Return to Transcripts main page

New Day Saturday

NYT: Trump Knew Of Hush Money Long Before He Denied It; Hawaii Volcano Sparks 400 Plus Earthquakes In 24 Hours; Trump To Meet South Korea's President At White House; Trump Embraces NRA Despite Vow to Take Action on Guns; NSA Triples Collection of U.S. Phone Records; Former NBA Player Uses His Past Fight Drug Abuse; Redskins Cheerleader Photo Shoot Crossed the Line. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 05, 2018 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- but this is Mueller, Robert Mueller, though, he sometimes gets the Ferris Buhler treatment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you talk with Robert Mueller about his investigation?

MOOS: Sometimes it takes a stein to know one, Dianne Feinstein.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday, Mr. Rosenstein.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Rosensteen, welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Rosenstein, thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like Feinstein.

MOOS: Feinstein, it's creating a monster. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump knew about the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels. Months before he told the American people --

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: He didn't know the details of this until we knew the details of it, which was a couple weeks ago.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're not changing any stories.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer, took out lines of credit, giving him access to up to $774,000. PRESIDENT TRUMP: Judge in Manafort case says Mueller's aim is to hurt Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Remember Mueller (inaudible) he's a Republican. Comey was a Republican. Rosenstein is a Republican. Is this a Republican conspiracy to remove the president?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 1,700 people and 700 structures are under threat of volcanic eruptions here on the big island of Hawaii.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Saturday morning to you. Let's list them off. You have North Korea, the Iran deal, migrants at the border asking for asylum, these are all issues that are on the White House agenda today. But there is this major distraction that's front and center, the growing credibility crisis with the Trump administration.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Here's one of the main reasons why this morning. "The New York Times" is reporting now that President Trump did know about a hush money deal his lawyer made with a porn star several months before he said he did not know. Just a few weeks ago, the president claimed he knew nothing about it.

BLACKWELL: And now we've learned investigators are looking into how that lawyer, Michael Cohen, built up a $774,000 war chest during the campaign as he worked to fix problems for the Trump team.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live at the White House. The administration struggling to come together and just decide on a story they want to tell.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, that's right. I mean, at this point we're now hearing all but silence from the White House press shop. Instead, they are letting Rudy Giuliani and the president handle this matter directly.

So, as we were entering now the third day since those comments from Rudy Giuliani about the Stormy Daniels affair, it appears we're still stuck in some confusion around this matter. Let's go back to Wednesday night when Rudy Giuliani first said that President Trump did, in fact, reimburse Michael Cohen for that $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

He even said later it was a $35,000 a month retainer fee that helped pay it back and he wasn't speaking for himself. He made clear that he had spoken with the president before going on air to make those comments.

And yet yesterday we saw the president muddling the story further saying that Rudy Giuliani needed to get his facts straight and he urged reporters to take a look once again at his initial denial of those comments, so we did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, no. What else?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know where he got the money for the payment?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Well, according to a "New York Times" report out now, the president was lying then because he did, in fact, know about that payment. Months before those comments, the president knew, in fact, about that payment to Stormy Daniels, according to two sources reported in "The New York Times."

Rudy Giuliani put out a statement yesterday trying to clear some of his comments up saying that he was describing his understanding of the president's knowledge of those comments. But the president did have multiple opportunities to clear things up himself yesterday, but it appears that the president and his attorneys want to have their cake and eat it, too.

They want to make clear that the president did in fact, reimburse Michael Cohen for that payment to make sure there is no campaign finance violation, but they also don't necessarily want to admit the president knew about the payment and certainly not the details of that repayment -- guys.

BLACKWELL: All right. Jeremy Diamond there at the White House. Jeremy, thank you.

PAUL: So, CNN political analyst, Amie Parnes is with us now as well as former White House ethics lawyer, Richard Painter, who, by the way, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Thank you both for being with us.

Richard, first to you. Why do you think this far into the presidency the White House does not have a more cohesive, consistent message on all of these things?

RICHARD PAINTER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS LAWYER FOR GEORGE W. BUSH: Because they want to lie about it and this is just one more thing that this president and this administration lie about.

