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House Set for Historic Floor Vote on Impeachment Next Week; Ex- Breitbart Editor: Stephen Miller is White Supremacist; White House Tightens Access to President Donald Trump's Calls with Foreign Leaders; Access to Trump's Calls with Foreign Leaders Tightened; Woman Accuses 6 Hotel Chains of Failing to Stop Trafficking; East Coast Braces for Winter Storm; Trump Heads to Philadelphia for 120th Army/Navy Game. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired December 14, 2019 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:44]

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, good to see you, I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield.

President Trump on the brink of impeachment and the battle lines they are being drawn. One day after the House Judiciary Committee voted to advance two articles of impeachment along party lines, all eyes now turn to the full House which expects to vote on impeachment as soon as Wednesday.

If passed, President Trump will become the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. A Senate trial will likely begin in January.

Any moment now the president is expected to depart the White House headed for the Army-Navy football game. It's unclear if we're going to hear from him. But we know the president is already plotting his defense. He has set up a campaign Christmas rally and he's hoping for a longer Senate trial with witnesses.

But his fellow Republicans in the Senate now seem to be aiming for a different kind of strategy. Here is Senator Lindsey Graham a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't know where this goes, but I know impeachment will be over soon. I supported the Mueller investigation, by the way, for those who care about domestic politics. I didn't know what Trump had done with the Russians.

What have I come to believe? There is no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. If you're not colluding with your own government, why do you think you're colluding with the Russians? The president is not much of a colluder.

So, the bottom line here is that Mueller spent two years and $25 million looking at all things Trump and Russia and now we're impeaching the president of the United States. Bipartisan people, no outside counsel involved, this thing will come

to the Senate and it will die quickly and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: I just wonder how quickly. Let's do a little bit on procedure. There's a debate ongoing about how a trial should be held in the Senate, including whether to have live witnesses. You don't support live witnesses, why?

GRAHAM: I want this to end as quick as possible for the good of the Senate, for the good of the country. And I think the best thing for America to do is get this behind us.

We know how it's going to end, so we can focus on the problems we talked to, talked about today. If you don't like President Trump, you can vote against him in less than a year. It's not like a politician is unaccountable if you don't impeach him.

So I think impeachment is going to end quickly in the Senate. I would prefer it to end as quickly as possible. Use the record that was assembled in the House to pass impeachment articles as your trial record.

I don't want to call anybody. I don't need to hear from Hunter Biden. I don't need to hear from Joe Biden. We can deal with an outset of impeachment. I don't want to talk to Pompeo. I don't want to talk to Pence. I want to hear the House make their case based on the record they established in the House and I want to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: And our thanks to CNN's Becky Anderson for that interview.

CNN's Lauren Fox joins us now and, Lauren, do you think the president is going to be OK with the short Senate trial with no witnesses?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, that's of course the million dollar question at this point, Martin. You know, one thing that we are hearing is that for a while it seemed like many moderate Republicans were worried about cutting a Senate trial off, making it too short. Having any sort of criticism from constituents back home that they weren't letting the process unleash.

But what we're hearing now is those same moderates have a lot of concerns about letting this go on too long and having a witness list that essentially they're going to have to vote on individual witnesses coming to the well of the Senate.

I mean, can you imagine the whistleblower coming to the well of the Senate. Hunter Biden coming to the well of the Senate. Those are some of the votes that those moderates would have to take.

So majority leader Mitch McConnell has been very clear about what his preference is and now you have Lindsey Graham who is a close ally of the president, someone who talks to the president often, golf's with the president, saying essentially the same thing. Let's keep this short so we can move on to other business.

So, that is the debate, of course, right now, whether the president listens to his Republican allies, unclear.

At the end of the day, it's the majority leader's decision how he wants this trial to go. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Yes, which is why it's going to be a fascinating to see how it plays out. Lauren Fox, thank you very much for that.

