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Californians Losing Health Care; Toronto Mayor's Brother Speaks Out

Aired November 13, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Zoraida Sambolin, alongside John Berman. Brooke Baldwin is off today.

The city of Toronto has its first council since Mayor Rob Ford's admission that he smoked crack.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And this forum turned into part inquisition, part confessional, and part campaign stump speech in all one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED TORONTO CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Mr. Mayor, have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Careful.

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: Yes, I have. I have saved more taxpayers money than any mayor in Toronto's history. I was elected to come down here and clean up the mess. And I know I have done that. Have I made mistakes, Counselor Thompson (ph)? You're absolutely right I've made mistakes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, Mayor Rob Ford cannot be recalled, but today his colleagues have been pressuring him to step down on his own. This meeting, it just resumed moments ago. The mayor there, Rob Ford, you're seeing him, he says he will not leave, but he did tell the 44 council members he won't talk to police. He now says he's clean and he says he has come clean to the people of Toronto. He says there's nothing left to hide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you admitted all your problems?

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: I've come -- I can't come out any - I don't know what else there - I don't know? I don't know. There might be like a coat hanger left in my closet. I don't. it's -- I don't know what's left. I don't - I -- counselor, I've made mistakes and that's it. I don't know what else I can say, Counselor Shriner (ph). I have not missed a day down here and I have one of the best attendance records ever. I'll put my record against anyone else's. So, I am not going anywhere, Counselor Cho (ph). That's all I can say. I've answered your question. I can't get into what's before the courts now, but on the (INAUDIBLE), on the advice of my counsel, if you want to talk to Dennis Morris (ph), you're more than happy to talk to him. He has said do not talk to the police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're listening to what the media says?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mayor Ford, please -

FORD: No, no, no, can I answer the question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But allow -- Counselor Thompson (ph) to ask the question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get to ask the questions, thank you. You get to answer, mayor.

FORD: I'm answer, but you don't want to hear my answers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, you're not being truthful. That's my problem with --

FORD: I'm not being truthful. Have you been into that house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no interest being in that house. I'm not a crack user.

FORD: So - OK, so a 78-year-old mother is a crack user in that house?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've stated on numerous occasions, to use your words, that you were inebriated. Every episode that has occurred that has caused commotion in this city has been because you have indicated that you've been inebriated, and yet you fail to appreciate that perhaps there's a problem there.

FORD: Counselor, I've admitted to my mistakes and I said it would not happen again, and it has not happened again at the Air Canada Centre (ph).

I can assure you I am not an alcoholic. I am not a drug addict. Have I drank? Have I done drugs? Yes, I have. But, Mr. Counselor, it's self- inflicted, and I hope, Counselor (INAUDIBLE), I hope that nobody but nobody goes through what I have gone through in the last few months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Mayor, do you understand that there are some people on this counsel floor that really want to give you an opportunity? And with addictions, possible addictions, points to particular behavior. Mr. Mayor, do you recognize there are a fewer of us that really do want to help you?

FORD: Counselor, it was not the reason I drank or did drugs was not because of stress. It was out of sheer stupidity. That's all it was. So I'm not going to blame something, I'm not going to use an excuse or a cop-out. I take full responsibility for my mistakes. I don't know what else I can say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, but wait, there is more.

BERMAN: More?

SAMBOLIN: The mayor's brother -- yes, there is. The mayor's brother stepped in, going after the council member who introduced the bill to request that mayor step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COUNCILOR DOUG FORD, MAYOR'S BROTHER: The question is, have you ever smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marijuana?

FORD: Have you ever smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) of the motion.

FORD: Hold it. Have you ever smoked marijuana?

(CROSS TALK)

FORD: It's a question. It's simple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not (INAUDIBLE).

FORD: A yes or a no. Have you smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Point of privilege (INAUDIBLE).

FORD: The answer I guess is yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Councilor -

FORD: The answer is yes, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Councilor Ford -

FORD: I would like everyone else to stand up who's tried smoking marijuana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Counselor - Councilor Ford -

FORD: The whole - the whole council will stand up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Councilor Ford -

FORD: So don't come across -

(CROSS TALK)

FORD: Don't come across -

BERMAN: All right, and we're going to speak with Doug Ford, who was on the council in Toronto. He is the brother of Rob Ford. We will speak to Doug Ford in just a moment.

