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Intel Chief Tells Congress It Will No Longer Get No More Briefings On Election Security; Jacob Blake's Family Holds March And Rally In Wisconsin. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 29, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks so much for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

We are continuing to follow this breaking news. A stunning announcement 66 days before the presidential election, the nation's top Intelligence office says it will no longer give Members of Congress in-person briefings about election security.

Now this decision is sparking outrage. Top Democrats calling it a shocking abdication of lawful responsibility.

Let's get right to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. And Jeremy, the President and his Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, they were just asked about this decision during a tour of hurricane damage in Texas. What did they say?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, Ana, this is certainly a confounding decision by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to no longer brief Congress in person on these election security issues just 66 days as you said before this November presidential election.

Now, when the President and the Chief of Staff were asked about this, they pointed to what the O.D.N.I. has said, which suggested that part of this change comes in response to some leaking from Members of Congress. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Why is the D.N.I. no longer going to be updating the House and the Senate on election security issues in-person?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I could have Mark answer that question. Mark, please?

MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: : Well, I think I would like to answer, and I talked to Director Ratcliffe and as you know, he's been giving briefings -- so he is going to ultimately give full briefings in terms of not oral briefings, but full Intel briefings.

But it really comes down to one simple thing, the last time they gave briefings, few members went out and talked to the press and disclosed information that they shouldn't have disclosed.

And so he is going to make sure that there's the proper tools for their oversight and make sure that they contain it in a way that does not jeopardize sources and methods for the Intel that we get.

TRUMP: Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee and the information leaked, whether we're Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information before it gets in.

And what's even worse, they leaked the wrong information and he got tired of it. So, he wants to do it in a different forum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Now, allegations that Capitol Hill leaks information that comes from briefings provided by the administration is nothing new to this particular White House. That has been the case in previous administrations as well.

What is new, of course, is this decision to send these briefing updates only in paper form and not in-person which gives Members of Congress an opportunity to have some back and forth with the briefers and of course, it's the fact that they are just doing this as it relates to this very specific issue of election security, an issue that of course, we know President Trump is very sensitive about particularly when it comes to potential Russian interference in the presidential elections.

Now, as you said, Ana, this has already received round condemnation from Democrats on Capitol Hill. There is a statement from the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a top Intelligence -- top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee in the House, Adam Schiff. They call this this a shocking abdication of responsibility and they say, This is shameful and coming only weeks before the election demonstrates that the Trump administration is engaged in a politicized efforts withhold election- related information from Congress and the American people at the precise moment that greater transparency and accountability is required.

This keeps both the American people and Congress in the dark when both are in need of the information.

And they also say in this statement, very interestingly, that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had actually scheduled a briefing on the topic of election security for mid-September with Members of Congress. They actually then went and cancelled that briefing, and then made this announcement that they were only going to be providing this information in written form.

So it certainly is a confounding announcement. We have yet to hear from Republicans on Capitol Hill, but of course, we know that this is typically an issue that members of both parties have been concerned about in terms of election security, and also in terms of getting these briefings in person where they can press Intelligence officials about their conclusions -- Ana.

CABRERA: Okay. Jeremy Diamond at the White House for us. Thank you. Let's talk more about it with Amanda Carpenter and CNN political commentator and former Communications Director for Senator Ted Cruz; as well as Paul Begala, a CNN political commentator and author of the book, You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump.

So Paul, this move by the O.D.N.I., in essence means nobody in Congress can ask questions or push back on issues as they're being discussed. Just last month, Intelligence officials committed to briefing Congress on election security, as Jeremy just mentioned. So what changed?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's a cover up. I'm trying to think of a nicer more sort of politically correct term, but this is a cover up.

CABRERA: What are they trying to cover up?

BEGALA: The Russian involvement in the election. When you become a government official as I had the honor of being, you swear an oath to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Our country, our elections are under assault from enemies both foreign and domestic. It is Mr. Ratcliffe's job, Director Ratcliffe's job to brief the Congress and to protect the country. He's not doing it.

