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One Of Pensacola Naval Air Base Shooting Victims Identified As Sailor Joshua Watson; CNN Exclusive: Uncle Of Naval Base Shooter Says Nephew Showed Nothing Suspicious Before Moving To U.S.; CNN: House Dems Meeting Now To Strategize For Monday's Hearing; Pelosi To Question On "Hating" Trump; House Judiciary Committee Releases Report Outlining Constitutional Grounds For Presidential Impeachment; Impeachment Witness Apologizes For Analogy Involving President's Son; Hillary Clinton Opens About Politics & Personal Life. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired December 07, 2019 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again everyone and thank you so much for being with me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. This is breaking news in CNN. We are now learning the identity of one of the victims of the deadly shooting at a Naval Air Base in Pensacola.

CNN also has exclusive new details on the gunman Mohammed al-Shamrani, a Saudi national. His uncle telling CNN that al-Shamrani showed "nothing suspicious before he moved to the U.S. in 2017 to begin training at the base.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more from Pensacola for us. Natasha.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred yes, we're just learning now of one of the victims. He's been identified as Joshua Caleb Watson and his brother Adam Watson wrote about his death on Facebook.

We are hearing from the brother saying that today was the worst day of his life, that his beloved brother was an integral part of their family. The brother goes on to say that Joshua Watson saved countless lives.

He described how after his brother was shot multiple times, that Watson actually made it out of the building and was able to tell first responders where the shooter was, which was invaluable information.

Again according to the brothers Facebook post, here is a quote from that post. His brother says that, Joshua Watson died a hero and we are beyond proud but there was a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.

So again this is one of the victims that we're now learning is Joshua Caleb Watson from Enterprise, Alabama. He is one of three of the people who were killed in this shooting, another eight people were injured. Among those injured are two deputies who exchanged fire with the gunman and actually killed the gunman in that exchange.

I want to talk about the shooter for a moment now because we did - CNN did have a conversation with an uncle of the shooter, Mohammed al- Shamrani is the suspected gunman here and he is a Saudi national.

The uncle spoke to CNN and said that there was nothing that he felt was would indicate that his nephew would have committed such an attack. He said his nephew was 21-years old, very likable and exceptionally smart.

Here's a couple of quotes from the uncle. He said, he has his religion, his prayer, his honesty and commitments and that he was a likable kid, smart. He was exceptionally smart. He also added that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will have to get to the truth of what happened and if his nephew is guilty, he said he will be accountable before God.

So a lot of really charged emotions here with again a global investigation and families around the world at this point, are trying to figure out exactly what happened. A lot of heart broken families here, especially in Pensacola, where it is a tight knit community and everyone here is just reeling and dealing with this for what will probably be a very long time Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, thank you so much for these new details. Appreciate it. All right, right now in the nation's capital, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are meeting, preparing their strategy for key impeachment proceedings.

They're expected to have a mock hearing today and perhaps even tomorrow to practice for the actual hearing scheduled for Monday when lawyers for the Judiciary and Intelligence committees will present evidence against President Donald J. Trump.

CNN Politics Reporter, Jeremy Herb is on Capitol Hill so Jeremy rehearsals, they are under way right now and what are they wanting to fine tune?

JEREMEY HERB, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, that's right. The lawmakers are as we speak, behind me - in the room behind me, working on what the details of what exactly they're going to talk about on a Monday.

And they're going to be here today and tomorrow which is a sign of just how much they are trying to get all of those little details right. In the hearing on Monday, we're going to hear from the Intelligence and Judiciary committee, staff councils, where they are going to present those allegations against the President.

That will wind - potentially wind up in articles of impeachment. The Intelligence Committee is expected to present allegations involving Ukraine and the aid and the pressure for an investigation while the Judiciary committee could be presenting allegations from the Mueller report on obstruction of justice. [12:05:00]

Now the Judiciary committee just put out a staff report on the constitutional grounds for impeachment and this is kind of a historical report but it's laying the groundwork for the articles. We are expecting to see those as soon as next week after the hearing and they potentially could get a vote in the committee by the end of next week.

