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Report: Trump Doing More Official Business Inside Residence; GOP Embraces Debunked Conspiracy Theories That Benefit Russia; Rick Perry: President Trump "God's Chosen One"; Sheriff Killed After Approaching Car Over Reported Loud Music; Schiff: Impeachment Inquiry Report Coming Soon After Thanksgiving. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired November 25, 2019 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
NANCY COOK, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, "POLITICO" & AUTHOR: But I was just thinking, during impeachment, as he grows more wary of the people around him, he's leaning on it more and more as a place to do business --
(CROSSTALK)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Yes. But as you point out, he's not the first president to spend so much time in the residence and staying up late, making calls. How did past president's use that space?
COOK: People used it a bunch of different ways. I would say the president who used it similarly was Bill Clinton. He liked to stay up late and make phone calls. He liked to have people at the residence, sometimes for meetings.
President Trump in this way has broken the mold. He calls people early in the morning. A White House reporter I know who spends a lot of time at the White House said he usually doesn't come down to the Oval Office until 11:00 or so. So 6:00 a.m. to 11:00, he's usually up in the residence watching TV, reading the news. He calls foreign leaders from there.
In the early evening, late afternoon, weekends, nights, he'll have meetings up there. He'll even call down to senior staff in the White House and ask them to come up for the meeting.
It's something that, as he's gotten more and more comfortable in the presidency, this is where he likes doing his work.
BALDWIN: His home away from home, so to speak.
Nancy Cook, thank you very much.
COOK: Thanks so much.
BALDWIN: Rick Perry becoming the latest Trump official who says the president was sent by God as, quote, unquote, "the chosen one." We'll talk about the impact of those words in this political climate with Frank Bruni, coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:57]
BALDWIN: The conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 elections, not the Russians, has been debunked a number of times over. You still hear President Trump and a slew of Republicans talk about it as if it's fact. They do that even though the president's own former top Russia adviser just told Congress, testifying under oath, that the Ukraine story line is Russian propaganda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIONA HILL, FORMER TOP RUSSIA EXPERT: 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 security services themselves. In the course of this investigation, I would ask that you to please not promote politically derived falsehoods that is so clearly advances Russian interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Keeping that in mind, listen to what Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: Who do you believe was responsible for hacking the DNC and Clinton campaign computers, their e-mails? Was it Russia or Ukraine?
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I don't know. Nor do you. Nor do any of us. Ms. Hill --
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: I mean, let me just interrupt to say the entire Intelligence Community says it was Russia.
KENNEDY: Right, but it could also be Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to bring in CNN's Contributor and "New York Times" Op-Ed Columnist, Frank Bruni.
And good for Chris Wallace for calling him out on air. This conspiracy theory as been debunked a thousand times. Yet, a sitting U.S. Senator is giving this falsehood air.
FRANK BRUNI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
BALDWIN: Why. BRUNI: It's what the president is putting out, because it's what the president wants to hear. If reality does not flatter or defend or exonerate Donald Trump, then the answer is to invent another reality. That's what he's been doing since the beginning of his presidency, going back to his campaign.
It's astonishing how much everyone in the party is following suit, senior administration officials, Republican Senators. That's how they're going to be able tell their - that's what they'll tell themselves and their consciences when they vote to acquit him in the Senate.
BALDWIN: If you're an everyday American sitting home, believing the John Kennedys of the world, why is this so important? What damage is being done here? Not only now, but years from now.
BRUNI: We're downgrading and degrading the whole concept of truth. You mentioned Americans sitting at one. One of the important things about this impeachment inquiry, we keep looking back saying, compared to Clinton and the near-impeachment of Richard Nixon. Those didn't take place in our current news landscape, where you can choose on the cable dial a station that gives you something selective that validates your own pre-believes and prejudices.
BALDWIN: Right.
BRUNI: Those didn't happen in the current Internet landscape where your Facebook or Twitter feed sets you up to hear what you believe and more of it.
BALDWIN: Right.
BRUNI: This idea of the inquiry being a search for truth is almost kind of quaint, because most people have their truth already. They're going to sources that are telling their truth back to them, and the real truth ceases to matter.