[18:05:13]

BEGALA: The Russian attack on our elections we know is ongoing. In my book, actually, I quote General Mark Hurtling, a four-star General who said -- he is a very experienced hand and was the head of our troops in Europe facing Putin.

He compared it to 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, the attack on our country, and it is their job to defend us. Why would they not? Because Putin is favoring Trump.

It is to me just astonishing how transparent they are about their corruption and their treasonous cover up.

CABRERA: Paul, does it threaten the integrity of the election?

BEGALA: It could.

CABRERA: In the election process?

BEGALA: Russia threatens the integrity of our elections and apparently Mr. Trump does, too, as he undermines the people's faith in the security of their ballot through vote by mail or other processes.

This is -- I think this is a four alarm fire. I mean, this is a guy who I think he is a very good politician and he knows he is in deep trouble. He is, you know, losing the election right now. He has got plenty of time to make it up, but he is losing the election.

And so instead of campaigning harder, or doing something about COVID, which is why he is losing, he seems to want to cover up Putin's attack on our elections.

CABRERA: Well, here's what the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says, Amanda, that this was done for clarity and to protect sensitive intelligence.

Apparently, you know, the President sees it as -- I mean, he straight up said, you know, it's about leakers, how do you see it?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I disagree with Paul. I actually don't think this is about Russia. I think this is about laying the groundwork for his next big conspiracy theory, and that is because he himself has said without any evidence that he thinks there is going to be foreign interference with mail-in ballots, right?

Like he is trying to lay this narrative. He thinks, you know, the Chinese -- somebody is going to steal the election through mail-in ballots, and it might be a foreign actor. He said this, okay.

And so now when you've cut off the information to Congress, and you're just going to send them a note with whatever story you want to tell them, you control that.

He wants to control and politicize the Intelligence and I know that because he already has.

And Congress, you better fight back. You have a right -- we all have a right to this information. Donald Trump doesn't own it. They need it to do their job. And this is only going to get worse.

Donald Trump, we know this because we've seen it, is going to use all his power to try to protect his power. That started in grand fashion in the last night of the R.N.C. where he made the White House a prop for his election. Expect every other arm of government to become that as well in the next 70 days.

CABRERA: I should point out that it was just this week we heard from U.S. officials and our reporting is that they have no information or Intelligence that foreign countries including Russia are attempting to mess with mail-in voting specifically.

Paul, The New York Times has some new reporting in the wake of the President's controversial choice to hold his R.N.C. acceptance speech at the White House. So let's talk about this. This is what The Times is reporting that, Mr. Trump's aides said he enjoyed the frustration and anger he caused by holding a political event on the South Lawn of the White House shattering conventional norms and raising questions about ethics law violations. He relished the fact that no one could do anything to stop him.

What does that tell you about the President's mindset right now?

BEGALA: Yes, it tells you that he would rather own the libs than follow the law. They should just run crime tape around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It's a crime scene and it is an ongoing crime.

But I think this is a bit of a trap for Democrats. I worked at the White House. It was an honor -- the greatest honor of my life. But it doesn't really affect people's lives very much if the President pulls a stunt like that. I think Democrats should say, my own belief, is heck, he should have given the speech from a COVID ward. Maybe from that NICU at Lake Charles, where those heroic nurses who you showed a moment ago were working. Somewhere that has some relevance to people's lives.

But he has done such a terrible job with COVID. I'd let him speak from the roof of the Washington Monument, the top of the Washington Monument, if he could get his arms around testing and tracing and treatment for COVID. But he seems unable to do that, so the best he can do is just own the libs, that's pretty pathetic and pretty weak.

CABRERA: He doesn't want to talk about COVID. He does want to talk about, you know, law and order. And Amanda, I mean, we're seeing a shift in Americans' perspective of these ongoing protests for racial justice.

