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Iraqi Forces Now Fighting ISIS Inside Mosul; Surrogates Barnstorm Battleground States; Fox News Under Fire For False Reporting; Bret Baier Walks Back Clinton "Indictment" Claim; Trump: Clinton's Emails Make Her "Disqualified". Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired November 04, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:20] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A major milestone in the battle for Mosul. For the first time in more than two and one-half years, Iraqi forces are inside their country's second-largest city, but they're meeting ferocious resistance from ISIS.

CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us live from Irbil, Iraq. Give us the latest, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Alisyn. What Iraqi forces are saying is that they've gone into about five to six different neighborhoods in the eastern edge of Mosul -- that their advance in is difficult. That there are airstrikes backing up their moves. That there are artillery backing up their moves.

But they're saying that ISIS has snipers on the roofs of buildings. These buildings have civilians living in them so the army, of course, can't call in heavy firepower on those -- on those buildings. If there weren't civilians, of course, they could just demolish them and take out the ISIS threat. That is not an option open.

Also, they say ISIS are using mortars. They're sort of short-range artillery pieces that fire up high over buildings, drop a couple of streets away, and they're targeting Iraqi forces that way. But the Iraqi forces are saying that some of those mortars from ISIS are actually hitting civilian buildings. There are civilian casualties.

And in one of those neighborhoods, just to give you an idea of the ferocity and resistance that the Iraqi forces are facing, they've actually had to pull back from one of those neighborhoods. They say that there two ISIS suicide bombers were sent against their forces. Destroyed two Humvees, damaged three other Humvees. And in that confrontation three Iraqi soldiers were killed, seven were wounded.

So they've actually had to pull back to regroup from that neighborhood, but the government says they are managing to get the Iraqi flags flying above some of those neighborhoods. But, of course, they worry about suicide bombers driving out of side streets. The gun battles have been ferocious and, of course, almost -- there are an estimated one million civilians living in that city. This is going to be a very tough, very difficult fight, dangerous for

the people living there. That is what worries the Iraqi government -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Nic, thank you very much. Stay safe.

We want to switch, now, back here stateside -- a South Carolina story. There's been a woman missing since August and she was just found alive. Police say they found her chained up like a dog. She is 30- year-old Kala Brown. She was kidnapped nine weeks ago. Police say she was kept in a metal storage container. Sheriff's deputies found her yesterday. She told the police there may be four bodies buried on the property.

The person who did this -- police say it is a registered sex offender, in custody, facing kidnapping charges. He's been identified as 45- year-old Todd Kohlhepp. South Carolina is supposed to have GPS on sex offenders. What happened here?

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, we'll follow that.

Meanwhile, Harvard University suspending its men's soccer team for the rest of the season. This action stems from an investigation into the 2012 team and apparent sexual comments they made about members of the women's soccer team. Officials say the athletes circulated a so- called scouting report online that rated the attractiveness of female recruits, along with lude comments. And they say the actions were not isolated to that one year and they continued throughout this current season.

CUOMO: And that's how you change culture. You show that the behavior is a consequence you can't get away from.

All right, so good news. Chicago is set to honor the World Series Champion Cubs today with a parade and rally. The city, of course, still buzzing over this historic win, breaking the 108-year schneid. The championship parade is going to begin at Wrigley Field -- ends with a celebration rally at Grant Park.

President Obama congratulating Cubs' manager Joe Maddon in a phone call from Air Force One, inviting the team to the White House before he leaves.

CAMEROTA: What is a schneid?

CUOMO: A schneid is when you got a run of bad luck.

CAMEROTA: All right.

CUOMO: In fact, if you were a superhero and were the master of disaster, your power of spell that you would put on people would probably be the schneid.

CAMEROTA: The schneid. That's right, Chris is calling me the master of disaster for the rest of the show. We'll explain later. Call it the clash of the surrogates. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sending their heavy hitters into the battleground states. So who's making the more compelling case? We'll discuss that, next, on NEW DAY.

