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U.S. & Russia to Hold Military Talks Today; Hurricane Joaquin Now a Category 3 Storm; Interview with Mayor Bill de Blasio; Secret Service Apologizes to Congressman. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 01, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:29:58] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Matthew Chance -- fascinating reporting, very important development. Thank you, sir, from Moscow.

I do want to let you know our Barbara Starr now just reporting, just in to us, that U.S. and Russian military will hold a secure video teleconference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern -- so in just about 30 minutes' time. As soon as we know what takes place on that call, we will let you know.

Now to the man who knows a lot about Syria and could put all of this in context for us -- Richard Murphy, former U.S. ambassador to Syria. Just your reaction, first off, to what Matthew Chance has reported.

RICHARD MURPHY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: Well, what Matthew has said is that the Syrian ambassador is faithfully describing the position of the Syrian government, his government, so you can understand that. That this is -- the policy is to strengthen the regime because the regime is the only effective force against ISIL.

Now, this is a great oversimplification of the situation in Syria. We have tried, not very successfully I admit, but we have tried as a government to pull together the various opposition elements, the moderate elements as best as we can identify them to get together politically and militarily.

For Assad, they have always been seen as enemies, as terrorists. It's a smear term he has used for the last three years. It's not true. Some of them are more violent than others. Some of them could be called terrorists. But they are critics of the regime and that is intolerable to the regime.

HARLOW: And so now that this really changes the dynamic, this changes what the discussion between Lavrov and Kerry will be and when you look at Russian airstrikes and coalition airstrikes and any hope coordination against ISIS in Syria, does this throw that out the window?

MURPHY: Well, it doesn't throw it out the window but it emphasizes the danger of not getting together quickly to discuss who's doing what?

HARLOW: Can the U.S. work with Russia if Russia is targeting the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups that the U.S. is supporting?

MURPHY: Well, one element that can be worked out is avoiding the American Air Force in direct conflict with the Russian Air Force. Now, that doesn't solve your -- doesn't answer your other question.

Can we work together politically to get to negotiations that will end this ghastly humanitarian crisis in Syria? A crisis that has slopped over into Europe with the refugees and that's not a given yet. You can't say that.

HARLOW: Not just not given; do you -- I mean I know you're a career diplomat. You have so much experience there. You've got, you know, tens of thousands of people killed within Syria. Do you believe at this point, Ambassador, that there is a diplomatic solution?

MURPHY: Well, I'm raised to believe that it's often better to talk than to shoot. Everybody is shooting these days. They have got to get to the table. Just when that can be worked out is not clear. It's not clear to Moscow. It's not clear to Washington. But thousands of people have died. Hundreds of thousands have died. Millions are refugees. And the world has to be devoting -- focusing its efforts to bringing them together. And that's certainly the policy in my government.

We've been discussing it with the Russians. I hope we'll be more successful and that their intervention will not prove to be the disaster for the scene that it appears to be at the moment.

HARLOW: Ambassador Richard Murphy, thank you for your time.

MURPHY: Thank you.

HARLOW: I appreciate the perspective.

Turning now to our other big story this morning, we're now less than 30 minutes away from another National Weather Service update. Hurricane Joaquin packing a major punch -- wind speeds as fast as 120 miles per hour. Right now this is a Cat 3 storm near the Bahamas. Whether the U.S. takes a direct hit or not is the question. Part of the U.S. coast line -- East Coast -- could see up to 15 inches of rain.

Chad Myers with the latest. Hi -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi -- Poppy.

I want to take you to and move you forward all the way through Saturday just to give you an idea, Joaquin will be somewhere down here. So before Joaquin even makes, if it does, a run at the U.S., we're looking at over 10 inches across parts of South Carolina, four to six inches over North Carolina, maybe four to six inches around D.C. into Buoy into Annapolis.

That's pre-storm rain because of the way the jet stream is set up. Not because of the way the tropics are set up. So here's what it looks like between now and we'll move you ahead -- There's the storm down there. But the rain pours on shore, wave after wave after wave of rain. It's going to be in the Piedmont. It's going to be Charlottesville. It's going to be back into Columbia. It's going to be in Asheville.

[10:35:00] All of these areas that are fairly topographic and all of a sudden that water's going to have to run off. It's going to run into the streams and eventually downhill.

And then here's Joaquin. And I really want to emphasize what's going on right now. I believe there's rapid intensification of Joaquin right now. This is likely a category 4 hurricane as we get the 11:00 advisory. If not it will be very close.

There's a Hurricane Hunter aircraft out there now flying around, looking through it, flying through the eye. I wouldn't want to be on that plane flying through 130-mile-per-hour winds in all different directions there.

But here's where it's going. We know that it will eventually move out of the Bahamas. Now, it's going to take maybe another 24 hours, so this area, the Bahamas getting pounded right now with 140- mile-per-hour winds and then it turns to the north.

