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Biden Close to White House Run Decision as Support in Polls Falls; 6 Year Old Shoots 3 Year Old Brother, Father Arrested; Trump Carson Request Secret Service Protection; Tracy Morgan Returns to SNL; Paying Tribute to Eddie Murphy Who Ripped Bill Cosby. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired October 19, 2015 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:05] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Will he or won't he? Vice President Joe Biden appears to be closer to making a decision as to whether or not he'll run for president. Biden is meeting with top political advisers this evening and Biden associates are beginning staffing process for a potential campaign. All of this as our newest poll is out that finds Democrats are becoming less and less enamored of a Biden bid. In August, 53 percent said they wanted Biden in the race. It's fallen to 47 percent in the new poll.
Karen Finney is back. She is a spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Thank you for stopping by CNN.
KAREN FINNEY, SPOKESWOMAN, HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Good to be with you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton had a huge performance in Las Vegas. Perhaps that affected the polls looking at those numbers with regard to Biden. Is your camp because of how well she does in Las Vegas on that stage, is your camp at all saying to a potential Biden camp, don't do it?
FINNEY: No, look, Hillary has said and we have said for a long time now it's certainly -- we always expected this would be competitive and certainly up to the vice president to make this decision. It's a tough decision running for president. It's a tough endeavor. What I think you saw last night on the debate stage is someone who came ready to talk about the job of being president.
BALDWIN: I've heard this. How would a Biden run affect your strategy moving forward?
FINNEY: Well, so in terms -- we have always had our game plan. Over the summer, that's what we stayed focus on whether it was lots of other stuff going on here, we stayed focused on Hillary was out campaigning talking to people about what she wants to do, the issues that they care about, how she would fight for them. We kept moving forward with our game plan with our grand game and fundraising. So point being, we're prepared for whatever could happen. One thing that I can tell you is this is a campaign that knows anything can happen. There's no foregone conclusions. In terms of going forward, we're prepared for whether it's Joe Biden or someone else to get in the race to then -- we feel confident about the infrastructure we have on the ground and the team we have in place and --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: But that infrastructure in Brooklyn, I'm going to press you one more time. There's been no smoke signals from Brooklyn to Biden?
FINNEY: No, but let me put it this way. When I talk about infrastructure, I'm not just talking about Brooklyn. I'm talking about New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and while we're moving into the Super Tuesday, early March states, we have leadership councils in like Texas and Ohio and all these places. So we're moving forward with our strategy and we're moving forward continuing to build that infrastructure. So regardless of what happens, that's what we have to stay focused on.
BALDWIN: Let me pivot and ask you about this back and forth between Jeb Bush and Donald Trump about 9/11. And what Trump is saying about Jeb Bush's brother and playing the blame game and Jeb saying this is ridiculous.
Just had Peter Beinart on who said, Trump's point, the question shouldn't be, is George Bush to blame, it's did he have all the information and should he have done more? Peter Beinart says yes. What would Camp Hillary say?
FINNEY: Camp Hillary would say, what are we doing now to make sure our country is kept safe. Where are the threats, where are we making sure, particularly as --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: We're talking about 2001, going all the way back.
FINNEY: I think part of my point is let the boys re-litigate 2001. This is one more reason we need a woman for president and we need Hillary for president, because one thing I know about her is she keeps her focus on how do we keep moving forward. We can re-litigate 2001, but how is that going to keep us safe today, tomorrow, 10 years from now? That's what we really need in a president, while they want to re-litigate.
BALDWIN: Didn't she want to re-litigate it back in '08?
FINNEY: She was asked the question. Some of the questions were relevant because they were on issues that were still having an impact. It's not to say --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Terrorism is still having an impact today.
FINNEY: That's my point. What's happened on 9/11 and what's happening in now in terrorism, the threats have changed and evolved and grown. (CROSSTALK)
FINNEY: That's why we need a president -- and I think Hillary Clinton is the right person -- who is going to focus on that, who is going to focus on the ways in which we know the tactics are changing. So how are we going to keep up with that? That's what we need rather than this it re-litigation. If the fellows want to re-litigate --
BALDWIN: Have at it.
FINNEY: -- let them use their town.
