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Don Lemon Tonight

All Clear Given for CNN Offices after Bomb Threat; Kevin Hart Steps Down from Hosting Oscars; Trump Expected to Name Heather Nauert Next Ambassador to U.N.; Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Move to Undermine Newly Elected Dem Governor and Attorney General. Aired 12m-1a ET

Aired December 07, 2018 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: -- getting knocked off and I can't hear anything. So I am trying to dial back into the control room. And hopefully they can talk to me. I'm dialing in now to Control Room F.

F Control, thank you very much.

I'm still on the air, right?

I have no idea if I'm still on the air, people at home, if you're watching. I have no idea. So I'm going to continue to talk to you. What we're doing right now is we're standing out front, we're waiting --

(CROSSTALK)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: We're on the air.

LEMON: -- that I can be able to get back into my studio so I can report to you from the studio -- I'm reporting right now. Thank you very much.

OK, so --

(AUDIO GAP)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: OK, we're having some technical problems with Don. I guess the irony there, he was fine on the iPhone and the Skype and when we got to the satellite truck, some issues there.

As you can see, that's the scene outside the TimeWarner Center there in New York, the all clear has been given after a police sweep of the building. They went floor by floor; they found nothing suspicious.

This despite a call coming into security there at the TimeWarner Center around 9:47 pm New York time, that's a few hours ago now, claiming that five devices had been planted inside the building. That is when security decided to evacuate the center. Everyone came out.

We saw Don Lemon outside the building, broadcasting a short time ago, alongside Brian Stelter and our other colleagues, who basically were forced to leave their on-air program at the time to go outside the building and to continue broadcasting.

What we know right now is that this, of course, is now a secure area. They did have a bomb squad planted on the scene just in case there were in fact any suspicious devices. After the building was checked, they've determined it is now safe and for everyone to head --

(AUDIO GAP)

VAUSE: -- former deputy director of the U.S. -- assistant director of the U.S. Marshals.

OK, I guess the problem a lot of people have now, watching our coverage of this, is that we're giving this guy who phoned in this bomb threat pretty much everything he wanted, he got the publicity and all the rest.

So what do you do in a situation like this?

Is this what this guy wanted, the publicity for calling in this bomb threat?

ART RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: They generally do. But unfortunately in this day and age you have to react this way. And NYPD did exactly what they were supposed to do. Now they're telling us -- law enforcement is telling us they think the call came down from the South somewhere, which leads me to believe they probably know exactly where this phone call came from. They had the bomb squad standing by.

They brought in the PD, the emergency response unit or EMS, and generally they have K-9s with those units. And they swept the building actually fairly quickly, considering the size of the TimeWarner Center and surrounding buildings. But unfortunately this is the day and age we live in.

VAUSE: You talked about they knew this call came from down South. Also coming from down South, back in October, you know, the pipe bombs that were sent out to a number of addresses, former presidents and former officials within the Obama administration and also CNN, which I guess is why there was so much heightened awareness or such a heightened reaction to all of this.

RODERICK: Yes, exactly. Unfortunately, our colleagues at CNN are very familiar with this in New York City. And they went through this same, around about a month ago, where they had to evacuate the building due to pipe bombs actually showing up in the mailroom.

So they're not -- NYPD's not going to take any chances. Security at TimeWarner was excellent. The minute they got the phone call, they called it in and they were told to evacuate the building. The fire alarm was pulled and they got out of there. I'm just very glad that Don, Shimon, Brian and Samantha, everybody's OK there at the CNN building.

VAUSE: Explain how this investigation would work because if someone -- you know, there are no longer pay phones, I guess. You're very lucky if you find a public pay phone out there. So someone has to call this in from a land line or cellphone or somewhere and that leaves some kind of fingerprint or some kind of clue behind for investigators.

So how do they pick it up from there to find out who may have done this?

RODERICK: There are still some coin booths around, pay phones around in the U.S. But the -- it's very difficult to cover up this type of call-in anymore.

So when they say it's coming in from down South, I'm fairly sure that law enforcement has a pretty good idea of the location where it came from, if not the exact location.

So they'll have law enforcement out there right away looking to see, you know, was this a cellphone?

Was it one of the few pay phones left in the U.S.?

Was it made --

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RODERICK: -- from a land line?

So law enforcement is all over this and NYPD is just about the best at this in the world. So I have no doubt they're pretty much onto this.

