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Rivals Attack Bloomberg Out Of The Gate; U.S. Treating Americans Evacuated From Japan; Japan Allows More Passenger To Leave Quarantined Ship; Candidates Battle in Contentious Ninth Debate; Barr Clashes with Trump over Judicial Interference; Prince Harry and Meghan's Transition Period Begins March 31; Popular Toys May Be in Short Supply Due to Virus. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 20, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. It's just gone 1:00 a.m. in the East, 10:00 p.m. out West, and that is where we begin this hour. Six Democratic candidates for president to the United States took to the stage in Las Vegas for a night's debate. And for the first time, billionaire Michael Bloomberg stepped out of his very expensive comfort zone, only to be savaged by his rivals.
After spending more than $400 million on his own of his own money on campaign advertising, the former New York Mayor has risen quickly in the polls. But he's been accused of trying to buy the party's nomination. And tonight in Vegas, from the jump, Bloomberg was under siege as candidates land blow after blow on everything from his support for stop and frisk, to his treatment of women during his time in business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I like to talk about who we're running against, a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump, I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg.
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VAUSE: Frontrunner by a wide margin, Bernie Sanders, also had a target on his back. Former mayor Pete Buttigieg describing both Sanders and Bloomberg as polarizing figures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most Americans don't see where they fit if they've got to choose between a socialist who thinks that capitalism is the root of all evil, and a billionaire who thinks that money ought to be the root of all power. Let's put forward somebody who actually lives and works and works in a middle-class neighborhood in an industrial Midwestern city. Let's put forward somebody who's actually a Democrat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Seema Mehta, a political writer for The Los Angeles Times She's in Las Vegas right now. Also in Los Angeles, former L.A. Councilwoman and Democrat Wendy Greuel. Great to have you both with us. I want to start with you, Wendy. You know, Elizabeth Warren, she just nailed Bloomberg, especially the non-disclosure agreements that his company has had with a number of women which cover issues like sexual harassment, as well as gender discrimination. Here's a bit more of Elizabeth Warren going off to Bloomberg and his response.
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MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a very few non- disclosure agreements.
WARREN: How many is that?
BLOOMBERG: Let me finish.
WARREN: How many is that?
BLOOMBERG: None of them accused me of doing anything other than maybe they didn't like the joke I told. And let me just -- and let me -- there's agreements between two parties that wanted to keep it quiet and that's up to them.
WARREN: So wait. When you say it is up to -- I just want to be clear. Some is how many?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So Wendy, you know, Bloomberg never had a good answer. Surely his campaign knew that this was coming, you know, like night would follow day.
WENDY GREUEL, FORMER COUNCILWOMAN, LOS ANGELES: I think, two things. One, she was on fire. Elizabeth Warren really was coming out for battle. And I think with -- when you looked at Mayor Bloomberg, it's been about 11 years since he had a debate. And I think that these members that were there on the stage, have been doing this for months, some for years. And I think it showed tonight.
And I think that for us, for Democrats, unfortunately, there was not enough focus on the fact that Donald Trump is the President of the United States and that they need to beat Donald Trump. And I think he was a bit of the winner tonight.
VAUSE: And Seema, you know, it seems the last couple of weeks, Bloomberg, is he being that guy on a -- on a dating Web site out there who's been sending out all the professional photos, he's been spending a fortune, promising the world and then he turns up for the date, he doesn't look anything like his picture. He stumbles he can't hold a conversation. And then you know, he kind of starts hedging about releasing his tax returns. Listen to this.
BLOOMBERG: It just takes us a long time. Unfortunately or fortunately --
WARREN: Can I comment on that.
BLOOMBERG: Fortunately, I make a lot of money, and we do business all around the world, and we are preparing it -- the number of pages will probably be thousands of pages. I can't go to Turbo Tax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Seema, it all sounded a bit Trumpish. So I guess the question is, Seema, does Bloomberg's bad debate, does it mean Biden or any others get another look?
SEEMA MEHTA, POLITICAL WRITER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: I think so. I mean, you know, people have been -- some people who supported Joe Biden have been sort of questioning his candidacy, because he has been -- he hasn't been doing quite as well as some of his supporters would have liked. And there were some donors also who have been thinking about jumping from Joe Biden to Michael Bloomberg.
And I think, you know, people are going to have conversations tomorrow that are very different than what they were having a week ago, you know, when Michael Bloomberg was dominating the airwaves where we hadn't seen what he looked like interacting with other candidates.
VAUSE: And I guess, Wendy, you know, Mayor Bloomberg did poorly. I mean, he's still what -- I think this week he's opening more than 20 offices in Texas. He still got a ton of money. Does the money compensate for a bad debate performance?
