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Ukrainian President Speaks Out About Trump's Impeachment Trial; Europe Records Its First Coronavirus Death; Early Voting Underway In Nevada Ahead Of Next Week's Caucuses; Barr's Public Rebuke Of Trump Sparks Debate Over Motives; Trump & Bloomberg: Battle Of New York Billionaires. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired February 15, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:23]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. It's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. One of the central figures surrounding President Trump's impeachment is speaking out about that and much more for the first time since the end of the impeachment trial. This morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour at the Munich Security Conference for a one-on-one interview.

President Trump was impeached after withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine following that July 25th phone call with Zelensky. The aid had been earmarked to help Ukraine push back Russian aggression in that country. President Trump was eventually acquitted on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges.

Well, today, Zelensky talked how that impeachment process has affected his country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: How much has this domestic American situation with the impeachment and the call to you affected your key aim of bringing people home and ending the war? How much has it affected your ability to focus on what you need to focus on?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: In my previous life -- I was waiting this question, of course. I have many questions about impeachment everywhere. In my previous life, my previous profession I truly say, when I was producer, scriptwriter and actor, I wanted to get Oscar. I wanted to be very popular in the U.S.A.

Now I am very popular in U.S.A. But I didn't want to find such way. But you know -- but if this way will help Ukraine, I'm ready for next call with Mr. Trump.

AMANPOUR: I know you have been asked a million times about quid pro quo and you say there wasn't a quid pro quo. You have also talked about the necessity of having aid and for it not to be held up in any form or fashion. To "Time Magazine" and a bunch of others you said, "We're at war. If you're a strategic partner, then you can't go blocking anything for us. I think that's just about fairness."

ZELENSKY (through translator): That's right. And you see now there's no blocking, nobody blocks nothing. And at present we're talking about a different level of military assistance and support. On the whole this is a very substantive program for the sum of $700 million U.S., it wasn't a priority -- one of the priorities.

AMANPOUR: Mr. President, as you know because of all of this, Ukraine has been labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. That that is one of the reputational damages to your country in the wake of all of this.

And recently -- I mean, you know, really recently in November, around Thanksgiving, President Trump told Fox News, "Why should we give money to a country that's known corrupt? It's a very corrupt country. I mean, I love the people in Ukraine. I know Ukrainian people. They're great people. But it's known as being the third most corrupt country in the world.

ZELENSKY: That's not true. That's not true. When I have meeting with Mr. President Trump, and he said about that -- he said that previous years, it was so corrupt this country, Ukraine. I told him very honestly, and I was very open with him, I told him that we fight this corruption. We fight with this, fight each day.

But, please, please, stop to say that Ukraine is corrupt country-- because from now, it's not true.

AMANPOUR: In your first call with the President of your election -- of your victory, the President invited you to the White House. Do you think it's going to happen? Do you have any date on the calendar?

[11:04:54]

ZELENSKY: I'm sure it will happen. You are too far from us, distant.

Well, you know, it seems to me that the last time that I met the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, we talked about that and I said I would very much like that my visit to the United States would be something special for both countries where there's an important and substantive outcome and resolve for both countries. Something beneficial for both countries.

I want to come and start it from scratch. Our relations to agree on some contracts, to sign arrangements, to agree on the strategic things, investments -- let's prepare the package of the documents and arrange the meeting.

So the ball is in the courtyard of the United States of America, but we are always happy to see everyone in Ukraine. So I (INAUDIBLE) to invite President Trump to come to Kiev.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Pretty relaxed there. A lot to unpack there with the Ukrainian president.

Joining me right now, CNN Contributor and former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief, Jill Dougherty; assistant editor at "The Washington Post" and CNN Political Commentator, David Swerdlick; and White House Reporter for "The Wall Street Journal," Catherine Lucey. Good to see all of you.

All right. Jill -- you first, from your vantage point. You know, the war between Ukraine and Russia, it is ongoing. Ukraine relies heavily on the U.S. aid to combat Russian forces.

And President Zelensky remained very optimistic there, that his country's relationship with the U.S. is strong. He even still wants an invitation to come to the U.S.