[08:05:10] They've lied about the Stormy Daniels affair from the very beginning and the payoff. They've lied about the other women who have accused the president of sexual assault. They have lied about what happened during the campaign with the Russians and collusion with the Russians.

They have persistently lied in this administration, and they, obviously, can't get their stories straight because a bunch of people lying all over each other. This is not what we expect of our government.

And what's unfortunate is we have members of Congress who are not willing to investigate the multiple lies coming out of this White House and from this president. And furthermore, they've lied about the president's finances.

And we have to have Bob Mueller find out whether he's borrowing money from the Russians. This is not the type of government that we ought to have.

PAUL: Amie, you know, the president ran on draining the swamp. Does it feel like, with all of these inconsistencies and lies and shifts and flips that he is immersed in the swamp?

AMIE PARNES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It does. And I'm actually hearing from a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill who have said as much, who have said we had faith in this guy. We thought that he was going to come in and do the opposite and here he is doing that. And the White House can't even get on the same page about it.

You know, a lot of White House aides were caught off guard this week by Rudy Giuliani's comments. You know, I think that's problematic when you are not a cohesive team and you aren't on the same page and you can't push your message on one issue, on one controversy that is looming over your White House when so many other controversies are also looming over your White House. That's a problem when you can't get your message across.

PAUL: I want to ask you two about the job numbers. Job numbers are very strong. We haven't seen -- it's 3.9 percent. We haven't seen below 4 percent since the year 2000. There is a lot to praise here. You've got North Korea and the U.S. essentially, as we believe, there's been a time and a place set for this conversation between Kim Jong-un and President Trump. But as long as the job numbers are good, as long as they are strong, Richard, do you believe President Trump's base will be as well?

PAINTER: No. I don't think people tolerate lying in politics just because the economy is strong. We've had an economic recovery over the past several years coming out of the financial crisis of 2008.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is busy deregulating the financial services sector which will give us another 2008 at some point in the future. We don't know when that happens but all that is irrelevant to whether Americans will insist upon honesty and integrity in government.

And I have to say with respect to North Korea, nobody wants a president who is sitting there tweeting my button is bigger than yours. That's the way to tweet yourself into nuclear war. And this is a very dangerous person to have in the White House as well as a liar.

We have a situation. We need to clean up. The Republicans on the Hill need to be responsible and take action here. And the idea that people thought he would drain the swamp was ridiculous. Anybody who lived in New York or talked to somebody who lived in New York who had done business with him, particularly people who loaned him money would know that he's a con artist.

PAUL: But that's just New York. You're talking about the entire country who is voting for him and they put their hopes in him that he would do just that. Really quickly, I want to get this in. Neil Cavuto on Fox made a statement really essentially questioning President Trump as well. Do we have that sound?

OK. I apologize. We don't have the sound, but when you have, Amie, somebody who is conservative, who seems to have supported the president and supported him in a very strong, staunch way up to this point who is now questioning him, does that tell you anything about the president's base and what is -- what we look forward to in terms of when we look ahead to midterms, what is all of this compiled together mean?

PARNES: You know, I think that the dominos are starting to fall a little bit. Of course, I've, of course, heard from people who stand by him and I think a lot of people will continue to stand by him.

But I feel like there are a lot of Republicans -- there's a fraction of that party who is losing trust in him by the day. They think this is bad for the midterms. They are essentially scratching their heads and saying, what are you doing?

We're six months out from the midterms and this is not helpful to us. So, I think that's problematic. But I think what he's going to do is try to spin it around and say the economy is really great. He's going to run on the economy being great. And he thinks that Republicans can benefit from that, too.

PAUL: All righty. Amie Parnes and Richard Painter, we appreciate you both being here. Thank you so much.

[08:10:10] BLACKWELL: All right. So, imagine this, in just 24 hours, one day, 400 earthquakes and a neighborhood is now surrounded by lava. That's what's happening in Hawaii, and what's next may be even worse.

