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Don Lemon Tonight
Judge Assigned In Lawsuit Filed By Stormy Daniels Against Donald Trump; Has The President Met His Match; NRA Suing Florida To Block New Gun Law; Timeline Shows Police Confusion As Florida Massacre Unfolds; New Florida Law Allows Teachers To Be Armed; CNN Heroes. Aired 11-12mn ET
Aired March 09, 2018 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:00:25] DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN tonight. I'm Don Lemon, 11:00 p.m. here on the east coast, live with breaking news.
We are learning tonight that a Judge has been assigned in the lawsuit Stormy Daniels filed against Donald Trump. Judge Elizabeth Feffer set to hear the case in Los Angeles, though no hearing dates have been set.
That comes on the same day that Michael Cohn, President Trump's personal lawyer, told CNN he used money from his own home equity line to make the $130,000 payment to the porn star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. Cohen also confirmed that he used Trump organization e-mail to communicate details of the payment telling CNN quote, "I basically use it for everything."
All of this giving more oxygen to the story of the President and the porn star, a story the White House would really like to go away. But this may be a case where the President has met his match. Stormy Daniels shows no signs of backing down. In fact, she is taking her show on the road, literally, making an appearance tonight at a strip club in Fort Lauderdale.
I want to bring in now CNN political commentator, Joan Walsh; political commentator, Jack Kingston, a former Congressman and senior adviser to the Trump campaign; CNN political commentator David Swerdlick; and Defense attorney Joe Tacopina.
The gang is all here. Thank you all for coming on. So let's start with you, Joe. Stormy Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, released another email written to and from Michael Cohen's corporate e-mail address, this time referring to Yom Kippur and the office being closed. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL AVENATTI, STORMY DANIEL'S ATTORNEY: If you look at the e- mail, the top -- the last e-mail in the string, it talks about how the office is closed for Yom Kippur.
ANDERSON COOPER, BREAKING NEWS SHOW HOST: The Trump organization offices?
AVENATTI: That is correct and Anderson, if I could set the stage relating to this e-mail, in mid-October was around the time period that the payment was to be made.
Now, why is this important to reference to Yom Kippur in the office. Because it appears to be rather innocuous when you look at it. We assert actually it's not innocuous. Because if in fact the payment was being made personally by Attorney Cohen, he wouldn't need his office open in order to effectuate the payment?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So Joe, does this raise a question about why the office being open or closed would be relevant if Cohen were truly handling this transaction on his own, as he claims?
JOE TACOPINA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, but it's -- at the end of the day, Don it's all irrelevant. This has become ridiculous. You know, a month ago this was just another salacious Trump story. He call it fake news. It's one of the million scandals he had in the last year. That was going to be another thing that blurs the last thing you heard about him and wasn't really going to have legs.
It got legs and became a national news story when his own two people, his lawyer and his press secretary -- the White House's press secretary went on put their foot in their mouth that they opened because this thing was dead and buried. She had not a leg to stand up and talk about this case or anything else until they opened the door.
Michael Cohen, I don't know what he was thinking that day he stood in front of a gamut of reporters and went on and pronounced that I paid $130,000 from my own money. First of all, why? Did he have an affair with her and does anyone care? I mean that is so ridiculous. And he just broke a confidentiality agreement if one was ever in place. So right away ...
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hold on, hold on, and let me get some of the things. So you said this was -- you think this was over until what -- because most of the attorneys I had have said this is an ironclad contract and that she was going to lose, but you thought it was over until what.
TACOPINA: She was -- she was going to lose until, in my opinion, his lawyer went and discussed the terms of the agreement. He announced publicly that he paid her $130,000 with this nonsense thing that it was his own money. It may be his own money, but he paid on behalf of Trump. Let's not kid ourselves.
But then his press secretary went and described a victory in a confidential arbitration that confirmed that there was an agreement, number one, and two, the President was a party to it. So everything is blown. His own two people, basically, annihilated any claim of confidentiality the President might have against this woman now. It's over. LEMON: Go ahead, Jack.
JACK KINGSTON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't know that that necessarily voids the agreement. The question I would have about Mr. Avenatti is why he didn't go to a Judge and say, "Because this wasn't signed we need to -- it's no longer void." He did not do that because he knows he could not stand up in court about it.
[23:05:07] There is no question about it that Michael Cohen did not work for the campaign. He did not coordinate with the campaign. The Trump organization was not the campaign. It was the Trump organization.
