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Erin Burnett Outfront
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) Is Interviewed About Attorney General Bill Barr's Summary Of The Mueller Report; Top Dems Demand Answers on Mar-A-Lago Security Breach; Bernie Sanders Makes Pitch to Black Voters As He Tries to Make Up for Losses in 2016; Prelim Report Details harrowing Last Moments of Ethiopian Airlines Flight That Killed 157 People. Aired on 7-8p ET
Aired April 04, 2019 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, CNN: ... for writing it. Thanks so much for coming in.
SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, USA TODAY: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And remember, don't miss CNN's Original Series, The Bush Years, this Sunday night 10:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN. Thanks for watching. Erin Burnett OutFront starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, ANCHOR, CNN: OutFront next breaking news, Bill Barr under pressure tonight, Democrats demanding more than just the full Mueller report. And investigators from the Special Counsel are now going head to head with the Attorney General. Plus, President ready to hand out another government gig to a friend, this time Herman Cain and wait till you hear the job. And Charlamagne tha God, the radio host every Democratic candidate for President must sit down with. Who does he think has the best shot to beat Trump right now. Charlamagne is OutFront. Let's go OutFront.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OutFront tonight, the breaking news, Attorney General Bill Barr under fire. The Chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee Nadler now demanding the Justice Department immediately provide all communications between Barr and Mueller and clear up what Nadler says are disagreements between what Barr told the American people and what Mueller really concluded.
This as sources tell CNN that several Mueller investigators say Barr left out crucial evidence. And Washington Post reports Mueller's investigator found alarming and significant evidence on obstruction. Tonight, people who worked on Mueller's investigation, people who did not leak a detail for nearly two years are now leaking and they are leaking because they think Barr is misleading the American people.
Nadler is making it clear that a subpoena for the full 400 plus page report or close to 400-page report could come out at any moment if Barr does not cooperate. It is growing pressure and it is forcing Barr to defend himself in a really odd way. Let me read the quote.
"Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the report's bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately without attempting to summarize the report with the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process."
OK, hold on, you're probably confused, a four-page blank of a 400-page report is not a summary? A four-page summary of the conclusion is not a summary? Well then what the heck is it? Barr is trying to say a summary isn't a summary and even his own colleagues in the Trump administration know that the four-page summary that we all saw is supposed to be a summary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've read the Barr summary which is what everybody else has read.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree in the main that it is a very good summary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attorney General Barr issued a summary of the Special Counsel's findings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Barr put out four pages and not 400, because he wanted the world to see it as a summary. He wanted everyone to see the Cliff's Notes of Mueller's report. Everything you need to know is the whole point. "Here's the four pages. Read it. Don't bother with the full report because you read the summary." And that is why Trump summarized Barr's summary in this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could not have been better. It said no obstruction, no collusion.
No collusion and no obstruction.
No collusion, no obstruction, no Russia, no nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The problem tonight is that according to some on team Mueller, this summary from Barr is simply not accurate. So let's get the truth, whatever it is, and let us decide for ourselves. We, the American people, paid for the report. We elected Trump President so let's see it for ourselves and not let a summary written by someone who was not on the team by someone who did not write a word of the 400 pages, by someone who wrote that summary within a day and a half of reading 400 pages. Let's not let that speak for us.
Manu Raju is OutFront on Capitol Hill. And Manu, what more is Chairman Nadler telling you tonight about what he's going to do?
MANU RAJU, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, he says he has a lot of questions that he needs answers to and he wants the Justice Department to provide them immediately. One big question is why these summaries that allegedly were prepared by the Mueller team were not released, why instead it was that four-page letter released. That's part of his demands that he's asking the Justice Department to answer.
Now at the same time he's making it very clear that not just Bill Barr will testify before his committee but also the Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He says that his testimony is inevitable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY NADLER, CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: And yes I think it's inevitable that Mueller is going to testify at some point. But the first thing we need is, well, is the release of the report and the documents.
RAJU: Do you think it's inevitable that Mueller is going to come before your Committee?
NADLER: At some point, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And that's a shift in his rhetorics before he had said just Bill Barr would certainly testify before his committee. He wait to see what to do about Robert Mueller. But remember that Jerry Nadler also has those subpoenas in his back pocket. His Committee authorize the use of those subpoenas.
I asked him, "Well, what are you planning on doing about that now?" He said they need to make sure that they are accommodating to the Justice Department. So if it does come time to fight about this in court, the courts can be convinced that they have no option but to issue these subpoenas.