And they had the bomb squad standing by, which indicates to me they knew right out front we'll do the search; if we come across a suspicious package, then we'll bring the actual bomb unit in.

VAUSE: We appreciate the insight you gave us as well as the information on who may be behind this and exactly what law enforcement could be doing at this hour. Art Roderick there, our CNN law enforcement analyst, also former assistant director of the U.S. Marshals.

Let's go back now to New York, Don Lemon is back with us, along with Shimon Prokupecz.

Don, it's good to see you.

What's happening right now?

LEMON: Sadly, I fear that this has become or may become the new normal. We're still standing outside and I'm waiting to get the all clear to be able to go back up, if possible, to my studio and control room. The folks are there -- because the people who were evacuated were evacuated from the posts that we need to get on the air.

And so we need to make sure that I can get on the air properly before they send us back upstairs.

But there's still some police presence out front but, maybe 10 minutes ago, maybe 15, we got the all clear to go back into the building. The bulk of the folks who work here at the TimeWarner Center have been able to go back into the building.

And just to, you know, give you an idea of how big this building is, it's not just CNN that's in this building, there are a number of other different businesses, including some of our sister businesses TruTV, TBS, TNT and others. But there are other businesses here as well; 55 floors in this building, it's 700 feet tall. So it's quite a big building and it takes up an entire city block here.

Shimon Prokupecz, our crime and justice reporter, has been working with the NYPD, his sources as well, to get information. They certainly took this seriously as they always will but they were in the building for quite some time. In order for them to evacuate a media company, a building like this --

(CROSSTALK)

PROKUPECZ: That is big undertaking for the NYPD and that's not something, probably a decision they made lightly because they had to know we were on the air here at the time they were going to evacuate.

But clearly there was something that concerned them greatly to do this kind of an evacuation on just a phoned-in bomb threat is not something that the NYPD takes -- it's not a decision they take lightly.

So clearly they were very concerned here, given the climate, given the history, given what we have been through already, with those other package bombs, the one that was mailed here to us in New York and also the one in Atlanta. And so that was on their mind when they went ahead and made this decision to evacuate.

Look, it's not often that the NYPD evacuates buildings like this because of phoned-in bomb threats.

LEMON: When you think about they know -- they said it came from the South. And if they have that information, they probably know specifically where it came from. And usually in these situations, people think they're being funny and they can get away with it. This is a federal crime and they usually get caught.

PROKUPECZ: They usually get caught. There have been many stories like this of people doing these kinds of things from other parts of the world. Like there was a guy in Israel, who was doing phoned-in bomb threats, causing all sorts of disruptions. And that person was captured. Remember the schools that were getting threats.

So these kinds of things the FBI will investigate and will try and prosecute people once they figure out who's behind this, because it causes panic, it causes concern and creates fear in people, especially given what our staff, what our fellow employees here, our coworkers have been through already, when we had that first evacuation and when they found that bomb in the mailroom, just right through these doors here.

So this is going to be an investigation. I know the NYPD intelligence, their analysts are on this; the intelligence division is working this and probably the FBI. You're seeing more police officers coming out now. And so, you know, they're essentially over -- for now this is over but the investigation is going to just begin.

LEMON: Well, the evacuation part is over but the investigation part as you said will continue on.

Can you imagine what this does to the people who work in this building?

And, again, you think, oh, this is CNN. And there may be some people at home, going, it's great, CNN was -- but it's not just CNN. It's a number of people who work in this building. It's people who live in the area, people who will be concerned about their safety.

Can you imagine --

(CROSSTALK)

PROKUPECZ: -- the disruption --

LEMON: -- when we were leaving the building, I'm sure what's going through everyone's head was going through mine, what am I going to do?

What happens if the bomb actually goes off and I'm is in this building?

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LEMON: What am I going to tell my family?

What's going to happen with my family?

Who do I need to call first, what do I need to tell them?

Those are all real issues and, again, I fear that this is going to become the new normal.

PROKUPECZ: Well, and especially when you have this kind of response and you're seeing the person who called this in is getting exactly the response that they wanted, is getting the reaction.

You were forced off the air, Don. Your staff was forced out of the control room. Folks were forced to leave the building. We had to go off the air. We had to go into programming. You know, there's a lot that this --

LEMON: And taxpayers are paying for this.

