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New Day Saturday

Trump Orders FBI Kavanaugh Probe, Senate Vote Delayed; FBI Probe "Limited To Current Credible Allegations"; Women Flood Capitol Hill to Protest Kavanaugh Nomination. U.S. Military's Most Expensive Fighter Jet Crashes; 384 Dead After Earthquake Tsunami Devastates Indonesia; Sexual Assault Hotline Calls Jump 200 Percent Since Ford's Testimony. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 29, 2018 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00] CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Turner led Turner Broadcast System, of course, before launching CNN back in 1980. He stepped down as chairman in 2003, but his legacy continues to resonate certainly here at CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PROTESTERS CHANTING HEY, HEY, HO, HO, KAVANAUGH HAS GOT TO GO)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Judge Kavanaugh has unequivocally denied these allegations.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Judge Kavanaugh's qualifications has been affirmed by his peers and by renowned legal scholars from across the ideological spectrum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court.

SEN. JEFF FLAKE (R), ARIZONA: I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote in order to let the FBI do an investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FBI investigation has to be very thorough, complete.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is ripping the country apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

PAUL: Good morning to you. One-minute past 7:00 here on a Saturday morning. And you know, just when the GOP maybe felt confident that they had the votes to put Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court by the end of next week, he, along with everyone else is going to have to wait as the FBI conducts this few background checks that has been ordered by President Trump.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the drama started when Senator Jeff Flake had -- let's call them second thoughts -- and joined several other senators in saying that he would not vote yes on Kavanaugh without an FBI investigation.

PAUL: Yes, as he announced the probe, the president said he is still backing his nominee. In fact, the president is going to be in West Virginia later for a re-election rally, but he's starting this morning at the White House, and that's where we find CNN Correspondent Ryan Nobles. Ryan, good to see you this morning, what are you hearing from there?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, good morning. You know, the president, not very happy about this latest development in his efforts to get Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to the United States Supreme Court. But at this point, he is sticking by his pick. The president tweeting in the last 24 hours, "Just started tonight our seventh FBI investigation into -- of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He will someday be recognized as a truly great Justice of the United States Supreme Court."

And there's a couple of important points to draw out of the tweet. First of all, the president pointing out that this is the seventh time the FBI has looked into Brett Kavanaugh's background. Meaning that the president views him as being thoroughly vetted by that agency over many, many years. And secondly, he still believes that, ultimately, Kavanaugh will win confirmation. But this was certainly a curve ball for the White House; they felt pretty confident going into Friday morning's hearing that Kavanaugh had performed well on Thursday, and that there would be no problems with the Senate Judiciary Committee, that he would pass through to the Senate floor, and then ultimately be confirmed.

But then, Senator Jeff Flake, who has been an irritant to the Trump administration since -- right after the president was inaugurated, decided that he would tell Mitch McConnell that he would not vote for Kavanaugh's confirmation without an FBI investigation. So that means that the clock is ticking now. A one-week opportunity for the FBI to look into these claims against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The question that many have is what will be the scope of the investigation. Listen to what Flake's expectations are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you talk about credible allegations, can you explain what that means, what you're looking from the FBI?

FLAKE: Well, obviously, that includes our allegations, to interview people there. And also, I'm sure that The New Yorker piece about the allegation that they'll have to decide at the FBI what that is and, you know, how far that goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: So, there's obviously the accusations from Dr. Blasey Ford which have gotten all the attention, but there are other allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Will the FBI look into those, and the get this all done in a week? That's the big question, still, here in Washington as his confirmation still very much in doubt. Victor and Christi? BLACKWELL: Ryan Nobles, thank you so much.