So what is realistically on the horizon between the two countries?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think he's putting the best face that he can on this. I mean this is a difficult situation. And note in that interview after he said I'm ready for another call, there was a lot of laughter in that room. I mean this is an uncomfortable thing for President Zelensky, and he knows it.

But what he has to do, I think he's -- he was a rookie when he came in and he got sucked into this political vortex domestically in the United States. I think he understands the situation better.

At that point he was dealing with, you know, two separate foreign policies on Ukraine. The private channel with Rudy Giuliani and the official U.S. government, et cetera, policy on Ukraine.

I think now what he's going to try to do is say the most positive things he can about the White House and President Trump, but also understand that his real support now comes from Congress and from that political support.

That is why he says, I love the American people. They're on my side, et cetera. But realistically, he said it, the ball is in the U.S. court. We just have to see what the White House does over there.

WHITFIELD: And there were at least, you know, two representatives of Congress who were there in that audience.

So David -- you know, President Trump continues to call Ukraine, you know, one of the most corrupt countries. And in recent months the President's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, you know, continues to go to Ukraine for what the President describes as fighting corruption.

But we also saw President Zelensky push back at the assessment of Ukraine being corrupt. After Trump's acquittal, you know, does it appear the U.S. president has less interest in that country's welfare as a whole? DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Good morning -- Fred.

Look, I think President Zelensky has four different audiences and he's trying to play to them all at once. And he's doing a pretty good job.

He's got President Putin, he's got the western European powers, he's got his own domestic constituency and he's got President Trump.

He's got to defend his country against accusations that they're corrupt because he can't look bad in front of his own people.

At the same time, he's fighting a hot war with ethnic Russian separatists in the Donbass region. I think I got that right. Check me -- Jill. I messed up Ukraine in geography a couple of weeks ago.

But the point is, he's fighting this hot war. He can't cleave away from President Trump more than what he already did because he can read a newspaper -- Fred. He can read a poll and he sees that President Trump is at the same approval he's been. He can see that he beat the rap on impeachment and he might have to be dealing with President Trump five more years. So he's got a fine line to walk.

WHITFIELD: All right. And Catherine -- you know, President Zelensky, you know, said he hopes President Trump will visit Kiev. Which do you see coming first -- Zelensky to the U.S. or Trump to Kiev? And what would be the significance of either?

CATHERINE LUCEY, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: It's an interesting question. Obviously a meeting between the two would be significant in this post-impeachment moment.

I think it's important to note they have met since this all started. They had a meeting on the sidelines at the U.N. in the fall. And they --

(CROSSTALKING)

[11:09:59]

WHITFIELD: But on each -- but on each of the leader's, you know, home turf --

LUCEY: Of course. Of course.

WHITFIELD: -- I mean that is something else.

LUCEY: Absolutely. That's something different. I was just noting that they have met face to face before this.

I think we'll have to see. I mean Zelensky clearly is trying to say the right thing to prepare for something like this to happen. We haven't heard anything from the White House yet and the President for now is focused on other things. He has other travel coming up. He's heading to India soon, for example.

But Zelensky very clearly wants to send the right messages to Washington that he wants the meeting, which has been clear all along since he took office that he is -- you know, he wants the support of the U.S. President, of the White House, and that he is eager to make it happen.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So Catherine -- is it strange or notable that even, you know, President Trump wouldn't say anything, especially, you know, post-acquittal, about the idea of the two of them meeting whether it be in Kiev or in the U.S.?

LUCEY: Well, the President's had a lot to say about his acquittal but a lot of it hasn't focused in other areas. I think what we have seen in recent days is a really emboldened President Trump. He isn't speaking a lot about -- he's feeling vindicated by acquittal in the Senate. Talking a lot about the process.

He's really stressed as he has all along that he feels like this was political persecution, that he did nothing wrong in this call. And has been turning a lot of his attention quite to his 2020 reelection and taking those messages to his supporters.

WHITFIELD: Jill -- so from Russia's standpoint, how would it be viewed if Zelensky and Trump were to eventually meet, whether it be in Kiev or D.C.?

