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New Day

Interview with Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Interview with Congressman Steve Israel of New York; Donald Trump Hold New Year's Party at Mar-a-Lago; Intelligence May Be Released Regarding Russian Interference in U.S. Election. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 03, 2017 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: This man is allowed to have a celebration with his business partners.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump taking on North Korea's nuclear threat in a series of tweets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't allow North Korea to get their hands on nuclear weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hacking is a very hard thing to prove.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Case closed. It's KGB code.

CONWAY: Donald Trump ought to know many things that the rest of us do not know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just pushes all of his might.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pint-sized super hero saves his twin brother.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody needs to bolt down their dressers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Everybody needs to bolt down their dressers. We don't give it away. It has got a good ending. But you have to see that video. I remember getting those L-clips of Bruce and I what we're talking about, and thinking, do I really need to put this thing against the wall?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, you do.

CUOMO: Yes, you do.

CAMEROTA: We will show you later on what happens to that little toddler who was trapped under that dresser.

CUOMO: And again, a good ending. Good morning. Welcome to you. This is your NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, January 3rd, 8:00 in the east. Up first, House Republicans pulling a fast one, voting to gut the independent office of Congressional ethics just hours before the new Republican controlled Congress gets sworn in today.

CAMEROTA: So critics of this move say this flies in the face of president-elect Trump's campaign promise, to quote, "drain the swamp." And of course many questions persist about Mr. Trump's potential conflicts of interest.

So we are now just 17 days away from Donald Trump's inauguration. Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Phil Mattingly live on Capitol Hill. What's the latest, Phil?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, bold promises, an agenda about a file long, Republicans are just a few hours away from really consolidating their power on Capitol Hill, the most powerful they've been in at least a decade. But it's something they did before they were even sworn in that's raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: In a sign perhaps of what to expect from the new Congress, House Republicans voting behind closed doors Monday night overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal that guts its own independent ethics watchdog tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct among House members. The proposal would place the Office of Congressional Ethics under the oversight of the very lawmakers it oversees.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slamming the move in a statement, saying, quote, "Republicans claim they want to drain the swamp. Evidently ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican congress." The Republicans went against their own leadership. House speaker Paul Ryan and the Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not back the move. Today the full House of Representatives is set to vote on the proposal which could last for at least two years if passed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House will be in order.

MATTINGLY: Republicans this week also expected to cast their first votes on repealing the Affordable Care Act.

MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: The Obamacare repeal resolution will be the first item up in the new year.

MATTINGLY: With a major fight over Obamacare brewing, top Democrats launching a preemptive strike, calling Republicans rapid push to dismantle the president's signature health care law without a clear agreed upon plan to replace it a, quote, "act of cowardice." Pelosi urging the American to, quote, "take a second look."

CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Just repealing Obamacare, even though they have nothing to put in its place and saying they will do it sometime down the road will cause a huge calamity.

MATTINGLY: There's also another battle developing, Senate Democrats vowing to delay confirming Trump's cabinet nominees possibly for months.

SEAN SPICER, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The idea that the Democrat's choice is to figure out from day one how to oppose every one of these individuals is just -- is frankly sad.

MATTINGLY: Democrats complain that at least eight of Trump's nominees have not submitted required materials including financial information, the kinds of materials they need to review before the hearings. Incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer warning, quote, "Republicans think they can quickly jam through a whole slate of nominees without a fair hearing process, they're sorely mistaken."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And Alisyn really the best Democrats can hope for at this point is just gumming up the works. The odds of them actually blocking any of the president-elect's cabinet nominees, very unlikely. That just kind of underscores the power not just on Capitol Hill but really all over the Washington that Republicans currently have. Obviously the Senate, the House, in 17 days, the White House. The most conservative agenda we've seen in decades, that's what lawmakers and staffers here say is definitely on the books.

CAMEROTA: It will be very interesting to see what happens just a couple of hours from now. Phil, thank you very much.

President-elect Donald Trump practicing foreign policy by tweet. He's slamming North Korea over its nuclear threat and taking a swipe at China for not doing more to stop Kim Jong-un. This as we wait for Mr. Trump to reveal what he knows about Russian hacking. CNN's Jessica Schneider is live at Trump tower in New York with more. What have you learned, Jessica?

