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Christie Fires Aide; Obama Poverty Plan; Interview with Barbara Buono

Aired January 09, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for joining me on a busy, busy news day. We have a lot happening in the next two hours.

Including standing by for President Barack Obama. He's getting ready to speak live at the White House to reveal his plan for taking on poverty in America's poorest communities. Keep in mind, this is a promise he made one year ago during his State of the Union address. And the timing is significant here because the issue of income equality really has become the forefront of the national conversation.

And also timing-wise, we're just about a month away from the next state of the union. So we'll take you live to the White House for that.

But, first, this. A tough day for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He is heading to Fort Lee, New Jersey, this afternoon to try to meet with the mayor. We heard him saying he wants to apologize to him face- to-face. And for more than an hour -- to be precise, 108 minutes, we all watched a much more measured version of the often tough talking, bombastic Chris Christie announce he has fired a top aide. He said he has halted the political climb of his former campaign manager, and apologized. He did a lot of apologizing to pretty much everyone over his staff's conduct in the George Washington Bridge lane closings that jammed traffic for four days last September.

Some of the words Governor Christie used to describe his experience. He said he was blindsided, heartbroken, stunned. We're going to play a piece of this for you in just a minute. But stand by, we'll be talking to a news maker. Former State Senator Barbara Buono, who was specifically mentioned in these exchanges over text and e-mail. So, stay tuned for that. We'll get her reaction. Did she think Chris Christie was sincere.

But first, Governor Christie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. There's no doubt in my mind that the conduct that they exhibited is completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and for the people that we're trusted to serve.

I believe I have an understanding now of the true nature of the problem. And I've taken the following action as a result. This morning I terminated the employment of Bridget Kelly effective immediately. I terminated her employment because she lied to me.

I am heartbroken that someone who I permitted to be in that circle of trust for the last five years betrayed my trust. I would never have come out here four or five weeks ago and made a joke about these lane closures if I had ever had an inkling that anyone on my staff would have been so stupid but to be involved and then so deceitful as to just to not disclose the information of their involvement to me when directly asked by their superiors.

Ultimately, I am responsible for what happens under my watch. The good and the bad. And when mistakes are made, then I have to own up to them and take the action that I believe is necessary in order to remediate them.

As I mentioned to you earlier, I spent all day yesterday digging into talking to folks and getting to the bottom of things. I know there was much discussion yesterday about what was I doing? Well, let me you, everybody, I was blindsided yesterday morning.

I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or its execution. And I am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here regardless of what the facts ultimately uncover. This was handled in a callus and indifferent way and it is not the way this administration has conducted itself over the last four years and not the way it will conduct itself over the next four.

Politics ain't bean bag, OK? And everybody in the country who engages in politics knows that. On the other hand, that's very, very different than saying that, you know, someone's a bully. I have very heated discussions and arguments with people in my own party and on the other side of the aisle. I feel passionately about issues and I don't hide my emotions fro people. I am not a focus group tested, blow dried candidate or governor.

Now, that has always made some people, as you know, uneasy. Some people like that style, some people don't. And I've always said, I think you asked me a question the day after the election, are you willing to change your style in order to appeal to a broader audience. And I think I said no, because I am who I am. But I am not a bully. I'm sure I might get to the stage where I'm angry. I don't break things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

CHRISTIE: Oh, gosh no. You need to understand this. I am standing here resolved to do my job and do what I'm supposed to do, but I am a very sad person today. That's the emotion I feel. A person close to me betrayed me. A person who I counted on and trusted for five years betrayed me. A person who I gave a high government office to betrayed me. I probably will get angry at some point, but I've got to tell you the truth, I'm sad. I'm a sad guy standing here today. And very disappointed. And that's the overriding emotion.

And someone asked me that before. I -- that's the overriding emotion. And I know that because of my bluntness and my directness that people think, well, of course he must get behind that door and be a lunatic when he's mad about something. If you ask this staff, it is the rare moment in this office when I raise my voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Chris Christie speaking, once again, for 108 minutes today. Our John King was sitting in that room in Trenton. We'll go to John in just a moment.

