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Trump Pushes Tax Cuts In Morning Tweets; Explosive New Allegations Against Harvey Weinstein; Rep. Devin Nunes Issues Subpoenas To Firm Behind Trump-Russia Dossier. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 11, 2017 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We have a window into a potential disappointing future for the working-class from the president, as well.

He tweeted this morning that the stock market's on fire, that we should report about that more. And then the end of it says we need tax cuts. And there's an ongoing debate online about this.

If the stock market is so robust, if the economy is so robust, economically, you do not need tax cuts.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, REPORTER AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CNN POLITICS: Right.

CUOMO: And that's why you have the Fed chair saying they may have to raise interest rates --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

CUOMO: -- because this economy is already heated up in a way so that tax cuts wouldn't help.

But the bigger window that I'm talking about, Cillizza, is the working class people that voted for Donald Trump on the promise that he would deliver them better wages and a better situation, they may be looking at some disappointment because when you put stock market and tax cuts in the same sentence you're talking about people like me. That's who you're going to help with tax cuts.

You're going to help the people who are invested in the stock market --

CILLIZZA: Yes.

CUOMO: -- who make that kind of money.

He's not talking about payroll tax cuts. He's not talking about targeted cuts to the middle-class.

How big a deal is it if he fails to deliver for those people?

CILLIZZA: Right, and we're not talking about the corporate tax rate, right? The average person isn't impacted by lowering the corporate tax rate. It's a huge deal, Chris, and the reason for it is he was elected to bring change, right? I mean, over everything else, the most important question was who is a change agent? He was chosen by -- overwhelmingly beating Hillary by 60-plus points on that measure.

But you have to bring actual change, not rhetorical change, and legislatively, there's not much there and I think that will hurt him.

One other point. If tax cuts don't go through -- I think -- I think you make the right point about tax cuts and its tie to the stock market. But if tax cuts or tax reform don't go through, every economic analyst says the stocks market, which is booming right now on the promise of them --

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

CILLIZZA: -- might start to shrink --

AVLON: Right.

CILLIZZA: -- if it doesn't happen.

But either way, it's going to be -- he has to bring a record of accomplishment.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CILLIZZA: That he has actually changed real things.

AVLON: Now, this is perception stuff. The core point of about populism that is important is the gap between Wall Street and Main Street. That's what he --

CILLIZZA: Yes.

AVLON: -- the president campaigned on.

That's why he won places like Ohio and Michigan that felt left behind in an economy in an unequal (ph) recovery. If he doesn't target recovery to those communities, as he is not doing with the proposal, that is utter hypocrisy and it will deepen inequality and not even begin to address it.

CAMEROTA: John Avlon, Chris Cillizza, thank you very much.

So, media mogul -- movie mogul Harvey Weinstein facing explosive new allegations of sexual misconduct. Up next, the journalist whose story helped open the floodgates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:36:35] CAMEROTA: Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein facing explosive new allegations as more and more women come forward with accusations of sexual harassment and even rape.

"The New Yorker" magazine obtained audio of one encounter between Weinstein and a young model. This was recorded during a police sting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARVEY WEINSTEIN, HOLLYWOOD FILM PRODUCER: Go to the bathroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: Please, I don't want to do something I don't want to.

WEINSTEIN: Go into the bath -- hey, come here. Listen to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: I want to go downstairs.

WEINSTEIN: I'm not going to do anything. You'll never see me again after this. OK? That's it.

If you don't -- if you embarrass me in this hotel where I'm staying at --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: I'm not embarrassing you.

WEINSTEIN: Just walk --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: It's just that I don't -- I don't feel comfortable.

WEINSTEIN: Honey, don't have a fight with me in the hallway.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: It's not nothing. It's --

WEINSTEIN: Please -- I'm not going to do anything. I swear on my children. Please come in.

On everything. I'm a famous guy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: I'm feeling very uncomfortable right now.

WEINSTEIN: Please come in now. And one minute -- and if you want to leave when the guy comes with my jacket, you can go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: Why yesterday you touch my breast?

