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Don Lemon Tonight
Democrats to Protect Mueller's Probe; Newbies in Congress Express Excitement; Government Shutdown Affects Thousands. Aired 11- 12p ET
Aired January 03, 2019 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
[23:00:00] DON LEMON, CNN HOST: The new era in Washington. But there is still no end in sight for the partial government shutdown. A total of 800,000 federal employees have been furloughed or working without pay since December 21st. And they won't get their paychecks until the government reopens which doesn't seem like any time soon.
The new little Democratically controlled House with Nancy Pelosi as speaker passing a package of bills tonight that would end the shutdown but without any money for the wall.
The president, not only digging in his heels but staging a publicity stunt to steal the spotlight from the Democrats celebrating their taking back of the House, appearing for the first time ever in the White House briefing room, parading out border patrol agents who support his call for a wall, but taking no questions for reporters, not to be outdone Pelosi then briefed reporters saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We're not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt that we're not doing a wall?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So there is plenty to discuss. Ryan Lizza is here to help us out. So is Nina Turner and Alice Stewart. Good evening. Didn't I warn everybody about this? I said he is no longer going to have the entire spotlight, the entire media narrative. He is going to have to -- remember I said that, share it with Nancy Pelosi. And I think that was going to be one of his biggest concerns, something that he's not used to. Ryan.
RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
LEMON: I was right. He didn't like it today.
LIZZA: He didn't like it. He's got that full ensemble of cameras in the briefing room so he can pop in there whenever he wants and get on the news. So, I think he took advantage of it today. The whole day was about the Democrats and the Democratic takeover of the House. And frankly, a lot of the coverage was a sort of celebration of the
diversity in the Democratic Party and a lot of firsts in this new House of Representatives, and I think you're right, Don. I think he was sitting there watching it because we know he --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Seething.
LIZZA: Seething. He watches hours and hours of cable TV. We know that. Crazy to say that, but that's what the president does with his time, with his free time. Nothing wrong with cable TV, of course. But he was obviously seething --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Thank you.
LIZZA: -- and obviously needed to insert himself --
LEMON: Yes.
LIZZA: -- into a story line that he doesn't like because he got beat badly in the midterm elections and today was the sort of culmination of that defeat.
LEMON: Yes. But it didn't really -- it didn't work. I mean, it was -- it had stunt written all over it. I mean Nina, help me out here, no?
NINA TURNER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Don, I wish I could. I mean, the president was -- he is a whiner. He whines like a baby. He's a liar and he's a whiner. I think what needs to happen is the Republicans got to go over there and change the president's diapers, Don. That's what this is coming down to so that he can cut it out so that the grown folks, the big girls and the big boys can go around the table, sit around the table and do what is necessary for this government.
Number one is to do away with this shutdown so those 800,000 folks that you talked about, some of those are our neighbors, our relatives, our friends and even strangers who definitely need their paychecks that they are not getting. So, the whining and lying must stop. That's my memo to the president.
(CROSSTALK)
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: But Don --
LEMON: That's quite a mental picture. Go ahead, Alice.
STEWART: But Don, you say it didn't work. I flipped over to one of our competing networks right after this happened, and it worked for his base. They took it, hook, line and sinker. And praise him for getting out there and putting his commercial out there and leaving the briefing room without taking any questions.
And for his base, the message that he wanted to get out, it worked like a charm.
LEMON: But the word you said was commercial. Go ahead, Alice.
STEWART: It was. That would have been a really important message to get out and show the support for this wall, 12 days and 21 hours ago when before we got to this shutdown point. So, it's a tremendous message. He needs to make sure that people understand that there is support for the wall amongst people out there, but it's about 12 days a little bit too late.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK, Alice, let me ask you this. Because I think you make a very good point there because Nancy Pelosi said it loud and clear. She said we're not doing a wall. She called it an immorality. The president has staked so much on this wall. But is it out of reach, Alice?
STEWART: It remains to be seen. Clearly, we have both sides in their corners with their arms crossed and they're not budging. We have Mike Pence saying no wall, no deal. And we have Nancy Pelosi saying no money for no wall, no how, no way, never. And we have to find a way to come to the middle.
If we come down the president comes down on the $5 billion and Democrats come up on the $1.3 billion or 1.6 billion and we have some communication about DACA and making this not just but his big beautiful wall but make it more about border security, there is bipartisanship consensus for this.
