Return to Transcripts main page
New Day Saturday
Democrats Under Attack From Hackers; Trump's Ties To Russia Explained; Russia Implicated In Computer System Breach; Trump, Clinton Take Aim At Battleground States; More Arrests in Flint Water Crisis; Countdown to the Olympics. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired July 30, 2016 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:00:42] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning and welcome to Saturday. We're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Your NEW DAY starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. officials now saying it is likely it was Russia that hacked 20,000 e-mails.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did get along with Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The timing raising questions about whether it was an attempt to influence the U.S. election.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what their motive is. Do I believe they've done it? That's certainly the way it looks.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We have 100 days to make our case to America.
TRUMP: No more Mr. Nice guy.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We are going to win. We have to win.
GOV. MIKE PENCE (R-IN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hillary Clinton must never become president of the United States of America.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're absolutely sure this is Zika.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 100 percent, no doubts in my mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three men and one woman in South Florida believed to be the first cases of this kind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zika doesn't just bite Republicans or Democrats or independents, it bites everyone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Good morning to you. In just a few hours, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine will be back on their bus tour in Pennsylvania and that's happening as the FBI investigates a hack of the computer system that the Clinton campaign uses in which a data program was accessed.
This comes after two other hacks we know on the Democratic National Committee and Wikileaks editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, said on CNN there's more to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIAN ASSANGE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, WIKILEAKS: We have more material related to the Hillary Clinton. It is (inaudible) to say that. (Inaudible) supporting my statements. (Inaudible) very precisely. Yes, they're extremely interesting and we will see what will come of them if you cross.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: CNN's Diane Gallagher live from Washington for us. Good morning, Diane. What have you been able to determine regarding the kind of information that hackers were able to get in this latest case?
DIANE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christi. So obviously the Clinton campaign wishing that everyone were focusing on the bus tour instead of yet another hack of the Democratic server here.
According to an aide with the Clinton campaign, this was basically not an internal server. This was part of the DNC system, they said, and they believe it was involved in that DNC hack originally that's being blamed on Russia right now by many people.
But of course, authorities say they are still looking into it. Of course, the FBI trying to determine what the source of that is. They said that this particular hack was of -- sort of an external system that focused on voter analytics.
They said that it's mostly a data base, a very comprehensive one that looks up stuff like voter information, participation rates, your contact information, but the aides stress that there was no sort of information like Social Security numbers or credit card numbers on that.
But still they were in there for about five days, they believe. This is another hack. This came just hours after we got about the information about DCCC being hacked as well.
That information being taken and of course, just days after DNC was hacked and those were sent on to Wikileaks. Dianne Feinstein who's the ranking Democratic member with the Intelligence Committee had this to say about campaigns being careful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), INTELLIGENCE VICE CHAIR: I think it should be pretty clear that both campaigns should be aware that there's a problem out there. I think until the technical people can come up with some solutions, which are more ironclad, and I don't know whether that can be done or not, everybody should be cautious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: And, of course, Christi, the campaigns say they are looking into it. The Clinton campaign stressing that their internal e-mails or internal communications were not part of this hack. They say it's a completely independent system.
PAUL: All right, Diane Gallagher, appreciate the update. Thank you so much.
BLACKWELL: Russia's alleged involvement in that hack is raising questions about whether that country is trying to influence American politics and that of course is placing new scrutiny over Donald Trump's possible business ties to the country and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
PAUL: CNN chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is following that part of the story. Good morning, Jim.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did get along with Russia?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump trading compliments with Russian president and U.S. adversary, Vladimir Putin.
TRUMP: When people like me, I like them, even Putin.
SCIUTTO: Their relationship now under new scrutiny with U.S. officials now saying it is likely it was Russia that hacked 20,000 e- mails from the Democratic National Committee.
[06:05:06]Wikileaks released the e-mail on the eve of the Democratic Party convention. The timing raising questions about whether it was an attempt to influence the U.S. election perhaps in Trump's favor.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told us that while it's too early to say with certainty it was Russia, the kremlin does have an interest in undermining the U.S. political process.
