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New Day Saturday

Hermine Threatening Labor Day Weekend Plans; FBI Releases Clinton Email Investigation Report; Tale Of Two Trumps: Diplomatic Or Fired Up?; Trump Surrogate Pastor Mark Burns Faces Questions Over Bio; Brock Turner Walks Free; Santa Clara Police Union Upset Over Kaepernick's Protest. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 03, 2016 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:00:00] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The document providing insight into why the FBI did not recommend charges even after investigators found classified information on her private server.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would certainly not do that again. It was the wrong choice.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we're the only hope. Hillary Clinton has no clue and doesn't care.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Donald Trump in Detroit this morning at an African-American church trying to make inroads with minority votes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an opportunity for Donald Trump to use the African-American community.

TRUMP: Nothing means more to me than working to make our party the home of the African-American vote. What the hell do you have to lose?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Good morning again to you. Let's start with Tropical Storm Hermine, lashing the Carolinas now, heading north. Washing out Labor Day plans for millions of people as officials warn the threat is not over.

PAUL: Yes. Take a look at what the storm has left behind in Florida. Fierce winds, heavy rains, damaging homes, dropping nearly two feet of water in some places and today, Hermine is on track to reach the Atlantic Ocean. Where we're learning it could regain strength before slamming into the northeast.

CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar tracking the possible path of this storm. I want to start with CNN's Sherisse Pham, though. She is live off the coast of North Carolina where a flash flood watch is in effect right now. Sherisse, what are you seeing?

SHERISSE PHAM, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Christi. We are seeing -- well, right bore you came to us, we saw a lot of wind. Overnight, we had so much wind. In fact, you can see it knocked the sign off of our hotel and it is now standing here in a puddle on the road.

And this is the next danger that North Carolina needs to look out for which is inland flooding. According to the National Hurricane Center inland flooding is the leading cause of death associated with tropical storms, which is what Hermine is right now.

The latest figures we have for power outages is about 26,000 people out power here in the state of North Carolina and we've got multiple injuries after the report of a possible tornado touching down in Hatteras. Not very far from where we are right now.

Now let's remember, this is a Labor Day weekend so we actually ran into a few tourists and visitors, some determined and optimistic folks last night when we arrived.

What officials want everybody in the area to know is stay out of the water, very dangerous surf conditions, really strong rip tides and possible storm surges of 2 feet to 4 feet. Not here, but nearby in the north.

Now for people who are may be watching from Atlantic City or Virginia Beach, this is a little bit of taste of what's coming to you, guys.

PAUL: All righty, good to know. Thank you so much. We appreciate it, Sherisse.

I want to bring in CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar now. We know that Hermine is expected to become a hurricane again today. So what is the consequence of that?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So it's real1y the forecast then going forward because it's no longer really going to have impacts with hurricanes force winds in North Carolina. Once is gets back over open water it's expected to re-intensify back to hurricane strength winds.

The concern there is for areas like Boston, the Cape, New York, all of these areas that could have those impacts of the hurricane force winds. Here's why. Let's take a look.

Where the storm is now, we have on the floor, you can see the Gulf Stream, and the temperatures on the Gulf Stream are incredibly warm. We're talking low 80s.

Now what that does for a storm like this, it's great fuel to help fuel this particular storm. You have eye wall, all of that warm air beginning to rise. The water temperature again is very warm and it's going to stay that way for the forecast area that it's going to be.

And that's going to be the concern. That's what is going to allow it to get back up to those hurricane strength winds which could pose areas in the northeast. There's been a comparison side to Sandy.

Now here's a look at Sandy, tropical storm force winds extended from Sandy, 485 miles from the center, the orange ring you that see here. But look at Hermine, very, very small, victor and Christi.

So the only real comparison is that it's taking somewhat of a similar track. In terms of the size is it's not even close at all. But that doesn't mean the impacts won't still be there for areas like New York and even Boston as well as we go through the coming days.

PAUL: All right, hey, Allison, we appreciate it. Sherisse Pham, thank you as well.

BLACKWELL: Donald Trump continues his pitch to African-American voters this morning by visiting a black church. Here's part of the reason he's going. His polling among black voters dismal here.

You see him in a four-way race at the bottom of the heap with just 2 percent. But that's not stopping one of Trump's favorite African- American pastors from stumping for him, Pastor Mark Burns.

He spoke at the RNC. You may remember that benediction. He helped facilitate the Republican nominee's visit to this church in Detroit. He's probably best known for this tweet showing Hillary Clinton a cartoon in black face. He has since removed it and has apologized for it.

