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Voters Head to the Polls for Super Tuesday; Apple & FBI to Square Off on Capitol Hill; Interview with Rep. Bob Goodlatte; Sanders Campaign Raises $40 Million in February; Melania Trump On Her Journey to America. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 01, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

KAREN FINNEY, SENIOR ADVISOR FOR COMMUNICATIONS, HILLARY FOR AMERICA: We've always been prepared for that it wasn't just going to be about the early four states, although they're very important and would give us some information about where voters are what messages are resonating. Now that we're in Super Tuesday, we always knew it would always be about not just today, but about the whole month and possibly much further.

And remember, I've been in this game long enough to remember that sometimes it goes very long, like we saw in 2007-2008, and then in 2004 we saw right after Iowa things seemed to wrap up quickly. So, you have to be prepared for the long game, and that has always been our strategy.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Karen Finney, good luck today.

FINNEY: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

CUOMO: Always good to have you on the show -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, the showdown between Apple and the FBI getting a congressional spotlight today. We will talk to the leader of the House committee leading today's hearing. That's next.

[07:31:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:16] CAMEROTA: The showdown between Apple and the FBI takes center stage on Capitol Hill today. The battle of privacy versus national security is at stake after Apple rebuffed a federal court order to unlock the cell phone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists. Joining us now is Virginia congressman and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte. Good morning, congressman.

REP: BOB GOODLATTE (R), VIRGINIA: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, where do you stand on this issue? Should Apple have to comply with the FBI request to unlock the cell phone in this terror investigation?

GOODLATTE: Well, we are focused on the overall encryption issue. Certainly, technology companies need to cooperate with law enforcement, but this is a very important issue that goes beyond this particular case in terms of whether or not government can order a company to create something that lessens the security, not just of the particular phone that's in question.

Here, there's no question. The user of this phone is dead. The ownership is with the county in California. That's not the case. The question is if they create this key, where is that going to be stored, who's going to have access to it, will it jeopardize the security of millions, or perhaps, even a billion Apple phones, and what precedent will it set for all communications technology?

Encryption is a good thing and we need to be promoting stronger and strongerencryption because that not only protects privacy, but it also prevents enormous amounts of crime. And, obviously, when government agencies, when banks, when retailers are all being hacked and information about millions of consumers and taxpayers is being stolen, we're not doing enough in this area. It's not a question of too little, we need to be doing more encryption, not less.

CAMEROTA: Congressman, it sounds like you are falling along the side of Apple because with the argument you're making is the very argument they and their lawyers have made. Let me play for you what Ted Olson, the Apple lawyer, as well as Apple's CEO, has said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED OLSON, ATTORNEY FOR APPLE: We have to do everything possible to defeat terrorism -- to defeat, and capture, and punish people like Osama Bin Laden and so forth. But, we can't do it by breaking our constitution. We have got to stop in some place.

TIM COOK, APPLE CEO: The only way we know would be to write a piece of software that we view as sort of the software equivalent of cancer. We think it's bad news to write. We would never write it, we have never written it, and that is what is at stake here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, Congressman, that's what they say is at stake. Of course, the FBI and the Department of Justice says national security may be at stake. There might be something on that cell phone that would help them prevent a future terror attack.

GOODLATTE: Absolutely, and the technology companies and others should cooperate with law enforcement to be able to find ways to get access to that information, but relying upon a more than 200 year law that now yesterday a New York U.S. magistrate came down with a different ruling than occurred in the California U.S. court, means that the solution that the FBI is offering in this case has to be examined very, very carefully.

This is not new. We've had an age-old effort to balance national security and protecting people's constitutional civil liberties. But what's important to recognize in this debate about encryption is that encryption both increases security and protects civil liberties, and that has to be taken into account as we work through this.