TACOPINA: Who cares?
KINGSTON: Of which.
TACOPINA: Who cares?
KINGSTON: Well, let me tell you what --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: One at a time, one at a time.
KINGSTON: Joe, here is why it's relevant, because the FEC complaint was filed on January 30th was alleged that he was. That was the thing that reopened the discussion.
LEMON: Jack, stand by. He is saying he acted on his own. And if he is acting on his own, why is he using Trump organization e-mail and saying that the office is closed, that is the question. But, Joe, here is I understand -- Joe, I understand.
(CROSSTALK)
TACOPINA: But these intelligence -- let's not lose our common sense. What does he mean he acted on his own? He gave $130,000 of his own money to some porn star that he had to take a home equity line of credit out on his own house for a porn star, he never had a relationship with.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: He was a lawyer for the Trump family over a period over a decade. He did all kinds of things.
TACOPINA: Lawyers don't pay their own money for clients.
KINGSTON: Well, Joe, maybe you don't. Maybe you don't.
(CROSSTALK)
TACOPINA: No lawyer would do that.
KINGSTON: If you took it more to heart, I don't know, but I can say this I know Michael Cohen, he is a very smart lawyer.
TACOPINA: Excuse me. That's a ridiculous comment. No lawyers pay their personal money to settle a case for a client.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: That wasn't the case.
LEMON: Okay, Jack, Jack, Jack, if the President didn't brag about his billions of dollars.
KINGSTON: It wasn't a case, Joe.
LEMON: I would say you have a point if someone doesn't have enough money to pay for something, maybe their attorney might take it and pay it out of pocket in the hopes the client would pay it back. But if you -- you know someone with a couple billion dollars.
TACOPINA: The attorney didn't have enough money. He had to take a loan out on his home for $130,000.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Stand by both of you. Both of you -- both of you stand by. Joe, because I think this is important. Joe, I understand that you had some communication with Stormy Daniels at some point.
TACOPINA: You know, obviously there is attorney client issues let's put it this way. I was contacted --
Go ahead over what.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: There was a question. There was a long pause.
LEMON: Jack, let him finish.
TACOPINA: The question I was asked was whether I was contacted or asked to represent her. The answer is yes I was, but I can't go anything further. I'm not representing her. I don't represent her. I've never represented her. I've been asked to represent a lot of people. I don't take every case unless to represent.
LEMON: OK. I am going to bring in Joan in. Joan there are other things you have questions about in the court documents. Do you think we'll get answers moving forward?
JOAN WALSH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We may get some answers. We have a Judge now. I think that it does matter. I think that the lack of a signature matters. I think that Joe is absolutely right, that this became a much bigger story when Michael Cohen stepped in it, and Sarah Sanders confirmed that there was some kind of agreement.
I do think that the next shoe to drop has to be that Michael Cohen comes out and says that he had the affair with Stormy Daniels because nothing else makes sense. Nobody else goes and gets a home equity loan to pay off a porn star.
TACOPINA: Exactly, you know what's coming next? Here is what's coming next. Proof, she has proof. She is going to briefing --
WALSH: It sounds like that.
TACOPINA: -- that if it goes any further she is going to drop a hammer that is going to hurt.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: Listen, if you were -- if you were the lawyer for --
LEMON: Jack, Jack, there are other panelists please stand by.
LEMON: Here is what Stormy Daniels attorney said earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AVENATTI: We have heard explanation upon explanation. They are ever changing. It's nonsense. We are out of words to describe -- to describe what Mr. Cohen is trying to sell to the American public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, David, Michael Cohen is previously (ph) loyal to Donald Trump as we know.
DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
LEMON: Has he done a good job representing his client here?
SWERDLICK: No, Don, I don't think he has. First of all, the idea that he would have -- look, Jack -- Congressman Kingston is right that we haven't proven yet or no one has proven that this is a campaign finance violation. But it strains credulity, first of all, as Joe and Joan are saying to think he would have gone out and done this of his own volition without having any, you know, motive.
LEMON: OK. David stop there. You have a juris doctorate, right? You are an attorney?
SWERDLICK: I do.
LEMON: OK, so then even if it is it strains credulity, does that stand up in court because, again, Michael Cohen believes that he has an ironclad document and that they violated?
