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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Bloomberg Says Women Can Be Released from Non-Disclosure Agreements; Sen. Bernie Sanders Briefed by U.S. Officials That Russia is Trying to Help His Presidential Campaign. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired February 21, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

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[16:30:38]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Breaking news -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has just announced that he will allow women to be released from their nondisclosure agreements with his company if they want. Bloomberg says that they have identified three such NDAs. And he says that he's done a lot of reflecting and has decided going forward, his company won't offer confidentiality agreements to resolve claims of sexual misconduct.

This, of course, comes after Senator Elizabeth Warren called out Bloomberg at this week's debate for his use, his use of nondisclosure agreements, more than three of them we should note.

Let's -- let's discuss this.

And I'll start with you. Is this going to be good enough? I suspect for Elizabeth Warren, it will not, if there's three NDAs that he's allowing.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it really shows, first and foremost, the impact of Senator Elizabeth Warren's attacks on Mayor Bloomberg during this week's Democratic debate with respect to his initial refusal to release these women from the NDAs.

And I think the broader point that -- not to Senator Warren but some of Mayor Bloomberg's other Democratic rivals were trying to make is when it comes to taking on President Trump at the top of the ticket, they feel that if it's someone like Bloomberg who has come under scrutiny for prior comments about women, who has faced discrimination lawsuits at his company, they'll undercut their ability to go after President Trump over those very same issues. And so, I don't think that releasing them from the NDAs will take away scrutiny over his record.

TAPPER: Alexandra, I want you to take a listen here at the CNN town hall last night with Senator Elizabeth Warren. She went a step further with her demand for Bloomberg releasing women from their NDAs. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I used to teach contract law, and I thought I would make this easy. I wrote up a release and covenant not to sue, and all that Mayor Bloomberg has to do is download it. I'll text it. Sign it, and then the women or men will be free to speak and tell their own stories. I think that the mayor should sign this and that we all have a right to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, that's obviously not what he's done, although we're told he's identified three such NDAs that he's willing to waive.

ALEXANDRA ROJAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JUSTICE DEMOCRATS: Yes, I think cherry-picking is a bad look when we're talking about, I think, what, is it over 40 women, have complained about --

TAPPER: Forty people, employment problems, yes.

ROJAS: Employment problems, or pregnancy discrimination, what-have- you. But that's not the only thing here. As recently as 2016, he was supporting Republican members getting elected. As recently as 2016, he's helping Republican get to the Senate.

And so, I think there's a huge problem that ultimately speaks to the broader problem you were making that if we want to defeat Donald Trump as Democrats, we have to be able to take the moral high ground. We have to be able to bring out the best in the Democrats and not con -- draw the biggest contrasts, which is not a billionaire that kind of switches party, whenever it's convenient.

TAPPER: And we also have some more breaking news, which is that "The Washington Post" is breaking and the Bernie Sanders campaign is confirming that he's been briefed on the fact that the Russian government has apparently been attempting to help his campaign in the election interference.

One quick quote from Bernie Sanders' campaign: Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He's an autocratic thug who's attempting to destroy democracy and crush dissent in Russia. Let's be clear, the Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up. And unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts and any other foreign power that wants to interfere in our election.

Bill?

BILL KRISTOL, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: Yes, the Mueller report had quite a lot actually about Russia's interference in 2016 and trying to whip up Sanders supporters against Hillary Clinton both in the primary and I think even onto -- into the general election. Some of that might have worked. There were some Sanders, Trump voters and some Sanders voters stay at home. So, I mean, just on the Bloomberg thing for a minute --

TAPPER: Yes.

KRISTOL: --it's unclear to me how many he's releasing. Whether he'll release --

TAPPER: It says three NDAs. I don't know if that's more three women or three people or --

KRISTOL: Or whether he will release if they wish to come forward.

I would say this, Bloomberg is not a very good -- I hate NDAs. I really wish the whole law change on that. I refused to sign one when our owners closed "The Weekly Standard" and gave up a little bit of income, there were severances a result, it's just terrible. I mean, really, you think it's been so now abused. It's bad for the country.

Leaving that aside, Bloomberg is not a very good candidate. He has a pretty good campaign. They move pretty quickly if you think about it. If these -- and people can still say, well, he did this.

[16:35:00]

And it's not admirable what he did, but he can now say, look, I came under pressure, I rethought it, I released the people. What about Donald Trump? You haven't released anyone.

So, I think -- I'm sort of impressed by the -- despite that pretty miserable debate performance Wednesday night, I think the Bloomberg campaign is adjusting to what happened pretty quickly.

ROJAS: I think it's also important to remember that he has also spent $464 million so far and is definitely going to be spending hundreds of millions more to erase people remembering the debate performance --

KRISTOL: Yes.

TAPPER: We're going to keep talking about this. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

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TAPPER: Breaking news -- Bernie Sanders just released a statement on alleged Russian interference after a new report from "The Washington Post" that U.S. officials have informed the senator that Russia is attempting to help his presidential campaign as part of their efforts to interfere with the Democratic primary.

