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Sanders Accuses Clinton of Violating Campaign Finance Rules; Cruz and Trump Clash on New York Values. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 19, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:23] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont, looking for a big day here in New York and having increasingly big problems with the Clinton campaign, specifically about fundraising. Sanders suggested that Clinton and the DNC may be violating laws. These claims come as voters are heading to the booth right now in New York.

Let's talk to Jeff Weaver, Bernie Sanders' campaign manager.

Good to see you. Good luck today.

JEFF WEAVER, BERNIE SANDERS' CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Good to see you, Chris. Thank you.

CUOMO: What are you expecting out of the polls today?

WEAVER: Well, I think Bernie Sanders will do very well today. I think he's going to do much better than the public polls that we have seen. You know, we'll see if we can push over the top, but that depends on turnout and, you know, if our folks come out, we could do it, but -

CUOMO: Is the path to victory, is the path to relevancy at the convention and mandate?

WEAVER: Oh, no, no, no, this is all about the nomination. Bernie Sanders is - is in this to win it. And there is a path to win it. He has to win most states going forward, but he doesn't have to win every state. So - but we have a path to victory, absolutely.

CUOMO: Dirty pool is what the Sanders campaign is saying, that there is too much collusion between the DNC, the Democratic National Party, and Hillary Clinton's campaign. What do you know?

WEAVER: Well, this is what - if you're talking about yesterday's press release we put out, this is the problem. So this is a joint fundraising agreement between Hillary Clinton and the DNC. So that fundraising agreement allows them - people to write one check and it gets split up in a certain way, right?

CUOMO: Right.

WEAVER: The first $2,700 goes to Secretary Clinton. The rest goes to the DNC. Well, what's going on - and supposedly to help down ballot candidates. But what's going on is they spent, in the last quarter, $15 million of that money on direct mail and e-mail solicitations. Let me tell you something, Bernie Sanders funds his whole campaign with e- mail and direct mail solicitations. Those will only produce contributions that will go to Secretary Clinton, not - none for the DNC.

[08:35:10] CUOMO: How do you know?

WEAVER: Because I - because that's how we fund our campaign. And - and - and because of that, what - what she's getting to do is use money from - that's above the $2,700 limit, which she couldn't take in her campaign, to subsidizing the fundraising for her campaign.

CUOMO: But it's a heavy allegation that seems to be backed up by speculation on your point, that this direct mail and those types of solicitations will only yield money for Hillary Clinton and not down ticket, but there's nothing that you can show.

WEAVER: But that's not the case because - because if they're not $2,700, none of it goes to the down ticket people. And when you do direct mail solicitations or online solicitations, you do not generate contributions anywhere near $2,700. And as you know, Bernie Sanders -

CUOMO: So because it's - so for $500, it can't go to Hillary - it can only go to Hillary Clinton?

WEAVER: It goes - it goes all to Hillary Clinton, yes.

CUOMO: So the first $2,700 has to go to Hillary Clinton is what you're saying?

WEAVER: Correct. Yes.

CUOMO: So if the money amount of the e-mail return is not $2,700 plus, it's all to Hillary, it's not really for down ticket.

WEAVER: Yes, exactly. Exactly. And that is being funneled with money that's being raised above the $2,700 limit at the initial, you know, they do one fundraiser, they get a pot of money, they give some of the secretary, they give some to the DNC. Last quarter it was $10 million to her and only $5 million to the Democrats. And then they take the rest of it, they hold. Now some of that money is from people who gave more than $2,700.

CUOMO: Right.

WEAVER: She can't take that money. But they're then using that money within the - the joint fundraising agreement to do these solicitations that will generate money that will only go to her.

CUOMO: They say this has been out for like weeks and months, this type of planning, and why now?

WEAVER: Well, the - the FEC report just came out, which really revealed what was going on. "The Washington Post" wrote a little bit about this a couple of months ago, but the evidence really is now in with this $15 million plus being spent on low-dollar fundraising.

CUOMO: A lot of campaigning by the Clinton campaign in New York has revolved around the gun issue. Had the senator on, gave it very thorough treatment -

WEAVER: Sure. I saw (ph).

CUOMO: Because I wanted to give him full opportunity to clarify.

WEAVER: I watch NEW DAY.

