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Prison Guard Arrests; Clinton and Sanders Face Off. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired February 11, 2016 - 15:00   ET

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


[15:00:02]

CHERYL HOWELL, PASSENGER ON ANTHEM OF THE SEAS: My mom is always like, you do what you need to do. That's how I was brought up. You just do what you need to do.

So, that's what I did. That's what got me through the storm.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, I love that.

HOWELL: Yes, it was emotional.

BALDWIN: You taking a cruise again? Maybe? Maybe? Maybe?

HOWELL: I think I will fly to Florida and then take it from Florida.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Cheryl Howell, I'm so glad you're A-OK.

HOWELL: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And thank you so much for sharing the story. I really appreciate it.

HOWELL: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's continue.

All right, here we go, hour two. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Politics, politics. You will definitely want to be watching CNN right here, 9:00 Eastern tonight, because Hillary Clinton will get her first face-to-face with Bernie Sanders after he beat her by a crushing 22 points in the New Hampshire primary earlier this week.

Mind you, we are simulcasting that Democratic debate here on PBS.

And as Clinton prepares to seize her chance to derail Sanders' momentum, she gets a critical endorsement from a key Democratic group, that being the Congressional Black Caucus PAC. No doubt her campaign is looking toward the February 27th Democratic primary in South Carolina, where, at least as of Monday, 28 percent of the registered voters there -- the includes all parties -- they're African-American. The lawmakers today who endorsed Hillary Clinton also definitely took some swipes at Bernie Sanders, without naming him by name, saying they need a president who does more than promise -- quote -- "wonderful things."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TERRI SEWELL (D), ALABAMA: I can tell you, without a doubt, when I look at the issues that matter most to the African-American community, from health care to education, from crime and violence in our communities, from foreign affairs issues that are so prevalent in our national security, there's only one candidate that stands shoulders above the others. And her name is Hillary Rodham Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, CNN political director David Chalian. And we have senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny, who is there where the stage is set for that debate in Milwaukee.

So, Jeff, let me just begin with you.

We talk about this massive endorsement today for Hillary Clinton. We have also talked in the last 24 hours about your reporting, hearing from the campaign that they're going to be more aggressive. What does that really mean? How will this shake out tonight?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, I think more aggressive is by necessity here.

This is a new chapter, a new moment in this Democratic race, where after Iowa, New Hampshire, and the Clinton campaign has to shake things up a little bit. By more aggressive, that means the campaign overall, they're going to draw more scrutiny on Senator Sanders, his record in the Senate, in the House, and his plans overall.

But, also, tonight, I am told, she's going to try to present herself as not part of the establishment. We could hear the words a little bit during her speech in New Hampshire. She said, look, all this money in politics, all this campaign finance reform, that's because of me. Citizens United was a Supreme Court decision because of me. A conservative group was attacking me.

She's going to try and paint herself as not as much of a part of the establishment here. But, Brooke, that is a big challenge with someone who's been in the public life as long as her. But she -- we saw the outlines of this again in New Hampshire where she was trying to say, look, she would be the first woman president. That's not establishment. So she's going to continue that line of argument here.

But there's no doubt about it that Senator Sanders is coming in here with the wind at his back. Of course, that makes him a very vulnerable target for her. So, certainly, he has a lot to prove and to show up that he can stand up to this moment as well, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. You perfectly and eloquently sort of lined this up. Chalian, to you first, piggybacking off of what Jeff was saying, when

you look at these two different candidates and what they need to do tonight and hearing Jeff saying, you know, she will be shaking things up starting with Hillary Clinton, I want you to analyze for me what she needs to do on that stage this evening.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, one thing she has to do is try to halt the Sanders momentum that exists right now after an obviously very big win in New Hampshire.

Listen, she has tried some of these lines before. I think there is going to be a new context for them after that New Hampshire loss for her. She's going to paint herself, I am sure, as the more ardent supporter and true partner of Barack Obama. I have no doubt she's going to try to bring up Bernie Sanders' guns record.

Again, she's looking for opportunities to remind the energized and enthusiastic progressive base of the Democratic Party about why she's one of them too and that Bernie Sanders doesn't have a corner on that market. That's her critical goal.

