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Bernie Sanders Gets New Endorsements; Al Qaeda Expanding in Afghanistan; Bob Vander Plaats Talks GOP Race; Road to GOP Convention Paved with Delegate Gifts. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 13, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:00] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN GUEST HOST: This was the scene when Bernie Sanders picketed with union workers to show support as he landed two new endorsements. Earlier this morning, he was endorsed by a major New York Transit Union. The union represents 40,000 transport workers in the city.

Topping off all of that is Sanders' first Senate endorsement. Senator Jeff Merkley said he is supporting him for president. He spoke to Manu Raju earlier in the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D), OREGON: I'm endorsing Bernie because he's been in the battlefield, fighting the issues in a way I think is the boldest most powerful voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me to discuss this new show of support for Sanders, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Donna Brazile; and CNN political commentator and political anchor at Time/Warner Cable News, Errol Louis.

Donna, if I can start with you, we know Sanders winning eight of the last nine contests. He picked up two endorsements including one from the Senate and one from a powerful union. How much momentum is this and how much of a worry should it be for the Clinton camp?

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First of all, let me say, I'm a neutral super delegate. I would hope these endorsements the kind of support that Senator Sanders has across the country will enable to get him what he needs from New York. That said, this is a state that Secretary Clinton carried back in 2008. Very, very contested primary against then-Senator Barack Obama. New York is very, very important for both candidates because it's just the sheer number of delegates, 247 delegates. So I'm sure that they are going to continue to rally support across this wonderful state and we're going to have a good turnout next Tuesday.

SCIUTTO: On the other side, Hillary Clinton's powerful endorsement from the New York daily news newspaper, the paper says Clinton will be better for the working class, middle class and calls Sanders, quote, "a fantasist who is at passionate war with reality." Same magazine slammed Sanders on its front cover Errol, you are a New York journalist and have been around a long time. How important is the endorsement for Clinton?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I spent six years on the editorial board of the "New York Daily News". I think the world of my former colleague and think they will have impact. There are people who in the closing days will look to endorsements. That's where the transport workers union comes in and where the "Daily News" comes in, where people who are the late-breaking voters, the folks who have been watching from a distance and have to make up their mind, will be influenced by places like the "New York Daily News," which has a couple million readers in the New York area.

The decision of the paper to really try to intervene and build on what had been a revealing set of interviews, did one with Bernie Sanders and one with Hillary Clinton. They published transcripts of the interviews and invited readers to conclude, as they concluded that up to two, that Senator Clinton is more along the lines of what they like to see, and the quote that you put out suggests they are looking for somebody that is a realistic candidate that can do what they consider what's possible under their current circumstances in Washington.

SCIUTTO: Donna, I have to ask you, Donald Trump got not quite -- rather, Sanders got a surprising -- got not quite an endorsement -- but surprising support from Donald Trump. I want to play a clip of what he said last night on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: I'm no fan of Bernie Sanders. I'm no fan at all. To me, he's, forget it. But every time I turn it on, he's winning, he's winning. Every week after week he wins, wins, wins, and I watch you and all of the pundits and they say but he can't win. You know why? It is stacked against him. It really is. It's stacked against him. In his case, it is super delegates. In my case, it's the obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Donna, that may seem like an outlandish connection but there's something to it. People have made the observation that there's something of a similar anger or frustration driving Sanders and Trump supporters, anger with the establishment in water, whatever party you are talking about. Is that a wise connection for Donald Trump to make in advance of the primary?

[13:35:34] BRAZILE: I respectfully disagree with Mr. Trump for obvious reasons. The rules have been published for years, both on the Democratic and Republican side. All of the candidates had an opportunity to weigh in on the rules. Supporters had an opportunity weigh in on the rules. I'm on the rules committee for the Democratic National Convention. I have been on the rules committee for 20 years. If that makes me a part of the establishment, than I know Fanny Lou Hamlynn (ph) is smiling from heaven and making sure we have a fair process, a process that allows everybody to have a seat at the table. Senator Sanders is a super delegate as a result of running as a presidential candidate. I wish him the best. He energized so many people and registered new voters and fulfilling this promise of Dr. King to make the system work for everybody.

Is it rigged? It is rigged and let me tell you why. Ask the voters in Arizona if it is rigged when they have to stand in line five hours to cast a ballot. Ask people in North Carolina when they have to bring multiple forms of I.D. to vote. Ask people in Texas if it is rigged because they have a hunting license and can vote but not a student listen.

So you are damned right, Mr. Trump, it is rigged but what are you going to do to make sure no American is turned around when they go to vote? That's what we do to make democracy work for everybody. Not when you decide to run for president and not read the rules and understand how to get delegates to support your campaign, track them and do maintenance. That's how you run for president. That's how you win, which I'm sure Mr. Donald Trump knows because he's winning so something must be working for him.

