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Staffer Fired from Benghazi Committee; Twin Blasts in Turkey Kill At Least 95 People; Ugly Tweets Tarnish Mendoza's MLB Debut; Biden Supporters Await Decision on Presidential Run; YouTube is 10. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 10, 2015 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:09] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Seven o'clock Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

Breaking news this hour on the Benghazi terror attack investigation. A staffer fired from the House Select Committee looking into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, and now that same staffer, Major Bradley Podliska, is accusing the Republican-led panel of a politically motivated investigation targeting Hillary Clinton.

The House Select Committee on Benghazi is firing back tonight. A spokesman citing Major Podliska's, quote, "repeated efforts of his own violation to develop and direct committee resources to a PowerPoint hit piece on members of the Obama administration, including Secretary Clinton that bore no relationship whatsoever to the committee's current investigative tone, focus or investigative plan."

Joining me now CNN investigative reporter Chris Frates in Washington with all of the details.

What do we know at this hour?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESONDENT: Hey, Poppy.

So, a former staffer investigating the Benghazi attacks says the panel's probe has become a politically motivated inquiry targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It's a politically explosive charge and it sure to resonate on the campaign trail as Clinton runs for president. Major Bradley Podliska, an Air Force reserve intelligence officer, says that after news broke earlier this year that Clinton used a private e-mail server, the Republican- controlled committee set its sight almost exclusively on Clinton. Podliska says he was fired as a committee investigator because he resisted the pressure to focus on Clinton. And because he took military leaves.

He says he plans to file a lawsuit over his firing and asked the court to give back his job with back pay.

Now, Podliska, a self-described conservative Republican tells CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive television interview that what was a broad probe into the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi became a, quote, "partisan investigation."

He says the committee pulled resources away from other people and agencies to focus almost exclusively on Clinton and the State Department.

He says, quote, "Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We, however, did not need to, shift resources to hyper focus on Hillary Clinton. We didn't need to deemphasize and in some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations, and different individuals. There's wrongdoing here. And I think it needs to stop."

A spokesperson for the committee said in a statement that Podliska's claims are transparently false. Podliska, the statement says, was terminated for cause, including for trying to put together a hit piece on administration officials, including Clinton. The statement said, quote, "Thus, directly contrary to his brand new assertion, the employee actually was terminated, in part , because he himself manifested improper partiality and animus in his investigative work."

Now, the other thing that is brand-new tonight. We're getting some reaction from the Clinton campaign, Poppy. I have a statement here from Brian Fallon. He is the spokesman for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

And he tells me, quote, "These are explosive allegations. These Republican whistleblower's account from inside the Benghazi committee and may provide the most definitive proof to date that this taxpayer funded investigation has been a partisan sham from the start." So, there you have Brian Fallon, the spokesperson for Hillary Clinton.

Remember, Poppy, Clinton has said from the beginning that she felt like this work was a partisan, the work of partisans who are trying to uncover dirt about her because she was running for president. Certainly, we are seeing that reflected in the statement from her spokesperson tonight.

HARLOW: We are certainly. But let's just keep in mind as we do analyze this next with David Gergen, this is also someone who has come out after they have been fired and is making these assertions.

Chris Frates, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

This report just days ahead of CNN's Democratic presidential debate, which is on Tuesday night.

Joining me on the phone, CNN senior political analyst, David Gergen. A former adviser to four presidents.

David, to you, I want to play something for our viewers. This is sound from Kevin McCarthy, who until days ago was running to the House speaker answering a question from a journalist about whether or not his comments about the Benghazi commissions inquiry affecting Hillary Clinton's poll numbers, whether that is part of why he pulled his name out of the race for speaker. Let's roll that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: When you look at the poll numbers of Hillary Clinton, they dropped.

[19:05:00] JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, STATE OF THE UNION: Right.

MCCARTHY: Unfavorables pretty high, because people say they don't trust her. They don't trust her because of what they found out about the server and everything else.

Would you have ever found that out had you not gathered the information from the Benghazi Select Committee?

