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Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race; Accuser On Moore's Defeat; Lindsey Vonn Faces Backlash Over Trump Comments. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 13, 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] MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Republican women need to draw the line for their party and their party leader that this kind of language is not acceptable anymore.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Ed Martin, Margaret Hoover, thanks for both of your perspectives, as always, here on NEW DAY, and keeping it decent as well. Merry Christmas to you and both your families -- Alisyn.

ED MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, PRESIDENT, EAGLE FORUM FUND: Thanks, Chris.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris.

Women making their voices heard in the Alabama Senate election last night. Exit polls show 57 percent of female voters supported the Democrat Doug Jones over the Republican Roy Moore who, of course, had faced accusations of child molestation and sexual abuse.

Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Good morning, Congresswoman.

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: Good morning, Alisyn. How are you?

CAMEROTA: I'm well.

Tell us your reaction. What do you think Doug Moore's -- sorry, Doug Jones' win means for Democrats and the country?

DINGELL: Well, I'm obviously glad to see that he won. It continues a pattern that we've been seeing in Virginia, and New Jersey, and here.

But I think -- you know, I'm always Debbie Downer, a little. I think it is -- was a vote for decency last night and I want to see decency returned to the public policy debate and to see it returned across the country.

But I also think that we have to be very careful to not overreact. I think that the American people, in general, are still very angry and have the anger that we saw in last November's election. They're going to hold us accountable. We can sometimes get very much -- too much into the Beltway and I think we've got to really remember what the issues are going to be next November.

Sexual harassment, how women are treated, that they need to be treated with respect will be one but we still have very big issues like the economy, jobs, trade, pensions, which the president talked about last year and has not delivered on to the working men and women who voted for him last year.

CAMEROTA: And, Congresswoman, you are always good for a sober assessment of where you think the country is and certainly, your state.

But I do want to show you one more poll. This is how women who are mothers of children who are under the age of 18 voted, OK. So, 66 percent, they voted for Doug Jones over Roy Moore.

So that, of course, was the age of the women who had come forward to say that he had approached them, he had asked them out. And in one case he had assaulted, allegedly, one of them. And as you know, one of them was a 14-year-old.

Is this -- do you think that Doug Jones' win is -- can we credit the #MeToo movement here?

DINGELL: Well, I think that the #MeToo movement was an absolute player in this election and that mothers were disturbed by a possible pedophile being elected to the United States Senate.

I also think that we've got to figure out -- you know, I said this to you from the very beginning when I first talked to you about this. It has been a really rough couple of months and it's been Hollywood, and the media, and Capitol Hill, all of which need to set higher standards and be leaders.

But we need to make sure that we're figuring out how this is real for the tip waitress, the factory worker, the lawyer, the nurse, the teacher.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

DINGELL: I've heard some pretty horrific stories.

So the question is how are we going to go forward? I keep saying this but, you know, I was back home last week and a lot -- I heard horrific stories. The stories keep getting more horrific.

But I also had -- like a mother at UAW hall last week said I have two sons, I have two daughters. Where is this going? What does this mean?

Women are getting angry. We have to learn to treat them -- by the way, the seat -- our national seat held by the --

CAMEROTA: Yes. DINGELL: -- President of the United States was not respectful to Kirsten Gillibrand yesterday and that's the most despicable thing about what he did with his tweet, and respect should be coming from there.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

DINGELL: But we've got to figure out how we treat everybody with respect going forward and everybody, men and women, working together --

CAMEROTA: And --

DINGELL: -- have a (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: -- you have been saying that, I must say. I credit you with saying that first here on our air.

And we do have Sen. Gillibrand coming up, just to let our viewers know.

However, you are one of, I believe, 59, now, female lawmakers who are calling for Congress to investigate the allegations against President Trump. That's easier said than done.

Here is what the chairman of the committee that would do that, Trey Gowdy, said. He's on House Oversight and Government Reform. Here's what he says in response to your call for an investigation.

"Allegations brought for now or in the future that, while serious, do not allege violations of specific criminal statutes, should be referred to the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over allegations related to fitness for office and non-criminal matters."

He is passing that hot potato, in other words. So, how's an investigation ever going to happen?

DINGELL: Well, first of all, I think the -- in it -- by the way, there are a lot of men on that letter. That letter now has more than 100 signatures.