[23:05:02] And that needs to be part of this conversation because Americans agree we do need to secure the border, we do need to provide protections for DACA. And until that's part of the conversation, we'll continue to be in the shutdown. And that's not a good place to be.
LEMON: Is this how the president is going to fight the new Congress with stunts and memes, Nina?
TURNER: Well, he's very good at it. I mean, he certainly. One thing we can say, you know, whether you agree with his policies or his tactics, he is the master at this because this is reality TV, not at its finest. Being the president of the United States of America, we can't afford for these kinds of stunts. But absolutely, Don, that's his wheel house. He's masterful at it.
LEMON: But don't you get it like immediately. Immediately I said stunt, stunt, stunt.
TURNER: You did.
LEMON: And I said. OK, don't fall for it. I was at home going do not fall for it. Monitor the briefing room. If he takes questions, go to it. If he doesn't, don't. Or turn it around quickly. Don't you -- do you feel, Ryan, that the media has to be savvier instead of falling for those sorts of things or do you think they should just run and take whenever he goes to the podium? LIZZA: You know, I think we still even, you know, after what, three
years now of covering Trump, we struggle with how much -- you know, in the old days if the president said something, if the president was on TV, if there was a briefing from the White House, it was just automatically news. It was by definition news.
And we're struggling with this idea of broadcasting lies and propaganda and news conferences where you don't actually get questions which we're struggling all of us in the news businesses are struggling with when is it the appropriate time to take something like that live or when do you just have your producers and others watch it and chop it up and use the --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Well, I just remember I've been here long enough. I've been here since 2006. And I remember when Obama -- by the way, Brianna Keilar did call it a stunt right away afterwards. But I just remember when Obama came into office because it was the first black president.
LIZZA: Yes.
LEMON: Like after a while, we were missing so much news, we would say the producer said OK, let's go to the briefing now. They're taking questions about it. The briefings weren't aired live. Every time someone, you know, over at the White House said something -- we would monitor it --
LIZZA: Right.
MACCALLUM: -- to make sure it wasn't a stunt or just a talking point and then put it on television. So, you know, I don't know if that's the answer.
LIZZA: I think, look, you know, I'm not -- I don't make any of these decisions obviously. But I think that's the way to cover Trump is to digest it a little bit first before you present it. And --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Because he has such a problem with the truth.
(CROSSTALK)
TURNER: That would take his oxygen away. Yes. I'm sorry about that. But it would definitely take his oxygen. That is his life's blood right there. That's what gets him ticking. He knows that he's a magnet and whatever he says, he stubs his toe, he sends out a tweet, it gets covered. And to the extent that we are not just totally 24/7, 365 occupied --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Being played by him.
TURNER: -- whatever move that this man makes. Yes, it plays right into his hands.
STEWART: The unfortunate thing is that the press briefing room is such a phenomenal place, and it should be a place where important things happen and big announcements are made. And I hope we don't get to the point where it's the boy who cried wolf.
TURNER: That's right.
STEWART: If he says he's going to speak in the briefing room, it should be something monumental. Today was a tremendous historic day here in Washington. It was great to be on the Hill and seeing all these new fresh faces and unfortunately, in my view, that was something that really kind of distracted from what is a big day here in Washington.
LIZZA: Can I just say one just to clarify. That the reason to do that, what you suggested, Don, is not to oppose Trump or to harm him in any way or to you know, to get back at him because he's frustrating. I just -- it's just it's a more responsible way to present what's going on in Washington.
LEMON: So, it's not our business also to be the promoter of propaganda or lies and the best to figure out --
(CROSSTALK)
LIZZA: Or lies.
TURNER: That's right.
LEMON: -- to sort out what's truth and what's not is to, as you say, take a minute to absorb it. Because listen, one of the people at the president's briefing room appearance today was Chris Crane, the president of the National ICE Council. He's the one getting a pat on the back from President Trump.
You might remember him. This is from Bob Woodward's book "Fear." Crane and the Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly almost got into a fistfight in the Oval Office. Now Crane is back in the White House the day after Kelly leaves. Does that tell us anything, Nina?
TURNER: It does. I mean, the theater, the world is a stage. President Trump is taking every single opportunity to cement that into the minds of the American people. And the fact that you had General Kelly that tried to stop this kind of foolishness and a president now that has nobody there to try to keep him disciplined with is very hard to do is very telling.
[23:10:00] So yes, all theater cementing in the minds of the American people lies, lies, damn lies and lies on top of lies. It's all an illusion what this president is doing. And he's selfish, Don. We've said this time and time again.
