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Erin Burnett Outfront
DOJ Wants More Time For Wiretap Evidence Request; Today Was Deadline For Wiretap Proof, DOJ Wants More Time; McCain: "There Will Be More Coming" On Russia, Trump; DOJ Misses Deadline To Provide Evidence Of Wiretap Accusations; Nonpartisan CBO Report: 14M More Uninsured Next Year; CBO Report: 14M More Uninsured Next Year Under GOP Plan; Aired 7-8p ET
Aired March 13, 2017 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN WOLF AND THE SITUATION ROOM HOST: -- CNN. That's it for me. Erin Burnett OutFront starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT HOST: OutFront next. Breaking news on several fronts this hour. The Trump administration moments ago asking for more time to provide evidence of Trump's wiretap accusations as it misses a crucial deadline tonight. The White House now walking back Trump's allegations. And breaking at this hour, the highly anticipated report that says up to 14 million more people will be uninsured next year under the GOP healthcare bill. Tonight, the White House fighting back.
And more breaking news this hour. One congressman handcuffed after a meeting with ICE. What happened? Let's go OutFront.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. We begin with the breaking news. The Trump administration moments ago asking for more time to provide any evidence that President Obama wiretapped Trump tower phones during the 2016 campaign. Now, the justice department has a last-minute request tonight. The Senate Intelligence Committee had said today as the deadline, they said, that was it. You got to have the proof by today or else of Trump's explosive charges. This comes as the White House for the first time is walking back the president's accusations, sparking questions about the president's credibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER ALEXANDER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: When should Americans trust the president? Should they trust the president, is it phony or real when he says that President Obama was wiretapping him?
SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, again, let's get back. I think there's two things that are important about what he said. I think recognizing that it's the -- he doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally. I think -- but I think there's a -- there's no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election. That is a widely reported activity that occurred back then. The president used the word wiretap in quote to mean broadly surveillance and other activities. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Let's look though at the exact words President Trump used nine days ago when he first lobbed the charges in a series of tweets. This one first, terrible, just found out that Obama had my wires tapped that was in quote, in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism. And how low is President Obama gone to tap my phones, no quotes, during the very safer election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad or sick guy. Now, Trump has shied away from the issue ever since even as numerous staffers have struggled again and again to answer the repeated questions about it. Manu Raju begins our coverage on Capitol Hill tonight. And Manu, the Department Of Justice now asking for an expense to the deadline, the Intel community saying what?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: They're saying that they'll give them more time but not indefinite time. Erin, they want those answers before the March 20th hearing in which the Senate Intelligence Committee is going to have a public session from leading intelligence officials to talk about the issue of Russia. They want the information by March 20th or they're suggesting if they're not -- they don't get responses either before or during the hearing, perhaps they can resort to subpoenaing the Trump administration for this information, saying that they may resort to "compulsory process if our questions are not answered."
And now, Erin, this comes as a Senate Intelligence Committee also is asking for information. I just talked to top members of the senate intelligence committee who tell me they have made the appropriate requests to the appropriate people. That's the exact words from Richard Burr, the chairman of that committee saying that he's asking for that information but he would not say if he's seen any evidence yet. Now, this comes as the larger investigation into Russia is ongoing.
And one of the members who plays a special role in the intelligence committee is Senator John McCain, who serves on the committee as an officer, given his role as a chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He said that there are a lot of questions, unresolved about Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: There will be more coming. I just -- I've seen these kinds of things in the past and I just think that there are more aspects of this that we don't know about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, one of the aspects are those contacts that allegedly occurred during the election. I just -- when I spoke to Richard Burr, the chairman of the committee, I said will you try to talk in your committee to Trump campaign advisers, including Roger Stone, have him come before the committee and discuss what occurred allegedly during the - during the campaign season in those conversations with Russians. He said that's part of an ongoing investigation, suggested that they perhaps could come before the committee perhaps to answer those questions that john McCain says are not answered yet, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Manu. And at the White House tonight, still no evidence. That's the reality. They were given today as a deadline. Now they've got a few more days but they have provided no evidence to back up Trump's claims of wiretapping. Jim Acosta is OutFront at the White House at this hour.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Ask President Trump if he has any proof that former President Obama wiretapped the offices at Trump Tower, an allegation he made more than a week ago.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: And the room goes quiet. White House officials sounded as if they're starting to walk back the president's accusation.
SPICER: I think there's two things that are important about what he said. I think recognizing that it's the -- he doesn't think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally.
ACOSTA: The answers don't get much better from top White House advisers.
