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Erin Burnett Outfront
Cruz Communications Director Fired Over False Rubio Video; Trump, Rubio, Cruz For Hispanic Vote; Rubio Wins New Endorsements Including Dole, Pawlenty; Sanders Attacks Clinton Over Wall Street Speeches; Police: Uber Driver Admits to Killings. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired February 22, 2016 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:10] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, breaking news: Ted Cruz firing a top staffer for spreading a story about Marco Rubio and the Bible. Turns out it wasn't true.
Plus, is Donald Trump unstoppable? We'll do the math tonight. And Hillary Clinton looking for another win in South Carolina as Bernie Sanders steps up the attacks big time. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. A major shakeup for Ted Cruz's campaign on the eve of the Nevada caucuses and just days before Super Tuesday. His communications director fired. Cruz says he personally asked Rick Tyler to resign. It comes after the Rubio campaign repeatedly asked Cruz to hold his staff accountable for spreading misinformation. Tyler posted this video that claimed Marco Rubio trashed the Bible to a Cruz staffer.
The only problem is that is not what Marco Rubio said. Rubio's campaign posted its own video that said, Rubio -- well, here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Got a book there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
RUBIO: Especially in that one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All the answers are in there. Short time ago Cruz spoke out on why he demanded Tyler's resignation. It's such a crucial time in the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick Tyler is a good man. This was a grave error of judgment. It turned out the news story he said around was false, but I'll tell you, even if it was true, we are not a campaign that is going to question the faith of another candidate. Even if it was true, our campaign should not have sent it. That's why I have asked for Rick Tyler's resignation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Rubio however says, the incident is part of a troubling pattern.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: For them to take a video and transcribe words on it that are the complete opposite of what I said, it's incredibly disturbing. I mean, you guys have to be saying, now every single day something comes out of the Cruz campaign that's deceptive and untrue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. You're looking at live pictures right now out of Elko, Nevada. Ted Cruz is about to hold a campaign rally there. We are waiting to see whether he will have more to say on this controversy as I said coming at such a crucial moment.
OUTFRONT now, Sunlen Serfaty, she is out in Las Vegas tonight. And Sunlen, you are there when Ted Cruz announced that he had asked Rick Tyler to resign. This is a major move by the Cruz campaign. One of his top staffers. It is coming on a crucial day, one day before Nevada votes. What more do you know?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, I was so struck today at how quickly Senator Cruz moved on this. Very clear he really wanted to get outfront of this controversy. But when you look at it, this controversy has had a relatively short life span, only about 24 hours. Rick Tyler first tweeted that yesterday morning. Then he apologized and took out the tweet last night overnight. And then Cruz fired him just a few hours later into today. And I think that really speaks to the sensitivity right now within the Cruz campaign over this narrative that's been pushed by his rivals, this narrative that their campaign is one that engages in lies and spreads misinformation.
I also thought it was very poignant that Senator Cruz specifically almost went out of his way today to insert himself into this controversy saying, "I personally did an investigation this morning. I personally talked to Rick and called for his resignation." To clear the candidate himself really trying to take the reins on this narrative and take back control -- Erin.
BURNETT: And Sunlen, Ted Cruz is placed in third in the past two contests. Of course he did win Iowa, but he's trailing in Nevada in the most recent polls that we have. And of course Super Tuesday is only eight days away. I mean, this is a crucial, crucial day. Twenty five percent of the delegates are up for grabs. Does the campaign believe there is still a real path to the nomination for Cruz?
SERFATY: They do, Erin, but so much of that really does hinge on Super Tuesday. They have not been secretive about their strategy from the start of their campaign. They always wanted to do well in the first four states. Nevada of course notwithstanding. They feel that they have largely achieved that. And then move on to Super Tuesday states focusing on those southern state where there's a high evangelical, high conservative vote. States where those voters are really the core part of Senator Cruz's support. Of course, there are some signs in some cracks in that sort of strategy right now. For instance, in South Carolina, Donald Trump won the evangelical vote, so this really raises the stakes for them to do well in Super Tuesday and really put out. You know, they have predicted that they will have an amazing night, but they have to back that up -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, the senior communications adviser for Ted Cruz, Alice Stewart. And Alice, let me just start here. I mean, you know, these people have been really clicking on this story online all day long. They are very, very curious about it. It is a big move. Your campaign posted this video subtitling Marco Rubio saying the Bible doesn't have many answers. That's the opposite of what he said. I mean, taking a step back, it's a bit absurd to think he would every say something like that. Of course he didn't say it. How did something like that ever get posted to begin with?
[19:05:16] ALICE STEWART, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, TED CRUZ CAMPAIGN: Well, first of, let's just say that this was posted on another site and it was reposted by former communications director. Look, from the very beginning of this campaign, Erin, we have sought to operate with the utmost of integrity, avoiding personal attacks, avoiding insults. And that's exactly how Ted has executed this campaign day in and day out despite the numerous attacks that he has received by all the other candidates and many in Washington. He has maintained the highest level of integrity in not attacking others, not attacking for personal reasons. And that's why it took swift in decisive action in this case.