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[05:38:45] CUOMO: Four days to go until Election Day. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton pulling out all the stops and that means surrogates -- presence. Get as many strong people to spread your message in as many places as possible.

So, who's doing the best job there? Let's discuss. CNN political commentator, KABC talk radio host, and Trump supporter, Mr. John Phillips. And, CNN political commentator, Democratic strategist, Hillary Clinton supporter, Maria Cardona.

Ms. Cardona, who do you believe is your best surrogate and why?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We have so many, Chris.

CUOMO: Just one, please.

CARDONA: We have a trove of treasures. OK, I'm going to say Michelle Obama --

CUOMO: Why?

CARDONA: -- the closer. She is a star. She appeals to, frankly, all of the demographics that Democrats need to make sure get out to vote, including women, including millennials, including Latinos, African- Americans, college-educated white women. I mean, you name it, Michelle Obama is popular with everybody. I think she is the not-so- secret weapon. We've called her the closer and we have seen why every time she gets up and gives a speech.

[05:40:00] And, she's also untouchable, Chris. If you have noticed the one person that the Trump campaign and Trump, himself, have never dared to gone after -- to go after, it's Michelle Obama.

CUOMO: That is true, John. How'd Trump miss her? Anyway, so who's your best surrogate and why?

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you might say, Chris, that Melania's in Pennsylvania trying to help the Republicans get off the schneid there in the Keystone State. They've been --

CUOMO: The schneid -- we'll see what the master of disaster has to say about that, but she likes it. So, what do you think? So you think Melania is his best?

PHILLIPS: Well look, when they picked the vice presidential nominees way back in the middle of summer, I said it matters a lot right now but it doesn't mean much when it comes down to November. The best surrogate for each campaign is the candidate, themselves. People vote for the top of the ticket, they don't vote for the bottom of the ticket.

What means something to me among the surrogates is the geography. Where are they? Where was Melania's speech yesterday? Where are Trump's kids? Where are the top surrogates appearing? And the answer is Pennsylvania.

And Pennsylvania, I think, is an important state to both campaigns, but particularly to the Trump campaign because if you look at that ABC News/Washington Post poll, Chris, you'll see that Donald Trump has an 11-point lead among those who plan on voting on Election Day. Pennsylvania is not an early voting state so I don't think it's a mistake that they're sending all of these surrogates down to Pennsylvania to fill up rooms and to create, you know -- create a good --

CUOMO: But it's also not a mistake, John, that their main man, Trump -- as you suggest, the best surrogate and in his case, really, maybe the only one, right? There's an obvious thinness to the surrogate team there compared to the Clinton team. He's only gone to Pennsylvania once over the -- from now until Election Day. Clinton's going to be there three times.

So now let me hit you with the criticism of both surrogate efforts.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

CUOMO: Cardona, I'll start with you. That you have people who are, arguably, better at making the case for the coalition that the Democrats need to win than your candidate, whether it's Michelle Obama or President Obama, or even her husband, Bill Clinton. That she has surrogates that are actually more likable and better than she is. Is that a good thing?

CARDONA: I think that is a great thing, actually. I mean, I would disagree with that. Obviously, people who support Hillary love Hillary and are voting for Hillary. But the people that are around her -- these super surrogates that we are seeing traveling the country speaking on behalf do have a great message.

I think President Obama, for one, can talk very specifically to African-Americans and to millennialsbecause they are the ones who, clearly, voted for him in record numbers in '08 and in 2012. And he talks about his legacy. And let's not forget that President Obama, today, has an approval rating of 57 percent. That is quite high and that is very important.

CUOMO: Let's hear what he was saying out there, Maria, you know. The president matters more. He's a sitting president. He was out there on the hustings yesterday. Let's hear what he said.

CARDONA: Right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't a joke. This isn't "Survivor". This isn't "The Bachelorette". This counts. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I didn't even know there was a bachelorette. Let me swing it back to you, John. The criticism of your team is you don't have one. And that you have the kids who are out there, and God bless them, you know, that they're supporting their parent. But, you know, in a recent poll you've got 80 plus percent of your party thinks it's divided. You don't have your GOP heavy hitters wanting to back Trump. You've got Ted Cruz, who won't even say the man's name. How does that help you?