[13:05:03]

With me now is Doug Heye, he's a Republican strategist and a CNN political commentator. Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist and a CNN political commentator. Thank you both for joining me today.

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Doug, let me start with you. After hearing from Lindsey Graham, sounds like the Republican rank and file seem to be looking at what's going to be a pretty quick trial in the Senate with the possibility of no witnesses being called. Do you think that's a smart strategy?

HEYE: Well, I think we -- whatever strategy Republicans employ, we already know what the result of this is going to be in the Senate. It's very clear you can -- you can like it or not like it, but it's very clear that a Republican Senate is not going to find the president guilty.

And it's why I have been cautioning Democrats that this may not -- may not be the road you want to go down for two reasons.

One, if you didn't like how Donald Trump declared himself exonerated after the Mueller report and yes they didn't find collusion, they also didn't clear him of collusion.

But if you didn't like how he reacted to that, imagine Donald Trump's reaction when he has not just an acquittal but a big, beautiful, most glorious acquittal in all of history.

And two is Paul Kane is one of the real crack reporters from the Washington Post wrote this morning, the politics in this aren't just in the capital and the NRCC is generated six times more the Republican Congressional Committee. Six times more ads or stories on impeachment and how it's playing in swing districts than Democrats have. Conservative groups are massively outspending liberal groups on this.

So politics plays a role in D.C., it's playing a big role outside of D.C., as well.

SAVIDGE: Yes, I saw that in the South Carolina first district there.

Maria, the House Republicans and the president have been complaining of course that this whole impeachment inquiry was unfair because they couldn't call witnesses or experts to testify. Now, in the Senate, they could.

If they pass on it, how do they argue the president wasn't treated fairly?

CARDONA: They can't argue that, Martin. Which is what you have seen that this past week as Republicans twist themselves up in knots and check their consciousness at the door as they keep regurgitating and spewing outright lies, fabrications, debunked conspiracy theories over and over and over again.

And this is why you have the National Republican Senatorial Committee spending -- and Campaign Committee spending so much money in these swing districts because I believe they are concerned about the moderate Republicans who they know are up for re-election next year in places like Colorado, in places like North Carolina, in places like Maine, in places like Arizona.

Because we believe that there are going to be repercussions for Senators who are seen as not letting the process play out. And frankly, being part of the party that has given Trump a complete pass on what has clearly become an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

And so, I think Democrats were really good at laying out the facts, right? Every time that Republicans try to relive and revive the debunked conspiracy theories, Democrats came at them time and again.

And yes, it will be a complete partisan vote in the House. It may be a complete partisan vote in the Senate. There might be some Senators on both sides of the aisle that, you know, will join the other side in this. It remains to be seen.

But I do think what you saw over and over again is that Democrats really held to their oaths of office, really held to focus on their oath to the constitution, all of the while making the case that this is a president who has put our national security at risk, our elections at risk and has put himself in front of the country over and over again.

SAVIDGE: Doug, I want to ask you about Lindsey Graham because he is basically maintain that he is not trying to be objective here. And yet, that is supposed to be his purpose. He's a juror in the Senate trial.

Just take a listen to some of what he's talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with White House Counsel. We'll be working through this process hopefully in a fairly short period of time in total coordination with the White House Counsel's office and the people who are representing the president in the well of the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Does this do damage to him and the Republicans in the Senate here?

HEYE: I think politically the short answer is no. Mitch McConnell is going to win re-election. He's going to win it pretty comfortably. Donald Trump is going to win Kentucky pretty comfortably.

Look, you could obviously take issue with it if you want. But you know, we have to remember, this is not a trial as we think of trials in courtroom. This is -- this is a political process. It is designed to be a political process and that's why this whole process has played out the way that it has so far.

And I would -- I would say to Maria, the Republicans aren't spending money to shore up Republicans per se. They're spending money to go after vulnerable Democrats who are going home and then coming back and telling Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership I'm getting killed back home.

