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Former AG Sally Yates to Testify Before Congress; President Obama Comments on Passing Health Care Reform; Sally Yates To Testify On Russia And Michael Flynn; Trump Tweet: Obama Administration Gave Flynn Security Clearance. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 08, 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] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: 8:00 in the east. And after months of delays, Sally Yates, the woman who was attorney general for only 10 days, will finally testify today before a Senate hearing about Russia's attempts to interfere in the U.S. election and what she told the Trump White House about Michael Flynn.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Now, this is an open session, so it's not going to be about confidential information, how Yates knew what she knew. But here is the big deal. CNN has learned Sally Yates will contradict the administration on a timeline of events and the urgency of the matter. The White House has reportedly said it was a, quote, "heads up." Another headline, what former president Obama said about the battle to repeal and replace Obamacare. We have it all covered.

Let's begin with CNN's Manu Raju live in Washington. Manu, what do you got?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Chris. I'm told by a source familiar by Yates' testimony that she will actually be limited about what she can say about why she had those concerns that Michael Flynn could have been compromised by the Russians. But her testimony is bound to raise those questions about why the White House didn't act sooner and remove from the job once the concerns were raised.

Now, at the same time there are probes on Capitol Hill led by the House and Senate intelligence committees into Russia. But I'm told by multiple officials that those investigations could slip well into the fall if not next year. One lawmaker even telling me all of the documents are taller than he is, and he is 5'10".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Congressional investigators looking into Russia's role in the 2016 elections, running into a range of new challenges ahead of today's high profile testimony from former acting attorney general Sally Yates and former director of national intelligence James Clapper.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We will ask her all questions about Russia, what she knew about Trump ties, was any administration effort to unmask people for political purposes. We'll get to all things Russia in terms of what the administration did and what Russia did.

RAJU: Multiple lawmakers in both the House and Senate stressing that the committees still have mountains of documents to sift through.

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R), OKLAHOMA: We are continuing to go through documents from multiple agencies. We're continuing to go through witnesses. This will take several months to be able to finish it out.

RAJU: Cautioning that the probes could to drag into the fall and even next year. Further complicating the inquiries, uncertain over the leads the committees are chasing, and ongoing partisan disagreement over potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: I'm not sure that there's any reason for the present to believe that there was collusion between those campaigns.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D), CALIFORNIA: The great cause for concern, evidence of collusion, from Donald Trump, we have seen someone who continues to try to obstruct an investigation.

RAJU: Lawmakers struggling with the key question, whether the meetings between Trump associates and Russian were related to the campaign or whether they was simply efforts by the Trump advisers to gain new business for their companies. These questions coming amid a new effort to get information from at least four of Trump's former associates including former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Page flatly rejecting the Senate Intelligence Committee's request to provide records of his communications with Russians, saying in an unusual letter that if the committee wants details they will need to ask former President Obama because of surveillance that occurred during his administration.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: When Carter Page says he wants to basically be cooperating and then all of a sudden we get another message, that's not the way to conduct a thorough investigation.

RAJU: This by coming as Yates is expected to tell lawmakers today that she gave the Trump administration a forceful warning about hiring former national security adviser Michael Flynn, testimony at odds with the White House's account.

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The acting attorney general informed the White House council they wanted to give, quote, "a heads up" to us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Chris and Alisyn, just moments ago Donald Trump tweeting about Michael Flynn, saying that General Flynn was given the highest security clearance but the Obama administration, but the fake news seldom likes talking about that. Of course those foreign payments that Michael Flynn failed to disclose on his security clearance renewal back in 2016 now at the center of a congressional probe and also a probe from the Defense Department's inspector general in concerns that he may have broken the law, but also a lot of questions about the vetting process of the Trump administration and of the Trump White House to name Michael Flynn as national security adviser, that's something that investigators on Capitol Hill are looking for records of but the White House has so far declined to provide. Chris and Alisyn.

CUOMO: Many, a questionable choice of distraction by the president of the United States.

Let's talk about that tweet right now. We have our panel, CNN political analyst Jackie Kucinich and David Gregory and CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd, the perfect people for the task.

