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U.S. Evacuating Americans On Ship Quarantined Over Coronavirus; Democrats Crisscross Nevada Days Before Caucuses; Ex-Justice Department Officials Call For A.G. Barr's Resignation; Customs And Border Agents Deployed To Sanctuary Cities; Dozens More Women Come Forward After Andrew Yang's Wife Told CNN She Was Sexually Assaulted By Her Doctor; Thousands Feel Violence Near Syria-Turkey Border. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 16, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[13:59:59]

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: The FAO has received less than half of the $76 million it requested to fight today's swarms.

Thank you for being part of the program this week. I will see you next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with breaking news.

Hundreds of Americans who have been quarantined for two weeks aboard a cruise ship because of coronavirus are ready to head home. Led by a police escort in Japan, a convoy of buses took passengers from the Diamond Princess to charter flights that will take them back to the U.S. They still face another two-week quarantine at military bases in California and Texas once they have returned.

At least 46 Americans on board the ship tested positive for the virus and anyone either testing positive or showing symptoms will remain in Japan for treatment.

Matt Rivers is at the Tokyo airport. Matt, when do evacuees plan to be back in the U.S.?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of when they're going to take off, Fredricka -- I'm not sure yet. Officials are really remaining very tightly-lipped.

But what we do know and what we've seen just in the last couple of minutes, the planes are over my shoulder there. We're actually a parking garage adjacent to the airport.

And for the first time, we've seen passengers begin to line up outside of one of two 747s that have been contracted by the U.S. State Department to evacuate these Americans. There's going to be almost 400 people that are going through the process of getting on board these planes. It has been not only a two-week or so period for them in quarantine on that Japanese -- in the Japanese port here on that cruise ship. It's also been an ordeal just tonight. They started to get off that cruise ship more than five and a half hours ago and they're just now getting on board this plane.

This is all a part of a process that the U.S. government says is part of an abundance of caution. That's why when they go back to the United States, they'll be quarantined for two weeks. But Fredricka, this has been just a very difficult and exhausting ordeal for the people on board that ship that are now trying to get on board one of two 747s there.

And ultimately, hopefully for them, take off here from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on their way back to Travis Air Force Base in California.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you've mentioned it's been difficult and exhausting but then for some, you know, folks, some passengers, they're downright angry about this evacuation plan and the quarantine.

RIVERS: Yes -- that's exactly right. I mean, what they're saying is look, we understand the concept of public health and needing to keep people safe in the United States but, you know, up until a couple of days ago, the official line from the U.S. government that the Japanese regulations on quarantine, which would have had them stay on the ship until February 19th and then after that they could just take a commercial flight back home to the U.S. -- that that was all well and good.

But then it was on Saturday that the U.S. State Department talked to passengers on board and said actually, we're going to evacuate you, and then you have to face a further two-week quarantine in the U.S.

So the passengers that we've spoken to, about a dozen of them say hold on. Where was the U.S. government a week ago? What changed their mind on this? You know, that's why they're angry.

They're not angry that they're necessarily having to go through further quarantine in the U.S. They're angry that the U.S. government didn't choose to make this evacuation plan about ten days ago when they could have, instead of just letting them sit on the ship in the Yokohama Harbor not far from where we are right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matt Rivers, thank you so much in Tokyo.

So back Stateside, we are now less than a week away from the next stop in the 2020 presidential race. The Nevada caucuses are Saturday and Democratic caucus goers are already showing up in force. Early voting started yesterday. And at one early voting precinct in Las Vegas, people had to wait in line for more than three hours to cast their vote.

But Democrats are determined and ready to put the problems that happened in Iowa in those caucuses behind them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEX HARPER, NEVADA VOTER: I don't know if I'm ever 100 percent certain that it's going to work out but I do feel a lot better about it being done on good old back to basics paper and pen and just putting it into a box.

KIMBERLY MARTINEZ, NEVADA VOTER: It's a really easy, smooth experience. We came in, waited about 45 minutes. So I think it's a good sign. That means a lot of people came out to vote. Once we were in there it was really easy, straightforward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. With enthusiasm high, candidates are spread out across the state today with rallies and events, trying to drum up support with just a few days now to go.