MIKE KELLY, BERGEN COUNTY RECORD COLUMNIST: Do you know whether Trump tower was wiretapped?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DONALD TRUMP: What I can say is there are many ways to surveil each other now. There was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, through their -- certainly, through their television sets, any number of different ways. And microwaves that turn into cameras, et cetera.
ACOSTA: On CNN's New Day, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted she wasn't suggesting that she had evidence, that the president was being spied on through his appliances or otherwise.
CONWAY: I was answering your question about surveillance techniques generally. So this article --
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN NEW DAY CO-HOST: He didn't ask you about it generally though. That's just true in the transcript. You may have answered it generally, but you were asked specifically.
I'm not Inspector Gadget. I don't believe people are using the microwave to spy on the Trump Campaign. However, I have -- I'm not in the job of having evidence. That's what investigations are for.
ACOSTA: The president took to his favorite gadget to bristle up the continuing questions tweeting "it is amazing how rude much of the media is to my hardworking representatives. Be nice. You will do much better." But even fellow republicans are demanding answers. On CNN State of the Union, Senator John McCain explained the president has two options.
MCCAIN: Either retract or to provide the information that the American people deserve because if his predecessor violated the law, President Obama violated the law, we've got a serious issue here.
ACOSTA: After meeting with FBI Director James Comey, House Speaker Paul Ryan is still waiting to see the proof.
JOHN DICKERSON, CBS FACE THE NATION HOST: Have you seen anything to suggest there were wiretaps?
PAUL RYAN, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: No.
ACOSTA: But democrats contend the president's wiretapping claims are more about what's bugging him.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY, (D) CONNECTICUT: I say that this is all an intentional strategy right? When the news starts to get bad for the Trump administration, they, you know, very intentionally and consistently try to say something outrageous.
ACOSTA: Now, administration officials continue to say there were multiple reports about surveillance conducted on then-candidate Trump and his team during the 2016 campaign. But Erin, that's just not the case. We have asked the White House if they could provide a list of press clippings on the surveillance activity. As of this hour, we have not yet received that list. Erin, of course, there were plenty of reports, plenty of conversations about whether the president's team had contact with the Russians and so on.
But I remember covering that campaign, Erin. We followed it very closely. I don't recall any reporting on whether the then-candidate Trump was under some kind of surveillance or being bugged during that election cycle, Erin
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jim. And now let's go straight to the Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. And Congressman, I appreciate your time tonight. So the breaking news this hour.
MIKE QUIGLEY, (D) IN TELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: The Department Of Justice has missed the deadline, the deadline of your committee. Your chairman has come out and said OK, you can have until next Monday. Do you support that decision to go ahead and give them another week?
QUIGLEY: I guess we don't have any choice. The information is not forthcoming. But at some point in time, they have to stop this charade. And after today's rather unique White House response, I guess we're going to have to expand our request to include household appliances including vacuum cleaners, microwaves and whatnot. And I guess finally, it's so absurd, I suggest that the White House put their best person on this investigation themselves. At this point, it sounds like Inspector Cluso.
BURNETT: Let me ask you that because your chairman had indicated that this could go if they don't respond, they don't the information that you could go and have the subpoenas. Would you do that? Do you think that that's the right thing to do in this? QUIGLEY: I think there's no choice. The concern would be the
minority members of the committee alone don't have the votes to approve a subpoena. It's my understanding that the full committee has to approve this. And aside from the fact, this is a complete distraction from what should be our focus, which is the investigation of a Russian involvement on the democratic process, we're going to seed subpoena power there, as well.
So this distraction has taken away from what we really need to do. But it does stress and point out if we're going to investigate what has happened to our democratic process, we're going to need bipartisan cooperation from the republicans as well.
BURNETT: And o you feel that way that you're getting that from your chairman, Devin Nunes that you're getting this on the senate side, with Chairman Burr, do you feel that they are -- that they are doing this fair and square, they're not too close to Trump?
QUIGLEY: Well, I'll say this, I can't speak on the senate side. In the two years I've served on the committee, Chairman Nunes has been very fair. Now the test really comes. So far I think we've started the process as fair as they can be so far. I am very concerned about some of the comments the chairman has made. I'm very concerned at this point we don't have the resources we need to complete this investigation.
We need assurance that we're going to have access to everything we need. We're going to have subpoena power and we're going to have additional staff to go through all the work that needs to be done.
BURNETT: So you're referencing what Kellyanne Conway said and obviously Jim Acosta played some of that. But Sean Spicer of course as you saw also was asked about Trump's wiretapping accusations against President Obama today. And here is part of how Sean answered the question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPICER: He doesn't really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally. I think -- but I think there's a -- there's no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election. That is a widely reported activity that occurred back then. The president used the word wiretap in quotes to mean broadly surveillance and other activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Of course, Congressman, the president did not put all reference to wiretapping in quote. He did specifically talk about his phone being tapped. Does this explanation from Sean Spicer, though, to you, explain what the president did? Could it?