(CROSSTALK)

PROKUPECZ: And also the businesses here and the TimeWarner Center right next door. This is the third or fourth time probably in the last two months they've been evacuated.

Thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars to these businesses; there are restaurants in this building. People were out for dinner, who probably had to leave their tables in the middle of dinner because of something like this. It's a hoax, right, but it causes a lot of problems.

LEMON: We walked into a restaurant and there were people there, some of them, the people that were there had to stay; the other people who wanted to go into the restaurant and have dinner, have drinks in the bar or go to the hotel, maybe they had reservations, maybe they were here for an event.

They couldn't get to it because --

PROKUPECZ: -- the police closed off the street and wouldn't let anyone in and we couldn't leave the street because, if we left the street, then we couldn't get back in.

So there was a lot of concern by the police here. Look, they did what they had to do here and it could be the new normal, you're right. It's scary.

LEMON: I'm so glad that I had you here with me but, again, we're smiling now and we can. For the longest time we weren't able to smile. I'm not even sure exactly what time it is now.

So it's almost been two hours.

So listen, on the other side of the break we're going to report more on this. Maybe you'll see me here on the street. Maybe I'll be back in my studio. But again, a bomb threat called in to CNN in New York and we were forced to evacuate the building, taken off the air.

And here we are, two hours into it. And we'll find out what's going on after this break. Don't go anywhere. I'm Don Lemon, live in New York with Shimon Prokupecz. We'll be back right after this.

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

LEMON: And we are back. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us.

This is our breaking news tonight, New York City police have given us the all clear after a bomb threat was phoned into CNN 9:47 pm Eastern time. Bomb threat phoned into CNN. Our studio in the TimeWarner Center and the surrounding buildings here in New York's Columbus Circle evacuated moments after the threat was received. The threat came when a caller said there were five devices in the

building. That's according to a law enforcement source. Again, five devices in the building. Now we're back; we've been given the all clear.

So let's get back to business now. We have some more breaking news to tell you about right now. Kevin Hart has stepped down from hosting this year's Oscars.

He put out a statement on Twitter tonight, saying, "I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscars. This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing, talented artists.

"I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from the past. I am sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and I want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring us together, not tear us apart. Much love and appreciation to the Academy and I hope we can meet again."

Brian Stelter is our senior media correspondent and Brian joins us right now -- Brian.

Chief media anchor, I should say.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, we're back where we belong, Don, back to the news. This is really shocking news actually --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: You know, I have not seen this happen in the history of the Oscars. A host was announced just two days ago and now that host is saying, sorry, I don't want to be a part of this. If you don't want me, I'm leaving.

It was actually kind of hard for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to find a host for the Oscars this year. There was a lot of buzz in the entertainment world about how nobody wanted to host the Oscars anymore. It's a no-win job.

But Kevin Hart said, hey, I've wanted to do this all my life, all my career, I'm onboard for this. And he announced on Instagram earlier this week he was going to be the host on the most important night in Hollywood.

Of course, that's a few months from now. But all of a sudden here Hart has said he's no longer going to be participating. He's backed out and the reason is because of concern and outrage on Twitter, on Facebook, other social networks about homophobic things he has posted in the past.

There's no doubt about it, Don. Hart did post a number of homophobic slurs and other offensive comments backed by Twitter and other sites, back in 2009, 2010, 2011. There were a number of really ugly posts in his past. Now he's apologized for that in the past. He's also said, some of this was just trying to be funny; he's a

comedian, after all. But there's some understandable concern from some groups, saying this is inappropriate. So what happened?

The Academy, that runs the Oscars, they asked him to apologize. They asked him to come out and say something.

What Kevin Hart is saying tonight is he doesn't want to have to apologize again, he's addressed this in the past. He says he doesn't want the Internet trolls to win, he doesn't want to reward them and so he's backing out of the Oscars. I've never seen anything like it.

LEMON: Here's what he did earlier, and we'll get the video up on this. He posted video on Instagram and he also said earlier, "Listen --

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LEMON: -- "if you want to search my history or past and anger yourselves with what you find, that is fine with me. I'm almost 40 years old and I'm in love with the man that I am becoming."

And then he went onto say this, here's the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HART, COMEDIAN: I swear, man, our world is becoming beyond crazy. I'm not going to let the craziness frustrate me or anger me, especially when I worked hard to get to the mental space that I am at now.

My team calls me, oh, my God, Kevin, the world is upset about tweets you did years ago. Oh, my God.