SWERDLICK: You know, I think that the contract stands. But the contract and the FEC violation, if there is one, is two different issues. But Don wait a second, let me step out of the legal mode for a second and say, you know, it occurs to me at some point along the way that Stormy Daniels at this point with all the attention could just go out there and tell her story and set up a GoFundMe and raise the million dollar penalty that she needs to tell her story, right? Americans want to know what happened. They'd be able to come up with the money for the penalty if they really wanted to just talk. And it seems like she just wants out (ph).
LEMON: Probably in record time.
SWERDLICK: Yes.
[23:10:00] TACOPINA: Don, I just want to put one thing out. She had -- there was nothing until Michael Cohen made the pronouncement that he paid her $130,000 and that the press secretary said, he won in arbitration, the President did, about an agreement that the President said never existed.
KINGSTON: Joe, when did they come to you? When did they come? Just answer that question? When did they come to you?
TACOPINA: That is none of your business and it doesn't deal (ph) with this.
KINGSTON: Well, it is. It is extremely relevant because you're saying --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Jack, please.
TACOPINA: Stop trying to distract from the issue.
KINGSTON: It's interesting you won't answer the question. You know there was something, why did they come to you if there was nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Jack, please let him make his point. Please be quiet.
TACOPINA: Until the two events happened, Stormy Daniels was someone just going to a strip clubs being a stripper? And she gone on talk shows saying, she could not talk about the case until the two events happened. Understand it and own it. I mean I don't know whose, you know, bag of water you are carrying, but here is the bottom line. Until Michael Cohen did that, until the press secretary did that, Stormy Daniels had denied it publicly. The same way Trump had done. Now it is a different story.
LEMON: OK. (Inaudible). Go ahead, Jack.
KINGSTON: Why did they go to you?
LEMON: Please quickly because I had to get to the break.
KINGSTON: Why did they go to Joe if there wasn't anything there? If so, why don't Joe tell us when they went to him? Because they knew that his ...
WALSH: He is a lawyer.
(CROSSTALK) LEMON: Hold on. Jack because that has nothing to do with anything, if anyone ever used an attorney, I think you had, you shop attorneys sometimes. Well, I'm done. Actually, I want this person, not sure about that person, I can't speak for Joe. He is here to speak. But I think that is irrelevant to the conversation. She has since gone with the lawyer that she has gone with that lawyer is speaking on her behalf and quite openly, so I don't think it matters when she went to.
WALSH: Quite well, he is quite impressive.
KINGSTON: He works for Rahm Emmanuel. He is such a non-partisan guy.
WALSH: That doesn't matter.
KINGSTON: Absolutely it matters. It does.
(CROSSTALK)
WALSH: He is a good lawyer, Jack, I am sorry.
TACOPINA: You're trying to distract from the facts of the case.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: Here is the facts of the case. Here the facts of the case. And I'm going to --
TACOPINA: What's the facts of the case the President say he never had an affair.
KINGSTON: Joe, my turn now, Joe.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: We'll be right back you guys will talk about it after this. We will be right back. We got a commercial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:15:41] LEMON: The White House would like you to believe that they answered all the questions about Stormy Daniels and the President. Sarah Sanders sticking to the script insisting today the White House has addressed the story extensively.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did President Trump, after the photo, see Stormy Daniels? Through (ph) text, e-mail, do you have any other information?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't. We have addressed this extensively and I don't have anything else to add.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: So that is what Sarah Sanders says. But what does the record
show? Let's go to the tape. All right on November 4, 2016 just days before the 2016 election, the "Wall Street Journal" first reported that Stephanie Clifford, known as porn star Stormy Daniels, was in discussion with ABC good morning America to disclose a possible relationship with Donald Trump.
Trump spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, released a statement in response saying, that it was absolutely unequivocally untrue, not exactly what most people would call extensive right there. And things were quiet for a while.
And on January 12th of this year the "Wall Street Journal" first reported on a possible hush money payoff over an alleged affair between Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels. The White House responded with, these are old recycled reports which were published and strongly denied prior to the election, except we didn't know about a payoff before the election, just that Stormy Daniels was in talks to disclose a relationship. We never learned about the alleged relationship between Daniels and Donald Trump because she entered an agreement for her silence at a cost of $130,000.
