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Patty Glaser Rumored to Represent Sterling; Is Monica Lewinsky Comeback Staged by Clintons; New Video on 15-Year-Old Stowaway.
Aired May 07, 2014 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: An L.A. sports grade (ph) is commenting about an L.A. sports pariah. Former Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, says he has known the shamed owner of the Clippers for the past 30 years and is not surprised by what he was caught saying. Lasorda had this to say about Donald Sterling and his ex-girlfriend who taped his racist comments. She is known as V. Stiviano.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY LASORDA, FORMER DODGERS MANAGER: He shouldn't have said it. And it just hurt himself by talking too much and doing things that he shouldn't be doing. And I tell you, I don't wish that girl any bad luck but I hope she gets hit with a car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: All kidding aside, Sterling is facing a serious legal battle as he reportedly plans to challenge the NBA's move to sell his team. Who could be leading the fight?
Here's CNN's Deb Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If he has any chance of keeping this --
(SHOUTING)
FEYERICK: -- Clippers owner Donald Sterling has to fight this.
(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)
DONALD STERLING, OWNER, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: And don't bring them to my games. OK?
(END AUDIO FEED)
FEYERICK: And he is going to need a go-for-the-jugular, no-holds- barred lawyer, the kind who defends clients like Paula Dean after she was caught using a racial slur in 2013.
PAUL DEAN, TELEVISION CHIEF: I want to apologize to everybody for the wrong that I have done.
FEYERICK: That lawyer, according to TMZ Sports, is Patty Glaser, who would not confirm that she is working for Sterling but is certainly a logical choice. Glaser got the charges against dean thrown out. She also successfully defended Kelsey Grammer.
PATRICIA GLASER, L.A. ATTORNEY: He doesn't want to be treated specially because he's a celebrity but he doesn't want to be penalized for it either.
FEYERICK: And Glaser successfully represented Conan O'Brien in 2010 during contract talks when he left as host of "The Tonight Show."
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, THE LATE SHOW WITH CONAN OBRIEN: How can I get NBC to screw me over?
(LAUGHTER)
MARK GERAGOS, TRIAL ATTORNEY: If she comes in there and represents the interest of the trust, I think she's on much more solid legal ground than if she comes in and just represents Sterling.
FEYERICK: And it's not just Glaser. Sterling is talking to a number of high-profile lawyers. One of the first orders of business for in lawyer Sterling potentially hires will likely be figuring out whether the tapes were recorded legally under California law, second, whether it's legal to force a sale of such a valuable team.
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: The players' association for the league needs to start thinking about the contingency plan. What are you going to do for those Clippers players who no longer want to play for a man profiting off of their skills and talent.
FEYERICK: Strategically, some experts say Sterling's lawyers could hire investigators to dig up dirt on the opposition. One time friends, now potential enemies.
DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: These owners may have to give up information that they may not want out in the public. That is why part of any litigation is whether or not Donald Sterling will win but what do the other parties have to lose if this case goes to litigation?
FEYERICK (on camera): And, of course, there is the question of who actually owns the Clippers. Is it Donald? Wife, Shelly? Is it both through the Sterling family trust? Trusts are crafted to protect family property. That strategy could very well apply ultimately to ownership of the team.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Thank you, Deb.
Let's bring in CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin.
Sunny, why wouldn't a law firm want to take this? You would definitely get publicity even if it's not definitely positive and certainly you would make a lot of money.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And you get paid.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Yeah.
HOSTIN: Which is one of the reasons why lawyers sometimes don't take cases because they're afraid they won't get paid.
I think there is that notion perhaps among lawyers that they don't want to be affiliated with a known bigot or racist. I don't think that he's going to have a problem actually finding a very, very good lawyer. There is just no question about it. Many lawyers I have spoken to feel that the NBA constitution is less than clear. I think a lot of lawyers will want to be up to that challenge.
KEILAR: That he has a legal if not moral case?
HOSTIN: Right.
KEILAR: When Sterling hires an attorney, what is the first thing that that lawyer needs to do?
HOSTIN: Get his or her arms around the facts. That lawyer is going to try to stop this train. He has already been suspended for life. He's been fined. The lawyers thinks, how do I fix that. If I can't fix that, how do I stop the NBA from taking the team from him? That's the first order to business, fixing what happened and then looking forward to what seemingly is going to happen, which is forcing him to sell the team.
