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Erin Burnett Outfront
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) is Interviewed About GOP Warning Trump They May Have to Block Mexico Tariffs; Biden on Criticism from Dem Rivals: "See You Around"; Paul Manafort Could Be Moved to Brutal Rikers Island Jail. Aired on 7-8p ET
Aired June 04, 2019 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, the White House blocking Hope Hicks and another key White House witness from cooperating with Democratic subpoena. Is it fueling more impeachment talk against the President? Plus, Republicans warning Trump against imposing tariffs on Mexico. Will he listen? A Republican with a message for Trump out front. And Paul Manafort may soon be headed to the brutal prison on New York Rikers Island. What life could be like for the President's former campaign chairman? Let's go out front.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, President Trump blocking Hope Hicks from handing over documents to Congress. Documents required under subpoena. Hope Hicks' attorney tonight saying in a new letter to Congress the documents could fall under executive privilege.
Now, keep in mind Hicks is crucial. She's a inner circle for Trump as it get. She was a witness to some of the most controversial moments in Mueller's report and that is why Democrats investigating obstruction want her to hand over documents from her time at the White House and the deadline is tonight.
But Hicks tonight is not the only star witness Trump is trying to keep quiet. The White House is also blocking former White House Counsel, Don McGahn's chief of staff from cooperating Annie Donaldson. Her notes were quoted extensively in the Mueller report central to it. And at this hour, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler, in a statement says this is all evidence of the President's continued obstruction of congressional investigations and some Democrats tonight are taking it further.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): He is a total obstruction, no witnesses, no talk, no documents just kind of like the mob.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think it's time to open up an impeachment inquiry into the President?
DOGGETT: Long past time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was Representative Lloyd Doggett and long past time he says. Well, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now staring down a growing insurgency inside her own party. The number of Democrats are calling for impeachment you can see on your screen, it is growing every day we are now up to 59.
So how long can Pelosi keep everyone at bay? It may not be much longer if you ask Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you sense on impeachment, some restlessness among your fellow Democrats?
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Pamela Brown is traveling with the President in London tonight where she is out front live. Pamela, Hope Hicks, Annie Donaldson, the latest to be blocked by the White House. They are very important star witnesses and obviously this is the way the White House is playing. They're playing tough down to the bottom line.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. This is a pattern from the White House directing former White House officials to not comply with some of the requests from House Committees from Democrats. So this will only ratchet up the tension between the two branches of government.
And in this latest example today, the White House has directed Hope Hicks who was a former White House official, a close advisor to President Trump and the Deputy White House Counsel Ann Donaldson to not turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee during their time at the White House. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone arguing that those documents could fall under confidentiality, that they could be subject to executive privilege concerns.
And so in both of these cases, Ann Donaldson and Hope Hicks are abiding by that. Now, the committee does say through Jerry Nadler, the Chairman, that Hope Hicks has worked out a deal. Well, she will be providing some documents relating to the campaign. Of course, the White House does not have jurisdiction over campaign documents.
But certainly Jerry Nadler is now saying that he could hold Hope Hicks and Ann Donaldson in contempt. Another interesting part of this is that the White House pointed to DOJ saying, "You're working with DOJ to get some of these documents that you're asking for, why don't you see this process through?" DOJ wrote a letter to the committee today saying, "Look, we'll hand over some of these documents to you, a limited number, if you don't hold this vote to hold the Attorney General in contempt."
Jerry Nadler said absolutely not that he'll continue to talk with DOJ, but the contempt vote will still be held. So you're seeing this back- and-forth play out and this is just over documents, Erin. We haven't even gotten to the testimony yet for these two witnesses in the Mueller probe and also Hope Hicks. That's at a later date.
But this follows, of course, blocking the testimony and documents from former White House Counsel Don McGahn, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Pamela, thank you very much and let's go now to Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier who is on the House Intelligence and Oversight Committees. Congresswoman, good to have you back.
REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D-CA): Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: So what should happen now, Hope Hicks, Annie Donaldson, the attorneys are saying, "Look, they're going to try the executive privilege thing here." They're going to abide by what the White House wants which is keep quiet, defy a subpoena. Should they be held in contempt?
[19:04:59] SPEIER: Yes. They should be held in contempt. We have been operating with white gloves while the President has been operating with boxing gloves. And it's time for us to take the white gloves off and put on the boxing gloves as well.
