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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for First Debate; Jeb Bush Criticized for Comments on Women's Health; Hillary Clinton Email Server Controversy Continues; President Obama Begins Campaign for Iran Nuclear Deal; Sheriff's Office Defends Officer in Handcuffed Boy Video. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 5, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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


[08:00:00] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile Jeb Bush is trying to clean up his mess after comments he made about funding women's health issues. Hillary Clinton quick to pounce on those comments. But now she's going to have to deal with the FBI investigating the security of her e-mail server. So let's begin out team coverage of the presidential race with CNN political reporter Sara Murray live in Washington. Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. It is hard to believe, but tomorrow is the big debate. We finally have a sense of who is going to be on stage. Now the big question, how do you deal with the man at the center of the stage, Donald Trump? Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Donald Trump riding high in the polls on the eve of the first GOP debate.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The poll numbers are not only good. I mean, they're phenomenal. We just got numbers from South Carolina which are through the roof, Iowa, New Hampshire, not only the national numbers. So I'm very honored by it. But what it really shows is that people are tired of incompetence.

MURRAY: The billionaire presidential candidate will take center stage in Cleveland Thursday, flanked by nine of his rivals. Last night it was announced who made the cut and clenched a coveted spot in the prime time debate. Along with Trump, we'll see Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, and rounding out the bunch, Chris Christie and John Kasich. Just as remarkable, the seven who won't be on stage for the main event, like Rick Perry, the longest serving governor of Texas, Rick Santorum, the 2012 winner of the Iowa caucuses, and Carly Fiorina, a former CEO and the only woman in the GOP field. Those candidates will face off in an earlier debate at 5:00 p.m.

Now one big question remains. Will Trump go on the attack? Last night he offered a preview.

TRUMP: I'm not looking to hurt anybody. I'm not looking to embarrass anybody. If I have to bring up deficiencies, I'll bring up deficiencies.

MURRAY: The latest polls show Trump pulling wide support from roughly one in four Republican voters. But if preparing to go toe to toe with the former reality star feels a little surreal, his competitors aren't letting on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you were a young man growing up in Texas you probably never imagined that one day you would be on television with Donald Trump. But you will be this week.

JEB BUSH, (R) FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: When I was growing up we didn't have reality TV either.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, don't discount this earlier 5:00 p.m. debate. There are going to be a lot of candidates who are looking to make a big TV moment. In fact Lindsey Graham is already calling it the "happy hour debate." Back to you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, thank you very much.

Donald Trump's main Republican rival, Jeb Bush, admitted to a big misstep just ahead of the debate. The candidate backpedaling after saying he's not sure the U.S. needs half a billion dollars for, quote, "women's health issues." His Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, surprise, pounced on that.

Let's bring in CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns. How about some context and some by-play here, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right, Chris. The battle over Planned Parenthood now front and center on the presidential campaign trail and still picking up momentum, a tricky issue to maneuver for Republican candidates like Jeb Bush who would seize the moment to try to turn the abortion debate to their advantage but also need to do a balancing act to not alienate voters with concerns about women's health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: GOP Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush walking back a seemingly offhanded jab over women's health funding.

BUSH: I'm not sure with need a half-a-billion dollars for women's health issues.

Jeb said in a statement soon after he misspoke at the Southern Baptist Convention in Tennessee Tuesday, he says he meant to say the $500 million in federal funding that goes to Planned Parenthood should be directed to other women's health organizations. No matter. Rival Hillary Clinton pounced. HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I guess women's

health just isn't a priority for him.

JOHNS: Hillary first firing off this tweet at Jeb Bush. "You are absolutely unequivocally wrong." Bush tweeting right back "What's absolutely unequivocally wrong is giving taxpayer money to an organization whose practices show no regard for lives of unborn." At a campaign event at Denver on Tuesday Hillary did not hold back.

CLINTON: I'm tired of the double speak. I'm tired of women being shamed and blamed and dismissed.

(APPLAUSE)

JOHNS: Coming to his aid, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker tweeting that Clinton ought to be ashamed for standing with Planned Parenthood. The fight over women's health intensifying just a day after a Republican effort to defund the organization failed to get enough votes. Some Republicans now threaten a government shut down if Planned Parenthood is not defunded.

CLINTON: When you attack Planned Parenthood you attack women's health. And when you attack women's health you attack America's health.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:05:00] JOHNS: This dustup between candidates coming the same day the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group, released it fifth hidden camera video purporting to expose methods and money motives of Planned Parenthood abortion providers engaged in the exchange of fetal tissues to be used for research, Chris.