WEINSTEIN: Please. I'm sorry. Just come on in. I'm used to that.

Come on. Please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE MODEL: Are you used to that?

WEINSTEIN: Yes. Come in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All right. Joining us now is one of the first people to come forward with her story.

Journalist Lauren Sivan told the "Huffington Post" that Weinstein cornered her and tried to kiss her. She says when she rebuffed his advances, Weinstein blocked her from leaving, while he exposed himself and made her watch him masturbate, telling her to stand there and be quiet.

Lauren, thank you for being here. It is always wonderful to see you. I should tell people you and I worked together at "FOX NEWS" channel and have been friends for a million years.

LAUREN SIVAN, JOURNALIST: Sure.

CAMEROTA: And I'm so proud of you for coming forward to tell your story, though I know that's it's so horrible to have to relieve all of this.

So, let's start the beginning. Why did you, a few days ago, decide to go public with your story?

SIVAN: You know, I had told this story over the years to many, many people. I mean, anyone who brought up his name, anyone who said they had any dealings with him, I would tell this story. So this wasn't a dark secret I was keeping. I was pretty vocal about it.

I never went public with this story because when you go public there are a lot of things that can happen in the wake of going public. Your name is out there. Your name is forever linked to this incident.

You know, I was a local T.V. news anchor at the time. I did not want my name to be linked to something like this.

However, when that "New York Times" article came out -- when those brave actresses tried to bring suit against him, that made me feel good like I wasn't the only one. People are coming forward now.

I probably wouldn't have come publicly -- come out publicly, rather, until he released that absurd apology.

CAMEROTA: And what was it -- what was it about what Harvey Weinstein, himself, said that so motivated you to come forward?

SIVAN: He called them liars. He said the allegations were patently false against him.

I knew otherwise. I knew what kind of guy he was.

I knew this wasn't a matter of like throwing around some salty language in the workplace or, you know, maybe make a comment about someone's dress or skirt. I knew this guy went way further than that because of my own experience.

And that apology wasn't an apology. I mean, there was no remorse.

It was like hey, listen, I'm going to get therapy. I'll figure out how to talk to women properly because I'm a dinosaur. I mean, that's -- that almost, you know, made light of what he really did to these women.

And I knew there were more women. I knew it because of the way -- the casual manner in which took place between us, I knew that he had done that kind of thing before --

CAMEROTA: So even when --

SIVAN: -- probably one case at a time.

[07:40:05] CAMEROTA: Even when you were there, trapped downstairs in that basement with him, you never thought oh, this is just me? You always thought oh, this must be the tip of the iceberg.

SIVAN: Not right in that moment. At that moment, I was pretty stunned and shocked.

But, of course, afterward, when I started putting all the pieces together like, oh, he knew exactly where to go where there wouldn't be any people around. He knew exactly, you know, where he could corner me where it would be very difficult for me to move past him.

You know, I say the word trapped. People ask me like couldn't you have kicked and screamed. And yes, I think if my life was threatened I probably could have gotten away from him.

But I'm five foot, one. He's six foot, two. He's much, much larger than me. He was blocking the only exit out.

And, you know, at that time I was -- I was 28 years old. I had never been in a situation like that before. I didn't know how it ended. I didn't know what to do.

So I just -- I wanted to extricate myself from it as quickly as possible. And once I saw that he had finished whatever he needed to do, I said is that it? Can I go now? And I ran.

CAMEROTA: When you hear that audio of the model who had taped him saying that, does that all ring familiar to you? Was he saying some of that same negotiating?

SIVAN: You know, he wasn't as persistent with me. I think -- I think I really made it clear when he initially when in to kiss me that this was, you know, unexpected. I'm sorry, I am in a long-term relationship. I had no idea that that's where this conversation was going.

And part of me felt guilty because I thought maybe I had given him that impression somehow, earlier in the evening. Maybe I flirted, maybe I laughed too much.

When you hear him with that model, though, you hear the relentlessness. She's uncomfortable.

