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President Zelensky: I'm Ready For My Next Call With President Donald Trump; President Zelensky Rejects Donald Trump's Claim That Ukraine Is Corrupt; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Reaffirms U.S. Commitment To NATO, Calls It "Iron Clad"; Early Voting Underway In Nevada Ahead Of Next Week's Caucuses; Democrats Courting A Diverse Voter Block In Nevada; Barr's Public Rebuke Of Trump Sparks Debate Over Motives; Justice Department Drops Criminal Investigation Against Andrew McCabe; Major Teachers Unions Call To End School Shooting Drills; "The Windsors: Inside The Royal Dynasty" Premieres Tomorrow At 10 P.M. ET. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired February 15, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right, for the first time since the end of President Trump's impeachment trial, one of the key figures in the case is speaking out.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down for a one-on-one interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour during Munich Security Conference. He talked about what the impeachment process meant for his country. He also strongly denied President Trump's claims that Ukraine is corrupt.

Zelensky's July 25th phone call with President Trump played a major role in beginning the impeachment inquiry. A whistleblower filed a report saying President Trump asked Ukraine for a political favor in exchange for already approved U.S. military aid.

President Trump was acquitted of all charges in the Senate. CNN's Christiane Amanpour talked to President Zelensky who says he's ready to talk with President Trump directly and reset the country's relationship with the U.S.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the first time President Zelensky has sat down with a Western with an American television station. Not just since the whole acquittal but for the first time since his whole crisis began back in September.

I tried to start by breaking the ice because he doesn't want to talk about quid pro quos. He won't go there. But he obviously has been very affected by the way Ukraine has been sucked into this domestic U.S. and now global crisis.

And I started by comparing his unusual journey to leader of his country to President Trump because Zelensky also has been a very successful comedian and TV actor. He had a show called "Servant of the People". And he played the President.

Now he is the President. So I asked him what did he make of the fact that he and President Trump had similar TV experiences and they found themselves in this kind of very serious crisis. He used his comedic skill and his sense of irony. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Now I'm very popular in USA. I didn't want to find such way but, you know, if this way will help Ukraine, I'm ready for next call with Mr. Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Well, of course that drew a lot of laughter in this invited audience of the Munich Security Conference where you have world leaders who were here to discuss the important strategic challenges facing the western alliance.

So then I went on the talk about the war in Eastern part of Ukraine. That's really his central challenge and what he wants all the support that he can get from the United States especially being their strongest ally.

He said, look, I don't call it a war in Ukraine. I call it a war in Europe. And it is also a war where we are holding the line to protect the institutions, the freedoms, the democracies even further west in the United States as well.

We can't keep having this Russian interference with impunity. So we talked about that there was a distinguished panel of bipartisan Senators from the United States there who reaffirm their strong support for Ukraine.

And then I went onto ask him about corruption. Because if you remember the whole sort of Presidential, sort of rational for holding back this aid was to try to get Ukraine to deal with corruption. I quoted him from President Trump's accusations about corruption in Ukraine. He came back quite strong on this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Ukraine has been labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. That's one of the reputational damages to your country in the wake of all of this. Recently 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. When I have meeting with Mr. President Trump, he said about that previous years it was so corrupt, this country Ukraine. I told him very honestly and I was very hope with him. I told him that we fight this corruption. We fight with this. Fight each day, but please, stop to see that Ukraine is corrupt country because from now it's not true. We want to change this image.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So there you have him pushing back on this issue but all along throughout his conversation with me, throughout his speech to the invited guests here, he said and he had to thread a very, very important and delicate needle.

[12:05:00]

AMANPOUR: He's really walking a balance that he knows he has to keep America close, keep President Trump close. He needs the aid. He needs the support of the United States when he's facing off against such an ally of rather - he needs that help from the United States when he is facing off against such an adversary as President Putin and Russia.

So yes he's expecting and wanting that invitation that President Trump extended to him way back when after he was elected President. He wants to come to the White House. He wants to put the U.S./Ukraine relationship on a new and solid footing post-impeachment. And that's what the Senators here said the U.S. Senators said they want to see it as well back to you.