BALDWIN: OK, what about Bernie Sanders?

CHALIAN: Bernie Sanders has to be careful not to be drawn into the battle that Hillary Clinton's going to want to draw him into. He is going to have to -- it will be very interesting to watch what bait he takes and what he doesn't, because what's working for him right now is his core message.

[15:05:00]

If she starts sort of questioning, you know, as she's been doing, how are you going to implement that? I know how to pull the levers in government to get a better deal for Americans, is sort of her argument. If he starts to try to go toe-to-toe with her on that, instead of sticking to his core message of revolution, economic fairness, what have you, you will see that perhaps she's getting in his head a bit or perhaps being this new moment of having a huge victory is not something he knows what to do with.

These are things I'm looking for tonight. And if I were advising him, I would sort of say, stick to your plan.

BALDWIN: OK.

What about just sort of bigger picture and courting the very important African-American voting bloc? We know that, as we just were reporting, that the CBC PAC came out endorsing Hillary Clinton today. You had this civil rights icon, Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who, you know, was marching with Dr. King, who was there all that while, and said this specifically about Bernie Sanders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Well, to be very frank, I don't want to cut you off, but I never saw him, I never met him. I was chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee for three

years from 1963 to 1966. I was involved in the sit-ins, the Freedom Ride, the March on Washington, the march from Selma to Montgomery and directed the Voter Education Project for six years.

But I met Hillary Clinton. I met President Clinton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He says he never saw Bernie Sanders. But he -- you know, you heard what he just said at the end there. Does she use that tonight?

CHALIAN: Well, I don't even know that she has to use it. It's such a powerful moment for her without her touching it. It sort of speaks for herself.

That is -- you know, he -- John Lewis is total stalwart of the civil rights movement. He's got tons of credibility on this issue, obviously, and if he is sort of saying, I never saw this guy, I don't know the guy, I never met Bernie Sanders, which isn't to say Bernie Sanders did not fight for civil rights in his own way at the University of Chicago or at the March on Washington, but if John Lewis is sort of dissing Sanders and saying, hey, hey, hey, let's be honest about who did what here -- and, by the way, I really did know the Clintons -- that is damning in and of itself.

And, obviously, Bernie Sanders has African-American supporters of his own. But that is an ad right there in and of itself for Hillary Clinton.

BALDWIN: On the flip side, Mr. Chalian, for the R's, you have Marco Rubio on the trail, called out Trump. I don't know if he's done that before. He's called out Trump, Jeb Bush, Cruz, all citing lack of foreign policy experience. Here was Marco Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The job the president must do, keep America safe, and that means having a president that understands the threats that we face. I say this to you now without a bit of hesitation. There is no one left in the Republican field who has more experience or has proven to have better judgment on national security than I have.

(APPLAUSE)

RUBIO: Donald Trump has zero foreign policy experience. Negotiating a hotel deal in another country is not foreign policy experience.

(LAUGHTER)

RUBIO: Jeb Bush has no foreign policy experience, period. Ted Cruz has a little bit of foreign policy experience. And it's different than mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What is this? Is this a preview of the Marco Rubio reboot?

CHALIAN: It is, indeed. He sort of telegraphed this yesterday when he was flying to South Carolina from New Hampshire on the plane with reporters, saying that he was going to start to mix things up about how he was dealing with his opponents.

And now we're seeing him calling them out by name, being sharp and clear in who he's talking about, drawing the contrast. And this foreign policy issue, he is going to ride this for the next nine days as we head into that Republican primary in South Carolina, because there's a big veteran component, big military community in South Carolina that votes in the Republican primary.

And Marco Rubio is going to try to use his service on the Foreign Affairs Committee to give himself the credibility to be the national security candidate in the race. I'm not sure his opponents are going to let him get away with that too much. But he's clearly not going to shy away from that.

BALDWIN: Going to try, going to try. David Chalian, thank you.

CHALIAN: Thanks, Border Patrol

BALDWIN: Let's remind everyone tonight, CNN will be simulcasting the "PBS NewsHour" Democratic presidential debate live from Milwaukee, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. You will find it right here on CNN and on your local PBS station.

