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Sanders Refuses To Attack Clinton On Emails; Battle For Fallujah Intensifies; Interview with Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook; Taliban's New Leadership; 25,000+ TSA Security Breaches Since 2014; Interview with TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 26, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:33:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump pounced on Hillary Clinton for the inspector general report from the State Department saying that Clinton broke government rules by using private email server as Secretary of State. Also criticism of how emails were handed over or not handed over.

However, Bernie Sanders, Clinton's Democratic opponent, is refusing to do so. Why, and is it the right thing to do?

Let's discuss with Ben Wikler, Washington director for MoveOn.org organization. Has endorsed Bernie Sanders. Sanders is saying I'm not going to get into the inspector general report. Let the process play out. Does that mean that this doesn't matter, Mr. Wikler?

BEN WIKLER, WASHINGTON DIRECTOR, MOVEON.ORG: You know, if you're a voter who's eating breakfast, you've got a stack of bills on your kitchen table, you're not thinking to yourself oh, I'm going to vote this election about the State Department's email handling protocols. You're thinking about the issues that are motivating Bernie Sanders' whole race.

You're thinking about things like the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, making college affordable for people with tuition-free public colleges. Those are the reasons why Bernie Sanders is in politics. That's the reason why he's in this election, and that's why he's going to continue to run on. I think that's really the central facts of this question.

CUOMO: Well, I have ways of breaking down those who attack me on social media by camp. Bernie's people, I call the Berners. Those are his attack dogs. Clinton's, I call the Clintonestas. And Trump's, I call the Trumpettes. The Trumpettes, of course, are all over this, this morning. The Clintonestas are all over me, saying that I shouldn't be pressing on this the way I am, but it's the inspector general who came out with the report.

[07:35:00] The Berners seem puzzled by why Bernie Sanders isn't saying this is about trust. This is about who will do the job of president. Transparency, accountability, responsibility to the people instead of protecting yourself from transparency. Why aren't those issues at the top of your agenda?

WIKLER: So, the first thing I'd say is that the most vocal people on social media don't necessarily represent the broad mass of millions of people who have been supporting Bernie Sanders throughout this campaign.

CUOMO: I hope that's the case. I hope the people on social media don't represent anything in any real and true general way. I hope it is an exaggeration of reality -- continue.

WIKLER: So the second thing is, fundamentally, this is about a vision for what American politics should be about, for what the Democratic Party should be about. Sanders, since day one, has been calling for a political revolution that is beyond any one or two candidates. That's fundamentally about whether the system works for the billionaire class or for regular people -- working people -- the middle-class. And that's the case that he's continuing to press.

I think making this about the individual personalities involved is actually a disservice to the big goals that the Sanders campaign has been focused on. And when you see 13,000 people cheering at a rally for Bernie Sanders in California they're not there because of their opinion about the personal characteristics of those involved. They're there because of a vision of a country that works for them and for everybody in the United States.

CUOMO: What do you think is going to happen in California, and how big a deal do you think it is if Sanders wins?

WIKLER: I think it's an enormous deal, and I think that everybody who turns out, every door that gets knocked on in the primary process, every delegate that's won after the votes are counted, represents a step forward in this agenda of changing the way American politics works, fundamentally changing our campaign finance system --

CUOMO: How? How?

WIKLER: -- tackling catastrophic climate change --

CUOMO: Even if he wins California he cannot win the nomination on a first ballot. He would be depending on the group of people that -- the Berners -- attack all the time, which are the superdelegates, either those who are uncommitted at this point or changing the minds of those who are committed, so it wouldn't matter that way.

WIKLER: So, for decades there's been this idea that there's a spectrum from left to right in American politics and that there's kind of like a bell curve distribution that people sit in the middle and that if you want to succeed in politics you just go right to the middle where the voters are.

But the fact is that the Sanders campaign is showing, day by day, that it's not actually that way. The people are conflicted, they hold a variety of beliefs, and that there's incredible passion for changing the system and making it work for regular people. So, every vote for Bernie Sanders, at this point, is especially

another stake in the heart of this old myth about American politics and a finger pointing towards a direction where if you stand up and fight against special interests, if you stand up and fight for a system that works for everybody, that's how you can win support.

Votes, contributions, volunteers -- the things that power an electoral victory come from passionate authenticity for issues that affect people's lives directly. And I think that's that what Sanders is fighting for here. He's proving his case that you can win by standing up for regular people in a corrupt system.

CUOMO: If Sanders doesn't get the nomination are you going to back Clinton?