PHILLIPS: Yes. Well, Donald Trump is an outsider and part of what comes with being an outsider is you don't have a lifetime of chits (ph) that you've built up with other politicians so that they'll go out at a time like this and campaign on your behalf.

CUOMO: But John, is that true?

PHILLIPS: It was a very bitter primary.

CUOMO: Let's check the assertion. He does have relationships. He's always been a donor, he's always been a player. You've got guys like Paul Ryan who find him personally offensive. So while they'll back the party, they don't campaign for him directly. You've got Cruz, who finds him so objectionable -- and he ain't no insider, right -- that he won't say his name. Why do you put the guys out there if you know there's this conflict? Is it because it's all you have?

PHILLIPS: Well, I would love to play poker with Ted Cruz because he's the most transparent person on planet earth. He wants everyone to know that he's going out there and he's doing what he needs to do, but he doesn't like it for one minute.

CARDONA: I agree with that.

PHILLIPS: Look, I do think there is a difference between being a donor and being someone who is in the room -- in those smoke-filled rooms in Washington, D.C. backslapping for decades on end. And I think, again, it was a very bitter primary. It was a primary where there's a lot of hurt feelings. Jeb certainly has hurt feelings, Kasich has hurt feelings.

So, Donald Trump is the best advocate for Donald Trump. He won the primary going out advocating on his behalf without having surrogates out there doing it for him, and he's going to try to do the same thing here in the general.

CUOMO: And, boy, did he put a bow on it with Melania's speech yesterday. He beat everybody to a pulp and then has his wife go out there and deliver a speech where she says everyone should be nicer. Maria Cardona, John Phillips, thank you very much.

[05:45:05] CARDONA: Has she met her husband?

CUOMO: Appreciate you making the cases -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, up next, "FOX NEWS" is under fire again for reporting a false story, so Brian Stelter is here with the fallout.

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CUOMO: FOX News is under fire for another false report. This campaign continues to be plagued by stories that just aren't true. And, in truth, there's a whole cottage industry trying to trick journalists on a regular basis.

Let's bring in Brian Stelter, CNN senior media correspondent, host of "RELIABLE SOURCES" here with more, and you've talked a lot of about this. There's a lot of fake news out there but, then, there's also what actual reporters are doing to advance narratives.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and in this case -- this most recent case -- FOX News relying on anonymous sources inside the FBI and around the FBI to suggest that Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation are in imminent legal trouble. This report started on Wednesday, really reflecting this divide -- this war within the FBI.

[05:50:10] The initial report from FOX anchor Bret Baier was about the potential for indictments. Take a listen to what he said on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR: We talked to two separate sources with intimate knowledge of what's going on with these FBI investigations. The investigations will continue. There is a lot of evidence. And barring some obstruction, in some way, they believe they'll continue to, likely, an indictment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: This lit up the Internet -- the "I" word -- indictment. Countless conservative blogs and websites ran with this. Some started fantasizing about Clinton behind bars -- about serious legal peril for Clinton and for the Foundation. But then, on Thursday, he seemed to walk it back a bit. Here's what Baier said on Thursday morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: I want to be clear about this, and this came from a Q&A that I did with Brit Hume after my show and after we went through everything. I got to the end of that and said, you know, they have a lot of evidence that would, likely, lead to an indictment, but that's not -- that's inartfully answered. That's not the process. That's not how you do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: This seemed more than just inartful language to me, you know. CNN's Evan Perez, NBC, ABC all have said, based on other anonymous sources, that there is no evidence that any of this FOX stuff is true. That there's nothing close to an indictment. In fact, it's pretty clear there's a, you know, battle inside the FBI and that's the real story here.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, Bret is a real journalist. He's not Sean Hannity who, as we've discussed, is a broadcaster who just fell for a fake news story and rolling it out on his radio show.