QUIGLEY: It can't possibly. And I really don't mean to be flippant, but apparently we're in the business for creating scripts for Saturday Night Live. I don't even know where the satire begins. These are extraordinarily serious allegations about the former president in our system. To think that you even begin to make that kind of allegation, without the proof in front of you, is an extraordinary affront to the entire democratic system.
BURNETT: All right. Congressman, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
QUIGLEY: Thank you so much.
BURNETT: And our breaking news coverage continues. A major government report out this hour, estimating 14 million American also will be uninsured next year, more than are now under the republican's healthcare plan. We're going to go through these numbers. And more than 80 million in the path of a giant storm at this hour, crippling winds, double digit snow ball totals predicted, already here in March. We are moments away from this starting. We're going to give you that full track for the entire eastern seaboard this hour. And Jeanne Moos with Saturday Night Live's reflection on Ivanka Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Breaking news. 14 million more Americans without insurance by 2018. That's what would happen under the GOP plan to replace Obamacare. This is according to the Congressional Budget Office. It comes hours after President Trump warned that it will take years for costs to go down under the republican plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: More competition and less regulation will finally bring down the cost of care. And I think it will bring it down very significantly. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get there because you have to let that marketplace kick in. And it's going to take a little while to get there. Once it does, it will be a thing of beauty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Sunlen Serfaty is OutFront.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, the White House and republican leaders are assessing the impact of the explosive report from the congressional budget office.
TOM PRICE, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The CBO looked at a portion of our plan but not the entire plan.
SERFATY: The new analysis from the nonpartisan CBO estimates that in 2018, 14 million more people would be uninsured under the legislation than under current law. The increase in the number of uninsured people would rise to 21 million 2020 and then to a staggering 24 million in 2026.
PRICE: We disagree strenuously with the -- with the report that was put out. We believe that our plan will cover more individuals at a lower cost and give them the choices that they want for the coverage that they want for themselves and for the -- their family, not that the government forces them to buy.
SERFATY: The CDO also predicts the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $330 billion over a decade. House Speaker Paul Ryan is trying to highlight those positive aspects of the bill tonight.
RYAN: I'm excited about this analysis. And yes, I think they sort of overestimate the uninsured number just like they overestimated who would be insured by Obamacare. But I do believe that if we're not going to force people to buy something they don't want to buy, they won't buy it and that's kind of obvious.
SERFATY: But democrats are already pouncing.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) MINORITY LEADER: They're torn. Some of them are trying to pin a rose on this report and make it sound like it's a good thing. And the others of them are trying to discredit the CDO.
SERFATY: This morning, the White House was scrambling to get ahead of the report.
TRUMP: So the press is making it look so wonderful, so that if we end it, everyone is going to say, oh, remember how great Obamacare used to be.
SPICER: The system is failing on its own. It makes it seem like it's all rainbows and puppies. At the end of the day, if you have a card and you're getting a subsidy but you're not getting care, you have nothing.
SERFATY: Republican leadership on Capitol Hill already being hit by a rebellion within their own party.
REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) CALIFORNIA: I'm not prepared to vote for this right now and I think we can do better.
SERFATY: Or already readying for this additional blow. Acknowledging the CDO would likely report back that millions under their plan would lose their coverage.
RYAN: The one thing I'm certain will happen is CDO will say, well, gosh, not as many people get coverage. You know why? Because this isn't a government mandate.
SERFATY: As backers of the plan fire preemptive shots at the nonpartisan CBO for doing its job.
GARY COHN, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: In the past, the CBO score has really been meaningless.
MICK MULVANEY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF THE MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: I love the folks of the CBO, they work really hard, they do but sometimes we ask them to do stuff they're not capable of doing. And estimating the impact of a bill of this size probably isn't the best use of their time.
SERFATY: And as house republicans try to downplay the projected drop in the number of uninsured, senate republicans are using these new numbers as new ammunition against their own colleagues. Senate republicans here on the senate side tonight reacting to these numbers, saying they're very concerned and refreshing their calls for the house bill to be changed and altered, potentially rewritten drastically. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan not moving from his decision, he says this plan will not be altered, Erin. That is until it potentially gets over to the senate.