(on camera): Is it your view that Russia has the intention of if not influencing this election undermining confidence in the U.S. political process?
JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: They see a U.S. conspiracy behind every bush. They believed we were trying to influence political developments in Russia. Their natural response is to retaliate.
SCIUTTO (voice-over): That is a very serious concern for the U.S. government. CLAPPER: Was this to stir up trouble or was this ultimately to try to influence an election. And, of course, this is a serious, serious proposition.
SCIUTTO: When asked by Erin Burnett, Trump's campaign manager discounted the theory that Russia leaked the documents to help put Trump in the White House.
PAUL MANAFORT, TRUMP CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: It's just absurd. I don't know anything about what you said. You may know it then if you do then you ought to expose it.
SCIUTTO: In fact, Trump maintains that he has no connections to Russia whatsoever and CNN has not been able to find any current business operations there.
TRUMP: I have nothing to do with Putin. I've never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him.
SCIUTTO: But when he brought his Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013, Trump said he spoke personally with Putin.
TRUMP: I was in Russia. I was in Moscow recently and I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin who could not have been nicer.
SCIUTTO: And now Trump's favorable comments about Russia has U.S. allies worried about whether the U.S. would defend them against Russian aggression.
CLAPPER: It's very bothersome to our foreign interlockers, our foreign partners, and I hear that from my counterparts.
SCIUTTO: Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: We are following breaking news out of Belgium this morning as well. The Belgian federal prosecutor's office saying two men are under arrest, both suspected of planning a terror attack.
BLACKWELL: Belgian authorities say the arrest came after a series of house searches. Right now, there is no connection to earlier terror attacks at the airport in Brussels and its subway station, but, of course, that investigation continues right now.
Back to politics and the general election. It is on. Donald Trump says the gloves are coming off. Which key states are in play? We'll break it down with Scott and Scottie after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:11:13]
PAUL: Welcome back. Well, just a couple of months away really at the end of the day as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on this battleground state blitz trying to vie for the presidency. Both have very different paths to the 270 electoral votes.
BLACKWELL: CNN chief national correspondent, John King, fired up the magic wall to breakdown what each would needs to do to win the White House.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Conventions are over. The big question now, who can get to 270 electoral votes. You have to say Hillary Clinton has a head start, the Democratic home field, if you will.
We give her at CNN 236 electoral votes, 191 for Trump. Easy to score, dark red, solid Republican, dark blue, solid Democrat. The lighter shading leans that way.
So how does Donald Trump get there? Well, we thinks he can win the state where we are right now, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump is going to spend a lot of time try to prove himself in the rust belt, hard life, heavy lift, hasn't gone Republican since 1988.
But if he can win Pennsylvania, then he's most likely winning Ohio. Where does that put Donald Trump? At 229, so where do you go from there? He has to hold North Carolina, an Obama state in '08, but a Mitt Romney state in 2012.
Donald Trump has to hold that. That would put Donald Trump at 244. He's in play now, right? Boom, boom, bang. If he can win the state of Florida, he's over the top, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida.
Hillary Clinton says, no way, I'm going to hold that. Now she thinks she's going to get to Ohio too so let's give it to the Republicans. We move down to the state of Florida, Hillary Clinton, 29 electoral votes. Tim Kaine can speak Spanish.
Watch this one play out. If Hillary Clinton can hold Pennsylvania and win Florida, and nothing else changes, guess what? She's already the next president of the United States and she thinks Virginia is the bonus. It puts her up close to 300. Watch the numbers here, here, and here, and you'll know how tight this is going to be come November.
BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk more about battleground. CNN political commentator and Trump supporter, Scottie Nell Hughes, and A. Scott Bolden, former chairman of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party, a Hillary Clinton supporter both with us this morning. Good morning to both of you.
Hey, Scottie, I want to start with you and trying to take Pennsylvania for the Republicans. As John said there, since 1992, every Democrat has won the state, but we know that in order to win Donald Trump is going have to cut into the lead that Clinton has around the urban areas of the state. How does he do this?
SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: This is a game of Midwest math, Victor. It's all about the three Ts, trust, trade and terrors and you're looking at not only again Michigan. You're looking at Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. All four of those states right now have been hit very, very hard with some very bad trade policies. Policies like TTP and NAFTA are things that, you know, just recently, you've always Hillary Clinton and obviously her vice president, Tim Kaine has also endorsed.
Donald Trump from day one has made that a principal part. That speaks heavy especially when he's out in Michigan and in front of the Ford plant and he says if these folks decide to chain their shops up and go to Mexico, we're going to add tariffs on them.
GC sees that as irresponsible, but those workers finally feel like, hey, this guy is going to fight for my job. That's why you are going to motivate and that's why you saw more voters in Michigan come out in the GOP primary than in the Democrats.
BLACKWELL: He likely will also have to do better with minority voters, which are right now his numbers are far under water with African-Americans and Hispanic voters. But let me come to you with the point that Scottie just made there, Scott, that Donald Trump is resonating in these communities that feel like they've been abandoned. They're looking for jobs in the rust belt, across Pennsylvania and Ohio. We'll get to Ohio in a moment. How does she build her numbers there?
A.SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, resonating or not, these are strong union towns and she resonates there and she continues to hold those as Democratic strongholds by selling hope, not fear, by arguing the economy is strong but can be stronger and be made better for them.
Giving them a simple plan and a formula for success, having Bernie Sanders united with her and campaigning with her in those Democratic strong holds.
And then arguing that hypocritical leadership of Donald Trump that no matter what he says about tariffs or trade, he is hypocritical in that based on his own businesses and based on the jobs as well as what he's produce outside of the United States has contributed to the trade deficit.
And so that's how she does it. These are strong union towns. It's going to be enough for him to cut enough into those rust belt states to make a difference because he can't grow other than expanding the working white middle class. She's got the rest of those votes and she's got a plan. He's just got platitudes and sound bites.
BLACKWELL: Scottie, let's me come to you and let's turn to Ohio. I think we have the latest poll up from Ohio that it is essentially tied there. This of course is the bell weather of bell weathers, the state of Ohio.
Donald Trump will have to dig into the urban areas. Six urban areas there in Ohio and boost his numbers with minority voters, African- Americans, Hispanic voters, and he is viewed overwhelmingly, unfavorably by minority voters --
BOLDEN: Absolutely.
BLACKWELL: How does he change that around? He's got a little more than 100 days. What's the plan?
HUGHES: Well, I think the plan is to talk about the same things that, you know, you sit there and talk the states are strong in union holds. When it comes down to it, these folks go home and look at their paycheck and they actually are starting to see red slips.
Because we've the labor participation rate as low as it's been in 1978, record lows. That's across the board of all demographics. When you sit there and you talk about bringing jobs in and you've actually created jobs versus someone that's actually shifted jobs off like NAFTA and TPP, which highly divided the DNC this week.
When you had signs anti-TPP held up by the majority there in the convention whether they were Bernie Sanders or not, her message right now --
BLACKWELL: Scottie --
HUGHES: -- when we sit there and talk about Wall Street, $48.5 million contributed to Hillary --
BLACKWELL: -- I hear the numbers. These are arguments that Donald Trump has been making for months and the numbers with minority voters are going in the wrong direction for him. What does he need to change?
HUGHES: Well, the question is, do you sit there and continue -- you know, unfortunately, this is an issue that they have to decide what they want. I think it comes down do they care about the economy and safety and security like everyone else.
That's the Republican Party. We're not going to pander to our vote. We are going to pander to all Americans and like I said, if you look at your own paycheck and health care, are you better off eight years today than we were?
We are not in race relations. We are not in health care. There's not a single factor that you can say that our country is better off than when President Obama took office.
BLACKWELL: All right, Scott, I'm going to start with you after the break. We're going to shift to tone in the race. Stay with us. We've got more. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:21:40]
BLACKWELL: Welcome back to NEW DAY. It's 21 minutes after the hour now. We have Scott and Scottie with us. I want to start this conversation with tone and temperament. Scott, this is what former Governor Mitt Romney said on Radio Free GOP and then we'll talk about it on the other side. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know why she can't be what I expected her to be, which is Angela Merkel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's got the wardrobe.