Guys, I'm almost 40 years old. If you don't believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don't know what to tell you.

If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain their past, then D you. I'm the wrong guy, man. I'm in a great place, a great mature place, where all I do is spread positivity. If you're not doing that, you're not on my page.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, so then, there you go. Here's the thing, Brian, the response that he put out just now was the appropriate response. And I don't mean the stepping down part. But I am really sorry if I have caused hurt and pain, I needed to be educated about something. I am evolving. That was the proper response to do initially.

And again, people do evolve on issues. We should give people leeway in that.

But was that the right way to respond initially, through that video?

STELTER: Right, to try to talk through it, to try to explain -- LEMON: Well, but also blaming it on Internet trolls and people

looking for outrage. Yes, we live in an outrage culture right now.

But is that really the issue when it comes to this?

STELTER: I think you are onto something really important. What he said in this brand-new statement was point-blank, no ifs or buts, I sincerely apologize, I'm sorry I hurt people.

But you're right; in that earlier video, it was different.

Going back to 2010, Kevin Hart said things like, "If I can prevent my son from being gay, I will," those are deeply offensive comments. And you can't explain it away by saying he was joking.

By the way, I don't think he was always joking in those comments. But as you said, people are evolving and we have to give them the space to evolve. And I think his statement tonight is very strong. He's said the right things by saying he sincerely apologizes and that his goal is to bring people together, not tear people apart.

And notice, the end of the statement is, I hope we can meet again.

So maybe he's leaving a little wiggle room here to try to remain in the Oscars. I don't know. But he's said he's officially stepping down. And that doesn't happen in the Academy. This is a bit job, it's a big deal to get to the host the Oscars in front of 40-50 million people.

And he's backing away, even though, just two days ago, his appointment and his hiring was a huge deal, was celebrated by comedians like Jimmy Kimmel, who were thrilled to see him in the job.

So I'm really curious, Don, to see what happens now.

Will he really go?

Will the Academy really let him walk away?

We have reached out to the Academy, which holds the Oscars every year, to see if they have a comment and so far, though, no comment.

LEMON: It's interesting and a lot of people were really excited about it, that I am so glad they called Kevin and that he accepted. Look, this is whiplash whipsaw of a night if you're watching the news.

You're like, wait, what's going on; one minute they're outside -- again, we had a scare here and we're back in our studio and moving on with the news of the day.

If you're just tuning in, Kevin Hart, who many people, as Brian has said, were happy he had accepted the position to host the 2019 Oscars, he has stepped down. He has released a statement.

He said, "I've made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscars. This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing, talented artists," he says.

"I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community from my insensitive words from my past. I am sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and I want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together, not tear us apart. Much love and appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again."

And again, Brian, before you jump in here, Kevin --

Put the camera on me.

Kevin, call me. Let's talk. Let's make you an ally to the LGBTQ community. I'm a member of the LGBTQ community. I don't know you that well but I do know you a little bit and I believe that your heart could be in the right place. And you can move to become an LGBTQ ally.

Call me.

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LEMON: Let's talk about this. Come on my show. Come on the air and discuss it. I will give you a fair shot to talk about all of this and to have your say. I just want to say that.

Brian, stand by because I want to get to Nischelle Turner. She's on the phone now.

Nischelle Turner, of course, worked here at CNN for many years and is now working in Hollywood and this is what she does with "Entertainment Tonight," the host of "Entertainment Tonight."

What's going on here, Nischelle?

Good evening.

NISCHELLE TURNER, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT": Hey, yes, lots of crazy news. You're right, I was listening to you all's conversation, talking about two days ago we were announcing that Kevin announced it on Instagram, that he was going to be the host of this year's Academy Awards.

And there was a lot of lauding, everyone was very excited, myself, I was very excited. I do know Kevin and I was very excited about this opportunity for him because this is something he wanted for many years.

If you remember the show he had on BET, "The Real Husbands of Hollywood," kind of a spoof reality show, back in Season 2 of that, he did a spoof sketch about him being named the host of the Oscars. And it was like the best day of his life.

So when this really happened, he told us, back in 2015, on "Entertainment Tonight," the next time at the Oscars, the next time I come here, I will be hosting it. That would have been this year.

So he definitely had been trying to speak this into existence.

