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New Day Saturday
Tropical Storm Warning For Parts Of Southeast; Trump Stumps In San Diego: 35 Arrested In Clashes; Party Nominates Presidential Pick This Weekend; Libertarian Candidates Give First Joint Interview; Pilot Identified In Fatal Plane Crash; Doctors: Move Or Postpone Olympic Games; Baylor Football Coach To Be Fired, President Demoted; Trump Vows to win Traditionally Democratic States; Trump: Tax Returns Too Complicated for Release; 23 Possible Rio Olympians Fail London Drug Retests; Pentagon: Soldiers' Patches Were Unauthorized. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired May 28, 2016 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Your NEW DAY starts right now.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Saturday morning came quickly. Did it come rushing in for you? We're so grateful to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to start this Saturday with you.
PAUL: There is trouble brewing in the Atlanta we want to talk to you about. Overnight, tropical storm warnings were posted for parts of the southeast and this could be serious.
BLACKWELL: Yes, a tropical depression expected to strengthen today. What's the impact for your Memorial Day weekend travel plans? I know a lot of people are asking that question.
Let's get straight to Allison Chinchar, she is in the Severe Weather Center. Allison, what's the latest? How many people are going to be expected by this?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, pretty much, all -- not only people that live along the southeastern coast, but all the tourists that are now coming in for the big holiday weekend. It's the unofficial start to summer this weekend and a lot of people are flocking to the water.
Here is the latest look at Tropical Depression Two. Again, you see, about 35 miles per hour gusting up to 45. We are only 4 miles per hour off from being Tropical Storm Bonnie. So it doesn't have very far to go to get that next distinction.
We do expect it to do that sometime today. Let's take a closer look at what we can expect for the day, 35-mile-per-hour winds. That's about 4 miles per hour off from getting the distinction of having a name which is Bonnie.
The reason we are starting off with a "b," many of you maybe forgetting, we had Alex back in January, a rare event to have it named that early. But that's why we start off with the letter "b" going forward.
So again, looking at this particularly storm, it doesn't look that impressive. But even though it doesn't look that impressive, it's not something you want to just kind of brush off if you have some travel plans, say, anywhere from Coastal Georgia all the way through Coastal North Carolina because this is going to have some impacts.
Again, the main thing we are focused is we push this radar out a little bit forward, notice that we really start to see a lot of the storms ramp up later today and into tomorrow as it makes landfall.
But Christi, Victor, the biggest concern we're going to have with this is going to be deadly rip currents, which will be a huge threat today especially for tourists who may not necessarily think about the rip currents as a big threat.
PAUL: Good to remember. All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: To politics now and Donald Trump campaigning in deep blue territory. Giving California some love after clinching the Republican nomination.
PAUL: Protesters outside his rally in San Diego not returning the favor. Let's say, 35 people were arrested as police in riot gear used pepper spray to clear clashes between Trump supporters and protesters. Our Paul Vercammen was in the right in the middle of it.
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: San Diego Police and sheriff's deputies in other departments had to respond in full riot gear after the Trump rally ended. What had happened is they had gone to great lengths to seal off the anti-Trump demonstrators from the people leaving the convention center.
But eventually they did start to blend together as they were both walking back towards parking areas shouting matches ensued. There was pushing, shoving. They were throwing things. There were punches thrown. There were arrests.
Then they moved in, in force. All of these officers in riot gear, helmets on and visors down, began moving everyone down Harbor Boulevard in San Diego. Not very far from the ocean at all. It was effective.
They took what was rather a large crowd at one point and thin it out little by little. Not that there were confrontations or shouting or skirmishes along the way.
But eventually as it started to get darker they got a handle on things and they were able to disperse the crowd in a rowdy day in San Diego. Now back to you. BLACKWELL: All right, Paul Vercammen there in San Diego for us.
[06:05:04]Now scenes like the one you just saw may be why some voters say they don't like either candidate.
