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New Day Saturday

Elizabeth Warren Expected to Announce Presidential Run at 11 AM ET; Democratic Presidential Candidates All Over the Map This Weekend; Virginia Political Crisis; KUSI: DHS to Replace 12.5 Miles of Border Fencing in San Diego; WH optimistic About a Deal to Avoid Second Shutdown; Washington State Sees Record Breaking Snowfall; Trump to Meet NK Dictator Kim Jong-un on February 27-28; Road to Redemption: Jacqueline and Jesse Jackson Jr. Share Personal Letters in New Book. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired February 09, 2019 - 8:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

PAUL: Former Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham recovering at home his morning after he had open heart surgery. The family says the 69-year-old suffered vocal cord damage, though, during that operation last week. Doctors have said they don't know if the damage is permanent. Fleetwood Mac tweeted this, "We are saddened by this news. Our thoughts and love go out to Lindsey and his entire family. We are hopeful for his speedy recovery".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This new accusation by a separate woman is very serious, that Justin Fairfax raped her. The entire Virginia House Democratic Caucus has called on the Lieutenant Governor to step down.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Inquiring minds may be in legal trouble. Federal prosecutors in New York are reviewing claims "The National Enquirer" attempted to extort and blackmail Jeff Bezos.

JULIAN CASTRO, SAN ANTONIO MAYOR: People want a new generation of leadership. I'm going to bring a vision for the country that represents the future.

CORY BOOKER, (D) NEW JERSEY: I'm one of the few people you're going to see coming through Iowa that actually had to run something.

MATTHEW WHITAKER, ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: I have not talked to the President of the United States about the Special Counsel's investigation.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: Who are you? Where did you come from and how the heck did you become the Head of the Department of Justice?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is "New Day Weekend" with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Ready or not here they come. The 2020 race is on. A growing field that Democrats are already fighting over who will be the one to take on President Trump next year.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN HOST: Yes, the latest entry into that field Senator Elizabeth Warren, expected to announce the official start of her run later this morning in Massachusetts, and then show continue on to New Hampshire from that point.

She won't be the only Democrat on the move today, though. Official announcement or not, the campaign stops are underway from South Carolina to Iowa. We want to start with you in Lawrence, Massachusetts where we have CNN National Political Correspondent, MJ Lee. MJ good to see you. What's happening there?

MJ LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, we have - already. But today is the day that she makes it official with her presidential campaign launch rally here in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Let me just give you a sense of where we are right now. We are outside of an old textile mill and the reason that Elizabeth Warren chose this site as the official launch of her campaign are very symbolic. She is choosing this spot because this is the site of a historic 1912 labor strike where workers walked out to protest about wage cuts, and this was a labor strike that was largely led by women and immigrants.

And what we are told is that she will use this backdrop - this mill as the backdrop to hit on some of the themes that are going to define her campaign candidacy and her platform such as workers taking on corporate power. The idea that corruption and this idea of the rich and the powerful of being bought by politicians, these are obviously all themes that we have heard Elizabeth Warren talk about a lot over the last month since she launched her exploratory campaign.

And all of this, of course, comes as the 2020 race is really intensifying. We know that a lot of Democratic candidates are fanned out across the country this weekend and that includes Elizabeth Warren too. When she is done speaking here, we know that she is going to head up to New Hampshire and then Iowa.

And just a final note ought to leave you with. We know that she is going to be introduced and endorsed by Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy and we know that other members of the Massachusetts delegation will be here to show their support as well. Guys.

PAUL: All righty. MJ Lee, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Joining me now to discuss what's ahead Amie Parnes, Senior Political Correspondent, The Hill and Co-Author of "Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign". Thanks so much for being back with us.

So let's start here with the space that Elizabeth Warren is trying to build for herself, considering what MJ just told us about this location for the launch. Sherrod Brown also with his "Dignity in Work" tour across Ohio, he'll be in New Hampshire this weekend as well. How much of that space does she own compared to what we're seeing from other potential candidates who are getting into this race?