But for all of this to happen, is very, very shocking. I had members, friends of mine, who are members of the LGBTQ community, reaching out to me tonight on social media, saying, did you see this, this is a big story, what is going on here?

And from what Kevin has said -- and I do remember this coming up before, that he had addressed it and he felt like, do I have to keep apologizing for something?

So I think that's a valid question to ask.

And I'll ask you, Don, because you were just talking about, you are a member of the LGBTQ community. If someone makes a statement that is inarguably wrong, flat out, no ifs, ands or buts about it and they've addressed it before and apologized for it before, if it comes up again, do they need to apologize again?

Or as he said in the first statement before he (INAUDIBLE), listen, I've addressed this before. I've apologized for it before. I'm not going to keep doing this.

I'm not sure where the line is. And I'm not making a judgment on it. I'm certain not making a judgment on how anyone feels about it, because the tweets were ugly and they're wrong, period.

But where is that line?

LEMON: Nischelle, I want to get to something but I will say I think that you probably need to think to answer those questions for as long as it is an issue. Some things are so offensive. And even if they date back from years in our past, I think in order to effect change when it comes to these issues, I think that people need to answer for them.

If you think it was an issue that dealt with African Americans, if people had said disparaging things about African Americans in the past, I think they need to explain themselves.

There's no difference to me here, when it comes to the issue of LGBTQ rights, especially if you're telling a child, I would prefer you not to be gay. As we know, this is not something someone chooses. This is not something you can pray away or wish away.

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: Listen, I agree with you. It's just a question that I am asking because it's a question that I'm hearing and a response that I'm hearing and seeing from some members of the community, some people out there.

Viewers -- I've been searching social media and that is something that people have been saying.

Listen, how many times do you say I'm sorry?

And I guess you're right.

LEMON: As many time as it takes, Nischelle. As many times as it takes.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Listen, I've been dealing with something similar, someone who I was friendly with, and they're upset with what I said about the comments they made.

If you are -- if you believe that I am a friend, call me, apologize and say, I'm sorry I said those disparaging things about gay people or black people. I hope you don't think any less of me. I heard how you felt and what you said about it.

Talk to me, help me be a better person. You should not be mad at the person --

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: The Academy has had a big issue lately, of course, about diversity, inclusion. I don't think this is going to help the cause. I have seen a stark divide tonight, especially on social media, it feels like, with African Americans coming to Kevin's defense and saying, we stand behind you, you're doing the right thing.

You know, if you're not the host, we're not watching. So I'm really interested to see how this is going to play out in the next few days, what the Academy does and, furthermore --

[00:30:00]

TURNER: -- who they're going to get, who they're going to get after this.

LEMON: Stand by, guys.

Do we want to move on with the breaking news or do we want to play the video from Kevin?

Listen -- OK.

OK, so, listen, both of you, Brian and Nischelle, I want you to stand by. This is new from Kevin Hart. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HART: I just got a call from the Academy and that call basically said, Kevin, apologize for your tweets of old or we're going to have to move on to find another host, talking about the tweets from 2009 and 2010.

The reason why I've passed is I've addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I've addressed it. I've spoken on it. I've said where the rights and wrongs were. I've said who I was then versus who I am now. I've done it. I've done it. I'm not going to continue to go back and tap into the day of old when

I've moved on and I'm in a completely different space in my life. The same energy that went into finding those old tweets could be put into finding the response to the questions that have been asked years after years.

We feed Internet trolls and we reward them. I'm not going to do it, man. I'm going to be me and stand my ground. Regardless of the Academy, I'm thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. If it goes away, no harm, no foul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nischelle, what do you think of that?

TURNER: Well, that was actually a video that he did before he stepped down. So that was before he decided not to host the Oscars. That was the first thing he did in response tonight.

LEMON: This was before that Instagram one came out, where he was in bed, right?

TURNER: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

TURNER: So this was before the last Instagram that he did. This was when, apparently, maybe GLAAD came to the Academy, asking for an apology; the Academy went to him and he was like, I'm not going to do it again, I'm not going to do this again because I've addressed it several times.

And then after that, maybe it escalated even more, where he said he was going to stand his ground. And I don't know if there was a line drawn in the sand. Those are questions, of course, we're trying to answer tonight and get answers to.

But at the end of the day, he felt like this is becoming too much of a distraction, I'm going to step away.

