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U.S. Sending Special Forces To Syria To Fight ISIS; GOP Campaigns Demand More Control Over Debates; Church Of Scientology Slams Remini In Statement. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired November 02, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

AARON DAVID MILLER, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: You've got the Saudis and the Iranians. They can't stand each other. You have Erdogan (ph) against the Turks. You've got the U.S. against ISIS.

You have got Russia trying to support Assad against the Syrian opposition and then you have struggles between the Islamic State and some of the al Qaeda affiliates.

The real question is, Chris, whether or not the U.S. and Russia can create a kind of political center of gravity here to exercise influence on respective parties in order to create what the president calls a managed transition.

The odds of this happening any time soon are probably slim to none. For the first time you have these new elements. I don't want to prejudge failure but the odds are long.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Why not stay out of it, yes, Russia is there protecting their interest. They want access to the Mediterranean. That's what's going to happen there. But why not just bomb ISIS as much as you want to or see fit as the United States security provisions provide? And stay out of the rest of it. There's nothing you can do to control it.

MILLER: I mean, I have a piece coming out in CNN.com called the bubble conversation in which it purports to be what the president thinks about this, and by and large, he agrees with you. I think he want to pursue a counterterrorism strategy against ISIS, number one.

He's got to do something in view of the hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, which have now become a European problem and there's the politics of watching Putin risk ready against the backdrop of a risk-averse president.

So you know, I think the president's options on this are bad. I think his own view of the situation is realistic. He knows that 50 or frankly 500 American Special Forces are not going to change the battlefield balance.

And the reality is in the year in change that remains on the Obama administration, I think it's fair to say that the next RD, whoever he or she may be will inherit the same, you know, root canal or migraine headache that we call Syria. It's a tragedy, but we can't do nothing on one hand and nobody is prepared to go all in. So you have the goldilocks strategy, not too hot and not too cold.

CUOMO: So if you put these men and women on the ground, these special operators, if you have a God forbid and something happens to them, they'll be very close to harm's way at a minimum, then it's just nothing but abject political failure and probably human failure on top of that in terms of putting these people there in the first place? What's the up side?

MILLER: I mean, the upside is that we've had some success in the north supplying the Kurds. The secretary of defense lays out his three "R" strategy. Raqqa, they're going to at some point support pressure against the ISIS capital.

Raids, we are well positioned to conduct special operations raised against ISIS to free hostages and presumably to kill leaders and Ramadi, the third "R," an effort at some point to set the stage for an effort to help the Iraqis take back one of the key cities in Anbar Province.

So I think you got a year and change left, the president has to do something. This is trying to split the balance between being not in, which is politically unacceptable and all in.

Frankly, you know, what's the option? You don't like 50 Special Forces, send in 500,000. We've seen that movie before and neither Congress nor the public wants to sit down at another showing.

So, again, goldilocks strategy, Chris, not too hold, not too cold. You know something? Who knows, maybe Putin will come under pressure. There's speculation that the downed Russian aircraft was brought down by a terrorist attack.

I think that will force Putin, if in fact it were true, to double down. Maybe Russia at some point will in fact bring its influence to bear to start a political process to help the administration get out of another unwinnable war.

CUOMO: Aaron David Miller, thank you for being on NEW DAY. I would remind that Goldilocks was in a house that is not hers.

MILLER: Good point, Chris.

CUOMO: Take care -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for the fairy tale correction there, Chris, very helpful.

The Republican presidential candidates demanding new conditions for the upcoming debates we're talking with the RNC about the debate debacle. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:38:44]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSAY GRAHAM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want smaller groups on the stage, better questions and let us all be heard from equally.

JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Harry Truman couldn't get elected president with explaining United States of America's health care plan in 30 seconds.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should have moderators who are interested in disseminating the information about the candidates as opposed to, you know, gotcha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I think it's fair to say the GOP candidates are not happy about the debate formats thus far. The campaigns held an emergency huddle last night coming up with a list of demands for future debates.

Joining us this morning is Sean Spicer of the RNC. He has a brand new title, the chief strategist and communications director for the RNC. He previously had handled debate negotiations with the networks. Hi, Sean.

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RNC: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: These past five days must have about somewhat hellish for you. I mean, is that fair?

SPICER: That's very fair.

CAMEROTA: I mean, look, you previously said --

SPICER: There's no question --

CAMEROTA: Go ahead.

SPICER: Go ahead. I was going to say, look, there's no question that last week's debate was a complete disaster. I think our candidates are rightly upset. The clips you played expressed just a portion of that outrage.

I think they expected a debate on the economy and on financial matters and it wasn't. Rightly so, debates were about the candidates.

[07:40:06] It's about them being able to express why they're running for president, their vision, their ideas for taking this country forward. It's our job as a party to make sure they have that and they have the best possible format to do that.

That meeting last night was just that. It was an opportunity to for them to get together, find some areas of consensus that they agree upon and a way to ensure that the networks respect their ability to have a fair and open debate about their ideas. CAMEROTA: Yes, but it's not just the networks that they blame. They also blame the RNC. In fact, some people have gone so far as to call for Reince Priebus, the head of the RNC to resign. Mark Levin says, quote, "The RNC has thrown these Republicans under the bus," end quote. Did you guys botch this somehow?

