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New Day
McCain Releases Statement; Inside Theranos' Secret Blood Test Labs; HBO Documentary on Campaign Donors. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET
Aired August 01, 2016 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Make no mistake, I do not valorize our military out of some unfamiliar instinct. I grew up in a military family and have my own record of service and have stayed closely engaged with our armed forces throughout my public career. In the American system, the military has value only in as much as it protects and defends the liberties of the people. My father was a career naval officer, as was his father. For hundreds of years, every generation of McCains has served in the United States in uniform. My sons serve today and I'm proud of them. My youngest served in the war that claimed Captain Khan's life, as well as in Afghanistan. I want them to be proud of me. I want to do the right thing by them and their comrades.
Humayun Khan did exactly that and he did it for all the right reasons. This accomplished young man was not driven to service as a United States Army officer because he was compelled to by any material need. He was inspired as a young man by his reading of Thomas Jefferson and he wanted to give back to the country that had taken him and his parents in as immigrants when he was only two years old. Captain Khan's death in Iraq on June 8, 2004, was a shining example of valor and bravery inculcated into our military. When a suicide bomber accelerated his vehicle toward a facility with hundreds of American soldier, Captain Khan ordered his subordinates away from the danger, then he ran toward it.
The suicide bomber striking prematurity claimed the life of Captain Khan and Captain Khan, through his selfless action and sacrifice, saved the lives of hundreds of his brothers and sisters. Scripture tells us that greater love hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life for his friends. Captain Humayun Khan of the United States Army showed, in his final moments, that he was filled and motivated by this love. His name will live forever in American memory as an example of true American greatness.
In the end, I am morally bound to speak only to the things that command my allegiance and to which I have dedicated my life's work. The Republican Party, and more importantly, the United States of America. I will not refrain from doing my utmost by those lights simply because it may benefit others with whom I disagree. I claim no moral superiority over Donald Trump. I have a long and well-known public and private record for which I have - will have to answer at the final judgment, and I repose my hope in the promise of mercy in the moderation of age. I challenge the nominee to set the example for what our country can and should represent. Arizona is watching. It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party. While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.
Lastly, I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan, thank you for immigrating to America. We're a better country because of you, and you are certainly right, your son was the best of American, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us better as a nation, and he will never be forgotten."
That was Senator John McCain in a paper statement released just moments ago.
Let's discuss. Joining us now is Miguel Ali, founder of the Constitutionalists for Gays and Immigrants. CNN political commentator Jeffrey Lord is with us from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He supports Donald Trump. And comedian Dean Obeidallah is a contributor of "The Daily Beast" and host of "The Dean Obeidallah Show." Excuse me, I've been reading for quite a big here. My voice is a bit horse.
Jeffrey Lord, first I want to get your reaction. You're a Donald Trump supporter. That was a long, lengthy statement from Senator John McCain, the 2008 nominee of the Republican Party.
JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean the part that I object to here is that he - he, like Mr. Khan, is misrepresenting Donald Trump's views on immigration. I mean, his views, let's go back, was to temporarily halt the flow of Muslims into the country until we could fix the immigration system and then start it up again. There was no ban on Muslims. And to the extent that, at least as I understand what you just read there, Senator McCain is misrepresenting it.
But let's be clear, yet again, Captain Khan was a hero. Absolutely. No question about it. We're all familiar with Senator McCain's record, his military heroism, et cetera. I would add that in a few days, I believe, somewhere this month, he's in a very tight race for re- election. So, you know, he is also a politician.
BERMAN: Miguel, part of this statement from Senator McCain, which was interesting, Senator McCain didn't just take issue with Donald Trump's proposals on immigration and Muslims. Senator McCain seemed to take issue with what Donald Trump had to say to the Khan family. And reading between the lines it seems as if he took issue with what he said about the mother of Humayun Khan. He said, "while our party has bestowed upon him this nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are best among us." Again, that statement from Republican Senator John McCain, Miguel.
MIGUEL ALI, FOUNDER, CONSTITUTIONALISTS FOR GAYS AND IMMIGRANTS: Well, if I could just respond to Jeff's thoughts on immigration. I mean, the Trump recant on a Muslim ban was rather silly because he said we're going to have a temporary ban on countries affiliated with terrorism. There's 56 Muslim countries, and I'd say about 54 of them have terrorists that have come out of there. so it's still a Muslim ban.
