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Protests As Obama Visits Oregon; Ryan Thinking About Speaker Run; Cosby Faces Deposition. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 09, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:06] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: That's it for me. Thanks for watching. The news continues next on CNN.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you so much.

Hi, everyone, I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.

President Obama is about to touch down in Oregon on his way to Roseburg to do something that is already making a lot of people very angry. He's about to meet with survivors of last week's campus massacre. Protesters gathering right now in this community, still grieving the deaths of those nine people shot dead by a 26-year-old who went building to building to building at Umpqua Community College.

So, why are they so mad? Well, you'll remember that the day after the shooting, President Obama made a pretty powerful statement about the tragedy, reiterating his determination to press for tighter gun laws. And that is not sitting well with this rural community where, for the most part, guns are just a part of life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think he should be here, to be honest with you. His announcement he made about gun control and the way that coming off the first thing he said, instead of saying, I'm sorry for the families, I think it was just wrong. And I think he needs to stay in Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's coming into an area here where I would guess that 99 percent of us are - have guns and hunt. So it's - he's coming into kind of a lion's den.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to take you live to Roseburg now and to my colleague, Ryan Young.

And, Ryan, tell me first of all what is on the president's agenda once he is there in Roseburg. And how large with these protests really expected to be?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that's the thing that we're all waiting to see. And, Brooke, you've often said this show was about having a conversation. I think this community's having an open conversation and we're all sort of watching what's going on here. I can honestly tell you, we're told the president's going to meet with victims and we're told no public appearances.

But there are a large amount of people who say they're going to gather for a protest. In fact, we just went to the airport and saw about 50 people outside of the airport waiting to greet the president with signs that pretty much says they want guns in the area. They do not want to hear Obama talking about politicizing this issue.

And, you know, when you talk to people in this community, as you heard those two gentlemen talking just a second ago, they talk about the idea that this is an area where people love to hunt. They love their guns. I mean you go into stores here and you see signs of hunting everywhere. And in the paper where they're talking about grief and heartache and pain, there are ads, just like this one, for gun sales. And, in fact, we've talked to some gun shop owners who say their sales have gone up since this shooting.

But they don't believe guns are the issue here. They actually believe the individual who was involved in this shooting needed help, and that's a totally separate issue. And I was actually saying, look, I stood in a feed store here and listened to some people talk about the president back and forth, have really a social discourse where they were giving their opinions about whether or not the president should be here. You heard one person say, look, I think the president has all the rights to come here because he's going to talk to the victims and you heard someone else say, I don't want to hear his politics right now. And, in fact, here's two of the voices that we've heard recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the timing of the president's visit was frankly very insensitive to the families and the community as a whole. And we're a little hesitant to embrace his visit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We welcome him and we are going to treat him with respect and open our arms and appreciate that he is here in our town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: And over and over again we've heard from this community, they don't want the most important thing here lost, the victims. And then besides the victims, you have three heroes that stand out here where you had two officers, without their bullet proof vests, went and responded to this call and made sure they tried to stop this short. And then, of course, you had that one soldier who was shot several times as he tried to hold that door. That's what this community says they're about. And, honestly, we've been talking to people all throughout here who say they love this community and want to make sure it stays strong.

BALDWIN: Incredible. Ryan Young, thank you so much.

As Ryan was just hitting on, you know, a lot of folks in this community saying that until the dead are buried, that it's no time to talk politics. But President Obama says that the - in the immediate aftermath, that is precisely the time to do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This will not change until the politics changes and the behavior of elected officials changes. And so the main thing I'm going to do is I'm going to talk about this on a regular basis. And I will politicize it, because our inaction is a political decision that we are making.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, I have Michelle Finn. He is an organizer of the Defend Roseburg, Deny Barack Obama protest happening there today.

Michelle, thank you so much for joining me.