BALDWIN: Let me ask you, we know Hillary Clinton is testifying Thursday on Capitol Hill on Benghazi and an ongoing investigation. I want to play this, the latest campaign ad featuring everyone from Leon Panetta to Madelyn Albright.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: She is one person who can bring a tremendous amount of experience to the job of being a world leader.
MADELYN ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think I have ever met a person more prepared to be president. She would be capable of making hard decisions and representing this country and our democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:35:23] BALDWIN: So you have the ad. Let me also throw in Trey Gowdy, the chairman of this committee, said you have no idea what we have done, why we have done it and what new facts we have found. So is that ad a preemptive strike against whatever the new facts he's alluding to?
FINNEY: We want to show people who she was as secretary of state, the things she accomplished. Take it from Congressman McCarthy and Hanna. They have political motives around this committee. We wanted to set the record straight and say, this is a person who negotiates these tough sanctions, got China and Russia to the table when we're talking about Iran. With regard to Chairman Gowdy, one of the things I found most disturbing not what he said yesterday but the story that came out this weekend that showed -- we have seen this tactic quite a few times from the committee. The CIA went to Mr. Gowdy and said you're wrong, you put out a 13-page letter suggesting that Hillary Clinton in some way may have endangered national security. That's wrong. I think when you have the CIA checking your facts and you have something wrong, that's part of why we're in the place we are where people are questioning why are we having an eighth committee? This committee have interviewed more current and former Clinton campaign staffers than people from DOD with operational knowledge of what was beginning on.
BALDWIN: As we know, she wanted open door, testifying publicly.
(CROSSTALK)
FINNEY: That's right. You're going to get it.
BALDWIN: We'll get it.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: I'm sure we'll be talking about it. Final question, Bill Clinton. He will be taking part in the Iowa rally. How much more Bill Clinton will we be seeing?
FINNEY: How much more would you like?
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: You tell me.
(CROSSTALK)
FINNEY: No. I think you're going to see quite a bit of Bill Clinton on the campaign trail. He has responsibilities with the foundation. So he'll have to kind of manage both. But we thought it would be fun to have him in Iowa. People love him in Iowa and love seeing them together. I think it's a great thing. When one more really loud megaphone out there talking about Hillary Clinton. He knows better probably than anyone the character and heart of this person and why she's the person that people should see as their next president. Great to have him.
BALDWIN: Good luck, Karen Finney. Thank you so much.
FINNEY: Thank you so much.
BALDWIN: I appreciate it.
Next, Eddie Murphy breaks out his Bill Cosby impersonation in nearly 30 years. He was not kind. We have more on that coming up.
Also, a 6-year-old boy shoots and kills his 3-year-old brother with an illegally purchased gun and now the father is facing charges.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:42:27] BALDWIN: A Chicago is now caught in what this judge is calling the ultimate tragedy. Police say this former gang member, Michael Santiago, illegally bought a gun to protect himself because he testified in a gang trial, but the gun ended up in the hands of his 6- year-old son. Police say the boy shot his 3-year-old brother in his head during a game of cops and robbers and their father is now charged with felony child endangerment. The children were in the care at the time of their grandfather, who says he had no idea that a loaded gun was on top of the refrigerator wrapped in pajama pants. They live in a unit below the granddad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL LASALLE, GRANDFATHER: I heard a pop. I ran down there and grabbed him. He was laying flat. I grabbed him and flipped him over and there was blood all over. He was a good kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: With me is CNN commentator and legal analyst, Mel Robins; and defense attorney, Randy Zelin.
Great to have you on.
This is beyond horrendous.
When you look at the law -- let me ask you first, Mel. This dad was charged with felony child endangerment. Why?
MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR & LEGAL ANALYST: The reason why is the so-called child access protection laws in 27 states have no teeth whatsoever. So even though there's a law on the books that requires you to keep a gun out of access of a child it's only punishable as a misdemeanor. So they went after the father using the child endangerment laws which will be charged as a felony. He's facing two to 10 years in prison for these charges because it gives the prosecutor much more latitude, because you're guilty of child endangerment if you knowingly put a child in a circumstance that could cause great risk to the child.
BALDWIN: When I was reading, I was also reading, prosecutors say that it's such a horrific loss in and of itself, the loss of a child, that often times charges aren't brought in these cases. Is that right?