WHITFIELD: Christiane Amanpour thank you so much. All right, so how is the White House reacting to all of this? CNN's Sarah Westwood is live for us in West Palm Beach, Florida near Mar-a-Lago where President Trump is spending this holiday weekend.

So Sarah, President Zelensky said he's ready for another call with the White House. In fact he's really ready for a face-to-face either in Kyiv or in Washington. What kind of reaction is coming from President Trump on this?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Fred, so far we haven't heard any reaction from the White House or President Trump. We have asked but what is clear is that Ukrainian President Zelensky is looking for a reboot of U.S./Ukraine relations in the aftermath of impeachment.

He wants to redefine his relationship with President Trump outside the context of impeachment. That has really defined it up to this point. The White House is going to need to grapple with the future of this relationship with Ukraine.

How to navigate the fact that Ukraine is a key strategic ally in the region but also that elements of that relationship are politically charged given that the President's conversation with Zelensky is July is what kicked off a series of events that led to the President's impeachment and then acquittal.

There was a couple of weeks ago Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Kyiv and met with Zelensky, met with other Ukrainian officials and assured them that the U.S. still views Ukraine as a key ally as a ball work against Russian aggression in the region and that they will be maintaining aid. So that was Pompeo seeking to sort of do maintenance on a relationship that had gone through a rocky period with impeachment. And Zelensky also expressed confidence that he will be getting that invitation to come and visit President Trump at the White House. That's something that he sought for months since his election last year. It would give him legitimacy as a new leader.

But also, be a strong signal of the U.S.'s support for Ukraine over Russia. Of course Zelensky also rejected the White House's claim a central part of the President's defense that corruption was what President Trump was concerned about not investigations that would benefit him politically.

Zelensky pushing back very hard on that saying he wish the President Trump would not referred Ukraine as he has for months as a very corrupt place, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sarah Westwood, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. Got a lot of wind but hopefully no rain but you know it is South Florida. It could have that combination.

All right House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also in Germany attending that same Munich Security Conference where you saw that Zelensky interview. Pelosi is there with the bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers. And she made a point to reiterate U.S. support for European allies is strong. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The Trump Administration is trying to give a comfort level to statements that were made by the President. We are here to say Democrats and Republicans in House and Senate to say we our commitment to NATO is ironclad I repeat. In terms of the budget, the Congress will weigh on it. They have cut $10 billion.

When you talk about developmental assistant, you talk about climate crisis and any other subject is cut and they're including CDC by 19 percent of their budget which is the agency to fight the Coronavirus. So it doesn't make sense. But I do believe there will be bipartisan support in House and Senate to get rid of most of those cuts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining me right now, a staff writer for the New Yorker and CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Susan Glasser.

Susan, so good to see you. All right, so we just heard you know Speaker Pelosi reaffirm support for NATO and other funding for issues that affect all of the U.S. So should European leaders be worried at all about losing financial and military support from the U.S.?

SUSAN GLASSER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: They are absolutely worried. That's really the theme of this year's Munich Security Conference as it has been the theme of the two previous ones during the Trump Administration. And in fact you know you see this sort of bipartisan reassurance toward that Speaker Pelosi is leading. She was there last year as well when I was in Munich.

[12:10:00]

GLASSER: And you know the message unfortunately of impeachment and the reason scandal involving Ukraine I think is to reinforce for European leaders and other that president Trump does not see foreign policy as what's communicated by his administration but what he personally communicates and so there's only so much that a bipartisan reassurance tour can do when it comes to our European allies.

And you know so you have this very interesting thing of the President of Germany there, the President of France Emmanuel Macron just today speaking out about this crisis in the west and administration officials, including Mike Pompeo there essentially saying oh, never mind.

Don't pay attention to what Donald Trump is saying. We're here to tell you that we're triumphant. And so there is no problem at all. So it's a really bifurcated message I think to world leaders. And my guess is they can see through it.