MICHELLE FINN, ORGANIZER, DEFEND ROSEBURG DENY BARACK OBAMA: Well, thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

[14:05:01] BALDWIN: I just want to hear, in your own words, I understand you're part of the group that, you know, you don't support the president being in Roseburg today. I want you to tell me why.

FINN: I'm from this community. I went to UCC for a short time after high school. Just like the gentleman that spoke before me was saying, these people are salt of the earth. This is an agricultural town. This is a hunting and fishing town. We love our outdoors. We love, you know, fishing poles and guns. And the overwhelming majority of people in Douglas County and Roseburg know in their hearts and agree with a lot of the people that are protesting today that this is a mental health issue. This is a young man that was screaming out for help and slipped through the cracks. This is not a gun issue. This is not a political issue. This was a gentleman that needed help, didn't get it, and therefore there are families that are suffering the repercussions of that.

BALDWIN: I understand, and I think a lot of people, Michelle, would agree with you that it's a mental health issue. Some folks would also argue the fact that he was able to procure legally 14 guns over the course of three years, would absolutely say it's a gun issue. But the thing with the president today is, he's actually coming not to give any kind of speech on gun control, from everyone I've talked to, he is meeting with, you know, priority number one, these grieving families, focusing on the victims, doing so behind closed doors.

FINN: Yes, he is. And I fully agree that if the president wants to come and pay his condolences and pay his respects, that is wonderful. That's admirable. The majority of the problem that this community has, and myself personally have, is that he is taking the tragedy and the pain and his prior statements within hours of this happening was that he was going to politicize this. It's - it's unconscionable to me that he could take the pain and the agony of families that have just lost a loved one and basically said, no matter what you say or what you think, I'm going to use your personal tragedy for my own political agenda. That's the problem that this community has.

It's not that he's paying his respects. It's that, behind closed doors, he might say the right things, but within hours he said the exact wrong things for Douglas County. And that's what we're upset about.

BALDWIN: I think, you know, we all know President Obama can't run for another term. It's not political for him personally. As we know, this is the 15th time he's had to speak on some sort of mass shooting. You heard him - I don't know if frustrated is the right word - saying that the nation is numb. And if he didn't speak about it then, Michelle, when would be the right time to really get into it?

FINN: I think wait until the families have had a time to grieve. At least wait until the funerals are over. Wait until people have fully digested what has gone on here. I know with a number of families that have contacted me either through FaceBook or called me, they have thanked us for coming. And overwhelmingly when I asked them that exact same question, you know, when do you think would be the appropriate time? They have said wait until we have buried our families. Wait until we have come to terms with what has happened here. And then do something like that.

They completely disagreed with the knee-jerk reaction of within hours making it a political issue. And he has every right to call for whatever legislation or, you know, opinions that he would like, but let the community have a chance to grieve, to mourn and to heal before turning it into politics.

BALDWIN: I understand. I understand. Michelle Finn, thank you for your voice. It's an important one. Thank you so much.

FINN: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: And, again, our hearts go out to all of you there in Oregon.

FINN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, high drama - high drama on Capitol Hill. Many Republicans wanted him to run for House speaker, but Paul Ryan doesn't want it. All that may be changing, especially after a phone call he just received.

Plus, Bill Cosby has refused to respond to allegations of sexual assault. But right now, somewhere in America, Gloria Allred is forcing him to. Cosby under oath, coming up.

And joining me live, a Hispanic woman who joined Donald Trump on stage. Was she a plant? Let's ask her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And is this a setup? Did I ever meet you before? Huh?

[14:09:53] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Hispanic and I vote for Mr. Trump! We vote for Mr. Trump! Yes, Mr. Trump!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And now to the leadership vacuum that is gripping Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. This morning, they met behind closed doors. They emerged facing the same dilemma that walloped them Thursday when California Congressman Kevin McCarthy bowed out as the heir apparent to House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner plans to retire at the end of the month, but House Republicans still can't settle on who should replace him. That despite having the largest majority in Congress since World War II.