CNN is on the campaign trail in Nevada. Athena Jones is in Carson City where Senator Bernie Sanders is holding a rally soon. And Arlette Saenz is with Joe Biden's campaign in Las Vegas.

[14:04:57]

WHITFIELD: Athena -- you first. There seems to be a whole lot of excitement surrounding this race.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi -- Fred. That's exactly right.

We're here in Carson City as Bernie Sanders makes a push to get out the vote.

As you mentioned, early voting started yesterday. It lasts until Tuesday. And he's hoping that he could -- he and his campaign are hoping they can drive supporters from a rally like this straight to the early caucus sites.

Now, Bernie Sanders lost the Nevada caucuses to Hillary Clinton in 2016, but he did very well in the northern part of the state. He won all of the northern counties. He also won Carson City, which is where we are right now, as well as Washoe County, which is where Reno is, another big city about half an hour from here.

One of the things we're going to be watching at this rally is to see how much Senator Sanders tries to draw contrast between himself and his rivals. It's something we're seeing him do much more in recent days.

You'll remember he's been going after Pete Buttigieg for raising money from millionaires and billionaires. And yesterday we also heard him criticize Mike Bloomberg, who happens to be a billionaire, for his past policies while he was mayor of New York City's, policies that Bernie Sanders calls racist.

Listen to what Bernie Sanders had to say and listen to how Mike Bloomberg has been responding to this sort of criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Regardless of how much money a multibillionaire candidate is willing to spend on his election, we will not create the energy and excitement we need to defeat Donald Trump if that candidate pursued, advocated for, and enacted racist policies like stop and frisk which caused communities of color in his city to live in fear.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I defended it for too long, I think, because I didn't understand the unintended pain it caused to young black and brown kids and to their families. I should have acted sooner and faster to stop it. And for that, I have apologized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now that kind of criticism of Bloomberg's past policies, which he calls racist, that could really resonate in a place like Nevada and also South Carolina and many of the other states that are coming down the line. These are states that are much more diverse than the first two states to vote -- Iowa and New Hampshire.

Latinos make up 30 percent of the population here in Nevada and Bernie Sanders won the Latino vote, 53 percent of it last time around. Now, I should note that Latinos only made up about 19 percent of the electorate in 2016. So we'll have to see if that changes.

But there's no mistake -- it's not a coincidence that Sanders is going after Bloomberg on these issues now. I'll note that Mike Bloomberg is not on the ballot here. He's not competing in the first four states but he looms large on Super Tuesday on March 3rd in those states that are going to be voting just a couple of weeks from now -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in Arlette now.

Joe Biden, you know, hoping for a strong showing, you know, following two disappointing outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire. You're with the former vice president's campaign. What is the message that he's trying to convey to voters?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred -- Nevada is the first test of Joe Biden's argument that he will perform in states with a more diverse demographic.

And to that end over the weekend he has been courting both Latino and African-American voters, today even stopping by an AME church as he tried to bring his message to that community.

And one issue that Biden has really been hammering away at while he's been here in Nevada is health care, particularly that is an issue that is of importance to many of the unions here in the state. Biden arguing that under his health care plan they would be able to keep their negotiated plans unlike Medicare for all.

Biden has also been placing gun control front and center. It was just over two years ago where the largest mass shooting in U.S. history occurred here on the Las Vegas strip.

And with both of those issues, health care and gun control, Biden offering an implicit contrast with the record of Bernie Sanders.

And in an interview that aired this morning with "Meet the Press", Biden also talked about his need to keep his focus squarely on President Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't focus on that -- chuck. I've got to focus on the future. I've got to focus on how do we end this era of -- I mean how do we literally, I wrote about it, restore the soul of this country? I mean it's just being eaten out. It's being eaten away.

The cruelty, the viciousness, the way he pits people against one another, the way he goes after people of color, the way he makes fun of. I mean there's a cruelty about it.

And that's not who we are -- Chuck. I refuse to believe that's who the American people are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, after his poor finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, the Biden campaign is hoping that Nevada will offer a bit of a turnaround for Joe Biden. And he has predicted that he will finish here in the first or second place.

[14:10:01]

SAENZ: I asked him yesterday, do you think you have to win? He said no, but he does think that they have a shot at winning.