I think -- I don't believe that sexual harassment's a partisan issue. I think it's going to play out in how -- what the values are of a human being, the respect that somebody shows, and that we've all got to work together to make sure that the Congress is an institution of integrity, credibility, and respect.

[07:35:00] And that we cannot have a double standard, which has been in the early days and some people are still saying that Democrats are stepping up more than Republicans are. I think today is a lesson for Republicans that this just matters to human beings on a general level.

If that's where they're saying to send it I'm sure the women's group -- the -- Lois Frankel, who has been the leader on this is revisiting it, will meet with all of us, get our input. We have to -- we have to make sure that these institutions -- which our leaders in this country are above reproach. We need to have higher standards.

And we can't investigate some people and not others, though I think we've got to figure out -- I keep saying this because we're in all these gotcha moments and they matter. We can never excuse anybody's behavior. We must be full of integrity.

But the question is where is this going? How are we making this real for men and women across the country? That's what I keep focusing on.

CAMEROTA: I know, but in terms of Congress, where is it going? Do you have Republicans --

DINGELL: Oh --

CAMEROTA: -- who have signed on to the investigation?

DINGELL: I have not seen what happened on the letter but I know that there are Republicans that have also said that we should be looking at this. There will be -- anybody that doesn't get this, I would like to see us act in the Congress on sexual harassment litigation.

CAMEROTA: But, I mean, in terms of investigating the president. In terms of --

DINGELL: I --

CAMEROTA: -- investigating the president.

DINGELL: There are people in the Republican Party that have said it and I think some of them have said it publicly. I don't want to say a name because I was talking to some of them yesterday and they think that this is the right path to go. I don't know if they said their names publicly.

People are disturbed.

CAMEROTA: But you think that they know -- your sense is that they will become -- they will come public at some point?

DINGELL: I think one of them has but I don't want to put the name -- but we'll see. But I do believe that people are really uncomfortable.

What happened in Alabama bothered human beings, and what they saw. And people -- you know, we saw some -- we saw partisanship, we saw people who knew it, it bothered it. They still voted for him.

But I think the American people are angry, but I also think they want decency, they want calmness. We are so focused on what divides us and not on what unites us.

And as we go into this Christmas, Hanukkah holiday season we've got to bring some stability for Americans. How do we pull our -- I'm really in this mood of how are we going to pull ourselves together and work together? We've got to address sexual harassment in a bipartisan way because it happens in a bipartisan way.

And we've got to get answers, we've got to get solutions, pass it, set what the rules are. Put a process in place that there's a process that people know how to follow. Ensure everybody is treated fairly, quick, and then move forward.

CAMEROTA: On that note, 'tis the season for harmony.

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thank you very much. Nice to talk to you.

DINGELL: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Chris --

CUOMO: And, Dingell's right. I mean, out where she is in Michigan, I was just there. People are hard-bitten. They have real problems.

Flint, Michigan, they still have problems with their water. So there are real problems that go beyond just the politics of the moment.

So, another big story for us this morning.

She accused Roy Moore of sexual assault. She was just 16 when she says he groped her. How does this woman feel after his election defeat?

Beverly Young Nelson and her attorney on NEW DAY, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:42:13] CAMEROTA: A major upset in Alabama. Roy Moore lost the Senate race.

How big of a factor were the eight women who came forward accusing Moore of pursuing them as teenagers when he was in this thirties?

One woman, you'll remember, accused Moore of sexual assault. That woman, Beverly Young Nelson, joins us now, along with her attorney Gloria Allred. Ladies, great to see you.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY FOR BEVERLY YOUNG NELSON, VICTIMS' RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Beverly, let me start with you.

BEVERLY YOUNG NELSON, ALLEGES ROY MOORE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER IN THE LATE 1970'S: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: How are you feeling this morning?

NELSON: I'm feeling fantastic, thank you. Thank you for having me.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for being here.

What does Roy Moore's loss mean to you? NELSON: Roy Moore's loss means to me the fact that Alabama is about to make some changes, and I believe it's going to be in the positive side of things.

I'm very excited. I want to congratulate Doug Jones for his win. I'm just -- I'm super excited. I could not even say more.

