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Don Lemon Tonight
John Bolton Speaks In Public After Trump's Acquittal; Former DOJ Officials Calls For Bill Barr To Resign; SDNY Prosecutors Review Lev Parnas' Case; Joe Biden Faces Reality In His Campaign; Democratic Campaigns Hope Early Voting In Nevada Could Help Avoid Iowa's Chaos; Michael Bloomberg Video Slams Bernie Sanders Supporters For Aggressive Online Tactics; Americans from Coronavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship In Japan Arrive In United States. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired February 17, 2020 - 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 HOST: This is a special edition of CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.
We got a busy hour coming up for you. Here are tonight's big headlines.
The call is growing louder for Bill Barr to step down as attorney general. More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials signing a statement calling on him to resign accusing him of doing President Trump's personal bidding damaging the DOJ's reputation.
John Bolton, the former national security advisor speaking publicly tonight saying he hopes the White House won't move to suppress his book and saying he knew what he was getting into working for Trump.
Federal prosecutors considering a new round of charges against Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas who has since turned on Giuliani. What does it mean for President Trump's personal attorney?
The state of the race. Democrats battling it out in Nevada ahead of Saturday's caucuses and as poll numbers are rising but can Michael Bloomberg get past his one diamond brace of stop and frisk? We'll get some answers straight ahead.
Plus, more than 300 Americans who were quarantined for two weeks aboard a cruise ship in Japan over the coronavirus are back on U.S. soil tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH ARANA, AMERICAN EVACUATED FROM DIAMOND PRINCESS CRUISE SHIP: When we landed and got off the plane last night, we were just greeted by a line of professionals and specialists in the field and military personnel and health and human resources and CDC. Everyone was so warm and kind and welcoming and saying welcome home and they have signs up and it was just amazing. I had nothing but gratitude for the immense effort that was put into
getting us all back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Fourteen of those Americans evacuated from the cruise ship have tested positive for a coronavirus. We've got a lot more on that story straight ahead.
But first, I want to get to the John Bolton story speaking out publicly for the first time since President Trump's impeachment trial.
Joining me now is a former assistant special Watergate prosecutor, Nick Akerman. Also, Carrie Cordero who counsel to the assistant attorney general for national security, and chief Washington correspondent for Politico, Mr. Ryan Lizza.
Good evening to all of you. Thank you for joining.
RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Don.
LEMON: Nick, I've got to start with you. John Bolton was asked tonight why he didn't speak out about the moments that were central to President Trump's impeachment. And here's his response. He said, "the threat of possible legal action by the executive branch." Are you buying that?
NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: No. I mean, that just sounds absolutely absurd. What possible legal action could there be unless he's talking about his book and he's concerned that they are going to continue to hold up his book.
Other than that, I don't know what possible action they could take. He could have spoken out at any point. He could have told exactly what happened. If Trump really had an executive privilege to assert, he could have tried that.
But I don't see what John Bolton would have said that would have in any way impugned executive privilege. I mean, what they were talking about was criminal activity. It was an extortion, bribery scream relating to Ukraine using taxpayers' money to try and get the Ukrainian president to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son. That was illegal. Privileges are broken when you start talking about illegal activity. So, I think that is a bogus excuse.
LEMON: Ryan, Bolton was also asked if he agreed with Trump describing that that July 25th call that he described as perfect. Here's his response. He said "you'll love chapter 14." It's all about selling a book. It sounds like it.
LIZZA: And it's sort of a -- it's sort of undercuts the previous statement about that his fear was legal action.
[23:04:52]
I mean, first of all, so what if he was going to be the subject of some legal action when you're weighing the importance of the impeachment proceedings and telling the truth and as something as serious as what he was in the middle of, I don't know, I think a lot of public officials would risk a lawsuit or some legal action.
And then he follows that up with a frankly, a marketing tease about the book. It just is a reminder of how bizarre the impeachment process was when some of the key witnesses actually never told what they knew and we're going to be finding out about it in dribs and drabs for God knows how long now starting with this book.
