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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
NYT: Two Women Say Trump Touched Them Inappropriately; Clinton Accusers: Fact Vs. Fiction; Trump: Clinton "Has To Go To Jail"; Clinton Campaign Chair Email Hacked Tied To Russia; "We Will Rise": First Lady's Mission To Educate Girls. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired October 12, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:13]ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Thanks for joining us.
We begin tonight with breaking news. Two women going on the record telling "The New York Times" that Donald Trump either kissed them inappropriately, or in the case of Jessica Leeds, that he groped them.
She spoke on camera with "The Times". Here is a portion of her account.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA LEEDS, SAYS TRUMP GROPED HER: It was over 35 years ago. I was hired by a newsprint company.
I was a sales rep. I was traveling in the Middle West. I was coming back into New York City. And it was on that flight that the stewardess asked me to, would I like to move up to first class.
I didn't need to be asked twice. And I sat down next to a young man, blond, tall. And he introduced himself as Donald Trump.
I was not really aware of the real estate world of Trump. We just chatted back and forth. Nothing particular.
It wasn't until they cleared the meal that somehow or another, the armrest in the seat disappeared. And it was a real shock when, all of a sudden, his hands were all over me.
He started encroaching on my space. And I hesitate to use this expression. But I'm going to. And that is he was like an octopus. It was like he had six arms. He was all over the place.
And if he had stuck with the upper part of the body, I might not have gotten -- I might not have gotten that upset. But it is when he started putting his hand up my skirt. And that was it. That was it. I was out of there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the other woman, Rachel Crooks, says that Trump inappropriately kissed her on the mouth. She says it did not feel like an accident. She says it felt like a violation.
This allegedly happened in 2005, the same year that Trump was caught on the hot mic in the "Access Hollywood" taping.
Now, according to "The Times", the two women said they were moved to come forward when I asked Trump about it at Sunday's debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: We received a lot of questions online, Mr. Trump, about the tape that was released on Friday. As you could imagine, you called what you said locker room banter. You described kissing women without consent, grabbing their genitals. That is sexual assault. You bragged that you have sexual assaulted women.
Do you understand that?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understood what was said.
This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologize to my family. I apologize to the American people. Certainly, I'm not proud of it.
But this is locker room talk.
COOPER: So, Mr. Trump --
TRUMP: And we should get on to much more important things and much bigger things.
COOPER: Just for the record, though, are you saying that what you said on that bus eleven years ago that you did not actually kiss women without consent or grope women without consent.
TRUMP: I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do.
COOPER: So, for the record, you're saying you never did that?
TRUMP: I've said things that -- frankly you hear these things are said. And I was embarrassed by it. But I have tremendous respect for women.
COOPER: Have you ever done those things --
TRUMP: And women have respect for me.
And I will tell you, no, I have not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Again, it was that answer that moved the two women they say to come forward. As you might imagine, this latter chapter in "The New York Times" is drawing sharp reaction tonight from the Trump campaign. CNN's Jim Acosta has that. He joins us now from the campaign trail in
Florida.
So, how is the campaign responding?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, at this point, they are basically dismissing the story as being false. But I can tell you from stories top staffers were concerned about the story before it was even posted online. But we can put the statement up on screen from Jason Miller, a spokesman for Donald Trump.
He says, "This article is fiction and for the 'New York Times' to launch a completely false coordinated character assassination against Mr. Trump on a topic like this is dangerous. To reach back decades in attempt to smear Mr. Trump trivializes sexual assault and it sets a new low for where the media is willing to go in its efforts to determine this election."
So, you can see in that statement, Anderson, they are sort of setting a standard here for any stories that are unflattering about Donald Trump between now and the election. Anything this late in the game, they say, is basically not to be believed.
And while it does throw Donald off message, he was trying to talk about Hillary Clinton's e-mail scandal today and his on again, off again relationship with House Speaker Paul Ryan. I think something much more serious is happening, Anderson. This story, along with others starting to surface in the media this evening with respect to Donald Trump's behavior around women, is just going cement those doubts inside the minds of women voters who just don't think they can trust Donald Trump -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Jim, we'll have more from you throughout the hour.
I want to get the panel's quick reaction to this.
Clinton supporter, MoveOn.org national spokesperson Karine Jean- Pierre, Clinton super PAC adviser Paul Begala, "Washington Post" political reporter Phillip Bump, also Trump supporters Kayleigh McEnany, Jeffrey Lord, and Andre Bauer. Jeffrey is a former Reagan White House political director.
[20:05:01] Andre is the former lieutenant governor of South Carolina.
Philip, how damaging do you think this could be?
PHILIP BUMP, POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: I think it could be significantly damaging. I mean, we saw after the tape came out last Friday with these comments from 2005. We saw polling that suggested it was very damaging to Donald Trump with women. Women are core constituency. He's doing poorly with them.