ROMNEY: There are people who are serious women leaders that don't go into an audience and put their arms in the air and making a big smile, acting like Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, this does not come across well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Hillary Clinton says that of this does not come naturally to her. What do you make of what Governor Romney said there?
BOLDEN: Well, I don't think Governor Romney should be defining what a political leader is especially a woman political leader. If she were a man, would Governor Romney still be evaluating her in regard to how she should be acting compared to other male politicians or female politicians?
Listen, she's the Democratic nominee. She's made history. She's gotten millions and millions of votes and she's going to get millions and millions of other votes too. Now it's up to the public and up to the voters whether they like her style or not.
But the depth and substance, and the hopes she is going to give voters is going to be super important. It remained to be super important. You don't have to like her campaign style or even her speaking style.
But if you like her depth and substance and the hope that she gives and the direction she's going to lead this country with several other Democrats and many leading Republicans quite frankly because there's no alternative to her because Donald Trump is too scary to minorities and women and other groups.
BLACKWELL: All right, let me get Scottie in here. I saw you're shaking your head there.
BOLDEN: I'm not surprised.
HUGHES: I'm not surprised. That's a typical Democrat response. Any criticism of Hillary Clinton immediately go to sexism and let me remind him that just a week before, they did --
BOLDEN: It was just a question.
HUGHES: I know. But they also criticized Donald Trump for that awkward kiss that happened between him and Tim Kaine. They talked about body language from that. Now I'm not one to defend Mitt Romney, but he did only received 6 percent of the minority vote in 2012 when he ran and Donald Trump is at 10 percent.
So there are improvements as well as Hispanic votes. So, you know, it's not about -- it's all about who is going to motivate their base the most to get out.
The one thing Donald Trump has done that Hillary Clinton has not, he's answered why he exactly is running for the president of the United States. Hillary Clinton has yet to do that. She skirts around.
Just like we don't have much of her policies out there necessarily. She hasn't come out and said I'm running because of this, this, this and this. You don't have that out of her.
BOLDEN: Scottie, where this plan though? How do we know where direction the country is going to go in versus just sound bites and personal attacks? Give me one or two or three-point plans on any of these issues in regard to how he's going to solve these challenges that his voters and his base are craving for. He doesn't have it.
BOLDEN: Actually he does. This week at the VFW immediately after he re-emphasized his seven-point plan on the veterans, he has a ten-point plan on how to fix trade and tariffs and the economy. He actually does have those plans out there just because you refuse to actually go visit and read up on the words. It's like a scapegoat to say that there's no policy.
[06:25:08]BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about what Donald Trump said about his temperament. Let's play that if we have sit from the rally yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'll tell you, I think I have the best temperament or certainly one of the best temperaments of anybody that's ever run for the office of president ever because I have a winning temperament. I know how to win because my whole life I've been winning. My whole life I've been winning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Scottie, on the question of temperament, Donald Trump has gone on Twitter rants, has been profane there on the campaign trail, and has asked his supporters to attack protesters if they throw tomatoes. Does he have the best temperament of anyone who's ever run for president?
HUGHES: I don't know about anybody who's ever run in the past obviously. Diplomacy (inaudible) the word he says might not necessarily be his a strong point, but he has the best temperament for what the country needs right now, which is strength, leadership, not willing to sit there and be bullied around and willing to stand up and put America first.
That temperament right now is exactly what the American people have been craving instead of an apology tour that we've seen from this current administration around the world. So at this point, I think the temperament does that he is correct in what he is saying.
BLACKWELL: Scott, he says he has a winning temperament and he has won after his opponents and leaders in both parties discounted him early on.
BOLDEN: That's absolutely right. He's got 19 million votes to back that up, but this is the general. You have 1O0 million people voting. He's got to grow and he simply cannot grow. His temperament? My goodness gracious. That's a winning temperament.