And one other interesting note is the former senate majority leader, Harry Reid -- he's a major figure here in the state. He has yet to offer an endorsement. It's unlikely at this point that he will endorse before the caucuses next Saturday.

But he did tell a group of reporters that they shouldn't count out Joe Biden just yet, pointing out that Nevada and South Carolina are both states with diverse demographics. That's something the Biden campaign is really betting on in the coming few weeks -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very interesting.

All right. Thank you so much -- Arlette Saenz, Athena Jones in Nevada.

All right. Here to talk more about these races, the chairman of the Nevada Democratic Party -- William McCurdy. Thanks so much for being with us.

So here we are just now less than a week, you know, from your state's caucus. What are your impressions of the early voting turnout thus far? And is it an indication of what's to come? WILLIAM MCCURDY, CHAIRMAN, NEVADA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: You know what,

voters are really energized to turn out, as you can see. We had a lot of people show up on the first day of early voting, which I will add is historic because it's never been done before.

Our Nevada Democrats are ready and we will look forward to, you know, getting ready for caucus day as well.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So, so many, you know, are hoping that there isn't -- so many in your state are hoping that there isn't going to be a repeat of, you know, what happened in Iowa. Your state's party was set to use that same app that caused all the problems in Iowa. But after Iowa decided to drop that plan.

So what systems, backup, reporting plans -- what's in place to reassure you and voters?

MCCURDY: Look, we've been working really hard to ensure that what happened in Iowa does not happen here in Nevada. We've been working around the clock to ensure that we're training our volunteers at the site (ph) and we're looking forward to being successful.

I will add that they can do it with the caucus calculator. They can also do on pen and paper. So we'll be ready.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're seeing a surge, you know, of early voting. People are very excited. Some people had to wait over three hours to cast their votes Saturday.

Are you anticipating a higher, you know, turnout than, you know, earlier expected -- than your earlier expectations?

MCCURDY: You know what? I am really excited that, you know, Nevada Democrats really showed up on the first day -- our historic first day of early vote. And we're anticipating folks to continue to, you know, engage in this process from now until the 18th, when early vote ends and we're looking forward to, you know, a significant turnout on caucus day as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, William -- that very powerful Nevada Culinary Union, you know, took a very unusual step, you know, choosing not to endorse any of the Democrats in the running.

It has spoken out against the Medicare for all proposal pushed by Bernie Sanders. Do you think the union's decision will impact the decisions that your voters make?

MCCURDY: Look, Nevada is very different. And we have the benefit much being the first early state that has a significant union density at about 14 percent. We're really excited for the fact that we have such a significant voice in this process.

The culinary union has always done what's right for their members. And I am sure that they are going to continue to provide information to their members so that they can have the information that they need to not only participate in early vote but also on caucus day, which is extremely important.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot is being made of the diversity of your state, especially after New Hampshire and in Iowa. 30 percent -- Athena was reporting, you know, Latino voters.

Will this, you know, outcome of the caucuses be any better of an indicator of how the nation may go in the Democratic race, in your view?

MCCURDY: Look, Nevada is very diverse. We pride ourselves on, you know, our positioning within this nominating contest. As you know, we are the first state that actually will be able to, you know, provide any kind of indication as to how a candidate will be able to build a broad-based coalition to not only, you know, successfully have, you know, a good successful Super Tuesday.

But also it's going to show if they can build a broad-based coalition to go on to beat Donald Trump in November. In Nevada, you know, during our early vote sites we had everything from Little Ethiopia to Chinatown to east Las Vegas which has a significant Latinex (ph) population and also in my own assembly district, which has a vibrant African-American, you know, constituency.

And our candidates are going to have to make sure that they communicate across the board to not only do well here in Nevada but across the country as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. William McCurdy -- all the best. Good luck this week.

MCCURDY: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, more than a thousand former members of the Justice Department calling on the U.S. Attorney General William Barr to resign. The new fallout and the message critics are sending to current employees.

[14:14:56]

WHITFIELD: Plus special tactical teams being moved from the border to sanctuary cities. So how far will local governments go to protect undocumented immigrants against those federal agents?

I'll talk with the mayor of Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following breaking news now.