We are a co-equal branch of government. We have the responsibility of oversight. We have the responsibility to access these documents and to hear from these individuals. They have waived any privilege, any executive privilege associated with their relationship with Donald Trump because they actually participated in the Special Counsel's investigation.
So it's time for us to get really serious about this. This is an individual who has violated every principle of the Constitution and he does it consistently and we sit back and don't take the kind of firm action we should be taking. Now, I would also argue that we should be pursuing inherent contempt.
If we pursue civil contempt, it will go on for years. Look at Eric Holder. That went on for six years. It was just a negotiated settlement three weeks ago. So we need to take action as a co-equal branch of government and get these materials that we need.
BURNETT: And inherent contempt you're saying you could move immediately.
SPEIER: We can move immediately. They could come to the House floor. Forget the jail, forget the shackles, just start fining them $25,000 a day and then we will have some cooperation.
BURNETT: I would imagine you would with that. So when you say that you need to take firm action, obviously, you have said you supported starting the impeachment process. The speaker though is not there. I don't know if you just heard Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talking about Democrats growing restless, that swing state members are starting to hear from their constituents about this. Are you hearing from your constituents? Do you think Pelosi is going to move?
SPEIER: I think that the Speaker will move when she believes she has a majority of the members of her caucus and that the 40 members that are in play here will be protected. But I've got to tell you, I am tired of us looking at this as if this is a political chess game. I am not a campaign consultant. I'm a member of Congress.
I have an obligation to swear under oath that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This president is obstructing justice. He obstructs it as a private citizen. He's obstructed justice as a candidate. He's obstructed justice as a President of the United States at least 11 times based on the Special Counsel's analysis.
BURNETT: Does she --
SPEIER: And now he wants to have the Department of Justice go after his enemies like we're some banana republic whether it is Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton. We've got to recognize what's going on here.
BURNETT: Does the Speaker agree with you though because it sounds like, look, she's got to manage her people and get her people there. I understand that, that's the job of the Speaker. However, she's talked about impeachment being divisive for the country which may be true but certainly sounds more of like based on politics or a different evaluation of the situation than just pure principle and constitutionality. Does she agree with you behind closed doors that this is the right thing to do and just others aren't there yet or is she not even agree with you behind closed doors?
SPEIER: I think that she has basically said she wants overwhelming evidence. I think we have an avalanche of evidence now and it grows day by day. So the American people want us to do our job. Our job is to protect this Constitution, protect this institution.
And I think by starting an impeachment inquiry regardless of whether the Senate takes us up or not, we need to lay out the facts to the American people. They're not going to read the Mueller report, that's not their job, that's our job.
BURNETT: So I want to just take one pause here if I may, congresswoman, and then get your reaction to this. But Pamela is coming back in with some breaking news. I know Pamela you just spoke exclusively with a British official, high-ranking Minister of State for security and you just asked him about claims that Trump has repeated that British intelligence helped Obama spy on the Trump campaign. What are you learning at this hour?
BROWN: That's right. I asked Ben Wallace, the Security Minister here in the U.K. about these allegations that the President has repeated that he believes the Brits spied on his campaign. Now, Ben Wallace oversees the intelligence agencies here in the U.K. and he works closely with U.S. intelligence agencies. And while he didn't want to comment specifically on intelligence
sharing. He did say that the Brits don't have the resources and the capacity to spy on a friend on an ally like the United States particularly a presidential campaign. He said, "If you really want to learn about American politics, you can just turn on the news because there are so many other important priorities here in Great Britain." Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:09:557] BEN WALLACE, U.K. MINISTER OF STATE FOR SECURITY: In the days of social media, there's an awful lot of speculation that goes on about these things. There is no big conspiracy and the idea that I would take an intelligence officer of a job of targeting al-Qaeda in a place that's of mutual issues to us to put him on spying on a campaign of a presidential candidate, I think is not going to be the reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So that sentiment denying this echoes what we've heard from other British officials. It was interesting, Erin, today at the joint press conference, the President said that there was incredible intelligence sharing between the U.K. and the U.S. But he did not talk about his concerns today about this idea that the Brits spied on his campaign. He's made those claims without providing any evidence and this official saying flatly that just didn't happen, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Pamela, and of course, congresswoman, if there was any intelligence picked up, it would appear listening to foreign nationals Russians, perhaps, who happened to be talking to people in the Trump campaign which is very different than spying than the campaign itself. What's your reaction to what the Brits are saying that they're just dismissing this whole idea which the President keeps raising out of hand?
