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Trump Listens to Crazies; Derby Winner Fails Second Drug Test; Heated New York Mayoral Debate; Rainy Weather Headed for the Northeast; Provocations Stain Upcoming Biden-Putin Summit. Aired 6:30- 7a ET

Aired June 03, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

ARIEH KOVLER, POLITICAL CONSULTANT WHO PREDICTED JANUARY 6 CAPITOL RIOT: Maricopa County and rumors of boards (ph) in other states. And you think of these (INAUDIBLE), well, perhaps some point in the summer, or there afterwards, provide a path for Trump's return.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So they --

KOVLER: So we'll see. On the one hand -- yes.

BERMAN: You know, they do think -- they do think that Donald Trump will become president again this summer perhaps?

KOVLER: Yes. I mean they had -- there was a large QAnon conference this -- these lad few days and a number of the speakers talked about the possibly of Trump becoming president. Some said it won't be so soon. Some say it will be sooner rather than later. But, you know, if they -- they -- very few of them almost (INAUDIBLE) expect that Joe Biden will finish his term. They think Trump's coming back one way or the other.

BERMAN: what do you mean one way or another?

KOVLER: Well, one way or another. Whether that is through some unknown equal mechanism that shows that maybe the election was (INAUDIBLE) and everybody holds up their hands and reinstates him or whether that is through force of arms in a coup.

BERMAN: That's what I wanted to ask you about next, through force of arms or a coup, because retired General Michael Flynn, I believe at that same conference you were just referring to, in answer to a question sounded like he was endorsing the idea of a Myanmar-style coup, a military coup in the United States.

Now, he later claimed that's not exactly what he was saying. But, once again, how are those claims being received online?

KOVLER: The first thing to remember is that QAnon, from its very beginning, was a belief in a military coup. A believe that that coup would be led by Donald Trump as president in which -- when he was still in office and that he would use the generals to purge out Congress and arrest hundreds of thousands of his enemies. So the idea of a coup is inherent to what these people think and (INAUDIBLE) think.

Flynn's comments were received extremely popularly (ph). Again, there was a big admirer of the coup in Myanmar and many people of QAnon (INAUDIBLE) saw that as a possible model for the United States after Trump's defeat. Flynn himself, on his own telegram channel, which has nearly courted (ph) a million followers, rushed to take it back, saying it didn't mean that, you know, they're misinterpreting me, the fake media is twisting my words. But all the comments, his own supporters were -- were -- were saying, no, that's not true, we hard you. You said you wanted a coup and you lied. We supported you.

And so, yes, there's a real excitement, a hope, and that's really the essence of what QAnon is, the hope that the military will rise up and punish enemies on the left, Democrats, liberals, and others.

BERMAN: They took his word for it when they heard him say that a Myanmar-style coup, no reason it couldn't happen here.

Arieh Kovler, thank you so much for being with us. As always, we appreciate your insight.

KOVLER: Of course. Thank you.

BERMAN: Bob Baffert, the Kentucky Derby winning trainer, banned from Churchill Downs. His horse, Medina Spirit, now facing disqualification from a failed drug test. Baffert's lawyer joins us next.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Olympic champion Michael Phelps joins us to discuss Naomi Osaka and his own struggles with mental health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:37:05]

KEILAR: Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has been banned from entering horses into the Kentucky Derby for two years. This comes after Medina Spirit's failed drug test was confirmed. So a second test came back positive. Medina is the horse that he trained that won this year's Kentucky Derby. And it's possible that win could now be thrown out.

Let's talk now with Bob Baffert's attorney, Craig Robertson.

Thank you so much for joining us, Craig. We have a lot of questions here.

What is Baffert's reaction to his suspension?

W. CRAIG ROBERTSON III, ATTORNEY FOR MEDIA SPIRIT'S TRAINER BOB BAFFERT: Well, Mr. Baffert has been disappointed and upset throughout this process.

With regard to any issues with the Churchill Downs, I can't and I'm not going to comment on those. I'm happy to discuss any other aspects of this case, and there are a lot of them.

And in broad strokes, generally, you know, this has been a very difficult time for Mr. Baffert. He has worked hard all of his life and has achieved the pinnacle of the sport. My -- I mean basically Bob Baffert is the Michael Jordan of horse racing. And to now have, you know, his life's work questioned the way that it has, has been very difficult on him.