[08:05:04] David Gregory, the tweet from the president, this is about Obama. Once again, this was flaccid when Spicer and some others suggested it. The president of the United States saying Obama is the one that gave him the highest clearance. Does that hold water with you?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No. It doesn't hold water because I don't see how that's relevant to the issue at hand, primarily this issue of how they vetted him when he was going to be national security adviser. The fact that on the day of the election he is writing an op-ed as an agent of Turkey, and any subsequent conversations in the transition with the Russian ambassador on the very day that sanctions were being put into place against Russia for interference in the campaign.

So I don't know why the president would want to take time on his favorite platform to defend General Flynn when it seems to me the safest play here is to say, look, we dismissed this guy for cause, and try to contain the problem around him when this is someone who did a lot to form then candidate Trump's views about Russia.

CAMEROTA: So Phil Mudd, it might be time for a refresher court, the one you like to beat us over the head with about the responsibility for disclosure and that it was Michael Flynn's responsibility to disclose meetings from Russia. So should the Trump White House have known about some of his sketchy dealings? Or if he didn't disclose it then how could they have vetted him properly?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Sure they should have known. The president is a little bit confused this morning. He's giving me some humor at 5:00 a.m. pacific time. First of all, the White House doesn't give security clearances. Individual agencies give security clearance. President Obama doesn't have any responsibility for the security clearance process. In this case the Pentagon would. In my case it was the CIA.

But as you're suggesting, Alisyn, the issue here is not the security clearance. It's whether the White House had an ethics process for incoming official. In General Flynn's case, typically what you would do is to say list your sources of income. List what you have been doing over the past year or two. List everybody who still employs you. List conversations you're having about representative employment so that you would know when you're sitting down for example for a sensitive conversation in the White House about sanctions whether somebody around the table took money from Russia. There is an ethics conversation, what I'm saying, Alisyn, outside the security clearance process the White House should have started.

CUOMO: And also, Jackie, we don't have to speculate. It's not what did the White House -- we know they knew. That's going to be the heart of the testimony from the former acting attorney general today, Sally Yates. She told them in January about this. Then there was the "Wall Street Journal" reporting. Weeks went by where the White House knew and apparently did nothing until they decided to throw Flynn under the bus. It isn't an if, it's a why.

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. That's exactly right. I think one of the other things we are going to be looking at is just how much she contradicts people like Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer who said that she went to White House council with a heads up to let them know. What she actually said to him will be interesting to hear from her personally, and to what extent -- to what extent she can say that she saw that raised so much alarm. So this will strike at the credibility or it could strike at the credibility of two very senior White House officials.

CAMEROTA: One of the things we don't know, David Gregory, is we know that she went to the White House council time and again with her concerns about Michael Flynn, but we don't know if that made it all the way up to Donald Trump. Might we find that out?

GREGORY: Perhaps. I mean at a certain point it did, especially when there was information that was conveyed within the nationals essentially team that led to the vice president going on television saying, oh, no, Flynn didn't talk about sanctions with the Russian ambassador when in fact Sally Yates would be in a position to know that in fact he did.

So the president obviously fired Michael Flynn and is now in a position to be defending him publicly. But I think we are going to get real insight into what it is that was known at the time because of the intercepts that were in place where they were picking up conversations during the transition at a very sensitive time.

CUOMO: A fact has been reported but is often left out of the analysis here is the FBI talked to Flynn. They said they did not believe that there was a mendacity factor. They didn't believe he was lying about his story and they said they didn't see any charges. That is certainly very relevant to his case and his lawyers. But Phil Mudd, what do you want to hear from Sally Yates, and what are the questions that you have about the White House vis-a-vis Flynn?

MUDD: Let's be clear about two aspects of this, Chris. I want to hear about urgency. The White House uses this phrase "heads up." When a senior Justice Department official goes to warn you in the White House that your security adviser is having inappropriate conversations with the Russians, that ain't a heads up. I don't care how you characterize it.

[08:10:10] So I want to know what the urgency of the warning was. I want to know if it was persistent over time. I want to know background on why she thought the relationship between the Russians and the Trump campaign was so substantial. The one thing I'm watching for, Chris, though is she was privy to an investigation conducted by the FBI. She has got to be careful talking about General Flynn personally because that is the subject of not only an ongoing investigation but her responsibility to keep her access to that investigation private.

CAMEROTA: There you go. Jackie, that's the issue is she has to be careful because there's all sorts of classified information. So it's hard to know how much we really will be able to learn today.