BURNETT: All right. Sunlen, thank you. And now, let's go to the former director of the National Economic Council under President Obama and President Clinton, that's Gene Sperling and the former republican presidential candidate and Senator Rick Santorum. So Senator Santorum, let me start with you. A few of the headlines, OK? The 14 million more uninsured Americans by 2018. 24 million more Americans uninsured by 2026. Staggering number. Premiums slated in the first two years to rise 15 to 20 percent before falling. You look at those headlines and you've got to say ouch, don't you?
RICK SANTORUM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, yes. Those aren't good headlines. And -- but as you reported, I mean, they're really not unexpected headlines, I mean, as Speaker Ryan said. If you don't mandate something and you're going to cut some of the subsidies that are in place, of course fewer people are going to get insurance. I think the number is a little high. I think the idea -- they don't change Medicaid in the first year.
And so, I don't understand how you get such a big number coming off in the first year when there aren't that many changes. But the overall direction is correct. I mean, there will be fewer people that will be insured. We're going to spend a lot less money. The deficit is going to come down and this is what's not talked about. I think over time as the market adjusts, you're going to see lower costs, you're going to se more plans offer that lower-cost plans particularly for younger people who even today are not in the market get in that market.
BURNETT: I will give you some of the private analysis out there. S&P had a dramatically lower number choosing -- to opt out of insurance or losing insurance by 2018. But Gene, you hear Rick Santorum's analysis. But Secretary Price also came out and said the CBP analysis is just totally bogus in his view. Here's how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRICE: It's just not believable is what we would suggest. And we'll look at the numbers and see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, Gene, the CBO has been wrong before, right? It estimated the number of uninsured would drop by 30 million under Obamacare, it since cut that to 22 million. That's a 30 percent miss in an estimate. Could this analysis be totally wrong that we're getting today?
GENE SPERLING, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL UNDER PRESIDENBT OBAMA: No. Because what the CBO is pointing to or just things that make common sense. And of course none of us agree with CBO on everything and they can't be perfect. But look, I mean, this report is like a report about my basketball shooting. Let's say, I can't shoot but I'm also slow and can't jump. This says 24 million people are not going to be covered in 10 years compared to now. It says that co-pays and deductibles will rise.
It says if you are an older American, you are a double loser because they can now charge 66 percent more but you'll have -- you'll have less subsidy. And if you are someone who might have someone in your family with a disability or going in a nursing home and need Medicaid, there's an $880 billion cut. So you can -- you can quibble around the edges. But the point is, why are they doing this? This is like they are fulfilling a political slogan to end Obamacare at the expense of tens of millions of our fellow citizens, our neighbors, our friends.
They should start all over and there are things that democrats and republicans could do to fix things. They do have a $100 billion proposal in there to help make sure the market is more stable. But why are they talking ending -- why are they talking about deductibles being too high and then they end cost-sharing subsidies? And when they talk about more competition, you know what they're saying? They're saying they're going to allow people to offer you worse plans that will have higher deducibility and higher co-pays, so even though -- one good news in the report, the cost might be a little lower after 2020 is only meaning that it will be lower because you'll be getting a worse plan with higher deductibles and more co-pays.
BURNETT: Does it necessarily mean that, Senator Santorum? Lower costs because you're going to be getting a worse plan?
SANTORUM: Well, we do believe in choice. And what Obamacare never did was give people choices and ratcheted up the benefits for everyone and then --
BURNETT: It did have requirement, Senator for certain things that are important for people to have, right? I mean, it included, maybe you disagree but some things that people would like to have like maternity care as an example.
SANTORUM: Well, I mean, for little sisters before, they're don't need maternity car. So people should be able to buy the policy they want. And that's really a basic -- a basic understanding that republicans have said from the beginning that you shouldn't be forced to have coverage that you don't want to have covered. And whether it's abortion coverage or a whole host of other things, those things should not be included.
BURNETT: But how does an insurance market work, right? I mean, you need to have kids to have a society function. And if only people who are having babies pay for maternity care when they're having babies, that's going to become exponentially expensive. Just to take this one example, right? It doesn't work (INAUDIBLE)
SANTORUM: No, I understand that. But look, what Obamacare did was put a lot of requirements, a lot of -- a lot of things in these -- loaded up these plans that are very expensive plans that aren't necessary for people particularly a lot of younger workers who we want to get into the system. The reason Obamacare is failing right now is because it's done a very bad job of getting younger, healthier people into the -- into the mix. Now, do I believe that the Ryan plan does that? I don't think it does -- it does an OK job, it can do better.
I believe that the -- that their answer here is for republicans to take a step back and do what Gene Sperling and I did together back in the 1990s. Gene and I worked on a bill called Welfare Reform. And what we did was say, all the decisions, this is the fundamental problem with the republican bill. All decisions shouldn't be made in Washington. That's why you're getting this comment that it's Obamacare Lite.