BERMAN: Well, look, the bottom line is, is the second test came back and the levels of betamethasone were just too high, right? I mean you don't dispute the fact that the betamethasone levels were just higher than are allowed?

ROBERTSON: Kentucky's rules do not allow any betamethasone in a horse on race day. And what we -- what was found here was 21 picograms of betamethasone. That's correct. That -- that's --

BERMAN: Which is more than that's allowed.

KEILAR: I think it was 25 on the second test, wasn't it?

ROBERTSON: Correct. Twenty-one on the first test, 25 on the second test. A picogram, again, is a trillionth of a gram. It's the equivalent of one drop of water in an Olympic size pool.

KEILAR: But only ten picograms is allowed.

ROBERTSON: And -- that's correct. But that -- just because that that's the rule doesn't mean that it's a proper rule. And the reason why it's not a proper rule is that at that level there would be zero pharmacology in a horse. Zero. And it would have had no effect on this race.

And one thing that you haven't heard and you will not ever hear is an equine pharmacologist come out and say that 21 picograms, 25 picograms would have any pharmacology in a horse. They're not going to say that because they can't say that. And so --

BERMAN: Mr. Robertson --

ROBERTSON: Yes.

BERMAN: Yes or no -- yes or no, did the horse break the rules? Was the amount of the drug beyond the rules?

ROBERTSON: The -- as I said, the Kentucky rules do not allow the finding of any betamethasone. So there was this -- this finding (ph).

BERMAN: OK. So, yes -- yes, it was -- yes, it was beyond the rules.

Was Bob Baffert aware of the rules?

ROBERTSON: Yes, Mr. Baffert is aware of the rules.

[06:40:00]

BERMAN: So he broke the rules?

ROBERTSON: Well, listen, let's -- let's be clear on another thing too, OK? The rules here are designed to prevent a horse from getting an injection of betamethasone into --

BERMAN: I don't think that that's true. It just has to -- the rules specifically state the amount of betamethasone in the blood. It doesn't matter the manner with which it appears in the blood.

ROBERTSON: Well, I respectfully disagree with you on that and I think that we will have evidence of that, that the rules are related to an injection of betamethasone and were never intended to address how the betamethasone got into the horse here, which is through an ointment and a cream that was to treat a topical dermatitis condition.

KEILAR: I mean that -- that is your claim, to be clear. I think it would probably be impossible to tell exactly how. You're saying it's an ointment, it's not an injection, you're going to have a hard time proving that it was not an injection. That may be impossible here.

I do want to mention, though, Churchill Downs cited your client's --

ROBERTSON: Well, can I address that?

KEILAR: Churchill Downs cited your client's repeated testing failures, not just this one, repeated for his suspension. What's your response to that?

ROBERTSON: Well, listen, when you look at the history of Mr. Baffert, he's had a 46-year-long history of training. And the vast majority of his career has been free of any particular issues, OK?

I think the most telling statistic is this fact. The real problems and findings for trainers in horse racing is when you get suspended, all right? And in Mr. Baffert's 46-year history of training, he's only been suspended twice. Once in 1977 and once in, I believe it was 1997. So he hasn't had -- he's only had two suspensions in a 46-year career and he hasn't had any in the last 25, 26 years.

KEILAR: I mean with all due respect, you're -- you say he's like the Michael Jordan of the sport. But when you look at his history, it's more like perhaps he's the Jose Canseco of the sport. These are issues that you are downplaying.

ROBERTSON: Again, I disagree. When you look at those -- each individual particular issue, the fact and the evidence of those issues on many of them Mr. Baffert has prevailed. And, again, the findings, all of which have been investigated thoroughly by racing commissions and the findings in all of those have only resulted in two suspensions. If these were significant issues, those racing commissions would have suspended Mr. Baffert in the past, and they have not.

BERMAN: I've got to say, only two suspensions. I'm not sure you want that as your second line on your chyron there, Bob Baffert, trainer, only suspended twice in his career. ROBERTSON: Well --

BERMAN: Can I just ask you about how it seemed to some like Baffert was blaming everyone else after the failed -- first failed test of Medina Spirit.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAFFERT, MEDINA SPIRIT'S TRAINER: We didn't treat him with that. We don't even use that. Contamination's the only way because that horse was not treated by anybody.

And we're going to investigate who touched -- who touched the horse, who was near him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, and then Baffert blamed like, you know, fake news and media here. He said no -- no one was ever treated. The bottom line is the horse was treated with something that had betamethasone.