His focus instead is on fighting the Washington cartel, breaking up Washington as usual, getting the message to the American people that they want to hear, that they want someone who is consistent, who is a conservative that they can trust. That what he says today is what he will do come November. And if you were to be elected into the White House. So, that's the focus. Rick is a phenomenal, wonderful person. He's apologized. Marco Rubio has accepted the apology. We're moving on. We're going to focus on the people of Nevada in this early states are concerned with and that is reviving the economy, making our military strong and also doing what we can to fight against a legal immigration --
BURNETT: So, let me just ask you though. If you talk about trust. I mean, look, this is not the first time your campaign has come under fire for an ad or a posting as we all know. Of course you were criticized for the ad allegedly showing Marco Rubio shaking hands with President Obama. I'm showing it now, the Rubio campaign accused you of Photoshopping the ad. It turned out, it was not a picture of Marco Rubio and President Obama. In fact, it was remarkably similar to a stock photo image that you can find online. It looked like the heads were just swapped. When things like this happen more than once as they have, should the leaders of the campaign be responsible or the candidate himself?
STEWART: Look, as we said, he's taken action and we're moving forward. Now is the time for us to focus on what the people of Nevada are concerned with and as we said it is about creating jobs and improving the economy. They are extremely concerned about what candidate is going to make the necessary steps to fight against amnesty and fix our immigration problem. And they understand that Ted Cruz has solutions that will address those issues because immigration, which is a big concern there in the silver state, is a national security issue. And that is what Ted is going to convey to the people there and that's what our focus will be starting right this moment moving forward, is continue to focus on the issues that the voters are concerned with. And we are looking forward to tomorrow the caucus in Nevada and moving on to March 1st. There are key states there. As you mentioned, Texas, in Georgia --
BURNETT: Right.
STEWART: Alabama, Louisiana. A lot of key states. And we're anxious to get there and talk to voters there.
BURNETT: So, when you talk about Super Tuesday, Alice. And you talk about Nevada tomorrow. You know, Cruz has said it is a two-man race, but Marco Rubio of course got some key endorsement today in Nevada specifically. When you look ahead, what states are you confident you're going to win between tomorrow and Super Tuesday? How many states will Ted Cruz come number one?
STEWART: First, it's important to remember, only two people have won early states right now and that is Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Marco Rubio has not won a primary caucus to this point. And right now the delegate count, we're in second place in the delegate count and that's critical. Ted is positioned to do well in Texas. We're going to have some great news coming out of Texas in the days to come. And we're looking forward to competing there. Also here in Arkansas, my state, we're going to have some key endorsement and legislative rollout in the next few days. And we're excited to do well here as well as in Georgia.
So, look, the one thing to keep in mind is this has always been a campaign based on a multistate strategy. We have raised 50 million, more than $20 million. Right now, we have more cash on hand than the other campaigns combined. Of course, Donald Trump is self-funding, but that money is going to be key to executing our multistate strategy which we're going to execute on March 1st all the way through March 15th --
BURNETT: Right.
STEWART: -- and working hard to rack up the necessary delegates to win the nomination.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Alice Stewart.
And OUTFRONT now, the senior adviser to the Marco Rubio campaign Jason Roe. And Jason, Marco Rubio earlier came out and had a comment about Ted Cruz's campaign. This was before the Rick Tyler firing announcement was put out. Here's what Marco Rubio said about the incident with the Bible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: Well, who is going to be fired when Ted Cruz is president because this campaign now has repeatedly done things that they have to apologize for and no one is ever held accountable?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do Ted Cruz did the right thing in firing his communications director? Should he have done more?
JASON ROE, SENIOR ADVISER, MARCO RUBIO CAMPAIGN: Erin, you know, my father taught me that trustworthy people don't ask them to trust you. And this is a campaign and the Cruz campaign that has basically said trust Ted and that is part of the team. You know, Rick is unfortunately the collateral damage in a culture of campaign that will do anything to win. And stretching the truth and this is not an isolated incident, as you spelled out. I mean, going back to the Iowa caucuses and misleading caucus goers into believing that Ben Carson was going to drop out in order to benefit from potential votes that they could pick up was just the beginning of what has been a series of misrepresentations of things that are going on during the campaign. And there's just no other way to color it than a lie.
[19:10:40] BURNETT: And so your bottom-line is, OK, fine, they did this, but this doesn't change your view of the campaign, of its honesty, of anything getting rid of Rick Tyler. You described him as collateral damage.