SPEIER: The President keeps raising it because he's paranoid and he loves to project as opposed to take any responsibility. We share intelligence with Five Eyes as they're referred to. That's the U.K., it's Canada, it's New Zealand, it's Australia, we share intelligence with our friends and allies all of the time.
But the only reason that the U.K. would have shared any information would be if it had to do with Russia and Russia's intervention in our election. And that's precisely what happened.
BURNETT: All right. Congresswoman, I appreciate your time. Thanks.
SPEIER: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, President Trump locked in a bitter back-and-forth with the Mayor of London.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR, London: This is the sort of behavior I would expect from an 11-year-old. TRUMP: I think he's been not very good mayor from what I understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Why the obsession? Plus, the President digging in on his threat to hit Mexico with new and massive tariffs. So what do voters from a major swing state think?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's the wrong way to go about doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Joe Biden's opponent say his ideas are old. He's not what the Democratic Party needs. Are they taking a page from his playbook?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:01] BURNETT: New tonight, Trump at war with the Mayor of London. Trump calling Sadiq Khan a stone-cold loser in a tweet and Khan today responded on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KHAN: This is the sort of behavior I would expect from an 11-year- old. But it's for him to decide how he behaves. It's not for me to respond in a like manner. I think it's beneath me to do childish tweets and name-calling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, Trump heard about that and immediately fired back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think he's been not very good mayor from what I understand. He's done a poor job. Crime is up. A lot of problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Out front now, member of President Trump's 2020 Re-Elect Advisory Council Steve Cortes and former Counsel to President Bill Clinton, Paul Begala. Paul, this is a major feud for Trump. The Washington Post looked at his history of comments and he has mocked Sadiq Khan more than Kim Jong-un who, of course, remember he has love letters, but he's also famously threatened with annihilation. Why the obsession with the Mayor of London?
PAUL BEGALA, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: It's a mystery. There's 67 million people in Great Britain. One of our very closest allies in the whole world and why he picked, not only did he pick Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, he picked on the Duchess of Sussex who is an American Princess married to a Prince and picked on her. They're the two most famous people of color in Great Britain. It's very interesting to me when he picks his fights with his enemies.
Now, he and Mayor Khan have gone at it. It's very interesting he doesn't attack Boris Johnson the former Mayor of London now likely a leading candidate to be prime minister.
BURNETT: Yes.
BEGALA: Here's what Boris Johnson said, he called our president before he was president a stupefyingly ignorant. It makes him unfit to be President. He called him out of his mind. Yet president Trump doesn't fight back with Boris Johnson who's a right-wing nationalist blowhard with bad hair. But he does pick a fight with the Muslim mayor of London who said nothing like what Boris Johnson said. I don't know why.
STEVE CORTES, MEMBER OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S 2020 RE-ELECT ADVISORY COUNCIL: Paul, look, I think it's totally irresponsible for you to suggest that there's a racial component to this. The President has absolutely eviscerated plenty of white men and called them terrible names. Go back and look at the things he said in the Republican primaries about his opponents most of whom were white men.
BURNETT: I interject merely to say this is - I guess the best defense you have it is sort of a defense, but OK go ahead.
CORTES: Well, I'm just saying it's ridiculous to try to infuse race into this. There's no racial component. It's very obvious why he attacked Sadiq Khan because Sadiq Khan attacked him first, because he drew first blood. He wrote a really awful editorial attacking the President. He lied outright in that editorial. He said that the president - he brought up the Charlottesville hoax where he said that he had somehow praised neo-Nazis which, of course, he didn't at all, something I have written extensively about, that's an absolute lie.
And the president fired back at him and he fired back at him I think largely because he wants to prove that Sadiq Khan like a lot of other politicians when they don't want to focus on problems in their own jurisdiction they'd like a scapegoat of President Trump. In my home City of Chicago, we saw Mayor Rahm Emanuel, now former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, do this repeatedly.
Chicago is probably the most dangerous big city in the Western world and yet instead of trying to fix his city, Rahm Emanuel focused on saying that it was a Trump free zone and focused on President Trump. Same thing with Khan.
