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Romney: Trump Would Make 'America & World Less Safe'; Ex- Clinton Staffer Accepts Immunity Deal in E-mail Probe. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 03, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can keep this frontrunner from winning.

[05:58:41] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to make America great again.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we remain divided, that strengthens Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mitt Romney is the de facto leader of the Republican Party.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are expecting that he's going to go hard against Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the cloud that has always been over Hillary Clinton's campaign.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server now telling all.

HILARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It really matters, when you're running for president, what you say.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Democracy is not a spectator sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stunning video showing a school officer violently taking down a student.

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, MAYOR OF BALTIMORE: I was appalled by what I saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no reason that such behavior should ever take place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Thursday. March 3, 6 a.m. in the East. We are all together this morning, and up first, we have to tell you that the GOP move to stop Trump is cranking up this morning, the party calling on all corners to stop Trump's hostile takeover. And now, they're banking on the party's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, who we have just learned is going to give a speech today, condemning Trump as a phony and a fraud, warning that a President Trump will make America and the world less safe. This is unprecedented what's going on. The question is: will it work, or is it time for the party to reap what they have sown?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Now all of this as the remaining GOP candidates plan to hit Trump hard tonight.

On the Democratic side, a big update. The former Hillary Clinton staffer at the State Department that set up her private e-mail server now accepting an immunity deal from the Justice Department to cooperate with that FBI investigation.

So let's begin all of our coverage with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty. She's in Oberlin Park, Kansas, on the GOP race.

Good morning, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alisyn.

Well, Mitt Romney is set to deliver a speech in Utah in just a few hours this morning about the state of the race that's divided the Republican field and get ready. He is going to go right after Donald Trump in a big way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY (voice-over): The 2012 Republican nominee speaking out today against the 2016 frontrunner, Donald Trump. Romney releasing part of his prepared remarks this morning, planning to slam Trump, calling him a phony and a fraud, putting his support squarely behind Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich.

TRUMP: Go out and get 'em. You can do it.

SERFATY: Trump, who once endorsed Mitt Romney, anticipating the attacks, tweeting last night, quote, "Looks like two-time failed candidate Mitt Romney is going to be telling Republicans how to get elected. Not a good messenger."

And his campaign releasing this paid ad questioning Romney's conservative leadership.

TRUMP: We have expanded the Republican Party.

SERFATY: The feud coming as the frontrunner gets the cold shoulder from GOP leaders after his sweeping seven-state victory on Super Tuesday.

RUBIO: What people are saying now is please, everyone get together so we can keep this frontrunner from winning.

SERFATY: Former candidate Lindsey Graham suggesting he's so against Trump he'd now even support Ted Cruz.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Ted and I are in the same party. Donald Trump is an interloper. I don't trust him.

SERFATY: But Trump continues to argue he is the one to unify the party.

TRUMP: When you're dealing in Congress, we have to get them all into a room and we have to say, "Fellows, let's go. It's for the good of the people."

SERFATY: And tonight now, only four candidates will face off in the debate. Dr. Ben Carson pulling out after Tuesday's results as Texas Senator Ted Cruz admits his campaign could have met the same fate.

CRUZ: If we had lost Texas, that would have been the end of the road. I don't think a candidate has a viable path forward if you can't run your home state.

SERFATY: Cruz trying to make Carson's loss his gain, sending an invitation to supporters of other GOP hopefuls.

CRUZ: If you've been supporting other candidates, we welcome you on our team. If you've been supporting Donald Trump, we really welcome you on our team.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY: And you saw Ted Cruz there, really, with a not-so-subtle message to Marco Rubio, that he has to win his home state, as well, the sky-high pressure on Rubio to do so on March 15 in Florida. Of course, all of this certainly sets the stage for this really to be the dynamic that drives the debate tonight -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And it's fascinating, Sunlen. Thanks so much for laying it out for us.

Here to discuss it this morning, CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston; senior politics editor for "The Daily Beast," Jackie Kucinich; and CNN political commentator and anchor for Time Warner Cable News, Errol Louis. Great to have all of you here.

Let's talk about what Sunlen just laid out, Errol. It's described as pandemonium in the GOP party, and somehow, Mitt Romney has become the de facto leader of this effort to take down Trump. So 9:30 a.m. local time in Utah, he'll be giving a speech, and Sunlen played a piece of it we have. It's just -- the embargo has just been lifted for what he'll be saying. But let me just read a little bit more to you.

