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Don Lemon Tonight

Conservatives Prepare for Mueller Report; Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Fraud Allegations; Dems Mapping Priorities As They Prepare To Take Control Of The House; Republican Steve King Appeared On A Podcast Frequented By White Nationalists; Voter Fraud Allegations Put North Carolina House Race In Limbo; George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President Of The United States, Has Died At Age 94. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired November 30, 2018 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT HOST: This is "CNN Tonight." I am Don Lemon. We have breaking news about President Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, who just pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. Sources tell CNN that Cohen was under the impression that Trump would offer him a pardon if he stayed on message in support of the president when talking to federal prosecutors.

It was an impression that he got after a visit to Mar-a-Lago back in March of this year. Just weeks after that, Cohen's office was raided by the FBI. And in the midst of one big development after another in the Mueller investigation, well, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is no need for a bill to protect Mueller. That's in spite of the president's constant criticism of the special counsel's investigation and previous attempts to fire Mueller.

Also new tonight, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, another vocal critic of Mueller's work, well he will testify before the House Judiciary Committee sometime in January. So there's lots to discuss tonight with Matt Lewis, Steve Cortes, Rick Wilson, the author of the book "Everything Trump Touches Dies." Good to have all of you on. Good evening to you.

So Matt, I'm going to start with you because you have a piece out and it's in the "Daily Beast" that warns conservatives to be prepared for Mueller to find something damning about the president and his business.

And here's what you write, you say, "We should be ready to accept the very real possibility that serious misdemeanors were committed and lies told. Frankly if it becomes clear that the president made foreign policy a public policy decisions while in office based on the fact that he was in some way a, compromised or b, seeking personal gain by virtue of his position, that will be a bridge too far."

So, I want you to expand on this for me. What should Republicans do if they find out that the president is compromised?

MATT LEWIS, SENIOR COLUMNIST, DAILY BEAST: Well look, I think, you know, a lot of your viewers are probably saying Republicans should just now start thinking about this or, you know, he's already done so many horrible things, but you know, half of the country likes Donald Trump or a lot of them. You know, millions of Americans like Donald Trump.

The economy is going good. Republicans have 53 senators right now. So it kind of, you know, there's like two Americas, but at the same time, we have this Robert Mueller investigation. I don't know if it's coming to a head or if it's just a flurry of activity, but the stuff with Michael Cohen I think is a prime example of Robert Mueller kind of tightening the screws, and the potential for the very unseemly side of Trump world to be exposed.

And really, what I'm doing is urging conservatives and Republican politicians for that matter, the people who are still with Trump to, what are you going to do if this turns into Nixon, if this turns into Watergate? Look, I'm not telling you become a liberal, change how you feel about --

LEMON: Does it have to be that bad, Matt? Because it seems to be pretty bad so far just the look of impropriety, right?

LEWIS: There's definitely the look of impropriety and I think very clearly close Trump confidantes have, well we know that they've committed crimes -- done illegal things. And some of them, in the case of Paul Manafort, unless he's pardoned, may go to jail for the rest of his life.

I still think, you know, you're missing that whatever that ingredient is with Donald Trump. The -- I mean, I hate to say collusion because the stuff with Michael Cohen is, you know, would be different than colluding over the election. It would actually be somebody who has been in a sense compromised by personal gain. But we don't know for a fact yet that Donald Trump himself is implicated in that.

[23:05:00] LEMON: I think that we don't know for a fact any of it to say that any of it has been proven or not proven. I think it's a bridge too far because we just don't know yet. The investigation should play out. So Steve, what do you think? Should conservatives be preparing for the worst?

STEVE CORTES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I don't think so at all. Listen and I tell you, Don. I am someone -- I think I have some credibility on this issue because in 2015, I was really skeptical of then candidate Donald Trump. I was a Rick Perry guy. Very glad he's in administration by the way, but mainly because I didn't believe that Donald Trump was a conservative, and he certainly had not been in a lot of his public nonpolitical life before then.

But he certainly convinced me and convinced a lot of conservatives that he was one of us. And by the way, more importantly, he has governed as the most conservative president since Ronald Reagan.