WHITFIELD: There were a lot of moments that came from the interview that Christiane had with the Ukrainian President Zelensky earlier. He said that Russia's aggression really is a war on Europe. Is it your belief that he was really sending a signal, a message to the President of the United States rather than to Europe?

GLASSER: Well, that's an interesting point. You know look, this impeachment scandal in the U.S. has been terrible for Ukraine, right? This is just an absolute foreign policy disaster. If you are Ukraine you are dependent on military aid from the United States. Nearly $400 million of which was held up.

Your country is being called corrupt every single day by both Democrats and Republicans in the United States and of course this came at a time when he was hoping to embark on a new round of peace talks with Russia to quell the fighting in Eastern Ukraine the United States rather than shoring him up with that vulnerable moment essentially has given Russians a stronger hand in those negotiations.

So Zelensky really needs to come out of this and reset the relationship as you said with the United States. In a positive sense you know how Democrats as well as Republicans who absolutely are going to want to make sure that military aid keeps flowing to Ukraine, right? I do think that's one outcome of this, it's very unlikely that either party would do anything to cut back on the aid given the reason politics of it here in Washington.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And Zelensky worked really hard to counter that message of Ukraine being corrupt. In any way, does that kind of, I guess, continue talk about the corruptness of Ukraine? Does that further embolden Russia and is it Zelensky who is working hard to try to undermine that feeling that Russia might have?

GLASSER: Well look, there's two things. Number one, Zelensky was elected as Christiane pointed out as an outsider, as an incredible TV show star, a comedian who was brought into shake up the system and the perception of corruption. I know a number of officials here in Washington who have worked closely with President Zelensky and his advisors they think very highly of him. Democrats and Republicans have been very impressed with his corruption fighting agenda.

And so ironically you have President Trump essentially trashing the country's reputation. It was pointed out, I think correctly, during impeachment that the United States appear to be doing much of what it was accusing Ukraine of having done in the past. Using national security money for personal, political ends was the accusation against President Trump.

In the end that is almost a definition of corruption. So Zelensky is a reformer. How much he can succeed, I think he's been really hurt by his partners here in Washington, unfortunately.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, there are a lot of people there. Not just Zelensky. But you saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi but also the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is there in Munich. Is this an opportunity or could it be a potential missed opportunity that Pompeo doesn't have some sort of offering to Zelensky to Ukraine to reassure that country that the U.S. will be there for it?

GLASSER: Well, again, I think the message that is being sent is that Democrats and Republicans are behind you and let's just move on but you know Pompeo has a problem which is that our partnerships with Europe and anyone we would have to work with Ukraine to help against Russia, our partnership with Europe is very frayed right now.

He came today to Munich. He gave a speech there called the west is winning. It was very tone deaf speech. I'm told people in the hall received it very poorly. He essentially took issue with the entire theme of the conference that there is a crisis in the Trans/Atlantic relationship but at a time when everyone from the German Chancellor to the French President are acknowledging that it's a huge challenge to deal with the Trump Administration, Pompeo just came and basically stuck a thumb in their eye and said you know I don't know what crisis you're talking about.?

[12:15:00]

GLASSER: Why on earth would you get the idea that the United States is questioning NATO? Well of course they got that from the President of the United States who actually campaigned on that in 2016. So it's made it much harder for the United States to work with its allies and partners in Europe and Ukraine is the front line with Russia. So it's a very significant rift.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Glasser always good to see you. Thank you so much.

GLASSER: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: A coronavirus death in Europe and health officials says the patient's condition deteriorated rapidly. Plus, help is on the way for hundreds of Americans trapped on board a cruise ship in Japan but will they have to be quarantined? Also ahead of debate over school shooting drills why two powerful teachers unions are calling for change? An early voting kicked off today in Nevada at the Caucuses there and the candidates are facing a crucial test.

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[12:20:00]

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 a hospital in January.