Again, 800,000 employees, their families, you know, from all walks of life. People are suffering while he's playing games with this wall. LIZZA: Look, Kelly was a hard liner on immigration and he thought
this guy Crane who heads the union was you know, too far out there to be honored with an Oval Office visit. That's what precipitated the near fistfight. So, the fact that Kelly's gone and this guy's front and center I think you're exactly right, Don. It tells you a lot.
LEMON: As we say in the business, allegedly, right? So, listen, just a day before the new Congress was sworn in, a right-wing Twitter account posted video of Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez doing the dance Ally Sheedy in the breakfast club. And some of the video she participated in while she was in college, not in high school as the account claim.
Judging the comments, it appears to have backfired on the person who posted it. It's not clear what Ocasio-Cortez is guilty of doing besides being young and having fun here. Alice?
TURNER: Go figure.
STEWART: Well, the thing is, like her college years and days were much more recent than mine.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I never danced in college, did you guys? Or to a video?
STEWART: But here --
LEMON: I mean, come on.
STEWART: Here's the thing. Look, I have a lot of policy concerns about her but her having fun and dancing and having a good time there, I don't see any problem with it. And whoever thought they were going to post that and do some damage to her clearly is sadly mistaken. I think it looks like somebody having a good time.
LEMON: Is it desperate --
(CROSSTALK)
TURNER: God knows we need that. It's ridiculous.
LEMON: Is that desperation? And why? I mean, who doesn't have fun and dance around in college?
TURNER: We would hope people do.
LIZZA: I can't imagine anyone who watched that video and thought aha, I finally got the oppo dump --
STEWART: Right.
LIZZA: -- on her that's going to take her down. This, you know, this woman having a great time and dancing. I mean, I'm like, you know, I think they'll be using this, they should this to promote her. I mean, her whole brand is being accessible and normal and relatable. So, I think it's actually really fascinating watching the right deal with her because they don't -- they really don't understand her appeal yet, obviously.
LEMON: Yes. I'm sure a lot of people are going, Ally Sheedy, the breakfast club.
TURNER: And who doesn't love Ally Sheedy? I love Ally Sheedy.
LEMON: Nina, we're old enough to know. But I'm sure some of the young millennials are like who is that.
TURNER: They know "The Breakfast Club" though, Don.
LEMON: Yes. And what was it, what was "Pretty in Pink?" That was Ally Sheedy. It was Ally Sheedy who was in "Pretty Pink." Molly Ringwald.
TURNER: Molly Ringwald, yes.
LEMON: In "Breakfast Club," as well.
TURNER: Is Alice Sheedy, yes.
LEMON: As we say, we old. OK, you all.
TURNER: We're seasoned. What you talking about, Don.
LEMON: Thank you, guys. Good to see you.
STEWART: Thanks, Don. You, too.
LEMON: House Democrats wasting no time getting to work tonight including introducing a bill to protect Robert Mueller. Can they pass it?
[23:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's only day one of the new Congress. Democratic oversight of the Trump administration has already begun. Democrats in the judiciary committee have introduced a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.
Let's discuss now. Asha Rangappa is here, as well as Michael Moore. Good evening to both of you. Good to see you. Happy new year. So, Asha, House Democrats were expected to introduce this bill. Now that there's a Democratic majority in Congress, does it have a better chance of passing it?
ASHA RANGAPPA, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I don't know where it will go, but I think that it's important to understand what this bill doesm.
Remember that the special counsel regulations come straight out of the executive branch from the Department of Justice unlike the independent counsel like Kenneth Starr who was appointed by Congress, which means that if President Trump fires this person, Mueller, he has no right to do anything about it. He can only be fired for certain criteria like misconduct or dereliction of duty or conflict of interest. But if he's wrongly fired, there's no recourse.
So, what this bill would do would allow that to be challenged in court and would effectively bring in another branch. And that's a good thing overall because otherwise, you know, you just have a showcase showdown about whether, you know, there should be impeachment or something like that. It would escalate very quickly.
So, I think it's a good measure. Though practically speaking, I think at this point, the train has left the station and I'm not really sure that the president could do anything to really stop this investigation including by firing Mueller.
LEMON: Michael, I want to play something for you, the speaker, Pelosi said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As you well know, there is long-standing Department of Justice guidance that states a sitting president should not be indicted.
(CROSSTALK)
PELOSI: I don't --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it is not the law.
PELOSI: That's not the law. Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about a sitting president?