"Trump's domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe. He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president, and his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill."

How effective is this and Mitt Romney delivering it? ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: One thing. I mean, the

person saying it is one thing. The facts of it or the reality of it, I think, is what we should focus on. This is something that his opponents, Trump's opponents, have been saying for months now. So now, will somebody who is not running say exactly the same thing actually could make the difference? I'm not sure. I don't know if it will affect voters.

But this is a message within what's called the establishment but which is really a confederation of, you know, thousands of county chairs, and state chairs and other people who are activists and donors within the political party. And I think this is a powerful signal to them that, you know, if you were thinking about going with Trump or you were thinking about opposing Trump, here's where I, Mitt Romney, stand. If you were out there working with me four years ago, I want you to come with me.

CUOMO: But Mark, he is not being motivated by renegade party officials and insiders, and I want your comment on whether or not Romney is the right messenger and whether or not this is the right message. Like it or not, Trump has given people a reason to believe those who are supporting him. If you're not giving them a better reason to believe something else, is this doomed from the start?

[06:05:16] MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: First of all, is it a little bit too late at this point to be delivering this message? It's a short period of time right now for the Republican establishment to try to stop Donald Trump, although there's a lot of discussion going on here in Washington and throughout the country about how they can do it.

Interesting about Mitt Romney delivering this speech. There has been a vacuum at the top of the Republican Party. There hasn't been a unifying voice against Donald Trump. We heard his rivals trying to take him down, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, but they all have their own specific reasons for doing so, and they want to be the Republican nominee.

Now you have somebody stepping out, trying to be the unifying voice all of the anti-Trump rhetoric. It was interesting, too, about delivering this today, is that we are heading into a stretch of contests right now that could make or break Donald Trump, including the state of Michigan where Donald Trump could do very well, especially with white voters who do not have college degrees. As we all know, Mitt Romney's father was from Michigan. So it's an interesting point in time. The question is, is it too late, Chris?

CAMEROTA: Jackie, Donald Trump is not taking this message sitting down. He's tweeting, not surprisingly. Here's what he says in response to Mitt Romney. He says, "Why can't the leaders of the Republican Party see that I am bringing in new voters by the millions. We're creating a longer, stronger party."

Here's a few numbers to maybe back up his claim, and this is voter enthusiasm by numbers. Democrats, the voter turnout to date -- well, hold on. OK. Sure, why not. Here's -- the Republicans have 58 percent. They are more enthusiastic than ever before. Democrats are 46 percent.

Here are some raw numbers for you. Voter turnout to date, Democrats at 2.6 million, Republicans 5 million.

JACKIE KUCINICH, SENIOR POLITICS EDITOR, "THE DAILY BEAST": Well, yes, and Democrats have really been worried about these numbers. But you can't -- you can't talk about Mitt Romney as well as trying to take down Trump without talking about his role in building him up. Just a couple years ago, he sought Donald Trump's endorsement and kid of validated him as a party king-maker. So now that he's trying to sort of undo what he did or he helped do is really interesting. You don't usually see this kind of tough talk from Mitt Romney either.

But it is true, Trump is bringing out more people. It's just the Republican establishment don't like who they're coming out for.

CUOMO: Also, look, we'll see how it plays this morning, but it stands to -- it stands against reason that going negative on Trump is going to help you against Trump. It hasn't worked for anybody else, because people like what they see in him and they believe what they believe. Nobody is offering anything better.

Inside the numbers that Alisyn just showed us, is there a different analysis on those, Errol? This idea that all these voters who came out, they're not all voting for Trump. Cruz is getting a lot of people. Rubio is getting a lot of people. Isn't there a good chance that if Trump is the nominee, those voters will be so disenchanted that he got in that they won't come out? That is somewhat of a false positive, that number.

LOUIS: That's exactly right. That's a key number to look at, as a matter of fact, as his rivals keep pointing -- as Trump's rivals keep pointing out. Look, 50, 60 percent of the people who are coming out want somebody else, and are those people sufficiently disaffected while we have a large and growing list of, in some cases, members of Congress, sitting governors and other people saying, never Trump. Never going to vote for this guy?