She says it over and over again. I really want to go. I don't want to follow you. I don't want to go in there.

He does not take no for an answer -- he doesn't.

You know, he kind of had me physically trapped so it would have been more difficult for me to get away from him. CAMEROTA: Yes.

SIVAN: Could I have done it, perhaps. But luckily, he didn't touch me at all. I just had to witness an awful act.

CAMEROTA: And so, since, Lauren, you came forward, a lot has happened. I mean, let me just tell you all the news headlines from today.

His wife is reportedly leaving him. He is reportedly checking into a rehab. Scores of other high-profile -- I mean, the most high-profile women in Hollywood -- Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mira Sorvino, Rosanna Arquette, Ashley Judd have come forward with their own stories.

I mean, what do you make of everything that has happened and how, really, you were a part of opening the floodgates?

SIVAN: Oh, I -- you know, I'd like to think so but in order for me to come out, you know, others had to come out first.

Keep in mind, I was terrified when it first happened. I didn't want anyone to know about this publicly. I just wanted, you know, to go on living my life.

I wanted to pretend it never happened and hopefully, never see him again because Harvey Weinstein wielded so much power. And I'm not even an actress in Hollywood but I thought one phone call from Harvey Weinstein, I could have lost my job. I could have been prevented from getting hired somewhere else if he wanted to do that.

So when you see the huge names that have come out, it gives you an understanding of how hard and difficult it is for women -- for victims of this type of behavior to come out publicly and talk about it.

These are very powerful women in their own right. A lot of them come from very powerful Hollywood families and even they weren't protected from a man like Harvey Weinstein.

CAMEROTA: I mean, look, you and I have been here before. This is -- to me, it's so familiar with the Roger Ailes scandal and how people whispered about things. And then once Gretchen went public the floodgates opened, and how quickly the fall was to watch for Harvey Weinstein and then to Roger Ailes.

Obviously, Bill Cosby is, you know, another name that comes up because when one woman came forward then so many others followed and it ended up there were dozens of people who had been victimized by him.

Do you feel that we are at some sort of inflection point in the culture in terms of coming forward about things like this?

SIVAN: I hope so. I hope so. I hope there's a tipping point.

I hope women do feel more comfortable coming forward because I have to tell you, you know, 99 percent of the response I've gotten has just been wildly supportive, and thank you. And because of you, you know, I can talk about this now and they can share their own stories because every woman has a story like this.

You know, it runs the spectrum. Maybe it's not as aggressive or explicit, but there's always -- everyone has a story of a man in power who exploits that power -- who makes them feel uncomfortable or makes them feel that they've either done something wrong if they don't acquiesce.

You know, you and I were both at "FOX NEWS" channel. I remember hearing your story when you came out with yours.

[07:45:00] And one of the things you said was people say go to H.R. What H.R.?

I mean, this is one man that ran the entire show. H.R. works for him. There was no H.R. to go to.

In this case, who am I reporting this to, "The New York Times"? They're going to do an expose because some local news reporter told them one incident happened at a bar one night?

I mean, you know, the amount of evidence they would want to run a story like that, I didn't have because he never physically touched me. What could I have done? I'm not sure.

And I still think many women feel what do we do? What is the right response to have when something like this happens to you?

CAMEROTA: I don't know. I mean, I don't know and I wish that it were easy. But, I mean, you've just spelled it out perfectly, why it is so confusing or so confounding as to what to do after something like this happens.

But I do know this, that talking about it helps and that bringing sunlight and daylight into this conversation really helps.

And, Lauren, I thank you for sharing your story, as uncomfortable as it is, and thanks for everything. It's always wonderful to see you, Lauren, even in these circumstances.

SIVAN: You, too, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We'll talk again -- Chris.

CUOMO: A critical mass leading to culture change, that's our best hope.

All right, some headlines for you.

Police say the killer behind the Las Vegas massacre fired special incendiary bullets at a fuel tank at nearby McCarran International Airport.