On January 18th the next time the White House was pressed about Stormy Daniels, deputy press secretary, Raj Shah, stuck to the same and asked and answered deflection. When asked about the President's response to the allegation, Shah said, "These allegation was asked and answered during the campaign and I'll point you to those comments." Again no one asking about a payoff during the 2016 campaign, because no one knew about a payoff until January of this year, which is 2018, the year of our Lord.
On February 13 Michael Cohen admitted it to paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels. And shortly after that, the White House dodged questions about it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President's personal lawyer acknowledged giving a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels. Is the President aware that his lawyer paid that kind of money to a porn star to buy her silence? Does he approve of that?
RAJ SHAH, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: I haven't asked him about it. But that matter has been asked and answered in the past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, not since he acknowledge this. He acknowledged this last week. This is the first time we've had a chance to ask about it. Can you go back and find out if the President approves of the fact that his personal lawyer --
SHAH: Yes, I haven't. I haven't asked him about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is just another non-answer saying the questions have been answered. That brings us to earlier this week, when we learn that Stormy Daniels has sued President Trump over the alleged affair and hush agreement and yet again the White House has asked questions about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the President approve of the payment that was made in October of 2016 by his long-time lawyer and adviser Michael Cohen?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: Look. The President has addressed these directly and made very well clear that none of these allegations are true. This case has already been won in arbitration and anything beyond that I would you refer to the President's outside counsel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did the President address specifically the cash payment that was made in October of 2016?
HUCKABEE SANDERS: The President has denied the allegations against him and again this case has already been won in arbitration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Still dodging. But by attempting to deflect from the lawsuit, she claimed the President won in arbitration, an admission that a non- disclosure agreement exists and it directly involves the President. It was the first time the White House acknowledged Trump was involved with Daniels in any way.
With that, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered -- asked and answered about the agreement between Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump or David Dennison as it is in the agreement. The truth is the White House hasn't extensively answered questions about Stormy Daniels.
[23:20:04] Press secretaries has said they addressed it. They haven't. They have said the President has addressed it. He has not. And they are going to face more questions about it until they do.
So back with me now, Joan Walsh, Jack Kingston, David Swerdlick and Joe Tacopina. So here we go, so the White House dodging questions there. Joe, clearly, the White House really hasn't addressed this at all. Can they get away -- oh, oh did we lose him? All right. Can they get away? I'll ask that for David. Joe, are you back?
TACOPINA: I'm here.
LEMON: OK. You're up there in Canada and so we are having a little technical difficulties.
TACOPINA: The wires might have frozen.
KINGSTON: I did not touch the switch, Joe.
LEMON: Jack tried to unplug it.
(CROSSTALK) LEMON: Can they get away with ignoring this story much longer, Joe.
TACOPINA: I mean, listen, I never thought he could get away with anything that is happened the last year and a half, so I don't know. I guess if you just keep saying nah, nah, nah liar, liar pants on fire, maybe it works. But they keep saying things that aren't accurate like we answered, the President answer it. Now they're saying it's not true. All the things they said before now are being confirmed by the White House.
Again, this is the people around Donald Trump who are really doing him the most damage. The press secretary and his personal lawyer in this is instance have really hurt him because they confirmed things that he denied. They confirmed now that Michael Cohen paid the money at least on behalf of the President, because the press secretary said it was his arbitration that the President won. So we know he paid $130,000 on behalf of the President not on himself. So he can't say, I had an affair with her. I really don't know where to go with this, other than just admit it and move on.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Joan, you're shaking your head. You think that they mishandled this doing him a --
WALSH: They totally mishandled it. I mean she did say that the President was a party to the arbitration. So out the window goes the notion that somehow Michael Cohen did this on his own. So I think it's got -- it's gotten worse. It's gotten worse because of his own people. It's not going away. And they haven't answered it.
They have said over and over, we dealt with it. They denied the affair. But you know what, Don, none of us care about the affair. We know that man is a philander. He is on his third wife. We have heard the stories -- we heard allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Nobody thinks he is a saint. That is not the problem.
LEMON: We heard him on tape.
WALSH: We heard him on tape admitting it. The problem is the cover up not the affair.
LEMON: And as it was written about when his first marriage said he had an affair with his wife and led to a divorce and some very -- a lot of headlines and his children were unhappy with that for a very long time. David, how should the President deal with this?
SWERDLICK: I think the President will keep doing what he is doing for this reason. Yes, the way things unfolded this week with Sarah Huckabee Sanders with Michael Cohen, he is going to continue to face questions about both the payment, whether it was a campaign finance violation, and also the sort of non-denial, denials that you were talking about in the White House briefing room. The President has not come out and addressed these in a fulsome way.