Well, that wasn't helpful. Yes, I mean, I could have said it much better. But this Benghazi committee was only created for one purpose, to find the truth on behalf of the families of the four dead Americans. I should not be a distraction for that. And that's part of the decision as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. So there you have both, David Gergen. What do you say about how the findings hurt Hillary Clinton's poll numbers and then what he said when a journalist asked him, is that part of why you pulled out of the run for speaker. What do you make of all of this?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, these are explosive charges. And Kevin McCarthy made a first class blunder and it did cause him I think contributes to the recent fact that he is not going to become speaker. And I think he played -- sort of gave credibility to the worst fear Democrats have had about this all along. That it is a witch-hunt against Hillary Clinton. It has real repercussions.

Back to your caution, though, Poppy, we can't tell whether this Podliska, who has just come on the scene, we can't tell whether he's an honest whistle-blower or just a employee trying to get revenge because he was fired.

You know, working in his favor in terms of his credibility, the fact that he has been an intelligence investigator for over a decade. He has worked his way up to major. He is a conservative Republican or he seems to be. And a Republican majority on the committee hired him. So, they must have had some faith in him when they hired him.

Having said that, there are some big questions that arise about this. Why was he fired? And this was long before he came forward with these things. Very importantly, he was fired back in June.

HARLOW: Right. GERGEN: Why is he now coming forward almost on the eve of hearings

that are coming 10 days from now? Almost literally on the eve of the Democratic debate. Whose load is he really carrying here?

I think one of the reasons people should tune in to Jake Tapper tomorrow is to get a sense of who is this guy? Should we respect him, or is he a flake?

HARLOW: That's a great point. Jake Tapper will have this exclusive interview with the man you see on your screen there, General Podliska, talking to him on "STATE OF THE UNION" at 9:00 a.m.

David Gergen, as we talk about what is next here, I want to show on the screen the pictures of the four Americans who were killed in that attack in 2012. Let us not forget this is all about getting answers as to how this could happen. Ambassador Chris Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, former Navy SEALs Tyrone Wood and Glen Doherty.

As we look at them, Hillary Clinton will face this exact committee on October 22nd. And answer more questions. How does that change things?

GERGEN: Well, obviously that depends on how the testimony turns out and what, if any, information the committee has dug up since they called her. Are we just going to have a rehash of what we already know? Or is there going to be something new? I think we're all going to be hanging on that.

There's no question that the McCarthy -- Kevin McCarthy statement is going to give a lot of thought to Democrats on the defensive going into this. This just adds to that.

What I think you're going to wind up with in the committee is very likely an effort by the Democrats to kill the committee altogether or to a vote should we continue the existence of this committee. And you'll probably have a party line vote. And like so many other things, the country will be divided when this all over, about whether this guy is telling the truth.

HARLOW: Let's remember, it is a Republican-led committee, but it is a bipartisan committee with Republicans and Democrats.

GERGEN: Yes, absolutely. It is controlled by the Republicans, which is important. But the other guys hired this guy, Podliska.

So, By the way, there are other people in the community. Podliska was apparently close to Jim Jordan, the Republican. Let's hear from him about what he -- you know, you don't have a judgment about who was Podliska, why we fired him and why we made that decision now that he comes forward with they claim were pony charges that are intended to sensationalize during his hearing. So, there are more chutes to drop in this.

HARLOW: We'll be watching. For all of you watching, go to CNN.com right now. All the details on this story head of Jake Tapper's exclusive interview tomorrow morning. [19:10:01] David Gergen, thank you.

GERGEN: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: That is "STATE OF THE UNION", 9:00 a.m. Eastern with Jake Tapper.

Also this, just in to CNN, the Pentagon now saying the families of victims of the U.S. airstrike on the hospital in northern Afghanistan in Kunduz will be financially compensated. That is the Doctors Without Borders hospital. A spokesman did not say how much the victims' families would be compensated but did say authorization from Congress would be sought if necessary.

This after President Obama personally apologized to the head of the Doctors Without Borders for that strike, again, which killed 22 people.

Coming up, we go to Turkey. A devastating bomb attack in Turkey. Scores dead, hundreds injured. How could this happen? Who is responsible? We'll discuss it.