AMIE PARNES, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE HILL: I think that's a really that's a problematic thing for her, because she in a way, is - it's a very crowded lane - this progressive lane, if you will, Victor. And she faces people like Senator Brown, even Bernie Sanders who is yet to announce his intentions, but people expect him to run. So - and then lots of others like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

So, I think, what she's trying to do and what she has been trying to do by getting out early, by being the first candidate to kind of announce on New Year's Eve, is to sort of stake her ground, say, talk about economic issues. The economy is supposed to be one of the biggest issues - if not the biggest issue this cycle.

So I think she's trying to get out there and she really wants to win in that.

[08:05:00] If she can win New Hampshire that will help her campaign, obviously, and do her a lot going forward, particularly because a lot of the early states like California are coming up very shortly after that.

BLACKWELL: Let's listen to one of her for the nomination, Former Secretary Julian Castro here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JULIAN CASTRO, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The sense that I get is that people want a new generation of leadership. And in this race, just speaking for myself, I believe that I'm going to bring a vision for the country that represents the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So how does that wanting someone new, because that has ranked high in polls of Democrats? How does that rank next to electability, and the ability to beat President Trump?

PARNES: It's something that I've heard, Victor, for a long time. I've been covering this beat now for a year and a half, and the thing that you talk to a lot of Democrats now and they'll tell you this. They'll say they want fresh blood. They want a new face. It's kind of why the Hillary Clinton candidacy didn't work the last time around. She was weighed down by a lot of baggage. She didn't have a message.

So they want someone who can - who is sort of reflective of the future going forward. And that's why a lot of people are saying that someone like Joe Biden doesn't really have some strengths going forward going into this. But you know it's funny because he does rank very high in polls, I think, because partly there's the Obama nostalgia.

Obama is still very popular and people want to kind of see him. He has the experience and he's also a centrist. So it's hard to say if new blood and a new face is a priority right now for Democrats. PAUL: All right. Amie Parnes, thanks so much.

PARNES: Thank you.

PAUL: So it's been quite a wild week in Virginian and we want to talk about what's happening this morning. These mounting political scandals that are fueling calls for the state's top three Democratic government officials to resign here.

But the latest is this second sexual assault allegation against Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. He vehemently denies both of these claims. CNN Correspondent, Kaylee Hartung live in Richmond, Virginia with more details. And Kaylee, this second woman says out-and-out he raped me?

KAYLEE HARTUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Christi. Earlier this week when a first accuser came forward Dr. Vanessa Tyson, Democrats called for an investigation. But in the last 15 hours or so this conversation has changed dramatically. As the second woman, a college classmates of Fairfax, says he raped her when they were both students at Duke University in 2000.

Meredith Watson says, "The attack was premeditated and aggressive". And now Virginia and national Democrats are lining up calling for Virginia's Lieutenant Governor to resign. We can start with a major block of support that he lost last night when Virginia members of the House of Delegates and the state Senate Democrats, mind you, issued a joint statement in which, they said, "He needs to address this as a private citizen and step down".

Virginia's legislative Black Caucus followed suit saying that, "We can't see it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth for the Lieutenant Governor to remain in this role". We've heard from the biggest names in Virginia's Democratic Party like their two U.S. senators in Mark Warner and Tim Kaine as well as former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, 2020 contenders like Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand also among those calling for his resignation.

And five Democratic members of the House of Representatives they have called also saying that these accusations are serious and he has shown very poor judgment in his handling of them, the way he's attacked his accusers as they have come forward and also blaming others for events in his past.

Christi, you mentioned Justin Fairfax is vehemently denying these accusations. He's calling them "unsubstantiated and demonstrably false". He said in a statement last night, he will not resign. But the decision for the future of his political career may not be his own. Listen to this from Democratic Member of the House of Delegates Patrick Hope of Arlington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK HOPE, (D) VIRGINIA HOUSE DELEGATE: As the father of three young girls, I cannot stand by silently while the Lieutenant Governor is facing multiple, credible allegations of sexual assault. I believe these women. He needs to resign immediately. Should the Lieutenant Governor fail to do so, on Monday, I intend to introduce articles of impeachment on Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARTUNG: There you have a Democratic Member of the House of Delegates in Virginia saying that he is drafting articles of impeachment and if Justin Fairfax does not resign from his post as Lieutenant Governor before Monday, Hope will introduce those articles of impeachment.