PEREIRA: I'll take it here, Joe. We'll see what the fallout from all of that is, those new videos.

Just how secure was the private e-mail system used by Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state? According to a new report, the FBI is determined to find out. CNN's senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny is monitoring those developments for us from Washington. Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. That private e-mail system that Hillary Clinton set up at her home in Chappaqua, New York, back in 2009 after becoming secretary of state is at the center of her presidential campaign once again. As we're learning this morning, the FBI has started investigating the security of the communications system she set up outside government channels.

Her lawyer, David Kendall, confirmed to CNN that they are actively cooperating in this ongoing probe to determine whether hundreds of e- mails, some containing material that was later classified, were handled properly.

Now, Clinton is not accused of any wrongdoing personally in this probe, but U.S. intelligence officials raised concerns about sensitive information that could have been compromised. Now, overnight her campaign spokesmen Nick Merrill told CNN "She did not send nor receive any e-mails that were marked classified at the time. We want to ensure that appropriate procedures are followed as these emails are reviewed."

But this probe is focusing on whether this e-mail server had appropriate security measures in place for classified State Department correspondence. Secretary Clinton's decision to use a private email system came to light during the investigation of the 2012 Benghazi attacks and it's caused months of controversy in her presidential campaign. It's also given her Democratic and Republican critics alike a fresh opening to question whether she's honest and trustworthy. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Jeff, thanks so much.

Let's turn to our CNN political commentator, I see Chris is getting ready, and Jeb Bush supporter Ana Navarro, and Richard Socarides, former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton. Great to have both of you. Richard, let me start with you. Let's talk about Jeb Bush and his we don't necessarily need that much money for women's health issues. How big of a gaffe do you think that is?

RICHARD SOCARIDES, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON: I think it's very significant. I think it may be one of those things that some candidates don't really recover from.

CAMEROTA: That big?

SOCARIDES: I think it's big. Well, look at the clip. Anybody who looks at the clip will see that he is in a very relaxed setting. He's in an expansive mood. He's having what seems to be a very authentic conversation. I mean, I think we see in that clip the real Jeb Bush and we see the face of the real Republican Party.

CAMEROTA: You asked for it. We've got it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: You could take dollar for dollar, although I'm not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women's health issues. But if you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine organizations, community health organizations that exist, federally sponsored community health organizations to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Ana, is this about Jeb Bush not caring that women need this kind of money? Or is this about him trying to get a twofer and getting stuck, which is the government spends too much money and Planned Parenthood is a problem?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You see, you're almost misspeaking this morning. Look, it happens.

CUOMO: I'm not running for president.

NAVARRO: Yet.

(LAUGHTER)

NAVARRO: I think there's several things that happened here. First, he did misspeak. What I heard him saying, I thought that's a weird thing for him to say. Now, what I did notice was that this is now a candidate in a campaign that has learned that when you misspeak, you don't hem and haw for a while. You fix it. you clean it up. You admit it readily and quickly and you clean it up. It's going to happen in a campaign. Candidates are going to misspeak.

SOCARIDES: Last time we talked about this was on the Iraq situation where it took him a week or 10 days to clean it up. And you're right. I think he has gotten better about cleaning up his misspeaking. But you can't keep doing this and run a successful campaign. I mean, this is probably the worst start of any campaign in a long time.

NAVARRO: No, no, darling. The worst start of any campaign in a long time is Hillary Clinton. And I'd rather be speaking about Jeb Bush saying something wrong than about Hillary Clinton doing something wrong and FBI investigating her e-mail server. If you want to talk about something that --

SOCARIDES: I knew that this was what you were going to --

CUOMO: Hold on, Richard. It's a significant thing. Ana --

NAVARRO: Put the brakes on yourself this morning. Don't get all excited.

SOCARIDES: I'm having a lovely morning. You're the one who's all excited. My candidate didn't make a blunder that could cost him the entire election.

[08:10:00] So let's be real here. This is very serious business. When you say in an expansive relaxed interview that you don't think we need funding for women's health, and this is exactly what you did, you are in big trouble. Now, yes, he did take it back immediately. But this is -- the issue the Republicans face is they are -- every candidate seems to be against women. Every candidate seems to be against everybody who's not a white man. The Republican Party has got this challenge in the primary.

CAMEROTA: OK, Ana, go ahead.

NAVARRO: Listen, Richard, your candidate has misspoken before. Let me say the words "flat broke." And it's going to happen in a long campaign where there is live interviews. If she gave more live interviews, maybe she'd misspeak a little bit more. But since she ropes in the press, we don't see that much.