Look at the red on your screen. Remember last November when the Republicans took all these House seats? Now just one name among 247 members keeps coming up, Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan, this is the guy getting a lot of pressure from a lot of Republicans, including the man who chose him to be his running mate on his ticket, Mitt Romney wanted him as his VP. And, you know what, some of this pressure may be working because instead of the flat refusals he's been giving in the past, the flat-out no, he is now telling some House members he's, quote, "thinking and praying" on the idea that he could be the next House speaker.

[14:15:09] And there was also this exchange with our own Dana Bash and Kevin McCarthy this morning. Listen to his final few words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. McCarthy, can you stop for one sec?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I've got to run, I'm sorry.

BASH: Wait, wait, can you just tell me what you were saying, that he's got to decide on his own. Come here - come over here.

MCCARTHY: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you please, sir.

MCCARTHY: OK, I'm only going to make it quickly. We had a very good conference, working together -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

MCCARTHY: Trying to work together. I know a lot of speculation about who should run and others. Paul is looking at it, but it's his decision. If he decides to do it, he'd be an amazing speaker. But he's got to decide on his own.

BASH: Should he do it?

(CROSS TALK)

MCCARTHY: Yes, I don't (ph) - it's a very good chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Ah, ha, ha, ha, it's a very good chance. Also I say, that a girl for Dana Bash for getting Kevin McCarthy to spin around and come back to that microphone. And yet Paul Ryan's spokesperson says he is still not running for speaker.

Joining me now, CNN political commentator Michael Smerconish from CNN's "Smerconish," with me.

So, first of all, explain to me this. This is the position, speaker of the House, two heartbeats away from the president, right? So you're - you're way up there, yet no one, for the most part, really wants to take the job. Why is that and who's to blame for that?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Because the job is a job of herding cats. I mean Dana just showed that she's got the requisite credentials to get it done.

BALDWIN: A key herder. Why to go, Dana.

SMERCONISH: Right, the way - the way that she pulled him back to thee -

BALDWIN: Right.

SMERCONISH: To the podium.

But take a look at Paul Ryan. I mean I think that Paul Ryan emerged from an unsuccessful campaign in the last cycle, Mitt Romney's running mate, as a still rising star. He handled himself well. There were no gaffs. Everybody still looks at him as the future of the Republican Party.

You've got to go way back in history to find a speaker of the House. I didn't do the research. I think it's James Polk. We - you know, we need Berman for a question like this.

BALDWIN: I know, where's our Berman when we need him.

SMERCONISH: But it's just not a path to the White House.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SMERCONISH: So - so if you're Paul Ryan -

BALDWIN: Sometimes it can truly be career-ending.

SMERCONISH: No doubt. I mean the last several have not ended or left voluntarily.

BALDWIN: Yes.

SMERCONISH: I think you have to go back to Tip O'Neill.

BALDWIN: Wow.

SMERCONISH: So if you are Paul Ryan, why do you want this? You're the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. You're in a policy- making position, which is the sort of role that I think he casts for himself. He is a deep thinker. He's sort of a Jack Kemp type in the GOP. This is - this is not a gig that puts you closer to -

BALDWIN: He's a family man. He wants to see his kids on the weekend.

SMERCONISH: Sure.

BALDWIN: The whole deal.

SMERCONISH: And - but it also - it also, Brooke, doesn't put you closer to the White House, I don't think, at least not traditionally.

BALDWIN: OK. This is what Speaker Boehner has said, making a plea to members today, saying it's time to take down the walls. Quote, "it's not helpful for one group of members to say they will only vote for this candidate on the floor and it's not helpful for another group of members to say they will only vote for a different candidate on the floor. It's up to the people in this room to listen to each other, come together and figure this out."

So when you look at this, this is what I was thinking about this morning, on the surface it appears that it's the outsiders who are winning in terms of if you want to call it a race to be speaker, not the heir apparent, not the Republican establishment.

SMERCONISH: Right.

BALDWIN: Same - same is true as we've been covering this Republican race for the presidency. What's - what does that - what does that signal tell you or does that cause you pause?