Polls suggest he's doing even worse after. One in Wisconsin today suggested he lost 24 points of support between Thursday and Sunday because potentially of this tape. There was some rebound after the debate in part because he denied the
charges. And this is going to undercut that. You know, with this NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll showing women had started to move back a little on it is hard to see how women who were already worried about Donald Trump, about his candidacy, if they're worried about that tape, this doesn't help.
COOPER: Kayleigh, as a Trump supporter, does it worry you?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It doesn't, because he's denied the accusations. Me as a Trump supporter, I take him as his word. I think that this is better litigated in a court of law than on a media set. It's an accusation. There's no proof of this.
I think both sides, of course, always deserve to be heard. Both an accuser and someone who's accused.
And for me, I'm voting on issues. I'm voting who's going to better my life economically, who's going to keep my family safe from terrorism. I'm not voting on someone's past. They may or may not have said things, they may or may not have done accusations without proof. That's not what I'm voting on November.
COOPER: Jeffrey, the campaign obviously has made much of Bill Clinton's accusers.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right.
COOPER: Is it then fair that these women are making accusations against Donald Trump?
LORD: Politically, in all honesty, I think this is going to be a wash.
COOPER: A wash in what sense?
LORD: A wash in the sense that you got he said, he said, she said here. With one side making the same set of accusations that the other side is making about them.
COOPER: But you have been bringing up Juanita Broaddrick (INAUDIBLE) for quite a while.
LORD: Right. Let me with this.
The "New York Times" is flat out in their news columns campaigning against Donald Trump. They don't do a long sit down interview with Juanita Broaddrick. They are not going to.
This is their attempt to get off the e-mail story. This is their attempt to do this. This is totally political, and if I might add a cultural word.
I mean, liberals -- I mean, I'm a baby boomer. It is my generation, the sexual revolution and all of this sort of stuff that none of this stuff mattered. And now, all of a sudden, it does. It didn't matter when people on my side brought it up against Bill Clinton.
Frankly, he's becoming Clintonesque, if you will. And I would think that means he's going to be elected twice.
COOPER: But is it a double standard though to be saying well it matters in the case of Juanita Broaddrick, her allegations versus these women --
LORD: Anderson, in truth, I'd like to see one single standard for everybody. But I think this country is so confused about these issues and they have been so politicized. They went after Clarence Thomas and said -- just saying whatever it was. It was a pubic hair on top of my coke can was sexual harassment.
I look back the other day, there's a big column on the "New York Times" in the day, listen to us by then columnist Anna Quindlen. And the Bill Clinton things happen and everybody said, oh, it is just about sex. It's nobody's business.
And my friend Paul's friend James Carville said, you drag a hundred dollar bill through a trailer park, whatever. The reaction was totally the opposite.
So, I'm just suggesting here that there are a lot of double standards here. We need to focus on the issues, what goes on in these e-mails, what's the economy, foreign policy, et cetera.
COOPER: But is your candidate focusing on the issues? Because he's the one who held a press conference before the second debate. He's the one who had those --
(CROSSTALK)
LORD: Right, because I think you do have to fight the stuff. I mean, let's be candid as a Republican, you know, when they went after Mitt Romney for the steel workers wife commercial, the Romney campaign more or less rolled over. When "The New York Times" went after John McCain saying he had an affair with a lobbyist, the McCain campaign more or less rolled over.
Donald Trump fights and that's what people like.
COOPER: Paul?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think it's a wash.
First off, as the last tape story was breaking, the polling collapses, Philip pointed, for Donald Trump. In fact, he went down to 28 percent among women, 28, in the Atlantic/PRRI poll. That's a catastrophe.
I think this is going to hurt enormously. Why? Because it comports with what Trump himself said. His most damning witness is Donald Trump, who said essentially, I'm not going to repeat his vulgarities, but he basically said he forces himself on women and they can't do anything about it because he's a start, he can get away with it. That's so shocking now. You have women coming forward saying precisely the same thing. By the
way, in our last hour on this network, another story, Ed Lavandera about a Miss -- I'll make sure it's right, Miss Arizona in 2001 who claims Trump came backstage at that beauty pageant while she and other young women were changing clothes. She was 18 at the time, teenagers, changing clothes. He comes back there.
This comports perfectly with what Trump himself boasted about on the Howard Stern show.
COOPER: Right, he talked about going backstage.
BEGALA: He said he likes going backstage when these teenagers are changing clothes. It's -- it's disgusting.
[20:10:01] COOPER: Karine?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Yes. I mean, look, these allegations are horrific and they should be taken very, very seriously. And, unfortunately, this is becoming part of larger theme, right? A broader theme that we are seeing with Donald Trump.
And it's not an isolated -- they are not isolated incidents and that is the problem. So, if you talk about -- if you look at the tape from last Friday, what we hear from that tape is sexual assault. He's talking about what he's doing to these women.
So, this cannot be a wash. This is just added to everything that we've been hearing about Donald Trump and who he really is.