CUOMO: Did you? Thank you very much, Jeff Weaver, appreciate it. You and my mom. So, on that issue he said originally, do you think that the Newtown family should - no, he said, one word, quick. Then I asked for clarification. What do you mean, no, why, this isn't a mom and pop shop. This is about marketing and - and he says, OK, yes, they should be able to sue. Bernie Sanders is not known as a man who pops around on issues. I don't understand what his thinking is on this.

WEAVER: Right. But this one - when you said it's a one word no answer in that interview he gave with the - with the editorial board, there's a whole nother paragraph that's like this long below it. So you can go down and say, he said, no. But then he goes on to explains his position. So if you read the transcript, he actually does explain that the nuance of his position in that particular interview. It's not about -

CUOMO: But it's still, no, they shouldn't be able to sue, but here's why. It's still a no.

WEAVER: No, no, no, he goes on and he talks about the exceptions when they should be able to sue in that same interview. You have to read the whole transcript.

CUOMO: But does he think the Newtown families should be able to sue?

WEAVER: He - he said yesterday on this show, yes.

CUOMO: Yes. I guess - I guess the follow-up question then goes to, well, why? Why is he - he knows that this is a good position to have in New York state with that working family party, left part of the Democratic Party he's trying to court. And it brings up Senator Gillibrand. Now this is a former NRA member, OK. She had a very interesting take on what she thinks the senator's challenge is on this issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: I just don't think he's fully getting how horrible it is for these families. I sat down with a mother last week in Brooklyn, and she lost her four-year-old baby. And she couldn't tell the story without tears streams down her eyes. And she just - she took her kid to a park. Every mom takes their kid to a park. And she took her kid to a park and the kid was killed. A baby. A four-year-old. Until you want to just take this surge (ph) on from start to finish, you're not fully appreciating why it's crippling America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: What's your reaction?

WEAVER: Well, look, I'm a parent. You're a parent. I mean to lose a child in that way, I mean, it's just unimaginable. I mean I don't - I mean I can't imagine sort of ever recovering from that. And, you know, Bernie Sanders has been consistently in favor of gun safety legislation. He has a D minus with the NRA. He voted to ban assault weapons as - you know, supported that as early as 1988. He's voted for instant background checks repeatedly in the '90s. You know, he supported closing the gun show loophole after Newtown. So on issue after issue, he has been there fighting for strong gun safety legislation.

CUOMO: Jeff Weaver, good luck today, as we wish all the candidates.

WEAVER: Thank you, sir.

CUOMO: Always a pleasure having you on NEW DAY.

WEAVER: Thank you.

CUOMO: Mic.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have clashed on New York values ahead of today's primary. We're going to have this New York values conversation with these fine New Yorkers. They have values. Do those values align with what the politicians are saying? Our panel of voters will weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:43:28] PEREIRA: Here we go with the five things to know for your new day.

Voting is underway at the New York primary. Hillary Clinton claiming a win will clinch the nomination for her. Bernie Sanders hoping for the upset with 247 Democratic delegates at stake. Meanwhile, Donald Trump poised for his first major victory in weeks, amid a shake-up in his campaign. He's hoping for a clean sweep of the 95 GOP delegates in New York's primary.

Overseas, the Taliban is claiming responsibility for a coordinated suicide attack on a government security agency in central Kabul during the morning rush. We know at least 28 people were killed, 300 others, more than that, in fact, injured.

In Houston, record breaking rain leaving parts of that city under water. That storm already being blamed for at least five deaths. We know more than 1,200 water rescues have occurred. Officials say some areas of Houston received more than 16 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Hollywood mourning the death of the wonderful Doris Roberts, the actress who played Ray Romano's medaling mom on "Everybody Loves Raymond." We're told she died of natural causes Sunday night in Los Angeles at the age of 90. She will be missed.

For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com.

Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I'm about to sound like my mother, all those years when I was young, no, say no to the tanning oil and reach right for the sunscreen. Why are we talking about this? Well, in today's "New Day, New You," a study finds lathering up with sunscreen may cut your risk of getting skin cancer by 80 percent. Researchers at Ohio University found applying SPF 30 before heading into the sun helps prevent melanoma, the deadliest kind of cancer. The study tested several kinds of SPF 30 sunscreens and found all of them delayed the onset of melanoma and reduced the incidence of tumors.