[13:10:02]

And so, as the House votes, it looks pretty clear that no Republicans is going to support impeachment and I'd agree with Maria that, you know, the book is cooked on in that regard for Republicans. But some Democrats are going to vote against impeachment.

Nancy Pelosi warned about this being a partisan process. She said she didn't want it to be. It sure is going to be and that's one of the reasons I think maybe censure's a better way to move forward than to put the country (INAUDIBLE) going to be a terrible in divisive process.

CARDONA: But here's the problem with that Doug, yes, you're right. This is not a slam dunk for Democrats by any means. And there are -- there will be many Democrats who are going to be very nervous and there may be some who will lose their seats over this.

But there might not be. And what you see over and over again is that even those Democrats who are in districts that Trump won and that they took over in 2018, they are the same Democrats who came out to say to Nancy Pelosi, it's time.

It is time to impeach this president because the overwhelming evidence and facts that this president put our national security at risk is more important than politics.

And here's where I think that so many Democrats are proud of our own Democrats and where I think the American people will also say, look, here you have leaders who are putting the self-interest of the country before their own political self-interest because they are worried about what this president, the damage he is doing long term to the national security of the country and to our elections.

It is bigger than just one seat in Congress. It is bigger than just the political viability of one person and that is what Democrats are doing. They are putting their own oaths of office in front of their own self-interest. That's something that the president should try once in a while.

SAVIDGE: The president, I'll let a beat go by there and then say the president this morning was tweeting about those very House Democrats.

HEYE: Imagine this.

SAVIDGE: And essentially trying to intimidate them by, you know, saying that they were going to suffer some sort of retribution by voters in 2020.

And I'm wondering, Doug, do you think they will? And do -- does that kind of tactic work with them?

HEYE: I mean, I think some certainly will and some won't as Maria has said. Some will lose, some won't.

Obviously, Donald Trump wants to see the ground and, again, you know, if Donald Trump is acquitted and, let's face it, he's going to be. He's not going to treat this as if it were, you know, just some normal process. This is going to be a victory tour.

He will go on stage with the rallies that he's been doing, declaring not just that he was acquitted but that he was innocent, that he's been persecuted this whole time. It's a message that has worked well for him regardless of what the facts are which we can certainly debate.

And I would say I don't think Donald Trump has behaved 100 percent well here, right. I've been pretty critical of the president where a lot of Republicans haven't. They've put their head in the sand.

The problem is a lot of Democrats see everything that he does as a reason for impeachment. They've not taken this process entirely seriously, whether it's Adam Schiff reading parodies. Steve Cohen eating fried chicken or Cedric Richmond watching golf from the (INAUDIBLE). This has not been the somber process that it needs to be on both sides. It's -- frankly, I'm embarrassed by Republicans. I'm embarrassed by Democrats.

CARDONA: I think Pelosi has treated it as a very somber process. And can you imagine the victory lap that Trump would have -- would have taken over and over again if Democrats had not gone into this process of impeachment?

So, yes, you're right.

HEYE: He'll take a victory lap.

CARDONA: Trump will do that regardless. He will take a victory lap regardless. That is why Democrats have to put the interest of the nation and of our national security and of our elections before their own self-interest because that's what real leaders do. Trump can never do that. Republicans can never do that because they have never shown the spine to be real leaders. HEYE: You know, Martin, I think -- I think the difference between

Maria and I is I'm willing to be critical of my party. If you want to have conversation that are my side is great and virtuous and the other side evil, I don't think you really get far in America these days.

SAVIDGE: I think you both actually bring very good ideas to the table.

CARDONA: Thanks, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Doug Heye, Maria Cardona, appreciate both of you. Thank you.

CARDONA: Thank you.