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HARLOW: President Obama offering his condolences tonight to his Turkish counterpart after the country's deadliest attack in nearly a century. President Obama saying Americans stand in solidarity with the Turkish people in there fight against terrorism. At least 95 people were killed, nearly 250 others injured when twin bombs exploded at a peace rally today in the heart of the capital of Ankara. Those numbers coming from the Turkish prime minister who say there are signs that two suicide bombers may be to blame.

So far, there has not been a claim to responsibility. The huge security breach comes amid Turkey's growing role in the fight against ISIS and follows a recent surge in violence between Turkey and Kurdish separatists.

CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon is on the ground and has more and explains that even before the victims have been laid to rest, this issue is already becoming politicized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is here where the autopsies are taking place, where people have gathered, some of them waiting to collect the remains of their loved ones. Others, friends, just coming to show their support outside of one of the hospitals. Two people had gathered also in support, also waiting for news about the wounded, some donating blood, everybody really struggling to come to terms with the violence that took place to what was supposed to be a peace rally, so many people we have been talking to still shocked, struggling to go really put into words what it is that they are going through.

[19:15:04] The Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu coming out and declaring three days of mourning following this horrific violence, saying that up until now, the government had apprehended two suicide bombers. One in Istanbul, one in Ankara, saying that they did have intelligence that suicide bombers were trying to come to Turkey from northern Iraq. And the attacks believed to have been carried out by two suicide bombers.

AHMET DAVUTOGLU, TURKISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This attack does not target a single group or our citizens that attended the rally or a single political party. Let me be clear. This attack was carried out against our country and against all people. This attack was carried out against democracy.

DAMON: But despite calls for unity and a request for people to try to refrain from rhetoric, this issue is already becoming politicized in what is a very polarized country with the head of the pro-Kurdish HDP opposition party placing the blame for this firmly at the feet of the government.

SELAHATTIN DEMIRTAS, CO-CHAIRMAN OF HDP (through translator): You're murderers. Your hands have blood on them. From your face to your mouth to your nails, blood has spilled all over you. Now it's been revealed you are the biggest terror supporter.

DAMON: A lot of those also blaming the government, expressing their anger, saying even if the government did not have a hand in this, it does appear responsibility for protecting the people. A lot of questions at this stage still remaining unanswered as people here and throughout the country, again, really struggling to come to terms with this violence.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Ankara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Arwa, thank you very much for that.

Joining me now to discuss, CNN global affairs analysts and "Daily Beast" contributor, Kimberly Dozier, along with former CIA operative Bob Baer. Thank you both for being here.

Kimberly, let me begin with you. I mean, you've got this precarious political situation that Turkey is in right now. You've got their stepped up fight against ISIS and them allowing the U.S. to strike ISIS from southern Turkey. What does this point to in your opinion?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the attack today is being blamed by those hit on the Turkish government because the Turkish government is in a political back and forth and a fight with facing elections where they could lose even more seats. Some of them to the Kurdish opposition. So, you have this internal fight and then you have h the external pressure on Turkey from United States to do more to stop ISIS and other foreign fighters going over the border, and also to allow the U.S. and the coalition to do more from Turkish territory.

So, whichever way you look at it, this is a government that is under pressure both externally and internally.

HARLOW: Bob, to you. When we have seen ISIS make attacks within Turkey, it has been along the Turkish-Syrian border. It has not been in land, it has not been in the capital of Ankara like this. That does that make you think that this is not connected to ISIS.

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Poppy, what's strong about this is there is no claim. Usually the Islamic State would make a claim. They would say, the HDP, who have most of the victims, have been fighting us and we're striking back against them in Turkey's capital, Ankara. There hasn't been a claim, which makes me doubt that the Islamic state is behind it.

Now, the so-called Turkish deep state, which is accused of terrorism. It's part military, part intelligence, part presidency. It's a very odd, which we have never been able to identify. But I can see why the Kurds are blaming the government for this.

What I guarantee you we will not get any clear answers out of this, even with time.

HARLOW: We've got, Kimberly, those critical parliamentary elections coming up in Turkey in the beginning of November. Do you expect to see more violence ahead of that?