[08:35:07] I also think it's interesting that Mr. Khan immigrated from Pakistan. I can say this as a tech entrepreneur, there's three countries outside of America that have the finest tech talent today, that's the Ukraine, Israel and Pakistan. Google just opened a tech hub, a tech accelerator in Lahore, Pakistan. We're poaching their talent right now. And these guys are incredible. And it's not just good for the economy, racial profiling, that's crime fighting from the 1950s. What we need now is algorithms and big data over public service, not even private, just public, because most of these terrorists actually announce their acts on Twitter before they do it. We can write the codes now and the proper algorithms to find these guys before the attack happens.
And the coders that we need to do it are the guys from Pakistan. They would love to come here. And I've got to tell you, the country putting a massive amount of resources behind coding and behind tech is Russia. It's ironic that this WikiLeaks has come out from there, but the Russia coders, I can say this as an entrepreneur, they're not very good, but within three years, they're going to be quite good. They're going to be much better. And Russia is putting billions behind their tech infrastructure. They know this is how they can take over the world again. We need these immigrants to come and coded and even a temporary ban, it's going to kill us. So that's the answer I have to say (ph) on that.
BERMAN: It was interesting. I mean John McCain did say, "lastly, I'd like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan, thank you for immigrating to American. We're a better country because of you."
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN, "THE DAILY BEAST" CONTRIBUTOR: Of course.
BERMAN: Again, this was a long statement, Dean -
OBEIDALLAH: Right.
BERMAN: From Senator McCain. And there was a lot going on here. One thing I did not see in here, at least not directly, is, I am not supporting Donald Trump for president.
OBEIDALLAH: No, and that's up to Senator McCain. He is in a tough reelection battle. But it took a lot of courage from John McCain to put out that statement. And let's keep in mind, let's not lose one big thing here. The Khan family spoke to show that Muslims can be patriotic. That there are Muslims in this country who serve this nation. In fact, Muslims served in the Revolutionary War with George Washington. Peter Buckmister (ph), Google his name, at the Batter of Bunker Hill. From then right through now, 6,000 Muslims serving in our military. Captain Khan is not the only Muslim buried in Arlington National Cemetery with honors. They defend this country.
What happened is, I think the Khan family had enough of Donald Trump demonizing us. It's not just about a ban. Let's be honest. Donald Trump has said thousands of Muslims cheered after 9/11 in New Jersey. Absolutely not true. He says Islam hates us. He says Muslims were hiding the enemy within us. We're not going forward. Which has been actually completely wrong. People know this is actually wrong. But, still, Donald Trump has come after our community.
So he's going after the gold star family. There's only two people going after the gold star family, Donald Trump and ISIS. ISIS put out a statement mocking the Khan family. If Donald Trump wants to attack a Muslim, attack me. Don't attack this gold star family who their family suffered. Captain Khan more courageous in one day than Donald Trump will ever be his entire life because Donald Trump had a chance to serve in Vietnam and said he had a medical deferment, which is fine.
LORD: So did Hillary Clinton, Dean.
OBEIDALLAH: Right. But he -
LORD: Dean, so did Hillary Clinton, and she didn't serve.
OBEIDALLAH: Sure, Jeffrey, but she didn't - but, Jeffrey, look, she didn't say she had a medical disability. Donald Trump said he had a medical disability. Here's the interesting thing, Jeff, you notice -
LORD: She dodged (ph). She dodged (ph).
OBEIDALLAH; But Donald - there was no draft of women in the 1970s. There was no draft of women.
LORD: Dean - Dean -
OBEIDALLAH: But, Jeffrey, let me say one thing, and I'd love for you to respond. Donald Trump said he had a medical disability when he was 22. Nineteen - last year his doctor put out a letter saying he's in astonishing health. So apparently Donald Trump's one of the fewer people who are healthier at 70 than 22. How do you explain him getting healthier? Now he's healthier and astonishingly in great health. He's - he played college baseball, squash and tennis in -
LORD: All kinds of people, Dean. All kinds of people.
OBEIDALLAH: He played baseball, squash and tennis in college. Comings out and says, I can't medically serve in our military and then mocks John McCain -
BERMAN: Let me - let Jeffrey respond here. Let Jeffrey respond to this. Jeffrey. Jeffrey.
OBEIDALLAH: Then mocked John McCain last year despicably.
LORD: Well, I - look, look, Dean, as somebody who grew up in that era, Bill Clinton famously got elected president and was, without doubt, a draft dodger.
OBEIDALLAH: (INAUDIBLE).
LORD: Barack Obama did not serve. Hillary Clinton did not serve. She made no sacrifices. Very interesting that Mr. Khan said Donald Trump doesn't know about sacrifice. Neither does Hillary Clinton. She's made zero sacrifice. So this is just partisanship. That's all it is.
