location.

WHITFIELD: Right.

WACKROW: Now that he's not there --

WHITFIELD: Well, they might still, right, even if he's not there because we're not necessarily hearing that he is selling it.

WACKROW: No. He's not selling it but he's indicated that his primary residence is going to be Mar-a-Lago. So it's easy to say, why don't we just flip the paradigm, make Mar-a-Lago permanent and Trump Tower temporary.

Here lies part of the problem. We are 367 days away from the election. And those that have spoke to within the secret service are hesitant to go ahead and spend tens of millions of dollars on a security structure at Mar-a-Lago that may not result in him winning the election. So it makes the secret service, you know, has a lot of challenges that they have to face moving forward.

WHITFIELD: Now, does the, you know the geographical locations, you know, bring another, you know, host of challenges. Mar-a-Lago, you know, right on the ocean. New York City of course, you know, it's an island also surrounded by water. But, you know, is -- does it present challenges on how security is put in place just simply because of the geographical differences?

WACKROW: Yes. Absolutely, Fred. You know, similar to 2017 with Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago faces the same problem. It comes down to two things, money and manpower. In an election cycle those are two commodities right now that are very precious to the secret service.

So in the impact of scaling up security operations at Mar-a-Lago, you'll have a significant impact on or potential impact on the agency as a whole. Looking to your point, the locality, we now have to understand what is that impact to our local law enforcement partners in Palm Beach County, you know, whether it's a local police department and also the coast guard that needs to, you know, maintain the waterway security.

There is a measured impact on both of them. So regardless of what decision the secret service makes, there are secondary and third effect consequences to any decision.

[12:55:09]

WHITFIELD: All right, Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much. Very interesting on the timing too with the President establishing his new residency --

WACKROW: Very ironic.

WHITFIELD: -- filing for that in September. All right, interesting.

All right, an Iowa tradition kicks off. Several of the presidential candidates trying to sway undecided voters in the states Democratic Party's biggest weekend of the year, you see there, Elizabeth Warren now leading the pack along with three others. How will they all separate themselves?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for being with me I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

In the 2020 race, all eyes are on Iowa, the remaining Democratic candidates are crisscrossing the state hoping to swing voters and catapult their campaigns to the forefront. Many of the top contenders are scheduled to speak at a fish fry in Cedar Rapids in about an hour.

One candidate who will not be there, Beto O'Rourke, this after he announced, he will no longer pursue the presidency. O'Rourke telling supporters, he couldn't raise enough money to remain competitive. The latest poll has Elizabeth Warren leading the pack in Iowa with Senator Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Vice President Joe Biden rounding out the top tier there.

[13:00:00]

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on the trail in Des Moines. OK, so now we've got volume, the speaking is over, now people are conversing.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. We do.