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NEW DAY

Hillary Clinton's Comments on E-mail Controversy; Pope Francis and The Francis Miracle

Aired March 11, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, seven Marines and four soldiers are missing after their Blackhawk chopper went down during a night training exercise. This happened near Eglin Air Force Base off the Florida panhandle. A search is still underway.

Two University of Oklahoma students are apologizing for their part in a racist fraternity chant. They have been expelled. They have until Friday to challenge that decision.

The White House is concerned the letter from 47 Republican senators to Iranian's government could lead Iranian hardliners to scrap a nuclear deal. Negotiations resume this Sunday.

Hillary Clinton is defending her use of personal e-mail while she served as secretary of state, calling it a matter of convenience. She's still raising some eyebrows by refusing to turn over her personal e-mail server.

A photo of a blood-stained, bullet-riddled note from -- written by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev while he was hiding in a boat shown to the jury in the Boston Marathon bombing trial. Prosecutors argue that jurors should consider it a confession.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Michaela.

Well, Hillary Clinton tried to put that e-mail controversy behind her, but did she make things worse by speaking out and do her plans pass the truth test? Chris and I will be fact checking, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I opted for convenience to use my personal e-mail account. I saw it as a matter of convenience. It was allowed. And as I said, it was for convenience. I did it for convenience. And I now, looking back, think that it might have been smarter to have those two devices from the very beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That was Hillary Clinton saying her use of a private e-mail address while secretary of state was just about convenience. Does her explanation pass the truth test? Let's bring in Ana Navarro, she's our CNN political commentator and Republican strategist, and CNN political commentator Van Jones. And Chris will be here to tell you both if your explanations pass his smell test.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I can't leave the truth to you two. You wouldn't know the truth if it kicked you in the behind.

CAMEROTA: He's an expert smeller. So, Ana, let me start with you. Can this whole kerfuffle be explained at the convenience of just wanting one device?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, convenience is a lot more convenient than to go out there and say paranoia, secrecy, control freak, victim of right wing conspiracy theorists. So, you know, it's a --

CUOMO: Is she talking about me?

NAVARRO: No, I don't think it -- I don't think the convenience thing passes muster. I mean, Alisyn, come on, it's not like we were asking her to carry two watermelons in her purse. And since she left state, she has been carrying two phones. It is not that big a deal, guys. And you -- I'm having a hard time understanding how it's more convenient to set up an entire server in your house than it is to carry two little devices.

CAMEROTA: Got it.

Go ahead, Van.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, in some ways she's playing what I would call the grandma card here. She's not playing to the D.C. elite that's trying to figure out, you know, all the rules around disclosure. She's saying, listen, guys, this stuff's complicated. I was trying to do -- just trying to make my own life work better. Does it pass muster for a lot of D.C. people? No, it doesn't. But I think for ordinary people they say, you know what, actually I've got a bunch of devices. If I were secretary of state, I'm running all around the world, I might want to have just one device.

Now, it's true that I know how to have, on my one device, lots of e- mail accounts and I manage them. But she's really, in some ways, I think people -- people in the D.C. circuit are missing this. She's playing the grandma card to the heartland. Look, my motives were not negative. My motives were good. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to have convenience for myself. That's what she's doing.

CAMEROTA: OK, watermelon explanation or grandma explanation?

CUOMO: I was distracted by the two watermelons, I'm not going to lie. But I think convenience alone will not get it done. The server, however, Ana, she did not set up for this. It was already set up by her president for their -- for his work. So it was available to her. But the idea that this was about just one device or two, tough to take.

CAMEROTA: OK, here's the next thing that she said. Let's see if this passes the truth test. I fully complied with every rule I was governed by.

Ana, that's probably true to the letter of the law. What did you think of that explanation?

NAVARRO: I'm not sure that's true to the letter of the law. What we have heard so far from the White House is that that was not their policy. We know that her State Department, in fact her office issued policy memorandum saying that that was not the State Department's policy. And we know that the National Archives and Records Association had regulations issued in 2009. That was not their policy. So I'm not sure which of the rules she's talking about.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And, Van, in fact it was not their policy in 2011 at the State Department.

JONES: I think -- I think what she's trying to say is that within the four corners of the law, what -- the requirement is that every e-mail be archived, be preserved. The way she tries to get around that is she says, I e-mailed everything to a dot gov account. Every dot gov account is captured in the way that the law requires. So what she's saying is that the way that I chose to have my e-mails to my staff documented is, I e-mailed it to them on their dot gov account. So I think she's saying within the four corners of the law she is -- and even to this point I haven't even heard her critics say that she should go to jail, she broke the law. I've heard them say that they don't like --

CUOMO: They said it early. We haven't heard it recently.

JONES: Yes, but that -- that went away like a snowflake.

CUOMO: Right.

CAMEROTA: Go.

CUOMO: She could use personal e-mail if she did it a certain way.

JONES: Yes.

CUOMO: The unknown about her control over the e-mails and what was really released is what is going to obscure people's take on that.

JONES: Right.

