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Hillary Clinton Town Hall; Iraq Blame Game Goes on in Washington; GM Recalls Three Million More Cars; Dr. Oz Testifies on the Hill about Diet Scams

Aired June 17, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I've got a question for you. If you can ask Hillary Clinton one question, just one question, what would it be, seriously?

Well CNN is now giving you the chance to do that. In just a few hours, the former presidential candidate will be taking your questions live in an exclusive CNN Town Hall -- live pictures of the museum -- that's where it's going to happen. And that's where Brianna Keilar is where it all goes down. I call her BK. Good morning BK. What's going on?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Don. Well we are awaiting this event that is going to be pretty interesting because this is the only televised network town hall that Hillary Clinton is participating in around the roll out of her book "Hard Choices".

So this is pretty interesting as she eyes obviously a 2016 presidential run she says she's not decided on that but obviously she's potentially crafting her campaign message as she's on this book tour doing a lot of interviews, doing events including this one.

There's going to be a live audience at this event Don. But also there are other ways for people to participate. And if you have a question for Hillary Clinton it's actually something that you can submit as CNN curates (ph) the question. You can go to CNN.com/town hall. We're having folks submit questions through Tumbler; there's still some time to do that and then as this gets underway at 5:00 Eastern if you want to participate in the conversation around it you can do so on Twitter with the #CNNTownHall -- Don.

LEMON: What did you do this time Brianna? Are they coming after you is that the cops coming to get you there in D.C. with all the sirens?

KEILAR: It's D.C. you know there's always -- there's always something going on.

LEMON: Always an entourage, a motorcade or something.

Listen Iraq and Benghazi. Iraq in the news right now Benghazi almost certainly to come up. What are the topics and the questions do you think that people are sending in and they are talking about the most online? Is it Iraq, Benghazi, is it other things?

KEILAR: Well I don't know -- I'll tell you straight up I don't know exactly what the most popular topic is. But there are no -- all topics are on the table here and Secretary Clinton doesn't know what questions are going to be asked.

There is a team at CNN working with our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour who will be moderating this town hall. The questions at this point are very closely guarded. They are still being curated as people submit them online in the way that I told you to do. But no topic is off the table. So she might be asked about some of the areas where she differs with President Obama -- Syria, for instance.

LEMON: Right.

KEILAR: Her role in the Russian reset; whether she's going to run for president. She's been asked that a lot, and she always kind of has to come up with a different way to dodge the question. So we'll see -- yes I know that one exhausts you, Don --

LEMON: It does because she's already running. She's already running and she's using the media, she's using the book; she's playing us and we'll falling right into it. She's running already without declaring. That's what she's doing.

KEILAR: Well she's certainly -- she is positioning herself for doing that, but I think there's also a desire to say on the part of her and her team to say that she's not. I really actually think she hasn't completely made up her mind, but I also think that there is peril in throwing herself into that political spotlight.

You've seen Don her approval rating when she left the State Department a year ago 67 percent. I mean that's to make a politician swoon. Well it's now as she's been seen for a more political lens 55 percent.

So she doesn't want to get out ahead of this too much, but she is certainly positioning herself for a potential run and she is heads and shoulders ahead of all the other possible Democrats in the field right now when it comes to the polls.

LEMON: Listen, I'm not criticizing her. I think that what she's doing is very smart. I think listen now is the time, that there's going to be a woman, lots of women are wanting for her to step up to the plate, as we have been showing you in the CNN promos and they will be asking questions tonight. I think it's all but inevitable. She's a political animal and she's -- her time I believe is right now.

Brianna thank you we'll be watching tonight. Make sure you stay tuned tonight 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Christiane Amanpour hosts a global town hall with Hillary Clinton. And don't forget she will be taking your questions 5:00 p.m. Eastern. And then again it's going to replay at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN so make sure you tune in. And still to come, the blame game over Iraq now heating up in

Washington. Is it President Obama's fault? Some say yes it is. Michelle Kosinski is live at the White House for us. Good morning to you Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi Don yes it's been all about no boots on the ground up until now but there are some boots on the ground in Iraq. We'll tell you all about that and more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This hour, the fighting in Iraq inches closer to Baghdad as Islamic militants reach a city of Baqubah that's less than 40 miles away from the Iraqi capital. Back in Washington, time is not on the side of President Obama as he meets with his national security team. His national security team and he tells Congress that he is sending up 275 troops to the region.

Others in Washington are playing the blame game.

I want you to listen to what Ambassador Paul Bremer the former presidential envoy to Iraq told Erin Burnett just last night. A fascinating conversation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: I want to make it clear you are not trying to blame President Obama for anything that's gone wrong, are you?

AMBASSADOR PAUL BREMER, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY TO IRAQ: am saying that his decision to withdraw all the troops at the end of 2011 was a serious mistake.

BURNETT: Right but I'm saying that wasn't his position.

