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New Day

Could Weinstein Face Criminal Charges Over Rape Allegations?; Eminem Unleashes on President Trump at BET Awards. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 11, 2017 - 06:30   ET

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

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- besides maybe that sewing machine in the distance over there.

[06:30:05] This is repeated all over the place. Seventeen people have been killed so far, 20,000 people have evacuated.

One of the most disturbing things, though, is 183 people are still missing. Now, they're not assuming they are all dead because what they are telling us, they believe communications has been an issue on this area. We've experienced that ourselves. A lot of cell phone towers were damaged. They are still trying to reach out to all those people.

This fire was moving very quickly. At one point it was 60-mile-per- hour winds. This fire was moving so fast, it was hard for people to escape it. So, at this point, they're hoping that the weather holds the day it is right now. The winds have been pretty downplayed, but this could start again with more bad weather headed this way -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Ryan, be safe, my friend. Thank you very much for the reporting.

Boy, that dash cam video, looks like that cop was driving through hell.

We have a new round of military drills over the Korean Peninsula to report. Two American B1B combat bombers joined by two South Korean fighter jets carrying out air-to-ground missile drills. The U.S. bombers took off from Guam Tuesday night. U.S. military officials confirming Japan's air force also participated. South Korean leaders call the exercise extended deterrence against North Korea.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. Navy firing the two top officers of the USS John S. McCain for their role in the deadly role in the deadly August collision with an oil tanker. The Navy releasing a statement saying the commanders were relieved of duties and reassigned because of a loss of confidence. The Navy says the officers exhibited, quote, poor judgment and poor leadership and the accident, which left 10 American sailors dead was preventable.

CUOMO: A Salt Lake City police detective has been fired for aggressively handcuffing a nurse who refused to allow him to draw blood from an unconscious patient. You remember this story. It went viral because it was captured on video by a police body camera. An internal affairs report concluding Detective Jeff Payne

demonstrated extremely poor judgment, there's an understatement, and failed to treat nurse Alex Wubbels with courtesy, consideration and dignity.

CAMEROTA: Well, several high-profile actresses joining the growing list of women who claimed that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them. Could the Hollywood mogul criminal face charges? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:29] CUOMO: Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein facing a growing list of women who say he sexually assaulted them or harassed him, raising the question of whether or not he could face any charges.

Let's discuss the legal implication with CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins.

Good to have you both.

Jeffrey, the context of whether he could is informed by the fact that the Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance looked at this. There were some recordings that we're hearing now that were part of an investigation of him, but nothing happened.

What's your take?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, that was one of the women who were discussed in Ronan Farrow's "New Yorker" piece. But there's another woman at the very beginning of the piece who talks about being sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

I don't know why he hasn't been investigated for that. I think this is a tremendous failure on the part of law enforcement, Cyrus Vance in particular, the Manhattan D.A., for allowing a serial rapist to roam the streets of New York unpunished for decades.

CUOMO: Serial rapist you're saying because there are three separate women who accuse him of sexual assault, rape.

Mel, when you look at the decision not to prosecute on the basis of that, what are you looking for in a harassment prosecution?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, one of the -- for harassment prosecution or misdemeanor sexual misconduct charge, the statement by the D.A. was that they didn't have proper intent. And if you look at the language, what they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, Chris, is the fact that when he groped her, that he did it with a particular intent, and that was to either harass, to degrade or for sexual gratification.

And based on listening to the tape, as disgusting as it is, it's not clear that you could prove that intent even though he admitted that he did it. And so, you've got a case here that's frankly a misdemeanor. And it's also a case that's going to boil down to what he said versus what she said. And they, without any sort of admission about his state of mind or why he did it, there's no way they can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

TOOBIN: I think Mel is right about the narrow facts of that case. It's -- this is a story that was so widely known that there were jokes about it at the Oscar ceremony, the fact that he preyed on actresses.

CUOMO: Seth MacFarlane.

TOOBIN: Seth MacFarlane made a joke in 2013.

I mean, you know -- so I think the broader responsibility, where was the corporation -- you know, where was Miramax, where was his brother, where were all the enablers he worked with, where was Disney which owned Miramax for a time? I mean, the fact that everybody here -- and, frankly, where were the Obamas and the Clintons who seemed oblivious to what was well-known enough to have jokes at the Oscars.

I mean, I think a lot of people intentionally turned a blind eye to this. And that's more -- and that to me is incredibly disturbing.

CUOMO: Mel, what's your take on that, the idea that you had people even within the company who must have known if it was going on this brazenly and didn't say anything?

ROBBINS: Well, of course they knew. There were eight settlements, Chris. And, you know, I think Jeffrey is spot on.

And this is what -- this is where I think we need to start to talk very openly, and that is about the board of directors in companies like FOX, like Uber, like this particular company where they know what's going on because there are settlements, Chris.

[16:40:01] It's not even innuendo at this point. They're paying people off. There is a culture of complicity.

And here's -- you know, we have been talking about the potential for criminal charges. And, look, we're at the very beginning of this story. If there's a dozen women that are already talking publicly --

CUOMO: What are the statutes of limitation in play? Do we know, Mel?