GREUEL: I think you're going to see that it does. Because in a lot of these states where there are no other candidates, he's still spending money there. As the old saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And I think maybe in some instances, that would be the best thing for him that whatever has happened here. But I think that people are searching for, as I think Seema just mentioned, for a candidate, that moderate.
When you look at the polls, if you add up all of the moderate candidates, that's about 45 percent compared to Bernie Sanders at 32, and Elizabeth Warren at 12. People are searching for someone they believe is going to be able to attract that middle of the party and also be able to take the left and a little bit more as well into the independence.
[01:05:44]
VAUSE: I'm just wondering, Seema, you know, the Democratic Party -- the Democratic Party changed the rules sort of which allowed Bloomberg to essentially be on that stage. Who regrets that decision more, the DNC or Michael Bloomberg? MEHTA: That's an interesting question? I don't -- I don't want to get in their heads, but I'm sure people will be talking about that tonight as well. But I do think it's interesting because there are a number of candidates, including people of color, who were not able to meet the qualifications earlier in this campaign, who urged the DNC to change the qualifications, and the DNC refused.
And I think there are a lot of conversations that are having -- you know, is it appropriate when you have, you know, popular senators, you know, who left the race because they couldn't make the (INAUDIBLE) like Cory Booker. And then, you know, now you change the rules and you know, Bloomberg, was not making those previous thresholds that he's now he was able to qualify.
VAUSE: Yes. And so, (INAUDIBLE) situation because Bloomberg didn't leave any kind of a mark on you know, on I guess, after this debate. He's kind of a wash, I guess. So, the front runner heading into not just the Las Vegas caucuses in a couple of days, but also South Carolina, and then ultimately, Super Tuesday, is a man described as a self-declared socialist, and that's Bernie Sanders. And here's how he dealt with the issue of being called you know, that term socialism. Here he is. Listen to this.
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wait, Wal-Mart, we have to subsidize Wal-Mart's workers who are on Medicaid and food stamps because the wealthiest family in America pay starvation, wages, that's socialism for the rich. I believe a democratic socialism for working people, not billionaires.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, you know, Wendy, will that be enough for the party for the country? Will that be enough against Donald Trump? Is America ready for a socialist president?
GREUEL: I think that's a concern of the Democrats. And the fact is, you know, here in California, a lot of people have gotten their absentee ballot and are holding on to it. They're not sure who they're going to vote for because most importantly, they want the person who can get elected. And you've seen that in every state in this country. Anyone has been innovative said, we just want to beat Donald Trump.
And right now, I think there is a lot of confusion as to who that person is going to be. And that these days forward in the next couple elections are going to turn people one way or another. And Bernie Sanders again, maybe at 32 percent today, but necessarily is that going to continue, and he is a known commodity. So should it be higher than that in a place where I walked in the caucuses and you know, 2016 with Bernie, and he had a lot of support in there. It's understandably, I think, an issue when he does not have a larger amount for some.
VAUSE: And Seema, this has been part of the, you know, the Bloomberg campaign strategy. They, you know, they put out a memo ahead of the debate saying, listen, time is running out. There is a very real possibility that after Super Tuesday, you know, Bernie Sanders will have more candidates than anyone else, and he will be unbeatable, if some of them will moderate Democrats to drop out. They took exception to that during the debate.
But essentially, you know, is this enough, I guess, to scare the party to back Bloomberg even though he got one poor debate and, I mean, you know, regardless of what his prospects might be>
MEHTA: I would be really surprised if after tonight all the moderates got together and said, we're going to go for Michael Bloomberg. First of all, this is really the first taste they got of him. And I don't know how well that's going to go down. Secondly, I mean, there are -- you know, Joe Biden has supporters. Pete Buttigieg has supporters, Amy Klobuchar has supporters. And you know, if you add those numbers up, they would be greater if there's only one of them.
But they're still -- I mean, they made it clear tonight. They're still battling, I mean, especially the battle between Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. I don't think I've ever seen that much sort of hostility, open hostility during a debate. I mean, it was pretty brutal.
VAUSE: We also -- so Wendy, there's open hostility between Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg and -- but then to one of the breaks, I think, those sort of deep in this conversation, they seem very amicable, very friendly, which sort of was a bizarre moment when you compare that to what was actually happening on stage. Any insights there?
GREUEL: You know, I think it is the heat of the moment, and there were definitely sparks flying there. And I think, you know, everyone wants to be able to say we're going to beat Trump. And ultimately, the Democratic Party has to come together and not be this circular firing squad. And that's going to be the challenge for the party.
VAUSE: Right at the end, all the candidates were asked this one question that if there was a leading candidate who had the most number of delegates but they were short on the threshold, would the rest support that candidate at the convention. All of them said no, except Bernie. Here was his answer.
[01:10:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: I think that the will the people should go down. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thank you, guys.