LEMON: What does that have to do with Russia though? For time purposes, what does it have to do with Russia and the investigation? CORTES: Well, what it means is that conservatives, we are thrilled.

Any honest conservative, even if you can't stand Trump, even if you don't like his style or his brashness. You have to be absolutely thrilled with the way he is leading and governing our economy, our judiciary. He's been nirvana for conservatives.

LEMON: Steve, with all due respect, this has nothing to do with what we're talking about. Steve, this has nothing to do with what we're talking about.

CORTES: Well, it's exactly what we're talking about, Don. You said what should conservatives brace for the worst? Should we get ready to be disappointed, and my point is, that so far --

LEMON: What does it mean that the worst is going to happen there asking --

CORTES: -- Donald Trump has literally been a patron saint.

LEMON: OK.

CORTES: He's been a saint to conservatives so far in his leadership.

LEWIS: Actually, let me just say, Don, I think that's actually -- I think that's true. I think this is actually why this is a more relevant conversation --

LEMON: Yes.

LEWIS: -- to be had because if you're a conservative who is happy with, you know, the judges and the tax cuts and the very conservative things, I've been in some ways pleasantly surprised by how Donald Trump has governed philosophically, not the moral character stuff but, you know, the judges let's say. You may be more susceptible to going along with him and overlooking what may turn out to be some very, very damaging stuff --

LEMON: OK Matt. Matt, you're making the point that I was trying to make more articulately than I did. So I -- so that's exactly the point I'm making. What does this have to do? Listen to what he's saying. It doesn't mean that any of this, as we said, any of it is going to be proven.

He's going to be proven that -- it's going to be proven that he did something wrong, but that's why you have insurance in your home and on your car and everything else because you are preparing for the worst. It doesn't mean you don't love him and that you don't like the way that they're performing. It just means that you have insurance in case something bad happens. Rick, weigh in, please.

RICK WILSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So here's my point. And I heard what Steve said and I'm going to assess it this way. Donald Trump is an authoritarian statist. He is driven by his ego. He is driven by venality. Donald Trump is driven by three big things, what makes him money, what puts him in the press, and what gives him an erection. This is the three things that shape Donald Trump's entire life. This

is the president. He's not a conservative. He's driven our deficit and debt up to sky high levels. He has engaged in a style of governance that is authoritarian at best that despises the constitution and the rule of law.

CORTES: Your level -- your level of disrespect --

WILSON: Steve!

CORTES: Your level of disrespect for the president is maddening and by the way, it's almost borderline lunacy.

WILSON: Steve, you know what, he's earned every iota of my disrespect, Steve.

LEMON: One at a time please.

WILSON: He's earned every iota of my disrespect, Steve, because he does not govern as a conservative. He governs as a man who leads a personality cult.

CORTES: That's just false.

WILSON: And he governs like somebody who is from North Korea --

CORTES: And so cutting taxes, regulatory relief and constitutionalist judges, that's not conservative?

LEMON: Steve, Steve, Steve, you can make your point after he makes his. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Steve, you can make your point after Rick makes -- you spoke for a long time. Matt for a very long time. Rick hasn't had the opportunity. You can rebut what he says after he finishes. Go on, Rick.

WILSON: The regulatory relief that everyone thinks is so wonderful is two things. One, it's transitory. It's not permanent. It's not real. It's not passed in legislation because he can't do it. The second thing is the vast majority of the regulatory relief that's been passed so far is specific crony capitalism that's being done by for people like the coal industry who are giving Trump donations and getting regulatory relief in exchange.

So that thing, I don't really view that as a conservative move. When Obama was doing regulatory fiat, we complained about it rigorously and correctly. So, if you're going to be a conservative, you don't go out and just govern by fiat.

The second thing is and I'm going to go back to this again, his personal style, his personal affect does matter. Leadership and character do matter and the way you behave as president is a highly relevant thing. I don't think that Donald Trump behaves as a conservative. He is transgressive in a lot of ways that some people really like because he owns the (inaudible).

LEMON: OK. WILSON: But what a lot of people find difficult about that, Steve, is that this is a man who is setting a series of precedents for someone who is not going to follow the constitution or the rule of law, and I think that's incredibly dangerous for any president to do. And we will regret that when the boot is on the other foot.