SMERCONISH: Well, I think it's a reflection of what the Republican Party largely has become. I think you're absolutely right, it's a microcosm of that which is transpiring on the presidential stage -

BALDWIN: Yes.

SMERCONISH: Where you've got, you know, 52 or 53 percent of Republicans -

BALDWIN: Who are outsiders.

SMERCONISH: Tied up among Carly, Trump and Dr. Carson.

BALDWIN: And Carson.

SMERCONISH: Right. And then you've got the establishment types, who would be the Paul Ryan and the Boehner types, represented in the presidential sweepstakes by John Kasich and by Jeb Bush and by Senator Rubio. So I think it speaks of an exodus of independent types from the GOP. This is the core that's been left behind.

The problem is that I think it's short-sighted because, you know, those three dozen Freedom Caucus members, if they really want to advance the agenda that they are supportive of, they've got to control the White House. They can't get it done without the White House. And the harm that's being done to the GOP right now, I think, is a branding problem. If I were Jeb Bush, I'm not happy about this. If I'm Donald Trump, I probably am. It fits with where I am. But I've got to believe that Marco Rubio and John Kasich are looking at this and saying, come on, man, you're killing me if I should get the nomination.

BALDWIN: That's why you have Donald Trump taking credit for McCarthy dropping out.

SMERCONISH: Taking credit. Oh, yes. Sure.

BALDWIN: You mentioned Dr. Carson. You know, he was sitting on this set with Wolf yesterday. And typically when you say some of the things that Dr. Carson has said, you know, you get in trouble, at least when it comes to the polls. And that hasn't happened with him. Specifically he has been asked about what he said with regard to, what, being held up in a Popeye's -

SMERCONISH: Right.

BALDWIN: Some years ago in Baltimore. He was on your show yesterday. Let me just play the sound and then we can talk about it on the other side.

SMERCONISH: Please. Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): The resolution was - he - he said, oh, sorry. And then he went to the appropriate person behind the register, who gave him the money, and he left the store running before the police got there.

[14:20:00] SMERCONISH: But allow me to be critical. Why - why would you say the appropriate person? Because it sounds like you were deflecting this - this gunman to somebody else instead of confronting him in the manner that you said perhaps the Oregon people should have.

CARSON: Well, again, they're very - two different - very different situations. You've got a crazy person who's shooting people and is clearly going to continue to do that versus somebody who's coming in to try to get a little bit of cash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What was your read on that?

SMERCONISH: Earlier in the week he was saying that if he were - found himself in - God forbid, that predicament like the folks in Oregon that he'd fight back.

BALDWIN: Right.

SMERCONISH: He'd want to fight back. We then we learned that in a Popeye's somebody put a gun in his rib cage. I wanted to know, why didn't you fight back? What was your reaction? I found it a little odd that he said that he directed the individual, that would be the gunman to the more -

BALDWIN: To the cashier.

SMERCONISH: To the more appropriate person.

BALDWIN: Right.

SMERCONISH: That would be the individual with the money. I don't know, I just found it interesting.

BALDWIN: Do you think that people, and I say people, we the people, a lot of people out there aren't properly vetting or questioning more outsider candidates versus a Hillary Clinton or a Jeb bush?

SMERCONISH: No, I think we're - we're vetting appropriately. Now, what's so interesting that you raise that question is that, after I questioned Dr. Carson, I had telephone callers who would say to me, well, why are you pushing back on the Popeye's story? And I'm not pushing back, I'm curious as to what exactly transpired.

BALDWIN: How could he not remember more details.

SMERCONISH: But immediately there's this narrative out there that, you know, we, the lame-stream or mainstream media, are questioning too much. I think if you're running for the highest office in the land, whomever you might be -

BALDWIN: You've got to be ready for a lot of questions.

SMERCONISH: You've got to be - Winston Churchill said, Brooke, that nothing so tests the character of an individual as the running of elections. I agree with that and there's a reason for it.