BALDWIN: Let me play this clip. This is Sacha Baron Cohen. Sacha Baron Cohen is speaking to the ADL about Facebook. Separate subject. We pulled this clip. I want you to listen to the point he was making.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SACHA BARON COHEN, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: We have lost it seems a shared sense of basic facts upon which democracy depends. When I, as the wannabe gangster, Alexi (ph), asks the astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, what was it like to walk on the sun --
(LAUGHTER)
BARON COHEN: -- the joke worked because we, the audience, shared the same facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Right. So just keeping that in mind, if Republicans are spreading these false claims, why should a huge chunk of this country trust them when they say something like America doesn't want impeachment?
[14:40:00]
BRUNI: That's right. Let's go project forward and get scary. Let's go to the election of 2020. What if Trump loses the election and he turns around and, with as much credibility as saying Ukraine did the interference in the last election, he says there's rampant voter fraud, I shouldn't have to leave the White House.
Are all these people going to believe him then? It worries me greatly, and it should worry everyone.
BALDWIN: If people are believing it now, why wouldn't they believe it then if he does -- that's the frightening part, I see your point.
(CROSSTALK)
BRUNI: What I'm saying is, they will believe it.
BALDWIN: They will believe it.
Let's talk about Rick Perry. He did this interview with FOX News, made headlines about saying this about President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY, ENERGY SECRETARY: God has used imperfect people all through history. King David wasn't perfect. Saul wasn't perfect. Solomon wasn't perfect.
And I actually gave the president a little one pager on those the Old Testament kings about a month ago. And I shared it with him.
And I said, Mr. President, I know there are people that say -- you know, you said you were the chosen one. And I said, you were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Who was meant to.
BRUNI: I'm just thinking of all the president's in history that did not need to be told the chosen one, I think Donald Trump is at the head of the list.
BALDWIN: Who do you think was he talking to when he was doing that interview? The base or, you know?
BRUNI: He was talking to the base and Donald Trump. He's outgoing energy secretary. Thank God for small favors. He doesn't have to kiss up to Trump quite as much as before.
BALDWIN: Yes. We should also point out that, in the past, Rick Perry has said that he thought President Obama at the time was the chosen one. BRUNI: Yes.
BALDWIN: But still, we've heard from Sarah Sanders.
Who's the other one guys? Jump in my hear.
Also now --
BRUNI: Mike Pompeo.
BALDWIN: Mike Pompeo --
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: -- thank you very much
BRUNI: Mike Pence, according to much reporting, believes this, too.
BALDWIN: The chosen one?
BRUNI: This is connected to what we were talking about before. If you invent reality to justify everything, you get out of personal responsibility for any bad behavior. Likewise, if God has ordained this, everything you did must be OK.
BALDWIN: Francis Bruni, good to see you.
BRUNI: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you very much.
A beloved sheriff shot and killed in the line of duty after he approached a car. We have the details there. The accused, a deputy's son. Now the devastates community has a lot of questions about what led up to the tragedy.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:47:26]
BALDWIN: People in south Alabama's Lowndes County are mourning the violent death of their sheriff, "Big John" Williams. Authorities say he was shot in his head Saturday night while responding to a call at a local gas station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. STEVE JARRETT, ALABAMA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: He was just a great guy. He worked 24/7 and he was always willing to help. The citizens loved him. Just couldn't have happened to a nicer person and a better law enforcement office. And I know the citizens here will be -- will be devastated.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: The suspect accused in the case just happens to be the 18- year-old son of a sheriff's deputy from nearby Montgomery County. William Chase Johnson was arrested just hours after returning to the crime scene. And today he's charged with murder and his bond has been denied.
With me now is Sheriff Derrick Cunningham. He's the sheriff of Montgomery County.
Sheriff, thank you so much for being here.
It's my understanding you knew Sheriff Williams and as we mentioned, the suspect's father worked as deputy. When you heard the news, what was your reaction?
DERRICK CUNNINGHAM, SHERIFF, MONTGOMERY COUNTRY, ALABAMA, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I was -- Brooke, I was shocked. Any time someone calls you and pass on information such as that, that your neighboring sheriff was shot and killed, you're speechless and the only thing going through your mind is that I need to get down here and be here for him, that was my main thinking.
BALDWIN: Can you talk to me a little bit about Big John? I know he went by "Big John" Williams. The man, his impact on the community?
CUNNINGHAM: Big John is one of the guys that, when I say he's -- not just a colleague or not just another sheriff in your county, we were very close friends. You see me, you see Big John.