ROBERTSON: What the horse was not given was an injection of betamethasone. This ointment and cream was prescribed by a veterinarian, and one of its ingredients turned out to be betamethasone.

And to go back on one of the points that you made earlier, we will be able to, I believe, scientifically prove that this came from the cream -- the cream and ointment because there are certain compounds in the ointment that are not present in the injection. And so when we can further do the blood and urine tests, we believe we will be able to identify those compounds in the blood and urine and, again, scientifically prove that this came from the ointment.

KEILAR: How's -- how's that relevant, though, I mean when we talk about substances in sports -- you know, if someone is not allowed to have a certain -- we have the Olympics coming up. Whether an athlete uses an ointment or an injection --

BERMAN: Or a pill.

KEILAR: Or a pill, they are not allowed, just as Medina Spirit was not allowed, to have this substance in his system, nor are any of these horses.

ROBERTSON: Again, it's relevant to this point, which is, the regulation was designed to deal with an injection into the joint of the horse and concern that that type of injection into the joint of a horse could somehow mask an injury. It was not designed to deal with an -- the innocent application of a topical ointment to treat a skin rash on a horse.

[06:45:05]

BERMAN: Oh, well that's --

ROBERTSON: Two totally different things.

BERMAN: That's not -- that's not what the rule says. And the world "innocent" there is your interpretation of it.

But, Craig Robertson, you know, lawyer for multiple-times suspended Bob Baffert, we thank you for joining us this morning.

ROBERTSON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Now, coming up, the highlighted of New York's fiery mayoral debate.

BERMAN: Plus, remember this moment? A moment now an area of concern by the U.S. government. The new FDA warning about eating cicadas.

KEILAR: You're just going to roll that all the time, right? All the time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Less than three weeks until New York city's Democratic mayoral primary. The gloves off. Way off. Last night the eight leading candidates came together for their first in-person debate. It was at times tense and marked by some pretty personal clashes.

Athena Jones has the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's meet the candidates.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): New York City's top 8 Democratic candidates squaring off in their first in-person mayoral debate.

ERIC ADAMS (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: You do not vote in municipal elections at all. I just don't know, how the hell do we have your become our mayor with this racket (ph) like this?

ANDREW YANG (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We need to turn the page on the people who have been running our city into the ground for the last number of years.

KATHRYN GARCIA (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: No one on this stage did more than -- during the pandemic back in March and April and May when things are really dire to keep this city going.

JONES: The leading contenders eager to draw contrast with their rivals in the race to lead the nation's largest city out of historic, pandemic-induced crisis, with the winner of this month's primary expected to prevail in November.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the first question on crime.

JONES: The second mayoral debate, like the first, dominated by concerns over public safety.

ADAMS: Make the streets safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can no longer respond to mental health complaints with over policing.

DIANNE MORALES (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We believe we can get to a safer New York City by divesting $3 billion from the NYPD.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do need to get the guns off our street.

JONES: In April, the city saw major crimes rise 30 percent compared to the previous year, including a staggering 166 percent rise in shootings.

ADAMS: If we're going to turn around our economy, we have to make this city a safe city.

JONES: Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former New York police captain, has made public safety a centerpiece of his run.

ADAMS: I was beaten by police at 15, so I became a police officer to battle racism from within.

JONES: He calls for early intervention in at-risk communities and well-trained police to prevent gun violence, while also stressing the need to build trust.

ADAMS: We must have a police department that we trust and that would -- is going to do its job of keeping the people of its city safe.

JONES: Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang says crime is high on voter's list of concerns.

YANG: We're going to need to address these concerned neighborhood by neighborhood.

JONES: He is focused on overhauling oversight of the NYPD and diversifying the force.

[06:50:00]

YANG: Defunding the police is not the right approach for New York City. We need to go on a massive recruitment drive.

JONES: Former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia has put forth what she calls practical ideas to reform the NYPD.

GARCIA: We need to have police officers live in the city, be a little bit older, have transparent discipline, and really measure the community impact.

JONES: Civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley, in a three-way battle for the progressive vote, pledging to transform the NYPD.

MAYA WILEY (D), NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE: This is the time for a mayor with the courage to confront the bureaucracy, developers, and the NYPD.

JONES: She wants more mental health resources.