I don't think though that he is going to face a political backlash for the reasons that we've been talking about all this week, which is that his core supporters, the 40 percent and it is still 40 percent, if you look at the most recent Real Clear politics poll of the electorate that stands behind him has priced this in. They priced it in the night of the Access Hollywood tape. And I was on the air with you. People made a decision that they were going to go down the well with him anyway because he represented something that they wanted to see in public life.
WALSH: But David --
SWERDLICK: Yes?
WALSH: David, I never disagree with you and I don't entirely here. But we are seeing that women, suburban women are abandoning him in Virginia we saw it. We saw it in Alabama. We're seeing in polls all over the country.
SWERDLICK: Joan, Joan.
(CROSSTALK)
WALSH: He is paying -- he seems to be paying a price.
LEMON: Jack I promise you -- she is addressing David specifically, and Jack, I promise you will get in.
WALSH: You always do Jack.
SWERDLICK: And I almost -- and I rarely disagree with you, Joan. I will say that yes, I agree on the margins Trump is going to lose support among certain constituencies including women. I do think this could hurt him on the margin. But he started on inauguration day at 45 percent. And with everything that is gone on in the last year, he is only down to 40 percent.
WALSH: He seems to pull out (ph) sometimes.
LEMON: Go ahead, Jack.
SWERDLICK: The bottom has not fallen out on President Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: Don, you know he is not the first politician -- this isn't the first office to say that is an old story. Bill Clinton did that for many years. I don't think they owe any explanation beyond what they've said. This did not happen by -- in the campaign. It happened ten years earlier. Michael Cohen never --
LEMON: Jack the payment that had happened.
[23:25:00] WALSH: In the campaign.
LEMON: During the campaign.
KINGSTON: But Michael Cohen absolutely positively did not work for the campaign. And that is very relevant.
SWERDLICK: It could still be an in-kind contribution, Jack.
KINGSTON: There was an FEC inquiry on it. He answered it. And he outlined he hadn't been involved in the campaign, did not coordinate with the campaign. And that is what the FEC is interested in.
SWERDLICK: Jack, someone who is not an employee of campaign can make in-kind contribution. If it's a contribution made to help the campaign effort and it is not reported, it could be found an in kind contribution.
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: Wait a minute. Remember that Donald Trump was a man who came into the campaign wearing several hats, a celebrity, a real estate.
SWERDLICK: He is the President of the United States now.
LEMON: Jack, that is irrelevant.
KINGSTON: A known person -- well it is irrelevant.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: We're talking about a payment between a porn star and the President's personal attorney not the President's character. Again, it was baked into that. No one is talking about the affair. No one cares the affair happened years ago.
KINGSTON: I'm not saying -- I'm only focusing on the FEC --
(CROSSTALK)
KINGSTON: Why should we care?
LEMON: Why should anybody else care? But this is about what happened in October of 2016 just 11 days before the election.
I've got to run though guys.
KINGSTON: Which is what --
LEMON: Thank you all. When we come back the NRA is suing the state of Florida for its new gun legislation. But they're not the only ones can concerned about the bill. We are going to tell you what's in it and why it's controversial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:30:22] LEMON: The NRA suing the state of Florida tonight just hours after Governor Rick Scott signed a gun control bill into law. The legislation is a direct response to the high school massacre in Parkland last month. I want to talk about this now with David Jolly, he is a former Republican Congressman from Florida. Thank you so much Congressman for joining us this evening.
DAVID JOLLY, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Good to be with you, Don.
LEMON: The NRA is not happy with these new gun bill that Governor Rick Scott just signed. They are suing the state of Florida. Do you think they will win?
JOLLY: You know, they may. I think this is a test case for them in some ways. Look, I think people in Florida, if you are on the side of more responsible gun laws are struggling between optimism and realism tonight. It's an optimistic moment to see a governor take on the NRA, to see some type of gun control measures move through the state.
The three main provisions are harmonizing the age of purchase at 21, harmonizing the wait period to three days, and then providing additional police powers when it comes to situations of mental health or emotional health or a distressed individual.