COOPER: Andre, do you put any credence in any of this given that it is his actual denial of actually doing what he just called locker room talk is what according to these two women who talked to "The Times" made them come forward?
ANDRE BAUER, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, what's stunning to me is it happened thirty or so days before the presidential election. Look, if this happened in first class -- look, I don't get to sit in first class. I don't sit there but I get to walk through there and see what it's like.
And if someone was being molested or raped, other people in the cabin would see that. I mean, it's not like it's not a visually -- it's open. It is actually closer in the cheap seats where I sit where you couldn't see it as well. But a big open cockpit, you would see something if someone was being mistreated immediately.
And to report it, to say it now, to tie it in -- I just -- it's bad politics. But as an American, Anderson, it's sad that this is where we are. Republican, Democrat, it's sad that American politics is no longer about issues. It is how bad can each candidate tear the other down.
And we can laugh and say it is not, but it didn't happen in a Republican primary. It happened now. Thirty days before the election. LORD: That's right.
BAUER: It didn't happen by happenstance. This is all timed. It all came together.
COOPER: So, my sense is you are blaming the Clintons for this or blaming Trump for this?
BAUER: I'm not really blaming anybody. I'm saying it is a deplorable time in our history of our country that we have now got on the where we are discussing this, instead of discussing issues, and it wasn't an issue for the last 25 years. She felt violated. She should have come forward then, but she decided to come forward now and she even said, look, I plan on voting for Hillary Clinton. She had planned on voting for Hillary Clinton.
She already said she's a supporter. So, it just doesn't seem like it washes.
LORD: You can bet Juanita Broaddrick means nothing to her.
COOPER: Do you think -- well how do you know that?
LORD: Well, I mean, if that's her ground, why didn't she talk about it? If groping me is bad, raping Juanita Broaddrick is not so good. She didn't go there, did she? Right?
COOPER: But I'm not sure I understand --
JEAN-PIERRE: No, I don't.
COOPER: First, that was an interview of what happened to her and you're saying you wanted to her to talk about Juanita Broaddrick? Isn't that what --
LORD: I'm saying, if we're going to get into the entire issue, then we have to deal with the entire issue. And, of course, this comes back to Hillary Clinton --
COOPER: I guess my question is, why do you believe Juanita Broaddrick and you don't believe these two women?
LORD: All I'm saying is give them the equal forum. I mean --
COOPER: Well -- we've had -- we just we reported on Juanita Broaddrick.
LORD: Anderson, the "New York Times" is not going to sit down and do a long sit down with Juanita Broaddrick. There is a story in TMZ today about NBC executives having this tape, this last tape that was released, for months. And they held it deliberately before that debate. That is the accusation here.
COOPER: Well, actually, no, I think the reason they held it. They say they were working on legal issues. Possible they were trying to protect Billy Bush. First of all, you believe NBC itself released that to "The Washington
Post" instead of releasing it themselves and getting the media benefit of that?
LORD: Anderson, look, see, this is the larger issue that goes well beyond the --
COOPER: What proof do you have of that?
LORD: Well, you have the executives saying it. Anderson, look, what I'm trying to --
COOPER: If NBC wanted to make a big splash before the debate, wouldn't they have released the tape themselves. The fact they were holding onto it actually I think raises a lot of questions about NBC and their judgment?
LORD: Yes, yes. Anderson --
COOPER: But I think it was more about protecting their people.
LORD: Anderson, what I'm trying to communicate to you is a lot of American, I met a couple from Virginia this evening.
COOPER: Anecdotal stuff. I know, you know --
LORD: Anderson, wait, wait, wait. It is important here because there is a view in the countryside that there are elites --
COOPER: You know a couple from Virginia who bolster your opinion. So, I had a cab driver who had a different opinion. What does that matter?
LORD: Anderson, Anderson, outside of Manhattan in New York, you have a lot of people who see elites in this country thumbing their nose at Americans. And they use things like this selectively. That if it is Clarence Thomas, it's a big deal. If it's Bill Clinton, it's not. If it was Donald Trump --
MCENANY: And bringing up Juanita Broaddrick is really important because literally on our airwaves three hours ago, on our airwaves three hours ago, Kellyanne Conway brought this up and she was met by the host with "those are exaggerations". You cannot call one class of sexual assault victim exaggeration and the other class --
COOPER: We not only reported on that and we're reporting on it again. Both what Bill Clinton is accused of doing and what Hillary Clinton is said to have done in all of those cases.
[20:15:02] So -- but I don't think it is fair to say that the mainstream media has completely ignored.
MCENANY: Except for Breitbart news.
(CROSSTALK)
BUMP: BuzzFeed has actually.
MCENANY: BuzzFeed and Breitbart, those are mainstream media.