DOZIER: Probably more violence. Also you're going to probably see Turkey strike out against some of the Kurdish militants who it had been in conversation with, in peace talks. But now it feels like -- the Turkish government feels they are bending over backwards and doing so much for the coalition, for the west, that it kind of gives them leeway to carry out these attacks and to sort of make some facts on the ground before those elections.

HARLOW: And as Arwa said in her reporting, in the end, amongst the political divide, et cetera, it is the innocent civilians who are the victims in all of this, 95 people killed. More than 200 injured.

Kimberly, Bob, thank you.

DOZIER: Thank you.

BAER: Thank you.

[19:20:00] HARLOW: We have seen migrants fleeing Syria, searching for some sort of sanctuary in Europe. Some of those refugees looking for a new home in the United States as well, traveling through Mexico, some of them, to get into this country. Could ISIS do the same? A fascinating report next.

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HARLOW: Hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian refugees are crossing from Mexico into the United States. Many of them are Christian or religious minorities fleeing persecution from ISIS militants in their homeland. And underground railroad ferries Iraqis and Syrian refugees in the Southern California. But now, there are growing fears and concerns that ISIS terrorists could use the same route to cross into this country.

Our Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In clouds of chaos, children and women flung aboard a military chopper, desperate, escaping ISIS brutality.

Today, thousands of religious minorities, the bulk of them Christians, are fleeing Iraq and Syria. Refugees streaming across borders. Some even making it to the Mexico border and then into the United States.

MARK ARABO, MINORITY HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION: Journey through hell, escaping a Christian genocide.

LAH: We're traveling with Mark Arabo, a U.S.-born Christian Iraqi into Tijuana, Mexico. He's spear-heading a radical way out for radicals into the Middle East.

He and others paid thousands to help these two men get out of Erbil, Iraq, into Europe and now into Mexico, a shadowy underground railroad, a harrowing two-month journey. ISIS' grip on these men still visible.

[19:25:00] That fear is why they asked us not to show their faces.

(on camera): How brutal is ISIS?

(voice-over): "ISIS only knows language of beheadings," he says.

(on camera): Why you?

(voice-over): "Because we're Christian," he says.

These men are among hundreds who have escaped into Mexico. Once in Tijuana, they head to the border and enter the U.S. by applying for asylum. U.S. officials worry terrorists, including ISIS militants, could follow that same path to America.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not directly address the underground railroad but released this statement, saying, "It would bring to justice individuals who compromise the integrity of our asylum system, potentially putting our country's security at risk."

(on camera): What do you say to what ICE says about the security issue?

ARABO: Our national security should be number one, without a doubt.

These are people that are being killed by ISIS. They are not ISIS. They are coming to America to run away from ISIS.

LAH (voice-over): ISIS broadcasts their brutal religious cleansing and their propaganda videos in this one, beheading Ethiopian Christians. This was their future, say the men. ISIS marked their homes with this red Arabic letter, proclaiming them Christians.

ARABO: The people are being raped, they are being beheaded, they are being massacred. Little girls are being kidnapped.

LAH: Arabo gathered a list of names, more than half of them children.

ARABO: These are 70,000 innocent Christians and Yazidis, Catholics, Syrian Christians.

LAH: He pounded the pavement in D.C. begging for air lifts and for visas into America.

ARABO: We've done everything we can. We've met with the president. We've met with Vice President Biden. We've spoken to the State Department. Nothing works.

And if the president won't act, Congress won't act, then I'm going to act.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Tijuana, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Fascinating report from Kyung. Thank you for that.

With me again, CNN intelligence and security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer. So many are fleeing persecution. Is this a route ISIS would likely use, in your opinion?

BAER: Poppy, absolutely. I mean, look, these people are coming to the border. The instructions are to ICE, if you say, "I'm afraid, I'm a political refugee, I have a fear", that's enough for you to walk in the country. You don't need documentation. You don't have to have any backup for that. Any statement you make to immigration officials, they have to let you in and you get in the system and you disappear in this country. And even knows this.

HARLOW: Are they tracked, Bob? I mean, are they tracked if they take these people at their word.

BAER: They can't track them. They have to let them go. They process their papers, whatever name they give. And let them go. Whether it's San Diego, Los Angeles, Texas or the rest of it.