LEMON: Carrie, I want to bring you in. Bolton also said this tonight. He said, "for all the focus on Ukraine and impeachment trial, to me there are portions of the manuscript that deal with Ukraine. I view that as sprinkles on an ice cream sundae in terms of the book. This is an effort to write history."
Sprinkles on an ice cream sundae. Is it possible that we're going to learn about even more corruption here?
CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's certainly possible. Obviously, it's part of his book tour strategy to make us believe that so that more people go out and buy his book when it eventually is cleared for publication and comes out whenever that is.
Look, I think we all know John Bolton had an opportunity to do the right thing and it was back when the House of Representatives was conducting its investigation. The House intelligence committee, which had the capacity to receive information that was classified was the one leading those hearings.
And so, I have a real hard time believing that had he wanted to communicate the important information that he knows that he couldn't have found a way to do it particularly with the House intelligence committee leading that investigation.
He chose not to. He chose to threaten litigation and then of course, that was left to the Senate which voted the way that it did.
But this is obviously his effort to try to play both sides where he looks like it's the administration that's keeping him from doing the right thing and at the same time getting all the benefits of his public tour.
LEMON: Yes. Nick, I want -- you saw in your shot that I was reaching for this letter, right?
AKERMAN: Sure.
LEMON: You signed. But Bolton is clearly out of Trump's inner circle but one of the few people who are in now is the Attorney General William Barr. You're one of the former Justice Department officials who signed on to this letter of resignation that you want him to resign, Barr's resignation calling for it. What brought you to the decision to sign this thing.
AKERMAN: Well, I think it's just a whole series of things. I mean, it wasn't just the Roger Stone situation. It wasn't the fact that he actually caused four prosecutors to leave because he wound up trying to put in a lower recommendation to the court.
But if you go right back to the Mueller report, I mean, he was basically putting a spin on that that was absolutely a major falsehood, trying to make it look as though Trump was exonerated when in fact that Mueller report is absolutely damming of Trump.
The fact that he is gone all over the world trying to investigate and undermine the two indictments that have been brought by Robert Mueller against 22 Russian intelligence officers. One for breaking into the Democratic National Committee, the other for using social media to suppress and micro target Clinton voters and suppress the vote.
He's going out there with this crazy conspiracy theory that it was Ukraine that broke into the Democratic National Committee. I mean, I never even heard of an attorney general doing his own investigation like this.
LEMON: You're very passionate about this. I'm wondering, do you think these are alumni, right?
AKERMAN: Yes.
LEMON: Were you speaking -- do you think you're speaking for many people who are still inside of the department?
AKERMAN: Absolutely.
LEMON: Who are still working in the department.
AKERMAN: Absolutely. I think people there have got to be. I mean, the moral has got to be extremely low with this attorney general.
LEMON: Yes.
AKERMAN: I mean, it's not just these cases. It's Flynn that he's tried to undermine. He tried to undermine the whistleblower complaint going to Congress. He refused to open a criminal investigation into what Trump did with Ukraine. He is basically made himself out to be nothing more than a political tool for Donald Trump to be his Roy Cohn. That's what he is.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So, this speaking out about, you know, Mr. President, you're making it hard for me to do my job. You think that the smoke and mirrors?
AKERMAN: Well, speaking hard to do his job to undermine all of these various cases because Trump is putting the spotlight on him.
LEMON: Yes. Ryan, Lindsey Graham seems happy about Barr's actions or at least with his actions, this is what he said at Fox News tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): They're looking at Flynn to see if he really was fairly treated. I hope they will board his plea. They're going to make sure that Roger Stone is not persecuted but simply justice is delivered and the --
(CROSSTALK)
[23:10:05]
SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS: Hey, Senator, the median time in jail for rape is 4.2 years. I mean, seriously.