ALI: Can I - can I say something about Hillary Clinton?
BERMAN: Miguel, go ahead. ALI: Hillary Clinton was actually very active in the U.S. Senate
finding communists and taking them down and very much active in the prosecution against (INAUDIBLE) spies.
LORD: That's not a sacrifice.
ALI: Granted, she didn't have a - she didn't have a gun in her hand, but she very much took part in making sure that war wasn't met here in America. Trump didn't do that. So Trump did not sacrifice.
BERMAN: Jeffrey -- Jeffrey, you're saying - you're saying - granted that's not a sacrifice, Jeffrey, is building buildings a sacrifice?
LORD: Look, here - John, here is the thing. We are getting into a discussion here, which is a good one, about the public sector versus the private sector. I served in public service, if you will, at a staff level for 20 years. I assure you, that is a privilege. It is not a sacrifice. Anybody who serves in any public office or any public capacity has a privilege to do so. It is not a sacrifice. Building a business from scratch, not just Donald Trump but whoever builds the corner grocery store, where they put their own personal finances at risk, where they go to a great deal of hard work to make a business work, to employ people, that's sacrifice. The idea that public service is going to get the sort of nod over all the rest of us in the private sector now, for me, who support this, is absurd, and typical of the arrogance here from the political class.
[08:40:21] OBEIDALLAH: You know what's absurd -
BERMAN: Last word, Dean.
OBEIDALLAH: Absurd is that Donald Trump, asked by George Stephanopoulos about a military family and what have you sacrificed, and instead of saying something that I think, Jeffrey, you would have said, look, what I have done is not the sacrifice of someone who put on a uniform and served in Iraq or Afghanistan or a family who has suffered like this. I've done different things. Instead, he equated his work in business, flying around in private jets, in luxurious boardrooms, as being a sacrifice to someone in the military. Jeffrey, you never would advise someone to say that. I know - I know you won't. Donald Trump made a mistake there. He should apologize for that comment (INAUDIBLE) -
LORD: Building a business is a sacrifice.
BERMAN: OK, Jeffrey - Jeffrey - Jeffrey, Miguel, Dean, I appreciate you being with us. Thank you very much.
LORD: Thanks, guys.
BERMAN: Poppy, back to you.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, coming up next, switching gears. Remember the woman who promised to change the face of medicine before her revolutionary blood test hit a brick wall. For the first time since her company came under intense government scrutiny, CEO Elizabeth Holmes opens up to our Sanjay Gupta in a CNN exclusive, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:14] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back to NEW DAY.
Now to a CNN exclusive. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta going toe to toe with Elizabeth Holmes, the embattled CEO of the blood testing company Theranos. Later today, Holmes will face hundreds of lab experts to give skeptics a first ever look into the science behind Theranos' very controversial test, which only calls for a few drops of blood.
Sanjay joins me now live from Rio, where he is down ahead of the Olympics covering the Zika virus.
Sanjay, I can't overstate how huge this is. She has not been speaking to anyone.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Absolutely. And, you know, it's been a - one of the best kept secrets, I think, as you know, Poppy, in Silicon Valley for the last ten years. The project is code named Edison. And as you said, the promise was simple, run all of these blood tests on just a single few drops of blood. The question was, how well did it work, and what were the things that worked better than others? We got an exclusive look at the technology.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): For the very first time, Elizabeth Holmes is opening up the secret labs of Theranos.
ELIZABETH HOLMES, FOUNDER AND CEO, THERANOS: No one has ever seen this. You are the first one.
GUPTA (on camera): Wow.
GUPTA (voice-over): In 2003, then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford and founded Theranos, with the hope of using small amounts of blood, just a few drops, to do what normally took numerous tubes. Testing blood may seem like a simple process, but, in fact, there are numerous steps that can impact the results.
For example, the tourniquet. How long is that supposed to be on? Was that alcohol or iodine used to clean my arm? What's the size of the needle? And why are there so many tubes? The anticlotting medicine is not standardized. Nor the various reagents used to do the testing itself. Let alone the machines that finally spit out the results. It is a big $75 billion industry with thousands of players controlling little pieces of the process. Theranos wants all of it.
GUPTA: OK.
HOLMES: The is the inside of -
GUPTA (voice-over): What resulted is this black box. A mini lab. The company says it can run up to 40 different tests on a tiny sample of blood.
HOLMES: We've designed it to allow for the same operations that a technologist could do in a laboratory.
GUPTA: Holmes believes that a finger stick, instead of a needle, will make people more likely to get their blood tested.