It is a horrible frustration for Homeland Security. They cannot say it officially. But they are very, very afraid that members of the Islamic State are going to hide among legitimate refugees and make it into this country and carry out attacks.

HARLOW: But if this route were such a vulnerability for the United States for potential terrorists to come in, why didn't al Qaeda exploit it?

BAER: Al Qaeda, you know, it was early on. They simply flew in. They could get visas in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. But these people are different. They are Syrian and Iraqis who have joined ISIS. There are no visa services, of course, in those countries.

HARLOW: Right.

BAER: And they are coming in posing as refugees. This is a new phenomenon.

These waves of refugees passing into Europe and the United States. There's tens of thousands of them. And our government has its arm tied behind its back.

HARLOW: And it's quite a predicament. You want to help the refugees of people who need it most and you also have to protect national security. Bob Baer, thank you.

BAER: Thank you.

HARLOW: Much more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:10] HARLOW: ESPN baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza made sports history this week when she became the first woman to call a major league playoff game. By all accounts, she did an excellent job calling it. But you would never know from some of the nasty, sexist, disgusting tweets, questioning why a woman was in the broadcast booth.

CNN's sports anchor Rachel Nichols had plenty to say in her op-ed. Here's part of it. "After two decades of covering people in sports, I can tell you one thing. It's a low bar. No one requires that players, coaches, executives or media who work in the field be terrific human beings. It is nice when they are. Many of them, many more than you hear about truly are. But being a fantastic person is not the requirement. So it's remarkable when we have a stretch like the past few days, one that slithers under that pretty low bar."

Rachel Nichols is with me now. I was so struck reading this. I saw the reaction on social media. I think a lot of people said thank goodness that someone is writing this.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Be mildly civil. That's all we ask. We don't ask a lot. It is a low bar. Just be, you know, try not to offend everyone.

HARLOW: I can't believe what people were saying about Jessica Mendoza. What happened and what is she saying?

NICHOLS: Look, there is a wave of those twitter trolls that we all know exists and love to get in there. The media columnist, the baseball fans generally gave rave reviews and a positive reaction. But there was also a sprinkling of sports radio hosts who decided they didn't like a girl playing in their sand box. Most notably an Atlanta radio host named Mike Bell who decided to type out a barrage of really sexist tweets which always amazes me.

Not only are you going to be sexist or in another case racist or whatever you are, you're going to write it down and then publish it? That's what this guy did. It was amazing to see. Now he did end up getting suspended. He apologized after he found out the suspension. So we can decide how genuine that apology was. I did ask Jessica about it when we chatted yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICHOLS: You got so much complimentary coverage, really a mountain of it. There was the predictable, you know, get back to the kitchen reaction from these social media trolls, even some talk radio reaction. A sports radio host from Atlanta, he was the most atrocious. What do you think when you heard about that?

JESSICA MENDOZA, ESPN BASEBALL ANALYST: You know, I guess I expect it. As much as it's sad and you hope there is a day it wouldn't happen. Come on, we all know, even if we are just hanging out with a bunch of buddies, there's always that guy right? That's got to say something, seriously, like come on?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:35:00]

NICHOLS: First of all, she's so refreshing, right? I mean, great attitude. And by the way, I just want to point out she is a four-time all American at Stanford as a softball player. She was a two-time Olympian where she won a gold medal and a silver medal. By the way, before she switch to softball, she grew up in the sport of baseball because her dad was a coach and she played it as a kid.

HARLOW: Right.

NICHOLS: So apparently, according to this radio host, who never played in elite level sports in his life, it's OK for him to get paid to talk about sports all day.

HARLOW: But not her.

NICHOLS: But her, I mean, come one, what are her qualifications?

HARLOW: It's unbelievable. So that, in your op-ed, you go on and talk about something else truly appalling, Greg Hardy returns to the NFL this week after his suspension for threatening to kill and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He doesn't waste any time in offending people.

NICHOLS: No.

HARLOW: What did he do?

NICHOLS: It's unbelievable. So he was suspended. He came back. You think - I don't know, just pretend to be contrite, right? You don't have to actually be sorry. Again, it's a low bar. We're not asking for your blood here. Just pretend to be contrite.