There was a new NPR/PBS/Marist poll and 53 percent of Americans say they see these protests as quote, mostly legitimate, but that figure was that 62 percent back in June. So how do you see that decline playing out when Americans go to vote?

CARPENTER: Yes, I mean, it's starting to wear. People want a resolution.

I think most Americans gave people a lot of leeway even, you know put up with some looting and some graffiti in the beginning, but this has gone on for a long time.

[18:10:10]

CARPENTER: And it really seems to be getting more perilous. You know, you have armed people going to these protests for a confrontation, people are dying.

And so while I think the American people are extremely generous and want to get on board with a movement for racial unity in America, the only way to do that in a peaceful way, and if this keeps getting more violent, if cities keep getting burned, and more businesses keep getting looted, people are going to eventually go with a person who they think will restore peace, even if that is in a maybe an authoritarian way.

And so I think Joe Biden is extremely vulnerable on this issue. I think he has waited too long. He's got to do more than make a statement. He's got to show action, showing that he will be the one to unify everyone in a peaceful and just way.

CABRERA: I'll leave it there this evening. Thank you, Amanda Carpenter and Paul Begala. Good to have you.

CARPENTER: Thanks. BEGALA: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: So how does the world see the U.S. nearly four years into the Trump presidency? Find out on How They See Us: A Global View of Trump's America, a Fareed Zakaria GPS special airs tomorrow morning at 10 here on CNN.

Up next, an emotional interview with Jacob Blake's father only here on CNN. You're live in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:06]

CABRERA: Emotional words and cries for change from family members of Jacob Blake, the black man shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Wisconsin.

Blake's relatives organizing a rally and a march today in Kenosha. They are strongly disputing a new account of what happened by the police union.

The Union claims Blake was combative with officers that he had a knife on him which he refused to give up. Blake's uncle calls their version of events, insulting and garbage. The family's attorney argues Blake did not pose an imminent threat.

Sara Sidner joins us now from that rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sara, you just had a chance to speak with Blake's father last hour. Tell us about that.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he talked about some of the things that are really bothering him on his mind. He spoke to the crowd very passionately here today.

There were several thousand people who showed up to march in the name of Jacob Blake and in the name of black lives. We asked him some questions about some things that have come up especially from the Police Association, which has revealed new details that investigators and the investigating agency have not revealed.

That investigating agency is actually the State Department of Justice and they came out to say that that Police Association does not represent anything to do with the investigation and are in fact, in defense just of the police officers themselves.

Here's what Jacob Blake's father had to say about some of the allegations made by the Police Association including that his son, Jacob Blake, had a knife at the time and was tussling with police, had to be Tased and was trying to take someone's keys at the time that the police showed up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE, SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: They did -- SIDNER: But they came out and they made a lot of allegations. Do you

think that the officer was in imminent danger at the time of the shooting?

BLAKE, SR.: How can you be an imminent danger when the person has nothing in their hand? What was he? Superman? He can see the knife through the walls of the car?

The Police Union means nothing to me. It's a bunch of cats -- it's a bunch of dudes to have a title, a union. They do nothing but support their bad cops.

He's a bad cop. It didn't take seven shots to find out that. The first shot told you that the second one was coming. The third shot told you that the fourth one, he is trying to kill him. The first thing I said, damn, man, how many more times are you going to shoot?

By the time the seventh shot got there, it is attempted murder.

He saw -- he was no threat after the third shot. Now, my son won't be able to walk for the rest of his life.

SIDNER: You think that this officer should be charged with attempted murder?

BLAKE, SR.: He should be charged with attempted murder. He should be charged with attempted murder because he didn't kill him, so if he would have killed him, he would have had murder one. But it was an attempt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So you heard there that Jacob Blake's father as saying that he believes, from his opinion and from what he has seen and from what his son has said that the officer should be charged with attempted murder. That has not, of course happened.