BREMER: And I'm on the record as saying that -- I'm on the record as saying that, three years ago. Yes, it was, Erin. It was

BURNETT: But it was President Bush who signed that agreement in 2008 that promised that all those troops would be removed at the end of 2011?

BREMER: The planning in 2011 leaked very heavily from the Pentagon and the White House was to keep 20,000 to 30,000 troops after 2011.

BURNETT: Right.

BREMER: The White House then leaked that they really wanted only to keep 3,000. Then they said to al-Maliki, not only do we want a status of forces agreement but you have to get it through your parliament. So the first time to my knowledge since 1945, we have 84 SOFA agreements around the world. We were telling the post government how they should proceed in approving that Status of Forces Agreement. That put al-Maliki in an impossible political situation. BURNETT: But weren't we trying to have him do it in a democratic way

and have his country agree? Hold on -- can you answer that question. Wasn't he trying to use his parliament in a way to have them democratically support the agreement?

BREMER: I will after I answer the question. I'll answer your next question. Usually the system goes you ask a question, the guest answers it, then you ask your next question.

BURNETT: That is true. I felt like I had given you plenty of time on the prior question. So as long you finish it, please answer the one I just asked.

BREMER: From al-Maliki's point of view we had said we were going to have only 3,000 troops there. That means in effect they would do nothing. They would sit at the Baqubah Air force base and protect themselves. It's less than a brigade they would not be able to have any effective counter insurgency or basically any major training.

So we put al-Maliki in an impossible situation with that demand and effectively I think in many ways, there are a lot of town who believe and I am among them that this suited the President's purpose. He didn't want to have to keep the troops there. Certainly everything he has done since then in Libya and in Syria speaks very highly of a desire to get out of this region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Of course Michelle Kosinski joins us now. Good morning to you Michelle. Ambassador Bremer though is not alone in his thinking. I spoke with Bill Kristol last night. He thinks along the same lines. Is the White House gaining any support with this?

KOSINSKI: Yes I mean some. It depends on how you look at it. I mean there has been a lot of criticism out there. But when you really look at the totality of that criticism, I think in some sense it's not really sure what to rest on. And there is divergence within the criticism.

I mean some of the critics are wanting air strikes now over Iraq. Others are saying no because we don't have enough intelligence. So there's differing opinions on what to do. And some of that criticism focuses on what Obama did in the past, some on what's being said and done right now and some on what kind of plan are we going to have for the future.

But I think John Boehner said it, he voiced support in fact last night after the announcement came that President Obama has already sent some troops to Iraq.

Now just to parse this out, these are not combat boots on the ground, so to speak, but they are troops on the ground to defend the U.S. embassy part of which has already had to be evacuated. And then more troops at the ready. He said OK that's a good idea. I support sending troops but we really need to have a comprehensive strategy moving forward. So there's still kind of criticism within that support, but Bremer,

he's been a pretty outspoken critic. And he said in an op-ed this week in "The Wall Street Journal" that this situation right now is a flashing warning light for a reductionist national security policy that sends a message of weakness to our friends and enemies.

But again there are people out there even among critics who support the sending of troops initially which is what President Obama announced yesterday -- Don.

LEMON: It is a very testy situation. People from the past coming back and there are contentious battles about who is right and who is wrong and this is going to play out for quite some time now. Michelle will be at the White House covering it all for us. Thank you, Michelle Kosinski I appreciate that.

And still to come here on CNN more trouble for GM this morning. Another three million plus cars recalled due to an ignition switch defect. A look at the vehicles affected -- that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: General Motors dealing with yet another round of recall. This time more than three million cars are affected. The problem deals with an ignition switch defect which can turn off the engine, disabling the airbag, power steering and the anti-lock brakes. Of course, that's a problem. This year alone the company has recalled more than 20 million vehicles.

And our Poppy Harlow is here with more. Same issue that we have been talking about -- that link to the death of 13 people?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Sure, it's a stunning issue. This is three million plus cars. I mean let's show on the screen while we talk so you can see the ones from Buicks to Cadillacs to Chevys -- if you have one of these cars, you need to get it fixed.

The issue is that the key can be inadvertently knocked from run to accessory position. And as you said that shuts off the airbag, power steering, et cetera. It has been linked to 13 deaths. This is on top of the recall of 2.6 million other cars earlier this year for the same exact issue -- that recall that GM delayed for more than 10 years.

We know GM is saying that this problem is tied to eight crashes, six injuries. They are going to fix the keys on all of these cars. It's not the exact same ignition switch problem but it's very similar to the issue that they have been having all year long. They're going to fix the keys. For now, if you have one of these cars, you have to remove anything you have on your key ring, so it can't get knocked or jostled if you go over a bump or your knee hits the ignition thread.

LEMON: These are very popular models that we put up on the screen --

HARLOW: Right.

LEMON: I think it's important to put them up again. It was Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac.

HARLOW: Sure. I mean they're cars from 2000 to 2014. You've got the Buick LaCrosse, the Chevrolet Impala, you've got the Chevy Monte Carlo, you have a lot here. You can go on cnnmoney.com and see what they are. But, you know, this coming before Mary Barra, the CEO of GM --

LEMON: She's testifying.

