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Critical Week for Donald Trump; Officials Express Concerns Over Pace of Confirmation Hearings; Interview with Sen. Jeff Merkley; Trump Fires Back at Meryl Streep after Speech. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired January 09, 2017 - 07:00   ET

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

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clearly, the president-elect has a lot more on his plate, rather than responding to Meryl Streep's Golden Globe speech. He's going to have to answer questions dealing with a number of policy issues, policy issues such as national security and health care, policy issues facing millions of Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:00:21] CARROLL (voice-over): Donald Trump and the Republican- controlled Congress moving full speed ahead with an ambitious agenda. Confirmation hearings begin tomorrow for some of the president-elect's key cabinet nominees, while the Senate is expected to hold a series of votes this week to begin repealing Obamacare, but details of replacing the outgoing president's signature law still remain unclear.

REINCE PRIEBUS, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It may take time to get all the elements of the replace in place.

CARROLL: Trump will also finally answer questions on Wednesday, when he holds his first press conference in nearly six months.

The now declassified intelligence report on Russian hacks expected to be a major focus, but questions remain about whether Trump accepts the report's conclusions.

PRIEBUS: He's not denying that the entities in Russia were behind this particular hacking campaign.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISOR: Hillary continues to be believed by majority of Americans as unlikable. That has nothing to do with Moscow.

CARROLL: Over the weekend, Trump tweeting, "Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing. Not a bad thing. Only stupid people or fools would think that it is bad. When I am president, Russia will respect us far more than they do now. And both countries will perhaps work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the world."

For months, Trump has cast doubts about U.S. intelligence that Russia was trying to interfere with the election.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could be somebody else.

Maybe there is no hacking. It could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds.

CARROLL: Trump's skepticism dividing his own party.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If, after having been briefed by our intelligence leaders, Donald Trump is still unsure as to what the Russians did, that would be incredibly unnerving to me, because the evidence is overwhelming.

CARROLL: In a new interview, President Obama says he did not downplay the threat Vladimir Putin posed to the United States.

OBAMA: I don't think I underestimated him. Vladimir Putin's not on our team. If we get to a point where people in this country feel more affinity with a leader who is an adversary and views the United States and our way of life as a threat to him, then we're going to have bigger problems than just cyber-hacking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And Trump this morning going after Meryl Streep after she criticized him last night, after he -- after she said he appeared to make fun and mock a disabled reporter. This morning Trump saying the following about that on Twitter: "Meryl Streep, one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never mocked a disabled reporter, would never do that, but simply showed him groveling when he totally changed a 16- year-old story that he had written in order to make me look bad. Just more dishonest media."

The reporter in question, Alisyn, as you know, suffers from a condition that restricts the muscle movement in his arm. The video is out there of how Trump responded to that. People will judge for themselves -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Jason. Thank you very much for all of that.

Republicans are planning to move ahead with a packed schedule of confirmation hearings this week, despite concerns from Democrats and a government ethics watchdog group about incomplete background checks for some of these cabinet nominees. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warning Democrats to just grow up.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is live on Capitol Hill with more. It's going to be an interesting week there, Sunlen.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sure is, Alisyn. It's going to be a big week for the incoming Trump administration here on Capitol Hill, with a whole slew of confirmation hearings for Trump's nominees scheduled here on Capitol Hill. And that's exactly where the Office of Government Ethics is sounding the alarm, saying the pace of these hearings has been essentially rushed through and saying that many of the nominees haven't handed over the proper financial disclosure forms and ethics forms that they need to in advance of these hearings. They said in a letter, quote, "This schedule has created undue pressure on OGE's staff and agency ethics officials to rush through these important reviews. More significantly, it has left some of the nominees with potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues shortly before their scheduled hearings."

The Trump transition team is pushing back on all this, saying that some are trying to politicize this process. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that he's not going to delay any of these, that hearing schedule will go on as planned and suggested that basically, this is just sour grapes for all the complaints here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:15] SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: We confirmed seven cabinet appointments the day President Obama was sworn in. We didn't like most of them either. All of these little procedural complaints are related to their frustration in having not only lost the White House but having lost the Senate. I understand that. But we need to sort of grow up here and get past that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And nine of Trump's cabinet nominees are going to face sharp questioning up here on Capitol Hill this week alone, and including tomorrow, starting with Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general. The Trump transition team, though, say they are confident. They say they believe that all of their nominees will be confirmed -- Alisyn, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Sunlen. Thank you very much.

Lots to discuss. We have CNN political commentator and host of CNN's "SMERCONISH," Michael Smerconish. Good to see you, my brothers. Let's begin with the Trump feud with Meryl Streep. Your take: Is this just the elite proving why Trump won?

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: If she wanted to hurt him, the best thing she could do is praise him, because all this does is energize his base.