SANDERS: The person who has the most votes should become the nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Seema, to you, what, is this a sign of a long -- of a long hard-fought primary ahead? MEHTA: I think -- well, I mean, I think Bernie Sanders is counting on him being that candidate who has the most delegates, even if he doesn't have enough to make the threshold, and all the rest of them want to still be in it. So like that -- I think that explains his answers.
VAUSE: And you know, this was a night, Seema, when you know, Democrats running after each other, they bloodied each other up, you know, their accusations flying, and Donald Trump barely go a mention. And this has been a period of time in the last, what, 10 days where the President has been handing out pardons to his friends, he's been on this revenge for those who he believes are against him. The rule of law has come under threat like never before. You know, other issues were never even brought up in this debate. So there seems to be a lot that was left on the table as far as the Democrats are concerned.
MEHTA: Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. And there was a report that the President was watching the debate on Air Force One as he flew across the country -- or from Arizona to Las Vegas, and he brought the pool reporters up to watch it with him in his -- in his office on the plane. And I think that he, if anybody is probably the most pleased with this because he didn't get bloodied up at all.
VAUSE: I guess if fundraising is any indication, Elizabeth Warren had a good night. Her campaign manager tweeting out, they raised more than $400,000 in the last 30 minutes of that debate. So Wendy, how does tonight sort of reshape this race as they head into that caucus in Las Vegas and then South Carolina after that?
GREUEL: Well, I think those that are still searching for candidate have the one that they want to vote for, haven't found it, are going to still be searching. I think for Bernie Sanders' supporters, they're still going to be there for him and as well as some of these other candidates. But I think they're all going to roll up their sleeves and continue to fight and hope they have enough money to stay in the race.
And I think it is interesting that in the Bernie Sanders comment there on the super delegates and others, that was really pushed. The current proposal was actually pushed by his people. So there was a compromise that was developed. And so I think that's why a lot of the others on that stage said, we would abide by that. And I think that Bernie Sanders should abide by that as well.
VAUSE: And Seema, could you see Michael Bloomberg if he you know, doesn't go on to win the nomination, would he continue to spend that $2 billion of his own money that he's promised to build that infrastructure in place to help one of those candidates who beat him up tonight on the stage?
MEHTA: I mean, he's committed that he would. And he -- you know, the people he's hired, he's hired them through November. So I mean, I guess it's up to him if he wants to drawback. But just to continue on Wendy's answer a little bit. I think with Joe Biden and with Elizabeth Warren, you know, some people are really starting to doubt their candidacies and particularly for Elizabeth Warren. She like came out of there fighting so hard that I have to think that people who are maybe rethinking their support of her that they were going to give her a second look. Because she seemed like one of the clear -- you know, people to come out of this debate better off than when she came in.
VAUSE: Yes, Wendy, that seems to be the consensus that if there is a winner out of all this, it was Elizabeth Warren. And she really came out with the spark and she came out flying. And she just -- it seems that Michael Bloomberg was a good foil for her.
GREUEL: Absolutely. She had someone to fight with necessarily. And in a lot of the other debates, although they were kind of comparing and contrasting each other, it was not at this level. And so they had someone they could go after at that point. And it was kind of surprising for people and a lot of discussion earlier today about whether or not anyone would go after Bernie because for some of them that's -- those are votes they could get as well. But they chose that they were going to go after Bloomberg.
VAUSE: I guess, Seema, to you. The Biden campaign, would they be pleased because Joe Biden, his eye didn't explode, you know, he kind of use the time that he wanted. He kind of had complete sentences. You know, it was a pretty -- I mean, they're saying it's you know, one of his best performances yet, but in the grand scheme of things, it's still wasn't great.
MEHTA: I mean, I think it was a good performance for him. He didn't -- he didn't seem to have any obvious gasp. He repeatedly made the point that he has the experience, whether he was talking about ObamaCare, or you know, dealing with the Mexican president, the Mexican government, he was able to sort of make the point that, you know, the rest of you are sort of talking in theoretical, I've actually done this, which I think is the point that his campaign obviously wants to stress.
VAUSE: And Wendy, clearly, there is this battle which we've seen underway between you know, the Bloomberg folks and the Biden folks as to who is, in fact, the heir to the Obama legacy. And, you know, that seems to be something which Biden was fiercely defending tonight.
GREUEL: Absolutely. I think he wants to own that. And, as well, I think a lot of them were trying to focus in on a particular part of the population that has been neglected, the Latino, the Latinx community, as well as the African American community, and clearly focused on women, and the conversation about how many women are actually going to go out to vote and have turned elections during 2018, and I think will do the same and this year. So that is a target audience that people want to be able to get their votes.
[01:15:04]
VAUSE: And Seema, your one big takeaway after tonight.
MEHTA: I'm sorry.