CAMEROTA: Yes. OK, the next thing that she said basically, Ana, was others have done it. Colin Powell did it. Other secretaries of state have done it. What do you think of that explanation?

NAVARRO: You know, I think that e-mail use has become a lot more prevalent in recent years. It's certainly a lot more prevalent in government and business today than it was in 2000 when Colin Powell was first secretary of state. There's also cyber threats today that weren't just -- weren't as prevalent back then. So I think it's a -- it's a changing, an evolving world when it comes to cyber security, use of e-mails, and that's why we see that the regulations get updated and get changed because it's different today than it was when al gore first invented the Internet. So, you know, I just --

CAMEROTA: That's a good point. In 2011 --

NAVARRO: I don't think that -- I don't think that holds muster.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

NAVARRO: You cannot compare, you know, what somebody's doing now when we know what --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

NAVARRO: What the reality is today to what somebody did 10 or 15 years ago.

CAMEROTA: And, in fact -- yes, Ana makes a good point because in 2011 the guidance changed from the State Department.

JONES: Yes. Well, I actually don't argue hard with her on this point. Again, she's playing to the heartland. If you say, listen, I did what Colin Powell did. I'm trying to do a good job. I want convenience. You know, the average person in the heartland, if you hate the Clintons, no answer is good enough. But if you're -- if you're an honest person, well, geez, maybe this makes sense.

I actually do agree, though, that we are in a different world from the Colin Powell days. I think the Colin Powell excuse sounds really good from a press point of view. I hope she keeps saying it.

But I do think that, at the end of the day, we are in a different world. And I think that she's right when she says that there were smarter ways to handle this. I agree with Hillary Clinton on that point.

CAMEROTA: Chris Cuomo, your nose, what does your nose tell you?

CUOMO: I don't -- It's not obviously enough because she's having to add onto it. I do think something that she can't say, but will be said by those around her, is they have a right to feel paranoid on the Clinton team. People come after them in a unique way, and that's why the idea now of just turn over the server is almost an impossibility. We heard Lindsey Graham. You can have any e-mail that I've ever written. I've never written one. It's easy to say you want to be transparent when you have nothing to show and you have to weigh that in in Hillary's thinking, too..

NAVARRO: Let me tell you this, Chris. I know Lindsey Graham very well, and he is one of the most accessible senators that there is.

CUOMO: Did you ever get an e-mail from him?

NAVARRO: He doesn't do e-mails, he does texts.

CUOMO: Oh, he does texts?

NAVARRO: I get phone calls, and, can I tell you something? He's so entertaining and fun I'm really, really happy that he calls and doesn't e-mail.

CAMEROTA: There you go.

All right, Ana Navarro.

CUOMO: See, he didn't say you can have my texts.

CAMEROTA: No.

(CROSS TALK)

CAMEROTA: Ana Navarro, Van Jones, thanks so much.

CUOMO: You know, this is complicated. You know who should decide it?

CAMEROTA: You.

CUOMO: The pappa. The pope. No, no, not yet.

Why does everyone seem to prefer Francis to other recent popes? We have a true insider for you who's going to lay out how this pope may change things that many thought would never change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: With five words, one man changed the way the world views the Catholic church. Who am I to judge?

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): That man, of course, Pope Francis, and he's been inspiring Catholics and non-Catholics alike because of his simple, open attitude towards different people, gay people, women, even divorce. Now, a new book takes a look at just who Pope Francis is, and how he has changed the papacy for sure.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): The man's name, John Allen, CNN's senior Vatican correspondent, joining us, the author of "The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church." This book, John, worth writing. I read your book, so I know. I'm a big fan. You know, I sat next to you. I leaned on you heavily during the conclave. This is not just about any one statement. You believe that this pope is truly different. Why? JOHN ALLEN, AUTHOR, "THE FRANCIS MIRACLE": This pope is truly

different. I mean, we could catalog all the ways in which he's a pope of firsts, the first pope from the developing world, the first Jesuit pope, the first pope to take the name Francis in all of that. But I think beneath all of that, what is fundamental about this pope is that he is the first pope to make mercy, that traditional Christian virtue of mercy, the corner stone of his entire agenda.

He has talked about his papacy as a kairos of mercy, which a New Testament word meaning a privileged moment in God's plan of salvation. I think everything he's doing, Chris, from the nitty- gritty details of how do you reform the Vatican bank all the way up to what should our stance be to the gay and lesbian community, and all of these other hot button issues that face the church. Fundamentally, all of it is predicated on the desire that when the outside world looks at the Catholic church, they will see a community of mercy.

CUOMO: So, now it comes to this real flipping of the script, which is basically he's saying, we are who we are, the church. Our rules are what they are, but don't focus so much on who you go after and being negative. Focus on loving other people. That's what you're supposed to do, and shame on you if you don't. Obvious, and yet revolutionary at the same time.

ALLEN: Well, I mean, it's not revolutionary in the sense that this kind of merciful compassion...

CUOMO: We haven't heard it. But we don't hear it.

ALLEN: ... and instinct has always been in Catholicism.

CUOMO: We don't hear it from a lot of...