PAUL: You know, it's part of the job for NFL cheerleaders to put on a show on the field. There's some Washington Redskins cheerleaders who say what happened off the field with sponsors was not something that made them feel good. It made them feel exploited.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: All right. It is just a frightening scene in Hawaii right now. This active volcano is still shooting out lava. There are earthquakes that are still rattling the ground there. We're talking about 400, more than 400 earthquakes in the last 24 hours.

BLACKWELL: All of that is scary, absolutely, but what's even scarier, experts can't predict where the destruction will head next.

[08:15:04] So far, you know, for the people who once lived in that area, they have to wait and hope their home survives. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANEY SNYDER, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (via telephone): The lava could pop up any place in this risk zone. It's like a highway of lava underground and you know, it's -- it's proven to pop up in the middle of the street basically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Stephanie Elam has more for us now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Volcanic eruption spewing molten rock, ash, and toxic gases on the Hawaii's big island. The eruption stemming from a series of cracks and Puu Oo's rift zone, miles from the Kilauea Volcano.

Video from earlier this week shows walls of smoke billowing as the vent of Puu Oo collapses leaving behind a red, rocky surface, similar to that of Mars, with gaping holes giving us a glimpse of the orange liquid magma smoldering below.

And this time lapse shot last week shows gushing rivers of lava flowing as night turns to day. Residents are fleeing from their homes as forests burn and roads break open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could feel the heat coming from the ground. Yes, there's heat coming up out of this.

ELAM: Officials warn that the sulfur dioxide levels are extremely dangerous. More than 700 structures and 1,700 people are within the mandatory evacuation area.

RANSON YONEDA, SUPERVISOR, PAHOA COMMUNITY CENTER (via telephone): Now we have about 100 people up here at the facility at the shelters. We just got another wave of them that were evacuated because the volcano and (inaudible) more off on the street.

CHELSIE SETTLEMIER, RESIDENT: Lava is coming out in Leilani. So, this is real.

ELAM: At the center of the activity lies the community of Leilani Estates. A resident there captured this lava fountain shooting over 100 feet into the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down the road, all we heard was a boom. What is that? And all of a sudden you smelled the sulfur, sulfur dioxide. We knew something was happen. Within minutes, smoke, and now we see the lava coming across the street and it's pumping right now. This fissure is opening up and this is our next eruption.

ELAM: The eruptions are part of a massive geological event set off by the collapse of the Puu Oo crater floor. That collapse led to hundreds of earthquakes this week which continued to jolt the big island. DAVID IGE, HAWAII GOVERNOR: The tough part about this eruption is that it's unpredictable. We don't know which way the lava is going to flow, and we are planning actively for every contingency that we can think of.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: We'll keep you posted on how that continues to evolve today.

BLACKWELL: Last hour there was this historic liftoff on the west coast. The Atlas 5 rocket launched from California's Vandenberg Air Force base. It's the first interplanetary launch from the west coast.

PAUL: And the first time NASA has launched a robotic lander designed entirely for looking at Mars. Stay with us in the 10:00 a.m. hour. Former NASA Astronaut Leroy Chiao (ph) is going to join us to talk about this mission.

BLACKWELL: All right. Looking forward to that. President Trump will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House later this month to discuss the historic summit with Kim Jong-un coming up. We'll talk about that meeting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:23:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We're really doing well with North Korea. We're really doing well. For years -- for years they've had this problem, and everybody has said, don't talk. Don't talk. Please don't. The last administration had a policy of silence. Don't talk. You may make them and him angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: President Trump there touting his success regarding Kim Jong-un and negotiations that are forthcoming. He said earlier there is a date, a place for this meeting that's been set. Not revealing those details just yet.

BLACKWELL: But ahead of that historic summit with the North Korean leader, he will be meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House, that's May 22nd. Meanwhile, the status of the three Americans detained in North Korean is still unclear. President Trump had hinted that they may be released very soon.

PAUL: CNN international correspondent, Alexandra Field is live for us from Seoul. So, what are you learning about this upcoming summit?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, Victor, the president is being very clear that there's been a lot of contact back and forth between the United States and North Korea. Now teasing the fact that finally a summit location and date have been selected. It isn't clear why that isn't being made public or when it will be.