A look at this. According to a new poll, nearly half of all voters would consider a third party if Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump headed up the major parties. Of course, they are now at least the frontrunner, presumptive nominee, in Donald Trump's case.
If you are one of those voters, where do you turn? The Libertarian Party says that it is ready for your vote.
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BLACKWELL (voice-over): Thousands are gathering for the Libertarian Convention this weekend in Orlando voting for their presidential nominee, hoping their pick is a viable alternative for dissatisfied voters. But who are they?
GARY JOHNSON, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Fiscally conservative, socially liberal, and, hey, when it comes to these military interventions? I'm a real skeptic.
BLACKWELL: Gary Johnson, former New Mexico governor, the frontrunner for the Libertarian nomination.
JOHNSON: I'm all about smaller government. I think government tries to do too much and in the process taxes us too much living your life, personal freedom. I think most republicans fall in that category. I think most Americans fall in that category.
BLACKWELL: The platform, a mix of ideas from each side of the political aisle. Pro-gay marriage and decriminalization of most, if not all drugs. In favor of slashing government benefits and reducing economic regulations. Their appeal taking hold.
The party says they're seeing a 30 percent spike in membership. A new poll shows Johnson with 10 percent support across the country. He needs just 15 percent to earn a spot at the national debate podium next to the Republican and Democratic nominees.
JOHNSON: Just appearing in the polls I think has a self-fulfilling prophecy of well, what is this guy really saying? If I am the nominee I am going to be the only third party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.
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BLACKWELL: Now he says "if" he is the nominee. The nominations are on Sunday. But just Friday, I had a chance to sit down with Governor Johnson and his pick for vice president, former governor of Massachusetts, Bill Weld, for their first ever joint interview.
We talked about the viability in a traditionally two-party general election race. How they plan to compete against big money campaigns and what they think of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump?
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BLACKWELL: Governor Johnson, Governor Weld, thank you for being with us on CNN. We'll talk about your candidacies and potential opponents in a moment, but I want to start with the news of the day.
The inspector general of the State Department released this scathing report about former Secretary Clinton's private e-mail server. Donald Trump has said that it is an example of her poor judgment, that it is possibly illegal, probably illegal in his estimation.
What do you glean from that report and from the secretary's use of a private server?
JOHNSON: At end of the day I don't think that she will be indicted. I don't see that happening. But like I say, speaking politically, that's not something I'm going to ever engage in -- look, I'm going to certainly talk about issue differences with Secretary Clinton but I'm -- nothing is going to come out of my mouth regarding her e-mail.
BLACKWELL: On this topic and others, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have said that the other is unqualified to be president. Do you believe that they are both qualified to be president?
JOHNSON: Well, I'll leave that to others, also. But exciting for me is, running for president of the United States with Bill Weld, and offering up another choice, a clear third choice in this.
At the end of the day, whether or not we're the nominees or not, we hope to be the nominees here coming out of the Libertarian Convention, I think there will be a clear third choice.
BLACKWELL: Governor Weld, let me bring into this because in 2012 the Libertarian Party got about 1 percent of the general election vote. Let's say this year with two governors on the ticket and two other candidates who are highly -- have high unfavorables that you double that.
How do you convince voters that the Libertarian ticket in especially the swing states is anything more than a spoiler, that you have a real shot at winning?
BILL WELD, LIBERTARIAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think our aspirations are substantially more than higher than doubling our 1 percent showing. Gary's polling at 10 percent almost sight unseen in national polls when he's been in the polls.
I think our challenge coming out of this convention if we should be fortunate enough to obtain the nominations would be to go around, do what the building blocks of a campaign are -- raise money, do as much media as possible, and elevate our profile.
Which is pretty high anyway because of the resistance of the electorate to both the other candidates, and then I think you are talking 10 percent, maybe 15 percent. If we can get there, then I think we can make a real showing to be 1 of 3 among equals.
[06:10:06]BLACKWELL: How do you reach those disaffected Republicans? Because there are some Libertarian positions that are just not -- they don't correspondent only with the Republican orthodoxy but they are opposed to.