VAUSE: One big takeaway from tonight.
MEHTA: I'm sorry.
VAUSE: Your big takeaway.
MEHTA: Oh, God, that is going to be -- I mean, this was just one of the most -- I mean, I've covered politics for more than a decade for like -- this is my fourth presidential campaign. This is one of the most brutal debates I've ever seen. And if this is sort of -- I feel like we turned the page tonight in that -- you know, they weren't sort of being sort of nice to each other, even though they were drawing contrasts. At that one debate, Elizabeth Warren sort of famously like, declined a really obvious shot at Bernie Sanders. And this we turned a page tonight that it just seems like from now on out, until there's the Democrats have a nominee, it's going to be brutal.
VAUSE: Did we say the gloves are off.
GREUEL: The gloves are off. Yes, exactly.
VAUSE: Wendy, you're always thinking about it for a little later. And Seema, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate you being live this out from Las Vegas. Thanks, guys. We'll take a short break. A deadly shooting spree in Germany has come to an end. Next up here, we get some more information from police on the fate of that suspected gunman. We'll have a live report in a moment.
Also, hundreds of cruise ship passengers are finally able to get off the Diamond Princess. Some fear though, the coronavirus will follow them wherever they go.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORT ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Don Riddell with your CNN World Sport headlines. It has been another dramatic night in the Champions League where Atalanta's fairytale run has continued. The Italians are playing in Europe's top competition for the first time. This is also their first appearance in the knockout stage and they destroyed Valencia at home in Milan taking a four-nil lead before Valencia grabbed a lifeline with an away go. Second leg is still to come but Atalanta will feel as though they already have one foot In the quarterfinals.
And there was something of an upset in London where Germany's RB Leipzig beat last season's finalist Tottenham. Just the one goal in it, a penalty from Timo Wener, Spurs were missing their attacking stars Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. And they'll have to do much better in the return leg in Germany next month.
And Manchester City are desperately trying to change the narrative after being thrown out of the Champions League for breaching financial fairplay regulations. Their chief executive Ferran Soriano says the charges are simply not true. He was there speaking to cities in house T.V. station, and not to an independent journalist.
On Wednesday, City beat West Ham in the Premier League with goals from Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, but surely the conversation will return the City's off-field problems soon enough. That is a quick look at your sports headlines, I'm Don Riddell.
[01:20:00]
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VAUSE: Official numbers from China continue to show a full in new cases of the coronavirus. It could be assigned the outbreak is stabilized or possibly because of yet another change in how confirm cases accounted. On Wednesday, 394 new infections were reported on the mainland more than 1,000 lists from the day before. At least 349 of those cases are in Hubei province where the virus was first detected.
China no longer counts clinically diagnosed patients or people who showed symptoms even if they tested negative for the virus. Worldwide, the virus has now infected more than 75,000 people, killed at least 2,100. On Wednesday, Iran became the latest country to report a fatality. Officials say two people died in a hospital after testing positive.
Meantime, Japan says two passages from that quarantine cruise ship have also died. The virus has so far infected 600 people on board. Those who've tested negative are being allowed to disembark. The United States has brought home more than 300 people from that cruise ship. A number of them are now being treated in facilities across the country. CNN's Nick Watt has more.
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NICK WATT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 13 suspected coronavirus sufferers remain quarantined here at the Medical Center in Omaha. At least through the end of the month, all of them passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off Japan, the site of so many infections.
ARNOLD HOPLAND, ONBOARD DIAMOND PRINCESS: In the first day, there were 10 cases, the next day, I think 30 some, the next day 60.
WATT: More former passengers now in isolation in Napa, California. And Delta Airlines and Hawaiian officials also now investigating the movements of a Japanese couple who tested positive shortly after a trip to the islands earlier this month. The CDC recommends Americans returning from China to self-quarantine. 26 doing just that right now in Westchester, New York.
SHERLITA AMLER, HEALTH COMMISSIONER, WESTCHESTER COUNTY: These people are not ill, but we still have to monitor them.
WATT: U.S. officials trying to avoid what has happened in China, nearly 75,000 cases so far 2,000 deaths and counting, and more than half the country's 1.4 billion people still under some sort of travel restriction, or quarantine.
MARK RUPP, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UNMC: It is possible that we would see a community-wide outbreak, person to person spread more widely throughout the United States. And if that's the case, then every institution needs to dust off what we call their pandemic plan. WATT: After two weeks in floating quarantine, those left aboard the Diamond Princess are now finally allowed to shore but U.S. officials have said the hundred or so Americans among them now won't be allowed home for at least another two weeks.
KENTARO IWATA, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, KOBE UNIVERSITY: I think these countries didn't trust what the Japanese are doing, and I agree with them.
WATT: Professor Iwata went aboard the Diamond Princess this week and says the quarantine was chaotic.