BURNETT: OK. I'm curious on Khan though, Paul, but the Trump baby blimp, OK, was flying again this year which is OK. I mean but there it was and it was flying and the reason I mentioned is that Trump last year told us on newspaper when he was in London, quote, when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London. I mean he brings him to blimp. He's mad about the blimp.
Khan reportedly is the guy who approved the blimp because he's the Mayor of London and so he approved it. It was out there again today, the motorcade drove by, there it was floating around. Khan knows how to get under Trump's skin. Why does Trump take the bait?
[19:20:00] BEGALA: It's a good question. It's called freedom and we fought a war against Britain, so we could have that freedom of press. And I think we're to celebrate freedom of speech, the free speech of the British people. So just to me it's just a really interesting conundrum.
Again, he picks on other white people, that's absolutely true, but he hasn't. In fact Boris Johnson has insulted the President far worse and today snubbed Donald Trump. President Trump said, "I think Johnson would be a good prime minister." He wanted to meet with Boris Johnson. Johnson snubbed President Trump much worse than anything that Sadiq Khan is doing.
Again, one of these things it's not like the other. Why do you pick a fight with the Muslim mayor but you don't say anything about the right wing white guy who used to be mayor.
CORTES: No, I'll tell you why, it has nothing to do with him being white. I mean there you go again, Paul, trying to infuse race into this.
BEGALA: I'm just asking the question.
CORTES: When it has nothing to do - well, I'll tell you the answer, the answer is because Boris Johnson may very well be prime minister and so there are strategic reasons to not necessarily insult Boris Johnson. But when Sadiq Khan, somebody who's really irrelevant let's face it to the United States, somebody who most Americans have frankly never heard of, when he comes after the Donald Trump, if Donald Trump counterpunches back and nobody counterpunches by the way like Trump, he's the Floyd Mayweather of politics.
BURNETT: But Trump is elevating him in a brand. That's for sure. But when you say you wouldn't want to offend the prime minister, because he's going to be a prime minister, what about Theresa May? I mean Trump has said plenty of unpleasant things about her. Today he said, "Oh, she did a good job negotiating."
But back in March, he slammed her. Here he is today and in March.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She's probably a better negotiator than I am.
I'm surprised at how badly it's all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation. But I gave the prime minister my ideas on how to negotiate it. She didn't listen to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, it's not pejorative, Steve, but he has no problem slamming her. I mean so you're saying he doesn't want to offend Boris Johnson, he wasn't afraid to offend a sitting Prime Minister.
CORTES: But if you listen carefully to that, what you just play that tape, he didn't offend her personally. He talked about the process and the process was an absolute no.
BURNETT: He always said she's a bad negotiator and didn't listen to him, although now he says she's a good negotiator, but I mean he did.
CORTES: The process was a mess. I think look here's what's important. We're trying the major and the minors here, I think. The macro issue here is that the same forces that elected Donald Trump are resurgent in Great Britain. As a matter of fact they were even before Donald Trump with Brexit but even more so now in the recent European parliamentary election.
Popular sovereignty is on the march in Great Britain right now. So there are Trumpian forces that are extremely powerful and ascendant in that country right now. We can focus on, yes, are there petty insults going back and forth between the Mayor of London and the President? Sure. Is that important in the arc of history? I don't think at all.
What I think is important though is that again there is a Trumpian movement within Great Britain itself and Trump is very much reaching out to that movement. I think he took energy from it as a candidate.
BURNETT: Yes. True.
CORTES: And he's now reaching back to it as President.
BURNETT: Yes.
CORTES: And that to me is the macro takeaway from this visit.
BURNETT: Paul, would you agree that the macro takeaway in the arc of history here will be the rise of populism and Trumpian forces?
BEGALA: Yes. And it shows that Trump is putting Trumpian issues, and Trumpian ideologies and Trumpian attitudes ahead of American. He is my president. He is representing my country and your, Steve, and yours, Erin. He needs to be over there doing what's best for America and it is not good for America to pick a fight with our closest allies and friends in London or in Great Britain.
But he has this ideological goal here or this personal goal here of backing right-wing nationalists all around the world. That's not what's good for America. What's good for America is having close relationship with Britain no matter what kind of government they have.
BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate both of you taking the time and we didn't even get to talk about how Trump said he wanted his kids, the next generations to meet with the future monarch of England. But we didn't come to Great Britain, we didn't get there. Thank you both.