[08:05:03] JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, Donald Trump still not revealing what he meant when he said he knows more than other people when it comes to hacking, and continuing to double down on his doubts about U.S. intelligence that the Russians, in fact, were responsible for the hacks during the election season. But overnight Donald Trump changing the focus a bit to foreign policy, of course honing in on China and North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: President-elect Donald Trump airing his diplomatic grievance on Twitter yet again, targeting the leaders of North Korea and China. Trump taunting Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, who threatened over the weekend that his reclusive country was close to test launching a missile that could reach the U.S. Trump tweeting, "It won't happen." Even though China supported new sanctions against North Korea, Trump continued. "China has been taking out massive amounts of money and wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade but won't help with North Korea. Nice." This as new video obtained by CNN shows Trump from his New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago speaking to the crowd of 800 wealthy revelers.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT: These are the ones that I really care about, the members. I don't give a -- about their guests.

(LAUGHTER)

SCHNEIDER: Trump lavishing praise upon his Dubai billionaire business partner Hussain Sajwani.

TRUMP: Hussein and the whole family from the most beautiful people from Dubai are here tonight.

SCHNEIDER: Despite pledging to step away from his business and address glaring conflicts of interest, a top adviser springing to Trump's defense.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP ADVISER: This man is allowed to have a New Year's Eve celebration with his friends and his business partners. The idea that he's giving a speech recognizing a friend and his beautiful wife and people are just going to twist that around to somehow it's a business favor, I mean, we've got to get a hold of ourselves here.

SCHNEIDER: All the while Trump continuing to cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions on Russian hacking. The president-elect cryptically promising to reveal inside information on Russia's alleged election cyber meddling today or tomorrow.

CONWAY: It can come in a tweet. It can come in a press conference. It can come in a statement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And new this morning the president-elect announcing his nomination of Robert Lighthizer for U.S. trade representative. Of course that's the chief negotiator for U.S. trade deals. Lighthizer did serve in the Reagan administration as deputy U.S. trade rep and has worked for several decades at the law firm Skadden Arps in their international trade law practice. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Jessica, thank you very much.

So U.S. intelligence officials are offering new evidence that they say shows Russia was behind cyber-attacks during the presidential election. Now, by new evidence, it's not newly developed. They're just offering it up. Remember, the intel community doesn't like to put out sourcing and methods for obvious reasons. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr live in Washington with more. Unfortunately the political pressure seems to be getting to the intel community and they are offering up more proof, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, remember, President Obama has ordered a full investigation and he wants that done before he leaves office. Very little in intelligence is a slam dunk certainty. That generally doesn't happen. But a precedent is expected to assess that intelligence and make determinations on how to move forward.

So where are we right now? The U.S. intelligence community believes there are a number of indicators. They have established some digital fingerprint, if you will, even looking at the keyboards that were used, Cyrillic keyboards, the Russian alphabet, and being able to determine, they say that this goes back to the Russian government and intelligence entities it believes were responsible for the hacking.

It's the sophistication also of the hacking tools that were used. Another indicator they say that leads them to official Russian government backing of this activity and the wide disbursal of the information, mainly through WikiLeaks. Now WikiLeaks say they didn't get it from the Russians. It's very possible, WikiLeaks is not very clear on the identity of where it all came from. But the U.S. believes that only Vladimir Putin inside Russia would have had the authority to carry out such a wide spread effort. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Barbara, thank you very much for all that reporting.

Let's talk about everything that has come up this morning with Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. She's also the vice chair of the Trump transition team. Good morning, congresswoman.

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN, (R) TENNESSEE: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: So let's talk about first this vote last night of Republicans behind closed doors to effectively kill the Office of Congressional Ethics. Were you part of that vote?

BLACKBURN: Alisyn, it doesn't kill the Office of Congressional Ethics. What it does is to bring it under the jurisdiction or the oversight, if you will, of the committee on ethics. And it provides individuals to the opportunity to have some due recourse and to know who is accusing them, which is not something that individuals have known.

[08:10:06] and members of both conferences have wanted to see this type transparency brought to the office. And so it was the will of the House conference, that was the vote, and it will go to the floor as the rules change. My hope is what you will see is more transparency. You will see individuals with the opportunity to know who is accusing them and that will -- we will see matters resolved in a more timely manner.

CAMEROTA: And Congresswoman, did you vote for it?

BLACKBURN: I did vote for it. Yes.

CAMEROTA: So basically it is Congress now policing itself>

BLACKBURN: That is what the committee on ethics always has been.

CAMEROTA: That was an independent group. That was an independent group.

BLACKBURN: This is an independent group.

CAMEROTA: It operated independently. BLACKBURN: That is right.

CAMEROTA: That's gone now.