And Christi, Victor, you can't look at this scandal without taking a step back and looking at the larger context of the turmoil in Virginia, the Governor and the Attorney General also facing backlash and fallout from their admittance of racist behavior wearing blackface when they were in college.

[08:10:00] It's hard to imagine a week that could have been more tumultuous for the State of Virginia.

PAUL: And I'm wondering where it's going to go as well. Kaylee Hartung, thank you so much for kind of wrapping that up for us.

BLACKWELL: All right she is the wife of a civil rights leader, the mother of a former congressman, now Jacqueline Jackson has written a book, the letters that she sent to her son former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. in prison. We will speak with Mrs. Jackson and the former congressman, coming up.

PAUL: Also parts of the West Coast are dealing with this right now. Record breaking snowfall - oh, look at that, you have see what a mess it is. How long this potentially crippling storm could last?

BLACKWELL: And front and center at the big Grammys ceremonies, women, who will take home the biggest award?

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: According to CNN Affiliate, KUSI, the Department of Homeland Security is expediting a replacement of 12.5 half miles of border fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego. Officials say the improvements are going to help curb illegal immigration into San Diego.

Now one Border Patrol agent posted a photo on Instagram. You see it there, that's a section of the border barrier that had fallen over he says. He says "This is proof that we need to update this aging infrastructure".

I want to bring in Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania. He's a Member of the House Democratic leadership and a Member of the Appropriations Committee. Sir, good morning to you good morning.

REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning, Christi, we made it to the weekend. PAUL: Yes we made it to the weekend. Alrighty, so I want to ask you first of all, since we're talking about border security here, your position on this. You had acknowledged in a Fox News interview recently that walls do work.

When we look at your voting record, we noted that you did vote against some key border immigration bills in June 2018 against the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act that same month Secure America's Future Act, which focused on immigration, you had voted against. And then in September of 2017, the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act. So can you clarify us, do you or do you not support a wall being built?

REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: I support evidence based expenditure of money. We're so happy to have Lucille Roybal-Allard as a Chairperson of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of Appropriations and she's on the team that's negotiating to make sure we don't go into another shutdown over all of this.

PAUL: Right.

CARTWRIGHT: What I want to see is - let's not take pledges or promises. Let's talk about evidence based decisions. And I've said throughout--

PAUL: So is a wall an evidence based decision?

CARTWRIGHT: - walls were walls make sense.

PAUL: OK. I'm sorry, go ahead.

CARTWRIGHT: Absolutely. But you have to - but you can't have broad sweeping statements like we have to have wall from sea to shining sea. No, you have to see where it's going to work, so that you're not wasting taxpayer dollars.

I mean, I said over and over again there, are places where mountain goats couldn't even cross, let alone human beings. Why would we possibly need--

PAUL: Because of the terrain, you mean?

CARTWRIGHT: - any kind of barrier at all. Say again?

PAUL: Because of the terrain in that area you mean? Is that what you're referring to?

CARTWRIGHT: Sure, because of the terrain, because it's so remote, because of the remote possibility of any human being trying to cross in that area. Let's find out where the American taxpayer can get the best bang for his and her buck.

PAUL: So if I'm hearing you right, you agree to walls in certain places where it is warranted.

CARTWRIGHT: Walls or barriers or whatever makes sense. PAUL: OK.

CARTWRIGHT: And I think you're going to see this coming out of this - the Joint Committee negotiating to make sure we don't go back into a shutdown, you're going to see a compromise coming out of that that makes some sense.

PAUL: So you believe that there will be a compromise coming out here in the next week. We've got nine days till the next shutdown. Do you think that we will avoid a shutdown?