CUOMO: People who vote for Cruz and Rubio almost every time we've measured it, don't pick Trump in high numbers as the second choice, so that's where that would come from?

LOUIS: Well, exactly right. And something else worth mentioning is that when Trump talks about expanding the party, we have to be clear about what that does or doesn't mean. If, in an open primary, you've got some cross-over Democrats, that's a great thing. Are you getting people to register as Republicans? Are you getting them to vote the Republican ticket up and downthe line? What is a Trump Republican? This is all sort of in formation. I only know of one Trump Republican, and that's the guy running for office.

CAMEROTA: So Mark, if, in fact, the premise is true and there is pandemonium inside the GOP, what does this mean for the next couple of months? Is everyone waiting to see what happens on March 15? Or is everyone preparing for some sort of brokered convention? PRESTON: So let me -- let me sketch out a couple scenarios that are

being discussed quietly among the power brokers, so to speak, here in Washington, D.C.

The first thing is that we talked a lot about consolidation over the past couple weeks. Marco Rubio has been trying to get Ted Cruz to leave the race. Ted Cruz is trying to get Marco Rubio to leave the race. John Kasich is trying to get everyone to leave the race.

Well, at this point, there's talk now of trying to keep everybody in the race. The reason why you do that is that, potentially -- now, this is a long shot -- Marco Rubio goes to Florida, wins his home state, and holds onto 99 delegates. John Kasich goes to Ohio, wins his home state; he holds onto 66 delegates. And as we march through the next couple of months, what you're doing is potentially denying Donald Trump the ability to achieve the requisite number of delegates to go over the top and become the nominee. And that's when you go into Cleveland and there becomes a fight.

[06:10:18] Another thing they're talking about right now is trying to run another candidate, a conservative candidate, whether it's under the banner of another political party or as an independent. And the reason why Republicans are talking about this is to provide a safe haven for candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate and for the U.S. House who do not want to align themselves with Donald Trump. He might be too nuclear hot for them at that point, or they just might not like him, and they feel that having this type of candidate might protect the Republican Party in the long run; certainly if Donald Trump were to lose in the general election.

Another thing they're talking about, quite frankly, is not even showing up in Cleveland if Donald Trump is the nominee.

So I have to tell you, they're very flummoxed. They don't know what to do, but they're trying to put it all out onto the table right now and to figure it out.

CAMEROTA: Those are a lot of fascinating and disparate scenarios.

Panel, thank you. Stick around. We are going to talk about the Democratic side coming up.

Let's get over to Michaela for other news.

PEREIRA: All right, Alisyn.

Breaking news on the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mails. The Justice Department is granting immunity to a former State Department staffer who set up Hillary's private email server. What is the Clinton campaign saying? Joe Johns is live in Washington with more on that -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, they say they're welcoming it. There's plenty of rhetoric on the Republican side, claiming this is an ominous development. But it can also be seen as a step toward injecting some transparency into the issue of those State Department e-mails on the private server on the former secretary of state.

It's a move that could once and for all get the questions about the State Department e-mails answered that have been dogging Hillary Clinton and her campaign.

Bryan Pagliano was forced to invoke his right against self- incrimination due in no small part to a congressional investigation. Now, it is common practice for lawyers to advise their clients to shut up in situations like that until some arrangement is made. Now he's free to talk to federal investigators without the threat of prosecution, as long as he sticks to the truth.

Pagliano is the former Clinton staffer who helped her set up her e- mail server. Now that federal investigators have secured his cooperation, they can enter the part of the investigation to determine whether any laws were broken.

The Clinton campaign's been saying all this information needs to get out in the open. That was the message on Wednesday. Brian Fallon, the Clinton spokesman, said they're pleased Pagliano is cooperating, releasing a statement saying Secretary Clinton is also cooperating with the Justice Department security inquiry, including offering in August to meet with them to assist their efforts if need.

Hillary Clinton did receive e-mails from aides that were not marked classified but contained information that should have stayed on the government's secure e-mail system -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Joe, thank you so much.

Programming note, the next week is March Madness right here on CNN. It begins Sunday with the next Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, followed by the premiere of a new CNN series, "RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE." Next Tuesday is the next Super Tuesday night. Wednesday brings another Democratic debate in Miami. And Thursday a Republican debate in Miami. A full week of political events right here on CNN.