He's been through several bankruptcies, been through several (inaudible). I must tell you that his temperament in attacking minorities and women, he is America's greatest critic of this country and yet he asks you to vote for him. That's simply illogical. It makes no sense.
BLACKWELL: All right, A. Scott Bolden, Scottie Nell Hughes, good to have both of you.
HUGHES: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: And of course, later this morning, we want you to know, we'll speak with Sean Spicer (ph), chief strategist and communications director for the Republican National Committee. So stay with us for that.
PAUL: Does Donald Trump have ties to Russia? That's a question a lot of people have been asking and we're going to take an in-depth look at that. Stay close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I have nothing do with Putin. I have never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him.
SCIUTTO (voice-over): But when he brought his Miss Universe pageant to Moscow in 2013, Trump said he spoke personally with Putin.
TRUMP: I was in Russia. I was in Moscow recently and I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin, who could not have been nicer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[06:31:26] DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATOR CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials now saying it is likely it was Russia that hacked 20,000 e- mails.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did get along with Russia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The timing raising questioning whether it was an attempt to influence the U.S. election.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what their motive is. Do I believe they've done it? That's certainly the way it looks. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Wow, 6:31 on a Saturday morning. You're up early. We're glad for it. I'm Christi Paul.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have packed a really packed weekend. They're on a bus tour through Pennsylvania today, they cross over into Ohio and hit Cleveland and Columbus tomorrow. And this is coming as the Clinton campaign says that computers, a system they used, have been a target of a cyber attack.
The FBI is investigating the latest breach which comes after two other hacks on the Democratic Party organizations including the DNC. Officials say Russia may be behind the attacks but the Russians have denied anything or having anything to do with it.
PAUL: Well, as they are, the Clinton campaign accusing Russia of hacking into those e-mails, what about Donald Trump? He's denying that he has any ties to Russia, past or present. CNN Senior Investigator Correspondent Drew Griffin has more.
GRIFFIN: The current controversy over Donald Trump's Russian connection comes from a dug up quote from 2008 made by his son Don Jr. The younger Trump reportedly told a real estate conference that family members made a half dozen trips to Russia, that "several buyers have been attracted to our projects there, and Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets." And according to Don Jr. back in 2008, "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
But what you can't see in Russia is a lot of Trump. An attempt to build a Trump tower in Moscow fell through before it began. And CNN can't find no projects that were actually completed in Russia. The only real ventures, an attempt to sell vodka to Russians which failed.
And in 2013 Trump made millions when he partnered with a Russian billionaire to host his Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Trump appeared in a music video with his billionaire Russian partner's rock star son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You're fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: And boasting of the pageant's success, Trump even tweeted, "Trump Tower Moscow is next." He trademarked not one but eight different combinations of his brand and name in Russia and that was it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMITRI SIMES, THE CENTER FOR THE NATIONAL INTEREST PRESIDENT: He tried to negotiate major deals. He was present to the Russia. He tried to arrange meeting with Putin. It did not work out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Dimitri Simes, the president of a Washington think tank that encourages stronger relations between the U.S. and Russia says when it comes to any relations, especially on business between Trump and Russia, they are very hard to find.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMES: I'm not aware of any merger business endeavors on Trump's spot in Russia.
GRIFFIN: The real story may be that Trump's business endeavors in Russia turn out to be failures.
SIMES: What they can say, I will second you, is that the Trump organization is not a major presence in Russia. When you talk to Americans who invest in Russia, they never mention the Trump organization is a hugest player of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Trump has had better luck dealing with Russians living in the U.S. sort of. He partnered with the Bayrock Group, a company run by Soviet immigrants and according to a lawsuit filed, financed by Russian and Kazakhstan money. Together, they developed Trump properties in Fort Lauderdale and New York, and they planned on opening a Trump tower in Moscow. But, Trump said in a deposition that plan ended after media reports starting to question Trump's net worth and the partners with Russian ties in the U.S. backed out.
[06:35:29] Trump did make news with another Russian-related deal. He sold his Florida mansion to a Russian billionaire for $95 million, Trump walking away with a tidy $54 million profit.