We do know from all sides involved here that they have considered having this summit happened at the DMZ, which would be important from the optics sort of perspective here with also make some sense from a logistics perspective for Kim Jong-un and there is still the possibility that the White House has discussed openly upholding the summit in a more neutral location like Singapore.

These are all details that will be hashed out further, of course, when President Trump and President Moon sit down. They were also topics of discussion when South Korea's national security chief travelled to Washington to meet with the national security adviser, John Bolton.

At the same time, we're seeing a lot of moves right here on the peninsula to make sure that the atmosphere here remains right in advance of those talks. Times here really are changing, and literally so.

[08:25:09] It's this weekend that we're seeing North Korea change its clocks, setting the clocks half an hour forward in order to sync up with Seoul time. That's one step forward meant to demonstrate this new era here on the peninsula that was struck during that historic summit between South Korea and North Korea.

Other big steps that are happening right now, well, there's a committee from the United Nations that will travel to North Korea next week to consider proposal from North Korea to open up an air route from Pyongyang into Incheon, certainly a symbolic move forward. Something that South Korean officials are still considering.

For their part right here in South Korea, we're also seeing steps to preserve the climate and the atmosphere that was created by that summit. Just today, police were near the border at the DMZ stopping protesters from releasing anti-Pyongyang propaganda in balloons meant to travel into North Korea.

That would be a violation of the treaty. Rather a violation of the agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit where both sides agreed to limit and stop actually any hostile actions or activities in advance of the historic summit which will be all about denuclearization. A lot of high hopes here today -- Christi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Alexandra Field in Seoul for us there, thank you very much.

President Trump gave pretty enthusiastic thumbs up to the Second Amendment at the NRA Convention yesterday despite promising changes to gun laws in February after the Parkland massacre.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT TRUMP: You have an administration fighting to protect your Second Amendment and we will protect your Second Amendment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: A Miami company is putting a fresh spin on getting around town. They're moving the massive and customized eco-friendly vehicle, but they are doing it for free. This week's "Start Small, Think Big" looks at their business success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRIS KIMBALL, FREEBEE CO-FOUNDERS: Hi, I'm Chris.

JASON SPIEGEL, FREEBEE CO-FOUNDERS: I'm Jason. This is freebie.

KIMBALL: Freebee is a free on demand door-to-door transportation service here in Miami. It's also a marketing platform for brands, Fortune 500 companies who pay us to perform large-scale marketing campaigns on and throughout our vehicles.

SPIEGEL: Within the app, we operate in designated territories. You're able to request a ride. Tell us where you want to go. Chris and I met on the campus of the University of Miami back in 2005 trying to go out on the weekends was always a problem because finding transportation was a hassle.

KIMBALL: We need to find a way to maneuver people around Miami in a fun, free and sustainable way. It starts all with the design. The vehicle is fully wrapped within the brand.

[08:30:00]

Beefree Media, our sister company, was formed in order for us to wrap these vehicles in a timely and cost efficient manner. We build all the cars from scratch.

It's fully electric. No gas or oil burned in the process. And we started on the road with six cars. Now we're up to 36 vehicles and counting. We're helping relieve congestion, parking, transportation issues.

We've done such a great job of providing a positive service net. Now the municipalities are looking at us as that true transit solution to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appreciate the ride.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: President Trump celebrated the Second Amendment at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting yesterday. It is the first NRA convention since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your Second Amendment rights are under siege, but they will never ever be under siege as long as I'm your president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: That was just a little more than two months ago that he promised changes in gun laws after the Parkland massacre. And I spoke to a survivor of the shooter last hour. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON KATSKY, STUDENT, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: He's a professional liar who will say anything to appease whatever crowd he's at. If he's in front of families, he might say something in support of commonsense gun reform but then when he's at the NRA, he'll say something to get a big cheer.

This is all spectacle. This is all Trump just trying to appeal to a crowd of people who really, really, really like weapons that shoot bullets fast.