BUMP: You know, as an employee of "The Washington Post", I feel like you are maligning my employer. I mean, we got this great scoop and we published this tape when got ahold of it, and it was -- it had nothing to do with the election. It had to do with the fact this was news worthy. And the fact we're sitting here and debating whether or not this topic should be discussed after literally the Trump campaign has spent two weeks talking about what Bill Clinton who is not running for president --
LORD: So, have you sat down with Juanita Broaddrick?
BUMP: "Washington Post" has reported on --
(CROSSTALK)
BUMP: -- all of the things that have to do with Bill Clinton. The thing about news is you report on it when it's new. This is new and that is why we're talking about it.
JEAN-PIERRE: That's exactly right.
COOPER: Let's take a quick breakout -- well, Karine, and then we'll take --
JEAN-PIERRE: I just wanted to say to my Trump supporters over there. Once again, there is only one Clinton on the ballot. And her name is not Bill.
LORD: She's --
JEAN-PIERRE: No. Here's the thing -- that is the definition of sexism when you blame the woman. That is --
LORD: There's other women doing it. They're blaming her.
JEAN-PIERRE: When you continue to do that, blaming Hillary Clinton for that, that is the definition of sexism.
MCENANY: I'm a female, I assume I'm when there is a deposition that says she puts private investigators --
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: That's a problem for me as a woman.
JEAN-PIERRE: You use the situation when it best suits you.
LORD: That's what you do.
JEAN-PIERRE: No, that's what you do and you bring up old cases for someone who's not running for president.
(CROSSTALK) JEAN-PIERRE: She's not Bill Clinton. Period, end of story.
COOPER: Let's take a break here. We're going to pick up this after the break. We're going to get some late reporting from Brian Stelter from possible legal action from the Trump side.
Later, more on how the Trump campaign and surrogates have been focusing on the allegations against Bill Clinton by several women. You just heard Jeffrey Lord talk about that as we mentioned.
We'll focus closer on actual truth behind those stories, ahead tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: The breaking news tonight, two women coming forward telling the "New York Times" Donald Trump touched them inappropriately. One is recently as 2005. Jessica Leeds says it happened to her border flight into New York more than 35 years ago. Trumps hands she says were everywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEEDS: I don't think I said a word during the late '60s, '70s, and into the '80s.
[20:20:02] Culture had instilled in us that somehow it was our fault. The attention that we received from men, that we were responsible for their behavior. You didn't complain to the authorities. You didn't complain to your boss.
If something happened to you, you just bucked up and you went on. I thought to myself, gee, I wish the stewardess would come and rescue me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "The Times" said Donald Trump categorically and angrily denied the allegations. The campaign publicly calls it fiction.
CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES" anchor Brian Stelter has new reporting.
So, you just talked to one of the reporters about how they got this story, Brian.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Anderson, one of the "Times" reporters who wrote this story, Michael Barbaro, says it may not have happened were it not for your questions at the debate on Sunday.
And the other reporter whose byline on the story, Megan Twohey, just told me that one of the women, one of the two women reached out back after a story in May. This was a previous story the times wrote about the issues, about Donald Trump's behavior.
The other woman only reached out to the times after the debate on Sunday night.
COOPER: You've got some reporting also on how Trump personally reacted to the allegations.
STELTER: That's right. He was yelling on the phone to Megan Twohey, yelling at her an saying she was a disgusting human being. He delivered a threat verbally that night and Trump's office followed up this afternoon with another legal threat to the "New York Times", essentially threatening to sue the newspaper if it published the story.
Tonight, the executive editor Dean Baquet tells me there was no question "The Times" was going to move forward with the story despite the legal threats. He said, quote, "I think it is pretty evident this story falls clearly in the realm of the public service journalism, and discussing issues that arose from the tape and his comments since it surfaced."
COOPER: All right. Brian Stelter, appreciate that.
Back with the panel.
Phil, the fact that Donald Trump is threatening to sue the "New York Times" -- I mean, he threatens to sue lot of people. And he's carried through on those threats, interesting to see if he actually does this time.
BUMP: It will. I think we've seen a pattern of Donald Trump having a negative interaction with the press, so to speak. There are times at rallies when he calls out the press for negative attention. He's talked about opening up libel laws, loosely suggesting that he's going to go after the press.
Donald Trump and the press don't have a good relationship. I mean, he whacked "The Washington Post", I'm covering on the trail for a long time, and that makes members of the press nervous. I realize it doesn't make members of the public as nervous because the public doesn't really like the press. But it makes us nervous because we see our job as reporting the truth on what people do, on what politicians do on what they are doing and, you know, we don't like to hear things like that. It makes us nervous.
COOPER: Paul, what do you think Hillary Clinton's move on this? Does she comment? Does she just stand back and let it sort of play out?
BEGALA: I think so far she's just stood back. She doesn't have the facts. So people can judge for themselves. I do think. I'll say again. The most damning witness is Donald Trump.
He shouldn't have said. A reporter is reporting about you being mean to women, you shouldn't say you are a disgusting person. I've said a lot worse. I scream at reporters all the time. It's fun. I enjoy it.
