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Clinton & Sanders Meet After Final Primary; GOP Divided Over Trump's Rhetoric & Muslim Ban; Sanders Looks For Leverage In Party Platform; Poll: Trump Trusted More Than Clinton On Terrorism; Orlando Terrorist's Wife Focus Of Investigation; Will Lawmakers Push For "No- Fly, No-Buy" Legislation? Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 15, 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] JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Clinton also denouncing Trump's conspiracy theories about President Obama, after the terror attack, as shameful.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Even in a time of divided politics this is way beyond anything that should be said by someone running for president.

JOHNS: Almost lost in the middle of all this back and forth is the fact that the Democratic primary season quietly came to a close last night, with Hillary Clinton winning the last contest here in the District of Columbia. She and her Democratic opponent, Bernie Sanders, met and talked last night in Washington, flanked by campaign aides on both sides. Bernie Sanders has not conceded the race, Chris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the politics of terror in the midst of no sign of action in the wake of Orlando, of any kind on any issue. So, let's test the implications of what's going on here. GOP leaders, they're having to deal with what Trump said about the president and about this situation.

Let's discuss with Republican congressman Steve King, of Iowa. Congressman, good to see you. I'm sorry it's in such a terrible time that the country is experiencing, but it matters.

And I'm hearing froma lot of people in your party, higher-ups as well, stop saying we, they keep saying. Say Trump, don't say we. We don't own everything that he says, whether it's the president being sympathetic toward Islamic terror or most of what he's saying. Don't say we. Are you in that camp or do you believe that Donald Trump represents your ideas and you're step-for-step with him?

REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: Well, if the election were today, I would vote for Donald Trump, and I think he's laid out some good policies that we ought to embrace. One of them is his immigration policy. I've heard him modify his policy on not bringing any more Muslims into the United States by suggesting, instead, closer to Ted Cruz's position, which is let's suspend immigration from terrorist-sponsoring countries, at least until we get a handle on this. I think that's a prudent statement, and yet, the crossfire that's coming back is anti-gun. And so, immediately, this is into that political tug of war that's going on. We want to secure the borders. We want to have safety for the American people. We want to have a prudent immigration policy. And the Democrats want to take away our guns, the very thing we need to defend ourselves from people like that shooter in Orlando.

CUOMO: Well, I think it's actually a different issue this time, so let's skip to that right now. Do you think that the FBI, after having the contact with this Orlando murderer that they had, should have been able to flag his gun application and talk to him?

S. KING: You know, I don't think I can say for certain on that, except that they did an investigation, they interviewed him two or three times. They decided to close the investigation. They didn't have enough to move forward with any kind of prosecution, and so at that point they concluded that it wasn't worthy any longer to monitor him.

And so, at that point, where would you then draw the line? Would you say that 15 years from now if that individual had been interviewed by the FBI he couldn't buy a gun without setting off alarm bells? I don't know the real technical answer to that, but --

CUOMO: Well, that would be the discussion, though, because especially, Congressman, after what we just saw here in Orlando, that the FBI knew who this guy was. They weren't able to make the case. He then went out and got a gun. The FBI did not have the authority to even talk to him, and now this. You don't see that as a reasonable abridgment of Second Amendment rights in furtherance of investigative power for the FBI, even after Orlando?

S. KING: I'm willing to have the discussion but I'm not willing to take the guns out of the hands of everybody who fits that category because we're denying them their right to defend themselves, too. I think, also, we need to expand our human intelligence. I think we need to take a look at his wife and that investigation appears to be going on. What about the neighbors? What about the people that should have been watching this? They're intimated by political --

CUOMO: There's no question. There's no -- well, I don't know that they're intimidated by political -- how do you make that argument about the neighbors and the people who knew this guy being affected by political correctness?

S. KING: Well, just some of the interviews that are out there. There are multiple interviews of people that saw him in the club.

CUOMO: Right.