I always within down to his county to assist him with programs. He came here to assist me. He was the person I could depend on.
We go out of town. We have conferences, we went out of town together. We traveled together. We were just that close. We talked on a daily basis.
I had spoke with him that Saturday morning. I was directing traffic at a funeral that Saturday morning. We talked on a daily basis. That's just how close we were.
[14:50:08]
BALDWIN: Oh, my goodness. You must be gutted. Sheriff Cunningham, I knew you knew him but I didn't know you really knew him.
I'm sure so many people want to understand is, how did this happen. It's my understanding he was responding to a call at a gas station. There were reports of loud music from a truck. Can you verify any of that for me? What was the call about?
CUNNINGHAM: I don't know the whole particulars about the call. I knew he went to the gas station due to a large crowd and loud music. As far as the details, the state bureau of investigation is working it.
I was there out in support for the sheriff's office and the family. They knew me and I knew them well. And that was my main mission. My main goal is to be there for them.
BALDWIN: Understand. Forgive me. I am a reporter.
So you don't know. It was a crowd, it was loud music, you don't know if the loud music had anything to do with this 18-year-old suspect?
CUNNINGHAM: No, because, like I said, the state bureau of investigations pretty much handled the scene, and they handled the case as far as interviewing everybody.
BALDWIN: I got you.
CUNNINGHAM: I haven't had an opportunity to talk with them about anything.
Really I've just been there for the family and that community.
BALDWIN: Sure.
CUNNINGHAM: I had deputies that went down to assist them in court security, due to the fact they just lost their sheriff, and you still have to carry out your duties. I made sure I sent personnel down to assist them on areas they needed help.
So people that were still out grieving, remained to be with their loved ones, but at the same time, the overall mission of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office --
BALDWIN: Sure.
CUNNINGHAM: -- we were making sure they still had personnel there.
BALDWIN: Good of you to do that.
You mentioned talking to the family? How is his family?
And how is the suspect's father who works for you? How is he holding up?
CUNNINGHAM: As far as his family, you know, the devastating part is his son was at the gas station the same night. He witnessed all this, so it's kind of hard, too.
BALDWIN: The sheriff's son?
CUNNINGHAM: Yes, he was there as well? This is something that -- you know, when you're dealing with your loved ones and then your loved one is there witnessing you being shot --
BALDWIN: Oh.
CUNNINGHAM: -- that's something. So the family is still dealing with that part.
As far as the suspect's parents, they came down that night. They were working with investigators to hopefully get their son in peacefully. They're dealing with it.
So really you got two law enforcement families that are impacted and so it's just -- this is a trying time.
BALDWIN: It is, indeed.
You are a good man for being there for both families.
Sheriff Cunningham, I appreciate you.
My heart goes out to you all. I hope justice is served in this case. I know justice will never bring back that boy's dad.
Thank you very much for coming on.
CUNNINGHAM: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
President Trump, meantime, has just weighed in, speaking from the White House about those secret emails and the scramble to try to justify withholding of aid from Ukraine.
And new video from this dramatic palace heist. How did thieves manage to get away with $1 billion-worth of jewels?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:58:36]
BALDWIN: You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. We're back at the top of the hour here.
We're getting fresh breaking news on the timeline for a House impeachment inquiry.
Let's go to our Senior Congressional Correspondent, Manu Raju, on Capitol Hill.
Manu, timeline, what are you hearing?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, just sent a detailed letter to all of his colleagues laying out what they believe they have found through the course of this investigation that's been going on for two months.
He makes clear they're putting together a report detailing the findings of the investigation. They'll submit that report to the House Judiciary Committee soon after Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess happening this week.
That means probably as soon as next week, the House Judiciary Committee will have the report detailing the findings. That will lay the groundwork for what we expect to be articles impeachment drafted by the House Judiciary Committee in the first week or two of December and ultimately lead to a full House vote on impeaching this president potentially by Christmas.
The time frame we have been reporting for a few days now seems pretty clear, the way they're going right now. Adam Schiff making a definitive statement of the report will are done soon after this week, soon after Thanksgiving, and now performing the way forward.
[14:59:54]
Also in this letter, he makes clear what he believes it's serious presidential misconduct. And he's leaning in very close to the accepting the notion that they will impeach this president. He didn't say it out right but he hinted and said all but certain they're going to move forward.