CARTWRIGHT: I do and I'll tell you why. #1, the Speaker has said - they're going to - Speaker's Office is going to keep their hands off of the process, and I hope the President does as well, so that the Committee itself can come to an agreement.

We're talking about veteran legislators, people who have been there for many years. We're talking about appropriators like Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, like David Price, people who have been there a long time and understand the give-and-take of negotiation.

And they also understand the horrible harm it does to our nation to shut the government down. We're looking at a possible zero growth rate for the first quarter of 2019, only because of the shutdown. That means lost jobs and that's wrong.

PAUL: Right. So - but does it not come down to semantics? I mean, the President wants a wall, the Democrats are saying, we will give you money for border security, but not for wall. You're on the same page. You both want border security. Is it - as a response - do the Democrats have as much responsibility to get beyond that is it a wall or not as is it a wall, as the President does?

CARTWRIGHT: Right. That's what I've been saying, Christi, is that let's get beyond the semantics. Let's talk about what makes sense and what we can agree to as grown-up legislators.

PAUL: OK. I wanted to ask you about some of the news this morning regarding a Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. The second woman has come out. She's claiming that he raped her in 2000 when they attended Duke University. Lot of people calling for him to resign, do you think it's time for the Lieutenant Governor to resign?

[08:20:00] CARTWRIGHT: I think that would be a prudent call. I mean, gosh, what's happened in Virginia the last month or so, it's just been a dumpster fire. You hate to see that happen. But, yes, I think the Lieutenant Governor ought to step down, while they look into those allegations. These things can't be swept under the carpet. This is not something we do anymore.

PAUL: OK. Do you think the other two - the leaders of Virginia should step down as well?

CARTWRIGHT: I haven't made up my mind on that. It's a nasty piece of business what came out about both of those gentlemen. I can't even imagine that that happened. And the way they responded hasn't been ideal --

PAUL: But it did. They both admitted that it did.

CARTWRIGHT: I know and the way they've responded has not been ideal. So I - what's hard for me to wrap my head around, Christi, is that, any of that happened in the first place. So, yes, I think eventually both of them ought to step down as well.

PAUL: All right. I wanted to ask you as well about this "Green New Deal" that is being proposed by a representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. There is - this is language that is not in the actual resolution. But this language, I'm going to read to you came from an overview that came directly from Representative Ocasio-Cortez's office, and it reads as such.

"But for those not interested in working, there's something in the plan for them as well", going beyond upgrading all existing buildings and the goal to be carbon neutral in 10 years. It goes on to say, "The overview notes that the Green New Deal aims to provide "economic security for all who are unable or unwilling to work."

To a lot of people that sounds like outright socialism, so someone's going to go - they're not willing to go to work, but they're going to get paid anyway. Would you support or vote for a provision like that well?

CARTWRIGHT: Well, we have to examine anything. One thing about the "Green New Deal" that people may not realize - it is not - this is not something in the form of a bill. It's not written out. It's not a legislative proposal. It's just this kind of a loose statement of principles.

And I want to tell you, I'm all on board. We have to move toward reducing carbon emissions. I was severely disappointed when we stepped away from the Paris Accords. United States needs to take a leadership position in the world and in addressing climate change, and stepping away from Paris is the opposite of that.

So I'm looking at the "Green New Deal". But what we need to do is boil it down to an actual legislative proposal and then we run through the traps to make sure it makes sense.

PAUL: Would you encourage that kind of language about unwilling to work in economic security, would you include that in a deal?

CARTWRIGHT: Yes. Christi, this is the first time I'm hearing it --

PAUL: OK.

CARTWRIGHT: And I don't even know what that means.

PAUL: OK. All right Congressman Matt Cartwright, we appreciate you taking time for us this morning. Thank you, sir.

CARTWRIGHT: Nice to be with you Christi.

PAUL: Of course.