Now the big debate that's still unresolved here is what is going to be in those articles and will they get into obstruction of justice and the Mueller report. Many members of the Judiciary Committee that are here today, they want that to be part of impeachment because they feel that conduct should not be excused that the President undertook that Mueller documented.

At the same time there are moderates up here who resisted impeachment until it was only focused on Ukraine and they want a very narrow impeachment and so it's one of the - it's a tension that's going on that the Speaker and the committee chairs are going to have to sort out.

What we're expecting is after we will see these articles next week and it could lead to a vote on the House floor on impeachment before Christmas. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right Jeremy Herb, keep us posted. Thank you so much on Capital Hill. All right meanwhile, the White House is refusing to take part in Monday's hearing. It has issued a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, attacking the inquiry as 'baseless' and 'a reckless abuse of power.'

Several of the Committee Democrats spoke to CNN about the White House decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Well, I'm not surprised that the administration is not participating because they have not been able to deny a single piece of the evidence, that is so damning against this President.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): It's really unprecedented and I think the American people should know this, you know, Nixon participated, Clinton participated. This White House is now after crying foul on process for so long, saying that they're not going to participate and it's - it is I think sad.

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): They don't have a defense and Trump, they'll go in the House, they won't go to the House but they'll go to the Senate. They've kind of cooked the books there. That's home cooking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us so Kristen, is the White House choosing to elaborate any further after releasing that statement.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, not right now. It's clear that their strategy is not to engage in these impeachment proceedings, especially while these impeachment proceedings are in the House of Representatives and it's really not a big surprise here.

While President Trump and his allies continued to say that the process was unfair because the President did not have representation, they also stonewalled this investigation at every single turn.

They've refused to provide critical documents. They've refused to let White House aides testify and now they are refusing to participate. Last night, we heard from the White House counsel in this scathing letter and I want to read part of it to you. It says, "House Democrats have wasted enough of America's time with this charade. You should enter this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings.

Adopting articles of impeachment would be a reckless abuse of power by House Democrats and would constitute the most unjust, highly partisan and unconstitutional attempt at impeachment in our nation's history."

And then he wraps up the letter with a quote from a tweet from President Trump which essentially says, "Hurry up and get this vote done in the House and move this to the Senate trial." The point there being, they believe they're going to do better in the Senate because of course the Senate is controlled by Republicans.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. All right, we're following a breaking news at this hour. Iran releases a Princeton grad student in a prisoner swap. What we're learning about the exchange straight ahead and then later, Hillary Clinton opens up about President Trump's inauguration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was sitting there like just wow, couldn't believe George W. Bush says to me, that was some weird S***.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[12:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news at this hour. The Trump administration is giving new information about the prisoner swap that led to the release of an American grad student being held in Tehran. Xiyue Wang was doing PhD research in Tehran when he was arrested on charges of espionage in 2016. He was released from Evin prison in exchange for an Iranian scientist

arrested in the U.S. last year and right now, Wang is at a U.S. army base in Germany, where he is undergoing a medical check and is described as being in good health and good spirits.

Kylie Atwood joining me now with more details on this. Kylie, what more do we know about this exchange and the circumstances? You know, we'd love to hear more information at the circumstances in which he was imprisoned in the first place.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes well, Xiyue Wang according to a source familiar was treated abhorrently while he was in Iranian prison for more than three years.

There were other prisoners who would often threaten him. There were prison guards who would treat him callously, according to this source, taunting him by saying things like you think you're going to be released, you're not going to be released. It was a very, very troubling time for him.

But one of the good things is that he was able to be in touch with his wife who was here in the United States. They spoke over the phone according to a source familiar, at least once a week. He also spoke with Princeton students sometimes for hours at a time and so what that tells us is that he was having these conversations.

He was having intellectual conversations and he was able to engage, which is a really positive thing because he's coming out of a tremendously difficult situation and the fact that he was able to stay in touch with Americans, while he was on the ground and wrongly detained by the Iranians is a really positive thing.

