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Trump Denies Posing As His Own Publicist; ISIS Declares State of Emergency in Raqqah; Bin Laden's Son Calls for Jihad on U.S.; Brazil's Interim President Calls for Unity; Invictus Swimmer Thanks Hospital; Stage Set for Eurovision Finale. Aired 2-2:30a ET
Aired May 14, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Donald or not the Donald?
We examine recordings of a supposed publicist for the Republican presidential front-runner, who many believe is the man himself.
Winning a medal and almost immediately giving it is back: why this champion at the Invictus Games says the medics who saved her life are the real heroes.
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ALLEN (voice-over): That's her handing her medal to Prince Harry.
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ALLEN (voice-over): And we're just hours away from the singing competition that many people love and others love to hate. We'll bring you Eurovision by the numbers.
It is all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we're live in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.
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ALLEN: Donald Trump says he is not John Miller but not everyone believes him. We are talking about an audio recording from 1991 that has surfaced. On it, a man calling himself John Miller and claiming to be Trump's publicist brags about the businessman and his sex life. Trump says it's not him. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell you this.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can tell you this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's probably doing as well as anybody.
TRUMP: I know politics as well as anybody.
I hold up the Bible as well as anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand that.
TRUMP: You understand that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's starting to do tremendously well.
TRUMP: She did tremendously well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He paid his wife a great deal of money.
TRUMP: You will see a great deal of cooperation.
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ALLEN: Well, what do you think?
That was just a sample of what this so-called John Miller sounds like. Our Drew Griffin has more. Plus he gets some expert voice analysis.
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DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The real amazing story of Donald Trump's old spokesman, as "The Washington Post" headline writes, may be that it's been such an open secret for so long, it's hard to believe that anyone is still questioning it.
QUESTION: What is your name again?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Miller.
QUESTION: And you work with Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's correct.
GRIFFIN: It was back in the 1980s when the flashy New York real estate mogul needed to get a bit of news out. The newspaper reports it was common knowledge among New York reporters that Trump just assumed a different name and handled the media calls himself, like this call from reporter Sue Carswell at "People" magazine concerning Trump's breakup with girlfriend Marla Maples.
QUESTION: What kind of comment is coming from your agency or from Donald?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it is just that he really decided that he wasn't -- you know, he didn't want to make any commitment. He didn't want to make a commitment.
He really thought it was too soon. He was coming out of a -- you know, a marriage and he's starting to do tremendously well financially. He just thought it was too soon to make any commitment to anybody.
QUESTION: So, what is going to happen to -- is she being asked to leave or is she going to be allowed to stay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, she can -- he treats everybody well. And you don't know him, but he's a...
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QUESTION: No, I have met him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you met him?
QUESTION: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a good guy and he's not going to hurt anybody. He treated his wife well. And he treated -- and he will treat Marla well.
And he's somebody that has a lot of options. And, frankly, he gets called by everybody. He gets called by everybody in the book in terms of women.
GRIFFIN: If that John Miller sounds like Trump, it's because audio forensic expert Tom Owen says, in his opinion, it is.
TOM OWEN, FORENSIC EXPERT: I can conclude with a fair degree of scientific certainty that it is Donald Trump's voice.
GRIFFIN: This afternoon, Owen compared the John Miller on that phone call with "People" magazine to the real Donald Trump interviewed on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" in the 1990s.
Due to the quality of the old recordings, he couldn't use his biometric analysis that he says would be absolutely certain, but, based on pitch, tone, cadence and his expertise, John Miller and Donald Trump are one in the same.
OWEN: Yes, it's my opinion that it's Donald Trump's voice.
GRIFFIN: Reportedly, Trump even tacitly admitted under oath to using one of his false P.R. names in a 1990 court testimony, when he said: "I believe, on occasion, I used that name."
Trump was confronted with the taped phone call and "The Washington Post" story on Friday's "Today" show.
TRUMP: No. I don't think it -- I don't know anything about it. You're telling me about it for the first time and it doesn't sound like my voice at all.
I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and you can imagine that. And this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams. Doesn't sound like me.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
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ALLEN: Trump's tax returns are taking an increasingly large role in the campaign. It's become customary for presidential candidates to release them to the public. But Trump is looking to buck that trend, citing an ongoing audit.
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GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC HOST: Do you believe voters have a right to see your tax returns before they make a final decision?
TRUMP: I don't think they do. But I do say this. I will really gladly give them -- they are not going to learn anything -- but it's under routine audit.