PELOSI: Well, sitting president when he's no longer president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A president who is in office, could Robert Mueller come back and say I am seeking an indictment?
PELOSI: I think that that is an open discussion. I think that is an open discussion in terms of the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Do you think it's an open question that the president can be indicted?
MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, GEORGIA: I do. And I think that guidance is just that, guidance. It's not a statute, it's not a law. It's a policy. Policies and guidance can be changed. I mean, we know that there can be disputes and disagreements and (inaudible).
I mean, there's some rules right now for the Department of Justice that say that department attorneys are not supposed to give credence and follow guidance from other agencies. So, I think it's an open question. One thing that we could see would be an indictment of the president
that remains sealed until he leaves office. And that to me is a more likely possibility than seeing a president indicted and then brought to trial and brought before the court system during the time that he's in office. I just don't think that's unlikely.
I think the court would best to say that he's got time to do his -- he needs to be able to focus on his job. I mean, that sort of a joke maybe with this administration, but I think in normal circumstances they would say that, you know, the president should be able to focus on his or her job.
But you could see an indictment sealed, held until the president leaves office and then brought out.
LEMON: Asha, what do you make of Speaker Pelosi's comments?
RANGAPPA: Well, I think that among legal scholars, there is actually some debate over whether a sitting president can be indicted. As Michael just said this is not a settled legal question. This is guidance in the Department of Justice. Fortunately, we haven't had to test this so far, but as he said, the concern in the Department of Justice, you know, memorandum opinion is this would take away from the president's duties.
[23:19:58] And you could see the indictment and the trial as being too bifurcated, you know, processes or stages. So, there are some who believe that you could indict the president even if he postpones the trial until later because otherwise, you would effectively be able to be have someone immune to any kind of criminal liability for the entire time that they're in presidential office for up to eight years which wouldn't make a lot of sense.
LEMON: Asha, I want to turn now to news out of the Department of Justice. The acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told a former A.G. that a U.S. attorney is investigating possible abuse of power by the FBI in surveilling former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Whitaker also says that they're looking into whether the FBI should have done more to investigate the Clinton foundation.
Does it strike you as strange that a DOJ official would tell a private citizen about an investigation even if he that private citizen happens to be a former attorney general?
RANGAPPA: Absolutely. Don, and not just -- I'm sorry.
LEMON: That was for you, yes.
RANGAPPA: Not just a DOJ. Not just a DOJ official. This is the acting attorney general of the United States whose job is to lead this entire department. You know, it's not only inappropriate but it calls up again all of the questions that have been raised about his, the appearance of, you know, conflict that he has when it comes to many of the things that are going on in this department and particularly when it comes to the FBI and things relating to the Mueller investigation or Russia. And I think what's really disconcerting is that his job is to avoid
the appearance of any conflict. So, even if he has decided not to recuse because of prior comments that he's made, he has an affirmative duty to mitigate any further appearance of you know, lack of impartiality.
And it seems to me that he has -- he is just continuing to disregard that. And that is really, you know, to the detriment of the entire Department of Justice in my opinion.
LEMON: Michael, he former Attorney General Jeff Sessions confirmed that the DOJ was looking into this back in March of 2018 and it looks like it's still going on. Does that tell us anything about these investigations?
MOORE: It does. There's a strange fixation I think with the Republicans and Hillary Clinton and they can't get past that. That's odd to me. I think it's particularly odd too that you've got the Department of Justice now simply taking the role of almost a defense lawyer in a case because there's the investigation going on, but yet, the department and these federal prosecutors are wanting to go back and talk about whether or not the investigators who were working on the case did the right thing and they're less worried about what we now know.
For instance, they're less worried about the fact that we had Russians in the Trump tower meeting, they're less worried whether or not we had Russians in the Oval Office, whether or not there was interference with the election, whether or not there are business commingling between the Trump administration and Russian money.
And they're more worried whether or not, well, maybe they looked too hard at Carter Page or didn't do something or didn't look quite enough at the Clinton Foundation. That's ridiculous.
And you know, we're at this point willy think they need to take great care because you've got a Democratic House now coming in. You've got new committees. They're hiring professional prosecutors and lawyers to look at this. And they're not going to be distracted by the smut sensationalism that's been coming out of the administration for the last year.
They're going to be looking at this and they are going to be making decisions about policy, about what happens to children when they come in here and are taken from their parents, what happens when -- you know, are we going to have interference in our elective process and in our Democratic processes.