PAUL: A lot of people wondering what influenced Republican Senator Jeff Flake to switch things up here? Because he went from saying that he would vote for Kavanaugh around 9:30 yesterday morning. Hours later, demanding this FBI investigation prior to the final vote. Well, what happened in between, a lot of people are speculating this confrontation in an elevator is what influenced him. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA MARIA ARCHILA: I was sexually assaulted and nobody believed me. I didn't tell anyone. And you're telling all women that they don't matter. That they should just stay quiet because if they tell you what happened to them, you're going to ignore them. That's what happened to me. And that's what you're telling all women in America, that they don't matter. They should just keep it to themselves because if they had told the truth, they're just going to help that man to power anyway. That's what you're telling all of these women. That's what you're telling me right now.

Look at me when I'm talking to you, you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter. That what happened to me doesn't matter, and that you're going to let people who do these things into power. That's what you're telling me when you vote for him. Don't look away from me. Look at me and tell me it doesn't matter what happened to me. That you'll let people like that go into the highest court in the land and to tell everyone what they did to our bodies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:42] PAUL: You know, a lot of people say, they look at that moment and they can see how he was moved by it. Anderson Cooper spoke with one of the protesters who confronted the senator in that elevator. Here's what she said was going through her mind at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA MARIA ARCHILA, PROTESTER: I felt like he needed really to hear. Like, he needed to understand that women feel incredibly enraged about the thought of our stories, of our experiences of surviving sexual violence being dismissed, laughed at, disbelieved. And I think -- we -- I just felt a great sense of urgency. And I think I saw in his face that he could not escape the emotion, and I wanted of him to really stay there and be present and think of the people he loves, think of his children. And I wanted him to be a hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, last hour we spoke with Tom Fuentes, CNN's Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, about this new investigation. And the former assistant director of the FBI, he talked about issues that could come up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, I think they are

important issues, particularly the drinking. And I think that's what I focused in on when I was watching the hearing that he began, you know, describing how much he liked beer. But I think the drinking could come up. And he was pretty definitive that he never passed out. Well, what if they come up with a witness that said, oh yes, I know at times, when he drank so much he did pass out, or drank so much he got angry or, you know, had an anger management problem during a drinking episode. That could be devastating to his side, to his story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: But what could it really do to his story, is the question. CNN Political Analyst and Congressional Reporter for Politico Rachael Bade, with us now, as well as Michael Moore, former U.S. Attorney for Middle Georgia. Thank you both for being with us. Michael, I want to ask you: How might it really affect him, affect this vote, if they can't find anything corroborate what Dr. Ford says but can find that there was real serious alcohol use here that did impair his decisions?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY FOR MIDDLE GEORGIA: We've heard a lot about this being like a trial and what the burden of proof is, and that type of thing.

PAUL: Right.

MOORE: So, when you have an investigation like this -- well, it's not a criminal. I will tell you that they'll look at his credibility. And if they find a witness who says that he was impaired, that passed out, these are small things now that we can see that he's maybe not telling the truth about. But when you don't tell the truth on the little things, then it, sort of, casts doubt on your version of the big things. So, if they develop evidence where he's been drinking too much and passed out, that's a problem.

They'll also be interested, frankly -- I mean, and I've been through this background checks, they want to know whether or not you've got an alcohol problem, and whether or not you've got a substance abuse problem, has that been going on through his life. And he was pretty clear, probably, a dozen times when he talked about his affinity for drinking beer now. And you know, that nothing wrong with somebody having a beer. But if this is a pattern that's going through his life, then that's something that will end up in a report during his background check.

PAUL: OK. So, I want to ask you, Rachael, Asha Rangappa, former FBI Special Agent sent out this tweet earlier, there were several of them, but she basically was saying that background checks -- because there's been a lot made that this man has gone through six FBI background checks -- that they're not cumulative. In other words, they don't start from the beginning. What she says is the main point saying "He went through six background checks is misleading since each subsequent one would have covered a later and later portion of his life."

So, she's saying only that first background check would have gone all the way back to high school, to college. With that said, how important is this, this now investigation, in terms of going back, and does it disqualify, I guess to some degree, for the purposes of what they're looking for these other five background checks that have been done on him?