KUCINICH: Precisely, and how pointed the questions are and what she can talk around and what she can tell us. We'll have to see and we'll have to see how this changes what we already know. The fact that the president is already tweeting about the shows very clearly that the White House is nervous about this testimony coming today.

CUOMO: Panel, appreciate it on this topic. We're going to be -- as the information comes out we'll get after it more. This testimony today may change everything.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys.

OK, so there's this prominent new voice coming out in defense of Obamacare. It is someone you might recognize. It's the former president himself. Barack Obama calling on lawmakers to have what he calls the courage to stand up and fight for the sick and vulnerable. CNN's Brianna Keilar live in Washington with more. Tell us about this event where President Obama spoke.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. It was noteworthy because it was pretty obvious what President Obama was talking about but he didn't explicitly mention Donald Trump, he didn't explicitly mention this vote that happened on Thursday in the House when House Republicans voted on this repeal and replace bill. But it was pretty obvious what he were talking about as he received this award from the JFK Library Foundation, the Profile in Courage Award, for his contributions, as they put it, to health care reform, also Cuba, also climate change. And he gave nod to Democrats who pushed through health care reform, many who lost their jobs for those votes in 2009 and 2010.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Those who require some courage to champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm, those who often have no access to the corridors of power. I hope they understand that courage means not doing what is politically expedient but doing what they believe deep in their hearts is right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: President Obama also said that there is a reason why health care reform was not tackled before it was. He said, quote, "it was hard," which though he didn't mention president Trump by name seemed to be a direct rebuke of President Trump because he has said nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated. It seems, Alisyn and Chris, that he had a message for the current president.

CUOMO: Brianna, appreciate it.

Breaking overnight another story for you. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signing a state's ban on sanctuary cities with an unannounced appearance on Facebook Live. The move designed to avoid the expected protests for the ceremonial bill signing. Abbot saying he hopes to prevent lawlessness. The law takes effect September 1st.

CAMEROTA: So the Justice Department is heading back to the court today in hope of pumping new life into the president's travel ban. The government will make their case to all of the judges on the fourth circuit court of appeals in Virginia after that federal judge in March blocked a key portion of the revived ban from taking effect. That judge called the executive order unconstitutional based on the statements the president made during his campaign.

CUOMO: "SNL" this weekend, did you see it? Returning to one of its favorite Trump targets. In a sketch calling back to a classic 90s game show it asked where in the world is Kellyanne Conway? Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one knows where she is or what she's been up to. Gumshoe Your mission today is to answer this question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where in the world is Kellyanne Conway.

(LAUGHTER)

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me, where in the world is Kellyanne Conway?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: The contestants are asked to help find her. It didn't go well.

CAMEROTA: Let's see more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want to find her.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I guess that's our show. Seven weeks in a row and no one wants to find that woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: That's funny, roping young children into saying your punch lines, also funny.

[08:15:10]

CUOMO: I'll tell you it really -- anybody who's asked to serve in the White House, you know, this has been a cautionary tale for them.

CAMEROTA: The thick skin that you have to have, but Kellyanne Conway has been visible. She was on "Fox and Friends" yesterday.

CUOMO: She has been doing a good amount of Fox TV. She just hasn't been all over television as she has in the past. But who knows? You know, it's an evolving roll what's going on in the White House. We know she is still very important to the president.

CAMEROTA: Yes. It is just hard to pin down exactly what that role is.

CUOMO: That's how it is very often. People are used in different ways over time. That where in the world think, I always identify with Matt Lauer.

CAMEROTA: Me too. I thought he started it. I didn't know it was a game show in the '90s.

CUOMO: And that's all I was doing just watching games shows in the '90s.

CAMEROTA: Good to know. Those are the sorts of things you learn on NEW DAY.

Meanwhile, fired Attorney General Sally Yates is just hours away from telling senators what she knows about Russia's election interference and Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia. So we will ask Senator Richard Blumenthal what he wants to learn next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Just hours from now, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates will testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his communication with Russia.

President Trump tweeting this just moments ago, "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama administration, but the fake news seldom likes talking about that."

[08:20:05]And asked Sally Yates under oath if she knows how the classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to White House counsel.

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee holding today's hearing. Good morning, Senator.

SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: What question will you be asking Sally Yates today?