HEYE: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Still ahead, a former Breitbart editor speaking out, calling the president and senior adviser Stephen Miller a white supremacist. The CNN exclusive interview, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:48]

SAVIDGE: In a new CNN exclusive, former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh is speaking out for the very first time since exposing Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller whom McHugh claims pushed White House supremacist talking points. Our Sara Sidner has more.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We sat down with a former Breitbart editor who says she knows all too well that Stephen Miller is a white nationalist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE MCHUGH, FORMER EDITOR, BREITBART: These are all white national nationalists.

SIDNER: Former Breitbart News Editor Katie McHugh says she is doing her first television interview for one reason. She wants to expose a white supremacist in the White House.

You think Stephen Miller is a white nationalist?

MCHUGH: A white supremacist I would say. Because I believe his ideology is one of domination and control over people of color.

SIDNER: Stephen Miller is a senior aide to President Donald Trump. He had not respond to our request for comment.

A White House spokesperson has said that Miller is not a racist and is being attacked because he is Jewish. McHugh says that's laughable.

She says on his rise to the White House while working for Senator Jeff Sessions -- STEPHEN MILLER, SENIOR POLICY ADVISER, WHITE HOUSE: Are you ready to

send Donald J. Trump to the White House?

SIDNER: And later on Trump's campaign, Miller was in constant contact with her. Pushing stories that fit an anti-immigration narrative. Stories she wrote for Breitbart without question.

SIDNER: Were you a white nationalist?

MCHUGH: I think I would call myself that. Whenever you want to call it white nationalist, white supremacist, that's fine.

SIDNER: That's what you were?

MCHUGH: Yes, but that part is dead.

SIDNER: Do you think this was solely political to let his star rise because he could manipulate you or do you think he actually is a white supremacist?

MCHUGH: I believe he wanted access to power because he is a white supremacist and wanted to impose those policies. Those e-mails are, you know, you can read his own words.

SIDNER: McHugh says these are some of his own words in e-mails to her. She saved 900 or so exchanges between Miller and Breitbart staffers from 2015 to 2016.

In 2015 not long after a white supremacist slaughtered nine black Americans preying inside their Charleston church. McHugh says Miller called and e-mailed not with sympathy for the victims, but instead a focus on changing the narrative to outrage over the removal of confederate statutes and retailers removing confederate merchandise.

[13:20:07]

Have you thought about going to Amazon and finding the commie flag and then doing a story on that?

Yes, definitely, she replies.

This is the story McHugh wrote.

Did he ever once mention that he was sorry that nine African-Americans were slaughtered while praying at church?

MCHUGH: Never. No, it never occurred to him it seemed.

SIDNER: But McHugh says immigration was his favorite subject.

In 2015 he also sent McHugh an e-mail, subject line, for your Islam story. In it, a link to the conspiracy website Infowars. The headline, Reverend Graham. We are under attack, stop all immigration of Muslims to the U.S.

A few months later -- DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald J. Trump is

calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

SIDNER: In another e-mail exchange, Miller suggests coverage of immigration and the Pope.

You see the Pope saying we must in effect get rid of borders. Someone should point out the parallels to Camp of the Saints.

MCHUGH: Vile, vile discussing racist novel.

SIDNER: The Camp of the Saints is a book beloved by white supremacist. A Breitbart editor published the content Miller suggested.

MILLER: This election is a referendum.

SIDNER: And just before Miller heads off to work for the Trump campaign in 2016, he touts what he saw as the danger of allowing hurricane victims from Mexico to come to the U.S.

They will all get TPS, that's temporary protection status. That needs to be the weekend's big story. TPS is everything he says and sends McHugh an article on the dangers of TPS from a prominent white nationalist website.

Did he want you to pair it a white nationalist website?

MCHUGH: Yes, he did. It was understood that Miller had editorial control over the political section of Breitbart News.

SIDNER: Well after Miller joined Trump's inner circle, the U.S. ended TPS status for several countries.

McHugh is ashamed of her role in all of this. She was fired by Breitbart for an Islamophobic tweet among other things the website said including for being a liar.