BLACKBURN: And anybody -- no, not at all. Not at all. It is still there. It will be the office of complaint review. Individuals can file a complaint, but the difference is individuals are going to have -- those that are accused will have the opportunity to know who is accusing them. This is a move that is supported by individuals in each conference, Democrat and Republican. If someone is being accused of something, let somebody know who is accusing them, where the complaints are coming from.

CAMEROTA: Sure. Fair enough.

BLACKBURN: So it makes sense to do that. And then to have the oversight from the committee on ethics, and I'll remind you the committee on ethics is a completely equal bipartisan committee.

CAMEROTA: OK. So why -- since you say that it is bipartisan and you're making the compelling case that it's all on the up and up, why do it the night before Congress officially -- the new Congress is sworn in, and why do it behind closed doors?

BLACKBURN: This is the time that the conferences meet. And this is the time that the rules package is voted on. So it becomes a matter of scheduling and doing something that is going to be in place for the entire -- for the entire congress. So it's a matter of timing and it is the matter -- the manner in which the House approaches its business. You put your rules and your process in place and then you move forward for the organizing and convening of the 115th Congress, which we're going to do at noon today.

CAMEROTA: Yes you are, but Congresswoman, we've spoken to some Democrats this morning who felt blindsided by this. They're not happy with the vote that you all took. And basically their argument is, if it's such a great move, why not open it to debate, why not do it during daylight?

BLACKBURN: Well, this is something that has been discussed for quite a period of time. And quite frankly, Alisyn, it doesn't matter if -- what the vote is. You're going to have Democrats who are unhappy with anything that is done by Republicans or in a bipartisan manner, or you're going to have them complain about making changes, whether it's to a rule or to the EPA or to the changing of Obamacare or the changing of the tax code.

CAMEROTA: Sure. I understand. You're not all in lockstep.

BLACKBURN: It's not going that partisan bickering. So you just kind of expect it and you do the right thing and you move on.

CAMEROTA: OK, but what's your response to when they say, how does this drain the swamp?

BLACKBURN: What it will do is provide more transparency. Any time you can provide more accountability and more transparency to any process that is in place, then you're going to take another step toward draining the swamp, and I am all for draining the swamp. I think that anyone who knows me knows that. I've spent much of my career working on reducing the size, the scope, and the cost of the federal government and in its place putting accountability and transparency.

CAMEROTA: Sure. And so you understand as a champion of transparency why something -- a vote that happens with only Republicans at night behind closed doors gives the impression of something sneaky happening.

BLACKBURN: Most people would say 5:00 in the afternoon is not at night. But, you know, we could discuss that. It does start getting dark outside.

CAMEROTA: Well, you know, behind -- you get the point. Behind closed doors. Not open for debate. It sounds as though maybe something is being hidden.

BLACKBURN: Democrats -- the Democrats have their meeting behind closed doors, also. And on Wednesday when the president comes to talk to them about how to fight against the repeal of Obamacare and they're going to do that one behind closed doors. And, you know, it is -- the conferences meet together in a room and that is where they have their conference meetings. And each conference does that. And it is bipartisan and it is bicameral.

[08:15:05] CAMEROTA: OK. Let's talk about Obamacare as you've (INAUDIBLE)

BLACKBURN: Sure.

CAMEROTA: So, I know that one of your first priorities is to repeal and replace Obamacare. What is your plan for what to do with the 20 million to 30 million people who might lose their -- would likely lose their insurance if it were repealed?

BLACKBURN: Well, first of all, we have to realize that 7 million Americans lost their health insurance because of Obamacare. And when you talk about disruption in the health care marketplace, Obamacare was the disruption. So, to execute a pathway to a repeal so that you are phasing out the current system and phasing in a more patient- centered system is the right thing to do.

Now, if you want to know the provisions that we're going to put in place, your viewers can go to my website, blackburnwhitehouse.gov. They can look at the bills that we brought forward that are patient centered.

One of those I will highlight with you is what I covered in February 2010 at the Blair House Health Care Summit.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BLACKBURN: And it is across state line purchase of health insurance. CAMEROTA: So, are you saying, Congresswoman, that there will be no

disruption for the 30 million people, for some of them, the millions of people who would lose it if it were repealed, are you saying that there will be no disruption?

BLACKBURN: There are a total, I think right now, of 9 million that are in the individual marketplace. I think what you're going to see for those, you're talking about individuals still that are in the uninsured market --

CAMEROTA: And will they lose their coverage?

BLACKBURN: They're uninsured. You have many that are still uninsured. Our goal -- and this is what we're working toward -- is to preserve or to restore, to restore access to affordable health care.