BLACKWELL: Washington State is in the middle of its second major snowstorm this week and now there's a state of emergency. Coming up, how long this record-breaking snowfall will last and how much snow they will see. Plus Facebook, into those difficult 15 years - turning 15 years old now. CNN caught up with Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg in an exclusive interview, we'll Laurie Segall what she learned.

[08:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: This weekend, people from - oh boy, from California to Washington State are dealing with this mess.

PAUL: Oh, no that poor man.

BLACKWELL: - changing his tire in the middle of a snowstorm. There is a state of emergency in place in Washington State. Record breaking snowfall in Seattle and instead of taking a walk in the park, one person decided to ski instead.

PAUL: Officials told drivers to stay off the road. So he did so.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.

PAUL: Good for him?

BLACKWELL: That's right.

PAUL: This is the area's second snowstorm this week. Look at - look at the wind. Oh, my goodness. CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar. You know, Allison, people are ready for this to be over.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And unfortunately it's not. You've still got several more hours of snow and another system that set to come in Sunday night and into day Monday, not much of a brake in between.

Especially, when you think of how much snow some of these areas have already having - these top cities right here, they are in the Northwestern portion of the State of Washington, both picking up over 10 inches of snow already.

The Seattle Airport, Seattle-Tacoma Airport already down 7.2 inches. Keep in mind 6.4 of that was yesterday alone that broke a daily record. But more importantly, 6.8 is the amount that Seattle usually gets in the entire year and they've already had that in just about a 24 hour time period. But it's still snowing. So what does that mean?

Well, if they can get up to about 8 inches, it will be the first time in nearly 30 years that they've had that big of a snowstorm. So, again, yes, we think of Seattle as being far north. But, again, you have to understand, downtown Seattle, lot of those low lying areas, they are just not used to this much snow, and it's still snowing, not just in Seattle but stretching into Oregon as well.

You've got Vancouver, Washington, just on the other side of Portland already picking up about four inches of snow. But that system will continue to push a little further South, that's why you have winter warnings, winter weather advisories not only for places like Washington and portions of Oregon, but stretching down to Nevada and also into California.

Now, this storm as we mentioned, will go from the North pushing down to the South. When it does that will going to bring incredibly heavy snow, also to areas of Sierra, Nevada Mountains, where they could end up picking up over 30 inches of snow.

[08:30:00] More importantly, Victor and Christi, take a look at the temperatures. It's going to be so cold, whatever snow falls in Seattle is likely going to stay on the ground, because their high temperature is going to be colder than their average low temperature for the next five days.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

PAUL: Light a fire in the fireplace, grab hot chocolate and settle in.

BLACKWELL: Yes, keep the skis stored, if you have them, just stay in your house. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

PAUL: All right, wondering if there is a red circle on a couple of dates on the calendar there in the President's Office, because President Trump says he will meet Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27th and 28th.

BLACKWELL: Now since his first meeting with the North Korean Leader, President Trump is claiming Pyongyang is no longer a nuclear threat. But his Intel Chiefs disagree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, we signed an agreement. It said we will begin the immediate denuclearization.

DAN COATS, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: North Korea will seek to retain its WMD capabilities and it's unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Sarah Westwood live from the White House now. Sarah, what else do we're learning about this summit and what the President is saying as we head into those final weeks ahead of it?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, we finally have a city for that highly anticipated second summit with Kim Jong-un, that's Hanoi. But the selection of that city could be a bit of a concession from the Trump administration because CNN has reported that North Korea wanted the summit to take place in Hanoi, preferred that city because they had an embassy there. And the Trump administration wanted the summit to be held in Da Nang, another finalist for the venue, because an economic summit had just taken place there, so it had already been checked out by administration officials. Trump is still touting the fact that this meeting is on the books as a win though and he previewed it in his State of the Union address, which tells you a lot about how high a priority the administration considers this meeting to be.

Now announcing the city on Twitter last night, President Trump wrote, "My representatives have just left North Korea after a very productive meeting and an agreed upon time and date for the second summit with Kim Jong-un. It will take place in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 27th and 28th. I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim and advancing the cause of peace."