More than 1,100 former Justice Department prosecutors and other DOJ officials are calling on Attorney General William Barr to resign. The stunning development is in response to Barr's controversial decision to ask for shorter prison sentence for Roger Stone, a long-time Trump adviser.

The officials who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations signed and released a rare statement today, demanding Barr step down as the nation's top law enforcement official.

David Shortell is a CNN crime and justice producer, and Toluse Olorunnipa is a White House reporter for "The Washington Post" and a CNN political analyst. Good to see both of you.

[14:19:58]

WHITFIELD: All right. David -- let me begin with you. What more can you tell us about this statement?

DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: Hi -- Fred. Good afternoon.

It's more than 1,100 former Justice Department officials who are signing on to this bipartisan and sharply worded letter that calls Attorney General William Barr a grave threat to the administration of fair justice and asks for his resignation.

I'll read to you a bit more from the letter. These former officials write that "The President's public comments on Justice Department matters have gravely damaged the department's credibility but Mr. Barr's actions in doing the President's personal bidding unfortunately speak louder than his words. Those actions and the damage they've done to the Justice Department's reputation for integrity and the rule of law require Mr. Barr to resign.

Fred -- this letter really capping one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent Justice Department history beginning on Tuesday when Attorney General William Barr and other senior leaders from the Justice Department engaged in this extraordinary public dispute with career attorneys who had recommended a stiff punishment for Roger Stone, the long time friend of President Donald Trump who was convicted last year of lying to Congress and witness tampering.

On Wednesday Barr attempting to defuse the growing crisis a bit in an interview with ABC News in which he said that the decision to soften the sentencing request on Stone was made without consultation from the White House. It was the Justice Department's decision, Barr said.

He also, though, added this rare rebuke, this criticism of President Donald Trump, Barr telling ABC News that the President's tweets, his online commentary about the Justice Department make his job impossible to do.

Fred -- we got a bit of a response from the White House to those criticisms this morning. Take a listen to Marc Short, the Vice President's chief of staff, in an interview on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: I don't think it's impossible to do his job. In fact, I think that Attorney General Barr is doing a great job. He has a lot of confidence inside the White House.

I think that the President's frustration is one that a lot of Americans have, which feels like the scales of justice are not balanced anymore. There has been a bias that's inside the Department of Justice that Attorney General Barr is trying to correct.

I think that he has said that the President has not called him directly to say please do these things. He has acted independently to initiate these reviews and I think he's doing a fantastic job of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHORTELL: And there again is Marc Short, the Vice President's chief of staff on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with our Dana Bash. Marc Short standing by the Attorney General there. But there are more than 1,100 former Justice Department officials who came down in a different conclusion, calling for Barr's resignation in that letter this morning.

Fred -- we should note that a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the letter.

WHITFIELD: And Toluse, you know, it appears Barr still has the support of the President. What kind of impact might this statement have on Trump and any more plans that he may have on influencing cases?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I doubt that this actual letter from these 1,100 former Justice Department officials will actually impact President Trump himself. He seems to think of anyone who has served in government before as members of the deep state and he seems to disregard anyone from a previous administration.

But it does add to the questions surrounding Barr, surrounding the Justice Department. Part of this letter was not only addressed to Barr, but also addressed to other current officials within the Justice Department, telling them that if Barr interferes with your work, you should take steps to protect your oath of office.

Whether that means resigning, whether that means speaking out publicly, whether it means pushing back against Barr -- these former officials who are former colleagues of the current officials who are still in government were encouraging their former colleagues to stand up for justice and not allow political interference, which many believe that President Trump, by tweeting out his opinion about the Stone case and having Barr and other officials reverse the previous sentencing guidelines, that is a pure, clear instance of political interference in the Justice Department.

And there's a sense that Justice Department officials under Barr are looking for ways to speak out and are looking for ways to push back against that, including the four who resigned earlier this week.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, what might those ways be, besides resigning or removing yourself, you know, from cases or the DOJ as a whole? What are the options that any of these other members, existing members of the Department of Justice can feel like they can protest or express their dissatisfaction, if that is indeed the case, with the AG?

OLORUNNIPA: Well, there a series of different things that they can do and some of these cases, they can make filings that are a lot of these filings are public and they can push back against anything that looks like political interference in their filings. So that when the public reads them they can be sure that there's not any political interference.