But we definitely do need to look for solutions to law enforcement's problems. We should do that here in the United States Congress, not in the courts with hundreds of years old laws that never contemplated this technology or these kinds of questions.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

GOODLATTE: And, we should do it not with a commission, but through the committees of jurisdiction in the Congress.

CAMEROTA: So, how are you going to figure that out today in Congress in your hearing?

GOODLATTE: We've been working on this for a long time, but we're going to bring to light many of these important questions and we'll have the opportunity to ask both the FBI director James Comey, who is well-respected and a strong advocate for keeping people safe with effective law enforcement tools.

And, hearing from Apple's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, and other experts on this issue in terms of what needs to be done to strengthen protecting people and their privacy and civil liberties at the same time. It can be done, but it needs to be done with caution and protection of our constitutional liberties, as well as looking at the needs of law enforcement.

CAMEROTA: Well, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, we will be watching closely -- that hearing and what happens, because it literally affects virtually every person in this country and beyond. Thanks so much for explaining it to us this morning on NEW DAY.

GOODLATTE: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, back on the election. Bernie Sanders just voting in Vermont, gave a little bit of a press briefing after it. What is his path to victory today? And, some big fundraising news for him and an interesting question about it. We speak to his campaign manager next.

[07:40:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:44:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, what I have said from day oneis that our campaign does well. When millions of people stand up and fight back for social justice or economic justice, for environmental sanity, I am confident that if there is a large voter turnout today across this country we are going to do well. If it's not, we're probably going to be struggling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking after voting in sunny Vermont. He says it's all about turnout. Well, how does that mix with the fact that many are expecting lower than expected turnout, but it seems like a mixed bag? Let's discuss the path ahead for Sen. Sanders with his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. Jeff, it's good to be with you. Good luck today. Let's put up the map of the states in play.

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Thanks, Chris. Thank you.

CUOMO: So, we're showing the map to the audience right now.

WEAVER: Sure.

CUOMO: What do you see as your best chances today? Which states stick out to you? What do you call success after today?

WEAVER: Well, Chris, we're competing across the country, obviously, because there's delegates to be won in every single state. It's a proportional system, so even if you don't "win the state" you pick up a substantial number of delegates, so we expect to pick up a substantial number of delegates in every state. Recently, the senator has been in Massachusetts and Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas. So, we've really been all over the map, frankly.

CUOMO: Let's put up the Monmouth poll. It is proportional, of course. You're right. Oklahoma is the only state that we have him winning right now. Why do you think he's winning in Oklahoma, and why do you think is not winning in any other state?

WEAVER: I wouldn't say he's not winning. That's a Monmouth poll, so the real poll is today, Chris, when voters go to the polls in primary and caucus states all over this country. So, polls are one thing. I think we're going to do much better than that all across the country.

CUOMO: What do you think is going on --

WEAVER: I mean, he is doing well in Oklahoma.

CUOMO: Yes, why? Why is he doing well in Oklahoma? What did you find there?

WEAVER: The congressman speaks the truth. I think people there appreciatesomebody who's plain speaking and tells it like it is.

CUOMO: What's your take on this? In our polling we did the matchups between Clinton and Sanders against Trump, Rubio, and Cruz. Sanders does better against Trump, but also against Rubio and Cruz, where Clinton actually loses. What do you see in these numbers? What is the virtue for you in that? WEAVER: Well, the virtue for us is that if Democrats want to nominate a candidate who is going to win in November they should be pulling the lever for Bernie Sanders today. This is not the only poll that shows this, Chris. Poll after poll after poll shows that Bernie Sanders is a much stronger candidate against Republicans, including Donald Trump, than Hillary Clinton is.

Democrats are in real danger if she's the nominee if they're going to lose in November, and that would be a real tragedy to have a Republican in the White House. Bernie Sanders does so well with independents, he does well with Democrats. He could really put together the kind of coalition that we need to win in November. Unfortunately, up to this point, Sec. Clinton has shown that she cannot do that.