The officers that are involved in this incident and the officer in particular, he was involved in the shooting himself has been put on administrative leave. There have been absolutely no charges that have been -- that have come up against the officers in this incident.

But Jacob Blake has faced charges in a prior incident from July that included several counts including sexual assault. So there are a lot of questions that are still surrounding this case.

But certainly, the father is speaking very passionately today about what he believes was absolutely an injustice to his son -- Ana.

CABRERA: Sara Sidner. Thank you. These conflicting reports bring us to cross examine with Elie Honig. He is a former state and Federal prosecutor and he is here to answer your legal questions.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating this shooting, Elie and the Wisconsin Attorney General says the officers involved are on administrative leave while this investigation continues.

One viewer asks, what state level criminal charges could we see in Wisconsin against police officers who use excessive force?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Ana, all eyes are on Wisconsin. Now the key concept is what Wisconsin State Law calls mitigating circumstances. Here's how it works.

If the prosecutors find there were no mitigating circumstances, that this was a reasonably justified shooting given all the facts, there was no reasonable justification, then it will be a first-degree homicide.

Now of course, Jacob Blake survived. So it can only be an attempted homicide as we just heard from the father. That carries a maximum of 60 years.

But if prosecutors find there was some mitigating circumstances, for example, if they find that the police officers were trying to stop a crime in progress or were trying to prevent harm to a police officer, it will be then a second-degree homicide, now that's still very serious, but less than a first degree.

And if prosecutors somehow conclude that the shooting was completely justified, then there will be no charges at all. It is hard to see that outcome given the video, given the seven shots to the back.

What's next? The state said they're going to take up the 30 days to investigate. Send it over to the DA. You can bet, we'll be watching, the entire nation will be watching to see if justice is done.

[18:20:30]

CABRERA: And there are multiple entities part of this investigation. Now, we know the F.B.I. is assisting in the investigation. Another viewer asks, can a police officer be charged under both state and Federal law and what Federal charges could apply?

HONIG: Yes, a person can be charged by both Federal and state prosecutors at the same time. We know that because the U.S. Supreme Court decided that exact issue just last year.

D.O.J. has confirmed they are investigating this shooting. We could see federal criminal charges if the police officers willfully deprived Jacob Blake of his Civil Rights.

Now here, the constitutional right is the Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure and legally, a shooting is an extreme force of a seizure, a police seizing a person's body.

Now, D.O.J. has charged police officers using this law before, but there also have been incidences -- controversial incidences -- where D.O.J. has declined to charge under this statute.

Understand, this is a high bar legally. Some reform advocates want to change the law and make it easier to charge police officers federally, so that could be one of the longer term outcomes of this case.

CABRERA: We'll be watching. I want to switch topics for a moment because this week was the Republican National Convention and we saw multiple Federal employees participating in this political event.

Under the Hatch Act, Federal employees are generally not permitted to engage in partisan political activities while on duty in a Federal room or building wearing an official uniform or insignia or using a government vehicle.

So one viewer asks, what are the penalties for violating the Hatch Act? And why does it seem like nobody is enforcing it?

HONIG: Yes, Ana, so the basic idea of the Hatch Act is to keep politics out of the Federal workplace. Back when I was at D.O.J., we were told you can't use your government e-mail to send any political messages. You can't wear a political t-shirt or a button in the office.

Compare to that what we saw this week at the Convention was over the top. We saw high ranking Federal officials using Federal resources including the White House to stage a political convention.

Now for most Hatch Act violations, there are civil penalties, fines, potentially suspension or removal from job. There are some criminal penalties, but only in extreme circumstances.

Now the question why isn't anybody enforcing this? Great question by the viewer there.

This is the responsibility of something called the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. This is a person named Henry Kerner, who was appointed by President Trump. He is doing nothing despite flagrant violations happening almost every night on national TV. He needs to do his job.