Now there have been no missile launches or threats from North Korea since the President met last year with Singapore, but we also haven't seen much progress toward that complete and verifiable denuclearization that trump says he wants from North Korea. And Victor and Christi, the White House has not yet unveiled what specific steps what specific concessions they'll be seeking in this second summit with the leader of North Korea.

BLACKWELL: All right, Sarah Westwood thanks so much.

PAUL: Thanks Sarah. He served 30 months in prison and for every day of his sentence his mother wrote him letters, now Jacqueline Jackson and Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. sharing those letters in a new book. We're speaking with them after the break.

[08:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE JACKSON, JR., (D) FORMER REPRESENTATIVE: I still believe the power forgiveness. I believe in the power of redemption. Today, I manned up and tried to accept responsibility for the errors of my ways and I still believe in the resurrection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. in 2013 after he was sentenced to prison for a fraud and now the son of a Civil Rights Leader Reverend Jesse Jackson is talking about his time in prison and how his mother's love helped him through that dark period.

Every day of the time he was in prison is his mother sent him a letter and those letters are now a book called, "Loving You, Thinking of You, Don't Forget to Pray: Letters to My Son in Prison." Joining me now the book's Author Mrs. Jacqueline Jackson and her son Jesse Jackson Jr., good to have both of you.

JACKSON, JR.: Good morning.

JACQUELINE JACKSON, "LETTERS TO MY SON IN PRISON" AUTHOR: Good morning, Victor and Christi. Good to see you. BLACKWELL: So let me - good to have you. Let me start here with the author, Congressman if you don't mind. Let me start with you Mrs. Jackson.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So these letters were meant to be private communications between you and your son. I understand that he gave you as a gift, the group - the collection of letters and then eventually you were either convinced or decided to publish them. What got you to that point of sharing these with everyone else?

JACQUELINE JACKSON: Well it was my birthday March 17th, and my son said he wanted to go to dinner with me and he had a surprise for me. He wanted you to take my picture, because he wanted to put it on the cover of the presentation of the letters I had sent to him.

I - and he asked me for permission, and I told him, the letters belong to him. And once the little book was produced, he has some friends from his college days down in North Carolina and actually they convinced us, April and Nicole convinced us to do this, and here we are today.

BLACKWELL: And here you are today. Congressman you wrote of these letters, and let's put it up, "This symphony of words soothed and sustained me on days when nothing else could or would during the dank murky, midnights of my life. Sometimes I questioned God. But I never questioned my mother".

What did these letters mean to you? Because some of them are spiritual and uplifting, some of them are about someone hid under Ray's house after they stole an armored car or things happening in and around the community. What did these letters mean to you Congressman?

JACKSON: Victor, I had to tell my mother, the apple of her eye, she has four other wonderful children that I was going to prison.

[08:40:00] And her son, the Congressman, would be leaving public office in disgrace and that was not a moment. That was a process. I was in a very, very dark place when I entered prison, and I did not know how to approach my mother and tell her, "Mama, I'm going to prison".

Again, Victor it wasn't a moment, it was a three-year process of breaking the news to her, because Robert Mueller was the Head of the FBI during my investigation and he is relentless. If he doesn't find something here, he looks for something in another place.

And so I entered prison with my head down, and my mother turned to me when I told her that I was going to prison, she said, "Jesse, I am much stronger than you think I am. If you go to prison I will write you every single day", and that's exactly what she did. I presented her an edited version of all of those letters and they sustained me.

And one of the things that I wanted to share, Victor, with you --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

JACKSON: - was that. During mail call they would say Jackson, Jackson, Jackson, a letter would come every day, and I would watch dozens of men drop their heads, because they were disconnected or their family members had abandoned them. And I'm so grateful to my mother because she did not abandon me through this process, and that's what this act of love was about.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: And this little book is a gift, Victor, to mothers. I represent and would like to be included in the millions of women who have had the experience of their child being physically removed from them.

My son went to - was incarcerated because he committed a nonviolent crime. We have to now become a new country, a new people and a whole people and begin to address nonviolent crimes a little differently. And I'm hoping that this book will start a campaign to end recidivism, how can you do this?