Nothing against you, Phil, but I almost can give him a pass on that. But the stuff he said on the bus to Billy Bush. The stuff he said on the radio to Howard Stern comports exactly with these facts. Hillary Clinton doesn't even have to say that. Donald Trump is saying it.
COOPER: There's also a person that comes forward I think to Erin Burnett. I think Erin has talked about it on the air, in front of her, who says there was a similar incident happening. Does it -- do you think it's just a coincidence that this comports to what Donald Trump said on the bus? Or do you think these women are somehow influenced by that?
MCENANY: I don't think he said that on the bus at all. He said when you are a celebrity women, let you do x, y and z. Those comments were appalling.
COOPER: He said he didn't wait for it. He just kisses them and he grabs their genitalia.
MCENANY: Look, when you go back and watch and he says, when women let you do this when you are a star. They are despicable comments. I don't think he was advocating sexual assault on that bus.
COOPER: That is sexual assault.
MCENANY: I think it was very horrific discussion between two men.
COOPER: To be honest, sexual assault is any kind of behavior -- sexual behavior without consent.
LORD: And rape is rape.
MCENANY: And rape is rape. And I don't think he was saying that on the bus. I really don't think he was condoning that.
COOPER: Grabbing a woman's genitals.
MCENANY: I don't think he was saying that, that's what he does in his own life. I think these are accusations -
COOPER: Let's listen to that sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful -- I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait.
And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.
BILLY BUSH: Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You can do anything.
BUSH: Yeah, those legs, all I can see is the legs.
TRUMP: Oh, it looks good.
BUSH: Come on, shorty.
TRUMP: Oh, nice legs, huh?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So, because a woman doesn't fight back it is not sexual assault?
MCENANY: Let me start by saying, again, what I've said before, because I know all of these liberal outlets out there will completely take me out of context. Those comments are despicable. He apologized for them.
That being said, I don't think he was condoning sexual assault. He said he starts to kiss a women and then they let him do x, y or z. That implies consent first of all.
[20:25:02] I don't think he was advocating sexual assault.
COOPER: How does that imply consent?
MCENANY: You might think he's going around assaulting women. I don't think that's the case. I think viewers and voters will make up their own minds.
(CROSSTALK)
MCENANY: I have to agree with Andre, too, that it's very sad and I think the media is a big perpetuator of this, that we talk about this on a daily basis instead of how the person in the inner city is going to get out of there. How the woman at home was afraid to put food -- not having the resources to put food on the table --
COOPER: By the way, Donald Trump is the one who held a press conference.
MCENANY: How does this conversation better the nation? I really don't think it does.
COOPER: Donald Trump is the one who held a press conference moments before the debate. That's what he was focused now.
MCENANY: When he's accused of baseless things, like sexual assault, which he's come out and denied that he's actually done, but the media will go out of their way to suggest that he has, he's going to fight back. But do you know what else is going to do? He's going to take it back to the issue.
COOPER: He never actually denied he did it until the actual debate which is actually after the press conference but, Karine, you're seeming to take issue --
JEAN-PIERRE: Trying to hold back.
So, here is the thing, Anderson. Here you have a man, on Sunday, on the debate stage, talked about jailing Hillary Clinton. And he continued to say he's going to put her in jail. And basically he doesn't understand the presidency. He's unfit because what he's saying he wants to do he can't.
But this is the man who is bragging about sexual assault, which is actually a crime. And he's bragging about grabbing women. And the irony of all of that is he needs to look in the mirror because he should be the one in jail, because you do not say things like that. And it is inappropriate and he is running for the president of these United States and he's talking about grabbing women?
COOPER: OK, we got to take a break and we're going to continue the conversation in a moment.
This all comes as Trump and his surrogates continue to attack the Clinton's marriage and the accusations against Bill Clinton from decades ago. What we know about those accusations, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:51] COOPER: It's a breaking news tonight. Two women have come forward and told the "New York Times" that Donald Trump touched them inappropriately. One woman says it happened decades ago on an airplane. The other told the Times, her incident occurred in 2005 the same year that Trump talked about what is by definition sexual assault on an access Hollywood bus. Trump denies the accusations, all this comes as Trump and his campaign officials continue attacks on Bill Clinton.
At the last debate Trump tried to -- brought forward Bill Clinton's accusers as a -- right before the debate began. He allowed the women to speak. He didn't actually say much at that press conference. It is all very difficult to cover. The cases against Bill Clinton were litigated decades ago. Fact checked but we asked Tom Foreman to go over one more time some of the details of what we know. Tom?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Anderson. There are two chief accusations from the Trump campaign. First that Bill Clinton used his power and prestige to manipulate and sexual assault women. And secondly and more importantly for Trump, that Hillary Clinton helped Bill Clinton by then insulting and intimidating the victims.
