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FBI Chief Stands Firm, Clinton Campaign Cries Foul; Trump Campaign Condemns White Nationalist Robocall. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired November 01, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How can Hillary manage this country when she can't even manage her e-mail?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I made a mistake. If they want to look at more e-mails, go ahead, look at them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's impossible to view this a blatant double standard.

BERMAN: The controversial pro-Trump robocall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe Evan is a closet homosexual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to back fire.

TRUMP: She is a terrible example for my son. That I can tell you.

CLINTON: I have been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life, and I'm not stopping now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, November 1st, 5:00 in the East.

A blatant double standard, that's what the Clinton campaign calls this FBI surprised announcement that it's reviewing more emails about Hillary Clinton. She says there is no case here.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And Donald Trump's campaign facing new questions this morning about how he avoided paying hundred of millions of dollars in federal taxes for nearly two decades.

Also, there are multiple uncorroborated reports about his campaign's links to Russia. We are now just one week away from Election Day. We have it all covered for you and there's a lot.

So, let's begin with Phil Mattingly. He is live in Chappaqua, New York. Good morning, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. Well, amid the firestorm launched by one letter to Capitol Hill, FBI investigators are now in the process at Quantico of starting to catalogue those e-mails that really kicked everything back up, kicked that firestorm back up.

[05:00:05] But Jim Comey, the FBI director, is standing firm on his decision to send the letter and he will come out and not saying anything until the investigation is complete. As you can imagine, that has fired up the Clinton campaign. They've been attacking him all weekend. They certainly aren't going to stop now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLINTON: There is no case here.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Hillary Clinton and her campaign firing back at FBI Director James Comey, slamming his decision to notify Congress of a new investigation into thousands of emails found on a computer belonging to the estranged husband of a top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

Clinton's campaign turning the tables on Comey.

ROBBY MOOK, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It is impossible to view this as anything less than a blatant double standard.

MATTINGLY: Seizing a report that Comey refused to publicly comment on potential ties between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid accused Comey of sitting on, quote, "explosive information", Trump's Russia connections without offering proof. CNN cannot corroborate any of these reports.

The U.S. officials do tell CNN that Russia is behind hacks that could potentially influence the U.S. election.

Meanwhile, Trump is capitalizing on Comey's new email probe.

TRUMP: It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had.

MATTINGLY: Comey has only said the e-mails found on disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner's computer, quote, "appear to be pertinent" to now closed private server investigation.

TRUMP: We can be sure that what is in those e-mails is absolutely devastating. And I think we're going to find out, by the way, for the first time. Thank you, Huma. Thank you, Anthony Weiner.

MATTINGLY: Abedin's attorneys responding, saying in a statement, quote, "From the beginning, Abedin has complied fully and voluntarily with State Department and law enforcement requests and reiterate having only learned of the e-mails on Weiner's computer on Friday from the press. Clinton continuing to apologize for her private email server, but issuing a challenge to investigators. CLINTON: I'm not making excuses. I've said it was a mistake and I

regret it. By all means, they should look at them. I am sure they will reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my e-mails for the last year.

MATTINGLY: All of this as "The New York Times" obtains documents that they say show Trump, quote, "escaped tens of millions of dollars of federal personal income taxes in the 1990s by using a tax avoidance maneuver later outlawed by Congress."

Trump's campaign responding to the report in a statement, saying, quote, "any tax experts that you have consulted are engaged in pure speculation. There is no news here."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And, guys, seven days out, just one week. Not that anybody is counting. A good way to kind of get a sense of the race is to take a look at the map, where the candidates, where their surrogates are going.

Donald Trump heading to blue states. He was in New Mexico over the weekend. In Pennsylvania for a big Obamacare speech today with his running mate Mike Pence. And heading to Wisconsin as well.

Hillary Clinton, she's in battleground Florida. President Obama heading to Ohio. Vice President Joe Biden heading to North Carolina.

So, what does that all mean? Clinton campaign and her top surrogates are going to crucial battleground states, pure tossups, if she wins any one of those three states, she pretty much solidifies her claim to the White House.