ROE: Yes. I mean, listen, Rick is just one incident in a series of incidents. You know, it's unfortunate for Rick that he has to go through this, but you know, I think they are trying to at least create the impression that they're going to deal with something because it's become, I mean, so common that these kinds of things are coming from this campaign that people are starting to recognize that Senator Cruz relationship with the truth is very sketchy.
BURNETT: Marco Rubio picked up some key endorsements today, a senator in Nevada, former presidential nominee Bob Dole. Right now though it is nearly a dead heat between Rubio and Cruz for number two in Nevada. Number two. Are you confident you're going to beat Cruz tomorrow? Are you sure of that?
ROE: Well, we feel great. You know, unlike Cruz, promising just about that he would win South Carolina, we know that we're going to do well and I think we're going to be very happy Tuesday night and rolling out of Nevada Wednesday and staring at Super Tuesday. We've got nothing but momentum while Ted Cruz is heading up his own internal campaign investigation to find out what's going on. Marco Rubio was out accepting endorsements as you spelled out from a couple of people, but also Senator Dan Coates from Indiana, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. We're focused on unifying the conservative movement and how Republicans led by Marco Rubio can be victorious in November against Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile Ted Cruz is cleaning up the messes from a campaign that's being run on lies.
BURNETT: All right. Jason, thank you very much. We appreciate it. ROE: Thanks, Erin.
And coming up, Donald Trump retreating a question about Marco Rubio's eligibility for president. Trump's campaign manager is OUTFRONT next.
Plus, Bernie Sanders is stepping up his attacks on Hillary Clinton. Will it be enough to stop her? And one covers his uber ride with a killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our interaction with him was very basic like a five minute ride. And I said, you're not the shooter, are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Tonight, breaking new information about the driver accused of killing six people at random.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:26] BURNETT: Right now in Nevada, the top three Republican presidential candidates are fanned out across the state rallying voters ahead to tomorrow night's caucuses, a crucial state up for grabs. Donald Trump the frontrunner preparing to take the stage in Las Vegas tonight as he tries to lock up another win. This weekend Trump won big in South Carolina, but in order to win like that in Nevada and show he can win against a Democrat in November he's going to need Hispanic votes. So will all of his talk on a wall on the border and insulting comments about some Mexicans being rapists hurt him or help him with the Hispanic voters?
Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT in Las Vegas tonight. And Tom, you know, you're on the frontlines here talking to potential Hispanic voters. How is he doing?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no really good local polling to tell you how he is doing, Erin. What we do know is that if you thought he was going to get none of them, he's doing better than that. But how many? We don't know.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): In the sprawling suburbs of Vegas, mortgage broker Michael Diaz wants two things -- a stronger housing market and Donald Trump for president.
MICHAEL DIAZ, BRANCH MANAGER, SECURITY NATIONAL MORTGAGE: It's an economic decision, but then also from a foreign standpoint, you know, I am worried about ISIS and people coming from across the border and you know --
FOREMAN (on camera): You think he can handle that?
DIAZ: I think he's smart enough to get the right people to handle it.
TRUMP: We will build a wall.
You have to have a wall absolutely.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Latino support may be seem odd considering how Trump rose to political fame with the fierce stand against illegal immigration especially immigrants he says are sent by the Mexican government.
TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.
FOREMAN: So, why are some Latinos tilting to Trump? Significant numbers in this heavily service base economy have been U.S. citizens for a long time and have their own concerns about new arrivals looking for jobs on top of which Nevada suffered more than most states in the recession and here Trump's name is associated with success. At the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Stephen Miller is an economist.
STEPHEN M. MILLER, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS: We've been recovering now for six years, but if you ask the average person on the street, they we're still in recession. Why is that? Well, we're still below where we were back in, before the great crash here in Nevada.
(RUBIO SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
FOREMAN: Once it was thought all of that might turn these voters toward Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz.
(CRUZ SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CRUZ: In Espanol, si quieres.
FOREMAN: And some appear hesitant to openly support Trump with other Latinos in the race. But Diaz says --
DIAZ: When it comes down to everybody, you have to be able to take care of your family. I mean, first and foremost --
FOREMAN (on camera): And -- will overcome some of the hesitation on the part of Latinos?
DIAZ: I do.
FOREMAN (voice-over): How many agree with him? We'll soon know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Hispanic and I vote for Mr. Trump! We both for Mr. Trump! Yes!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: This is a fight for a slice of a small slice. In the last presidential election, only five percent of the Republican voters were Latino, but Donald Trump very much wants to prove that he can play in that field and get some attention there. And if he succeeds in doing it, this once unlikely candidate will once again have beaten the odds -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much. It is not just Nevada. All of the Republican candidates are focused on Super Tuesday. That is March 1st. Thirteen states are going to hold GOP contests. It's a huge number. So, where can Trump be stopped?
OUTFRONT tonight, the host of "INSIDE POLITICS" John King. All right. So, John, you know, I mean, it is incredible as Tom just said. You know, Trump keeps doing what people think he can't do. He does it again and again. He won big in South Carolina, but does that mean it is over for Rubio and Cruz now that you've had people like Jeb Bush get out of the race?