TOOBIN: Yes, New York has no statute of limitations on sexual violence. So, that is a nonissue.

But, I mean, we're not at the beginning of this story. This man has been doing it for decades. And if someone stood up --

ROBBINS: But we're at the beginning of it, Jeffrey, in terms of women coming forward --

CUOMO: Right.

ROBBINS: -- because as we know, it is a very difficult situation for women -- (CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Hold on. You guys are competing on the same point.

TOOBIN: Yes.

CUOMO: Jeffrey is saying this is an established pattern of contact that goes back a long time. Mel agrees, but we are at critical mass right now where you're at tipping point of a call for accountability.

(CROSSTALK)

TOOBIN: We're not disagreeing much. But all I'm saying is people had stepped in more aggressively 10 years ago, 20 years ago, how many women would not have been raped? How many women would not have been --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But it's a big if because the whole reason he's able to do this is the reason they didn't step in. This is power. This is influence. This is control. That's why we are calling the politicians who didn't come out sooner.

It's not because they knew the depth of the depravity was. But it was the culture has to change because the law is not enough in a case like this.

TOOBIN: Yes, that maybe. But I mean, when you start talking about the politicians, I think, you can't ignore the elephant in the room which is while we are debating whether the Clintons or the Obamas should have come forward 36 hours or 72 hours later, the United States of America elected a man who confessed to sexually assaulting women. Sixty-two million people voted for this man.

So, I mean, the idea that the country has changed, I'm not so persuaded the country has changed if, in fact, Donald Trump can get elected.

CUOMO: Now, he would say that was locker room talk that he admitted no crime.

TOOBIN: Well, and there were a dozen women who came forward as well who said that he had sexually harassed them, as well as the admission in the "Access Hollywood" tape. I mean, I think that hovers over the story in a very important way.

CUOMO: We have a lot of work to do on the issue. There's no question about it.

Mel, Jeffrey, thank you.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris. Up next, Eminem takes aim at President Trump in a furious freestyle rap. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINEM, RAPPER: When he attacks the NFL so we focus on that, instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada, all these horrible tragedies and he's bored and would rather cause a Twitter storm with the Packers --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That's not all the rapper says. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:45] CAMEROTA: Rapper Eminem unleashing on President Trump last night at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in a blistering freestyle rap. Here's a little piece.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINEM: This is his form of distraction, plus, he gets an enormous reaction, when he attacks the NFL so we focus on that, instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada, all these horrible tragedies and he's bored and would rather cause a Twitter storm with the Packers.

From his endorsement of Bannon, support for the Klansmen, Tiki torches in hand for the soldier that's black and comes home from Iraq and is still told to go back to Africa.

Fork and a dagger in this racist 94-year-old grandpa, who keeps ignoring our past historical, deplorable factors. Now, if you're a black athlete, you're a spoiled little brat for trying to use your platform or your stature, to try to give those a voice who don't have one.

He says, 'You're spittin' in the face of vets who fought for us, you bastards!'

Unless you're a POW who's tortured and battered, cause to him you're zeros, 'cause he don't like his war heroes captured.

That's not disrespecting the military.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, there you go, let's discuss all of this with CNN political analyst John Avlon and CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan.

Great to have you here.

So, Eminem weighing in on the NFL controversy and in his own inimitable style. He also did something really interesting, guys. He said to his own fans who may be supporters as well of President Trump that he doesn't want them anymore as fans.

I mean, watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMINEM: And any fan of mine who's a supporter of his, I'm drawing in the sand a line: you're either for or against. And if you can't decide who you like more and you're split, on who you should stand beside, I'll do it for you with this: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! The rest of America stand up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. So, he's from Michigan, Detroit, obviously. That's one of the states, as we know, that turned for President Trump.

What do you think of what Eminem is doing now?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, that is a powerful freestyle he did last night that is going to reach a whole different audience. And the interaction of politics and pop culture is powerful. It's not about whether Michigan flips because Eminem does that last night.

But it's about folks who are hearing things in real-time that they might not have heard before. The reference to McCain's -- Trump's diss of John McCain. Talking about we get distracted when he talks about NFL or ignore Puerto Rico or Nevada gun laws.

I mean, that's a substantive, passionate critique that's going to really resonate with folks who might not be paying attention to the day to day. That's why the intersection so powerful. That's why it mattered last night and why we're going to keep talking about it.

CUOMO: Look, look at what we're dealing with this morning -- this is all terrible territory. Everybody is going to get angry, but too bad. The president is tweeting about the stock market this morning.

Why would he be trying to distract us from the Weinstein investigation? I don't mean to dump this on you, Christine. So, I'll carry the ball on this. You know, why?

What did we go through in the election with him? That tape comes out of "Access Hollywood", all those women come out. They are all discounted as some kind of political ploy and there is no discussion of accountability in any real way.

[06:50:07] And he goes on to victory. And we wonder why. We see what's going on with Weinstein in a continuation of a culture.