While Trump may have limited ties with Russia, the real connection may be the man who seems to be running his campaign. Paul Manafort has been a U.S. Republican presidential campaign adviser for decades, but he raised international eyebrows when he became a political consultant to this presidential candidate, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Manafort helped Yanukovych get elected in 2010 back in the days Yanukovych was still friendly with the United States. And Manafort says he was trying to encourage the Ukraine to become closer with Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL MANAFORT, DONALD TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: I was involved in activities that related to directly impacting positive U.S. and European foreign policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GRIFFIN: Since then, Yanukovych's government crumbled. He fled to Russia and urged Vladimir Putin to invade his own country which Putin did.
In 2014 the U.S. sanctioned Yanukovych for threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine. CNN reporting finds Manafort has Russian clients. He's advised Russians in the United States but he has no ties to the criminal.
The question now is, is Paul Manafort now advising Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin may not be such a bad guy after all and that Russia had the right to invade the Ukraine, and that if elected president, Trump should just leave Putin and the Ukraine alone? A question, silly to some, that became serious when Donald Trump was asked about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(OFF-MIC)
TRUMP: We'll be looking at that, yeah, we'll be looking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: A point reiterated when Trump's campaign reportedly changed the Republican Party platform to take a much more pro-Russian view of the Ukraine conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW ROJANSKY, KENNAN INSTITUTE DIRECTOR: There's a lot of this sort of coincidence that is very troubling around this specific issue especially when you consider just how substance-free most of the other, you know, issue areas in the campaign have been. But on the Ukraine they're taking this very firm position. And it's not clear why. That, I think, is troubling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: So, is it really something? Is Donald Trump really somehow connected to Russian political interests, to Putin and Putin's view of the world because he has an adviser that advised the Ukrainian candidate six years ago? Or is this all just like Donald Trump's business endeavors in Russia? Lots and lots of talk, but in the end, as they say in Russian, (foreign word), nonsense.
Drew Griffin, CNN Washington.
BLACKWELL: All right, thanks to Drew. More charges now announced in the Flint water crisis. What current and former state employees are accused of doing to cover up news of the poisoned city tap water.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:42:02] PAUL: Only one past the hour. Six more current and former Michigan state employees are facing charges in the Flint water crisis now. They're accused by Michigan's attorney general in trying to cover up news of Flint's lead-poisoned water, by altering or burying crucial reports.
Now this brings the total count to nine people facing charges in this crisis. And Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton promised to stay focused on Flint if she becomes president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So it's true. I sweat the details of policy whether we're talking about the exact level of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, the number of mental health facilities in Iowa, or the cost of your prescription drugs. Because it's not just a detail if it's your kid, if it's your family, it's a big deal. And it should be a big deal to your president too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: We should point out Donald Trump also said, "It's a shame what's happening in Flint, Michigan. I think that a thing like that shouldn't happen."
Let's talk to CNN Legal Analyst and Defense Attorney Joey Jackson about all of this.
Now, Joey, good to see you this morning. I know that there are some activists who say they want the governor charged in this. But as I was reading, it seems that there are legal documents and sovereign immunity that protect the state and possibly official immunity as well. So, is he protected from legal action in this case?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Always good to see you, Christi. Good morning to you.
You know, in terms of charging the governor, obviously that's a political calculation. And here's what I'm meaning. Now, people want answers. This is a horrific and widespread, you know, issue that has just really caused such influence on so many people's lives in a negative way.
In terms of charging the governor, what happens is people want to know, did he do anything. Right now if you look at the pace of the investigation, in April, they went after three people. That is the prosecution that they believed were involved in some wrongdoing. Just yesterday they announced six more being charged. That's nine. And if you listen to the press conference they say that it's ongoing and it's from the bottom up. So, can they get to him? Potentially.
Now, what you sight, Christi, really deals more with civil issues. When you talk about immunity from any type of, you know, any type of engagement with the government, really what you're talking about is going after the governor for something, you know, with respect to any civil liability. As it relates to criminal conduct, in the event that there was a crime committed, that is that he knew that something was amiss and did nothing about it, I don't think you would look to any type of immunity to cover him at all.