S. KING: There were people at his employment that spoke up and they were more or less suppressed because they said that the criticism had to stop because they thought it was criticism because he was a Muslim. In fact, that's what the FBI's conclusion was, is that there really wasn't an unstable individual here. That it was the anti-Muslim prejudice that was causing him his trouble at work. So, I'd charge that all up against the --

CUOMO: No, I understand. I thought were talking about -- I thought you were talking about the Orlando -- I thought you were talking about the Orlando specific situation. Now, as to the prior investigations in 2013 and 2014, I haven't read or heard anything from our sources at the FBI or anything they've put out, that they thought that this was about P.C.

[07:35:00] This was about what the guy said at work. People were worried about it, hearing him say either that he was identified with all these different Muslim extremists groups or that he was threatening different actions. So they investigated but couldn't make the case. He then came up in a separate investigation a year later but they couldn't make the case. So, that was that. I don't know how P.C. enters into this.

S. KING: OK, well, Chris, let me just -- I'll put it this way. I've read a lot of the narratives on here. Maybe not all of them but as many as I could get my hands on. I've listened to a fair amount of briefings on this and the picture that emerges in case after case, this one in particular, but also San Bernardino, we had an opportunity to engage and we were suppressed because of the political correctness. It goes clear back to Major Hasan in Fort Hood.

So, I think our entire society has got to shift this thing around. That's something Donald Trump has got this right. That if we are suppressed --

CUOMO: So --

S. KING: -- with political correctness to the point where we don't see something and say something out of fear of being criticized of being some kind of bigot, then America's not as safe as if we had freedom of speech and freedom of conscience.

CUOMO: So, you're worried about the political correctness and not abridging our ability to stay safe, but you are not worried about the FBI having its hand tied and not being able to look at a gun application of a man that they had two different sets of interactions with becauseyou want to err on the side of ensuring his Second Amendment rights? Do I have it correct?

S. KING: I would say I think the FBI would have had the authority -- the ability -- to go look at that application if they want to put a marker onto his file to do that. But they concluded the investigation because they didn't see enough.

CUOMO: They did not have that ability.

S. KING: Not by an automatic blanket ability --

CUOMO: The case was closed. They did --

S. KING: -- but they could have flagged his file and continued the investigation, then they would have had that ability.

CUOMO: Right, but they closed the case.

S. KING: Right.

CUOMO: The point is about how they're able to deal with people that once they've had interaction with. One last thing for you, Congressman. There is concern that many people, when discussing what happened here in Orlando, aren't pointing out that this was gays being targeted.

That this was a gay club where this happened. That this guy had a problem with gays. That's that why this is a hate crime, whether it's terror, and a hate crime we'll see from investigators' point of view. But do you believe that it's important to say gays were targeted here, and that matters?

S. KING: I think it's clear that gays were targeted in Orlando. It does matter, and it's tragic that they were targeted because of their sexual orientation. I talked with hundreds of conservatives over on this side of the aisle. No one brings up the fact in any derogatory way or even mentions it to that extent.

I mean, it's tragic and we're sorry about that, and they are in our prayers as if they were the Christians that were slaughtered in Charleston, South Carolina some time back. Equal standing with God, Chris.

CUOMO: Congressman, thank you very much for joining us. It's important to be having these conversations. Always a pleasure to have you on NEW DAY.

S. KING: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, now in terms of how this is all playing out in the election, it's important to remember that the primaries just officially ended. So, when you had Washington, D.C., it turned out that Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders there. What does this mean on the Democratic side and their road to unity? We're going to break down the implications and the open questions, next.

[07:38:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders meeting face-to-face behind closed doors last night. This was after their final primary battle in Washington, D.C. which gave Clinton another decisive victory. This, as Clinton and President Obama do battle with Trump over terrorists.

So, joining us now to talk about all of this, CNN political analyst and host of "THE DAVID GREGORY SHOW" podcast, David Gregory. And "THE NEW YORK TIMES" political correspondent, Patrick Healy. Guys, thanks so much for being here.