KEILAR: Sunny Hostin, thanks for your input on that.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
KEILAR: And coming up, Monica Lewinski is back in the spotlight. Why now? Lynne Cheney, wife of the former vice president, believes that it is been staged by the Clintons. We will be discussing that right after this.
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KEILAR: Former "American Idol" star, Clay Aiken, is clinging to a teeny tiny edge in his first political race. And right now the Democratic primary for North Carolina's second congressional district, it is just too close to call. Aiken is ahead only by 369 votes, proving he is not invisible to voters in his native state.
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(SINGING) (END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: He does have different hair in his campaign videos for sure. Back in 2003, he got a record deal after finishing second on "American Idol" to winner, Rueben Studdard. Aiken's the current opponent, Democrat Keith Crisco, says he will decide tomorrow on any possible recount requests. The primary winner will face Republican incumbent Congresswoman Renae Elmers in the November election. When the woman threw a shoe at Hillary Clinton, some conservatives, Rush Limbaugh among them, spun theories of a set up. When Chelsea Clinton announced her pregnancy, other conservatives claimed a campaign stunt for her possible run for the White House. Now Monica Lewinski, that piece in "Vanity Fair" coming out tomorrow, this is sounding a bit like a trend. Listen to Lynne Cheney on FOX News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYNNE CHENEY, WIFE OF FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: I really wonder if this isn't an effort on the Clinton's part to get that story out of the way. Would "Vanity Fair" publish anything about Monica Lewinski that Hillary Clinton didn't want in "Vanity Fair"?
UNIDENTIFIED FOX HOST: That's very interesting. I love this theory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So three alleged Clinton conspiracies in the course of a mere month. Let's talk about Monica Lewinski.
Ana Navarro with us, a Republican strategist and CNN political commentator; also here, Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona, also a CNN political commentator.
Ana, start with you.
Some say this is good for Hillary Clinton. It gets the Monica Lewinsky out of the way well before she might declare. Others are saying this is designed to hurt her. You're not buying either of these, right?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't think there is any political conspiracy in the works here. Not everything has to be a political conspiracy. I can tell you that I have talked to many Republicans. I was on the Hill today. Nobody's talking about this. Nobody wants to talk about this. This is a no winner. There is no way to win with this topic in politics. It does not hurt Hillary. They have survived in politics for all of this time. She became a Senator. And it really is a toxic issue.
I think this is about Monica Lewinski turning 40. It makes you take stock of your life, look back and figure out, what do I do, what do I need to do. I think that's where she is and she's trying to take the narrative back. I think it would be a heck of a conspiracy involving "Vanity Fair" and Monica Lewinski and the Clintons. It sounds a little surreal to me.
KEILAR: I have to agree with you on that.
Maria, when you're talking about this dredging up the 90s and you heard -- a lot of people just don't want to do this. Whether it's good or bad or neutral, on a personal level, this is not what she wants people focused on. This was a terribly painful time for her. How does this story affect her calculus as she decides whether to run, whether she wants stuff like this coming out here in the next couple of years?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR & DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think it really affects her calculus. If there's one thing we have learned about Hillary, it's that her strength is immeasurable. I think what her calculus will be in terms of whether she's going to run or not is, what does she have to offer this country. She's talking about every single issue that is facing our country today. She did it yesterday, she is doing it today. She is on the circuit with speeches about income equality for women, about girl's and women's leadership around the world. Those are the things that are going to be actually making the calculus in Hillary Clinton's mind as to whether she's going to run or not. This was absolutely incredibly painful episode for her. This issue, back in the 90s, had absolutely nothing to do with Hillary. And it will have nothing to do with her politically if she decides to run.
KEILAR: So, Ana, Rand Paul, possibly Republican White House hopeful, he's taken to calling Bill Clinton a predator. Again, dating back to Lewinski. Let's listen back to what he said very recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL, (R), KENTUCKY: The Democrats can't say we're the great defenders of women's rights in the workplace and we will defend you against some kind of abusive bosses that uses their position of authority to take advantage of a young woman when the leader in their party is Bill Clinton who is a perpetrator of that kind of sexual harassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So he was asked this. He was responding to a very specific question about this. But whether one agrees with what Rand Paul is saying or not, it's sounding pretty 90s. Here we are in 2014. What kind of strategy is this? It doesn't sound like you think it's a winning one.