GRAHAM: So, Bill Barr stepped down and stopped what I thought was an unjust Senate enhancement. And to the people who want Barr to resign, we know your agenda. You're not trying to uphold the rule of law, you're trying to take a good man down because you hate Trump.
(CROSSTALK)
HANNITY: OK. Let me ask you this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I'm not sure what time in jail for rape has to do with any of this. But listen, that's a pretty telling comment about what the goal is here.
LIZZA: Well, of all the harsh sentences that have been handed out in America in the last few years, it is very interesting that Sean Hannity and Lindsey Graham have decided that the Roger Stone one is the one that's got them woke on criminal justice reform.
Look, I think what is really kind of unusual about this is the whole point of the Mueller investigation, which basically now is a slow- moving reversal of the Mueller investigation, right? These were Mueller cases.
Mueller was appointed as a special counsel to -- because they wanted an independent actor to prosecute these cases away from political influence of the president. That entire process is now being reversed.
Trump has Barr in there now reviewing what was supposed to be this independent decision. And by the way, one of the hallmarks of the Roger Stone case was his insubordination with respect to the judge's orders in that case. At one point, posting online pictures of her in crosshairs.
So, what message does that send to the judiciary that the Justice Department is so interested in Roger Stone as, you know, as a victim? Look, you know, I'm not going to comment on whether his sentencing was too high or too low but the fact that the Justice Department is politicizing these cases that were specifically supposed to be taken out of the hands of political appointees is sort of unbelievable.
LEMON: When you're talking about the judge, Carrie, the judge in the Stone case, Amy Berman Jackson has called a conference call with the attorneys tomorrow. What does that mean for Barr, will she ask prosecutors why they resigned?
CORDERO: Well, she won't be speaking, I wouldn't think to the prosecutors who resign from the case because they are out of the case. So, she will be speaking to whoever are the new prosecutors that have been assigned to the case. Perhaps that will be the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Colombia and I would certainly expect that she will ask what in the world is going on?
She's the judge in this case. She can request to hear information from whoever she thinks is relevant to her decision making and understanding of the process. So whether that's the acting U.S. attorney himself, whether that's the attorney general or the deputy attorney general that she just wants to hear from either in written format or in a conversation, I think she is going to try to understand what's going on and whether or not the process is legitimate and credible because that's really what this is about.
LEMON: Yes.
CORDERO: This is about the credibility of the Justice Department and the credibility of the attorney general in front of judiciary at this point.
LEMON: Nick, does this all come down to President Trump worrying that Stone could turn Trump?
AKERMAN: Absolutely. I mean, Trump is not known as the great humanitarian. I mean, his tweet may have said that this was a terrible injustice and that's what he's trying to cure.
LEMON: Yes.
AKERMAN: But the fact of the matter is, Roger Stone is right in the middle of this entire Russian investigation. He was supposedly fired by Donald Trump in June of 2016. Or 2015. I mean, it was all a ruse to put him out there undercover so he could do exactly what he did in interacting with those who had access to the stolen documents.
I mean, he is the only person in America that spoke to Guccifer 2.0 who Mueller identified as a Russian intelligence officer, and to WikiLeaks which Mueller identified as simply a cutout for the Russian government.
He was right in the middle of the use of these stolen documents during the election. I mean, he spoke to Donald Trump at least 20 times during that period of time. He spoke to Rick Gates on Manafort's deputy campaign manager. He spoke to the campaign manager. Manafort.
Stone and Manafort go back for years. From Connecticut they were business partners together. They know each other really well and they were both right in the middle of this. Gates put Manafort right in the middle of this whole business with Kilimnik, who was the Russian intelligence officer who was providing polling data to --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK.
AKERMAN: -- the Russians in St. Petersburg.
LEMON: I get it. I get it.
AKERMAN: Yes.
[23:15:04]
LEMON: There are a lot of connections and you could go on.
AKERMAN: I could.