Now you mentioned that he's brought in some people to help him out, Trump has in this case. Let's go through the cases. Starting off with the first one here. Juanita Broadderick. This is back when Bill Clinton was the attorney general of Arkansas. In 1978, she says that Bill Clinton raped her and at a public event shortly afterward Hillary Clinton grabbed her by the arm and the wrist because she had something to tell her. Now here's a piece of an interview posted, just of couple ago by the conservative website Breitbart, supporting Trump's claim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUANITA BROADDERICK, FORMER NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATOR: And she says with this very angry look on her face do you understand everything you do? And that frightened me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOREMAN: So, one of the problems with all of this, well first of all Bill Clinton denied there was ever this rape taking place. Broadderick gave an affidavit at one point where she said there was no rape. And in 1999 when NBC interviewed her and she told them when they asked this question, did Bill Clinton or anyone near him every threaten you, try to intimidate you to, do anything to keep you silent, Broadderick said no.
Now, since 199 she has stuck with her story that there was a rape and there was intimidation afterwards.
Second one we're look at her is Paula Jones. This is when Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas. She says in 1991 he propositioned her and exposed himself to her. She filed a harassment lawsuit which eventually he settled by paying her $850,000 while admitting no guilt.
So what is the problem in this? In terms of how Trump capitalizes on it. Well, it's not at all clear what Hillary Clinton's role would have been in this if there was any kind of intimidation and there is lack of evidence about a law of this. For example Jones told "New York Times" shortly after this lawsuit was filed they sent out people to dig up trash on me. But again there is no real proof of that.
And third person who's joining Trump in this effort, is Kathleen Willey. Kathleen Willey was at the White House when Bill Clinton was the president. She was a White House aide. This is in 1993, he fondled her and then she tells a story of odd encounters. A dead cat on her porch. A mysterious man under her deck. Another man asking around the neighborhood about her children. She says all that was attempt by the Clintons to intimidate here. But again, the problems, Bill Clinton has said under oath there was never any kind of a sexual encounter between them and there's no physical evidence to support these claims, Anderson.
COOPER: What about some other women who have shown up in discussions of Bill Clinton?
FOREMAN: Yeah, well a couple of very famous cases that we've heard a lot about Gennifer Flowers, is back when Bill Clinton was running for the presidency for the first time she showed up and said she shad had a long running affair with Bill Clinton. And Hillary Clinton dismissed this publicly, calling Flowers, "Some failed cabaret singer who doesn't have much of a resume to fall back on."
However, after Bill Clinton was president under oath he did admit having at least one sexual encounter with her. And of course here is Monica Lewinsky, the most famous of all of this, the White House intern that Bill Clinton admits he did have improper relations with while he was in the White House.
[20:35:02] Hillary Clinton has said very little publicly about Monica Lewinsky over the years. However, her most pointed comment seems to have come in a conversation with a close friend who noted in a journal that in this phone call Hillary Clinton who knew about the relationship between her husband and Lewinsky called Lewinsky a narcissistic looney tune. But this did happened in a private conversation, it only became public when the friend passed away and her journal was made public. Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Tom Foreman. Tom thanks. Lots to talk about. Back with the panel. Also joining the conversation, CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
So Jeff, I mean the charges against Bill Clinton, just in terms of evidence against him. How much was there exactly?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, it's important to remember that Ken Starr who was investigating, starting with the Whitewater situation many other things and eventually Monica Lewinsky. He also investigated the Juanita Broadderick matter, the Kathleen Willey matter and he decided not to take any action as a result to that. So, I mean none of the stories are new. They have never led to any sort of legal proceedings, except of course for the Paula Jones case, where Bill Clinton did pay $850,000 and people can draw their own conclusions about why he paid the money, because he said he just want to get rid of it. She had said he paid her because he was guilty.
COOPER: What the Trump campaign also keeps saying is it's about Bill Clinton's behavior it's Hillary Clinton's. What about the evidence on that?
TOOBIN: Well, there the evidence is really very thin. On the Juanita Broadderick situation there is allegedly this one contact between the two of them in 1978 between Hillary Clinton and Juanita Broadderick where she said something vaguely threatened, she had subsequently denied that took place. With Kathleen Willey, there's absolutely nothing on the record regarding Hillary Clinton's behavior.
And, that the same really goes for Paula Jones as well, because the only thing as Tom pointed out in his piece was a private conversation between Hillary Clinton and her best friend Diane Blare back in Arkansas who subsequently died. And die Diane Blare took some notes. But I mean here is a woman who's accuse of having an affair with Hillary's husband, you can imagine she would be, you know, warm and cuddly about her in a private conversation to her best friend, but just to emphasize the point, there is virtually no evidence that Hillary Clinton had anything do with the situations involving the accusations against Bill Clinton.
COOPER: It wouldn't be though a stretch to imagine that someone on the Clinton side would have sent out private investigators or tried to discredit these people.
