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The Risk for Democrats in 2020 over Impeachment; Trump Calls Democrats' Impeachment Efforts "Impeachment-Lite"; Lisa Page Fights Back Against Trump's Attacks; Fed Leaves Rates Alone as Trump Pushes for More Cuts; Pipe Bomb Found at Scene of Deadly Kosher Market Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 11, 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]

DANNY WEISS, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTURY FOUNDATION & FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: Certainly, this is an unknown situation. Fourth time in history it's been done. First time and it's really being done in a full-blown social media and 24/7 news cycle environment.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Yes.

WEISS: And with a president that's the most usual than we've ever seen.

As far as I know -- and your reporter said this as well -- there are two Democrats that the whip team are keeping their eye on. All members are going to take this very seriously.

Unfortunately, it really looks like Republicans are not going through that same serious examination. The way they're handling the Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee is to focus on process only, put forward no concrete defense of the president's efforts to undermine national security and undermine the democracy.

That's what you'll see tonight. You'll see probably, from 7:00 p.m. to as late as 11:00 p.m., statements on both sides. One side, on the Democratic side, defending the Constitution and the articles of impeachment, and the other side attacking the process.

Tomorrow, the presidential White House ball is taking place at 7:00 in the evening. So that could be a backstop on how long tomorrow's activities go.

BALDWIN: OK.

The president, Gloria, he's taking his spin, right, on being just the fourth president to face articles of impeachment on the road.

This is how he characterized it speaking last night at that rally in the key state of Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You saw their so-called articles of impeachment today? People are saying, they're not even a crime. What happened? All of these horrible things. Remember, bribery and this and that -- where are they? They send these two things, they're not even a crime.

This is the lightest, weakest impeachment. Actually, the country's had many, recall of judges and lots, many impeaches. But it was on today. Everybody said, this is -- impeachment-lite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Gloria, impeachment-lite. Like diet impeachment.

(CROSSTALK)

He says this whole thing is weak and a shame. But here's the "but." Behind the scenes, CNN learns he really doesn't want to join this club of impeached president, and he's complaining about it, and doesn't want impeachment as part of his legacy. Isn't that right?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Of course not. He doesn't. He's upset. Wants a big show in the Senate to show everybody how innocent he is. And by the way, somebody ought to let him know, in order to be impeached, you do not have to commit a crime, number one. Which he was talking about there.

But, number two, the reality is that this is a president who understands that this is not something he wants on his resume. This is -- this is ignominy. This is shame. Even if you do not get convicted in the Senate -- just ask Bill Clinton about that, how great he thought it was to be impeached by the House, not convicted by the Senate.

This is not something any president wants. And to say it's impeachment-lite, what does that mean? I mean, impeachment is impeachment. Period.

BALDWIN: Is impeachment. Exactly. Exactly.

Gloria, thank you.

Danny Weiss, nice to have you on. We'll have you back.

WEISS: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Appreciate you both.

Meantime, she says the president's attacks against her were sickening. And now he's attacking Lisa Page again. This time at his rally with a baseless claim. And guess what? She's fighting back.

Plus, the president won't like the move the Federal Reserve just made on key interest rates that impact all of you. We have that for you, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:18]

BALDWIN: After former FBI attorney, Lisa Page, announced she is suing the Justice Department and the FBI for releasing her text messages with agent, Peter Strzok, to the media, President Trump again attacked her and attacked Strzok at his rally last night in Pennsylvania.

While having an affair, the two then-federal employees exchanged anti- Trump sentiments during the 2016 election. But last night the president constructed an entirely new narrative about the fallout. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Did I hear he needed a restraining order after this whole thing? To keep him away from Lisa? That's what I heard. I don't know if the true. The fake news will never report it.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: But it could be true. No. That's what I heard. I don't know.

I mean, who could believe a thing like that? No. I heard that Peter Strzok needed a restraining order to keep him away from his once lover. Ah, Lisa. I hope you miss him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You heard the president say it could be true. Well, check this out. This is from Lisa Page and her tweet: "This is a lie. Nothing like this ever happened. I wish we had a president who knew how to act like one. Sad."

CNN national political reporter, Maeve Reston, is with me.

Listen, certainly not the first time the president attacked Lisa Page. Now a private civilian. Just to insert this lie about a restraining order. What was your reaction to hearing that?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I mean, it's just absolutely outrageous, Brooke. You know, certainly it's something that a lot of people would describe as a form of character assassination, which is what Lisa Page has been talking about here.

[14:40:06]

It's unclear why President Trump felt the need to insert this lie into the narrative. Especially after the I.G.'s report essentially said that Lisa Page had no role in opening the investigations, and it's sort of essentially cleared her of wrongdoing.