WIKLER: If Sanders doesn't get the nomination we've been clear from the beginning at MoveOn.org that we're going to support the eventual Democratic nominee against Donald Trump who, frankly, has been running a campaign that is a shameful stew of bigotry, xenophobia, racism, and heretic, dangerous pledges to expand the nuclear powers around the world.

We don't want that guy's finger on the big red button and we'll be supporting the Democratic nominee to make sure that he never gets anywhere close to the nuclear codes.

CUOMO: Do you think Sanders has crossed the line in terms of having a robust debate to making it so that his supporters are disinclined to back Clinton?

WIKLER: No, I think Sanders has been fighting from the beginning for the ideas that adamant his campaign. He's going to fight a tough fight all the way through these primaries and caucuses. And at the end I'm confident that, as you said many times, he knows that Donald Trump is too dangerous to be allowed anywhere near the White House.

He's going to be out there fighting alongside this enormous movement that he's helped to build to make sure that the country isn't handed over to someone who would steer it off a cliff.

CUOMO: It will be interesting to see what happens afterwards. There are a lot of Democrats who are saying that the reason that Trump and Clinton are close right now is because the Sanders people haven't gotten in line behind Clinton yet. Let's see what happens at the convention and beyond.

Mr. Wikler, appreciate your perspective, as always.

WIKLER: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: All right -- Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: We have some important developments dealing with ISIS this morning. Iraqi forces making inroads in and around Fallujah as they try to take back this city front ISIS. How long could this battle take? We'll speak with the Pentagon's press secretary next.

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[07:43:15] CABRERA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Iraq's military, with the help of ISIS airstrikes, are now advancing on the city of Fallujah, trying to reclaim it from ISIS. And just this morning the key town of Karma, which is on the northeast side of Fallujah, was retaken by Iraqi forces.

The Pentagon says this battle could last days, possibly months. Joining us now to discuss, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. Thanks so much for being with us.

PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It's good to be here.

CABRERA: ISIS took this territory way back in 2014. This has been a long time coming to get this territory back. The battle is on. What is the significance of Fallujah?

COOK: Well, Fallujah is significant. As you said, this is territory ISIL took some time ago. It's about 40 miles from Baghdad. This has been a top priority for Prime Minister Abadi and we're providing support -- the coalition is -- in terms of airpower behind these Iraqi security forces that are making advances towards the city center in Fallujah. They have not entered the city center, but they have made progress in the last 24 hours.

And again, this is a fight that we expect could take some time, but a key priority for the Iraqis and a now priority, of course, that we're supporting as part of the coalition.

CABRERA: But this area is complicated because it's a Sunni-dominated city, while the Iraqi government, alongside some Shia Militias, are the ones who are moving in. So how does the sectarian differences come into play in this?

COOK: Well, the Iraqi security forces -- the government of Prime Minister Abadi -- they are moving on Fallujah because it's a priority. There are, of course, sectarian tensions that have been in Iraq for some time, but the government of Iraq and Prime Minister Abadi are addressing that appropriately.

And the Shia Militias, as you talked about, for example, are doing what they said they would do and that would be remaining on the outskirts of the city of Fallujah itself, allowing the Iraqi security forces to move forward on their own.

[07:45:00] So, we believe that that's not going to be a major issue here in Fallujah. And we think what's most important for all the people of Iraq would be to eject ISIL from Fallujah and everywhere else they're occupying Iraqi territory. That's the top priority right now.

CABRERA: As you know, this is a city that has a storied past for the U.S. in the past 12 years or so since the Iraq war. Fallujah had then won and lost a couple of other times. Before ISIS, it was al Qaeda. So, how confident are you that once you take the city over -- the U.S., with the help of ISIS -- excuse me, the Iraqi government taking it back from ISIS, that this is going to be a stable region?

COOK: Well that's, of course, the goal of Prime Minister Abadi and the Iraqi government, not just to take this territory back but to hold it. And that's why there are Iraqi police forces set to, for example, hold that territory. Police forces that have received substantial training by the coalition -- some of our foreign partners.

Italy, for example, playing a crucial role in terms of training those police forces to be able to maintain territory after the Iraqi security forces take it back. So, it's happened in Ramadi successfully. We think the same thing can happen in Fallujah. And it's sort of the template -- the model, if you will, for what should happen in other parts of Iraq as we move north towards Mosul, as well.

CABRERA: I want to pivot just a little bit to what we're seeing in Afghanistan with the Taliban. They have a new leader now. What can you tell us about him?

COOK: Well, again, there is new leadership in the Taliban and the choice is up to that leadership right now whether they want to do the responsible thing, which is be part of Afghanistan's future and sit down at the peace table. Or whether they want to continue to suffer defeats on the battlefield because those are the two options right now for the Taliban leadership.