SPICER: No. Anyone who thinks we can put words in moderator's mouths is crazy. The candidates have confidence in what the RNC is doing. What you saw last night was them saying that they want to be more involved in the format.

The rest of it still remains with the RNC. They should be. The candidates should be involved in understanding and negotiating with these networks, the best format that they agree upon. That's their role. That's something that we advocate for.

So when it comes to the organization of it, the calendar, the sanctioning, the logistics of it, all of that is with the RNC as it should be. The candidates all agree on that.

But the candidates want to have a greater role in talking to the networks about some commitments that we've made about the format. That's perfectly appropriate. These debates are about them.

CAMEROTA: OK, I mean, here are the demands or the requests I should say as we understand what came out of the meeting, two-hour time limit. OK, opening and closing remarks, minimum 30 seconds for each candidate. Fair enough.

Editorial control of the graphics, that sounds a little bit more complicated, asking the networks to grant the campaigns editorial control, but then equal speaking time for each candidate, I mean, what do you want the moderators to do?

Sit there with the stopwatch and make sure that everybody is getting exact time? Some of this has to be freewheeling.

SPICER: Well, I think the candidates have a right to be involved in this process. I think after what you've seen the last several debates, where there's been a huge disparage in time, it's a fair complaint they have.

Alisyn, I think sometimes this process isn't as pretty as we would all like. But contrast what happened with the other side of the aisle. We had a discussion among our candidates last night to find areas of consensus that they could come to and present to the party and say, these are the areas we want you to fight for us.

That's great. That's part of the process. On the flip side, the Democrats on September 16th had a protest outside of their headquarters by their candidates saying that they were being treated unfairly and it was a coronation of Hillary Clinton.

There's a big difference between how these two parties handle debates. Our party is inclusive. It allows the candidates to have a discussion. It talks about they want to be more involved. That's what we want.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

SPICER: We're all in agreement on that. On the other side of the aisle, you're having protests outside-headquarters.

CAMEROTA: Sean --

SPICER: I'll take out side over their side any day.

CAMEROTA: Sean, one more interesting detail. There's word that the new rules will not apply to the Fox Business Network's debate nine days from now. Why not? Nine days is enough time to make these tweaks.

SPICER: Well, again, I think this comes down to what the candidates want. It's not our job -- the RNC's job has never been to tell the candidates what to do. It's to try to find consensus and argue on their behalf.

CAMEROTA: Right, but this is what they want. I mean, this is what the candidates say they want. Why not force Fox News to also have to comply with these conditions?

SPICER: Clearly, they feel like the format that fox has given them is fine from what I understand. But, again, that's up to them to decide. It's not for us to tell them what's good and what's bad.

It's for them to tell us what the format is they want and for us to be able to advocate on their behalf for them to have an open channel of communication with the networks.

But again, if they're fine with a particular set of format or criteria, that's fine. We're not here to dictate anything. We're here to be a conduit and a helper and partner. That's what they want. That's what should be the case. That's what's going to be the case.

CAMEROTA: Because Sean, "The Washington Post" is reporting this morning that the reason that Fox News won't have to comply is because there were some people in the room last night that are afraid of Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox. Did you hear that sentiment?

SPICER: I read it in "The Washington Post." I wouldn't say that means it happened. But I also think that if, look, the candidates collectively talked about that, if they agree that the criteria and the format for this upcoming debate is something they're amenable to, that's great.

Again our job isn't to make decisions for them, it's to advocate on their behalf. If they're comfortable with the upcoming format then we are comfortable with the upcoming format.

If they're not, then we're not either. Our job is to be their advocate. Not to make decisions on their behalf. We work for them. You know, if that's what they want, that's what they are going to get.

[07:45:08] CABRERA: Sean Spicer, thanks so much for talking on NEW DAY. Great to see you.

SPICER: You bet. Thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, we will talk more about all this with presidential candidates, Chris Christie and Lindsey Graham, in the next hour. Stick around for that -- Chris.

CUOMO: Truth to power, in a brand new interview, actress, Leah Remini, is unleashing scathing comments against her former church, the Church of Scientology. What did she say and will there be any fallout? We will dig in when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik for CNN Money now. Chipotle closed dozens of restaurants in Washington and Oregon after an E. Coli scare. The source of the contamination has been determined yet, but 22 cases have been linked to six locations in the Seattle and Portland areas. Chipotle immediately closed 43 restaurants in the area just to be cautious.

Taylor Swift is being sued for allegedly stealing lyrics. Lesser known singer, Jessie Braham, claims Swift stole the words for "Shake It Off" from him. He says he has copyright ownership of the phrases, "haters going to hate" and "players going to play," which appear in Swift's song. Braham wants $42 million and a writer credit on the track.

NEW DAY is coming back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:17]

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Actress, Leah Remini, is speaking out against the controversial Church of Scientology in an ABC News interview. Remini was a devout member for some 30 years, came to it as a child.