CUOMO: One good headline, one troubling question. The good headline is you raised a lot of money. Tell me about the $40 million. Why does it stand out to you?

WEAVER: Well, I think it's an incredible amount of money when you're raising money the way Sen. Sanders does, really revolutionizing the way we raise money in politics. Small dollar contributions -- I think the average contribution this past month was under $30. So, we have people all across the country -- hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people -- who are stepping up to support this campaign with small dollar contributions.

This really stands in stark contrast to the way our opponent's raising money. A lot of big money from Wall Street into super PAC's that's now flooding digital and radio buys across the country, so it's a real contrast. When he's elected president, he's going to owe his election to the people and not to the special interests and the wealthy elites.

CUOMO: What do you make of the National Review article that's picking up on the FEC sending a warning letter to you guys on February 25th -- 3,500 excessive, prohibited, or impermissible contributions? This is the second letter you've gotten like that this month. The last one was about 1,300 contributions that raised similar flags. What's going on there?

WEAVER: Well, that's just a standard letter that gets sent out based on some name matching that they do. Most of those get cleared up as administrative issues once they're all gone through. When you receive literally millions and millions of small dollar contributions, many people have similar names and so you have to go through these things by hand once you get these letters, and then demonstrate that it's not the same person. So, we did that last time and we'll do it again.

CUOMO: The sense coming out of South Carolina is that the campaign -- the Sanders campaign -- has lowered expectations for this big day today. Why?

WEAVER: Well, I don't think that that's an accurate representation. Look, this campaign is growing. We tied in Iowa. We won quite handily as you know, by 22 points in New Hampshire. We came very close in Nevada, a state that we were behind by 25 points only weeks before the election there. We came within five points of winning. South Carolina was, obviously, a disappointment.

But, this campaign is growing. The momentum is there. The people are standing behind Sen. Sanders and his message of transforming America, and they're doing it at the voting booth and with their wallets. And this campaign is going all the way to the convention, Chris. There's no lowering expectations.

CUOMO: Last question. Let's put up the delegate count.

WEAVER: Sure.

CUOMO: Do you believe that after today the percentage in the race will be different. Right now, obviously, she's got 551 to 85 delegates. A lot of those are super delegates. Do you believe --

WEAVER: Yes, a lot of those are super delegates.

CUOMO: Do you believe that the ratio will be better after today?

WEAVER: I don't know if the ratio will be better. The ratio might be better, I would think, but what is the case is that the way the calendar is set up it's really frontloaded with states that the secretary is stronger in. So once we get past Super Tuesday, there's 35 more states to come in this country, a bunch of territories, the District of Columbia.

Democrats abroad are now voting, as you may have noted. Democrats abroad are starting to vote. The ones in New Zealand just voted 3-1 in favor of Sen. Sanders. So, there's a long way to go in this race, Chris. You've got California and New York, all across the Midwest, the Rocky Mountain states, the industrial Midwest. We're going to do quite well.

CUOMO: Jeff Weaver, thank you very much for being on NEW DAY, as always.

WEAVER: My pleasure, Chris. Thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. Donald Trump's wife, Melania, is a proud immigrant often talking about her journey to America. So how does she respond to claims that her husband is anti-immigrant? Melania Trump talks to CNN. That's next.

[07:50:20]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:54:24]

CAMEROTA: More now of Anderson Cooper's interview with Melania Trump. Immigration, of course, is a hot-button issue in this campaign and it's one that's very personal to Melania. She opens up about that issue and what kind of first lady she would be. Also, what role she plays in her husband's campaign. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: When you hear people saying he's racist, hearing them saying he's anti-immigrant, what do you think?

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: No, he's not. He's not racist. He's not anti-immigrant. He wants to keep America safe. He wants to have illegal immigrants taken care of that they will not be in the country that they don't pay taxes, that they are criminals, and so that they're not good for the America. He wants -- he was talking about the illegal immigration, not about everybody.