And so, what I'm saying is if it comes to the point, and we don't know this, that he was aware of reports that dealt with contamination, that he directed that those reports be buried and otherwise information covered up, and that there was data available to suggest that people was -- were in harms way and the governor said, "You know what? Let's not inform the public." I don't think there's any immunity that's going to protected him from that.
[06:45:05] PAUL: OK, so, let's talk about children with elevated lead levels. Because as I understand, that they could face a reduction in I.Q., problems with academic performance. As adults, they're more likely, study show us, to commit crimes, to be imprisoned, to be unemployed. These are life long challenges for these kids and their families.
So I'm wondering if you have any kind of gauge as to what the future holds for them. Who may pay to supplement or negate the challenges for these kids and families?
JACKSON: You know, what I really think, Christi, if you look at, you know, past instances where you've had just disasters that have occurred in cities and states throughout the country, it really requires something that is action from not only the government but the federal government, and it requires, often times, a legislative fix. And so, what I would believe is that humanity would dictate that state legislatures would enact some type of statute which would provide for their wellbeing.
And so, when it comes to, well, where's the money going to come from, and that's again a political consideration that will have to be considered by those in charge. But they need to get the money, whether it's from the federal government, the state government, or resources collectively from the federal or state to provide some type of fund so that these long-term systemic issues that are befalling these children could be addressed. And so, I think we'll see that moving forward.
PAUL: One of the arguments that many people made during this whole crisis was the fact that this is a city of 98,000. More than 41 percent of whom live below the poverty line. Are these statistics, are these backgrounds are going to come into play from a legal standpoint in terms of how they handled this? Many saying if it was a more affluent city that this never would have happened.
JACKSON: Well, I think you could make the argument that potentially that's true, that why on earth were they allowing this to happen there. But when it comes to a court of law, I think defense attorneys will be motioning to have that out.
What they're going to be looking for, that is, is evidence that relates to the charges. And if you're talking about misconduct in office, was there an act or was there an inaction that led to this occurring. Was there evidence that was tampered with or was there not? Was there a conspiracy that is in agreement of two or more people to engage in some illegality? Those are going to be the issues before the courtroom.
Now, I think the narrative in the courtroom in terms of explaining it to the jury, the crisis, how it occurred, why it occurred, the nature of where it occur, I think those are all relevant. But I think when you start getting into other issues in terms of, you know, the percentages and the community and how it was affected, defense attorneys will say, "Look, that goes more toward sympathy, it's not relevant to the issues of criminal misconduct." And they'll be really motioning to have that out, so it'll be up to a judge to determine what's fair game narrative before a jury if it gets that far and what should we should we exclude in order to protect the rights of those who were actually accused of these crimes.
PAUL: I have 10 seconds. You say if it gets that far. Do you think this is going to be spread out so to speak?
JACKSON: I think there'll be a number of pleas, I would imagine, and people who don't want to take the risk of moving forward. But I think this is the tip of the iceberg.
And if you listened in that press conference, Christi, what they were saying is this may be the largest investigation and criminal action in the history of Michigan. And so we'll look for that moving forward.
PAUL: All right. And Joey Jackson, always good to have your expertise, thank you so much.
JACKSON: Thank you, Christi. Have a great day.
PAUL: You too.
BLACKWELL: Rio is counting down to the start of the Summer Olympics and organizers are now forced to beef up security for the torch runners just days before the opening ceremony. Shasta Darlington has a look ahead for us.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN BRAZIL BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Victor. With protesters mobbing the torch relay and a small fire breaking out in the Olympic Village, more security needed. We'll have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:52:13] PAUL: Well, just a week to go before the Summer Olympics games kick off in Rio de Janeiro. Legion of problems, though, still are invading the city.
The Olympic torch itself is getting extra security now after protestors in the coastal city mobbed relay runners, and were able to put out that flame. On top of that, you got ticket sales that are lagging with about 20 percent still unsold. CNN's Brazil Bureau Chief Shasta Darlington joining us from Rio.