In 2015 you said another crusade would do a lot of good. Let's turn Mecca into a strip mall.

Another tweet, the only way to strike a balance between vigilance, discrimination and terror is to end Muslim migration.

MCHUGH: That's a quote from Miller. That's a paraphrases of conversation that we had.

SIDNER: This was the tweet that ended up you getting fired over. There would be no deadly terror attacks in the U.K. if Muslims did not live there.

Did you believe all these hateful, racist, Islamophobic things that you were putting out there on your Twitter feed?

MCHUGH: I did. SIDNER: Why should people believe you're sincere?

MCHUGH: Because I believe in publicly confessing your sins and I also believe that, you know, working very hard to expose these networks that I was a part of and show how dangerous they are, how evil they are and how many people they hurt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCHUGH: She says Stephen Miller should do the same and resign. But so far Miller is showing no indication of resigning.

And as for the White House, while they did not comment on this particular story, they have done nothing but support him. Sara Sidner, CNN Los Angeles.

SAVIDGE: Thank you Sara very much for that interview.

Coming up, sources tell CNN the president's senior aides have now restricted the number of officials allowed to listen to his phone calls with foreign leaders. That story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:27:33]

SAVIDGE: President Trump is on the verge of being impeached in just days over his actions in Ukraine. Now Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is demanding or rather defending President Trump's right to ask for foreign leaders to investigate his political rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: Joe Biden is a dear friend. I've traveled all over the world with Joe Biden. He's running for president on the Democratic side. I think he'll do very well.

The bottom line is, his son was receiving $50,000 a month from a gas company run by the most corrupt guy in the Ukraine and about two months after they raided the gas company's president's home, they fired the prosecutor. Yes, I think it's OK to talk about this kind of stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, CNN has learned that the White House or the White House officials have tightened access to President Trump's calls with foreign leaders.

CNN's Alex Marquardt has more on the efforts to keep the president's conversations private in the wake of that Ukraine scandal.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The impeachment process all started because the whistleblower was disturbed by what was said on the July 25th phone call between Presidents Trump and Zelensky. As the result of the Ukraine's scandal that followed, we're now learning that the White House has cracked down even harder on who exactly is allowed to listen to the president's phone calls with foreign leaders.

Multiple White House officials telling CNN that now only the most senior, politically appointed officials close to Trump are allowed to listen. The national security adviser and the secretary of state, as well as the acting chief of staff.

But those career officials, the advisors and experts detailed to the national security counsel, they are no longer allow to participate. In results in, as one official told me, a smaller circle of loyalists in all policymaking discussions. And it reflects the fear of leaks and the distrust that has gripped this White House.

One official jokingly told CNN that it's being called the Vindman rule after Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. He of course is the Ukraine director at the NSC who was listening to the July 25th call and was so disturbed by it that he reported it to the NSC lawyers and testified to Congress.

Another official told me that if the Zelensky call were held tomorrow, Vindman would not be on it. We've also learned that transcripts of the calls are being disseminated to a far smaller group of people.

Officials who might have before now cannot see copies. Meaning fewer people have access to what is being said on the calls with the president, all of this makes for potentially significant policy problems if the career experts who work with these foreign countries and regions on a day-to-day basis don't know what is being said by the president and what policies he is pushing.

[13:30:00]

Experts warn that it could make for muddled, dual-track policymaking where one hand isn't talking to the other, resulting in chaotic foreign policy.

Senior White House adviser, Kellyanne Conway, responded to our report that fewer people are participating, saying that she is all for it. People should be on the calls on the basis of whether they need to be.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: Thank you, Alex.

Next, a startling accusation against six hotel chains. A woman said she became a victim of sex trafficking and the hotel turned a blind eye. Now she is suing. The legal battle, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Turning a blind eye to sex trafficking and making a fortune in the process -- that is what one woman is accusing six major hotel chains of doing. She says she knows this is true because she was one of those being trafficked.