[23:09:57] LEMON: I want to see (inaudible), but just remember, the crux of our conversation really is Matt's piece in the "Daily Beast" that warns conservative that they need to be prepared for the possible worst -- what Mueller might find. So, let's not get too far afield of that. Steve, go ahead and respond.

CORTES: Listen, I mean, but that's like saying, well, I need to be prepared that there could be a tornado that hits my house or not. Sure, that's a possibility but it's totally unlikely. And what we've seen so far from the Mueller probe is rather than uncovering crimes that are relevant to his mandate about supposedly investigating Russian collusion.

What we're seeing is that his investigation is inciting process crimes, and look, I'm not excusing those crimes. No one should lie to him. No one should lie to the FBI or to Congress, but he has totally failed at his actual mandate thus far. We don't know exactly what we'll see from here because there is zero evidence that he Donald Trump colluded with Russia or that he was in any way compromised by Russia.

LEMON: How can you say he failed at his mandate because his mandate that says -- his mandate says that except for all of the people who have been indicted and who have pleaded guilty, but his mandate is -- don't want to talk about this part, they ignore this part. Anything that arises, that's a very important line in his scope. Anything that arises from the investigation, anything that arises from the investigation.

CORTES: Sure. Things like Paul Manafort acting really improperly and really illegally, long before Donald Trump entered politics, long before he had any professional association with Donald Trump. So here's the problem with that premise and I --

LEMON: Why did he hire them, of all the best people?

CORTES: -- why I think Mueller probe was poison from the start is that when you have an investigation in search of a crime, you will find crime. There's no doubt about it. But that's an unjust totalitarian approach to jurisprudence. It's not the American approach. That's for sure.

LEMON: Steve, I've got to get to a break. I promise you, I'm going to let everybody talk. Steve, OK. Let's just consider the whole week, right. Just what happened this week with Michael Cohen and with the whole thing about Trump Tower and him actually admitting that he was in the process of trying to get a building there and offering, you know, a penthouse. If that had been Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton, what would you be doing right now? CORES: Look, first of all, we don't know that he Michael Cohen

admitted anything about offering a condominium. That's just reported by sources.

LEMON: You're not answering the question. The president admitted he said if he did it --

CORTES: No, I answered the question. Michael Cohen --

LEMON: No, no, the president admitted. He said I can do business. And even if I did do it, it was OK. It was good and I was --

WILSON: Very cool.

LEMON: Yes, it was very cool. So what if there was --

CORTES: But there's a big difference between looking at an opportunity and offering a free apartment to the leader of --

LEMON: That's not what I asked you. That's not what I asked you. If the exact same scenario was playing out and it was Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, what would you be saying right now?

CORTES: What I would be saying is heavily criticizing the Clintons as I did when they accepted tens of millions of dollars, actually, hundreds of millions of dollars into the foundation for --

LEMON: If the total exact process was happening right now with the Russia investigation, if it was Hillary Clinton --

CORTES: They actually accepted money --

LEMON: -- if it was Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama right now, with the Russia investigation, what would you be saying?

CORTES: The Clintons --I would be saying to the Clintons -- were, Don, hypothetically, they were incredibly wrong to do business with Russia.

LEMON: You're not answering my question.

CORTES: -- in a quid pro quo scenario, using the foundations as essentially a slush fund.

LEMON: You're not answering my question.

CORTES: No, I am. I'm saying that I would criticize them.

LEMON: No, you're not. You're not answering my question.

CORTES: Donald Trump --

LEMON: So, OK, fine. So you want to criticize --

CORTES: How many opportunity -- LEMON: Hold on, Steve. So you want to criticize the Clintons for what you say their wrongdoings with Russia, OK. But you're not criticizing Trump for what others are saying are his wrong doings with Russia. Do you see the hypocrisy there?

CORTES: Trump looked and investigated a business opportunity as a private citizen.

LEMON: Yes.

CORTES: Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton as ex-Secretary of State and ex-president accepted speech money or $500,000 for one speech and --

LEMON: Speech money?

CORTES: -- and $100 million speaker fees and $100 million in Uranium One related donations to the Clinton Foundation. That is actual fact. That is money pouring into Clinton coffers versus Donald Trump looking at a business opportunity these are apples and oranges.