[06:05:09]Well, now there are a number of questions about him and claims he's made about his past. That he was in the Army Reserves, a member of a fraternity, graduated from college and more.

So I asked him about some of those things and this is the part of the interview. It got, let's say, a little uncomfortable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Did you attend North Greenville University?

PASTOR MARK BURNS, TRUMP SURROGATE: I did attend North Greenville University.

BLACKWELL: Did you graduate from North Greenville University?

BURNS: No, I didn't complete the degree at North Greenville University.

BLACKWELL: OK, again, the bio that's on your website claims that you earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Did you make that claim?

BURNS: Actually, just a moment ago, as we were opened up -- first of all, I said we were off the record.

BLACKWELL: I didn't agree with that.

BURNS: Yes, but I did.

BLACKWELL: We're still rolling. I'm still asking you questions on the record.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: All right, coming up in about 10 minutes, you're going to see the entire interview that ended when Pastor Burns walked out on our cameras. Again, we were sitting in his church. He left us sitting there and drove off. You're also going to hear his new explanation and a statement about his bio, which he now admits that he overstated.

PAUL: Now on the Democratic side of things, Hillary Clinton is using the "I do not recall" defense. That's what she told the FBI at least 39 times during an interview about her use of a private e-mail server.

Now she said she did not know what that documents with a "c" marked meant. She didn't know that they meant classified. Donald Trump, of course, quick to pounce on this one. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When you look at what they've done with respect to this FBI notes, that she didn't know what the letter "c" was, that's a lie unless she's not an intelligent person. That's a total lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Joe Johns has details on the release of the latest FBI report. This is a controversy that does not look like it will die down soon -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christi and Victor, the release of these redacted papers tells us more than we've ever known about the FBI's investigation of Hillary Clinton's e-mail controversy.

But it leaves plenty of questions. For example, we knew that the agents found no evidence that her emails were compromised but that's not conclusive, because they were not able to locate all 13 mobile devices that may have been used.

And the biggest question of all is about Mrs. Clinton's fuzzy memory of the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The FBI's formerly classified report on its investigation into Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server reveals there was a lot she said she could not remember when being questioned by agents.

The report indicates 39 different time Mrs. Clinton said there were things she did not recall or remember according to the FBI's notes on her interview.

The documents providing insight into why the FBI did not recommend charging Clinton even with classified information on her private server including 81 e-mail chains that contained sensitive information.

(AUDIO CUT) JOHNS: In her more than three-hour interview with the FBI, Clinton could not recall any briefing or training by state related to the handling of classified information.

She said she could not recall every briefing about how she should preserve her records when she left the State Department. The FBI noting she was recovering from a concussion and blood clot at the time.

Clinton said she relied on her aides to use their judgment when e- mailing her and could not recall anyone raising concerns about information sent to her private account.

She also said she did not know that a "c" marking on the document meant it was classified and even asked interviewing agents for clarification.

Some of the classified e-mails that caused the most trouble for Clinton discussed the CIA's covert drone program, which should never be discussed on any unclassified e-mail systems.

The report says Clinton state "Deliberation over a future drone strike did not give her cause for concern regarding classification."

But one of the things Mrs. Clinton seemed conclusive about was her motivation. She told the FBI she used her personal e-mail server for convenience and not to evade freedom of information laws.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch followed the FBI's recommendation and passed when prosecuting Clinton who eventually admitted using a private e-mail server was a mistake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Obviously, we're having a bit of technical problems with the audio there. You recognize it, I'm sure. We'll fix that and bring you Joe's complete report with the audio in just a few moments. Joe, thanks for that.

PAUL: No doubt. But the political fallout obviously from this revelations has certainly been ramped up this morning. Coming up, we're going to ask both Trump and Clinton supporters what the FBI report means for their candidates.

[06:10:11]BLACKWELL: And later, a young man convicted of sexual assault going home after just three months in jail. The outrage here over the Brock Turner case. Could this bring changes for the state laws?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Back to our top political story this hour. The release of the latest FBI report on Hillary Clinton's e-mails and Trump's visit to Mexico and its beat on immigration.

I want to bring in Scottie Nell Hughes, a CNN political commentator and a Donald Trump supporter, as well as A. Scott Bolden, former chairman of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party. Thank you both so much for getting up early with us here. Good morning to you.