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TRUMP: When the audit ends I'm going to present them.
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ALLEN: If Trump fails to release his returns, he would be the first candidate to do so in 40 years.
Trump is engaged in an all-out assault on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton but she is mainly holding her fire. She is aiming to stay above personal attacks against her opponent. But that strategy can be risky. Our Randi Kaye explains.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came to hear Bill Clinton speak in Paterson, New Jersey, but long before the former president arrived, these voters were already fired up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you stoop into the gutter with someone who wants to bring you there?
KAYE: The gutter is where many of these Hillary Clinton supporters believe Donald Trump is trying to drag her, using personal attacks about her husband's extramarital affairs dating back 20 years.
TRUMP: She was an unbelievably nasty, mean enabler and what she did to a lot of the women was disgraceful.
KAYE: Instead of hitting Trump back on his own personal transgressions, Mrs. Clinton is sticking to the issues.
HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have said repeatedly, I am not going to respond to the insults and the attacks coming from Donald Trump in this campaign.
KAYE: Is Hillary Clinton playing tough enough? FRANCINE WISE, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Well, I think she's playing tough enough because I don't think slander is the name of this game. I think that she should stay focused on the agenda at hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't believe in mud slinging. I don't think that helps anyone.
KAYE (voice-over): But not responding to Trump's personal attacks is risky.
KAYE: Are you at all concerned that this could backfire on her? Because look at what happened to the other 16 Republican candidates who did not take on Trump.
SHAYLYNN BIVENS, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Right. I believe as time approaches closely, that she should, you know, maybe take a couple shots, but nothing too extreme because she doesn't want to be anything like Donald Trump.
KAYE: Are you at all concerned that those kinds of things could sink into the American public's view of her if she does not say something?
CHARLES FERRER, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I think the American people are intelligent enough to know what to look for, to do their research, to do their homework and not fall into the games of name saying.
KAYE: There's also the question of how Hillary Clinton should handle Donald Trump's harsh words for her husband. Trump has called Bill Clinton the worst abuser of women in the history of politics. Hillary Clinton has not responded to those remarks either.
A few here feel strongly that Ms. Clinton needs to defend her husband and her family. That she's making a big mistake letting Trump, "bully her."
BOB BROWN, CLINTON SUPPORTER: If you don't stand up to a bully, they keep going. For her to sit there, let him get away with it, it's like a cancer. If you don't treat it, it metastasizes then what's going to happen? You're going to die.
KAYE: How exactly should she strike back?
Use Trump's favorite weapon against him, says this supporter.
KAYE: So you think she should go after him on social media?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's using Twitter, let her use Twitter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would hate to be in her shoes to have to take all that.
KAYE: And staying above the fray may be harder and harder the closer we get to Election Day -- Randi Kaye, CNN, Paterson, New Jersey.
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ALLEN: From the ban on Muslims to taking campaign donations, Donald Trump is definitely changing his tune.
But will he hit sour notes with his supporters?
Join Jonathan Mann for "POLITICAL MANN," just about nine minutes from now at 8:30 in London. That's 3:30 in Hong Kong.
We are getting new information suggesting ISIS fighters believe they are in trouble in their de facto capital. For months, ISIS militants have come under attack in Raqqah, Syria. Losing the city would be a major blow for the group. Here's CNN's Barbara Starr.
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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: U.S. military officials have been closely monitoring social media and other reports that ISIS has declared a state of emergency in Raqqa, itself declared capital inside Syria. That is a city that ISIS holds very dear. They've been in control of it for some time.
So what does this state of emergency really mean? U.S. officials saying they have some evidence showing ISIS fighters are moving around in the city, some of them trying to leave the city, that they're putting up covers, shades, trying to cover sidewalks, areas where they may be.
All to try and stay hidden from potential air strikes or ground action. ISIS may in fact be getting nervous in Raqqa. They have seen militia movements move closer and closer. Some of the areas surrounding Raqqa now not necessarily under ISIS control.
All of this making the group, maybe for the first time, very nervous about being able to hold on to the city that they consider their capital -- Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
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ALLEN: A son of late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is calling for war on Israel and the U.S. The message is in an --
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ALLEN: -- audio recording that surfaced this week. CNN's Brian Todd has more on the man some call the terror group's crown prince.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He has the name and perhaps the message Al Qaeda needs to rejuvenate its foundering terror brand. Hamza Bin Laden, one of Osama Bin Laden's 11 sons for years had been missing, off the grid.