Donald Trump, he's heading to blue states. These are states where Hillary Clinton has sizable, for the most part, four or five leads across the board. He really needs to win those states to expand the map.

His team says he's on offense. Clinton says that's desperation -- guys.

CAMEROTA: All right. Phil, thanks so much for all of that background.

Let's discuss it now with our panel. We want to bring in CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for "The Daily Beast", Jackie Kucinich, CNN political commentator and senior contributor for "The Daily Caller", Matt Lewis, and CNN political analyst, David Gregory.

Guys, thanks for being here.

I don't know even barely know where to start, because every day is no longer an October surprise. It's like an October smorgasbord, because there's so much to get to. Let's first go to Hillary Clinton's emails, or Huma Abedin's emails and the FBI. It sounds, Jackie, as if we have to live with ambiguity. Voters are going to have to make their decision without figuring out what's on a laptop, because it doesn't sound the FBI is going to give us anything definitive in the next week.

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Which is what they said in the onset, that we don't have time to look into this in terms of before the election, which is why you see the Clinton campaign coming out so forcefully. I mean, the fact she is addressing this from the stump is something that Hillary Clinton really hasn't done this forcefully through the other scandals throughout this election.

[05:05:05] She sort of tried to move on. But this time, they know this is potentially damaging and they're not going to take it.

CUOMO: So, Matt, spin is good. The intersection of law and politics also often allows one to play to advantage. The Trump campaign is ignoring the ambiguity of this. The fact that Comey and making this controversial disclosure so close to an election said they don't know what they had. They don't know if any of the e-mails are relevant or significant to their case.

So, how big a deal will this be after yesterday?

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think the story is a big deal and we are now entering the final stage of the campaign. I don't know if the story, we have very fast news cycles. I don't know if this can linger for a full week. But that's what Donald Trump wants.

If people go on the polls on Election Day thinking about Hillary Clinton's e-mail mess, Donald Trump has a much better chance of winning. If people go into the polls thinking about Donald Trump's taxes, or his "Access Hollywood" comments, then Hillary wins.

And so, this is really a fight over framing of the issue. What is the election about? Donald Trump, I think, the mistake he could make here, though, is overreaching. And he has done that many times.

CUOMO: You don't think they have already done that? I mean, when he came out saying that there's proof of intentional action. When he said that, you know, Comey finally did what he is supposed to do, he's already making gross assumptions about what they have when the FBI will you tell themselves, they don't know what they have. They don't even know how long it will them to make through it.

LEWIS: Well, I think he is banking on running out the clock. He is banking on the fact that he can exaggerate and he won't be called on it. There will be no proof he is exaggerating until after the election.

I still think this is a mistake. This is a big story with or without Donald Trump. He needs to go after winning new voters. I think he has a tendency to try to rile up his base and that's playing out right here. DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So, talk about the speed with which the news cycle happens. It's like whiplash, David, because at the same time the FBI is investigating Huma Abedin's e-mails now, there is all sorts of consternation on the Democratic side that saying whoa, whoa, there's a double standard here, because you have told us or we have some sort of insider information, at least Senator Harry Reid is saying this, that there are connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. And that the FBI knows about it and the FBI is sitting on it, in order to not upset the presidential election.

Where are we on that side of the story?

GREGORY: Well, I don't know where the truth of the matter is. I mean, that's an incendiary claim. I know that the FBI said publicly that they didn't want to comment on those potential leaks. There is reporting that there are no such leaks in "The New York Times" this morning.

But the FBI said that it didn't want to comment on what the intelligence community talked about in terms of Russia being behind the hacking of DNC e-mails and attempts to try to influence the election. Certainly, the Clinton campaign has talked about that. It has been known that the intelligence community believes all of that.

Look, this is the soup that James Comey has himself in. By saying so much last July, by saying so much, including by saying that no reasonable prosecutor would go after Hillary Clinton. He divulged a lot. Once you go through this and once you initiate that talk about the investigation, then where does it stop? This is where he finds himself.