JOHNSON: I hope no. I hope not.
BLACKWELL: If you think about pro-marriage equality, pro- decriminalization of drugs. Abortion rights as well. How do you win over those Republicans who don't believe in those things?
JOHNSON: I actually believe the majority of Republicans actually hold those beliefs or if they don't hold those believes, if they are social conservative, it is really secondary to smaller government.
BLACKWELL: So you believe the majority of Republicans are pro- abortion rights, pro-marriage equality?
JOHNSON: No, not necessarily. But the majority of Republicans really don't care about the social issues. What any care about mostly is small government. And I think both of us having served as Republican governors in deeply blue states understand that.
BLACKWELL: How do you compete -- at the end of April, the FEC records show that you had just a few thousand dollars, maybe $15,000 on hand? These candidates and their super PACs are going to spend each upwards of a billion dollars each. How do you compete?
JOHNSON: Isn't it amazing that we are where we're at given that amount of money! And that if we just had a little bit of juice where it might go.
BLACKWELL: How do you compete?
WELD: I do agree with you that we're going to have to have $20 million, $30 million in the kitty just for openers to persuade the media that they want to pay attention. But I think that's not beyond reach. There is a number of major donors who are Libertarian in orientation and I am going to make it my business to go see them.
BLACKWELL: Are you going to be investing any of your own money?
WELD: That's not going to move the needle, believe me but if necessary.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk more about the money. There are people out there you say who are willing to invest. Who are these people? Are these the Koch brothers? There are reports that they had dedicated some funds or at least pledged some funds to you.
WELD: You know, what caught my eye was a page one story maybe four, five days ago that more than half of the major Republican donors have not yet signed up with Mr. Trump. I've known a lot of those people over the years. I was Pete Wilson's national finance chairman when he ran for president in 1995. So I'm Hopeful that if I knock, knock, knock, some of those doors will be open.
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BLACKWELL: We'll have more of my interview with Gary Johnson and Bill Weld in our next hour including why Weld says he gets along very well with the Clintons, his personal opinions and interactions with Donald Trump and whether Governor Gary Johnson has been very open about marijuana and cannabis use in the past, would use those products, smoke marijuana, use cannabis products in the White House. He answers that question.
PAUL: A pilot is killed when his vintage fighter plane crashes into the Hudson River. That's happened overnight. Officials have identified the pilot now as William Gordon from Key West, Florida.
As this was happening, there were people helplessly watching from the banks of the river. One man did try to help. Reporter, Carolina Lead, from our affiliate, WABC, details the final seconds of this flight.
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CAROLINA LEAD, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): Witnesses say it felt like slow motion watching this plane hitting along the water, skip something along the surface, then seeing the pilot struggling to get out.
CAMARA DODD, WITNESS: He was like strapped into the seatbelt and trying to get out. You could see he was trying to get out. There is no hope for him.
TEJU RAVEL, WITNESS: You could actually see the pilot struggling. He was there for about 30 seconds, one minute.
DODD: The guy was trying to get out. Just couldn't get out. Plane just kept going down, down, down. It just -- gone.
LEAD: Watch as a man on a boat dives into the Hudson River, but can't rescue the person inside this one-seater because within seconds the World War II Vintage P-47 Thunderbolt was under water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a person who got off a sailboat who went swimming towards it and when the boats came he figured it was probably useless, he swam back.
LEAD: It happened about two miles south of the George Washington Bridge around 7:30 this Friday night not far from the waterside restaurant in Edgewater, New Jersey where hundreds of people dined.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was shaken up. It was scary. I feel bad that whoever was in there never came out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very upsetting because, you know, you watched somebody die.
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PAUL: I think about his family hearing these accounts. That's got to be so difficult to hear that he was aware and cognizant and trying to escape.
According to, want you to let you know, our WABC affiliate as well, this plane belonged to a local museum. It was flying over the Hudson as part of a promotional photo shoot for a local air show. But certainly thinking about his family today.