Scott, I'd like to start with you, if I could, please, so 39 times she said, I do not recall. Couldn't recall key details or events related to classified information procedures. Didn't know the "c" markings on documents meant classified. How damaging is this for Hillary Clinton?

A.SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER CHAIRMAN WASHINGTON, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Well, there's certainly nothing new about this, there's just greater detail. As a criminal defense lawyer and a former prosecutor, I've been in the law game for 30 years, and I can tell you, I've sat through many of these.

The fact that there were 39 times where she said I don't recall isn't really troubling to me because within an hour or three and a half hour interview, you have hundreds, if not thousands of questions.

[06:15:04]The other point to remember is this. She may have remembered some things and not remembered other things, but when you're sitting with the FBI, you've got to be truthful and accurate or you can be charged.

And I'm sure her lawyers in preparation for her as well as the FBI, they didn't want her to guess or lie, of course. The 39 times of "I don't recall," you got to put that into context of thousands of other questions, and it comes up to probably a minimal amount.

But again, to protect the record for both side she's got to be as accurate as possible. If she doesn't remember, she doesn't remember.

PAUL: Right. OK, Scottie, I'm going to get to you in a minute, but I just want to ask you about this, Scott, because Donald Trump had a response to this saying I really don't understand how she was able to get away from prosecution. This does not confirm that anything criminal happened. We need to make that very clear.

BOLDEN: Exactly. Exactly.

PAUL: However, Scott, here's the thing, when she uses the phrase "I don't recall" that brings back bad memories for some people who remember Bill Clinton, that was the verbiage he used in the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. So I'm wondering how vulnerable is she now to this argument that a vote for Hillary Clinton would mean a vote back to the scandals and the controversies of a Clinton administration?

BOLDEN: Oh, that's an incredible bridge right there, but I understand the question. I don't think she's any more vulnerable than she was before. These issues of her trustworthiness and honesty are baked into the numbers and clearly the voting public believes she's more trustworthy than Donald Trump. It's a bottom line for opposition. It never stops being that way, quite frankly.

PAUL: All righty, Scottie Nell Hughes, your take away from this because again, at the end of the day, this does not confirm that anything criminal happened?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You're right. But what we are dealing with is a case of either gross incompetence or very brazen pay for play screen. You listed some of the very reasons why Hillary Clinton has some major issues and this continues to hunt her.

And she might not remember, but it's obvious that her I.T. director who had to take the Fifth a 125 times obviously does. It just speaks to a (inaudible) what kind of leadership styles she might have.

And the reason why she continuous lose support with the polls tightening according to the "Investors Business Daily." A poll that came out yesterday, the number one most accurate in the last three cycles, they are now tied with Hillary Clinton actually losing 3 percent. Donald Trump gaining 7 percent.

Just to correct your facts, Scott, she actually is less trustworthy than Donald Trump right now with 62 percent don't trust Mrs. Clinton and 52 percent on Donald Trump.

BOLDEN: I don't think that's accurate either.

PAUL: There are a lot of polls out there. There are a lot of numbers out there.

BOLDEN: Of course, there are.

PAUL: And so we've got two months left.

BOLDEN: Absolutely.

PAUL: That in a sense isn't a lot of time, in another sense it might be. I want to move on real quickly to Donald Trump and what is happening today as he is going to be sitting down with a congregation in Detroit.

No secret that he's good at reading a room. That's part of a being good orator, isn't it, to know the audience you're speaking with. But we heard a totally different tone from him within a matter of hours earlier this week.

Let's listen to what happened here not just in Mexico when he was with the president down there and then several hours later at a rally in Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We did discuss the wall. We didn't discuss payment of the wall. That will be for a later date.

Mexico will pay for the wall. They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for the wall.

There is crime, as you know. There is a lot of crime and there is a lot of problems, but I think together we'll solve those problems. Zero tolerance for criminal aliens, zero, zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right, so Scottie, what do you make of that? Again as I said, it's one thing to know your audience. It's another thing to change your content?

HUGHES: But the content, there might be different points but nothing has changed about his policies that were presented between the two groups. It is the tone. It's actually what a successful leader does. Like you said he assessed the room.

When he has to be a diplomat and stand next to the president of Mexico, they talked about what was important for this first initial meeting of laying the groundwork of hopefully a friendship that can solve more problems that they both agree exist.

Then you go to the United States and his message of America first, a very red meat Arizona room, there was no change in policy between the two conversations.

PAUL: Scott, I've got 10 seconds left. Go ahead.

BOLDEN: Christi, it's the rhetoric, quite frankly. What a bully does is he says one thing to his group, and when confronted with the alleged subject of his criticism, he doesn't even put it on the table.