[19:05:07]
So at the moment these subpoenas are still in Jerry Nadler's back- pocket and would expect them to be served if he does not get what he wants, Erin.
BURNETT: All right, Manu, thank you very much. There's a lot to try to figure out here. I want to go to Senator Ron Wyden, Democratic Member of the Intelligence Committee. So obviously you all have been investigating Russia and team Trump for a long time as well. What's your bottom line, Senator? Do you trust that Attorney General Barr accurately summarized the Mueller report?
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-OR): Erin, every day that goes by without the American people getting the actual report, the details that you talked about is indicative of a cover-up. The fact of the matter is all people have gotten out of the 400 pages is something less than a hundred words. That's not acceptable. And as a Member of the Intelligence Committee, I can read documents, I'd be going through any redactions if something was necessary to protect National Security, but it is time for the American people to get the facts and not get less than a hundred words.
BURNETT: So you use the word cover-up given your investigation, do you have any proof to back up that claim? What specifically in the four-page summary do you think could be the cover-up or a cover-up?
WYDEN: Well, what is troubling is that at this point there's been a lot of ducking for example on the obstruction of justice issue. What my constituents asked me is they said, "Ron, what would be the one thing that you would want most about the Mueller report and have said I would like to know anything Bob Mueller found that relates to possible obstruction of justice." So we're missing a big chunk of the information on the most crucial issues.
BURNETT: All right, so I want to play for you what the Republican Senator John Kennedy said about Bill Barr today and see if you agree, given what you just said. Here's Senator Kennedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KENNEDY, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think Bill Barr is a straight shooter and even if you don't agree with that assessment, he's certainly not a moron. I mean he's going to release as much of the report as he possibly can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you agree he's a straight shooter and do you agree you're going to get as much of the report as he possibly can?
WYDEN: Let's stick to the facts, if you look at what Bob Barr has said with respect to presidential authority, Bob Barr has basically said that a president is almost above the law. I mean he pretty much took a position on ...
BURNETT: On obstruction of justice.
WYDEN: ... yes, he probably took a position on obstruction of justice in his confirmation hearing. So like John Kennedy but I can tell you I don't think Bob Barr's word on these kinds of issues is acceptable when the American people want the real report.
BURNETT: So I want to drill down a little bit on something Manu just said. OK, Mueller's team and a lot of people may not be aware of this, but according to The New York Times Mueller's team they were ready. "This is 400 pages and by the way, Bill Barr, here are multiple summaries of the report." They gave him options. Again, this is according to The New York Times.
Obviously, we know that Bill Barr did not use any of them. He did not work with the Mueller team to edit any of those summaries, you didn't do that. No, he wrote his own. And again, Senator, his reason in part today, "Given the extraordinary public interest in the matter, the Attorney General decided to release the reports bottom-line findings and his conclusions immediately without attempting to summarize the report." I've made it clear where we stand on that, "With the understanding that the report itself would be released after the redaction process.
Do you read anything into the fact that there were multiple summaries and Bill Barr did not choose to, at least, use one of them and work with the Mueller team to edit it?
WYDEN: Well, first of all, the fact that you now have people from the Mueller team going to you all in the press and raising questions about how they feel Bob Barr has not accurately conveyed what they were, that in and of itself ought to be troubling. But the way you resolve all of these differing views is you put it out for the American people to see in an unfiltered way consistent with protecting National Security. And you certainly don't say 70 words or thereabout is sufficient and then you call it a day.
BURNETT: So before we go, Senator, I want to ask you about a development tonight, some breaking news. Michael Cohen, his attorneys are telling lawmakers that Cohen has discovered substantial files on a hard drive that could be helpful to investigators and sort of surprised me because they have this whole FBI raid and I guess there's another drive. I mean it's sort of shocking on its face.
But he is saying a substantial amount of information, he's asking to delay the start of his prison sentence in order to have time to review them and to share them with lawmakers.
[19:10:06]
Should Congress take him up on this deal and allow him to delay his sentence?
WYDEN: I'd have to know more about that, Erin. But let me be clear on the issue today that people are asking about and that's the President's tax returns. President apparently said tonight that he didn't have the inclination, I think those were his words to give out his tax returns. Well this is not a matter of the President's inclinations. This is a matter of federal law under what's called Section 6103, the Internal Revenue Service is required to make those tax returns available to the Ways and Means Committee, also the Finance Committee where I serve and I think that's going to be an important point going forward.