Now the other positive developments that we're learning this morning as you said Fred, is that he's in good health and he is in very good spirits. He will be coming back to the U.S. soon. We don't have an exact time for that. We know he's in Germany now, getting some health check-ups.

But then he will be returning to the United States. Now, there are no set plans for him to visit the White House yet but a senior administration official said that President Trump is expected to want to meet with him so we are waiting to see how that shapes out.

But the real focus right now is his health, is getting him back to the United States safely and so that's what the White House is focused on, the state department is focused on and it's really positive news for the United States, this morning.

WHITFIELD: And very positive news for Wang as well and his family, so then what have we learned about the time that he spent. You said it was you know, abhorrent conditions. He wasn't treated well obviously there but do we know anything about how his family was updated and what it has been like for you know, the whole family during this time since 2016?

[12:15:00] ATWOOD: Yes, there've always been back channels of communication for the family that they are not really able to publicly detail but the fact is that the state department really plays the pivotal role in updating the family and Robert O'Brien who is now the national security adviser to President Trump has played the most central role with regard to staying in touch with Xiyue Wang's family over the last two years.

He personally knows the family and the other thing is he also knows the families of other Americans who are still detained in Iran and a senior white - a senior administration official this morning said that they hope that the release of Wang will lead to positive momentum for those other Americans who are still detained.

WHITFIELD: All right Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. All right. Up next as the impeachment inquiry moves forward, Rudy Giuliani, the President's personal attorney visits the country at the center of this scandal, Ukraine. We'll fact check the latest allegations from his Ukraine trip.

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[12:20:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today CNN has learned that an ally of Rudy Giuliani already has been contacted by U.S. Senate staff and has agreed to testify about a debunked conspiracy theory, he helped promote. Here's CNN's Rene Marsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudy Giuliani telling CNN's Dana Bash that he's wrapped up his trip in Ukraine. He's been in Europe this past week as part of a bid to keep digging for dirt on President Trump's political rivals.

This as Democrats moved to drop articles of impeachment. Rudy is also tweeting and his tweets can only be characterized in one way. False, on Thursday night he tweeted this. "The accounts chamber in Ukraine found an alleged misuse of $5.3 billion in U.S. funds during the Obama administration while Biden was Point Man."

Well, here are the facts, multiple countries provided the $5.3 billion, not solely the U.S. CNN spoke with a financial expert in Kiev who found that the U.S. provided $1.4 billion, that's based on a 2017 report by Ukraine's Accounting Chamber.

Now the chamber also reported improper accounting but not misuse of the funds. Let's go back to that Thursday night tweet. He says. Obama Embassy urged Ukrainian police not to investigate while there is no current evidence to support the accusation that the U.S. embassy urged Ukrainian police not to investigate.

Then on Friday morning Giuliani tweeting much of the $5.3 billion in U.S. aid that Ukraine reported as misused was given to the embassies favored NGOs, that's non-governmental organizations. Well, that same financial expert points out that actually only 6 percent of the total funding.

So that's a small slice went to these non-government organizations whereas 70 percent of the funds went towards nuclear power stations security as well as military support so tweets like this and the trip to Europe, they are all a part of what critics are calling a disinformation campaign being used to create a counter argument and counter narrative to defend the President. Rene Marsh, CNN Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, don't mess with Nancy Pelosi. The House Speaker set the record straight after being asked if she hates President Trump. The impact it could have on the impeachment investigation next. But first, in today's Start Small Think Big, we head to Maine to meet the millennials behind the company making wallets and outdoor gear out of recycled sailcloth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're making some of the most rugged gear on the planet or at least that's our mission.

CHARLIE FREIDMAN, FOUNDER, FLOWFOLD: I'm Charlie Freidman, I'm the founder of Flowfold. I spent the first 18 years of my life living on Peaks Island. You grow up on an island in Maine, many times you're taking a ferry back and forth to school every day and that's kind of your school bus.

So without knowing about it, I learned a lot about how important weather resistant durable bags were for people who are going to be outside all the time. So my summer job in high school was building sailboat sails and that's where I discovered the material and I learned how to sew.