CAMEROTA: How big of a factor do you think the story that you told about Roy Moore, I mean, assaulting you -- there's no other word for it -- you're allegation -- in his car behind the shopping mall when you were a teenager -- how big of a factor do you think that played in the outcome?

NELSON: I feel like my story may have played a part in this but I also believe that it was the other victims, as well, that also helped, you know, with all this. I feel like it was just not me. It was all of us.

CAMEROTA: And do you feel that the outcome means that the voters believed you and the other accusers?

NELSON: I do feel like it helped, I really do. I'm very excited over that because, you know, there's no reason for me to go and lie on television when this was, you know, the truth from day one. I intend on still pursuing it. I'm not giving up.

CAMEROTA: And what does that mean? How will you pursue it?

NELSON: I believe that he should go before the Ethics Committee and I believe that he should be investigated.

CAMEROTA: Gloria --

ALLRED: Well --

CAMEROTA: -- what do you think that this means?

ALLRED: Well, I mean, let me just say that I'm very, very proud of Beverly and her tremendous courage and an honor to represent her, and so proud of all of the other women who were brave enough to speak out.

And last week, President Trump, in Pensacola, Florida at his rally, said if Gloria Allred is involved something's wrong. And what I have to say to President Trump is yes, if I'm involved something's wrong.

Something's wrong if you don't respect persons who allege that they were sexually abused as a child. Something's wrong if you don't respect women, if you don't respect mothers, if you don't respect African-Americans, if you don't respect people who are gay and lesbian. If you don't respect each and every person in this country, something is very wrong.

[07:45:08] And yes, I'm involved if there is something wrong and we have a right to respect and dignity -- every one of us.

And I'm so proud of the people of Alabama who voted for Doug Jones and who rejected the politics of hatred and division.

CAMEROTA: Gloria, you're also involved in representing one of the accusers of Donald Trump, at least one that I know of. Where do you think this goes because, as you know, there are all sorts of lawmakers now -- 59 at last count -- who are calling for an investigation?

What's the next step?

ALLRED: Well, we do have our defamation lawsuit against President Trump on behalf of Summer Zervos after she made allegations of sexual misconduct by President Trump against her.

And, President Trump called her and all of the other accusers liars and said that what they said was fabrication and fiction and he would sue them after the election. He didn't. I called on him to retract, he didn't.

So we filed a lawsuit against him for defamation of Summer Zervos. It is now pending.

We argued it last week in Manhattan, in New York Supreme Court, and we are awaiting the court's decision because President Trump has sought to dismiss our case, arguing that he has legal immunity because he's President of the United States, and making other legal arguments. And we are opposing that and awaiting the court's decision.

CAMEROTA: Hey, Beverly, back to your story for a moment. I'm sure you're tired of talking about your high school yearbook, but because it did arouse --

NELSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- so much controversy, I do want to ask you one last time for the record.

This is the --

NELSON: OK.

CAMEROTA: -- signature that you say that Roy Moore wrote in your high school yearbook when you were a waitress there. And, as you know, critics have said that they believe that you forged that.

Can you respond to them?

NELSON: It really upsets me that people would even say that. The yearbook -- why would I -- why would I write that to myself in my own yearbook?

My name was stamped on the front of it. He knew it was my yearbook. He asked if he could sign it. I told him gladly, you know, he could sign that book.

I signed "Olde Hickory House" December 22nd, 1977, and he signed --

CAMEROTA: In other words, the words -- NELSON: -- the body of the message.

CAMEROTA: Sure. The words right below his signature, you made an annotation in there so that you would remember the date and where it happened. And are you --

NELSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I mean, and that's what ended up giving critics fodder. They say that they thought that the whole thing, then, was a ruse somehow.

ALLRED: Except that we had an expert examine it.

CAMEROTA: Well --

ALLRED: Someone who formerly was with the FBI Questioned Documents division. Some -- an expert who, in fact --

NELSON: Yes.

ALLRED: -- was the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Questioned Documents area. And --

CAMEROTA: OK. Well, we didn't know that because --

ALLRED: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- as you know, his attorney called for this and it seemed as though you weren't going to hand it over to whatever -- whoever his attorney wanted you to hand it over to. So it was unclear about who was examining the handwriting analysis.

ALLRED: I released the report of the expert last Friday -- the entire report. His analysis of how he reached his conclusions, his resume, the entire report -- it's online.