LEMON: And actually --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I would encourage everyone and you to just go on Google and do a fact check about this whole Uranium One thing and all of this. It is --

CORTES: Please, I agree.

LEMON: And you.

CORTES: Read "Clinton Cash."

LEMON: And you. "Clinton Cash" is not a book of fact. Just do a fact check on what everything Steve has just said. Steve, you never answered my question. You never answered my question.

CORTES: I did. I would criticize them because I do --

LEMON: But you criticize them but you're not criticizing the president for the same type of behavior that you're accusing the Clintons of.

[23:15:04] That's what you call -- that is a definition of hypocrisy. Tonight, if someone looks up hypocrisy in the dictionary, your picture would be next to it.

CORTES: No, it won't be there. No, it won't. And here's why. Donald Trump looked at a business --

LEMON: I got to go. I got to get to the break. I'll let you finish on the other side, serious, you're going to come back. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: New revealed documents show that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker continued to sit on the advisory board of a patent company even after he received complaints from customers saying that they were being defrauded. The company closed after a federal court ordered it to pay a settlement of more than $25 million.

The Federal Trade Commission called the company an invention promotion scam that has bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars. They said that in court filings. Back now with me, Matt Lewis, Steve Cortes and Rick Wilson.

[23:20:01] Let see if we can stay on track with this one. So Rick, what's your reaction to Whitaker's role in this company. He continues to sit on the advisory board in the face of multiple claims of fraud.

WILSON: Well, look, the guy sat on the board of an invention promotion company that involved time travel, and big foot. So I think that really says a lot about where we are with Matthew Whitaker. He is spectacularly unqualified to serve even acting attorney general. The guy is unqualified to serve as the manager of a waffle house. He's unqualified to be a slip and fall lawyer in a strip mall.

This is a guy who is an embarrassment. He's only there because he went on cable television, yelled as loud as he could about how wonderful Donald Trump is and managed to convince the president of the United States that he would be the one guy who would be there as an effective loyal political lieutenant and put the rule of law second and let the Justice Department be suborn in order to prevent Trump from being investigated any further by Robert Mueller.

So, that's why he's there. That's why he is in this position. He is a guy with -- his background alone is disqualifying. His statements about the Mueller investigation before this are disqualifying. And he's there illegally.

He is not in the chain of command. Rob Rosenstein is in the chain of command to be the guy who should be in that position as acting. This is purely a political move on the president's part. It's an embarrassment to the country and the Justice Department.

LEMON: So Matt Whitaker is in the top law enforcement job in the country. He oversees more than 100,000 people at the DOJ. How is he qualified for that position?

LEWIS: Well, look, I don't think he's qualified but I think that the real problem is that, you know, that he's just there I think illegitimately. If you want to nominate him, nominate him. Let the Senate vote and confirm him if they want to or nominate somebody else. I think that's the obvious and fundamental problem.

And really nobody's talking that much about it. Now, maybe it's because there's so much that, you know, there's so much to talk about but, you know, even Republicans who kind of like Donald Trump, I would think that if you're in Congress, you know, and if you care about things like the rule of law, like institutions, this might be something to look into. LEMON: Is this what happens, Steve, when there is no vetting for

people in such critical jobs?

CORTES: You know, Don, I don't know about the vetting about this private company. I have no idea about that. But I will say this, you know, I actually agree with my colleagues on the panel. I think a permanent attorney general should be nominated as soon as possible and I'm a bit frustrated that it hasn't already happened and I hope it happens ASAP because I think it's important.

LEMON: No, I meant vetting for from the administration for people who are in top jobs, not from a private company. Is this what happens when there is no vetting for people in those to get these jobs.

CORTES: Well, no, I wouldn't say there is no vetting. I mean, look, he was a U.S. attorney. He was the chief of staff to the previous attorney general. He obviously has his confidence. So it's not that there is no vetting. This guy didn't come out of nowhere.

He wasn't, you know, on late night infomercials selling legal advice so, he has a serious background. But is he going to be the permanent attorney general? It doesn't seem like it to me. And I think that whoever is going to be should be nominated as quickly as possible.