I started making wallets as gifts for friends and kind of people liked them enough, they start asking to buy them. We took kind of the same design aesthetics of minimalism and super durable, lightweight characteristics and started applying them to bags.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll just take sail cloth that isn't quite up to par for the hyper elite wind surfers and we'll cut around any of those discrepancies, we'll re-purpose it and make thousands of wallets or in some cases, hundreds of bags. We're pretty proud of the fact that we're keeping out of the land.

We have very addressing goals to be 20-30-40 employees within the next three to five years and really just continue to make the Maine proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the White House will not participate in the impeachment hearing process that's happening right now on Capitol Hill. In fact the President's attorneys have rejected an offer from Democrats to present any type of defense for President Trump during the House Judiciary hearings.

In a letter from counsel to the President, the impeachment inquiry is described as baseless. Meanwhile House Democrats are conducting mock hearings today, as they prepare to receive evidence from investigators on Monday. With me now is Andrew Desiderio, a Congressional reporter for Politico.

Karoun Demirjian is a Congressional reporter for The Washington Post and a CNN political analyst. Good to see both of you.

All right, Karoun, you first, you know, I feel like we've had a lot of potentially consequential months or weeks you know, for this President but this one, this coming week, where is this on the scale of the state of America, the state of the presidency?

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST & CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think this is the week where the rubber hits the road. I mean, we will see the House Judiciary Committee hear about the details of the House intelligence committee report.

We assume we will see what articles of impeachment they decide to issue and vote on to charge Trump with and those will be the articles that go to the House floor and presumably, if it gets to the Judiciary Committee, there's a good chance that Democrats on the House at large are going to support them as well.

[12:30:00]

We've been hearing for the last two months, the fact pattern laid out of what the President and his surrogates did in Ukraine. That is the point of -- the general point of focus that the Democrats have wanted to highlight as they pursue this impeachment investigation. But we're really getting to the closing chapter where all of those strings are tied up and that's going to happen in the next few days.

WHITFIELD: So, Andrew, the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, she kind of set a tone, you know, this past week giving the green light for the House Judiciary to draft articles of impeachment. But it also came with a moment for her to set the record straight, don't mess with me on any mischaracterizations or uses of words inappropriately. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): As a Catholic, I resent you're using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is full -- a heart full of love and always pray for the President. And I still pray for the President. I pray for the President all the time. So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, Andrew, did that moment kind of reset a tone or even a narrative, especially when for a very long time she was reticent about this whole impeachment, and now she is on board and giving the green light?

ANDREW DESIDERIO, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, "POLITICO": Yes, that's exactly right. And look, one of the things she was addressing there was this idea that Democrats are just doing this because they don't like the President, because they want to, as Republicans have said, try to overturn the results of the 2016 election.

And Speaker Pelosi was trying to distinguish between what she says is upholding their constitutional oath versus disagreeing with the President on policy matters like gun control and climate change and immigration issues. She said, you know, save that for the election. That's what we're voting based on, right?

So she was trying to sort of distinguish the two paths the Democrats are taking here and just within the last hour, Fred, the House Judiciary Committee released a staff report on the constitutional grounds for impeachment. And in that report, they address head on in a more academic way, sort of, this idea that impeachment is not a tool to overturn an election, but rather hold a President accountable.

WHITFIELD: Karoun, the House Speaker, Pelosi's comments that she is praying for the President, that didn't, you know, silence the President. In fact, he tweeted that he even doubts Pelosi prays for him. You know, this is not just about Trump, however, this is about the presidency, how -- you know, and that is in step with exactly, you know, the groundwork that Andrew is speaking to that the House members are all on board with. You know, how might the outcome of what happens in the House impact the U.S. Senate, which would have the trial consequently?

DEMIRJIAN: Well, I think that at this point everybody is assuming that the House is going to impeach the President. And so the Senate is gearing up for that and bracing for that and you can see that both the Republican senators and the Trump administration's team are looking at the Senate to be their chamber, their forum in which they can stage a more forceful defense and more effective defense for the President than they have been able to stage in the House where majority rules.