CABRERA: Elie Honig. Thanks for your take.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:27:43]

CABRERA: Long before the Jacob Blake shooting, CNN's W. Kamau Bell went to Wisconsin for an in depth look at racism in that state and this was for his CNN original series, United Shades of America. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: Now if we're talking racism, we could do this in any city in the United States. Kind of what we do best. But there's one place that's regularly named as the most segregated

city in the country, but before you start getting a bunch of cities below the Mason Dixon line, I'll just tell you -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

See Milwaukee has the most amount of neighborhoods that are clearly defined by race. Yes. The home of Happy Days and Harley-Davidson is also the home to a whole lot of racism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Milwaukee is just 40 miles north of Kenosha where Blake was shot and W. Kamau Bell joins us now. Kamau, when you think back to all the time you spent in Milwaukee for last season's episodes of United Shades of America, I'm wondering how you're seeing the police shooting of Blake and what's been unfolding in Kenosha this past week.

BELL: I mean, I know for the people I've talked to in Milwaukee, that kind of racism from the police is not a surprise.

I think the thing people in Milwaukee felt especially black people in Milwaukee felt is that they are sort of not identified as a place where black people are, so it is harder to get attention.

Well now, with the State of Wisconsin, in Kenosha and all the activists have the attention of the world because of what's going on during the pandemic.

CABRERA: Trump says he's going to probably visit Kenosha. He announced that today. How do you think that will be received?

BELL: I don't think that him visiting Kenosha is what anybody in Kenosha needs. It sounds like even the Chief of Police doesn't want that. I heard somebody say that earlier.

So I don't think -- I think this problem of racism in America has been exacerbated by President Trump, and I don't think him showing up there is going to do anybody any good. Actually, I know it's not going to do anybody good.

CABRERA: Why? Why wouldn't it do any good?

BELL: All Donald Trump has done during his presidency is exacerbate and make racism more popular. That's all he's done during his presidency.

The problems in this country of systemic and institutionalized racism have been revealed further through his presidency and there's nothing he can do other than make it worse.

CABRERA: Kamau, you wrote last year and this is really eye opening to me. In my experience, you write, ... most people define racism as simply hating someone because of their skin color. Occasionally, I incorrectly use that definition, too, you say, ... but every anti- racist activist and academic I know believes that treating someone poorly because of their skin color is actually just prejudice. Racism requires prejudice plus power.

And you go on to say, Because this country was founded in large part through the genocide of the indigenous people of this land, and then largely built on the free labor of enslaved Africans, prejudice is embedded in all of all America's structures and institutions. That's how prejudice gets its power and becomes racism. That's why you can't just hire black police officers and expect the whole institution of policing not to be still packed with racism.

[18:30:45]

So beyond hiring black police officers, what other steps do you see as necessary to overcome racism within the institution of policing and beyond?

W. KAMAU BELL, CNN HOST, UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA: Well, I mean, let's remember, policing in the south was developed out of catching slaves. They were slave catchers. Policing in the north was developed to protect businesses.

So the institution of policing in this country was developed in racist ways. And so using racism is the fuel behind it. So that's why we talk about defund the police or boss the police, because we really need to reconceived the whole notion of what policing is in this country and where the money is spent to help people in those communities. It's not about reforming the police, it's about saying, how can we rebuild this institution from the ground up and start again.

CABRERA: We heard a lot of African-American voices speaking out at this week's Republican National Convention voices such as GOP Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, also Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones. A Democrat, both Scott and Jones defending President Trump's track record on race in this country, so disagreeing with the comments you made earlier.

But what do you see as the impact of these pro Trump messages coming from powerful black leaders?

BELL: No black person is surprised that there are black conservatives or black Republicans. I think a lot of times the white people are surprised by that, but we all have black conservatives in our family. That's not the point.

The point is, is that overwhelmingly black folks vote for Democrats and that's not going to change this election. I would imagine more black people will vote for Democrats or Joe Biden in this election. He voted for Hillary vote in the last election just because of the state of the country. I don't think hearing a few random black folks step up and talk about Trump does nothing to sway any black person who already knows that Trump is a racist.