President Trump, he follows the money. And as long as he's getting money from the NRA who in turn is getting money from the gun manufacturers, I wouldn't expect anything common sense any time soon from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Joining me now, two politicians who believe the Second Amendment. They say they both own guns and they have opposing views on gun control.

Dwaine Caraway is mayor pro tem of the city of Dallas. His city is hosting the NRA convention. And shortly after the Parkland shooting, he asked the NRA to hold the convention somewhere else, and for the group to show leadership and participate in a conversation about gun violence and gun control.

Also joining me is Georgia state senator Michael Williams. He says there is zero evidence banning bump stocks would prevent gun violence deaths and gave one away to a contestant through his Web site. Even the NRA has said bump stocks should be subject to additional regulations.

Gentlemen, welcome. Good morning to both of you.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: Good morning. It's great to be here.

DWAINE CARAWAY, DALLAS MAYOR PRO TEM: Good morning. Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Mr. Mayor pro tem, let me start with you.

CARAWAY: OK. BLACKWELL: You initially didn't want and probably still don't want

the NRA in Dallas. Tell us why.

CARAWAY: Well, number one, I raised that issue to raise the awareness that there need to be conversation. If the NRA are going to be the key contributors to key politicians to promote weapons, then they need to be at the table so we can have a discussion.

[08:35:12] They're pretty arrogant, of course, and they have their own agenda, but my issue, let's get at the table, and let's not just address bump stocks. Let me say that number one. Let's not just address AR-15s. Let's address gun violence.

BLACKWELL: But how can --

CARAWAY: What we can do to prevent it.

BLITZER: How can you simultaneously say to the NRA, come to the table, let's talk about solutions, but don't bring your meeting to Dallas?

CARAWAY: Well, here's the deal. We got their attention. You have to say something to get their attention. They seem to be hard-headed. So you tell them don't come. That got their attention. So now we're talking.

BLACKWELL: So that was just publicity?

CARAWAY: That's not about publicity. That's about getting to the table and, listen, we just buried a police here last week. We've got two in critical condition still in the hospital. ATF officer was just shot in Chicago yesterday. The kids at Parkland and all over the shootings that we've had.

We've got to be common sense and put on our brains, be tough enough elected officials to say get your behinds to the table. Let's figure out how these guns are getting into the wrong people's hands.

BLACKWELL: All right .

CARAWAY: And let's do something about it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Senator, you are also running for governor of Georgia. I did not mention that at the top. Didn't want to leave that out. Where is the progress that the president promised since Parkland? That was in February.

WILLIAMS: Well, again, first of all, let me tell the mayor that if he doesn't want the NRA in Dallas, Atlanta will gladly have them. In fact we had them here not even months ago.

CARAWAY: You can take them.

WILLIAMS: So well, yes, bring them on because I know that whenever the NRA --

CARAWAY: You get them.

WILLIAMS: -- Atlanta was probably the safest we've ever been. So I was glad to have them. And as far as gun safety -- gun control, I think that's just the wrong issue. We don't need to be talking about gun safety or gun control because guns are inanimate objects. Guns don't go out and kill people. It's the people behind the guns. And again, the comment that the mayor said that the NRA is out there promoting getting guns to everybody, that's not what they're doing. That's a mischaracterization of the NRA.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Senator, Senator, you say --

WILLIAMS: The NRA --

BLACKWELL: Hold on, Senator. Senator, they said --

WILLIAMS: They are defending the Second Amendment.

BLACKWELL: Senator, hold on for a second.

WILLIAMS: That's what the NRA is doing.

BLACKWELL: You said that we don't need to talk about gun safety? The NRA sells itself as a gun safety organization.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Again, but they're not out there just trying to get guns in everybody's hands. They're out there defending the Second Amendment right. And like President Trump said, the Second Amendment is under attack. We need to do more about talking about how we can defend that Second Amendment so that the government doesn't come and take our guns from us.