LEMON: But we only have so much time. Nick, thank you. Carrie, I appreciate it. Ryan, as well. Thank you so much.
LIZZA: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: The SDNY is looking at new charges against Lev Parnas and inching closer to Rudy Giuliani himself. Just how worried should the president's personal attorney be right now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The case against Rudy Giuliani's associate is getting new scrutiny which could mean trouble for President Trump's personal attorney.
CNN's Sara Murray has more on the story. Sara?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, there could be more charges coming for Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas and that could spell bad news for the president's personal attorney.
Federal prosecutors are weighing whether to bring a new round of charges against Rudy Giuliani's associate in a move that inches in the investigation closer to the president's personal attorney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LAWYER: How are you, baby?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[23:19:58]
MURRAY: Lev Parnas and three of his business associates were arrested and charged in October. But people familiar with the investigation tell CNN that prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are considering whether to add additional charges against Parnas and at least one of his business partners for misleading potential investors in a company called Fraud Guarantee.
That's the same Florida based company that paid Giuliani half a million dollars, a payment that came around the same time as Parnas and his associate Igor Fruman were helping Giuliani arrange meetings in Ukraine to dig up dirt on President Trump's political rival former Vice President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEV PARNAS, FORMER RUDY GIULIANI'S ASSOCIATE: I went from being a top donor from being at all the events where we would just socialize to becoming a close friend of Rudy Giuliani's, to eventually becoming his ally and his asset on the ground in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: The continued scrutiny of Fraud Guarantee's business activities raises questions about whether Giuliani played any role in the company's marketing. A lawyer for Giuliani says the former New York mayor never discussed investor pitches or marketing with Parnas.
Parnas said his arrest has publicly turned on Giuliani and in turn Giuliani has railed against Parnas' credibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: Lev is someone I'm -- I was close to, obviously I was misled by him.
I still feel sorry for him. I'm not going to respond to him for each and every one of the misrepresentations he's made because there are so many.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Meantime, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have spent months investigating Giuliani's activities including his encouraging an investigation into Bidens and his efforts to oust former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: I forced her out because she's corrupt. There is no question that she was acting corruptly in that position and had to be removed. She should have been fired if the State Department weren't part of the deep state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Giuliani has not been accused of wrongdoing. But investigators are still pressing for more information and Yovanovitch's name appeared on a recent subpoena from New York prosecutors that was inquiring about Giuliani and Parnas, a source tells CNN.
Now it's unclear when Parnas or his associates could face additional charges but their trial is slated for October, which means we could get new information, new testimony about those in Trump's circle in the final weeks of the 2020 campaign.
Back to you, Don.
LEMON: All right. Sara, thank you very much. Joe Biden facing tough questions from some voters in Nevada. One
asking what the heck is going on with your campaign? Biden's answer is next.
[23:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: And now for the state of the race. Early voting is underway in Nevada despite lingering questions about the technology they are using for the caucuses. That as Joe Biden faced a tough question from one voter who asked about his struggling campaign at a town hall in Reno tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the heck is going on with your campaign?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, that's a good question. He complimented me very highly and then said what the hell is the matter with your campaign? That's a good question.
I think that we're now just getting into the deal. We're now getting into the thick of it. For example, Bill Clinton lost 12 primaries before he won one to became the nominee for president. I'm not counting on waiting that long.
But all kidding aside, I think that we're just getting there and we've had less than 2 percent of the vote taken so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Joining me now to discuss Astead Herndon, national political reporter for the New York Times, and Ron Brownstein, the senior editor for the Atlantic. Gentlemen, hello and thank you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Don.
LEMON: Ron, listen this is what Biden's campaign manager Greg Schultz told the New York Times about their expectations for Nevada. He said, "first would be wonderful but us getting a second I think does the work that we need to do to win South Carolina." Are they already trying to lower people's expectations?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think, well, yes. You know, I think all of the campaigns think it's going to be very hard to beat Sanders here in Nevada where he has a strong organization from last time and has put a lot of effort and a lot of money.