Why? Because the republicans are trying to fix Obamacare at the federal level instead of doing what Gene and Bill Clinton and a lot of other republicans and democrats did back in the 1990s which was to take this money, give it back to the states, let the states innovate. Give the money not just for Medicaid but also for the private sector and let the states do the innovation. And that to me is the way you can get a bipartisan support for this bill.
BURNETT: Gene, is this bill workable from where it is now in the sense of will they get enough people on board to get it through? Or is tonight's report (INAUDIBLE)
STERLING: I cannot understand why a republican governor or republican senators would be for this when it's going to hurt their own citizens. And I appreciate Senator Santorum mentioning moments here bipartisan but this -- but I don't agree with him in this case. In terms of Medicaid, you want a guarantee for people who with disabilities in nursing homes. I don't want to make state governors have to ration healthcare so that -- and mean 14 million less people are on because of Medicaid cutting $880 billion. And let's be honest, that's not about healthcare reform.
That is to pay for the tax relief in this and this -- that goes mostly to the top one percent. And here is one thing everyone should think of. Of all the savings in this bill, are any on special interest on healthcare, are any on the drug companies, are any on high-income Americans? No, all of it is on people with disabilities and nursing home and near poor who rely on subsidies and Medicaid. How is that a just way to deal with healthcare? There's fixes we need. We should do it in a bipartisan way. This bill gets a failing grade, and I don't think senators on the republican side even want to see it come over to their -- to their chamber.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much. And next, the major winter storm, 50-mile an hour wind, a hundred million Americans in its path, to feet of snow coming. You could see the entire eastern seaboard affected by this major, major storm tonight. And the U.S. Congressman handcuffed after a meeting with ICE. We're going to talk to it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:57] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news: nearly 100 million people bracing for a massive paralyzing winter storm. The blinding snow and heavy winds expected to pick up across the Northeast in just hours. The storm already slamming states to the West and it's intensifying at this time, expected to drop about two feet of snow in many areas, crippling travel across the East Coast.
At airports right now, more than 6,500 flights canceled. You can see the lines and the mayhem caused already. President Trump tweeting, "Everyone along the East Coast, be safe and listen to local officials, as a major winter storm approaches." That from his official account.
Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is OUTFRONT.
And, Jennifer, obviously, a lot of people say they can't believe this is happening here in mid-March. What is the track of the storm?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this happens in March sometime, but this could be the biggest storm of the season, for sure. We basically have two areas of low pressure that are going to merge and create this nor'easter and blizzard-like conditions across the Northeast corridor.
Look at this, anywhere from say just north of Philly to the Boston area, under that blizzard warning, rest of the area under those winter storm warnings. But this is a huge chunk of the Northeast, a big population included in this blizzard warning. And so, we are going to see wind gusts anywhere from 55 to 65 miles per hour. And at times, visibility will be less than a quarter of a mile.
So, let's take this hour by hour. And you can see as we go through tomorrow morning, that's 4:30 a.m., you can see New York City already in the snow, getting close to Boston, Philly in it, as well. It will pick up in Boston by the time we get to the 8:00, 9:00 hour, and we'll be in it for probably 12 hours. Of course, the big question now is, how much of this warmer air where you see the rain, how much of that will move to the West?
And so, the more warm air we get to the West, that will lower the snowfall amounts. But we're still looking at anywhere from one to two feet of snow across places like New York. We could see anywhere from 12 to 14 inches of snow in Boston, along with those very gusty winds. We could see downed trees, power lines, things like that.
So, here's your snow forecast. This is the American model. You see the bull's-eye right through connect Connecticut, and up north, Boston looks like in this model in particular, 8 to 12 inches.
And, of course, here are some models we look at. The European model, we could see anywhere from 18 to 24, according to this one, in New York City. You see that bull's-eye. It gets much, much bigger.
So, of course, Erin, the forecast is a little big fluid. We're going to be watching it hour by hour. And as we go to the day tomorrow, but just keep in mind, travel is going to be a huge problem tomorrow -- 6,000 or more flights canceled. And so, it doesn't look like the Northeast will be going anywhere fast tomorrow -- Erin. BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. No votes in Congress,
delayed visit by the German chancellor to President Trump impacts across Washington, as well.
And breaking at this moment, a U.S. congressman handcuffed. Democrat Luis Gutierrez of Illinois temporarily restrained today. The reason, when he would not leave an immigration office. CNN was there when the congressman first entered the office building in Chicago. He had a list of demands.
But according to Gutierrez, those demands were not met. So, he staged a sit-in. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the congressman was warned three times to leave. He did not comply. And, well, he is now with me OUTFRONT.
Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, thank you very much, sir.
REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: So, let me start by asking you what happened today?
You went in for your meeting. You had your list of demands. They asked you to leave. You didn't. You got handcuffed.
What happened?
GUTIERREZ: Here's what happened. Look, there's a lie, and the lie keeps repeating. It keeps getting repeated, and that is they're going after criminals. They're going after the bad people in the immigrant community.
The fact is, they're going after DREAMers. There were tweets out last Friday about that they are no longer protected and that they can be deported. Criminalizing them -- of course, 750,000 strong. These are Americans with everything but a piece of paper. They are doctors, lawyers today, nurses, school teachers in our city of Chicago.
[19:35:01] BURNETT: Do you know specifically, Congressman -- I just want to interrupt you there, because, you know, the president has said he's not going to go after DREAMers. And you're saying you went in today.
GUTIERREZ: Yes.
BURNETT: Do you know specifically of DREAMers that they did go ahead and deport in contradiction to what the president said?
GUTIERREZ: Yes. We have information about DREAMers in California, in Mississippi, which you have reported on, in Washington state, and we know what we read in the tweets. And so, what we did is we said, "Tell us it isn't so." And then, they tell us, "Well, there really isn't a change in policy." Then we tell them, "Retract the tweets."
So, look, somebody has to stand up for them. The fact is that they are under threat. You can talk to them. I talked to them all the time. And they feel under threat. And they are under threat, number one. Number two, Mrs. Lino, she's been in the United States reporting for 12 consecutive years.
BURNETT: And so, let me interrupt you again, because I want people to know her story.
GUTIERREZ: She has four American citizen children.
BURNETT: We talked about her on the show.
Right. Francisca Lino, four U.S. kids, her kids are U.S. citizens.
GUTIERREZ: Yes.
BURNETT: She checks in with her immigration regularly.
GUTIERREZ: Yes.
BURNETT: She went in last week and was told to come back in a year.
GUTIERREZ: Yes, regularly.
BURNETT: And they called her right back a couple of hours later, or an hour later and said, no, get back here in July with a one-way ticket to Mexico.
GUTIERREZ: Absolutely, yes.
BURNETT: And you did bring her up to ICE today. Go ahead. Tell me what happened.
GUTIERREZ: We did. And we brought her up to ICE today and they said, "There's nothing that we can do about it."
So, you know what? When you see unfairness and injustice, you must -- it's an -- it's part of what being a American is. It's to stand up to injustice and to call it out, and to call out the lies.
Mrs. Lino is not a criminal. She's an American -- she's a wife of an American citizen. She has beautiful children. She's reported, as you have reported, for 12 years.
But she's not alone. Father Dom (ph) from St. Pius Church and the Resurrection Group also brought up a case a constituent of his.
So, look, we know this is going on. We are tired of hearing them all the time refer to our community, so we called them on. Here's what we said, we said, "We're not going to leave until we get an answer."
And, look, it's almost like calling the bully out, right?
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: But an answer to what, are you deporting DREAMers against the president's wish? Or what? I'm just trying to understand what you --
GUTIERREZ: I don't -- I don't -- here's what I -- I want them to rescind those tweets, and to say that the president's executive order, signed by President Obama, is still in operation, and that they are free from any deportations, that they still have -- their work permits are good.
Look, I asked them to come forward, and they did by the hundreds and thousands. And today is a time for us to stand up as American citizens and to confront our government. Whether it's transgender kids, whether it's a woman's right to choose, whether it's $15 an hour, whether it's our environment, whether it's a Muslim ban. We must as Americans confront our government when our government is wrong. And that's what we did today.
So, when they threatened us with arrest, we said, arrest us. If that's what you must do. We came here to get answers.
You saw what they do. They put handcuffs on and then they said, "You're not released." It's very different when it's not in the dark of the night and there's a vulnerable, fearful immigrant community that cannot defend themselves and when they have to confront American citizens in plain daylight with the media watching. Very, very different. We want to shed light on the situation.
BURNETT: So, Congressman, and our cameras were there -- our cameras were there. We were shedding light on it.
But I want to ask you this. This Francisca story is very emotional. And when you see it, you know, your heart goes out to her. When you take that in aggregate, though, you say, all right, she used a fake visa, that is a crime when you come to the United States. She is in the United States illegally. Yes, her children are U.S. citizens but she never went ahead and got that citizenship.
You know, there are some who would say, "Then you should be deported, play by the rules and then come back in." Is that wrong?
