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Iran Threatens "All Out War" if U.S. or Saudis Launch Strike; John Bolton Allegedly Criticized Trump at Private Event; Trump's Communication Sparked Whistleblower Complaint; Justin Trudeau Apologizes for Brownface Photo from 2001. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 19, 2019 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:12]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: This morning Iran's Foreign minister is threatening an all-out war if the U.S. or Saudi Arabia strikes Iran. Speaking exclusively with our own Nick Paton Walsh, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What would be the consequence of an America or Saudi military strike on Iran now?

MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: An all-out war.

PATON WALSH: You make a very serious statement, sir.

ZARIF: Well, I make a very serious statement about defending our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And Zarif also said that he's willing to --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATON WALSH: So far would frankly, they've called an act of war. They've said that you've fired missiles from the sovereign territory and the sovereign territory of another state.

ZARIF: That's a lie.

PATON WALSH: Understood. They've accused you of that none the same. This would normally, one might expect, result in some kind of military retaliation. Do you believe Donald Trump is gun shy?

ZARIF: No. I believe that he has been the subject of an attempt many times to drag the United States into a war. And he has refused. And in spite of the fact that I disagree with many of his policies, I think this is a prudent decision. But it doesn't mean that somebody is gun shy in order to avoid starting a war based on a lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: It's a remarkable interview. You should watch the entire thing. Zarif also said he is willing to talk to Saudi Arabia but the possibility of a return to negotiations with the U.S. is very much uncertain.

Let's go to our national security reporter Kylie Atwood. She joins us this morning.

So Pompeo making this trip. Also speaking this morning. What are we hearing from the secretary of State?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's important to note that just this morning President Trump said that we may have a very strong hit against Iran, saying he would like a peaceful solution. He's not sure if that is possible. But as you said, Poppy, the secretary of State just coming out of meetings that he's had in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the past few days, acknowledging that he has seen these remarks from the foreign minister of Iran but saying that the U.S. is looking for a peaceful solution here. Talking about building a coalition. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: That's what President Trump, that's what America always wants. We'd like a peaceful resolution indeed. I think we've demonstrated that. And they've taken down American UAVs, conducted the largest attack on the globe's energy in an awfully long time. And we are still striving to build out a coalition.

I was here on an act of diplomacy while the foreign minister of Iran is threatening all-out war, to fight to the last American. We're here to build out a coalition aimed at achieving peace and a peaceful resolution to this. That's my mission set.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now Secretary Pompeo also has commented on the importance of using the United Nations General Assembly next week. That's in New York City with world leaders from across the globe coming, and he said that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are going to be talking at that meeting about the way forward here. Not explicitly saying that the U.S. is looking at a military option.

It's important to note that Pompeo did say yesterday that this was an act of war. But he said it was an act of war against Saudi Arabia. It was on Saudi territory. It was not an act of war against the U.S. So where the U.S. goes from here is a bit unclear. We know there's a National Security Council meeting today to discuss the way forth with Iran and then Secretary Pompeo will be returning to Washington later tonight to really map the way forward. But there is still a very active ongoing decision-making process -- Poppy.

HARLOW: OK, Kylie Atwood, thank you for that important update. We appreciate it. Meantime, the former National Security adviser John Bolton seems to be

slamming the president, the man who fired him. This happened during a closed-door event here in New York.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Didn't take long. According to someone who attended the event last night, Bolton had, quote, "nothing positive to say" about his old boss and in fact criticized the president's current approach to Iran but also to North Korea and Afghanistan.

CNN White House correspondent Abby Phillip, she's following these developments. So how far did John Bolton go here?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's hard to believe that someone like John Bolton wouldn't know that these comments would eventually come out. And all of this happened in this closed-door meeting without Bolton even saying Trump's name explicitly. But implicitly, he criticized the foreign policy strategy led by President Trump, specifically the president's desire to continue to negotiate with countries like Iran and like North Korea and also with the Taliban.

Now this issue of the president's desire to bring the Taliban here to the United States for a summit at Camp David is one of the main reasons that precipitated the break in this relationship with the president and his National Security adviser.

[09:35:07]

We've reported that the president and Bolton got into a heated argument over this issue in the Oval Office just before Bolton resigned. And yesterday at this closed-door meeting, John Bolton said that he thought it was disrespectful that the president would consider bringing the Taliban to the United States just days before the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Bolton also went on to criticize the president's reaction to Iran saying that Iran was to blame for some of these drone attacks in the Middle East and that if the United States continued to not respond to them, it would only embolden that regime.