And it is probably true that a strong second for Biden would put him back on track potentially to win South Carolina. The problem of course, he is not guaranteed that, you know. And it was interesting to hear that answer when he was asked about the campaign.
I mean, the problem I think in Iowa and New Hampshire wasn't so much the campaign as it was the candidate. I mean, you met a lot of voters who said that they were favorably disposed for Biden, totally open to considering him, accept the argument that he might be a strong election candidate but were simply put off by his performance on the stage particularly during the debate.
So, in many ways, he's the one who has to pick up his game more than, kind of, you know, the anonymous campaign.
LEMON: Astead, Biden's pitch has always been that, you know, he can build a large diverse coalition. Is that theory going to be put to the test for the first time this weekend, you think?
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This is the first test of that theory. It is -- this is a state in which Sanders is expected to do well but Joe Biden has to show that this is the part of the map in which he can prove that elect electability case.
That started with diverse collisions, that started with black and Latino voters and he is saying if he's able to show more prowess in these states than he did in Iowa and New Hampshire, he can try to move those aside. To say that that's only a small segment of the Democratic base, that's a small size of the delegate base but he needs to be building momentum heading into the Super Tuesday states where he'll have to contend with Michael Bloomberg, also.
But I think it's a good point. Even him saying second in Nevada is a point that he may not hit. There are other strong campaigns here including Elizabeth Warren --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
[23:30:06]
HERNDON: -- and Pete Buttigieg has momentum. Amy Klobuchar is getting a second look from voters. We have a debate that can shape a lot of things going forward. So even in lowering expectations from winning Nevada, he may be setting a baseline that his campaign might struggle to meet.
LEMON: The Nevada caucus, Ron, I mean, he's got a lot riding on it, right? Especially after how badly things went in Iowa. CNN is reporting that some volunteers say that they're still unclear about exactly how the process will work there.
More than 18,000 Democrats turned out for early voting today. The turnout is expected to be huge.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
LEMON: Are you optimistic that Nevada will run more smoothly than Iowa did?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Look, they say they have it in hand. But I think the evidence is pretty clear, Don. The caucuses have kind of outlived their usefulness. I mean, they simply cannot survive the level of scrutiny. And for that matter, the stakes that are involved in the modern kind of nominating process. I remember back when I was covering the 2000 recount in Florida and there was one county supervisor in Florida who said we finally had an election where the margin of error was larger than the margin of victory. And I think that's kind of where we potentially are in caucuses all the time.
Maybe it won't be as super close here in Nevada, but as a general proposition, you know, for 100 years, since 1912, we've known there is an alternative system for doing this. It is called primaries run by state governments.
LEMON: Certain things we're trying to forget. I mean, not who necessarily who won or lost, but 2,000, that dragged on forever.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
LEMON: I remember covering that and saying let this be over no matter who wins. Listen, Astead --
BROWNSTEIN: Forty days and nights in Tallahassee.
LEMON: Forty long days. Absolutely. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, you mentioned him earlier, Astead. You said that the former vice president is going to have to contend with him. I mean, he seems to have cast a shadow over the Nevada caucus. He's having an impact on this caucus. He's not even on the ballot.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HERNDON: He's not on the ballot in Nevada, he's not on the ballot in South Carolina, but he still looms over this race. The amount of money that he has poured into Super Tuesday states are already seeing that take effect in polling.
We're seeing him have numbers with black voters. We are seeing him have numbers in Super Tuesday states that candidates that were running for a year have not been able to do. He is getting that name recognition and some voters are lashing on to his message against Donald Trump.
But what we're also seeing is the candidates take them on. We're seeing a drip drop of stories talking about comments from his past, about President Obama, about women who worked in his companies, also about red lining and the housing crisis.
These are things that are going to be particularly impactful if he makes that debate stage. If Michael Bloomberg is on to the debate stage, you can expect a level of targeting that we have not seen yet in this democratic primary.