DOUGHERTY: I think that would be very important. I mean Vladimir Putin is watching this. The most important thing for Ukraine right now is the support of the United States militarily, politically and symbolically.

And so if there's no meeting and there's no progress, Putin looks at this and says, ok, I can continue to kind of press Zelensky because Zelensky doesn't have the country that's going to help him.

So if there actually were a meeting and it went well, it would be quite a symbol to Russia that the United States has Ukraine's back.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jill Dougherty, David Swerdlick, Catherine Lucey -- good to see all of you. Thank you so much.

All right. Still ahead, as China works to battle the spread of the deadly coronavirus, we learn of the first death outside of Asia.

Plus early voting beginning today in Nevada -- how a shifting electorate could change the race.

And later, a week of drama at the DOJ. New questions now about Attorney General Bill Barr's motives.

[11:12:43]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

Europe has now recorded its first coronavirus death. Officials in France say a Chinese tourist who tested positive for the virus deteriorated quickly after being admitted to the hospital in January. And the U.S. now says it's preparing to evacuate hundreds of Americans who have trapped on a cruise ship dock in Japan for almost two weeks. Those who have already tested positive for coronavirus as well as those showing symptoms of the virus will not be able to board the aircraft and will continue to receive treatment in Japan.

There are more than 67,000 confirmed cases around the world and more than 1,500 deaths.

In addition to the human toll, the outbreak is also being felt in the global economy. This week Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned it could turn into an economic threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: Some of the uncertainties around trade have diminished recently but risks to the outlook remain. In particular we are closely monitoring the emergence of the coronavirus which could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Alison Kosik is with me now. So we heard the warning from Jerome Powell but we also saw U.S. stock prices hit record highs this week. Are we getting a sense of when we could really start to see an impact from this outbreak?

ALISON KOSIK, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning -- Fredricka.

You know, you look at the coronavirus outbreak it's really becomes the x-factor in an otherwise strong U.S. economy. Kind of like, you know, what the U.S./China trade war was.

Now, because of the unpredictable nature of the virus, we have seen Wall Street become a bit more volatile depending on what the latest headline is with the coronavirus.

We still haven't been able to actually put a price tag on the impact of the coronavirus because we are in the thick of it. But Goldman Sachs came out and warned that the coronavirus could actually shave off a four-tenths of a percent off first quarter growth in the U.S.

And we are seeing already how the uncertainty is impacting companies and industries. Like airlines, for instance. You look at United, Delta, American, actually more than a half dozen international airlines -- they've all suspended flights in and out of China, many suspending these flights already through March and April.

The auto industry, Fred -- really taking it on the chin. China, I don't know if you know this, makes more cars than any other country and not just cars but car parts as well. So from Nissan to Ford to Tesla to Hyundai -- all of these factories were shut down.

And many are restarting production but the reality is, it may take weeks to really understand the financial impact of the supply chain that's been disrupted there.

Can't forget the entertainment and hotel groups. Their revenue is taking a real hit. You look at Disney, it suspended its operations at its theme parks in China. Wynn Resorts in Macau losing up to $2.6 million per day from this shutdown.

Now, I just want to point out the pressure on all these businesses is kind of universal. It's this disruption in their supply chains because so many companies rely on China. China has really become this kind of nucleus of manufacturing and the assembly of the world's products.

[11:19:56]

KOSIK: So you look at shipping containers, they're idling in ports which means products aren't getting out. Some countries are actually refusing to allow ships that have stopped at Chinese ports to enter their own ports until the crew is declared virus free.

So, we are seeing this really kind of reverberate throughout companies, throughout the industry. And many economies are saying right now it's manageable but the question is, when does it become unmanageable -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. Ok. Harsh realities there.

Alison Kosik, thank you so much.

KOSIK: Ok.

WHITFIELD: All right. One of the central figures surrounding President Trump's impeachment is speaking out today for the first time since the end of the trial.