And, you know, Kevin, he does deal with controversy. He deals with things in his life usually head-on. It was just last year, when he was faced with, you know, an adultery scandal that he faced head-on with his wife. And they fixed things and he kept going and it seemed like his career kept getting better and better after.

LEMON: And there was a cowboy and Indian scene recently --

TURNER: I really don't know what's going to happen now because I do think this is going to be a tough one for him. This is going to be a tough one.

LEMON: Nischelle, thank you for that. I appreciate your reporting.

Brian, I'll give you the last word.

Did they give him an ultimatum?

STELTER: What will the Academy do now?

He said the Academy gave him an ultimatum to apologize and now the Academy might need a new Oscar host unless they accept his new apology and believe that was enough. I said this earlier, cannot remember a time this happened before. One of our viewers pointed out, it only happened once before.

That's in 2011, Eddie Murphy backed out of the Oscars.

(CROSSTALK)

But it's because a producer of the show, Brett Ratner, had been exposed for saying anti-gay comments in the past. Again and again, the Oscars have been back at this problem.

But now they have another problem, what are they going to do in March, when the Oscars are on the air?

LEMON: Thank you, Brian Stelter.

Thank you, Nischelle Turner, as well.

If you're just joining us, the comedian, Kevin Hart, decides to step down from hosting the Oscars. That's our breaking news.

We also have other breaking news to tell you about tonight. The Trump administration, the president expected to nominate a replacement for Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and she used to work at FOX News.

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LEMON: We have another big story tonight. A new development in the Trump administration. The president expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be his new ambassador to the U.N. She was a FOX News anchor before arriving at the State Department in 2017.

The announcement of her appointment expected in a matter of hours. Joining me now, Samantha Vinograd and Brian Stelter.

Good evening. Hello once again.

What is your reaction, Sam, to Heather Nauert, the FOX News former personality, tapped to be America's next ambassador to the U.N.?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Don, I don't think we really needed any clearer message that President Trump doesn't have any real sense or desire to engage in a multilateral institution like the United Nations. We've seen him withdraw from the United Nations in working through in the past.

And now he's essentially going to put a woman into this organization that really lacks any shred of background that would make her effective in this post.

I worked with U.N. ambassadors in the past and, let me tell you, talking to the Russian ambassador to the United Nations takes skill. Corralling the 192 other members of the United Nations to pass a resolution on Russia, to pass a resolution on Iran, under the best of circumstances, requires real diplomatic finesse. And Heather Nauert just doesn't have that.

LEMON: What do we know about her background besides being a FOX News personality?

STELTER: She's been a journalist but I would say primarily a talking head or a commentator for 20 years. And I say that to emphasize she is sharp. I mean, she knows what she's doing on television. She knows what she's doing in the media arena.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: But Sam is right about the lack of diplomatic experience. This is not someone who brings U.N. ambassador-level experience.

This is a woman who was on FOX for many years, also briefly at ABC, but going back to the '90s, when she graduated college, she knew she wanted to be on television. She was looking for various jobs in television. She was on a bunch of conservative talk shows and she was great at those jobs.

That's why FOX brought her over almost 20 years ago to be a regular on FOX News. So she was in a variety of --

[00:40:00]

STELTER: -- roles on FOX, sometimes a reporter, sometimes more of a talking head or a news reader. And in that job, I think she excelled. Then she went to ABC briefly and back to FOX. She was best known as the news reader on "FOX and Friends." But again, I'm kind of going through this resume on purpose to explain what's not there.

She has been at the State Department for the past couple of years as the State Department spokesperson. I think she was doing a very effective job there. I think she was skilled in that role. There were times she was going a little bit beyond what Trump will say, standing up for journalists and their rights and their values.

There were other times where there were some pretty embarrassing gaffes. And certainly this is a highly unusual situation to see Nauert about to be appointed. We believe this will be announced on Friday where she will be taking over as ambassador to the U.N.

LEMON: Some of the former ambassadors to the United Nations were ... ?

VINOGRAD: Well, John Bolton, which, ironically, is an interesting point to note, in light of the fact that John Bolton, from what we're reading in the press, is trying to downgrade this position from a cabinet-level position, which it currently is, to something that would report to the secretary of state, for example.

STELTER: Interesting timing for a downgrade.

VINOGRAD: Interesting indeed. I worked with Ambassador Susan Rice, who was ambassador to the United Nations, and Ambassador Samantha Power. Both of those women, as well as Nikki Haley, fought really hard for various initiatives that perhaps took a lot, a lot, a lot of diplomatic coordination within the body of the United Nations.