You know, the Clinton team ought to be, and they are, pretty upset with the Attorney General Loretta Lynch because she also has taken a backseat in all of this and given all of this independence to James Comey. She said months ago that she would defer to the director of the FBI in this investigation. And she felt she had to do that because of a monumentally horrible decision by former President Bill Clinton to initiate the off the record meeting with her on her plane on a tarmac somewhere, which nobody in the Clinton world can understand why he would ever think that was a good idea.

So, you know, a lot of this they did bring upon themselves. It doesn't excuse what Comey has done, but it becomes a real factor.

Let's say from a political point of view, I think Donald Trump has done in the last couple of days is very smart. What he is saying in addition to overreaching and saying things that are untrue, because we have no idea what's in these emails, there is no reason this is part of the cache of e-mails that she deleted that's on Huma Abedin's computer and Anthony Weiner's computer, but he's saying, look, this is -- you're going to have if Hillary Clinton, if she becomes president, a constant flow of investigations.

It's going to gridlock the government. There is an element of truth to that. Whether it's fair or not, there's truth in the fact that this will be an issue that hangs over a Clinton presidency and I think Trump is now skillfully trying to use that as a way to suppress her turnout, dissuade people from being for her.

[05:10:05] CUOMO: Well, quick point on that. There is no reason to believe equally that Trump wouldn't be under the same shadow as president in the role as oversight, there are plenty of things they could investigate about Trump that would waste lots of taxpayer dollar.

So, Jackie, what a place we find ourselves in. These Russian accusations are tricky to report on, because there's not a lot of basis. But the FBI thing is hard to report on because there is no factual basis for why he did it.

So, that takes us to "The New York Times." And they come out with a story about his taxes that you can vet.

KUCINICH: Right.

CUOMO: And this has been reported a while ago. Even CNN did it.

Trump was able to carry forward his losses in two clever ways. The one that's getting attention is forgiven debt, OK? I lend you $10. You pay back $6. I forgive debt as a bank, 4 bucks.

You used to have to say that was income. He found a way around that. They later changed the rule. "The New York Times" is using that as duplicity, of Trump's finding a way to cheat the system. But hasn't that been plumbed and found lacking already?

KUCINICH: You know what this goes to, this goes to someone who doesn't think he is subjected to the same rules as everyone else, which is one of the chief criticisms of the Clinton campaign that we've heard from the Trump campaign.

So, this kind -- this brings him into the same stew to use David's analogy as a Clinton campaign. And that isn't good. The fact he looks like he is not paying taxes like everybody else and, in fact, in this "New York Times" story, I believe his own attorneys told him that this was a --

CUOMO: A legal letter from Willkie Farr said that this is likely to expose you to some type of legal ramifications.

CAMEROTA: They found it so sketchy, they advised against it.

KUCINICH: Exactly.

CUOMO: But does that make him unusual? I mean, people are trying to get around that system all the time.

KUCINICH: Well, sure. Of course they do. Again, it goes to basic fairness. You pay your taxes. I pay my taxes. You know, the average Americans pay their taxes. That's what you're going to hear from the Clinton campaign. And not to mention, let's just put this out there again, he has not released his taxes, breaking with four decades of precedent of presidential candidates.

CAMEROTA: Panel, believe it or not, we have much more to talk to you about. So, stick around if you would. We will be back shortly.

CUOMO: All right. So, the Trump campaign is now condemning one of its supporters -- the self-proclaimed white supremacist putting out a homophobic robocall in Utah against independent candidate Evan McMullin. It is the bottom of the barrel.

CNN's Ana Cabrera has more on the controversial and the man behind the call. Here's the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN OF THE AMERICAN FREEDOM PARTY: I make this call against Evan McMullin and in support of Donald Trump.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a robocall targeting third party presidential candidate Evan McMullin in Utah.

JOHNSON: Evan McMullin is an open borders, amnesty supporter.

CABRERA: The guy behind it?

JOHNSON: They put up a candidate to try to stop Donald Trump.

CABRERA: William Johnson, a Trump supporter and white nationalist.

JOHNSON: There are those of us who want to do our part to help him become elected.