I think the Democratic Party is right, I think he choked. And I think he's going to choke with the African-American church as well. He's not going to talk about Obama. He's not going to be critical.

He's not going to talk about the white supremacists that's support him. Look for a completely different tone. We call that pondering in politics.

PAUL: All right, Scottie Nell Hughes, A. Scott Bolden, we appreciate you both being here, thank you.

[06:20:03]BLACKWELL: Well, coming up, we turn our focus to the man who helped to organize Donald Trump's visit to Great Faith Ministries today. He's a small town southern pastor who has become a prominent and controversial surrogate for Donald Trump.

He's new to national politics and there are serious questions about his past. When I sat down to ask those questions, things got a little awkward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: This is from my page, but what I'm saying is, this has been manipulated or either -- either hacked or added.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: Later this morning, Donald Trump will visit an African- American church in Detroit and then sit down to talk with the church's pastor. The man who helped to arrange that meeting is Pastor Mark Burns.

He's been one of Trump's key surrogates as the candidate tries to reach out to African-American voters. Burns also spoke at the Republican National Convention, maybe you remember that.

But most recently, he made news for posting a tweet, this cartoon of Hillary Clinton in black face which he later apologized for and took down.

But as questions arose about him and his background, Burns agreed to sit down with us for and on-the-record, on-camera interview but as you'll soon see he wanted to take the conversion quickly off the record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BURNS: We need a warrior! We need a champion! We need a winner! And that is Donald.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): He's the small town preacher who's become a major surrogate for Donald Trump's campaign for president.

BURNS: The last thing I want to do is draw attention from Mr. Trump's policy --

BLACKWELL: Pastor Mark Burns, a frequent cable news guest, a crowd favorite at Trump rallies, even a speaker at the Republican National Convention.

[06:25:04]BURNS: From the great state of South Carolina!

BLACKWELL: But before the campaign, he was virtually unknown.

BURNS: I think Donald Trump is a great judge of character. You know, you would think he would just choose the greatest names, but Donald Trump values character more so than popularity or name. And I think I fall in that category.

BLACKWELL: Pastor Burns' Harvest Praise and Worship Center in Easley, South Carolina is a small operation. The church, just a few folding chairs, tables and cameras for his tele-evangelism.

After attending Trump's November meeting with black pastors in New York, Burns said former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, asked him to speak on Trump's behalf at Bob Jones University. He's been a favorite of the campaign ever since.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just came out of the blue.

BLACKWELL: Virginia Beach Navy veteran, Damon Davis said he's a Republican, but he's never heard of the fiery southern pastor. Neither had his friends. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they looked him up and he had webpages up and they saw one of the claims was that he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.

BLACKWELL: Davis who is a member of the predominantly African- American fraternity says he first saw the claim in Pastor Burn's bio on his church's website. Davies says he captured this screen grab in July, just days after Burns spoke at the RNC then he started investigating.

(on camera): And what did you find?

DAMON DAVIS, KAPPA ALPHA PSI MEMBER: There's no person named Mark Burns, John Mark Burns or any variation thereof in the fraternity ever.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Davis says he contacted Pastor Burns and soon after Davis says the web page disappeared. Well, CNN called Kappa headquarters too. They have no record of him. So when we sat down with Burns, we asked about that.

BURNS: I did without question say that I had crossed -- not crossed, but I started the process of being a part of that organization, but that's the furthest that I've got.

BLACKWELL (on camera): Is that the bio from your web site?

BURNS: It is, but it is not the -- it is the bio, but this is not an accurate depiction of the bio. I mean, information has obviously been added. I'm pretty -- I own up to any mistakes that I made like I did with my tweet. Obviously in this case that's not --

BLACKWELL: So this is not from your page?

BURNS: No, this is from my page, but what I'm saying is, obviously this has been manipulated or either hacked or added.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): CNN asked the site's host about the possibility that someone could have tampered with the church's web site. The company tells CNN there is no evidence from the hack. CNN obtained the pastor's full bio from the church's web site through an internet archive.

(on camera): You also claimed that you served six years in the Army Reserves, is that accurate?

BURNS: Yes, it is.

BLACKWELL: OK, we called the Army and they said that you had no active -- I just asked you about Army Reserves. You had the bio claim six years in the Army Reserves.

BURNS: It is Reserve. Army is reserves.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): In a statement, the U.S. Army said Burns served in the South Carolina National Guard from 2001 to 2005 was discharged in 2008. He has no active Army or Army Reserve service time.