LEMON: So, given what we just said about and what the Consumer Protection Agency said or what's alleged in that lawsuit and found to be true, do you think they knew about that and they still put him in that position?

CORTES: I can't engage in the hypothetical. I have no idea if any of that is true.

LEMON: That's what vetting is called, Steve. OK.

CORTES: And I'm telling you, in terms of vetting, all I can say is, I was not apprised that we are going to be (inaudible). I don't know anything about that company. All I can tell you is he was the chief of staff to the attorney general of the United States. So that certainly says something. He was certainly vetted by the previous attorney general and he was a U.S. attorney.

So it's not as though he has no qualifications. I mean, let's not exaggerate. I'm not saying that he's going to be the permanent attorney general. It sure doesn't seem that way to me. And, you know, but also to Rick's point, you know, Rick says this is political. Of course it's political.

We elected the president to lead the Justice Department. The Justice Department is not independent of the executive branch. It is part of the executive branch. So, it is his prerogative to appoint people to the Justice Department. Now, obviously --

LEMON: We elected the president to lead the Justice Department?

CORTES: -- and I hope he does that pretty soon. WILSON: And yet, the tradition of the Justice Department's independence has been something that has been a bipartisan tradition for a very long time and the Justice Department although it is part of the --

CORTES: Well it sure wasn't with Eric Holder and Obama.

WILSON: -- is typically held to put the rule of law which I was critical of Eric Holder when he engaged in political behavior, so I'm critical of Matthew Whitaker when engaged in political behavior. But the Justice Department should put the rule of law before any other political consideration.

And Matt Whitaker is not there to do the rule of law. He is there to do the bidding of Donald Trump and to protect Donald Trump from the Mueller investigation.

COTES: OK, but that's your suspicions.

LEMON: Yes, I've got to go. I got to go. Hey Matt, I just want to say thank you for coming on to talk about your piece.

[23:25:02] I'm glad we got to discuss it so much.

LEWIS: Thank you.

LEMON: That was sarcasm. We're supposed to be talking about it and it just, you know, Steve you do it every time. Thank you, guys. Have a great weekend.

New audio tonight of Congressman Steve King calling the Congressional Black Caucus a "grievance committee" while appearing on a podcast frequented by white nationalists. I'm going to ask the newly elected chair of the CBC about that. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Democrats poised to take control of the House after a historic blue wave in the midterms.

[23:30:00] Along with their majority comes new committee leadership. The Congressional Black Caucus adds nine new member, bringing their total to an all time high --

[23:30:00] DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT HOST: -- wave in the midterms. Along with their majority comes new committee leadership. The Congressional Black Caucus adds nine new members, bring their total to an all-time high of 55.

Joining me now, California Congresswoman Karen Bass, the incoming chair of the CBC. Thank you so much for joining us. Are you doing OK?

REP. KAREN BASS (D), CALIFORNIA: Absolutely. Thanks for having me on.

LEMON: Let me just tell you congratulations on your new position. Democrats are going to take over the House come January. What do you think the priorities should be for Democrats and for the CBC?

BASS: Oh, well, absolutely number one on our agenda is a piece of legislation that encompasses the voting rights act, that also looks at corruption and really looks at money in politics, some issues that we found over this campaign were very important to voters and constituents.

And then also we have to deal with the price of prescription drugs and income inequality. So we have a big agenda. The Republicans have been in power for eight years and we have an awful lot of repair that we need to do to this nation.

LEMON: Yes, sounds like you have a lot to do. Congresswoman, the CNN has unearthed audio of Republican Congressman Steve King appearing on a far-right podcast, a podcast which frequently gave white nationalists a platform and whose host has argued that some racists are less intelligent than others.

In the interview, Congressman King said this about the Congressional Black Caucus. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA (voice-over): -- the self-segregating Congressional Black Caucus but it's not, they more or less hijacked his movement and turned it into their grievance committee, and now they're pressing all of us for special benefits based upon race.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: How do you respond to that?

BASS: You know, there isn't anything that Steve King could say that would really surprise me. You know, recently he was talking about a political party in Austria, and he said -- it's actually a Nazi party --

(LAUGHTER)

BASS: -- and he said that if you took their platform and brought it to United States --

LEMON: They would be Republicans.