Breaking news: Stocks are getting battered right now. Taking a live look at the board together, and we shall see, wow, down 307 points at the moment.

With me now, CNN Money Digital correspondent Paul La Monica.

Why?

PAUL LA MONICA, EDITOR AT LARGE, CNNMONEY.COM: Oil. It's all about oil. It's been that way all year.

Oil prices have plunged over the past year. The losses have really axe accelerated this year. And that has everyone nervous about what it means for big energy stocks, who have been laying off a lot of people.

Now people are worried about the banks and the loans that they may have to oil companies. European banks in particular have been really hit hard and now you're seeing banks like Bank of America and Citigroup also plunging. So it's a lot of fear that is reminding people of 2008, even though I still think that's a little overblown, those concerns.

[15:10:11]

BALDWIN: Well, this is not what we want to see when we have money in the markets.

LA MONICA: No, we don't want to see this ever, obviously. It's always better when it's green instead of red.

But the key for any investor, not to panic. Don't check your 401(k) every day. That's usually unhealthy. And also be diversified. If you have money just in stocks, you're really suffering this year. If you have some bonds, they're doing well. Gold, which a lot of people make fun of, oh, it's only for crazy people living in a bunker, if you have a little bit of gold, gold has been the best performing asset this year.

So diversity is always the key in your portfolio.

BALDWIN: OK. Paul La Monica, thank you very much.

LA MONICA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Next, Montel Williams joining me live on why he is endorsing one Republican candidate because, as Montel tells it, this guy is the only adult in the room. Stand by for that conversation.

Also ahead, a stunning bust behind bars, dozens of prison guards arrested, charged with dealing drugs for inmates, among other lascivious things. Hear what they did involving uniforms and cartels.

And protesters say they will be lining up outside of the NFL headquarters in a couple of days to speak out against Beyonce and her Super Bowl performance. Offensive? Overreaction much? We will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:15]

BALDWIN: Ohio Governor John Kasich doesn't take you know what from anyone, or so he said today at a rally in South Carolina, his campaign feeling more confident than ever after pulling off a strong second place in the New Hampshire primary.

But looking ahead to South Carolina, that primary, nine days from now, General Kasich has largely run a campaign that refuses to attack his rivals, but he did come pretty close today in Pawleys Island in South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Somebody wants to poke at me -- and they do, they're already starting -- that's OK. I'm not going to be a pin cushion though.

I don't take crap from anybody. I mean, I'm worried about Jeb. It's all negative. How the heck can you sell negative? You know, I want to talk about what I'm for, my vision, my view, my positive. And if people don't like it, well, I was going to cry if I didn't get out of New Hampshire, but I made it out, there ain't no crying anymore. I made it, OK?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He's far from crying. My next guest is far from crying. He is Montel Williams. He is back, huge Kasich supporter.

Nice to see you, my friend.

MONTEL WILLIAMS, FORMER TALK SHOW HOST: He said there ain't no crying anymore.

And guess what? Monday afternoon -- you should take some credit for this, because our conversation led to the discussion...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You think our conversation...

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: We had a conversation, and you were saying -- during that time, I said, this making happen. You were kind of, OK, let's see.

BALDWIN: We were in it. We were in it.

WILLIAMS: We were in it to win it, and it happened.

BALDWIN: You were saying to me over and over, he's the only adult on this playground full of kids as candidates, the mudslinging back and forth.

But what if he gets to the point where, listen, you have got to have a backbone if you're running for the president the United States, this kind of position. Listen, the worse, the longer we go, it gets meaner and meaner. What do you think when he gets on the offensive?

WILLIAMS: Since when did the United States and being a leader in a country mean that you only are a leader if you can show me you can put other people down? I think this is a man who is stepping to the plate and saying, different than all the rest of you in the din, I want to show America that, when this is all said and done, I have to represent 100 percent of America, not just 25 percent.

Let's remember this. You know, there's only 25 percent of America claims to be Republicans, 25 percent claims to be Democrats. The rest are independents. And, you know, when you listen to Cruz, he talks about all New Yorkers. I'm a New Yorker. I'm a Republican. I could be valued to that party. But you're going to exclude me?