They have apparently selected a new leader, someone we've known before from a leadership position. Basically, a number two position within the Taliban. But regardless of the leadership, the choice right now for the Taliban is to be part of Afghanistan's future or to, again, suffer defeats on the battlefield because that's exactly what's going to happen unless they sit down and talk.

CABRERA: This new leader is Haibatullah Akhundzada, and I'm probably butchering the name there. But regardless, you said you know of this man. The U.S. has had him on our radar for some time and yet, Mark Toner, the State Department deputy spokesperson, says the new leader is not on a terror watch list. How is that possible?

COOK: Well, he's been a religious leader within the Taliban, rather than more of a military leader for the Taliban in the past. But, again, the choice for this new leader for the leadership of the Taliban is to work -- sit down with the government in national unity in Afghanistan and finally bring some peace and stability to that war- torn country.

CABRERA: What's the incentive for the Taliban to do that? They have been -- seemingly, had the upper hand in the last few months. They've been able to push some of the Afghan security forces back from their key positions, so why would the Taliban sit down for peace talks?

COOK: Well, I think you paint too rosy a picture for the Taliban right now. The Afghan security forces have shown their resiliency. They have proven their medal in a very tough fighting season. It has been a difficult year in Afghanistan. But we've seen the Afghan security forces start to make advances.

They have their first members of their Air Force now flying. We are supporting President Ghani and his efforts here and, really, the choices for the Taliban are pretty clear. The coalition's not going anywhere. We're going to continue to support the Afghan government, along with other NATO countries, as well, in terms of trying to provide stability and support for the Afghan forces to train those forces so they can secure their country on their own.

They are showing progress against the Taliban and right now the roadmap for the Taliban -- those two choices are out there. Sit down at the peace table or, again, be prepared to suffer defeats on the battlefield.

CABRERA: All right, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. Thank you for your time this morning.

COOK: You bet.

CABRERA: Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Ana. While he was grilled on Capitol Hill over those long lines at airport security checkpoints, what was his response? What will change? Find out when the TSA administrator joins us live, next.

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[07:53:25] CAMEROTA: More than 2.5 million Americans expected to travel by air during this Memorial Day weekend. At the very same time the TSA under fire for increasingly long lines at airports. TSA administrator Admiral Peter Neffenger was grilled at a congressional hearing Wednesday.

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REP. MARTHA MCSALLY (R), RHODE ISLAND: I've seen reports that your agents are being pulled to support things like presidential campaign events, concerts, sporting events, and other things. I don't see that anywhere within your core mission.

REP. CURT CLAWSON (R), FLORIDA: What did the assistant administrator do to receive $90,000 in just bonus, right? So, we're talking -- you know, I don't know what the rate is for an inspector, but at least one, right? We could've hired one with the bonus.

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CAMEROTA: OK, the man who took that grilling, Peter Neffenger, joins us now in studio. Welcome, Admiral. Thanks so much for being here.

PETER NEFFENGER, TSA ADMINISTRATOR: Thanks, Alisyn. Happy to be here.

CAMEROTA: So, whose fault is it -- the long lines that we're seeing?

NEFFENGER: Well, there's a number of reasons why we're seeing that. If you recall last year when came into this job it was on the heels of the inspector general's report so we had to get better at our job.

CAMEROTA: Meaning that security had been breached. That there was this internal undercover operation that allowed bad items to get through TSA security 95 percent of the time. That was a real sort of chilling warning.

NEFFENGER: Right, and we had to get better at what we did, so we needed to retrain the workforce, refocus on the fundamental mission, and then stop some practices that were, quite frankly, introducing more risk into the system. That put a lot of people back into the standard security lanes. And we said at the time that that was going to increase the wait times.

CAMEROTA: You know that there are also some people, Darrell Issa being one of them -- congressman. He was just on NEW DAY in the last hour. He's voting for privatizing airport security. His argument is that they can just do it faster, better, more safely.

[07:55:00] In fact, he uses the example of San Francisco, where he says that airport security if privatized. He says if all airports were to do that, or just the top 35, $1 billion would be saved over five years and they would process 65 percent more passengers with better safety. What's your argument against doing that?

NEFFENGER: Well, as you know, the law does allow an airport to ask for a private contract workforce. It's important to remember that that workforce is still contracted to the federal government -- to TSA.

CAMEROTA: Well, why not do that on a widespread level?