As a parent you can have - you have the obligation, because you gave birth to these young people, to stay in touch, include them and prepare them for re-entry, for coming back home.

BLACKWELL: I read in your letter too, the judge that you talked about restorative justice and that being a portion of the theme of this book and what your lessons are the family, how you can hopefully impact the criminal justice system in the U.S.

Congressmen, while I have you, we played a clip at the top of this segment where you talked about, you believed in redemption. And I'd be remiss if I didn't talk with you about some of the topics of the day, the news of the moment.

In the discussion of redemption, what's your view on potentially redemption for - out of Virginia, Governor Northam and for the Attorney General there Mr. Herring after their admissions of blackface. Can they be redeemed? I know you've commented on this.

JACKSON: I'll tell you what I'd like to see. I'd like to see the three of them come together, while they are in office, pending their potential resignations and looked very closely at every debt paid felon in the state of Virginia, men and women, who have paid their debt to society.

They owe the Commonwealth of Virginia nothing else, then pardoned them. They shouldn't be felons for life. They've done what the judge, said "do". They honored the obligations before the people, the prosecutor and the jury, then forgive them. If you want forgiveness start passing some out.

BLACKWELL: So let me ask you this. There's nothing more restorative for a public persona than coming out with this passionate book. And I've read some of the letters, not all of them, with your mother. What is the future - or what does the future hold for Jesse Jackson Jr.? Do you think you'll have a future in political office?

JACKSON: Victor what I am concerned about is ensuring that my mother at age 74--

JACQUELINE JACKSON: 75 is the limit.

JACKSON: At age 74 has a wonderful journey and I want my father who was struggling with Parkinson's, who's watching my mother and I this morning to know that we're continuing his legacy as best we possibly can.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: And I love you too Reverend Jesse Jackson, my husband.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So on the political question, is that a yes potentially in the future?

JACKSON: I'm not going to close any doors, Victor, but I'm focused right now on strengthening my parents.

BLACKWELL: All right Mrs. Jackson, Congressman Jackson, thank you both.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: Victor, we love you.

BLACKWELL: Well, thank you very much.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: - for being on CNN.

BLACKWELL: Thank you. I'm getting love right back, appreciated.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Have a good morning.

JACQUELINE JACKSON: OK.

PAUL: All right. It is a big birthday celebrations for social media giant Facebook. CNN's Laurie Segall is going to tell us about her exclusive interview with Mark Zuckerberg.

[08:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Facebook is celebrating a big birthday turning 15 and CNN got an exclusive interview with CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. He talks about his childhood and professional life.

PAUL: Here is CNN Senior Tech Correspondent, Laurie Segall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to December 2007, also known as that time Facebook ruined Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was the guy who put a diamond ring for his wife and all of his friends had flashed up on their screens --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Including his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: - his wife. "Christmas ruined" he said.

SEGALL (voice-over): It was Facebook's first big privacy scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands were outraged.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were really ticked off.

SEGALL (voice-over): Ticked off by Facebook's first real attempt at making money. It was an ad product called Beacon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Facebook user can log into e-commerce sites using your Facebook identification.

[08:50:00] And then when you buy something, all your friends are going to find out about it, and Facebook was like, this is such a cool innovative way to get like involved in commerce and not be doing boring old advertising.

SEGALL (voice-over): To say they got it wrong was an understatement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It blew up in their faces immediately, because if you think about it, you don't want like people to know what kind of underwear you're buying and so on.

SEGALL (voice-over): This soon after the newsfeed outrage. But like many bets Zuckerberg made that paid off, this was different.

SEGALL (voice-over): As story of Facebook Beacon is the time where Facebook got really burned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: And Laurie is with us now. I want to know what your biggest takeaway was, anything that surprised you and your interviews for this Laurie?

SEGALL: Honestly, just we looked at and we looked at Facebook going all the way up to 15 years. I think so many folks are focused on this moment in time for Facebook right now, which is incredibly important, because it says a lot about the future of tech and humanity.