This is the only person talking about how to bring us together. And I caution people who say, you know, one particular group or another group is going to actually finish this deal. What happened with Kasich in New Hampshire is that everybody came together. People crossed lines and voted for him. And this is going to happen

again in South Carolina. And then hold your horses when we get to Ohio, because if he hits Ohio, all bets are off.

BALDWIN: It's long game with him.

WILLIAMS: Long game.

BALDWIN: Look at the polls, I don't know how he's doing in South Carolina, but he's got huge momentum obviously coming out of New Hampshire.

But the other thing that you did predict, maybe not correctly, was that you said Trump is not going to win.

WILLIAMS: I did say that. I said that.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: He won.

WILLIAMS: I said that. He did win. But maybe in his win, he got a loss, because the one he wasn't concerned about was Kasich.

And if you noticed that his tenor has seemed to change because he has to know you're not going to be able to go beat up your uncle for five or six weeks in a row, because people are starting to consider Kasich that guy. He's the guy who's talking a little sense. He's the guy in back, in the back of the room on Thanksgiving Day going, guys, stop arguing.

BALDWIN: He's that guy. He's that guy.

WILLIAMS: That's the guy. Well, hey, can we get the rest of the world to do the same thing?

BALDWIN: Right, right, right, right.

We will keep talking Kasich, I promise, and we will keep a close eye on him.

WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am. Sure.

BALDWIN: But as for the Dems, are you watching everything that has been happening between Hillary and Bernie and the so-called generational divide and women and millennials? What do you make of all this?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: When did Democrats have to now, I would say, almost kowtow to the Republicans to lower the level of the conversation? Now, all of a sudden, Hillary and Bernie are out in the backyard playing in the sandbox.

Stop it. BALDWIN: Debate tonight. Who knows how that will go?

WILLIAMS: And during this debate, I wish they'd get back to the issues at hand and stop thinking that one person of any group represents the entire group. This whole idea that you have got one group of African-Americans...

BALDWIN: It's not monolithic, as one of my guests said earlier.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Stop with this ridiculousness.

We come in every shape, color, form, just like we come in every shape, color, form, just like all the Republicans come in every shape, color, form. Remember, it's whose message is going to count. And I think the message, people need to look at me.

I'm telling you, when it's all said and done in November, we have to come together as a country. We have real issues, like a crumbling infrastructure, a crumbling bank structure, a crumbling place in the world when it comes to our military.

And we have people who want to send more of us off to die? And all of us will have to do that, not just one group. Let's get the right group in.

[15:20:03]

BALDWIN: I know you're so passionate on social issues, and so this is a bit of a left turn.

WILLIAMS: Yes, ma'am. Sure.

BALDWIN: But Beyonce.

WILLIAMS: Oh, well.

BALDWIN: Listen, listen, can I just say, I have watched her -- my whole team is so sick of me saying this.

I have probably watched her video 23 times. I think you could seriously teach a college course on just the themes and the imagery in the video. I digress.

The Super Bowl performance, the backup dancers sort of an ode to Black Panthers, Malcolm X, you have this group that is going to be coming out. It's the day her world tour tickets come out, and it's a couple days outside of the NFL offices. Part of what their group is saying, are you offended as an American that Beyonce pulled her race-baiting stunt at the Super Bowl? Do you agree it was a slap in the face to law enforcement?

What do you think?

WILLIAMS: I'm going to tell you the truth. And people are going to get mad at me. I didn't watch the national anthem because I hate watching it when I'm in my home.

BALDWIN: You mean the halftime performance?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I didn't watch Lady Gaga first. I had to leave, because I don't like standing up in my living room.

And I feel like when I hear the national anthem, I need to stand up. But I wasn't going to do it. So, I don't -- I never -- any game, I never do that. Halftime, I got on the phone, so I didn't see it. It took me two days to hear about the controversy.