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think the background checks before are disqualified in any way. But I do think that this new one, you know, it puts the nomination in peril for Brett Kavanaugh. There was a meeting yesterday where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sat down with Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Jeff Flake -- all senators who have backed the new FBI backgrounds check investigation before having the vote. And what he said to them was that this is not going to make voting for him any easier. He basically warned that the longer this hangs out while they do this investigation it could become tougher.

[07:10:21] And the reason is because this investigation is so far into these allegations has been very contained in the Senate Judiciary Committee. There are just a few staffers working on it. The FBI, they do this for a living. They have resources out the wazoo, they can look at whether he lied to Congress at any point, they can look at his drinking. And the nation right now, people might call the FBI and bring up new allegations. So, this is really tough for him going forward.

I don't know that Republicans could have done anything else, though. Because coming out of a hearing on Thursday, a lot of Senate Republicans said they found Ford to be believable and credible. And so, naturally, for, you know, Republicans who are moderates or people like Jeff Flake who are retiring and not sort of wielded to party, the next step would be to call for an investigation. So, I'm not surprised they ended up doing this.

PAUL: But Michael, in terms of an investigation, they don't have subpoena power, do they? I mean, can they force all these people that they're going to be looking for this week to talk --

MOORE: The committee has subpoena power. They can look at the FBI forward and bring people in, but the FBI will go and talk to him. And if he gives a false statement to an FBI agent, he can be charged with a felony, so it's a 1001 violation. I think the problem for Kavanaugh is the new investigation that's been ordered is going to be more focused on these specific circumstances, the specific allegations. In a general backgrounds check, you know, they start back, I want to know what your credit cards are, and where you live, and who your neighbors were, and where you work when you're 18 years old -- this type of thing.

They're going to spend time doing that now, because these background checks do build on one another. They start back. This is almost like a renewal of a security clearance, a renewal background check. They'll say, hey, has anything changed, is everything correct in your previous reports, and these things you want to add, or change, amend any or what. But at this point, they're going to be looking at what was out there. There's plenty to look at. Did judge -- was he working at the grocery store when Dr. Ford says -- right -- does that match? Has there been any other polygraphs, have been any other statements, has anybody reached out and talk to anybody? Do you remember seeing him passed out? Do you remember seeing him at house parties?

These are things that will not be difficult for a skilled group of investigators that sort of look at. They may not get physical evidence -- corroboration, but may develop evidence where Judge Kavanaugh has been less than truthful. I've taken some exception with the things thrown around by the committee. I mean, listened to them talk about decency and how we'd treat somebody decent and right. Listened to them talk that way during a hearing is a little bit like being lectured by a pig about, you know, the virtues of cleanliness. It was silly, the whole thing; just turned into a silly activity. But he stands in great jeopardy with renewed emphasis on what he did back then and now what he said because it's never just what happened in the back, it's the efforts to minimize it and cover it up as you go forward.

PAUL: Yes, and there was such tremendous interest. The millions of people who watched this on television on Thursday, watched again yesterday, the hearing that was going on. Rachel -- is there any sense that what the FBI does discover or does not will be made public?

BADE: Yes, I think so. I think that Senate Democrats are absolutely going to want to unveil something -- unless, of course, it's something very disastrous and he withdraws before it becomes public. I know that, you know, during the hearing Kavanaugh talked about how the past ten days, ever since these allegations came up, have really up-ended his life and how every day was pretty much like five years. And when asked why he wasn't supporting an investigation, he basically said to Senate Democrats, I've already gone through hell these past ten days.

And you know, the next seven days are going to be really tough on him and his family. So, we'll just have to see if he stays in this, does he withdraw before something comes out. I think that that will be something to watch. If he does withdraw, I would guess that nothing is going to come out publicly. But if he doesn't, I think we'll see this report and the results of it in the public.

PAUL: Go -- I only have ten seconds.