Is it going to affect -- her comments about the church, will it affect the whole image of the church? One of its most prominent members, Tom Cruise, and the influence they have in Hollywood?

Here to discuss is Larry Hackett, former managing editor at "People" magazine. Paulette Cooper is also here. She is an activist against scientology.

You can read her story in the new book titled "The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, How The Church of Scientology Tried To Destroy Paulette Cooper" written by Tony Ortega.

So much to get to, Paulette, I do want to ask about your experiences and why who wrote this book, but I think we need to talk about the whole issue, first of all, Larry, of her deciding to go public. It's interesting. She's separated church publicly in 2013?

LARRY HACKETT, FORMER MANAGING EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: She did.

PEREIRA: But this is the first time we've heard her speak at length about why and all of her motivations.

HACKETT: What makes her interesting, as compared to other people, is she was in the church as a child. Her mother joined the church in Brooklyn. She lived in Florida.

PEREIRA: She grew up in it.

HACKETT: She was in the high-flying uniformed group. You can kind of understand why it might take so long to get out of the church. This is your entire life.

PEREIRA: That's been one of the criticisms. Why did it take her so long to come out against it?

HACKETT: It has been other people who joined as adults. Did you not see what was going on here?

PEREIRA: Yes.

HACKETT: That's understandable. There has been a drip, drip, drip, against the church for many, many years now. This seems to me to be adding to that.

PEREIRA: Do you think this will be more significant, especially when she talks about some of the influence that Tom Cruise, for example, wields within the church? Do you think that has the potential for damaging him, the image of the church or her?

HACKETT: There's been so much going on. Since Tom Cruise, particularly since he married Katie Holmes and divorced her, there's been so much written about it. This is a little different.

But the book is kind of unclear, precisely what Tom Cruise's influence was. She and Tom Cruise didn't talk about his role in the church. She went to the wedding. She sounds like she was mistreated there.

PEREIRA: Maybe she was a bad wedding guest.

HACKETT: Complaining why the head of the church's wife wasn't there and how she wasn't allowed to sit with Jennifer Lopez.

PEREIRA: No, but she's also talked about the fact that she hasn't been seen in a long time.

HACKETT: That's true.

PEREIRA: That's a separate issue. But Paulette, I really want to talk to you. Forty years ago, you wrote a book about exposing scientology. You went through a bit of hell on earth after that experience, did you not?

PAULETTE COOPER, AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST AGAINST SCIENTOLOGY: I did. I was a journalist, trying to tell the truth. Since I was the only one speaking out against them for 15 years, they went after me like you wouldn't believe it.

They stole my stationary and got my fingerprint on it. They wrote themselves bomb threats, called the FBI and had me arrested. I was 15 years in jail. They sent horrible letters about me to all my neighbors saying that I had a disease and I was a part-time prostitute. They wrote my name up on walls throughout New York City.

PEREIRA: My goodness.

COOPER: Men's bathrooms. I'd get these calls. They sued me 19 times, all over the world. That's just a few of the things they did to try to stop me from telling the truth about scientology.

PEREIRA: I want to show you the response that the Church of Scientology issued. They issued a statement that says, in part, after Leah Remini made her interview on ABC, they said, "She needs to move on with her life instead of pathetically exploiting her former religion, friends and other celebrities for money and attention to appear relevant again.

Does this sort of seem typical to you, Paulette, of how they respond after someone goes vocal?

COOPER: Actually no because it's very, very muted compared to what they usually say. They call people names. One of the things that's very bad that I exposed in my book is that people tell them all of their secrets, for hours on end, days on end, and then they take these secrets and use them.

They reveal them. They expose what people have said in what's called security checks and what's called their ethics folders. So this is -- what happened to her is very, very muted, very -- not anything like what happens to, say, somebody who is a major former member and leaves and tries to talk out.

HACKETT: What's interesting, Paulette is absolutely right, what's interesting about this case, though it may be muted compared to Paulette, is it is very public with a celebrity.

[07:55:06] Often, these cases you hear about in documentaries or other places are anonymous individuals who the church accused of coming after. They're coming after a celebrity. I mean, to call her ridiculous and stupid, that's pretty heavy.

PEREIRA: They actively recruited celebrity members --

HACKETT: That's correct.

PEREIRA: It's going to be interesting to see how this goes. We'll cut this conversation short. I'm sure we'll pick up again. Paulette Cooper, thanks so much for joining us. Larry, always a pleasure.

You can get in on the conversation, post your comments on Facebook and/or Twitter, and we'll carry the conversation on there -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, here's a question for this morning. Was a Russian plane destroyed by terrorism over the weekend? We have updates and insight when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The campaigns uniting not just against a TV network, but also against the Republican National Committee.

CARSON: We need to mature in the way that we do these debates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want the debates to be substantive.

GRAHAM: Smaller groups on the stage, better questions.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to take care of ISIS, but we're afraid to have a tough question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The more information we're receiving from different officials, the less we actually know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of questions about the airworthiness of this plane.