But I think what really surprised me was there were a lot of things that happened all throughout the years. These little privacy scandals, these big privacy scandals like what you saw with that clip-on Beacon. That kind of led us to this better understanding of some of where Facebook had these missteps throughout the years and also where Facebook had almost this arrogance of knowing what's best and in many ways those bets paid off.

When you look at Mark Zuckerberg turning down a billion-dollar offer with Yahoo! to buy the company, everyone thought he was crazy. When people - when he spent a $1 dollars to buy Instagram, the mobile app, everyone thought he was crazy. So you know it's just an interesting story of the bets that paid off, and then the blind spots of the bad things people could do on the platform, and not taking user data seriously. BLACKWELL: What I always found interesting about stories like this - the people behind these social media companies, behind these stories and some of the infighting that you learned about in this documentary.

SEGALL: Yes, it was really interesting, because we did speak with their former a Head of Security, who talked about a little bit of a Game of Thrones culture up at the top, and saying it was almost like there was a zone filter bubble, because you know not enough people have left. It's the same people, making those same decisions.

So there's a lot happening at the company. It's in full-on transition. Facebook acquired WhatsApp and Instagram and those founders have left the company. But I think there are also a lot of optimists working at the company, saying these are very, very hard challenges that come along with Mark Zuckerberg's mission which was to connect the world.

Well, congratulations, you've connected over 2 billion people and there are a lot of difficult problems that come along with that. And they've said - and you'll see this in the documentary that they're up for the challenge for what the next - what Facebook will look like in 15 years. They've got to be able to deal with some of these more challenging issues now.

BLACKWELL: 15 is a critical age. It is a very critical age.

PAUL: Yes, Laurie Segall, great work. Thank you so much for sharing it.

SEGALL: Thank you.

PAUL: Yes. And don't forget to watch the CNN Special Report with her "Facebook at 15" tomorrow 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

BLACKWELL: It is music's biggest night tomorrow and women will be front and center at the Grammys this year. All the big nominees. We will break down the top nominees in the top categories.

[08:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: I like dollars, I like diamonds, I like studded, I like shining, you know who that is?

PAUL: No

BLACKWELL: Good. Payback for springing Garth Brooks lyrics on me in 2014. Grammys are tomorrow. Here is Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Cardi B and her Monster Jam.

(Music Playing)

ELAM (voice-over): To Brandi Carlile and her evocative vocals.

(Music Playing)

ELAM (voice-over): Women are front and center in the big Grammy categories.

JEM ASWAD, SENIOR MUSIC EDITOR, VARIETY: There's momentum behind them based on what happened last year, the lack of female representation in the winners, the lack of female representation in the industry.

ELAM (voice-over): While the main categories were expanded this year from five nominees to eight, the most nominated artists are still men. Kendrick Lamar is up for eight Grammys.

(Music Playing)

ELAM (voice-over): Followed closely by Drake with seven nominations.

(Music Playing)

ELAM (voice-over): The four of them are up against each other for album of the year, along with her, Janelle Monae, Kacey Musgraves and Post Malone.

ASWAD: Hip-hop, R&B and Pop are so big that it seems likely that those categories are going to carry every major award.

(Music Playing)

ELAM (voice-over): Post Malone's "Rockstar" is up for two Grammys, including "Record of the Year". And while Post is expected to perform, he will likely have to do it without 21 Savage who is featured on the hit song. British born Savage was taken into ICE custody a week before the Grammys. Officials say he was in the country illegally.

Other contenders for "Record of the Year" are Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey for "The Middle". Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "Shallow" from "A Star is Born" and Childish Gambino's

(Music Playing)

ASWAD: I feel like if there is one that captured the zeitgeist for 2018 in the best and worst way is "This is America". You got that incredible video with so much meaning.

ELAM (voice-over): Hosting this year, a woman with 15 Grammys of her own, Alicia Keys.

ASWAD: She's exactly the right person. On the one hand you've very much got the establishment.