[06:15:00]BLACKWELL: Consider this, there is a large growing group of doctors who are asking what some people are calling the unthinkable, impossible, maybe -- move or postpone the upcoming Summer Olympic Games scheduled to begin in just a couple weeks in Rio de Janeiro. We'll explain why.
PAUL: And why sexual assault victims at Baylor say the university failed them.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Stephanie Montank (ph) says that while Baylor University's internal report vindicates her and many more young women, she says it is now clear the prominent Baptist University shunned them after they reported being sexually assaulted.
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PAUL: It's 19 minutes past the hour right now. Dozens of doctors from around the world are publicly urging that the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro be moved or postponed because of the Zika virus. They fear basically the surge of international visitors and athletes to Brazil will spread the disease beyond 60 countries where it is already confirmed.
BLACKWELL: Yes, but both the World Health Organization and the CDC downplay that threat. They say the Zika virus will continue to spread globally regardless of when or where the Olympic Games are held.
Our senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, has more for us from Rio.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A group of more than 100 doctors and researchers have issued a public warning about health risks to the Olympics that are scheduled to take place here Rio in just over two months' time.
The doctors writing that they're very concerned about the threats of the Zika virus. It is a mosquito-borne disease that are still being investigated at this time.
[06:20:06]These doctors writing to the World Health Organization saying that the Olympics should either be postponed or moved to another place warning that the risks of tourists coming here. And then potentially bringing the virus to other countries around the world, to perhaps third world countries that don't have very good health care facilities, that that could be a major threat to global health.
Now this is coming in direct contradiction to advisories that have come from the World Health Organization and from the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC just on Thursday said, quote, "no public health reason -- there's no public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympics. The advisory was for pregnant women not to travel here and for people to use mosquito repellent to protect them from mosquitos."
The WHO has also advised people not to go into poorer districts of Rio where there is more open water and could be more exposure to mosquitos.
The city officials say they're working hard to try to crack down on the mosquito population and they say that here is the winter months here in the southern hemisphere that there are usually fewer mosquitos at this time. But the debate between doctors and health officials is likely to continue. Ivan Watson, CNN, Rio.
BLACKWELL: Ivan, thanks. Let's bring in one of those voices, Dr. Arthur Caplan, who heads the Medical Ethics Division at New York University.
He is one of the health care experts to sign the letter to the World Health Organization and he tells CNN why he is concerned about the Olympic Games spreading the Zika virus.
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DR. ARTHUR CAPLAN, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: One possible scenario is that the disease spreads to parts of the world where they don't have Zika and where they wouldn't necessarily get it -- Thailand, India, Vietnam, places where mosquitos flourish.
But it's not going to arrive there unless infected people bring it home or maybe a mosquito (inaudible). The Zika virus is coming toward the U.S., I believe it is going to come here.
That's probably why the CDC said there is no increase is because it is going to come here. To other countries I think there is risk.
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PAUL: The head of the CDC says it will update its recommendations on traveling to Brazil as circumstances changed. Ivan Watson kind of alluded to this, but if you are planning on going to the Olympic Games, the World Health Organization has this advice.
First off all, use mosquito repellent, cover bare skin with light colored clothing, no unprotected sex, and stay in air conditioned accommodations, avoid places with poor sanitation and without proper plumbing. That just makes you want to go.
BLACKWELL: A lot of precautions you need to take. Let's talk about some really dangerous weather right here in the southeast. Severe flooding. This is Texas. Two people have been killed. Others are missing. We've got your outlook on your holiday weekend as your tropical storm threatens the southern east coast.
PAUL: Ed Lavendera brings us the story of one particular girl. She says she is just one of several victims who felt pushed aside by Baylor University.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mundhenk says she was sexually assaulted by a Baylor student last March, and after she tried reporting the attack, it went nowhere.