Instead, he gets out in front of all of these reporters and he talks about how he wants to come out guns blazing on the field. Meanwhile, you may remember that he threw his girlfriend into a pile of guns on the sofa, choking her and threatening to kill her, at least that's what he was convicted of before his conviction was vacated from witness issue. But it is amazing to not only move to that but then to talk about how he was excited to play the New England Patriots tomorrow because Tom Brady's wife, he says, is so attractive. And maybe Tom Brady would bring his attractive wife there for Greg Hardy to look at. In fact, he said, maybe she will bring her sister and some of her friends for him to look at and he picks players for the pro ball because they bring hot girlfriends for him to look at.

HARLOW: And then the coach of the Cowboys doesn't call him out on it. The commissioner of the NFL doesn't come down hard on him. And you write here, "so to summarize, here's a high profile NFL player backed up by his high profile owner explaining that women are possessions, trophies, meant to be looked at and increase a man's worth. Oh, and a commissioner who doesn't feel any of that requires a strong or specific reprimand."

This is the part that really struck me. "There's a reason that thinking that it is so dangerous and calls back to the reason that Hardy was suspended in the first place. "If women are merely objects, then beating their head against a bathroom wall isn't that big a deal. After all, it's not as if they're actually, you know, people." Where do we go from here?

NICHOLS: Well, that's the point. I think it's important for fans to understand. No one is trying to be the PC police, sort of the criticism is. It's important in how you talk about women and whether you are respectful of women or whether you think women are actual human beings. Because not thinking that is what leads to the acts that Greg Hardy was suspended for. It is up to all of us to call them out on it.

Look, I love the NFL. We talk all the time. I don't want them to take my sport away from me. I don't want to have to turn away and stop watching or stop buying tickets. I want them to listen to all of us who can shout as loudly as we can and say this isn't OK. Get this out of my sport. Don't poison the well with this kind of stuff. It is not acceptable. It doesn't belong in football. It doesn't belong in our sports that we care so much about.

HARLOW: Yes, especially sports we put our children into.

NICHOLS: Absolutely.

HARLOW: And players they aspire to become one day. Rachel Nichols, thank you very much. For all of you watching, if you read one thing this weekend that is not about politics, please read this, please take the time. It is remarkable. The sports world deserves better than it got this week, CNN.com.

Still to come, this week, to politics, members of the vice president's camp met with DNC officials this week. That got the rumor mills running. Will he make a bid for president. We will take a look at what Joe Biden's possible entry into this race might mean, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:01]

HARLOW: Where are you putting your money? Will he or won't he run? That is the question on the minds of many Democrats waiting to see if Vice President Joe Biden will make a bid for the presidency.

CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza reporting this out this week, joining me now from Washington. He is also the Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker" magazine. Thank you for being here.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: Look, you were one of the first with this story that really got the rumor mills running this week. At the end of the week you had staffers from Biden's camp meeting with DNC officials, trying to figure out the boring logistics. But the important ones, if you jump in, you have to file by, et cetera, et cetera. What are your sources telling you about what that implies?

LIZZA: Well, so at the DNC, I will say this, a lot of people at the DNC were buzzing about this meeting and were interpreting it as the clearest signal, as one of them said, the clearest signal this source has seen that he is running. So the DNC has offered this briefing to Biden for months now.

HARLOW: Right.

LIZZA: The briefing has been given to all other five democratic announced presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Jim Webb, O'Malley, Sanders, Lincoln Chaffee. They have all done this briefing because they need the information. This was scheduled to go down with Biden folks in June. It was cancelled. And then out of nowhere this week, the Biden folks said, "hey, you know what? We want that information."

So it is this very technical briefing about filing deadlines, how the super delegate process works, how the state by state delegate allocation process works. You know, basically the information you need to know if you're going to go toe to toe with Hillary Clinton in a delicate war for the nomination and frankly, a briefing you only need if you want to run for president.

HARLOW: The question has been all along, if Joe Biden jumps in, how does he separate himself enough from Hillary Clinton, right, to get the votes that he needs?

LIZZA: Yes.