GUTIERREZ: Yes. It is wrong for this reason -- there are 5 million American citizen children whose parents are just like Mrs. Lino, 5 million. Should we have a policy across America with those 5 million American citizen children growing into adults and what they remember about their government during their childhood was that they were after their parents.
Look, when they say they're going after the criminals, whether they that bad hombre, right, the murderers, the rapists, the drug dealers. She's not a murderer. For 12 years, she reported to the government.
BURNETT: Yes, she did.
GUTIERREZ: The government has an obligation and responsibility to use discretion as it applies the law. There are millions of American citizen children. We would be better off taking the Senate action that was passed in 2013 in which most members of the House, passing immigration reform, and giving her an opportunity to get right with the law.
But moreover, 750,000 DREAMers got right with the law, but now you can check their Twitter account from last Friday. They're not giving them the same safety. It's wrong and we're going to call them out on it.
BURNETT: All right. Congressman, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
GUTIERREZ: Thank you.
[19:40:00] BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, new details, a timeline of exactly what happened in the mass firings of dozens of U.S. attorneys, with new information this hour.
And prosecutors in the Michael Brown case releasing tonight unedited video of Brown in the hours just before he was killed. You will see what it shows.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, former U.S. attorney, Preet Bharara, one of the highest profile prosecutors fired by the Trump administration, leaving his New York office, as you can see, the last time he's leaving there. And he did so to a standing ovation. This after Bharara first refused to resign, setting up a public showdown with the president.
The White House defending his firing and the firing of 45 other attorneys.
Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caught up in a purge of U.S. attorneys held over from the Obama administration, the so-called "Sheriff of the Wall Street", U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, fired after initially refusing to step down.
He tweeted this, "I did not resign. Moments ago, I was fired."
People affected describe the firings as an unexpected and poorly executed dismissal of 42 U.S. attorneys around the country. CNN has learned not even the executive office for U.S. attorneys knew it was coming.
[19:45:04] The forced resignations initiated just two days after Attorney General Jeff Sessions spearheaded a conference call with all 93 attorneys, announcing the office's new violent crimes task force. Sessions saying he looked forward to working with everyone.
But Press Secretary Sean Spicer says Trump is not the first to remove U.S. attorneys. President Clinton fired all 93. Except the 16 who had already stepped down, President Bush accepted resignations and removed the rest within six months.
SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is a standard operating procedure for a new administration around this time.
SCHNEIDER: President Trump met with Bharara during the transition and specifically asked him to remain.
PREET BHARARA, U.S. ATTORNEY: I said I would agree to stay on. I had already spoken to Senator Sessions.
SCHNEIDER: On Thursday, sources say President Trump attempted to talk to Bharara. The president's assistant phoned Bharara, but he refused to talk, citing DOJ guidance that discourages direct communication between the White House and Justice officials.
SPICER: The president was calling him to thank him for his service.
SCHNEIDER: Late Thursday night, FOX News host Sean Hannity called on the president to fire them all.
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Tonight, it's time for the Trump administration to begin to purge these saboteurs before it's too late.
SCHNEIDER: Raising eyebrows since FOX News is being investigated by Bharara's office for its settlement agreement in sexual harassment suits.
But the White House says Hannity's monologue had no influence on the mass firing. The future of Bharara's work and every other U.S. attorney's office unclear. Bharara was in the midst of several government corruption investigations and two days before his firing, he was implored by ethics watchdogs to investigate if any Trump related businesses in New York are receiving payments and financial benefits from foreign governments, in violation of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.
Writer Sheelah Kolhatkar has profiled Preet Bharara.
SHEELAH KOLHATKAR, AUTHOR, "BLACK EDGE": Who seemed like the kind of person who would follow leads wherever they went, even if it meant that he might damage a member of his own party, for example. The concern now is whether the person who is going to replace him, who President Trump is going to nominate, whether that person maintains that tradition of maintaining an independent, neutral office.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Any wiretap on Trump Tower or the Trump Organization would have likely gone through the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, though at this point, of course, there is no evidence that any wiretap existed.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And next, the Michael Brown video seen in the new documentary, slammed by the prosecutor in that deadly police shooting. He calls it pathetic. So does the video change anything in the Michael Brown verdict?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:17] BURNETT: Breaking news: never before seen video from the Michael Brown shooting case in Ferguson. The St. Louis County prosecutor tonight releasing unedited surveillance video from the morning Michael Brown was killed. And in it, here it, you will see Brown. He is in the store, showing him putting drinks down and then a bag from his pocket on to the counter.
Now, the video is coming out tonight only because of a new documentary released this weekend, the documentary sparking protests in Ferguson overnight after using an edited version of the footage.
And now, the prosecutor charging the film tried to distort the truth.