SAMBOLIN: All right, meantime, we are getting some breaking news. It is involving Californians and just how many of them are getting health care cancellation letters as a result of Obamacare. Joining me now is our investigations correspondent Chris Frates.

Chris, what is happening in California?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zoraida, we just learned that about a million people in the state of California got cancellation letters. Now, California's a big state with 38 million residents. But, still, this is getting a lot of attention.

So who are these one million? These are people who had private health insurance. And here's why they had to be canceled. Under Obamacare, all insurance policies must include these 10 essential benefits. These are things like maternity care and prescription drug coverage. So if your plan doesn't meet the criteria, the insurance companies send cancellation notices. Some private insurers will offer new plans. But for some people, that could increase their premiums. For other people, who might qualify for a subsidy under Obamacare, it could be cheaper.

SAMBOLIN: So what are these people supposed to do?

FRATES: Well, that's the big dilemma here, Zoraida. You know, the reason they're doing this is because the Obama administration wanted to get rid of what they call junk plans and they wanted to make sure everyone had quality coverage. Now, fortunately for Californians, they have a state exchange. It's working better than healthcare.gov, but there's still a lot of - there's been a lot of reports of problems there, too.

SAMBOLIN: All right, so this 1 million number is really big. Is this happening across the country as well?

FRATES: Absolutely. But the administration and the insurance industry knew that this was going to happen. The estimates vary widely. They're from seven million to 12 million people nationwide who could be canceled, and the Obama administration has repeatedly said that many of these people are trading up to better plans.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Chris Frates, live for us in California, thank you for that.

Bad timing on this, huh?

BERMAN: Oh, incredible timing. Really tough timing for the president because this news comes as his poll numbers, they are plummeting, his health care website, it's still broken, and now we are getting word that House Democrats just had a heating meeting with the White House. They're angry, demanding the administration come up with a plan to fix all of this. We will talk about this huge political and policy mess for the president. That's coming up next.

SAMBOLIN: Plus, as children go hungry in the Philippines, new reports that people are being crushed to death during a stampede to get food. We're going to take you there coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right, welcome back, everyone. I'm John Berman here in New York, along with Zoraida Sambolin. We're filling in for Brooke Baldwin today.

And we've been watching some remarkable footage of part politics, part intervention, part really confession going on in Toronto. The mayor there --

SAMBOLIN: A bit of a circus as well I would add to that.

BERMAN: A heck of a circus as well. The mayor there, Rob Ford, is speaking with the city council. The city council is really confronting him about his admission that he smoked crack. Rob Ford says he will not quit. The city council there has no means to remove him, but they have asked him to step down. He says he will not.

Now, to increase the soap opera feel of this, his brother, Doug Ford, is also on the city council. And as you might imagine, he has been defending his brother today. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FORD, TORONTO COUNCILMAN & MAYOR FORD'S BROTHER: The question is, have you ever smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Marijuana?

FORD: Have you ever smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) of the motion.

FORD: Hold it. Have you ever smoked marijuana?

(CROSS TALK)

FORD: It's a question. It's simple.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not (INAUDIBLE).

FORD: A yes or a no. Have you smoked marijuana?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Point of privilege (INAUDIBLE).

FORD: The answer I guess is yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Councilor -

FORD: The answer is yes, I guess.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Councilman Ford -

FORD: I would like everyone else to stand up who's tried smoking marijuana.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Counselor - Councilor Ford -

FORD: The whole - the whole council -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, you saw it, Doug Ford there on the floor of the city council in Toronto. We are now joined by Doug Ford, a city councilor in Toronto. The brother of Mayor Rob Ford.

Doug, I want to ask you about what you said in a little bit. But first, set the scene for us. What was it like to be in that room? And how hard was it for you and your brother to listen to the severe criticism from really the rest of the city council about his behavior?

DOUG FORD, MAYOR FORD'S BROTHER AND TORONTO COUNCILMAN: Well, when it comes to the city councilors here in Toronto, there's a lot of politics being played, John. The person that's leading the charge is running for mayor against my brother. But he doesn't want to be honest with the people of Toronto. I think there's a double standard here. I think Rob has been very honest, very apologetic and, unfortunately, when I asked the question, there's a double standard. And I guess actions speak louder than words, and I guess his silence says everything.