HARLOW: You saw Hillary Clinton distancing herself from him this week by saying all of a sudden she opposes that Asia trade dealer, TDP. I sat down this week in New York with a billionaire hedge fund manager, Tim Chanos, who is a friend of Joe Biden. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Joe Biden is a friend of yours, the vice president. And you're a fan of his. Can he win if he jumps in this race?

JIM CHANOS, KYNIKOS ASSOCIATES: I think that you have to ask Vice President Biden that. But I'm certainly hoping he does.

HARLOW: Outside of him being your friend, what is it about him that makes you hope that he gets in?

CHANOS: I think he's a candidate that actually can cross the aisle. I think, actually one of my Republican friends said he might even consider voting for him.

HARLOW: Really?

CHANOS: I think he will appeal to a lot of independents. That is an important part of the calculus. But the decision is his.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:45:00]

HARLOW: Can he, Ryan Lizza, a member of the Obama administration, appeal to independents and some of the Republicans?

LIZZA: I'm so skeptical that anyone these days can actually appeal to independents. The parties are very polarized. The American electorate is very polarized. If you remember in 2008, Obama actually did pull in a very small percentage of Republicans, people who have been a little turned off by the Bush years. Not very long into his term, whatever goodwill he had with Republicans, not just voters but members of Congress, it was over, right?

And I doubt that very much. I will say in a primary that's not going to help him very much. The way to beat Hillary Clinton is not to appeal to independents so much but to run to her left. I've been pretty skeptical of Biden's ability to beat Hillary all along. So I sort of have been down on his chances and down on whether he will run or not. But this week is the first time where I have heard from people maybe it was a little bit more likely than not that he jumps into the race.

HARLOW: All right. We'll see. No one who has not been in the first debate since they were televised in 1976 has actually gone on to win the nomination. But, hey, anything can happy.

Ryan Lizza, thank you.

LIZZA: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: You wouldn't want to miss that debate, the first democratic presidential debate right here on CNN, Tuesday 8:30 p.m. Eastern. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARLOW: You're hearing a lot about income inequality on the campaign trail certainly. You can see the disparity between the rich and the poor certainly firsthand in San Francisco.

CNN money tech correspondent Laurie Segall has more now on the growing divide between the rich and the poor. Hi Laurie.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: When you look at income inequality, it's impossible to ignore what's happening in San Francisco, you have this stark contrast, the influx of tech money and newly minted millionaires and then you have the locals who call San Francisco home for decades. They're getting pushed out.

[19:50:03]

I spoke to filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi about her new documentary "San Francisco 2.0." It's a look at gentrification in America's tech hub and also what it means for the rest of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good old San Francisco, the counter culture capital of the world is in the middle of a pretty drastic makeover.

SEGALL: What would you say you took away from really digging deep into the problem of gentrification?

ALEXANDRA PELSOI, FILMMAKER, SAN FRANCISCO 2.0: One of the techies who wouldn't talk to me on camera is we're having our midnight in Paris moment here. And it feels like that. It feels like the tech companies are having their midnight in Paris moment. They're the disrupters. They're on the cover of "Vanity Fair." The power in America has shifted to the West Coast and it happens to be my hometown. So it was sort of a perfect storm of a place to tell the story about what's happening in the new American economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're rapidly becoming something like Venezuela where there's very small ultra rich class and everybody else is poor and the middle class is shrinking.

SEGALL: Part of me thinks, great, there's progress. This is wonderful, people are doing well. Then you have all these folks being displaced. Is this just the larger conversation we need to have is about capitalism?

PELOSI: I feel like the media wants to oversimplify it. You can't simplify it and say tech is good or tech is destroying this community. It's a very complicated conversation about building affordable housing and being able to ensure that the middle class can afford tostay inside the city.

SEGALL: What's at stake is that rent continue to sky rocket, people in these communities continue to get displaced?

PELOSI: Our cities are going to become these all-white rich capitals where only happy few can live. San Francisco is not flying its freak flag anymore. It's becoming the land of the tech bro.

SEGALL: Maybe it's not their fault, but do you think tech entrepreneurs are doing enough to contribute to the culture?

PELOSI: It's not their fault. You can't blame the tech companies for homelessness in San Francisco, obviously. That's oversimplifying it. The question is what responsibility do they see to the community? It's a good thing (inaudible) itself but we just want to make sure that some don't get left behind.