STEFANIE MUNDHENK, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: If you really, truly believed someone was raped, wouldn't you do something urgently about it? Wouldn't you? Like wouldn't you respond with urgency?
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[06:27:04]
BLACKWELL: It's 27 minutes after the hour now. Baylor University, it's demoted its president and intends to fire its football coach after report was released that says that the school did not respond properly to allegations of sexual assaults.
PAUL: A victim of one of those assaults says the school failed its students and did not live up to its own values. Here's CNN's Ed Lavendera.
LAVANDERA: Christi and Victor, the chairman of Baylor's Board of Regents says that the details of the internal investigation were shocking and outrageous. But despite that, Ken Starr wasn't fully fired.
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MUNDHENK: How I feel about Baylor, it's like they failed me.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Stephanie Mundhenk says that while Baylor University's internal report vindicates her and many more young women, she says it's now clear the prominent Baptist University shunned them after they reported being sexually assaulted.
MUNDHENK: The institutional crap, like, this is out of our hands, we can't do anything about it. The case is closed. Right? You know what I mean? Like, if you really believed someone was raped, wouldn't you do something, right? Like especially with the high Christian standards they purport to have. LAVANDERA: Mundhenk says she was sexually assaulted by a Baylor student last March and after she tried reporting the attack, it went nowhere.
MUNDHENK: If you really truly believed someone was raped, wouldn't you do something urgently about it? Wouldn't you? Like wouldn't you respond with urgency? That's the thing. We don't see urgency. We see, we'll coordinate this next week. We hope to meet with this witness in a week or two, right, like -- I don't think they understand the weight that it has on us as survivors.
LAVANDERA: Baylor's Board of Regents says it was horrified by a fundamental failure of the institution to protect female students. The sexual assaults, which involved several football players, occurred in recent years as the Baylor football program emerged from decades of mediocrity to become a national contender under head coach, Art Briles (ph). A massive new stadium was built on campus. But critics say the sexual assault investigations were covered up to protect the school's image.
IRWIN ZALKIN, VICTIM'S LAWYER: Baylor had prior knowledge of a huge problem with sexual assault on their campus, especially through the athletic program and they just did nothing. They did absolutely really nothing to protect these female students.
LAVANDERA: Head Football Coach Art Briles (ph) will be fired and Ken Starr, who investigated the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal was removed as president but kept as chancellor and a law school professor. Neither has responded to CNN's request for comment. In a telephone conference call with reporters, Baylor officials refused to say why Ken Starr wasn't fired outright.
RICHARD WILLIS, BAYLOR BOARD OF REGENTS (via telephone): We don't talk about individual people. It's just inappropriate to do that.
[06:30:00] Again, we just have higher expectations for people and their leadership.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Baylor University says it released the key findings of its internal investigation to be open with the university community.
However, that report does not specify just how many sexual assault victims there were or how many cases it investigated. We have asked, but haven't gotten an answer.
Christi and Victor?
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. And we'll of course stay on that story for you.
Have you heard that Donald Trump has this new strategy for the general election? He says he's not just looking to win Republican states -- there are blue states that he's got his sights on. VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Plus this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE CNN CORRESPONDENT: A French news agency captured these rare images of U.S. special operators in the area wearing the insignia of a Syrian-Kurdish forces they are fighting alongside.
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BLACKWELL: And those patches have upset a key U.S. ally in the region. We'll tell you what the Pentagon has to say about it.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I love you. Thank you. I love you, San Diego. Get out and vote! Get out and vote!
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BLACKWELL: Plenty of love inside that arena there as Donald Trump stumps in San Diego. Outside -- not so much.
Trump supporters and protesters getting into it yelling, throwing punches and shouting at one another. At least 35 people were arrested in the clashes as police in riot gear with batons there had to separate the groups.
[06:35:08] PAUL: And, yes, you did hear that correctly. Trump is campaigning in the Democratic stronghold of California. He says he believes he can win the deep blue states as well as a few others besides California. We're going to outline his new strategy here in just a moment.