And Chris, I think he loves a fight like this with a high-profile Hollywood celebrity. And frankly, there will be more water cooler conversation today at the work place as to whether Meryl Streep really is an overrated actor than there will be on the Affordable Care Act replacement, Russian hack, or the hearings that Sunlen was just talking about, which have such great importance. So, you know, the diversionary impact, whether it's deliberate or not -- we can discuss -- is very real.

CAMEROTA: Michael, you're so right. In upside-down world where we're living, where sort of the conventional logic no longer applies, if she had wanted to hurt him, she would have praised him; and that would have been, like, cognitive dissonance for everyone. But this might just play into their hands.

I want to ask you about another big topic over the weekend. That's the declassified report that the -- some of the intel community put out about their findings about Russian hacking. Did that answer your questions, that reports?

SMERCONISH: No, absolutely not, and I paid very close attention to your recent interview with -- with Mr. Woolsey, who acknowledged that, as General Hayden said to me on Saturday on CNN, that report was a brick shy of a load.

Now I get the argument that says they'd be giving up their sources if they were to tell us more. But what made me uncomfortable was the way in which the media was reporting on that 25-page report as if it contained great substance when, at least to my eyes, there was none. It was all generalities. It was all sweeping assertions.

But I'm a trial lawyer. I want to see an affidavit. I want to see some type of thumbprint. I want some evidence. Something I can hang my hat on. And by the way, I believe it. I believe the Russians were behind it.

CUOMO: Yes, but don't you think you're misleading people?

SMERCONISH: There's no substance in that report.

CUOMO: Don't you think you're misleading people? Because you know the evidentiary standard is totally different. This isn't the FBI telling you why somebody is a terrorist. There, they're going to have to put forward things, because they have to create a legal standard case. That's not what happens in intelligence. And you know that. And Woolsey didn't agree that it was a brick short of a load. He said he's...

SMERCONISH: Hayden did.

CUOMO: Yes.

SMERCONISH: General Hayden, who said that to me on Saturday.

CUOMO: That's right. And you said Woolsey agreed with him.

SMERCONISH: General Hayden, who ran the CIA -- I'm sorry Chris -- and the NSA.

CUOMO: Woolsey didn't agree with him.

SMERCONISH: Look -- no, but he acknowledged. He -- but Woolsey...

CUOMO: He did not acknowledge.

SMERCONISH: He acknowledged -- people heard. He acknowledged that there wasn't enough in the report to give comfort to the public. That's what he acknowledged.

CUOMO: He said the reason...

SMERCONISH: I'm sorry. I disagree.

CUOMO: ... that it's not in there is because they don't show what their methods and sources are, because they don't want people to know how they do it so they can help avoid detection.

But what you're ignoring in that analysis is that lawmakers, another point that was made in this segment by McMullen, is that the leaders who do have access to the classified information have a duty to come out and assuage people like you and say, "Smerc, I love you, but you don't get to see this stuff. I did. The case is made." And maybe that's where the gap is, between what they can show and what we should feel we know is to be built.

SMERCONISH: Fifteen years ago, what you just said would have been reasonable, but post-Iraq and post-WMD, I'm sorry. It no longer cuts it. And so I think the American public is owed more. And what I'm unsettled about is the way in which it's being reported on, as if all questions have been answered.

Chris, there were, like, ten pages of that report having to do with the Russian media outlet.

CUOMO: Russia Today, I know. I know.

SMERCONISH: I mean, come on.

CUOMO: Unsatisfying.

SMERCONISH: I don't deny their -- unsatisfying. On that we can agree.

CAMEROTA: But Michael, I mean, they did say that they found digital fingerprints that point to keyboards with Cyrillic, you know, characters. What is the smoking gun that you're waiting to hear?

[07:10:06] SMERCONISH: Well, how would I know, Alisyn? Unless, you know, I've seen the evidence, but there surely is something. They could show the American people.

We are asking the American people to believe the intelligence committee -- committees, pardon me -- and not the president-elect. If there weren't this dichotomy between the incoming commander in chief and the intelligence communities at large, it wouldn't be a big deal, but where he has pretty much drawn a line in the sand, I'm a citizen wanting to know who should I believe.

CUOMO: Right, but the president-elect has given you no reason to reject the intelligence community. He says he had proof that it wasn't Russia. He never developed it. Then he quoted Julian Assange and then said he wasn't using Assange as a source. How does that bolster your confidence that he's to be believed over the intelligence community? SMERCONISH: Right. And so the response I would hope to see is the

NSA, the CIA or the FBI saying, "Mr. President-elect, take a look at this." But instead, it was sweeping generalizations and 25 pages of accusations without substance, in my opinion.

And by the way, here's the shame: 99.9 percent of the American people aren't going to do what the three of us just did, which is to read those 25 pages. I hope they will and make up their own mind if they're satisfied.