[13:35:09]

The woman, identified only as A.B. in legal documents, is suing Hilton, Extended Stay America, Windham, Marriott, Choice Hotels and Red Lion Hotels. She is claiming that she was victimized at these hotels in Oregon and Washington State. That is in 2012 and in 2013 when she was 22 years old.

The federal lawsuit says, quote, "Rather than taking timely and effective measures to thwart this epidemic, defendant hotels have instead chosen to ignore an open and obvious presence of sex trafficking on their properties, enjoying the profits from rooms rented for this explicit and apparent purpose."

Joining ne now, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor, and Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor.

Richard -- it's good to see you both. But this is such a disturbing topic.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Let me start with you.

Before we get into the details of the lawsuit itself, what legal responsibilities does a hotel have to figure out what is going on behind closed doors at their establishment?

RICHARD HERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That is the million-dollar question. They have an obligation to keep a vigilant eye. They have to keep a safe environment at the hotel.

But the question really is, do they know or should they have known that this is illegal or abusive or trafficking conduct because -- let me just say, at the outset, it's horrific. It's horrible.

If any person is being compelled to be a sex trafficker against their will, then the people that are doing that should be punished to the highest level.

But there's a fine line between someone who is being compelled to do it and someone who is intentionally doing it. That's the problem with these cases.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: And the same criteria that they argue the hotel should know is trafficking activity could be a sign of intentional conduct, as well.

It's a fine line. And these are not easy cases to win and not a lot of them have been successful.

SAVIDGE: All right, Avery, I can hear you clearing your throat. You are clearly ready to jump in on this.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Yes.

HERMAN: He has pneumonia I think.

FRIEDMAN: Let me tell you something. There have been 350 federal cases dealing with sex trafficking victims protection. And they have been growing, and the numbers of people who were standing up against it. It is horrific. And often, the victims are waiting for a bust or looking for a way to get home and they are literally kidnapped.

I think, actually, it's not all that close. One of the issues in the case, Marty, will be what is in the franchise agreement? In other words, is the, is Marriott, is Windham, are these hotels training those owner-operated in order to have the franchise?

And does the agreement say that if sex trafficking is permitted, do they lose the franchise, is there training, is there diligence?

At the end of the day, I don't think it is a fine line. I think they are active participants.

And, frankly, I love the concept of this case. The question is, how is it going to be developed. And since the case was just filed a couple days ago, we had a long way to go here.

SAVIDGE: I just want to read you some more.

HERMAN: Marty --

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Wait. Hold on a second.

I just want to read you a little more of the quotes coming from the suit itself.

It says, quote, "Individuals carrying or flashing large amounts of cash, excessive amounts of cash stored in the room, renting two rooms next to each other, declining room service for several days, and excessive foot traffic in and out of rooms, and men traveling with multiple women who appear unrelated."

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: In other words, it seems pretty blatant here. Wouldn't anyone in a hotel working there pick up on this and shouldn't they?

HERMAN: Well, look, should they pick up on it as opposed to it being illegal or violate some civil rules and regulations and statutes? I mean, it's activity that happens all over the country. And the question is, is it being done against these people's will? Do these people not have a right? Can they not get away? Can they not find a sign, a note? Can they not try to help themselves?

Again, it's wrong, it's horrible if anybody is being compelled into this type of activity.

But my point is, it's very difficult to determine whether or not it's against their will or it's for their will. They want to do it.

And this happens -- I'm coming from Las Vegas. I see this all the time. This is -- you know, this is a big industry and it's a big business.

And, you know, to think that the hotel would have a statement in their franchise agreement saying they approve this is ridiculous. Never going to happen that --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: No, no, they wouldn't have that. No. It's not that at all.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Basically --

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: What are you saying?

FRIEDMAN: No, they have to train. There has to be a consequence. And that's why the franchise agreement, Marty, is so important here.