GUPTA (on camera): I'm going do this myself. Tiffany, hello.
TIFFANY: Hello.
GUPTA: That's still a needle in there.
HOLMES: A lancet is a - is a poke. Did it hurt?
GUPTA: Actually, I barely felt it. I'll be honest. I'm not just saying that.
GUPTA (voice-over): For what it's worth, this Theranos blood test put my cholesterol at 170. My own doctor found it to be 169 just the week before. Holmes says she wants to make this sort of testing available anywhere, anytime.
HOLMES: There's no reason why these can't be distributed in - in very, very decentralized locations.
GUPTA (on camera): Your home?
HOLMES: Yes.
GUPTA: You think people's homes should have these, essentially a clinical laboratory in their own house?
HOLMES: I think that's a very interesting space.
GUPTA (voice-over): But wherever the tests occur, the results need to be precise and accurate. And that's where the story of Theranos starts to crumble.
DAVID KOCH, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: There were several labs that were tested that weren't totally accurate.
GUPTA: One study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found the tests from Theranos retail testing sites in Phoenix, Arizona, to have significant discrepancies. But even more damaging, an assessment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of their Newark, California, lab, which questioned Theranos' ability to run a clinical laboratory, citing, quote, "a global and long-term failure of the quality control program," and demanding they get their act together. "Wall Street Journal" investigative reporter John Carreyrou first broke that story last October.
JOHN CARREYROU, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Theranos wasn't able to do so to the agency's satisfaction. So the agency has now decided it's going to shut that lab down and it's going to ban Elizabeth Holmes from the blood testing industry for at least two years. GUPTA: Holmes has until September 5th to appeal. But in her first
interview since the CMS decision, she insists the technology was never to fault for the erroneous results. Instead, she blames it on flawed operations and personnel.
HOLMES: At the highest level, we didn't have the right leadership in the laboratory, and we didn't have the implementation of the quality system in terms of procedures and the associated documentation to ensure that we were realizing the quality standards that - that we hold ourselves to.
GUPTA: Of course, in the middle of all this, are patients whose health depended on Theranos for accurate results.
GUPTA (on camera): Does this man who goes by the initials R.C. right now in Arizona, who is suggesting that the lab results that he got from Theranos were not accurate, led to him having a heart attack. Based on what you know, is it possible that what he's saying is true? Could he have gotten a lab result that was so askew that he didn't act on it and then a month later he ended up having a heart attack?
[08:50:15] HOLMES: I'm not the lab director, and so -
GUPTA: I know, but you're the CEO and founder of the company and this is as serious as it gets.
HOLMES: Yes. What I know is that I put the best people in place to be able to investigate every aspect of this, and ensure that we meet the quality standards that we hold ourselves to. And I know they're doing that.
CARREYROU: The biggest problem was going live with blood tests that didn't work, or that worked only part of the time.
GUPTA (voice-over): Theranos is under the microscope of the U.S. attorney's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission about whether it misled investors about the technology. For now, Holmes and Theranos are hell bent on gaining back the significantly eroded public trust, improving the product they have to offer is the real deal.
GUPTA (on camera): It's probably the most important question I think anybody who's watching has about this, does it work?
HOLMES: Yes.
GUPTA: You're confident in that?
HOLMES: I am confident in that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: I want to tell you, as well, Poppy, that for the first time they're going release some of the data, again, never been released before. Take a look quickly at this confidential draft. Some of the testing data. You can see - that's a scatter plot, and you can see how closely aligned those green dots are, comparing what Theranos was able to do with some of the more commercially available testing machines. Now, all of that data is collected under the roof of Theranos. They still need to get third party data to verify all of that, Poppy, but that's where things stand now.
HARLOW: Absolutely fascinating. Sanjay, thank you so much for that.
All right, coming up, 99 days to go and then it's your turn to go to the polls. So the candidates leaning on their big donors right now in the final swing to keep their wheels in motion. Who do they turn to? A look inside the people behind the campaign cash, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:55:33] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So how much money do you think you've given to political candidates over the years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given and raised, probably a hundred million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A hundred million? Democrats and Republicans?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much do you think you're going to contribute from 2016?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, maybe a few million.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, just a few million. No big deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No big deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Just a few million. No big deal. All right, I guess -
BERMAN: Must be nice. Must be nice.
HARLOW: I guess it's who you ask.
This year, big money donors are expected to break astronomical records in the world of political giving. Who are these men and women? Joining us now, producer and director of "Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk," of course money talks, premiering tonight on HBO, Alexandra Pelosi. She's also the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: What does that have to do with it?