MOORE: I think they both deserve -- but the American people deserve to have some questions answered and he deserves to have this thing run through. He doesn't need to enter the court if that's what happens. He doesn't need to enter the court with the cloud over for the rest of his legal career.

PAUL: All righty. Michael Moore and Rachael Bade, we appreciate both of you being here. Thank you.

MOORE: Thank you.

BADE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Well, you've seen at the crowds of people flooding Capitol Hill protest the Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Most of them women, you see here. The organizer of the women's march was there and she joins us with an announcement ahead.

[07:14:52] PAUL: Also, there are hundreds of people now dead overnight after this earthquake and tsunami have just devastated Indonesia. Rescuers are scrambling to reach survivors. We'll tell you what we know this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PROTESTERS CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Those are some of the women protesting inside the Senate office building yesterday. This, of course, while lawmakers were debating a vote to nominate Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

BLACKWELL: Capitol police charged more than 100 people with unlawfully demonstrating in the Senate office buildings. Joining us now: Co-Chair of the Women's March, Linda Sarsour. Good to have you on this show this morning, and you were part of the demonstrations on Capitol Hill this week. Tell us the message that you were trying to send and your reaction now to the week-long investigation that's been ordered by the president?

LINDA SARSOUR, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: The Women's March has actually been in Washington, D.C., since September 4th. I was the first protester to get arrested on the first day of the Kavanaugh hearings. Women are outraged, we are enraged at the vote yesterday that came out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And the Women's March thinks that the administration, that Republicans in America, particularly those who are elected officials, think that we were a one-hit wonder; and we came out on January 21st of 2017 and put millions in the largest single-day demonstration in American history.

[07:20:26] And we're coming back out, and we're announcing today to the American people to join us around the country and in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2019. We are outraged that we are talking about and putting victims on trial and talking about Dr. Ford in the way in which she was treated at that hearing. Brett Kavanaugh was disqualified before Christine Ford came out with her allegations, and we think he's disqualified, and we're going to do everything we can to keep him off the Supreme Court.

PAUL: What -- how do you think -- do you feel like you've been heard? Let me ask you that. With everything that's happened this week, do you feel that the women's voices that we have seen -- and they weren't just obviously there, I mean, they were in front of the offices of many in Congress --

BLACKWELL: Yes, all over the country.

PAUL: -- Lisa Murkowski and Collins. Do you feel like your voices are being heard, and what are those voices prepared to do as we head into midterms? SARSOUR: Absolutely. One of the things that we were or our mission

was to change the narrative and to reframe this conversation. It was not going to be business as usual. Every front page in America above the fold was about dissent and the power of women. We have been occupying Senate offices for the last three weeks. We have engaged in mass civil disobedience, we have engaged in mobilization. And this is not just about Brett Kavanaugh; we're still focused on midterm elections and will win back the House in 2018.

And then, come January, 19, 2019, we will come with an agenda. We are brilliant, we are strategic. We have a plan, and we need to hold those accountable who work for us. So, we're prepared, and we want this administration to know that women will not sit back, we will not go back and we will not allow our rights to be taken 40 years back. And this is what this lifetime appointment of Brett Kavanaugh does. This is serious. This is a generational fight. And the Republicans want the Supreme Court. And we're saying absolutely not. Not on our watch. And it's not just going to be in Washington, D.C., this is a global movement. We have our global chapters of the Women's March Global who will be joining us just as they did on January 21st of 2017. So, we hope you join us, January 19, 2019, and visit us at womensmarch.com to get all the information.

PAUL: All right. Linda Sarsour, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you.

SARSOUR: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: A federal judge has now cleared the way for Democrats to sue President Trump over the running of his businesses. Now, at the center of this lawsuit is the provision of the constitution called the emoluments clause. And it states that officeholders cannot do business with foreign governments without getting approval from Congress.