CUOMO: All right. We have some very interesting information for you. We've done a poll. A majority of Americans, it turns out, believe President Obama should nominate the next Supreme Court justice. In a new CNN/ORC poll, 58 percent say it is up to the president, President Obama, to select Antonin Scalia's successor. Two-thirds of Americans think the Senate should hold confirmation hearings.

But it is a statistical tie when Americans are asked whether that nomination would make the court more liberal or more conservative.

CNN has learned the White House is vetting 8th Circuit Appeals Court Judge Jane Kelly of Iowa as a potential pick.

CAMEROTA: Well, North Korea accused of firing six short-range projectiles of the Korean Peninsula hours after the U.N. Security Council voted to impose some of its strongest sanctions ever on North Korea. The sanctions stem from Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and missile launch. Seoul says the projectiles fell into the sea. North Korea has a history of showing displeasure using this response. PEREIRA: Astronaut Scott Kelly is back in the USA this morning after

spending nearly a year in space. There he is. Kelly touching down in Houston overnight, reuniting with his family. The vice president's wife, Jill Biden, part of the delegation greeting him. Kelly says he spent a lot of time reflecting on what it means to serve the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, NASA ASTRONAUT: This mission is the latest achievement in our country's space program, but it's not the last. There will be more. It's in our DNA of our country to explore, and we must never stop doing this. We must lead. We must learn, and we must discover

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Great news for Alisyn. NASA says Kelly grew two inches in space.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. That's the answers.

PEREIRA: They're going to closely study other health effects from the extended time in zero gravity.

Are you willing to go just to get that extra bit of height?

CAMEROTA: Good-bye, high heels. That would my -- that would be the solution for me.

PEREIRA: Women in droves are signing up...

CUOMO: Do you think the zero gravity wound up just like...

PEREIRA: Maybe it just pulls -- yes, like it gives -- wouldn't that feel great on your spine?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: Decompression.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But you know, he talked about the DNA in the country. It's also his DNA. What's so fascinating...

PEREIRA: He is made (ph) of other, right?

CAMEROTA: Having been there. Yes, his sacrifice, No. 1. And also that he's an identical twin.

PEREIRA: I know.

CAMEROTA: So they'll be able to tell exactly what effect it had on him versus his brother. Right?

PEREIRA: I know. It's fantastic.

CUOMO: Finally. We've got to go (ph).

PEREIRA: Exactly.

CUOMO: All right. So the staffer who helped set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server is ready to talk after getting an immunity deal. What is he going to tell the Justice Department? What will it mean for the race for the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:20:03] CAMEROTA: The e-mail scandal haunting Hillary Clinton's campaign is back in the spotlight this morning. The Justice Department granting immunity now to a former State Department staffer who set up her private e-mail server. Could this ramp up questions about trust already dogging the Democratic frontrunner?

Let's ask CNN political commentator, Democratic strategist Paul Begala. He is the senior adviser for a pro-Clinton super PAC.

Good morning, Paul.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We know that you are a Hillary Clinton supporter, so you tend to see these things through rosy lenses. However, how big of a deal do you think this is?

BEGALA: Well, it's -- the timing -- this should have been done months ago. As you all reported just a few minutes ago, six months ago Hillary offered to go and talk to these investigators, because you want to get this cleared. You want to clear the decks so you can actually talk about issues that matter to voters.

This guy had a right -- has a right to assert his Fifth Amendment. It's not helpful, frankly, to Hillary's campaign that he did so. I'm glad now that they've resolved it. He's now got his immunity. He can go and testify and clear this up.

So it's a hiccup for her campaign, but I think it's a huge difference from the Ebola virus plaguing the other side.

We haven't talked about this this morning. Tuesday, a New York appeals court said that a fraud case, a civil fraud case that the New York attorney general is bringing against Donald Trump and Trump University can't go forward. As a strategist, would I rather have, like, some guy talking about e-mails -- it's kind of not great -- or New York attorney general suing my client for fraud? You know, it's a pretty -- it's a pretty bad deal for Mr. Trump.