The U.S. now says it is preparing to evacuate hundreds of Americans who have been trapped on a cruise ship docked in Japan for almost two weeks. Those who have tested positive for coronavirus and those showing symptoms of the virus will not be able to board the air craft and will remain in Japan for treatment.

There are more than 67,000 confirmed cases around the world, right now more than 1500 deaths. CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris. So what are we learning about this death?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, he was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist. He had been in the hospital in the North of Paris since the 25th of January. What we're told from French Health Authorities is that really his situation, the state of his health deteriorated very rapidly.

His daughter is also in that same hospital but we're told that she is one of those who is going to be allowed to go home. She is going to be let out. She got better so far in France 11 cases with 6 people still being treated in hospital.

But that is the first death in Europe that's being recorded. It's the first death outside of Asia. So far Fredricka there had been three deaths outside of Mainland China in Hong Kong, in the Philippine and in Japan.

And it's really in Japan that we're seeing that very fast increase of the number of those being found to have the virus nine new cases in the country itself today. 67 on that cruise ship that essentially become a floating quarantine. One can imagine the horror for the people on there.

3,600 of them trapped on the ship with those new cases being declared. Now amongst the lucky ones, the 428 Americans who are going to get to go home at last. They are going to be flown back in the next few days to the United States where they will face 14 more days of quarantine.

So the horror for them is not quite over but still you can be certain they will be very relieved to be getting off that ship. So fast progression in Japan and again an epidemic that it's very hard to gauge at this stage how much worse it can get? The Head of the World Health Organization was speaking in Munich. They were saying look, so far countries that had good infrastructure are the ones who have been able to contain it imagine if it gets to a country that does not. He added that it was simply too early to say what trajectory this virus is on. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Melissa Bell in Paris thank you so much. All right, up next race, ethnicity and the fight for the White House the Nevada Caucuses could shake up the Presidential Race. What Democrats are doing to prevent another repeat of Iowa?

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[12:25:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Early voting has started in Nevada. Just seven days now before the next contest in the Democratic Primary Race. 2020 Presidential Candidates are holding campaign events all across the Silver State ahead of next Saturday's Caucuses. Voters are waiting to hear from Senator Amy Klobuchar right now as she looks to carry her campaign's momentum to the west now.

CNN's Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah joining me now from that event right outside of Las Vegas. So what's happening? Looks like she's an already the stand there. What's up?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah she has actually just stepped onto the stage as you were talking Fredricka. This is in suburban Las Vegas where I'm standing. It's a city called Henderson.

The Senator talking to this crowd, it is a get out the vote rally. She is hoping to exceed expectations again after that third place finish in New Hampshire and continue that trend. Senator Klobuchar is up early this morning with a rally.

So was Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders all of them trying to mark the sprint to the Caucuses which is still seven days away. The Senator here announced that she has a six figure ad buy in South Carolina. So she's looking ahead beyond what is going to be happening here in Nevada.

So this campaign with 50 staffers on the ground here expanding, looking forward to having a future in South Carolina but as far as early voting Fredricka, the way it's going to work and early voting just started about an hour ago here in the state.

People are going to go into their precincts. They're going to have a voter card and then a pin number and then they're going to be handed a paper ballot. It is going to look like a bit like a Scantron Sheet and then they're going to be able to pick three out of five candidates and then they're going to hand that in.

And then those paper ballots will be used seven days from now during the Caucuses. If their first choice is not viable, then they are going to have their second and third choice come into play Fredricka so early voting again under way candidates now looking forward to seven days counting here in Nevada, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: Kyung do voters seem really galvanized excited at this opportunity?

LAH: When you walk around and talk to people here, they actually feel that they have a voice that they feel they are going to be able to have a significant impact on who the nominee is here because this is an earlier state and because Nevada is looking at so many different candidates.

[12:30:00]

There are a lot of people here who really fell that this year, their vote is really going to matter in the primary process.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much. Let's look further now into what Nevadans are looking for.