Well, 200 Democrats in Congress sued the president, saying the president is violating the clause by not seeking their approval for his businesses, specifically his hotels, to receive payments from foreign governments. When he took office, the president removed him from day-to-day operation of his businesses but remains an owner. Now, this is the second time a federal judge has allowed a lawsuit against the president regarding ties to his businesses to move forward.

PAUL: A tough day for the U.S. Military. The first crash of one of its most high-profile aircraft. This is an aircraft that cost more than $100 million. We'll tell you what happened. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:20] BLACKWELL: Well, the Senate obviously is divided over Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination. Republican Senator Jeff Flake has now, as we've seen demanded an FBI probe into allegations of sexual assault made that have been against Kavanaugh, which President Trump has now OK-ed. Let's talk about it. Joining me now to discuss: Alice Stewart, CNN Political Commentator

and Ted Cruz's former Communications Director; Evan Siegfried, Republican Strategist and author of "GOP GPS"; and Scott Jennings, CNN Political Commentator and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush is back with us. Welcome, everyone, to the conversation.

And Scott, let me start with you. We've had a little more than 12 hours now since the president has ordered this investigation into these accusations. A little time to think of it, maybe a little time to sleep, not much for us these days. Are you convinced that Mitch McConnell is right, that as this goes on, it will be more difficult to vote to support Kavanaugh, or could this investigation be a good thing for him?

SCOTT JENNINS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it will be a good thing if it achieves the outcome of getting Senators Flake, Collins, and Murkowski to vote for Kavanaugh. That's obviously the reason Flake asked for it. And if that's the outcome, then that's great. But what I don't think we're going to see is any sort of acceptance from the Democrats of a better process of the outcome in general. I mean, you already hear people since this saying, well, there shouldn't be a time limit on it. And it doesn't matter what the FBI finds. They should pull Kavanaugh down.

You now have Democratic operatives openly talking about impeaching Kavanaugh, whether he makes it to the Supreme Court or stays on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. And so, I think Senator Flake wanted this investigation to give these three people the chance to say it was a better process but I don't think any Democrat is going to go give a floor speech, and say, you know what, you're right, we're going to vote for Kavanaugh now. That is a pipe dream.

[07:30:08] BLACKWELL: You're probably right on that, that last one. But you don't have to go to the Democratic Party for some people who don't support Kavanaug. You just have to look in the box next to you.

Evan Siegfried, you wrote for NBC News weeks before the testimony from Dr. Ford and this latest testimony on Thursday from Judge Kavanaugh. That not only should the Senate vote no that he should withdraw, what?

EVAN SIEGFRIED, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think I'm the only one on the panel who's actually served in the federal judiciary. And the federal judiciary is about integrity and maintaining the integrity of the rule of law.

And the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh have been deemed credible by a sizeable enough portion of the nation that he has to withdraw for the integrity of the Supreme Court and its rulings.

Any 5-4 decision which he is in the majority of would be tainted. And we can't have people questioning the rule of law. Again, it gets back to integrity and impartiality, and that's a big problem.

Furthermore, we have also bungled the way we have handled these accusations as a party. I had friends call me in tears, Thursday night because they were sexual assault survivors and they were reliving all of the pain because of the hearing.

And they -- Dr. Ford came off as incredibly credible and to an extent, Brett Kavanaugh did as well. But, hearing that we were going to behaving this confirmation vote at night or the Senate Judiciary Committee the vote to advance the judge at 9:30 a.m. the next day, signals to women that we are a party that doesn't care about them. And that's part of a longer standing narrative.

BLACKWELL: Alice, let's sit just for a second the sexual assault allegations to the side. And I want you and everyone to listen to Judge Kavanaugh on September 4th when he was giving his opening statement. And just on the 27th, just Thursday through his opening statement on politics. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT KAVANAUGH, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: The Supreme Court must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution. The justices on the Supreme Court do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. They do not caucus in separate rooms. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I would be part of a team of nine committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States.

The behavior of several the Democratic members of this committee at my hearing a few weeks ago was an embarrassment. This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. Fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump in the 2016 election.

Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And CNN legal analyst John (INAUDIBLE) who's an expert on the court, wrote this for cnn.com. This is just the portion of, "The result of his rhetoric and the overall tenor of the nomination means he could forever be marked as a politician on the bench rather than a neutral jurist." Did he go too far on Thursday, Alice?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think history will tell. He went from a man who I see as someone of tremendous integrity and character, and a history in the judicial community that is above reproach and has a lifetime of stellar character that he -- that has been put on trial here, because of some allegations.

And clearly, we would have loved to have and supporters like myself would have loved to have this move forward based on his credentials and his record. Unfortunately, it has taken a different turn. And it has gotten political.

But in my view, if we're talking about this area. I don't think this has anything to do with revenge over Trump, over the election, over the Clintons. In my view, this is about the Democrats fight for abortion and their desire to keep Roe v. Wade, the law of the land. BLACKWELL: Yes.

STEWART: And vile, and this -- the links that they are going to, to protect Roe v. Wade. I think that is what is on display here. And I hope we get through this with Judge Kavanaugh on the bench. But that in my view is the underpinning of this entire process that we're going through.

BLACKWELL: So, that's not your view, but Scott, that was his view. And if and not if, but let's say he gets on to the court, and there will be an issue that comes before the court that falls pretty clearly and cleanly along party lines, his decision will be cast in that context.

Will it not and give fodder to those who say that he is a partisan, not a neutral jurist.

JENNINGS: Well people are already saying that -- the Democrats already say that anybody that Trump puts on the bench is acting out of partisan interest. We heard Sheldon --

(CROSSTALK)

[07:35:02] BLACKWELL: But those were his words. He wrote that.

JENNINGS: We heard -- but we heard Sheldon Whitehouse even -- you know, saying, I'm going to vote against Kavanaugh because I think he's going to do the bidding of the corporations in the Republican Party.

It won't matter who Donald Trump puts on the bench for the Democrats to say these are all partisan actors. I'd like to address what Evan said earlier, by the way.

BLACKWELL: Go ahead.

JENNINGS: Evan's going one way and the rest of the Republican Party is going the other. In two years of Donald Trump, I have never seen an issue that has united the Never-Trumpers, the Lukewarm-Trumpers, the Always-Trumpers.

All corners, all wings of the Republican Party are galvanized in support of Brett Kavanaugh. I think you wouldn't -- you'd be hard- pressed to find somebody outside, Evan, in the Republican Party who does not support Kavanaugh's confirmation at this point.

(CROSSTALK)

SIEGFRIED: But Scott, I'm standing the Republican Party who was actually served in the judiciary and actually respects the (INAUDIBLE).

JENNINGS: Oh, I actually served with Brett Kavanaugh. I know I mean you don't -- I know I mean you don't, and I'm going to defend that

SIEGFRIED: Scott, let me finish, please. Sir, sir.

BLACKWELL: Hold off, one at a time, one at a time, one at a time.

SIEGFRIED: If you're going to make to say that I'm standing way out and I'm out away from the Republican Party, absolutely, that's fine, that's absolutely fine.

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: You're outside of the mainstream to the party. You're absolutely on.

SIEGFRIED: But you're talking politically right now. I'm talking for the integrity of the bench. What the Allegation against --

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: You want somebody who says they are innocent --

BLACKWELL: Let him finish, let him finish, Scott. We'll have time for you.

SIEGFRIED: At the end of the day, these types of allegations would get somebody who is up for a federal magistrate appointment disqualified. And I supported Brett Kavanaugh up until these allegations which I deemed credible.

And I believe that it's for the integrity of the bench. Because judges care about the rule of law on the integrity of the institution. We have right now, 18 percent of the country has faith in the federal government and its institutions.

Why are we going to lower it? We could get Amy Coney Barrett or some other conservative judge. This is ironic because as somebody who opposed President Trump in the elections.