IWATA: Even in front of Ebola, even in front of SARS, I never got this scared.
WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Omaha.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN's Blake Essig is live in Yokohama, Japan. That's where the cruise ship is docked. So Blake, when the princes -- the Diamond Princess is docked there, there was one confirmed case. That's 17 days ago. Now, there's 621, maybe more. Assuming that number does not rise even though it probably will, there is a mortality rate with his coronavirus at 2.3 percent, already two people are dead.
So do the math. That death toll could reach what, 14 people. That's not a certainly but you know, it could be higher, could be lower, but it seems you know, almost certain this bungled quarantine is partly responsible, at least, for a number of lives which have been lost. So who's responsible?
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, whether you talk to people here on the streets or infectious disease specialist, the answer is clear. And they don't pull any punches, the people responsible entity here for what's gone on that cruise ship is the Japanese government. The failed quarantine, the way that it has been -- has been operated over the past 14 days is the reason that that cruise ship instead of being an effective quarantine has essentially turned into an incubator for this virus to fester and spread.
I mean, again, over the past five days, you've had double digit number in the number of confirmed cases just on that cruise ship. And just today, as you would mentioned, we had our first two confirmed cases where two people were killed as a result of this virus. And as you said, based on the mortality rate, you can only anticipate -- you hope it's not the case, but you can only anticipate that more people are likely going to die as a result of this virus who were on board that cruise ship.
And when you talk to infectious disease specialist, part of the reason when they -- when one of them was on the ship two days ago came off and said there's no idea where the green zone is, the clean zone, the red zone where there's possible infection. You have people on a daily basis that are on this cruise ship that are on the deck walking around. They're only restrictions are they have to wear a mask, they're asked to stay about a meter away from other passengers, not congregate in groups.
[01:25: 14]
But this virus has the potential to live on surfaces for anywhere from five minutes to nine days, meaning somebody coughs, sneezes, get something on a surface, it could live there for nine days. If you touch it, and then you get off the ship, you could -- you could potentially develop this virus over the course of 14 days not knowing you even have it, and spread it to a bunch of people.
And John, the CDC actually on their Web site says that in the early stages of this infection, you can actually be tested, be positive, have the virus but test negative. And that's the problem at this point. You know, a lot of the people, infectious disease specialist, the people on the streets, they think that so far the Japanese government has already made a lot of mistakes and they are continuing to make more mistakes by allowing the passengers that are on board the ship, as long as they test negative after their 14 days of quarantine, to go out into the general population here in Japan with essentially a certificate that says they have a clean bill of health, that they can go anywhere and do anything, that they've tested negative and they pose no risk to the general public here.
Again, according to the CDC and other countries, as you can see, they're evacuating their citizens, bringing them back and making them quarantine themselves for another 14 days on dry land in their own country to make sure that it's not spread. That's not the case here. And again, at this point, it's worth pointing out that there's only a little more than 30 cases here in Japan of the confirmed coronavirus that are not as a result of the cruise ship. But that being said, this -- the number could just blow up here over the next several days, weeks, and even months to come if those passengers on board this ship get off, are infected, and have the potential to infect everyone, anyone that they come into contact with moving forward. John?
VAUSE: And just a very quick question, Blake, because what we've seen in China, these extreme measures to try and disinfect surfaces or even burning money, because the concerns that this virus can live on for such a long period of time. So there are still people on board that ship. And we know that there are people who are being exposed to this virus, it could be on the handrails, it could be in the cabins, it could be anywhere. Do we know what measures being taken right now to try and disinfect that boat so that you know they at least minimize the spread of the coronavirus among the passengers who remain on board?
ESSIG: So the infectious disease specialist who was actually on board the ship two days ago, this is what scared him so much is that he saw nothing while he was on board that ship to disinfect. And again, not knowing where the safe zones were versus the potentially infected zones are. And so that's the problem is that you don't know where this virus is. This specific specialist, he -- you know, was on the front lines during the Ebola outbreak, SARS, cholera. And he said, boarding that ship was the first time where he was legitimately scared for his own safety because he had no idea where this virus is.
VAUSE: Right.
ESSIG: That being said, you have all these people on there. This guy's a professional and expert. He doesn't know what are these people on the ship who are just -- who are just there and just trying to do what they need to do to get off?
VAUSE: Exactly. It was a holiday from for so many people and there's so many questions that should be answered. But Blake, thanks to the live report. Blake Essig there in Yokohama, Japan. Thank you. Time for a short break. And while Democrats were taking game at one another in Las Vegas, beating each other up, Donald Trump took aim at Democrats, the FBI, the media, a whole lot of others at a rally and Phoenix. More on that when we come back.
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[01:32:22]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live at the CNN Center in Atlanta. It has gone 1:32 here in the East.