And next, Republicans rebelling against the President's threat of new tariffs. One Republican not onboard with the President's threat is out front next. And a new CNN poll shows Joe Biden struggling to win over a key demographic, which one and why?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:28:05] BURNETT: Tonight, top Republicans warning the White House
they are prepared to block the President's proposed tariffs against Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Sen. Mitch McConnell, UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is not much support in my conference for tariffs, that's for sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you try to block those tariffs?
MCCONNELL: Well, what I'm telling you is we're hoping that it doesn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: A Republican aide telling CNN senators are frustrated after a meeting with White House officials today where those officials could not explain how the tariffs will even work. President Trump predicts though they will happen, they're going to go through and they're going to go through as planned next week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The threat is out there, but we haven't really started yet. No, this will take effect next week and we are going to see if we can do something. But I think it's more likely that the tariffs go on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, it's kind of scary if they're going into effect next week but the White House can't explain to Congress what they even are. So CNN went to one of the states that would be hit the hardest by these tariffs, the crucial swing State of Michigan just find out how people feel. Erica Hill is out front.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): A proud third-generation Chrysler employee, Chris Vitale works on the engines of the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS VITALE, PROTOTYPE MECHANIC: I am the engineer's hands. I put things together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL(voice-over): For years, politicians have campaigned for the support of the country's nearly 1 million auto workers. Now, their future is linked to immigration and the President's push for stronger borders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VITALE: I feel like he wouldn't have to resort to that if we had a
Senate and a Congress that would enforce the borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Vitali who voted for Obama twice supports President Trump and his tactics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VITALE: People have endured much worse than expensive avocados or a few more dollars here and there to protect the country and I think that this is valid what he's doing.
SEAN CRAWFORD, GM AUTO WORKER: I think it's the wrong way to go about doing it. It makes us look awful in the eyes of the world and quite honestly I'm ashamed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Shawn Crawford just moved back to his hometown for a job at GM's Flint, Michigan facility after the auto giant announced plans to close the plant where he worked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:30:08]
SEAN CRAWFORD, GM AUTO WORKER: I have seen the ups and downs of the industry.
HILL: He worries about his future under Trump.
CRAWFORD: If you raise the price of these products, less people are going to buy them. It's common sense economics. And if less people buy the products that I'm building every day, then they're going to have to lay people off.
HILL (on camera): How quickly do you think that could happen?
CRAWFORD: Well, in the contract, it says they only have to give you 24-hour notice.
ANN WILSON, MOTOR & EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION: This industry will not be able to survive in its current form with the increasing number of tariffs from Mexican goods. It just will not work. And this will directly and immediately affect the American consumer.
HILL (voice-over): After 25 years in the volatile auto industry, Vitale believes they can weather a storm and is confident this president has his back.
CHRIS VITALE, PROTOTYPE MECHANIC: The idea that somebody would fight for us after being told for years and years, you don't matter, you're going the way of the buggy whip. He has won legions of fans just for doing that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: While they may not agree on the president's latest proposal and its impacts, they do agree that it's time to renegotiate NAFTA. And both said they were happy to see that wages for Mexican workers were addressed in the USMCA. There is a provision that says most of vehicle parts need to be made by Mexican workers making at least $16 an hour or there would be additional tariffs levy.
Of course, with this new proposal and those new tariffs, Erin, there is also concern that the USMCA itself is in jeopardy tonight.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Wow. All right. Erica, thank you very much.
And I want to go to Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a another crucial swing the state.
Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it.
So, obviously, in that piece, you know, you got different points of view. One of the auto workers was saying the president wouldn't have to resort the tariffs, though, if Congress would do its job, would do something on immigration. What's your response to that?
REP. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-WI): Well, I think in previous negotiations, the president has used tariffs in order to advance an economic agenda, in order to ensure a more level playing field economically, in order to compel other countries to reduce their tariff barriers. We can argue about the wisdom of that, but this seems to be a different approaching. We are applying tariffs in order to effectuate an outcome on immigration.
So, he is right to suggest that Congress has not gotten its act together. We have not passed a solution to the immigration system. And that makes life harder for dairy farmers in Wisconsin.
But this is a different issue. I think adding on tariffs at a time we need to pass USMCA actually just makes life more difficult for Wisconsin farmers and particularly risks snatching defeat from the jaws of victory when it could comes to passing USMCA, which would be a huge win for Wisconsin farmers and a huge win for the White House.