CAMEROTA: All right. Let me ask you another question about what's going to be happening this week. That's the confirmation hearings. As you know, there are many of Mr. Trump's cabinet picks that have not yet sort of filled out, I guess, or turned in all of the background checks, the financial disclosures. So are you comfortable that they're going to move ahead with confirmation hearings?

SMERCONISH: Well, I'm uncomfortable with the fact that there will be votes taken and hearings held, again, without all the evidence being held in the hands of the questioners. Do I think that will slow Mitch McConnell down? No. I think they're going to ram through all of these hearings as quickly as they can.

It's unfair to some members of the Senate. I mean look at a guy like Chris Coons, who's involved in the Foreign Relations Committee in Rex Tillerson's hearing, and as a Judiciary Committee member, in the Jeff Sessions hearing. You know, how can you expect that he's able to juggle those responsibilities, be informed and ask questions, bright guy that he is? I think it's too much too soon, but will it slow down? It won't slow down.

CUOMO: McConnell did say there won't be any votes taken until all the paperwork was in. Then the question becomes does he mean just filing them or vetting of that stuff, as well?

CAMEROTA: There you go. Michael Smerconish...

SMERCONISH: Right.

CAMEROTA: ... thank you. Always great to talk to you.

SMERCONISH: See you guys.

CUOMO: Thanks, pal.

Coming up on NEW DAY, Trump special advisor Kellyanne Conway. She's going to be here in just minutes to discuss -- is it true? -- that the president-elect now accepts after these classified debriefs, that Russia was the source? We're going to talk to her about that and the other news of day.

CAMEROTA: Also, there's new surveillance video that captures the moments that a gunman opened fire inside Fort Lauderdale International Airport, killing five people, injuring dozens more. So you're learning that Esteban Santiago had already a run-in with the FBI in Anchorage, Alaska. That was back in November. At the time, they called the local police, who confiscated his gun. They ordered a mental health check on him. But then a month later, he got his gun back from police, because there was no court order that prevented that. Santiago will appear in federal court later today.

CUOMO: That didn't have to happen, and we'll explain why, ahead in the show.

So in other news, western states getting pummeled by deadly storms, dumping inches of rain. People are evacuating about 1,300 homes in Reno. Flood waters are rising. Four people have already died from conditions in California. You have this really dangerous mix: mud slides, downed power lines, and trees near Reno shutting down a major highway in both directions. The storm right now is expected to last through Thursday.

CAMEROTA: North Korea declaring it can test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile at any time and anywhere leader Kim Jong-un says that he chooses. North Korean state TV citing a foreign ministry spokesman who wholly blames the U.S. for pushing North Korea towards developing this missile program. In an interview, Defense Secretary Ash Carter called the report, quote, "a serious threat" and said the U.S. would shoot down any missile aimed at it or an ally.

CUOMO: The Senate set to act this week or repealing Obamacare. We just don't know what that's going to mean for the future yet. And to prove that point, more Republicans are voicing concerns about maybe doing this the wrong way. Maybe you don't repeal before you're ready to replace. Maybe you come up with a plan first and then act. We're going to talk to a senator, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees begin tomorrow, but much of those people has not yet been handed in or vetted. So let's bring in Democratic senator from Oregon Jeff Merkley. He's the member of both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Budget Committee.

Good morning, senator.

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D), OREGON: Good morning. Great to be with you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you. I know that you're concerned about the ethics reviews and the background checks not having been done for some of these cabinet picks. What's the hold up?

MERKLEY: Well, I'm concerned because the committees can't do their job. They can't appropriately question the individuals if they don't have the ethics report, the questionnaires filled out or FBI report. These are the fundamentals, the foundations for committee hearings, the foundation for doing our job under the Constitution, and we can't do it without that information.

CAMEROTA: But what's taking so long? MERKLEY: Well, a piece of it, certainly, is probably how late the

nominations occurred. But I think there may be a lot of foot dragging here. This is what we don't know. What is being covered up by trying to hold a hearings without getting the information before the members? That should be of great concern. And it's why these hearings should be postponed until all that information is provided. Republicans weren't willing to hold hearings without that information. And we -- they certainly should follow that same example now.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, that's not exactly true. The Republicans say that they did hold some hearings without that. For instance, during George W. Bush. Elaine Chao, she hadn't filled out all -- or hadn't, I guess, turned in all of her paperwork. I think that Rod Paige, education secretary, during George W. Bush, was confirmed without all of the paperwork. There is a precedent for this.

MERKLEY: OK, well, there may be a few situations where that's occurred, but look at the difference between Elaine Chao, who is up for nomination again, and then individuals like Scott Pruitt that we don't have any information, background on. We know a lot from the press about what happened in Oklahoma. There's a lot of questions to be raised there. Rex Tillerson, with complex international connections and business deals, a close friend of Putin's, raises lots of concerns. Certainly, having a businessman who has really been anti-labor nominated for Labor.