BERMAN: Well, you say your brother has been forthcoming. He's been forthcoming lately, admitting that he smoked crack after, I guess, sort of denying it for a while.

FORD: That's right.

BERMAN: There's a lot going on here. I mean, so he did deny it. So at first he was lying.

FORD: Uh-huh.

BERMAN: And now he's admitted to it. He also admitted to being severely drunk on some occasions, but he says he doesn't have a drinking problem.

FORD: That's right.

BERMAN: How concerned are you for your brother, sir?

FORD: Well, I'm confident my brother's taking the right steps moving forward. He's on a proper diet plan. He's been getting some -- if you want to call it counseling, you can say that. But that - that's a personal issue with him. He's working --

BERMAN: Is it counseling? I mean is it - is it -- is he getting counseling?

FORD: He's working out every day. He just actually went downstairs on his break. So Rob's taking the right steps to move forward in his life. We, as a city, we have the strongest fiscal record in North America. Our city is booming. Unemployment has dropped 4 percent under his administration. And, you know, we're absolutely booming as a city. And we've saved the taxpayers. The only administration in North America that has actually saved the taxpayers over a billion dollars.

SAMBOLIN: As we -- as everybody is watching this unfold, it seems to everyone that there is a problem here. And perhaps it is a person problem. So why wouldn't he just decide to step down and take care of his problem and then return to office once that's resolved?

FORD: Well, I just want to, you know, again, that's what the media is reporting. Rob does not come into work drunk. He said he's tried illicit drugs under a drunken stupor. And he's not doing drugs. And he's not drinking. So he's moving in the right direction, in my opinion.

But the public flogging, I've never seen anything like it. This man has apologized profusely. He's asked for forgiveness. And the rest is sheerly (ph) politics down here. The -- a lot of these politicians here, they don't care about Rob. They care about going out there, collecting their paycheck on the backs of the hard working taxpayers.

We wanted to cut the council in half. We don't need as many politicians. They -- it was like asking the politicians - it's like asking the turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving. They aren't going to vote for reducing the size of council.

And Rob hasn't made a lot of friends when you - when you hold the unions accountable, the special interest groups accountable, and he's held them to task and saved the taxpayers a billion dollars. And our city is ranked number one in the world to work in, number two to live in. And before this administration, I think we were ranked number 22 or 23.

SAMBOLIN: Sir -

FORD: And, in my opinion, if there was an election held tomorrow, Rob Ford would have an extremely, extremely good chance of winning. And that's what they - that's what they're worried about.

SAMBOLIN: Sir, you've called this a public flogging.

FORD: (INAUDIBLE).

SAMBOLIN: But is there really any legal ground here in order to remove him from office? Can you talk to us about that?

FORD: Sure. There is no legal ground whatsoever to remove him from office. He hasn't been charged for anything. And we want to move on and continue running the city like we have. And we're doing the right thing for the taxpayers.

BERMAN: There's -- there's this video - these' the video, though, that the police have of your brother, the mayor of Toronto --

FORD: That's right (ph).

BERMAN: Smoking crack.

FORD: Yes.

BERMAN: He has now admitted to being in a drunken stupor, a fair amount, I guess. I don't understand the frequency of it. How embarrassing is this for your city, sir, which you so clearly love?

FORD: Yes. Well, we do love it. It is embarrassing. There's no doubt about it. But in saying - in saying that, are businesses going to stop coming to the city? No, they're coming in droves because we have the lowest residential tax rate in North America for a city our size, and we watch every single bit of taxpayers' money.

And we've stopped the back room deals. We've held the unions accountable. We've done a tremendous amount of positive work in this city and people recognize it. And we broke a record in tourism last year. We had over 9 million hotel rooms sold and we're going to plan on breaking another record. We have one of the greatest cities in the world and it's a great place to work and live.

SAMBOLIN: Councilman Ford, if you could just please stand by for us, we'd like to continue this conversation, including the criticism against you. So we'll talk to you again right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Right before the break we were talking to Councilman Doug Ford. He is the brother of embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

Thank you for staying with us. We really appreciate it.