And I'm sorry. I still haven't watched it yet. Now, why? Because, really? We have to come down to this to figure out what to complain about? Can we just stop the complaining for a second? Are we going to complain about the dog that dressed up as the human being and say that we just did animal abuse, having three dogs stacked up on each other, trying to sneak out of the store with some food?

Stop with everything has to be a fight.

BALDWIN: It's a political correctness thing?

WILLIAMS: It's not a political correctness. It's a political correctness thing now for you to say that it was political correctness.

BALDWIN: So you have no issue with this?

WILLIAMS: You know what, Michael Jackson ran around in something that looked like that also, but it wasn't an ode to the Black Panthers and nobody complained.

If this is what she says and that's her statement, she didn't stand up there with signs saying Black Panther support. She made her statement subliminally. If you want to read it and look at it, read it and look at it. You know, Beyonce, be. Come on. She is -- you know? You know?

BALDWIN: I know. I know. I'm a woman. I know.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: OK, yes, ma'am. Sorry.

BALDWIN: Montel Williams, thank you. Come back. Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Thank you. Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Now to this, this undercover FBI sting uncovers dozens of current and former prison guards allegedly taking bribes to deliver drugs, but of course that is just the beginning of this story. We have all those details for you next.

Also ahead, we are hours from tonight's Democratic presidential debate in Milwaukee. Clinton, according to campaign aides, will be more aggressive. Sanders will be coming off a big win in New Hampshire. A debate strategy session is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:56]

BALDWIN: Right now in Georgia, a major bust involving current and former correctional officers. The FBI arrested nearly 50 people in this whole drug trafficking ring.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown has the scoop. And also joining us, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin is with us.

But, Pamela, first to you. What's the story here?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this undercover operation, Brooke, led by the FBI shows widespread corruption in the Georgia state prison system.

The FBI arrested 46 prison guards from nine different state institutions, saying that they using their law enforcement credentials to help facilitate drug trafficking outside of the prisons for thousands of dollars.

And they allegedly believed an undercover FBI agent was actually a drug dealer working with the Mexican cartel. And get this. Five of the guards worked for an elite tactical unit that was in charge of weeding out drug trafficking in prisons.

BALDWIN: Wow.

BROWN: Here's what the U.S. attorney, John Horn, had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HORN, U.S. ATTORNEY: In a series of undercover operations, more than 45 corrections officers used their law enforcement status to protect reported methamphetamine and coke deals in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash bribe payments.

During several of the undercover transactions, the corrections officers wore their Georgia Department of Corrections uniforms and their badges. And the point, the benefit of doing that is that their presence would thwart and deter other law -- legitimate law enforcement from investigating and preventing those crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: In addition to the officers, one inmate and two civilians were charged in this drug trafficking ring.

And some of the officers, Brooke, were also accused of smuggling in contraband such as liquor and cell phones for the inmates to use. This is only in Georgia. It makes you wonder where else this is happening in the U.S.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

You just teed me up for Sunny Hostin, because I'm looking at you and I'm thinking what happened in New York and the hacksaw blade in the meat and that whole crazy story. And then you have this in Georgia. How widespread could this be?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. This is not the norm that you have this kind of conspiracy with upwards of 50 correctional officers.

BALDWIN: OK.

HOSTIN: But I have to say, this sort of corruption in the state prison is not new to the federal government. It's not new to FBI investigators.

I know, when I was a federal prosecutor, we did have a problem with cell phones...

BALDWIN: How?

HOSTIN: ... being smuggled in and out of prison.

And what happens typically when you have that cell phone contraband problem, inmates inside of the prison continue to operate their criminal enterprises outside of the prison.

BALDWIN: Back home.

HOSTIN: And that is a significant problem.

Remember, I think, years ago, Charles Manson somehow got his hands on a cell phone. So that's a significant problem. This, though, is really unusual,in my opinion, because you have, as Pamela mentioned, the very tactical unit that was assigned to root out corruption, to root out drug smuggling involved in actual drug smuggling.

BALDWIN: Those five guys are involved.

HOSTIN: I can tell you, in my experience, that is very unusual.

And I really wonder how far up this goes, because what you want to do as a federal prosecutor -- and, here, you have eight federal indictments coming out of the U.S. --