ALLEN: But you're right. It's revolutionary in the sense it's not what people have heard from the leadership of the Catholic church for a long time, or at least not what they've perceived. They perceive it with Francis, and it's because it's real. I mean, let's be clear. These are not faux PR exercises. There's not a PR war room in the Vatican that is cooking all of this up for him. And I can assure you, Chris, his PR staff, and he does have one, they wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat wondering what this guy is going to say or do next. And they normally...

CUOMO: He's not on message, if anything, he is off message for them.

ALLEN: Well, he is the message is the point.

CUOMO: So, the skepticism becomes, yes, he says the right things, but can he change any of these issues that certainly matter in the United States, not as much in the Catholic communities around the world, but same-sex marriage, what he does with divorce, what he does with women in the church. Do we expect any changes in his time as pope?

ALLEN: Well, if you mean doctrinal changes?

CUOMO: Yes. ALLEN: I think the short answer to that question is no. I mean, let

me give it to you in a sound bite. This is not Che Guevara in the casick (ph). I mean, he has been pope for two years, he has not changed a single comma in the catechism of the Catholic church, which is the official collection of teaching, and I see no indication that...

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Now, does that mean he doesn't believe what he says, or is there just a bigger reality?

ALLEN: No, I think what it means is that there's a difference in Catholicism between doctrine and how you apply that doctrine.

CUOMO: What about women priests? He was also very open about that., saying that, you know, women are the heart. They drive what happens at the church, don't forget that. Do you think there's any movement there?

ALLEN: No. A short answer is no. I mean, we've had the chance in the press core to ask him that question a couple of times. Are you considering women priests?

CUOMO: And he says no.

ALLEN: His flat answer is no.

CUOMO: What about married priests?

ALLEN: Well, that is a different question, because that's not a question of doctrine, that's a question of discipline.

CUOMO: Right.

ALLEN: The Catholic church already has married priests in the 22 Eastern...

CUOMO: That transfer in. Well, the Eastern Rite does it, but also some are allowed to transfer in...

ALLEN: And that's right, there are some former Episcopalian and Lutheran ministers who have been allowed to come into communion with Rome, become priests, and remain married. So, the question is, do you want to ramp that up? When he's been asked that question, Francis has said he's open to it, he's not sure that right now is the right moment for it, but down the line he's willing to talk about it.

CUOMO: But a man just by his own example has really just changed things. It really goes back to, you know, the fundamental, whether you want to believe or not., the idea that Jesus was a man who said love, love, love and that's what he's doing.

ALLEN: Listen, you know the story lines we were on air talking about before the election of this pope, right? We were talking about child sexual abuse scandals with the Catholic church, and crackdowns on nuns, and bruising political controversies, and meltdowns in the Vatican. And, look, those story lines have not gone away, but they are no longer the dominant global narrative about the Catholic church today. The dominant narrative is a pope who seems to project that merciful face of Christ, who has taken the world by storm. I mean, from a certain point of view, if that is not a miracle, at least from a communications point of view, I'm not sure you and I have ever seen one.

CUOMO: The book aptly named "The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church." My friend, John Allen, good luck with it.

ALLEN: Thanks, Chris.

CUOMO: And thank you so much for all the good reporting.

ALLEN: Thanks.

PEREIRA: Great conversation there, Chris. All right.

Ahead, a waiter gets an amazing tip, it's not money, though. Nothing puts a smile on your face on a Wednesday quite like the power of the Good Stuff. Wait for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Time for the Good Stuff. In today's edition, Brian Maixner. He's a waiter at the Doo-Dah Diner in Wichita.

PEREIRA: Love that name.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): Beloved, and here's why. His goofy laugh, and more importantly, his attitude.

BRIAN MAIXNER, WAITER, DOO-DAH DINER: Got any questions, I've got all the answers. I love you, sweetie.

CUOMO: It's clear Brian likes to smile and make others do the same, but his smile needed some help.

MAIXNER: Started out as I got a chipped tooth, and then it spread, and then after that it just -- I couldn't keep up with them.

CUOMO: So, enter this man, local attorney, Fred Boettcher. He sued Brian for his smile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (on camera): No, no, no. Brian waited on Fred. Fred was so impressed with how he felt about Brian he left him an incredible tip, new teeth.

PEREIRA: Wow.

CAMEROTA: What?

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way to be satisfied in your life is to be kind to everybody and be as generous as you possibly can be.

CUOMO (voice-over): And he's right. Look at the difference.

CAMEROTA (voice-over): Wow! Wow! Look at those chompers.

CUOMO: Fred says he doesn't know what the damage yet is, but it's going to be in five figures, and that's the gift.

PEREIRA (voice-over): What a smile.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): Because Brian gives gifts to people every day with his use of that smile.

CAMEROTA (on camera): Oh, my gosh. Those are some pretty teeth.

PEREIRA (on camera): The perfect way for us to end our show and pass off to the "NEWSROOM" with Ms. Carol Costello.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": Good morning. Yes, it is a perfect way. Have a great day.

"NEWSROOM" starts now.