NAVARRO: What's old is new again. I think we have picked out with Cheney and Rand Paul, two rare voices in the Republican Party. I have also heard people, today, on TV, say that it's a vast Republican conspiracy to get this out. I think it's neither. And I think the majority of Republicans are not shaking this mantle, are not trying to wave this banner. This is not a good political issue, particularly for my party. We have a problem with women. And I don't know any woman who wants to drudge up a painful episode for another woman. I think we need to scrutinize Hillary Clinton's record. She's got a record as a first lady, as a Senator, in the private sector and she's got a record as secretary of state. If anything, this distracts from looking at that record. She needs to stand on her accomplishments and failures in her career but this has no place in scrutinizing Hillary Clinton.
KEILAR: Yeah, have a more substantive conversation.
Maria, I have talked with a whole bunch of young voters. This is a big group. There are many voters who did not vote in 2008 who don't give two hoots about the 90s. It just doesn't resonate with them. Do people even care?
CARDONA: No. And I think this is the problem in the right wing conspiracy including Lynne Cheney. It's not a winning strategy for Republicans. Sensible Republicans understand that. But there are still those for whom this is political crack for the voter base. That's why they were talking about it last night on Bill O'Reilly. It will backfire not only because the Republicans have a huge problem with women and they don't want to alienate them more than they already have. But to your point, today's elect rat is very different than what it was in the 90s. This is certainly not an issue that speaks to young voters, to African-American voters, to women that are making up this America. It will be a losing proposition.
KEILAR: A lot of agreement on this panel.
(CROSSTALK)
NAVARRO: I think we do have to point out that no potential Republican candidate is really out talking about this issue involving Monica.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Rand Paul brought it up. Let's hope that he doesn't any more.
KEILAR: We'll see.
Ana Navarro, Maria Cardona, thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Remember that young stowaway who hopped a flight to Hawaii in the plane's wheel well? Now there is video of that young man climbing out of the plane and you really have to see this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Incredible images coming from NASA. You're looking at the clearest images from a solar explosion.
Joining me now to tell us exactly what this is, CNN's Chad Myers.
It's not a solar flare. What exactly is it?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's cool pictures. It's a piece of plasma that got stuck between two magnetic fields. Just really cool stuff. There it is. All of the sudden shot off into space. You can see pictures like this all the time at nasa.gov. This is actually what our sun looks like right now. Please don't go out and look at it. Look at it on the website. It's cooler here because the solar dynamics observatory takes this. The pictures that we see from the sun are phenomenal. You can't get anything like this looking at it. So please do not. Use nasa.gov. Lots of great solar flares on that website. Cool pictures, Brianna.
KEILAR: Childhood 101, do not look at the sun. Right? Didn't your mom tell you that?
MYERS: Exactly.
KEILAR: Chad Myers, thanks for that.
And coming up next, remember that young stowaway who hopped a flight to Hawaii in the plane's wheel well? Well, there is video of him now climbing out of that plane.
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KEILAR: Watch this closely. Video of that 15-year-old who stowed away in the wheel well of a jet has finally been released.
Here is CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This newly released video clearly shows someone emerging from the rear of the plane. Authorities say it's the 15-year-old California stowaway coming out of the wheel well of the Boeing 767 that landed in Hawaii. Moments later, it appears the young man is dazed.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: You can see he is obviously affected by 5.5 hours well above 3500 feet. He staggers around. He is clearly affected.
SIMON: The boy continues walking until he gets past the stairs of the jet way. Eventually you see him talking with an airport worker. If there were any lingering doubts about the story, this video should put that skepticism to death.
EMANUAEL GOLLA, CLASSMATE: From what I know, he was a really shy person. He didn't talk a lot. He mostly kept to himself.
SIMON: The reserved high school sophomore, identified as Ya Ya Obvi (ph), told investigators he was trying to get to Somalia to see his mother and had no clue where the plane was headed. It's believed that he hopped a fence shortly after 1:00 a.m. on April 20 and stayed on the grounds for nearly seven hours before the plane took off.
Medical experts say the lack of oxygen and sub-zero temperatures put the boy in a state of hibernation.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Because of the hibernation, he may not have needed as much oxygen. SIMON: He is now back in California and in the custody of child welfare officials. Local police want to conduct another round of interviews. They have not ruled out charges. If it's anything, it would be trespassing.
Though, as some have noted, his disorienting journey would have been punishment enough.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
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KEILAR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Pamela Brown, in today for Brooke Baldwin.