This was a nomination where I was behind it until this. We saw theatrics from Democrats in the confirmation hearings. But for Amy -- or the Dr. Ford's accusations are not theatrics. They are real.

JENNINGS: What about the integrity of due process? What about the integrity of the presumption of innocence? What about the integrity of someone under oath saying, "I'm innocent" in respecting that?

SIEGFRIED: This is on a court trial.

JENNINGS: I don't understand how you can say, "I'm in the judiciary, when an innocent person is seen -- he said he didn't do.

(CROSSTALK)

SIEGFRIED: This is on a court trial. This is about protecting the integrity.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let me get now to Alice and bring you back into this conversation. A control room, I don't know if you saw my e- mail, but I need that sound bite from the exchange between the women at the elevator and Senator Flakes. So, let me know when you have that.

All right, we're not going to wait for it. Let me outcome to you, Alice. I'm sure you've seen it. Have you seen that exchange of the women there for five minutes? All right, let's play, we've got it.

All right. Forget the sound bite, we've all seen it.

STEWART: Right.

BLACKWELL: What would you tell those women, Alice, who said that if you vote for him, what you're telling the country is that women who come forward, who say that they have been and have been sexually assaulted do not matter. What would you tell to -- tell them?

STEWART: I would -- I would tell them I would applaud them for coming out and speaking up and letting the voice be heard. And clearly, it resonated. You could see the pain and the compassion on Senator Flakes face. And clearly, it made an impact. And he went from telling members of the committee that he would support moving Kavanaugh out of committee to saying I will support moving amount provided we bring in an FBI to look at this for one more week.

It was without a doubt the compelling emotional plea from these women for him to listen to them and let her voice be heard and probe into this further made an impact. I encourage them to go to every other member of in Washington that have allegations against them and do the same.

Anyone that has sexual allegations or abuse allegations against them, we should look at all of their history and the same standard should apply for all of them. Not just Republicans going for the Supreme Court, but we have Democrats out there that also have allegations that they are facing. And we also look at all of them, and it's not just the party issue.

BLACKWELL: But after, after listening to them and asking for the investigation, still vote yes for Brett Kavanaugh?

STEWART: Well, certainly, we're going to hear the information, we're going to hear the evidence that the FBI brings out. I don't expect it to be anything different than we heard when the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee raised these questions.

And yes, I do see that we move forward with the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh because I don't expect to get any additional information out of the FBI probe than we did from the questions out of the Senate committee.

BLACKWELL: Alice, Scott, Evan, thank you all.

STEWART: Thanks, Victor.

SIEGFRIED: Thanks.

JENNINGS: Thank you. PAUL: Well, the U.S. military's most expensive fighter jet. An F- 35B, aircraft like this one. It crashed for the first time. This was in South Carolina near the Marine Corps and stationed -- Air Station in Beaufort.

This happened yesterday it's in a statement the Marines say the pilot ejected safely, is being evaluated, there were no civilian injuries here but the cause of that crash is under investigation now.

And there is devastation in Indonesia.

[07:40:16] BLACKWELL: Yes, this was after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami leaving almost 400 people dead.

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PAUL: We have some "BREAKING NEWS" and pictures that are just coming into us we want to share with you here of Indonesia. After a powerful earthquake, which then triggered a tsunami. Look at this.

[07:45:04] BLACKWELL: The water is just sweeping up onto the coast, wiping out neighborhoods there. Nearly 400 people have been killed, hundreds of people injured. Even more missing. Rescuers are now trying to reach some survivors. CNN's Matt Rivers is following this story for us. Matt, what have you learned?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is very much an ongoing situation that we do expect to get worse if not much, much worse. Just given the daunting challenges that rescuers face moving forward. 384 dead so far but we are expecting that number to go up as rescue operations continue in Palu, which is where this happened.