You know, we are reporters who often get leaks from within the Justice Department. Some of these officials can speak to the press to get what's happening inside the Justice Department, if they feel that it's not on the up and up, if they want that information to come out publicly -- that's something that has happened in the past as well.

[14:25:00]

OLORUNNIPA: I wouldn't be surprised if there is a sense of rebellion within the Justice Department for people who believe that what President Trump has done and what Attorney General Barr have done is not on the up and up, is not how the Justice Department is supposed to run.

And if they listen to some of these former colleagues -- 1,100 people who spoke out in this letter then they would be willing to speak out as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating. We will see.

Toluse Olorunnipa, David Shortell -- thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

SHORTELL: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, Joe Biden lost Iowa and New Hampshire. Now he is expressing concern about South Carolina. I'll talk with one of his supporters, next.

[14:25:37]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. President Trump is escalating his campaign against so-called sanctuary cities. The Trump administration is deploying 100 border patrol agents to major cities that limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The move comes after President Trump renewed his commitment to counter sanctuary city policies in his State of the Union Address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In sanctuary cities, local officials order police to release dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed.

The United States of America should be a sanctuary for law-abiding Americans not criminal aliens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That was just a couple of weeks ago. Sources tell CNN that border agents are being deployed to cities like Chicago, New York and Atlanta, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is with me now. Mayor, good to see you.

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: So, have you been given any kind of notice as to when these agents are to arrive, and when they do, what would be conducted?

BOTTOMS: I've text my police chief this morning to ask, have we received any information yet from our federal partners, and the answer was simply, no. And I think that really is indicative of the relationship that we have with this administration in so many areas, not even a courtesy alert so that our public safety personnel can be on alert and be prepared to respond if we start to receive phone calls.

And it is unfortunate that this is where we are with our partnership with the federal government. But I think most importantly, people need to remember that Atlanta has and always will be a welcoming city. And so we are doing what we can do, and what we do each and every day, and that is to inform people and to make sure they have all the information they need in case they are targeted.

We aren't talking about criminals. We have not reached out and said that we have criminals that we need assistance with. These are law- abiding people with children, with families, with jobs. And we will continue to open our doors and provide whatever assistance we can.

WHITFIELD: So this plan to have border patrol, these elite agents working with immigration authorities at the crux of that plan, isn't it about the element of surprise and that perhaps the notification was given when the president had his State of the Union Address and that there wouldn't be any other cooperation with local authorities once this plan is under way?

BOTTOMS: I think that you can have an element of surprise but still be responsible in how you take out these actions. And so when you come into a city with armed agents and you don't give any type of notification to your public safety partners in that city, then it puts everyone at risk.

WHITFIELD: Because, what potentially could happen? Because the understanding is that the border patrol authorities who would be working with ICE would have the authority to make arrests and that it would immigration agents would direct the operations. Why is it important that they would have some coordination with local authorities?

BOTTOMS: It's important because if we start to receive 911 phone calls and we begin to respond to a situation and we don't know that these are federal agents trying to hand out warrants or whatever it is that they are doing, it puts our officers at risk. Because you still have to have a certain amount of cooperation and we don't receive that from the federal government. It doesn't mean we will be complicit in making sure that these warrants are executed but it does mean that we will be responsible in making sure that public safety personnel is protected and that our communities are protected.

And right now, the only information that we have is the same information that we are receiving via Twitter and via news media reports.

[14:35:06]

WHITFIELD: Okay. let's move on to the race for the White House, Democratic contenders. Early on, you supported Joe Biden. He didn't do so great in New Hampshire and Iowa but he has said publicly many times that South Carolina really is his firewall. Are you at all concerned about his disposition in the race?

BOTTOMS: I'm not concerned at all. Because I think when you at the electorate of South Carolina, it is representative of who we are as a party. His strong suit has long been with African-American voters in large part because of his relationship with President Obama, as well as the policies that Vice President Biden has put forth and he will enact once he's elected president.

And so when you look at Iowa, when you look at New Hampshire, those aren't the most diverse states in the nation. And we did not expect that he would receive, that he would be the top-getter in those states.