And your candidate has her share of problem, but she's dealing with a constant drip-drip-drip-drip of what she did do wrong, which is use a private e-mail server inside her house for classified information. She's going to have to respond to that. Let's go back to the Planned Parenthood.

CAMEROTA: Hold on for one second.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: You can't keep throwing all these haymakers and just keep going.

CAMEROTA: So let's talk about the emails, because the news this morning, Richard, is that the FBI is now investigating the server. They say that they're not targeting Hillary Clinton. They're not accusing her yet of any wrongdoing. But that could change.

SOCARIDES: That's good.

CUOMO: It's a low bar for good, Richard. If the FBI is investigating anything it's not good.

SOCARIDES: Listen, of course the FBI is investigating. The Republicans in Congress have raised all these issues. But the fact remains is that Hillary Clinton did what other secretaries of state have done. You heard her last night her spokesman again reiterate that she sent no classified information or received no classified information on this server that was marked classified.

CUOMO: At the time.

SOCARIDES: Of course there will be an investigation. There was no charge of any wrongdoing. There is an investigation. It's perfectly We've seen this playbook before, though, is that when the Republicans don't want to talk about women's health, when the Republicans don't want to talk about the real issues, what they do is they throw out this smokescreen. I think this e-mail issue will turn out to be a phony issue designed by the Republicans to distract attention from real issues like women's health.

CAMEROTA: Well, the inspector general sees it differently than you do. Let me read to you the latest statement. This is from July 24th. The inspector general found four e-mails containing classified intelligence community information, derived information, in a limited sample. They only looked at 40. They found four out of 40.

SOCARIDES: Information that may have been classified after the fact.

NAVARRO: No, no, no, Richard.

SOCARIDES: It was not classified when she sent it. They're saying that it may have been reclassified after she sent it.

CAMEROTA: Ana, is that what they're saying?

NAVARRO: No. That's not what they're saying.

SOCARIDES: Ana, please be careful here.

NAVARRO: Richard, what did you take this morning? Lay off the Red Bull so I can get in a sentence.

They have said it was classified at the time that it was sent. But there's going to be more investigation about this. And it's why it's contributing to her numbers going down and the trustworthy numbers, which are so important, going down, because people see all of this back and forth on this e-mail stuff and that more revelations come.

When you have her spokesperson ready to hand in 20 boxes of e-mails that were sent because they may have been classified, when you have the inspector general saying that in a small sample they found four classified e-mails, when you have five intelligence agencies saying that e-mails for sent, yes, of course there were classified e-mails. She was the secretary of state, not the secretary of waste management.

SOCARIDES: Ana, listen. I know that you would not say anything that you knew was not true. But there's going to be an investigation on these e-mails and we will discover what actually happened. But it is clear that she did not send anything classified over the e-mail server that was classified at the time.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: The last sentence said "this is classified information should never have been transmitted via an unclassified personal system."

SOCARIDES: Look, the point is it was not classified at the time. And that investigation relates to the improper handling of the email after the fact.

CUOMO: You guys disagree about the context of what the inspector general is saying. It seems that they believe there was classified information. That's why they want to further the investigation.

(CROSSTALK)

SOCARIDES: I just want to say what's happening here, right? We're trying to have a substantive conversation here this morning.

CUOMO: And her number that's hurting her right now is not does Hillary Clinton understand women's health, does she understand anything. It's trust. And when you say this is just a smokescreen, obviously people don't think it's just a smokescreen.

[08:15:01] SOCARIDES: Well, we will find out the truth, right, after this investigation --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: No, because it's not just what you find out. It's how you deal with it and you know that.

SOCARIDES: I think she's dealing with it in a very open way.

NAVARRO: More importantly, the FBI doesn't think it's a smokescreen.

SOCARIDES: She has fully cooperated.

CUOMO: You don't think that's why Bernie is catching up. Why do you think Bernie is catching up?

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: We want to put up the latest poll because it does show what Chris was saying, that Bernie is catching up.

CUOMO: Why is he even in a margin?

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Listen, it's time for plan B.

SOCARIDES: I think there are a lot of people going after her right now. I think she's doing a great job of responding and trying to focus on the issues while trying to be fully candid and cooperate with investigators. She wants to testify. She's got to testify.

Listens, the Clintons have been through this before. They have never been found to have done anything improper, certainly not intentionally. And we will be through this investigation before the elections.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I think we kind of glossed over something. Do you think that the Planned Parenthood issue is going to wind up being a metaphor issue that is going to drive this race for a long time?