And the other thing I would say is that from what I understand there are some people of color who were in some videos they showed at that the RNC who didn't know they were going to be shown at the RNC for supporting Trump. So again, that shows the racism endemic to the RNC, to the GOP and to Donald Trump. CABRERA: I do want to ask you about your show this weekend. Your new

episodes of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, it's the season finale airing Sunday and you have to back to back new shows. You've said these are not the feel good episodes of the year in your finale includes a deep look at homelessness in Los Angeles, among other issues. What should viewers expect from your big season finale?

BELL: Well, we have an episode about Iranian-Americans in New York. We have an episode about, as you said, the episode about homelessness. And I think the idea is that every season of the show has been about this. But I think this season more than ever is about really revealing the deep fissures in this country that pull us apart and that's been - we've been pulled apart by the pandemic and by what happened about - with the social unrest and these episodes are further proof of that. But we just don't see it and we don't look at enough of the different levels of people in this country. So hopefully this is another chance for us to do that on the show.

CABRERA: Such important issues and the deep dives is really educational for us. Thank you, W. Kamau Bell, for enlightening us.

Tune in for the season finale of CNN's Original Series UNITED STATES OF AMERICA tomorrow night at 9 and 10 Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:17]

CABRERA: Today, the NBA Playoffs resume after a multi day protests prompted by the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. And we've learned former President Obama provided counsel to players' union president, Chris Paul, as well as LeBron James on Wednesday night. Here's how Paul explained the athletes decision to resume play.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS PAUL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: We understand how strong our voice is, how powerful our voice is and, ultimately, we decided if we go away from this stage, we don't necessarily have that same platform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's talk more about all this with ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. Good to see you.

STEPHEN SMITH, ESPN HOST: Good to see you, Ana. How are you?

CABRERA: I'm doing well. Thank you for taking the time. I know how busy it's been for you in your world. What more do you know about former President Obama's involvement in the discussions?

SMITH: Well, obviously, he has an incredibly close relationship with the President of the Players Association for the NBA, that would be Mr. Chris Paul also known as CP3. They have a very close relationship. He obviously has a very good relationship with LeBron James as well.

And so in the aftermath of Milwaukee doing what they did, electing not to play their playoff game against the Orlando Magic and then creating the brouhaha that it did ultimately guys leaned on former President Obama to just come and intervene and to just give some advice and some counsel on what they were doing, how effective they were doing it and what was some of the things that they could do to capitalize on this moment that we're living in right now.

CABRERA: So beyond that conversation with President Obama, take us inside the other discussions that were happening within these meetings over how to proceed. What more do you know about LeBron James' involvement as the biggest name in the league?

SMITH: Well, first of all, he is the biggest name in the league. Obviously, the biggest name in sports. He was a bit perturbed, because when the Milwaukee Bucks elected not to play and was willing to forfeit its playoff game against the Orlando Magic.

[18:40:08]

They hadn't really told anybody, so LeBron didn't like the fact that they had basically made a unilateral decision and, ultimately, the players were compelled to follow them. Not that he had a desire not to or anything like that, it's just that a heads up would have been nice. That was the mentality.

Then they go into a meeting Wednesday evening at about 8 pm Eastern time and there was some back and forth exchanges between him and various players, particularly the young guys that took issue with how he was communicating with them. What specifically he was saying, we don't know, but they took issue with how he was talking to them at that particular moment in time. He ultimately stormed out of the meeting.

If you recall the 11 teams that are participating, nine of them voted to play. They still wanted to play the game. LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers didn't necessarily want to do so along with the Los Angeles Clippers. Those were the two teams that voted against leaving. And then LeBron departed that meeting saying, I'm good, you know I'm good, before walking out, which further perturbed the players.

