Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
All of Trump's Lies; Russians Behind False Claim Ukraine Behind 2016 Election Interference; Philadelphia Police Use Karaoke to Break Down Barriers. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired November 22, 2019 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:31:10]
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: As members of Congress and the American public take time to digest what was revealed in the last two weeks of impeachment hearings, they're also deciding how much President Trump said about Ukraine That's was actually truthful.
This upcoming Sunday night, Jake Tapper explores spontaneity and reference of "President Trump's Lies" in a new CNN special report.
So here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITE STATES: It's a scam. It's a whole hoax.
Defeated ISIS.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We all know he does it.
TRUMP: The whistleblower has been very inaccurate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Babe Ruth of lies.
TRUMP: Rgaaargh-aaargh.
Windmills, they say he noise causes cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no president that lied as if it were a form of breathing, except Donald Trump.
TRUMP: Nobody's been more transparent than me.
TAPPER (voice-over): This isn't a transparent thing. He empirically says a number of things that are completely wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In recent months it's been about 22 a day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump lies about every conceivable topic, from the weather, to the infamous shark bite. You can't make this up.
TRUMP: Stronger, cheaper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To immigration and trade.
TRUMP: We're not paying for the tariffs. China is paying for the tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's wrong.
TAPPER (voice-over): We wanted to know what is the impact of all of these lies.
In the U.S. --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Research shows that repetition increases the belief in false news.
TAPPER: On Capitol Hill --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president was a factor in my decision not to run again.
TAPPER: In science.
(on camera): What's at stake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lives.
TAPPER (voice-over): And the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president stands up and basically says --
TAPPER: What a great outcome. Congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, no. That's not the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American credibility has been shredded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of what he says is false until proven to be true.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a conservative Republican. Never did I imagine I would be pointing out the gross flaws of a Republican president.
JOHN KASICH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: People say to me all the time what am I supposed to believe?
TAPPER: What should we believe? Who can we trust?
TRUMP: Just remember what you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Ooh-ooh.
Looks good, Tapper.
Jake Tapper's with me know host of "The Lead," chief Washington correspondent.
These various people you talk to, experts, scientists, economists, right? All about the impact of all of the president's lies. What's the through-line? What's the thing most of them said to you?
TAPPER: Has an impact. It's not just a harmless thing for President Trump's lies to have been such a part to become -- to become such of part of our nation right now.
There are people at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration right now worried because of what happened with Sharpie gate and what might have been a harmless mistake, Alabama in the path of a hurricane, worried what about the next time the national weather service give as warning? Are Trump supporters not going to believe it or Trump haters not going to believe it?
There's a value in imperial fact and empirical truth. Because of this president and his team, it's eroding that.
BALDWIN: You said it. It's the president, also his team. Right? Not just the man himself? It is the White House as a whole?
TAPPER: Funny, "Politico" did a story about our special. And noted, called the White House, because we reached out to the White House and we told them we were doing this documentary about President Trump's relationship with the truth. If they wanted to participate, reached out a number of times.
[14:35:13]
And the White House statement to the politico reporter. Michael Calderone, contain a lie saying he never told them what the documentary was about.
We have an email showing that we said it's about the president's relationship with facts. So, yes, obviously, not just the president. It takes hold and look what happened when NOAA put out a statement basically undermining their own scientists at the national weather service during Sharpie gate.
BALDWIN: You got -- so "Politico," it's a lie from the White House about obviously a truth you told. What about the Republican Party? What about, there's, what Republicans say publicly and obviously what Republican sources tell us privately. What are you hearing about all of these lies, and where the Republican Party is going?
TAPPER: We have a number of Republicans in this documentary as you saw. Former Congressman Charlie Dent, of Pennsylvania, former Governor John Kasich, of Ohio, Amanda Carpenter and others talking about what it does to them. There's a lot of concern among some Republicans about what the president does in terms of -- again, I'm not talking about his policies or tax cuts or building the wall.
I'm just talking about the fact that he lies and says so many things that are not true all the time. There are people who are concerned about it, but a lot of people on Capitol Hill learned the lesson they really just need to get in line and just do what the president says, and not talk about the things that they don't like even if they know what the facts are.
BALDWIN: OK. We're all going to tune in Sunday night for this.
Let me ask you, last question. Which is, when you, Jake Tapper, sitting across here, your Thanksgiving meal carving your Turkey, eating stuffing, having a little wine and a little more wine and some asking, Jake, you've been in the leads of all of these impeachment hearings, hosted all of the hours of all these various witnesses.
What is your biggest takeaway? What's your response?
TAPPER: First, my family knows not to bring up politics. At my house. Because that's not what I want to talk about when I get home.
Just to go along with your premise, there are three facts that I see, as I see them. One, we know President Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. Period. That's a fact. It's in the rough transcript. President Trump came out and said that. On the lawn of the White House, on October 3rd I believe it was.
Two, then the question becomes, OK, what was the extent to which the Trump administration was willing to push Ukraine to do this? Two, according to Gordon Sondland sill the U.S. ambassador to the E.U., it was a quid pro quo, if Ukraine wanted a White House meeting, they needed to announce these investigations.
Three, according to Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff, it was a quid pro quo, at least one of the reasons why the military aid was held up. According to Mulvaney, one of the reasons was, because they wanted to push the Ukrainians to announce this investigation into 2016 and the Ukrainians, what President Trump made very clear he thinks is a conspiracy of the Ukrainians to hack into the DNC server and on and on.
It's been, you know, described as debunked by his own form are top adviser, Tom Bossert.
So you know, it's not for me to say whether it's criminal. Not for me to say whether it's impeachable, but those are three facts about this case.