I think that you are, at this point in the game, not necessarily changing hearts and minds because the evidence is out there. And if we're looking at writing the articles of impeachment in the next few days, then that means the evidence really will not change and it seems pretty clear that the Democrats are viewing those facts from a different lens and the Republicans are viewing those facts.

And so you will see more shots across the bow like this. I mean, there is no love lost between the Democrats and Trump or Pelosi and Trump. I'm sure Pelosi does pray for the President. I know people who have prayed with her. But it's -- at this point, it's going to be a lot of finger-pointing. It's going to get angrier and angrier.

And that will spill over into how the Senate decides to handle all the preliminary questions that they have to do to set up the trial. Which witnesses get to come? What's the format of how they're going to go about this? Will the senators get to speak? Those -- the political climate and the acrimony that spills over across the holidays and into the New Year is going to potentially affect how much of a handshake deal those arrangements are and how much it just ends up being just a mud fight between the two parties.

WHITFIELD: All right, Andrew Desiderio, Karoun Demirjia, thanks to both of you, I appreciate it.

DESIDERIO: Thank you.

[12:34:14]

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing where investigators will present evidence to lawmakers, as Democrats continue to move forward with crafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. The White House says it will not participate, calling the whole process a charade.

Michael Zeldin is a former federal prosecutor and a CNN legal analyst. Michael, good to see you.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: So, just moments ago, the House Judiciary Committee released a report outlining constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment. You've taken a quick look at this. Explain what it says.

ZELDIN: Well, essentially it relates to the grounds in the constitution itself, treason, bribery, high crimes, and misdemeanors. It sets out the basis for an understanding of what those terms mean and how the evidence will be applied in this case to that terminology so that they have a framework for analyzing the evidence and making a determination on whether something is impeachable or is not impeachable.

WHITFIELD: So, how many articles of impeachment do you anticipate?

ZELDIN: It depends, Fred, on whether they stick to Ukraine or they add Ukraine and Mueller. If they stick to Ukraine, which I think is the more desirable from a narrative standpoint, it would probably be an abuse of the powers of the office of the President by one, soliciting Zelensky to conduct an investigation, two, the quid pro quo bribery allegation, and three, the obstruction of Congress.

Those make the package very neat and understandable. And I think gives the Democrats the best chance of convincing the American public that this is worthy of impeachment.

[12:40:08]

WHITFIELD: So just to review that, so, on abuse of power you see two possible directions, solicitation and bribery.

ZELDIN: Correct. They could make them one sort of master charge of abuse of the powers of the office, you know, phase one solicitation, phase two, the quid pro quo. I personally like breaking them into two sprat articles so you don't have to deal with the muddied arguments by Republicans that because the money ultimately was released to Ukraine or because Ukrainians may not have exactly known that the money was being held up, there can mean no quid pro quo. That's why I would separate them.

WHITFIELD: And on obstruction, you could see them combine or stand alone?

ZELDIN: Correct. You could have obstruction of Congress which is the wholesale refusal of the President to allow people to testify or produce documents relevant to the congressional oversight and impeachment inquiries. And then you could have obstruction of the Mueller investigation, the nine or ten articles that Mueller outlined in his report where he said that the President obstructed his investigation in a meaningful way.

WHITFIELD: And what's your gut on that? Do you think it would be advantageous or a mistake to incorporate the Mueller report findings, since so much time has lapsed particularly?

ZELDIN: Yes. I think the Democrats obligation here is to convince the American public that what the President did here is alleged to have done here violates the powers of his office and is worthy of impeachment.

I think in order to do that you need a straight forward narrative. On day one they got rid of the ambassador to the Ukraine, Yovanovitch. On day two, they put the three amigos in charge.

On day three, they had the phone call with Zelinsky where they said, we'd like you to do us a favor. On day four, they had a follow on call where they said, this is really necessary. And then finally, if you want this in the end, there is a hold on your military aide, there is a hold on your White House meeting, and therefore you don't get it until you do that, the quid pro quo.

I think that's a very simple story to understand. And I think that makes the most sense. I don't think they have to convince many Senate Republicans. So the key here is, will the American people accept this and move the needle in some meaningful way.