BURNETT: Right, that they shall release them I know is the word that's going to make it pretty hard for Secretary Mnuchin to not do so at least for the timeframe you all have requested. Thank you very much.
And next, President Trump packing the Fed, announcing he is naming Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve Board. It's a crucial job. Does the president want his friends to save him from what he is calling his biggest threat. Plus, Chinese nationals trying to access to President Trump in Florida, how? And his radio show is a must stop for 2020 Democrats and you may not know who he is but you have certainly heard his interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: What about Chick-fil-A? Do you like Chick-fil- A?
PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND: I do not approve their politics but I kind of approve their chicken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:15:00]
New tonight, Trump packing the Fed with friends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I recommended Herman Cain. He's a very terrific man, a terrific person. He's a friend of mine. I have recommended him highly for the Fed. I find Herman to be an outstanding person. A truly outstanding individual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Herman, of course, Cain is the former Head of Godfather's Pizza. You remember him from being a 2012 Republican presidential candidate. He dropped out of race eventually after facing sexual harassment allegations and then, of course, the President put him in his inner circle on the cabinet. So Trump wants to make changes at the Fed. For months he's been slamming the Fed for its interest rate policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We need a little help from the Fed.
I think the rate is too high. I think we have much more of a Fed problem than we have a problem with anyone else.
My biggest threat is the Fed, because the Fed is raising rates too fast.
I think the Fed is far too stringent and they're making a mistake and it's not right.
BURNETT: OutFront now, Rob Astorino, member of President Trump's 2020 Re-Elect Advisory Council, and Keith Boykin, Democratic Strategist and Eliana Johnson, White House Correspondent for Politico. So Eliana, Herman Cain now a couple of weeks ago the President, of course, nominated Stephen Moore, also an ally, a friend, someone who's a very active surrogate for him on television. What do you make of these decisions? The President is very clear, Herman Cain is a friend.
ELIANA JOHNSON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Yes. It's very clear that the President wants allies who share his view of what the Fed policy under Jerome Powell has been which is not good. So he nominated Stephen Moore as you mentioned a couple of weeks ago who's been a close ally since his campaign days. But I think it's important to note he has not nominated Herman Cain yet. He said he is recommending Herman Cain.
BURNETT: Right.
JOHNSON: But the reports today indicated that Herman Cain is undergoing a background check which would appear to hinge on the reasons why he dropped out of that 2012 campaign, the multiple allegations of sexual harassment that he faced and the President is not poised to nominate him until he gets through that background check. That may be tricky given the very credible allegations he faced not too many years ago and if he receives a raft of negative media coverage between now and then, I think there's a good chance it may not happen.
BURNETT: Keith.
KEITH BOYKIN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE UNDER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: Yes. I mean Herman Cain dropped down the 2012 race because of the sexual harassment allegations. We also know that this may not make a big deal for Donald Trump but this guy got to get approved by the Senate. Now, I used to work with Herman Cain back in the day on different network and with Stephen Moore and I know --
BURNETT: Wait. Wait. When you say work with, I want people to understand, you've debated --
BOYKIN: Oh, just debated, I'm sorry.
BURNETT: I just want to make sure there is no lack of clarity here.
ROB ASTORINO, MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT'S 2020 RE-ELECT ADVISORY COUNCIL: He worked at the Godfather's Pizza.
BOYKIN: No experience in the pizza business, no experience working with him in that sense. But he's also got some controversial political views. He believes in bringing back the gold standard. He was campaigning on this ridiculous nine 9-9-9 platform where he's going to have this tax rate that's going to be consistent for everybody as long as in ended with the nine and this is not a serious guy.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: ... off the price of a pie.
BOYKIN: Exactly, but this is what Trump does because he's interested in appointing political hacks not just the best people like he said. He wants people with the most loyal to him.
ASTORINO: First of all he was a businessman so he did run a company and he run it pretty it well.
BURNETT: Do you think he's qualified to be on the Federal Reserve Board?
ASTORINO: Well, he's on the Kansas City Fed. He was on the Kansas City Fed, so he knows the system to some extent and it's funny Eliana said if the media goes after him, if they will, but look Obama, Bush, every president nominates somebody that is with his philosophy and they should and deference should be given to that person.
Now, I would hope, I would hope, that if his name has been put out there by the President that he has a solid idea that the FBI background check came out good and not that he's going to have to (inaudible).
BURNETT: Well, I hope you're right about that too, but he seemed to indicate it's in the checks. So I don't know, maybe you're right. But if you're not right, it's going to be pretty embarrassing especially given the sexual ...