And hopefully you're going to find professional people now counseling these committees who are focused and follow like a bloodhound the scent of the money because this case, this investigation is going to continue to be all about following the money.
LEMON: OK, I want to play this. And we have short time left so quick responses on the other side. But this is what Matt Whitaker said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW WHITAKER, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I will start by highlighting the fact that you stayed in Washington, D.C. over the holidays giving up Christmas with your family, New Year's with your family, trying to bring an end to this shutdown and security to our southern border while members of Congress, some members of Congress went on vacation and ignored the problem.
You have demonstrated your dedication to delivering on this critical issue for our country and for the American people, but c Congress has to act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You're the best so good boss. I love you.
MOORE: It's the pat on the back meeting. It's not the cabinet meeting anymore. And the remarks would always be so much more sincere if they didn't have to be typed out before the meeting. Wouldn't have to look down and read their accolades.
[23:24:59] You know, it's like having to -- it's like having to tell your date look down at a note and say you look pretty tonight. That's ridiculous. I mean, this whole thing is a charade.
LEMON: Is that appropriate, Asha? I mean, he is the acting attorney general. Are comments like that appropriate?
RANGAPPA: You know, he needs to be -- he needs to lead this department and show that it is independent of politics and policy decisions. They are there to implement policy priorities that the administration puts forth.
But you know to, comment like that at a cabinet meeting is not appropriate and again, just compounds many of the other questions that have already been raised about whether or not he can separate his political leanings or views from his job in leading the Department of Justice.
LEMON: I'm so happy that you two are here. You're such great Americans. I mean, just two days after New Year's, you took it upon yourselves to come in. You're just such patriotic people. I'm just so happy for you.
MOORE: And you're the best host on CNN. I look down.
LEMON: Good night. Thank you both.
MOORE: Good night, Don.
LEMON: Big day on Capitol Hill with the most diverse Congress in U.S. history Sworn in. My next guest is an African-American freshman congressman from Texas. I'm going to ask him what his voters think of President Trump's wall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The 116th Congress was sworn in just a few hours ago in the middle of a partial government shutdown. It is the most racially, ethnically and gender diverse Congress in U.S. history.
One of those new members is Texas Democrat Colin Allred. We spoke the night before the election and again just after he won, flipping a seat that had been controlled by Republicans for 22 years. There he is. You see congressman joins me now. Good evening. Congratulations to you, congressman. It's nice to be able to call you that instead of saying congressman-elect or candidate. So, tell me about day one.
REP. COLIN ALLRED, (D) TEXAS: Well, thank you so much for having me on, Don. It's been a whirlwind day. We've had a lot happening here. I introduced a resolution today to defend the ACA, to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions could get the coverage that they needed.
We're going to vote to reopen the government to try and make sure that we're keeping our commitment to the American people. There's a lot going on.
[23:30:00]
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: It's an interesting time. We are going to talk about all those things. But you have to admit, this is an interesting time to be entering Congress especially -- to be entering government Senate, but the Congress especially, don't you agree?
ALLRED: Absolutely. I mean, this is -- it's a historic time, and you know, as somebody who came here hoping to form some bipartisan coalitions to get things done, to enter during a government shutdown that is happening largely because the president won't budge on a campaign promise, is a very interesting time to come here.
But I do think it also creates an opportunity here for us that we can show that we can lead and that we can get things done and if the government doesn't reopen, it's not going to be on the House of Representatives.
LEMON: Yeah. Well, that leads me to my next question. You represent a state with the longest stretch of border with Mexico. Mexico was supposed to pay for this wall, but now the government shutdown over funding is, you know, funding for it.
ALLRED: Yeah.
LEMON: Do Texans want a wall, do you think?
ALLRED: I know my constituents don't. I know that this is not the most effective way for us to secure the border. We have bipartisan consensus that we need to secure the border. We are committed to that. We are voting for that tonight, for a budget that will do exactly that. It's what the Senate voted for just a few weeks ago.
But we don't believe in wasting money. If we want to spend $5 billion on something, I can think of few other projects that are much more needed in my area.
LEMON: Just be honest with me. Did you say today after all this went down because so much happened, did you say, what have I gotten myself into?