Party unity was not on the table at the ninth Democratic presidential debate, the most contentious so far.
From the start the target was Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York. He came under fire for his $400 million ad campaign spend, his support of the controversial stop and frisk police policy, and a history of sexist comments and cases that had been settled and sealed with nondisclosure agreements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are giving a voice to people who will say we are sick and tired of billionaires like Mr. Bloomberg seeing huge expansions of their wealth, while a half a million people sleep out on the street tonight.
SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually welcomed Mayor Bloomberg to the stage. I thought that he shouldn't be hiding behind his TV ads.
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not going to beat Donald Trump with a man who has -- who knows how many -- nondisclosure agreements and the drip, drip, drip of stories of women saying they have been harassed and discriminated against.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's easy. All the mayor has to do is say you are released from the nondisclosure agreement -- period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In a tweet after the debate, Bloomberg said the politicians on stage talk about what they would do but he has already created change and has gotten stuff done.
Just hours after the U.S. Attorney General though let it be known he might resign over the President's tweets attacking the Justice Department, Donald Trump was retweeting what amounted to a call for a house cleaning at the DOJ.
And at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona a few hours ago Trump continued with his attacks on lawmakers taking aim at the FBI and the justice system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope you're going to be happy because there are a lot of dishonest slime balls out there. Dishonest scum. Dirty cops. A lot of dirty cops.
And by the way the FBI, those guys are incredible but the ones up top they were absolute scum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Joining me now once again from Los Angeles is councilwoman -- former councilwoman and Democrat Wendy Greuel; also Lanhee Chen joining us for the first time. He's a former Mitt Romney public policy director.
So Lanhee -- good to see you. First question to you.
You know, we've seen this movie before. So, at this point, you know, should Barr just learn from the experiences of his predecessors?
[01:34:51]
VAUSE: You know, namely Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. Then there is the former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, former Defense Secretary James Mattis, former national security advisers H.R. McMaster and John Bolton, former White House chief of staff John Kelly, former homeland security adviser Tom Bossert, former secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, former secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, former senior White House adviser Steve Bannon. I could go on.
But I guess, you know, should Barr just quit now or is he going to be that one special member of the cabinet who can publicly disagree and criticize Trump and he won't end up degraded, humiliated, soiled and filled with regret?
LANHEE CHEN, FORMER MITT ROMNEY PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR: Well, when you put it that way, you know -- look, I think Bill Barr wants to make absolutely clear what his position is here. So if he is on his way out, if he is indeed going to leave the cabinet, he wants it to be crystal clear that he spoke up and that he in some ways said as he has said over and over again the President is making his job harder.
Now, you know, how it's going to affect him in the after life after he leaves the administration, that remains to be seen. But so far, at least, the response up until today has actually been relatively tame from the President compared to the ways in which he's dealt with others who have spoken against him.
And if you look at the degree to which Barr has directly spoken out against the President, his response has actually been different from what we've seen in the past.
VAUSE: And next question (ph) to you Wendy. So is this really a rift between Barr and Trump, or just a bit of sort of kabuki theater. Should we look at what they do rather than what they say because these two men are working hand in glove essentially rewriting what it is considered to be normal and acceptable of the Department of Justice?
WENDY GREUEL, FORMER L.A. DEMOCRATIC COUNCILWOMAN: Well, Donald Trump has been tweeting about the Justice Department for a long time. And Bill Barr is just now speaking out saying he doesn't appreciate those tweets. It's partly because of the over 2,000, not only previous employees of the Justice Department but current employees who are feeling as though the man at the top is not supporting them and has been complacent in letting Trump really go after his employees and his department.
And so I think it is suspect that he is finally saying this but no actions have been taken that he has instituted that protects the Justice Department from that kind of political engagement.
VAUSE: Yes. And we're also seeing Donald Trump sort of rewriting the rules of presidential pardons, (INAUDIBLE) the rules for the accepted norms. We have longtime friend Roger Stone who'll be sentenced later on Thursday for among other things lying to protect the President.
The attorney general Bill Barr has withdrawn the sentence recommendation. Many believe Stone could almost certainly get the next presidential pardon. That's because he fits what seems to be the new criteria.
"The New York Times" report said after Tuesday's 11 pardon-palooza all 11 recipients had an inside connection or were promoted on Fox News. Some were vocal supporters of Trump, donated to his campaign, or in one case had a son who weekended in Hamptons with the President's eldest son. I like it when you use weekended as a verb.
Lanhee -- not exactly, you know, what the pardon powers were intended for, right?
CHEN: Yes. No. Clearly the pardon power was to be used sparingly. Was to be used only in extraordinary conditions. Now where the President to use it on Stone that would be, I think, a different level.