Democrats will be courting, you know, a much more diverse group of voters going forward now. A half of Nevada's electorate is made up of minorities. The diverse voting block drawing a stark contrast to Iowa and New Hampshire, states that are both over 90 percent white according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

But what was once a historically diverse field of presidential candidates, black, Asian, Latino, and female contenders has also become overwhelmingly white and mostly male. Andrew Yang and former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick dropping out after poor performances in the first two contests.

Joining me right now is Domingo Garcia, a civil rights lawyer and the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Domingo, good to see you.

DOMINGO GARCIA, PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS (LULAC): Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: So, what is your satisfaction level right now when looking at the remaining field of candidates. We're talking about three women, five men, mostly white, you know, Tulsi Gabbard is of, you know, American Samoan Asian descent but mostly a white field of candidates here.

GARCIA: It's long overdue for us to scrap New Hampshire and Iowa as the first two states. They're not reflective of the America 2020. They're not reflective of the Democratic Party 2020, and they puts disadvantages to minority candidates like Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Julian Castro who have to win those two caucuses and primaries first before they even have a shot and getting to a state like Nevada. And it's just how the DNC changes that rule and after the Iowa fiasco, we hope that happens by 2024.

WHITFIELD: So then that is now a long-term goal or something to work towards before, you know, the next four year, you know, race but what about now as Nevada is poised for caucusing this week. You know, talk to me about what you're hearing from the voting electorate there. What are they looking for in their candidate? Because, you know, we

just saw Amy Klobuchar is there, you know, talking to folks. You know, Joe Biden, you know, is there, also trying to, you know, court, you know, support. But what it is that you understand electorates to be looking for in these candidates?

GARCIA: Well, you know, we just had a presidential town hall meeting two nights ago in northern Las Vegas where constituents there in Nevada asked all the candidates with the exception of Biden who didn't show up, that, you know, what were their positions on immigration reform. It's amazing that right now we have children in jails, children being taken from their mothers.

And what are the candidates going to do about that. It's just such an immoral position that we have children's jails in 2020 and that President Trump is campaigning on using immigration as sort of a wedge issue to divide Americans. So what are Democrats going to offer on that side?

And then health care. Latinos are the largest ethic group that are ensured under healthcare. So if any of them gets diabetes or any major illness, that can bankrupt an entire family. What are the candidates going to do? Whether it's Bernie Sanders' Medicare for All or whether it's some version of that from that Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden.

We need to find out what those are, and that's what people care about. You know, kitchen table issues. They're important especially education also.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So, immigration and healthcare, those are some of the issues that you want to hear, other Latino candidates -- or voters want to hear. Do you feel like you want these candidates to address the Latino community directly?

GARCIA: Yes. So, I mean, that's why we had the town hall, that's why we're telling the candidates it's one thing to run, you know, all these ads like Bloomberg is doing, but if you don't talk to people, if it's a monologue then that doesn't work. You have to have a dialogue. You need to listen to the community, what does Jose and Maria and Billy Bob and Mary Sue and (INAUDIBLE) and every else has to think about their positions. What's impacting their pocketbook? What's impacting their ability to get a decent job an have a living wage.

Those are issues that these candidates need to address. And if they're going to get the votes of Latinos and African-Americans in Nevada where there are going to be a substantial part of the voters for the first time after Iowa and New Hampshire. They're going to have to address that.

Right now, Bernie Sanders is doing the best job but Amy Klobuchar and Pete -- Mayor Pete is actually doing a good job also of getting their message out now.

WHITFIELD: A Quinnipiac University poll, you know, released this week put Joe Biden support among black voters at just 27 percent. That's down 24 points since December. The Biden campaign is, you know, banking or what it calls a firewall, you know, with black voters in South Carolina, in particular. But for Nevada, you know, can he count on, you know, a large contingent of Latino voters?

GARCIA: There's actually been and also a morning consult poll that shows right now Bernie Sanders has 42 percent of the Latino vote and Biden is behind by at 19 percent.

[12:35:07]

WHITFIELD: And why do you think that is?