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Doesn't mean it is over, Erin. But we can't go through too many more nights when the second and third place finishers, if they're behind Trump come out and say, hey, I won. Because guess what, Donald Trump is winning and winning is what matters in the delegate chase, which is how you win the nomination. Trump wins New Hampshire. Trump wins South Carolina. Ted Cruz win Iowa. Here's where we stand. We're just getting started. It takes 1,273 delegates to win the Republican nomination. Trump leads with 68. But there is absolutely zero reason, Erin to believe Donald Trump will not win Nevada.
So, let's call him first. Let's guess Marco Rubio comes in second. Ted Cruz is third. And John Kasich is third. Let's just do that. It's a hypothetical, folks, if you support someone else, don't get mad. But there's no reason to believe Trump won't win. That will put him up to 79, Erin. And then you mentioned Super Tuesday. Well, let's put those states on the map. If they pop up, this scenario has Trump winning all of them by the same numbers in South Carolina. Trump at 33. Marco Rubio second. Ted Cruz third. Let's go down to the state of Texas and let's for the sake of the conversation say, no, Ted Cruz wins his home state.
So, we'll give him that one. We'll give Trump second, Rubio third, and Kasich fourth. We will close that one up. And I see no reason to believe this is going to happen, but the Kasich campaign says, maybe we can win in a place like Massachusetts. Let's for the sake of hypothetical, give it to them. So, Kasich wins Massachusetts, Trumps comes in second, we'll say Rubio third, and Cruz fourth there. Even if that happens, so they take a little bit away from Trump on Super Tuesday, Texas and Massachusetts, if he is winning these other states, even with just 33 percent because the Republican rules are more generous to the winners, he starts to pull away a bit.
[19:21:41] Now, let's move to a March a little bit more, Erin. We bring up some other states. Again, this is giving those states to Trump winning 30 something, 33, 34 percent of the vote. He starts to pull away. Now where else could we look here? OK, here's John Kasich's home state of Ohio. Let's say he stays in and let's say he wins it. We'll give Trump second, Rubio third, Cruz fourth. So, we won't give Trump Ohio. And here's Marco Rubio's state. Let's assume that he can consolidate support back home, and Marco Rubio gets Florida and Trump comes in second, Cruz third, Kasich fourth. You're still looking unless they start taking something else away from
Donald Trump, except for home court, look where Trump is now. He's well more than halfway. And if you're a Cruz supporter and you wonder, hey, why do you keep calling my guy third, flip it in your mind. If Cruz comes in second not Rubio, then he would be here and Rubio would be there. But look at this. And then Trump starts polling away. So, Erin, as long as Cruz and Rubio and Kasich stay in the race, if Trump keeps winning, even with 30-something percent of the vote, you can run it out. You can go through the month of May. I can take a state or two away from him, but look what's happening. And you get to the end, he wins. If Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John Kasich stay in the race and Trump keeps winning, he's the nominee. The only way to beat him is to start beating him. Actually start coming in ahead of him. The guys coming in second in third, keep coming out and bragging about that, they're going to be at Donald Trump's convention.
BURNETT: It's a fascinating point and you've just laid out the case. Even with the third of the vote. He can still easily get to that nomination.
John King, thank you.
KING: You're welcome.
BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, Donald Trump's Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski. Corey, good to have you with us tonight. A slew of new endorsements today for Marco Rubio including Tim Pawlenty and Bob Dole who of course had said very positive things not long ago about Mr. Trump. The mainstream Republican Party seems to be coalescing and coalescing around Marco Rubio. Does that worry you?
COREY LEWANDOWSKI, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, thanks for having me first and foremost and no it doesn't worry me. Because if you look at what endorsements have meant in the past and with all due respect Governor Bush had a series of endorsements and as you know he's dropped out of the race this week. So, I don't think American people care about who endorses who. They're nice to have maybe but at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is who the American people want to vote for. And what we have seen in Iowa, and New Hampshire, and South Carolina is a massive influx of people who have never participated in the process. And they're turning out to vote for Donald Trump in record numbers. So, we're very pleased with it and if endorsements mattered, then somebody else would be the frontrunner today.
BURNETT: Corey, Ted Cruz fired his communications director today. A very big move. And Donald Trump has repeatedly called Ted Cruz a liar. Now that Cruz has gone ahead and fired one of his top campaign officials, top official, is Cruz doing the right thing? Is this something that you would say, this is a good thing? This is a move in the right direction.
LEWANDOWSKI: Well, look, that's up to the Cruz campaign to decide how they run their campaign. We're focused squarely on what we're doing here. What we're doing is, you know, Mr. Trump has a huge rally tonight where he's going to see, you know, tens of thousands of people here in Nevada. We've got a big rally tomorrow up in the Reno area. Back down in Clark County again tomorrow night to see some more people. So, I don't want to comment on what the Cruz campaign is doing. Our goal here is to focus on what we're doing and to do everything we can to win.