So this back and forth between the president and his former National Security adviser seems to be ongoing. President Trump himself has had only really negative things to say about John Bolton, criticizing his approach to all of these issues as well. But Bolton has made it clear he is not going quietly into the night after leaving this White House unlike some of these other officials who have left without really publicly criticizing the president.

HARLOW: Bolton book coming, Abby? Who knows?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Stay tuned.

PHILLIP: Right. Exactly.

HARLOW: Thank you. Thank you. All right, so "The Washington Post" reporting this morning that the

president made a promise to an unnamed foreign leader and sparked a whistleblower complaint. Much more on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:41:14]

HARLOW: President Trump is at the center of a heated dispute this morning between the director of National Intelligence and Congress. "The Washington Post" says this all stems from a promise that the president allegedly made to a foreign leader.

SCIUTTO: Now according to the "Post," this promise was seen as so troubling that it prompted a U.S. intelligence official to file a whistleblower complaint.

Let's discuss all of this and more with Wes Lowery, he's CNN contributor and national reporter for "The Washington Post," and Ayesha Rascoe, she's White House reporter for NPR.

Let me ask you, Ayesha, here because what is key about this is the complaint but also the administration's response to this complaint so far. You've got a sitting director of National Intelligence moving slowly, at best, to abide by the law here which requires reporting such a complaint to Congress and that fits into a broader pattern of this administration ignoring law and practice when it comes to oversight by the House.

What's the Dems' response here? Can they force the DNI to detail what this complaint actually was?

AYESHA RASCOE, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, NPR: Well, it seems like that's what they're trying to move ahead with. They're going to have a hearing, where they're going to try to press this acting DNI to at least explain his actions. And then after that, you would have to see whether they would push the administration further. Often these things if they can't get decided, they can end up in court and there is an argument that this is what the law requires and the DNI really doesn't have the authority to not turn this over.

But as you said, this is part of a larger thing for this administration. They have kind of basically bargained that they can just push everything down the road and that they don't have to comply with oversight. But this in particular is supposed to be dealing with national security and you have --

HARLOW: Right.

RASCOE: -- an IG who is -- was appointed by the Trump administration saying that this is an urgent concern.

HARLOW: Yes.

RASCOE: So I think this is going to be harder to push away.

HARLOW: For sure. And that's a key point, Ayesha. I'm glad you bring it up.

Wesley Lowery, just what does it tell you that someone also thought it was so important for the public to know that this was apparently about a promise made by the president to a foreign leader that they told "The Washington Post," they told your paper?

WESLEY LOWERY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Of course. I mean, remarkable reporting by some of my colleagues here. But it does. I mean, the idea that leaks like this coming from intelligence, you know, it does speak to, and I think it was represented even in the piece that was written, how significant that is. Right? That there's a concern. You know, it reminds me actually of a lot of the reporting that came out very nearly the Trump administration where the president and at the time president-elect would have calls with foreign leaders and transcripts of the calls would leak. Something at the time was relatively unheard of.

Those types of -- that type of reporting has largely ceased. There's still been tons of different leaking out of the White House and other reports about the president and his behavior and his conversations. But there was a particular strand of reporting like this, if you'll remember, back in 2017 was happening all the time about how the president was engaging foreign leaders. Reading the piece reminded me a lot of that.

It's very interesting to me, you know, reading this reporting and looking at it that someone thought whatever it is they heard or whatever it is they were aware of reached to the level that they needed to publicly disclose this and create public pressure now because, again, this is something that could have played out privately. Could have continued to be a fight between Dems on the Hill and the intelligence community and the Trump administration. But now there's the public pressure. We're talking about it on television which starts to change the dynamics of the story itself.

SCIUTTO: The question is, does it change the reaction, right? Because as you know, Wes, this is part of a pattern here. The president shared classified information with Russians in an Oval Office meeting, May 2017. I reported last week in July 2017 there was concern in the IC that he discussed classified intelligence with Putin in Hamburg.

[09:45:00]

You now have someone taking a step here, Ayesha, to use this relatively rarely used process, a whistleblower process, citing another concern here. Not necessarily relating to intelligence but still, communications with a foreign leader. Why no bipartisan reaction to this?

RASCOE: I think that part of the reason is, as Wes was saying, that this is -- that there have been these leaks and things about basically the way President Trump has handled his talks with foreign leaders and, in the past, he's been able to get at least past them to kind of get through those scandals. And so you see Republicans are probably reticent to come out until they know exactly what is being said because they know if they do, they risk the president attacking them. And, look, this isn't an issue dealing with the security of the U.S. or you would think that would be a bipartisan issue, but in this town, often it's looking at the political calculations of it. They may want to know what it's all about before they actually stick their neck out.