This is a parade of people who are really not your normal nominees, and we need that information to hold a responsible hearing.

CAMEROTA: Who are you most concerned about, personally?

MERKLEY: You know, each time I think about that, a different name pops to the top of the list. But I probably, as a member of Foreign Relations, I'd start with Rex Tillerson and the international connections, having the head of a major oil company in charge of our foreign policy.

CAMEROTA: So what can and will Democrats do to slow this down? These are scheduled to begin tomorrow.

MERKLEY: Well, because we don't control the Senate, we can't -- we can't change the hearings. Those can be pushed through. But if there's an effort to push those hearings through and move these votes to the floor, these individuals to the floor, then we can exercise our ability to use the rules on the floor, which we can't stop the nominees but we can use up a fair amount of time in the process of vetting them on the floor of the Senate. And I think we'll take advantage of -- of those rules, because the American people need to know what's going on, and we need to know what's going on.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about a new bill that you have just signed onto that would require the president of the United States and the V.P. to fully divest personal financial conflicts of interest. So you're asking Donald Trump to divest from his lifelong family business, the Trump Organization? MERKLEY: Yes. The conflicts that his team has are going to haunt

him. We're really doing a big favor for him and for the administration, because without that, every time an issue comes up, there's going to be a shadow hanging over it. He has a complex deal going on with China, the financial side, and then he's making decisions about Chinese foreign policy.

It's that every time that something occurs internationally, that's going to be raised. Undermines confidence in our policy and what are the motivations. And normally, you do this with either a divesture or a blind trust. And -- and I know that the president-elect is resistant to this idea, but it will serve him so well to make a clean break.

CAMEROTA: Resistant? It's just never going to happen.

MERKLEY: Well, maybe, or maybe he's going to, as he assumes the mantle of leadership, realize there's certain responsibilities, and he doesn't want to have the handicap that his investments certainly create.

CAMEROTA: What are you expecting him to say at his press conference this week?

MERKLEY: Oh my goodness. There are so many possibilities. I don't know if he's going to address the cabinet nominees. He might address health care. He may address this issue of conflicts of interest and foreign policy.

There's a lot going -- going on in this world, and I think this is why you hold press conferences, so the press can ask about issue -- the many issues that are arising. And certainly, my hope is that we'll see more press conferences and that this one doesn't get cancelled.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Let's talk about Obamacare, because it sounds as though the Senate is ready, as early as this week, to begin the repeal process officially.

MERKLEY: This is the budget resolution that comes before the Senate. It's an initial step that allows them to set up a circumstance under which they can change substantive law with a simple majority. So this initial -- initial vote will then send the budget resolution back out to committees. Details would be done by committees and then sent back to the Senate. So it's the start of a process that will take a number of weeks.

CAMEROTA: Have you heard any of the plans on the Republican side, from your Republican colleagues? Have you heard anything that you think will work?

MERKLEY: No. No. I mean, this is -- this is really repeal and run. And it's -- it would be catastrophic for our healthcare system. It will undermine the confidence in the exchanges and cause prices to go way up. It will start to cause seniors to have grave concerns about the future of Medicare, especially with someone like Tom Price being nominated to fill a healthcare role. This is a huge mistake. And there's a number of Republicans speaking up and saying it's a huge mistake. And I mean, we're talking about a system that provides a trillion dollars in funding for health care across America.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

MERKLEY: This is core to rural hospitals, for example, not to mention the quality of life of 20 plus million Americans.

CAMEROTA: Senator Merkley, thanks so much. Great to have you on NEW DAY.

MERKLEY: You're welcome. Great to be with you.

[07:25:03] CAMEROTA: We have a quick programming note for you: Chris will be hosting a special primetime town hall this evening with former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. We'll focus on the major issues, of course, facing the country, as well as how Democrats plan to take on the president-elect. So join us tonight, 9 Eastern right here on CNN.

Looking forward to it, Chris.

CUOMO: All right. One more reason it is a big week, certainly for Trump's transition, including his first press conference that Alisyn was just talking to the senator about. What do we think's going to happen there? Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway joins us live. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: This morning, there are new details about the mental health background of the suspected gunman in the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting, where five people were killed and six others wounded.

We're also hearing incredible stories of heroism and survival. Anika Dean managed to survive the shooting with the help of an incredibly brave good Samaritan, and she joins us now.

Annika, thank you so much for being here with us. We know that you've just lived through this ordeal. How are you doing?

ANIKA DEAN, SURVIVOR OF FORT LAUDERDALE SHOOTING: I'm doing OK.

CAMEROTA: So Annika, you were waiting at the...

DEAN: I'm doing well.