BLUMENTHAL: I will be asking the questions that are really on the minds of Americans. They want the truth uncovered about Russian interference in the last election and the potential collusion of Trump associates.

I want to know what she said at the White House when she warned them about Michael Flynn on January 26th, warnings about Flynn's potential exposure to blackmail and other compromising threats against our national security.

And why the White House waited for two and a half weeks before firing Flynn and then only after there was a report in the "Washington Post" about those warnings by Attorney General Yates to the White House.

I want to build the case for a special prosecutor to do this investigation, to uncover the truth and hold accountable anyone and everyone who was involved in that Russian meddling or aiding and abetting the Russians. Those are my questions.

CAMEROTA: That is interesting. So you would like to see a special prosecutor because, you know, there are currently five congressional inquiries and probes into this underway. We have up here, there are several on the House side. Several on the Senate side. There is a lot of cooks in this kitchen. Why do you think that given all of these people including the committee that you sit on, why do you think a special prosecutor is better than all of this?

BLUMENTHAL: Great question. It is the key to this investigative effort because only the Department of Justice can hold accountable criminally anyone who violated the law. There is mounting evidence that Trump associates colluded with the Russian interference and again, today's hearing I hope will help to build that case. The intelligence committee --

CAMEROTA: Let me stop you one second, Senator. I'm sorry to interrupt you but when you say there's mounting evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. We've heard from the other side that there is no evidence that there was actual collusion. What are you basing that on?

BLUMENTHAL: If you look at the activities of roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Carter Page and potentially others and Acting Attorney General Yates may have warned the White House about those activities when she went there on January 26th, just days before she was fired.

And that's the kind of mounting evidence that only a special prosecutor can investigate because only that kind of independent impartial council can provide the aggressive and independent investigation that's necessary.

Right now everybody in the Department of Justice in position of responsibility owe their jobs to the president of the United States, the deputy attorney general, and the attorney general.

CAMEROTA: I understand your desire for the special prosecutor, but there's evidence that these people that you outlined, Roger Stone, Carter Page, that they met with Russians, but collusion is a different bar, I mean, how do you know that they were colluding to interfere in the 2016 election?

BLUMENTHAL: None of us know right now outside the Department of Justice and perhaps the FBI is investigating exactly those people. We know it is investigating ties between Trump associates and the Russians during the campaign and possibly during the transition. Director Comey confirmed that point last week. So when I say there's mounting evidence it is the result of public disclosures but also the testimony from Director Comey just last week.

CAMEROTA: You heard President Trump's tweets. He seems to be attempting to deflect attention from his choice to choose Michael Flynn as national security adviser and close confidant and companion during the entire campaign deflecting to the Obama White House and saying that they should never have approved a security clearance after he had gone to Russia and gave that speech to Russia television and made money. Do you think some responsibility lies with the Obama administration?

BLUMENTHAL: These tweets are again an effort not only to deflect but to distract. Michael Flynn lied on the forms he submitted during his security clearance proceeding, lied about the money paid to him by the Russians, $45,000, before and during the campaign possibly as well as money paid to him by the Turks acting as a foreign agent.

[08:25:05]So the question here is was the wait before firing Michael Flynn part of a cover up? Was it an attempt to cover up the truth? That's part of the testimony today, part of what the questions will be, and very much a part of what the FBI is going to have to investigate here.

CAMEROTA: Do you think you'll be able to determine today whether Sally Yates is warning that she gave to the White House counsel about Michael Flynn made it to President Trump?

BLUMENTHAL: There is clear evidence that Trump -- President Trump was briefed after the meeting and the briefing, the warning that was provided by then Acting Attorney General Yates. Those kinds of public reports indicate that the president knew about Michael Flynn's lies to him potentially and to others in the administration about his contacts with the Russians.

And the question is, and it's going to be for Sally Yates as well today why the administration waited and then only after public reports in the "Washington Post" and elsewhere agreed to fire him or took his resignation.

That's the kind of key fact and evidentiary trail that has to be developed by the FBI, but also in today's hearing. Those are the tough questions we will be asking.

CAMEROTA: OK. Senator Richard Blumenthal, we will be watching very closely. Thanks so much for taking time on NEW DAY.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Chris.

CUOMO: All right. So the sister of presidential adviser, Jared Kushner, is putting the White House in a bit of a pickle. How a pitch overseas is raising conflict of interest questions next.

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