SCIUTTO: If they stick their neck out.

RASCOE: If they do. If they do.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Wes, I'd love to turn the page here and ask you about 2020 and the Democratic field. There's some interesting -- I mean, we saw the boost that Elizabeth Warren got in the recent NBC-"Wall Street Journal" poll out earlier this week. Really closely trailing Biden.

A FOX poll this morning shows her further down. She's at 16 percent. Sanders is at 18 percent. So, it's important to look at all of it in context. But the Atlantic has a really interesting piece out this week. The title is, "Why Ex-Sanders Supporters are Backing Warren." And they point to specifically the Working Families Party, which is this grassroots progressive organization that was backing Sanders in 2016 and is now backing Elizabeth Warren.

Is that a one-off or is that a trend here as, you know, Sanders loses his guy in charge of operations in Iowa? What do you think?

LOWERY: Look, I think it's one of the most fascinating subplots of the Democratic race, right, is the grapple and the tug of war between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Two senators who have been friends for a long time, who agree on much more than they disagree on, although are very different tactically, stylistically, and do have some substantive disagreements. Right? But this push and pull between folks in a two-person race might have supported Sanders over Hillary Clinton who now when presented with additional options might give someone like Elizabeth Warren a glance.

I mean, so, it's fascinating to see the Working Families Party with this endorsement early -- relatively early in the race to Elizabeth Warren.

HARLOW: Yes.

LOWERY: But there have been some pushback. I was talking to some activists yesterday who was saying that the Sanders folks have come back at the Working Families Party. And so it's still a very divisive issue as these two really grapple for if -- you know, if Joe Biden were to start losing support, if he becomes less inevitable, less of a frontrunner, who becomes -- who ascends? And Sanders and Warren currently are the two people who the polls show are kind of in the position to do that. And so because of that, their supporters are engaged in a real tug-of-war over this narrative of who is the next person and who is the leading progressive candidate?

HARLOW: It's really interesting to watch.

Thank you both so much. Ayesha Rascoe and Wes Lowery, we appreciate it.

RASCOE: Thank you.

HARLOW: Ahead, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau under fire this morning after a photo of him surfaced wearing brownface. This is in 2001. He's apologized, but is it enough? Especially during a tough reelection campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:08]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now apologizing after a photo surfaced of him wearing brownface during a school event in 2001. It happened while Trudeau was a teacher at a private school. He attended an Arabian Nights party with friends and colleagues dressed as a character from Aladdin. He was also, as you can see a picture there, wearing a turban.

HARLOW: So this also comes in the midst of a very tough reelection campaign for Trudeau.

Our Paula Newton of course covering this story. She joins us now live.

You know, one of the points that you've made and that I certainly thought interviewing Trudeau six months ago or so, so much of what he has run on has been based on inclusion and diversity.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CANADIAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're so right, Poppy. I remember the answer that he gave you about being a feminist. And this is the issue, guys, right? I mean, he was champion of all rights. I can't -- I've lost count on how many gay pride parades he's been to in Canada this year. We're talking women's rights, we're talking indigenous rights. And that's why that picture and his behavior as a teacher in his late 20s is so jaw-dropping. Now the apology was swift and it was absolutely blunt. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I take responsibility for my decision to do that. I shouldn't have done it. I should have known better. It was something that I didn't think was racist at the time. But now I recognize it was something racist to do. And I am deeply sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And that's a key point there, guys. The point is he said this is racist.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NEWTON: Something that was very obvious to anyone in Canada who in some cases has suffered from that discrimination. Obviously in Canada. I think, look, it was quite a betrayal of somebody who has that veneer of being able to champion these kinds of causes. We are a month away from an election, and we'll see if it ends up sticking with him won't help his international reputation.

SCIUTTO: Sure.

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: But -- I supposed to his credit, he was definitive in the accountability there.

NEWTON: Absolutely.

SCIUTTO: Paul Newton, great to have you on the show.

HARLOW: Thank you.

[09:55:03]

SCIUTTO: The inspector general of the intelligence community is meeting right now behind closed doors with members of House Intelligence Committee. What will the panel learn about a whistle blower complaint "The Washington Post" says was sparked by a promise the president made to a foreign leader as yet unidentified?

Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: A very good Thursday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

HARLOW: And I'm Poppy Harlow. Right now --

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