But first, former Christie opponent and current state senator from Middlesex County, Barbara Buono joins me live.

Senator Buono, welcome.

STATE SEN. BARBARA BUONO (D), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOV. CANDIDATE: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: You were specifically mentioned in one of these exchanges between Christie's aides. It was a text message. We'll get to that in just a minute. But first, did you watch all 108 minutes? How do you think Governor Christie did? Was he sincere, in your opinion?

BUONO: I actually did not watch it. I'm in the state house doing other people's business. I did not. I just caught a clip of it. But, you know, the issue really is this. The issue is that these e-mails reveal a tangled web of deceit, of subterfuge, of political payback. I have a hard time believing the governor knew nothing about it. The way the governor runs this administration, to his credit, like a very tight ship. There's a lot of discipline. It's top down. And to suggest that the governor did not know when his chief of staff was part of the planning and the cover up, when his campaign manager, part of his political operation for two campaigns, was aware of it and involved in it and named in the e-mails, when his long time communications director was involved, it strains (ph) predulity (ph) to believe that the governor had no knowledge of it. I think it leads directly to the governor's office. And that's why I've called on the U.S. attorney's office, because I think this warrants an investigation. There's a lot of unanswered questions. All of the e-mails that we have are severely, heavily redacted. And we need to address this issue, which raises serious issues of character and credibility.

BALDWIN: Senator, let me just show our viewers - I know you're well aware, but let me show our viewers. We're talking about all these different text exchanges, e-mails. And this is one specific text that was between this unknown person and David Wildstein, who was appointed to the Port Authority by Chris Christie himself. And the quote was, "is it wrong that I'm smiling. I feel badly about the kids, I guess." And then it continues on. David Wildstein says, "they are the children of Buono voters," specifically referring to the children who were stuck on this bridge, the George Washington Bridge, during these lane closures.

And so let me just have you -- when did you, Senator Buono, when did you first learn that you were specifically mentioned in these exchanges and what was your reaction? BUONO: I was incredulous. I honestly didn't believe it. I had to read it twice. Somebody brought - it was brought to my attention. And, you know, what really surprised me, what blew me away, is, you know, the abject - you know, just -- they didn't care. They just didn't care about the impact on regular people, on the children. And it was so glib and so arrogant and entitled. And that really blew me away. And I've heard a lot in politics.

BALDWIN: I'm sure you have and I want to get back to your point about the Department of Justice and what you want in just a minute. But I have to go back to your original point. So we heard over and over from Chris Christie today, you know, absolutely saying he had zero knowledge of any of these exchanges, of any of this so-called political vendetta against this particular mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. And so I just want to be crystal clear because, you know, we heard from the governor as well calling his inner circle his family, they're - they should be equally loyal. Are you saying that Governor Christie - you're saying you don't believe him. Are you saying he's lying to us?

BUONO: I'm saying that there was a lot of mistruths in this scenario. Initially, two of the governors' high appointees to the Port Authority justified the lane closures, you may remember, by making up a traffic study. Now we know there was no traffic study. Those are two lies to begin with.

Then the governor was asked whether or not anyone in his administration had any knowledge of the lane closures. He went back to his administration and he came back and he said no. And so, you know, I'm a trial lawyer. There's something in trial law that if you have a witness that lies once on the witness stand, you can ask the judge for a jury instruction that says false in one, false in all. And what that means is if somebody lies once, it casts a cloud on their credibility for their entire testimony. And so what I - the reason I'm saying that is, I think there are enough unanswered questions, there's enough open issues that it merits an investigation by the U.S. attorney. I mean just today David Wildstein invoked the Fifth Amendment numerous times suggesting -

BALDWIN: Multiple time. Multiple times, yes, he did.

BUONO: Yes.

BALDWIN: In that hearing. That transportation hearing. We know the federal government - a federal investigation is underway. But let me end with this. I mean here you sit there at the - at the statehouse. We're talking about New Jersey politics. Specifically Chris Christie was asked today about his own, you know, bullying reputation. I think his answer was, no, I'm not, politics ain't bean bag. Everyone in this country in politics, you know, knows that. But specifically talking about the politics in your state, senator, do you think that this further exacerbates this stereotype of New Jersey politicking?