This morning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour at the Munich Security Conference for a one- on-one interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKY: Now I'm very popular in U.S.A. But I didn't want to find such way, but you know, but if this way will help Ukraine, I'm ready for next call with Mr. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Trump was impeached after withholding U.S. Military aid to Ukraine following that July 25th phone call with Zelensky. The aid had been earmarked to help Ukraine push back Russian aggression in that country. President Trump was eventually acquitted on abuse of power and of obstruction of Congress charges.

I want to bring in now CNN Chief International Anchor, Christiane Amanpour, who sat down with Zelensky. And you know, he seemed very relaxed. He was jovial, even optimistic about things despite being the centerpiece -- his country being the centerpiece of the impeachment proceedings here. AMANPOUR: Well, Fredricka -- look, he was being as delicate as he

possibly could. Because he has to really struggle to maintain a very, as I said, delicate but also important balance. He can't be seen to criticize the United States which is his best, biggest, and most important supporter.

On the other hand, it's true, his entire presidency has been overshadowed by this call and by everything that stemmed from it. But more importantly for him, by the war in eastern Ukraine, which the Russians have been waging there since 2014.

And so basically I'd asked him, you know, what is your reaction to just being overshadowed by all of this while you're trying to focus on that?

He said, you know, one day I'd hoped to win an Oscar. You know, he was an actor, a comedian. He took a very unconventional route to the presidency. He was a television star as well, just like President Trump. They have a pretty interesting convergence when it comes to being, you know, out of the political mainstream elected leaders.

So he was trying to be polite and nice and very, very clearly though over again reporting on repeating how important it was to maintain a good and strong relationship with the United States, to get past this impeachment moment and to get the kind of not just moral support but physical support, financial support, and military support that the United States needs to give them he said, in order for them to be able to face off against Putin.

And so that was really the crux of the essence of what we were talking about -- that little bit that you played was just his attempt to kind of make light of questions that he had been asked over and over again about impeachment.

WHITFIELD: Right. It was a fascinating journey, your conversation with him. And of course, he's you know, pressing -- continuing to press it sure would be nice to have a face-to-face meeting whether on your home turf or mine.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, you know, here you are talking to a central figure, you know, in the impeachment process, and it seems that Munich seems to be attracting a lot of other central figures. You also sat down or talked with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

AMANPOUR: That's exactly right. I have just come out of doing an interview with her. She also addressed the conference here. and remember, this is a conference that happens every year. It's the most important sort of European and American alliance security sort of debrief, if you would like. And sets the page for the next year and the next ways to go forward.

So she was here along with a bipartisan group from the Congress. And she again reaffirmed American support for Ukraine but also for the transatlantic alliance. And, you know, I asked her because the German president was quite strong and quite critical of the United States saying that it wasn't pulling its correct weight, that the current administration, the politics around it, you know, looked like it was very disruptive when it came to the transatlantic alliance. And the challenges and the motive that all has to sort of you know, be together.

[11:24:55]

AMANPOUR: And she said look, her presence, the Secretary of State's presence, the Secretary of Defense' presence and again, congressional leaders here were trying to reaffirm that actually the U.S. does remain very committed to this decades' long world order that the U.S. after all, created and has kept the peace and prosperity for the last 70-plus years since the end of World War II.

This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The Trump administration is trying to come to a comfort level to statements that were made by the President. And we are here -- Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate to say our commitment to NATO is iron clad, I repeat.

In terms of the budget, the Congress will weigh on it. They've cut $10 billion. When you talk about development assistance, when you talk about climate crisis -- name any subject, it's cut and including CDC, by 19 percent of their budget which is the agency to fight coronavirus.

So it doesn't make sense. But I do believe there will be bipartisan support, House and Senate, to get rid of most of those cuts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So, of course, that was her response to my asking for her reaction to proposed cuts by the White House in foreign aid. And of course, Congress has to approve and do all the budgetary appropriations.

So she was saying that as far as bipartisan congressional support has it, they are very, very keen to get as much as they can for really important American goals overseas and goals of the transatlantic alliance.

She also, I asked her quite a lot about impeachment, about the State of the Union, ripping up the speech, the next, you know, Democratic campaign for elections. She talked a lot about that. And we will have that in its entirety on Monday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We have to wait until Monday, Christiane? Why are you doing that to us?