David, what do we think happened behind closed doors at this meeting between Hillary and Bernie?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Alisyn, by all accounts it was kind of a stilted meeting. There were advisers that were present, as well. Remember, Sanders and Clinton haven't had a lot of time for this kind of raproshma (ph) at this point. They've still been battling on the campaign trail, and Sanders pretty -- you know, with a lot of determination, still battling Hillary Clinton.

So Ithink it's going to take time for this dance to engage in a process where he's going to be brought on board, but it's obviously happening. It's happening slowly and it has to happen, not just between Sanders and Clinton of course, but there has to be a way for his supporters to find room to support her based on her support for some of his positions, and giving him a nod that speaks to his influence now within the party.

PATRICK HEALY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, Alisyn, it's --

CAMEROTA: Patrick, we do know a couple of details about -- let me just tell you what we know --

HEALY: Sure.

CAMEROTA: -- and then you can fill in the blanks. We know that it said that at no point were the two alone, which is a funny wording, for the meeting. Their aides were there with them. Their campaign managers, I should say. As well as they talked about the minimum wage. So, is this the moment -- is this the moment that the Democratic Party has, or Bernie Sanders, at least, has been waiting for to weigh in on the Democratic platform?

HEALY: Not yet. I think it's a start of a conversation. Look, remember the Paul Ryan-Donald Trump meeting about a month or so ago? It wasn't as if everything was solved in just over an hour. I think it's a big sign of the mood in the room and, to some extent, the lack of trust.

It's certainly a lack of a real relationship there that Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton had four other people in the room. It's as if Bernie Sanders wanted some witnesses to make sure that it was very clear what Hillary Clinton was and wasn't saying.

Look, he -- what Sanders' sources were telling us is that he really wanted to see whether she's going to take confidence-building steps over the next several weeks that suggest that she's going to stick with these aggressive goals that she has said that she believes in, and not tell Bernie Sanders the right things now and then in September or October pivot to the center. You know, reach out to moderate voters who she may need in Ohio, and Florida, and Virginia if push comes to shove.

That's what they're worried about. There's such a lack of trust here, Alisyn, about whether they can count on her to go the distance.

CAMEROTA: David, let's talk about President Obama and Hillary Clinton going after Donald Trump, and Donald Trump returning the criticism. So, how unusual is it for a sitting president to be weighing in on the presumptive Republican nominee in this fashion?

[07:45:00] GREGORY: Well, I don't think it's terribly unusual. We haven't been in a situation where you've had a president doing this directly, but I think President Obama feels that, of course, it's his legacy that's being attacked here in terms of his approach to terrorism.

This is from a candidate, in Donald Trump, who has questioned whether President Obama was even born in the United States and is a Muslim. He was born in the United States. He is not a Muslim. And yet, it was Donald Trump who has spun this web of conspiracy and lies now for a number of years.

So, I think President Obama takes it seriously and I think he thinks there's high stakes involved with this debate. In effect, he's acting as a running mate for Hillary Clinton here by being incredibly forceful on this point.

There's a lot of cover here for President Obama because Donald Trump, in his prescriptions for how to fight terrorism and how to respond to something like this, seems to be really hurting himself. Doubling down on a Muslim ban, which no Republicans support, particularly Republican leaders. And striking a tone that, frankly, is at odds with other Republican leaders. So he doesn't seem to be gaining ground

CAMEROTA: Yes.

GREGORY: -- within the Republican establishment, even if there are some people who hear this who are supporters of his who say yes, right on.

HEALY: And, Alisyn, you can see --

CAMEROTA: I don't know if you're right about that, David, and the only reason that I say this -- hold on, Patrick. Let me just show you this poll to possibly counter what David is saying in terms of whether or not this is working. You know, Donald Trump has been suggesting that President Obama won't use the words radical Islam because he's somehow sympathetic with the cause or sympathetic, at least, with Muslims.