You've mentioned others that had connections to the President or connections to his campaign or have been the supportive of him -- Roger stone has been in Donald Trump's orbit for many, many years.
So were the President to exercise that pardon power with respect to Stone, I think it would trigger a different kind of response than in a lot of ways would be a lot more vocal and I think a lot more challenging for the President then his exercise of the pardon power has been over the last few days.
VAUSE: Wendy -- do you agree with that? That, you know, there will be enough people to speak out and that something would be done about what certainly is looking to be a bit like an abuse of power?
GREUEL: They haven't thus far in his abuse of power when it was related to the impeachment or the things he did with Ukraine or with Russia.
I mean the timing of his pardons -- the same week that you have Roger Stone being sentenced and thinking about wanting a new trial and how he's going to relate to that -- because when he suddenly is up against the fact that he is going to be sentenced and put in jail, he may think maybe I should go and have a longer conversation with the Department of Justice and share some other information, et cetera. The timing is I think very suspect.
VAUSE: There's also word of Julian Assange, cofounder of WikiLeaks, apparently sitting in a London jail, may have been offered a pardon by Donald Trump. "The Guardian", among others, reporting the claim was made during pre-trial hearing. This is before Assange starts his legal battle to stop being extradited back to the U.S.
Here's part of the report. "Assange's lawyers allege that during a visit to London in August 2017 Congressman Dana Rohrabacher -- Putin's favorite congressman -- told the WikiLeaks founder that on instructions from the President, he was offering a pardon or some other way out if Mr. Assange said Russia had nothing to do with the DNC, the Democratic National Committee leaks.
[01:39:53]
VAUSE: Rohrabacher has denied this in a statement. The White House has also issued a statement saying the President barely knows Rohrabacher. Can you believe that?
The two have never spoken and the whole thing is a great big lie.
So, you know, Lanhee -- as unlikely as it could be, that statement from the White House may be true, but the problem for Donald Trump is that it just rings true.
CHEN: Well, I suppose. I mean the Assange lawyers it seems are likely to claim things that, you know, may be fabricated out of the air. k, we're not talking about the most credible people here.
Dana Rohrabacher also someone not remarkably credible given his background and his closeness with Putin. So you know look, I think there is plenty the President has done with respect to the pardon power of the last few days that people will find problematic to go after these kinds of things where we have some unsubstantiated accusations.
It seems to me that's relatively unnecessary given what we've already seen.
VAUSE: Wendy -- unnecessary, unsubstantiated -- what do you think?
GREUEL: Well, I think, you know, the proof is in the pudding so to speak and having some documentation. But you have to look at the fact that Rohrabacher is no longer a congressmember, he was -- you know, decided not to run again as I recall.
And as somebody who had been criticized for all of this and his connection to Putin, so I think -- I don't think they would throw it out there unless they had something that they would prove that it wasn't just hearsay and he said, she said.
VAUSE: Yes, it's a big gamble to raise it in court if you've got nothing to back it up, I guess. But we'll see.
Lanhee and Wendy -- thank you very much. Lanhee -- thank you for coming up. And Wendy -- thank you for sticking around. We appreciate it.
GREUEL: Nice to see you.
CHEN: Thank you.
VAUSE: You too.
Well, a deadly shooting spree in Germany is over but next on CNN, we'll have more details from police on the fate of that suspected gunman. A live report in a moment.
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VAUSE: Two people died in a massive car pileup which shut down a major highway just outside Montreal. Canadian police say the pileup involved more than 200 cars.
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VAUSE: It happened due to a sudden burst of heavy snow and strong, gusty wind which reduced visibility to zero. 100 people were treated in a nearby hospital, some with serious injuries. The highway reopened several hours later.
The suspected gunman in a deadly mass shooting in Germany has been found dead in his apartment. Police believe he carried out two attacks in a small town east of Frankfurt Wednesday night.
CNN's Nic Robertson standing by live for us with more details on this. So first up -- Nic, mass shootings in Germany are fairly rare but what seems to be sort of, I guess, noteworthy in this is the target or the two targets.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It does. And I think we're still trying to piece together more information about those targets. You're absolutely right it was 2016, the last time there was a killing that so many people died.
So what do we know so far? We know a total of 11 people are dead. One of those at least seems to be the shooter. And interestingly the police say that they discovered another body at the house of the shooter when they zeroed in on his location several hours after the attacks.
The attacks were carried out while the shooter was in a vehicle. And he was shooting at a shisha bars -- two different shisha bars, in the town of Hanau which is about 16 kilometers, ten miles east of Frankfurt.
He appears to have sprayed both those locations with bullets. And we're still trying to sort of understand who owned the targets and who would have been victims at those targets.
And I think perhaps one of the clues we may have here is that these shisha bars were in a neighborhood that was known to be an immigrant neighborhood.