CAMEROTA: I hear you, and you're doing a good job as a strategist there, Paul, but let's stay focused on Hillary Clinton's e-mails, because let's talk about what you just fastened on. And that is that Bryan Pagliano, who is this former staffer who set up the private server in her home, he would allegedly know sort of where the bodies are buried, in that...?

BEGALA: What bodies?

CAMEROTA: Well, he would know...

BEGALA: What's he going to say?

CAMEROTA: I don't know. But why did he plead the Fifth? I mean, that's what saves the question. Why plead the Fifth if there's nothing to hide?

BEGALA: I have no idea. He should have -- well, I'm not -- I guess I am a licensed lawyer, but I'm not advising him. He has that legal right. It's not politically helpful.

And if you recall, when this first came up, Hillary's campaign publicly called on him to go ahead and cooperate and testify and clear the decks on this. So as a political matter, you want this over. You want everybody to cooperate, and you want to get this behind you.

But he has a legal right, and I shouldn't criticize him for asserting a legal right that he has. It's just politically unhelpful.

CAMEROTA: Here's how the campaign is talking about it today. They tweeted out -- this if Brian Fallon, Hillary Clinton's press secretary. "We disagreed with his decision not to answer questions from the Benghazi committee, so we are pleased he is cooperating now."

They say they're pleased, but pleased can't really be their only emotion, because what -- they probably will ask him is why was this necessary to do that? What were you told about why you were setting up a private server? It is so out of the ordinary. What was the rationale?

BEGALA: It's not out of the ordinary.

CAMEROTA: It is out of the ordinary. It's not out of the ordinary to use your own device, as we know former secretaries of state have done. But to set up your private server.

BEGALA: And what's the -- that's fine. Let him testify. Clear the decks on this. I just don't think it's the kind of -- again, as a strategist, I love Hillary. You know that. So I'm biased toward her.

As a strategist, this thing has played out. OK? She's won 10 out of 15 primaries. She's won 4.5 million votes of the 6 million that have been cast so far. It has been a concern, but it has stopped her at all, hasn't slowed her march toward the likely nomination, I think eventual presidency.

Which is a bigger problem, as a strategist? Which would I rather have? This e-mail problem? Not great. Or being sued by the New York attorney general for fraud. You know, I guess I've had to pick my poison, I would rather be in Hillary's position than Mr. Trump.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But it's hasn't exactly played out entirely in the voters' minds. And here's the example. In the exit polling just from these primary states, let me show you, because in Oklahoma, the CNN exit poll, it was asked once again about honest and trustworthy. Sanders wins, 68 percent over Clinton's 47 percent. In Massachusetts, they were asked who do you believe is an honest and trustworthy candidate? Sanders gets 85 percent there. Hillary Clinton gets 54 percent.

So don't you believe that this e-mail thing is sort of dogging that perception and the feeling of voters being completely comfortable?

BEGALA: Sure, but it's dogging her like a poodle, not like a pit bull. Trump's got a fraud case dogging him. Hillary's got this thing.

By the way, she won Massachusetts, even though -- and it was a close state. It's a state, frankly, I would have bet on Bernie, to tell you the truth, just given where it is; it's New England. But is it a problem? Of course it is. Has it stopped her from winning? No, it hasn't. Will it in November? No, I don't think so.

Just the most important thing is to get this through the system, though. That's why this man -- although he had a right, this man taking the Fifth has not helped Hillary a bit, the fact that it's over. They're not just spinning you when they say, "Look, we just want this thing cleared, because it's -- it's got to get through the system before you can have the election, and that will speed this along.

[06:25:20] CAMEROTA: Paul Begala, great to talk to you. Thanks for being on NEW DAY.

BEGALA: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will square off in their next debate on Sunday night in Flint, Michigan. Anderson Cooper moderates it. It's Sunday night, 8 p.m., only here on CNN -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Video from a Baltimore school is drawing outrage and questions. We have the story behind what this officer is doing to this young man, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: There is outrage in Baltimore over a disturbing video that is capturing a school police officer slapping and kicking a young man on school grounds. The school's system top cop and two other officers are now on administrative leave. Our CNN national correspondent, Miguel Marquez, joins us now with more.

It's really hard to watch this video.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is hard to watch. It's certainly very important for Baltimore. It's only a few seconds long, as you say, but it is causing shockwaves in Baltimore, a city still grappling with repairing relations between police and the community that distrusts them.