CABRERA: Listen closely to the call that is creating controversy.

JOHNSON: Evan has two mommies. Her mother is a lesbian married to another woman. Evan is okay with that. Indeed, Evan supports the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. Evan is over 40 years old and is not married and doesn't even have a girlfriend. I believe Evan is a closet homosexual.

CABRERA: Johnson doesn't even live in Utah. He's in California. He spent 2,000 bucks to dial up 193,000 land lines in the state, where polls show McMullin, a Utah native, former CIA operative and devout Mormon, siphoning the conservative vote from Trump.

EVAN MCMULLIN, THIRD PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a close race. But the momentum is ours.

CABRERA: Johnson admits he doesn't really McMullin. In fact, he has a hard time pronouncing his name.

JOHNSON: Evan MacCallum (ph) is the candidate.

CABRERA: When asked about the allegation that McMullin is gay?

JOHNSON: I don't know if he is or not. I said I think he might be.

MCMULLIN: I'm straight. That's all I have to say about that. It is not something I feel I have to defend. Of course, I'm not happy that he attacked my mother. I'm not happy about the approach it took. But I think it's going to back fire here in Utah.

CABRERA: The Trump campaign was quick to rebuke the robocalls, saying in a statement, we strongly condemn the rhetoric and activity which we have no knowledge.

Ana Cabrera, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: OK. There's a lot more to talk about with that. The Trump campaign denounces that robocall by the way that you just heard. But could it hurt Trump's chances on November 8th? We're going to take a look at the ramifications, next.

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[05:18:56] CUOMO: The Trump campaign says the robocall going out to voters in Utah is wrong. It's from a white nationalist who also supports Donald Trump. But he is targeting the independent candidate Evan McMullin. He insinuates McMullin is gay.

CAMEROTA: More than insinuating.

CUOMO: Yes. And he does it in a really stupid fashion. He says that he is over 40, single and therefore he goes on to the rant of stupidity. Evan McMullin denies the charge and says it shouldn't matter.

Let's bring back our panel -- Jackie Kucinich, Matt Lewis and David Gregory.

McMullin gets the reward for saying the most reasonable thing in recent history in this election.

What's the problem? The problem is not stupidity and anti-gay phobia. We are well-acquainted with that. It is that it's a reflection on a campaign and a nagging allegation that Trump doesn't go after haters enough when they line up behind them, whether it is Duke or whether it's this fool.

KUCINICH: I mean, yes, they haven't. Now, in this case, they came out fairly quickly and condemned this robocall.

[05:20:02] And, you know, this is someone who --

CUOMO: Just a quick check on it. If I say something that Donald Trump doesn't like. He will call me 1,000 names today no matter chuckles they put on. They don't do that, he doesn't do that with these guys. There is no Trump rant of him calling this guy a hundred terrible names, and that's where the criticism comes in.

KUCINICH: Well, true, but what would do that solve for Trump at this point? It seems like they want to say this is bad, and they want to move on. Whether that's right or wrong, it is seven days to the election, the voters will ultimately get to decide. But to say he has been egged on this language throughout the campaign and hasn't come out and condemn it forcefully, I think that is a fair criticism.

CAMEROTA: And, Matt, this is a big deal, because in Utah, Evan McMullin, this, you know, third party candidate is getting tremendous numbers.

CUOMO: He is a Mormon. He's gotten an affinity base there. He knows the state. He's been spending a lot of time. Is it any coincidence that the friend of the campaign goes after this guy in this way and this place?

LEWIS: I would say no more coincidence that the fact "The New York Times" has a few October surprises about Donald Trump today.

No, look, it's not a coincidence.

CUOMO: Matt, you say you calling me gay without cause the reporting of what people say about you?

LEWIS: No, I'm talking about the lack of coincidence that all of a sudden these things pop up out of nowhere. Very coincidental with a week left.

I think this actually hurts Donald Trump and helps Evan McMullin. Here you have a rogue guy from California who inserts himself into the campaign at the last minute. Thinks he's helping Donald Trump. I think it's going to help Evan McMullin. I do think there's a backlash.