ASTORINO: It would be. It would be.
BURNETT: ... the inappropriate behavior.
ASTORINO: Yes, especially given this age that we're dealing with now.
BOYKIN: And no president appoints somebody just be because he sees them on Fox News or doing a TV show or because that person ran for president. Nobody who is on the Federal Reserve Board currently has run for president. None of them are TV commentators. That's what makes Stephen Moore and Herman Cain such ridiculous choices. They are political hacks. They're not economist.
ASTORINO: No.
BOYKIN: There are zillion conservative economists who do well on the Federal Reserve Board. Stephen Moore and Herman Cain are not those two.
ASTORINO: But we've always - so look at what's been on the Fed, the Fed has led to their - some of their policies led to the crash.
[19:20:06]
I mean so why would we put the same old people --
BURNETT: OK, that's a hugely subjective thing.
BOYKIN: No. That's a complete interpretation that's --
ASTORINO: Yes, but let's ...
(CROSSTALK)
BOYKIN: There are policies that obviously help to stir us out of the economic crisis that was created by the banks that ...
(CROSSTALK)
ASTORINO: I'm going from here to here in a second.
BOYKIN: ... giving in the first place.
BURNETT: OK.
ASTORINO: Let me start. So I made this comment, but let me get to this point. The point is we've had the same kind of people all the time. This President has said, "You know what, I want different perspectives, because the government is broken. We put the same old," as you said, hacks from the same cut and mold.
BOYKIN: We don't put hacks on ...
(CROSSTALK)
ASTORINO: Let's try something different. Here's a guy who run a business, who understands the effect of what the Fed does.
BOYKIN: Who wants to bring back the gold standard.
ASTORINO: And was in the Kansas City Fed.
BOYKIN: Do you want to bring bank the gold standard?
ASTORINO: So he's part of the system.
BOYKIN: Do you want to bring back the gold standard?
ASTORINO: He didn't just pick some guy ...
(CROSSTALK)
ASTORINO: ... $9.99 pizza ...
BURNETT: Rob does not want to bring back the gold standard, I think that's clear.
ASTORINO: Right.
BURNETT: OK. OK.
BOYKIN: He don't want to say anything about that.
BURNETT: Eliana, there's also a big development here on the President, this is really strange, crying wolf on the border, OK. So today, OK, it's very confusing, OK, he goes from, "It's a crisis. We're getting invaded. It's an emergency." He's closing it this week, so then maybe he's going to close it in a year to now maybe he's never going to close it. Just today this is what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMPM: We're going to give them a one-year warning and if the drugs don't stop or largely stopped, we're going to put tariffs on Mexico. And if that doesn't stop the drugs, we close the border. I don't think we'll ever have to close the border because the penalty of tariffs on cars coming into the United States from Mexico at 25% will be massive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Eliana the operative words here, "We're going to give them a one-year warning." That was this morning. This afternoon I don't think we'll ever have to close the border. The past few days, let's just remind everybody, here's where he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: There's a very good likelihood that I'll be closing the border next week.
I'm telling you right now, we will close the damn border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So it's closing right now to now in a year to maybe never at all. Eliana, what is going on behind the scenes?
JOHNSON: Well, we've seen the President go through this cycle of making threats and then retreating from them. He did it somewhat on declaring a national emergency where he did reopen the government though he also declared a national emergency, but his threats were a little bit different. But with the border, it's very interesting.
Behind the scenes, the President was getting unanimous advice from all of his advisors, including immigration hawks that you really can't close the border. The effects on the economy, we do over $600 billion of trade with Mexico annually, but the effects on the economy would be profound and who would that hurt? That would hurt President Trump in the end.
BURNETT: Yes.
JOHNSON: And so I think he was deterred from that because of this simply unanimous advice that he was getting. But that was the second retreat for the President this week. On Monday he signaled he had been putting a lot of pressure on Republicans to provide a healthcare plan after his administration backed the full repeal of Obamacare. And on Monday he said, "We'll actually do that after the 2020 election." So I think not a great week for the President all in all.
BURNETT: Rob, why say that we're being invaded which he says again, and again and again? This is his favorite word.
ASTORINO: OK.
BURNETT: OK, and we're closing the border now. Now, we're going to close it next year. Now, we're not going to close it at all. All he needed to do was listen to one intelligent person around him and know that he never should have said close it to begin with.
