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Report: China Rips "Ignorant Child" Trump Remarks; Trump Says Does Not Believe CIA's "Ridiculous" Intel About Russia; Trump Rips Cost of F-35 Fighter; Priest and Sister Address Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 12, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00] JIM SCIUTTO, CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And it still has relations with Taiwan on a thousand different levels. Sells them loads of weapons, diplomatic -- not official diplomatic, but ties. That's the balance they have struck there. In effect, you're not allies with both but you have relationships with both. China looks at Taiwan as if a U.S. state left the United States, Hawaii, and became its own country. China looks at Taiwan that way. And this is how the U.S. has balanced that, in effect, having relations with both, but the official relations are with China at the diplomatic level and then you have defense relations, trade relations with Taiwan. Sounds pretty simple and, hey, why don't we turn that over?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Not when Trump picks up the phone and talks to Taiwan.

SCIUTTO: From China's perspective, that's a big deal. It's like, wait a second, you're recognizing this renegade state. Here is the thing, don't listen to me but if you talk to China, diplomats from the Democratic and Republican side, you know, it would be nice to think that, hey, let's throw that as a bargaining chip on the table. Maybe we could get better, you know, tariffs on U.S. auto sales to China. China doesn't look at -- for china, this is like a nationalist defining issue. Are they going to negotiate that away for something else? I don't know. But I do know smarter people than me who think that's nuts.

BALDWIN: What do they say about Trump? We've talked about these flights here nuclear capable flights, what have they said about Trump?

SCIUTTO: China has said not very nice things. They said they're very concerned about the one China, you know, talk about changing the one China policy. And then in their propaganda, their newspapers, they use their editorials as a way to push a little further. And they've called Donald Trump a child on this issue. I mean, this is the kind of stuff you have coming out of there. Big picture, is it a horrible thing if U.S. gets closer to Taiwan? It's a democracy. China is not. No.

But the question is, how easily can you do that? How easily can you go to a nuclear-powered country of 1.4 billion people and say, by the way, all that stuff we've been doing for 40-some-odd years --

BALDWIN: Throw it out. SCIUTTO: Throw it out. Everything's on the table. That's the thing

people back at home have to understand. It would be surprising if you could move that ship. But, you know, he's President now, so he's got that option.

BALDWIN: He is. Jim Sciutto, you are excellent on this. Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Next, Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro joins me to talk about Russian hacking. We'll ask him if it may have been influencing the election results.

[15:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, it is just Monday and already this bombshell assessment from the CIA, a foreign government, namely Russia, meddled with U.S. elections, specifically with the intent to help Donald Trump win. While the President-elect calls the CIA's conclusion in a word ridiculous, Democrats and even some top Republicans are calling for an investigation into the hacking. Let me bring in Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro. He serves on the house select committee on intelligence and house foreign affairs committee. Congressman, always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

JOAQUIN CASTRO, CONGRESSMAN, TEXAS: Great to be with you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know the deal, the President-elect is not buying this report from the CIA that Russia interfered at all. From your closed- door briefings and what you know from the CIA, do you believe that Russia helped win this election for Trump?

CASTRO: Well, of course, I can't disclose anything we were told in closed session, but if you look at just the public information that's out there and what happened during the election, it's clear that Guccifer and WikiLeaks cooperating to put out all those e-mails from John Podesta was not helpful. I agree with my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, this we need to get to the bottom of this. The American people need to know their democracy is secure, that it's protected from foreign interference, whether it's Russia or any other country, and so I know there have been a few proposals so far. For example, Adam Schiff has said that both the house and Senate intelligence committees should investigate this. Others are calling for an independent commission. However, we get to the bottom of it, the American people deserve to know what exactly happened.

BALDWIN: On the flip side, to be fair to the President-elect, you have members of his transition team -- I'm paraphrasing, these are the same people, the CIA, saying there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and you have this very forceful report from the CIA, the FBI is a tad more ambiguous and murky, but can you understand why Donald Trump is a little skeptical? CASTRO: Well, I understand that he's going to be skeptical because he

doesn't want to believe that anything but his own charisma and talent helped him win the election. But I was very stunned about his initial response to the CIA report because right away he went for the jugular and essentially undermined one of the most if not the most important intelligence agency in the country. That doesn't bode well for his relationship with the CIA or the intelligence community. And I think it's really going to be damaging to our country. You couple that with the fact that he's refusing to take daily intelligence briefings, which is traditional for certainly a President but also for a President-elect, and I think that this is a recipe for disaster. And that's why I stand by something that I said months ago, that the worst thing that could happen to the Republican party is for Donald Trump to become President.

BALDWIN: I'm listening to you very closely, but I also want to go back. Do you think that deep, deep down, what this is about for Trump and how he responded so strongly against the CIA report, is really just about Trump and winning and feeling like maybe this would take it away?