LEMON: I got to tell you --
HERNDON: It will be more than Biden. It will be more than Elizabeth Warren's experience in October.
LEMON: I tell you, listen, you can't go anywhere without someone mentioning Michael Bloomberg. In every station I turn it on there is an ad for Michael Bloomberg. Thank you, gentlemen.
LEMON: More on Michael Bloomberg when we come back.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you, Don.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: More now on the state of the race. The war of words between Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg is really heating up tonight. The former New York City mayor is releasing an ad attacking the Sanders supporters, the so-called "Bernie Bros" for their behavior online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BELL RINGING)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is vitally important for those of us who hold different views to be able to engage in a civil discourse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let's discuss now with former mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, the national political chair for the Bloomberg campaign, and Professor Cornell West, a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining. Let's talk.
MICHAEL NUTTER, FORMER PHILADELPHIA MAYOR, NATIONAL POLITICAL CHAIR FOR THE BLOOMBERG CAMPAIGN: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: Dr. West, I'm going to start with you. So Sanders, some of his supporters, the "Bernie Bros," they are notorious in online circles for ganging up on people who support other candidates. Are they fair game for criticism, you think?
CORNEL WEST, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Oh, absolutely. We all have to adhere to certain levels of integrity here. No doubt about it. But it is clear that there is nobody but brother Bernie Sanders moving at work in the Democratic Party.
When we bring critique the barrel on stop-and-frisk and we talk about terrorizing and traumatizing of these young, precious black, and brown brothers and sisters, six million of them, that's fair game in terms of critique of brother Bloomberg. He can't say that he's concerned about treating each citizen equally and terrorize and traumatize this precious slice of the body politic.
LEMON: Mayor, I want you to weigh in. I want to play this. This is a new ad that's being released after Sanders spoke out against Bloomberg over the weekend and criticized his support for stop-and-frisk. [23:40:00]
LEMON: The professor just mentioned it. Here is what he said. Watch this.
NUTTER: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Regardless of how much money a multi-billionaire candidate is willing to spend on his election, we will not create the energy and excitement we need to defeat Donald Trump if that candidate pursued, advocated for, and enacted racist policies like stop-and-frisk --
(APPLAUSE)
SANDERS: -- which caused communities of color in his city to live in fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, a lot to unpack. So is Bloomberg's attack on "Bernie Bros,' is that an attempt to distract from his own issues?
NUTTER: Well, first of all, Don, it is not an attack. That ad is a combination of screen shots of things that people have said on social media, headlines from a variety of other news media organizations. I think one is The New York Times. So you can't attack somebody if you're merely repeating what they have said. Those are all factual.
The issue is that -- even as Dr. West said -- there are some folks who are very, very aggressive online and in contrast, literally, to the other part of the ad where Senator Sanders says that, you know, everybody, even with a difference of opinion should be able to have a civil discourse. There are apparently some people who cannot adhere to that.
And to the doctor's good point -- we are friends -- Mayor Bloomberg has talked about stop-and-frisk. It existed before he came to New York City. It continues to exist today. We can get back to that. But if you're going to talk about that, then let's talk about all the lives that were saved during the mayor's tenure, black and brown lives.
The year before he came into office, there were over 700 homicides in New York City, the vast majority black and brown men. And when he left, there was a 48 percent reduction. New York was about 300 and is now the safest big city in America.
He created the young men's initiative focused on black and brown men to help them get jobs and job training, created hundreds of thousands of jobs in New York City, raised high school graduation rates --
LEMON: OK.
NUTTER: -- and a variety of other things.
LEMON: I see where you're going.
NUTTER: None of us ever wants to be judged on our worst moment or worst action. There is something called grace.
LEMON: He did a lot to help out African Americans, as well. I understand that. I want Cornel West before we run out of time, guys. Remember, we only have a certain amount of time, so let the other person in. Go ahead, Dr. West. What do you want to say?