CAMEROTA: At the moment it looks like it.

CUOMO: I mean, this new video, the fifth video that came out, has this woman on the -- this woman, I don't know her name.

CAMEROTA: The Planned Parenthood rep.

CUOMO: She's on there and talking about how, you know, the regard for what they're doing, not whether it's legal or not, but how they do it, and to flip and see, and the regard for the fetus, it really could be the stage of the next round of the abortion debate.

And I just want a quick take, Ana. Do you think this is going to stay with us, this issue? Quick take.

NAVARRO: I do, particularly if more videos start coming out. But I think it should bother you no matter where you are on the abortion debate. The callousness and gruesomeness of these videos are very disturbing.

SOCARIDES: Well, there we have a point of agreement. Both Ana and I and Hillary Clinton have said that and believe that, that there is many disturbing things on those videos. We will have to get to the bottom of this. But that is not Planned Parenthood. I just want to say that the

videos do not represent all of Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood does amazing work. They're a wonderful organization.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Congress is now investigating them.

Ana Navarro, Richard Socarides, thanks so much for the spirited discussion.

SOCARIDES: Ana, great to see you.

NAVARRO: Good to see you too.

CAMEROTA: Let's go to Michaela.

PEREIRA: Maybe a little group hug.

SOCARIDES: I love Ana Navarro.

PEREIRA: All right. We love both of you.

CUOMO: He's not loving you right now, Mick.

PEREIRA: Not so much, not so much.

All right. Here's some other news for you.

President Obama is going to roll out his campaign to defend the Iran nuclear deal today. He's going to do that publicly in his speech at American University later this morning. It comes a day after a meeting at the White House, very privately lobbied American-Jewish leaders to back the deal.

CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski joins us now with the latest -- Michelle.

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela.

Right. I mean, the White House want this is speech today to be very strong. This is interesting, because the administration has really been operating in the face of this intense lobbying on the other side. We're talking millions of dollars poured in by advocacy groups. The ad buys, trying to meet with every member of Congress.

So, the White House has had to do its own out reach, the briefings, meetings, one-on-ones between President Obama and undecided Democrats. But already, we've seen some prominent Dems say no to deal.

And then you have the influence of people like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I mean, listen to this webcast he did directed at Jewish groups here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The deal does make it harder for Iran to produce one or two nuclear weapons in the short term. But it does so at a terrible price. It makes it easier for Iran to build dozens, even hundreds of nuclear weapons in a little over a decade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSINSKI: So, the White House has had to work overtime in disputing all of the points that opponents have been making. So, they have revealed a little bit about this speech today at American University. He's going to frame this as the most consequence foreign policy issue since the debate over the Iraq, and going to make a comparison between those who oppose this deal and those who voted for war -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Michelle, thank you very much.

So, outrage continues to build around that video of a child with ADHD handcuffed above the elbows, shoulders bent back, crying apparently in pain. The sheriff's office in Kenton County, Kentucky, now defending the officer involved. Why? What was the law? What is appropriate? What's their take?

CNN's Martin Savidge joins us from the CNN Center with the latest.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

Yes, it's amazing how many people have now seen this video and how many people have something to say about it. And also, what's interesting is that we don't all agree on what we have to say about it.

But getting to the sheriff's deputy here. Kevin Sumner is the man in the video placing the handcuffs on that eight-year-old little boy. And he was there according to the sheriff's department to do two things, to protect staff and students.

So, here's what its' going to boil down to: was that sheriff deputy in handcuffing that child protecting the students or the child from doing any harm or was he punishing the student for a medical condition that the child couldn't help?

[08:20:04] The sheriff has now spoken out and he is directly behind his deputy, saying, quote, "I steadfastly stand behind Deputy Sumner, who responded to the school's request for help. Deputy Sumner is a highly respected and skilled law enforcement deputy and is an asset to the community and those who serves."

So, clearly, the sheriff's department saying he was fulfilling his obligation to protect. The ACLU is saying they did not see that image that way. They believe this was punishment. And that's really probably what this is all going to boil down to.

There is still a lot more to come. School begins August 19th. The sheriff will be there in those schools, as well the children who are part of this lawsuit. It could be a very difficult start to the New Year.

CAMEROTA: OK, Martin.

So, what does the boy's family think about what happened in that video?