CASTRO: Absolutely. I think he probably believes that the idea that anybody that interfered on his behalf, if admits that somehow or Americans believe that, that it takes away from his victory. Look, this issue is bigger than any one politician, including a President. This is about the safety and security of our democracy. And whether you're a Republican or Democrat, all of us should want to know how much another government or whether another government interfered because if you don't get to the bottom of it, and then if you don't take action, it's an open-door invitation for other governments and other groups to do the same thing in subsequent elections.

BALDWIN: Congressman Castro, what about the current administration, I mean, we know the White House has ordered this full review on elections even going back to 2008, but do you think -- and I can understand, you know, from perspective of the White House, they wouldn't want to meddle and look like they're playing politics but at the same time, they certainly knew a thing or two and should they have been more vocal all along?

CASTRO: Well, it was a tough call for them, I'm sure --

BALDWIN: Yes or no.

CASTRO: They don't want it to look like they're putting their finger on the scale. It's obvious that if the FBI, James Comey didn't hold back with his letter on announcing they're going to take a look at the new e-mails from Hillary Clinton, so I think that if information was going to be put out there that could affect the election, then everything should have been out there. Again, that's all -- that's all in the past at this point. The important thing is that we make sure that no government or no foreign interference happens to our elections in the future.

BALDWIN: Of course, you mentioned James Comey. I want to play this sound. This is with Harry Reid, the outgoing Senate minority leader sitting down with Manu Raju. This is what he said specifically about the FBI director.

[15:40:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY REID, SENATE MINORITY LEADER: They looked into nothing.

MANU RAJU, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Why do you think that is?

REID: Well, it's obviously, he was a part in all this.

RAJU: Comey?

REID: Comey, yes, it's obvious. There's information out there. He had it and I'm confident and he ignored it. And we know from other reports we've seen from all you guys, there were reports in the people -- in the campaign for Donald Trump were in touch with the Russians. Now it's very clear. One of the biggest mysteries that people think exist, why didn't he do something? It's no mystery to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You know, he makes an important point, Congressman, but my question is this, Democrats have blamed Russia and Comey and fake news and sexism. On their election loss. Do you admit your party made mistakes with their strategy and needs to do some soul-searching?

CASTRO: Look, of course. You know, I think everybody can Monday- morning quarterback and figure out what we should have done different. Every time we lose an election, there are things you need to go back and figure out what could have been done better. Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Why aren't you guys talking more about that?

CASTRO: I think those assessments are going on now. But the important point senator Reid makes there, I think one of the most important points and the question we should all be asking is whether the people who extracted information from the political institutions, whether they be Republican or Democrat, share that information with any American or Americans and certainly anybody that was part of a Presidential campaign this past year.

BALDWIN: Congressman Joaquin Castro, thank you so, so much.

CASTRO: Thank you.

Next, on the very same day the U.S. delivers two F-35 fighter jets to Israel, President-elect Trump slams the Lockheed Martin program for being too expensive and the company's stock is taking a dive. What Lockheed Martin is saying in response.

[15:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Stock in Lockheed Martin is taking a dive after President- elect Trump slammed the company's F-35 fighter jet program. This morning this was the tweet. Quote, the fF35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military and other purchases after January 20th. That, of course, is the day of inauguration. The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive program with some estimates around $400 billion. This all comes on the very same day the defense secretary Ash Carter is delivering two F-35 jets to the Israeli air force. With me now, Paul La Monica to talk stocks from CNN Money and Ian Lee. Ian Lee, first, how is this company responding to Trump's criticism?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this day wasn't going according to schedule before Donald Trump's tweet. These planes were delayed in Italy because of bad weather. And then you had Donald Trump raining on their parade further by tweeting out that they were, as you said, costing too much. I put that to the head of the F-35 project for Lockheed Martin. He said he's willing and happy to talk about it with the President-elect. Here is more of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF BABIONE, EXECUTIVE VP AND GENERAL MANAGER, LOCKHEED MARTIN F-35 PROGRAM: Lockheed Martin and its industry partners understand the importance of affordability for the F-35 program. And since the beginning, we've invested hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce the price of the airplane. More than 70 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Brooke, Israel's two F-35s eventually arrived. There was a large ceremony. We heard from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We also heard from U.S. defense secretary Ash Carter. Both reaffirming the close ties between the two countries, Israel and the United States. Just recently signed a memorandum of understanding, a $38 billion deal. These F-35s will be a part of it. I asked them at the ceremony about what does this mean for Israel's air capabilities in the region? I asked this to one of the Lockheed Martin people on site. And, of course, he has a stake in this, but he said, if you compare the F-35 to the F-16, which Israel has now, it is like comparing the iPhone 7 to a flip phone. Brooke?