ASTORINO: We can quarrel with the word invaded, but we're going to have 1 million apprehensions at the border this year. They had a hundred thousand this month which is up tremendously.
BURNETT: But you're not answering my question. My question is why does he open his mouth and make a threat that is ridiculous that he can't keep?
ASTORINO: Well, I think he and most Americans are incredibly frustrated with what's going on at the border. There is crisis, there is an absolute emergency happening there whether it's drugs coming in, whether it's people coming in, whether it's a humanitarian crisis, and nothing is getting done because Congress will not give him anything on this.
So now let's take the political look at this and I think maybe he's really smart on this. OK, let's put it ahead of year, where does that move us to? That moves us to April/May of next year right smack at the beginning of the presidential campaign.
BURNETT: OK.
ASTORINO: And you know what, this is a great issue for Republicans to run on.
BURNETT: Is that what this is all about, Keith?
BOYKIN: I think this is a case of Trump tweeting first and thinking later, which tends to be his MO not just in terms of Mexico but in terms of everything. I mean the whole idea of Mexico is going to pay for the wall was an example of that. He's always sort of not thinking through his policy plans and I think in this case the President doesn't have a solution. He just wants to have a quick fix as he did when he tried to close, to try to get people from Africa prevented them from coming to the country for Ebola. He wants to fix Obamacare as he said before and he didn't have a solution for it.
[19:25:00]
He wants to change policy on transgender troops, but he doesn't talk to his own Pentagon about it. This is who Donald Trump is.
BURNETT: All right, we're going to have to leave - unfortunately, we have to leave it there.
ASTORINO: Health care versus immigration next year, let's go with immigration.
BURNETT: All right, let's see if it his strategy. Thank you all three. And next, the Chinese government now helping the woman who was arrested for lying her way into Mar-A-Lago. The Chinese government, is China this biggest security threat to the United States, bigger than Russia? And radio host Charlamagne tha God is my guest. His show a must-do for Democratic candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Have you ever smoke.
KAMALA HARRIS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: And I inhale, I did inhale.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
New tonight, Democrats demanding answers. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings meeting with the Secret Service over the serious security breach at President Trump's Mar-A-Lago. This as the Chinese government is now helping the woman arrested for illegally entering Mar-A-Lago with four cell phones and a thumb drive with malicious software. Yujing Zhang told Secret Service agents that her Chinese friend Charles told her to travel to Mar-A-Lago for a specific event on U.S.-China relations.
Now, there was no such event. But according to the Washington Post there is a Chinese man goes by the name Dr. Charles, a man the Post reports has taken selfies with Trump in the background at Mar-A-Lago and there's also Cindy Yang who was photographed with Trump at one of his Florida golf clubs during a Super Bowl party. She's denied allegations she sold Chinese clients access to Trump and Yang is the former owner of the Florida massage parlor where Trump's friend Robert Kraft was arrested for soliciting prostitution.
All of the amid growing concerns about lack of security at Trump's properties like Mar-A-Lago. Kate Bennett is OutFront.
[19:30:06]
KATE BENNETT, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, CNN: The case of Chinese national Yujing Zhang making it into Trump's private club with four cell phones, a hard drive and thumb drive containing malware is perhaps the most alarming indicator of just how accessible the president of the United States might be to members and guests who are allowed to enter the property.
Though Trump was golfing at his course a few miles away when Zhang's entry was foiled by a receptionist at a welcome desk inside the main building, the president was there that evening, having dinner on the main patio with dozens of others seated at a table with his wife Melania Trump, according to a member present as he often is when he is in town. The same patio Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were dining on when North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test in early 2017. Mar-a-Lago club members and guests watching in you a as the two conferred with aides about how to respond.
One club member quickly posted pictures of it all on Facebook. Wow, the center of the action, he wrote. One perk of the $200,000 membership fee is the chance to run elbows with Trump. And it's not uncommon to do just that. Literally say hello to him, snap a photo, even have him crash your wedding.
This is Trump's vacation house after all, also where he married Melania in 2005. Had Zhang made it past the reception area she would have spotted Ivanka and Jared Kushner who were also in town that weekend. Though the 20-acres of grounds are closely monitored by Secret Service and their regular present is felt, the opportunity to have physical proximity to POTUS is what is now giving some pause.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I'm more concerned about something more sophisticated. You can buy your way into Mar-a-Lago, which means that those that are interested in gathering intelligence there don't have to try to go under the ruse of being a guest going to the swimming pool or some non-existent conference. That ought to concern all Americans.