First, though, we're keeping an eye on a big storm that could hit parts of the east coast weekend -- holiday weekend, no less.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's get straight to Allison Chinchar is in the CNN severe weather center.
So how could this, what is now a tropical depression, impact Memorial Day weekend travel plans? I know a lot of people are packing up cars and trucks headed on the roads soon.
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PAUL: Well, Donald Trump has a new general election strategy. And just like his campaign, it's unconventional. He wants to try to paint traditionally blue states red. Take a look at this map.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Trump says he plans to win Florida and Ohio, which last saw a Republican win in 2004. Michigan and Pennsylvania, which both last were won by Republicans in 1988. And also take a shot at winning solidly Democratic states that have not seen Republican wins also in the '80s: Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, California.
Listen to what he said last night in Fresno.
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TRUMP: No other Republican -- let's say Ted Cruz won or let's say any one of them won. They wouldn't even come here for dinner because they are told that as a Republican, you have zero chance, OK?
I really believe we're going to win it. I think we have a real chance to win it.
And you know what? I view it strategically also. Because if we don't win it, they are going to spend one hell of a fortune in fighting me off, that I can tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Let's bring in Kevin Scott, Republican strategist and Trump supporters and Holly Shulman, a democratic strategist and former spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. Thank you both for being here. We appreciate it.
So we've been looking at Trump's plans to shake things up, redraw this election map.
Kevin, I want to ask you. First of all, how plausible do you think that is and what is he going to have to do to win California? It hasn't been done since '88.
KEVIN SCOTT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, certainly. Trump's strategy right now is to go on offense. He is trying to say we're going to compete in the areas where we couldn't normally compete. This is interesting because he's going to be out raised and really out organized. But because of his approach, he really believes that he's going to be competitive in these places and I think you are going to see it because he is bringing people into the mix that haven't been brought into the mix before.
In a really interesting way, even though Obama's message was really positive in 2004, you're seeing -- or in 2008, you're seeing just a really -- like he's going to say we're bringing new people in. That's what Obama did. That's what he did to redraw the map and I think Trump can really do it in 2016.
PAUL: Do you think he is really doing that, though, when you look at what happened overnight when you look at all the chaos yesterday, all the protesters yesterday.
Is he really bringing in new people in California?
SCOTT: Certainly, he is. He is bringing in people in the Republican Party that have never been a part of it before.
And here's what's interesting, we are looking at these protests. The protests, I think, if you keep seeing the violence being incited by the other side, a lot of these people are professional protesters. That doesn't hurt Donald Trump. That's going to help him long term because he's going to make the case that these people just aren't serious about making America as he retake, great again.
PAUL: OK. I just want to clarify, there were 35 arrests yesterday. We do not know if they were all protestors. Some of them could have been Trump supporters. We don't have a gauge on that just yet.
But, Holly, I want to get to you. Because of Hillary Clinton does become the Democratic nominee, Trump obviously already laying the groundwork. His game plan, as you heard there, essentially, to make her spend a lot of money in California.
Does she have, do you think, the financial resources and the team work to get this done in California? Because it's not just about the general election. She still has to win California and according to some reports, the Clinton camp is not wholly confident they can do so in the primaries.
[06:40:13] HOLLY SHULMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, he will have the resources to compete in California and everywhere across the country in the general election. But ultimately whether California is in play is up to the voters there.
And what we see from voters there is that they care about addressing student loan debt for which Donald Trump doesn't have a plan. They care about climate change and addressing climate change, which Donald Trump denies it is even a problem. Right?
And so ultimately it is the voters who decide whether these states are in play. And Donald Trump isn't doing himself any favors with his organization because he just hasn't -- doesn't have one in place yet.
PAUL: How does Hillary Clinton plan to tackle California in the primary, though?
SHULMAN: Yes, I think she's just going to continue to get her message out to voters. She's going to continue talk about the issues that matter. And her and Bernie Sanders, you know, we saw this race on, but it's clear the dynamic is going. She has more delegates. She 3 million more voters than he does and I don't see that it's expected to change in the next few weeks.