BURNETT: Donald re-tweeted over the weekend, this tweet Corey. It has said, quote, "Mr. Trump, both Cruz and Rubio are ineligible to be POTUS! It's a SLAM DUNK CASE." That was not his tweet but he retweeted that tweet. And of course he's raised questions about Ted Cruz's illegibility to be president. Ted Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother. Rubio was born in the United States. There's no dispute about that. Donald Trump was asked about this when by George Stephanopoulos this weekend. And here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't know. I've never looked at it, George. Honestly, I've never looked at it. Somebody said, he's not. And I retweeted it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Corey, why would he retweet a tweet questioning Marco Rubio's citizenship if he doesn't know anything about it?
LEWANDOWSKI: Well, look, you know, it is a retweet to retweet basically. You know, he has millions of followers on there. A lot of people say different things. He retweets some. Sometimes you guys complain if he retweets them. Sometimes you complain if he tweets. You know what? It's hard to know where the information is coming from. So, a retweet is just simply that. Sometimes you agree with it. Sometimes you just want to draw attention to what somebody else has said. It doesn't necessarily mean you agree with it. So, it's just something that he reposted and you know, that happens all the time.
BURNETT: So, this is one of those things on Twitter. You know, for people who aren't familiar, right? People often put RT for retweet and then do not equal endorsements. And as one of those things, I sort to say, come on, if you're going to retweet something, you are giving it a creditability. You're saying, you think it is worth discussing even if you don't necessarily agree with it.
[19:26:09] LEWANDOWSKI: I don't know about that. Sometimes you see -- look you see stories in the newspaper from traditional publications whether it's the Washington Post or the Wall Street Journal. It doesn't mean necessarily agree with what the articles says. Sometimes you want to post it so that other people have the opportunity to read it. Doesn't mean you agree or disagree with it which happens all the time like that.
BURNETT: Do you think that the bottom-line is that do you think that it is a real question as to whether Rubio is illegible to be president of the United States or do you think that is a patently an absurd thing to say? LEWANDOWSKI: Well, I do think there was a question about Ted's
illegibility, Senator Cruz's illegibility, I mean, the fact is, he was born in Canada. And, you know, it's still a question of, is he eligible to run for president of the United States. Mr. Trump has said, it would be recommended to go out and get a declaratory judgement from a federal judge to make that ruling now so that Ted could be cleared moving forward and maybe that's something that he wants to do, so it would be up to Senator Cruz to look at that.
BURNETT: What about Marco Rubio though, was my question?
LEWANDOWSKI: Yes, I mean, again, you know, I haven't looked at the issue to be candid with you. And I haven't -- I don't think Mr. Trump has looked at the issue. It's something that, you know, we'll have to look into.
BURNETT: All right. Corey Lewandowski, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight, sir.
LEWANDOWSKI: Such a pleasure. Thank you.
And OUTFRONT next, Bernie Sanders rallying supporters right now. Are his attacks tonight on Hillary Clinton too little too late?
Plus, Clinton is way ahead in so-called super delegates even though the votes are just starting to trickle in with only three states having voted. How is that possible? Will they win the race for her?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:30] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Bernie Sanders ramping up his attacks on Hillary Clinton, today, hammering her over when she plans to release details of her paid speeches to Wall Street. Now, this comes as Sanders looks to regain his footing after Clinton's win in Nevada over the weekend.
I want to show you some live pictures right now. Sanders is speaking to supporters. He's in Massachusetts. It's a crucial Super Tuesday state he thinks he can win.
Will these step-up attacks, though, stop Clinton?
Joe Johns is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bernie Sanders is going on offense today after his loss to Hillary Clinton in Nevada.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What the American people have to determine is which candidate whose life work is about standing up to the billionaire class, standing up to Wall Street, standing up to corporate interests and who does not.
JOHNS: And tweeting about the lack of transcripts for Clinton's paid speeches, "It's been 17 days, six hours, and 32 minutes since @HillaryClinton said she would look into releasing the minutes of her paid speeches for Wall Street."
He spent the weekend in South Carolina, even stopping by a fried chicken dinner after church to court a key demographic -- African- American voters.
SANDERS: I want you to help me lead this country into political revolution.
JOHNS: But Clinton is riding high after her weekend win.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other. This one is for you.
JOHNS: Polling shows Clinton has the advantage in South Carolina, in part thanks to her strong showing among African-American voters there.
MORGAN FREEMAN, ACTOR: She says their names, Trayvon Martin.
CLINTON: Trayvon Martin --
JOHNS: She's out with a new ad voiced by Morgan Freeman that invokes Trayvon Martin and the Flint water crisis.