HARLOW: I know. I was actually reading that thinking like, all right, yes -
PELOSI: Who wrote that. Let's get with the person that wrote that.
HARLOW: But that - the filmmaker in the flesh. OK, the one -
PELOSI: Wai, more than that. I was John Berman's wing man on the bus in 2000.
HARLOW: Right. It's true.
PELOSI: I think I should write that in. That was before I made 10 HBO documentaries.
HARLOW: Ten.
BERMAN: Exactly.
PELOSI: Ten.
BERMAN: It set you on the trail to where you are right now.
PELOSI: Right.
HARLOW: A big one tonight. What billionaire surprised you the most?
PELOSI: I would say what's interesting in this film is - OK, let me just say this. I'm going to even answer your question. I'm just going to say what I want to say. I want to try and sell this movie to you. I want to try to get you in front of your TV to watch HBO tonight.
HARLOW: OK.
PELOSI: OK. Here, I'll do it in two minutes. So, if you want to run for president in America, it's like a monopoly board. You have to go around the board and pick up the checks from these sugar daddies that are in these specific - every town has one. If you're a Democrat or a Republican, there's a map of America, like a scavenger hunt. You have to go around the board and go - get on your knees and ask for campaign donations with your hand out.
HARLOW: Right.
PELOSI: And so what I did was I took -
HARLOW: You did that.
PELOSI: I did that. I followed the candidates around the board. And so I went - you can go to the FEC and get a list. Open Secret (INAUDIBLE) has a list of them. You go. And I went around the board and I went to find the mega donors and asked them, why would you give $10 million to Hillary Clinton? Why - and, anyway. So that maybe no news to you. You may not say breaking news, people that are running for president need millions of dollars. But to the average Americans sitting home, they're wondering, who are these people? When they read these names in the paper, there are a hundred families in American that write the big checks. Who are they?
So, I went down and talked to these people and some of them said I do it because I love America. OK, great. And then some of them said - well, for example, T. Boone Pickens says, I wanted to get a law passed, so I wrote this big check and then I went to the senators and I tried to get this kind of legislation passed. And so it may not be the most revealing expose. No smoking gun. It's not WikiLeaks. We're not blowing up the house here. But it is just a - sort of a - just a visit. We go in to visit the parties. Wouldn't you like to go to a party?
HARLOW: Yes.
PELOSI: You would have to pay - you know, these people pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, to go to these parties and I'm taking you in for free.
BERMAN: Well, that's the thing. And you - you grew up in politics and you cover politics. We cover politics together. But even you, Alexandra Pelosi, were surprised by the amount of money now and the scope and the grander of these parties that you were going to.
HARLOW: What it takes.
PELOSI: Insane. (INAUDIBLE) weddings. They're nicer than my wedding. I didn't go to your wedding. You didn't invite me to your wedding. But it was - they are nicer than my wedding. I mean they're insane, the tents and the - the amount of - we didn't go into that, but we only - we don't have that much time to talk about how grand the parties are. That's why you have to watch it. Go tonight -
HARLOW: You had fun making this?
PELOSI: I did. It's fun to go to parties for a living.
HARLOW: Especially with a camera.
BERMAN: How much access can you buy? You know, what does $1 million buy you today?
PELOSI: Well, you have to go WikiLeaks for that because that's what's fascinating about the WikiLeaks. You - I - you can take the names of everyone in the film and then scrub the WikiLeaks documents and try and find out what they get. Like sometimes it would say, oh, they got to sit next to the president at a party. Well, what did they talk about? We don't know. There's no - I mean, when you talk about the quid pro quo, it's really hard to find the smoking gun to say, OK, they gave - they wrote this million dollar check and then they got this law passed that helped their business.
HARLOW: Yes.
PELOSI: That's a totally different kind of documentary.
HARLOW: All right, but you take it -
PELOSI: That's not the one that's on HBO tonight at 9:00.
HARLOW: But you take us - you take us on the money trail for fun tonight, 9:00 p.m., HBO. Nice to see you, Alexandra Pelosi. Congrats on the film.
PELOSI: Thank you for having me.
BERMAN: Always delightful, Alexandra. Thank you so much.
PELOSI: Always.
HARLOW: A fun way to end the show.
BERMAN: It is time for NEWSROOM now with Carol Costello.
Carol, it's all yours.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. That was enjoyable. I appreciate that.
HARLOW: Yes.
COSTELLO: Have a great day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
[09:00:01] As we begin a new week, Donald Trump might well be searching for a reset button. it has been a bruising 72 hours with the Republican nominee hitting several potholes in the post-convention sprint to November.
