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Prosecutor: DEQ Employees Failed To Treat Water; Ryan Calling For Better State Of Politics; ESPN Fires Schilling Over Anti- Transgender Post; Obama Discusses Conflicts In Iraq, Iran, And Yemen. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 21, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:31:50] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Criminal charges have been filed against three government workers in connection with the Flint water contamination crisis. Two members of Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality, one city lab supervisor, all facing possible jail time. The state's attorney general says, this is only the beginning. Our Sara Ganim is live in Flint with more on all that is happening there. Sara --

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela, that's right. The attorney general sent a warning, really, saying that this is not the end of this investigation, that more charges will come and that he will follow the facts all the way to the top if necessary, saying that he's not going to stop looking at the governor as a possible person involved in this. He said he's following the e-mails. That said, this is a significant day. These charges being filed for the people here in Flint who for 18 months, who were called complainers, liars, whiners, when they were asking questions about their water. Many people here though are wondering why they seem to have gone after these local officials, especially one who worked at the water plant, who they believe was trying to do the right thing. And in fact, I sat down with him a few weeks ago and he told me he really believed that he was doing all that he could and that he was only following orders from state officials. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE GLASGOW, FORMER LABORATORY AND WATER QUALITY SUPERVISOR, FLINT, MICHIGAN: I only did it because I was instructed to. I just asked the question why and they gave -- they cited some, I guess, solidified reasoning to remove a couple items so I didn't question it much further.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GANIM: Now, the other two state workers who were charged yesterday with deliberately not treating the water here properly, they -- one of them actually even told the EPA that it had optimized corrosion control, which is something that leads to the lead leaching into the water when in fact it did not. Chris --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Of course, what seems so painfully obvious, just when you look at the water, may not be as easy to prove, especially in a criminal context. You understand that very well and that's why we've got to keep digging. Sara, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

So, Paul Ryan -- I know, he keeps saying, I don't want to have anything to do with it. But what if they ask him to? What is this -- is it about personal ambition or is it about doing what's right for your party? There's a new wave of thought here. We'll tell you about it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:18] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Herding cats on Capitol Hill is just one facet of Paul Ryan's job these days. The house speaker is also chairing July's Republican National Convention in Cleveland, which could be contested, could be boycotted by many prominent Republicans. CNN's senior political reporter, Manu Raju spoke with the speaker and he's joining us now from Washington. What did you learn, Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Hey, Brianna. He also has a deal with his day job of being house speaker, probably one of the toughest and most thankless jobs in Washington, and after being essentially begged by his party to take the job last fall, Ryan has made a series of changes to showcase a more inclusive style of leadership, something that has actually earned him some praise from his Republican colleagues, but that doesn't mean that he has fully tamed the rather unruly house of representatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paul Ryan has his hands full.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: As you can tell, I'm a little busy with my day job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 46-year-old house speaker is leading a deeply divided Republican conference. He'll chair the contentious Republican convention, a battle that Donald Trump said could lead to riots, and he's trying to hold on to the GOP's majority in the house. Similar struggles brought down his predecessor, John Boehner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you dealing with it differently than John Boehner did?

RYAN: I think I do it better. Not to knock John, but I spend more time with all of our members on a continual basis, and so because I wasn't a person that was looking for this job, what I'm trying to do is be responsible with the power that comes with this job and decentralize that power to make members more empowered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The GOP-led house is now struggling with major issues like resolving Puerto Rico's debt crisis and even passing a budget.

RAJU: You guys are having a difficult time over here passing a budget. Can you guarantee that in the fall, there will be no government shutdown? [06:40:03] RYAN: We won't have a government shutdown. We're

actually getting some pretty big things done -- a big highway bill, a big education bill, a big customs bill, we're about to do opoid --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With many Republicans worried about Trump or Ted Cruz as their nominee, Ryan has given two high profile speeches decrying the state of politics in America, and trying to send an agenda that the house GOP can campaign on, all of which has only stoked speculation that Ryan himself is gunning to be the GOP nominee at an open convention in Cleveland.

STEPHEN COLBERT, TELEVISION HOST: Got it. So you're considering the nomination? (laughter)

RYAN: No, I'm not.

Let me say it in clear English -- no.

COLBERT: OK. How about clear German?

RYAN: Nein.

COLBERT: Clear Russian?

RYAN: Net.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Ryan made clear to CNN that he's only talking about not running in this election.

RAJU: Are you foreclosing a run for ever running for president?

RYAN: Well, no, but I don't think that far down the road. I made a decision in this cycle for 2016 not to run for president. I really believe that if you are going to be the nominee, you should run for the job.

RAJU: Will you run for speaker in the next congress?