But realistically this law does nothing to advance comprehensive or universal background checks, does nothing to address assault weapons or magazine clips, clearly it does nothing nationally. And so, I think a lot of gun control advocates are encouraged and saying thank you to state legislators, but at the same time struggling with the fact that it really is not enough for where the heart of the country is right now.
LEMON: Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, Chris Cox, said this, this bill punishing law abiding gun owners for the criminal acts of a deranged individual. Securing our schools and protecting the constitutional rights of Americans are not mutually exclusive. What's your reaction to that?
JOLLY: Look, I think the second amendment is a constitutional right but it is not absolute. It is not beyond the reach of reasonable regulation. I think the NRA is going to challenge this on grounds that somehow an age limit is arbitrary. I'm not sure the courts will be on their side.
Take note -- take note something though, the politics at play here. Our governor is likely to challenge Bill Nelson, an incumbent Democrat. And the NRA has not hit Governor Scott very hard on this. They did not really lay a glove on Governor Scott. They hit the bill very strongly. So time will tell if a deal was struck, you know to allow Governor Scott to do this, but allow the NRA to hit the bill itself. But will they make up when it comes to the politics of November? I imagine they probably will.
LEMON: Are you surprised the Governor Scott signed this bill?
JOLLY: I am. Look, I'm surprised that they did anything in the state legislature. Florida is a very gun friendly state. We have a number of concealed carry permits. We have stand (ph) our ground. So, I am impressed that they did something.
At the end of the day, this really does nothing to address the epidemic of gun violence in this United States or in the state of Florida. And so, again, I think a lot of Americans are struggling. Look, if your kid keeps bringing home F's on the report card and brings home a D, you certainly want to be encouraging. But at the same time, you don't want to reward that behavior as the end result.
LEMON: This bill in Florida is the first of its kind. Will you see more lawmakers stand up and follow suit?
JOLLY: So, a couple of points, you know, one of the very encouraging things here is that we see states can lead. And we saw this in Connecticut and we have seen this elsewhere. But we are seeing the states can say, "You know what? Given the inaction in Washington, we can lead on this. And that's a very important point.
We are also seeing citizens who are dissatisfied, if you will, beginning to mobilize around perhaps constitutional amendments. I think we will see an assault weapon ban constitutional amendment, try to get organized and be on the ballot in 2020.
We also see something in the Governor Scott's move this month and it is this. If you're a politician and you are not speaking to more responsible gun control measures, you are out of step with the American public. Governor Scott knows that. He is going to be on the ballot in November for the U.S. Senate. He knows the American people and people across Florida want more gun control laws, not less.
LEMON: Thank you Congressman. I appreciate you coming on.
JOLLY: Thank you.
LEMON: When we come back terrifying new details of exactly what happened inside Stoneman Douglas high school, pieced together with 911 calls and radio dispatches from the deputy who stayed outside while the gunman kept shooting. You're going to hear exactly what the deputy was saying during the shooting, and that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:38:33] LEMON: Governor Rick Scott ordering of an investigation into how police responded as the massacre in the high school in Parkland was underway. The Broward County sheriff's office releasing a time line which includes police radio dispatches, 911 calls and security video. It shows chaos confusion and an officer failing to go inside the school building to confront the gunman. More tonight from CNN correspondent, Rosa Flores.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you. I love you. You're going to be fine. Can you hide somewhere? Can you play dead?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As students and parents frantically called 911 for help during the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (DISPATCHER): I'm sorry I couldn't hear you
what's happening?
FLORES: The only armed deputy on campus doesn't go in to stop the shooter.
SCOTT ISRAEL, SHERIFF OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: Devastated. Sick to my stomach. There are no words. And these families lost their children. We lost coaches.
FLORES: Disgraced Broward County Deputy, Scott Peterson, defends himself in a statement saying he believed the shots were being fired from outside, but a newly released timeline and dispatch record shows. He radio's in otherwise.
SCOTT PETERSON, BROWARD COUNTY DEPUTY: We also heard it was over by inside the 1200 building.
FLORES: The union president says the dispatch audio contradicts Peterson story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His own radio transmission confirms that he identified the 1200 building and further after that advised other units to stay back 500 feet.
[23:40:03] FLORES: During the shooting, Peterson said that he takes a tactical behind this building. He radios in saying that he needs the intersection blocked off. The two responding deputies appear to comply. They stop at about the football field. And they block the east and west bound lanes of traffic rather than going into the building to eliminate the threat.
The shooter fires his weapon for more than six minutes. Stopping about the time Peterson says this.