BENNETT: After a member or their guests is cleared by Mar-a-Lago staff from a list of approved attendees they are swept for weapons by the Secret Service at least two different check points, one with magnetometers. Those who clear reception basically have their run of the place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BENNETT: Now, security and law enforcement experts agree the situation at Mar-a-Lago is not ideal. The Secret Service does have a lot to handle with members and guests. As one long-time guest told me, once you're in, you are in -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Kate, thank you very much.
And I want to go to now to Bob Baer, former CIA operative.
All right, Bob, when you take how easy it is to get in here. Dr. Charles is a real person. How big a threat is this?
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: It's enormous if you can get into the White House in Florida essentially, you can put any sort of technical penetration -- transmitter will transmit to a receiver. The electrical sockets for instance you could change those into a transmitter, into a microphone and you can put the receiver into the hotel in somebody's room. It's a nightmare for the Secret Service and there's nothing they can do about it. You can't sweep for bugs like this.
And that's why the National Security Council and the Secret Service want all meetings like this held with the president inside the White House which is a box which signals don't get out.
BURNETT: That's incredible you can't sweep for those kind of bugs.
I also am just -- all the intersecting stories here, Bob. According to the "Washington Post", the man named Charles that the woman referenced, that Zhang referenced during the arrest is not only a real person. He reportedly goes by the name Dr. Charles even though Charles is not his name nor does he appear to be a doctor, OK?
So, this is -- crazy. This guy has been taking selfies with the president in the background, bragged about meeting Trump's sister. I mean, are you kidding?
BAER: Well, better than that? Everybody who Trump meets with there is essentially an adviser. And they go back to their rooms. And I would love to get into their computers, into their Wi-Fi you'd find out the real policy on China.
And frankly, Erin, the Chinese are robbing us blind and have been for the last 40 years. But Mar-a-Lago is an opportunity they cannot pass up. And they have caught somebody using -- somebody fairly obvious and clumsy but it's the talented ones who are getting through, I would imagine, and collecting intelligence like never has been collected. BURNETT: Wow. Bob Baer, thank you.
BAER: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, these interviews are making some of the presidential campaign's biggest headlines. Charlamagne Tha God is my guest. What's his secret to getting politicians to let down their guard?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:35:04] SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm dating somebody special.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, RADIO HOST: Cory Booker got a boo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, Bernie Sanders dodging questions about releasing taxes. Why?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: New tonight, his radio show is a required stop for Democrats on the campaign trail. Charlamagne Tha God is host of "The Breakfast Club Radio Show", best selling author and his interviews with the candidates are getting all the buzz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: So, Bernie, 44 out of 45 presidents in the country white men. Do you think we need another one?
(LAUGHTER)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think you need this one.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Have you ever smoked?
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK.
HARRIS: And I -- and I inhale. I did inhale.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You did inhale.
BOOKER: I'm dating somebody that's really special so.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Oh. Cory Booker got a boo.
What about Chick-fil-A? Do you like Chick-fil-A?
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: I do not approve of their politics, but I kind of approve of their chicken. CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: You my kind of guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. And Charlamagne is with me now.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: What's up, Erin?
BURNETT: How are you?
This is -- you get those moments.
[19:40:01] What do you think it is that makes them all -- they've got to come in and talk to you?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Well, I think they all come in because of our large audience. Breakfast Club licensed to by 4 million, 5 million weekly. And, you know, we have a big following on the Internet. The YouTube page is massive followers at Breakfast Club AM. And I got to give the credit to the large listening audience they want to show up.
BURNETT: I'm asking but some of the moments we played. But, first, I don't think people to think that's all it is. Knows are moments that get buzz and everybody talks about. But you talk about some serious type topics.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK.
BURNETT: Here are examples.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I think black people just have questions for people who may no not know who you are. Basic questions like they say they want to know what did you do to hurt black people as a prosecutor?
Because you said you regret some things. A truancy program got a lot of things did you lock anybody up?
Does Cory Booker a specific agenda for black people? And what is it.
Why does it seem like this week you have been kind of dodging the reparations course?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Tough questions. So --
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: OK.
BURNETT: Who has been the least comfortable talking about race so far?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I would have to say probably Cory Booker, only because it didn't seem like Cory had an answer at the time. Because I think for a long time you know Democrats have gotten the loyalty of the African-American community and they've gotten that loyalty but haven't really done anything in return.
So, now, you have a lot of black people saying, no, we want to know what you're doing specifically for black people. We want to know exactly, you know, what type of agenda you have for African-Americans. I think early on, a lot of the candidates didn't see that kind of energy coming. So, they just weren't prepared, you know?