ALLRED: Well, I've been thinking that for a while now.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. Good, I'm glad you're honest about it. Listen, I asked you on the eve of your election what was the most important thing to you. Here's what you said. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALLRED: By far the largest issue is health care. Everywhere I go, every event that I have, people talk to me about health care. They are worried about what nearly happened in the last congressional session which my opponent, Pete Sessions, voted to repeal the ACA. We were one thumb's down away from John McCain from losing protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
That is something that really shouldn't be a partisan issue. It affects people of every political stripe and something that we should be able, I think, to find some consensus on if we can get people of good will there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, just today, just today, some 17 attorneys general appealed a Texas federal judge's ruling last month declaring the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. I understand that you introduced a resolution related to the ACA. What is it?
ALLRED: Well, what we did today was we said that the House of Representatives is going to defend the constitutionality of the ACA, and we are putting the House on the side of the people. This is something that should have been done before and we're getting it done now.
This lawsuit is coming out of Texas and the resistance to it is also coming out of Texas. I'm extremely proud to be helping to lead the fight on this.
LEMON: Yeah. I also asked you abut this, which was controversial, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, about whether you would support her. You said that you wanted to keep your options open. Today, you voted for her. Why did you make that choice?
ALLRED: Well, I wanted to see what my options were and use whatever leverage I had to serve my constituents. You know, I'm not here so much to form friendships as I am to get things done for the people who elected me. And so I tried to use whatever leverage I have in any context to make sure I can deliver for my constituents. That's exactly what I did with the vote for speaker, as well.
LEMON: What's been the biggest adjustment so far, because you've gone from a candidate to a congressman?
ALLRED: Well, there's a lot of adjustments. I think one of the biggest things right now for me personally is just figuring out where I'm going to live.
(LAUGHTER)
ALLRED: I'm staying at a hotel here in D.C. My wife is having a baby next month. We've got a lot going on on that front, but I'm trying to stay focused on the job, as well.
LEMON: My goodness, your life has changed a lot. You got -- you do have a lot on your plate. You're someone -- you had to do work hard to do this because you flipped a traditionally conservative district. Is that on your mind at all as you make choices about upcoming legislation, about a potential future impeachment battle?
ALLRED: Well, that's a good question. You know, I try to see things and think about them not in a political context especially on casting votes. I try to think about what's best for my constituents. Don, this is not my seat. This seat belongs to the people of my district. They're going to judge me based on the performance that I do here in D.C. and the work that we do in the district.
LEMON: Let me just ask you right there, because a lot of your constituents are conservative, that's why I asked that question.
ALLRED: Well, I think we also have a lot of people who identify otherwise. I think we have a broad mix in my district. I actually think that in this case, doing what's right is also good politics.
LEMON: Yeah. No funding for the wall?
ALLRED: Absolutely not, yeah.
LEMON: So there you -- how does this end? Do you know?
ALLRED: Well, I know that we are committed to border security to funding, smart efforts to secure the border to making sure that we reopen the government and keep our commitment to the American people and to federal workers who some are working right now without pay.
This is on the president. We have picked up the Senate's bills that they passed to fund the government, and we're going to pass those exact bills.
[23:35:04] And so basically, you know, say yes to what you just said yes to, and we'll see whether or not the president will sign that.
LEMON: Congressman Allred, thank you. Good luck to you.
ALLRED: Thanks so much, Don.
LEMON: And Congratulations on the baby.
ALLRED: Thank you.
LEMON: A resident doctor fired after shocking social media posts claiming that she would deliberately give Jewish patients the wrong medication. A doctor. Where is all this hate coming from?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tonight, there are calls for the license of an Ohio physician to be revoked, after anti-semitic tweets she posted on social media, including a threat to deliberately give Jewish patients the wrong medication.
Dr. Lara Kollab was a first year resident at Cleveland Clinic. She was dismissed in September once the postings came to light. One disturbing tweet reads in part, I'll purposely give all the yahood Jews the wrong meds.
Joining me now is Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Rabbi, thank you so much. This is truly disturbing, extremely disturbing. This tweet that - one is reportedly many anti- semitic ones that Dr. Kollab posted. This is someone who took an oath to care for people, and she is threatening harm.
[23:40:01] Give me your reaction.
RABBI MARVIN HIER, DEAN AND FOUNDER, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: First of all, it's absolutely horrific. She's violating the Hippocratic oath. And not only that, she got her license in a distinguished Jewish medical college that accepts many non-Jews.
Here is a Muslim admitted into the college, receives a license, and this is how she repays that college. It's absolutely outrageous. Her license should be revoked. If she wants to practice medicine, maybe she can do so for ISIS.
LEMON: Hmm. Wow! Strong statement. Let me read part of your statement that you released through the Simon Wiesenthal Center. It says in part, while the Cleveland Clinic did the right thing, this person remains a menace to the community at large, has made a mockery of the Hippocratic oath through her hatred. To protect the public, her medical license should be revoked.