So, they -- one of the things that this Bloomberg poll asked, at least, was about President Obama siding with Muslims. That's the suggestion. And it turns out that 31 percent of those asked agree that President Obama sort of holds rhetorical punches because he sides with Muslims. This isn't just Republicans, this is the country. Now, 61 percent disagree, but still there's that 31 percent that Donald Trump is talking to, Patrick.

HEALY: It's true, Alisyn, but this, in large part, is the Trump base and there may be, certainly Democrats and Independents who are in that mix. The 31 percent is not a majority coalition that's going to win you the presidency. What Donald Trump's being asked by a lot of Republicans is when is

Donald Trump going to begin expanding his message, broadening it so that more Republicans, and Democrats, and Independents might embrace issues that he's saying? He's sort of identifying the fear that a lot of people feel. The sense of unsafety, a sense that the Obama administration has not done enough to protect the country. And people are sort of nodding and going along with that. You can see that when you talk to voters about.

But then he says, and my solution is banning all Muslims temporarily, and it's as if a lot of voters who might be open and feeling like Donald Trump is getting what's going on in the country, then kind of veer off because these ideas just aren't palatable.

GREGORY: And, Alisyn --

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, David.

GREGORY: Yes, I just -- I think what else is important about that polling -- let's remember that any candidate -- and Donald Trump is onto something in this regard. Certainly there are going to be supporters of his and there are going to be Independent voters -- non- committed voters who say what is going on here?

These may be people who think look what's happening with Islamism around the world, with ISIS, with guns, with Syria. All of these things can give rise and give an advantage to Trump on the issue of terrorism, generally.

CAMEROTA: David, Patrick, thank you. Great to talk to you.

HEALY: OK, thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Well, this is a question that is being asked in Orlando and across the country. Will anything change after the worst mass shooting in American history and is Congress ready to somehow change the country's gun laws? Is that the answer? We talk to Sen. Angus King about all of that, next.

[07:49:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:00] CUOMO: The wife -- the Orlando murderer's wife. She is a big focus for investigators right now. What was she aware of? What did she know early on? She said well, I knew that my husband was interested in Jihadi attack. I tried to stop him.

All right, now what does this mean about what the FBI is going to be able to do to get more information from her, and what kind of changes may come as a result of what we have all experienced here in Orlando?

We have Maine senator, Angus King, joining us right now. He is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. You deal a lot with the FBI. I want to ask you, sir, do you believe that there are going to be changes because of what we've dealt with here in Orlando? We'll talk about what kind of changes next, but do you think anything will change?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: Well, I think it's hard to say that anything is specifically is going to change, but I think, for example, the No-Fly, No-Buy -- controlling the sale of guns to people who are on a terrorist watch list. I think that's a pretty likely outcome of this. I think people are finally saying hey, that's just common sense as long as there's some kind of relief valve for people who are wrongly on that list. But I think you may see that happen, Chris, maybe even in the next few days.

CUOMO: I see two problems with that. The first is that's no guarantee of anything. Senator Feinstein just put out a list that 91 percent of people on the terror watch list who apply for guns get them, so that's not likely that's some kind of real restriction. And also, as it bears relationship to Orlando --

A. KING: Well, wait a minute, wait a minute.

CUOMO: -- he wouldn't have been on -- yes.

A. KING: She was saying 91 percent get them now. Under this proposed legislation, they wouldn't. I think that's the point. That these are people that are on the terrorist watch list who are able to get guns today and what we're talking about is changing that so that they're unable to do so. But you're right, and this guy, in this case, wouldn't have.

CUOMO: But, there'd still be due process.

A. KING: Oh yes, there's got to be due process.

CUOMO: You wouldn't be able to --

A. KING: Go ahead.

CUOMO: Oh, no. Please, Senator, make the point about due process.

[07:55:00] A. KING: Well, I think the point is that you can't just say people with constitutional rights are abridged just arbitrarily. They have to have an opportunity to say they're on the list improperly, there was a mistake made, the names were mixed up. So there has to be a constitutional relief valve. My understanding is that that's going to be in the legislation. But I think that, still, the legislation should make a difference.