BALDWIN: Michael Smerconish, thank you so much.

SMERCONISH: I'll see you in Vegas.

BALDWIN: OK. Deal. Monday, it's a date.

SMERCONISH: OK. All right.

BALDWIN: Make sure you join Michael Smerconish tomorrow morning, 9:00 Eastern. "Smerconish" right here on CNN, before we go to Vegas, baby.

Coming up next, Bill Cosby in court, somewhere secret, in America, facing a grilling, I'm sure, by Gloria Allred, amidst all these sexual assault allegations. This time he is being forced to talk. The question is, will he. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:24] BALDWIN: Bill Cosby, under oath today, forced to face questions about an alleged sexual assault he's accused of committing back in 1974. His accuser today, Judy Huth, suing the TV icon. Her attorney, Gloria Allred, will no doubt grill Cosby with all kinds of questions regarding this alleged encounter at the infamous Playboy mansion. Huth claims at the time of this alleged attack she was only 15 years of age. By now, at least 40 women have come forward accusing the 78-year-old comedian in similar cases. Cosby has not been charged with any crime. But his first accuser to go public says she is happy to see justice moving forward in Huth's case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BOWMAN, ACCUSES COSBY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: It is a great day that we've all been waiting for, for a very long time. It has been an amazing year. I mean, 28 years ago, 29 years ago when it happened to me seems like an eternity. But in the one year so much - so much ground has been covered. It's been really remarkable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This is likely a big day for Judy Huth considering that earlier this year the district attorney initially refused to charge the comedian in her case because the statute of limitations had run out.

So with me now is attorney Lisa Bloom, trial attorney at the Bloom Firm, and legal analyst for "Avo." (ph) She is also representing another Cosby accuser, ex-model Janice Dickinson. She is also Gloria Allred's daughter.

So, Lisa, thank you so much for joining me.

LISA BLOOM, ATTORNEY FOR COSBY ACCUSER: Guilty as charged! Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: So how was Huth able to get this deposition to go forward? First question.

BLOOM: Well, Ms. Huth has a civil lawsuit for child sexual abuse against Bill Cosby. And the reason why she can do that after so many years is because California has an extended statute of limitation for child sexual abuse, as many states do. I want to emphasize, this is my mom's case. We practice law in separate firms. So I don't speak for Judy Huth or for my mom in any way.

But I can tell you that here in the state of California, when you get sued, customarily you have to give a deposition. And the court appears to have agreed that this rule applies to Bill Cosby, just like everybody else. We are going into court, by the way, on October 29th in the Janice Dickinson case to ask for Mr. Cosby's deposition in our case. And I think there's a good chance we will get it as well.

BALDWIN: With today's under-oath grilling, do you know if these details will ever be made public?

BLOOM: Well, from what I have read, and I only know what I have read in the media, like everybody else, it will be around Christmastime, I think it's December 22nd, when the judge in Judy Huth's case will decide if the deposition will be made public. So it will be confidential until then. And at that point maybe the judge will allow it to be released or maybe not.

BALDWIN: How much, you know, in terms of the questioning today with him, how - I'm wondering how much of an uphill battle this will be for Gloria Allred, for your mother, and what she can and can't ask, and what she realistically can expect to get out of him?

BLOOM: So I take depositions all the time here at my law firm and the rules are very broad. You are allowed to ask any question that's reasonably calculated to lead to discoverable evidence. So you can cast a wide net in a deposition. At trial you have to stick to questions that are strictly relevant, a much narrower category. But the idea of a deposition is, it's pretrial discovery. And we attorneys are allowed to ask questions that might lead to something else that would lead to discoverable evidence. And so it's a pretty wide net.

[14:30:00] Having said that, I'm sure Mr. Cosby is going to be very well represented in the deposition. His attorneys will interpose every objection that they feel is appropriate. I think it's likely that there will be disputes after the deposition because I've litigated against these very attorneys many times.