AMANPOUR: Yes, you do. It's going to be on my show on Monday. WHITFIELD: Ok. Well, we'll be watching, of course. Maybe we can

squeeze a little bit more out of you today because we still have another, you know, three and a half hours.

AMANPOUR: You will, you will.

WHITFIELD: Ok, good. All right. We want to play that (ph).

AMANPOUR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much -- Christiane. We'll see you again soon there from Munich.

All right. So as the 2020 contenders set their sights on Nevada, will Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren be able to turn the page on a pair of disappointing first contests in the race for the White House? We go live to Las Vegas next.

[11:27:26]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Already early voting is under way in Nevada, just seven days before the next contest in the Democratic primary race. 2020 presidential candidates are holding campaign events all across the Silver State today. Senator Amy Klobuchar hoping to carry her momentum to the west, while former vice president Joe Biden works to regain front-runner status.

CNN's Senior National Correspondent, Kyung Lah joining me now from Las Vegas. So Kyung -- what are you hearing?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you think about this as a marathon, it is also broken down into various sprints.

This is a seven-day sprint now to the Nevada caucuses. We're exactly one week away.

I'm at an Amy Klobuchar event. She is set to take the stage in about 30 minutes to talk to supporters here in the Henderson, Nevada area. We're just outside of the Las Vegas area, in a suburban area. She hopes to make that pitch to suburban voters and get them out to caucus for her a week from today.

But early voting has also started just about 30 minutes ago. And that's why you are seeing the candidates really out in force. Amy Klobuchar out this morning, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, as well as Bernie Sanders all up with morning events here in this area in the west.

And what we're also seeing are the candidates really making their pitch directly to the voters in Reno, for example. Last night Amy Klobuchar held a packed event in Reno, Nevada. It was a full gymnasium.

What she is hoping to do is continue to defy expectations after that third place finish in New Hampshire. She has 50 staffers on the ground. She's expanding. She is feeling good about where she is, hoping to continue that trend.

Joe Biden, on the other hand, really, really hoping that he is going to be able to regain his footing. He has also been out at events here in Nevada, out last night taking selfies with supporters. What he's looking for is that this is a much more diverse state. It's a very different-looking state than Ohio -- than Iowa and New Hampshire. And by talking to people of color and getting to those issues, Biden hoping to reverse the trend.

And again, Fredricka -- early voting started just about 30 minutes ago. Four days of early voting. People are going to be able to fill out those paper ballots and pick their preferences so that they get their voices heard a week from today -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot of action. Thank you so much -- Kyung Lah. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead -- new questions about U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr's motives and independence as details emerge about another criminal case criticized by the President that is now being re- examined.

[11:34:31]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rather tumultuous week of drama and turmoil at the Department of Justice has Attorney General William Barr under mounting scrutiny with the DOJ actively facing accusations that it caved to political pressure and presidential tweets in Roger Stone's case.

Barr is now reviewing the case of another convicted Trump ally, Michael Flynn. This coming shortly after he announced longtime Trump target, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, will not face any charges.

President Trump was reportedly angered by that decision. McCabe is now a CNN contributor and defended his time at the FBI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely the right thing to do then, and I would do it again tomorrow if I was in the same situation and looking at the same facts.

Look, what we've seen through the multiple investigations so far, all of the work of the IG looking at everything each one of us did, the decisions we made, the communications around them -- everything you could possibly imagine -- millions of documents. Even the biggest critics have concluded that we were absolutely authorized in opening the cases we did.

[11:39:51] MCCABE: In my judgment it would have been a dereliction of duty not to

open the cases we did under the concerns that we had and the facts we were working with at the time. We're guilty of doing our jobs, and nothing else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. All of these twists and turns are bringing fresh scrutiny about the political motives at the Justice Department. Barr is now set to testify about these decisions before the House Judiciary Committee next month.

Michael Zeldin is a former federal prosecutor and a CNN legal analyst.