PETERSON: Broward, do not approach the 12 or 1300 hundred building, stay at least 500 feet away at this point.
FLORES: At that point the shooter blends in with other students and leaves the scene. At no point do the various responding agencies share a single line of communication.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired by the football field, shots fired on the football field.
FLORES: And the radio traffic reflects the resulting chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need more details on 97 that is south side of the school.
PETERSON: Make sure I have a unit over in the front of school. Make sure nobody comes inside the school.
FLORES: Chaos that must have seemed endless for those calling for help inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a lot of confusion right now.
FLORES: The new time line reveals it takes law enforcement officers more than 11 minutes to enter and render aid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for all your help. I hope this turns out to be not as bad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I hope so too, thank you so much again, OK.
FLORES: Rosa Flores, CNN, Parkland, Florida.
(END VIDEO)
LEMON: And CNN reached out to Scott Peterson for a comment, but we haven't heard back. I want to bring in now Jeff Roorda a retired police officer who is the author of "The War on Police," and Neil Franklin, a retired major with the Maryland state police who is the Executive Director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
Good evening to both of you. It's just -- it's awful when you just sort of reliving that. You know, Jeff, we just heard that time line. Peterson tells other officers to not approach the school building. Meanwhile, frantic parents are calling in kids and teachers are dying. It's unbelievable.
JEFF ROORDA, ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICER ASSOCIATION: Yes. And I think you get a flavor now the tapes have been released of how frantic and chaotic the situations are, these live fire situations. And you know, the video is just chilling and hard to listen to when you know what's going on inside that building in hindsight.
LEMON: Yes. Neil, looking at the response to the shooting now, I mean when you -- when you hear the confusion on the radio and we have learned the police departments couldn't talk to each other, there was so many points where the response went wrong. How do you address it and try to fix this?
NEILL FRANKLIN, RETIRE MARYLAND STATE POLICE MAJOR: Well, first of all, it's not just for the sheriff's office there in Parkland P.D. to fix. They have a communication problem that they definitely need to fix. If you are working in the same area, same jurisdictions you got to have that capability, which has been available for decades for police departments and officers to talk to one another during an emergency like this.
So that is one thing. The second thing is Scott Peterson, the directions that he was giving the responding officers -- this is really important and I need for people to understand this -- because first we were questioning why those officers did not go into the school when they responded.
But you have -- now it's clear that Scott Peterson was giving directions to those officers. And those officers, because they're not on the scene, are going to rely 100 percent on what's communicated to them by the person who is on the scene, because they don't want to come into a very dangerous situation. They don't know if the shooting is outside and whether a long gun is being used. They're going to rely on that officer until they get there and can see for themselves.
But here is the other thing, Don, when they did arrive and a few minutes did go by, they were then in a position to see and recognize that the shooting was in the school. There was a time when the students started coming out of the school. They recognized that there was a young man -- a student who had been shot in the leg. But they still did not go in. And that is alarming to me.
And I'm trying to figure that piece out, because this is 11 minutes before they eventually went in. And I think we -- I think he stopped shooting after six minutes of arriving at the school. And so you had injured students, people in that school who needed immediate attention.
LEMON: Yes. So many things went wrong. Jeff, I wonder what your reaction is to Governor Rick Scott signing the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Public Safety Act into law today. Do you think that is a good thing?
ROORDA: Well I think this shooting has hastened a national dialogue on how we balance trying to protect the rights of law abiding citizens having access to firearms against keeping them out of the hands of people who are mentally ill or too young to safely use them.
[23:45:04] LEMON: Yes. Here is what the bill requires. And I'm going to read it so that our viewer knows. It requires all individuals purchasing firearms to be 21 years older -- old or older and imposes a 3-day waiting period for most gun purchases. However, the assault weapon ban was not included in the bill. Do you think it should have been, Jeff?
ROORDA: Well, I think all good legislation leaves the people on both sides of the debate a little unhappy. You know, there are some things in there that the NRA didn't want in there. There is some things in there that the anti-gun advocates did want in there.
And you know, this is not an easy question. I mean, balancing the right to have firearms against the danger that they pose when they are in the wrong hands is a tough question. And it's one we're going to wrestle with in this country a long time.