BLACKWELL: Mr. Caraway --

CARAWAY: You know, that's really ridiculous. And here's the deal. We are elected to set policy and to protect all citizens in America. I'm a Second Amendment believer, but today is a different day. 100 years ago or so when the Second Amendment was put into motion, there were muskets. Today --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Yes. That argument doesn't bear weight. The Internet --

BLACKWELL: Hold on. Let him finish.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Hold on. Senator, hold on.

CARAWAY: That may be an argument that may not rise to you but now if it's your son that gets shot by a gun, a weapon, do we not -- what do you do? Put yourself in that position and put yourself in the positions of those people that have lost their lives. Put yourself in a position of people who's trying to eat pancakes at the Waffle House and get shot over bacon and eggs. The schools and all of those things. And you're saying we don't need to talk about gun safety?

BLACKWELL: All right --

CARAWAY: What state are you in?

BLACKWELL: Lets him answer now. Senator?

WILLIAMS: Again, the argument that the Second Amendment doesn't apply to guns that we have today because they didn't exist then, what about our First Amendment right? Does it not apply to broadcast television because TV didn't exist? No. That's a false argument.

The Second Amendment was there to protect us from tyranny and from our government. And the more that there's a discussion about taking away our guns, the more that we have to stand up and --

(CROSSTALK)

CARAWAY: Nobody is talking about taking away your guns.

WILLIAMS: There's an organization here in Georgia that I absolutely support. It's called Georgia Gun Owners. They're out there fighting. They're the grassroots here in Georgia to protect their Second Amendment.

BLACKWELL: Senator, there are also limits on speech, right? So when you bring up the First Amendment element here, there are limits that are placed on speech. Certain things you cannot say in crowded places. You can't go into a theater and shout fire.

But let me ask you specifically about school safety, which the president mentioned yesterday. He talked about arming teachers. He talked about putting officers in schools. Part of your plan in your run for governor --

WILLIAMS: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: -- is to, and I watched the video this morning, place a plainclothes armed person at every unlocked entrance of every school across Georgia.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BLACKWELL: There are 181 school districts and more than 2200 schools.

[08:40:03] I haven't counted the doors. How are you going to pay for that?

WILLIAMS: Well, again, we are talking about the safety of our children.

BLACKWELL: Understood.

WILLIAMS: Whatever the cost is we can find a way. Our state budget has gone from $15 billion to $26 billion in eight years.

BLACKWELL: OK. OK. So is --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I think we can find some way to protect our kids.

BLACKWELL: Hold on for a second, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. Are you willing to raise taxes for that?

WILLIAMS: I don't think we have to. Again our budget has increased --

BLACKWELL: 2200 schools. You want to put an armed person at every unlocked door?

WILLIAMS: I guarantee you there are veterans, there are retired police officers that are willing to do this for free. This does not have to be a discussion about where the money comes from. We can do this if we have the political willpower to get it done.

BLACKWELL: And there's a school in Texas, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, that allows its teachers to carry. Your thoughts?

CARAWAY: Isn't that something? Now what if one of the students come in and take over the teacher with a gun with all the kids?

BLACKWELL: But it hasn't happened. Is that just a straw man?

CARAWAY: Don't wait to let it happen. Prevent it from happening. Get to the table as a politician. Set some guidelines and some rules. Protect the citizens of the United States of America. Take the guns away and find ways to prevent those bad people from getting guns and put them in the hands of responsible gun owners. Nobody said ban guns. Stop that rumor.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: But give me one --

CARAWAY: Nobody said --

WILLIAMS: People have said --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Hold on for a second. Hold on for a second. Hold on. Both of you, hold on for a second.

WILLIAMS: They are talking about it.

BLACKWELL: Listen, Senator, I'll have to end the interview if you don't let me get in here to ask a question.

WILLIAMS: Sorry.

BLACKWELL: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem.

CARAWAY: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Give me one specific that you have to make schools safer.

CARAWAY: Well, it's not just making schools safer. It's about --

BLACKWELL: But that's my question. Give me one for schools.

CARAWAY: Well, the first thing that we do, yes, you have your metal detectors everywhere. You make sure that you check the backpacks and that's just with the students. But most of the shootings have been not just a student in the school. It's been a former student that went to the schools, that came back with the automatic weapons that shot up the people in the schools.