But that number, that death figure only comes from the city of Palu because rescuers have not been able to assess the extent of the damage in surrounding areas. So, take the city of Dongalo, for example. Not that far away from Palu. It has 300,000 people in it. Communication lines in that city are down and rescuers have not been able to get a handle on exactly how bad the damage was there but they certainly know that, that place was affected.

It is now evening in Indonesia. So, of course, rescue operations get harder at night. And as they work to try and find people, we know that it's going to take a long time. It will be very difficult.

BLACKWELL: Our Matt Rivers for us this morning. Matt, thank you.

PAUL: Well during Judge Brett Kavanaugh's hearing, calls to the National Sexual Assault Hotline skyrocketed. Ahead, how one organization is hoping to say no more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:29] PAUL: So glad to have you with us here. You know after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testified on Capitol Hill this week. There were calls to the national sexual assault hotline that shot up more than 200 percent. Executive director of No More is with us now. Tracy DeTomasi. Tracy, thank you so much for being with us. Again, and I just want to explain to our viewers, No More is a public awareness campaign focused on ending domestic violence and sexual assault here, just so you know.

I want to listen with you to a moment in this hearing with Dr. Ford that I think struck people more than most. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD, ACCUSER OF BRETT KAVANAUGH: In the hippocampus is the laughter the laughter. The uproarious laughter between the two, and they're having fun at my expense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: She had been asked, "What is your most vivid memory?" and she couldn't get a laughter of the fact that somebody was on top of her as they were laughing at her. Why do you think or do you think that was the moment that struck accord for so many people?

TRACY DETOMASI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NO MORE: I think that when sexual assault survivors process information, they often realize that they forget a lot of information. And yet, they focus in on the details.

And so, the specific details, that laughter sometimes people focus and on an object in front of them. And they remember those details. So, I think for a lot of sexual assault survivors, they recognize that as a very common trigger that they have and a memory that they might have of the assault that they experienced.

PAUL: And just listening to her say that would trigger what we hear from the national sexual assault hotline. That more than 200 percent their calls went out?

DETOMASI: On Thursday.

PAUL: This was just on Thursday.

DETOMASI: Yes. I think with that and just the news headlines and the news cycle right now is been very triggering for survivors. No more we've experienced a huge uptick in our social media presence and downloads to our toolkit online.

And it's because anything can remind a victim of the trauma that they experienced. And that's all it takes is one memory. And it brings them right back to the situation that they experience. And they have all of those fears, all of that anxiety, and they're right back to that situation.

PAUL: So, when we talk about where we go from here, I want to listen with you too, to something that Senator Leahy said after he read about the uptick in calls to reign to the organization. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: When survivors see us taking sexual assault seriously, they're empowered to come forward. If they see us callously sweeping it under the rug, I fear they'll have disastrous consequences.

If victims think they'll never be believed, well, it not matter even if they are believed, then why come forward at all?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: How much does what we're watching in the Senate Judiciary Committee. At committee and how much does disappointment mean to women who have suffered this way?

DETOMASI: I think that we have seen that this is a really big deal for survivors in general. And it makes them realize are they being believed? And I think that they're demanding -- survivors are demanding to be believed right now. And that's really important.

We have so much education to do around the experience of survivors, and the characteristics of an offender, and the culture that supports sexual assault. And it will impact people coming forward and how their friends and family talk about this case and talk about survivors as it relates to this case. And it will prevent people from coming forward who haven't already or haven't experienced sexual assault yet.

And if they experience in the future, it may change who they go to and if they stay silent. But I think it's also empowering survivors to come forward and to start to deal with their trauma. And to be a voice, and to make sure that their voice is heard.

[07:54:39] PAUL: Tracy DeTomasi, thank you so much for being here and helping us -- you know, kind of understand the impact of all of this. And we just want to put it out there that if you feel like you need help, you need hope, there is a phone number that you can call there. The National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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Years of use can lead to organ damage, psychosis, and death. In recent years, meth has killed on average almost one Oklahoman every day.

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(END VIDEOTAPE)