GARCIA: Because he has -- he's just not out there. He's been put in a bubble that he hasn't been able to go out there and have his message that he had under President Obama and talk to the community directly. And I think that's -- he has a terrible campaign staff that just has not got him out there into the community.

He didn't show up to our town hall meeting in northern Las Vegas that was televised on a Spanish network Telemundo and also on MSNBC and some of the other networks. He didn't show up. And that sends a message to the community that maybe he doesn't care as much as the ones who did.

WHITFIELD: Domingo Garcia, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

GARCIA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

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

[12:40:09]

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

Well, today, the president is tweeting more criticism aimed at McCabe. All of these twists and turns are bringing fresh scrutiny about the political motives at the Defense Department.

Katelyn Polantz is a CNN crime and justice reporter, Renato Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor and a CNN legal analyst.

Good to see both of you.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Hi. WHITFIELD: All right Renato, let me begin with you. Your reaction to Barr reviewing now high profiling cases including Michael Flynn. I mean, what would be his goal? What is he after?

RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's bizarre because in Michael Flynn's case, that case ended with a conviction. The judge found -- a federal judge found that there was nothing to these allegations of wrongdoing. You know, what it suggests to me is that for Attorney General Barr, if you are investigating or charging one of Trump's allies, then you are going to be facing an extra layer of review.

It's very unusual. Very unusual for prosecutors on another side of a country to be reviewing work at this point. And it certainly suggests that there's more political influence at the Justice Department.

WHITFIELD: And Katelyn, what have you been seeing, you know, in court during the Flynn case that might have prompted this review?

POLANTZ: Right. Well, we're seeing that this case has become one that's much more complicated for the prosecutors working on it than they may have initially predicted it to be. It was a cut and dry plea deal, and in the past few weeks, we've seen the Justice Department have to muster new evidence trying to get Flynn's former defense counsel to speak about what happened when he cut his deal. And we do know that the one prosecutor that has been leading this case, that cut the deal with Flynn during the Mueller investigation is working with this prosecutor from Missouri to sure up evidence.

So, we don't truly know what the motives of the attorney general are but there are multiple reasons in this case where he may need more legal assistance on this.

WHITFIELD: And then Katelyn, you know, a White house official, you know, telling CNN that the president was angered by the decision to not file charges against the former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. What can you tell us, you know, how the president exhibited, you know, that anger or conveyed it?

POLANTZ: Well, the president, I believe, tweeted today about the former deputy director Andrew McCabe and what he had done and what the inspector general had found about his lack of candor. But what we know from the record is that this comes -- the decision for them to not bring a charge based on what the inspector general found about McCabe comes at the end of a tumultuous week for the Justice Department where a lot of people were questioning, both in the department and alumni of the department questioning the motivations of Bill Barr on cases like McCabe's where there is a layer that the president is very, very interested in.

And we don't truly know why they made this announcement on Friday. But we do know that there has -- there have been Justice Department prosecutors in court for months telling a separate judge who was interested in the McCabe case that they were -- they could reach a decision within days back in September. And for some reason that just was drawn out. That decision wasn't made until this week of all weeks as it was. WHITFIELD: Right. And Renato, you know, this week, you know, Barr, you know, also tried to distance himself from the president's influence. He was asked, you know, about his independence and this is what he had to say.

(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 be bullied or influenced by anybody. And I said whether it's Congress, some newspaper, editorial boards or the president. I'm going to do what I think is right. And, you know, the -- I think the -- I can not do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Renato, the president, of course, tweeted a response, you know, saying, you know, as president he can intervene in a criminal case if he wanted to but hasn't, quote, so far. So, Renato, is it just kind of like, you know, checking the AG and re-informing the rest of the world that, you know, he's the ultimate decider. I mean, talk to us about the dynamics of to what extent the president can influence these judicial cases.

[12:45:02]

MARIOTTI: Well, look, since Watergate when there was influence of the attorney general on behalf of the then-president of the United States Richard Nixon, there has been sort of a norm, kind of an unofficial wall between the White House and the Justice Department and all sorts of rules and procedures set up to ensure there wasn't political influence of the Justice Department. That has broken down during the Trump administration.