Obviously, it was not a good look for the FBI to have two of their employees exchanging text messages that included negative sentiments about President Trump, but to go this far is just -- it's outrageous.

And it's a pattern we've seen with President Trump and women who he thinks have wronged him.

BALDWIN: You know, she -- the public finally heard from her recently. She did an interview with the "Daily Beast" where she broke her silence on how she feels about the president and his continuous attacks. Remind us what she said.

RESTON: She said in that interview that she had stayed -- quote, "I stayed quiet for years hoping it would fade away. Instead it got worse." she said. "It had been so hard not to defend myself, to let people who hate me control the narrative. And I decided to take my power back."

And beyond that, Brooke, she talked about just her personal reaction to being the subject of these attacks from the president, saying, "It's like being punched in the gut. My heart drops to my stomach when I realize he has tweeted about me again. The president of the United States is calling me names to the entire world. He's demeaning me and my career. It's sickening."

And we've heard this kind of reaction from a lot of the women Trump has gone after in his attacks and, once again, we're here in the same place -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: The president of the United States.

Maeve Reston, thank you.

RESTON: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let's pivot to the breaking story on a shooting in Jersey City. As officials say now it was a targeted attack. We'll tell what you investigators have found at the scene.

Plus, on this historic day involving impeachment, we take a look back at the powerful opening speech of the impeachment hearing involving then-President Richard Nixon. This woman's words and their impact on American history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is reason and not passion which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:05]

BALDWIN: Just in, the Federal Reserve announcing it will keep interest rates as they are, and by doing so, risk angering President Trump, as we well know, who wants them to cut the rates even more.

CNN business correspondent, Alison Kosik, is there at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, what did the Fed chief just say?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, you think of that bell that rings during an actual fight, a boxing fight? I think I almost heard that bell ring when the Fed came down with its decision to keep rates unchanged.

Meaning, get ready for another round of Donald Trump versus Jay Powell. Another round of bitter tweets from President Trump trying to push the Fed to continue cutting rates.

Because Donald Trump wants to see rates go to zero because that would wind up juicing the economy. But the reality is the Fed's already cut rates three times this year and it doesn't seem to be in any rush to cut further.

It has said, though, that the reason to cut further would have to be for a material change in the economy or maybe we could see a trade war between the U.S. and China ramp up.

Meantime, hard to justify. Look at economy. It's strong. The jobs market's on fire. Consumers continue spending. Even GDP is holding its own at 2 percent. Nowhere near President Trump's estimation of 4 percent, what he was targeting -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: I hear the bell.

Alison Kosik, thank you very much.

We'll get to more from Capitol Hill. The Justice Department inspector general debunking GOP conspiracy theories and is being questioned right now on Capital Hill. We'll have that for you.

[14:47:36]

Also, why the president says, quote, "a regular president would go home to his mommy" -- a direct quote, folks -- if faced with impeachment like him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:43]

BALDWIN: We are getting new information coming in concerning Tuesday's deadly shoot-out in New Jersey. Officials are now saying two shooters targeted a kosher market in Jersey City. And one of those shooters was a woman. Killed in the shoot-out, three people in the market, also a police officer, and the two shooters.

CNN's Alexandra Field is in Jersey City for us.

Alex, tell me about what was found at the scene? I hear actually a pipe bomb?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Police have been trying to piece together what happened over the course of the last day, looking at three different crimes.

They're now telling us the car driven by the suspects had a viable pipe bomb in it, tested by the FBI, which said it would have worked. Don't know what they were planning on doing with it.

But we know now that the shooters have been identified at David Anderson and Francine Graham. Authorities here, Brooke, are not saying why they stopped at this kosher market.

You have, of course, heard the governor in New York and the mayor in New York talking about this as an anti-Semitic attack, stepping up patrols and protection for Jewish communities in New York.

Here in New Jersey, they say they cannot say definitively what the motive for this attack was. However, we do know that they are looking at evidence that was recovered from the car they were driving.

[14:55:01]

Also their digital footprints, as CNN's Brynn Gingras reports. Law enforcement is looking at a note with anti-Semitic and anti-police writing in it. We're waiting for officials to say in New Jersey whether or not it was a hate crime.

Reality though, three civilians killed inside that market. And another police officer. A Jersey City detective, a 15-year veteran of the force, he was shot about a mile away from the supermarket minutes before the standoff started.

Officials here not yet explaining what the circumstances of that shooting were -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Awful for those families. Keep us posted what you're learning from law enforcement, a motive.

Alex, for now, thank you.

On Capitol Hill, the Department of Justice watchdog is standing by his report that the FBI did not spy on the Trump campaign as the attorney general is attacking it.

Also very soon, Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker will have an opportunity to question him, Michael Horowitz there. Live pictures from Capitol Hill. Stand by for that.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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