What I know about Utahans as they call themselves are they're not going to fall for this. I think that this -- if anything -- helps Evan McMullin.

CAMEROTA: OK, David, let's move on to another despicable comment. This one by Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina. He was caught on audio talking to GOP volunteers in which he made a threat against Hillary Clinton. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Nothing made me feel any better than I walked into the gun shop I think yesterday in Oxford and there was a copy of "Rifleman" on the counter. It's got a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it. I was shocked at that that it didn't have a bullseye on it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, he was shocked there wasn't a bullseye over Hillary Clinton's face on a gun magazine. He has apologized for this.

CUOMO: He says it was a bad joke. Not a threat.

CAMEROTA: OK. But is this Trump's fault? I mean, when people go off the reservation and say despicable things, what is Trump supposed to do?

GREGORY: I mean, we can't blame everything on Trump. I mean, you know, it's like when everything goes back to Benghazi. You know, let's blame everything on Benghazi.

This is a hideous example of public discourse and casual all too familiar invocation of violence against Hillary Clinton who could become the next president who is a major party nominee. The fact you have numerous examples of this happening. This really is beyond unfortunate.

I mean, it ought to be condemned. It's dangerous in an age when you have the kind of violence we have to potentially direct toward political figures.

And, again, you know, for the likes of Richard Burr and others who have made these comments, the outrage that they would express if this would have been directed toward the head of their own party, and it raises the specter of the casual talk of violence against women on top of it. It ought to be condemned.

Anybody in public life ought to be condemned it. Donald Trump has plenty to be accountable for of what he injected in public discourse that has been crude and inappropriate and un-American. So, he's got plenty to be unaccountable for. This is on Senator Burr that he could deal with.

CUOMO: Right. I mean, look, I think the only criticism that is fair is Donald Trump is not a man would misses an opportunity to be loud and proud when it suits him. David is right. If this were said about him, you would hear about it all day.

This is all on Richard Burr. A guy with that last name shouldn't joke about shooting anybody, right?

CAMEROTA: But there is one connection, David and Chris, in that Trump has used some violent at his rallies. I want to punch that guy in the nose. That guy should come out with a stretcher. In a way that other presidential candidates have not.

GREGORY: Fine. Right. Yes, he has plenty to be accountable for.

This is about joking about assassination of a presidential nominee. Absolutely should not be done.

CUOMO: But he could take the opportunity to David's point to really go after this guy and really go after the robocaller about Evan McMullin and say, when I'm president, guys like this, a harsher president for somebody because they are gay, you know, or some bull -- B.S. allegation about them being gay. [05:25:15] GREGORY: I just want to, I mean, look, Trump has totally

missed an opportunity to stand up to white supremacist, to the anti- Semites who have targeted Jewish reporters and others when his daughter is a Jew, when his grandson is Jew. He has missed that opportunity --

CUOMO: He has got Kellyanne saying that the guy is deplorable for saying Jew-S-A. Ordinarily, he would jump on that. He doesn't need anybody to get him loud and proud. You know, why hasn't he taking those opportunities. That's what raises the suspicion.

CAMEROTA: Panel, thank you very much for all of your insights. We will speak later.

Election Day is almost here.

CUOMO: What?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

Be sure to join us next Tuesday for "Election Day in America". We'll have every race covered. Every result. We have a special extended program.

CUOMO: Tell them how long.

CAMEROTA: Well, the next day after, it's six hours. But on Election Day, it's a mere four hours. Don't miss a moment of it. Stay with CNN until the last vote is cast.

CUOMO: From 3:00 on Wednesday morning because, you know, who knows what will happen in the West Coast.

CAMEROTA: Of course, we maybe calling races.

CUOMO: From 3:00 to 9:00, we will be here with you all day. I may grow a beard. Source of personal embarrassment.

A defining moment in the fight to free Mosul. Important news for you out of Iraq. We hear forces are poised to march on the city. Tens of thousands of civilians may be caught in the crossfire. What can be done to save them? Live report from the frontlines, next.

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