RYAN: I am planning on running for re-election and staying where I am because you know what, I want to take these ideas we're developing and I want to execute in 2017.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But will he even have a chance to be speaker next year? The biggest house GOP majority in nearly 70 years could be in danger, in no small part because of the presidential campaign. To save his majority, Ryan has been on a relentless fundraising drive, tapping into a vast donor network he built as Mitt Romney's running mate in 2012, raising over $23 million since becoming speaker last October. Still, some of his colleagues won't commit yet to voting for him for speaker.

REP. KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO: It is a long time in politics between today and tomorrow, much less today and January 3.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On top of that, another challenge at home in Wisconsin. A long shot primary challenger is trying to gin up antipathy on the right over Ryan's trade in immigration positions.

PAUL NEHLEN: I am putting a substantial amount of my own money into this race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Ryan is more worried about trying to heal his fractured party.

RYAN: I think we have a pretty good morale around here. Not everybody agrees on everything, but we're not focused on tearing each other apart. We don't have the kind of schisms we had before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Manu Raju with us now. OK, so he says no, he says nein, he says net, I don't want to be the nominee, but didn't he say that about being speaker, and you see how that worked out?

RAJU: That's right, but this is, he says, much different. The circumstances have changed rather dramatically. He said that you actually need to run for being -- to be president if you want to be president. One of the things that he said that when he ran for speaker is that he wanted the party to unite behind him, and they did. Running for president now, they would not unite behind him. I don't think that Ryan's people think that there's any chance that that could be effective. He is focusing pretty intensely on running this convention this summer and the interesting thing, I asked him specifically, what about all these folks are talking about boycotting the convention? He said that Republicans should attend and get behind, quote, our nominee, a sign that he really wants the party to unite, knowing how difficult it's going to be against a Democrat in November.

KEILAR: Good luck to Paul Ryan on that. I think he's going to need it. All right, Manu Raju, thank you so much.

RAJU: Thanks.

PEREIRA: Well, last year he was suspended for comparing Muslims to Nazis. Now, ESPN has fired Curt Schilling. We're going to tell you what the former pitching star said that got him in so much hot water next on NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:47:37] CUOMO: The death toll from a large ship which sank in the Mediterranean last week continues to climb. A U.N. agency now says as many as 500 migrants likely drowned when the vessel took on water between Libya and Italy. This is a commonly used route in this new phase of immigration. Forty-one people aboard the ship were rescued over the weekend. They got taken to Greece. As discussions continue for more European countries to accept more asylum seekers, it's one of the worst refugee tragedies to hit the region and there is no solution in sight.

PEREIRA: Five former New Orleans police officers pleading guilty to a deadly shooting that happened six days after Hurricane Katrina. Those officers were convicted back in 2011 of shooting and killing two unarmed people, injuring four others in September of 2005. Their convictions, though, were tossed due to prosecutorial misconduct. The judge reduced each sentence by up to 33 years under the new plea deal.

KEILAR: The wrestling world is mourning the loss of former WWE star Chyna. A friend found the 46-year-old dead inside of her Los Angeles apartment on Wednesday afternoon. You may recall that Chyna rose to fame in the mid-1990's. She was dubbed the ninth wonder of the world during her wrestling career. Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play, but investigators are still working to determine how she died.

CUOMO: So ESPN has now fired broadcaster Curt Schilling for an anti- transgender post on Facebook. The former pitching star posting a meme on his personal account with the comment, quote, a man is a man no matter what they call themselves. Schilling was suspended last year for comparing Muslims to Nazis. ESPN issuing a statement calling his conduct unacceptable.

PEREIRA: Now y'all looking at me.

CUOMO: Because you made an odd noise and stretched.

PEREIRA: I mean, why can't we just love one another, man? I know that's --

KEILAR: He said something last month about Hillary Clinton, too, that he was reprimanded for. This was a continual problem for him.

PEREIRA: Some people are saying the whole free speech thing, but we as broadcasters sign morality clauses where we are expected to behave in a certain fashion and represent the companies we work for.

CUOMO: He's also talking about things that are outside the scope of what he does. So that plays one way for him. He says, I'm just speaking my mind, I'm not just a broadcaster, but to ESPN, that's why they're paying you.

[06:50:02] PEREIRA: All right. So, President Obama getting a chilly reception ahead of a summit with Arab leaders. Was he able to clear the air with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, or were they sending him and the U.S. a message?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: President Obama is in Saudi Arabia and it ain't going that well. This morning, he's meeting with the Arab leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit. The President got a rather cool reception yesterday from the Saudi leader, highlighting this current status, let's say, of strained relations between the two. Let's discuss why and what may happen. Mike Rogers, CNN national security commentator, former Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee -- good to see you again, my friend. All right, so let's put up the list of potentials of the state of play between the Saudis and the U.S. here. These are the issues on the table. You've got the obvious -- oil prices and reduced need and what's the pricing structure going to be and output, approach to fighting in Syria and Yemen, what the investment of the Saudis should be or has not been, instability in Lebanon, Iranian nuclear deal, Iranian influence in Iraq. Now when you look at those, how would you prioritize?