Then the following day when there was a meeting, the commissioner was on a call, the Executive Director of the Players Association, Michele Roberts was on the call, CP3 and the players were, obviously, they along with at least two members from each of the teams participating in the bubble along with the owner from each team in the bubble and everybody had spoken.

The meeting was about to be adjourned. LeBron James grabbed the microphone, spoke for an additional 15 minutes, speaking the way that he spoke and that ultimately rubbed some folks up as well, but they didn't really comment about it. They just waited until he departed. In the end, what happened is that they elected to play. Everybody has profound respect for LeBron James, what he brings to the table, his philanthropy, his charitable ways and so on and so forth. CABRERA: Right.

SMITH: He's one of the great, great athletes and great people we've ever known. It was just a bad day for him because he rubbed a few people the wrong way, but they got over it. They're get back to playing ball and that is that.

CABRERA: Your insight is really fascinating to hear. The dynamics happening behind the scenes. I think a lot of people have wondered what's going through their mind, what's going through the conversations and all of that. I do want to play something we heard from Charles Barkley, because I think he also provide some good insight and what he said regarding what it's like to be a black athlete in America.

SMITH: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, TURNER SPORTS NBA ANALYST: It's exhausting being black, especially when you're a celebrity. I love Tom Brady, but nobody asked him about what's going on in white America. Nobody asked Luka Dancic what's going on in America. White players are - they've been amazing, but they don't live with the pressure that these young black guys are going through every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: What kind of pressure are these athletes under to speak up and do you get the sense that there's any hesitancy to do so?

SMITH: I don't have to get the sense, I know for a fact there's an immense amount of pressure. I'm a black man in the media and because of the voice that I have, you literally find yourself pressurized every single day by the African-American community and I'm not saying it's wrong, it comes with the territory. Often I've looked at white folks and I've said to white folks in corporate America, you walk to work every day with a job to do. We walk to work with a responsibility.

Because by and large, the African-American community in the United States of America feels voiceless. They feel like they are not being heard, which is one of the reasons why you're seeing the protests that you've been seeing over the last several months. Because people don't feel like they've been heard and they believe they've been marginalized and minimized and things of that nature.

So if you're an NBA player, you're a superstar. I tell you something right now, if you think you want to feel sorry for LeBron James, how about Chris Paul. Chris Paul is the President of the Players Association. So he has to represent the players but in the same breath, he has to negotiate with league owners and the NBA Commissioner, reaching some sort of reasonable conclusions be that you have to take sponsors and advertisers into consideration.

You have to work with the Executive Director, Michele Roberts. You have to work with the players one minute the owners the next. And you have to hope that everybody trust you while you're conducting business along the way. Meanwhile, he's a member of one of the teams in the playoffs. He's the star point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder. And then despite all of this, he's got to go out there and perform and then when things seem to be going awry, he was the one that reached out and called President Obama to come and talk to the guys as well.

These are the kind of things that Chris Paul has been doing, so it's an immense level of responsibility even more than LeBron James and various others that are in the bubble. And you can't help but commend him for the job that he has done thus far because it's been nothing short of a miracle.

CABRERA: Are thanks there to Stephen A. Smith.

Still to come, a New York City doctor who spent weeks fighting for his life after contracting coronavirus shares his story and what it means to be practicing again alongside his son.

[18:45:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:42]

CABRERA: Welcome back. I'm happy to share this update on a story that deeply touched me and so many of you, I'm sure, when this pandemic began back in March. Dr. Arnold Weg became one of the 10s of thousands of New Yorkers to contract COVID-19 as the virus ravage New York City.

[18:50:00]

He was eventually admitted into the same ICU where he's worked for years, but this time instead of working, he was fighting for his life. His son, also a doctor, told me Dr. Weg was struggling for every breath and he was on the brink of being intubated.

But this story has a happy ending, Dr. Weg recovered. He went home and now he's back to work. And I want to welcome back Doctors Arnold and Russell Weg. They're with us now. So good to see both of you, Arnold. I'm so happy to see you healthy and thriving. And Russell, I'm happy to see you and your father now working together. We'll talk more about that in just a moment.