FREEMAN: She speaks for our city poisoned by indifference.
CLINTON: We need action now.
JOHNS: And the battle between the two candidates is sharpening, Clinton hit Sanders hard over the weekend for overpromising.
CLINTON: You shouldn't say that unless you can really deliver it. If the numbers don't add up, it's wrong to make those promises.
JOHNS: And Sanders accused Clinton of copying his message.
SANDERS: I am delighted that Secretary Clinton month after month after month seems to be adopting more and more of the positions that we have advocated. I think I saw her TV ad and I thought it was me.
JOHNS: Even with her Nevada win, Clinton still faces doubts about her trustworthiness from some voters.
CLINTON: I understand that voters have questions. I'm going to do my very best to answer those questions. I think there's an underlying question that maybe is really in the back of people's minds, and that is, you know, is she in it for us or is she in it for herself? I think that's, you know, a question that people are trying to sort through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Back live now where Bernie Sanders is now speaking before a huge crowd at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Latest disclosure numbers show he raised a lot of money during January, $21 million. But he also spent a lot of money, $35 million during the same period.
We asked the campaign about that. They say it was important for them to make a statement during the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, and that's why they spent so much money -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Of course, it means more to keep flowing in.
Joe Johns, thank you.
OUTFRONT now, David Brock, founder of Correct the Record, which is a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC, along with Jonathan Tasini, a Bernie Sanders supporter.
All right. David, let me just start with you. You heard Joe Johns reporting about these transcripts of the Wall Street speeches that Hillary Clinton gave and was compensated for. She did say during a recent town hall she would look into releasing the transcripts for the speeches to Wall Street.
Obviously, this would have been, you know, recorded by the banks. What's the hold up? It should be pretty easy to do it, right?
DAVID BROCK, FOUNDER, CORRECT THE RECORD, A PRO-CLINTON SUPER PAC: Look, I think this whole insinuation is wrong. And what really need to do is really to look at the record, because the insinuation is that there is something in here that's going to indicate some kind of corruption. The reality is, let's look back to '07 and '08. Secretary Clinton was the one, not Senator Sanders, who took action to predict the recession. She took action in the Senate. She was for credit reform that the big banks opposed, addressing the home mortgage crisis, doing something about executive pay. In '07, she campaigned to close the carried interest loophole.
And let's fast-forward to today. She's the one with the stronger plan to reform Wall Street, to address shadow banking. Senator Sanders wants to reinstitute a relic from the depression era and take us back. So, the reality is these banks got nothing but a tougher plan from Hillary Clinton for the speech fees.
BURNETT: Then, David, to your point, if there's this perception of oh, she's not putting it out there, there must be something dark in there, then all the more reason to put it out there, right?
BROCK: Hold on, hold on. First of all, it was a phony impression that was first created by -- first created by the Republicans and now being echoed by Senator Sanders. He's doing Karl Rove's general election dirty work for him. There's no reason to think based on the record, if we look at the record, that anything happened here other than some paid speaking fees that actual there is ample precedent for and is absolutely nothing wrong with.
BURNETT: Sanders doing Karl Rove's general election dirty work. Jonathan?
JONATHAN TASINI, BERNIE SANDERS SUPPORTER: Oh, man, I'm having a good time laughing about David's talking points and rubbish. So, let me kind of go to your point, which he didn't answer, Erin,
which is that Hillary Clinton does not want those transcripts out because it's going to show is not necessarily dark corruption, but actually, the participation in a corrupt system which is she is not going to take on Wall Street. In those speeches she was not tough on them.
And it's -- the American people understand that when you get paid $225,000 for one speech, it's for one reason and one reason only and that is access. Every voter out there understands it. And it's frankly voters have asked it, one of the town halls, I believe it was CNN, the town hall that Anderson Cooper ran, it could have been the one with Chris Cuomo, a voter asked, why won't she release those transcripts, and the reason Hillary Clinton does not want to do it is it reinforces her closeness to the financial industry, an industry that people know has destroyed their livelihood.
BURNETT: So, David, again, to the point you can destroy Jonathan in one fell swoop if you just put them out there. You could destroy the guy.
BROCK: Hey, I'm not trying to destroy anybody.
Look, the reality is, look at the history of it. Secretary Clinton released every business-related e-mail, right? An act of unprecedented transparency. Did she get any credit for that? No. That still drags on.
So, there's no point engaging in this kind of thing.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Go ahead, David. Jonathan, you get the final word, but David, please go ahead.
BROCK: You've got no evidence for what you're saying. It's a paranoid conspiracy theory.
TASINI: It's not paranoid. Erin is right. If there's no issue, release the transcripts and stop foot dragging. Hillary Clinton wants to cover this up and continue to basically obfuscate this.
BROCK: It's not absolutely not right.
TASINI: What is clearly a connection to the financial industry, huge donors, by the way funding the super PAC that is now attacking the Sanders. So, Erin is right about this. Release the transcripts.