STELTER: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Bret is a real journalist. So did that clarification go far enough? Was it inartful or was it wrong?

STELTER: Yes. I mean, it seems like his use of the word indictment and use of the word likely was wrong. And, unfortunately, you can't walk back something like that because the damage is already done. Kellyanne Conway --

CAMEROTA: But it spreads like wildfire.

STELTER: That's right.

CAMEROTA: Like, what happened was he said it and then all sorts -- as you say, all -- the echo chamber. All sorts of other news outlets, not even just conservative news outlets -- "RealClearPolitics", "The Hill" -- started picking it up.

STELTER: And maybe most importantly, Donald Trump. Donald Trump started talking about this and implifying her.

CUOMO: He doesn't need -- he doesn't need a source in order to jump to a suggestion, though. That's one thing we know about Trump. He'll say it no matter what his basis is.

STELTER: Right.

CUOMO: But this is the difference between what you say and why you say it, all right? We have all these standards at different reporting shops about what you need to go on air with something. Anonymous sources about something like an indictment, you're not going to get on the air at "CNN". You can fight all day long, I've tried it. You're not going to get on the air. But it's also why you say it. Was that Martha MacCallum that he was sitting next to there?

STELTER: It was, that's right.

CUOMO: So yesterday on the air they say Chris Cuomo didn't know. That he was surprised that Hillary Clinton has two investigations because, you know, that's what they do over at "CNN". Now, that's a -- that's a silly thing for a reporter to say because, obviously, we all know.

We had someone on our air that made it sound like there were two new investigations when the Foundation one has been going on a long time. Clinton didn't want to acknowledge it, but it's been going on a long time. The email one's been going on well over a year.

But why you say something also matters. They take pride at "FOX" in saying that "CNN" is the Clinton News Network. This is a different type of combat, almost, that you're seeing --

STELTER: It is.

CUOMO: -- among media. We don't go after our own in this business. If someone's wrong, you say it, but you don't attack their priorities.

STELTER: I think it feels we're right on the precibus of this election. "FOX" is trying to reassure its conservative audience that Donald Trump has a real chance. That Clinton could end up behind bars. Meanwhile, the campaign -- the Clinton campaign, overnight, calling for the FBI to speak out on this. Brian Fallon, the press secretary, saying the FBI needs to come out with a public statement to refute "FOX"s baseless claims.

CAMEROTA: That would be helpful. Brian, thank you very much for all of that.

So, the battle for North Carolina. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton battling it out in the must-win Tar Heel State. It could decide the election. We have four days to go and a lot to talk about. How will we fit it all in? That's next.

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[05:58:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America will have a new president. It will either be me or my opponent.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are the movement of the future.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This campaign is not a personality contest. We're not voting for high school president.

MELANIA TRUMP, WIFE OF DONALD TRUMP: We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other.

CLINTON: What kind of change are we going to have?

TRUMP: Just remember, the system is rigged.

OBAMA: We've got work to do to finish what we started eight years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Friday, November 4th, 6:00 in the East.

And, up first, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton battling for all- important North Carolina -- must-win swing state emerging as one of the most critical for both candidates and one that could, ultimately, decide this race.

CAMEROTA: So, top surrogates for Trump and Clinton are fanning out across the country. There are just four days left until Election Day and we have it all covered for you. So let's begin with CNN's Sunlen Serfaty. She is live in Charlotte. Give us the latest there, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Alisyn. Well, the battle is so intense here in North Carolina that the candidates are practically running into each other. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's campaign planes were parked at the same time, at the same airport last night in a rally in North Carolina.

Now today, for Donald Trump it is onward to New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, three states so critical to his path to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: We know Hillary can't be trusted. We've learned that.

SERFATY: Donald Trump hitting Hillary Clinton over the FBI's new probe of a longtime aide's emails.

TRUMP: When you take a look at her email situation, can we trust her with our security? She is disqualified.

SERFATY: While presenting a defense focus speech in North Carolina, decorated military veterans joining Trump on stage. Trump pointing out them to illustrate why he thinks Clinton should not be president.