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Zelin, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

ZELDIN: Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, why Barron Trump was mentioned during this week's impeachment hearing, the growing fallout over a joke.

But first the 13th annual CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute salutes ten people who put others first all year long. The star studded gala airs live this Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a saying in Ethiopia, people are medicine for people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we do here is to provide food, clothing, and shelter and a whole lot of love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To give children a place to mourn their loss and tell their story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Through the best that the world has to offer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to start a program and we're going to help people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling the love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're heroes today and every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we must talk less and do action more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video games are incredible source of relief during difficult times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We purchase R.V.s and give it to a family that lost their home in the fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of our kids come to us traumatized. I just want to see them happy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It impacts lives that don't feel like they have a voice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they name the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Our heroes are incredible people.

KELLY RIPA, CNN HOST: Their work and their stories will inspire you tonight.

[12:44:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, December 8th at 8:00 p.m. on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. This week an unexpected name came up during the impeachment hearings. Barron Trump, one of the legal scholars testifying at Wednesday's hearing apologize for using the name of President Trump's youngest in this analogy about kings and presidents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA KARLAN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, STANFORD LAW SCHOOL: The constitution says there can be no titles of nobility. So while the President can name his son Barron, he can't make him a Barron.

I want to apologize for what I said earlier about the President's son. It was wrong of me to do that. I wish the President would apologize obviously for the things that he has done that is wrong. But do I regret having said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. First Lady, Melania Trump quickly condemned that comment. She tweeted in part, Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering and using a child to do it, end quote.

The children of President have been thrown into the spotlight before. But there has been a tradition in Washington generally to keep them out of politics especially due to safety concerns.

So for more on that, let's bring in Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst and former secret service agent who has protected numerous children of past presidents, good to see you.

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Nice to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. So what did you make of that moment Professor Karlan mentioning Barron Trump and then, you know, apologizing for it? Was there, you know, were there security concerns, you know, surrounding the mentioning of his name in an event, a moment like that?

WACKROW: Well, yes. I mean I think, you know, I'll leave the voracity of her apology for others to debate. But right now, Barron's name is out there and we can't put the tooth paste back in the tube. Anytime that there is an increased optic around any of the minor children of the President there is an increased security risk.

Part of the model of protecting the President's children is this concept of security through obscurity. These children are under constant threats that people don't realize, we don't normally talked about it.

[12:50:12]

And here's what I mean by that. What I've seen and have experienced with both the Bush daughters and the Obama daughters is that people will try to, you know, will try to influence the President through threats, will direct threats to the children because they may think that they're a softer target. They're easier to get to.

So that is a constant pressure that these children and the security detail around them are constantly faced with. But let me just put a button on this for one second and say that, that concept is absolutely wrong. The security structure that is built around the kids, while it may not be this over security structure that people normally think of the secret service, it is very comprehensive, it's very robust, and it would be a fools errand to try to attack any of the President's children.

WHITFIELD: So Jonathan is there kind of a double standard because, you know, often we're looking at all these beautiful pictures, you know, of the presidents with their children alongside during events and really whenever the president is there, you know, political statements, right? American culture statements are being made, but at the same time most of these presidents want privacy for their children.

WACKROW: So it's not a double standard, it's a standard in two parts and the reason why it's on a double standard is because both parts are fairly applied. And this is what I mean. When it comes to the children joining their parents in a public forum, we have to look at the risks and consequences of that action.

So if Barron Trump, you know, is engaged in the Easter egg roll, we look at it's a minimal risk and the consequences of his exposure in his optic are minimal. On the flip side, if we report on his private life, his pattern of behavior, there is a greater risk and there is a significant consequence to that reporting that puts minor children in greater harm. So when it goes back, it's not a double standard, it's the standard that we should all apply.

WHITFIELD: All right Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much.

WACKROW: Thank you very much Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right still ahead, Hillary Clinton unplugged. The former secretary of state talks about losing the 2016 election and her love life before President Bill Clinton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:55:58]

WHITFIELD: All right, Hillary Clinton spilled some intimate details about her personal life in a marathon interview with Howard Stern, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee revisiting the hardest day of her life and some colorful moments from the campaign trail.