SCIUTTO: Donna Brazile, we'll leave it there with that impassioned call.

Donna Brazile, Errol, thank you for joining us, as always.

A reminder, we are one day away from the CNN Democratic debate in Brooklyn, New York. See Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in their last faceoff before the Democratic New York primary. That is tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up, there are new warnings that al Qaeda is once again thriving in Afghanistan. How the terror group has been able to expand its presence and the growing concerns about a partnership with the Taliban. That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:41:10] SCIUTTO: There are new warnings today about the continuing threat from al Qaeda. Afghanistan's acting defense minister telling CNN the terror group is, quote, "very active within his country's borders." This is as the U.S. Deputy commander admits to gaps in the knowledge of the group's activities there, and says the defense officials are revising their estimates of al Qaeda's strength upwards.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember why the United States came to Afghanistan? Well, al Qaeda are back and thriving. A big threat finding safe haven here, according to Afghanistan's defense chief.

Even U.S. officials here admit at the moment they don't know and there could be hundreds of al Qaeda core members here. MOHAMMED MASOOM STANEKZAI, ACTING DEFENSE MINISTER OF AFGHANISTAN:

They are very active. They are working organizing and preparing themselves. They are working and giving them the support and the experience they had in different places. They are not talking too much. They are not making too many statements. It is a big threat.

PATON WALSH: A big threat, they say, because the Taliban, who is said to have regretted harboring bin Laden, decided to get close to al Qaeda.

STANEKZAI: It's the parliament. They are enabling the al Qaeda and ISIL.

PATON WALSH (on camera): The phrase, "renewed friendship" is what John Campbell (ph) used, the former U.S. commander here.

STENEKZAI: And because as you know they need the fighters, support, experience, and recruitment from other places.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Alarms were raised by a 30 square mile camp found obliterated by Afghan and U.S. forces in a remote part of Kandahar last year, revealing al Qaeda's true strength to U.S. and Afghanistan officials.

MAJ. GEN. JEFF BUCHANAN, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, RESOURCE SUPPORT: Very sophisticated, ties back in to al Qaeda. And a subset, which is called al Qaeda Indian, to find them in Afghanistan caused us concern. If you go back to last year, there were a lot of intel estimates that said within Afghanistan, al Qaeda probably has 50 to 100 operators, or 50 to 100 operators in Afghanistan. One camp, we found more than 150. So I think that --

(CROSSTALK)

PATON WALSH (on camera): A gap.

BUCHANAN: I think there is. I think there's not thousands of them, but clearly in remote parts of Afghanistan, there are al Qaeda leaders we are concerned about and what they are capable of doing.

PATON WALSH: They are plotting attacks against the West?

BUCHANAN: Absolutely.

PATON WALSH: That's their core concern?

BUCHANAN: That is the core concern. They have made the announcements and never backed off.

PATON WALSH: One concern about the al Qaeda resurgence here, but there's another spin off and that has potentially enormous impact on what is a key tenet of U.S. and Afghan policy here with the Taliban, and that is to find a diplomatic or negotiated settlements with them. They are clear, the U.S. and Afghanistan, they can't happen until the Taliban renounce, quote, "international terrorism." But it seems quite the opposite is happening with this renewed partnership they have with al Qaeda. They have made the new deputy of the new Taliban leader is man called Seraa Jakani (ph), who the U.S. consider the leading facilitator of al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

It seems the Taliban and al Qaeda are getting closer rather than further apart. But some officials insist there are a moderate Taliban that want a peaceful settlement. But there's as the Taliban expand in the territory they control here, there are fears that's more space for al Qaeda to potentially plot attacks outside of Afghanistan and again find themselves safe havens here, 15 years after the U.S. intervened, trying to catch bin Laden.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:45:15] SCIUTTO: Coming up, Ted Cruz and his family in the spotlight tonight at the CNN town hall. Will his wife, Heidi, bring out his softer side? That's right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Last night at the CNN town hall, Donald Trump with his entire family on stage showed something of a softer side from his angry tweets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I wanted to be a baseball player. I wanted to make movies. I had a lot of different ambitions as I was as growing up.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you write all your own tweets.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I would say yes.

DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: He is not the guy that sits you down on his knee and says, this is how you do business. You learn by watching. He will let you make the mistake and you will pay for it.

TRUMP: I have a wonderful family. It's been important to me. I think it's been a really stabilizing factor. I don't think I would have the kind of success I've had without my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Tonight is Senator Ted Cruz's turn. He will be joined on stage by his wife, Heidi. Will we see more of a personal side of Ted Cruz?

[13:50:06] I'm joined by Bob Vander Plaats, a Ted Cruz supporter, and executive president of The Family Leader.