So, they've been used to just saying, hey, vote for me I'm the opposite is whatever is on the other side, you know? And black people have been loyal to the Democrats for a long time for no reason. So, I think early on Cory came early, before like even the reparations conversation that really started and people started asking about the black agenda. And I think he just wasn't prepared.
BURNETT: I want to play a little bit more of Kamala Harris on this issue, because you bring up sort of why is she saying certain thing. Let me play the exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I think the best greens you ever have had. I've had friends who have asked me to make their greens for the Christmas part.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I'm holding you to that they are turning that in the sound bites. And they're going to say, that's one of the times you are pandering to black people but she's black.
HARRIS: But I'm black and I'm proud of being black. I was born black and I will die black and I'm proud of it. I'm not making excuses for anybody, because they don't understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What did you think when she was talking about race?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: I felt she was genuine because she has no reason not to be. Sometimes I think we look at politicians and just think they are B.S.-ing so much so when she says that you're looking at it come on, you don't collard greens, but then you got to check, like, why wouldn't she able to cook collard greens? Why wouldn't she?
BURNETT: So when it comes to these moments, right, Cory Booker talking about now we know Rosario Dawson when he made the compensate about a boo. And the Chick-fil-A exchange with Mayor Pete. Who felt most comfortable in the setting?
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Oh, Mayor Pete.
BURNETT: But this is not the usual stuff. This isn't like the CNN town hall format.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes.
BURNETT: Some of these guys this is uncharted.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Yes, Mayor Pete. Not even close. BURNETT: Really.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Kamala seemed comfortable. But I just really like Mayor Pete. I think Mayor Pete is very authentic and honest.
It's little things like that like you know, even though he is a member of the LGBT community, not just you know pandering and saying, you know, I don't like Chick-fil-A, I hate Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A has -- it's good.
For him to see the nuance and say I don't like the politics and but I like the chicken, that's an honest answer. He said something else about liking M&M, and M&M has homophobic lyrics, but he didn't denounce either. He goes, yes, but he also empowers me being a white guy from the Midwest.
So, he's able to see the nuance in things. That's just honest and authentic.
BURNETT: All right. So, what would you ask President Trump if he was on the show tomorrow.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: That's a great question that I've never given any thought though, to be totally honest. Like that would be one of the times where I would have to bring in all my brain trust and let's really have the conversation, because I think -- honestly anything -- it's pointless to have a conversation with guy like that don't you think?
BURNETT: But you were saying -- and this is -- you and I were talking before you came out.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: He is the most insecure man in the world.
BURNETT: You were saying you think he does care what people think about him.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: About him, absolutely. That's all a deflection, that's all a front. That whole I don't give a F attitude, that's all a deflection.
I think he is probably the most insecure man in America, like he probably goes home at night and cries regardless of how much money he has, regardless of the position of power he is in, there is things he candidate change.
[19:45:05] Maybe he doesn't like the size of his hands. I'm serious. Like there's something about him making him insecure, because he is a bully.
And we all had enough experience with bullies in our life to know that most bullies are insecure. I just think he is one of the most insecure people ever. And I really think he goes home at night and cries his eyes out.
BURNETT: Charlamagne, I really appreciate talking to you. CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Thank you.
BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, soon, that's what Bernie Sanders is saying when it comes to releasing his taxes. What is going on?
And Boeing now taking responsibility for the two deadly crashes as we are learning disturbing new details about one of those jets final moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Bernie Sanders side-stepping questions about when he releases his tax returns. The Democratic presidential candidate telling CNN today: Do you know what April 15th is? It's tax day we want to make sure we have them together. As I said they'll be released soon.
This as Sanders tries to broaden his base in 2020. Ryan Nobles is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign is off to a fast start. But in order to go from current front-runner to Democratic standard bearer, the Vermont senator will need to improve upon his 2016 performance with black voters.
REV. JOSEPH DARBY, CHARLESTON BRANCH, NAACP: He needs to develop a greater level of cultural competency when it comes to the black community.
NOBLES: Reverend Joe Darby is an NAACP leader in Charleston, South Carolina, a state where the black vote is crucial in the Democratic primary and a state Sanders lost by nearly 50 points to Hillary Clinton.
(on camera): He did not do very well here.
DARBY: No, he didn't.
NOBLES (voice-over): Overall in 2016, Sanders lost black voters to Clinton by an average of nearly 57 percent in states where there were exit polls.