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Sanders saying in part, quote: The Russians want to undermine American democracy by dividing us up and unlike the current president, I stand firmly against their efforts and another foreign power that wants to interfere in our election. I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections and as president, I will make sure that you do, unquote.

"The Post" is also reporting that President Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also been briefed on this. And that is quite a different statement from what President Trump or then-candidate Trump said when they were briefed about similar things. ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's very clear that

Bernie Sanders acknowledges this is a real thing, that it's happening, and that it's actually affecting his campaign now like in 2016.

But there's another part of the statement where he says that some of the ugly stuff on the Internet attributed to our campaign may not be contributed by our supporters. That's a part that I think a lot of people are going to have questions about, which is to say, yes, there might be some Russian influence, you know -- we actually don't know based on reporting what form this interference is taking right now.

TAPPER: Right. Is it bots, is it on Twitter, is it --

PHILLIP: So, we don't have an answer to that question. Bernie Sanders and his campaign seem to think that it's pushing negativity on the Internet, but at the same time, there's real life negativity from his supporter that the Sanders campaign has not wanted to address on New Hampshire election night. When another candidate came up on the screen and was giving their election speech, Pete Buttigieg, the Bernie supporters in the room were booing -

TAPPER: Yes.

PHILLIP: -- were chanting Wall Street Pete.

TAPPER: About Pete Buttigieg, yes.

PHILLIP: And similar things happened at an event a couple of nights before.

So there are some real life things and things on the Internet and I think that both need to be addressed and not just attributed solely to Russian meddling in the 2020 election.

TAPPER: One of the things that's interesting, Alexandra, is the Russians exploit divisions in America but those divisions are already there. They were not created by Russia, whether it's racial divisions or right now, the divisions in the Democratic primary, and the party about who's going get the nomination. I mean, whether or not the Russians are involved, this -- these next few months are going to be tense.

ROJAS: Yes and I think it's absolutely critical for moderates and progressives not take the bait here. I think that Bernie Sanders is absolutely right that, you know, there is going to be not just I think Russians but obviously the Republican Party, Donald Trump, who want to sow division in the Democratic Party but also in our government to continue to make people not believe that it's actually going to fix and that they're going to be the saviors.

And so, I think it's absolutely critical that we do operate in good faith here. I think that Bernie -- we should take Bernie Sanders at his word and I think the other thing that's really important to acknowledge here is that, again, like it -- you know, we have in the midst of someone that is spending $464 million to purchase the presidency and continue to pitch themselves on the Democratic ticket as I'm also the billionaire savior that's going to help government -- that's it is really, really critical as a Democratic party that represents the working class of this country, or is supposed to, that we're focused on that.

TAPPER: What do you think, Bill?

KRISTOL: I think the Democrats should just nominate a moderate who could defeat Trump and I agree, they should do with courteous -- treating the progressives courteously, but not yield that. That's my recommendation to my Democratic friends.

TAPPER: As a Republican.

KRISTOL: Yes.

TAPPER: Sabrina, I mean, one of the things that's interesting though is you have the Sanders campaign coming out, acknowledging and saying it's true, he doesn't want it. Again, this is -- these are statements that President Trump has never made -- butt out, Putin. I don't want your support. You know, I'm going to -- as president, I'm going to stop it. And so, he could have --

SIDDIQUI: He's publicly welcomed that support. And look, volume one of the Mueller report, the Trump campaign welcomed help from the Russians, even if the evidence was insufficient to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump campaign and Moscow, the Trump campaign did understand that they stood to benefit electorally from that Russian interference.

I think with respect to Bernie Sanders, also in the Mueller report, in 2016, the Russians did use social media to try and sow discord between supporters of Bernie Sanders and supporters of Hillary Clinton in what was ultimately an effort to hurt Hillary Clinton. That could well be what they're trying to do again, but with the rest of very crowded Democratic field.

TAPPER: Yes. So, be wary about what you read on Facebook and Twitter, unless you know who's sending it. It might be somebody trying to sow this exact kind of discord.

Tune in to CNN Monday night to hear more from the presidential candidates. Michael Bloomberg will join us in Charleston, South Carolina, for his first CNN presidential town hall. He'll followed by Democratic front-runner Senator Bernie Sanders. It all starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday.

And then we are going to hear from four more potential candidates in another night of town halls on Wednesday evening.

Coming up, John McCain's unprecedented transparency, and how frontrunner Bernie Sanders is not following in his footsteps on one issue.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Welcome back.

Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders told reporters after his heart attack last fall that he would release his -- quote -- "comprehensive medical records."

He said to our own chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, that he would soon may -- quote -- "all of our medical records public for you or anybody else who wants to see them" -- unquote.

After all, if elected, Sanders, who is 78, would be the oldest American president ever elected. But since those pledges, Sanders has backtracked. He will not provide all of his medical records, he said earlier this week. So what has he provided?