WHITFIELD: Okay. But even he is saying that South Carolina is make or break for him. He was on MEET THE PRESS earlier today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: South Carolina is it, isn't it? I mean, you have to win there.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think I have to do really well in that. But --

TODD: What's really well? Is there such a thing as doing well without winning?

BIDEN: Well, I think so. But, look, it's -- I'll be -- look, right after that, within March 4th, we end up going into all the states where the polling data is now showing me doing incredibly well, whether it's North Carolina or Georgia or Texas, or any of those other places.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Does he sound confident to you?

BOTTOMS: He does sound confident to me, and he has reason to be, because he is coming to the south. And he is coming to a demographic where African-Americans have long supported him. And I think that you will see that reflected in South Carolina. And he's still strong in South Carolina. And I think he will be strong through Super Tuesday. And I think that he --

WHITFIELD: You know it seems like it's Mayor Bloomberg who is getting an awful lot of endorsements a little faster than anybody else in South Carolina. Worrisome?

BOTTOMS: It's not worrisome for me. I think that any time that you have someone spending millions of dollars, you should expect that they should have some movement. But I think --

WHITFIELD: And Tom Steyer, $40 million spent in advertising in South Carolina. And he seems to be making or at least getting the attention of many voters there.

BOTTOMS: He is. But I think the difference between Mayor Bloomberg, whom I greatly respect, and Tom Steyer, who I have not met, but by all accounts, seems to really care about communities. I think the difference with Vice President Biden is that there is a history there. And that history was African-Americans has been that he has fought for our communities in a tangible way.

He has done it as he stood alongside President Obama. He has laid out policies that will continue to strengthen our communities. And I think African-American voters will remember that as they go into the voting booth.

WHITFIELD: All right. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, thank you so much.

BOTTOMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. New developments prompted by a CNN exclusive, more than 35 new accusers have now come forward since Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, told CNN that she had been sexually assaulted by her doctor. That brings the total number of women accusing that same New York doctor to nearly 70, yet he has never spent a day in prison due to a plea deal he cut in 2016 with prosecutors.

And now, as more accusers emerge, New York's District Attorney is being pressured to file new charges. Here is CNN's Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An attorney now representing dozens of former patients say this man, Dr. Robert Hadden, could be one of the most prolific sexual predators in New York City's history, all the more stunning to his accusers that this former OB-GYN has never spent a day behind bars.

EMILIA HECKMAN, FORMER HADDEN PATIENT: He is retired. He raped, molested all these women and nothing has been done, and that makes me furious. How can that be?

GRIFFIN: Emilia Heckman, the latest to come forward, said she trusted Hadden, even believed he was doing her a favor, squeezing her in to being the last patient of the day back in 2012. She was told to completely undress and says, while naked on an exam table, he assaulted her.

HECKMAN: The exam went from a rubber glove examination to a tongue and beard, and I recoiled, tensed up. He just abruptly got up. I put my clothes on really fast because we were the last ones in the office and I didn't know if he was going to rape me or --

GRIFFIN: You didn't know if the attack was over?

HECKMAN: Yes. Yes. Yes, I didn't. I ran out.

GRIFFIN: And you never saw him again?

HECKMAN: I never saw him again.

GRIFFIN: Heckman was a young model at the time. She said she didn't tell anyone about the assault, worried no one would believe her. Years later, she learned there were many others.

In 2012, New York Police first arrested Hadden for allegedly licking another patient's vagina, but prosecutors didn't file charges and Hadden returned to work at Columbia University's medical clinic for more than a month. That's when he allegedly assaulted at least two more women, including Evelyn Yang, wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

EVELYN YANG, FORMER HADDEN PATIENT: What happened to me should have never happened. He was arrested in his office and he was led back to work.

GRIFFIN: Two years later, Hadden was arrested again, indicted on nine counts involving six of his patients. But even though the Office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance knew of 19 potential victims, prosecutors cut a deal.

[14:45:00]

Dr. Hadden pleaded guilty to two charges, gave up his medical license and walked away, no prison time, no probation, not even community service.

YANG: It's like getting slapped in the face and punched in the gut. The D.A.'s office is meant to protect us, is meant to serve justice, and there was no justice here.