BUONO: Well, it doesn't help. And, you know, during the campaign, I said on more than one occasion that, you know, the governor is very good at making jokes, but politics should be more about entertainment. It's too important. It's about their life and about your children's lives. And this governor is, in my estimation, and it's not the first time I've said this, he is the worst example of bully and boss and that's how he's conducted himself and the people of New Jersey have suffered.

BALDWIN: State Senator Barbara Buono. Senator, thank you so much for joining me today, reacting to Chris Christie.

In the room in Trenton, we had our CNN national correspondent John King.

I mean you pointed out earlier, John, what we really couldn't see watching this whole thing. He was flanked - Chris Christie was flanked by his senior staff to his left. Take me inside that room and you tell me, how do you think he did?

JOHN KING, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of coming up, Brooke, I think the number one challenge was to take responsibility, not say this was just my staff and he did that and he did that repeatedly. He apologized repeatedly. He said he was humiliated. He said he was embarrassed and he said he was angry a bit now and he thought he would get more to the anger phase going down the road.

So in terms of saying what he had to say on this day, I think you're hearing -- with the exception of the - you know, your most recent guest and the Democrats -- most in Chris Christie's face, if you will, and that's to be expected. That's not a criticism. They're saying there's still unanswered questions. And there are still unanswered questions.

But in terms of his taking charge of this, his taking responsibility for this, the governor came into that room today a very different tone. You've heard Chris Christie in the past, combative, swatting at reporters' questions, calling them stupid sometimes, calling them idiots sometimes. He was very patient. He took all the questions. He stood there for an hour and, what, 48 minutes. Something in that ballpark. So he did what he needed to do today. The question is, do the facts down the road, in the weeks and months ahead, come up with anything that contradicts what he said today? And that's the question. Is there anything in the public record, anything in the testimony to come that will contradict his flat out statement, I knew nothing about this, I had nothing to do with this, I do not have a climate or a culture that encourages this. That's the part that we will learn down the road.

But in terms of his performance today, you know, there were a lot of Republicans yesterday, Brooke, just it this way, who would not say anything. Today Republicans are beginning to come out in Washington, here in New Jersey, in the key presidential primary states and saying, he did what he need to do, he came out and took responsibility. So he wins this day, or at least he doesn't lose this day. But we're not done here. The investigations will tell us where this goes ultimately.

BALDWIN: No, we're not. John King, I believe the word was blindsided. Chris Christie saying he was blindsided yesterday morning when he says he first learned about this. KING: Right.

BALDWIN: We will play your exchange with Governor Christie, the back and forth, the Q&A, as part of this news conference at the top of the hour. So we'll see you once again, John King, in Trenton for us.

But coming up next, we have a panel standing by just to pare through and discuss Christie's political future on the national stage and whether he could be held liable.

Plus, in mere minutes -- I told you it was a busy Thursday -- President Obama will be speaking on how he will battle poverty in some of America's poorest cities. It's a promise he made almost a year ago. And it comes as the country debates income inequality. We'll take it live. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: And it's easy for people to be characterized in public life based upon their personality. And I have a very direct, blunt personality. And I understand why some people would then characterize that, especially people who don't like you, as bullying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Chris Christie says, no, he's not a bully and, no, he had nothing to do with the massive traffic jams created in New Jersey potentially as an act of payback against the mayor of Fort Lee.

With me now from New York, CNN's Ashleigh Banfield and Errol Lewis, political anchor for New York's News 1.

So welcome to both of you.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, ANCHOR, CNN'S "LEGAL VIEW": Thank you.

ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, NEW YORK ONE NEWS: Good to see you.

BALDWIN: Ashleigh Banfield, let me just begin. As we speak, one of the figures here at the center of this scandal, he has been testifying today before the state legislature and I know you've been listening, I have been listening. Not a lot to hear. He's not saying much. Look --

BANFIELD: No, you don't get to hear anything when someone pleads the fifth and it sure doesn't look good.

BALDWIN: Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Communication dated August 5, 2013.