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Currently right now, they're in a fight in Yemen, so this is important for them. One of the things that the Saudis wanted for years is better intelligence, better weapons systems to make sure that when they're dropping bombs, they're going where they're supposed to go. Those are the kinds of things that there's been a little tug and pull with the administration over the last few years, so that was a big one for them.

[06:55:05] CUOMO: Now you've said to us in the past, Saudis, a lot of money, not the best manpower in the world in terms of the ability to get on the ground and fight. That's been their pushback, right, is you're asking us to do things we're not good at.

ROGERS: Exactly. And so they are trying to improve that, and they have been helpful to us in many other ways, including their intelligence gathering. So that intelligence sharing between Saudi Arabia and the United States is in pretty good shape. That's an important relationship, especially in the Middle East.

CUOMO: Because there's been a constant, what's the -- the undercurrent is always, are these guys helping finance terror? Do they give money, either through them or the religious components of their upper echelon of their society? Some people call them the head of the snake, people who analyze terror. Where do you come down on it?

ROGERS: Listen, sometimes they're great friends and sometimes you scratch your head, but on the whole, the relationship with Saudi Arabia is very important to us in the Middle East, and we have to remember that the royal family is huge. Not all of the royal family participates in the governance of the country, and so people, I think, get mixed up by saying, well, the royal family may be involved in X or Y. That's probably -- they are not likely in the government side of Saudi Arabia itself. And so we have to be really careful about saying, well, Saudi Arabia is engaged in -- they're slow on the financing on terrorism part. They haven't been great. They are getting better. They understand they have a problem. This is a tiger that they're riding, they're afraid to get off of. And so we're going to try to help them, the United States, hopefully, get off of that tiger in a way that preserves their ability to govern.

CUOMO: And the tiger is the huge, conservative religious population they have there. So you're saying, not all Saudis are the same. You may be part of that family, doesn't mean you're part of what the ruling structure should be held accountable for, and that takes us to what really is the big issue is here. The 9/11 bill. This is the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Foreign nations immunity void for terror attacks. That allows 9/11 families, and others withstanding, to sue foreign states as financial backers of terror. This puts a big X on Saudi Arabia, and the government there is saying, you can't sue us for what our citizens did. As we all remember, almost everybody involved with 9/11 has experienced here, came from Saudi Arabia, one way or the other. What do you think of the bill?

ROGERS: Matters of state need to be left out of the courtroom. I think you get bogged down into a huge problem if you have a President of the United States, whoever that is, trying to negotiate with another country, saying, well, I'd like to be able to do that but we have to wait until the court case gets through the American court system on that particular -- that's just a nonstarter. I think it'll really damage -- and it's not just about Saudi Arabia. It's about other countries as well, and then other countries would likely be able to sue the United States for activities of our citizens overseas, and you can see how this would bog down any constructive -- and these are difficult -- foreign relations are always difficult when you start out. I can't imagine trying to add another layer of difficulty that the President and the executive branch couldn't control in trying to deliver goods in any relationship for any deal.

CUOMO: What can president Obama say to King Salman when he's like, what's up with this bill? I'm sure he doesn't speak that way, but why are you doing this? What can the President say?

ROGERS: He has told congress he would veto it. I just don't think that part's productive. I will say, the administration has not treated Saudi Arabia well, and the biggest sign of that is when he shows up at the airport, he doesn't get a royal family member, the King, should be, to shake his hand when he arrives. They sent a local governor to do it, and in that culture, that is about as big a slap in the face as you can get to the United States. That tells you that the relationship isn't good. So he can tell him, listen, I'm going to veto the bill, I'm not for it, but what he needs to do is give some deliverables to Saudi Arabia. Remember, they think -- this is the president who said, they're going to have to share the Middle East with Iran, which is pouring gas on a fire for Sunni Arabs and our Arab League partners. That has caused some huge problems, and one of the reasons I think the President is there is to try to fix it -- not helping so far. This is an important relationship, I know it's frustrating, they don't have the same values as we do on equal rights for women and other things, but we have to maintain that relationship because they help us fight the terror fight, not only in the Middle East, but they help us make sure those folks aren't coming to the United States.

CUOMO: Strategic alliances are rarely a perfect alliance. Mike Rogers, thank you for helping us understand this, as always.

All right, there's a lot of news this morning, so what do you say? Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a rigged, crooked system. This system is not working too well.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: It's not a rigged system. The rules are clear.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald has been whining a lot.

TRUMP: Lyin' Ted Cruz, lyin' Ted. I call her crooked Hillary.

CRUZ: John Kasich has no path whatsoever.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he's so sure of that, why's he attacking me all the time?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to unify our country. We've got to quit the divisiveness.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not going to allow the American dream to die.

CLINTON: Help me start us on the path to the White House.