(on camera): Did you attend North Greenville University?

BURNS: I did attend North Greenville University.

BLACKWELL: Did you graduate from North Greenville University?

BURNS: No, I didn't complete the degree at North Greenville University.

BLACKWELL (voice-over): In fact, the university tells CNN he was here one semester.

(on camera): Again, the bio that's on your web site claims that you earned a Bachelor of Science degree. Did you make that claim?

BURNS: I actually, just a moment ago, as we were opened up -- first of all, I said that we were off the record.

BLACKWELL: I didn't agree with that.

BURNS: Yes, but I did.

BLACKWELL: We're still rolling. I'm still asking you questions on the record. Did you make that claim?

BURNS: I think this is not fair -- this not we talked about. I thought we were doing a profile. All of a sudden, you're here to try to destroy my character.

BLACKWELL: I'm not coming here to destroy your character. These are claims that were made on your web site that was live while you were speaking at the Republican National Convention. My question is are those claims accurate?

BURNS: I understand this is what media does and I understand that when you find someone that is speaking out their heart and speaking out their desire to bring people together and get past the political correctness of society that the job of that investigative journalist, or in this case is to try to destroy the character of the individual so that voice is silenced.

What I'm saying is this, in reference to my web site, if there's inaccurate information on there that can easily be manipulated by other people, and it can be manipulated by hackers. People can do and (inaudible) and create whatever they want to create.

[06:30:04] BLACKWELL: Again, the website's host says there is no evidence of a hack.

BURNS: I don't feel comfortable at all. This is not...

BLACKWELL: You -- you also claimed to be studying at the Anderson Theological Seminary.

BURNS: Yes, I did. Mm-hm. BLACKWELL: Currently working on this Master of Theology and Pastoral Leadership, according to the church's website. We called them. You're not enrolled. You enrolled in 2008 and never advanced.

BURNS: Right, but do you know how old these -- do you know how old this is? This hasn't been updated. I think there's an updated -- there is an updated profile on me that's on the website.

BLACKWELL: So these are old, or is it tampered?

BURNS: These are old information. This is extremely, extremely old information.

BLACKWELL: Seconds later.

BURNS: This is a... Thank you, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming. You just take this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Pastor Burns walked out, leaving us in his church. He walked out of the building, got into his van, and drove off. That interview was on Wednesday. Later yesterday, in response to our story, Pastor Mark Burns released this statement, taking responsibility for those misstatements.

As a young man, he writes, starting my church in Greenville, South Carolina, I overstated several details of my biography because I was worried I wouldn't be taken seriously as a new pastor. This was wrong. I wasn't truthful then, and I have to take full responsibility for my actions. Since that time, I should have taken steps to correct any misrepresentations of my background. We all make mistakes, and I hope that the measure of my character and the quality of my works speak for what kind of person I am.

He goes on to say this. "I do also want to set the record straight about why this attack is happening. Because I am a black man supporting Donald Trump for President. For too long African-American votes have been taken for granted by Democratic politicians and enough is enough. It's a shame that the political insiders and the media choose to attack me because I'm not going to stay silent about Hillary Clinton's pandering to our community. Instead, I'm going to tell people that there is another option, an option that represents a positive vision that will unify our country. That's why I have and will continue to tirelessly support Mr. Trump."

Now the Trump campaign has been leaning on Burns to help woo African- American voters. Will that continue after what we just aired? We'll have that conversation next.

PAUL: Also a young man convicted of sexual assault goes home after just three months in jail. The astonishment and the outrage in this case could bring changes to the law. We're going to talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: All right. Back with us now to talk about the misrepresentations and the falsehoods there in Pastor Mark Burn' bio, we've got A. Scott Bolden, former Chairman of the Washington, D.C., Democratic Party and a Hillary Clinton supporter. Also Scottie Nell Hughes, CNN political commentator and Donald Trump supporter. And, Scottie, I want to start with you, and I think it's important for this conversation that we remind people, as I'm sure they know, that -- that Pastor Burns is not the candidate. He is a surrogate. But he is a high-level surrogate. He someone who speaks on the candidate's behalf, on the campaign's behalf.

So, Scottie, to you. Should he continue to be a high-level campaign surrogate for Donald Trump, considering what we've just uncovered?

HUGHES: Well, first of all, Victor, let me start with this confession on my Facebook page. I have it that I'm an avid runner. I'm actually really a fast-paced walker. But I want to get that out there before the treads on my shoes are measured. Because, as a surrogate, I want to make sure I'm 100 percent accurate with my portrayal out there.