NUTTER: Yeah.
WEST: There has got to be democratic accountability. We are talking not only about this kind of ugly terrorizing of young people. We are talking about brother Bloomberg's very cozy relation to Wall Street, the ways in which public education has been privatized -- Diane Ravitch talks about this, connected to Joe Klein -- and the ways in which we pushed out so many quality teachers.
This is a whole neo-liberal way of engaging the world. We're fighting a neo-fascist gangster. There is no doubt about that. Brother Nutter and I agree with that.
But I'm just afraid that if we reach the conclusion that our only response is going to be a neo-liberal who has gangster policies towards these young black people for six million, 605 percent increase every year, Brother Nutter, I think Bernie Sanders is the only one who has got the vision, the enthusiasm, and the excitement to bring America together, to push the neo-fascist gangster out of the White House.
So it is going to be a clash. It is fascinating to see these two Jewish brothers going at it.
NUTTER: Sure.
LEMON: Go ahead.
(CROSSTALK)
NUTTER: It will end up with the two of them. At the end of the day, it is going to be the two of them in a contest here.
LEMON: Yeah.
NUTTER: And the mayor is not running for mayor of New York. He is running for president of the United States of America. That is a very different job.
WEST: But talk about running the country means you got to deal with the vast majority of people who are poor and working class.
NUTTER: I understand.
WEST: You can't be tied to the one percent.
NUTTER: Sure.
WEST: He's the 12th --
NUTTER: I understand.
WEST: -- the 12th richest man in the world, the 12th richest man in the world.
NUTTER: I understand that.
WEST: The best that we can do --
NUTTER: I mean, you know, that's the good fortune --
LEMON: Dr. West, let me ask you. Hold on, hold on, hold on, mayor.
NUTTER: -- creating your own company and putting thousands of people to work.
LEMON: Dr. West, what's wrong with being wealthy? What is wrong with being wealthy?
NUTTER: I'd like to be wealthy.
WEST: The problem -- I tell you what the problem of being wealthy. Somewhere I read that it's easier for a rich man to get in heaven. If you're wealthy, you end up being friends with people like Trump. When he said Trump has changed New York more than anybody, Trump tells Bloomberg you're the greatest mayor in the history of New York --
NUTTER: Dr. West --
WEST: They are from the same group. It's just the neo-liberal side --
NUTTER: You know they're not friends.
[23:45:00]
WEST: They have been friends for a long time.
NUTTER: Dr. West, you know that they are not friends and they are very, very -- they are very different people.
WEST: They're not friends now.
NUTTER: You know the work that Mayor Bloomberg -- you know the work that Mayor Bloomberg has done --
LEMON: One at a time, please. Let him speak, Dr. West.
NUTTER: -- standpoint which is very different than anything that Donald Trump has done. Mayor Bloomberg made a mark in a very positive way on this country and around the world. That is what he has done with is wealth.
LEMON: Yeah. I want to get this in.
NUTTER: You and I can agree --
LEMON: Let me get this in because we have a very spirited -- hold on, please, both of you.
WEST: He could use his charity with justice.
LEMON: There has been a very spirited debate as we are having here tonight, but I think both of you would probably agree with what the speaker of the House said to Christiane Amanpour earlier today. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): They can't even envision a situation where he would be re-elected. But we don't take anything for granted. As I say, he -- we have to have our own vision for the future. But everybody knows that we must be unified in making sure that he does not have a second term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So she's talking about unity there. And also, there has been discussion about not beating up on people so much even though this is in the primary so that they are so damaged going into a general that they can use the words of their own democratic colleague against them. So quickly, please, if you can both respond. I'll let you do it first mayor and then Dr. West after that.
NUTTER: Yeah, I mean, that is the big concern. At the end of the day, there will be a Democratic nominee. And as Democrats, we have to be united singly and totally in removing Donald Trump from the White House. Some of these personal attacks are really not helpful and they become ads in the fall. Unfortunately, we saw some of that in 2016. Let's not repeat that and destroy each other.