CNN's Jason Carroll looks at the key takeaways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I went to the inauguration of Donald Trump, which was one of the hardest days of my life to be honest.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it Hillary Clinton unplugged, sort of.

HOWARD STERN, "THE HOWARD STERN SHOW" HOST: Bill was the first guy you loved?

CLINTON: No, no, there was --

STERN: No?

CLINTON: No, there was somebody before him.

CARROLL: For two and a half hours, the former Democratic presidential candidate talked about her personal life and politics with SiriusXM's Howard Stern.

CLINTON: I don't know if I was too nice, but I was certainly, you know, very careful. And the reason is, look, I grew up at a time when -- if you were going to get through a door as a woman, you did not react to anything.

CARROLL: Among the highlights, how Clinton felt about President Trump's victory and inauguration.

CLINTON: I mean, obviously, I was crushed, I was disappointed, and I was really surprised because I couldn't figure out what had happened.

STERN: And you hadn't even written a losing speech when you lost that night.

CLINTON: No.

STERN: You had -- only had victory in mind.

CLINTON: No, no, and everything was pointing in that direction. You put on the best face possible and I'm -- you know, Bill and I are sitting with George and Laura Bush, and then he started on that speech which was so bizarre and that's when I got really worried. And then that carnage in the street and the dark dystopian vision, I was sitting there like just, wow, couldn't believe. And George W. Bush says to me, well, that was some weird shit.

STERN: Wow.

CARROLL: Clinton also took aim at Republican leaders such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a man she once worked with across the aisle when she was a New York senator.

CLINTON: Lindsey was good company, he was funny, he was self- deprecating, he also believed in climate change back in those days and --

STERN: Really?

CLINTON: Yes.

STERN: But he would say, I'm concerned about the future for my children.

CLINTON: Well, he doesn't have any children but he was --

STERN: Right.

CLINTON: -- concerned about the future. Yes, absolutely. And so, I saw him as somebody who, you know, had been working to try to figure out what he believed and how he could do things.

STERN: Has he sold his soul to the devil?

CLINTON: I don't know the answer to that. I think that's a fair question, however. And what I don't understand is how he went from being the friend and the, you know, real confidant of the maverick, John McCain, who, you know, I didn't agree with politically, but I found him to be a man of integrity, a man of, you know, real strength of conviction.

Now, you know, I don't know what's happened to Lindsey Graham. I'll be honest with you, I haven't talked to him in a long -- he wrote -- you know, how Time Magazine has like the top 100 people and all that, one year, back in a couple of years ago when I was in it, he wrote the tribute to me.

STERN: My god.

CLINTON: And then now, it's like that he had a brain snatch, you know.

CARROLL: Clinton uncharacteristically candid regarding whisperers about her personal life.

CLINTON: Well, contrary to what you might hear, I actually like men.

STERN: Oh, right, yes. That's the other thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that's the other thing.

(CROSSTALK)

STERN: Raise your right hand. You've never had a lesbian affair?

CLINTON: Never --

STERN: Never?

CLINTON: -- never, never, never even been tempted, thank you very much.

STERN: Unbelievable.

CARROLL: There were no questions during the sit down about former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, and the inappropriate relationship she had with then-president Bill Clinton. Stern did get Clinton to open up about life and love before Bill Clinton.

STERN: Somebody before Bill that you would have considered marrying?

CLINTON: No. I would not have considered marrying.

STERN: But in love.

CLINTON: But in love.

CARROLL: Stern tried to press Clinton on the field of 2020 candidates, she pledged to support whoever the Democratic nominee might be, though she did have a few choice words for Bernie Sanders.

STERN: Do we hate Bernie Sanders?

CLINTON: No, I don't hate anybody.

STERN: Bernie could have endorsed you quicker --

CLINTON: He could have. He hurt me. There's no doubt it, he hurt me. But going back to the indictments, because that's what's really important --

[13:00:02]

STERN: All right. Have you ever spoken to Bernie about that?

CLINTON: No. No. I mean --

STERN: You don't talk to him.