PAUL: All right. Let's get to some sound here from Donald Trump yesterday because he is definitely targeting Hillary Clinton right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It was so sad because everything she said was like a lie. I wonder -- I wonder if I could start -- instead of saying crooked Hillary, which is a very accurate description, I wonder if I could say, you know, remember lyin', the lyin'.
And, you know, it goes back to judgment. It goes back to companies. She's not competent. If you look, she's essentially not competent. It goes to her judgment. It goes to her level of competence and she's not competent. And it's always been this way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Holly, based on what we've seen this week alone just with what's happening with her e-mails and some of the questions about how cooperative she was in that investigation, what does she have up her sleeve to try to make some of this go away? Because we know at the end of the day, if you say a name enough -- and he keeps throwing out this crooked Hillary -- sometimes it sticks.
SHULMAN: You know, what people don't like about politics is exactly what Donald Trump is trying to make this campaign about. It is about name calling. I mean, this is why people hate what we do.
And so, you know, I think that the more he does this, the more he tries to distract, talk about other issues. You know, I don't think it is going to help him in the end. Eventually, this campaign is going to have to focus on the issues and on the economy and he just doesn't have a plan.
PAUL: But that's what's interesting. When you talk about the issues, there was this debate proposed by Donald Trump. Bernie Sanders said he would do it. Donald Trump now says he will not do it, which surprised a lot of people.
Why will he not debate Bernie Sanders?
SCOTT: Well, I think he's making clear. Bernie Sanders is going to finish second place ultimately in the Democratic primary. And, really, the only person that's going to lose in this whole situation is Hillary because she is still fighting Bernie on the Democrat side. She's having to fight Trump and she is fighting an inspector general report and email scandals.
PAUL: But what does Trump have to lose to debate Bernie? He's the one that brought it up.
SCOTT: Well, I think he is getting enough free press without it. And here we are sitting, talking about him this much.
Donald Trump has no trouble getting media attention.
Doing another debate with Bernie, I think it's great in theory, but it doesn't help him move the ball forward. He's going to focus his attacks on Hillary Clinton as she is going to be the presumptive nominee even though a lot of Democrats really wish she wasn't.
PAUL: All right. Kevin Scott and Holly Shulman, we appreciate both of you being here. Thank you very much.
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CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest excuse for why Donald Trump won't release his taxes. The returns are simply "Too complicated to understand." That story ahead.
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[06:47:05] BLACKWELL: Well, first, Donald Trump said he would not release his taxes because they were under audit. Then he said his tax rate is none of our business.
PAUL: Now he says they won't be released because they are too complicated. Here's CNN Money's Christina Alesci.
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ALESCI (on-camera): The speculation of what's in those returns builds each time Trump or one of his people make the excuses like the one we heard this week. The latest -- the American people just won't understand them.
Well, guess what? The American people don't have to be tax experts because there are a ton of lawyers and analysts who are going to dig through those documents if and when they do become available. And I can bet you a few are sitting at Clinton campaign headquarters right now.
So that excuse really doesn't add up because the information will get out in a digestible format.
Now for months we've been talking about the changing explanations for why Trump isn't going public with the documents. But congressional Democrats are actually trying to do something about it.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon introduced a bill that would force, compel presidential nominees to publicly disclose three most recent tax returns. If they don't, Wyden's bill would authorize treasury to do it, with or without an ongoing audit.
Now it is unclear whether this bill actually has a shot of getting passed, but it is more evidence that Democrats will draw attention to this issue and even some Republicans are pressing for Trump to do it.
Meanwhile, Hillary keeps flaunting the fact that she's released eight years of returns in this cycle and over 30 years' worth, over the course of her public life.
And let's not forget that Trump made his returns available while under audit when his casinos were on the line. The candidate handed those documents over to the gaming authorities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So the question is why can't he do it now when so much more is at stake.