BLACKWELL: All right.

CARAWAY: So we have to figure out a way to keep them out of the bad folks' hands.

BLACKWELL: All right. Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and Georgia State Senator Michael Williams, thank you both for being with us this morning.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

CARAWAY: Thank you. Thanks.

PAUL: So the Snowden leak showed serious surveillance abuses by the U.S. government and then lawmakers passed legislation to limit those abuses. So why are intelligence agencies now collecting more of our phone records?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:46:53] BLACKWELL: A new report says the National Security Agency has tripled its collection of phone records and text messages just since 2016.

PAUL: Yes. This is coming after the Edward Snowden leaks showed U.S. surveillance agency abuses and after Congress passed legislation aimed at fixing those abuses and limiting data collection. So now new concerns are being raised over potential government overreach.

Samantha Vinograd, with us, CNN national security analyst and former senior adviser to the National Security adviser under President Obama.

Samantha, thanks for being with us. So first of all, how concerned are you about this new report?

SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, Christi, I think it's very healthy to have an ongoing debate about the appropriate balance between meeting your national security needs and privacy and civil liberties concerns. That's nothing new. But I do think it's worth noting that context is king here. Unfortunately, we have seen a politicization of the discussion around intelligence authorities over the past several months, particularly when it came to the Devin Nunes memo that inaccurately represented how this FISA or Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process works.

We are not in the Wild West of data collection or intelligence collection more generally. The FISA process and FISA orders, FISA warrants are governed by a very specific set of requirements including the need to show probable cause before anybody goes in from the U.S. government and accesses U.S. telecom data at this juncture.

PAUL: So are you confident in the oversight or do you spot serious overreach here? And let's talk about who is targeted.

VINOGRAD: Well, I think on the oversight side, it is worth noting, Christi, that the president signed just a few months ago a bill reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. So he was confident that the oversight mechanisms are appropriate. Congress was as well. They sent this bill to the president. So I do think that whenever this reauthorization comes up, we should examine again whether what we are using to collect on Americans is one beneficial and, two, keeping in line with privacy concerns and civil liberties concerns.

PAUL: All right. Samantha Vinograd, always appreciate seeing you. Thank you.

VINOGRAD: Thank you, Christi.

BLACKWELL: All right. So is it exploitation or an optional team event? Some Washington Redskins cheerleaders say the team overstepped its bounds off the field. We'll tell you how it went.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:27] PAUL: So in today's "Impact Your World," former NBA player Chris Herrin talks -- he uses his past -- talks about how he uses his past to take a shot at ending opioid addiction. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS HERREN, FORMER NBA STAR: My story led me to the NBA and the Boston Celtics. But behind all of this was an addiction, heroin and Oxycontin. Being a professional athlete and hiding this addiction was a full-time job.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In 2008, Chris Herrin was found near death with a bag of heroin. An old NBA friend and his wife pushed the fallen hoop star into rehab.

HERREN: Liz and Chris Mullen reached out to me and gave me the greatest gift, you know, a chance to get well. When I started the Herren Project, it was all about covering the spectrum, bringing in family support groups, recovery coaches, as well as helping them sustain treatment.

BALDWIN: A service which helped Susan Duffy get her son sober. SUSAN DUFFY, SON WAS ADDICTED TO DRUGS: It really does increase the

possibility of your loved one surviving.

HERREN: We all get sick in this process. Family members have broken hearts and people who are suffering have broken souls.

BALDWIN: That's why Herren offers free virtual support groups with licensed counselors, something that's helping James Francheck (ph). His daughter, Emma, died from an overdose in 2016.

JAMES FRANCHECK (PH), DAUGHTER DIED OF DRUG OVERDOSE: The support allowed me to get through it and not fall apart. It literally saved my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:12] PAUL: All right, ladies, think about this. You're traveling for a business trip and suddenly your passport is taken by your colleagues and you essentially are put on display for company clients.

BLACKWELL: Yes. That's what the Washington Redskins cheerleaders say happened to them.