ROBBINS: Absolutely, because the point is that when you're going to bring charges, you have to bring. Charges based on charges that you can prove at trial. If a jury has a set of circumstances where there's no -- I'm going to use wrong doing from common sense wrong doing. It's not like the father had these kids playing Russian Roulette. You have a father that has a gun for protection hiding it on the fridge. He claims he told the son about it to stay away. The mom's away. The grandfather is babysitting. Who is going to convict that guy?
[14:45:07] BALDWIN: Randy, let me ask you about that. That's right. The dad says son, let me show you where this gun is. It's in a safe place. Don't touch it. Does that help or hurt this case?
RANDY ZELIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It helps. This is a tragedy. And what you do in a tragedy such as this -- and the prosecutor is basically laid it out there that it's an issue. And while I agree with you that certainly it's just a misdemeanor, also keep in mind there's an intent that the D.A. can't prove here. If I'm a defense attorney, I'd put this man into the grand jury. My name is Randy Zelin, I'm a reformed gang member, I did the right thing, I testified against a bad guy, put my family in jeopardy, what else was I to do, who was going to protect me --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELIN: -- and my family?
BALDWIN: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
ZELIN: I did everything that I could.
BALDWIN: Walking down the right path now. Feels the need to be armed.
ROBBINS: And on the other hand, you have a gang member with an illegal gun that's wrapping it in pajamas and put in on top of --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELIN: Who is going to protect me? Who is going to protect my kids?
ROBBINS: Well --
ZELIN: The police?
ROBBINS: The problem is this, Brooke. The laws --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBBINS: The laws on the books have absolutely no teeth. And so to have -- the problem about the weapon under the laws is the fact that it was purchased illegally and wasn't registered.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: That's going to make the difference in the case?
ROBBINS: That might make the difference on other charges. Will that have anything to do with the circumstances surrounding this case and the fact that there was a tragedy that ripped this family apart? Probably not. I think also the fact that this happened in literally a split second where you didn't have kids home alone, you had the mom off at the store buying milk with another child, grandpa upstairs, the kids running downstairs and, suddenly, this tragedy happens.
I agree with you --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELIN: There is no jail --
(CROSSTALK)
ZELIN: There's no jail, there is no sentence that will punish this man beyond what he has already been punished with.
BALDWIN: Randy Zelin and Mel Robbins, thank you both so much. Thank you. Just into CNN, we're getting new information regarding the Department of Homeland Security. Just receiving official requests for Secret Service protection both for Donald Trump and also Ben Carson for their presidential campaigns.
Let's go to our White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
Jim, what do you know?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is a big indication as to how popular Donald Trump and Ben Carson are out on the campaign trail. They are now in the process of receiving Secret Service protection. They put in the request to the Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security has to review this along with a special congressional committee. It's a small committee of the speaker of the House and other leadership. It's basically a formality. The two campaigns should have the Secret Service protection I would think soon. We're waiting to hear back on the time line would be. But Donald Trump has been talking about this in the last several days he thought he'd like to see this happen.
Brooke, if you look at the size of the crowd, it's not out of the ordinary. You'll recall in 2008 Barack Obama received Secret Service protection pretty early on in that campaign and Hillary Clinton has it all the time by being a former first lady. So this request is in. And I imagine that this will be handled pretty quickly.
BALDWIN: Jim Acosta, for the new reporting.
ACOSTA: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Next, Eddie Murphy breaks out his Bill Cosby impersonation for the first time in nearly 30 years. And he was not kind. This was all during a huge night for him, part of his acceptance speech for the Mark Twain Prize. We'll talk to a fellow comedian and SNL co-star, Joe Piscopo. He joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:53:24] Comedian Tracy Morgan returns to "Saturday Night Live" and his performance was a testament of the healing power of comedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: On "30 Rock," Tracy Morgan made us laugh by playing an over-the-top version of himself. The role earned him an Emmy nomination and scores of fans.
Morgan first rose to fame in the '90s on "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRACY MORGAN, COMEDIAN: That bird is a liar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A laugh for masking personal pain, a trouble upbringing, his father's death to AIDS, his best friend's murder, a life-threatening battle with diabetes.
MORGAN: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: But on June 7th, 2014, everything changed.
UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: Tracy Morgan was involved in a very serious auto accident.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: The crash left him in a coma for weeks. Morgan's recovery meant he had to miss "Saturday Night Live's" 40th anniversary special.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish my friend, Tracy Morgan, was here tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A few months later, he was ready to talk on the "Today" show.
MORGAN: I love comedy and I wonder how I'm going to be funny again.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the first images of Morgan after the accident, a familiar upbeat smile. His doctor even telling "The Daily Beast" he was, quote, "nothing short of a miracle."
In returning to "Saturday Night Live," nothing short of an emotional homecoming.
(APPLAUSE)
[14:55:00] BALDWIN: While after a later night Saturday, Tracy Morgan headed to Washington. He was one of several comedians on stage at Washington's Kennedy Center. He joined iconic comedians paying tribute to Eddie Murphy, the recipient of the prize for American humor. And 28 years have passed since he last did standup and that all ended last night when he accepted his award and told a couple jokes. He ripped on a fellow honoree, Bill Cosby. I'm going to tell you part of one of his jokes. He said, "Bill has one of these. Did you all make him give it back? I know there was a big outcry from people. They were trying to get Bill to give his trophies back. You know you have F'd up when they want you to give your trophies back."
Eddie started impersonating Cosby, begging to keep his 2009 award.
With me on the phone is a former cast member, Joe Piscopo.
Joe, it's an honor to have you on, sir.
JOE PISCOPO, COMEDIAN & ACTOR (voice-over): I cannot imagine just being part of such a magical moment for your friend. Can you tell me when he started telling those jokes, was it like 28 years evaporated like that? BALDWIN: Joe, he was always so brilliant, from day one when I met
him. It was great that you were at the show this weekend, right, Brooke?
BALDWIN: Yeah, Saturday night, SNL.
PISCOPO: That's so cool. I met Eddie and talked about it at a private dinner at the Smithsonian on a Saturday night before the Sunday event. And I spoke from the heart and there was hundreds of people in the room. I never really told Eddie how grateful I was to this kid for going through this -- not only a comic in Eddie Murphy, a comic genius. He's a great grounded, one of the decent human beings on the planet. To be able to do that in the early days, when you'd day and lock into him, you just fall in love. It was just like that from day one. Last night, to watch Chris Rock, George Lopez, and Tracy come out, so emotional. What a moving night and way overhead for Eddie Murphy.
BALDWIN: I close my eyes and hear his laugh from "Beverly Hills Cop."
(LAUGHTER)
Let me in on the inside skinny.
PISCOPO: Uh, oh. Uh, oh.
BALDWIN: I know he ran it past Arsenio Hall and Chris Rock and did the bit for them ahead of time. Did you know he would be telling jokes, and, b, doing Bill Cosby?
PISCOPO: No one knew until the last minute. And the answer is no and no. We didn't know for sure. It's Eddie. Just saying, hi, thanks, no hassle.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: But he didn't do it at the SNL 40.
PISCOPO: That's what I'm saying. People said he should have done something. He did a lifetime of brilliant comedy and if he doesn't want to do anything, he doesn't want to do anything. And then last night he stepped on stage and e we took a breath and said is he going to go for this? We were all backstage, all these brilliant comics backstage and he went for it. He wasn't throwing Bill under the bus. It was all in good fun. True Eddie Murphy. And all that great talent on stage, Eddie blew us all away. He blew us all away in those five or six minutes.
BALDWIN: I have to go back to the archive to his 1987 raw show and the first time he impersonated Bill Cosby. Let's roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE MURPHY, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: Mr. Cosby? I would like to talk to you --
(LAUGHTER)
-- about some of the things that --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Joe, I know you can't not laugh. That was '87. How did the crowd respond when he did a different take on Bill Cosby?
PISCOPO: He killed it. George Lopez ripped it up. And it was just so wonderful how many -- how great and all the great talent. And I did a little Sinatra thing. But Eddie just got -- 2700 people. The laughs were bigger than anybody got. It's like he owns it. And we all looked in awe of this still a kid.
BALDWIN: You mentioned Sinatra. I cannot let you go without one more clip.
Guys, you know which one I'm talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I had to end on that joke. Piscopo, you are seriously the best for calling in.