And that was Roy Moore's signature and the inscription that he wrote to a "more beautiful" or whatever woman -- "girl, I could not say Merry Christmas," written by Roy Moore according to this expert.

CAMEROTA: Beverly, last word.

NELSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Case closed for you?

NELSON: No.

CAMEROTA: You -- so in other words, you will still -- you're still hoping for an investigation. You still want Roy Moore to --

NELSON: I -- I'm demanding one.

ALLRED: And she should have her reputation back. To accuse her of forgery, to -- that's a crime. That is a defamation. And Beverly is one of the more honest people you will ever meet in your life and she deserves her reputation back.

CAMEROTA: Beverly Nelson, we appreciate you being here. Gloria Allred, thank you --

ALLRED: Yes.

CAMEROTA: -- very much. We'll see what happens next, ladies.

NELSON: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

ALLRED: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Chris --

CUOMO: All right. Up next, an arctic blast is gripping the Northeast. Who's going to get the white stuff? Chad Myers has the forecast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:12] CUOMO: People across the Northeast are about to take a polar plunge, bracing for the coldest temperatures of the season.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is here with the forecast.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CUOMO: Did you know I did a polar plunge for Heart of the Hamptons?

MYERS: Yes, I did.

CUOMO: Agony of defeat, Chad Myers. Agony of defeat.

MYERS: I've done one in Jamestown and it was the coldest thing I've ever done -- Jamestown, Rhode Island. I got --

CUOMO: Word is you can go all the way in. I researched it. True or false? True -- move on.

MYERS: I was -- I was there. I was there.

I was to my belly and that was it. That was -- there was no --

CUOMO: Doesn't count.

MYERS: -- part of me going any deeper than that.

CUOMO: Nobody says it gets --

MYERS: And I couldn't even feel my feet or my legs so I didn't have the agony of defeat. I couldn't feel them.

This is why I left Buffalo, New York almost 35 years ago because it is cold out there. The windchill factors are in the twenties and teens in some spots. Buffalo, right now, the current temperature is 12.

Here is your current windchill. It is three below, Buffalo; two below, Syracuse; and, three in Albany.

Now, this weather is brought to you by Purina. Your pet. Our passion.

And today is a day to take care of the pets -- really, all the way through the rest of the week -- because many of them don't have their winter coats on yet. Not fully grown in yet so the pets can't handle this.

This is what the morning lows will feel like over the next three days, and even the afternoon high, Chris, won't get much above 20 in that "feels like" category. The wind is just blowing right through you today.

Now, they'll be snow in Toledo, and Detroit, and Youngstown, and Delaware Water Gap, State College, and the like.

But for New York, I think you probably only get one to two inches of snow by morning. Now, if that's a train-no train decision for you, I think tomorrow's a train day because there will be slick spots all across the Northeast -- Chris.

CUOMO: Chad Myers, appreciate the information, as always.

MYERS: You bet.

CUOMO: Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn in the news and not for good reason. She's taking a lot of heat for talking politics on television.

Coy Wire has more in the "Bleacher Report." What do we know, my friend?

[07:55:01] COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: You're familiar with that, Chris Cuomo, I'm quite sure.

Last week, Vonn told CNN she's representing the people of the United States, not the president, at February's Winter Games, and if invited to a President Trump White House she would not go.

This "Bleacher Report" presented by the new 2018 Ford F-150.

Vonn wrote yesterday that she's receiving comments like quote, "People are hoping I break my neck," unquote. This is what the gold medalist posted to her 1.1 million Instagram followers. She then said that the comments opened up her eyes as to how divided we are right now.

The NFL playoffs may have gotten just a bit more exciting as Green Bay Packers fans rejoice. Aaron Rodgers medically cleared to play again. This, just eight weeks after suffering a broken collarbone that was repaired with 13 screws.

He took to social media last night posting this picture of himself in the hospital, saying "It's been a long road from that day to this."

The Packers still alive in the playoff hunt so their post-season hopes may literally rest on Aaron Rodgers' shoulder -- guys.

CUOMO: All right, Coy. Appreciate it, brother. Be well.

Alabama's special election, what a shocker, but Roy Moore not yet conceding. Is the election official?

The man in charge is Alabama's Secretary of State. Guess what? He's on NEW DAY live, right after the break.