HARLOW: -- she's going to testify tomorrow in Washington, D.C. before a House committee. She testified in April and she wasn't able to or didn't answer a lot of questions. She kept saying we are investigating, we are investigating. Why this company for 11 years didn't tell the public about this deadly defect.

Tomorrow she's going to have to answer those questions because that internal investigation has come out, and they want to know things like how could GM not have known this was a safety issue or is this internal report the end of your investigation. They also want to know how GM engineers didn't link the problem over a decade to airbags not deploying. So some tough questions she's going to face from lawmakers on the Hill.

LEMON: Can the company -- I know it's a real serious issue -- but can the company sustain this? I mean is it affecting cutting into the profits at all or no?

HARLOW: They can sustain this. No, they are extremely profitable. They have had their best sales in six years. It seems like people aren't thinking about the recall. It's not affecting them buying GM cars. They have a lot of money, they can sustain this. It's already cost them nearly $2 billion.

LEMON: Thank you Poppy Harlow.

HARLOW: You got it.

LEMON: Appreciate it.

Poppy keeping a close eye on that story. And still to come here. You may know him for his popular TV shows but now some people are accusing Dr. Oz of being nothing more than a scam artist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MEHMET OZ: You may think magic is make-believe but this little bean has scientists saying they have found a magic weight loss cure for every body type. It's green coffee beans and when turned into a supplement, this miracle pill can burn fat fast for anyone who wants to lose weight.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: He's one of the most famous doctors in America but now some people are accusing him of being a scammer. This morning, Dr. Oz is facing tough questions on Capitol Hill on the hearing about deceptive advertising for weight loss products.

Senator Claire McCaskill who chairs the Senate subcommittee holding the hearing says some weight loss companies may be putting out false claims and people like Dr. Oz part of the problem. McCaskill isn't the only one taking aim at celebrity -- this celebrity position. Just check out this headline. It's from the "Daily Beast" and it reads, "Dr. Oz, world's best snake oil salesman".

Rene Marsh is in Washington. Rene -- what is going on?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well Don, you know, Dr. Oz, you saw the live feed there, it is still going on. He's still on the hot seat here on Capitol Hill and the daytime show host whose show often focuses on weight loss issues is frequently cited in false ads promising dramatic weight loss.

Senator McCaskill is holding that hearing and she talked about the so- called Oz effect and she had some tough questions for him. She said intentional or not, the senator believes that Dr. Oz has made these products very successful, but Dr. Oz defended himself saying he is also a victim. Fraudsters just take any simple mention of any product that he has on his show and they make it into an ad claiming his support for the product.

Take a listen to Dr. Oz just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: These ads take money from trusting viewers many of whom believe I'm actually selling the items. Just to be clear in case it comes up, I have never sold supplements. I encourage a nation searching for answers to their health woes. We often address weight loss because as you all mentioned, it affects about two-thirds of the population. The only message I gave was to eat less and move more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right. So there you go -- again, defending himself here on Capitol Hill. As you know, obesity is a major issue here in our country and this committee is looking for a way to tackle this issue where companies are essentially duping American customers who want to lose weight.

We should let you know that the weight loss industry netted about $60 billion in the year 2013. That's according to one estimate. So it's a huge industry and what they are trying to crack down on are people who are selling products that don't actually do what they say they do -- Don.

LEMON: Interesting. Interesting thought about doctors and lawyers on television, huh? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Getting close to the top of the hour so we want to check your top stories for you.

Comedian Tracy Morgan has been upgraded from critical to fair condition and his publicist says he is showing signs of his personality again. He has been in the hospital since June 7th after a Wal-Mart truck slammed into his limo bus. One of Morgan's friends died. Trucker Kevin Roper has been charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto. He has pleaded not guilty.

Congress is putting pressure on the IRS for some answers. The agency's commissioner John Koskinen will testify before two House committees next week after disclosing the IRS lost thousands of e- mails sought by investigators. The emails belonged to former manager Lois Lerner who is accused of targeting Tea Party and other groups' tax exemption applications. The IRS claims the emails were destroyed when Lerner's hard drive crashed back in 2011.

L.A. Clippers fans -- or L.A. Kings fans -- excuse me -- L.A. Kings fans cheering the team's second Stanley Cup in three years and the city's mayor Eric Garcetti going all out in comments at the Staples Center celebration. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC GARCETTI, MAYOR, LOS ANGELES: There are two rules in politics. They say never, ever be pictured with a drink in your hand and never swear but this is a big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) day. Way to go guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The mayor was actually mimicking comments from Kings goalie Jonathan Quick after the team's last Stanley Cup celebration. Congratulations to the Kings. And congratulations to Team USA as well; we are all watching and we are all very excited and happy for you. Keep going. Keep going.

Thanks for joining me today. I'm Don Lemon.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" starts right now.