What has happened through the lead-up to the Obamacare process and Obamacare was health care has become unaffordable.

CAMEROTA: Right, I remember that that was the impetus for it.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: But people are covered by Obamacare. In fact, there's been a run on it.

BLACKBURN: But not everybody. Not everybody is covered.

CAMEROTA: The people who are covered, when you repeal it what happens?

BLACKBURN: Well, here, what you have to do is look at the fact that you had two tracks that you could travel to reforming the nation's health insurance and health care access system. One was government control.

CAMEROTA: Right.

BLACKBURN: That's what Obamacare was. The other are the provisions that we offered, again back before Obamacare, that were patient- centered and free market oriented.

CAMEROTA: OK.

BLACKBURN: The administration chose the government-controlled path.

CAMEROTA: Right.

BLACKBURN: What have we learned about that?

CAMEROTA: Sure.

BLACKBURN: We have learned that it is too expensive to afford. And from those that are in the Obamacare marketplace, they tell us it's too expensive to use because the insurance costs too much, the deductibles are too high. CAMEROTA: Sure, it has its problems, yes. It certainly has its

problems.

BLACKBURN: You're exactly right, yes.

CAMEROTA: So, we're out of time. I will look forward to hearing what the plan is to cover the millions of people who are currently covered.

BLACKBURN: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Congresswoman --

BLACKBURN: Let's talk again. Have a great day.

CAMEROTA: Let's do that. Thank you very much, Congresswoman.

BLACKBURN: Bye-bye.

CAMEROTA: Chris?

CUOMO: So, over in Israel, investigators are grilling the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The issue? Corruption allegations.

The country's leader on the hot seat for three hours over accusations he and his family took gifts and favors from wealthy businessmen. Netanyahu called the accusations, quote, nothing. Advising his critics to hold off their celebrations.

CAMEROTA: Police in Canada arrested a Sunwing Airlines pilot on suspicion of being drunk. His copilot found him passed out in the cockpit. The 37-year-old captain now charged with having control of an aircraft while impaired. Police say two hours after his arrest, the pilot's blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit.

CUOMO: All right. An amazing story that is actually very frightening.

CAMEROTA: It is very scary.

CUOMO: All right. Check out the video.

This is from some nanny cam or something, 2-year-old twins, Brodie and Brock. This happens all the time. The stroke of luck here, the drawer was open. The kid is okay. But look what his little brother does. OK?

First bout, he's trying to lift it off. Then he's going to push it all his might. First, he's trying to lift. He doesn't stop. Now, he starts to push. And look what he's able to do.

Brock was able to wiggle out. Remember, the drawer was open so the kid had a little bit of space in there. Gets his brother out and Brock does what he's supposed to do, starts to cry.

[08:20:02] CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. But look at that. I'm so impressed. What -- the ingenuity, the strength. He didn't give up.

CUOMO: Like Bam-Bam.

Two reasons to show this. One, it's got a happy ending and it shows that people at their core, even as they're developing, can be amazingly loving to one another.

CAMEROTA: Even when you have the terrible 2s they, at their core, are --

CUOMO: And they're brothers. I can't tell you how many times my brother has planned to do things like that to me.

CAMEROTA: Right. How many drawers were you trapped in as a child?

CUOMO: I'm still trapped in one, figuratively.

The other reason we tell you is, when you buy your furniture take your time and use the clamps and just screw the thing into the wall. This happens all the time. What doesn't happen is this kind of bravery from that pint-sized hero right there.

CAMEROTA: That is so wonderful. We should let you know that those two little boys and their parents will join us live in studio tomorrow on NEW DAY. Tune in for that.

CUOMO: All right. So Democrats are talking strategy Wednesday to keep Obamacare intact. They don't have the votes to stop anything that the Republicans want to do right now. So, is there any way to save the ACA? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The 115th Congress gets sworn in today. There's going to be a new reality. House Republicans voted last night to gut independent ethics panel. They don't want to be reviewed independently. How's that going to play? We'll see.

There's also a big move, the pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare. The first part is easy. Repealing is a sign of a pen with a vote that they have. But what will they do next?

Joining us this morning is outgoing Congressman Steve Israel, the New York Democrat retiring from Congress after 16 years.

You quitter! No, you served it long and ably, Steve. Thank you for your service.

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D), NEW YORK: Thank you.

CUOMO: We know that you're still concerned with the state of play. So, let's talk politics and then policy.

[08:25:01] There's a lot of hand wringing, oh, they're just going to repeal it, they don't even know how to replace it yet. Fair criticism. But also fair criticism that what comes around goes around. You guys

choked the ACA down the throat of the Republicans. You didn't debate it the way you normally would. And now they're coming back to haunt you.