BURNETT: So, you know, you are one of 13 Republicans earlier this year in the House who voted to overturns the president's declaration of a national emergency at the border. Would you support another resolution of disapproval if the president uses an emergency declaration in this case right to end around Congress and your powers here to impose the tariffs?
GALLAGHER: I would. And, listen, I can see there is a crisis at the border. You can examine my legislative record. You can go prior to my legislative record when I was in uniform as a United States Marine and I was working for the Drug Enforcement Agency doing counternarcotics work. I get it we need to fund physical border security. We need to secure
the border. However, constitutionally, Congress has to defend its equities. And this -- we can't have a system where one person or a small group of people simply wakes up and says, I am going to decide to apply tariffs. And that's why I have introduced a bill that would require Congress to vote on these issues and claw back some of this authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations that it has ceded over the last few decades.
BURNETT: OK. So, the thing about is -- and I know you have your option. Others in your party agree with you on the fundamentals and you have various ways to stop this. The president passed asked about the opposition from his own party from you all and here is what he said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLPI)
REPORTER: And what do you think of Republicans who say that they may take action to block you imposing those tariffs?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, I don't think they will could that. I think if they do it, it's foolish. There is nothing more important than borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, he says you'll be foolish to block the tariffs. What's your response to that, foolish?
GALLAGHER: Well, listen, I think it would be foolish to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when it comes to USMCA. I think the president is close to having a huge economic win, one that I support.
I would hate to see these tariffs get in the way of that. I think it would also strain credulity that Mexico suddenly going to wake up and think, wow, you know what, we actually should start doing something about illegal immigration when the fact is the Mexican government doesn't have the resources right now to counter the gangs and the cartels that run that state.
[19:35:00] And, more broadly, and I think this is actually more important, Erin, I think it's foolish to undermine the more important efforts to get tough on China economically by picking fights with our close allies.
BURNETT: All right. So, look, I understand you are making a point first of all that the facts aren't the way he put them out. He says they could stop it tomorrow if they want to stop it. Obviously, it's not that simple.
But you also make a point this is about the Constitution. And on that front, I want to ask you about that. Sixty members of the House are now calling for impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Obviously, 59 of them are Democrats, but one of them is your colleague, Republican Congressman Justin Amash.
Now, Amash was asked during a town hall about other Republicans on the House on this issue and here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JUSTIN AMASH (R-MI): My colleagues tell me all the time, in fact, you wouldn't believe how many phone conversations or conversations in person with colleagues, Justin -- by the way, a lot of them think I'm right about the Mueller report. And they won't say it. There are a lot of Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, he is talking about some people in your party, some of your Democratic colleagues are telling me that many Republicans support impeachment when they're in elevator or behind closed doors. They have conversations about the Constitution, it's about principles. It's behind closed doors, though.
Do you think that's true?
GALLAGHER: No, I mean, I've certainly been out front and in the open on my emergency vote. I've written a long treatise in the Atlantic about the way in which Congress has neutered itself.
So, maybe it's true for some people. It doesn't occur with my own experience. And I disagree with Justin Amash. I think, listen, he's a thoughtful person. Usually, he's actually one of the rare people that takes the time to read the bills, but on this issue, I just don't see what the case is for impeachment.
Congress can actually just start stepping up on a daily basis and reclaiming its authorities, whether it's on tariff issues, whether it's on war powers resolutions, whether it's on authorization for the use of military force. The fact is we've actually ceded this authority to the executive branch.
And President Trump is doing what pretty much every president, Republican and Democrat, has done which is to say using the authority that Congress gave up in order to advance his agenda.
BURNETT: All right. I appreciate your time, Congressman. Thanks so much.
GALLAGHER: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Joe Biden responding to attacks from his fellow 2020 contenders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: What do you say to those Democrats who took swipes at you in California over the weekend?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: See you around.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: And Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort could soon be moved to one of the most dangerous and notorious jails in the United States. We're going to show you what could be ahead for him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:41:08] BURNETT: Tonight, the fight for 2020. Joe Biden under attack. His fellow Democrats are pouncing and he is responding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: What do you say to those Democrats who took swipes at you in California over the weekend?
BIDEN: See you around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, CNN political commentators, Alice Stewart, Republican strategist, who was communications director for Ted Cruz's campaign, and then Jen Psaki, who's communications director for President Obama.