And so I wonder how that media experience from the podium at the State Department, from FOX News, is going to allow someone like Heather Nauert to sit down and achieve consensus on issues both with the other U.N. members but also, Don, with the president.

As a cabinet level official, Heather Nauert would be in the Situation Room, trying to argue a point with the President of the United States and convince him, for example, to keep working through the United Nations, to keep working on humanitarian assistance.

Do we really see her performing that function with the President of the United States?

LEMON: We just laid to rest today George H.W. Bush, who was ambassador to the U.N.; Daniel Patrick Moynihan was an ambassador to the U.N.; The great Andrew Young was an ambassador to the U.N.

Jeane Kirkpatrick was an ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright was an ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson was ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte was an ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, as you've said, Samantha Power, Susan Rice and Nikki Haley.

STELTER: It's a pretty impressive list.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I have nothing against Heather Nauert but come on.

VINOGRAD: I think that she did a very good job from the podium at the State Department.

But how does that translate to getting 192 other representatives to achieve a consensus?

STELTER: The answer is that the president has her trust. We're seeing a merger between FOX News and the White House, it's a merger that's good for the president but bad for America.

LEMON: Thank you, both.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is about to sign off on a slew of measures aimed at curbing the powers of the incoming Democratic government. And Republicans aren't even hiding why they're doing it.

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LEMON: Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is on his way out, defeated last month by Democratic governor-elect Tony Evers. But with the help of Republicans in the state legislature, Walker is about to sign off on a slew of measures designed to strip power from his successor.

Those bills would limit early voting, restrict appointments by the governor to key positions and limit the attorney general's power to make decisions about federal lawsuits.

It's a power grab to stop Democrats from doing the things they campaigned on and won. And Republicans have been almost too honest about why they are doing it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT FITZGERALD, WISCONSIN STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Listen, I'm concerned. I think that governor-elect Evers is going to bring a liberal agenda to Wisconsin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Democrats won their election.

So if Republicans didn't want liberal policies, isn't it on them to campaign harder and better?

Democrats are looking at legal options but until they figure it out, well, they've been doing one of the only things that they can do, protesting at the statehouse and making their voices heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY KENNEDY, PROTESTER: They can only win by cheating and that's what they're doing in there right now. They're a bunch of cowards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It is up to Walker to sign the legislation. Democrats believe he will and they are calling it like they see it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON HINTZ, WISCONSIN STATE ASSEMBLY MINORITY LEADER: Many of the actions taken today will invalidate the results of the will of the people and shows direct contempt for the voters. Many of the acts taken today were not discussed ever during the campaign. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So here's a question.

So what does it say about our democratic process when the party losing power uses lame duck sessions to stifle the incoming party?

Joining me now is Martha Laning, the Wisconsin Democratic Party chairwoman.

Good evening. Thank you so much for joining us.

You doing OK?

MARTHA LANING, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR: I am great and I'm happy to be here.

LEMON: This is, Martha, about the norms of our country. When you lose an election fair and square, you're supposed to step aside, let the winner govern.

I don't know, what would you call about what's happening here?

LANING: This is clearly a power grab. The foundation of our democracy depends upon a smooth transition of power. It depends upon us respecting the will of the people. What happens on Election Day, those that win, we transition power.

And this is -- you know, the Republicans here in Wisconsin are not following that age-old tradition here in Wisconsin of having smooth transition in power. And we're hoping that Governor Walker will come to his senses by having people call in and let the governor know that this is his legacy that he's writing right now.

And we need him to veto these bills because they are not the will of the people. That was clearly stated in the election in November. And they're just not right.

LEMON: Well, he signals his support for the measures.

But you think this is -- this will --

[00:50:00]

LEMON: -- be a stain on his legacy, right?

LANING: Absolutely. And we're encouraging people to do that. Very prominent Republicans have come out against what has happened here, that the people selected a governor-elect, Tony Evers, and attorney general-elect Josh Call to lead our state.

And instead of respecting that decision, the Republicans, under the leadership of Governor Walker, are usurping that power. We think it's a tragedy that our governor-elect will not have the same authority that Governor Walker has enjoyed for eight years. It's just simply wrong. LEMON: Let's talk about that now, these bills sitting on Governor Walker's desk, to weaken the executive branch at precisely the time the Democrats are set to reclaim it, after nearly a decade on the outs.