BURNETT: I look forward to having both of you back together hopefully in person here on our set soon. Thanks to you both.
And tomorrow, Hillary Clinton and Sanders will take part in the South Carolina Democratic presidential town hall. That is tomorrow night right here at 8:00 Eastern.
And OUTFRONT next, Bernie Sanders steep climb in the delegate count. We're going to show you the math.
Plus, an Uber driver confessing to gunning down people at random, picking up fares in between. Breaking details tonight about the arsenal police found in his home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:43:16] BURNETT: Tonight, Hillary Clinton sitting with a major edge in the delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. She picked up 20 in Nevada. That brings her total pledged delegates to 52. That's one more than Bernie Sanders, but it isn't even close when you take super delegates into count.
So, let's go to our chief national correspondent, the host of "INSIDE POLITICS", John King.
All right. John, when you take a step back, you go delegates, super delegates, really? She's got hundreds of super delegates, but only a few states have actually voted. Explain.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Keep the 400-plus in a separate bank. Hold them separate because you won't see them in this count, because she might need them.
But keep 400-plus and hold them. Those are elected and appointed Democrats who said they are for Hillary Clinton, said they're for Hillary Clinton. They can change their mind.
Here's where we are. You know, 52-51, after three contests. New Hampshire, Iowa, and Nevada. Let's assume and the Sanders campaign probably concedes this already, but they're going to fight for it. But they're going to fight for it.
Let's assume she wins South Carolina. What I just did is allocated the delegates on a 60 percent to a 40 percent, 60 percent for the winner, 40 percent for the loser in South Carolina.
Now, let's move up to Super Tuesday. If Hillary Clinton wins all those states 60/40, she would start to pull ahead and this again, this doesn't count the 400-plus. But, let's say, Bernie Sanders says he'll win his home state of Vermont on Super Tuesday. No reason to doubt that. So, let's switch it. Give him that.
He also says he'll win Minnesota. We don't know if he will, but let's accept that, for the argument for the hypothetical, and switch it there to a Sanders state. He says he'll win Colorado. Let's accept his argument and switch it.
The Clinton people I know disagree, but this is a hypothetical. And he says he'll win Oklahoma. Let's switch that one as well, the other way around. At that point, it looks close-ish, but remember she has 400-plus super delegates.
Then we move on through the month of March and she starts to pull away. If she's winning 60-40 in these states, now Bernie Sanders says there'll be a huge fight in Michigan. [19:45:01: So, let's switch it for the sake of argument and give him
Michigan. Even then, she's pulling away and again, I'm not counting the 400-plus super delegates. The Clinton campaign thinks Sanders will see reality and change his tone.
If you play it out through May, it is hard to find states Sanders could win, then you come out here to the end to the convention. That would give Hillary Clinton, even winning all these states, 60-40, though, she'd be just shy and need the super delegates if she wants to get across the line without the superdelegates, she has to win some of the states, some of the big delegate baskets, even bigger than 60-40.
BURNETT: Incredible, incredible. And, of course, as you say, those hundreds of delegates she already has.
All right. Thanks very much, John King.
And OUTFRONT next, the Uber driver, a father of two, confessed to killing people. Investigators tonight searching for a motive in this horrific story.
And on a much lighter note, a special member of OUTFRONT family is celebrating a major milestone today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She seems to like to be mocked. OK, just kidding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news at this hour about the Uber driver charged with killing six people in Michigan. A law enforcement official tells CNN 11 rifles were found inside the home of Jason Dalton, who has confessed to the killings. News of Dalton's arsenal comes just hours after detectives revealed that Dalton had confessed to, quote, "taking people's lives" Saturday night.
Nick Valencia is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wearing an orange jumpsuit and glasses, his hands shackled, Jason Dalton made his first court appearance after being accused of killing six people and critically injuring two others during a 7-hour killing spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
[19:50:09] JUDGE: Are you Jason Brian Dalton?
JASON DALTON, ALLEGED UBER KILLER: Yes.
VALENCIA: After via video conference, the 45-year-old Uber driver sat motionless as the judge read the 16 charges against him. Dalton's blank stare only briefly interrupted as he appeared to sigh
at the mention of being charged with attempted murder of a minor.
JUDGE: Is there anything you wish to tell the court at this time concerning your connections with the community?
(INAUDIBLE)
VALENCIA: Earlier, during a probable cause hearing, detectives told the judge that Dalton, quote, "admitted to taking people's lives." Prosecutors say he chose his victims at random in three different locations, so cold-blooded they say that he continued to work and pick up Uber passengers in between shootings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said, you're not the shooter, are you?
VALENCIA: One of those passengers spoke to CNN affiliate WWMT, he asked not to be identified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said no. I said, are you sure? He kind of just said, no, I'm just tired. I've been riding for seven hours.