Here's CNN's Dianne Gallagher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several cheerleaders for Washington's NFL team say a 2013 trip to Costa Rica crossed the line. In the interviews with "The New York Times," the women say that upon arrival, the team collected their passports before requiring them to take part in a racy photo shoot where some of them were topless for a team calendar. All of this while high-profile sponsors and FedEx field suite owners looked on.

JULIET MACUR, REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: Shooting the calendar in these little tiny outfits is really the issue. It's that it's giving access to sponsors who are men, who are seemingly paying for this privilege to watch women pose with hardly any clothes on. The issue is giving access to sponsors and making the women feel uncomfortable.

GALLAGHER: The cheerleaders claim that some of them were picked to be, quote, "personal escorts" for the sponsors at a Costa Rican nightclub later that night. And while sex was not involved, the women told the "Times" they felt, quote, "worthless and unprotected" and were so devastated by the situation that they did not return to the squad the next season.

The cheer team's director says that the night at the club was not mandatory. And the Washington team issued a statement saying that it's looking into and taking the allegations seriously, but, quote, "based on the dialogue we've had with a number of current and former cheerleaders over the past 48 hours, we have heard very different firsthand accounts that directly contradict many of the details of the May 2nd article."

That's something two former Washington cheerleaders picked by the team to appear on NBC's "Today" show Friday echoed.

CHARO BISHOP. FORMER REDSKINS CHEERLEADER: Some girls were excited to do those things. In terms of being an escort, that was never a perception that I had. I think that being friendly and receptive and welcoming to sponsors is completely different.

RACHEL GILL, FORMER REDSKINS CHEERLEADER: We always have the option to say no. We are never forced or told to do something we don't want to do.

GALLAGHER: A former Carolina Panthers cheerleader says that in her experience, it wasn't that simple.

BRITTNEY CASON, FORMER NFL CHEERLEADER: Manipulation is a strong word, but it's what happens.

GALLAGHER: Brittney Cason says that the NFL cheerleading environment can be toxic with low pay and high standards and that the women often feel powerless to say no.

CASON: So if you're put in a situation where you feel uncomfortable, they quickly remind you that there's hundreds of other girls that would kill to trade for your spot right then and there, and so you just kind of go along with it, fearing that you could be kicked off the team.

GALLAGHER: Recent lawsuits from cheerleaders on other teams around the NFL have described discrimination, unfair wages, and sexual harassment.

The NFL released a statement Friday saying, "Our office will work with our clubs in sharing best practices in employment-related processes that will support club cheerleading squads within an appropriate and supportive workplace."

Dianne Gallagher, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: All right. And thanks to Dianne Gallagher for that there.

So, you know, there've been a lot of comments just in the last few days that have confused people, seemed to muddy the waters when it comes to the Stormy Daniels story. Will the president give us more clarity today? Well, be with us at 10:00 Eastern here as we monitor the president's departure to Cleveland for an afternoon roundtable meeting.

BLACKWELL: And speaking of the statements from the president, I want to remind you of where we were just four months ago when it came to the president and his version of the truth. According to the fact-checker blog of "The Washington Post," President

Trump has made 1,950 false and misleading statements since January 20th, 2017, Inauguration Day. Think of that. 1,950. That's an average of more than five a day. At this pace, he'll hit 2,000 in his first full year in office.

All right. You saw that jar of gum balls there. Well, the gum balls are back. One for each of the president's false statements, misleading claims and downright lies. And let's just say we had to buy more jars.

We're going to show you what the president's statements look like today. That's coming up at 10:00.

PAUL: Well, he was hit in the face with a rocket-propelled grenade and he survived. Tomorrow on NEW DAY we're talking to a war reporter Carmen Gentile. He's going to talk us about what happened, why he still felt that he had to go back to Afghanistan, and how life has changed now that he's a father.

BLACKWELL: All right. That's it for us this hour. We will see you back here at 10:00 Eastern for NEWSROOM.

PAUL: Yes. Don't go anywhere. "SMERCONISH" starts now.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Michael Smerconish in Philadelphia. We welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

Just as soon as America's mayor became the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani wasted no time --