Are Republicans in Wisconsin trying to undo, do you believe, undo the results of the 2018 election?

LANING: Clearly they are. I'll give you a good example. Josh Call and Tony Evers ran on the fact Wisconsin was involved in a lawsuit against ObamaCare. It was a challenge to preexisting condition coverage for many Wisconsinites across the state.

Tony Evers and Josh Call ran on that they would pull out of the lawsuit. If these bills are passed, it's taking the authority away from Josh Call to do just that. So this is a direct offensive to a piece of a promise, that these officials, these candidates made, that they will not be able to follow through on because of these bills.

LEMON: You mention Tony Evers and Josh Call. So Wisconsin voters turned out in large numbers to elect the two Democrats. And GOP leadership responded by calling an extraordinary session, meant to strip powers from both offices.

Is there anything, anything that can be done to stop them?

LANING: Yes. We have been having voters all over the state of Wisconsin calling in. It has been working. We have made changes.

LEMON: Do you think that is making a difference?

LANING: I do think it is. They delivered this bill late on Friday. They then had a hearing on Monday. And on Tuesday, they were in and out of caucuses and wouldn't do anything in a transparent manner. They don't even know what they have passed.

There's hundreds of pages. But they were originally trying to change the timing of the 2020 primary for the presidential. They were concerned that it would give the Democrats an advantage. It would have cost millions and millions of dollars to taxpayers to run two separate elections.

And that was taken out. They eliminated it. We're very proud of the fact people calling in and letting them know this is wrong. They still continued with pieces that are simply wrong, taking away powers from governor-elect Tony Evers and restricting what Josh Call can do in his position.

We need more people to speak up. This is an attack on our democracy. Call Governor Walker and tell him to veto these bills.

LEMON: Do you think Republican view -- I'm wondering if you think Republicans view an election victory that isn't by Republicans somehow an illegitimate outcome?

And if you do think so, why is that? LANING: I think these Republicans that are in control here in Wisconsin, they have just attacked our democracy over and over again. They rigged the system. In this past election, there were over 54 percent of the votes for representatives in our assembly were Democrats. Yet we only got 36 out of 99 seats.

We are so gerrymandered here in the state. It is rigging the system so Democrats can never take control. If we don't change that, it's taking the will of the people away from them. It's allowing the elected leaders to pick their constituents versus the constituents picking their leaders. The Republicans just keep doing one thing after another to keep control and to rig the system.

LEMON: What kind of precedent does this set around the country, do you believe, if this indeed passes?

LANING: North Carolina has had something similar to this. And they do have a lawsuit that they're dealing with. And we're just seeing the Republicans are going from state to state. They -- it was with our Act 10, with right to work. These things were created by ALEC (ph) and then they spread throughout the nation.

It is an attack on our democracy. These -- we need to ensure all people have a right to vote, that voting is easy. We need to be sure that the people have the ability to select their elected leaders.

And if these bills are signed by Governor Walker, we will hold them accountable. On November 3, 2020, we will remind the voters that these Republicans --

[00:55:00]

LANING: -- did not want their voices to be heard and didn't want their will to move forward. That's just simply wrong. We know Wisconsinites will do something about it.

LEMON: This president and some in the Republican Party are always talking about voter fraud, election fraud.

Do you view this as election fraud?

LANING: Election fraud is something that the Republicans talk about so they can rig the system more. The facts are, you have a better chance in the state of Wisconsin of being struck by lightning than finding a case of election fraud. This is all just talk that they do to try to rig the system, to enable their party to have control.

It's time that we get back to our Wisconsin values, our national values, that we believe in fairness and transparency, that we won't hide in a caucus behind closed doors and write secret legislation and shove it through without proper review and an ability for the public to speak about or to their viewpoint about this legislation.

All of this is against our democracy. And it's very important that people speak up and call Governor Walker and let him know this is just simply wrong. LEMON: Martha Laning, thank you for your time.

LANING: Thank you so much. I appreciate being here.

LEMON: So here's the breaking news tonight. We have got the all clear after our studio and offices were evacuated tonight after a phoned-in bomb threat. Everybody is safe. The building is secure. The NYPD tweeted that the threat was not substantiated and we want to thank them for their quick action tonight.

Thanks for watching. I'm Don Lemon. Our coverage continues.