LEMON: Dr. West, please.
WEST: Brother Nutter and I can go at each other and go back to Mount Carmel Baptist Church in other context. We still have still deep disagreements. But the problem is this. The democratic establishment has not been fair to brother Bernie Sanders in 2016 and there's evidence that they may not be fair in 2020.
The question is -- you cannot have unity without the justice, unity without the fairness. If we have a fair process, there is no problem. If we don't have a fair process, that's going to be a problem.
LEMON: OK. Thank you both.
NUTTER: Dr. West, elections are won on the ground locally. You know that.
LEMON: Thank you. I appreciate it. We'll continue this conversation. I am grateful to have both of you gentlemen on. Thank you so much.
They are not free yet. More than 300 Americans have been evacuated from a cruise ship but they're still under quarantine after 14 of them tested positive for the coronavirus. We're going to tell you what happens to them next.
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[23:50:00]
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LEMON: Tonight, more than 300 Americans who were stuck on a cruise ship in Japan due to the coronavirus are back home. But they are not all free and clear yet. Let us get the very latest now from CNN's Ryan Young.
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RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of Americans back on U.S. soil today after spending nearly two weeks quarantined on a cruise ship in Japan. More than 300 U.S. citizens and their family members are landing in Air Force bases in California and Texas.
GAY COURTER, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: There has been a lot of silence on this. Now, we know the silence has been putting together a brilliant plan.
YOUNG (voice-over): The journey, no small feat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The buses are turning to line up.
YOUNG (voice-over): In the 10 hours it took passengers to disembark and make their way to the airport, U.S. officials learned that 14 of them had tested positive for the coronavirus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't do this every day, obviously, but --
YOUNG (voice-over): The State Department making the rare decision to allow them to board the flights anyway. Now after 12 days under mandatory quarantine aboard the cruise ship, these evacuees will have to start the quarantine process all over again at the bases.
KAREY MANISCALCO, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: They told us that we would be re-quarantined for 14 more days. I've just lost a whole month of my life.
YOUNG (voice-over): There are 15 cases of the coronavirus confirmed in the U.S. And so far, officials aren't adding the 14 passengers who tested positive to that count.
TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WHO: In the past 24 hours, China has reported 2,051 new cases.
YOUNG (voice-over): The virus is not slowing down. Nearly half the population of China, 780 million people living under some form of travel restrictions or self-quarantine as authorities try to contain the virus. Streets are still empty well after the Lunar New Year holiday. More than 71,000 people have been infected around the world, the vast majority of cases in China. The first death from the virus in Europe confirmed in France over the weekend.
MIKE RYAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAM, WHO: The majority of cases outside China have a direct link still back to China.
YOUNG (voice-over): While officials warn against calling the virus a pandemic, they recognize its end is not yet in sight.
RYAN: The risk is high that the disease may spread further. I think at face value, that is true.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Ryan Young joins me now from Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Hello, Ryan. How many people remained quarantined where you are at Lackland Air Force Base?
YOUNG: Well, what we have been told so far, about 145 people were brought here today.
[23:55:01]
YOUNG: That increased the number to 235 in total, all facing that quarantine. But Don, there is some interesting new news that we learned just tonight from another CNN crew. There was a woman who was aboard one of these planes and she wasn't even aware that there were people on board that plane that had the coronavirus. She didn't learn about it until she landed and saw it on the news. You can understand why she was very upset.
LEMON: Oh, indeed. Any word on how many foreigners trying to enter the U.S. may have been stopped, Ryan?
YOUNG: That's something they're looking at closely. We're told about 140 right now. We can probably see that number go up as the U.S. strengthens its wrap around this virus, trying to keep it out of the country.
LEMON: Ryan Young at Lackland Air Force Base. Thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting. Thank you for watching this special edition of CNN TONIGHT. Our coverage continues.
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