Now, it had been thought that that was an accident -- that it was too long a shot. But now, authorities believe he was trying to trigger an explosion. The bullets are designed to ignite what they hit and they were found inside the shooter's Mandalay Bay room at the airport.

This now comes as MGM Resorts, which owns the Mandalay Bay hotel, disputes the revised police time line. The new claim is that the gunman shot a hotel security officer six minutes before he opened fire on concertgoers. A spokesperson claims that may not be accurate and adds the hotel continues to cooperate with law enforcement.

Turkey sentencing a "Wall Street Journal" reporter to more than two years in prison. Officials say Ayla Albayrak is guilty of engaging in terrorist propaganda. This stems from a 2015 article and video showing clashes between Turkish security and a Kurdish separated organization considered a terror group by Turkey.

She is currently in New York. She plans, of course, to appeal this decision.

CUOMO: For the first time in 30 years, the U.S. men's soccer team failed to qualify for the World Cup. The Americans needed just a tie last night against Trinidad and Tobago, the world's 99th ranked team and then they would have advanced. But they lost two to one, ending a run of seven straight appearances in soccer's most prestigious event.

CAMEROTA: All my Trini friends, very excited.

CUOMO: Yes, good for them, bad for us.

CAMEROTA: Yes, there you go.

Will there be indictments in the Russia investigation? Former independent counsel Ken Starr thinks so. He tells us why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:08] CUOMO: Sources tell CNN Congressman Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, issued subpoenas to the firm behind the Trump-Russia dossier even though Nunes stepped away from the Russia investigation after his handling of classified information was questioned.

Let's discuss with former independent counsel Ken Starr. Counselor, always good to have your perspective on this. Thank you for joining us.

KEN STARR, FORMER INDEPENDENT COUNSEL, FORMER U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL, FORMER JUDGE: Thank you. Good to be with you.

CUOMO: Now, you didn't have to deal with this particular sidebar political dynamic as much in your investigation, but what do you make of the fact that Nunes, who was supposed to have stepped away, is obviously stepping back in -- this isn't the first time we've seen him step back in -- and he seems to be involving himself in this investigation that's parallel to that being done by Mueller, the special counsel?

STARR: Well, I think we're getting conflicting reports so that's one of the classics. It remains to be seen. I have great respect for Mike Conaway, who is the number two person on

the Republican side. He's from the great state of Texas. And apparently, he signed off on all of this, so there's some internecine squabbling going on.

In the meantime, I think the Senate is continuing to make very good progress on what I just call truth-seeking. Let's find out the facts and assess the facts. It would be far better if you had a solid front, bipartisan, let's just get the facts and let's proceed in a sensible way.

It certainly seems to be happening, as I say, on the Senate side, both with the Intelligence Committee and with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

CUOMO: What's your sense of how Mueller is conducting his investigation?

STARR: Aggressively and professionally. We're not seeing quote "leaks" out of the investigation as far as we know. And what we know about Mueller and his background is he's a person of total rock-ribbed integrity. He's a just give me the facts and I'm going to assess the facts.

And we saw that in light of the approach to Paul Manafort and the search of the Manafort condominium, early morning with the FBI, that is a very serious matter. It's a very aggressive move on his part.

But I think everything I've seen is he's moving very aggressively and professionally.

CUOMO: By aggressively, do you mean that you think that indictments could come from the fruit of this investigation?

STARR: Well, I have speculated -- and it's only speculation because we don't know the facts -- that leaving the Paul Manafort and the Gen. Flynn situation aside, that what we are continuing to learn about Russian interference is that there may very well be serious consideration of indictments of Russian entities, of Russian nationals.

We've done that before. And what we see is an intensification of an effort by non-Democratic states, autocratic states like Russia. Russia's not alone. China has certainly done this in the past.

[07:55:03] We need to use every tool that we can in American law enforcement and the rule of law to do the best we can to put a stop to this and to bring these people to the bar of justice. If we can't extradite them, which is unlikely, we can nonetheless still make it a little bit unpleasant for them.