TOOBIN: Well, and there is no question that would Paula Jones. You know, Paula Jones filed the lawsuit, Bill Bennett represented Bill Clinton in that lawsuit. Bill Bennett hired private investigators to defend the case. I don't think there's any doubt about that. But, I mean when someone is sued, they are certainly allowed to hire private investigators and hire lawyers to defend themselves.
So there is no doubt that there was a defense put forward. And an investigation conducted by Bill Clinton's lawyers in the Paula Jones case. Again, as far as I'm aware there was nothing involving Hillary Clinton had anything do with that situation.
COOPER: All right Jeff, stick around we're going continue the conversation with the panel after take a short break. A lot more to talk about including Donald Trump escalating attacks and Hillary Clinton over her e-mail controversy, his words and tone getting sharper by the day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:42:37] COOPER: Well the breaking news tonight. Two women telling "New York Times" on the record that Donald Trump forced himself on them. One saying he groped her on a plane, the other describing him forcibly kissing her. The kind of behavior Trump did talk about in that 2005 recording that was leaked last week.
Now, you may remember I asked Donald Trump during Sunday's debate if he has ever done the things he talked about on that tape. He said he has not. Trump campaign says the women's claims are false and is now threatening to sue the "New York Times." They say categorically this is just -- this didn't happen. We took a look before the break at Bill Clinton accusers and the facts behind those allegations.
Back now with the panel. Where does -- I mean Kayleigh, with what 20- some odd days left to go. Where do you see this going? I mean it's, you know, these allegations from these two women can't be proven definitively one way or another. I assume all the evidence is out there on the Bill Clinton accusations and Hillary Clinton's role or lack of a role in there. So it's going to seems like it is going to boil down to just what voters believe or what they see.
MCENANY: It's true. And Donald Trump is in a very hard position, because when you have accusations like this, which he's denied. You want to fight back against them. And you want to throw mud back in that direction. And that's, you know, the temptation. But we have to move past this. Donald Trump has to move past this and put forth his message to the American people and not let this cloud the discussion for the next 23 days. He needs to turn the discussion to the WikiLeaks where Clinton top aids are making fun of Catholics and Christian Evangelicals. He needs to turn the discussion to WikiLeaks and also to the issues which are enterically tie with WikiLeaks. This doesn't really do much for the American voter, I don't think and it is up to Donald Trump really to turn the conversation.
COOPER: Paul, how do you see it?
BEGALA: Well, Trump can't turn the issues because he's not running on issues. There was a time and Jeff worked for all bring up Ronald Reagan. When -- I'm old enough to remember when Republicans -- if you ask what they stood for they talked about ideas. They talked about lower taxes, smaller government. Things I don't agree with but they were ideas.
Standing up to the Russians, what an amazing concept. These things Reagan stood for. And so when Reagan had tough times, he had ideas to both string (ph), same thing with Bill Clinton. He ran on a set about this, Jeff probably don't like them either, but when tough times hit, people stop with him, because he -- they believed he was on their side fighting for an issue agenda that they believe in.
Now, Trump does have immigration and trade. These are two issues that do matter that he has run on. I don't agree with them but that's at least two issues. But the whole rest of the issue terrain he has abandoned in exchange for grievances and conspiracy theories and personal attacks. And so when he is now being personally attacked he's got nothing to fall back on.
[20:45:10] COOPER: Philip, I mean the "New York Times" -- I'm sorry Philip, Jeffrey, the "New York Times" last night, Monica Langley was reporting, that his strategy moving forward has really two fold, energize the base ...
LORD: Right.
COOPER: ... which is talking about Paul Ryan from the Wall Street Journal, Paul Ryan and, you know, the e-mails and WikiLeaks but also try to depress the Democratic turnout for ...
LORD: Right.
COOPER: ... Hillary Clinton. Talking about these issues, do you think accomplishes that?
LORD: I think it does. And here's why, Anderson. If I can just start take a little stick and move some of the particulars of what we've been discussing here for a while aside.
When he talks about Paul Ryan. When he talks about the "New York Times" or the "Washington Post" with all respect. And the media. And he talks in a larger sense about a battle between American elates and the American people, immigration, trade. This kind of presentation that these women are bringing forward and the attention they get, that it's all knit together as basically a battle between elite's and American people. And that battle, I think that he can bring on more people absolutely.
COOPER: Right, that does resonate with a lot of people Phil?
BUMP: No, it does absolutely, you now, but I think that one of the things that we've seen, you know, over the course of the past decade or so is the fact that now media and reporters are not to be sitting here defending the media constantly. But media reporters are seen as elite's not representing the truth to folks which I think I absolutely believe is inaccurate and I think does disservice to the American people as well.
I mean I also think that as we move forward here what we've seen Donald Trump do over the course the past several weeks is really focus on this Bill Clinton allegations. He's got two ads that have come out recently. One in which goes after Hillary Clinton for her health. You know, they are the focus -- they focus on bringing -- on suppressing the vote for Hillary Clinton backers, because he has this core base of support that he hasn't been able to expand outward.