Michael, good to see you.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: Let's start, you know, by getting your reaction to the latest developments that the Attorney General Barr, you know, has ordered a review of the Michael Flynn case. How unusual is that?

ZELDIN: It's pretty unusual. Barr is in a bit of a difficult position. He believes -- personally, I believe that he believes personally -- that the Flynn investigation was improper, that the investigation of Carter Page was improper, that the Russia case didn't need an independent counsel.

So I think that he has a firm belief in that and he wants to get to the bottom of it. The problem in these cases is that it appears that he's doing the political bidding of the President because as Barr himself said the President's tweets don't help.

So Barr is in this awfully difficult position of having a belief that he needs to get to the bottom of what was happening in law enforcement before his arrival and having the terrible appearance that he's doing it for political motive.

I don't feel good for Barr. He's in a tough spot.

WHITFIELD: Do you think that -- you know, even his decision or at least the Justice Department's decision about, you know, McCabe, not pursuing that? Is that a reflection of a William Barr doing an about- face on things that he once believed to be the case, like you just described, you know. And that now suddenly he's changed his mind about things?

ZELDIN: Well, I think that what he's trying to do -- if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, and you don't have to. Because there are so many things that he has done that are problematic, like summarizing the Mueller report.

WHITFIELD: Right.

ZELDIN: But if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, what he's saying is I don't have a predetermined answer here. I just want to find out -- just give me the truth, as John Lennon sang. When he gets the truth and in this case the truth was that McCabe did nothing wrong, Barr was happy to let that be the answer.

So we will have to see on a case-by-case basis. If he, for example, finds that the Flynn case was proper and he lets it be, then good for him. If he tries to do political interference, then shameful behavior for an attorney general.

WHITFIELD: Somebody listened to a lot of Beatles on the way in, "Let It Be".

Ok. So now what about, you know, what we heard you know, from William Barr, you know, in that ABC interview where, you know, he essentially admonished the President for all of the tweets and says it really does kind of handicap him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're saying you have a problem with the tweets?

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes -- well, I have a problem with some of the tweets. I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody. And I said whether it's Congress, newspaper, editorial boards, or the President. I'm going to do what I think is right.

And, you know, the -- I think the -- I cannot do my job here at the department with constant background commentary that undercuts me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the President responded, you know, to this rebuke with a tweet, writing "As president, he can intervene in a criminal case if he wanted to but hasn't, quote, 'so far'."

So, you know, Michael -- how do you see Barr's sentiment? Do you think that is theater or is it genuine?

ZELDIN: Well, it's a very tough call. Again, I'm trying to give Barr the benefit of the doubt. I don't know why I would want to do that but giving him the benefit of the doubt --

WHITFIELD: Well, I know long ago you said he's a lawyer's lawyer, you know. And that was before he weighed in on the Mueller report the way in which he did. So you --

ZELDIN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: -- you kind of want to return to giving him the benefit of the doubt. But then, as you just underscored a moment ago, there have been a lot of things that have kind of undermined, you know, that moniker that people gave him as a lawyer's lawyer. He's done some questionable things.

ZELDIN: Exactly. And so in this case he's absolutely correct to say that the President's tweets are interfering with his ability to do his job and to run the Department of Justice and the FBI effectively.

Now the reporting is that he gave the heads-up to the White House that he had given this interview but he did not tell them exactly what he said, which was fine. You know, I think the cabinet member owes a duty to the President to let them know if there's going to be something that they said in public that the President is going to have to respond to.

So the proof in the pudding here is going to be how do these things shake out? What does the AG in the end do after all of his investigations? And he's got a lot of them ongoing.

[11:44:53]

ZELDIN: What does he do when he gets those reports? If he does what I hope he does, which is be a neutral fact-finder and make a decision on the facts, so be it. If he doesn't and he does the political protection of the President, then he doesn't belong in that job.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So in March, Barr is going to be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, you know, to weigh in on or at least, you know, respond to a lot of questions about some of the controversial decisions that he's being attached to.

Do you believe his candor this week is kind of a prelude of, you know, what's to come, you know, in March? Or does this remain unpredictable in your view?