ISRAEL: Well, Chris, here's where we're going to learn about the vast difference between the convenience of the sound bite and the challenge of governing. Republicans have said their first order of business will be to short circuit the process and repeal the Affordable Care Act. You are right when they say that will be easy. They will be able to do that.

But will be hard is what they're going to replace it with? And here's what they're going to learn. The brand of Obamacare may get some mixed reactions, even some pretty hostile reactions. But the substance of Obamacare is wildly popular with the American people.

They like the fact that pre-existing conditions are covered. They like the fact that their kids can stay on their insurance policies until the age of 26. They like to preventive health care aspects.

CUOMO: Right, but there's two things, there's two things --

ISRAEL: If Republicans tinker with that, they're in trouble.

CUOMO: OK, but, again, you know, a lot of this, we want to keep the politics straight on. First of all, you didn't answer my question about what comes around goes around. You choked it down their throats. They said they were going to come back to get you.

ISRAEL: I don't agree.

CUOMO: Well, you didn't open it to debate.

ISRAEL: Chris --

CUOMO: You passed it the only way you could without opening it up. And a lot of people, even Zeke Emanuel says, you know, the plan would have benefitted from more discussion about how to iron out the things we're now seeing about the inefficiencies of the ACA.

Fair criticism?

ISRAEL: I disagree. Look, I distinctly remember the president of the United States calling Republican senators to the White House to have a long meeting about what they would contribute to the discussion. He opened up the doors to them. They came to that meeting and said, we're not going to pass the Affordable Care Act. No way, no how.

Mitch McConnell began by saying even if it's a good idea that President Obama has we're going to resist it.

So, the criticism that the president didn't do enough to engender debate I think is a misplaced criticism.

Now, if the Republican have good ideas, sensible ideas to improve the Affordable Care Act without eliminating insurance for the uninsured and removing those consumer protections, I would advise my former colleagues to support those ideas.

CUOMO: OK.

ISRAEL: But this notion of just repealing and then saying, well, we're not sure when we're going to replace, that's going to create political fissures among the Republicans. Half of them are going to want to repeal and replace tomorrow. The other half are going to want to repeal and not replace so quickly. I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on them over the next few months and years on this.

CUOMO: You have the affordable part and you have the care part. I think that you're right in terms of the biggest links of congruency between left and right will be about things like pre-existing conditions and kids being able to stay on their parents' plans. You know, there are certain aspects that they like. It's the affordability.

The president-elect just put out a couple of tweets on this and they're obviously targeted towards the cost part. Uses the Democratic governor of Minnesota saying, it's no longer affordable. He tweeted that Obamacare doesn't work because there have been 116 percent increases. He's cherry picking here. I think that's Arizona.

But costs have been higher than anticipated. That is something that families are struggling with. Why isn't that something to fix?

ISRAEL: Well, of course, it should be fixed. In fact, it's being fixed. Look, here's why those premiums spiked over the past couple of weeks. What was happening is not enough healthy young people were signing up for the plan. And so, insurance companies did raise their premiums to adjust for that.

But then what happened over the past few weeks in open enrollment? Millions and millions of Americans chose to subscribe to the Affordable Care Act, chose to join those exchanges. Now that they're in you're going to see premiums begin to stabilize.

And so, I think Republicans and Democrats have a responsibility not to tweet quick and easy sound bites, not to go on camera and criticize without constructive alternatives but to look at the long term implications and consequences of their policy-making and make sure at the end of the day, where Obamacare can be improved it can, but don't repeal it and let's be careful about how we're going to replace it.

CUOMO: Steve, the ethics reform vote that they had last night, a reform using the term loosely. Marsha Blackburn was just on. She's obviously working with the Trump transition, obviously in Congress.

She said this is about increasing transparency, allowing for more due process. And there were Democrats and Republicans who said, boy, they really come at you on this OCE, counsel doesn't work the same way, you never know who comes at you, it never ends. That could have all been done. But they did something else -- they removed the ability of the OCE to independently bring potential violations of criminal behavior and they gave the politicians on the House Ethics Committee the ability to stop any investigation by the OCE.

Do they have to do that in order to ensure due process?

ISRAEL: Of course not. Look, you know, they said they were going to drain the swamp. They've just -- they're distributing free swimming passes in the swamp by this change in the regulations. And I'll tell you one thing, my friends over at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, they've already started to write the scripts for the ads in the 2018 midterm election because this issue is going to haunt Republicans.