We will speak to their attorney, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. You're going to need to see this video, because it is exactly what it looks like. It's a crying eight-year-old boy. His arms are handcuffed behind his back in a Kentucky elementary school. "Why?" is the question.

He has ADHD and was said to be out of control according to the school and the sheriff. And this is what they felt they needed to do.

People around the world literally are outraged by the video. Do we see the full picture? Not that the kid deserved it, of course. But this is what the law may allow. That's what the sheriff's office says in response to a lawsuit from the ACLU about the treatment of that boy and also a nine-year-old girl.

[08:25:01] Joining us right now is Kenyon Meyer. Now, he is the attorney representing both children in that lawsuit.

Mr. Meyer, thank you for joining us.

Counsel, what do you believe was done to the boy and to the girl that is illegal and inappropriate?

KENYON MEYER, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR HANDCUFFED CHILDREN: Well, Kentucky law is very clear that school personnel including school resource officers cannot use mechanical restraints like handcuffs. It's clear what's really disturbing about what's come out in the last 24 hours is that the sheriff has not denied this activity, has not apologized for this activity, but has actually endorsed it and said this is how these officers are being trained.

CUOMO: Let's take a look at what the sheriff's office says. Put the statement up there, so we can get their response to this and people can get.

Deputy Sumner, obviously, that's a deputy involved who is a school resource officer, by the way. They have him there specifically for these situations. He "responded to the call and did what he is sworn to do and in conformity with all constitutional law enforcement standards."

Continued, "I steadfastly stand behind Deputy Sumner who responded to the school's request for help.

All right. So, here's what you need to do in this situation. Do you believe the deputy involved was acting out of malice? Do you believe that he was looking to punish? Or do you believe that in good faith he believed that this is how he could respond to the situation?

MEYER: I believe what the deputy said on the video, which is that the only reason the child was handcuffed was to impose discipline and to try to get him to correct what he perceived to be misbehavior.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: And the distinction is that the law provides they can only restrain and restrain becomes defined term. But any of it is only appropriate if the child is a threat to themselves or others. Yes?

MEYER: Correct. You can -- it is appropriate for school personnel to restrain a child if that child is in danger to him or herself or to other human beings.

CUOMO: And you don't see that here?

MEYER: In this case, we have a video fortunately that showed the entire incident. And the reason the school resource officer was called into the room was to take this child to the bathroom. And the child was not out of control. The child was in a room with two adults with no other children in the room. The child had talked to his mother, asked to go to the bathroom. And the reason the school resource officer was called was to take the kid to the bathroom.

CUOMO: That doesn't make sense either. Why do you need a school resource officer to take the kid to the bathroom? The officer says the kid threw an elbow at his head and he felt that he needed to be physically restrained.

MEYER: Right. And months after this that's what showed up in a report. And I would say that I question whether that is physically possible for a three and a half foot eight-year-old --

CUOMO: Right. But I'm saying, I don't understand why would the teacher call a sheriff to get the kid to go to the bathroom? Did the kid not want to go to the bathroom? You know, why would that happen?

MEYER: No, the kid was on the phone with his mother.

CUOMO: Right.

MEYER: With school individuals in the room. They asked whether he could go to the bathroom. We'll have to find out in the lawsuit why the sheriff was called.

CUOMO: Why am I probing that? Well, one, facts matter. But, two, it seems that this lawsuit is a window into a reality that goes way beyond these two kids. Obviously they matter, their families matter.

But we hear that 10 or 15 percent of the school population winds up dealing with three-quarters of the incidents of restraint, that these special needs kids, whatever the diagnosis, wind up being the majority overwhelmingly of these types of things. Is this an indictment of a system that doesn't train and prepare teachers and staff to deal with these kids, and they wind up dealing with them as perps not people? MEYER: I think that's rather so sad. I'm a lawyer. I represent two

families and I'm interesting in this county and this case. I leave it for others to decide what the broader implications are.

CUOMO: But if you're dealing with a situation where teachers can't get a kid to the bathroom and they need to call in a sheriff, what does that tell you about the nature of the environment?

MEYER: I don't think that it was -- the tape does not reflect that there was a necessity to have a sheriff take the child to the bathroom. The child was crying like every other child I've seen does. He was stable. He was trying to get out of the room.

But he was being kept in the room simply by holding the door shut and he needed to go to the bathroom.

CUOMO: What do you make of the sheriff's statement that there are circumstances under which this is what you need to do is restrain the kid. And it's a no win for the officer. If he's on video wrestling with the kid he looks like a monster. If he puts him in cuffs, he looks like a monster. There's no win.