But first, Arnold, how are you doing on a scale of zero to back to normal? Where are you?

DR. ARNOLD WEG, RECOVERED FROM CORONAVIRUS: Well, I'm most happy to be seen and thank you so much for being such a good friend of our family. You've been extraordinary. I feel physically absolutely wonderful. I'm back to working full time schedule and doing some of the exercise, the biking and the running that got me back into being in this position in the first place and my stamina is up there.

There certainly is a certain amount of posttraumatic stress and survivor guilt that I'm dealing with. But also the tremendous feeling of the need to try to live up to all the wonderful praise and prayer and all of the tremendous sentiment that was expressed to me by my family and my patients. And it's kind of hard to live up to all that, so that's one of the things I'm dealing with as well.

CABRERA: Well, your story provides a lot of hope especially for people who may be going through this virus and struggling to get back to normal. I'm sure they are thrilled to hear you say just like I am that you're able to run, and bike, and your strength has come back. And I think that's why so many people too have been rooting for you, is that your family is so loving and humble and I know you've been working with other patients who are recovering, survivors of this virus. What are you seeing as far as long-term side effects and then as well as - like you talk about the psychological impact?

A WEG: Yes. I mean, there's no question that they're at the very incremental process of getting better. The problem with this particular illness is that you're not starting with a chronic illness in which you gradually deteriorate. You're doing perfectly well. You're healthy and it's as if you're falling off a cliff and suddenly you're on the brink of death.

And the recovery from that is very, very gradual, very, very incremental. And I tell the patients that I've been working with in the hospital in the recovery unit at Cornell, that they have to expect very, very gradual improvement physically and mentally to be grappling with some of the issues that I elucidated to earlier for an indefinite amount of time. I think healthcare professionals, the remainder of their careers are going to be defined by this particular pandemic and the ramifications mentally on the patients that were fortunate enough to survive.

CABRERA: And there's still so much to learn about this virus.

Russell, you told me and you and your father are now practicing together, which you called a dream come true. Tell me more about what this means to you, especially after what your family's been through these past months.

DR. RUSSELL WEG, FATHER CONTRACTED CORONAVIRUS: Yes. Ana, last time we spoke five months ago, we were on a fight for my father's life and for the life of thousands of others who are combating this illness at the time. I'm trying to increase access to promising therapies such as remdesivir that was shown to be effective, partially effective.

And that was also two months away from me finishing 10 years of advanced medical training and for my father and I to achieve our dream of being able to practice and work together. And I feel so fortunate that my father made it through, thanks to the prayers and well wishes of so many, thanks to your show. And now we get to work together, we get to learn from each other, we get to see each other every day.

And I also get to hear from his patients about how appreciative they are of all of those well wishes and his fights get through this, but then to have their doctor back that they love and cherish so much, so it's been amazing. CABRERA: So that's just so wonderful. I only have about 15 seconds,

but Arnold I just have to ask you too what it's like to be now working with your son.

A WEG: It's an honor, it's a privilege, it's a dream come true and I thought I would get to teach him a lot while he's teaching me. I thought I need to be (inaudible) taking care of patients, but he doesn't need me. I think I'm just going to go on a vacation and let him do all the work. He's extraordinary (inaudible) human being and he's exceeded my expectations in every realm of his life and he's going to continue to, I'm very sure. He's my beautiful son that the world is going to benefit from, I'm very sure.

[18:55:08]

CABRERA: Wow, what a wonderful story. I just love you, guys. We didn't know each other at all before COVID and I feel like your friends of mine now. Thank you so much for coming back and giving us this heartwarming update, Doctors Arnold and Russell Weg, great to see you.

R WEG: Thank you.

A WEG: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: And that's going to do it for us this evening. I'm Ana Cabrera. My colleague, Wolf Blitzer, picks up our coverage with a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM next. Have a great night.