DAVID WILDSTEIN: On the advice of counsel, I again assert my right to remain silent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Reserve my right to remain silent. We heard this multiple times as David Wildstein pleaded the Fifth today at this hearing on this scandal. Just a little background. He is a childhood friend of Chris Christie's. He was appointed by Christie to the Port Authority. So, Ashleigh, tell me his role in this whole thing and really just the implications of pleading the Fifth.

BANFIELD: Sure. So his role is that he is in the e-mails that are so now hot button issues with regard to Chris Christie. The e-mails that acknowledge there's a role within those aides in the closure of those lanes that led to so much consternation and difficulty in that town of Fort Lee. Not just difficulty, but also EMS responders who said it was troublesome and a 91-year-old woman died. No connection yet that the death was as a result, but it's hanging out there. And Mr. Wildstein was on the e-mail saying certain things very -- implicated him in that.

So now he is sitting before a committee having to answer questions about this because it's all come out in the last 24 hours and he's saying, I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege. I'm not going to answer that. Probably not a bad idea right now, Brooke, because the U.S. attorney based in New Jersey has now said, we are, in fact, investigating this issue as a matter of federal crime. And so, look, anything he says now can and will be held against him. So it's a good idea he's pleading the Fifth.

BALDWIN: You mentioned the issues with EMS crews, also kids not getting to school. There are legal issues of causality we'll get into in just a minute and whether or not there could actually be criminal charges here.

But, Errol Louis, back to David Wildstein and the fact that he's testifying today. I actually want to go back to December. You have the same committee and take a look because this is the manager of the George Washington Bridge who was apparently ordered by Wildstein to close the lanes. This goes back to September, creating those big nightmarish traffic jams. Take a look at this and watch how closely he chooses his words. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does Mr. Wildstein or did Mr. - well, he currently still works for the Port Authority. Does Mr. Wildstein have the ability to terminate your employment?

ROBERT DURANDO, GENERAL MANAGER, GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE: I suspect he does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So it would be fair to say that you did have a concern about your continued employment if you went outside his direction?

DURANDO: I honestly don't know how to answer you. I -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well either you did or you didn't.

DURANDO: Well, I was not fearful that I was going to get fired -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So then why didn't you -

DURANDO: Because - because I didn't want to tempt fate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you thought it was a possibility?

DURANDO: Anything is possible, Mr. Chairman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK, Errol. So that sounds ominous. Anything is possible. He could lose his job, maybe worse. We don't know. Bigger picture to you is, is this how New Jersey politics works and how does Chris Christie fit in that? Does he exemplify the culture? Is he enemy number one? What do you think?

LOUIS: You know, I have to say, after watching the two-hour or 108 minutes of Chris Christie's press conference today, I have to say, I kind of believe that he might not have known every last detail of this, although, obviously, we're going to all be looking to try and find out.

The clip you just showed, and it's painful to watch, it reminds me not just of New Jersey politics and not just of New York politics and not just of politics at all, but you see this in universities. You see this sometimes in the private sector. You see it in newsrooms, ladies, from time to time. People who have power, they create these little fiefdoms (ph). They exercise a reign of terror. They intimidate people. They're cruel, they're arbitrary and capricious. And what I think we just saw there with that - the manager of the bridge is that there's a lot of that going on in and around this incident. And whether it's in Trenton in the statehouse or in the Port Authority itself, there's a real problem here that I think a lot of people can understand because many of us have had to put up with it in our own lives.

BALDWIN: OK.

BANFIELD: We had a development with regard to his testimony, in fact. Can I just let you know what -- what has come out of this?

BALDWIN: Go ahead. Go ahead and then we've got to go to Washington.

BANFIELD: The New Jersey Assembly Committee has voted to actually - they have voted now to actually hold him in contempt for not answering those questions. That's a misdemeanor under the New Jersey code. So, there you go.

BALDWIN: Wow. There you go.

Have to hit pause on this conversation. Have to go to Washington. Ashleigh Banfield, Errol Louis, thank you so, so much. We'll get back to Governor Christie here.