So, Jen, look, it's not just 2020 contenders, right? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you know, obviously, has been very vocally critical of Joe Biden's climate change plan they put out today. The progressives in the party are not happy with Joe Biden, even though he is the clear front runner for the nomination.
JEN PSAKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Democrats don't typically embrace front runners. Just look back in 2004, Erin, at this point in time, Joe Liebermann was leading in the race. So, there is a lot of time to go.
I think what Joe Biden is trying to do if you watch his strategy is to reach out to people who are skeptical of him -- progressives, some young people, people who think that he may not have the kind of ideas that are going to meet the moment. I think that's what this climate change announcement was about today. Yes, it was criticized but it's still an effort to reach out and be reactive and responsive to the big issues that progressives and the base and excited base of the Democratic Party are excited about.
BURNETT: All right. So, I want to talk about -- you mentioned young voters and also people's excitement. Alice, our new poll shows his support has plunged among young voters. It was 31 in April, it's now 19, OK? That's a plunge. Margin of error is 11, but that's still very big.
Trump is trying to make age of an issue here even though marginally younger than Biden. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't know what the hell happened to Biden? What happened to him? I'm looking at him saying that doesn't look like the guy I knew.
I am a young, vibrant man. I look at Joe. I don't know about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. Alice, but Trump, look he is under water among young voters, right? His disapproval among them way higher than the general population, 56 percent disapproval rate. So, is the age argument going to help Trump?
ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think so. Let's just all agree that both of these two men are not spring chickens. So I think they need to take that issue off the table.
Let me say this, Biden is right to lay out policies with regard to the Green New Deal because that climate change is a big issue for younger voters. And so this is -- this is a strong policy for him to go about and articulating this. It's not a surprise that he was attacked by the AOCs and progressives of the Democrat Party because it was not progressive enough.
Look, this might be Green New Deal lite but still Green New Deal and addresses climate change and it's an important issue that the Democrats need to do.
And look, I think he needs to continue reaching out to the new face of the Democrat Party. It's not younger voters, it's females, it's African-Americans, it's the LGBT community and that's what I see him continuing to do moving forward.
BURNETT: That's the problem here, Jen, at least that he has to deal with, right? This whole idea of do you have new ideas, right? I mean, when you're young, you slam the old for having old ideas just like Joe Biden did. First term councilman in Delaware 1972. He was challenging the guy 30 years older than he.
One of his ads, I have to quote because this is old.
In 1950, Cale Boggs hoped to make Americans safe from Stalin. In 1972, Joe Biden hopes to make Americans safe from criminals. Smaller print: We've got a new crime problem in this country. We need some new thinking.
He won. Now the same message is being used against him.
PSAKI: Right. That's right, Erin. And he's, as you noted here, he has been in politics long enough to know what it's like to run from, you know, from behind and be somebody who is a challenger.
[19:45:07] His challenge is going to be updating his rhetoric and stump speech and really projecting a forward looking vision for the future. I know his campaign team is thinking about that. He's got to go into the debate with some new ideas and fresh ideas about these issues that progressives and young people and many, many Democrats care deeply about. You know, but at the same time, Joe Biden is trying to run a strategy
of running in a general election. That is flawed, has flaws. But as a part of that, he is keeping his hands -- paws off his other opponents. He is trying to be gentle with them.
He is mindful he needs to bring the party together if he is the nominee.
BURNETT: And yet, Alice, I'm curious in terms of crowds, whether they matter or not, right? "Politico" has reported Biden has yet to draw anything near the 20,000 people who showed up for Kamala Harris when she announced, or 13,000 who turned out for -- Brooklyn for Bernie Sanders launch campaign, his campaign itself estimated crowd size at his launch at 6,000. I know some of his, you know, advisers, according to the reporting are saying, oh, don't worry about it, it's because you're the front runner.
Does crowd size matter?
STEWART: No, enthusiasm matters. Look, Hillary Clinton had huge crowds and that didn't help her ultimately get the ball across the finish line in the last election. It's one thing to have large crowds, but you have to make sure and really motivate them.
I look at Joe Biden with the ABCDs ahead of him. A, he needs to make sure and articulate policies like he did the Green New Deal. B, he needs to bring together the fractured Democrat Party, the progressive and moderates. C, he needs to connect with the new face of the Democrat Party, the young and old. And also the D, the hardest for him is to be disciplined, and we'll see how it goes for him.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both.
STEWART: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Paul Manafort could be transferred to New York's notoriously harsh Rikers Island. Rikers Island.