And I think what Attorney General Barr was reacting to was these tweets make it fairly obvious that there is influence that's being exercised by Trump, and Trump essentially is trying to say, well, you know, I don't care. I can do this and technically, legally, you know, he can try to influence the Justice Department. It would just be corrupt for him to do so and we create a lot of problems for him.

And so, I think Barr is trying to save Trump from himself essentially saying I've got it. I'm going to be -- you know, he's been helping Trump, you know, on his own and so he doesn't really need these tweets to reveal everything to the world.

WHITFIELD: All right. Renato Mariotti, Katelyn Polantz, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

POLANTZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, do school shooting drills hurt students more than they help? The risk, the benefits, and the new recommendations from the nation's largest teachers unions.

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[12:50:42]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

A new concern that school shooting drills could be too traumatizing for children. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association partnering with every town for gun safety is calling for an end to them. As school shootings have become more frequent, active shooter drills have also become the new normal with about 95 percent of school districts conducting them between 2015 and 2016.

Let us bring in Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent and CNN law enforcement analyst. Jonathan, good to see you.

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

WHITFIELD: So it's become the norm, you know, in so many schools, but these concerns are about how it may be impacting children, particularly, in places where perhaps there has not been a shooting.

WACKROW: Absolutely. You know, Fred, people, you know, associate these active shooter drills to what's common and required in schools which is fire drills. Unfortunately, there's a big difference between the two of them. Fire drills follow a national standard, these active shooter drills that are being conducted do not follow any type of standard or guideline. So, therein lies the problem.

Researchers have seen that when stress is induced in these types of training scenario, psychological and physiological effects, you know, occur. And the concern with young children is that the psychological effect of the stress induce -- stress-induced training may cause a trigger of a past trauma.

Listen, law enforcement trains every single day very dynamically. However, they are conditioned to train under those stressful conditions. Teachers and students are not conditioned for that. And there can be a long-term consequence in harm especially if there was a previous traumatic situation.

Any type of training is focused on gaining knowledge and skill. And what this report highlights is the fact that, you know, many school districts maybe falling short of that goal in providing that safety for the children in terms of active shooters.

WHITFIELD: So the report may not necessarily recommend these drills, you know, for students but there is some guidance for schools on how to carry out this -- you know, the training?

WACKROW: Absolutely. And I think this is where the report is helpful. So, for those school districts that are going to continue on with this type of training, they did provide some guidance. And first and foremost, what they're saying is if you're going to do this type of training, don't mimic a scenario. Don't, you know, replicate it because that's going to cause some stress. Ensure that you're including the parents in the decision-making process of having these students be involved. And think about the well-being of the child.

There's a big difference between training a first grader and training a senior in high school. So age appropriate training scenarios are important to reinforce what the goal is of the active shooter mitigation.

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

WACKROW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

WACKROW: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, CNN's Christiane Amanpour goes one- on-one with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. What he has to say about corruption, impeachment, and President Trump.

But first, here is CNN's Max Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Buckingham Palace, the queen's famous London residents where she hosts everything from state banquets to weekly audiences with her prime minister to more intimate family affairs.

But it didn't always look like this. That frontage was added by Queen Victoria in the mid 19th century. And without it, we wouldn't have the balcony where the family comes out to greet the crowds on big ceremonial occasions.

On new series, "The Windsors", we go behind palace walls to shed new lights on Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign. And we delve into those family dynamics which should never far from the headlines.

This is Max Foster, for CNN, at Buckingham Palace in London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And be sure to tune in, the all new CNN original series, "The Windsors: Inside the Royal Dynasty" premieres tomorrow 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

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[12:59:43]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, right now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is meeting foreign leaders at the Munich Security Conference. But that's not stopping her from talking about President Trump. In an exclusive one-on-one interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, the House speaker defended her decision to rip up President Trump's state of the union address. Remember that moment.