BASS: -- they would be Republicans.

LEMON: Yeah.

BASS: You know, he has been an open white supremacist. He has even embarrassed his own party. In this last election, the head of the Republican Campaign Committee basically disassociated themselves from him.

LEMON: And he still won.

BASS: And he still won.

LEMON: But let me ask you.

BASS: Yes.

LEMON: You've been in Congress, both you and Congressman King have been in Congress for a number of years. Have you ever had any interactions with him?

BASS: Yes, I have. I serve on the Judiciary Committee with him. I've had to sit in the same room with him as he has made very racist comments toward immigrants.

LEMON: He has called the CBC a grievance committee.

BASS: Right. Well, he said we were asking for special benefits, all of which is a complete lie. He knows absolutely nothing about the Congressional Black Caucus. I bet he wasn't even aware that a colleague in his caucus, a Republican woman, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

So, nothing that he says about people of color surprises me. You remember what he said about immigrants. They had calves the size of cantaloupes because they carry drugs. He said that people of color have contributed nothing. It's only been western civilization that has contributed anything to the world.

So, the thing that is very sad about him is that he is profoundly ignorant. And I would think that the state of Iowa would be embarrassed by him. Now, I do have to say that he had a tough election this time. So maybe the voters of Iowa are getting tired of him. And 2020 can't come fast enough. They will have another shot at it and hopefully they will be able to retire him in the next election.

LEMON: Let me -- I want to ask you about this because we've been doing these special reports here on CNN called the "State of Hate." Earlier this month, the FBI released a report showing that there was a double digit uptick in hate crimes nationally. What do you think is behind that?

BASS: Well, I mean, unfortunately when you have someone in the White House who is also openly racist, I think he has given a license to be white supremacists where they felt maybe they needed to be a little, you know, in the closet, behind the scenes. And now they have an open license. I mean, just think about it.

We had four acts of domestic terrorism right before the election. The president wouldn't even refer to it as domestic terrorism. And each act of terrorism was done by a white supremacist organization. At the same time, the FBI wants to investigate young African-Americans who protest police violence. And so instead of talking about black identity extremists, we need to talk about white identity extremists. We need to call it for what it is. It is a terrorist organization. We need to address it appropriately.

LEMON: That is something that the country grapples with and people who share sentiments like you share often get a lot of criticism about that and a whole lot of push back. I want to talk to you about the acting attorney general because you're also on the House Judiciary Committee which just announced that --

BASS: Yes.

LEMON: -- the acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, he has a commitment to appear sometime in January.

[23:35:02} What do you want to ask him about?

BASS: Well, I mean, I think there is many things that we want to ask him about, you know, in particular, I mean, he was chief of staff to Jeff Sessions, and so how much dialogue was there in terms of the Mueller investigation? We know that the president would like to shut that investigation down. We know that there's conflicts of interests with him.

So, what has happened over the last two years since Trump has been in office? The republicans essentially have provided absolutely no oversight, no investigation. And so when the Democrats take over in January and were able to do oversight and investigation, there unfortunately is so much work for us to do because nothing has been done over the last two years.

LEMON: But --

BASS: And they're still chasing Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

LEMON: Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: The House Judiciary Committee also has jurisdiction over voting rights proposals.

BASS: Right.

LEMON: What would you like to see done on that front before the next election cycle?

BASS: Sure. First of all, this last election, there was just egregious examples across the country of voter suppression. I mean, what happened in the state of Georgia, you know, really sounded like another country. You have the secretary of state, the person who is in charge of elections actually running for office, made no sense at all.

And so I think one of the first things we need to do is document the problems that happened in this elections to establish the record so that we can make the adjustments that the Supreme Court called for in the Voting Rights Act.

LEMON: Congresswoman Bass, thank you. I appreciate your time.

BASS: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: Happy holidays to you.

BASS: Same to you.

LEMON: Serious allegations of voter fraud, delaying certification of a race for a North Carolina House seat. Were voters tricked in an attempt to secure the election for the Republican candidate?

[23:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So before the midterm elections, President Trump warned of voter fraud even though it's extremely rare. He said law enforcement officials would be watching closely. Well, it looks like officials might have missed something.