Bob, obviously intentioned tonight to get more personal for the candidate, particularly with the New York primary coming up. But let's just remind voters of the stakes and the numbers stacked against him. If you look at the latest polling in New York, Ted Cruz currently polling in third, well behind Donald Trump. When you look at the upcoming contests, Pennsylvania and Connecticut and Maryland, these are all places where Donald Trump has a big lead. What does Ted Cruz -- what is Ted Cruz able to do to turn this around?

BOB VANDER PLAATS, TED CRUZ SUPPORTER & PRESIDENT & CEO, THE FAMILY LEADER: Well, I think what he has to do is keep doing what he is doing. That is stay on message of jobs, freedom, security. Those things are resonating with the voters. I think tonight' forum is going to be another chance for him to showcase who he is. You will see his heart. Heidi is a great potential first she's a definite asset to him. So I think the viewers are going to be very, very pleased what they see with the Cruz family tonight. I'd say for Ted Cruz, be relaxed. Stay on message. He's in a good position to get to that 1237 either before Cleveland or I think after Cleveland.

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you, you know Donald Trump as well although, of course, you are supporting Ted Cruz. You must have been on Donald Trump's mind in the last 24 hours. Just listen to what he had to say at rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had so many great endorsements, with Governor Christie and with Sarah Palin, and with everybody, Vander Plaats, our friend, Bob Vander Plaats, from Liberty University.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Obviously, he didn't mean you, he meant Jerry Falwell, of Liberty University. What do you think of that slip? Is that a problem for him? Does it show that he doesn't know exactly who that endorser was or doesn't know them well enough?

VANDER PLAATS: Well, it's hard for me to crawl into Donald's mind and figure out what he is thinking or what he is saying. I think it does go back to the judgment issue, the temperament issue. You know -- I mean there are series thing at stakes in this campaign. I think and we need serious leaders today to address the serious issues. That's why I'm backing Ted Cruz, and I will stay loyal to Ted Cruz.

SCIUTTO: Final question before we let you go. Is a contested convention -- does Ted Cruz believe that's good for the Republican Party?

VANDER PLAATS: Well, you know, I don't know if it's good for the Republican Party or not. I think what we need to do is threat process play out. If you don't get to 1237 before Cleveland someone has to get to 1237 at Cleveland. Those are the rules of the game, those are well laid out. Ted Cruz and his campaign have run an excellent campaign and a very smart strategy to try to get to 1237 before Cleveland. If it doesn't happen, let's go to it at Cleveland. I think the big unifier, Jim, is going to be Hillary Clinton. When she is the nominee we will be united around Ted Cruz coming out of Cleveland. And I think we have a great chance at victory in November.

SCIUTTO: Long way to go in the contest.

Bob Vander Plaats, with the Cruz campaign, thanks for coming on.

VANDER PLAATS: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: The town hall with Ted Cruz and his wife, Heidi, that's on at 9:00 p.m. eastern time right here on CNN.

Coming up, the all-out brawl to court delegates before the Republican convention in July. Is it actually legal to win them over with expensive gifts?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:57:40] SCIUTTO: Ted Cruz's win in Colorado has Donald Trump railing against what he calls a rigged system. Trump has accused the Cruz campaign of bribing delegates with, quote, "goodies." And now with a potential contested convention looming, the road to Cleveland could be paved with more and more gifts.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains what is actually allowed, and what's not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If the Republicans get to a contested convention, and if nobody wins on the first two ballots, virtually every ballot out here on the floor would become unbounds, meaning he or she could vote as they pleased. Some believe that could create a yard sale for delegates.

What do we mean? Well, any given delegate showing up here who know what the rules are. The rules say they cannot subpoena any gifts from corporations or from foreign nationals or from federal contractors. Those are all no-nos. But the rules say they can PACs and from individuals.

So if a political PAC says, you know what, we are supporting one candidate and we'd like to give you first class travel here and a limousine ride to a lavish hotel where we will petit put you and up and give you fancy meals -- not trying to buy your vote, just trying to show how much candidate so-and-so appreciates you. What if you have a donor who says I'd like to throw in a gift bag, nice snacks, a designer watch, headphones or a new tablet computer? Tickets to a ball game or some show you would like to see. Again, under the national rules, all of that would be OK. There may be local rules in the state that keep him from doing it, direct buying or selling of a vote. After all some will say what these people really want is access to the candidates a chance to visit somebody. Even that might go better if you said come on we'll discuss the issues over a round of golf at some exclusive club or maybe all the delegates should go away with this candidate to the Bahamas for the weekend to discuss all the issues and the politics around this.

The bottom line is the party says it doesn't want to see this happen. The campaigns are suggesting they don't want to see it happen. But the rules say it's OK. So some say there could be supporters out there who may yet want to push a free set of Kasich steak knives or maybe a Cruz cruise or maybe even a Trump helicopter tour to win over those last delegate votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)