To Washington, to the White House we go and our senior correspondent there, Brianna Keilar, who is standing by because we are waiting for the president to specifically designate these, what, six cities or regions of the country where he has deemed necessary to help infuse job creation, tax breaks, et cetera. Tell me more about this.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, these are called economic promise zones. This is something, Brooke, that President Obama mentioned almost a year ago in his state of the union address and is announcing now. And one of the really interesting things about what's going on inside the White House is, guess who is at this event. Mitch McConnell, who is the top Republican in the Senate, as well as Rand Paul, Kentucky senator, because one of these zones is actually southeastern Kentucky, which, of course, is in their state. And they've expressed skepticism that this is anything but a distraction from Obamacare woes. That's what they say. But they also say that it's similar to something they've supported in terms of economic programs in an economically depressed area and so they're here for this event, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And here he is. Let's listen to the president.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, welcome to the White House, everybody. And that was one of the best instructions I've ever had. So, we're so proud of Kiara (ph) for that intersection and for sharing your story and, you know, you're just so poised and I know Jeff Candid (ph) is just out there all excited and proud. So - and I know your mom's proud. I know she is. She should be.

You know, Kiara and the rest of these young people grew up in a 97 square block section of Harlem. And it's a place where the odds used to be stacked against them every single day. Even just graduating from high school was a challenge. But with the help of some very dedicated adults and a program called the Harlem's Children Zone, they're right on track to go to college. Together, students, teachers, administrators, parents, community, they're changing the odds in this neighborhood. And that's what we're here to talk about today, changing the odds for every American child so that no matter who they are, not matter where they are born, they have a chance to succeed in today's economy.

Now, the good news is that thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the American people, all across the country over the last five years, our economy has grown strongly. Our business has now created more than 8 million new jobs since the depths of the recession, our manufacturing, our housing sectors are rebounding. Our energy and technology and auto industries are booming. And we've got to keep our economy growing. We've got to make sure that everybody is sharing in that growth. We've got to create - keep creating jobs and then we've got to make sure that wages and benefits are such that families can rebuild a little bit of security. We've got to make sure this recovery, which is real, leaves nobody behind.

And that's going to be my focus throughout the year. This is going to be a year of action. That's what the American people expect and they're ready and willing to pitch in and help. This is not just a job for everybody, this is a job for everybody. Working people are looking for the kind of stable, secure jobs that too often went overseas in the past couple of decades. So next week I'll join companies and colleges and take action to boost high tech manufacturing, the kind that attracts good, new jobs and helps grow a middle class.

Business owners are ready to play their part to hire more workers. So this month I'm going to host CEOs here at the White House not once but twice, first to lay out specific steps we can take to help more workers earn the skills that they need for today's new jobs, second they're going to announce commitments that we're making to put more of the long-term employed back to work.

And on January 28th, in my State of the Union Address -- which I want all the legislations here to know I'm going to try to keep a little shorter than usual. They're cheering silently - I will mobilize the country around the national mission of making sure our economy offers every American who works hard a fair shot at success. Anybody in this country who works hard should have a fair shot at success, period. It doesn't matter where they come from, what region of the country, what they look like, what their last name is, they should be able to succeed.

And, you know, obviously we're coming off of a rancorous political year, but I genuinely believe that this is not a partisan issue. Because when you talk to the American people, you know that there are people working in soup kitchens and people who are mentoring and people who are starting small businesses and hiring their neighbors and very rarely are they checking are they Democrat or Republican. Now there's a sense of neighborliness that's inherent in the American people, we just have to tap into that.

And I've been very happy to see that there are Republicans like Rand Paul, who's here today, who are ready to engage in this debate. That's a good thing. We've got, you know, Democratic and Republican elected officials across the country who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. And this should be a challenge that unites us all. I don't care whether the ideas are Democrat or Republican. I do care that they work. I do care that they are subject to evaluation and we can see if we are using tax dollars in a certain way, if we're starting a certain program, I want to make sure that young people like Kiara are actually benefiting from it.

Now, it's one thing to say we should help more Americans get ahead, but talk is cheap. We've got to actually make sure that we do it. And I will work with anybody who's willing to lay out some concrete ideas to create jobs and help more middle class families find security in today's economy and offer new ladders of opportunity for folks to climb into the middle class. And personally I hope we start by