GRIFFIN: Since Evelyn Yang told her story on CNN last month, her attorney says dozens more former patients came forward, saying they too were assaulted. Emilia Heckman and 40 other patients who were not included in the plea deal want the D.A.'s office to reopen the case.

HECKMAN: I want the district attorney to revisit some of these cases. I want to be included. I wasn't included before.

GRIFFIN: Heckman and Yang, along with dozens of other women, are suing Dr. Hadden and Columbia University, his former employer, saying, Columbia did nothing to stop this serial sexual abuse on countless occasions. In legal filings, Colombia says it did nothing wrong. Hadden has admitted guilty involving just two of his patients. Heckman, listed in her lawsuit as Jane Doe number 23, says after Evelyn Yang came forward, her husband, James Heckman, a media company executive, encouraged her to go public.

HECKMAN: I think the more victims come out and show their face, like, hey, I'm a real person, not just Jane Doe, maybe the district attorney will listen to that.

GRIFFIN: Emilia Heckman says she plans to present her complaint directly to the district attorney.

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GRIFFIN: Fred, the Manhattan District Attorney, Cy Vance, hasn't spoken publicly about the Hadden case. He has refused our request for an interview. But he did tell us in a statement that while we stand by our disposition of this difficult case, we regret that the resolution has caused survivors' pain. Those alleged survivors of Dr. Hadden say, that's just not good enough. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Drew Griffin, thank you so much.

We'll have so much more from the Newsroom in a moment. But first, here is this week's Staying Well.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are setting up a radon testing device.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a simple thing and it can save lives.

It's taken us a long time to show people the risks of smoking and tobacco use with lung cancer. It is very important for us to understand that the second most common cause is exposure to radar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uranium (ph) naturally occurs on a lot of different types of rocks. It can release natural radioactive gas. Because radon comes from the soil, it will generally be highest in the lowest level of the House, whether that's the basement or the first floor of the house.

It's important everywhere in the country to test for radon before you move into the house. And so we did that and found very high levels of radon in the basement. And so we had to mitigate that by installing some pretty simple hardware that prevents the soil gas from entering into the basement. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every state has different rules and some states don't require it, some states do. And I think this is very important, just like we do termite testing, I think this is far more important than having termite testing.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Syria's military says a one of its helicopters were shot down by a Turkish-backed organization near the city of Aleppo killing the entire crew. It's the latest clash between Turkish and Russian-backed Syrian forces along the border that has sent some 800,000 civilians have fleeing the violence.

CNN International Correspondent Arwa Damon is the only western journalist in the region and she met a displaced family which says they have run out of places to hide.

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ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is one of the roads here and it has been backed up for the better part of the day. You see those trucks packed with people's belongings. When you don't see kids in the back of the truck, this is -- he's screaming just bring down Assad, just make him stop the bombings.

When you see the trucks like that with a male driver, generally, it's because they've already managed to get the kids and women out. What has been happening with this most recent bombardment and advancement on the ground is that entire villages are emptying out but they can't get trucks quickly enough so they send themselves out and then they go back and try to salvage what they can when there's a lull in the fighting.

Now, we have been talking to this family out here because they've been standing here watching this traffic going by throughout the course of the day, and sobbing because of it, because of what's happening to their country.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

She's saying I'm praying but death isn't coming for me, that death is the only thing that can save me from this. These are her grandchildren. They don't have enough food to feed the kids. They never feel full. The children are all struggling. It's freezing. Temperatures can drop well below zero.

This is the children's father. We don't have any way to keep her warm. We don't have anyone supporting us.

[14:55:00]

Where is the humanity in all of this? Isn't it wrong that these kids die of the cold? And there have been cases of children dying from the cold. This one, this little girl's mother is actually dead. And her mother died in one of the bombings that happened.

And, again, look at traffic jam here that has built up here. Every single family we talk to has a story of heartache, of terror, of fear, of loss, of suffering, of desperation. 800,000 people are on the run now. And they do not know where to go.

They are joining the others who are already crammed up against the border. They are actually on this road driving past one of the bigger camps along the border here, but they don't want to stop there, because even here, they don't feel safe. Even here, they feel as if the bombing is too close. And you do hear it when you're out here. This family too that --

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WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon on the Turkey/Syria border, thank you so much for that.

And for more information on how you can help, you can go to cnn.com/impact.

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