WILEY: And we need the have the resources to invest in what allows us to need fewer police officers. And that is mental health services. That is making it easier to get a job than a gun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now, reliable polling has been scarce in this race and with rank choice voting it's hard to predict who will come out on top. Still, all of the candidates I have spoken to put public safety and/or near the top of the list of voters' concerns. And some New York political observers believe the increased focus on rising crime in recent weeks benefits a candidate like Eric Adams, who has made his own law enforcement resume and fighting crime central to his campaign.

BERMAN: It really was interesting to watch. But with the rank choice voting, everyone I'm talking to, and I know you are too, Athena, no one knows what the heck's going to happen in this.

JONES: Not at all.

BERMAN: They've never seen anything like this.

Thanks so much.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just responded to the last-minute deal to oust him for power. What he said about the new, remarkable unity government.

KEILAR: Plus, new CNN reporting about another Justice Department investigation connected to the probe into Congressman Matt Gaetz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:55:42]

BERMAN: Bob Weir (ph) says it looks like rain, shows and thundershowers in the forecast here in the Northeast.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers now with the forecast.

Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a big storm. Some with some wind, lots of lightning likely today. Maybe some baseball games in the way of some of these lightning strikes as well.

This weather is brought to you by Carvana, the new way to buy a car.

So let's go hour by hour. We are going to see the potential for severe weather all across the East Coast. Look at what the radar is going to do this afternoon. It's going to get warm. In fact, in some spots it's going to get hot. And then we are going to have these big cell thunderstorms. Some of them may rotate. There's -- notice, there's not a zero percent chance of a tornado today. There is some chance, not a big one. I think the big threat really will be the wind and the hail and the lightning. So we'll see that go by for tomorrow and some light rain by the end of all this, one to two inches. The bigger story is how much rain we're going to get across the Gulf Coast. Areas around New Orleans, 6 to 8 inches of rain in the next just few days. And then temperatures begin to heat up.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Chad. Chad Myers, thank you very much.

Brianna.

KEILAR: The first face-to-face meeting between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place in Geneva in just a little less than two weeks here. And this summit is coming amid frosty relations between the two countries over several key issues, including a series of suspected Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. and the Russian foreign minister's recent comments defending the January 6th Capitol rioters.

Let's talk about all of this now with Julia Ioffe. She is a founding partner and Washington correspondent at "Puck" and she has covered stories on U.S./Russia relations for years.

Julia, good morning to you.

Tell us a little bit about, you know, what you're expecting here because it seems like the message coming from Putin is, I'm going to do whatever the heck I want to do and we'll see if you're going to do anything about it even though we have this summit coming up.

JULIA IOFFE, FOUNDING PARTNER AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "PUCK": Hi, Brianna. Thanks for having me.

I think you're exactly right. And Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister's comments yesterday signified just that, it's sticking a finger in the eye of the U.S., doing this thing that we know as what aboutism. Before it used to be, you know, saying, you can't -- when Russia was the Soviet Union, saying, you can't lecture us about human rights when you repress African-Americans back home. So, who are you to teach us. Now they're saying, you can't talk to us about human rights because you're persecuting these so-called protesters.

Of course, this is coming amid an accelerated crackdown on civil society and opposition politicians and journalists in Russia. People are going to jail for FaceBook posts and likes, for posting poetry online. And Lavrov is indicating that basically we don't expect anything from the summit from our side.

KEILAR: OK, so that's what he is expecting. What is -- you know, what's the objective for America here? If you're having a summit, hopefully you have one. What is the plan? What do they want to -- what does the U.S. want to get out of this?

IOFFE: Well, I think the U.S. wants to address this issue of cyberattacks. You know, the meat packing or the meat processing plant was just the latest one. We had the SolarWinds attack. We had the pipeline attack. Not all of them are necessarily connected directly to the Russian government, but Russia doesn't exactly hand over or extradite cyber criminals to the U.S. where they could face legal consequences for these actions. And I think that has to be addressed.

We want to address, you know, past election meddling by Russia in the American political process. But, again, I don't know that there's much that -- much leverage that the U.S. has going into this election -- sorry, into this summit. I think Biden is trying to show that he's going to be tougher with Russia, much tougher than his predecessor was who basically just, you know, repeated Putin's talking points. But other than rhetoric, you know, there's not much leverage that he has going into this summit, and I think the Russians know that.

[07:00:06]

KEILAR: Maybe they're just doing it for the insta, as the kids say, for the photo.