BALDWIN: OK. Fact number four, Jake Tapper isn't talking politics over his Turkey. Got it.
TAPPER: Nope. No way. Got the wine part right, though.
BALDWIN: All the way around.
Jake Tapper thank you.
TAPPER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Don't forget to join Jake as he investigates. The CNN special report, "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S LIES." It airs this Sunday at 9:00 eastern here on CNN.
[14:38:59]
Just in new evidence in, Russia is behind a be-dunked conspiracy that Ukraine meddled in a 2016 election. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: One begin with, we heard over and over from Republicans over the course of the last few days in these impeachment hearings debunked the theory Ukrainians were responsible for interference in the 2016 presidential election.
And we heard President Trump's former adviser for Russia, Dr. Fiona Hill, vehemently object to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIONA HILL, FORMER TOP RUSSIA EXPERT: Based on questions and statements I have heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country, and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did.
This is a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the Russian services themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And now the "New York Times" has a fresh new reporting that Russia may have not only push that theory but created it.
Matt Rosenberg is a reporter breaking this and a CNN national security expert.
Tell me what you found.
MATT ROSENBERG, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We found that you know, in the days, weeks, months, after the election in 2016 as American officials and intelligence services concluded it was Russia that ran abroad interference campaign, that the Russians came back and became eager to deflect responsibility and shift it to Ukraine.
There's not through social media posts and what we assume is Russia interference. More subtle. Used oligarchs, prominent Russians, funneled through them and may its way to prominent Americans in politics, and journalists. The Americans unwitting, didn't know they were receiving disinformation.
[14:45:17]
The idea, get into the blood stream of American life it was Ukraine who did the interference not Russia and Mr. Putin himself, president Putin, began talking about it as early as February 2017 raising this prospect in a press conference in Moscow.
BALDWIN: There are a number of Republicans who have acknowledged that Russia interfered in our election, but still pushing this Ukraine conspiracy theory. Is it possible that both could be true? That both Russia and Ukraine meddled?
ROSENBERG: Now, look, Ukraine, there were individual Ukrainians, a Ukraine M.P. and some others made their preferences well known and tried to get information out there to help impact our election. But there was no kind of large Ukrainian campaign akin to what the Russians were doing.
The Russians engaged in an incredibly broad campaign involved hacking emails, Democratic Party emails, distributing those emails, a vast large social media push to sow dissension and raise doubts among Americans. No Ukrainian effort of any size anywhere near that.
BALDWIN: We read your views in the "Times."
Matt Rosenberg, thank you. Appreciate it very much.
ROSENBERG: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Coming up, a former FBI lawyer is under investigation for alleged wrongdoing in connection to the agency's handling of the Russia investigation, particularly as relates to a former Trump campaign official.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:51:59]
BALDWIN: Two Police officers in Philadelphia are going "BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY" using Karaoke to break down barriers in their community.
CNN's Alexander Field tells the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): West Philadelphia doesn't always look like this.
(SINGING)
FIELD: But it's a good look for one of the toughest parts of the city, and it's the police who are behind it. OFFICER SHAMSSADEEN NUR ALI BAUKMAN, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: Today I'll
be starting Karaoke with a Cop. Anybody heard of Karaoke with a Cop before?
I suggested that maybe we should do karaoke. And the rest is pretty much history.
FIELD: On Friday afternoons, a block party at a busy intersection with, yes, karaoke --
(SINGING)
-- and dancing.
(SINGING)
FIELD: But there's more to it.
BAUKMAN: I grew up in West Philadelphia, where we are now, and I've seen so many people get hurt by violence. So I wanted to kind of be the answer to that solution, be that local neighborhood hero. And that was my goal.
FIELD: The party is the brainchild of two beat cops from the neighborhood who are trying to stop violence.
(SINGING)
FIELD: They believe the police need to get more people on their side in order to do it.
OFFICER JUSTIN HARRIS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: We always see police officers using too much force or abusing their power, but we rarely see incidents where you see police officers in a positive light.
FIELD: This is how they're changing that. A deejay volunteers his time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It started off small, and then it grew.
FIELD: People just keep showing up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was on the bus and I dropped off. It was fun. Released the stress.
(SINGING)
FIELD: And often they really are surprised by what they see.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And one time I was like getting nervous around the cops. But I feel real comfortable. I'm real, real comfortable.
FIELD (on camera): Are you seeing signs that it's making a real difference?
HARRIS: Yes, people feel more comfortable approaching us. They feel more comfortable giving us information, because they know we're going to do the right things with it.
BAUKMAN: Anybody else want to sing with us?
FIELD (voice over): The hope is that what's working on this corner could work on more streets, even in more cities.
FIELD (on camera): This seems so simple.
DENNIS JOHNSON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Yes, it sounds simple, but you have to start simple to get the attention of the folks, because this is something that's never been done. And I guarantee you, once it get out there, they'll be doing it in North Philly, Germantown, up Frankfort, and all the other areas, because they're -- this is a model. This is a new model, a new approach.
(SINGING)
FIELD (voice-over): Officer Baukman and Officer Harris say it's just their way of breaking barriers.
HARRIS: All we need is a conversation. A conversation can change a lot.
FIELD: And this is the language everyone here seems to speak.
(SINGING)
FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, West Philadelphia.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Breaking barriers one karaoke song at a time.
Alex, thank you.
[14:55:55]
We're, of course, staying on top of breaking news. John Bolton makes a mysterious return to Twitter, claiming the White House tried to silence his Twitter account.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We continue on. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here.
[15:00:01]
It's no secret John Bolton clashed with President Trump while working in the White House. But is the president's former national security adviser getting ready to dish on his time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