ZELDIN: Well, presumably he's going to be under oath and he understands the consequences of testifying untruthfully under oath. So I think we will get truthful testimony.

The question is going to be, is it going to be satisfactory? So you take the Stone case, for example, where they initially issued a sentencing memorandum that recommended seven to nine years. Then they did a complete turn around and made a sentencing recommendation that didn't list a specific amount of time. That happened right after --

WHITFIELD: Because of Barr's influence?

ZELDIN: Well, that's what they say, because of Barr's influence and he has the right to make that influence as the Attorney General.

The question is, did he insert himself because of the President's tweet? He says no. Congress says it's not going to accept that bold answer. They're going to want proof of that fact. And that's what the real rub is going to be in that testimony.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ZELDIN: Did Trump pressure Barr. And did Barr succumb to that pressure?

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Michael Zeldin -- we will leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

ZELDIN: See you soon.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead -- they're increasingly bitter political rivals but there hasn't always been bad blood between Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg.

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WHITFIELD: As Democrat Michael Bloomberg rises in the polls, President Donald Trump is devoting more Twitter time to him and Bloomberg is tweeting back.

Brian Todd shows us the long and complicated relationship between the two New Yorkers.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, he's a lightweight.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The way they talk about each other now, you'd think they have been enemies for life.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not afraid of Donald Trump.

TODD: But back in New York, back in the day -- a different dynamic.

TRUMP: And I have to say, you have been a great mayor. Come here. You really have. I mean this guy is fantastic.

TODD: That was in October 2013. Then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump lavished praise on each other after Trump helped Bloomberg convert a trash dump in the Bronx into a high-end golf course.

BLOOMBERG: But if there's anybody that has changed this city, it is Donald Trump. He really has done and amazing thing. And this is another part of it. Donald -- thank you for your company (ph).

TODD: Analysts say that partnership actually could have been the genesis of their falling out because in a 2016 interview with Wolf Blitzer, Trump took all the credit for the project.

TRUMP: I took it over and got it knocked up in one year and now it's a tremendous success. Michael asked me if I would get involved in it.

MICHAEL KRANISH, CO-AUTHOR, "TRUMP REVEALED": Bloomberg thought that was an exaggeration. His former aides thought that was an exaggeration. And it sort of split between them.

TODD: But before then, Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg appeared to get along, or at least found each other useful. Trump backed Bloomberg's effort to run for a third term as New York's mayor. They golfed together. Bloomberg appeared on Trump's NBC show "The Apprentice". And their daughters appeared in an HBO documentary called "Born Rich".

But analysts say in the real world of New York business and philanthropy --

MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, AUTHOR, "THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUMP": In that world it was Bloomberg who was the star and it was Trump who was the one who was always looking for acceptance and rarely getting it.

During all of his life, Donald Trump has longed for the approval of the New York establishment. Mike Bloomberg was the New York establishment.

TODD: now the two are being compared and contrasted under a microscope. Both switched political parties repeatedly and were unexpected winners in their biggest elections and both became billionaires although on the Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans at the end of last year, Michael Bloomberg ranked 8th with $53.4 billion dollar while Trump ranked 275th with $3.1 billion.

KRANISH: They both named their businesses after themselves. They're both very wealthy people. But Bloomberg came from a more working class background and Donald Trump, of course, inherited a lot of money from his father to run his business.

TODD: Going forward, how nasty and personal will their battle become?

D'ANTONIO: I think in a head to head battle, Mike Bloomberg and Donald Trump will be nastier than anything we have seen in politics perhaps in a hundred years.

These are two people who are not afraid to fight and they're not afraid to fight in a very personal way.

TODD: Analysts say one reason Donald Trump fears Michael Bloomberg is that he realizes that Bloomberg has the resources, millions of dollars that Bloomberg can spend on ads, highly-produced ads that he can use to keep attacking Trump in the most personal of ways.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.

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WHITFIELD: Good friends no more.

All right. He became a household name during the impeachment of President Donald Trump. What Ukrainian President Zelensky is now telling CNN about that infamous July phone call.

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