We want to talk a little bit here about family history. We saw an interview with your mom where she talked about her daughter also having a drug problem. And she insists that her son does not have a problem, does not have a drinking problem. But is there -- are you concerned or is she concerned about a potential problem otherwise? We've seen the tapes and I guess that is what stays on our minds. As we see this rant, this rage, unclear whether it was brought on by cocaine or whether it was a drunken rage. How does the family feel about this?

FORD: Well, again, it's embarrassing. And Rob has admitted it's embarrassing. We've come out publicly and said that numerous times, again, apologized numerous times. I don't know what more we can do outside of moving forward and get the work done that the people elected us to do. We have an election coming up in less than a year, and we look forward to going to the people, letting the people decide if they want a mayor that has the best fiscal record in North America or they want something else. And that's going to be their choice.

BERMAN: How much did you know while this was going on? Was he completely honest with you? Had he told you that he hadn't smoked crack? Have you been aware of this occasional -

FORD: That's right (ph).

BERMAN: Have you been aware of the drinking? How much did you know, sir?

FORD: No.

BERMAN: No. So this was all news to you?

FORD: No, I didn't know anything. He never told me. When he -- that's right. When he announced it, I was speaking in front of some university students and I was as floored as anyone else.

But in saying that, I honestly believe, and Rob hasn't been honest on his personal issues and he's admitted that, but he is the most honest politician in the entire country when it comes to making sure he saves taxpayers' money, and, again, stopping all the back room deals that have happened. Our previous administration that was down here had tax increases of 27.5 percent compounded year after year after year. Rob Ford's administration was the only administration, the only government in North America, and I include the United States of America in this, that has actually spent less one year than they did the previous year. He's putting money back into the taxpayer's pockets, reducing taxes and holding people accountable.

SAMBOLIN: Councilman Ford - Councilman Ford, were you surprised when your brother admitted to buying illegal drugs?

FORD: Yes, I was surprised.

SAMBOLIN: So you had never known that that had happened before, even though, allegedly, his driver -- the way that this all started was that his driver was the one that was under investigation for narcotics. You had no idea that that was all happening?

FORD: Well, he had - he wasn't - it wasn't his driver. So that's -- that's what the media is reporting. Rob never had a driver. He drove himself. He did go out and he's hired a driver now. And we're going to move forward.

BERMAN: But, sir -

FORD: But answering your question, it's a tough one on the family. It's definitely tough on the family right now. We've been getting death threats. My daughters - I have four young girls. They were threatened to be sodomized and raped. And it's just gone overboard right now.

BERMAN: Well, there's no question that that is over the line in every level, sir, and we are sorry that your family is going through that. When he admitted, as Zoraida was asking, when he admitted that he has bought drugs within the last two years, was that, sir, news to you today? Because it seems like these revelations, they keep on coming despite the fact that he says he's come clean. So he's come clean as of today, yesterday? Is there going to be more in the next few days?

FORD: Well, you know something, I just wish the rest of the politicians in the city came clean, like Rob has come clean. I think you heard my question to some other politicians. And I guess actions speak louder than words. When they don't want to answer the same question they asked the mayor, I have an issue with it. I think everyone should stand up, anyone that has tried marijuana, that's tried illicit drugs, should stand up and admit it. Unfortunately, they're deciding not to do that down here. They'd rather flog the mayor and not be truthful to the people of Toronto.

SAMBOLIN: Well, Councilman Doug Ford, we really appreciate your time today. Thank you for joining us.

FORD: Thank you.

SAMBOLIN: And we wish you a lot of luck with your family. It was horrible to hear that they're getting threats.

FORD: And I -

SAMBOLIN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Appreciate the time you took -

FORD: Well, thank you. And I encourage everyone to come to the greatest city in the world, Toronto.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, we do love Toronto.

BERMAN: Getting a plug in. even through this, getting a plug in for Canada and Toronto.

All right, coming up for us next, it is not a good day for President Obama. The political mess here, his poll numbers taking a beating. The health care website still very much with serious problems. And now there's word that Democrats just had a very heated meeting with the White House over Obamacare. We will talk about this huge mess coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)