Does it turn to the northeast or just to the north? That is the big question. The next 48 hours will make a big determination whether this storm continues to move out to sea maybe somewhere here, or does it follow this line on the way to the U.S.?

There's a large cone of uncertainty with this. In fact the cone of uncertainty, by Tuesday night, this is Monday after midnight, could be anywhere from West Virginia to almost Bermuda. That's the distance that we're talking about because it is still five days away from any landfall.

So I want you to be prepared. I just don't want anybody to really start freaking out, like my mom would do if she was up there right now. Good thing she's in Atlanta. Just take a deep breath and watch this storm because the models are still going to change even through the weekend. We'll know better.

HARLOW: All right. We'll watch very closely. We know you will -- Chad. Thank you as always.

Still to come, I sat down -- or I should say, I took the subway with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. We went to the poorest congressional district in the country to talk about income inequality and that man on your screen. We talked about Donald Trump and got his unique take on Trump's run for president. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: It's quite obvious that if you want to get a good idea across America, you need to put on a hat. So I want you to -- here you can examine this and --

HARLOW: You made hats. DE BLASIO: We made hats. Now, we think they're really --

HARLOW: Are you focusing too much on Donald Trump?

DE BLASIO: I think this hat says it all. I think it just -- you know, we realize we could get it down to four words and put it on a hat.

HARLOW: You're a little envious of Trump's poll numbers. You think it's all in the hat?

DE BLASIO: I think the hat may be the match piece. Now that we're promoting a progressive agenda with the hat, let's see where it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:41:47] HARLOW: Income inequality, a major issue in the 2016 race for the White House. New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio has proposed a so-called progressive agenda. It is a 14-point plan to try to close the wealth gap. It includes a lot of things, including raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and increasing taxes on the wealthy.

We took the subway with him this week and also with former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the author of the new book "Saving Capitalism" and we went to the south Bronx to see the disparity. It only took us 25 minutes to get from here, one of the wealthiest parts of New York, to the poorest congressional district in the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Mayor.

DE BLASIO: What kind of work are you doing? How are you?

HARLOW: You wanted to bring me here. Why?

DE BLASIO: Because this is an example of the neighborhood, Melrose and the Bronx that are really suffering. But there are things that can be done to address income inequality.

HARLOW: Mayor de Blasio wanted to take us on the 2 train up to the south Bronx to show us one of the affordable housing projects his administration has been promoting.

DE BLASIO: We went from a neighborhood where the median household income was $179,000 to here in the Bronx $21,000 for a family. Below the poverty level is median income here.

HARLOW: In 20, 25 minutes.

DE BLASIO: Correct. That's all it took to go from one world to another effectively. I've often talked about the tale of two cities, you know.

Our mission is to try and create more fairness, more opportunity across the board. And we're using the tools of the city government to do it.

HARLOW: And those who say, Mr. Mayor, that sounds too socialist. Capitalism, not perfect; America not perfect economically but the best example there is in the world. What do you say to them?

DE BLASIO: There's no contradiction between a free enterprise system and a very energetic role of government. And making some of the adjustments we need so that people can participate in a society of hope.

HARLOW: Where is that right balance because you don't want a society where everyone has the same?

DE BLASIO: I don't think it's conceivable to have such a society with human beings involved. I want a society where there's opportunity for all. I want a society where no one is left out economically or otherwise.

HARLOW: Homelessness in this city has risen under your administration from 50,000 to 57,000 people right now. Why?

DE BLASIO: Because of the same tale of two cities I talked about. The weight of the economic crisis of the last few years has been felt more and more. What we found in the city is while people were becoming economically less stable, losing their jobs or in jobs that didn't pay much more than the minimum wage. The cost of housing kept going up. So the basic economics stopped working for more and more New Yorkers.

ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY: I could not agree more. In fact I think --

One of the most important trends in America right now which is income segregation -- it's not just racial segregation -- it's income segregation. As we are segregating by income, we're creating different societies that have almost nothing to do with one another.

HARLOW: I read half of New Yorkers are at or near the poverty line.

BILL BLASIO: 46 percent.

HARLOW: You were Hillary Clinton's campaign manager for her 2000 senate race. You said you have quote, "tremendous respect for her" but you have not come out and endorsed her. Why?

[10:45:03] DE BLASIO: Because I want to see the vision fleshed out. I think when she announced her candidacy, I thought she was arguably the most capable and experienced person to ever run for the office. But I said we're facing a profound economic crisis and a kind of an inequality we have never seen before. We need a set of solutions. To her great credit, she with each passing week put more meat on the bone.

HARLOW: She's getting you closer?

DE BLASIO: I think she's getting a lot of Democrats closer because she's speaking to the issues at hand. But the point it there are still some outstanding issues that I, for one, need to see and that a lot of people need to see a little bit more on. This is why we have these debates.

HARLOW: Donald Trump came forward with his tax proposal. What do you make of the plan?