BLACKWELL: I hear you.

BOLDEN: I'm laughing, Scottie.

HUGHES: I mean... I hear... You know, you got to have some fun on a Saturday morning. I -- you -- you did your (meskin) of research and, you're right, he is a high-priority. But he is not an official employee of the campaign. But he is a man who does love this country, love his community, and does love supporting Mr. Trump, and trying to encourage others of his community to support him.

And if you want to open up Pandora's box, I caution. Because you're looking at Hillary Clinton, who has three times the staff. You know, people like John Podesta, who actually is under, you know, some sort of scrutiny right now of allegations of impropriety by the Department of Justice. His brother getting $140,000 a month from the Saudi Arabian government. You've got Huma Abedin...

BLACKWELL: All right.

HUGHES: Do you really want to start this looking...

BLACKWELL: Scottie...

HUGHES: ...into the surrogates and the staff members of these campaigns.

BLACKWELL: I hear you.

HUGHES: It just distracts from the issues.

BLACKWELL: Let me go to -- let me go to Scott. And, you know, Scottie brings up a point, and I said at the top of this that Pastor Burns is not the candidate. And when we talk about misrepresentations, we have to look at Hillary Clinton's misrepresentations as well. What are your concerns here? BOLDEN: What type of pivot is that?

BLACKWELL: I think it's fair.

BOLDEN: That you look at the credibility of Hillary Clinton vers -- who's a candidate -- versus the credibility of Pastor Mark Burns, who is -- who is borders on the nonsensical? I don't think that's a fair comparison at all.

Let me just say this, OK? Mark Burns isn't overstating anything, he's lying. He's a fraud. I'm a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. There goes the Kappa vote for the Trump, if he ever had it. But you have to pledge. You have to get a degree from a university, a Bachelor of Science. This isn't any misunderstanding or hack. These are just blatant misrepresentations. And this is who Donald Trump -- this is who Donald Trump puts before the African comer -- African- American community and says follow me, speak for me.

It may -- it -- it doesn't -- it doesn't really matter because this is why, another reason why, he's at two percent or five percent, or even eight percent with the communities of color. This is a problem. I don't care whether he continues to serve as a surrogate or not, quite frankly. It's a negative reflection on Donald Trump and how he disrespects African-American communities.

BLACKWELL: Scottie, let me come back to you. We asked Pastor Burns, and the campaign, about vetting. Pastor Burns says that he was not vetted.

They simply like his message and -- and like his character. We put the questions to the campaign. They've not yet responded to those -- those questions. But are you not concerned about the vetting that happens or does not happen for people who are brought on for the Trump campaign?

HUGHES: Well, obviously, looking at the past, when you look at Pastor Mark Burns' messaging, he didn't go after Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump saw what he was saying within his community. Mark Burns was not saying positive things about Mr. Trump so that he would get attention by Mr. Trump.

He was saying it just because he felt that was the right thing to say and to be a part of. Now I think it's humorous that I've got a Hillary Clinton surrogate here calling somebody else a liar.

BLACKWELL: But let -- let me -- before we -- before we move back to, to the pivot...

BOLDEN: I'm not a surrogate; I'm a supporter.

BLACKWELL: Before we...

HUGHES: Well, a supporter.

BLACKWELL: Scottie, let me come to you. Before we move to that pivot, he now speaks for the campaign. The announcement of what happened today came from Pastor Mark Burns through the campaign. Are you not concerned about the level of vetting that happens there? Of who they choose to speak for it.

HUGHES: He is not an employee of the campaign. He is not a paid staff member of the campaign. He doesn't speak for the campaign. And, as we've learned, the only person that really speaks for the campaign...

BLACKWELL: He absolutely speaks for the campaign.

BOLDEN: He absolutely does, Scottie, come on.

HUGHES: Well, just as much as -- just as much as I do.

BLACKWELL: Hold on, (guests).

HUGHES: We all have pub -- just as much as I do. But yet I'm not paid by the campaign staff. It -- if you want to know who speaks for the campaign, Donald Trump speaks for the campaign. His family speaks for the campaign.

BLACKWELL: I hear you. I hear you, Scottie. You're paid by CNN.

HUGHES: Paid staffer... We can (inaudible). I'm paid by CNN, not Donald Trump. So therefore we can have our own opinions. Mark Burns could go out there and say whatever he wants. Right now though he's talking about the present. That's what you need to be focusing on, is the message of the present in the community...