And so he's trying to compress Hillary Clinton's base down. You know, that's where that election is. It's the stated strategy. I think that somewhat disappointing but I also feel like pitting this as the elite's against the people I think is disservice.
COOPER: Karine do you think the Democratic vote will be suppressed by Donald Trump's doing this?
JEAN-PIERRE: So, what we're seeing Anderson this last couple days is like a civil war right with Paul Ryan and it's almost as if you have an arsonist standing in the middle of the House passing, you know, throwing gasoline around and holding a match. Like he's burning down the House. And the more that continues to get into a fight with Paul Ryan with the GOP it's better for the Democrats. I really do believe that, right. And what he's going to do is depress his own, you know, his own party. And that's what it looks like to me it's depressing the Republicans actually.
COOPER: We got to take a quick, we're going to talk more shortly about the strike Hillary looted to a moment ago, another batch of hacked e-mails from the Clinton campaign comes out what they reveal, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:51:40] COOPER: Hillary Clinton State Department e-mails maybe at the heart of Donald Trump's declaration today that she belongs in jail. Herbert (ph) is the publication of hacked e-mails from her campaign that have made headlines day after day after day. That's because like any good keep behind the curtains. They show things that campaign obviously would rather than keep under wraps.
Late today, campaign John Podesta put out a statement and pointing a finger recent part, "it is now clear that the illegal hack of my personal e-mail account was just like the other recent election- related hacks, the work of the Russian government is level of meddling by a foreign power can only be aimed at boosting Donald Trump and should send chills down the spine of all Americans regardless of political party.
More now from Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN WASHINGTON SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: The drip, drip, drip of Hillary Clinton's hacked e-mails continue. Another batch of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's e-mails offers a glimpse into the inner worker into the Clinton campaign.
One e-mail reveals a disagreement between top Clinton aid, Huma Abedin and Podesta over Clinton's press strategy. Abedin wondering of Clinton can quote, "survived not answering questions from press at events". With Podesta responding, "if she thinks she can get to Labor Day without taking press questions, I think that's suicidal." In another e-mail Clinton's Communication's Director, Jennifer Palmieri, addresses Catholicism and responds to an e-mail from Podesta and John Halpin, a fellow at a liberal think tank. Halpin writes, 21st Century Fox chair Rupert Murdoch and News Corp chairman Robert Thompson who are both Catholic are attracted to the faith because of, "Systematic thought and severely backwards gender relations".
Palmieri responds, "I imagine they think it is the most socially acceptable politically conservative religion. Their rich friends wouldn't understand if they became evangelicals.
Today, she had this to say.
JENNIFER PALMIERI, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR CLINTON CAMPAIGN: I'm a Catholic. I don't recognize that e-mail that we saw and this whole effort is led by the Russians, the Russians once said coprostatic (ph) attack.
JOHNS: The leak e-mails have been authored and a side of the Clinton campaign, and Donald Trump has tried to capitalize, like today in Florida.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is the heinous, the most serious thing that I've ever seen involving justice in the United States and the history of the United States. We have a person that has committed crimes, that is now running for the presidency.
JOHNS: Podesta brushing aside those attacks claiming, Trump's scorch earth tactics are designed to energize his supporters but turn off everybody else.
JOHN PODESTA, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: This seems to be their strategy, discuss everyone with that, you know, sort of Democratic dialogues into (inaudible) come out holes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: If there is an effort to depress turnout, the Clinton campaign says the way to fight it is to continuing to push for voter registration emphasizing early voting. They also hope the county advice selling their voters on something to vote for and not just voting against Trump. Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Joe John, thanks very much. More e-mails and yet that comes. Just ahead, a preview of CNN Films "We Will Rise." It some extraordinary documentary about Michelle Obama's mission to educate girls around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:58:36] COOPER: Coming up at the top of the hour, a really extraordinary documentary I hope you watch. CNN Films "We Will Rise" it's called. Michelle Obama's mission to educate girls around the world. The first lady went to Morocco and Liberia with actors Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto and CNN anchor and correspondent Isha Sesay to meet with girls who were fighting to stay in school. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF UNITED STATES: I made sure that every day I came to my job that I brought a level of passion and confidence and trust, and I try to operate from that place every single day.
Maybe those are some of my strengths, is the ability to just be me no matter where I am. You don't have to be somebody different to important. You're important in your own right. People want and need to value you because of who you are, because of your story, because of your challenges. That's what makes you unique, you know? You want be to be different. You want to be special.
The fact that you've been able to overcome challenges, and this is what are we stop, that made me smarter. That made me better right? Because I could overcome things that a lot of people who were in the same position never had to overcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: "WE WILL RISE" Michelle Obama's mission to educate girls around the world. That is the name of the film.
Thanks very much for watching. The CNN Film "WE WILL RISE", starts right now.