Because if, for example, I buy a hotel or a motel from one of these six major chains and there's no consequence to it, that is the question the jury may have to decide.

(CROSSTALK)

[13:40:08]

FRIEDMAN: On the other hand, the franchise agreement has enough power in there to say, look, we need to control behavior and a judge may actually take it away from the jury.

So, that's why I say we have a long way to go to find out what the facts are here.

SAVIDGE: Let me interrupt you, real quick --

FRIEDMAN: Yes, OK.

SAVIDGE: -- because I want to bring up what the hotel chains are saying. They issued statements and it's important to --

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: They're, of course, denying the allegations.

Marriott, for example, wrote, "Marriott International developed training and partnership with leading human rights organizations to teach its hotel workers to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to respond. The company made the training mandatory for its hotel workers in 2017. Today, more than 700,000 employees have completed that training."

Many of the other hotels said they also provide training.

So this is to your point, Avery, that they claim that they have done this training and yet this problem persists.

HERMAN: It persists -- Marty, it persists because it's hard to determine if it's against the will or its intentional conduct. That's why it persists.

Again, the hotel -- if it's blatant -- and it's a case by case, factually intensive discussion. You can't generalize this one. It's case by case. And, you know, even if you're trained, what are you trained to do? What are you trained to observe? Everything --

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: To be diligent.

HERMAN: Could be, could be diligent. Right, be diligent. Is it intentional conduct? It's the same situation. It's very difficult to determine --

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: -- you know, it's going on. It's horrible. Not an easy call.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: No matter how much training you have.

SAVIDGE: If, in fact, you do spot something, as a hotel employee, as a result of the training you received from your company, what do you do?

FRIEDMAN: There has to be a process built in, Marty. Often with human rights organizations -- and I train them to do this -- they actually go in posing as people interested in sex. There are ways to do it. There's a monitoring process. Things that can be done.

If the franchise just says, look, don't engage in sex trafficking, that's not adequate. There's a process, a training, a monitoring, a record keeping that could be done to minimize the problem. And I think that's what we need to find out here.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, I will separate myself from this.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Go ahead, real quick.

HERMAN: Whether the hotel knew or should have known is the standard. It's a very difficult burden to prove, I think.

SAVIDGE: Right, you've said that. OK.

FRIEDMAN: We'll see. We'll see.

SAVIDGE: I will say this now, now that I can separate myself from that horrible story, and that is to say it is wonderful to see the two of you.

I wish you both a merry Christmas and happy holidays.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Avery Friedman and Richard Herman.

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: Thank you. You, too. Always great seeing you, Marty. Always.

SAVIDGE: Thank you.

The east coast is bracing for a winter storm. How about that? Rain, ice and flooding expected to wash over that area. We'll have a live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:18]

SAVIDGE: We want to catch you up on some other news.

The Pearl Harbor commander says there's no known motive in the December 4th shooting, according to a message that was obtained by the "Honolulu Star Advertiser." Gabriel Antonio Romero, an active-duty U.S. Navy SEAL, opened fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, killing two people and wounding a third. The Navy said there were no disciplinary charges of any kind pending against Romero and that he was assigned to arm watch at the time.

The man accused of slapping the behind of a Savannah reporter live on television has been arrested and charged with sexual battery. Alex Bozarjian, of CNN affiliate, WSAB, told police that the runner, identified as Thomas Galloway, smacked and grabbed her buttocks last week.

Bozarjian's lawyer, Gloria Allred, released a statement saying, "This morning, Alex Bozarjian is glad that law enforcement is taking this matter seriously. She feels that a reporter should be able to do her job without being assaulted."

And in Arizona, the search for a 6-year-old girl who was swept away by flood waters nearly two weeks ago is over. The body of Willow Rawlings (ph) was found Friday afternoon. The bodies of her brother and cousin had already been recovered while six others in the vehicle survived being swept away. Willow's parents had been attempting to transverse a crossing that had been closed because of heavy rain the day after Thanksgiving.