I want you to imagine this. Someone comes to your door, OK, during the days before an election and asks to turn in your absentee ballot for you. Imagine that. Come to your door and they ask you take your ballot, they're going to turn it in for you or even fill it out for you, all to secretly help the Republican candidate win.

Illegal tactics like that just might have been used in North Carolina. Today, a bipartisan elections board has voted to delay certification of a race in North Carolina's ninth congressional district that a Republican won by 905 votes.

The race in that district was between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready. And McCready even conceded the day after the election. His own party says, not so fast. The state Democratic Party submitted several affidavits to the election board saying there were potential illegal activities in the race, specifically issues with absentee ballots in the district.

One affidavit alleges that workers went to voters' doors to collect absentee ballots, ballots that are meant to be sent in the mail by the voter. What happened to those ballots after they were collected by these workers, no one really knows.

One election's expert told our team that they could he have been stolen or even thrown in the trash. Either way though, it is illegal. According to The New York Times, this is what one voter said about her interaction with a woman who came to her door saying she was there to collect ballots.

She says, "I gave her the ballot and she said she would finish it herself. I signed the ballot and she left. It was not sealed up at the time." That is also illegal.

The allegations center around a single Republican operative, McCrae Dowless, well known in North Carolina political circles. Dowless has a history of being accused of improper voter activity. And those sworn affidavits submitted to the elections board, well, they paint a troubling picture of what's been going on in the county where he worked.

Affidavits reviewed by CNN and our affiliate WSLC, well, they say that Dowless claimed he would received a $40,000 bonus from the Republican campaign if the Republican won. Dowless also claimed to have had 80 people working for him on two races.

What exactly those 80 people were doing, the election board, well, they need to figure that out. Were they the same people collecting mail-in absentee ballots? At this time, it is unclear how many absentee ballots are missing or if there are enough to change the outcome of the race.

But Jerry Cohen (ph), an election law expert who knows the district well, he told us that this was an effort to elect Mark Harris, the Republican in the race. If the election board finds truth in any of the allegations of voter fraud, there could be a new election and maybe a new winner.

And we have news tonight on the Kansas City Chiefs cutting a star player after a video surfaces of him brutally shoving a woman and kicking a woman. We're going to have the whole story for you. There's the video right there. We're going to have it for you, next.

[23:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breaking news tonight of a scandal in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs firing their star running back, Kareem Hunt, after the release today of a video that appears to show him pushing and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel back in February. CNN's Polo Sandoval has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest NFL controversy centering on what really happened in February when Kareem Hunt in just his second year with the league allegedly assaulted a 19-year-old woman at a hotel in Cleveland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): I was assaulted and I need help. I think his first name was Kareem.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): First obtained by TMZ, this video shows what looks like a short conversation in the hotel hallway and quickly escalates into a shoving match between Hunt and the woman. Several people, men and women, attempt to break up the argument but the woman is seen falling to the ground more than once.

[23:50:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): There are two women that have bruises and cuts all over them.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Hunt is also seen allegedly kicking her while she is on the ground. Hunt is also seen on this Cleveland police body cam footage now without a shirt on being questioned by police. No charges were filed following the incident, according to nfl.com. During the off-season, Hunt was asked about what lessons he learned from that February night.

KAREEM HUNT, AMERICAN FOOTBALL RUNNING BACK: I learned from it and I'll focus on football.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): When pressed by reporters, Hunt wouldn't elaborate except to say what his coach told him.

HUNT: Keep thinking about football and go out there, you know, and do my job.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): On the same day, Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, who had previously said he'd wanted a roster full of guys with "high character," was asked if he had any concern about the second year player.

CLARK HUNT, CEO, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Kareem is a young man, second year in the league, obviously had a very big year on the field last year. I'm sure he learned some lessons this off season and hopefully won't be in those kind of situations in the future.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Earlier today --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): This is CNN breaking news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We apologize for the interruption, but we need to bring you some breaking news. The 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, has died. I want to bring in now CNN's Jamie Gangel. Jamie has a close relationship with the family, has kept in touch with the former president, both former presidents and their family. Jamie, what can you tell us?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It's very sad. We've just received a statement from his son, former President George W. Bush, announcing the death of his father, President George H.W. Bush, who we called Bush 41.