The Cleveland Clinic told CNN that although Kollab's licenses is still in-stated, she does not have the ability to practice medicine at this time. Is that acceptable to you?
HIER: Well, I think -- you know, I believe it calls for her license to be revoked because imagine if her license is not revoked, what kind of message does this send to other would be fanatics, that they can get away with something like that.
It's really unimaginable that a doctor could have this in her mind to tweet that, that she's going to deliberately give the wrong medicine to people. I've never heard - I'm in the - we deal with hatred, anti- semitism and bigotry all my life. I've never heard of a story like this.
LEMON: I'll second that. I want to put some stats up for you. OK, rabbi? Hate crimes rose 17 percent in 2017, a jump that was partly driven by a spike in anti-semitic incidents. In that same time period, crimes targeting Jews increased at a rate of 37 percent. What do you think is behind this dramatic increase?
HIER: Well, first of all, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the state of Israel, for example, this year, the state of Israel, for the first time, Jerusalem was recognized as the capital of Israel, West Jerusalem. This was not received well in the Muslim world by all the fanatics.
Look what's happened in Europe. I know there are some who want to attribute this that this has something to do with American politics. But let me remind the audience. We have never experienced the kind of anti-semitism that we see now in Europe for the last 15 years.
For 15 years now, 38 percent of Europe's Jews say they want to leave Europe. This has not happened last year. This has been going on for a decade. Why?
LEMON: Yeah.
HIER: And if we answer that why question, we'll may be come to the answer to the question, why did the terrible event happen in Pittsburgh?
LEMON: Yeah, right.
HIER: Anti-semitism is back in vogue, and let me make one other point, Don. Hitler would be the most shocked of anyone in the world. Two hours before he committed suicide, he predicted that it would take centuries for anti-semitism to take hold again in the world and for national socialism to be ripe again. He was wrong. It's ripe all over the world. Every place in Europe, in Canada, in the United States, and in Great Britain.
LEMON: Yeah. Rabbi, thank you for your time. The stats -- this news spoke about other stats. The ones I talked about were FBI, which would be the United States, but again, you're right. It's awful. I don't know what's going on. Hate has been around forever, but this has to stop. We appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much.
HIER: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you. We'll be right back.
[23:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Today in the House, 235 Democrats, 199 Republicans kicked off the 116th Congress. There are 435 seats in Congress. So, with some quick math, we know that leaves one seat empty. And that empty seat is for North Carolina's 9th congressional district.
In that district, the election results from November are still not certified. The results now have the Republican Mark Harris leading Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes. But I want you to remember this. Just days after the 2018 election, we learned of stunning election fraud allegations.
The allegations center around a political operative, McCrae Dowless, a convicted felon, who was working for a firm hired by the Republican candidate. Allegedly, this operative had something to do with highly questionable absentee ballot activity.
Dowless personally turned in 592 of the 1,341 total absentee ballot requests in Bladen County. And a set of 161 ballots obtained by CNN showed that nine people individually signed as witnesses on at least 10 absentee ballots. Many of those nine are loosely connected to Dowless.
Usually the witness for an absentee ballot is the voter's family or friends. And this, CNN learned, that more than 1,000 ballots in the race might have been destroyed. There are also allegations that Republican operatives took partially filled out ballots from voters and filled out the rest before submitting them.
On top of that, CNN counts 1,680 absentee ballots that were requested but not returned in the ninth district. That's a lot of ballots. Dowless has denied wrongdoing to the Charlotte Observer. And Harris's campaign has denied any knowledge of potentially illegal behavior that took place on his behalf.
But if these allegations are true, the outcome of that race may have been impacted. And that is why as of tonight, this seat is still not filled. Once the allegations of fraud came to light, the state's election board did not move to certify the results. And they failed to certify the results before the board dissolved last week.
And here's where it gets really tricky. The state dissolved the elections board last month as part of an ongoing and separate legal battle about its makeup. There is a new law governing the board that goes into effect at the end of the month. Then the board can move to certify results.