DE BLASIO: The one part I like, I give him credit for, is calling for the closing of the carried interest loophole. I think his voice actually matters this. But the rest of the plan is very suspect. It looks to me like a plan that continues to reward wealth instead of work. It certainly looks like a plan where wealthy Americans do better, actually pay less taxes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Speaking of Donald Trump, I want to show you this. He brought a hat to the interview, Mayor de Blasio. It says "Make America Fair Again". So they're taking on Trump's "Make America Great Again" and you'll see him put it on. He told me, it's quite obvious, if you want to get a good idea across America, you need put it on a hat. I asked him, is he envious at all of Trump's poll numbers? He said let's see how this works for my progressive agenda. So we will watch how it goes.

He did talk about money in politics, noting that 400 families contributed half of the money to the 2016 election so far. He said he wants to see a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. I asked him if that is too idealistic. He argues public opinion polling shows there's a consensus across party lines. He thinks that's possible.

I want to know what you think of his agenda, what he had to say. Tweet me @PoppyHarlowCNN. Much more of my interview with Mayor de Blasio on income inequality this weekend on CNN.

Still to come here: the Secret Service apologizing to a congressman. Did the agency deliberately try to embarrass one of the most powerful members of the house?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:51:36] HARLOW: The Secret Service saying it is sorry to one of its biggest critics after shocking revelations that some members of the agency apparently wanted to embarrass Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz by leaking details from his failed application to join the Secret Service. According to this report, supervisors at the top level knew that private details about Chaffetz were being circulated among Secret Service employees.

Let's go straight to Jim Acosta. He joins us at the White House this morning. This, just days after the President sort of lauded the Secret Service for the great work they did around the Pope's visit.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Poppy. And I'm told by a Secret Service official in just the last several minutes that the disciplinary process is now under way. It should start moving quickly in response to this incident that the paperwork is coming in and that they're getting that process started.

And as you said, a pretty extraordinary apology from the director of the Secret Service Joe Clancy to the chairman of the House Oversight Committee Jason Chaffetz in response to this IG report that found that Secret Service officials were trying to put out damaging stories about Chaffetz to the news media.

Let's put that apology up on screen form Director Clancy. It says "The Secret Service takes employee misconduct very seriously. As I've state before, any employee, regardless of rank or seniority who has committed misconduct will be held accountable. This incident will be no different. And I assure the appropriate disciplinary actions are taken on behalf of the men and women of the United States Secret Service. I again apologize to Representative Chaffetz for this wholly avoidable and embarrassing misconduct."

That's pretty tough language there "avoidable and embarrassing misconduct". And just to give you a sense as to what the director is looking into, we'll put an e-mail up on screen because this dates back to something that was happening in March, in April. There was a story that came out about Chairman Chaffetz saying that he had applied for the Secret Service back 2003, had been rejected for that position.

And this is an e-mail that was dredged up in the IG's investigation, some information this e-mail says that he might find embarrassing, needs to get out just to be fair. And that is from Edward Lowery, an assistant director at the U.S. Secret Service -- so a very top official.

And Poppy as you were saying at the start of this, this embarrassing episode one of a slew for the Secret Service. You remember last fall the fence jumping incident began sort of a cavalcade of embarrassing episodes for this agency. But just the other day, President Obama when he landed here at the White House on Tuesday after that trip to the United Nations, praised the Secret Service saying that they have performed flawlessly in protecting Pope Francis, President Xi of China, the UNGA when they their 70th anniversary gathering up in New York.

And so for this to come on the hills of that is not going to go over well here at the White House and certainly not for Director Clancy who is signaling some pretty tough action is coming -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Jim Acosta, live for us at the White House this morning. Thank you very much.

Still to come here, a flurry of fresh developments following a new round of airstrikes in Syria. We will tell you what happened. U.S. and Russian officials expected to speak in just minutes. Stay with us. Continuing coverage. [10:54:35] I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Checking top stories this hour.

Amtrak is set to start charging for excess baggage today. Passengers who exceed the limit of two carry-on bags and two personal items will have to pay $20 for each extra bag and carry-on bag weighing more than 50 pounds will also be hit with a fee. Amtrak officials saying the fees were put in place to help preserve space on crowded trains and to reduce safety concerns.

As of today, merchants accepting credit and debit credit cards must use machines that accept cards with a computer chip. Embedded chips are more secure than magnetic strips. Banks are still in the process of changing out their cards. If you don't have a new one yet, you will get one with a chip when your current card expires. Gas pumps and ATMs will start using that new technology in 2017.

Today Oregon joined Colorado and Washington State as the only states where you can buy and sell recreational marijuana. Adults 21 and older can buy up to a quarter, an ounce of cannabis per day without needing a doctor's note at all.

And frugal users take note, pot sales will not be taxed until January.

[10:59:59] That will do it for me today. I'm Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much for being with me. Carol Costello is back tomorrow.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan begins right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello everyone. I'm --