VALENCIA: Mariana Cruz sent CNN an image of her receipt from a drive with Dalton that morning. She didn't want to go on camera but told CNN he made her feel uncomfortable, thinking she was being paranoid, she gave him five stars on the ride anyway. That night she says she saw Dalton's car on the news and made the connection.
RICH FINDELL, NEIGHBOR: He seemed like a good guy.
VALENCIA: Rich Findell is Dalton's neighbor. He lives three doors down.
FINDELL: We both have interest in tires. He has a dog that we hear him chasing, but seems like a normal person.
VALENCIA: Uber says Dalton passed a background check. So, why would a married father of two with no criminal record allegedly go on a killing spree?
Police say they still don't have a motive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALENCIA: Two other people injured in the shoot, still in the hospital, including a 14-year-old girl who was so gravely injured that police initially pronounced her dead, until they say she miraculously squeezed her mother's hand. She is still clinging to life but just barely -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Nick.
And OUTFRONT now, the Kalamazoo County prosecutor, Jeff Getting.
And, Jeff, let me ask you. Motive here is just impossible for people to understand what Jason Dalton has confessed to doing saying he, quote, "took people's lives". Did he tell you why?
JEFF GETTING, KALAMAZOO COUNTY PROSECUTOR: No, he hasn't explained why. In his statement, the police are continuing to investigate. Hopefully, we'll come up with a reasonable explanation for this. But sometimes, there just isn't a way of explaining what people do.
BURNETT: And we're hearing these were just completely at random targets. I mean, is that your understanding at this point? It was just random?
GETTING: Yes. So, it was. We haven't been able to establish any connection between the defendant and any of the people that he killed or shot. We haven't been able to establish any connection between those -- between those three victim groups. The common denominator is the defendant. He chose people and he shot them simply because he could.
BURNETT: It's just horrific. What have you found at his home? I know some sort of arsenal is the words that have been used. Can you tell us more?
GETTING: The police executed a search warrant at the defendant's home. There was numerous items of evidentiary value that were seized from that home. He's well known to own several firearms and they found firearms and related material there.
BURNETT: And a quick final question. He's married with two children. What more do you know about the family?
GETTING: I haven't had an opportunity to speak with the family. I'm sure that they are in shock about this just as we are. Right now, we're focusing on our victims. We're focusing on trying to figure out why this happened and processing the evidence that we've gathered from the scenes. There's hundreds of hours of police work in front of us yet, and hundreds of hours of work getting the prosecution done.
BURNETT: Jeff, thank you very much for joining us -- the Kalamazoo County prosecutor, Jeff Getting.
And next, a much lighter note, a very special day for our very own Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I never thought I'd be coloring Donald Trump's fig leaf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:14] BURNETT: Our Jeanne Moos is celebrating a huge milestone, 35 years at CNN. Her stories run the gamut but it's her creating way of telling them we love the most.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MOOS: We have seen the demonstrations spreading into the streets of Beijing. It is not just here in Tiananmen Square.
BURNETT (voice-over): Jeanne Moos has won many awards for reporting the last 35 years.
MOOS: In human terms, the U.N. is approaching middle age.
One gentleman called CNN's New York bureau after we first aired the story.
BURNETT: But our viewers grew to love her for finding the most unusual twist to everything.
BURNETT: Behold the bunless wonder. Ready?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready.
BURNETT: Let's go.
He does weigh a ton.
Making a remote controlled pizza rat isn't rocket science.
BURNETT: Jeanne's love of animals is no secret.
MOOS: Have you ever committed adultery?
BURNETT: But at times some of the animals didn't return the love.
MOOS: She seems to like to be mocked. OK, just kidding.
BURNETT: While some reporters pull out all the stops, Jeanne pulls out sharp objects.
MOOS: No, no, I don't want to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't want to but you did a great job.
MOOS: Over the years, Jeanne has spent thousands of so-called man on the street interviews.
LARRY KING, FORMER CNN HOST: You are the world's most famous street walker.
MOOS: And has allowed her creativity to run wild.
MOOS: What do you think of this book?
MOOS: And after 35 years, Jeanne still finds the surprisingly funny take in everything. Like the Donald Trump coloring book.
MOOS: Donald arm wrestling Hillary. Donald as a Beatle?
I never thought I'd be covering Donald Trump's fig leaf.
BURNETT: To his hats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a great hat.
MOOS: Is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the hat is smoking, you know what I'm saying?
BURNETT: To even Donald Trump's hair.
MOOS: The treatment Donald Trump is getting is beyond catty. Actually, it's called Trump your cat, giving your feline the Donald hair line.
BURNETT: Jeanne, we want more and happy 35th anniversary.
MOOS: Happy birthday silly putty, happy birthday to you --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And Jeanne's latest piece will debut here tomorrow. We love her and are so grateful she's with us.
Thanks to all of you for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