[08:45:16] CUOMO: Good to know, better to do.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CUOMO: So what do real New Yorkers think about "New York values" on today, this crucial primary day in New York? We bring back the beautiful and the talented, the real New Yorkers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We wanted to take you back one more time to our voter panel. New York has become a pivotal state in the primary process and so has the concept of "New York values." I liked your air quotes, "New York values." What does that really mean? Who better to ask than real New Yorkers. So we have them this morning. They are good enough to come into CNN, voting afterwards.

First of all, a quick show of hands, native New Yorkers. That's incredible. Yes, thank you, Cuomo, I wasn't quite sure about you.

CUOMO: Thank you.

[08:50:01] BALDWIN: Joseph, I just want begin with you. You like Governor Kasich. And when you hear "New York values" as a New Yorker what is that emblematic of?

JOSEPH PINION, JOHN KASICH SUPPORTER: Yes, and I think that, again, I think that the whole statement of "New York values," I think, was taken out of context and I think there is no such thing as quote/unquote "New York values." And I think that all people value - value what they believe in equally in many states. I mean for me, personally, I - I - I really do truly believe that we're all God's children, even if we're not followers of Jesus Christ. And so I think that the reason I support Governor Kasich and the reason why I can't support, you know, someone like Donald Trump is because the American presidency is a public trust, you know, regardless of - if they support your campaign or whether or not they're actually subscribe to your beliefs. And, to me, that is important, and that's what the American presidency has always stood for and what to be the standard bearer of the Republican Party you must be.

CUOMO: So, Joseph is good, but probably more ecumenical than most. People do believe that New York - who are the Republicans here? (INAUDIBLE). Republicans do believe - Manacum (ph), I talked to you about this already, but who wants to answer this question about why Republicans do feel that New York, over time, has represented things politically that are not advantageous to the Republican Party? Who wants to make the case? Go ahead.

MANCELLY VELEZ, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Thanks, Chris. That's a great question. I think because we -

CUOMO: That's the only kind I ask.

VELEZ: New York is such a blue state. And I feel at times, on a national level, we've been forgotten. But you know what, there's a hard-core group of conservatives here in the state and, you know, that represent the "New York values," which is work hard, get ahead.

New Yorkers are a tough people, man. We get knocked down. We - we get right back up. And we're very, very competitive. New Yorker will hold two, three jobs to be able to pay for their taxes and stay here in New York state. So I'm - I'm happy, as a New Yorker, that the national, you know, the national level, you know, we're getting some props finally in New York.

BALDWIN: Joe wants in.

JOE KOVAC, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yes. I - I think that the quote was taken out of context, but I think that it was insulting as well. I became involved in politics because of America's mayor, Mayor Giuliani, and I think that some people in this country wouldn't feel that he's a part of the Republican Party, but he was a fantastic mayor in this city. And I think that the party needs to be open and inclusive to everyone.

CUOMO: Now, interestingly, when Rudy Giuliani was here, whether you're a Democratic or a Republican, you all lit up when he was here, trying to call him over for pictures, him offering $25 a photo. What was he thinking? No, he didn't. He was happy to take photos.

But, you know, help me understand the endorsement thing.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CUOMO: He likes Trump.

BALDWIN: Yes.

CUOMO: He's come on this show many times arguing for Trump early on. He now says I'm voting for him, but he wouldn't endorse him. Now, today, I got him to say, yes, it's an endorsement but I'm not part of the organization. Does that satisfy everybody here? Does anybody have any kind of question about -

BALDWIN: Do you even care, support versus endorse? CAROLE EVANS, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I don't care about his (ph) opinions.

BALDWIN: You don't care? You don't care about his opinions? Well, that's a -

EVANS: At all (ph).

CUOMO: Well, that's because you are - you're not loving the Rudy.

BALDWIN: You like Hillary Clinton.

CUOMO: Hand the microphone down there (INAUDIBLE).

BALDWIN: There we go.

CUOMO: I don't want it to look like voter suppression.

BALDWIN: Down to Carole.

CUOMO: So you're saying that Rudy doesn't matter to you in terms of an endorsement, not that you're baffled by whether it's an endorsement but not part of the campaign thing?