BLACKWELL: But you also -- you also have though a different title. You're a Donald Trump supporter; he's a Donald Trump surrogate.

HUGHES: No, I'm a surrogate too.

BLACKWELL: I want you to listen to...

HUGHES: I am (the soul) of a surrogate.

BLACKWELL: OK. I want you to listen to -- glad you've now said this.

BOLDEN: So it's OK for him to lie.

BLACKWELL: But let me -- let me read another line from his -- his explanation he released. This attack -- although it's not an attack, it's a vetting -- is happening because I'm a black man supporting Donald Trump for President. Let's play what he said a little earlier this season. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURNS: I have said it across this country that there are no white people, there are no black people, there are no Hispanic people, there are no Asian people, there are no colors that separate us. But the only colors that matter is the color of the red, white...

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Pastor Burns there saying that there are no black people. But when he was caught in a lie, he's not acknowledging that he's black again. I mean do you buy this -- this defense that this is happening because he's a black man supporting Donald Trump?

HUGHES: Well, there's no doubt that the African-Americans that are supporting Mr. Trump are under literally a microscope for everything they do. And they are constantly publicly criticized. They're constantly called names. Just the hate for defending them that I have gotten for coming on here and defending them at various points is -- it makes me very sad for the lack of respect. It doesn't matter what color you are. The lack of respect people show them, and the names they are called. And so....

BLACKWELL: (Right).

HUGHES: You know, you have to look at -- you have to wonder right now because there is only one percent or two percent. It's never easy to be a leader and to start thinking on your own.

BLACKWELL: All right. Ten seconds to you, Scott, and then we got to go.

BOLDEN: What does political motivation have to do with truth and authenticity? You're not going to have many moments like that in your broadcasting career to do that type of cross-examination of that type of subject. You're just simply not. And it has no connection whatsoever to political support. Honesty is honesty and truth is truth.

BLACKWELL: All right. All right, Scott and Scottie...

HUGHES: You can (tell a) Hillary Clinton supporter right there.

BOLDEN: Absolutely about Mark Burns.

BLACKWELL: We got -- we got to run (inaudible). Scott and Scott, thank you very much.

BOLDEN: Thank you.

PAUL: Three months for sexual assault, that is all the jail time Brock Turner served.

A lot of people lashing out at the justice system, at the judge in this case. Could it bring changes to the law and to the bench? We're looking at that.

Also tropical storm Hermine is parked off the North Carolina coast, sitting there building strength, triggering new warnings that it could become a hurricane once again.

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PAUL: Former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner is a free man after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Turner now has four days to register as a sex offender. He walked out

of the Santa Clara County Jail in California yesterday, after serving just three months of a six-month sentence. And there he is with his head held low, rushing past a crowd of reporters. He didn't say a word, as you can see. Just got into a white SUV here that was waiting for him, and headed home to Ohio, where he'll have to complete three years of probation. And like most offenders in California sentenced to County Jail, Turner was released under a law that give inmates credit for time served. The Sheriff was none too happy about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURIE SMITH, SANTA CLARA COUNTY SHERIFF: We're done with him. He should be in prison right now, but he's not in our custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: OK, let's bring in criminal defense attorney, Page Pate, here because there has -- there's been so much emotion obviously attached to this. People saying how on earth can somebody sexually assault someone, be convicted, and serve three months. Explain to us the difference. And -- and it comes down to the state law here. Explain to us the difference between say California and Georgia.

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It entirely depends on what state you're convicted in. In Georgia there's a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison for aggravated sexual battery, and that's exactly what happened here. So it is incon...

PAUL: And that's what he would have faced, had this happened in Georgia.

PATE: Absolutely. Especially if he went to trial. Now if he worked out some sort of plea ahead of time, the D.A. could reduce the charges, let him plea to something less than aggravated sexual battery.

But he's still looking at prison time in every case in a state like Georgia.

PAUL: All right. So we know that, when we talk about what might come out of this case, there is legislation that's been approved in California that mandates prison time for some sexual assaults.

PATE: Yes.

PAUL: Is that directly because of this case?

PATE: Oh, absolutely. And I think the legislature in California passed it unanimously. It's up for the Governor to sign. You're going to see any state in the nation that does not have mandatory minimum laws for sex offense cases, they're going to pass, and they're going to catch up with other states. Some people say these -- these laws are too severe. I mean Georgia's 25 years mandatory minimum. California, you can get jail time, you can be out in three months. So there's a lot of inconsistency, a lot of lack of uniformity around the country.