SEGALL: Did you have trouble getting tech folks to come on and talk to you? If so, why do you think that is?

PELOSI: I didn't have any luck getting through to the top of the big name companies. That was sort of disheartening. It's hard to make a real honest portrait of what's going on if the whole community doesn't want to talk. They're doing great things. We all love our iPhones but at the same time, there are a lot of people who were born and raised for generations in San Francisco that can no longer afford to live there.

SEGALL: Are the locals benefiting at all from the massive amount of success the city is having?

PELOSI: Absolutely. All that money is great for the city. We haven't seen evidence of it yet. But over time they'll start to see that their schools are getting better, their roads are getting repaved, all that good that comes out of gentrification. I feel like we're at a turning point where we've been so impressed by all the new technology and so grateful for it, "oh, look, I can get a ride home. Look, I can order my food with a press of the button." Now there's a question of "wait, is there some dark side to all this progress?" It's helping us but is it also hurting us in some ways."

SEGALL: For those of us who haven't seen "San Francisco 2.0," where can we find it?

PELOSI: There's a nice beautiful irony, you should watch my movie on HBO Go or HBO on demand. So grab your tech device.

SEGALL: Yes and we can watch it any time anywhere (inaudible).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: And Poppy, Pelosi has a very personal connection to San Francisco. She grew up there and she's also the daughter of House minority leader Nancy Pelosi who represents Northern California. Poppy.

HARLOW: Fascinating look at that documentary Laurie Segall. Thank you very much.

Quick break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:04]

HARLWO: Youtube turned 10 years old this year. It is astonishing how much it has grown since it began. That growth caught the eye of super model Karlie Kloss.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: This is Youtube space, 20,000 square feet in the middle of Manhattan. It's the place where YouTube content creators and 5,000 subscribers can make their content for free.

You got one in New York, Sao Paulo, London, Tokyo, Berlin. The videos that have been made so far have been viewed over a billion times. We came here to talk to supermodel Karlie Kloss to find out why she started her own channel.

Hi guys. I'm Karlie Kloss. Welcome to my YouTube channel.

It's 8 am. I'm going to a rehearsal. It's my voice. It's me unfiltered.

Just hanging out, unedited.

I have complete control.

HARLOW: You're writing your story.

KLOSS: I'm writing my story.

HARLOW: At 23 years old supermodel Karlie Kloss may be better known for her tech savvy and social media smarts than the runways she struts.

3.2 million people follow her on Instagram and nearly 800,000 on Twitter. Her Youtube channel Kloss just launched last month and has 200,000 subscribers and counting.

(ON CAMERA): You clearly run your brand, over a billion users for Youtube. Do you look at those numbers and say this is smart business?

KLOSS: I did. I had an opportunity to do something with a channel, with a network that was ultimately going to be in the hands of producers and editors in a dark room somewhere that I didn't have control of it. I had that realization and I realized I want to control my story.

Anna, there's literally nobody here to help me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Friday, Karlie, what do you expect?

ADAM RELIS, HEAD OF YOUTUBE SPACE NY: We are working directly with Vogue, which is one of the most iconic brands in fashion. We're working with a model, Karlie Kloss. I shouldn't even call her a model. Because she's an entrepreneur, philanthropist, business woman and all those.

KLOSS: Techy.

RELLIS: Techy.

HARLOW: What is the business play here.

RELLIS: Really, I mean, it's investing in the creator community. Obviously on Youtube, creator, sharing revenue with YouTube for the content that they create if they're partners in our program.

HARLOW: So the better the content, the more ad money you're going to bring in.

RELLIS: Yes, you know what? It's great for the creator ecosystem frankly where brands are becoming more comfortable with creators. Creators are becoming more comfortable with brands.

HARLOW (voice-over): Just this spring a Bank of America analyst estimated Youtube is worth $70 billion. Recent estimates by researchers know digital ad spending is set to outpace television by next year. Keep in mind Youtube has only been around for 10 years.

RELLIS: The Google sales team brings their advertisers up and they walk around and they are able to see creators who are shooting real professional content using big fancy equipment.