Christine, we turn to the law in situations like this. Why didn't Cy Vance prosecute him? Will Weinstein be prosecuted? This is about culture as much as about anything. I mean, isn't that what's going on, whether you're looking at the NFL, and what's right and wrong, and what's right and wrong when it comes to Harvey Weinstein. You're dealing with the same critical mass. What do people want to be about? What do they want to define themselves as?

BRENNAN: Well, absolutely, Chris, and what John said about the culture, and intersection of politics and culture -- well, politics and sports are now there in a big way following Trump's, what, it was two and a half weeks ago that speech in Huntsville and the SOB line that he dragged the NFL right into this conversation.

Is it distraction? Is it playing to his base? Obviously, there's a lot there. But especially I think when you look at Eminem and under, what, 40, under 50 crowd he's dealing with. That is the future fan base of the NFL, which is this is so important, this issue on what's going to happen in the future with the NFL.

On the one hand, the owners want something, but they also are looking at the bottom line and thinking, who are my season ticketholders in 20 or 30 years. And that clearly is the anti-Trump, pro-Eminem crowd.

ROMANS: Well, as if on cue, President Trump just tweeted about the NFL. He says it is about time that Roger Goodell of the NFL is finally demanding that all players stand for our great national anthem, respect our country.

Christine, let me just stick withy you for one more second. So, this is Roger Goodell has given guidance to stand. President Trump obviously supports it. What's your take?

BRENNAN: Trump is saying something, though, that Roger Goodell did not say. Goodell is saying they should stay. What he said in his letter yesterday was the exact same guidance that is in the manual. They should stand. That's the wording and that is important. The NFL has not changed its demand yet, and I don't think it will because they are going to have a meeting next week, and that's this -- the focus now for so many people, Alisyn.

But the reality is, that the NFL is not saying they must stand. The NFL is also concerned about Jerry Jones. He can't go rogue and go off on his own. They want to have a unified policy. So, I don't know that we're going to see yet the NFL saying that players must stand. And in fact, it's the against the collective bargaining agreement to change the wording of the rules during the season.

So, I think Trump might be declaring victory before there is even anything close to a victory.

CUOMO: Well, once again, he is pulling at the threads of culture and how people define themselves.

Look, we could have a president right now with the Weinstein thing who put his arms around it and came out and said, we're going to have a conversation about this right now. This is where this stops. This is a culture change.

AVLON: That be a different president.

CUOMO: But I guess he is also compromised because of his own past. Look, when he was asked about Weinstein, comparing it to him, he said what I did was locker room talk. This is different.

AVLON: No, no, no, no. Look, first of all, there are parallels. And listen to the tapes, the one we got. First of all, the rational, I'm famous. I can get away with this. Pay attention to that.

Certain parallels we have seen from the statements that had been made by the women who have accused the man who's now president about, you know, hotel rooms and showers and robes. Certain M.O., where there's a clip from the Stern show where he is with Ivanka and he laughs about, you know, being a, quote/unquote, sexual predator. So, that's a different president.

And the office -- yes, the office of the president is one of moral authority, but it doesn't need to be as we're seeing now. Could -- should the president lead a conversation about it? Yes, but not this president.

We're going to have these culture war debates. We're going to have these distractions and the president is going to try to focus on his version of the facts. But the cultural conversation we need as a country, this president is not equipped to lead.

CAMEROTA: And what do you think, John, about what he is saying about the NFL? And if Christine is right that on Sunday, this weekend, we might see something entirely different. The fact that Roger Goodell is suggesting they stand doesn't mean they have to stand, doesn't mean that they will stand.

AVLON: No, of course not. And, look, part of the irony or I think the self-defeating aspect to what Trump does when he tries to reignite these culture wars is he elevates this. I mean, you know, Colin Kaepernick had been effectively marginalized, you know, but all of a sudden, his whole movement gets elevated because the president picks that fight. So, it actually ends up blowing up in his face.

And, look, you know, as Christine pointed out, that tweet seems to be in -- doesn't comport with what Goodell actually said. Wait, I thought this was an administration that believe you got your own opinions, but not your own facts.

CAMEROTA: All right. Christine, John, thank you both very much.

BRENNAN: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. Look, the Weinstein situation continues to grow because there are more allegations of sexual misconduct coming up. We're going to hear from a journalist who says she was cornered by the disgraced executive. Her story, her truth, next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He left the room and this time he came back fully naked and he was blocking the door.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He allegedly preyed on some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many more people are going to come forward? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a profound cultural shift in America.

Thank goodness it's happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know anyone after junior high school who talks about their IQ.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the president is allowed to joke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a tough world, and the secretary is more than fine of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He strengthen himself, there is no doubt he weakened Tillerson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was screaming fire, fire, fire, get out, get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened so fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The flames are still approaching people's homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fires are still out there. They are still actively brewing.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY.

Damning allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. More than two dozen women, including some of Hollywood's most high profile stars are coming forward saying Weinstein harassed them early in their careers. Gwyneth Paltrow says this way of treating women ends now.

CAMEROTA: Three women now accuse Weinstein of rape. And "People Magazine" reports that Weinstein's wife is leaving him. CNN learns he's checking into rehab. Some asked why it took days for Hillary Clinton and the Obamas to denounce Weinstein who was a long time Democratic donor.