And the cat that stole the show during president Trump's state visit.
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[19:50:55] BURNETT: New tonight, a source telling CNN Paul Manafort may soon call Rikers Island home. Rikers Island, one of the most notorious jails in the country, has been home to some of the most high profile, violent criminals in history.
Brynn Gingras is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hard time may get a lot harder for Paul Manafort. The former Trump campaign chairman now convicted criminal could be headed to the notorious Rikers Island in New York to face state charges.
That if New York prosecutors get their way. In March, they indicted Manafort on 16 charges, including mortgage fraud.
STANLEY RICHARDS, THE FORTUNE SOCIETY: It's going to be intense. It's going to be frightening for him, I'm sure. And it's going to be isolating.
GINGRAS: Stanley Richards should know, he spent two years behind bars there.
Richard says Manafort is in for an experience he characterizes as depressing. Rikers is a far cry from what the former Trump allies is used to. Manafort once owned a Trump Tower condo. Now, he's housed at a minimum security federal prison in western Pennsylvania after being sentenced for tax fraud, bank fraud and foreign lobbying violations.
Richards now works with a non-profit to help others with reentry into society.
RICHARDS: He won't have movement like he has in the federal system. He won't have his job that he goes to, his work detail. He won't have a work detail here. It's going to be detention and he will probably feel isolated.
GINGRAS: Rikers Island houses up to 17,000 inmates, most are awaiting a trial. Past prisoners include the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman and rappers Lil Wayne and Tupac Shukar. The city-owned facility has been criticized for poor conditions and brutality behind bars, some violence leading to death.
RICHARDS: You either become the prey or the predator. And it's a choice that you make when you go there. And if you don't want to become a victim, you have to be as aggressive as you can to survive.
GINGRAS: Manafort could spend months locked up in Rikers. He would likely be kept isolated. Not as punishment but for protection. It's how the jail typically handles high profile inmates.
In 2011, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, was behind bars at Rikers after being accused of sexual assault. All charges against him are ultimately dismissed.
According to a spokeswoman then, his cell was 11 by 13 feet. He had limited outside recreation and did not have contact with any other inmate.
Manafort apparently doesn't do well under similar conditions. His attorneys say his health deteriorated while in protective custody at a facility in Virginia. Manafort's legal team says they hope he won't have to stay at Rikers.
A New York judge could allow Manafort to stay in Pennsylvania or go to a different facility in New York like Bellevue Hospital or Jail Manhattan. That decision could come as soon as next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GINGRAS: And the timing of those state charges that could bring Paul Manafort here to Rikers was a really calculated. The Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance essentially filed the indictment one hour after Manafort learned the punishment for his federal crime, essentially saying that he couldn't be pardoned if convicted of these state charges -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you, Brynn.
And next, Jeanne Moos on the cat that stopped Trump's limo.
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[19:58:12] BURNETT: Here's Jeanne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the cat that crawled under the belly of the beast. This Beast. That's what they called President Trump's armored limo.
When it pulled up in front of 10 Downing Street, Larry the Cat was perched on number 10's window, grooming.
Larry couldn't care less when President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, walked by and when the president and Britain's prime minister posed, Larry photo bombed the photo op. After all, this is his territory. He's been here since 2011 when a rat was spotted scurrying across the doorstep in a BBC live shot, Larry was recruited to keep the rodents at bay.
Ten Downing Street seems to be an animal magnet. Watch that fox trot by.
Larry has become a favorite of the press. CNN's Anna Stewart once baited her mic with a cat treat. The cat caught his tongue.
A mere beseeching glance of the officer on duty was enough to open doors. Larry's head rivals -- he and the foreign office feline have had words but only Larry has made it into the resignation speech of a prime minister.
DAVID CAMERON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And the rumor that somehow I don't love Larry, I do. I have photographic evidence to prove it. Sadly, I can't take Larry with me. He belongs to the House and the staff love him very much, as do I.
MOOS: Larry the Cat has his own twitter account after he was photographed parked under President Trump's limo. The account tweeted: What do you expect me to do? Sit out in the rain?
(on camera): The photo was catnip for Twitter users, vying for the perfect cat caption.
(voice-over): From: Have a wee on his tires @number10cat, to Larry for PM. With that photo, Larry was catapulted into the stratosphere of feline fame.
Jenny Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And Anderson starts now.