Sara Sidner is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tension rising again in Ferguson, Missouri, a reaction to a new documentary which shows surveillance video of Michael Brown that has never been seen publicly before, taken just hours before he was killed by police.
In the film "Stranger Fruit", Brown is seen inside the Ferguson market around 1:13 in the morning. According to the filmmaker, Brown hands a bag of marijuana to the store clerks to exchange for cigarillos.
JASON POLLACK, FILMMAKER WHO ACQUIRED NEW VIDEO: The weed hits the counter. It's taken. It never comes back on the counter again.
What comes back on the counter is you see the guy take two boxes of cigarillos. The clerk puts them into a bag himself, hands the bag with product to Michael Brown over the counter. So, don't tell me that he stole from the store if they handed him a bag.
SIDNER: Ferguson police said Brown did rob the store. Ten hours later, he returned. And police say this video that was released shows him shoving the store clerk out of the way and taking the cigarillos. The filmmaker shows this new video shows Brown was simply returning to pick up the cigarillos he paid for with pot.
POLLACK: The St. Louis County Police wanted us to see that made it look like there was some altercation that looked like Michael robbed, when, in fact, Michael had a close relationship with the store. And regardless of what the store says, that video shows that.
SIDNER (on camera): What are your thoughts on the filmmaker?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well, I think the filmmaker, I've never met the man. But if the filmmaker is saying that an exchange took place here, marijuana for merchandise, the filmmaker is a liar, OK? Because it didn't happen. You can see it here.
SIDNER (voice-over): The attorney for the store released the entire video going frame by frame for us, showing Brown coming in, take sodas off the shelf, throwing the baggie of what is thought to be marijuana on to the table. Then, one clerk sniffed it. A second clerk does the same and then puts it back on the counter.
There appears to be a discussion, and then one clerk appears to wave brown out of the store. The clerk who last touched the pot removes his hands and folds his hands behind his back. It's unclear who took the small bag, but the store's attorney says Michael Brown clearly had it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has picked up the pot off the counter, and now, right there in his left hand is the pot, in his right hand is the piece of paper.
SIDNER: The prosecuting attorney who sent the case to the grand jury says this is not new video, nor relevant.
ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The suggestion that he is coming back to pick up what he bartered for is just stupid.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: The filmmaker passionately denies that, sticking with his story. The store clerks have told CNN that they are afraid for their lives as more protests are expected again tonight -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Sara, thank you very much.
And I want to go straight to our legal analyst Paul Callan.
Paul, there is a specific part in this video that stood out to you when their -- about the bag that they presumed to have pot inside. Let me show the video and you tell me what we're looking at.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Michael Brown has come up to the counter. And you notice now, someone on the left there has reached for something. And he smells it.
So, it may very well be that Michael Brown has presented pot or marijuana to him, and they're taking a look at it, because he wants to barter for the cigarillos, for bag of cigarillos.
However, as the film proceeds, it looks like the deal was rejected because he starts to walk out with the bag of cigarillo, and then somebody waves to him and the cigarillos are brought back and put on the counter. Now, that's the bag that this filmmaker is saying that Michael Brown came back for the next morning, and that it wasn't a strong arm robbery the next morning, it was in fact him retrieving his own property.
But there is a problem with this. It's -- I call it the O.J. Simpson problem because you remember O.J. was trying to get his property back in Nevada, and he is serving about ten years in prison for that because you cannot use force to retrieve even your own property, assuming that this version is true.
BURNETT: Right, so even if that version is true.
CALLAN: It doesn't help. And I think --
BURNETT: Yes.
CALLAN: -- secondly, at the end, we're left now with Michael Brown being a drug dealer on one day and a strong arm robber on the next. This is all before he confronts Darren Wilson in the street.
So, I'm not sure how the --
BURNETT: This is early in the morning, sort of overnight in the hours before.
CALLAN: So, how does this help him?
BURNETT: Does that affect the case?
CALLAN: No.
BURNETT: Because they've got protesters last night. They're anticipating more protests tonight. This is upsetting people.
CALLAN: I'm telling you, the only thing this helps is, you know, the filmmaker, who used to work for Michael Moore, who is obviously getting a lot of press for his film. But in terms of the encounter in the street between the officer and Michael Brown, that rose and fell on what happened in the street. And the grand jury, there are 13 volumes of evidence that was presented to the grand jury. And they ultimately said that the officer acted in self-defense.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Paul Callan.
CALLAN: Thank you.
BURNETT: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: And thank you so much for joining us as always. Don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT, anytime, anywhere on CNN Go. If you're on the East Coast, be safe on that commute tomorrow morning. We'll be following the storm.
"AC306" starts right now.