But now a new audio message released by the son of the 9/11 mastermind has U.S. officials concerned. The chilling recording discovered by the Site Intelligence Group calls on all jihadis to unite apparently including Al Qaeda's rival, ISIS.
A key goal the young Bin Laden says should be to defeat the U.S. and Israel and, quote, "Liberate the Palestinian lands."
HAMZA BIN LADEN, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S SON (through translator): Those who support the Jews must pay the bill with their blood.
TODD: The younger Bin Laden is believed to be in his early to mid- 20s. A U.S. intelligence official tells CNN he has a relatively small role in Al Qaeda now, but could be getting groomed for a leadership position. Analysts see Hamza as a sort of crown prince of the terror group.
THOMAS JOSCELYN, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: So they are saying this is the new generation of jihadi leadership. This is the new Bin Laden who is going to ultimately lead us in the future.
TODD: One U.S. official tells CNN this looks like an attempt by Al Qaeda to fill gaps in its, quote, "ever dwindling bench." While the group has made gains in Syria, Yemen and North Africa, it has lost several top leaders and been eclipsed by ISIS in capturing the market share of young jihadists.
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: ISIS productions are a million times more interesting than Al Qaeda's very boring, you know, audio messages with very low production values.
TODD: Did Osama Bin Laden want Hamza to succeed him? It's not clear. But experts say Hamza spent much of his youth at his father's side and was a true believer. Analyst, Peter Bergen, author of the new book, "United States of Jihad," says the Navy SEALs expected Hamza to be at the Abbottabad compound when they went in after Osama Bin Laden in 2011. But Hamza was not there.
BERGEN: In the last months of Osama Bin Laden's life, he was writing long memos about his son, Hamza and the need to keep him safe and you know, keep him away from the CIA drones.
TODD: Hamza Bin Laden's reemergence comes as new questions are being raised by Al Qaeda's most spectacular attack and who was connected to it.
Declassified documents quietly released by the National Archives detailed the questioning by the 9/11 Commission of a former Saudi diplomat.
The document say the Saudi denied a connection to two 9/11 hijackers who had moved to California, but the commission investigators didn't believe him and confronted him with evidence of several phone calls he'd had with a man who had supported the hijackers.
At that point, the documents say the former Saudi diplomat grew angry and nervous.
But there are still questions as to whether there's a real smoking gun with the Saudis and 9/11. One 9/11 Commission member tells CNN, he believes lower level Saudi officials should be investigated further.
But he stands by the commission's finding that no senior Saudi government officials supported Al Qaeda -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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ALLEN: Upheaval in Brazilian politics: the shrinking role of women in the acting president's cabinet and other issues he faces. That's coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM.
Michel Temer is urging Brazilians to unite and calm down. The nation's acting president has been in office since Thursday, as protests grew over impeachment proceedings against Dilma Rousseff. She's been suspended from Brazil's top job.
As Shasta Darlington reports, the interim leader just inherited a minefield of problems.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brazilians woke up to a new President on Friday, at least on an interim basis. Michel Temer, he held his first cabinet meeting in the morning. On the one hand, he's tried to slash spending by seriously reducing the number of ministries.
But on the other hand, for the first time since 1979, there isn't a single woman on the cabinet. They're all male and they're all white, something he's already taking flak for.
We also heard from his pick for the finance ministry, former central banker Henrique Meirelles. And he told the press what he thinks are the biggest challenges facing the Brazilian economy right now.
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HENRIQUE MEIRELLES, BRAZILIAN FINANCE MINISTER (through translator): The most important thing, in my opinion, is confidence in relation to the future sustainability of the public debt. That is the ability of Brazil to continue financing itself in the future.
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DARLINGTON: He also countered accusations by the suspended president, Dilma Rousseff, and her supporters that, under Temer, the very popular social programs that lifted millions out of extreme poverty over the last 13 years would be thrown out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MEIRELLES (through translator): The social programs will be maintained. There's no doubt about that. Also, because if you take a look at the big picture of public spending, the social programs are a small part.
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DARLINGTON: But Temer and his team have serious challenges ahead. The Brazilian economy is in its second year of recession. The corruption probe that has engulfed dozens of politicians in parties across the board continues.
We may hear new revelations there and of course the impeachment trial will go on for the next six months, all of this while Brazil tries to get Brazilians and the international community excited about Olympic Games in August -- Shasta Darlington, CNN, Brasilia.