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PAUL: Well, a bombshell announcement by the international Olympic committee.
BLACKWELL: Nearly two dozen athletes may have failed drug tests.
CNN Rashan Ali has the story.
PAUL: Yes, gold medal dreams could be shattered after officials uncover possible doping by athletes who could compete in Rio this summer.
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[06:52:40] BLACKWELL: Nearly two dozen athletes from the 2012 London Olympics have tested positive for doping after the samples were retested.
PAUL: Rashan Ali has been studying this growing scandal.
What are you learning?
RASHAN ALI, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the International Olympic Committee made the shocking announcement yesterday. Samples from 23 competitors from the London games four years ago have tested positive for banned substances.
This comes a little more than a week after retests found 31 athletes from the 2008 Beijing games had tested positive. The IOC retested more than 700 samples from the last two Olympics all based on intelligence gathering that began last August.
Officials say the retests were done using improved technology and were focus on athletes expected to take part at this year's Rio Olympics. Those who tested positive had not been named but they could be banned from competing this summer.
Back to you.
BLACKWELL: Well, you think about all of the troubles. I don't want to use scandals that focused around Rio.
You've got an impeached president. You've got Zika virus. You've got the doping now. And all these athletes are supposed to be excited about what's coming in the next couple of months.
ALI: Yes, more to come, more to come on this story.
BLACKWELL: All right. Rashan, thanks so much.
ALI: My pleasure.
PAUL: I appreciate it, Rashan.
And listen to this --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wearing those YPG patches was unauthorized and it was inappropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: The Pentagon says U.S. Special Forces in Syria were out of line because of controversial patches on their uniforms. We'll tell you what happened.
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[06:57:28] PAUL: We know a small number of U.S. special forces are in Syria to advise and support Kurdish fighters battling ISIS. But there is evidence now that those American troops are very close to the front lines, perhaps closer than most people thought.
BLACKWELL: Yes. And their presence has upset U.S. ally Turkey because of insignia patches the Americans have been wearing on their uniforms.
CNN's chief national correspondent Jim Sciutto has the story for us.
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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. special forces on the ground just north of the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, alongside Kurdish and Arab forces fighting the terror group. A French news agency captured these rare images of U.S. special operators in the area, wearing the insignia of the Syrian Kurdish forces they are fighting alongside.
NATO ally turkey immediately protested. They consider the YPG terrorists. U.S. military now says it should never have happened.
COL. STEVE WARREN, SPOKESMAN, ANTI-ISIS COALITION: Wearing those YPG patches was unauthorized and it was inappropriate, and corrective action has been taken.
SCIUTTO: The new images made clear that U.S. forces are now very close to the front lines of the fight against ISIS in Syria. The pentagon insists the role of U.S. forces has not changed.
PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They are not on the forward line. They are providing advise and assistance, and again, I'm not going to get into details but that mission has not changed. Their role has not changed. They are not leading this fight. They are supporting those forces that are at the leading edge.
SCIUTTO: Currently more than 200 U.S. forces on the ground in Syria training and advising Syrian and Kurdish fighters.
CNN's Barbara Starr spoke exclusively last week with a spokesman for the Kurdish-Arab coalition who said they still need more American help.
TALLI ALI SILO, SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES: We have requested a continuous supply of weapons at a level that is consistent with the size of the mission we face.
SCIUTTO: In Iraq, the U.S. continues air strikes and artillery barrages against ISIS fighters in support of Iraqi forces fighting to retake the town of Fallujah, which sits just 40 miles, west of the capital Baghdad. One U.S. air strike says the Pentagon killed a commander of ISIS forces in the city.
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PAUL: And thank you to CNN's Jim Sciutto reporting there.
BLACKWELL: Protesters and supporters clash outside a Trump rally in San Diego. Police move in with riot gear, arresting dozens.
PAUL: And the Libertarian Party Convention is under way right now in Orlando. Victor there, you see him, sitting down with their leading nominees to find out why the Libertarian party has its best --