BALDWIN: OK. That puts us in terms we can understand here. Paul let me just turn to you specifically on Lockheed Martin and this tweet. How did that affect stocks?

PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Lockheed Martin fell on this news. It's another example of Trump using his twitter feed as a negotiating tool.

BALDWIN: Boeing last week.

LA MONICA: Boeing with Air Force One. Now Lockheed Martin. I think investors have reason to be concerned that Trump is going to do this increasingly. Even though this is not the first time that any politicians have attacked Lockheed over the cost of the F-35. This has been a bipartisan issue. John McCain in April calling it a disgrace because of the cost overruns and delays. So, this is not the first time and it won't be the last because the F-35 had lots of problems.

BALDWIN: Paul, thank you. Ian, thank you very much there on those F- 35s and they are costly.

Coming up next, Syrian regime on the verge of taking complete control of Aleppo. Tens of thousands trying to escape the violence there. We will talk to a catholic nun and a priest forced to leave their homes because of these ongoing wars both in Iraq and Syria. What they are seeing firsthand in the medical clinic they have set up to help. Don't miss this.

[15:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Take a moment to just really focus on what's happening in Syria. Syrian troops are on the verge of complete control of Aleppo. The regime has taken more neighborhoods in the rebel held part of the city. In that same period, more than 10,000 people dodged gunfire, explosions to escape this war-torn territory. But still trapped inside this city, this 7-year-old girl. Her name is Bana, she and her mother have gained global attention by tweeting about the horrors they're seeing. And they spoke exclusively with CNN's Jomana Karadsheh.

[15:55:00] (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BANA AL-ABED, 7-YEAR OLD GIRL WHO TWEETED ABOUT CHAOS IN ALEPPO: My brother, Noor, doesn't speak because of the bombing. We didn't

know what he says and we are scared of the shelling. When our house was shelled we were so scared and we suffocated because of the dust and we were going to die.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tens of thousands of people have left east Aleppo and they've gone out. Why are you still there?

FATEMA AL-ABED; MOTHER OF BANA: I am afraid to lose one of my kid if I flee with all the people because I think I am work against the regime. I don't belong to any side. I am just what I was speaking about the civilian people, about children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: We just checked moments ago and this little girl tweeted, my dad is injured now. I am crying. #Aleppo. They're hoping international aid groups can help evacuate them. With me, Father Behnam Benoka and Sister Diana, the co-founders of a relief organization that provides medical care, food and education to those who have been displaced. This is so important to continue shining a light on this. Father and sister, so much. You were both forced from your homes in Iraq to escape is. Father, let me begin with you. Please.

FATHER BEHNAM BENOKA, CO-FOUNDER HUMANITARIAN NINEVEH RELIEF ORGANIZATION: So, as everybody knows, Christianity in Iraq is persecuted since it's starting in the first century after Christ. We're still suffering. We were absolutely a majority in Iraq but now unfortunately we are a very small minority. That's because of the long persecution that we suffering since the war started as Christians in Iraq. We believe that this is very critical point of our history. We are, the Christianity, is on the edge of extinction in Iraq. We believe that you can help us. We believe that the history can be rebuilt again. Please, we need to stay with us and to help us to rise again because if not, there will be our end. Either to help us and to rebuild our history in Iraq or tell us and help us to go from there.

BALDWIN: Sister, I want to get to how people can help, but can you just tell me what it was like having to leave your own home, how terrifying was that for you?

SISTER DIANA MOMEKA, CO-FOUNDER HUMANITARIAN NINEVEH RELIEF ORGANIZATION: Well, Brooke, what I can say, it was one of the horrible and unimaginable moments for us that was never thought that this day will come. It was very difficult, like within a few hours to see the whole Christian village and towns evacuated from Christians and has no church bell rang during Sunday or every single day.

So, it is difficult. It is difficult to, you know, feel that moment that we have to leave our homes and not knowing if we'll come back or not. But going back was more terrifying than leaving because we did not expect what we've seen when we went back from destruction, from burning, from looting, from the tunnels that we discovered that ISIS has created as their hidden places to fight. We're still in shock. We still can't believe this is what they have done to our heritage that we have inherited from our ancestors from the first generation when Christianity entered Iraq.

BALDWIN: And beyond of course saving lives and souls and homes, I know there's concern in Palmyra of course precious antiquities being destroyed. I have 30 more seconds. Father, how can people help?

FATHER BENOKA: First, we need to see that there is hope there because the most important place for the Christianity in Iraq is near Mosul where the majority of the Christians were living. Now all are displaced into Kurdistan.

BALDWIN: My deepest apologies. I unfortunately am out of time. We will make sure we get the information on cnn.com how they can help you, Father Benoka and Sister Momeka, thank you.