And I will read the statement. It says, "Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are sad to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear dad has died. George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41's life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens."

And, you know, I just -- as I read it to you just now, it was actually the first time I've read this because we just have to say thanks. And I have to say that what is striking is it is obviously one president talking about another president, but it's a very personal -- it's clearly a son talking about his father, Don.

LEMON: If you're just joining us, sad news just into CNN that the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, has passed away. Our special correspondent Jamie Gangel is joining us, just reading a statement that was delivered to her from the son and former president as well, George W. Bush.

Listen, you know, over the years, I mean, he has -- we have watched him as an older statesman. We have watched him jumped out of airplanes. We have watched him go through illnesses. We watched him when his wife died. This is a figure in American history that will be a huge loss, especially in diplomacy and statesmanship for this country.

GANGEL (via telephone): Absolutely. First of all, he was 94 years old. He was our oldest living president. I have to say that his passing does not come as a complete surprise as I think most people know. He has suffered from Parkinson's for the last couple of years. He was confined to a wheelchair. And we've reported over the years a number of times that he's been in and out of the hospital.

But I think in the last couple of years, one of the most remarkable things about him was that even though he was in a wheelchair and even though he has all of these health challenges, as you point out, he was still jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

(LAUGHTER)

GANGEL (via telephone): He never wanted to miss a moment. And I think that that sentiment says as much about him on a personal level as anything else. He really would -- when he was younger, he liked to get up at 5:00 in the morning and write thank you notes.

[23:54:58] He would do six different sports if he had a day off before noon. He was very, very active. But the other thing I was thinking about today was not too long ago in 2011, President Obama gave former President Bush the medal of honor.

And when he gave it to him, he -- it's the presidential medal of freedom, he said that he recognized all of his career, service over 70 years from a navy pilot to president of the United States, but he ended by saying that it was his humility and his decency that reflected the very best of the American spirit.

Just quoting Obama, he said, those of you who know him, President Bush 41, this is a gentleman. And I just think that's something to think about especially in this political climate.

LEMON: And they developed a close friendship over the years. Not only that he also developed -- speaking of the Obamas, but also with President Clinton as well.

Let's talk about his life here because again, and I want to read the statement. Jamie, please stay with me here. Again, if you're just joining us, 41st president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, has just died at the age of 94.

Jamie Gangel joins us, our special correspondent. Jamie, let's just read some of the statements from the office of George H.W. Bush and talk about him. This is the honorable George H.W. Bush, June 12th 1924 to November 30th, 2018. George Herbert Walker Bush, World War II naval aviator, Texas oil pioneer, and 41st president of the United States of America, died on November 30th, 2018. He was 94 and is survived by his children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two siblings.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, Barbara, his second child, Pauline Robinson Bush, and his brother, Prescott and William or Bucky Bush. Funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as is practical. So let's talk about this. A World War II naval aviator, a hero.

GANGEL (via telephone): Absolutely. I mean, we will go back in the next couple of days and show some of these pictures. But let's remember, he was -- when he signed up for the navy, he actually went against his parents' wishes. They wanted him to go to college. But after Pearl Harbor, he decided he had to go fight in World War II. He was the youngest navy pilot when he got his wings.

He was shot down in Japan and almost died, and it was a very important moment in his life because he lost two of his crewmen, and that always stayed with him. And then afterwards he went on to really have one of the most extraordinary political resumes from U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, CIA director, U.S. envoy to China, Ronald Reagan's vice president, and then of course president of the United States.

I think one of the things that you really have to note, though, were personal relationships. People who know George H.W. Bush will tell you, oh, he's my best friend. He's a very good friend of mine. Don, thousands of people will tell you that. And the remarkable thing is they really all were his very good friends.

He was amazing at reaching out to people. We saw that both in politics, and we saw that in the first desert storm where he put together this extraordinary coalition of countries. He was the ultimate diplomat as well.

LEMON: If you look at the pictures now, he was really the patriarch of a political dynasty and did very well in politics. He reached the highest peak. He was the president of the United States. But we must remember as has been pointed out in this statement that was released, he was a Texas oil pioneer.

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