COOPER: As an immigrant yourself --

M. TRUMP: Yes.

COOPER: -- and we've talked about that a little bit -- from Slovenia -- what was it about America that drew you here? That made you want to come to America?

M. TRUMP: I lived in Slovenia when I was a child, and I went to Milan and Paris for modeling career and I had very successful modeling career. And I came to United States to New York in 1996. And just the energy in New York, the opportunities, different world, different culture. It really attracted me and I did very well here, and I stayed here.

COOPER: As somebody who came to this country sort of wanting to be part of America, obviously, and ultimately become a citizen, do you understand the drive that brings other immigrants here, legally and illegally?

M. TRUMP: I understand, but I came here legally. I came here on VISA. I flew to Slovenia every few months to stamp it and came back. I applied for a green card and then after a few years for citizenship. I obeyed the law. I did it the right way. I didn't just sneak in and stay here. So, I think that's what people should do.

COOPER: If your husband is elected president, I think you would be the second foreign-born first lady. I think John Quincy Adams' wife -- it hasn't happened in a long time. John Quincy Adams' wife was born overseas, yes. Have you thought about being the first lady? What it would mean?

M. TRUMP: We are in 21st century. I would be me. I would be different than any other first ladies. I will help women, I will help children. They are our future. They need our guidance and help. And also, I'm involved in many, many charities already, so I will choose one or two that they're very dear to me and work on that.

COOPER: When you say help women and children, do you have a sense of how or in what way?

M. TRUMP: Well, I don't have -- I have little ideas I have, but let's see what happens. I take it day by day. We don't know what will happen, and we will see. So, then we could talk. COOPER: I saw in the interview you did in 2000 when your husband was thinking about running with this Reform Party, you'd said you'd be a traditional first lady. You named Betty Ford, Jacqueline Kennedy. Is that the motto you're still thinking of?

M. TRUMP: Well, they -- I see around that they compare me to Jackie Kennedy. It's an honor, but of course, we're in 21st century and I would be different. And she had a great style and she did a lot of good stuff, but this is different time now. We have a different problems that we need to take care of and we will focus on that.

COOPER: Being part of this campaign and running for president -- is it a lot different than you thought it was going to be, or is it --

M. TRUMP: I didn't -- I take it day by day. I didn't think much about it and I support my husband 100 percent, but I'm not in the campaign because we have a 9-year-old son, Barron, at home, and I'm raising him. He needs a parent at home. I'm teaching him morals and values, and preparing him for his life to be an adult.

COOPER: Is there something in particular you're looking forward to about being in the White House? I mean, is there --

M. TRUMP: I take it day by day, and enjoying life and I lead meaningful life. And I think we need to bring America together. We need compassion, we need kindness, we need jobs, of course. That's my husband's job to do and he will do very well. He's a great leader, great communicator. He gets along with people and a great negotiator.

COOPER: Do you think this campaign is going to go on for a long time or do you think things are going to become pretty clear very soon?

M. TRUMP: We will see. He's working hard. He's connecting with American people. He will work for them, and we will see what happens. But, you know, he's here to the end.

COOPER: Do you see yourself playing a larger role moving forward on the campaign trail or do you see yourself continuing as it has been?

M. TRUMP: Maybe a little bit more interviews, but as with traveling, I need to be a parent to my child. And I am with my husband traveling when I can. I was in Iowa and New Hampshire. I go for the debates, and when I can, I'm there.

COOPER: Any speechmaking in your future?

M. TRUMP: We don't know yet. Not thinking about that yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Always fascinating to hear from the spouses. I mean, that's a different window into what the candidate is like.

CUOMO: And she's going to surprise a lot of people. I mean, people know her mainly for her beauty and being married to Trump. She has a lot going on in her own life. I've been around her for a long time, so I think people will be pleasantly surprised, especially by what she's saying there about what the world needs right now.

CAMEROTA: Yes, absolutely. All right.