The question is, would it have in this case? No. Are there guarantees -- Chris, there are never going to be guarantees. This is a dangerous place but we've got try to close the doors as we identify them.

CUOMO: Sources at the FBI are making a little bit of a different case for what Orlando means. They say we closed the case on this guy. He wouldn't have been on a No Fly List. Their concern is that they knew something was up with him, right? In 2013, they had the case. They heard things that they don't want to be hearing about any American, but they couldn't make the case. In 2014, his name comes up again. And now, a couple of years after that, he goes to buy long and hand

guns and they have no ability to even really be informed about, right, because the FBI's a big entity and doing the background checks doesn't necessarily communicate with the people who investigated this man earlier. But they don't have the authority, even if they did find out, to flag him for an interview. Do you think that should change?

A. KING: Yes, I think one of the things that -- if you're on a list and there's some kind of reasonable suspicion, and then there's a purchase, there should be a --

CUOMO: But no list, Senator. He wasn't on any list. He wouldn't have been on a list. No list.

A. KING: But he had been --

CUOMO: Forget about the list.

A. KING: He -- OK.

CUOMO: I'm saying -- because Orlando's not relevant to that.

A. KING: If you have been a person of interest to the FBI -- and again, this is where the constitution, and freedom, and what we are as a country -- it's a thin line. But I think if somebody has been investigated by the FBI for terrorist-related activity -- clearly they're in the record somewhere --

They know that they were there and they go andpurchase a gun, there should be a ping and a question should be raised. Not that they can't purchase the gun, but a question should be raised during that 72-hour waiting period and maybe there can be further questioning and following up.

We've got to try to close these doors. As I say, this is -- we are in a dangerous situation and this is one of the ways I think we can try to deal with it.

CUOMO: Not to hear it from not Senator King, but Congressman King. Steve King said well, I don't know. I don't know that I want someone's Second Amendment rights abridged when they've already been investigated. The case was closed. I don't know. How long would you keep them in that kind of situation?

That's that Second Amendment right issue versus the ability of the FBI to do something involving weapons and someone that they looked at before. Do you think you can that debate in the current climate?

A. KING: Well, I think it's going to be very difficult, as you know, in a political situation with anything involving guns. One of the problems with the gun discussion, Chris, is it's become sort of all or nothing. It's a litmus test. Anything you say about even keeping terrorists from getting guns -- oh, you want to repeal the -- abolish the Second Amendment and take my guns away.

I mean, that's just not true but the atmosphere is such that it's very hard for us to have a fact-based discussion around here on these issues. But I think there may be some room to get something done on this issue in this Congress.

It's not going to be easy, but I think there is an opportunity and this case presents it as something that I think most Americans -- most Americans -- 90 percent of Americans would say wait a minute. You're on a terrorist watch list and you can buy a gun? That's nuts. So, I think we're going to be able to maybe move on this.

CUOMO: And it's a little bit of a harder question when the person wasn't on any list but there are thousands of people who fall into that category. Senator King, thank you very much for having the discussion. Sorry to step on you there. That's a satellite delay, it's not a function of my respect for you and you know that. Take care, Senator.

A. KING: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, we're following a lot of news here. There are developments in this situation with this Orlando set of murders, the most ever in American history done by gunfire. And also, this story about the toddler taken by an alligator right nearby in Disney World.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: A toddler attacked by an alligator at a Disney resort.

JEFF WILLIAMSON, ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This is still a search and rescue operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very rare thing to happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officials are really just hoping for a miracle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities are zeroing in on the killer's wife.

CAMEROTA: New information, he was casing Disney World.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're very suspicious of the information she's put forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know your husband was going to do this?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: We have a radical Islamic terrorism problem, folks.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a political talking point. It's not a strategy.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What Donald Trump is saying is shameful.

TRUMP: President Obama -- he was more angry at me than he was at the shooter.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.