The point is not to be saber-rattling, which is to say what, in fact, happened with this massive ad buy as well as other forms of interference, and let's address this.

CUOMO: The president says that's all poppycock, counselor. He says the ad buys were meaningless. This investigation is a witch

hunt. There's nothing here. It's just an excuse for why Hillary Clinton lost.

What do you say?

STARR: Well, there's a counter-narrative and I'm very pleased to see that the president's lawyers -- I know them, they're terrific. Washington, D.C. experienced lawyers and they're saying we're cooperating. And thus far, they're speaking for the President of the United States.

They are cooperating. I've heard no indication coming out, formally or otherwise, that there is a lack of cooperation from the White House. That's smart.

It's the right thing to do because we have a rule of law system. Mueller has been appointed. Whether you like it or not you must cooperate. And I think it's also just the smart thing to do.

CUOMO: Some politicians have said in the committees that they haven't gotten the cooperation from the White House that they wanted. That certain records weren't forthcoming.

You think there's a different standard of cooperation with the special counsel versus with the political committees?

STARR: There could be and I'm not aware of that sort of counter- narrative. But I do think that what we're seeing overall is a sense that the White House is cooperating with these investigations.

Whatever's being said on the rhetorical front, you know, actions speak louder than words. And thus far, I think, from everything I know -- and, of course, I'm on the outside -- that the actions are, in fact, encouraging in terms of our rule of law system.

Let's get this investigation moving forward. Let's cooperate and so forth. That, I think, is the message that the lawyers are giving to the world and I think that's very encouraging.

CUOMO: Do you think the president's finances are in bounds? Do you think that's something that Mueller will look at?

STARR: It's hard to see that they are, to be honest. There may have to be some check in light of the purpose of this is with respect to Russian collusion as opposed to something that has nothing to do with the election process itself.

Where this all began with our concern -- and it's a deep concern, it's a compelling concern -- with the integrity of American elections.

I think side business deals, as I see it, are not within the ambit of what Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, authorized but that's going to be a judgment call at some juncture.

CUOMO: As you well know, where you start is not often where you wind up. We'll have to see what that means in this particular investigation.

Counselor, always good to get your take on this. Thank you for being with us.

STARR: You're very welcome. Thank you.

CUOMO: All right. There is a lot of news to get to. Let's get after it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, HOST, CNN "RELIABLE SOURCES": Harvey Weinstein stands accused of rape and assault.

LOUISETTE GEISS, FORMER ACTRESS: He excused himself and when he came back he was just in a robe, buck naked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely feels like our culture is starting to take this more seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Obamas and the Clintons embraced him. I think it's a dark mark on their record.

SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He made a joke and nothing more than that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I laughed when he said it. He did not laugh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need the president to act like a president instead of undercutting his own secretary of state.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to get out of here. You saw it and now it's going to cross the road. It's all done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is still zero percent contained.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried to go direct in a couple of different places and we got outrun by the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your new day. It is Wednesday, October 11th, 8:00 in the east.

New allegations from more than two dozen women against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Among the claims, three women accuse him of rape. Some of Hollywood's most high-profile actresses have now come forward with their own stories about how Weinstein harassed them early in their careers.

Gwyneth Paltrow says this way of treating women ends now.

CUOMO: The controversy engulfing the Democratic Party as well. It took days for Hillary Clinton and the Obamas to denounce Weinstein. That's being called into question because he is a longtime Democratic donor. There's no question that that's a sidebar, but it is part of the story.

There are mounting allegations that are raising questions about who in Hollywood knew about this kind of behavior. And, if so, why did it take so long to become public?

We have all the angles covered. Let's begin with CNN's Brynn Gingras. She has the latest for us on this -- Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, yes -- I mean, the allegations seem to be mounting just by the hour -- just grow. The allegations strikingly similar among the women and more people are really trying to separate themselves from Weinstein. His name has been moved from the credits -- or dropped, rather, from the credits of shows he's produced like "PROJECT RUNWAY."