That said -- there are plenty of Germans that go and smoke in these places as well. It's a cool hang out for young people.
So why were these locations targeted? And what did the police now know about the killer? I think those are the big questions that remain at this time -- John.
VAUSE: Ok Nic -- thank you. Nic Robertson there with the latest on that shooting in Germany.
We'll take a short break. When we come back one of the world's most popular dolls is another victim of the coronavirus. And no one is laughing out loud.
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("CNN WORLD SPORT HEADLINES")
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VAUSE: Welcome back everybody. It's coming up to 10 minutes before the top of the hour.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will close their office at Buckingham Palace at the end of next month and that will mark the start of a 12- month long transition period as they step back as senior members of the British royal family.
A spokesman also said that Prince Harry and Megan will return to the U.K. this month for their final royal engagement. That includes a charity events and awards ceremony for wounded and ailing service members and veterans. The couple plans to split their time between Britain and North America.
Meantime Buckingham Palace is reviewing whether they will be allowed to use the word "royal" as part of their branding as in "Sussex Royal". China is often called the factory of the world where everything from
cigarette lighters to gloves to iPhones roll out from thousands of factors every hours of every day. But now the coronavirus has thrown a wrench into the works. And while it's only February -- if there are kids in the room, maybe time to leave -- toys for this coming Christmas may be in short supply.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports now from Hong Kong.
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KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Big eyes, crazy hair and those layers and layers of packaging. For whatever reason LOL Surprise is one of the most coveted toys on the planet. But they could be harder to find this holiday season.
ISAAC LARIAN, CEO, MGA ENTERTAINMENT: There's going to be a major shortage of LOL come these holidays worldwide because of the coronavirus epidemic that we have right now.
STOUT: The coronavirus outbreak has sparked a health crisis and an economic mess as it exposes major vulnerabilities in the global supply chain for all the sectors that reach deep into China.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Numerous companies -- Apple another one, of course, impacted here.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Under Armour's warning that the coronavirus outbreak --
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hyundai, the South Korean carmakers -- as you said -- that they are suspending production.
STOUT: Retailers are also feeling the impact. Anticipating a supply slow down, Amazon is stockpiling certain made in China products. In the statement Amazon says, "Out of an abundance of caution, we are working with suppliers to secure additional inventory to ensure we maintain our selection for customers.
LOL Surprise dolls are designed by MGA Entertainment in California and made in China. The CEO says before the outbreak they produced a million dolls a day. Now they are at a standstill as China struggles to get back to work.
LARIAN: What people don't understand is that even if the factory is open they're not able to get all the workers back. And then to make matters worse, what happens is the factory just needs its raw material.
STOUT: For multi-national firms, this is not the first time their Asian supply chains have been tested. In 2011 the tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan hit the high tech supply chain, pushing back the launch of new devices.
Later that year, devastating floods in Thailand rattled both the tech and auto industries as production stalled. But the current crisis in China is different given the unprecedented measures in place to stop the virus and the world's reliance on China as a manufacturing machine.
China accounts for more than 80 percent of all global toy production, so could the outbreak prompt a rethink about China as the factory of the world?
PETER LEWIS, CHINA ANALYST: People were already thinking about their supply chains as a result of the trade war between the U.S. and China. And we're thinking about not being dependent so much on just one country but the impact of this is much bigger than the U.S.-China trade war. And if this goes on for a long time then companies will have to think about relocating their supply chains.
LARIAN: I don't think frankly any company is going to be able to replace China. China is the factory of the world. We have to accept it. We have to face it.
They are great at what they do. The quality, the discipline, the infrastructure, the workforce that they have. It's going to be years before somebody else can replicate it.
[01:55:03]
STOUT: In the long run, the maker of LOL Surprise toys is hopeful for the future but this year he's bracing for a lackluster Christmas, a Christmas without enough of his toys under the tree.
LARIAN: It really makes me sad because for us the happiness, the smile of children is magical, is so important.
STOUT: Smiles that may be harder to capture after the coronavirus.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
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VAUSE: So before we go how often do you see someone playing the violin while their brain tumor is removed?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very good.
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VAUSE: Musician Dagmar Turner performed during her operation at London King's College Hospital. She was worried her condition would affect areas of her brain that control her hand movements. So doctors talked o her and had her play while they worked.
Actually doctors often talk to patients during brain surgery but this team never had a musical performance before. And they successfully removed 90 percent of Dagmar's tumor. She had full fortune on her left hand. The only question is what was she playing? "If I Had a Brain" by
Robbie Williams? Or maybe "Bird Brain by Quincy Jones?
That's all the time we have this hour. I'm John Vause at the CNN Center.
Rosemary Church has more of our live coverage after a break.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and, of course, all around the world.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, the gloves came off at a fiery debate in Las Vegas.
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