Here's Sanjay.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last October, I visited Senator Bernie Sanders at his home in Vermont shortly after he had a heart attack.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sanjay, the God's truth is that, if you are sitting there and you said, Bernie, did you have a heart attack last week, I would say, what are you talking about? I feel great.

GUPTA: Within a month, the 78-year-old Sanders was back to doing three to four events a day on the campaign trail.

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But his heart attack did amplify concerns voters may have already had. An NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll from this month found that, while 39 percent of registered voters are comfortable with the candidate who has had a heart attack in the past year, 57 percent of voters have reservations.

SANDERS: People do have a right to know about the health of a senator and somebody who's running for present of the United States. Full, full, disclosure. And we will make it at the appropriate time all of our medical records public, for you or for anybody else who wants to see them.

GUPTA (on camera): Obviously, you're doing this interview with me. It's a fair conversation to be having about health, about age?

SANDERS: Of course it is.

GUPTA: All of it.

SANDERS: Absolutely. GUPTA (voice-over): Instead, in December, his campaign released these

three letters, including one from Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the U.S. Congress, who has treated Sanders for the past 29 years.

He wrote: "You are in good health currently and you have been engaging vigorously in the rigors of your campaign, travel and other scheduled activities without any limitation."

Monahan noted that, since his heart attack, Sanders' heart function had improved enough so that he could stop using some of the medications he was initially prescribed. Sanders' current daily medications include ones for cholesterol, thyroid and blood pressure, as well as aspirin and blood thinners.

The two other letters were from his treating cardiologists. His doctors also said that Sanders heart function is comparable, if not better to men his age.

Now, most experts say a full release and medical records wouldn't necessarily shed more light on his health. But one test result could help, the ejection fraction. That's the amount of blood pumped from the chamber with each contraction. It's a measure of the function of the heart.

In 2008, then presidential candidate Senator John McCain invited me and several other reporters to evaluate eight years' worth of medical records for several hours. But that has been the exception and not the rule.

And Sanders told CNN at Tuesday's town hall what he released, he believes, is enough.

SANDERS: We have released, I think, Anderson, quite as much as any other candidate has.

And I'm comfortable with what we have done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Just to be clear, you don't plan to release any more records?

SANDERS: I don't. I don't think we will, no.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And, Jake, it's worth pointing out most people know that these medical records are protected by something known as HIPAA. That's an act to provide medical privacy to people, to anybody, regardless of whether you're not running for president or not.

And also these letters, Jake, when you look at the letters, we're reporting on the letters, obviously, but also who wrote the letter, we find out about that person. In this case, Dr. Monahan, also, he's been taking care of Sanders for nearly 30 years. So these are factors we take into consideration as well, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

It could be the first step in trying to end America's longest war.

That's next.

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TAPPER: We are back with the world lead.

The U.S. and the Taliban have agreed to a week-long reduction in violence, effective midnight Kabul time, which is a few hours ago.

The hope, of course, is for an eventual long-term peace deal.

But, as CNN's Barbara Starr reports from the Pentagon, there is skepticism as to whether this partial cease-fire could actually bring an end to America's longest war.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the first, but fragile step towards ending America's longest war, the war in Afghanistan.

If the deal to reduce violence between the Taliban and the United States works, the parties will sign a more permanent peace agreement for Afghanistan next Saturday.

It also gives President Trump a talking point for the campaign trail. Earlier this week, he made the case that the deal is better than any alternative.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We could win that very quickly and easily if I was willing to kill millions of people. I'm not willing to do that. I'm not willing to do that.

STARR: Significantly, this is not being called a cease-fire. It is almost certainly not the end of violence.

SETH JONES, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I don't think, at this point, we should trust the Taliban. They continue to fight, the Afghan government, fight the United States.

STARR: And the Taliban leaders negotiating with us may not even be able to control the thousands of their fighters still in the field. If there are suicide or IED attacks, General SCOTT MILLER, the head of U.S. and NATO forces, has to quickly determine if the Taliban are responsible.

There are still major hurdles to any permanent deal, one of the biggest being the Taliban, which once shielded Osama bin Laden, once all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, something the Pentagon is not ready to do.

MARK ESPER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Nobody's right now calling for the complete removal of U.S. and coalition forces. U.S. forces will remain there as long as necessary to support our Afghan partners.

STARR: The Pentagon expects to initially reduce troop levels from approximately 12,000 to 8,600, enough firepower, it says, to suppress terrorist groups and fight remnants of al Qaeda and ISIS.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, the people of Afghanistan certainly have paid a huge price in these years, these decades of war, but so have American troops, more than 2,000 killed in this war, more than 20,000 wounded -- Jake.

TAPPER: We can hope and pray for peace.

Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

Be sure to tune in this Sunday morning to "STATE OF THE UNION." It's at 9:00 a.m., at noon Eastern on Sunday. We will have all the results from the Nevada caucuses tomorrow.

You can follow me on Facebook, or on Instagram, or on Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @THELEADCNN.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

Have a fantastic weekend. I will see you Sunday morning.

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