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ALLEN: The Invictus Games wrapped up Thursday night with some unforgettable moment. The Friendly Sports Meet in Orlando, Florida, brought together 500 wounded military personnel from 14 nations.
One remarkable scene happened after the 100-meter freestyle swim. That's U.S. soldier Sergeant Elizabeth Marks returning one of her four gold medals to Britain's Prince Harry. She asked him to deliver it to a hospital in England.
Our Jonathan Mann asked Sgt. Marks why she did that and what she thinks of Prince Harry, who created the games.
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SGT. ELIZABETH MARKS, U.S. ARMY: The Papworth Hospital saved my life. So I'd spoken with Prince Harry about helping me to facilitate getting the medal to the people who saved my life. And so if I was lucky enough or fortunate enough to win a gold, that was my intention. So that's what I did.
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. You are passing over crucial details. You were hurt in Iraq as a U.S. Army personnel there. But your life, you say, was saved in London two years ago on the eve of the Invictus Games there.
Can you explain that to us?
MARKS: Yes, sir. I had a lung condition when I landed. I was very, very ill and I didn't know. And so I went to the London Memorial Hospital and rapidly went into ARDS, which is adult respiratory distress syndrome.
And the people from Papworth Hospital came down and put me onto a live salvage operation -- it's called EKMA, which is essentially an external lung form of life support that lived my life.
They came down, got me, transported me in an induced coma and saved my life. And I was medevaced from the U.K. in an induced coma as well. So I never got to meet them or see them or know them until last night.
MANN: Wow.
What was that like?
MARKS: Very emotional, very emotional and so rewarding. I'm very grateful I got to see the faces, the heroes that saved my life.
MANN: Let me ask you about another former soldier, Prince Harry, he has a reputation of being a figure out of the tabloids. And he is really the crucial figure behind the Invictus Games.
What should people know about him?
I mean, do you know him at all?
Is there anything --
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MANN: -- you would like to tell us about him and his role in all of this?
MARKS: I have a great deal of respect for Prince Harry. He has afforded us, as injured soldiers, an outlet and an avenue to express how we are not broken, that we're just altered and that we're still strong and we're still ready to drive forward.
And he understands because he is a soldier. He has kind of taken a big brother role and wrapped his arms around all of us. And it's been a quite amazing experience.
He is a very humble hero himself. And he just supports it and loves it and believes in it. And his celebrity and his presence has afforded us the opportunity to show the world that we did this for you and we would do it 100 times over.
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ALLEN: What a remarkable story and Prince Harry, really finding his calling, kind of walking in his mother's footsteps.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know and coming up with this type of work for wounded veterans like that, that's amazing.
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ALLEN: Eurovision is almost here. We'll tell you all you need to know about this year's extravagant singing finale right after this.
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ALLEN: Get ready for theatrics, controversies and, of course, talent. Europe's biggest singing contest, Eurovision, is almost here. Fans around the word are getting ready for the big finale on Saturday. Our Kellie Morgan has the story from London.
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KELLIE MORGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As an Australian, I never quite understood the fascination with Eurovision. But having now lived here for more than seven years, I not only get it, I'm among the more than 180 million people who tune in every year. That's more than the Super Bowl.
It is a cultural feast for the eyes, the ears...
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MORGAN (voice-over): And if you are at a Eurovision party, the taste buds.
The somewhat cheesy extravaganza began some 60 years ago, a platform to bring the countries of Europe together. But the organizers seem to need a geography lesson because, more recently, there have been some additions, including Australia.
They are one of the favorites, by the way.
Israel has also joined the party.
The contest is being hosted in Sweden this year, which, by the way, is the home country of the most successful Eurovision act ever, Abba.
Sweden has won the contest six times but actually Ireland is the most successful country in Eurovision's country, winning seven times.
Norway, however, has been the least successful. It's lost 11 times. Neither of those countries even made the grand final this year. In any case, Russia is the clear favorite.
is huge in his home country and can also be expected to pick up some votes from the so-called Soviet bloc. It's kind of how the Eurovision voting system works. It's called neighborly love and political sentiment.
And if that's not special enough, let's take a moment to remember the weird and the wonderful.
That is Eurovision.
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ALLEN: We will be bringing you the highlights.
Thanks for watching. I'm Natalie Allen. "MAINSAIL" is next after our top stories.