LEMON: Yes. So Neil, the bill also contain as provision that allows teachers to arm themselves. Many African-American folks are concerned about teachers having guns. If cops come into a school where there is an active shooter and they see a black person with a gun, they are worried the cops may somehow shoot the wrong person too quickly, because of some sort of bias.
FRANKLIN: Well, I think it's been proven that there is definitely bias in policing. And we have a lot of work to do there as far as educating our police officers on implicit bias and getting them to recognize this being something that is in themselves.
But beyond that, Don, teachers shouldn't have guns. They're there to teach. There is so much that goes -- so much responsibility that comes with that. Where do you store the gun? What happens when you go to the restroom? We have trained police officers that had misfires all the time, accidental discharges all the time. These are trained folks, you know who had been carrying guns for years, and it still happens.
So teachers in a classroom with students and, you know what? Students get inquisitive. You know, they -- and if they know that a teacher has a gun or firearm it's possible it may disappear. They may get curious about it. You just don't know what's going to happen. No, no teachers with guns in our schools. That is my opinion.
LEMON: Neil and Jeff, thank you so much I appreciate your time.
ROORDA: Thanks, Don.
FRANKLIN: Thank you.
LEMON: And some sad news tonight about the only Parkland student still in the hospital. The condition of 15 year-old Anthony Borges has been downgraded from fair to critical after emergency surgery. He was heroic during the shooting, protecting his classmate by barricading a door with his body. He was shot five times. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:51:39] LEMON: This Sunday, CNN's new original series, Pope, The Most Powerful Man in History, explores how popes thru the ages have balance their religious ministry with political challenges and church scandals.
Five years into his papacy, Pope Francis's progressive take on the role has earned him both adoration and criticism. CNN's Bill Weir traveled to Vatican City from an inside look at how the reformer Pope is leading his billion follower flock.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Since Michael Angelo helped build it, the most obvious change inside St. Peter's is the pilgrims now take selfies. The Vatican Library may had gone digital but only to preserve ancient wisdom. And in the pope's art factory, mosaics are still handmade. Yet to millions this ancient church seems radically different, thanks to the Pope in the newest mosaic.
Francis, the Reformer, was an obscure Jesuit from Argentina just five years ago, but he made it very clear, very fast that he would be one of the most liberal holy fathers in history.
He was asked about homo sexuality and said five words that shook the Catholic Church. Who am I to Judge? He then embrace Muslim refugees and said, "God redeems the atheist," allowing priest to marry? Divorce Catholics to take communion, all open for discussion under this global Pope who also stands as the anti-Trump.
When he says those who build walls instead of bridges are not Christian, does he know what he is doing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He knows what he is doing. He is really a great
political figure of our time.
WEIR: While the fans love that, the resistance here includes those who worry Francis's is either heretic or a socialist or both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, among conservatives there is kind a glomeration of people with different concerns that are joined in the fact that they think that the pope might be a danger or might be a problem.
WEIR: And what percentage of the church do you think they are?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly not half, well below half.
WEIR: It's a passionate minority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a passionate minority.
WEIR: When he defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering up the crimes of a pedophile priest, the backlash was fierce. So the Pope send a Vatican sex crimes expert to investigate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to know the truth then prosecute (inaudible). He will never stop until he finishes with this.
WEIR: But through it all, he is obviously most happy like this, blessing the hopeful and the desperate, a pastor who wishes the church was more like a field hospital, above all here to treat the wounded. Bill Weir, CNN Vatican City.
(END VIDEO)
LEMON: Be sure to tune in. Pope, The Most Powerful Man in History, premiers this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:59:07] LEMON: Next week, we reveal our first CNN Hero of 2018, but before we do, an update on last year's hero of the year. Amy Wright of Wilmington North Carolina was honored for opening a coffee shop that employs people with disability. Now, she expanded her mission. Here is a quick update from Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 2017 CNN Hero of the Year is Amy Wright.
AMY WRIGHT, 2017 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: Oh, my gosh. I cannot believe this is happening.
ANDERSON COOPER, BREAKING NEWS SHOW HOST: An incredible night, but two months later Amy has opened a second coffee shop, this one in Charleston, South Carolina.
(APPLAUSE) For most this 17 new employees, this is their first job.
WRIGHT: People with intellectual disability aren't valued. And so, this coffee shop has created a place where people see their value.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Amy has major expansion plans. Watch Anderson's full update or nominate someone you think should be a CNN hero right now at CNNheroes.com. That is it for us tonight.