EVANS: No, I think - I think Rudy is not a person who I admire on the political spectrum, and I don't care that he endorses Trump. And I think that it's kind of symbolic that he is kind of halfway in and halfway out.

CUOMO: He says he's not, though. He says it's a full endorsement.

EVANS: It didn't sound like it.

CUOMO: You should vote for Donald Trump. He's the best. But I'm not part of the organization.

EVANS: I wouldn't put it as a headline that he endorsed him with what - how he said it.

CUOMO: I would. It broke on my show. Of course I'm going to make it a headline.

EVAN: Well, OK, you got it, you got it. But I do think - I think that, you know, someone like Hillary Clinton, who I'm supporting, I think she has, you know, a really strong proposition to make at all times about what "New York values" are. "New York values," to me, are diversity and inclusion. I mean you walk around the streets of New York, and you see people from everywhere, not just in this country, but from everywhere in the world.

BALDWIN: She's nodding on the end. Yes. Yes.

EVANS: Yes. And that's what "New York values" are. It's that we accept people for who they are and we live together in that amazing city, this amazing surroundings. And it's - we get our energy from that diversity and from that diverse perspective. BALDWIN: Yes, please, jump in.

JEREMY STULBERG, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: I mean I also - it occurred to me like as I was coming down here that we're like miles away from the Statue of Liberty, which, you know, says, bring me your tired, your poor, your hungry. And, you know, to me, like that is a New York value and - and something that on the Republican side I just don't see any respect for that whatsoever. So, you know, that's, to me -

BALDWIN: Let's have a Republican respond to that.

STULBERG: Any Republicans?

ARLENE TIENG, UNDECIDED REPUBLICAN: Well, I think that "New York values" to me is about hard work in a growingly diverse environment. It's about rising to challenge. And it's about dreaming big. That's what, you know, the city is about. I think that we find our strength in diversity. I think that as long as we respect each other for being diverse, I think that's what makes us strong.

CUOMO: You have all been great representatives for the state in which you live and vote in.

BALDWIN: Phenomenal.

CUOMO: Which is what you have to do right now. Don't be hypocrites.

BALDWIN: I know. After three hours of keeping you on lockdown at CNN, you are now released. Please go vote.

[08:55:03] CUOMO: Yes, if you still want to vote after this, you know you're in it for the right reasons.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much.

CUOMO: Appreciate it.

All right, "Good Stuff" coming up for you, Tuesday edition, next.

BALDWIN: Excellent (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: I'll tell you, between all the politics and Mic leaving, you've got to get "The Good Stuff" in here as often as you can. We've got a good one for you.

PEREIRA: OK.

CUOMO: I hope it makes you cry.

PEREIRA: Oh.

CUOMO: In Bangor, Maine, four-year-old Michaela came home to find someone stole her wagon.

PEREIRA: Oh, stole her wagon.

CUOMO: I mean, are you kidding me. So, that's not the good stuff.

PEREIRA: No.

CUOMO: But listened to what happened. When her mom reported it to the police, this is what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. TIM COTTON, BANGOR POLICE DEPARTMENT: The outreach from the community and around the country from people stating they wanted to buy a wagon for the little girl, that was nice, but we didn't accept that at that time because we were really kind of hoping someone would bring back the wagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Yes.

BALDWIN: Right.

CUOMO: Yes, they wanted to get back her wagon. So nobody brings it back. That's when this little girl, from southern Maine, shows up at the station with her dad. And guess what they want?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COTTON: They gave us $50 towards the wagon, and we decided we'd go find one and, with the help of Wal-Mart, who donated the wagon in the end, which was really nice, we were able to give them a gift card as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: So they got a two-fer (ph).

PEREIRA: Look at her go.

CUOMO: And the empathy (ph) of that little girl, she said, I know what it would feel like to lose the wagon. I want to help her. That's community. That's "The Good Stuff."

[09:00:03] PEREIRA: Is that a Radio Flyer?

BALDWIN: Yes, little, Michaela.

CUOMO: That's the new kind. New kind. Plastic. Not that rusted stuff that I'm putting the herbs (ph) in now.

PEREIRA: And her name's Michaela.

BALDWIN: Michaela.

PEREIRA: I love it. Thanks so much, guys. That's awesome.

CUOMO: Makes me feel a little better, but not good enough.

PEREIRA: Time - time for "Newsroom"