[23:50:01] But in the meantime, it won't happen. However, by law, the election board staff is still allowed to investigate what might have gone on in the ninth district. I know it's complicated. And today, Mark Harris, the Republican in the race, was interviewed by investigators from the board's staff about the alleged fraud. But also today, Harris asked a judge to certify the results, claiming he has been left with no choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK HARRIS, CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS IN NORTH CAROLINA: We kind of find ourselves with, in no man's land, if you will, and we have asked the court to step in. We don't believe that the number of ballots in question would change the outcome of this election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: But it's not up for him to believe. Why would Mark Harris want to wait for investigators to find out the truth? Because the investigation by the election board is still ongoing, and there are also ongoing criminal investigations by the Wade County district attorney's office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
And don't forget, the Democrat in the race, Dan McCready, has taken back his concession. Tonight, he told us exclusively, Mark Harris spent a lot of time today trying to make himself look like a victim, but the real victims are the North Carolinians who had their voices silenced and votes stolen by members of Mark Harris' campaign. The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. That right might be an inconvenience for Mr. Harris, but for the rest of us, it's a right worth defending.
On Capitol Hill, and the new House, the new House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, has said that Democrats will work to ensure that the Republican will not be seated. He says that's because the fraud is "well documented" and that the integrity of our Democratic process outweighs concerns about a vacant seat.
So, yes, it is a no man's land when it comes to North Carolina's ninth congressional district. There's no hearing date set for Harris' new petition in court. We have no answers yet from any of the investigations into the alleged fraud. And the local paper, The Charlotte Observer, says a new election if it were to happen might not take place for months.
What we do know is that there are almost 800,000 people without someone representing them in Congress today, all because someone, a Republican operative, working for a firm hired by the Republican candidate, might have tried to cheat to win. We'll be right back.
[23:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tonight, I want to update you on a story we first reported back in June, when the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy at the border with Mexico resulted in migrant children being separated from their parents who were seeking asylum from violence in Central America.
ProPublica published a secret audio recording of a Salvadoran girl separated from her mom, crying for an aunt to come pick her up. Here it is again. Who can forget it?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): El Salvador.
(CRYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Don't cry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): I want to go with my aunt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): You're going to get there. Look, she will explain it and help you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): At least can I go with my aunt? I want her to come.
(CRYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): I want my aunt to come so she can take me to her house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, fortunately, little Alison was reunited with her mom, Cindy. Gary Tuchman tells us where they are now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Seven-year-old Alison Jimena Madrid enjoying the day at the children's museum of Houston.
Are you happy today?
ALISON JIMENA MADRID, SEPARATED AND REUNITED WITH MOTHER: (UNTRANSLATED).
TUCHMAN: A very different story from when she and her mother first came to this country. And now, almost six months later, they're getting ready for their first asylum hearing, the start of a process which will determine whether or not they can stay in the U.S.
As they've waited for the hearing, Alison Jimena has been going to a public school in Houston. When she arrived in the U.S., she did not speak a word of English.
Alison Jimena, you have something you want to read?
MADRID: Yeah.
TUCHMAN: OK, let's hear, in English.
MADRID: Why I love America. I love my school. I love my church. I love to smile. I love and believe in the American dream. Happy new year, America.
TUCHMAN: Happy new year, America, to you, too.
MADRID: Happy new year, America!
TUCHMAN: Her mother, Cindy, is doing her best to learn English at her church.
CINDY MADRID, SEEKING ASYLUM: One, two, three, four, five.
TUCHMAN: She cannot legally get a job at this stage of the asylum process, but says she wants to work.
She says she would like to have a job cleaning or at a restaurant or whatever job she can get. As long as she can do it with dignity.
A.MADRID: Working together, they mix -- they mix the crab apples, sugar, salt and water.
TUCHMAN: So what is the likelihood that daughter and mother will be granted asylum? Their lawyer says she is hopeful, but --
THELMA GARCIA, ATTORNEY: There's a good chance it may not be granted.
TUCHMAN: Attorney Garcia says Cindy Madrid left to protect Alison, her only child, from gang violence. Alison told us what her understanding is that that threat.
The gang, she says, they wanted to steal me. The attorney says if Cindy Madrid loses her case and sent back to El Salvador, that is not an overstatement.
GARCIA: It could be death. They had very serious problems with gang violence. They had no protection by the police, as well. So, we're not expecting anything good if she is returned back home.
TUCHMAN: Alison Jimena says Houston is now her home.
A.MADRID: It is a sunny day when friends stick together.
TUCHMAN: The end.
A.MADRID: Finish!
TUCHMAN: But this legal battle is far from finished.
So, how long does this asylum hearing process take? A long time. A typical case like this takes eight to 12 months before a final decision is made.
[24:00:04] But this could end up taking even longer, and that's because of the partial government shutdown.