So, Shasta, I want to talk about something else that just happened. Athletes, we understand, had to be evacuated from their apartment buildings in the Olympic Village there because of a fire. What do we know about the cause and how serious it was?
DARLINGTON: That's right, Christi. A small fire broke out in the basement of the apartment block where the Australian delegation is staying. The firefighters moved in. They were able to put out this, again, small fire. A couple of boxes had caught on fire. They don't know why yet. No one was hurt. But just another negative headline and, of course, terrible luck considering this is the same delegation, the Australian team, that refused to move in to the village in the first place because of blocked toilets and leaky pipes.
PAUL: You know, when I saw the headline about a fire in the Olympic Village, I think, I, along with many people, thought, OK, was this intentional? Is there some sort of terrorism going on here? What is the mood there regarding safety?
DARLINGTON: You know, you would think we're so close to the Olympics, there would be more enthusiasm. It is starting to build. You're seeing lines forming in front of the Olympic rings for people to take selfies. But that just isn't translating into ticket sales. There about six days away, there still more than a million tickets available. And a lot of this has to do with the two-year long recession, a lot of political unrest, the government has been changing. The question is whether or not people will get excited as these few last days countdown, Christi.
PAUL: You just feel so bad for the athletes. You know, this is their moment to shine, this is what they've been working for, and you kind of got all this other stuff going on around them.
Shasta Darlington, thank you for bringing us the latest. We appreciate it. Victor?
BLACKWELL: The Olympics and the USA men's basketball team will hit the court in Rio for their first game against China a week from today. Andy Scholes has more on last night's, let's call it a tune-up ...
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
BLACKWELL: ... versus Venezuela.
SCHOLES: Yeah, that's right, Victor. You know these exhibition games, you know, they're just warm-ups for team USA. You know, the overwhelming favorite to win gold come Rio.
And, you know, as the U.S. is dominating these games, but they looked a little sloppy last night. Team USA only scoring 80 points in this one, but it has some pretty awesome highlights, fourth quarter on the break. Look at this, Kyle Lowry tips the ball back to Jimmy Butler. And he throws it down. But they're showing off for the Bulls fans in Chicago. And moments later, watch DeMar DeRozan on the break showing up the top with the windmill slam.
[06:55:10] The USA would win this one, 80 to 45. They have one more tuned up Monday against Nigeria in Houston.
All right, some high-profile golfers are leaving the PGA Championship earlier than expected. Three of the top 10 players in the world missing the cut yesterday. Number 2 Dustin Johnson is out, number 4 Rory McIlroy gone, number 10 Sergio Garcia won't be winning that first major.
Now, Phil Mickelson had a first hole to forget yesterday. Check out his first tee shot, went so far out of bound. It landed on the street next to the course. Now the wild ride took Mickelson into the woods and off the cart pass. Took him seven shots to get the ball in the ball but Lefty would bounce back into that shooting even par on the day to make the cut.
Now two other guys who's never won a major are tied for the lead right now at the half way mark. Robert Streb fired off a record time, 63 on Friday. And that's Jimmy Walker at nine under-par.
And finally, a whopping $1.4 million prize will be awarded later today in the elite championship. Some of the world's top video gamers have been locked in computer combat playing Counter-Strike Global Offensive since May. And you can watch the best of three championship match this after at 4:00 eastern on our sister channel, TBS.
Victor, you know, eSports is blowing up. You can now get college scholarships to go play video games.
BLACKWELL: Anyway you can get in.
SCHOLES: I wish it would have been like that when I was a kid.
BLACKWELL: Right.
(OFF-MIC)
SCHOLES: "You can't tell me to stop playing." It'll be like, "I can go to college for this."
BLACKWELL: I could save you some money. All right, Andy, thanks.
SCHOLES: All right.
BLACKWELL: Christi?
PAUL: I'm going to say that is not going to fly in my house. I'm just saying right now if my kids try to pull that one on me.
All right, ahead, the latest on hacking that affected the Clinton campaign computer system and the FBI and Justice Department launching this broad investigation on the hills of attack against the Democratic Party organization. Stay close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