NEFFENGER: It's a decision to do that and we'll work with any airport that wants to go with a private contractor. But, once again, there's still a TSA management team that leads that private workforce and then they're trained to our standards. And we see roughly the same type of performance between a private workforce and the federal workforce.

CAMEROTA: You do, because he says it is much better with the private. I mean, look at -- let's just take San Francisco so we can narrow it. He says, again, that they save money, they do it more quickly, they catch more bad items, they have 65 percent more passengers. I mean, he says that he sees a real difference in effectiveness.

NEFFENGER: Well, as I said, we've seen roughly the same levels of effectiveness whether it's private -- remember, they're trained to our standards. We train them. They train at our TSA academy and they work for the federal government.

CAMEROTA: So you're open to the major airports, or any airports, being privatized? NEFFENGER: I've been very straightforward with that. The law allows for it and I've said that I'll work with any airport that wants to look into that program. We have an office called the screening private partnership office. It's designed to help airports decide whether or not they want to go that way.

CAMEROTA: Do you think that would help?

NEFFENGER: You know, I think what helps is focusing on our mission. I think we've gotten considerably better at our jobs. We do our own internal testing. It's normal that you test yourself on a regular basis. Our tests show that we've improved significantly and we're looking forward to this next round of inspector general tests to determine whether that bears out.

CAMEROTA: When are the results of that?

NEFFENGER: Well, you know, he doesn't -- he'll take his time. He'll work it out over the summer and I suspect it will be probably the end of the calendar year before we hear back from him.

CAMEROTA: What was the answer yesterday? What was your answer yesterday when you were asked what did the TSA security administrator, Kelly Hoggan, do to deserve $90,000 in bonus?

NEFFENGER: Well, as you know, that happened before my time and there's nothing that I could find to justify bonuses of that level, so I stopped that practice. In fact, I put severe limitations on bonus. I believe, at the time, the people that provided those bonuses to him felt that he had performed accordingly.

CAMEROTA: I mean, do you understand that that's why Americans feel as though the TSA is this bloated bureaucracy? It's not very effective.

NEFFENGER: Well, I was as outraged by that as anyone would be when you discover that. That's why I stopped that practice. And, as I said, I severely limited that. And, in fact, I brought in a number of new leadership team members to take us on a different direction forward.

CAMEROTA: So, if privatizing is not the answer in your mind, or wouldn't help dramatically, what is the answer?

NEFFENGER: Well, I think we've been working with Congress since I've been on board to add additional resources --

CAMEROTA: Meaning more TSA agents?

NEFFENGER: Well, some more TSA agents, and then using them more effectively. One of the other things we've done is stood up a very specific focus on screening operations on a daily basis. We've got an incident command center stood up now that runs hourly projections of screening volume across the top tier airports.

As you know, this problem really exists at the busiest airports only. Most of the system is actually working fairly well. But the busiest airports, the hub airports, are having the challenges.

CAMEROTA: What's your deadline for when the flying public will see changes and it will be better?

NEFFENGER: Well, I think they're seeing changes already. If you look at what we experienced in Chicago, that was unacceptable.

CAMEROTA: Meaning what? That there was just tremendously long lines. People were scrambling.

NEFFENGER: That one day we had, quite frankly, failed to get enough lanes early enough to beat the crush. I sent a new leadership team in there. They have dramatically improved operations and we haven't seen that problem repeated.

CAMEROTA: Right, so that can't be the bar or the standard. I mean, that was an anomaly, let's hope.

NEFFENGER: It was an anomaly, that's right.

CAMEROTA: But, what is your timeline for -- like, for instance, this weekend when people are traveling for Memorial Day. Will they see a marked changed?

NEFFENGER: I hope they will. We've put a lot of resources into the top airports of this country. The top 20 airports, in particular, and we're watching them very carefully. And we're watching it in real- time right now, so I watch right now what's happening, as well as predictive over the next 24 hours.

And we now have the ability to rapidly shift resources. We've put a lot of our -- we've redeployed most of our canines to the airports where we know that there's going to be a lot of travel volume this weekend. Those canines, as you know, can rapidly move people through a line.

We've put extra resources in. I've got a lot more overtime hours pushed out. So I think we've done a tremendous amount to mitigate it. I think people will still see large volumes in the big airports because there's just -- this is a record travel volume year, again.

CAMEROTA: They can still show up just one hour before flight time and make their flight?

NEFFENGER: Well, I would recommend that -- there's a couple of things you can do. You can call the airline and see what they consider peak periods to be. I would tell you we're still recommending a couple of hours in advance.

CAMEROTA: A couple of hours, even for domestic flights. I mean, that's really long.