PAUL: OK. So we know also, in addition to this, he has to register as -- as a sex offender.

PATE: Right.

PAUL: That's going to be with him for life.

PATE: Absolutely. Unless the judge lets him off of that. You don't necessarily have to stay on the sex offender registry for the rest of your law. In Georgia, if you're on it and you complete your sentence, you can go back to the court and petition to get off of it. So even though he's got to be....

PAUL: And that's an option in California as well?

PATE: Absolutely, yes.

PAUL: OK. So here's my question to you about that, because you mentioned the judge, and we know that there are a lot of emotions regarding this judge as well.

PATE: Right.

PAUL: There's a petition to have him removed. He has recused himself already from criminal cases.

PATE: Right.

PAUL: Now just dealing with civil cases. If -- if that plea would be made, to be able to execute himself to...

PATE: Come off the registry.

PAUL: ...come off the registry, would it go to that same judge, or would it go to another one?

PATE: Well, that was the sentencing judge. So in most cases it would go back to the same judge. Now the judge could recuse himself and say there's been too much public attention, I may have at least the perception of bias here, and I'm going to transfer it to someone else. But initially, it would go back to the same sentencing judge.

PAUL: Ten more seconds. Do you think that the -- do you think the sentence fit the crime in this case?

PATE: No, absolutely not. I'm not critical of the fact he was released early. That's the way the law works. If you're in jail and you do good time, you get out early. But the sentence was incredibly low. For someone to go to trial over this, not even to admit responsibility and guilt, it's almost unimaginable.

PAUL: All right. Page Pate, appreciate your insight so much.

PATE: Thanks, Christi.

PAUL. Thank you. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right. The national debate over a star quarterback takes yet another turn. Coy Wire has the latest for us. Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the NFL and the 49ers have stood by Kaepernick's refusal to stand during the National Anthem, but could a possible police boycott at games change all that? We'll talk about it coming up on "New Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Santa Clara police may stop working San Francisco 49ers' home games amid Colin Kaepernick's National Anthem protest.

PAUL: Yeah, CNN's sports anchor Coy Wire has the very latest on this. Did anybody see this -- this part coming? Wow.

WIRE: No, this is a new twist this morning, right? Good morning to you guys. So most of us are well aware now that Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand during the national anthem, in protest of racial injustice and police brutality. He even had teammate Eric Reid join him in taking a knee during the anthem at their last pre-season game.

Now he said all along it was never his intention to disrespect the military in sitting. But many folks, including military members, have supported Kaepernick, but there are a lot of people who are unhappy with his actions, too including some members of the union representing Santa Clara police officers.

According to San Francisco station KNTV, union members sent a letter to the 49ers, saying that, if the team doesn't take action against Kaepernick, quote it could result in police officers choosing not to work at your facilities unquote. That means the stadium. Now CNN has reached out to the union and the police department. The 49ers told us they support Kaepernick, saying they recognize an individual's right to participate or not in the national anthem. But now they may be forced to address this issue, guys, if they feel that the safety of their fans at their home games might be compromised.

BLACKWELL: Hm. We'll follow that one of course. What about these socks that we're hearing so much about?

WIRE: OK. So he wore these socks with pictures of pigs wearing police hats. You know, he said this was not a blanket indictment of all police officers.

He didn't mean to bash all cops, just rogue cops, in his words. Now this, combined with his refusal to stand during the national anthem, led the president of the Santa Clara Police Officer's Association to say, quote, the 49ers are allowing this to come out from an employee, and it's making for a hostile work environment for us at the stadium, unquote. So that's what we're looking at here now, a possible boycott from the leader of that union, saying, hey, we might not be there to protect your fans if something goes wrong.

PAUL: Has Kaepernick indicated how long he plans to keep this going? WIRE: It's probably going to go on for a while because he said he's not going to stop until he sees significant change in this, you know, injustice that he feels is occurring in our country. So, guys, going way back to Muhammad Ali day, I mean, they've been protesting, trying to create change. And we know that's just -- it's not where we need to be yet. And so here he is, saying that he's not going to stand for the anthem until change occurs.

BLACKWELL: All right. So.

PAUL: Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: You're welcome.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Coy.

PAUL: Appreciate it very much. Boy, my head is spinning with as much as we're talking about today.

BLACKWELL: We've got a lot to -- to talk about this morning, and we're going to get to it in the next hour of your NEW DAY, which starts after a quick break.

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