SANDERS: Based on what I'm seeing tonight we're going to do just fine here in South Carolina.
NOBLES: This time around, he's already made changes to his approach, in part by getting personal about his connection to civil rights.
SANDERS: My years here in Chicago gave me the opportunity to become involved in the civil rights movement.
NOBLES: Sanders has filled his schedule with travel to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, in South Carolina for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
SANDERS: We now have a president of the United States who is a racist.
NOBLES: He's also named black leaders to prominent roles within his campaign and made a specific push to address issues of concern to African-American voters.
This month, he appeared with South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn to tout a plan to increase funding to community health centers.
SANDERS: That impacts people all across this country and, in fact, it impacts people of color even more.
NOBLES: Clyburn believes such efforts from Sanders are important for him to grow his support.
(on camera): Could that resonate with them in a primary?
REP. JIM CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: I hope it does. I really believe that people ought to give just due to people who do things.
NOBLES (voice-over): While the Sanders strategy shift is apparent, it's too early to tell if it's paying off. His raucous rallies typically draw predominantly white crowds, even in places such as North Charleston, a city where nearly half the population is black.
Darby's advice to Sanders, make sure his proposals directly address the concerns of black voters.
DARBY: Rising tide floats all boats, but if racial prejudice has put your boat a mile inland, it's still going to be hard to float.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES: And one of the things that frustrates Bernie Sanders supporters who are African American is that they believe his policies would really resonate with the African community, but somehow he is having a hard time communicating with them on their level. What they're recommending is that Sanders talk to African-American voters as opposed to talking at them.
He is going to try and do that tomorrow here in New York city at Al Sharpton's National Action Conference, which takes place here. And his aides tell me, Erin, that he is still putting the finishing touches on that speech.
BURNETT: All right, Brian, thank you very much.
And next, a stunning admission by Boeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS MUILENBURG, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, THE BOEING COMPANY: We own it. And we know how to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:48] BURNETT: New tonight, we own it. Boeing CEO accepting responsibility for the first time for two separate plane crashes in which 350 people died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUILENBURG: It's our responsibility to eliminate this risk. We own it, and we know how to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The admission coming as CNN obtains a copy of the preliminary report on the Ethiopian airlines crash, which painting a terrifying picture of those flights' first and only moments.
Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The report says the trouble starts right after takeoff, with airspeed and altitude readings from the left side of the 737 MAX 8 that don't match the readings from the right side, and two sensors on the front disagreeing about the angle of the aircraft's nose. The sensor on the right shows steady readings around 15 degrees, but the one on the left swings wildly, from 11 to nearly 75 degrees steep as if the plane is rocketing upward.
Those readings are false, but they appear to trigger the MCAS system, an on board computer which starts pulling the nose down. If the plane were climbing steeply, that would prevent a stall. But because it is climbing normally, the system erroneously starts pushing it toward the ground. The report does not name MCAS, but Boeing has now acknowledged it was involved.
The captain asks the first officer to pitch up together, to pull back on their controls simultaneously. It does not work. Instead the flight data recorder shows the plane diving, in all four times without pilots' input. An impact warning sounds in the cockpit, "don't sink, don't sink".
DAGMAWIT MOGES, ETHIOPIA'S TRANSPORT MINISTER: The crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft.
FOREMAN: The report says the cockpit crew even figures out what was wrong and disables the MCAS system. Then the captain asks his first officer about a key part of the plane needed to regain control, the trim. The reply, it is not working.
Less than six minutes in, once again, the aircraft began pitching nose down, eventually reaching 40 degrees, and it slams into the ground with 157 people on board at nearly 600 miles an hour. It is all eerily similar to the crash of an identical jet near
Indonesia last fall, killing 189 people. Even though this is just a preliminary report which does not find a probable cause, Boeing is promising a software update for MCAS, some additional safety measures, and trying to regain public confidence.
MUILENBURG: This update, along with associated training and additional educational materials that pilots want in the wake of these accidents will eliminate the possibility of unintended MCAS activation and prevent an MCAS-related accident from ever happening again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Still, only a couple of years ago Boeing was talking about how it appreciated the government's new streamlined approach to regulation, particularly in regard to the development of the MAX line of planes. And now, these planes are surrounded by investigations into how they were put together, how they were inspected, how they were tested and certified, and frankly, whether people can ever trust them again -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much. Just so horrible to imagine those final moments.
Thank you for joining us.
Anderson is next.