And anyone planning to travel anywhere along the east coast, expect a huge dose of misery in the form of rain and ice from Florida to Maine.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to show us what to expect in the hours ahead -- Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Marty, you've got back-to- back storm. Even as this first one moves out, there's not much time before the next system begins to take shape.

Let's take a look at what we have going on right now. Here's a live radar. You can see we still have some lingering showers across portions of Florida but the heaviest rain is really in portions of the mid-Atlantic and the northeast.

Even some snow, especially, really starting to take shape along the Great Lakes region. That is only going to intensify as we go through the overnights and temperatures cool back down and wind shift getting from lake effect enhancement, as well.

Here's where the main concern is for the flooding. You have several states looking at flood watches and a flash flood warning across portions of Maine and even New Hampshire. Already three inches of rain has fallen across that particular region and more is still coming down. So, again, the potential for continued flooding in that region, at least for the next several hours.

On the western side of that storm, this is where we're talking some pretty heavy snowfall. The purple counties you see here under a winter weather advisory for three to six inches of snow. The pink looking at five to 10. Here overnight, the lake effect enhancement starts to take shape, a

lot of heavy snow expected overnight and into Sunday.

[13:50:03]

Then we move on to the next system. This is Sunday through Tuesday of the upcoming week. Look at this. The snow stretching from Colorado to Connecticut. Rain mainly focused on the southern edge.

But the northern edge of this is the big concern, not just for snow but ice. And in some areas quite a lot of it, Martin You take a look at some of these darker colors here, you could be looking at as much as half of an inch of ice not only on roadways but on trees. That could bring power lines down as well.

SAVIDGE: There's not much you can do about ice.

Allison Chinchar, thanks for keeping us updated.

It's America's most special sporting event and it's happening in just a couple of hours. We're live from the Army/Navy game, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SAVIDGE: President Trump is making his way to the 120th edition of America's game right now. The president is heading to Philadelphia to watch the Army Black Knights take on the Navy Midshipmen for the commander-in-chief trophy and bragging rights.

CNN's Coy Wire joins me from outside the field where fans are preparing to enjoy one of the most patriotic rivalries in all of sports -- Coy?

(CHEERING)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Martin, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports dating back to 1890. Such good friendly heated rivalries but friends at the end of the day.

We are now here celebrating with the motherhood of the brotherhood.

Please so explain.

[13:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The brotherhood. So I started back in 2013, but the motherhood of the brotherhood has been around for many, many years. And we take care of the brotherhood. We take care of the football players. Our sons are fighting on that field, and today we are divided. But after today's game, all the seniors will be on America's team.

(CHEERING)

WIRE: I love that.

And your sign is a player, defense.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son, Taylor Garns (ph), number 45. He's a plebe, A/K/A freshman. He plays safety. Yes, I mean, the football is great but it's really about the academics. It's really about serving our country.

WIRE: Love that.

And your son is a running back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He's a running back. He is in his third year, C.J. Williams, number 20. Like I said last year, we are all on one team.

(CROSSTALK)

WIRE: At the end of the day, and we have Ms. -- Erik Cowl's (ph) mother here.

She had two dreams when he was a little boy.

What were they?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, to go to med school, and, one, to play college football. He's achieved both dreams. Go Navy!

(CHEERING)

WIRE: He is a senior for the U.S. Navy football team. Just been accepted to medical school.

So we're fueled by good food, good fun. Omega Phi is in the House.

(CHEERING)

WIRE: -- the 120th Army/Navy game right here in Philadelphia.

(CHEERING)

WIRE: Back to you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Oh, boy, that's great to see. God bless them all.

Coy Wire, thank you very much.

And still ahead, Senator Lindsey Graham not backing down in the face of criticism, defending the president in so-called right to ask foreign leaders to investigate political rivals. His rationale, coming up in a CNN interview. That will be next.

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END